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短篇小说>> ōu · hēng lì O. Henry měi guó United States yī zhàn zhōng jué qǐ (1862niánjiǔyuè11rì～1910niánliùyuè5rì)
mài qí de lǐ wù The Gift of the Magi
yī kuài bā máo qī fēn qián。 quán zài zhè 'ér liǎo。 qí zhōng liù máo qián hái shì tóng zǐ 'ér còu qǐ lái de。 zhè xiē tóng zǐ 'ér shì měi cì yī gè、 liǎng gè xiàng zá huò pū、 cài fàn hé ròu diàn lǎo bǎn nà 'ér sǐ qǐ bái lài dì yìng kòu xià lái de； rén jiā suī rán méi yòu míng shuō， zì jǐ zǒng jué dé zhè zhǒng diān jīn bō liǎng de jiāo yì wèi miǎn tài lìn sè， dāng shí liǎn dū zào hóng liǎo。 dé lā shù liǎo sān biàn。 shù lái shù qù hái shì yī kuài bā máo qī fēn qián， ér dì 'èr tiān jiù shì shèng dàn jié liǎo。
chú liǎo dǎo zài nà zhāng pò jiù de xiǎo tà shàng hào kū zhī wài， xiǎn rán méi yòu bié de bàn fǎ。 dé lā jiù nà yàng zuò liǎo。 zhè shǐ yī zhǒng jīng shén shàng de gǎn kǎi yóu rán 'ér shēng， rèn wéi rén shēng shì yóu chuò qì， chōu shā hé wēi xiào zǔ chéng de， ér chōu shā zhàn liǎo qí zhōng jué dà bù fēn。
zhè gè jiā tíng de zhù fù jiàn jiàn cóng dì yī jiē duàn tuì dào dì 'èr jiē duàn， wǒ men bù fáng chōu kōng 'ér lái kàn kàn zhè gè jiā bā。 yī tào lián jiā jù de gōng yù， fáng zū měi xīng qī bā kuài qián。 suī bù néng shuō shì jué duì nán yǐ xíng róng， qí shí gēn pín mín kū yě xiāng qù bù yuǎn。
xià miàn mén láng lǐ yòu yī gè xìn xiāng， dàn shì yǒng yuǎn bù huì yòu xìn jiàn tóu jìn qù； hái yòu yī gè diàn niǔ， chú fēi shén xiān xià fán cái néng bǎ líng 'àn xiǎng。 nà lǐ hái tiē zhe yī zhāng míng piàn， shàng miàn yìn yòu “ zhān mǔ sī · dí lín hàn · yáng xiān shēng ” jǐ gè zì。
“ dí lín hàn” zhè gè míng hào shì zhù rén xiān qián měi xīng qī zhèng sān shí kuài qián dé fǎ de shí hòu， yī shí gāo xīng， huí xìng míng zhī jiān de。 xiàn zài shōu rù suō jiǎn dào 'èr shí kuài qián，“ dí lín hàn” jǐ gè zì kàn lái jiù yòu xiē mó hú， fǎng fó tā men zhèng zài kǎo lǜ， shì bù shì suō chéng yī gè zhì pǔ 'ér qiān xùn de“ dí” zì wéi hǎo。 dàn shì měi féng zhān mǔ sī · dí lín hàn · yáng xiān shēng huí jiā shàng lóu， zǒu jìn fáng jiān de shí hòu， zhān mǔ sī · dí lín hàn · yáng tài tài héng héng jiù shì gāng cái yǐ jīng jiè shào gěi gè wèi de dé lā héng héng zǒng shì guǎn tā jiào zuò“ jí mǔ”， zǒng shì rè liè dì yōng bào tā。 nà dāng rán shì hǎo de。
dé lā kū liǎo zhī hòu， zài liǎn píng miàn shàng pū liǎo xiē fěn。 tā zhàn zài chuāng zǐ gēn qián， dāi dāi dì chǒu zhe wài miàn huī méng méng de hòu yuàn lǐ， yī zhǐ huī māo zhèng zài huī sè de lí bā shàng xíng zǒu。 míng tiān jiù shì shèng dàn jié liǎo， tā zhǐ yòu yī kuài bā máo qī fēn qián lái gěi jí mǔ mǎi yī jiàn lǐ wù。 hǎo jǐ gè yuè yè， tā shěng chī jiǎn yòng， néng cuán qǐ lái dedōu cuán liǎo， kě jiēguǒ zhǐ yòu zhè yī diǎn 'ér。 yī xīng qī 'èr shí kuài qián de shōu rù shì bù jīng yòng de。 zhī chū zǒng bǐ tā yù suàn de yào duō。 zǒng shì zhè yàng de。 zhǐ yòu yī kuài bā máo qī fēn qián lái gěi jí mǔ mǎi lǐ wù。 tā de jí mǔ。 wèile mǎi sān jiàn hǎo dōng xī sòng gěi tā， dé lā zì dé qí lè dì chóuhuà liǎo hǎo xiē rì zǐ。 yào mǎi yī jiàn jīng zhì、 zhēn qí 'ér zhēn yòu jià zhí de dōng xī héng héng gòu dé shàng wéi jí mǔ suǒ yòu de dōng xī gù rán hěn shǎo， kě zǒng dé yòu xiē xiāng chēng cái chéng yā。
fáng lǐ liǎng shàn chuāng zǐ zhōng jiān yòu yī miàn bì jìng。 zhū wèi yě xǔ jiàn guò fáng zū bā kuài qián de gōng yù lǐ de bì jìng。 yī gè fēi cháng shòu xiǎo líng huó de rén， cóng yī lián chuàn zòng de piàn duàn de yìng xiàng lǐ， yě xǔ kě yǐ duì zì jǐ de róng mào dé dào yī gè dà zhì bùchà de gài niàn。 dé lā quán píng shēn cái miáo tiáo， cái jīng tōng liǎo nà zhǒng jì yì。
tā tū rán cóng chuāng kǒu zhuǎn guò shēn， zhàn dào bì jìng miàn qián。 tā de yǎn jīng jīng yíng míng liàng， kě shì tā de liǎn zài 'èr shí miǎo zhōng zhī nèi què shī sè liǎo。 tā xùn sù dì bǎ tóu fā jiě kāi， ràng tā pī làxià lái。
qiě shuō， zhān mǔ sī · dí lín hàn · yáng fū fù yòu liǎng yàng dōng xī tè bié yǐn wéi zì háo， yī yàng shì jí mǔ sān dài zǔ chuán de jīn biǎo， bié yī yàng shì dé lā de tóu fā。 rú guǒ shì bā nǚ wáng zhù zài tiān jǐng duì miàn de gōng yù lǐ， dé lā zǒng yòu yī tiān huì bǎ tā de tóu fā xuán zài chuāng wài qù liàng gān， shǐ nà wèi nǚ wáng de zhū bǎo hé lǐ wù xiāng xíng jiàn chù。 rú guǒ suǒ luó mén wáng dāng liǎo kānmén rén， bǎ tā suǒ yòu de cái fù dū duī zài dì xià shì lǐ， jí mǔ měi cì jīng guò nà 'ér shí zhǔn huì tāo chū tā de jīn biǎo kàn kàn， hǎo ràng suǒ luó mén dù jì dé chuī hú zǐ dèng yǎn jīng。
zhè dāng 'ér， dé lā měi lì de tóu fā pī sàn zài shēn shàng， xiàng yī gǔ hè sè de xiǎo pù bù， bēn xiè shǎn liàng。 tóu fā yī zhí chuí dào xī gài dǐ xià， fǎng fó gěi tā pū chéng liǎo yī jiàn yī cháng。 tā yòu shén jīng zhì dì gǎn kuài bǎ tóu fā shū hǎo。 tā chóu chú liǎo yī huì 'ér， jìng jìng dì zhàn zhe， yòu yī liǎng dī lèi shuǐ jiàn luò zài pò jiù de hóng dì tǎn shàng。
