ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

Updated on November 15, 2013

O. Henry's Classic Christmas Story

"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story written by O. Henry. In the classic Christmas tale, a young couple who can barely afford their one-room apartment each sells a precious possession to buy a gift for the other one. The story beautifully illustrates how physical possessions have little value in the grand scheme of things and pale in comparison to the value of love.

(Image of Gift of the Magi book cover provided by amazon)

Gift of the Magi

A short Christmas story by O. Henry

You can get the complete text of O'Henry's short story "The Gift of the Magi" on Project Gutenberg.

ONE 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 bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas....

Thus begins O. Henry's classic tale, "The Gift of the Magi." Published in 1905, the short story tells the tale of a young couple, Della and Jim, who live very modestly and don't have money to buy each other gifts for Christmas. Each has only one thing they cherish - Della's beautiful long hair and Jim's gold watch. With time and money both in short supply, Della sells her hair to buy a fob chain for Jim's watch and Jim sells his watch to buy combs for her hair. They end up with gifts neither can use, but realize just how priceless their love is.

"The Gift of the Magi" continues to be popular more than 100 years after its initial publication. It has been adapted into films, off-Broadway musicals, school plays, an opera, children's books and TV shows. Singer Joni Mitchell also turned it into a song in the 1960s. She would sometimes perform the song live, but it was never recorded on any of her albums.

It's likely this tale of love will continue to captivate readers and audiences for year to come.

"I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present."

The Gift of the Magi Book - Illustrated book retells O. Henry's classic Christmas tale

This is a great story to read on Christmas Eve. It's short, poignant and especially perfect for couples and families trying to focus on the importance of relationships over the importance of material goods.

The Gift of the Magi (Holiday Classics Illustrated by P.j. Lynch)
The Gift of the Magi (Holiday Classics Illustrated by P.j. Lynch)
From Amazon: In a shabby New York flat, Della sobs as she counts the few coins she has saved to buy a Christmas present for her husband, Jim. A gift worthy of her devotion will require a great sacrifice: selling her long, beautiful hair. Jim, meanwhile, has made a sacrifice for Della that is no less difficult. As they exchange gifts on Christmas Eve, the discovery of what each has done fills them with despair, until they realize that the true gifts of Christmas can be found more readily in their humble apartment than in any fine store. O. Henry paints a masterly portrait of unfaltering love, a haven from the harsh world outside. The poignancy of his story is captured in P.J. Lynch's eloquent art, wherein every glance, every gesture, tells a subtle truth.
 

Gift of the Magi DVD - Watch it at home

This adaptation of O. Henry's tale of love is wonderful to watch at any time of the year, but especially at Christmas.

The Gift of the Magi
The Gift of the Magi
From Amazon: "The Gift of the Magi" is O. Henry's best known and timeless story, which stands as a shining example of O. Henry's writing at its best. For in it we have the simplicity of concept, the irony of circumstance, and the charming surprise at the end...which we won't reveal here. It's a wonderful romantic tale of a young married couple who have little money to buy each other Christmas presents. The Gift of the Magi DVD is a great way to share this wonderful story with your family.
 

Listen to The Entire Story - "Gift of the Magi" read by Mrs. P.

This video has an odd little personal intro about taking a trip to Africa, but then Mrs. P. launches into O. Henry's story and does a great job reading it.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)