Willa Cather 
The Burglar’s Christmas 

In Willa Cather’s ‘The Burglar’s Christmas’, a young drifter finds himself alone on Christmas Eve, penniless and starving. Though he has failed at everything in life, including crime, he decides to break into a home and rob it to raise money for food. When he is caught in the act by the lady of the house, they both come to a terrible realization. The burglar’s desperate act leads to a transformative act of holiday love and charity. First published in Home Monthly in 1896.