ESOLish Picture Stories · ESOL Entry 1

The Gift of the Magi

A simple retelling of O. Henry’s story.

A warm Christmas story about love.

Turn the pages and enjoy the story. Tap any word to hear it. Bold, dotted-underlined words also have a simple meaning and example.

The Gift of the Magi: Della counts her coins in the couple’s modest home.

Very little money

Pages 1–2

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Read for pleasure. The final page shares a lesson from the story.

Turn on JavaScript for page turns and word help. You can also read the complete story here.Very little moneyDella and Jim are a young married couple.Christmas is near, but their savings are very small.Della wants to buy Jim a special present.She counts her money again and feels sad.A difficult decisionDella has long, beautiful hair.She decides to sell it so she can buy Jim a gift.The hairdresser cuts her hair and gives her some money.Della hopes Jim will understand her decision.The perfect giftJim owns a precious watch that belonged to his family.Della finds a lovely chain for it in a shop.She buys the chain and hurries home.Jim comes homeWhen Jim sees Della’s short hair, he looks surprised.“I sold my hair to buy your present,” she explains.“It will grow again!”Jim holds her close and gives her a package.An unexpected surpriseInside are beautiful combs for Della’s long hair.Della shows Jim the chain for his watch.Then Jim explains that he sold his watch to buy the combs.Their gifts cannot be used now, but they understand each other’s sacrifice.What really mattersDella puts the combs somewhere safe for the future.Jim carefully puts away the watch chain.They are not rich, but both have been generous.Their love is worth more than either present.What can we learn?Love is shown through care and thoughtful actions.A valuable gift does not always cost a lot of money.The story calls the couple wise because they give with love.

A shortened ESOLish retelling. Original story by O. Henry.

The Gift of the Magi

Very little money

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