tā chuān shàng hè sè de jiù wài tào， dài shàng hè sè de jiù mào zǐ。 tā yǎn jīng lǐ hái liú zhe jīng yíng de lèi guāng， qún zǐ yī bǎi， jiù piāo rán zǒu chū fáng mén， xià lóu páo dào jiē shàng。
tā zǒu dào yī kuài zhāo pái qián tíng zhù liǎo， zhāo pái shàng miàn xiě zhe：“ suō fú lǎng nī fū rén héng héng jīng yíng gè zhǒng tóu fā yòng pǐn。” dé lā páo shàng yī duàn lóu tī， qì chuǎn xū xū dì ràng zì jǐ dìng xià shén lái。 nà wèi fū rén shēn qū féi dà， fū sè bái dé guòfèn， yī fù lěng bīng bīng de múyàng， tóng“ suō fú lǎng nī” zhè gè míng zì bù dà xiāngchèn。
[ suō fú lǎng nī： yì dà lì shī rén tǎ suǒ（ 1544--1595） yǐ dì yī cì shí zì jūn dōng zhēng wéi tí cái de shǐ shī《 bèi jiě fàng de yé lù sǎ lěng》 zhōng de rén wù， tā wèile zhěng jiù yé lù sǎ lěng quán chéng de jī dū tú， chéng rèn liǎo bìng wèi fàn guò de zuì xíng， chéng wéi shějǐ jiù rén de diǎn xíng。 ]
“ nǐ yào mǎi wǒ de tóu fā má？” dé lā wèn dào。
“ wǒ mǎi tóu fā，” fū rén shuō，“ tuō diào mào zǐ， ràng wǒ kàn kàn tóu fā de múyàng。”
nà gǔ hè sè de xiǎo pù bù xiè liǎo xià lái。
“ èr shí kuài qián，” fū rén yòng hángjiā de shǒu fǎ zhuā qǐ tóu fā shuō。
“ gǎn kuài bǎ qián gěi wǒ。” dé lā shuō。
ō， cǐ hòu de liǎng gè zhōng tóu fǎng fó cháng liǎo méi guī sè chì bǎng sì dì fēi lüè guò qù。 zhū wèi bù bì yǔ rì jù zēng zhè zhǒng zá còu de bǐ yù。 zǒng zhī， dé lā zhèng wéi liǎo sòng jí mǔ de lǐ wù zài diàn pū lǐ sōu suǒ。
dé lā zhōng yú bǎ tā zhǎo dào liǎo。 tā zhǔn shì wéi jí mǔ， ér bù shì wéi bié rén zhì zào de。 tā bǎ suǒ yòu diàn pū dū dōu dǐ fān guò， gè jiādōu méi yòu xiàng zhè yàng de dōng xī。 nà shì yī tiáo bái jīn biǎo liàn， shì yàng jiǎn dān pǔ sù， zhǐ shì yǐ huò sè lái xiǎn shì tā de jià zhí， bù píng shénme zhuāng huáng lái xuàn yào héng héng yī qiē hǎo dōng xī dū yīnggāi shì zhè yàng de。 tā shèn zhì pèi dé shàng nà zhǐ jīn biǎo。 tā yī kàn dào jiù rèn wéi fēi gěi jí mǔ mǎi xià bù kě。 tā jiǎn zhí xiàng tā de wéi rén。 wén jìng 'ér yòu jià zhí héng héng zhè jù huà ná lái xíng róng biǎo liàn hé jí mǔ běn réndōu qià dào hǎo chù。 diàn lǐ yǐ 'èr shí yī kuài qián de jià gé mài gěi liǎo tā， tā shèng xià bā máo qī fēn qián， cōng cōng gǎn huí jiā qù。 jí mǔ yòu liǎo nà tiáo liàn zǐ， zài rèn hé chǎng hé dōukě yǐ háo wú gù lǜ dì kàn kàn zhōng diǎn liǎo。 nà zhǐ biǎo suī rán huá guì， kě shì yīn wéi zhǐ yòng yī tiáo jiù pí dài lái dài tì biǎo liàn， tā yòu shí hòu zhǐ shì tōu tōu dì piē yī yǎn。
dé lā huí jiā yǐ hòu， tā de táo zuì yòu yī xiǎo bù fēn bèi shěn shèn hé lǐ zhì suǒ tì dài。 tā ná chū juǎnfà tiě qián， diǎn zhe méi qì， zhuóshǒu bǔ jiù yóu yú 'ài qíng jiā shàng kāng kǎi 'ér zào chéng de zāi hài。 nà shǐ zhōng shì yī jiàn jiān jù de gōng zuò， qīn 'ài de péng yǒu men héng héng jiǎn zhí shì liǎo bù qǐ de gōng zuò。
bù chū sì shí fēn zhōng， tā tóu shàng bù mǎn liǎo jǐn tiē zhe de xiǎo fā quán， biàn dé huó xiàng yī gè táo kè de xiǎo xué shēng。 tā duì zhe jìng zǐ xiǎo xīn 'ér kē kè dì zhào liǎo yòu zhào。
“ rú guǒ jí mǔ kàn liǎo yī yǎn bù bǎ wǒ zǎi diào cái guài ní，” tā zì yán zì yǔ dì shuō，“ tā huì shuō wǒ xiàng shì kāng nài dǎo yóu lè chǎng lǐ de mài chàng gū niàn。 wǒ yòu shénme bàn fǎ ní？ héng héng 'āi！ zhǐ yòu yī kuài bā máo qī fēn qián， jiào wǒ yòu shénme bàn fǎ ní？”
dào liǎo qī diǎn zhōng， kā fēi yǐ jīng zhǔ hǎo， jiān guō yě fàng zài lú zǐ hòu miàn rè zhe， suí shí kě yǐ jiān ròu pái。
jí mǔ cóng méi yòu wǎn huí lái guò。 dé lā bǎ biǎo liàn duì zhé zhe wò zài shǒu lǐ， zài tā jìn lái shí bì jīng de mén kǒu de zhuō zǐ jiǎo shàng zuò xià lái。 jiē zhe， tā tīng dào lóu xià tī jí shàng xiǎng qǐ liǎo tā de jiǎo bù shēng。 tā liǎn sè bái liǎo yī hū 'ér。 tā yòu yī gè xí guàn， wǎng wǎng wèile rì cháng zuì jiǎn dān de shì qíng mò dǎo jǐ jù， xiàn zài tā qiǎo shēng shuō：“ qiú qiú shàng dì， ràng tā rèn wéi wǒ hái shì měi lì de。”
mén dǎ kāi liǎo， jí mǔ zǒu jìn lái， suí shǒu bǎ mén guān shàng。 tā hěn shòuxuē， fēi cháng yán sù。 kě lián de rén 'ér， tā zhǐ yòu 'èr shí 'èr suì héng héng jiù fù qǐ liǎo jiā tíng de dān zǐ！ tā xū yào yī jiàn xīn dà yī， shǒu tào yě méi yòu。
jí mǔ zài mén nèi zhàn zhù， xiàng yī tiáo liè gǒu xiù dào 'ān chún qì wèi shìde wén sī bù dòng。 tā de yǎn jīng dīng zhe dé lā， suǒ hán de shén qíng shì tā suǒ bù néng lǐ jiě de， zhè shǐ tā dà wéi jīng huāng。 nà jì bù shì fèn nù， yě bù shì jīng yà， yòu bù shì bù mǎn， gèng bù shì xián 'è， bù shì tā suǒ yù liào de rèn hé yī zhǒng shén qíng。 tā zhǐ dài zhe nà zhǒng qí tè de shén qíng níng shì zhe dé lā。
dé lā yī niǔ yāo， cóng zhuō shàng tiào xià lái， zǒu jìn tā shēn biān。
“ jí mǔ， qīn 'ài de，” tā hǎn dào，“ bié nà yàng dīng zhe wǒ。 wǒ bǎ tóu fā jiǎn diào mài liǎo， yīn wéi bù sòng nǐ yī jiàn lǐ wù， wǒ guò bù liǎo shèng dàn jié。 tóu fā huì zài cháng chū lái de héng héng nǐ bù huì zài yì bā， shì bù shì？ wǒ fēi zhè me zuò bù kě。 wǒ de tóu fā cháng dé kuài jí lā。 shuō jù ‘ gōng hè shèng dàn ’ bā！ rú mǔ， ràng wǒ men kuài kuài lè lè de。 wǒ gěi nǐ mǎi liǎo yī jiàn duō me hǎo héng héng duō me měi lì de hǎo dōng xī， nǐ zěn me yě cāi bù dào de。”
