One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas. She could not afford a present, so she sat down and cried.
Jim and Della had two possessions (财产) which they were both proud of. One was Jim's gold watch that was from his father and his grandfather. The other was Della's beautiful hair. It fell about her, and reached below her knee.
Della put on her old brown jacket and her old brown hat. Then she went out of the door and down the stairs to the street.
She stopped at a store. The sign in front of the store read "Hair Goods". "Will you buy my hair?" asked Della. "Twenty dollars." the woman said.
Then Della searched through the stores looking for a present for Jim.
She found it at last. It was a watch chain. The bill was twenty - one dollars. At seven o'clock, the coffee was made and dinner was ready. Jim was never late. Della heard his steps on the stairs.
The door opened and Jim walked in. He stopped inside the door. His eyes were fixed on Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read.
"Jim," she cried," don't look at me that way. I sold my hair to buy you a Christmas present. "
Jim drew a box from his pocket and put it on the table.
Della opened it. There lay the set of combs (梳子) that she had always wanted. Now they were hers, but her hair was gone.
She smiled and held out Jim's present. "I hunted all over town to find it. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it. "
Instead of obeying (服从), Jim sat down, put his hands behind his head and smiled. "Della," he said," I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. "
