One Thousand Dollars

O. Henry, the pseudonym of William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), was a prolific American short story writer, a master of surprise endings, who wrote about the life of ordinary people in New York City. A twist of plot, which turns on an ironic or coincidental circumstance, is typical of his stories. During his lifetime, O. Henry published over six hundred stories and ten collections, including Cabbages and Kings, The Four Million, The Trimmed Lamp, Whirligigs, and The Heart of the West.