The book includes the following short stories: Herman Melville. The Lightning-Rod Man Francis Bret Harte. Miggles Ambrose Bierce. The Famous Gilson Bequest Nathaniel Hawthorne. An Old Woman's Tale Washington Irving. Rip Van Winkle Mark Twain. The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County Henry James. The Real Thing O.Henry. Confessions of a Humorist