“ nǐ bǎ tóu fā jiǎn diào liǎo má？” jí mǔ chī lì dì wèn dào， fǎng fó tā jiǎo jìn nǎo zhī zhī hòu， hái méi yòu bǎ zhè gè xiǎn 'ér yì jiàn de shì shí nòng míng bái shìde。
“ fēi dàn jiǎn liǎo， ér qiě mài liǎo。” dé lā shuō。“ bù guǎn zěn yàng， nǐ hái shì tóng yàng dì xǐ huān wǒ má？ suī rán méi yòu liǎo tóu fā， wǒ hái shì wǒ， kě bù shì má？”
jí mǔ hàoqí dì xiàng fáng lǐ sì xià zhāng wàng。
“ nǐ shuō nǐ de tóu fā méi yòu liǎo má？” tā dài zhe jìn hū bái chī bān de shén qíng wèn dào。
“ nǐ bù yòng zhǎo lā，” dé lā shuō。“ wǒ gào sù nǐ， yǐ jīng mài liǎo héng héng mài liǎo， méi yòu liǎo。 jīn tiān shì shèng dàn qián yè， qīn 'ài de。 hǎohǎo dì duì dài wǒ， wǒ jiǎn diào tóu fā wéi de shì nǐ yā。 wǒ de tóu fā yě xǔ shǔdé qīng，” tā tū rán fēi cháng wēn róu dì jiē xià qù shuō，“ dàn wǒ duì nǐ de qíng 'ài shuí yě shǔbù qīng。 wǒ bǎ ròu pái jiān shàng hǎo má， jí mǔ？”
jí mǔ hǎo xiàng cóng huǎng hū zhōng tū rán xǐng guò lái。 tā bǎ dé lā lǒu zài huái lǐ。 wǒ men bù yào mào mèi， xiān huā shí miǎo zhōng gōng fū qiáo qiáo lìng yī fāng miàn wú guān jǐn yào de dōng xī bā。 měi xīng qī bā kuài qián de fáng zū， huò shì měi nián yī bǎi wàn yuán fáng zū héng héng nà yòu shénme qū bié ní？ yī wèi shù xué jiā huò shì yī wèi qiào pí de rén kě néng huì gěi nǐ bù zhèng què de dá fù。 mài qí dài lái liǎo bǎo guì de lǐ wù， dàn qí zhōng méi yòu nà jiàn dōng xī。 duì zhè jù huì sè de huà， xià wén jiāng yòu suǒ shuō míng。
[ mài qí： zhǐ jī dū chū shēng shí lái sòng lǐ wù de sān xián rén。 yī shuō shì dōng fāng de sān wáng： méi 'ěr jī 'ào 'ěr（ guāng míng zhī wáng） zèng sòng huáng jīn biǎo shì zūn guì； jiā sī pà（ jié bái zhě） zèng sòng rǔ xiāng xiàng zhēng shén shèng； bā 'ěr sǎ zé zèng sòng méi yào yù shì jī dū hòu lái zāo shòu pò hài 'ér sǐ。 ]
jí mǔ cóng dà yī kǒu dài lǐ tāo chū yī bāo dōng xī， bǎ tā rēng zài zhuō shàng。
“ bié duì wǒ yòu shénme wù huì， dé 'ěr。” tā shuō，“ bù guǎn shì jiǎn fā、 xiū liǎn， hái shì xǐ tóu， wǒ duì wǒ gū niàn de 'ài qíng shì jué bù huì jiǎn dī de。 dàn shì zhǐ xiāo dǎ kāi nà bāo dōng xī， nǐ jiù huì míng bái， nǐ gāng cái wèishénme shǐ wǒ lèng zhù liǎo。“
bái xī de shǒu zhǐ mǐn jié dì sī kāi liǎo shéng suǒ hé bāo pí zhǐ。 jiē zhe shì yī shēng kuáng xǐ de hū hǎn； jǐn jiē zhe， āi yā！ tū rán zhuǎn biàn chéng nǚ xìng shén jīng zhì de yǎn lèi hé hào kū， lì kè xū yào gōng yù de zhù rén yòng jìn bàn fǎ lái 'ān wèi tā。
yīn wéi bǎi zài yǎn qián de shì nà tào chā zài tóu fā shàng de shū zǐ héng héng quán tào de fā shū， liǎng bìn yòng de， hòu miàn yòng de， yīngyǒu jìn yòu； nà yuán shì zài bǎi lǎo huì lù shàng de yī gè chú chuāng lǐ， wéi dé lā kě wàng liǎo hǎo jiǔ de dōng xī。 chún dài mào zuò de， biān shàng xiāng zhe zhū bǎo de měi lì de fā shū héng héng lái pèi nà yǐ jīng shī qù de měifà， yán sè zhēn shì zài hé shì yě méi yòu liǎo。 tā zhī dào zhè tào fā shū shì hěn guì zhòng de， xīn xiàng shén wǎng liǎo hǎo jiǔ， dàn cóng lái méi yòu cún guò zhàn yòu tā de xī wàng。 xiàn zài zhè jū rán wéi tā suǒ yòu liǎo， kě shì nà pèi dài zhè xiē kě wàng yǐ jiǔ de zhuāng shì pǐn de tóu fā què méi yòu liǎo。
dàn tā hái shì bǎ zhè tào fā shū lǒu zài huái lǐ bù fàng， guò liǎo hǎo jiǔ， tā cái néng tái qǐ mí méng de lèi yǎn， hán xiào duì jí mǔ shuō：“ wǒ de tóu fā cháng dé hěn kuài， jí mǔ！”
jiē zhe， dé lā xiàng yī zhǐ gěi huǒ tàng zhe de xiǎo māo sì dì tiào liǎo qǐ lái， jiào dào：“ wō！ wō！”
jí mǔ hái méi yòu jiàn dào tā de měi lì de lǐ wù ní。 tā rèqiè dì shēn chū tān kāi de shǒu zhǎng dì gěi tā。 nà wú zhī jué de guì jīn shǔ fǎng fó shǎn shǎn fǎn yìng zhe tā nà kuài huó hé rè chéng de xīn qíng。
“ piào liàng má， jí mǔ？ wǒ zǒu biàn quán shì cái zhǎo dào de。 xiàn zài nǐ měi tiān yào bǎ biǎo kàn shàng bǎi lái biàn liǎo。 bǎ nǐ de biǎo gěi wǒ， wǒ yào kàn kàn tā pèi zài biǎo shàng de yàng zǐ。”
jí mǔ bìng méi yòu zhào zhe tā de huà qù zuò， què dǎo zài tà shàng， shuāng shǒu zhěn zhe tóu， xiào liǎo qǐ lái。
“ dé 'ěr，” tā shuō，“ wǒ men bǎ shèng dàn jié lǐ wù gē zài yī biān， zàn qiě bǎo cún qǐ lái。 tā men shí zài tài hǎo lā， xiàn zài yòng liǎo wèi miǎn kě xī。 wǒ shì mài diào liǎo jīn biǎo， huàn liǎo qián qù mǎi nǐ de fā shū de。 xiàn zài qǐng nǐ jiān ròu pái bā。”
nà sān wèi mài qí， zhū wèi zhī dào， quán shì yòu zhì huì de rén héng héng fēi cháng yòu zhì huì de rén héng héng tā men dài lái lǐ wù， sòng gěi shēng zài mǎ cáo lǐ de shèng zǐ yé sū。 tā men shǒu chuàng liǎo shèng dàn jié kuì zèng lǐ wù de fēng sú。 tā men jì rán yòu zhì huì， tā men de lǐ wù wú yí yě shì cōng míng de， kě néng hái fù dài yī zhǒng pèng shàng shōu dào tóng yàng de dōng xī shí kě yǐ jiāo huàn de quán lì。 wǒ de zhuō bǐ zài zhè lǐ gào sù liǎo zhū wèi yī gè méi yòu qū zhé、 bùzúwèi qí de gù shì； nà liǎng gè zhù zài yī jiān gōng yù lǐ de bèn hái zǐ， jí bù cōng míng dì wèile duì fāng xī shēng liǎo tā men yī jiā zuì bǎo guì de dōng xī。 dàn shì， ràng wǒ men duì mù qián yī bān cōng míng rén shuō zuì hòu yī jù huà， zài suǒ yòu kuì zèng lǐ wù de rén dāng zhōng， nà liǎng gè rén shì zuì cōng míng de。 zài yī qiē shòu shòu yī wù de rén dāng zhōng， xiàng tā men zhè yàng de rén yě shì zuì cōng míng de。 wú lùn zài shénme dì fāng， tā mendōu shì zuì cōng míng de。 tā men jiù shì mài qí。
