25-12-2018
Рождество невозможно без чудесных рождественских историй. Мы подобрали одну из самых трогательных и адаптировали ее, чтобы рассказ можно было прочитать с уровнем Pre-intermediate или Elementary и выше. Merry Christmas!
Christmas Day in the Morning
By Pearl S. Buck
Adopted by Yuriy Intelehator
He woke up at 4 am. In his childhood, it was a usual time when his father woke him to help to milk the cows. Although it started fifty years ago, and although his father died thirty years ago, he still woke up at four. But today he did not want to sleep because it was a Christmas morning.
He remembered being fifteen and living on his father’s farm. He loved his father, but he understood it only a few days before Christmas when he heard his father tell his mother, “I hate to wake Rob in the mornings. He’s growing so fast and he needs his sleep. It’s a pity I need his help! It’s a pity I must wake him up in the mornings!”
His parents never told him they loved him. They just did not have time for that; there was always so much work to do on the farm! But after these words he just knew his father loved him. And now everything will be different! Now he will always get up after the first call, even if he is sleepy or it is cold!
So, one night, the night before Christmas, he was in his bed and he thought about the next day. The family was poor. They always gave each other simple, hand-made or inexpensive Christmas gifts. Earlier in the day he went to a 10-cent shop and bought his father a tie. But it was not enough. He lay in his attic bed, looked at the stars and wanted a better gift for his dad. A really, really special one!
Then he remembered that Jesus was born in a barn, where animals are kept at night. And suddenly he had a thought. He will make a present for his father in a barn too! He will get up early, earlier than 4 o’clock, and will do all the milking. Then his father will come to the barn and see that someone already milked the cows. And the father will know that it was his son who did it!
That night he woke about twenty times, looking at his watch to check the time. Then, at quarter to three, he got up, put on his clothes and quietly went to the barn. The cows were sleepy and surprised, it was early for them too. Rob never milked the cows alone, but he did it easily. Because it was not just milking, it was a gift to his father who loved him. When he finished and the two milk cans were full, he closed the door of the barn, got home and quickly jumped into bed.
In less than a minute the door opened. “Rob!” His father called. “We have to get up, son, even if it is Christmas”. “Alright”, he said sleepily. The door closed, but he did not get up. He was waiting and smiling, and his heart danced inside. In a few minutes, which seemed like eternity, the door opened again.
“Rob!” “Yes, Dad…” His father laughed. “What’s that?” “It’s for Christmas, Dad!” His father hugged him, and although they did not see each other in the dark, he heard, “Son, I thank you. Nobody ever did a nicer thing…”
And then they went down together to the Christmas tree. There the father told his mother and the younger children how Rob got up early and did the milking alone. “It’s the best Christmas gift in my life”, said the father. “And I will remember it, son, every Christmas morning as long as I live”.
And today, he still remembered it, although his father died long ago. He remembered that barn with the cows, where he made his first gift of love.
And this Christmas morning he wanted to write a card to his wife and tell her how much he loved her and how happy he was that she loved him. So he sat down at his desk and started to write: My dearest love…
Such a happy, happy Christmas!
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