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    The Gift of the Magi
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    The Gift of the Magi
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    The Gift of the Magi
    Ebook10 pages10 minutes

    The Gift of the Magi

    By O. Henry

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    "The Gift of the Magi" is a short story, about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, it has been a popular one for adaptation, especially for presentation during the Christmas season.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWilder Publications, Inc.
    Release dateJul 12, 2013
    ISBN9781627552172
    Author

    O. Henry

    O. Henry (1862-1910) was an American short story writer. Born and raised in North Carolina, O. Henry—whose real name was William Sydney Porter—moved to Texas in 1882 in search of work. He met and married Athol Estes in Austin, where he became well known as a musician and socialite. In 1888, Athol gave birth to a son who died soon after, and in 1889 a daughter named Margaret was born. Porter began working as a teller and bookkeeper at the First National Bank of Austin in 1890 and was fired four years later and accused of embezzlement. Afterward, he began publishing a satirical weekly called The Rolling Stone, but in 1895 he was arrested in Houston following an audit of his former employer. While waiting to stand trial, Henry fled to Honduras, where he lived for six months before returning to Texas to surrender himself upon hearing of Athol’s declining health. She died in July of 1897 from tuberculosis, and Porter served three years at the Ohio Penitentiary before moving to Pittsburgh to care for his daughter. While in prison, he began publishing stories under the pseudonym “O. Henry,” finding some success and launching a career that would blossom upon his release with such short stories as “The Gift of the Magi” (1905) and “The Ransom of Red Chief” (1907). He is recognized as one of America’s leading writers of short fiction, and the annual O. Henry Award—which has been won by such writers as William Faulkner, John Updike, and Eudora Welty—remains one of America’s most prestigious literary prizes.

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    Reviews for The Gift of the Magi

    4.5/5

    18 ratings10 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Determined to buy her Jim a Christmas present "worthy of being owned" by him, Della confronts a hard reality: the $1.87 that she has managed to save up, by ruthlessly economizing on her weekly budget, won't even come close to being enough for a suitable gift. Reduced to tears, Della's despairing thoughts turn to her one resource: her long, beautiful hair. Acting on impulse, Della sells her knee-length tresses, and uses the money to buy a platinum chain for Jim's treasured gold pocket watch, handed down to him from his father and grandfather. Hers is not the only sacrifice, however, as she discovers when Jim comes home with her gift - beautiful tortoiseshell combs for her hair, paid for through the sale of Jim's pocket watch...Originally published in 1905, in the newspaper The New York Sunday World, and then in 1906 in a collection of O. Henry stories, The Gift of the Magi is a lovely holiday tale, one which emphasizes the importance of love and of self-sacrifice - the true gifts of the magi - at Christmastime. As the author maintains, Della and Jim may have been "foolish children," but they were wise fools. Although it's been a number of years since I first read it, the story of this poor New York couple, and their mutual sacrifice of their most prized treasures for the sake of the other, is one I continue to enjoy at the holidays. I was therefore quite happy to come across this beautiful picture-book presentation of it, with gorgeous artwork done by the Irish illustrator P.J. Lynch. His paintings capture Della and Jim's tale to perfection and are a pleasure to peruse! Although not written for children, The Gift of the Magi is a story I would not hesitate to give to young readers. Clearly others feel the same, given the number of illustrated children's editions that have been produced over the last few years.
    • 5/5
      What a wonderful feel good short story. It's a classic.
    • 4/5
      Della and Jim was get along married, also were very poor. Della was saving for Jim´s chistmas presents, but she only had $1.87 she was concerned about the present. Della´s most precious thing was her hair and for Jim was his gold watch. Della find out the perfect present for Jim, it was a chain for his watch, but for buy it she had to sell her hair, she had to do that because she care for Jim. In christmas Della was very excited but when Jim saw her, she was very sad. Della gave the chain to Jim but Jim´s reaction was not that she expected, Della ask why that reacction and he said that was because he sold the gold for a beutiful hair clip for her hair, she let down but they understand that the important thing was that they sacrificed for love and they get over that thing of the gold watch and the beautiful hair.the ironic thing was that Della sell her hair for buy something for Jim´s watch and Jim sell his watch to buy something to Della´s hair.
    • 4/5
      I've often heard adaptations of this story but the original is quite good.
    • 5/5
      The Gift of the Maji is a timeless story that I can read over and over again. A husband and wife are not very wealthy and they are struggling with money. The holidays are coming up and they decide to give up one of their own precious belongings to have money for gifts for their significant other. The husband gives up his watch and the wife cuts her long, beautiful hair for money. She buys him something for his watch and he buys her a comb for her hair. This story proves that love is all you need and physical gifts are not a necessity. This story is great for any age level and shows the meaning of giving up something for others.
    • 4/5
      This book has 4 stories. I like first story,"The Gift of the Magi".Poor people and for the other two for Christmas,choose a gift in exchange for their precious things, is a heartwarming story.Loving gift choice for couples who are poor, young, friendly and available over the mood to read.
    • 5/5
      This book is about a couple that was very poor. The lady, Della, and the man, Jim love each other much. One day Della, want to give a present to Jim, but he only have $ 1,87, so, Della decides to go to a store, to sell his beatiful hair for $20 and buy with this money a fob chain, for the watch of Jim. Della go home to prepare the dinner. When Jim come to the home, Dellasay to Jim that she sell his hair, for buy a chain for his watch, and Jim say to Della, that he sell the watch for buy combs for her hair.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book. The woman in this story had very long beautiful hair. She decided for Christmas she would sell her hair to buy her husband a band for his watch. While waiting for her husband to arrive, she fixed her hair hoping he would not hate it. Then when her and her husband exchanged gifts, they realized how special the love for each other was. She had cut her long hair to get her husband a band for his special watch, and her husband sold his special watch to buy her the combs she had been wanting for her long beautiful hair. Very touching story!
    • 5/5
      Oh, such a luscious book. This is a treasure, a classic, a heartbreak. The tale of a poor couple who sacrifice their prized possessions to give the other a gift. Simple, beautiful, timeless. Beautiful watercolors, a meditative read.
    • 5/5
      Good book really good is a need to read but sad