Ransom of Red Chief

About “Ransom of Red Chief”

The Ransom of Red Chief is a short story by O. Henry, first published in 1907. Two men kidnap a boy and demand a ransom from his father. The boy, however, is difficult to manage due to his spoiled and energetic nature. The kidnappers become so frustrated that they offer to pay the father to take the boy back. The story ends with the men leaving the situation worse off than when they started. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)