College Gift Annuity is

Giving to Amherst: Charitable Gift Annuities Amherst College Site Map Search Amherst College > Alumni & Parent Programs > Giving PlannedGifts > Charitable Gift Annuities Want to learn more about tax savings and benefits based on your own situation? Without obligation, let GiftCalcs help you do your own calculations. Charitable Gift Annuities Among this nation's oldest and most popular planned gifts, charitable gift annuities offer a wonderful opportunity to provide for a generous future gift to Amherst. In a slowing economy with lowering interest rates, this option may be an excellent way to balance your portfolio. A charitable gift annuity represents a contract between a donor and the College by which the College agrees to pay the donor and/or other named beneficiaries a fixed income each year for the lifetime of those named in the contract (the annuitant ( s )). This payment is secured by the full assets of Amherst College and will not change regardless of fluctuations in the stock market or the economy in general. Minimum Gift Amount Income Based on Age of Annuitant Tax Advantages of Gift Annuities Special Consideration with Gifts of Appreciated Property Minimum Gift Amount The minimum gift to create an Amherst College Gift Annuity is $10,000. Contributions can be in the form of cash, appreciated securities or mutual fund shares, or other property acceptable to the College. All gifts of appreciated property should be held long term by the donor (at least a year and a day). Because each gift annuity is a separate contract, additional annuities must also be for $10,000 or more. Income Based on Age of Annuitant The amount of income Amherst will pay depends on the age of the annuitant at the time the contract is issued. The older the annuitant, the greater the amount of income. A single annuitant, age 65, will receive an annuity rate of 5.7%; an 80-year-old annuitant will receive an 7.6% annuity rate. The highest annuity rate the College offers is 9.5%. Annuities based on two lives (most commonly a husband and wife) are also available, but the rates are generally lower. Any person named as an annuitant must be 60 years of age or older. (Additional information is available on the Amherst College Gift Annuity rate table .) Tax Advantages of Gift Annuities A charitable gift annuity is actually part gift and part purchase of a lifetime annuity contract from the College. The portion that represents a gift to the College is deductible on your federal income tax return if you itemize your deductions. The size of the deduction is determined by the age of the annuitant, the amount of the gift, and a monthly interest rate factor provided by the IRS. (Here are some sample deductions .) Gift annuities also offer the opportunity to receive income on a tax-favored basis. When the annuity is funded with cash, a significant portion of the income is treated as tax-free return of principal over the annuitant's life expectancy. When appreciated securities or other assets are used to fund the annuity, the income will be taxed as tax-free income, capital gain income and ordinary income, once again generally over the life expectancy of the annuitant. Special Consideration with Gifts of Appreciated Property Gift annuities are treated differently from other life income gifts for capital gains tax purposes. At the time the contract is issued, that portion of the capital gain attributable to the annuity is taxable to the donor. If the donor is the income beneficiary of the annuity, the capital gain is spread out over the donor's life expectancy, and taxed at the 15% capital gains tax rate. Updated 9/4/03 If you would like to learn more about planned gifts at Amherst, please contact Timothy A. Neale '70, Director of Planned Gifts, (413) 542-8256, plannedgifts@amherst.edu . Information contained in this Website should not be considered legal, accounting, or other professional advice. Individuals considering a planned gift to Amherst should consult with their financial advisor. << Return to Planned Gifts Homepage

Housewarming Gift Baskets Articles

Housewarming Gift Baskets - Gifts BW gifts | gifts Resources | Add URL Wine Gifts & Baskets From the casual wine drinker to the serious enthusiast, we have a gift that will make them smile. Our selection includes premium wine, gourmet baskets, distinctive champagne sets & the very finest California and Northwest wines. Housewarming Gift Baskets Articles Housewarming Gift Ideas Moving into a new home is a time that's full of possibilies, and we often share in the excitement by taking a housewarming gift to the new homeowners. But what should you give? Here are our favorite, and not so favorite gift ideas for housewarmings....( Continue Reading ) Housewarming Gift Ideas: Continued Here are our favorite, and not so favorite gift ideas for housewarmings....( Continue Reading ) Gift Ideas for Every Occasion Need a special gift for a holiday or special occasion? Get someinspiration from these gift ideas that range from the simple and classic to the unique and do-it-yourself!...