A short story typically takes the form of a brief fictional work, usually written in prose. Anecdotes, fables, fairy tales, and parables are all examples of the oral storytelling tradition that helped to shape the short story
Occasionally an author will create a character of such vivid personality, such charmingly human attributes, that he ceases to be a "character" and becomes, to the reader, an individual - a friend. Mr. Wallace has done this with Mr. Augustus Tibbetts, called "Bones."