10 shorts stories by O. Henry. Книга для чтения на английском языке

He had been passing a large house near the beginning of that great broad street called Fifth Avenue. It was the home of two old ladies of an old family. These two old ladies had a deep love of traditions |они были влюблены в традиции|. There were certain things they always did. On Thanksgiving Day at noon they always sent a servant to stand at the door. There he waited for the first hungry person who walked by |проходил мимо|. The servant had orders |у прислуги был приказ| to bring that person into the house and feed him until he could eat no more. Stuffy Pete happened to pass by |так случилось, что проходил мимо| on his way to the park. The servant had gathered him in. Tradition had been followed |была соблюдена|.

Stuffy Pete sat in the park looking straight before him for ten minutes. Then he felt a desire to look in another direction. With a very great effort, he moved his head slowly to the left.

Then his eyes grew wider and his breath stopped. His feet in their torn shoes at the ends of his short legs moved about |болтались| on the ground.

For the Old Gentleman was coming across Fourth Avenue toward Stuffy’s seat.

Every Thanksgiving Day for nine years the Old Gentleman had come there to find Stuffy Pete on his seat. That was a thing that the Old Gentleman was trying to make into a tradition |превратить в традицию|. Every Thanksgiving Day for nine years he had found Stuffy there. Then he had led Stuffy to a restaurant and watched him eat a big dinner.

They do these things more easily in old countries like England |часто в английском слово “they” – “они” не означает никого конкретного, это просто “люди”. Перевод этого предложения – в старых странах подобные вещи делаются чаще. Кем делаются? Людьми|. They do them without thinking about them.

But in this young country, we must think about them. In order to build |to build – это строить, но это еще и создать| a tradition, we must do the same thing again and again for a long time. The Old Gentleman loved his country. He believed he was helping to build a great American tradition. And he had been doing very well. Nine years is a long time here.

The Old Gentleman moved, straight and proud, toward the tradition that he was building. Truly feeding Stuffy Pete |от всего сердца кормя Стаффи Пита… Слово stuffy имеет много значений – душный, скучный, занудный, забитый, чопорный. Стаффи Пит – это явно кличка, но какое именно значение слова stuffy имел ввиду О. Генри понять сложно, поэтому в русском переводе слово не было переведено. Стаффи Пит так и остался Стаффи Питом| once a year was not a very important tradition. There are greater and more important traditions in England. But it was a beginning. It proved that a tradition was at least possible in America.

The Old Gentleman was thin and tall and sixty. He was dressed all in black. He wore eye-glasses. His hair was whiter |не белее. Стало больше седины в волосах| and thinner than it had been last year |чем было в прошлом году. Опять had и третья форма глагола – на этот момент седины больше чем на момент в прошлом году|. His legs did not seem as strong as they had seemed the year before.

As this kind Old Gentleman came toward him, Stuffy began to shake and his breath was shorter. He wished he could fly away. But he could not move from his seat.

“Good morning,” said the Old Gentleman. “I am glad to see that the troubles of another year have not hurt you. You continue to move in health about the beautiful world |поэтичное предложение, которое не перевести буквально. Это что-то вроде «мир прекрасен, и я рад, что ваше здоровье тоже хорошее| . For that blessing you and I can give thanks on this day of thanksgiving. If you will come with me, my man, I will give you a dinner that will surely make your body feel as thankful as your mind.”