JIMMY HAYES AND MURIEL by O.HENRY

1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales

Jon Hagadorn

Fiction, Arts

4.5 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 February 2018

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

🎙️ SHOW NOTES

O. Henry — "Jimmy Hayes and Muriel" 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales

In this lighthearted Texas tale, O. Henry introduces us to Jimmy Hayes, a Texas Ranger whose grit and courage are matched only by his unexpected tenderness toward an unlikely companion — a small horned‑toad lizard he affectionately names Muriel. What begins as a simple frontier sketch becomes a humorous and surprisingly touching look at loneliness, loyalty, and the strange friendships that form in the wide, empty spaces of the West.

Set against the dusty backdrop of turn‑of‑the‑century Texas, the story blends O. Henry's trademark wit with his deep affection for the people and landscapes of the Southwest. Jimmy's bond with Muriel is both funny and oddly moving, revealing a softer side of a man whose job usually demands toughness and restraint. It's a story about companionship in unexpected places — and the small, quiet moments that shape a Ranger's life between the dangers and the duty.

🖋️ About O. Henry and This Story

O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) spent some of the most formative years of his life in Texas, working as a ranch hand, bank clerk, draftsman, and journalist. His time in the state gave him a lifelong love for Western characters — Rangers, cowboys, drifters, sheriffs, and the colorful personalities who populated frontier towns.

"Jimmy Hayes and Muriel" comes from his Southwestern period, when he was writing stories that captured the humor, humanity, and contradictions of life on the frontier. These pieces often appeared in newspapers and magazines in the early 1900s, just before O. Henry moved to New York and became a national literary sensation.

Why did he write it?

To showcase the Texas Ranger mystique with a comedic twist
To highlight the loneliness and camaraderie of frontier life
To play with the contrast between tough men and tender moments
To celebrate the quirky, unpredictable nature of the West

O. Henry loved stories where small things — a misunderstanding, a chance encounter, or in this case, a lizard — reveal something true about a person's heart. "Jimmy Hayes and Muriel" is one of those gems: simple, warm, and unmistakably his.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Book your ticket to happiness with Sun Express Airlines. Oh, The Oh, Welcome to 1001 Classic classic short stories and tales.
0:56.0	Oh Henry, real name William Sidney Porter, was a prolific writer known best for his short stories,
1:02.0	gift of the Magi, and the Ransom of Red Chief, both of which you can find in our archives.
1:09.0	Most of O'Henry's stories, and this one is no exception, are set in his own time the early 20th century.
1:16.1	Well Henry's work is wide-ranging and his characters can be found roaming the Catalans of Texas
1:21.2	exploring the art of the con man where investigating the Netherlands of Texas, exploring the art of the con man,
1:23.2	were investigating the tensions of class and wealth
1:25.9	in turn of the century New York.
1:28.2	This story joins a company of Texas Rangers
1:30.6	as they welcome a new member named Jimmy Hayes around the campire.
1:35.0	And now, our story, Jimmy Hayes in Muriel by O'Henry.
1:40.0	Supper was over. O'Henry.
1:43.0	Supper was over, and there had fallen upon the camp the silence that accompanies the
1:47.7	rolling of corn husk cigarettes.
1:50.8	The water hole shone from the dark earth like a patch of fallen sky.
1:55.0	Coyotes yelped.
1:57.0	Dulled thumps indicated the rocking horse movements of the hobbled ponies as they moved to fresh grass.
2:02.0	A half-troop of the Frontier Battalion of Texas Rangers were
2:05.8	distributed about the fire. A well-known sound, the fluttering and scraping of chaperale
2:11.7	against wooden stirrups came from the thick brush above the camp.
2:16.0	The Rangers listened cautiously.
2:18.2	They heard a loud and cheerful voice called out reassuringly. Brace up Muriel, old girl.
	...

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