奇书网

第7章 The Gift of the Magi（第1页）

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。