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CHRISTMAS TREE
Just (как раз) before Christmas in 1944, a letter arrived at our house in Philadelphia. The postmark was from Tuskegee, Alabama, so we all knew who it was from. We excitedly (с нетерпением) gathered around Mother as she opened it (когда она открывала его). My dear Mother, I did not get the leave I expected for Chistmas. (Мне не дали отпуск на Рождество как я ожидал) I will miss all of you. Please leave (оставьте) the Christams tree up until I make it back. I hope to be home by March. Love from your son, Clifton. I was 17 years old at the time. My heard sank (Мое сердце ушло в пятки). I felt a deep sadness (глубоко горевал) that my favourite brother would not be home for Chistmas. He was one of the Tuskegee Airmen and was responsible for maintaining (был ответственным за обслуживание) the airplanes flying off to flight in World War II. My mother, being the oprimist, said, "Well, it looks like we'll get to have two Christmases this year!" After Christmas, my sister and I worked together to make sure we kept that Christmas tree looking as pretty as possible. This was no easy feat 90 (нелегкая задача). By mid-January, the branches dropped so low to the ground that they became a sliding board for the decorations. Each day, ornaments (елочные игрушки) would come crashing to the ground and there were new pine needles (еловые иголки) all over the wooden floor. My sister and I took turns (по очереди) sweeping them up (сметали их). We moved the ornaments to the stronger branches on the tree, hoping the would stay on. Each time we freshened that tree up, my sister and I were full of thoughts about Clifton and how happy we would be to see him again. It made us feel that he was close by, even though he was hundreds miles away. On March 5, the doorbell rand. We ran to the door and gave Clifton a big hug (крепко обняли). As he hugged Mother, I could see him looking over her head at the Christmas tree. "It's beautiful," he said. "Thank you." Clifton oponed his presents and told us all sorts of stories about his work in Tuskegee. That night as we slept, we heard a crash in the living room. We all ran to see what had happened. The tree had toppled (опрокинулась) onto the sofa and there were needles and broken ornaments everywhere. We all had a good laugh. It was fortunate (к счастью) that Clifton got home!