( Continue Reading ) Gifts for the New Northwest Home Owner Moving in to a new home, whether you have relocated from another state, or moved down the road, is an exciting time. We have some great gift ideas for a Pacific Northwest housewarming....( Continue Reading ) Machine Embroidery On Unusual Mediums - Special Online Sew News Extra An online extra from Sew News magazine. A sneak peak at the presentation given by Linda Griepentrog, Sew News Editor, at the Sewing & Stitchery Expo titled...( Continue Reading ) Housewarming Gift Baskets Directory Links unique gifts for him great baby gifts food gifts by mail exclusive baby gifts teacher gifts to make gift baskets washington dc get well gifts twin baby gifts gifts for christmas birthday gifts to india gourmet cheese baskets gourmet fruit gift baskets diabetic gift baskets gifts for horse lovers holiday gifts for women wedding gifts for bride bridal attendants gifts holiday baskets nautical gifts wholesale 5th anniversary gifts valentine gifts for mom engagement gifts for men send gifts to bangladesh teen girl gifts network spiritual gifts traditional indian wedding gifts gifts galore indian wedding gifts gift baskets online greeks bearing gifts gift baskets orlando gift baskets for men anniversary gifts for her ten year anniversary gifts romantic gifts for men pregnancy gifts gourmet gift baskets gifts for the office 90th birthday gifts making christmas gifts plastic baskets black greek gifts cheap valentine gifts baby girl gifts gifts 2 india Popular Search Terms: Gifts BW © 2004 Gifts BW All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All Rights Reserved. This site is not related to Brajeshwar or Brajeshwar.com in anyway, shape or form

gift ideas! Home Services

Gift Ideas - FindGift.com Personalize FindGift.com! -- Login | Sign Up | List of Services Gift Ideas Gift Registry Gift Shops Gift Bookmarks Home | Help keyword search Gift Giving Made Easy! A free service dedicated to helping you find creative gift ideas! Home Services Gift Ideas Gifts by Occasion Anniversary Baby Shower Baptism Bar Mitzvah Bat Mitzvah Birthday Breakup / Divorce Confirmation Family Reunion First Communion Graduation House Warming New Baby Promotion Retirement Wedding Who is the Gift for? Her Him Couple Baby Toddler Child Pre-Teen Teenager for a Pet Client Teacher Express Yourself Cheer Up Congratulations Crazy for You Get Well Girl Power Good Luck I Love You I Miss You I'm Sorry Let's Party Sympathy Thank You Thinking of You Gifts by Type Romantic Personalized Unique Sentimental Wacky Humorous Fashionable Cosmopolitan Spiritual Trendy Healthy Relaxing Inspirational Geeky Gifts by Category Gift Baskets Keepsakes Food Jewelry Regional Gifts Occupational Gifts Bridal Party Gift of the Month Animals Apparel Baby Gear Bath and Body Collectibles Collegiate Advanced Search Gift Finder Gift Wizard FindGift.com helps you find unique gift ideas and connects you to online stores where these gifts are sold. We search the web to bring you great gift ideas! Try our Gift Wizard our newest gift finding technology Gifts in the Spotlight Adventure Tree Fort Picnic Backpack for Two! This Month's Top 20 Gift Ideas... Magic 'I Love You' Bean When We First Met Personalized Book Personalized Name Meaning Certificate Framed Anniversary Print: What Happened When You Married Because Of You Keepsake Sculpture Love Poem for Him Personalized Birthday Chronicle Personalized Turning Old Birthday Wine Bottle Label Romantic Message In A Bottle Your Photo in Pop Art Style Kipling's Famous "If" Personalized Poem Over The Hill Survival Kit "Love Now and Forever" Ring Candlelit Evening Romantic Gift Basket Great Moments are Always Remembered... Poem for Parents When You Marry Humorous Towel Set Personalized Man of the Year Magazine Cover Label Happy Birthday Gift Box Soul Mate Glass Block Popular gift categories: Groomsmen , Bridesmaids , Jewelry Boxes , Parents of Couple , Gift of the Month Clubs , Baby Shower Supplies , Flower Girl , Martini Glasses , Best Man , Firefighter Themed Gifts , Fall Theme , Memory Boxes , Gift Baskets for Kids , Sports Gift Baskets , Bachelorette Party , Golf , Keepsake Picture Frames , Bar / Tavern Signs , Golf Head Covers , Wedding Favors , Children's Jewelry , Fishing , Maid of Honor , Doctor Themed Gifts , Gag Gifts , See all Bosses Day Oct 16, 2005 24 Shopping Days Left Bosses Day Gift Ideas Sweetest Day Oct 15 Halloween Oct 31 More Holidays Seasonal Gifts Wedding Gift Ideas Anniversary Gift Ideas Autumn Theme See this month's Top 20 Gift Ideas Gift Helpers » Anniversary Gifts » Flower Meanings » Monthly Flowers » Monthly Birthstones » Signs of the Zodiac » Additional Resources FindGift.com Newsletter Sign up to receive seasonal and unique gift ideas via email. Email Address Merchant Login | Add Your Products to FindGift.com | Press Room | FAQs | Contact FindGift.com Conditions of Use | Privacy Policy | Site Map © 1997-2005, Registry Online, Inc. FindGift.com and its logo are trademarks of Registry Online, Inc.

