Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

"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)

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.

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.

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

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.