By Colleen Messina /
1In the western part of New York City stood an old apartment building. Its decrepit bricks and rickety fire escapes looked like warts and whiskers on its sagging face. The residents had their struggles, but a thread of friendship tied neighbors together at Christmastime. Friends sacrificed for each other, even when they had little to give.
2The spirit of gift giving started long ago when the three Magi selflessly gave the first Christmas presents of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to a poor family. Let us look inside one modest apartment and see if the Magi have visited there...
3Maria looked at their Christmas tree and tried to be grateful for her loving home. Her mom worked hard to make Christmas special, but their family still struggled to make ends meet. Their spindly tree dripped with homemade ornaments and simple strands of colored lights. Brittle needles fell in a crunchy crescent on the carpet under the tree. Maria liked to set the tree lights on the fast setting to make a laser show on the walls, but her mother preferred a slower display. Handmade stockings hung along a shelf, but no presents waited under the tree yet.
4The one shining point of beauty in the room was a glass nativity set that rested daintily on a small table. The crystal figures caught the blinking lights from the tree and multiplied them. It was the family's greatest treasure, and it gave the room a dimension of elegance that most apartments in that building lacked.
5Maria owned an antique Saint Christopher medal, but the chain had broken long ago. Maria sometimes fingered the burnished gold as she looked closely at the engraved figure of the saint. His face was tranquil, as though nothing in this world ever concerned him. Maria wanted to buy a real gold chain, one worthy of the heirloom. Someday, Maria also wanted to be able to buy big presents for her family and friends. Her clear, blue eyes held hope for a better life.
6Maria's friend, Rich, also lived in the old apartment building. His mother also struggled to make ends meet by working double shifts at her waitressing job. Their apartment's peeling walls seemed to sigh with despair as the paint chips fell. A burgundy Christmas candle on the table gave the room a cinnamony smell, but no stockings hung from the shelf. Rich loved skateboarding, but he had no hope of receiving the new skateboard wheels he needed. Maria and Rich understood each other in the way that only those who face the same hardships can. They weren't infatuated, but they cared deeply for each other.
7Rich came over on the day before Christmas Eve. He never knocked; he just came in and sat down. His handsome face crumpled as though all the joy had left him.
8"Maria, my mom lost her job!" Rich said. His rigid, clenched fists betrayed his agitation. Maria sat by respectfully, hardly knowing what to say.
9"What are you going to do?" Maria asked at last. She touched Rich's arm, and her eyes filled with tears. She tried to hide them by letting her stringy, dirty-blond hair fall over her face.
10"I don't know if we even qualify for Welfare," said Rich. "My mom is extremely upset. She is at home crying copious tears. Unfortunately, the restaurant isn't doing very well, and the management had to cut some staff."
11Maria offered Rich a shortbread Christmas tree covered with green icing. They quietly ate cookies together, thinking of how to solve the conundrum that faced Rich's family. It seemed inevitable that Christmas would be harder now. Maria looked out the window at the blinking city lights, like candles floating on a black sea. Why did Mrs. Vann have to cede the job when she needed it so badly?
12After a few minutes, Rich got up. He was going to the skateboard park to get some rigorous exercise. Maria watched some T.V. and then went to bed early.
13When Maria woke up, she felt sure that something good was about to happen! Maria fingered the Saint Christopher medallion on her dresser. Couldn't she have just one Christmas Eve miracle in her life? Maria smiled and slipped the medal into her pocket, and then went out to go shopping with her few dollars of spending money. The sharp wind bit her cheeks, but New York looked friendly in a spurious sort of way.
14Maria came home smiling several hours later. Just as she got back, Rich came over. He was carrying a gold-foiled box with a red ribbon jauntily stuck on top. Maria drew in her breath, and her blue eyes grew wider. How could Rich afford a present?
15"For you," said Rich, smiling shyly.
16"I have something for you, too," said Maria with panache, and she brought out a small gift wrapped in blue tissue paper.
17The friends tore open their presents. Crispy paper and ribbons spiraled to the floor. Maria burst into tears. Rich stood speechless. The graceful gold chain would have been perfect for the Saint Christopher medal; the new skateboard wheels would have fit the skateboard exactly. However, the medallion was sold to buy the wheels, and the skateboard was sold to buy the chain. No king had sacrificed as much as these two friends.
18Maria and Rich smiled through their tears. Christmas was suddenly better because of their tender thread of friendship and the gifts from the heart. Somehow, together they would figure out how to buy back the medallion and get a new skateboard. The Magi with their kingly robes, rare gifts, and Christmas spirit had indeed rustled through the old apartment building. They came to disseminate joy.
Copyright © 2008 edHelper
The Magi in New York
1. / What is the apartment building personified as in paragraph 1?An old face
A Christmas tree
A skateboard
A broken wall
/ 2. / What did the fast setting on Maria's Christmas tree lights produce?
Burned out bulbs
An electrical fire
A migraine headache for all who watched them
A laser show on the wall
3. / Which words are synonyms for the word "conundrum" in paragraph 9?
Gift
Puzzle
Problem
Honor
/ 4. / Which of the following are facts from the story?
The setting for the story was New York City.
Rich's Christmas was going to be bleak.
Bad news seemed worse at night.
Maria's Christmas tree had no presents under it yet.
5. / Place the following events from the story in the correct order.
______, ______, ______, ______
a. / Rich's mother lost her job.
b. / Rich and Maria eat cookies.
c. / Maria sells her Saint Christopher medal.
d. / Rich receives new wheels for his skateboard.
/ 6. / What was Maria's initial reaction to Rich's news?
She sat by respectfully.
She gave him a cookie.
She gave him his gift.
She made him some tea.
Name ______/ / Date ______
The Magi in New York
7. / Which word best describes Rich and Maria's friendship?Infatuated
Awkward
Childish
Sacrificial
/ 8. / What do the Magi symbolize in the story? Check all that apply.
Wealth and prosperity
The joy of giving from the heart
Presents are the most important part of Christmas
True friendship sometimes demands sacrifice
9. / BONUS QUESTION: You get 5 extra points in you can correctly name the story on which this story is based and its author.
/
Name ______/ / Date ______
The Magi in New York
Write an alternate ending to the story in which Rich and Maria do not sell their prized possessions for each other.
The Magi in New York
The Magi in New York story has some words that may be tricky to spell!
Fill all the correctly spelled words into this puzzle.
COPIOUS / COPIOS / QUALIFY / QULIFY
DIMENSION / DIMENSEON / MODEST / MIDUST
WESTERN / WISTERN / WESTIRN / WASTERN
COPUOS / COPOUS / RIGIDD / RIGD
CONUNDUM / CONUNRUM / QAULIFY
The Magi in New York - Answer Key
1An old face
2A laser show on the wall
3b,c
4a,d
5a, b, c, d
b. / Rich and Maria eat cookies.
c. / Maria sells her Saint Christopher medal.
d. / Rich receives new wheels for his skateboard.
c,b,a,d
6She sat by respectfully.
7Sacrificial
8b,d
9The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Fill In Puzzle Answer:
/ / / 1 / R/ I / G / O / R / O / U / S / / 2 / W
/ / / I / / / / / / / / / E
/ 3 / M
/ / G / / 4 / Q
/ / / / / / / S
5 / C
/ O / P / I / O / U / S / / / / / / T
/ D / / D / / A / / / / / / / E
/ E / / / / L / / / / / / / R
/ S / / / 6 / D
/ I / M / E / N / S / I / O / N
/ T / / / / F / / / / / / /
/ / / / / Y / / / / / / /