Makes the Whole World Kin
| "Makes the Whole World Kin" | |
|---|---|
| Author | O. Henry |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | short story |
| Published in | 1911 |
"Makes the Whole World Kin" is a short story written by O. Henry (a pen name for William Sydney Porter), allegedly at Pete's Tavern on Irving Place in New York City.
The story starts with a young thief walking through a neighbourhood, scouting for his next house. The thief is described as an ordinary man, with no extreme tendencies.
The burglar wore a blue sweater. The police would have been baffled had they
attempted to classify him. They have not yet heard of the respectable, unassuming burglar who is neither above nor below his station. He wore no masks, dark lanterns, or gum shoes. This burglar of the third class began to prowl. He carried a 88-calibre revolver in his pocket, and he chewed peppermint gum thoughtfully.
Once he finds a respectable house, the thief climbs inside through an open window. Once inside, he scouts for valuable items. He discovers, to his amazement, that a light had been left on inside one of the bedrooms. As he walks inside, he finds an old man lying in bed, asleep. The thief wakes the man and instructs him to raise his hands. The old man can only lift one arm and proceeds to inform the thief that he suffers from rheumatism. The thief, shocked at what he hears, lowers the gun and tells his victim that he as well, suffers from the disease. They proceed to exchange words of comfort about the haunting pain, and the young thief asks for tips to dull the swellings. Though both are filled with hope, the old man warns the thief that the pain only gets worse and he must find a way to cope with it, in his later years. The old man, suggests that he have a drink.
The young thief invites the old man for a drink at the local pub. He helps the old man get dressed and the two make their way for the bar. Outside the house, the old man realises that he has no money with him - the thief, kindly, offers to pay for the drinks.
In 1962, Leonid Gaidai made a feature-length film Strictly Business, made up of three short stories based on O. Henry. The second segment was "Makes the Whole World Kin".
The film starred Yuri Nikulin as the young thief, and Rostislav Plyatt as the old man.
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