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.
While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.
In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name "Mr. James Dillingham Young."
The "Dillingham" had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, though, they were thinking seriously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D. 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.
Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim 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 had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling--something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.
There was a pier-glass between the windows of the room. Perhaps you have seen a pierglass in an $8 flat. A very thin and very agile person may, by observing his reflection in a rapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairly accurate conception of his looks. Della, being slender, had mastered the art.
Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its color within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length.
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. The other was Della's hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. 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.
So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.
On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down the stairs to the street.
Where she stopped the sign read: "Mne. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds." One flight up Della ran, and collected herself, panting. Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the "Sofronie."
"Will you buy my hair?" asked Della.
"I buy hair," said Madame. "Take yer hat off and let's have a sight at the looks of it."
Down rippled the brown cascade.
"Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand.
"Give it to me quick," said Della.
Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings. Forget the hashed metaphor. She was ransacking the stores for Jim's present.
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. It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation--as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. It was like him. Quietness and value--the description applied to both. Twenty-one dollars they took from her for it, and she hurried home with the 87 cents. 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.
When Della reached home her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. 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.
Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror long, carefully, and critically.
"If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to herself, "before he takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. But what could I do--oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty-seven cents?"
At 7 o'clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the chops.
Jim was never late. Della doubled the fob chain in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door that he always entered. Then she heard his step on the stair away down on the first flight, and she turned white for just a moment. She had a habit of saying a little silent prayer about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: "Please God, make him think I am still pretty."
The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two--and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat and he was without gloves.
Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face.
Della wriggled off the table and went for him.
"Jim, darling," she cried, "don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It'll grow out again--you won't mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast. Say `Merry Christmas!' Jim, and let's be happy. You don't know what a nice--what a beautiful, nice gift I've got for you."
"You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim, laboriously, as if he had not arrived at that patent fact yet even after the hardest mental labor.
"Cut it off and sold it," said Della. "Don't you like me just as well, anyhow? I'm me without my hair, ain't I?"
Jim looked about the room curiously.
"You say your hair is gone?" he said, with an air almost of idiocy.
"You needn't look for it," said Della. "It's sold, I tell you--sold and gone, too. It's Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to me, for it went for you. 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?"
Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. Eight dollars a week or a million a year--what is the difference? A mathematician or a wit would give you the wrong answer. The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not among them. This dark assertion will be illuminated later on.
Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table.
"Don't make any mistake, Dell," he said, "about me. I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first."
White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat.
For there lay The Combs--the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window. 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.
But 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!"
And then Della leaped up like a little singed cat and cried, "Oh, oh!"
Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly upon her open palm. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit.
"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. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it."
Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled.
"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. And now suppose you put the chops on."
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. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. 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.
End
chú liǎo dǎo zài nà zhāng pò jiù de xiǎo tà shàng hào kū zhī wài， xiǎn rán méi yòu bié de bàn fǎ。 dé lā jiù nà yàng zuò liǎo。 zhè shǐ yī zhǒng jīng shén shàng de gǎn kǎi yóu rán 'ér shēng， rèn wéi rén shēng shì yóu chuò qì， chōu shā hé wēi xiào zǔ chéng de， ér chōu shā zhàn liǎo qí zhōng jué dà bù fēn。
zhè gè jiā tíng de zhù fù jiàn jiàn cóng dì yī jiē duàn tuì dào dì 'èr jiē duàn， wǒ men bù fáng chōu kōng 'ér lái kàn kàn zhè gè jiā bā。 yī tào lián jiā jù de gōng yù， fáng zū měi xīng qī bā kuài qián。 suī bù néng shuō shì jué duì nán yǐ xíng róng， qí shí gēn pín mín kū yě xiāng qù bù yuǎn。
xià miàn mén láng lǐ yòu yī gè xìn xiāng， dàn shì yǒng yuǎn bù huì yòu xìn jiàn tóu jìn qù； hái yòu yī gè diàn niǔ， chú fēi shén xiān xià fán cái néng bǎ líng 'àn xiǎng。 nà lǐ hái tiē zhe yī zhāng míng piàn， shàng miàn yìn yòu “ zhān mǔ sī · dí lín hàn · yáng xiān shēng ” jǐ gè zì。
“ dí lín hàn” zhè gè míng hào shì zhù rén xiān qián měi xīng qī zhèng sān shí kuài qián dé fǎ de shí hòu， yī shí gāo xīng， huí xìng míng zhī jiān de。 xiàn zài shōu rù suō jiǎn dào 'èr shí kuài qián，“ dí lín hàn” jǐ gè zì kàn lái jiù yòu xiē mó hú， fǎng fó tā men zhèng zài kǎo lǜ， shì bù shì suō chéng yī gè zhì pǔ 'ér qiān xùn de“ dí” zì wéi hǎo。 dàn shì měi féng zhān mǔ sī · dí lín hàn · yáng xiān shēng huí jiā shàng lóu， zǒu jìn fáng jiān de shí hòu， zhān mǔ sī · dí lín hàn · yáng tài tài héng héng jiù shì gāng cái yǐ jīng jiè shào gěi gè wèi de dé lā héng héng zǒng shì guǎn tā jiào zuò“ jí mǔ”， zǒng shì rè liè dì yōng bào tā。 nà dāng rán shì hǎo de。
dé lā kū liǎo zhī hòu， zài liǎn píng miàn shàng pū liǎo xiē fěn。 tā zhàn zài chuāng zǐ gēn qián， dāi dāi dì chǒu zhe wài miàn huī méng méng de hòu yuàn lǐ， yī zhǐ huī māo zhèng zài huī sè de lí bā shàng xíng zǒu。 míng tiān jiù shì shèng dàn jié liǎo， tā zhǐ yòu yī kuài bā máo qī fēn qián lái gěi jí mǔ mǎi yī jiàn lǐ wù。 hǎo jǐ gè yuè yè， tā shěng chī jiǎn yòng， néng cuán qǐ lái dedōu cuán liǎo， kě jiēguǒ zhǐ yòu zhè yī diǎn 'ér。 yī xīng qī 'èr shí kuài qián de shōu rù shì bù jīng yòng de。 zhī chū zǒng bǐ tā yù suàn de yào duō。 zǒng shì zhè yàng de。 zhǐ yòu yī kuài bā máo qī fēn qián lái gěi jí mǔ mǎi lǐ wù。 tā de jí mǔ。 wèile mǎi sān jiàn hǎo dōng xī sòng gěi tā， dé lā zì dé qí lè dì chóuhuà liǎo hǎo xiē rì zǐ。 yào mǎi yī jiàn jīng zhì、 zhēn qí 'ér zhēn yòu jià zhí de dōng xī héng héng gòu dé shàng wéi jí mǔ suǒ yòu de dōng xī gù rán hěn shǎo， kě zǒng dé yòu xiē xiāng chēng cái chéng yā。
fáng lǐ liǎng shàn chuāng zǐ zhōng jiān yòu yī miàn bì jìng。 zhū wèi yě xǔ jiàn guò fáng zū bā kuài qián de gōng yù lǐ de bì jìng。 yī gè fēi cháng shòu xiǎo líng huó de rén， cóng yī lián chuàn zòng de piàn duàn de yìng xiàng lǐ， yě xǔ kě yǐ duì zì jǐ de róng mào dé dào yī gè dà zhì bùchà de gài niàn。 dé lā quán píng shēn cái miáo tiáo， cái jīng tōng liǎo nà zhǒng jì yì。
tā tū rán cóng chuāng kǒu zhuǎn guò shēn， zhàn dào bì jìng miàn qián。 tā de yǎn jīng jīng yíng míng liàng， kě shì tā de liǎn zài 'èr shí miǎo zhōng zhī nèi què shī sè liǎo。 tā xùn sù dì bǎ tóu fā jiě kāi， ràng tā pī làxià lái。
qiě shuō， zhān mǔ sī · dí lín hàn · yáng fū fù yòu liǎng yàng dōng xī tè bié yǐn wéi zì háo， yī yàng shì jí mǔ sān dài zǔ chuán de jīn biǎo， bié yī yàng shì dé lā de tóu fā。 rú guǒ shì bā nǚ wáng zhù zài tiān jǐng duì miàn de gōng yù lǐ， dé lā zǒng yòu yī tiān huì bǎ tā de tóu fā xuán zài chuāng wài qù liàng gān， shǐ nà wèi nǚ wáng de zhū bǎo hé lǐ wù xiāng xíng jiàn chù。 rú guǒ suǒ luó mén wáng dāng liǎo kānmén rén， bǎ tā suǒ yòu de cái fù dū duī zài dì xià shì lǐ， jí mǔ měi cì jīng guò nà 'ér shí zhǔn huì tāo chū tā de jīn biǎo kàn kàn， hǎo ràng suǒ luó mén dù jì dé chuī hú zǐ dèng yǎn jīng。
zhè dāng 'ér， dé lā měi lì de tóu fā pī sàn zài shēn shàng， xiàng yī gǔ hè sè de xiǎo pù bù， bēn xiè shǎn liàng。 tóu fā yī zhí chuí dào xī gài dǐ xià， fǎng fó gěi tā pū chéng liǎo yī jiàn yī cháng。 tā yòu shén jīng zhì dì gǎn kuài bǎ tóu fā shū hǎo。 tā chóu chú liǎo yī huì 'ér， jìng jìng dì zhàn zhe， yòu yī liǎng dī lèi shuǐ jiàn luò zài pò jiù de hóng dì tǎn shàng。
