Final Answer:
1. Della is crying because she only has one dollar and eighty-seven cents, which is not enough to buy a proper Christmas gift for her husband, Jim, and she feels helpless and sad about it.
2. Christmas makes her tears worse because it’s a time when people give gifts, and she wants to give Jim something meaningful but can’t afford to—so the holiday highlights her sadness.
3. She got the money by saving pennies—one and two at a time—by bargaining with the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher, even though it made her cheeks burn from embarrassment.
4. “With snuffles predominating” means that most of her emotions are sad ones—snuffling (sniffing through a runny nose) shows she’s been crying a lot, so sadness is the strongest feeling she’s experiencing, even though life also includes small joys like smiles and sniffles (which can be happy too).
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of inference worksheets 4th grade.
