Fundamentals of Economics. Доловова Н.Н - 9 стр.

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9
9
The Gift
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. Three times Della counted it.
And tomorrow was Christmas. She sat down on the old sofa and burst into tears. She
had saved every penny for months and this was the result. Twenty dollars a week
doesn't go far. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. She had spent hours
planning to buy something nice for him. She went to the mirror and let down her hair.
She let it fall to its full length, below her knees.
There were two possessions of which the Dillinghams were very proud. One
was Jim's gold watch, which had been his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair.
She put her hair up again nervously and cried a little again. Then she put on her
old brown jacket, her old brown hat and went down the stairs to the street.
She stopped at a sign which read: ‘Madame Sofronie. Hair Goods of All
Kinds’. She ran up the stairs.
‘Will you buy my hair?’ asked Della.
‘Take your hat off’, said Madame Sofronie, ‘and let me look at it’. She let her
hair down.
‘Twenty dollars’, said Madame.
‘Give it to me quickly,’ said Della and the woman began to cut off Della's
beautiful long hair.
For the next two hours Della searched for a present for Jim. Then she found it.
It was a platinum chain for Jim's watch. As soon as she saw it, she knew it was right
for Jim. It was like him. Quiet and valuable. It cost $21.
When Della got home, she started to curl her hair. After half an hour, her head
was covered in small curls.
At seven o'clock the front door opened and Jim came in. Della whispered to
herself: ‘Please God, make him think I am still pretty.’ Jim looked thin and serious.
Poor Jim! He was only twenty-two! His eyes fixed upon Della and there was an
expression on his face which frightened her.
‘Jim, darling, don't look at me like that. My hair will grow again. I cut it off
and sold it because I wanted to buy you a present. I've got a beautiful present for
you.’ ‘You've cut off your hair.’ said Jim slowly.
‘Yes, but I'm still me w ithout my hair, aren't I?’
‘Your hair is gone,’ he said again, almost like an idiot. He took a package from
his coat pocket and threw it on the table. Della tore at the string and paper. First, an
ecstatic scream. Then, hysterical tears.
For there lay the combs - the set of beautiful, tortoiseshell hair combs which
she had wanted for so long. She knew they were expensive.
She hugged them closely and said: ‘My hair grows very fast, Jim.’ Then she
jumped up and gave him her present. The platinum watch chain flashed in the light.
‘Isn't it beautiful, Jim? Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it.’
Jim sat down on the sofa and smiled. ‘Dell,’ he said, ‘let's put our Christmas
presents away and keep them for a while. They're too nice to use at present. I sold the
watch to buy your combs. Now let's have supper.’

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