LnR 087 Gift of the Magi 6 (Replay)

This is the last episode in this series. I have posted all six episodes tonight. I haven't done this before. I used to try to post three podcast episodes a week, but since I've been at home recovering from surgery I have changed to posting only once a week. For me this is an experiment to see how many people download all six of the episodes! Every night I check my podcast statistics. I love seeing where all of you live! The statistics tell me the country and state/province where each download came from. The top ten countries are: USA, China, Brazil, Iran, Japan, Russia, UK, Poland, Germany, and Korea. (It's very likely that many of the downloads that say they are from the USA are actually made by people using VPNs in China, Iran or other countries.) My statistics show the results from the last three months. In those three months I have had downloads from 109 countries! I love it! Thanks for listening and I hope you find my podcasts useful.

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LnR 087 Gift of the Magi 6

For there lay The Combs--the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims--just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair. They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone. But she hugged them to her bosom, and at length she was able to look up with dim eyes and a smile and say: "My hair grows so fast, Jim!" And then Della leaped up like a little singed cat and cried, "Oh, oh!" Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly upon her open palm. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit. "Isn't it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it." Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled. "Dell," said he, "let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on." The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.