Christmas Short Stories Anthology

A rather unattractive itinerant flute-player and music copyist is sent away on Christmas Eve - causing a family to feel uncomfortably guilty. Lagerlof was a Swedish novelist, who in 1909 became the first woman writer to win the Nobel Prize for literature. Her work is deeply rooted in Nordic legends and history.

Queens, New York, in the early 1970s. During the holidays, a small boy dishonors his mother and learns a lesson. Maybe more than one. Maybe not.

Vasilisa had not seen her daughter for four years. Her daughter, Yefimya, had gone after her wedding to Petersburg, had sent them two letters, and since then had seemed to vanish out of their lives; there had been no sight nor sound of her. And whether the old woman was milking her cow at dawn or heating her stove or dozing at night, she was always thinking of one and the same thing - what was happening to Yefimya, whether she were alive.... Read in English, unabridged.

This collection of short stories by notable Australian author Mary Grant Bruce (1878-1958) reflects on Australian experiences of summertime. Infused with the smells, sounds, and textures of Australian life during the Christmas season, these stories also highlight the strengths and yearnings of their characters.

Dr. Lauren Spencer is having a hard time finding the Christmas spirit, but when a terrible accident necessitates the need to try to save a woman's life, she and the members of a small community will come to learn the true meaning of the holiday spirit.

Holly flieht über die Weihnachtstage aus New York, weil ihr der Rummel auf die Nerven geht. Die Rocky Mountains sind genau der richtige Ort, um zu arbeiten. Denkt sie. Nur hat ihr niemand gesagt, dass es dort Männer gibt, die nicht nur ihr Herz höher schlagen lassen, sondern auch noch mit Nachnamen Christmas heißen ... Eine Kurzgeschichte von Erfolgsautorin Kajsa Arnold, die nicht nur zu Weihnachten Spaß macht!

Originally published in an 1896 edition of The Home Monthly, "The Burglar's Christmas" tells the story Crawford, a homeless man in Chicago who has not eaten recently and considers stealing food on Christmas Eve. Reminiscent of the parable of the prodigal son, this tale reflects on the nature of forgiveness. This recording of "The Burglar's Christmas" was recorded as part of Dreamscape's Classic Christmas Stories: A Collection of Timeless Holiday Tales.

The Christmas holidays arrive on Bessie's magical mountain. Little did Bessie know that today, when the 10-o'clock train rolls to a stop at the summit of the snow-covered mountain, Matthew, a handsome stranger, will climb down from the coach car and enter her world.

This short story, "El Espejo de Navidad", is in Spanish. It is about a father, who is having a hard time letting go of his daughter, as she comes to the point, where she no longer believes... in Papa Noel(Santa).

In "A Hospital Christmas" a Civil War-era hospital is the setting for a Christmas story about caring for others, thinking positively, and how sharing can make Christmas meaningful for those who have little.

"A New Way to Spend Christmas" describes a Christmas visit to Randall's Island in the East River, where orphaned and sick children are looked after. A charitable woman brings gifts and spreads "sunshine in that shady place" to the unfortunate children who live there.

It's a typical Christmas Eve. All except for the hot weather. And the head.

While doing some last-minute shopping on Christmas Eve, a man has a magical experience. He watches a child preparing to get on Santa's lap through a shop window and is reminded about a special Christmas memory. When the child gets down, Santa makes eye contact with the man, and they are immediately taken back to a moment they had shared (in his past). So the story unfolds as he stares through a window of time at a glimpse from Christmas past....

It's Christmas at Camelot and that can only mean one thing...an eerie adventure is about to begin! Grab a cup of mead, sit back and enjoy this famous Christmas short story told like never before.

American writer William Dean Howells delights us with his cautiously cynical yet endearing telling of the night before Christmas at the Fountain household. Published in The Daughter of the Storage and Other Things in Prose and Verse in 1916, Howells’ sense of realism and social criticism hides behind the humorous banter between Mr. and Mrs. Fountain, as well as relatives passing by. Raging consumerism, New Year’s resolutions, lovingly marital insults, reflections and memories, and a whole bunch of bathrobes!