Quick Read by William C. de Mille. A narcissistic businessman is so obsessed with his possessions, including small items such as a bottle of Bourbon, that he would kill to prevent other people from having them. In the end, he receives a taste of his own medicine.
Grade 5-6 Story by Cynthia Rylant. A returned soldier’s life is ruined when he starts drinking too much after his wife leaves him. He is sent to a special hospital where some unlikely friends who come to visit him every morning help overcome his problem.
Short Story by Raymond Carver. A young couple interested in buying furniture stop at a yard sale. The middle-aged vendor offers the couple whiskey, puts on some music, and suggests that they dance. Although we aren’t told what happens next, the girl is clearly troubled by it for weeks..
Short Story by Ernest Hemingway. Two “hit men” come to a small-town restaurant to shoot a man as a favor to a friend. The intended victim doesn’t turn up, so they leave. When a restaurant customer goes to warn him, he says he has already accepted his fate.
Short Story by Oscar Wilde. To marry the woman he loves, a man needs to show her father that he has £10,000 to his name. A chance visit to an artist friend and the generous gift of his last sovereign to a beggar he was painting solves his problem.