Great Gifts for Kiddos

Listmania! Great Gifts for Kiddos Your Store See All 31 Product Categories   Your Account | Cart | Wish List | Help Improve Your Recommendations | Your Amazon Home | Your Profile | Learn More Search Amazon.com Books Popular Music Music Downloads Classical Music DVD VHS Apparel Yellow Pages Restaurants Movie Showtimes Toys Baby Computers Video Games Electronics Camera & Photo Software Tools & Hardware Office Products Magazines Sports & Outdoors Outdoor Living Kitchen Jewelry & Watches Beauty Gourmet Food Beta Musical Instruments Health/Personal Care Travel Cell Phones & Service Outlet Auctions zShops Everything Else Scientific Supplies Medical Supplies Indust. Supplies Automotive Home Furnishings Lifestyle Pet Toys Arts & Hobbies Web Search Listmania! Great Gifts for Kiddos by peppermint-pattie , mom and child at heart E-mail this list to a friend 1. Sweet Streets School by Fisher-Price (Toy) Average Customer Review: Availability: This item is currently not available. Customers also shopped for these similar items . 2. Disney Princess Storybook by Fisher-Price (Toy) Average Customer Review: Availability: This item is currently not available. Customers also shopped for these similar items . 3. Mr. Potato Head Darth Tater by Hasbro (Toy) Offered by: Toys"R"Us Buy new : $8.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours peppermint-pattie's comments: Draw in whole new generation of Star Wars fans. 4. Dora the Explorer Gift Set: Dora's Casa Talking Doll House Furniture Set - Bedroom, Bathroom , Media Room, Living Room by Fisher-Price (Toy) Offered by: Toys"R"Us Buy new : $39.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 5. Bratz Collector's Edition - 4th of July by MGA Entertainment (Toy) Average Customer Review: Availability: This item is currently not available. Customers also shopped for these similar items . 6. Musini - MagicSensor by Neurosmith (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Imaginarium List Price: $39.99 Buy new : $19.97 You Save : $20.02 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 7. Because of Winn-Dixie (Because of Winn-Dixie) by Kate DiCamillo (Paperback) Average Customer Review: List Price: $5.99 Buy new : $5.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $1.60 peppermint-pattie's comments: Watching the movie has made my kids want to read the book. 8. A Treasure's Trove : A Fairy Tale about Real Treasure for Parents and Children of All Ages by Michael Stadther (Paperback) List Price: $19.95 Buy new : $13.57 You Save : $6.38(32%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $9.60 9. 100 Puzzles, Clues, Maps, Tantalizing Tales, and Stories of Real Treasure by Michael Stadther (Paperback) List Price: $12.95 Buy new : $10.36 You Save : $2.59(20%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $6.35 10. Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (Illustrator) (Hardcover- March 2004) Average Customer Review: List Price: $15.99 Buy new : $10.87 You Save : $5.12(32%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $6.90 11. The Fairy Chronicles Book One : Marigold and the Feather of Hope by J.H. Sweet (Paperback) List Price: $12.95 Buy new : $12.95 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $11.64 peppermint-pattie's comments: I recommend you print some of the free eBooks of this series and put them in folders for your kids. My daughter rereads the ones I have printed for her. Anything to get them to read. 12. Ocean Wonders Aquarium (Toy) Average Customer Review: Availability: This item is currently not available. Customers also shopped for these similar items . peppermint-pattie's comments: Great baby shower gift. 13. Leapster Case by LeapFrog (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Imaginarium List Price: $19.99 Buy new : $17.99 You Save : $2.00 (10%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 14. LeapStart Learning Table by LeapFrog (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Imaginarium List Price: $44.99 Buy new : $39.99 You Save : $5.00 (11%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 15. Gymini Super Deluxe Light and Music by Tiny Love (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Imaginarium Buy new : $59.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 16. Aquadoodle by Spin Master (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Toys"R"Us List Price: $29.99 Buy new : $19.99 You Save : $10.00 (33%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 17. Lamaze: Multi-Sensory Clutch Cube by Learning Curve (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Imaginarium Buy new : $12.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 18. Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set by LeapFrog (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Imaginarium Buy new : $19.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 19. Dora the Explorer: Dora's Talking Dollhouse with Lights, Sounds, Music and Diego, Boots & Swiper Figures - Exclusively at Toys"R"Us! by Fisher-Price (Toy) Offered by: Toys"R"Us List Price: $59.99 Buy new : $54.99 You Save : $5.00 ( 8%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours peppermint-pattie's comments: Dora is always wonderful. 20. My First Purse by I-Play Outdoors (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Imaginarium Buy new : $12.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 21. 20 Questions Handheld Game by Radica Games (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Toys"R"Us List Price: $13.99 Buy new : $10.99 You Save : $3.00 (21%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 22. Lunar Lander Model (10029) by LEGO Systems, Inc (Toy) Availability: This item is currently not available. Customers also shopped for these similar items . 23. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (Illustrator) (Hardcover) Average Customer Review: List Price: $16.95 Buy new : $10.97 You Save : $5.98(35%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $5.55 24. Guess How Much I Love You (Guess How Much I Love You) by Sam Mcbratney, Anita Jeram (Illustrator) (Board book) Average Customer Review: List Price: $6.99 Buy new : $6.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $0.32 25. