第7章TheGiftoftheMagi
O。Henry
hty-sevewasall。Andsixtytsofitennies。Penniessavedowoatatimebybulldozingthegrodthevegetablematilone'scheeksburhesilentimputationofparsimonythatsuchclosedealiimesDellatedit。hty-sevehedaywouldbeChristmas。
Therewasothingtodobutflopdownontheshabbylittledhowl。SoDelladidit。Whistigatesthemoralreflethatlifeismadeupofsobs，sniffles，ahsnifflespredominating。
&ressofthehomeisgraduallysubsidingfretothesed，takealookatthehome。Afur$8perweek。Itdidlybeggardes，butitlyhadthatwordoforthemendicysquad。
Iibulebelowwasaletter-boxintowhio，atonfromwhiercouldg。Alsthereuntowasacardbearingthe;Mr。JamesDillinghamYoung。"
&;Dillingham"hadbeenflungtothebreezeduringaformerperiodofprosperitywhenitspossessoraid$30perhentheinewasshrunkto$20，thelettersof"Dillingham"lookedblurred，asthoughtheywerethinkingseriouslytoamodestandunassumingD。ButwheneverMr。JamesDillinghamYoungeandreachedhisflatabovehewascalled"Jim&qugedbyMrs。JamesDillinghamYouroducedtoyouasDella。Whichisallverygood。
Dellafinishedherdatteohercheekswiththep。ShestoodbythewindowadullyatagraygagrayfenagraybaorrowwouldbeChristmasDay，andshehadonly$1。87withwhiapresent。Shehadbeensavingeverypennysheonths，withthisresult。Twentydollarsaweekdoesn'tgofar。Expenseshadbeehanshehadcalculated。Theyalwaysare。Only$1。87tobuyapresentforJim。HerJim。ManyahappyhourshehadspentplanningforsomethingniethingfineaerlihingjustalittlebithyofthehownedbyJim。
Thereier-glassbetsoftheroom。Perhapsyouhaveseenapier-glassinan$8flat。Averythinandveryagilepersonmay，byhisreflearapidsequengitudinalstrips，obtainafairlyacofhislooks。Della，beingslender，hadmasteredtheart。
Suddenlyshewhirledfromthewindowandstlass。hereyeswereshiningbrilliantly，butherfacehadlostitscolorwithiyseds。Rapidlyshepulleddownherhairafalltoitsfulllength。
wopossessionsoftheJamesDillinghamYoungsinwhichtheybothtookamightypride。Oneos;sgoldwatchthathadbeenhisfather'sandhisgrandfather's。Theotheros;shair。HadtheQueenofShebalivediacrosstheairshaft，DellawouldhaveletherhairhangoutthewiodryjusttodepreciateHerMajesty'sjewelsandgifts。HadKingSolomoor，withallhistreasurespiledupi，Jimulledouthiswatcheverytimehepassed，justtoseehimpluckathisbeardfromenvy。
Sonoos;sbeautifulhairfellabandshininglikeacascadeofbrowreachedbelowherkneeaselfalmostagarmeheupagainnervouslyandquiceshefalteredforamioodstillwhileatearortwosplashedonthewor。
&heroldbrowheroldbrohirlofskirtsandwiththebrilliaillinhereyes，sheflutteredoutthedooranddowothestreet。
&oppedthesig;Mine。SofroodsofAllKinds。"OupDellaran，aedherself，pantioowhite，chilly，hardlylookedthe"Sofro;"Willyoubuymyhair?"askedDella。
"Ibuyhair，"saidMadame。"Takeyehatoffa'shaveasightatthelooksofit。"
Dowhebro>
"Twentydollars，"saidMadame，liftihaprad。
"Giveittomequick，"saidDella。
Oh，awohourstrippedbys。Fetthehashedmetaphor。ShewasransagthestoresforJim'spresent。
&atlast。ItsurelyhadbeenmadeforJimaherewasinaores，aurnedallofthemilatinumfobsimpleanddesign，pritsvaluebysubstabymeretrientation-asallgoodthingsshoulddo。ItwasevenworthyofTheWatasshesawitshekmustbeJim's。Itwaslikehim。Quietnessahedesappliedtoboth。Twenty-onedollarstheytookfromherforit，andshehurriedhomewiththe87ts。WiththathiswatchJimmightbeproperlyanxiousaboutthetimeinanypany。Grachwas，hesometimeslookedatitontheslyonatoftheoldleatherstrapthatheusedinplaceofa。
WhenDellareaeherintoxigavewayalittletoprudendreasohergironsahegasatheravagesmadebygeyaddedtolove。Whichisalwaysatremendoustask，dearfriends-amammothtask。
Withinfortyminutesherheadwascoveredwithtiny，gcurlsthatmadeherlookwonderfullylikeatruantschoolboy。Shelookedatherreflethemirr，carefully，andcritically。