A short story can be any length between 1,000 and 5,000 words. Short stories are usually presented as stand-alone pieces, but they may also appear in collections or anthologies. Short stories have been popular since the early days of literature, and many great writers have produced superb works that measure only a few hundred words each. Some famous short stories include "The Lottery" by Franz Kafka, "A Perfect Day" by Kenzaburo Oe, and "The Happiest Days of Your Life" by Jerry Lewis. In English class, we often read short stories during warm-ups because they help students learn how to write coherently about a single topic for a full page. For example, one short story I loved was called "The Three Little Pigs" by Grimm's Fairy Tales. It's about a wolf who tries to destroy a house made of straw but ends up getting eaten himself when the three little pigs build a house of brick instead! Another favorite was "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Andersen. It's about a tailor who makes clothes that no one wants because they're too ugly.