The Gift of the Magi (Henry)

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O. Henry

The Gift of the Magi

1905 

Summary of the book
from the Collection « Four Million»

Microsummary: A poor young couple sell their most valued possessions to buy Christmas gifts for each other, only to realize that the gifts are now useless without the items they have sold.

Della and her husband, Jim, live in a small apartment and don't have much money.

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Della — a young woman with long, beautiful hair and a strong love for her husband.

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

Della has been saving for months to buy Jim a present for Christmas. But when she counts the money she has saved, she only has $1.87. Della is upset and starts crying.

Della and Jim both have things that are special to them. Jim has a gold watch that has been passed down through his family, and Della has long, beautiful hair. Della decides to sell her hair to buy Jim a present. She goes to a hair salon and sells her hair for twenty dollars. With this money, she buys Jim a chain for his watch.

When Jim comes home, he surprises Della with a present for her - a set of combs for her hair. They both realize that they have given each other the most valuable things they own. Even though they don't have much, they are happy and grateful to have each other.

Don't make any mistake, Dell, ... about me. I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less.

In the end, Della looks at herself in the mirror and is happy with her husband and their life together.