Della has one prized possession: her hair. Jim has one: his watch. With almost no money for Christmas, each secretly sells the thing they treasure most to buy the perfect gift for the other — and the ending, still one of the most famous twists in short fiction, turns a simple story about being broke into a quiet definition of what love actually costs.
O. Henry's most celebrated story and a masterclass in the twist ending — a five-minute read that has been anthologized, adapted, and taught for over a century.