What do you think?
Rate this book
The Ransom of Red Chief
Starters are an introductory level to the new Oxford Bookworms Library, suitable for readers in their first or second years of learning English. The Starters series are original stories in a variety of formats: narrative, interactive, and comic strip. They contain glossaries and exercises and are carefully graded in structure and vocabulary. Cassettes are available for some titles.
32 pages
First published January 1, 1907
122 people are currently reading
2091 people want to read
About the author
O. Henry
2,913 books1,871 followersSuch volumes as
Cabbages and Kings
(1904) and
The Four Million
(1906) collect short stories, noted for their often surprising endings, of American writer William Sydney Porter, who used the pen name O. Henry.
His biography shows where he found inspiration for his characters. His era produced their voices and his language.
Mother of three-year-old Porter died from tuberculosis. He left school at fifteen years of age and worked for five years in drugstore of his uncle and then for two years at a Texas sheep ranch.
In 1884, he went to Austin, where he worked in a real estate office and a church choir and spent four years as a draftsman in the general land office. His wife and firstborn died, but daughter Margaret survived him.
He failed to establish a small humorous weekly and afterward worked in poorly-run bank. When its accounts balanced not, people blamed and fired him.
In Houston, he worked for a few years until, ordered to stand trial for embezzlement, he fled to New Orleans and thence Honduras.
Two years later, he returned on account of illness of his wife. Apprehended, Porter served a few months more than three years in a penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. During his incarceration, he composed ten short stories, including A Blackjack Bargainer , The Enchanted Kiss , and The Duplicity of Hargraves .
In 1899, McClure's published Whistling Dick's Christmas Story and Georgia's Ruling .
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he sent manuscripts to New York editors. In the spring of 1902, Ainslee's Magazine offered him a regular income if he moved to New York.
In less than eight years, he became a bestselling author of collections of short stories. Cabbages and Kings came first in 1904 The Four Million, and The Trimmed Lamp and Heart of the West followed in 1907, and The Voice of the City in 1908, Roads of Destiny and Options in 1909, Strictly Business and Whirligigs in 1910 followed.
Posthumously published collections include The Gentle Grafter about the swindler, Jeff Peters; Rolling Stones , Waifs and Strays , and in 1936, unsigned stories, followed.
People rewarded other persons financially more. A Retrieved Reformation about the safe-cracker Jimmy Valentine got $250; six years later, $500 for dramatic rights, which gave over $100,000 royalties for playwright Paul Armstrong. Many stories have been made into films.
His biography shows where he found inspiration for his characters. His era produced their voices and his language.
Mother of three-year-old Porter died from tuberculosis. He left school at fifteen years of age and worked for five years in drugstore of his uncle and then for two years at a Texas sheep ranch.
In 1884, he went to Austin, where he worked in a real estate office and a church choir and spent four years as a draftsman in the general land office. His wife and firstborn died, but daughter Margaret survived him.
He failed to establish a small humorous weekly and afterward worked in poorly-run bank. When its accounts balanced not, people blamed and fired him.
In Houston, he worked for a few years until, ordered to stand trial for embezzlement, he fled to New Orleans and thence Honduras.
Two years later, he returned on account of illness of his wife. Apprehended, Porter served a few months more than three years in a penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. During his incarceration, he composed ten short stories, including A Blackjack Bargainer , The Enchanted Kiss , and The Duplicity of Hargraves .
In 1899, McClure's published Whistling Dick's Christmas Story and Georgia's Ruling .
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he sent manuscripts to New York editors. In the spring of 1902, Ainslee's Magazine offered him a regular income if he moved to New York.
In less than eight years, he became a bestselling author of collections of short stories. Cabbages and Kings came first in 1904 The Four Million, and The Trimmed Lamp and Heart of the West followed in 1907, and The Voice of the City in 1908, Roads of Destiny and Options in 1909, Strictly Business and Whirligigs in 1910 followed.
