Gift of Magi by O Henry

8/17/2019 Gift of Magi by O Henry

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THE GIFT OF THE MAGI

BY

O. HENRY

O NE dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was

all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies.

Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldoing the grocer and the vegetable manand the butcher until one!s chee"s burned withthe silent imputation of parsimony that suchclose dealing implied. Three times #ellacounted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents.And the next day would be $hristmas.

There was clearly nothing to do but flop downon the shabby little couch and howl. %o #ella

did it. &hich instigates the moral reflectionthat life is made up of sobs' sniffles' andsmiles' with sniffles predominating.

&hile the mistress of the home is graduallysubsiding from the first stage to the second'ta"e a loo" at the home. A furnished flat at ()

per wee". *t did not exactly beggardescription' but it certainly had that word onthe loo"out for the mendicancy s+uad.

*n the vestibule below was a letter-box intowhich no letter would go' and an electric

button from which no mortal finger could coaxa ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card

bearing the name ,r. ames #illingham/oung.0

The ,#illingham0 had been flung to the breeeduring a former period of prosperity when its

possessor was being paid (12 per wee". Now'when the income was shrun" to (32' though'

they were thin"ing seriously of contracting toa modest and unassuming #. 4ut whenever

r. ames #illingham /oung came home andreached his flat above he was called ,im0 and

greatly hugged by rs. ames #illingham/oung' already introduced to you as #ella.&hich is all very good.

#ella finished her cry and attended to herchee"s with the powder rag. %he stood by thewindow and loo"ed out dully at a gray catwal"ing a gray fence in a gray bac"yard.Tomorrow would be $hristmas #ay' and shehad only (5.)6 with which to buy im a

present. %he had been saving every penny she

could for months' with this result. Twentydollars a wee" doesn!t go far. Expenses had

been greater than she had calculated. Theyalways are. Only (5.)6 to buy a present forim. 7er im. any a happy hour she hadspent planning for something nice for him.%omething fine and rare and sterling8 something 9ust a little bit near to being worthyof the honor of being owned by im.

There was a pier glass between the windows

of the room. Perhaps you have seen a pierglass in an () flat. A very thin and very agile

person may' by observing his reflection in arapid se+uence of longitudinal strips' obtain afairly accurate conception of his loo"s. #ella'

being slender' had mastered the art.

%uddenly she whirled from the window andstood before the glass. 7er eyes were shining

brilliantly' but her face had lost its color within

twenty seconds. :apidly she pulled down herhair and let it fall to its full length.



Now' there were two possessions of the ames#illingham /oungs in which they both too" amighty pride. One was im!s gold watch thathad been his father!s and his grandfather!s.The other was #ella!s hair. 7ad the +ueen of

%heba lived in the flat across the airshaft'#ella would have let her hair hang out thewindow some day to dry 9ust to depreciate 7er a9esty!s 9ewels and gifts. 7ad ;ing %olomon

been the 9anitor' with all his treasures piled upin the basement' im would have pulled out hiswatch every time he passed' 9ust to see him

pluc" at his beard from envy.

%o now #ella!s beautiful hair fell about herrippling and shining li"e a cascade of brown

waters. *t reached below her "nee and madeitself almost a garment for her. And then shedid it up again nervously and +uic"ly. Onceshe faltered for a minute and stood still while atear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.

On went her old brown 9ac"et< on went her old brown hat. &ith a whirl of s"irts and with the brilliant spar"le still in her eyes' she flutteredout the door and down the stairs to the street.

&here she stopped the sign read= ,me.%ofronie. 7air >oods of All ;inds.0 One flightup #ella ran' and collected herself' panting.adame' large' too white' chilly' hardlyloo"ed the ,%ofronie.0

,&ill you buy my hair?0 as"ed #ella.

,* buy hair'0 said adame. ,Ta"e yer hat offand let!s have a sight at the loo"s of it.0

#own rippled the brown cascade.

,Twenty dollars'0 said adame' lifting themass with a practised hand.

,>ive it to me +uic"'0 said #ella.

Oh' and the next two hours tripped by on rosywings. @orget the hashed metaphor. %he wasransac"ing the stores for im!s present.

%he found it at last. *t surely had been madefor im and no one else. There was no otherli"e it in any of the stores' and she had turnedall of them inside out. *t was a platinum fobchain simple and chaste in design' properly

proclaiming its value by substance alone andnot by meretricious ornamentation8as allgood things should do. *t was even worthy ofThe &atch. As soon as she saw it she "newthat it must be im!s. *t was li"e him.uietness and value8the description appliedto both. Twenty-one dollars they too" from her for it' and she hurried home with the )6 cents.&ith that chain on his watch im might be

properly anxious about the time in anycompany. >rand as the watch was' he

sometimes loo"ed at it on the sly on accountof the old leather strap that he used in place ofa chain.

&hen #ella reached home her intoxicationgave way a little to prudence and reason. %hegot out her curling irons and lighted the gasand went to wor" repairing the ravages made

by generosity added to love. &hich is alwaysa tremendous tas"' dear friends8a mammothtas".

&ithin forty minutes her head was coveredwith tiny' close-lying curls that made her loo"wonderfully li"e a truant schoolboy. %heloo"ed at her reflection in the mirror long'carefully' and critically.

