Gifts of Love

One dollar of eighty-seven cents. That was all. Della had been saving for months, one or two pennies at a time, but there was only one dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

She sat down and cried. She had spent many happy hours planning a nice Christmas present for Jim, her dear husband, but there was not enough money to buy even a cheap necktie.

Della stopped crying and stood up. She turned and stood before the mirror. She pulled her down and let it fall.

Now, Jim and Della had little money, but they had two things that were like treasures. One was Jim’s gold watch, which had been his grandfather’s. The other was Della’s beautiful long hair. It looked like shining waves of water.

Della pinned her hair back up, then rushed out the door and walked quickly down the street. She stopped before a sign that read, “Beautiful Salon.” She ran inside.

“Will you buy my hair?” she asked. She unpinned it and let it fall down again.
“Twenty dollars,” the owner said, looking at the hair carefully.
“Give it to me quickly,” said Della.

For the next two hours, she looked in all the stores for Jim’s present. She found it at last: a fine gold watch chain.

Della returned home, then sat down and waited for her husband. “I hope Jim will think I ‘m still pretty,” she said to herself.

Soon, the door open and Jim stepped in. When he saw Della, he looked shocked. He stared at her, with a strange look on his face. Della jumped. He stared at her, with a strange look on his face. Della jumped up. “Jim, darling, don’t look at me that way. I sold my hair because I wanted so much to give you a Christmas present. Don’t you love me just at much anyhow?”

“Don’t make any mistake about me Della,” he said. “Your short hair doesn’t make me love you less. But if you open this package, you will see why I was so surprised.”

Her fingers tore open the paper. She gave a cry of joy --- but it quickly changed into tears. There lay the set of combs that Della had wanted for so long. They were beautiful, with jewels on the edges, and just the right color for her hair. But now she had no hair to wear them in.

She held the combs tightly and looked up. Her eyes were red, but she smiled and said, “My hair grows very fast, Jim.”

Then Della quickly gave Jim his present. “Isn’t it lovely? I looked all over town for it. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks!”
But Jim just sat down on the coach, put his hands behind his head, and smiled. “Della,” he said, “let’s put our presents away. They’re too nice to use right now. I sold my watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now I guess it’s time for us to have our dinner.”

(adapted from “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Herry)