Posthumously published collections include The Gentle Grafter about the swindler, Jeff Peters; Rolling Stones , Waifs and Strays , and in 1936, unsigned stories, followed.
People rewarded other persons financially more. A Retrieved Reformation about the safe-cracker Jimmy Valentine got $250; six years later, $500 for dramatic rights, which gave over $100,000 royalties for playwright Paul Armstrong. Many stories have been made into films.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 333 reviews
December 1, 2023
When Sam and Bill decide to kidnap 10 year old Johnny, they get much more than they bargained for. It’s difficult to imagine a more monstrous child than this one, but it does make for a really amusing read. Only 16 pages long, but what it lacks in length, it makes up for in originality, and the readability factor.
August 29, 2020
Two men kidnap a wealthy man’s little boy for ransom. But things don’t turn out as well as they expected it too.
A very funny short story! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
A very funny short story! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
December 6, 2023
Two criminals kidnap a wealthy man’s son to demand a ransom. Unfortunately, the kid they kidnapped is so spoiled, mischievous and hyperactive, he drives them both mad.
A classic short story with a really satisfying and hilarious twist at the end. I actually watched the Haley Joel Osment movie years ago, before I even knew it was based on this story. Quite surprising that they managed to stretch such a very short story into a full length movie. Definitely an amusing and memorable little story though.
A classic short story with a really satisfying and hilarious twist at the end. I actually watched the Haley Joel Osment movie years ago, before I even knew it was based on this story. Quite surprising that they managed to stretch such a very short story into a full length movie. Definitely an amusing and memorable little story though.
August 25, 2020
THE RANSOM OF RED CHIEF by O. Henry is one of many short stories written by Henry. This one was first published in 1907 and the humor still comes through in 2020. When two men need money for a fraudulent scheme, they decide to kidnap the only child of Ebenezer Dorset and hold him for ransom. What they got was more than they bargained for.
It has been many years since I originally read this story and it is still amusing. Antics and boisterousness make for an engaging story. But underneath it all, there is a serious element of father-son relationships and much more. This story can be found for free in several places online.
It has been many years since I originally read this story and it is still amusing. Antics and boisterousness make for an engaging story. But underneath it all, there is a serious element of father-son relationships and much more. This story can be found for free in several places online.
December 9, 2019
Classic, funny stuff
I read this with our 11 year old for the accelerated reader program at her school. Must be dozens of times now that I have read this engaging story by America's premier author of short stories. If you don't find this story funny or at least amusing, you either have a very strange sense of humor or no sense of humor at all.
The plot device of a willful, clever child outwitting adversaries continues to resonate with Americans. Dennis the Menace and the Home Alone movies demonstrate the appeal, but O. Henry wrote it best over 100 years ago. Ransom of Red Chief has been made into several movies and television plays, even the worst of which is funny in my opinion. Our daughter and I just finished watching O. Henry's Full House, a great 1952 movie, but the Red Chief segment is weak and was removed from the original movie only to be restored for television. Weak but still funny. Daughter liked the story better. She also liked the Gift of the Magi segment of the movie better than the other parts.
I read this with our 11 year old for the accelerated reader program at her school. Must be dozens of times now that I have read this engaging story by America's premier author of short stories. If you don't find this story funny or at least amusing, you either have a very strange sense of humor or no sense of humor at all.
The plot device of a willful, clever child outwitting adversaries continues to resonate with Americans. Dennis the Menace and the Home Alone movies demonstrate the appeal, but O. Henry wrote it best over 100 years ago. Ransom of Red Chief has been made into several movies and television plays, even the worst of which is funny in my opinion. Our daughter and I just finished watching O. Henry's Full House, a great 1952 movie, but the Red Chief segment is weak and was removed from the original movie only to be restored for television. Weak but still funny. Daughter liked the story better. She also liked the Gift of the Magi segment of the movie better than the other parts.
