【内容简介】
《麦琪的礼物》讲述的是一个圣诞节里发生在社会下层的小家庭中的故事。男主人公吉姆是一位薪金仅够维持生活的小职员，女主人公德拉是一位贤惠善良的主妇。他们的生活贫穷，但吉姆和德拉各自拥有一样极珍贵的宝物。吉姆有祖传的一块金表，德拉有一头美丽的瀑布般的秀发。为了能在圣诞节送给对方一件礼物，吉姆卖掉了他的金表为德拉买了一套“纯玳瑁做的，边上镶着珠宝”的梳子；德拉卖掉了自己的长发为吉姆买了一条白金表链。他们都为对方舍弃了自己最宝贵的东西，而换来的礼物却因此变得毫无作用了。
Gifts of the Magi
【人物介绍】
德拉
德拉对她的一头秀发是珍爱有加、引以自豪的。她天性爱美，再穷也要把自己打扮得干净漂亮，在丈夫面前展示自己的美丽。但为了给丈夫买一件“精致、珍奇而真正有价值”的圣诞礼物，她忍痛割爱，以爱换钱，为丈夫买了珍贵的白金表链。
吉姆
吉姆全身心地投入工作，薪水却极菲薄，且在不断缩减。只能住在贫民窟一般的公寓里，每周的入除房租、伙食费之外，几近于无。但他非常喜爱妻子这头美丽的褐发，深知爱妻为了装扮头发对百老汇路上一家商店橱窗里陈列的王代猖发梳渴望已久，为了在圣诞前夕给爱妻赠送礼物，忍痛卖掉了三代祖传的金表。
Jim's Gold Watch
英文小说正文：
Gifts of the Magi
By O. Henry
Gifts of the Magi
This story was written at the time when men did not wear their watches on their arms as they do now, but in their pockets, with a chain. Women had long hair of which they were very proud, and they put combs at the sides and back.
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. Della counted it three times. One dollar and eighty-seven cents, and the next day would be Christmas. She sat down and cried. Della was Mrs. James Dillingham-Young. She and her husband lived in two rooms at the top of a building in a poor part of New York. Once Jim Della’s husband, had work which paid him thirty dollars a week; but now he got only twenty. Jim and Della loved each other very much.
Della stopped crying. She stood by the window and looked out. Tomorrow would be Christmas day and she had only one dollar eighty-seven cents with which buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, and this is all she had got. She had spent many happy hours planning something nice for him, something fine and beautiful which was really worth for Jim.
Suddenly she turned quickly round and stood in front of the looking-glass. Her eyes were shining brightly, but her face had lost its color. She quickly pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length.
There were two possessions of Mr. and Mrs. Young in which they took great pride. One was Jim’s gold watch. That watch had belonged to his father and before that to his grandfather. The other proud possession was Della’s hair: it was beautiful hair: it flowed down her back like a golden river.
