What is your most memorable short story?

I cannot recall a memorable short story from my youth. While the basic lessons have stuck with me, the stories themselves have evaded my memories. When I first considered this, it saddened me. I felt as though I had lost part of my youth, as though I had left it behind in the past. The mere thought that I may never be able to recall such memories bothers me in the deepest parts of my soul.

On second thought, the fact that the lessons have stuck with me is somewhat redeeming. They are the important part; if all the important details have been left behind, the lessons have still stuck with me and helped define who I am. They are things to be lived by, and I would rather just lose the minor details then losing the memory as a whole.

What are your favorite short stories, and what have you learned from them?