March 16, 2017
3.5 stars
November 30, 2018
It has been a long time since I have read a short by O. Henry. Reading this reminded me of how much I enjoyed this author. His writing is both literary and amusing. In this one s kidnapping for random goes awry, but not through the fault of the kidnappers. Too funny.
Another web freebie https://www.shortstoryproject.com/sto...
Another web freebie https://www.shortstoryproject.com/sto...
December 31, 2022
Read here https://americanliterature.com/author...
RTC when I stop laughing!
& here is my review!
I reread my favourite novel Devil's Cub this year, so I decided it was high time I reread my all time favourite short story.
My tutor read it to our class (I did a Creative Writing course many years ago) & I found the story so fresh & funny! (& the story was over seventy years old, even then) & anyone who has parented a Red Chief will understand the temptation to
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
RTC when I stop laughing!
& here is my review!
I reread my favourite novel Devil's Cub this year, so I decided it was high time I reread my all time favourite short story.
My tutor read it to our class (I did a Creative Writing course many years ago) & I found the story so fresh & funny! (& the story was over seventy years old, even then) & anyone who has parented a Red Chief will understand the temptation to
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
September 1, 2020
O. HENRY ~ 1907
A perfect scheme ~ A kidnapping ~ A ransom paid.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA......Fun classic short story, and a perfect book cover illustration....the little devil.
June 6, 2016
December buddy read with my non-crunchy pantsless group of crazies.
__________________________________________
I have a very temperamental relationship with this author. At times, I read things he's written and I'm like:
And other times I'm like
With Ransom of Red Chief I was like
O. Henry is notorious for writing short stories with a twist ending. Sometimes the twist is satirical, sometimes comical, sometimes ironic. In this case it was flat out hysterical. Two men decide to kidnap the son of a wealthy man in order to collect a $1500 ransom. What they got was a hell of a lot more than they bargained for. This story had me grinning, laughing, and thinking. An excellent combination for something this short. I got it for free on my kindle, but there are loads of places to read it for free online. Do yourselves a favor and look it up. It currently holds the place for my favorite O. Henry short story. And just remember:
4 stars.
__________________________________________
I have a very temperamental relationship with this author. At times, I read things he's written and I'm like:
And other times I'm like
With Ransom of Red Chief I was like
O. Henry is notorious for writing short stories with a twist ending. Sometimes the twist is satirical, sometimes comical, sometimes ironic. In this case it was flat out hysterical. Two men decide to kidnap the son of a wealthy man in order to collect a $1500 ransom. What they got was a hell of a lot more than they bargained for. This story had me grinning, laughing, and thinking. An excellent combination for something this short. I got it for free on my kindle, but there are loads of places to read it for free online. Do yourselves a favor and look it up. It currently holds the place for my favorite O. Henry short story. And just remember:
4 stars.
October 29, 2019
I first read this story in high school and I reread it to see whether it still holds up. While it wasn't nearly as rib cracking as I found it when I first read it, I still found myself laughing a lot. This was especially necessary after I watched a summary of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.
The Ransom of Red Chief (ignore the vaguely racist title) is a story of two bumbling kidnappers Sam and Bill who fall victim to their abductee. Sam, the narrator, while being the dumb to Bill's dumber is at first the object of our scorn and derision when he plots to kidnap the nine year old only child of a mortgage financier. In the opening scene, Sam tells us how fast things went to hell.
It looked like a good thing: but wait till I tell you. We were down South in Alabama - Bill Driscoll and myself - when this kidnapping idea struck us. It was, as Bill afterward expressed it, "during a moment of temporary mental apparition"; but we didn't find that out until later.
That Bill confused the word aberration for apparition tells you all you need to know going forward in this story.
Read it.
The Ransom of Red Chief (ignore the vaguely racist title) is a story of two bumbling kidnappers Sam and Bill who fall victim to their abductee. Sam, the narrator, while being the dumb to Bill's dumber is at first the object of our scorn and derision when he plots to kidnap the nine year old only child of a mortgage financier. In the opening scene, Sam tells us how fast things went to hell.
