Alphonso Smith (28 May 1864 - 13 June 1924) was an American Professor of English, college dean, philologist, and folklorist.Professor Smith's collected and edited short stories in this title is a must read for anyone interested in literature. His chosen stories in this volume are:1. Esther - from Old Testament2. Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves3. Rip Van Winkle - Washington Irving4. The Gold-bug - Edgar Allan Poe5. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens6. The Great Stone Face - Nathaniel Hawthorne7. Rab & His Friends - Dr. John Brown8. The Outcasts of Poker Flat - Bret Harte9. Markheim - Robert Louis Stevenson10. The Necklace - Guy de Maupassant11. The Man Who Would Be King - Rudyard Kipling12. The Gift of the Magi - O. Henry