The Christmas Present by O.Henry - Part I

Part I

Della was crying. As she cried, she counted her money. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies which Della had saved one at a time. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

Della finished crying, got up and began to powder her face. She stood by the window and looked out with little interest at a gray cat walking along a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas day, and she had only one dollar and eighty-seven cents with which to buy Jim, her husband, a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn't go far. Expenses had been greater than she expected. They always are. Only one dollar and eighty-seven cents to buy a present for Jim. She had spent many happy hours planning for something nice for him, something fine and rare, something worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.

There was a narrow mirror between the windows of the room. Suddenly Della turned from the window and stood before the mirror. Her eyes suddenly began to shine brilliantly, although her face turned a little pale. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length.

Now, there were two possessions in which Jim and Della took great pride. One was  Jim's gold watch, that had previously been his father's and, before that, his grandfather's. The other was Della's beautiful hair, which now fell about her shoulders like a beautiful cascade (thác nước) of water. It reached below her knees. Quickly, now she combed it again and arranged it properly. She hesitated for a moment and tears appeared in her eyes.

She put on her old brown coat. She put on her own brown hat. With her eyes shining, she flew out of the room and down the stairs to the street.

She walked some distance and finally stopped at a shop with a sign which read: "Madame Sofronio, Hair Goods of All Kinds." Della ran up the stairs to the second floor where the shop was located. She was breathing heavily.

"Will you buy my hair?" Asked Della.

"I buy hair," said Madame. "Take your hat off and let me have a look at it."

Della removed her hat and let fall her beautiful hair.

"Twenty dollars," said Madame, feeling the hair with her experienced hand.

"Give it to me quickly," said Della.

Part I ends here.