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Workbook (The 7 Habits) by Sean Covey (Paperback- December 1999) Average Customer Review: List Price: $5.00 Buy new : $4.50 You Save : $0.50(10%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $1.95 Create your own list! See the Best Lists Top 100 Listmania lists Search Listmania lists More about peppermint-pattie Related Listmania! Add your list great toys and gifts : A list by Amber, mother of two Please the Whole Crew : A list by eleanor-and-desiree, friends, aunts, fun people excellent toys : A list by Angela, mother Very Good Toys For Kids : A list by Brittany, student Add your list Related So You'd Like to... Create a guide have a happy baby : A guide by AVij, Baby Researcher The Wonders of Your Baby's Brain : A guide by AVij, Baby Researcher Support Baby Development : A guide by AVij, Baby Researcher Have a Genius Baby : A guide by AVij, Baby Researcher Develop Your Child's Self Confidence : A guide by AVij, Baby Researcher buy stimulating toys for baby : A guide by Stacy Harrington Collins, Hayden & Sage's mom, update 12/26/04 HAVE FOOD, FUN, AND FANTASY : A guide by Betty Dravis, author who's becoming a star! get ideas on what to buy a girl 1-3 yrs : A guide by M. 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Christmas Gift

The Gift of the Magi THE GIFT OF THE MAGI by O. Henry One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. Andsixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and twoat a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man andthe butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silentimputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty- sevencents. And the next day would be Christmas. There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on theshabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Whichinstigates the moral reflection that life is made up ofsobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating. While the mistress of the home is gradually subsidingfrom the first stage to the second, take a look at the home.A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggardescription, but it certainly had that word on the lookoutfor the mendicancy squad. In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which noletter would go, and an electric button from which no mortalfinger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was acard bearing the name "Mr. James Dillingham Young." The "Dillingham" had been flung to the breeze during aformer period of prosperity when its possessor was beingpaid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20,though, they were thinking seriously of contracting to amodest and unassuming D. But whenever Mr. James DillinghamYoung came home and reached his flat above he was called"Jim" and greatly hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham Young,already introduced to you as Della. Which is all very good. Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks withthe powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dullyat a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard.Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 withwhich to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every pennyshe could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars aweek doesn't go far. Expenses had been greater than she hadcalculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present forJim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning forsomething nice for him. Something fine and rare andsterling--something just a little bit near to being worthyof the honor of being owned by Jim. There was a pier-glass between the windows of the room.Perhaps you have seen a pier-glass in an $8 flat. A very thin and very agile person may, by observing his reflection in arapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairlyaccurate conception of his looks. Della, being slender, hadmastered the art. Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood beforethe glass. her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her facehad lost its color within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulleddown her hair and let it fall to its full length. Now, there were two possessions of the James DillinghamYoungs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim'sgold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's.The other was Della's hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived inthe flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hairhang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been thejanitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement,Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed,just to see him pluck at his beard from envy. So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her ripplingand shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached belowher knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And thenshe did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she falteredfor a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed onthe worn red carpet. On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brownhat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparklestill in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down thestairs to the street. Where she stopped the sign read: "Mne. Sofronie. HairGoods of All Kinds." One flight up Della ran, and collectedherself, panting. Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardlylooked the "Sofronie." "Will you buy my hair?" asked Della. "I buy hair," said Madame. "Take yer hat off and let'shave a sight at the looks of it." Down rippled the brown cascade. "Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting the mass with apractised hand. "Give it to me quick," said Della. Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings.Forget the hashed metaphor. She was ransacking the storesfor Jim's present. She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jimand no one else. There was no other like it in any of thestores, and she had turned all of them inside out. It was aplatinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properlyproclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretriciousornamentation--as all good things should do. Itwas even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knewthat it must be Jim's. It was like him. Quietness andvalue--the description applied to both. Twenty-one dollarsthey took from her for it, and she hurried home with the 87cents. With that chain on his watch Jim might be properlyanxious about the time in any company. Grand as the watchwas, he sometimes looked at it on the sly on account of theold leather strap that he used in place of a chain. When Della reached home her intoxication gave way alittle to prudence and reason. She got out her curling ironsand lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravagesmade by generosity added to love. Which is always atremendous task, dear friends--a mammoth task. Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny,close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truantschoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirrorlong, carefully, and critically. "If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to herself, "beforehe takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a ConeyIsland chorus girl. But what could I do--oh! what could Ido with a dollar and eighty- seven cents?" At 7 o'clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan wason the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the chops. Jim was never late. Della doubled the fob chain in herhand and sat on the corner of the table near the door thathe always entered. Then she heard his step on the stair away down on the first flight, and sheturned white for just a moment. She had a habit for sayinglittle silent prayer about the simplest everyday things, andnow she whispered: "Please God, make him think I am stillpretty." The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. Helooked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was onlytwenty-two--and to be burdened with a family! He needed anew overcoat and he was without gloves. Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setterat the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, andthere was an expression in them that she could not read, andit terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nordisapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that shehad been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly withthat peculiar expression on his face. Della wriggled off the table and went for him. "Jim, darling," she cried, "don't look at me that way.I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have livedthrough Christmas without giving you a present. It'll growout again--you won't mind, will you? I just had to do it. Myhair grows awfully fast. Say `Merry Christmas!' Jim, andlet's be happy. You don't know what a nice-- what abeautiful, nice gift I've got for you." "You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim, laboriously, asif he had not arrived at that patent fact yet even after thehardest mental labor. "Cut it off and sold it," said Della. "Don't you likeme just as well, anyhow? I'm me without my hair, ain't I?" Jim looked about the room curiously. "You say your hair is gone?" he said, with an airalmost of idiocy. "You needn't look for it," said Della. "It's sold, Itell you--sold and gone, too. It's Christmas Eve, boy. Begood to me, for it went for you. Maybe the hairs of my headwere numbered," she went on with sudden serious sweetness,"but nobody could ever count my love for you. Shall I putthe chops on, Jim?" Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. Heenfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard withdiscreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the otherdirection. Eight dollars a week or a million a year--what isthe difference? A mathematician or a wit would give you thewrong answer. The magi brought valuable gifts, but that wasnot among them. This dark assertion will be illuminatedlater on. Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threwit upon the table. "Don't make any mistake, Dell," he said, "about me. Idon't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or ashave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less.But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had megoing a while at first." White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper.And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quickfeminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitatingthe immediate employment of all the comforting powers of thelord of the flat. For there lay The Combs--the set of combs, side andback, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window.Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelledrims--just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair.They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart hadsimply craved and yearned over them without the least hopeof possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses thatshould have adorned the coveted adornments were gone. But she hugged them to her bosom, and at length she wasable to look up with dim eyes and a smile and say: "My hairgrows so fast, Jim!" And them Della leaped up like a little singed cat andcried, "Oh, oh!" Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held itout to him eagerly upon her open palm. The dull preciousmetal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright andardent spirit. "Isn't it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to findit. You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a daynow. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it." Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch andput his hands under the back of his head and smiled. "Dell," said he, "let's put our Christmas presents awayand keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just atpresent. I sold the watch to get the money to buy yourcombs. And now suppose you put the chops on." The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wisemen--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. Theyinvented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise,their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing theprivilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here Ihave lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of twofoolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed foreach other the greatest treasures of their house. But in alast word to the wise of these days let it be said that ofall who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who giveand receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere theyare wisest. They are the magi. Return to Christmas Poems and Stories Hypertext format ©1996 Rosemary (Rosie) Winters rosiec@night.net . All rights reserved.