To Build a Fire

A short story of the Yukon winter. A newcomer sets out on foot through intense cold, against the advice of an experienced old-timer, accompanied only by a dog. As the temperature drops and small mishaps accumulate, the man's confidence meets the indifference of nature. The story is a spare study of judgment, instinct and human limits, and is one of the best-known American short stories. London wrote more than one version, and the later 1908 version is the more famous.