A Present for You
New Crown English Series 3 (2021) pg. 122-125
| A Present for You | |
|---|---|
| ? | |
| Details | |
| Word count | 463 |
| Book | New Crown |
| Grade | 3 |
| Year | 2021 |
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. Delta counted the money again. One dollar and eighty-seven cents.
The next day was Christmas. Della wanted to buy a present for her husband, Jim, but they were poor. One dollar and eighty-seven cents was not enough.
She stood by the window and looked out. It was snowing. She saw a large gray cat that had large gray eyes. It was walking slowly on a gray fence in the gray yard. Everything looked gray.
"I'll have to sell something," she said to herself. "But is there anything to sell?"
Della went up to the mirror and stood before it. She looked at herself in the mirror. She thought that she looked exhausted. She looked at her long, shiny hair. "I know Jim loves it, but it's all I have," she thought.
Della went to a shop that dealt in hair goods. It was only a few blocks away from her apartment. In the shop, she saw a large woman who had cold eyes.
"Will you buy my hair?" she asked the woman.
"I buy hair," said the woman in a low voice. "Take your hat off. Let me look at it." Della took off her hat.
"Twenty dollars," said the woman.
"OK," Della accepted her offer.
Della took the money and hunted all over town to find Jim's present. She found it at last. She bought a gold watch chain. It was twenty-one dollars.
"Jim's gold watch will look nice on this chain," she thought.
When Jim married Bella, he showed her a gold watch. "My father gave me this watch," he said. The gold watch was his only treasure, but he did not have a chain for it.
It grew dark, and soon Jim came back. He was knocking the snow off his shabby coat, but suddenly he stopped. "Jim!" cried Bella. "Don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold it because . . . . It's Christmas, Jim. Let's be happy. I've got a nice present for you."
"I've got a nice present for you, too." Jim slowly took out a small wrapped box and put it on the table.
Della opened it and saw a set of combs with jewels on them.
"Oh, Jim!" cried Della. Tears ran down her face.
They were both silent for a while. At last Della looked up, smiled, and said, "My hair grows very fast." She took out the watch chain that was shining beautifully. She showed it to him and said, "You like it, don't you? You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now."
"Della, my dear wife," said Jim. "I sold my watch to buy your combs."
He sat down on a chair and smiled at her.
New Crown English Series 3 (Showa 55) pg. 36-40
| A Present for You | |
|---|---|
| ? | |
| Details | |
| Word count | 414 |
| Book | New Crown |
| Grade | 3 |
| Year | 1980 |
Della stood by the window and looked out. It was snowing. She saw a large grey cat that had large grey eyes. It was walking slowly on a gray fence in the gray yard. Everything looked gray.
Della came back to the table. She sat on a chair and began to count the money.
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. The next day was Christmas Day. Della wanted to buy a present for Jim, but she did not have enough money. $1.87. She counted it three times.
"I'll have to sell something," she said to herself. "But is there anything to sell?"
Della went up to the glass and stood before it. She looked at herself in the glass. She thought she looked very tired.
She looked at her rich hair that was her only treasure.
Della went to a shop that was a few blocks away from her apartment house. In the shop she saw a woman who was large and too white.
"Will you buy my hair?" she said to the woman.
"I buy hair," said the woman. "Take off your hat."
Della took off her hat.
"Twenty dollars," said the woman.
Della ran to a shop and bought a watch chain. It was twenty-one dollars.
"Jim's gold watch will look nice on this chain," she thought.
When Jim married Della, he showed her a gold watch. "This is a watch which was given me by my father," he said. The gold watch was now his only treasure, but he did not have a chain for it.
It grew dark and soon Jim came back. He was knocking the snow off his coat, but suddenly he stopped.
"Jim!" cried Della. "Don't look at me that way. I cut my hair and sold it because... Say 'Merry Christmas,' Jim. I've got a nice present for you."
Jim slowly took out a small box and put it on the table.
Della opened it and saw a set of pretty combs in it.
"Oh, Jim!" cried Della.
They were both silent for a while. At last Della looked up and smiled and said, "My hair grows very fast." She took out the watch chain that was shining beautifully. She showed it to him and said, "You like it, don't you? You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now."
"Della," said Jim. "I sold my watch to buy your combs."
He sat down on a chair and smiled at her.
Notes
- This is an adaption of the original story The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry.
See also
- Christmas Presents - Similar speech
- 2021 audio
- Junior high school speech contest
