After Twenty Years

What this book practices

An expanded adaptation, in new words, of O. Henry's short story (collected 1906). The meeting in the doorway and the twist follow the original; the farewell supper, the years apart and what follows the note are new scenes written by PlayOwl. A story of loyalty set against duty.

Level

Chapter book: Eight chapters, about 180 words on a page

Themes

Classic, Friends, Honesty

After the story

A short activity checks understanding, then a prompt to tell a grown-up about the book.

Levels are PlayOwl's own design guidelines for each grade, not a certified reading level. In I'll Read, PlayOwl records that a child turned every page; it cannot hear whether the words were read.

Credit and rights

Adapted and expanded by PlayOwl, with new scenes, from After Twenty Years by O. Henry (1906). Source: After Twenty Years by O. Henry (1906).

The words are new PlayOwl writing that follows a story in the public domain. PlayOwl claims no rights in the underlying story.

Adaptation

An expanded adaptation of After Twenty Years by O. Henry (William Sydney Porter). The policeman on his beat, the man in the doorway, the match, the tall man in the overcoat, the arrest and the note follow the events of the original and keep its twist; the note is reworded. The supper at Brady's, Bob's life in the West, Jimmy Wells's side of the night, Detective Keogh and the morning after are new PlayOwl invention. No edition, abridgement, film or illustrated version was copied; only the events, three names and the two short phrases named in the text record come from the original. Public domain. In the United States, copyright in works published before 1929 has expired, and this story was published in book form in 1906. In countries where copyright lasts for the author's life plus 70 years, the term ended on 31 December 1980, because O. Henry died in 1910. PlayOwl claims no rights in the underlying story; the added scenes are original PlayOwl writing.

Cover

Drawn in code for PlayOwl in 2026 with the Read with Olly illustration kit. An original design, not based on the cover or pictures of any edition or film. Original work owned by PlayOwl.

Illustrations

Drawn in code for PlayOwl in 2026 with the Read with Olly illustration kit, from the picture briefs in this file (New York City in the 1880s and about 1905). Original designs, not based on the pictures of any edition or film. Original work owned by PlayOwl.

Narration

Spoken by the reader's own device voice. PlayOwl ships no recording. No recorded work exists.

Text

Written for PlayOwl in 2026 as a new, expanded adaptation of the whole of After Twenty Years. O. Henry's story is only a few pages long; this book tells it at chapter-book length and adds new scenes written by PlayOwl (the farewell supper, Bob's years in the West, the same night as Patrolman Wells saw it, and the morning after). Every sentence is new PlayOwl wording, checked against O. Henry's text. Two short phrases of his are kept: "a kind of plodder" and "the man from the West". The names Jimmy Wells, "Silky" Bob and Big Joe Brady are also his. Original wording owned by PlayOwl. The underlying story is in the public domain (see the adaptation record).