Enchanting, tragic, and hilarious fairy tales for adults and children grace these pages. An initial glance might lead you to assume that these are satirical versions of classic Christmas ghost stories. However, beneath the humorous stories involving ghosts, repentant sinners, miracles, and good peasants who find well-deserved happiness, lies a psychological undercurrent that sharpens the sense of intrigue and plot movement. Often this is aided by the unrelenting social exposure of the authors who always understood how intangible the "bourgeois paradise" truly was. Even today, idyllic dreams of tolerance, equality, and the triumph of justice have failed to materialize. Perhaps that is why people continue to read these classic stories while the snow falls outside and the lights glow on the Christmas tree.Contents:Charles DickensA Christmas CarolThe ChimesG.K. ChestertonA Christmas CarolL.M. MontgomeryThe Red RoomA Christmas MistakeA Christmas InspirationThe Josephs' ChristmasAunt Cyrilla's Christmas BasketThe Osbornes' ChristmasBertie's New YearIda's New Year CakeThe Christmas Surprise at Enderly RoadClorinda's GiftsThe Falsoms' Christmas DinnerThe Unforgotten OneChristmas at Red ButteUncle Richard's New Year's DinnerL. Frank BaumA Kidnapped Santa ClausLittle Bun RabbitMark TwainA Letter from Santa ClausLouisa May AlcottA Merry ChristmasLeo TolstoyA Russian Christmas PartyHenry Wadsworth LongfellowChristmas BellsThe Three KingsNikolai GogolChristmas EveWilliam Dean HowellsChristmas EverydayThe Pony Engine and the Pacific ExpressJoseph Rudyard KiplingChristmas in IndiaElizabeth HarrisonLittle Gretchen and the Wooden ShoeJohn MiltonOn the Morning of Christ's NativityHans Christian AndersenThe Fir TreeThe Little Match GirlSelma LagerlofThe Holy NightClement MooreThe Night Before ChristmasHenry van DykeThe Other Wise ManBeatrix PotterThe Tailor of GloucesterAnton ChehovVankaO. HenryThe Gift of the MagiHesba StrettonThe Christmas ChildKenneth GrahameThe Wind in the WillowsRobert Louis StevensonChristmas at SeaWalter ScottChristmas In The Olden TimeAlfred TennysonRing out, wild bellsAbbie Farwell BrownThe Christmas AngelAnthony TrollopeChristmas at Thompson HallThomas HardyThe OxenWilliam Butler YeatsThe MagiWilliam Makepeace ThackerayThe Mahogany TreeCharles KingsleyChristmas DayElla Wheeler WilcoxChristmas FanciesC. W. StubbsTwas Jolly, Jolly WatEugene FieldJest 'Fore ChristmasPaul Laurence DunbarA Christmas FolksongWilliam Topaz McGonagallA Tale of Christmas EveEmily DickinsonThe Savior must have been a docile Gentleman