One Dollar and Eighty-Seven Cents

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. Della counted it three times. One dollar and eighty-seven cents, and the next day was Christmas.

For many months, Della saved every penny she could. She asked the grocer and the butcher for the lowest prices, and she cooked very simple meals. But money was always short. Her husband, Jim, earned twenty dollars a week, and the little apartment cost eight dollars a week. There was nothing left at the end of the month.

Della sat down on the old sofa and cried. Then she stood up, dried her face and went to the window. Outside, a gray cat walked along a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow was Christmas Day, and she had only one dollar and eighty-seven cents to buy a present for Jim. She wanted something fine and rare for him, something good enough for her Jim.

The Dillingham Youngs had two things they were very proud of. One was Jim’s gold watch. It was his grandfather’s watch and then his father’s watch. It was beautiful, but it had an old leather strap instead of a gold chain, so Jim often looked at it secretly.

The other treasure was Della’s hair. It was long and brown, and it shone like a waterfall. When she let it down, it fell below her knees, almost like a dress. If the Queen of Sheba lived across the street, Della’s hair would make the queen’s jewels look cheap.

Suddenly Della turned away from the window and stood in front of the mirror. Her eyes were bright. Quickly, she let her hair fall to its full length. Then, for a moment, a tear fell on the old red carpet. But she quickly put on her old brown jacket and her old brown hat, and she ran out of the door and down the stairs to the street.