William Sydney Porter, known by his pen name O. Henry, was an outstanding American writer, world-famous master of a short story genre. By his humor and humanism, he turns the humdrum of the humble folk's life into edifying fairy-tales about eternal values, and it's of no consequence where the scene is laid: though it were in the Wild West or the concrete gutter of New York.

The present collection includes the most vivid, more than once screened O. Henry's works from his extremely rich and varied creative heritage.