These short stories all have a little bit of humor and irony from them. There is the story about a woman who sells her hair to buy a Christmas present for her husband, who then gets her an expensive comb set that she had been wishing for. Another story tells of a homeless man wandering the street, doing all sorts of things to get arrested so he may be sent to jail and have shelter for the winter, but he has no success. When he comes upon a beautiful church he is so inspired that he decides to turn his life around and go get the job he was once offered, when out of the blue he hears a policeman's voice and is arrested. The characters are diverse, such as a hypocritical cosmopolite who asserts that he is much too worldly to have an attachment to anywhere on the planet, yet when somebody cuts down his hometown, he creates a scuffle. There is also a story from a dog's perspective about how he has grown tired of the name "Lovey," and being coddled and confined to a small apartment with a large lady who tries to pass time all day. At the end, he is overjoyed when a man takes him away and names him "Pete." Each of the stories are fast reads because they are not overblown in detail or lengthy description. Each episode shares some ideas about life and offers some thoughtful messages. A Wordsworth Classic.