The Gift of the Magi

Della Young is a young wife living in a cheap flat with her husband, Jim. It is Christmas Eve, and she has only one dollar and eighty-seven cents to buy Jim a present. She is desperate because she wants to buy something worthy of her husband.

There are two possessions in which the couple takes great pride: Jim's gold watch (which belonged to his father and grandfather) and Della's long, beautiful hair. Della decides to go to a hair salon and sells her hair for twenty dollars. With this money, she searches the shops and buys a platinum fob chain for Jim's watch, which she feels suits his quiet dignity.

When Jim arrives home, he is shocked by Della's short hair. He explains that his reaction is not because he loves her less, but because of the gift he bought her—a set of expensive tortoiseshell combs for her long hair. To buy these combs, Jim had sold his gold watch. Thus, both are left with useless gifts, but their sacrifices reveal the depth of their love, making them the wisest of all givers (the Magi).