"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by O. Henry (pen name of William Sydney Porter) first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, it has been popular for adaptation, especially for presentation at Christmas time. The plot and its twist ending are well known; the ending is generally considered an example of cosmic irony. The story was allegedly written at Pete's Tavern on Irving Place in New York City. The story was initially published in The New York Sunday World under the title "Gifts of the Magi" on December 10, 1905. It was first published in book form in the O. Henry collection The Four Million in April 1906.

Plot

On Christmas Eve, a woman named Della Dillingham Young discovers that she has only $1.87 (equivalent to about $ in ) to buy a present for her husband James, also known as Jim. Despite being poor, the Dillingham Youngs love each other and possess two items they value as treasures: Della's knee-length brown hair that would depreciate the Queen of Sheba's jewels, and Jim's gold pocket watch, a family heirloom that would make King Solomon envy him. Della dresses warmly and visits the nearby shop of a wig maker, Madame Sofronie, who buys Della's hair for $20 (about $ in ). Della then uses the money to buy a platinum fob chain to go with Jim's watch, which he has attached with a worn leather strap. When Jim comes home from work that evening, Della admits to him that she sold her hair to buy him the chain. Jim gives Della her present, a set of ornamental combs, which she will be unable to use until her hair grows back out. Della gives Jim the watch chain, and he tells her that he sold his watch to buy the combs. While the gifts that Jim and Della gave each other cannot be used, they know how far they went to show each other their love and how invaluable their love truly is. The story ends with the narrator declaring that those who sacrifice their material possessions for the people they love are as wise as the magi.

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