The Gift of the Magi (Henry)

Disclaimer: Sorry if this summary has any silly mistakes – it was translated by AI.

O. Henry

The Gift of the Magi

1905 

Summary of the book
from the Collection « Four Million»

Haggling with the greengrocer, grocer, and butcher left Della's ears burning, but she only managed to collect one dollar and eighty-seven cents.

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Della — a determined and resourceful young woman with long, beautiful hair that she values greatly, deeply in love with her husband.

She needed to use these pennies to buy a Christmas present for Jim.

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Jim (James Dillingham Young) — a loving husband who values his family's gold watch, but is willing to sacrifice it to show his love for his wife.

Jim and Della were renting a furnished apartment that was not necessarily indicative of poverty, but rather elegantly decorated with what little they had. Jim's income had recently decreased significantly, and the young couple had been struggling. The family had two valuable possessions: Della's luxurious hair, which would make the jewels of the Queen of Sheba pale in comparison, and Jim's gold watch, which King Solomon himself would have envied.

After shedding a few tears of disappointment, Della stared off into the distance and had a brilliant idea. She quickly got dressed and went outside, eventually stopping near a sign for "Hair Goods of All Kinds". She sold her luxurious braids for twenty dollars and used the proceeds to buy Jim a platinum chain for his watch.

When Della returned home, she was suddenly afraid that Jim would dislike her new short haircut, and she "set about repairing the damage done by generosity combined with love." She heated up a pair of tongs and curled her hair into fine curls, resembling a boy who had escaped from school.

When Jim came home, frozen and without gloves, he looked at his wife with surprise, horror, or anger. Neither the new haircut nor any other reason could have made Jim dislike his wife, but he couldn't understand how Della no longer had her braids. At last, Jim pulled out a bundle containing a set of tortoiseshell combs with shiny stones, which were the object of Della's secret desires. In return, she presented her husband with the chain. However, both gifts had to be hidden for now, as Jim had pawned the watch to buy his wife the combs.

...of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.