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    The Gift of the Magi
    The Gift of the Magi
    The Gift of the Magi
    Ebook12 pages8 minutes

    The Gift of the Magi

    By O. Henry

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    The classic holiday tale of love, devotion, and the art of giving—written by one of the world's best-known short-story authors—will delight those both new to and familiar with this timeless narrative.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster
    Release dateDec 16, 2014
    ISBN9781501115929
    Author

    O. Henry

    O. Henry (1862–1910) was the pseudonym of American author William Sidney Porter. Arrested for embezzlement in 1895, he escaped the police and fled to Honduras, where he wrote Cabbages and Kings (1904). On his return to the United States, he was caught, and served three years before being released. He became one of the most popular short story authors in history, known for his wit, surprise endings, and relatable, everyman characters.

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    Reviews for The Gift of the Magi

    4.5/5

    14 ratings10 reviews

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    • 5/5
      The wonderful illustrations by PJ Lynch in this edition of O Henry’s well known story brings special understanding of the times, especially when being read aloud to children at Christmas time.
    • 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.
    • 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
      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.
    • 4/5
      I've often heard adaptations of this story but the original is quite good.
    • 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.

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    The Gift of the Magi - O. Henry

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