The Gift of the Magi
By O. Henry (Condensed)
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all Della had. She had saved every penny she could from her meager earnings, yet it wasn’t enough to buy a proper Christmas gift for her beloved husband, Jim.
Their apartment was humble, but they owned two treasures: Jim’s gold pocket watch, which had belonged to his father and grandfather, and Della’s long, beautiful hair, which flowed past her knees.
Determined to give Jim a worthy gift, Della went out into the snowy streets and sold her hair for twenty dollars. With it, she bought a fine platinum chain for Jim’s watch—the perfect gift.
That evening, when Jim came home, he stopped in shock at the sight of Della's shorn hair. Then, slowly, he handed her a small package. Inside were a pair of elegant combs—the kind Della had admired for months but could never afford.
“I sold the watch to buy them,” he said quietly.
And so, each had sacrificed their greatest treasure to bring joy to the other. In that act, they proved themselves the wisest of gift-givers—the Magi of modern times.