10 short stories O. Henry. Книга для чтения на английском языке. Неадаптированный текст

Видимо, он тем самым он хочет сказать, что Джим – парень простой, в университетах не учился| unwrap that package you may see why you had me going |я так себя вел| a while at first.»

White fingers and nimble |проворно| tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating |требующие| the immediate employment |здесь это не трудоустройство, а вмешательство| of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat.

For there lay The Combs |гребни для волос| – the set of combs, side and back |задние и боковые|, that Della had worshipped |обожала| for long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise-shell |из панциря черепахи|, with jewelled rims —just the shade to wear |под цвет ее волос| in the beautiful vanished hair. They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned|изнывало и томилось| 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 |локонов… больше не было|.

But she hugged them to her bosom |к груди|, and at length she was able to look up with dim eyes |глазами с поволокой| and a smile and say: “My hair grows so fast, Jim!”

And then Della leaped up |прыгнула| like a little singed cat and cried, “Oh, oh!”

Jim had not yet seen |еще пока не видел| his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly |воодушевленно| upon her open palm.

The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit |пылкой души|.

“Isn’t it a dandy |превосходна|, 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 |Вместо того, чтобы подчиниться|, Jim tumbled down |рухнул| 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 |them. Разговорное сокращение| 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 |пора накладывать ребрышки|.”

The magi, as you know, were wise men – wonderfully wise men – who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger |ясли|. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents.