迪文小说

第7章 the gift f the agi（第3页）

"hesaid，withanairalmostofidiocy。

"Youneedn&aos;tlookforit，

"saidDella。

"It&aos;ssold，Itellyou-soldandgone，too。It&aos;sChristmasEve，boy。Begoodtome，foritwentforyou。Maybethehairsofmyheadwerenumbered，

"shewentonwithsuddenserioussweetness，

"butnobodycouldevercountmyloveforyou。ShallIutthechoson，Jim?

"

OutofhistranceJimseemedquicklytowake。HeenfoldedhisDella。Fortensecondsletusregardwithdiscreetscrutinysomeinconsequentialobjectintheotherdirection。Eightdollarsaweekoramillionayear-whatisthedifference?Amathematicianorawitwouldgiveyouthewronganswer。Themagibroughtvaluablegifts，butthatwasnotamongthem。Thisdarkassertionwillbeilluminatedlateron。

Jimdrewaackagefromhisovercoatocketandthrewituonthetable。

"Don&aos;tmakeanymistake，Dell，

"hesaid，

"aboutme。Idon&aos;tthinkthere&aos;sanythinginthewayofahaircutorashaveorashamoothatcouldmakemelikemygirlanyless。Butifyou&aos;llunwrathatackageyoumayseewhyyouhadmegoingawhileatfirst。

"

Whitefingersandnimbletoreatthestringandaer。Andthenanecstaticscreamofjoy;andthen，alas!aquickfemininechangetohystericaltearsandwails，necessitatingtheimmediateemloymentofallthecomfortingowersofthelordoftheflat。

FortherelayTheCombs-thesetofcombs，sideandback，thatDellahadworshiedforlonginaBroadwaywindow。Beautifulcombs，uretortoiseshell，withjewelledrims-justtheshadetowearinthebeautifulvanishedhair。Theywereexensivecombs，sheknew，andherhearthadsimlycravedandyearnedoverthemwithouttheleasthoeofossession。Andnow，theywerehers，butthetressesthatshouldhaveadornedthecovetedadornmentsweregone。

Butshehuggedthemtoherbosom，andatlengthshewasabletolookuwithdimeyesandasmileandsay:

"Myhairgrowssofast，Jim!

"

AndthenDellaleaedulikealittlesingedcatandcried，

"Oh，oh!

"

Jimhadnotyetseenhisbeautifulresent。Shehelditouttohimeagerlyuonheroenalm。Thedullreciousmetalseemedtoflashwithareflectionofherbrightandardentsirit。

"Isn&aos;titadandy，Jim?Ihuntedallovertowntofindit。You&aos;llhavetolookatthetimeahundredtimesadaynow。Givemeyourwatch。Iwanttoseehowitlooksonit。

"

Insteadofobeying，Jimtumbleddownonthecouchanduthishandsunderthebackofhisheadandsmiled。

"Dell，

"saidhe，

"let&aos;sutourChristmasresentsawayandkee&aos;emawhile。They&aos;retoonicetousejustatresent。Isoldthewatchtogetthemoneytobuyyourcombs。Andnowsuoseyouutthechoson。

"

Themagi，asyouknow，werewisemen-wonderfullywisemen-whobroughtgiftstotheBabeinthemanger。TheyinventedtheartofgivingChristmasresents。Beingwise，theirgiftswerenodoubtwiseones，ossiblybearingtherivilegeofexchangeincaseofdulication。AndhereIhavelamelyrelatedtoyoutheuneventfulchronicleoftwofoolishchildreninaflatwhomostunwiselysacrificedforeachotherthegreatesttreasuresoftheirhouse。Butinalastwordtothewiseofthesedaysletitbesaidthatofallwhogivegiftsthesetwowerethewisest。Ofallwhogiveandreceivegifts，suchastheyarewisest。Everywheretheyarewisest。Theyarethemagi。