It looked like a good thing: but wait till I tell you. We were down South in Alabama - Bill Driscoll and myself - when this kidnapping idea struck us. It was, as Bill afterward expressed it, "during a moment of temporary mental apparition"; but we didn't find that out until later.
That Bill confused the word aberration for apparition tells you all you need to know going forward in this story.
Read it.
April 24, 2008
I know this kid! Wait, I married him.
August 19, 2020
The Ransom of Red Chief is by far my favorite short story by O. Henry. Sam tells how he and Bill Driscoll needed cash to put together a fraudulent land scheme they had planned for West Illinois, but they had only $600 and needed $2000 more to pull it off. So, while stopping in Summit, Alabama, Sam convinces Bill that this town of “undeleterious” country bumpkins, where self-satisfaction breeds “philoprogenitiveness”, would surely be easy pickings for his kidnapping scheme. Poor Bill. The red-headed son of the town’s biggest penny-pincher is whisked away by the pair and a day later Sam writes up a kidnapper’s ransom note signed “TWO DESPERATE MEN” - I’m pretty sure that O. Henry intended the double-entendre.
Having raised four children (all born within five years), I declare that there was never a dull moment in our house when they were little. Our mischievous little red-headed son ran circles around all of us. OH BOY, was he a handful! So, in the case of TRORC, I can tell you that I relished in the irony of the kidnapping, and greatly admired the ability of Red Chief’s parents to turn the tables to their advantage.
That is all I’m going to say about this hilarious little tale - if you’ve never read it you can find this short (16 page) story all over the internet or at the link below:
https://dwcaonline.org/wp-content/upl...
Having raised four children (all born within five years), I declare that there was never a dull moment in our house when they were little. Our mischievous little red-headed son ran circles around all of us. OH BOY, was he a handful! So, in the case of TRORC, I can tell you that I relished in the irony of the kidnapping, and greatly admired the ability of Red Chief’s parents to turn the tables to their advantage.
That is all I’m going to say about this hilarious little tale - if you’ve never read it you can find this short (16 page) story all over the internet or at the link below:
https://dwcaonline.org/wp-content/upl...
February 11, 2024
5/5
When Sam and Bill Driscoll need money to have sufficient funds to pull off a fake land ownership scheme, they hit upon a clever plan. They decide to kidnap the only child of Ebenezer Dorset, a prominent citizen in the sleepy town of Summit and demand a ransom of two thousand dollars to release him. The plan seems perfect and the kidnappers are confident that this will be the easiest work of their lives. So they store their provisions in a cave about two miles away from Summit and set off to kidnap the boy. This is a humorous story about a kidnapping that gone wrong. It was a funny story. Loved it.😂✌🏻
When Sam and Bill Driscoll need money to have sufficient funds to pull off a fake land ownership scheme, they hit upon a clever plan. They decide to kidnap the only child of Ebenezer Dorset, a prominent citizen in the sleepy town of Summit and demand a ransom of two thousand dollars to release him. The plan seems perfect and the kidnappers are confident that this will be the easiest work of their lives. So they store their provisions in a cave about two miles away from Summit and set off to kidnap the boy. This is a humorous story about a kidnapping that gone wrong. It was a funny story. Loved it.😂✌🏻
August 20, 2020
Bill and Sam are short of money and so decide to kidnap and ransom the nine year old son of Ebenezer Dorset in Summit, Alabama. The boy is .... shall we settle for a feisty talker? What unfolds is very funny and the end has a really good twist. This story may be 110 years old but it proves there is no time barrier to good humour. If you fancy reading this short story (about 15 pages) follow the link in tamar’s excellent review. Thank you for leading me to this tamar and I’m not surprised your mother remembers this one!!!
