In this classic 1905 Christmas story, one of O. Henry’s most famous, we meet Della and Jim, a young married couple who are as poor as church mice.

„The Gift of the Magi“ is a short story, written by O. Henry (a pen name for William Sydney Porter), about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with nearly no money. As a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, it has been a popular one for adaptation, especially for presentation at Christmas time. The plot and its twist ending are well-known, and the only time one can possibly endure this much sentimentality is probably at Christmas 😉

I loved the illustrations of Ulrike Möltgen in this edition of Insel Bücherei.

Check out my favorite x-mas story „A Christmas Carol“ by Charles Dickens. Which one is your favorite?