The Gift of the Magi

I was told of the story when I was little, and of course it started with "Once upon a time", and ended with a happy ending. Names were not mentioned. So the story was like this:

Once upon a time, there was a poor couple. It was Christmas time, but they could not afford to buy any gift. The wife decided to have her hair cut and sold to buy a watch chain for her husband. The husband decided to sell his watch to get her wife a comb. They exchanged gifts and surprised at what the other had sacrificed, and knew how much they loved each other.

Not until today when I read a magazine in a 7-11 after lunch did I know the name of the story: The Gift of the Magi. Now I know the husband is called Jim (yeah, right), and the wife is called Della. The book was published in 1906, and the full story can be found here.

Now when I read the story, I can tell why both Jim and Della sold their valuable belongings to buy gifts. They are probably still too young. Jim is 22, and Della is supposed to be younger, judging the way she was happy to get the gift. It is nice to have a life when love is above anything. It is.