,*f im doesn!t "ill me'0 she said to herself',before he ta"es a second loo" at me' he!ll say* loo" li"e a $oney *sland chorus girl. 4ut

what could * do8ohB what could * do with adollar and eighty-seven cents?0

At 6 o!cloc" the coffee was made and thefrying-pan was on the bac" of the stove hotand ready to coo" the chops.

im was never late. #ella doubled the fobchain in her hand and sat on the corner of thetable near the door that he always entered.Then she heard his step on the stair away

down on the first flight' and she turned whitefor 9ust a moment. %he had a habit of saying a



little silent prayer about the simplest everydaythings' and now she whispered= ,Please >od'ma"e him thin" * am still pretty.0

The door opened and im stepped in and

closed it. 7e loo"ed thin and very serious.Poor fellow' he was only twenty-two8and to

be burdened with a familyB 7e needed a newovercoat and he was without gloves.

im stopped inside the door' as immovable as asetter at the scent of +uail. 7is eyes were fixedupon #ella' and there was an expression inthem that she could not read' and it terrifiedher. *t was not anger' nor surprise' nordisapproval' nor horror' nor any of the

sentiments that she had been prepared for. 7esimply stared at her fixedly with that peculiarexpression on his face.

#ella wriggled off the table and went for him.

,im' darling'0 she cried' ,don!t loo" at methat way. * had my hair cut off and sold

because * couldn!t have lived through$hristmas without giving you a present. *t!llgrow out again8you won!t mind' will you? *

9ust had to do it. y hair grows awfully fast.%ay Cerry $hristmasB! im' and let!s behappy. /ou don!t "now what a nice8what a

beautiful' nice gift *!ve got for you.0

,/ou!ve cut off your hair?0 as"ed im'laboriously' as if he had not arrived at that

patent fact yet even after the hardest mentallabor.

,$ut it off and sold it'0 said #ella. ,#on!t youli"e me 9ust as well' anyhow? *!m me withoutmy hair' ain!t *?0

im loo"ed about the room curiously.

,/ou say your hair is gone?0 he said' with anair almost of idiocy.

,/ou needn!t loo" for it'0 said #ella. ,*t!ssold' * tell you8sold and gone' too. *t!s

$hristmas Eve' boy. 4e good to me' for it wentfor you. aybe the hairs of my head were

numbered'0 she went on with sudden serioussweetness' ,but nobody could ever count mylove for you. %hall * put the chops on' im?0

Out of his trance im seemed +uic"ly to wa"e.

7e enfolded his #ella. @or ten seconds let usregard with discreet scrutiny someinconse+uential ob9ect in the other direction.Eight dollars a wee" or a million a year8whatis the difference? A mathematician or a witwould give you the wrong answer. The magi

brought valuable gifts' but that was not amongthem. This dar" assertion will be illuminatedlater on.

im drew a pac"age from his overcoat poc"et

and threw it upon the table.

,#on!t ma"e any mista"e' #ell'0 he said',about me. * don!t thin" there!s anything in theway of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo thatcould ma"e me li"e my girl any less. 4ut ifyou!ll unwrap that pac"age you may see whyyou had me going a while at first.0

&hite fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of 9oy< andthen' alasB a +uic" feminine change tohysterical tears and wails' necessitating theimmediate employment of all the comforting

powers of the lord of the flat.

@or there lay The $ombs8the set of combs'side and bac"' that #ella had worshipped longin a 4roadway window. 4eautiful combs' puretortoise shell' with 9ewelled rims89ust theshade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair.

They were expensive combs' she "new' andher heart had simply craved and yearned overthem without the least hope of possession. Andnow' they were hers' but the tresses that shouldhave adorned the coveted adornments weregone.

4ut she hugged them to her bosom' and atlength she was able to loo" up with dim eyesand a smile and say= ,y hair grows so fast'imB0



And then #ella leaped up li"e a little singedcat and cried' ,Oh' ohB0

im had not yet seen his beautiful present. %heheld it out to him eagerly upon her open palm.

The dull precious metal seemed to flash with areflection of her bright and ardent spirit.

,*sn!t it a dandy' im? * hunted all over townto find it. /ou!ll have to loo" at the time ahundred times a day now. >ive me yourwatch. * want to see how it loo"s on it.0

*nstead of obeying' im tumbled down on thecouch and put his hands under the bac" of hishead and smiled.

,#ell'0 said he' ,let!s put our $hristmas presents away and "eep !em a while. They!re

too nice to use 9ust at present. * sold the watchto get the money to buy your combs. And nowsuppose you put the chops on.0

The magi' as you "now' were wise men8

wonderfully wise men8who brought gifts tothe 4abe in the manger. They invented the artof giving $hristmas presents. 4eing wise' their gifts were no doubt wise ones' possibly

bearing the privilege of exchange in case ofduplication. And here * have lamely related toyou the uneventful chronicle of two foolishchildren in a flat who most unwisely sacrificedfor each other the greatest treasures of theirhouse. 4ut in a last word to the wise of thesedays let it be said that of all who give gifts

these two were the wisest. Of all who give andreceive gifts' such as they are wisest.Everywhere they are wisest. They are themagi.



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Gift of Magi by O Henry