tā chuān shàng hè sè de jiù wài tào， dài shàng hè sè de jiù mào zǐ。 tā yǎn jīng lǐ hái liú zhe jīng yíng de lèi guāng， qún zǐ yī bǎi， jiù piāo rán zǒu chū fáng mén， xià lóu páo dào jiē shàng。
tā zǒu dào yī kuài zhāo pái qián tíng zhù liǎo， zhāo pái shàng miàn xiě zhe：“ suō fú lǎng nī fū rén héng héng jīng yíng gè zhǒng tóu fā yòng pǐn。” dé lā páo shàng yī duàn lóu tī， qì chuǎn xū xū dì ràng zì jǐ dìng xià shén lái。 nà wèi fū rén shēn qū féi dà， fū sè bái dé guòfèn， yī fù lěng bīng bīng de múyàng， tóng“ suō fú lǎng nī” zhè gè míng zì bù dà xiāngchèn。
[ suō fú lǎng nī： yì dà lì shī rén tǎ suǒ（ 1544--1595） yǐ dì yī cì shí zì jūn dōng zhēng wéi tí cái de shǐ shī《 bèi jiě fàng de yé lù sǎ lěng》 zhōng de rén wù， tā wèile zhěng jiù yé lù sǎ lěng quán chéng de jī dū tú， chéng rèn liǎo bìng wèi fàn guò de zuì xíng， chéng wéi shějǐ jiù rén de diǎn xíng。 ]
“ nǐ yào mǎi wǒ de tóu fā má？” dé lā wèn dào。
“ wǒ mǎi tóu fā，” fū rén shuō，“ tuō diào mào zǐ， ràng wǒ kàn kàn tóu fā de múyàng。”
nà gǔ hè sè de xiǎo pù bù xiè liǎo xià lái。
“ èr shí kuài qián，” fū rén yòng hángjiā de shǒu fǎ zhuā qǐ tóu fā shuō。
“ gǎn kuài bǎ qián gěi wǒ。” dé lā shuō。
ō， cǐ hòu de liǎng gè zhōng tóu fǎng fó cháng liǎo méi guī sè chì bǎng sì dì fēi lüè guò qù。 zhū wèi bù bì yǔ rì jù zēng zhè zhǒng zá còu de bǐ yù。 zǒng zhī， dé lā zhèng wéi liǎo sòng jí mǔ de lǐ wù zài diàn pū lǐ sōu suǒ。
dé lā zhōng yú bǎ tā zhǎo dào liǎo。 tā zhǔn shì wéi jí mǔ， ér bù shì wéi bié rén zhì zào de。 tā bǎ suǒ yòu diàn pū dū dōu dǐ fān guò， gè jiādōu méi yòu xiàng zhè yàng de dōng xī。 nà shì yī tiáo bái jīn biǎo liàn， shì yàng jiǎn dān pǔ sù， zhǐ shì yǐ huò sè lái xiǎn shì tā de jià zhí， bù píng shénme zhuāng huáng lái xuàn yào héng héng yī qiē hǎo dōng xī dū yīnggāi shì zhè yàng de。 tā shèn zhì pèi dé shàng nà zhǐ jīn biǎo。 tā yī kàn dào jiù rèn wéi fēi gěi jí mǔ mǎi xià bù kě。 tā jiǎn zhí xiàng tā de wéi rén。 wén jìng 'ér yòu jià zhí héng héng zhè jù huà ná lái xíng róng biǎo liàn hé jí mǔ běn réndōu qià dào hǎo chù。 diàn lǐ yǐ 'èr shí yī kuài qián de jià gé mài gěi liǎo tā， tā shèng xià bā máo qī fēn qián， cōng cōng gǎn huí jiā qù。 jí mǔ yòu liǎo nà tiáo liàn zǐ， zài rèn hé chǎng hé dōukě yǐ háo wú gù lǜ dì kàn kàn zhōng diǎn liǎo。 nà zhǐ biǎo suī rán huá guì， kě shì yīn wéi zhǐ yòng yī tiáo jiù pí dài lái dài tì biǎo liàn， tā yòu shí hòu zhǐ shì tōu tōu dì piē yī yǎn。
dé lā huí jiā yǐ hòu， tā de táo zuì yòu yī xiǎo bù fēn bèi shěn shèn hé lǐ zhì suǒ tì dài。 tā ná chū juǎnfà tiě qián， diǎn zhe méi qì， zhuóshǒu bǔ jiù yóu yú 'ài qíng jiā shàng kāng kǎi 'ér zào chéng de zāi hài。 nà shǐ zhōng shì yī jiàn jiān jù de gōng zuò， qīn 'ài de péng yǒu men héng héng jiǎn zhí shì liǎo bù qǐ de gōng zuò。
bù chū sì shí fēn zhōng， tā tóu shàng bù mǎn liǎo jǐn tiē zhe de xiǎo fā quán， biàn dé huó xiàng yī gè táo kè de xiǎo xué shēng。 tā duì zhe jìng zǐ xiǎo xīn 'ér kē kè dì zhào liǎo yòu zhào。
“ rú guǒ jí mǔ kàn liǎo yī yǎn bù bǎ wǒ zǎi diào cái guài ní，” tā zì yán zì yǔ dì shuō，“ tā huì shuō wǒ xiàng shì kāng nài dǎo yóu lè chǎng lǐ de mài chàng gū niàn。 wǒ yòu shénme bàn fǎ ní？ héng héng 'āi！ zhǐ yòu yī kuài bā máo qī fēn qián， jiào wǒ yòu shénme bàn fǎ ní？”
dào liǎo qī diǎn zhōng， kā fēi yǐ jīng zhǔ hǎo， jiān guō yě fàng zài lú zǐ hòu miàn rè zhe， suí shí kě yǐ jiān ròu pái。
jí mǔ cóng méi yòu wǎn huí lái guò。 dé lā bǎ biǎo liàn duì zhé zhe wò zài shǒu lǐ， zài tā jìn lái shí bì jīng de mén kǒu de zhuō zǐ jiǎo shàng zuò xià lái。 jiē zhe， tā tīng dào lóu xià tī jí shàng xiǎng qǐ liǎo tā de jiǎo bù shēng。 tā liǎn sè bái liǎo yī hū 'ér。 tā yòu yī gè xí guàn， wǎng wǎng wèile rì cháng zuì jiǎn dān de shì qíng mò dǎo jǐ jù， xiàn zài tā qiǎo shēng shuō：“ qiú qiú shàng dì， ràng tā rèn wéi wǒ hái shì měi lì de。”
mén dǎ kāi liǎo， jí mǔ zǒu jìn lái， suí shǒu bǎ mén guān shàng。 tā hěn shòuxuē， fēi cháng yán sù。 kě lián de rén 'ér， tā zhǐ yòu 'èr shí 'èr suì héng héng jiù fù qǐ liǎo jiā tíng de dān zǐ！ tā xū yào yī jiàn xīn dà yī， shǒu tào yě méi yòu。
jí mǔ zài mén nèi zhàn zhù， xiàng yī tiáo liè gǒu xiù dào 'ān chún qì wèi shìde wén sī bù dòng。 tā de yǎn jīng dīng zhe dé lā， suǒ hán de shén qíng shì tā suǒ bù néng lǐ jiě de， zhè shǐ tā dà wéi jīng huāng。 nà jì bù shì fèn nù， yě bù shì jīng yà， yòu bù shì bù mǎn， gèng bù shì xián 'è， bù shì tā suǒ yù liào de rèn hé yī zhǒng shén qíng。 tā zhǐ dài zhe nà zhǒng qí tè de shén qíng níng shì zhe dé lā。
dé lā yī niǔ yāo， cóng zhuō shàng tiào xià lái， zǒu jìn tā shēn biān。
“ jí mǔ， qīn 'ài de，” tā hǎn dào，“ bié nà yàng dīng zhe wǒ。 wǒ bǎ tóu fā jiǎn diào mài liǎo， yīn wéi bù sòng nǐ yī jiàn lǐ wù， wǒ guò bù liǎo shèng dàn jié。 tóu fā huì zài cháng chū lái de héng héng nǐ bù huì zài yì bā， shì bù shì？ wǒ fēi zhè me zuò bù kě。 wǒ de tóu fā cháng dé kuài jí lā。 shuō jù ‘ gōng hè shèng dàn ’ bā！ rú mǔ， ràng wǒ men kuài kuài lè lè de。 wǒ gěi nǐ mǎi liǎo yī jiàn duō me hǎo héng héng duō me měi lì de hǎo dōng xī， nǐ zěn me yě cāi bù dào de。”
“ nǐ bǎ tóu fā jiǎn diào liǎo má？” jí mǔ chī lì dì wèn dào， fǎng fó tā jiǎo jìn nǎo zhī zhī hòu， hái méi yòu bǎ zhè gè xiǎn 'ér yì jiàn de shì shí nòng míng bái shìde。
“ fēi dàn jiǎn liǎo， ér qiě mài liǎo。” dé lā shuō。“ bù guǎn zěn yàng， nǐ hái shì tóng yàng dì xǐ huān wǒ má？ suī rán méi yòu liǎo tóu fā， wǒ hái shì wǒ， kě bù shì má？”
jí mǔ hàoqí dì xiàng fáng lǐ sì xià zhāng wàng。
“ nǐ shuō nǐ de tóu fā méi yòu liǎo má？” tā dài zhe jìn hū bái chī bān de shén qíng wèn dào。
