Learn English from Stories: The Gift of the Magi
Reading stories is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to learn English. Today's story is "The Gift of the Magi" , a famous short story by the American writer O. Henry , first published in 1905. Here it is in simple English. The Story Della and Jim were a young couple. They were poor, but they loved each other very much. On Christmas Eve, Della had only one dollar and eighty-seven cents to buy a gift for Jim. So she sold her beautiful long hair and bought a gold chain for Jim's old watch. Jim came home and looked at her short hair in surprise. He gave her a set of combs for her long hair. Della gave him the chain. Jim smiled softly: "I sold my watch to buy your combs." Their gifts were now useless, but their love was the greatest gift of all. New Words couple – two people in a relationship | poor – having little money | gift – something you give someone | sold – past tense of sell | bought – past tense of buy | surprise – a feeling cause...