The Christmas Gifts – L2T – Second Language Tech

Level 1 Reader

564 Words

The Christmas Gifts

Della and Jim are a young married couple. They live in a small apartment in the city. They do not have much money. But they love each other very much.

It is the day before Christmas. Della sits at the small table and counts her money. She puts the coins on the table and counts again.

“One dollar and eighty-seven cents,” she says softly.

That is all she has. She wants to buy a Christmas gift for Jim. She wants something special. She wants something beautiful. But one dollar and eighty-seven cents is not much.

Della feels sad. She sits on the bed and cries a little. Then she looks at herself in the mirror.

Della has long, beautiful brown hair. It is her best thing. Her hair falls down her back like a river. Jim loves her hair very much.

Jim has one special thing too. He has a gold watch. It was his father’s watch, and his father’s father’s watch. It is very old and very important to him.

Della looks at her hair again. She has an idea.

She puts on her old brown coat and hat. Then she runs out into the cold street. She walks quickly to a small shop.

The sign says: “Hair Goods.”

Della goes inside. A woman looks at her.

“Will you buy my hair?” Della asks.

The woman looks at Della’s long hair. “Yes,” she says. “Twenty dollars.”

Della feels excited. “Cut it,” she says.

The woman cuts Della’s long hair. Now her hair is short and very different. Della takes the twenty dollars and runs to the stores.

She looks and looks. At last, she finds it.

It is a simple silver chain for Jim’s gold watch. It is beautiful and strong. It costs twenty-one dollars. Della gives all her money for it.

She is very happy. Jim will love it, she thinks.

When Della comes home, she looks at her short hair in the mirror. She feels afraid.

“Will Jim still love me?” she thinks. “I look like a boy.”

She makes dinner and waits.

Soon she hears Jim at the door. He comes inside.

Jim stops. He looks at Della. He does not speak.

“Jim,” Della says quickly, “don’t look at me like that. I sold my hair. I wanted to buy you a Christmas gift. It will grow again. Please say you still love me.”

Jim comes to her. He looks at her short hair and smiles a little.

“Of course I love you,” he says. “Nothing can change that.”

Then Jim gives Della a small box.

Della opens it. Inside are beautiful combs for her hair. She saw them in a store window and loved them. But they were very expensive.

Della holds the combs and begins to cry.

“My hair is short now,” she says. “But it will grow again.”

Then she smiles and gives Jim his gift.

“Here,” she says. “Put your watch on this chain.”

Jim sits down and laughs softly.

“Della,” he says, “I sold my watch to buy your combs.”

They look at each other. They both gave their best thing to buy a gift for the other.

The gifts cannot be used now. But their love is strong and true.

Della and Jim are very poor. But they are also very rich.

They have love.

And that is the greatest gift of all.

Level 2 Reader

760 Words

The Christmas Gifts

Della and Jim were a young married couple who lived in a small apartment in the city. Their rooms were simple, and their furniture was old. They did not earn much money, but they loved each other deeply. For them, love was more important than comfort.

It was Christmas Eve. Della sat at the table and counted her savings for the third time. She carefully placed the coins in small piles and added them again.

One dollar and eighty-seven cents.

That was all she had. She had saved every coin for months, buying the cheapest food and walking instead of taking the bus. Still, it was not enough. She wanted to buy Jim a special Christmas gift—something worthy of him. But one dollar and eighty-seven cents seemed painfully small.

Della felt tears fill her eyes. She lay down on the small couch and cried quietly. After a few minutes, she stood up and looked at herself in the mirror.

Della had one great treasure: her long, beautiful brown hair. It fell past her shoulders and shone in the light. When she let it down, it almost reached her knees. Jim loved her hair and often said it was more beautiful than anything in the world.

Jim also had a treasure: a gold watch that had belonged to his father and his grandfather. It was a simple watch, but it carried many memories. Jim was proud of it, although he used an old leather strap because he could not afford a better chain.

Della suddenly made a decision.

She quickly put on her coat and hat and hurried into the cold winter street. She stopped in front of a shop with a sign that read: “Hair Goods of All Kinds.”

Inside, a tall woman examined her hair.

“Will you buy my hair?” Della asked.

The woman touched it and nodded. “Twenty dollars,” she said.

Without hesitation, Della agreed. Within minutes, her long hair was gone. It lay on the floor in soft brown waves. Della felt light and nervous at the same time, but she held the twenty dollars tightly in her hand.

Now she had enough money.

For hours she searched the busy shops. Finally, she found it: a simple platinum chain for Jim’s watch. It was elegant and strong, without unnecessary decoration. It suited Jim perfectly. It cost twenty-one dollars. Della paid for it with joy.

When she returned home, she looked at her short hair in the mirror. She tried to curl it to make it look nicer, but she could not hide how different she looked.

“What if Jim is disappointed?” she wondered. “What if he no longer thinks I am beautiful?”

When Jim came home that evening, he closed the door quietly and stared at her. His expression was strange—surprised, almost confused.

“Jim,” Della said quickly, “please don’t look at me like that. I sold my hair to buy you a Christmas gift. It will grow again. You won’t mind, will you?”

Jim stepped closer and looked carefully at her short curls.

“You cut your hair?” he asked slowly.

“Yes,” she answered. “But I’m still me. And I love you just the same.”

Jim held her and smiled gently. “Nothing could make me love you less,” he said. “I was just surprised.”