“ nǐ bù yòng zhǎo lā，” dé lā shuō。“ wǒ gào sù nǐ， yǐ jīng mài liǎo héng héng mài liǎo， méi yòu liǎo。 jīn tiān shì shèng dàn qián yè， qīn 'ài de。 hǎohǎo dì duì dài wǒ， wǒ jiǎn diào tóu fā wéi de shì nǐ yā。 wǒ de tóu fā yě xǔ shǔdé qīng，” tā tū rán fēi cháng wēn róu dì jiē xià qù shuō，“ dàn wǒ duì nǐ de qíng 'ài shuí yě shǔbù qīng。 wǒ bǎ ròu pái jiān shàng hǎo má， jí mǔ？”
jí mǔ hǎo xiàng cóng huǎng hū zhōng tū rán xǐng guò lái。 tā bǎ dé lā lǒu zài huái lǐ。 wǒ men bù yào mào mèi， xiān huā shí miǎo zhōng gōng fū qiáo qiáo lìng yī fāng miàn wú guān jǐn yào de dōng xī bā。 měi xīng qī bā kuài qián de fáng zū， huò shì měi nián yī bǎi wàn yuán fáng zū héng héng nà yòu shénme qū bié ní？ yī wèi shù xué jiā huò shì yī wèi qiào pí de rén kě néng huì gěi nǐ bù zhèng què de dá fù。 mài qí dài lái liǎo bǎo guì de lǐ wù， dàn qí zhōng méi yòu nà jiàn dōng xī。 duì zhè jù huì sè de huà， xià wén jiāng yòu suǒ shuō míng。
[ mài qí： zhǐ jī dū chū shēng shí lái sòng lǐ wù de sān xián rén。 yī shuō shì dōng fāng de sān wáng： méi 'ěr jī 'ào 'ěr（ guāng míng zhī wáng） zèng sòng huáng jīn biǎo shì zūn guì； jiā sī pà（ jié bái zhě） zèng sòng rǔ xiāng xiàng zhēng shén shèng； bā 'ěr sǎ zé zèng sòng méi yào yù shì jī dū hòu lái zāo shòu pò hài 'ér sǐ。 ]
jí mǔ cóng dà yī kǒu dài lǐ tāo chū yī bāo dōng xī， bǎ tā rēng zài zhuō shàng。
“ bié duì wǒ yòu shénme wù huì， dé 'ěr。” tā shuō，“ bù guǎn shì jiǎn fā、 xiū liǎn， hái shì xǐ tóu， wǒ duì wǒ gū niàn de 'ài qíng shì jué bù huì jiǎn dī de。 dàn shì zhǐ xiāo dǎ kāi nà bāo dōng xī， nǐ jiù huì míng bái， nǐ gāng cái wèishénme shǐ wǒ lèng zhù liǎo。“
bái xī de shǒu zhǐ mǐn jié dì sī kāi liǎo shéng suǒ hé bāo pí zhǐ。 jiē zhe shì yī shēng kuáng xǐ de hū hǎn； jǐn jiē zhe， āi yā！ tū rán zhuǎn biàn chéng nǚ xìng shén jīng zhì de yǎn lèi hé hào kū， lì kè xū yào gōng yù de zhù rén yòng jìn bàn fǎ lái 'ān wèi tā。
yīn wéi bǎi zài yǎn qián de shì nà tào chā zài tóu fā shàng de shū zǐ héng héng quán tào de fā shū， liǎng bìn yòng de， hòu miàn yòng de， yīngyǒu jìn yòu； nà yuán shì zài bǎi lǎo huì lù shàng de yī gè chú chuāng lǐ， wéi dé lā kě wàng liǎo hǎo jiǔ de dōng xī。 chún dài mào zuò de， biān shàng xiāng zhe zhū bǎo de měi lì de fā shū héng héng lái pèi nà yǐ jīng shī qù de měifà， yán sè zhēn shì zài hé shì yě méi yòu liǎo。 tā zhī dào zhè tào fā shū shì hěn guì zhòng de， xīn xiàng shén wǎng liǎo hǎo jiǔ， dàn cóng lái méi yòu cún guò zhàn yòu tā de xī wàng。 xiàn zài zhè jū rán wéi tā suǒ yòu liǎo， kě shì nà pèi dài zhè xiē kě wàng yǐ jiǔ de zhuāng shì pǐn de tóu fā què méi yòu liǎo。
dàn tā hái shì bǎ zhè tào fā shū lǒu zài huái lǐ bù fàng， guò liǎo hǎo jiǔ， tā cái néng tái qǐ mí méng de lèi yǎn， hán xiào duì jí mǔ shuō：“ wǒ de tóu fā cháng dé hěn kuài， jí mǔ！”
jiē zhe， dé lā xiàng yī zhǐ gěi huǒ tàng zhe de xiǎo māo sì dì tiào liǎo qǐ lái， jiào dào：“ wō！ wō！”
jí mǔ hái méi yòu jiàn dào tā de měi lì de lǐ wù ní。 tā rèqiè dì shēn chū tān kāi de shǒu zhǎng dì gěi tā。 nà wú zhī jué de guì jīn shǔ fǎng fó shǎn shǎn fǎn yìng zhe tā nà kuài huó hé rè chéng de xīn qíng。
“ piào liàng má， jí mǔ？ wǒ zǒu biàn quán shì cái zhǎo dào de。 xiàn zài nǐ měi tiān yào bǎ biǎo kàn shàng bǎi lái biàn liǎo。 bǎ nǐ de biǎo gěi wǒ， wǒ yào kàn kàn tā pèi zài biǎo shàng de yàng zǐ。”
jí mǔ bìng méi yòu zhào zhe tā de huà qù zuò， què dǎo zài tà shàng， shuāng shǒu zhěn zhe tóu， xiào liǎo qǐ lái。
“ dé 'ěr，” tā shuō，“ wǒ men bǎ shèng dàn jié lǐ wù gē zài yī biān， zàn qiě bǎo cún qǐ lái。 tā men shí zài tài hǎo lā， xiàn zài yòng liǎo wèi miǎn kě xī。 wǒ shì mài diào liǎo jīn biǎo， huàn liǎo qián qù mǎi nǐ de fā shū de。 xiàn zài qǐng nǐ jiān ròu pái bā。”
nà sān wèi mài qí， zhū wèi zhī dào， quán shì yòu zhì huì de rén héng héng fēi cháng yòu zhì huì de rén héng héng tā men dài lái lǐ wù， sòng gěi shēng zài mǎ cáo lǐ de shèng zǐ yé sū。 tā men shǒu chuàng liǎo shèng dàn jié kuì zèng lǐ wù de fēng sú。 tā men jì rán yòu zhì huì， tā men de lǐ wù wú yí yě shì cōng míng de， kě néng hái fù dài yī zhǒng pèng shàng shōu dào tóng yàng de dōng xī shí kě yǐ jiāo huàn de quán lì。 wǒ de zhuō bǐ zài zhè lǐ gào sù liǎo zhū wèi yī gè méi yòu qū zhé、 bùzúwèi qí de gù shì； nà liǎng gè zhù zài yī jiān gōng yù lǐ de bèn hái zǐ， jí bù cōng míng dì wèile duì fāng xī shēng liǎo tā men yī jiā zuì bǎo guì de dōng xī。 dàn shì， ràng wǒ men duì mù qián yī bān cōng míng rén shuō zuì hòu yī jù huà， zài suǒ yòu kuì zèng lǐ wù de rén dāng zhōng， nà liǎng gè rén shì zuì cōng míng de。 zài yī qiē shòu shòu yī wù de rén dāng zhōng， xiàng tā men zhè yàng de rén yě shì zuì cōng míng de。 wú lùn zài shénme dì fāng， tā mendōu shì zuì cōng míng de。 tā men jiù shì mài qí。
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.
While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.
In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name "Mr. James Dillingham Young."
The "Dillingham" had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, though, they were thinking seriously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D. 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.
Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim 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 had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling--something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.
