Greek and Roman mythology is a wild and often violent collection of tales that feature gods, mortals and monsters. These characters almost always have important historical or familial ties. As powerful as their characters were, the myths of Greece and Rome were never grounded in facts. The epic tales of myth typically amounted to a collection of loosely organized stories that revolved around a central character, such as Achilles for the Greeks or Ulysses for the Romans.
The Bible is filled with vivid, action-packed stories: Noah's ark, Adam and Eve, Lot's wife, the Prodigal Son, and the birth of Jesus Christ. Danger and lessons abound. Biblical stories, however, are packaged together as one work of literature, whereas the short-story form is self-contained and can stand alone as one complete narrative. The Bible remains one of the world's most-studied and popular works. Many of its stories are about heroes, such as David battling Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. The Bible also contains parables - brief stories that underscore a life lesson. The Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke include parables.
Folktales and fairy tales helped establish the short-story form, which emerged in the 19th century. Classic and cautionary tales, such as "Little Red Riding Hood," offered a message to children about the dangers of trusting strangers or traveling alone. "Grimm's Fairy Tales" is an early collection of folk stories that helped set a foundation for the short story. Many variations of "Red Riding Hood" exist, with strikingly different endings. Folktales range from the imagined adventures of giant Paul Bunyan, to more bawdy, crude tales. Ghosts and witches populate a lot of old folktales. "Urban legends," such as the killer with the hook instead of a hand, are another type of folktale passed down through generations either around campfires or in story books.
Aesop's Fables teach lessons about greed and other human failings. In one story, a goose owner discovers that one of his livestock lays eggs of gold. He eventually decides that the goose is made of gold and he tears it open rather than wait for each egg to be laid. His theory proves false and he loses his source of gold forever. These fables aimed to teach a moral. Several short story writers, such as O. Henry, relied on a surprise ending. O. Henry treated readers to grim endings that arose despite characters' good intentions, like his unfortunate couple's gift-giving debacle in "The Gift of the Magi."
"The Tell-Tale Heart," by Edgar Allan Poe.
"The Snows of Kilimanjaro" by Ernest Hemingway .
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry.
"The Lady with the Dog" by Anton Chekov.
"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson.
"The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs.
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce.
"Cathedral" by Raymond Carver.
"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner.
"The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol.
"A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Conner.