Then he took a small package from his coat pocket and placed it on the table.

Della opened it eagerly. Inside were a set of beautiful combs—decorated with small jewels—that she had once admired in a shop window. She had wanted them for a long time but knew they were far too expensive.

She pressed them to her chest and began to cry. “My hair is gone,” she said softly. “But it will grow back.”

Then she remembered her own gift and handed Jim the watch chain.

“I found something worthy of your watch,” she said proudly. “Now you can use it every day.”

Jim sat down and laughed quietly.

“Della,” he said, “I sold the watch to buy your combs.”

For a moment, they both understood what had happened. Each had given up their greatest treasure to buy a gift for the other. Now the gifts could not be used.

Yet neither of them felt regret.

Their sacrifices were acts of love, not loss. The real gift was not the chain or the combs, but the willingness to give everything for the other person.

Della and Jim were poor in money, but rich in love. And in that small apartment on Christmas Eve, their love made them wiser than kings.

Level 3 Reader

878 Words

The Christmas Gifts

Della and Jim Young were a young married couple living in a modest apartment in the city. Their home was small and plainly furnished, and their weekly income was barely enough to cover rent, food, and heat. Yet within those narrow walls there was warmth of another kind. They possessed very little, but they loved each other with quiet devotion.

On Christmas Eve, Della sat at the small wooden table and counted her savings for the third time. She carefully arranged the coins into neat piles and added them again, hoping the number would somehow increase.

One dollar and eighty-seven cents.

That was all. She had saved every spare penny for months, bargaining at the market and walking instead of paying for transport. Still, the total seemed painfully insufficient. Christmas was the next day, and she longed to give Jim a gift that expressed her admiration and love. Something ordinary would not do. The present must be worthy of him.

Overcome with disappointment, Della lay down on the narrow couch and allowed herself a few quiet tears. Outside, the winter wind pressed against the windowpanes. After a moment, she rose and stood before the mirror.

There were two possessions of which Della and Jim were especially proud. One was Jim’s gold watch, a family heirloom that had belonged to his father and grandfather before him. Though he wore it on a simple leather strap, its value was not merely financial; it connected him to his family’s past.

The other treasure was Della’s hair. It was long, brown, and shining, falling almost to her knees when she let it loose. Jim often looked at it with admiration, as though it were something rare and precious.

As Della studied her reflection, a determined expression replaced her sadness. She wrapped herself in her coat and hurried out into the cold streets.

She soon stopped before a small shop with a sign that read: “Hair Goods of All Kinds.” Inside, a tall woman examined Della’s hair with professional interest.

“Will you buy my hair?” Della asked, her voice steady despite her racing heart.

“I will give you twenty dollars,” the woman replied.

Without hesitation, Della agreed. Within minutes, her beautiful hair lay cut and lifeless upon the floor. The sudden lightness around her head felt strange, but she held the money firmly. There was no turning back.

For the rest of the afternoon she searched the busy shops, comparing prices and designs. At last, she found it: a simple platinum chain for Jim’s watch. It was elegant and refined, without unnecessary decoration—exactly suited to his quiet character. It cost twenty-one dollars. She paid with satisfaction, her earlier sorrow completely forgotten.

When she returned home, she studied her short curls in the mirror. Though she tried to arrange them carefully, she could not hide the dramatic change.

“Will he think I am foolish?” she wondered. “Will he still see me as beautiful?”

When Jim entered that evening, he closed the door and stopped immediately. His eyes fixed on Della, and his expression became unreadable—neither anger nor amusement, but something more complicated.

“Jim,” she began quickly, “please don’t look at me that way. I sold my hair to buy you a Christmas gift. It will grow back soon. You don’t mind, do you?”

He stepped forward slowly, as if trying to understand what he was seeing.

“You cut your hair?” he said at last.

“Yes. But nothing else has changed. I couldn’t let Christmas come without giving you something special.”

Jim embraced her gently.

“There is nothing you could do,” he said softly, “that would lessen my love for you. I was only surprised.”

Then he removed a small wrapped package from his coat and placed it on the table.

Della opened it eagerly. Inside lay a set of beautiful combs, decorated with delicate jewels. She had admired them in a shop window many times, knowing they were far beyond their means. They were perfect for her long hair.

For a moment she could not speak. Tears filled her eyes as she realized the cost of such a gift.

“My hair is gone,” she whispered. “But it will grow again.”

Smiling bravely, she handed Jim the platinum chain.

“I found something worthy of your watch,” she said. “Now you won’t need that old leather strap.”

Jim sat down and gave a quiet laugh that held both joy and irony.

“Della,” he replied gently, “I sold the watch to buy your combs.”

Silence followed, but it was not a bitter silence. Each understood instantly what the other had done. Each had sacrificed their greatest possession to bring happiness to the other. The gifts, in practical terms, were now useless.

Yet neither felt regret.

Their actions revealed a deeper truth: love measures value differently from the marketplace. In giving up what they treasured most, they demonstrated a generosity that no amount of money could purchase.

Della and Jim were undeniably poor, and their apartment remained small and cold that winter evening. But they possessed something far richer than material wealth. Their willingness to sacrifice for one another placed them among the wisest of gift-givers.

For it is not the cost of a present that makes it meaningful, but the love that inspires it.

Extensive Listening

Level 1 Audio