There was a pier-glass between the windows of the room. Perhaps you have seen a pierglass in an $8 flat. A very thin and very agile person may, by observing his reflection in a rapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairly accurate conception of his looks. Della, being slender, had mastered the art.
Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its color within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length.
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. The other was Della's hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. 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.
So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.
On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down the stairs to the street.
Where she stopped the sign read: "Mne. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds." One flight up Della ran, and collected herself, panting. Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the "Sofronie."
"Will you buy my hair?" asked Della.
"I buy hair," said Madame. "Take yer hat off and let's have a sight at the looks of it."
Down rippled the brown cascade.
"Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand.
"Give it to me quick," said Della.
Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings. Forget the hashed metaphor. She was ransacking the stores for Jim's present.
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. It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation--as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. It was like him. Quietness and value--the description applied to both. Twenty-one dollars they took from her for it, and she hurried home with the 87 cents. 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.
When Della reached home her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. 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.
Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror long, carefully, and critically.
"If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to herself, "before he takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. But what could I do--oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty-seven cents?"
At 7 o'clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the chops.
Jim was never late. Della doubled the fob chain in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door that he always entered. Then she heard his step on the stair away down on the first flight, and she turned white for just a moment. She had a habit of saying a little silent prayer about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: "Please God, make him think I am still pretty."
The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two--and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat and he was without gloves.
Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face.
Della wriggled off the table and went for him.
"Jim, darling," she cried, "don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It'll grow out again--you won't mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast. Say `Merry Christmas!' Jim, and let's be happy. You don't know what a nice--what a beautiful, nice gift I've got for you."
"You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim, laboriously, as if he had not arrived at that patent fact yet even after the hardest mental labor.
"Cut it off and sold it," said Della. "Don't you like me just as well, anyhow? I'm me without my hair, ain't I?"
Jim looked about the room curiously.
"You say your hair is gone?" he said, with an air almost of idiocy.
"You needn't look for it," said Della. "It's sold, I tell you--sold and gone, too. It's Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to me, for it went for you. 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?"
Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. Eight dollars a week or a million a year--what is the difference? A mathematician or a wit would give you the wrong answer. The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not among them. This dark assertion will be illuminated later on.
Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table.
"Don't make any mistake, Dell," he said, "about me. I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first."
White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat.
For there lay The Combs--the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window. 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.
But 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!"
And then Della leaped up like a little singed cat and cried, "Oh, oh!"
Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly upon her open palm. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit.
"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. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it."
Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled.
"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. And now suppose you put the chops on."
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. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. 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.
End
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短篇小说>> ōu · hēng lì O. Henry měi guó United States yī zhàn zhōng jué qǐ (1862niánjiǔyuè11rì～1910niánliùyuè5rì)
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