The Gift of the Magi Quotes. “The Gift of the Magi” is a classic Christmas story of love and sacrifice. Written by O. Henry, the story was first published in the New York Sunday World in December 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.
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| The Gift of the Magi Quotes |
The Gift of the Magi Quotes
- “Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”
- “There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl.”
- “Life is full of sniffles sobs and smiles. With sniffles predominating.”
- “But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.”
- “There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”
- “Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling—something”.
- “One dollar and eighty-seven cents.”
- “It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.”
- “Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered,” she went on with sudden serious sweetness, “but nobody could ever count my love for you. Shall I put the chops on, Jim?”.
- “Twenty dollars a week doesn’t go far.”
- “Pennies saved one and two at a time”.
- “Please God, make him think I am still pretty.”
- “Eight dollars a week or a million a year—what is the difference? A mathematician or a wit would give you the wrong answer.”
- “Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”
You may also like to read: Summary of The Gift of the Magi
The Gift of the Magi Quotes about Love
- Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.
- With that chain on his watch Jim might be properly anxious about the time in any company. Grand as the watch was, he sometimes looked at it on the sly on account of the old leather strap that he used in place of a chain.
- The magi, as you know, were wise men—wonderfully wise men—who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents.
- Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication.
- There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl.
- But whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home and reached his flat above he was called “Jim” and greatly hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham Young, already introduced to you as Della. Which is all very good.
- Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim’s gold watch that had been his father’s and his grandfather’s. . . . Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.
- She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. There was no other like it in any of the stores, and she had turned all of them inside out.
- She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love. Which is always a tremendous task, dear friends—a mammoth task.
- “Dell,” said he, “let’s put our Christmas presents away and keep ’em a while. They’re too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs.”
- Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims—just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair.
- They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone.
- She hugged them to her bosom, and at length she was able to look up with dim eyes and a smile and say: “My hair grows so fast, Jim!”
- “Isn’t it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You’ll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now.”
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