Famous Short Stories

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Sir Francis Bacon

A short story is a fictional prose which is shorter than a novel or a book. Short stories are actually more difficult to write as it revolves around a single incident and it has to have the ability of captivating the reader. Because of its length a short story cannot be rambling or dealing with detailed descriptions. Whatever the plot maybe, the elements of a short story are clear and comprehensive while the ending of most short stories are abrupt and dramatic with a twist at the end.

Famous Short Stories for Kids
Here is a list of famous inspirational short stories for children.

• The Shadow Fairy Tale Hans Christian Andersen
• Hansel and Gretel The Brothers Grimm
• The Mouse Saki (H. H. Munro)
• Snow White and Rose Red The Brothers Grimm
• The Steadfast Tin Soldier Hans Christian Andersen
• The Ugly Duckling Hans Christian Andersen
• The Boy Who Talked with Animals Roald Dahl
• Ferdinand and the Bull Munro Leaf
• The Little Mermaid Hans Christian Andersen
• Rikki-Tikki-Tavi Rudyard Kipling
• The Image of the Lost Soul Saki
• Rumpelstiltskin The Brothers Grimm
• The Emperors New Clothes The Brothers Grimm
• The Selfish Giant Oscar Wilde
• The Wild Swans Hans Christian Andersen
• The Frog Prince The Brothers Grimm
• Thumbelina Hans Christian Anderson
• Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown
• The Happy Prince Oscar Wilde
• The Raven Edgar Allen Poe
• How the Leopard Got His Spots Rudyard Kipling
• The Tinderbox Hans Christian Andersen
• Rapunzel The Brothers Grimm
• Are You My Mother? P.D. Eastman
• Sleeping Beauty The Brothers Grimm

Famous Short Stories for Adults
Here is a list of some of the most loved short stories for adults.

• About Love Anton Chekov
• The Thing's The Play O. Henry
• An Imaginative Woman Thomas Hardy
• Old Ghosts A.J. McKenna
• Return to Paradise Anton Chekov
• Blues in the Night Jennifer Jenkinson
• The Three Letters Nels Schifano
• Gift of the Magi O. Henry
• Scarlet Stockings Louisa May Alcott
• A Lickpenny Lover O. Henry
• Some Ways of Love Charlotte Mew
• The Love Quarrel Agnes Strickland
• The Purloined Letter Edgar Allen Poe
• A Piece of String Guy de Mauppasant
• The First Miracle Jeffrey Archer
• The Five Orange Pips Arthur Conan Doyle
• A Deception Mark Twain
• The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper Agatha Christie
• The Minister's Black Veil Nathaneil Hawthrone
• The Third and Final Continent Jhumpa Lahiri
• The Man Who Would Be King Rudyard Kipling
• Providence and the Guitar R. L. Stevenson
• An Affair of State Guy de Maupassant
• The Girls in Their Summer Dresses Irwin Shaw
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Washington Irving
• All Summer in a Day Ray Bradbury
• The Mist Stephen King
• Bernice Bobs Her Hair F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Monkey's Paw W.W. Jacobs
• The Sniper Liam O'Flaherty
• A Matter of Sentiment Saki
• The Stolen Bacillus H. G. Wells
• The Chinese Statue Jeffrey Archer
• The Devil in the Churchyard A. E. Coppard
• The Execution Ray Bradbury
• The Affair of the Pink Pearl Agatha Christie
• Twice-Told Tales Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Ward No. 6 Anton Chekhov
• Going to Meet the Man James Baldwin
• The Wisdom of Solomon Jeffrey Archer
• The Musgrave Ritual Arthur Conan Doyle
• Rip van Winkle Washington Irving
• The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien
• Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde R. L. Stevenson
• The Lottery Shirley Jackson
• The Enormous Radio John Cheever
• In the Eye of the Beholder Jeffrey Archer
• Earth Is Room Enough Isaac Asimov
• A Legend of Old Egypt Bolesaw Prus
• An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen Graham Joyce
• Monday or Tuesday Virginia Woolf
• Nobody's Business Jhumpa Lahiri
• Everything That Rises Must Converge Flannery O Connor
• The Room William Trevor
• The Man in the Black Suit Stephen King
• The Eleventh Edition Leo E. Litwak
• Errand Raymond Carver
• Lily Jane Smiley
• The Coming-Out of Maggie O. Henry
• Four and Twenty Blackbirds Agatha Christie
• Afterward Edith Wharton
• The Ambitious Guest Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Araby James Joyce
• The Tell-Tale Heart Edgar Allan Poe
• The Diamond as Big as the Ritz F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Rajah's Emerald Agatha Christie
• The Thousand-And-Second Tale of Scheherazade Edgar Allan Poe
• Timbuctoo Guy de Maupassant
• The End of the Party Graham Greene
• The Wreck Guy de Maupassant
• The Great Carbuncle Nathaniel Hawthorne
• The Theft of the Royal Ruby Agatha Christie
• Hunters in the Snow Tobias Wolff
• The Best Sauce P.G.Wodehouse
• The Calash Gogol
• Markheim Robert Louis Stevenson
• Lamb to the Slaughter Roald Dahl
• The Last Leaf O. Henry
• The Lottery Ticket Anton Chekhov
• The Door in the Wall H. G. Wells
• The Baron of Grogzwig Charles Dickens
• The Open Window Saki
• Rocking-Horse Winner D. H. Lawrence
• The Ransom of Red Chief O. Henry
• The Dressmaker's Doll Agatha Christie
• Rappaccini's Daughter Nathaniel Hawthorne
• The Storyteller Saki
• Stranger Katherine Mansfield
• The Private History of a Campaign That Failed Mark Twain
• A Small, Good Thing Raymond Carver
• A Silver Dish Saul Bellow
• The Cask of Amontillado Edgar Allan Poe
• A Burlesque Biography Mark Twain
• The Boarded Window Ambrose Bierce
• The Kugelmass Episode Woody Allen
• The Case of the Perfect Maid Agatha Christie
• The Girl Who Sang with the Beatles Robert Hemingway
• Hall The Ledge Lawrence Sargent
• In Sickness as in Health Martha Gellhorn
• The Blue-Winged Teal Wallace Stegner
• Man and Wife Katie Chase
• One Night Stand Jeffrey Archer
• Miss Marple Tells a Story Agatha Christie
• An Eye for an Eye Jeffrey Archer

These were some much cherished and world renowned short stories. If you have not read them, then you should definitely start reading these wonderful stories and get inspired to do creative writing. You can read many of these short stories online as well.