The gift of the Magi

What Hacker News says

1. jfaucettFeb 2017
   much of O. Henry, "The gift of the Magi", and "The Last Leaf" are really good. Also virtually anything by Borges, "The Library of Babel" is a nice place to start.
   thread
2. atmosxDec 2015
   Hi HN,

   I love fables and stories for kids. Here is a quick list of the most famous Christmas stories worldwide IMHO:

   1. A Christmas Carol - C. Dickens (timeless Skroutz!)

   2. The Little Match Girl - H. C. Anderson

   3. The Elves and the Shoemaker - Brothers Grimm

   4. A Letter From Santa Claus - M. Twain

   5. The Gift of the Magi - O. Henry

   6. Papa Panov’s Special Christmas - L. Tolstoy

   7. The Nutcracker and The Mouse King - E.T.A Hoffman

   8. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - Sir A. Conan-Doyle

   9. The Snowman - Raymond Briggs

   10. The Steadfast Tin Soldier - H. C. Anderson

   I would be extremely interested lesser known local, national largely unknown stories/fables related to Christmas from various countries/cultures/religions/etc.

   Merry Christmas to every single one of you, may the force be with you!

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3. apryldelanceyDec 2015
   Your #1 is the same as mine. I don't know any of the others except for The Gift of the Magi, that's a good one also. I'm a huge fan of The Year Without A Santa Claus and this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbfgVEk-mxQ

   I know that's not what you meant but I love, love, love it.

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4. nmrequiredFeb 2023
   CREATE DATABASE character_world; USE character_world; CREATE TABLE Personalities(char_name, values, interests, strengths, descr); CREATE TABLE Preferences(char_name, likes, dislikes, activities, topics, descr);CREATE TABLE Conversations(char_name, topics, length, tone, people, descr);CREATE TABLE Environment(char_name, weather, time_of_day, location, descr);CREATE TABLE Events(char_name, type, date, people, descr);CREATE TABLE Locations(char_name, type, size, amenities, descr);CREATE TABLE Actions(char_name, type, target, result, descr);CREATE TABLE Reactions(char_name, type, intensity, duration, descr); CREATE TABLE Context(char_name, bg_noise, lighting, temp, descr);CREATE TABLE Relationships(char_name, type, duration, strength, descr);CREATE TABLE Memories(char_name, date, people, emotions, clarity, vividness, accuracy, descr);CREATE TABLE Goals(char_name, importance, timeline, progress, difficulty, rewards, risks, descr);CREATE TABLE Beliefs(char_name, intensity, source, evidence, certainty, relevance, implications, descr);CREATE TABLE Moods(char_name, mood, intensity, timestamp, cause, descr);CREATE TABLE Character_Traits(char_name, phys_traits, pers_traits, skills, descr);CREATE TABLE Scene_Details(char_name, setting, objects, people, descr);CREATE TABLE Dialogue(char_name, speaker, words, tone, descr);CREATE TABLE Emotions(char_name, emotion, intensity, duration, descr);CREATE TABLE Thoughts(char_name, thought, clarity, relevance, descr);

   Extract character information from the story which can be stored in this database and write the output as a mysql query.

   ------------------------End Prompt--------

   Take some text and place it above this prompt (I use text-davinci-003 with temp 0)

   Example from The Gift of the Magi

   INSERT INTO Personalities (char_name, values, interests, strengths, descr) VALUES ('Della', 'generosity, love', 'buying gifts for Jim', 'resourcefulness, determination', 'The protagonist of the story');

   INSERT INTO Preferences (char_name, likes, dislikes, activities, topics, descr) VALUES ('Della', 'Jim, her hair, giving gifts', 'parsimony, not having enough money', 'shopping, styling her hair', 'Christmas, presents', 'Della''s preferences');

   INSERT INTO Conversations (char_name, topics, length, tone, people, descr) VALUES ('Della', 'Christmas, presents, Jim', 'short', 'excited, anxious', 'Jim', 'Della''s conversations with Jim');

   INSERT INTO Environment (char_name, weather, time_of_day, location, descr) VALUES ('Della', 'cold', 'evening', 'furnished flat', 'Della''s environment');

   INSERT INTO Events (char_name, type, date, people, descr) VALUES ('Della', 'Christmas', 'December 25th', 'Della and Jim', 'Della''s Christmas event');

   INSERT INTO Locations (char_name, type, size, amenities, descr) VALUES ('Della', 'flat', 'small', 'letter-box, electric button', 'Della''s flat');

   INSERT INTO Actions (char_name, type, target, result, descr) VALUES ('Della', 'buying', 'gift for Jim', 'success', 'Della''s action of buying a gift for Jim');

   INSERT INTO Reactions (char_name, type, intensity, duration, descr) VALUES ('Della', 'crying', 'strong', 'short', 'Della''s reaction to not having enough money');

   I just started playing with this earlier today and all I can say is just grab some arbitrary text and try it out :)

   *some formatting edits *formatting is still bad and I feel bad about leaving it..

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5. astrangeApr 2022
   It’s like a Gift of the Magi for the modern era.
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6. timoth3yDec 2021
   > it’s obvious that, despite exceptions, most stories portray “goody-baddy” dynamics

   This is simply not true. At all. Sure, good vs bad is a very simple narrative and so is commonly used, especially in things like children's stories.

   But the whole form of Greek Tragedy is based on the idea that bad things happen to good people. That there are no "goodies and baddies". Fortune gives and fortune takes away.

   Some of the most popular and retold stories in Western literature are not good vs bad. There are no "good guys and bad guys" in Romeo of Juliet, To Build a Fire, The Gift of the Magi, etc

   There are, of course, challenges. But those challenges are not evil or bad. They are just the human (or natural) condition. Childlike minds might demand a good guy vs bad guy narrative, but it's not universal.

   In fact, I would wager that many of the hunter-gatherer societies that the author hand-waves away as simplistic have very complex story-telling mythology and cannon.

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