February 17, 2024
Hilarious short story! O. Henry wrote this in my hometown, Austin, Texas and for good measure threw in a red-headed little boy. A red-head myself with a carrot-top for a,daughter, I think he captured our unique and endearing characteristics in one tale. Never be fooled by the innocence of childhood!
December 18, 2019
This book has the honor of being on my mom's favorite list. And she was the one who made me aware of this fun little book.
My mom has never picked wrong. This book is no different. I loved it.
Unlike most of the books about Native Americans I read as a kid, this one is actually funny. Razor sharp humor and a smart aleck kid who gets himself kidnapped but the kidnappers can't stand him because he drives them to the brink of insanity.
Fun, easy to read and short and witty. Five fun stars.
My mom has never picked wrong. This book is no different. I loved it.
Unlike most of the books about Native Americans I read as a kid, this one is actually funny. Razor sharp humor and a smart aleck kid who gets himself kidnapped but the kidnappers can't stand him because he drives them to the brink of insanity.
Fun, easy to read and short and witty. Five fun stars.
November 19, 2017
Dois homens na pindaíba resolvem sequestrar um garoto para conseguirem algum dinheiro....Pra que! O garotinho é uma peste! Agora vcs podem imaginar o que vai acontecer a esses pobres sequestradores... muito divertido. Assistam também o filme aqui https://youtu.be/-1RjEQTodLU
July 22, 2020
I read this story ages ago when I was in grade school and never forgot it. I just sent copies to my grandsons, ages 12 and 10, and had to re-read it again. A classic, hilarious story written over 100 years ago.
August 30, 2020
I remember reading this story in 8th or 9th grade; ever since, the premise and hilarity of O. Henry's handiwork would randomly pop into my head.
And then today, one of my awesome friends posted a review for it COMPLETE WITH A LINK TO THE FULL STORY (it's only 16 pages long). And I smashed the link and read it right then and there. Still just as funny. Maybe funnier.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&s...
Sidebar: this was written in 1910, so there are some racial references that may make some people squirm. They aren't being used maliciously in any way; it was part of the vernacular back then. If this will bother you, don't pick this one up.
I'd rate this book a PG for the racial references and violence.
And then today, one of my awesome friends posted a review for it COMPLETE WITH A LINK TO THE FULL STORY (it's only 16 pages long). And I smashed the link and read it right then and there. Still just as funny. Maybe funnier.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&s...
Sidebar: this was written in 1910, so there are some racial references that may make some people squirm. They aren't being used maliciously in any way; it was part of the vernacular back then. If this will bother you, don't pick this one up.
I'd rate this book a PG for the racial references and violence.
November 30, 2018
Free online link to the story here: https://www.shortstoryproject.com/sto...
More for a kid than an adult. Read it to your son or grandchild maybe.
More for a kid than an adult. Read it to your son or grandchild maybe.
August 30, 2020
Well, that was a fun and diversionary read about two hapless kidnappers who ended up getting more than they bargained for, after kidnapping their young victim.
January 15, 2022
This short story was one of my favorites growing up, and after a quick read through, it’s still as hilarious as ever. 5 stars, January 2022.
December 16, 2020
Fun read. It is like the predecessor to Home Alone. Bad guy buffoons who get whipped.
June 15, 2018
Two men kidnap a kid, but before they can ransom him the men are driven crazy by the boy's antics and adhd level of energy, and end up paying the boy's father to take him back. Good solid humor in the Twain vein.
September 30, 2015
4.5
So funny!! It was a short fresh story, I loved it :D
So funny!! It was a short fresh story, I loved it :D
February 27, 2021
I thought I’d read this story. Nope. All I knew was the conventional wisdom version. I’m glad it came to mind. It’s a chuckler!!
Read
January 8, 2023Veoma zabavna kratka priča.
November 28, 2011
This short story is quick and to the point, and absolutely hilarious! Red Chief is such a cruel little boy, but you can't help but pity him because he's so distant from his father. How O. Henry came up with such an evil little boy and yet straight forward theme is beyond my understanding.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 333 reviews