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№ 8
THE MYSTERIOUS LETTER
One evening when Mrs. Potter arrived home from work she found a very mysterious letter in the letter-box. Her husband came home half an hour later, and she showed it to him.
«Hey, Jim,» she said, «look at this. Someone's sent us two tickets for Holiday on Ice.»
«Have they?» said Potter. «Who?»
«I don't know,» she said. «There was just this note with them. It says: «Guess who sent you these tickets.» Who do you think it can be?»
«I've no idea. Where was the letter posted?» asked Mr. Potter.
«Here in Birmingham. Do you think it was the Whites?»
«No, they're on holiday,» said Mr. Potter.
«It can't be them, then.»
«When are the tickets for?»
«Tonight at 8 o'clock.»
«Good heavens. We must hurry, or we'll be late. Let's just have a snack now. We can have a big meal after the show. Perhaps we'll find out later who sent the tickets.»
When the Potters arrived at the ice rink their tickets were checked. They had good seats — right at the front. It was a wonderful show. The Potters had never seen anything like it. There were stars from all over the world. The Potters had seen most of them on television, but here they seemed so much better with their beautiful clothes and the music.
After the show they went to the best Indian restaurant in Birmingham. When they entered the restaurant a waitress showed them a table. They had a drink until the meal was served. It was a lovely meal. Mr. Potter had beef curry, and Mrs. Potter had chicken curry. They were both very happy. «Isn't this a perfect evening?» said Mrs. Potter.
«Yes, it certainly is,» said Mr. Potter. «This is the first time that we've been out together for months.»
«Yes. And that's only because the tickets were sent to us. I still can't imagine who sent them.»
«Never mind,» said Mr. Potter. «We'll find out one day. Now, let's have some coffee before we drive home.»
It was nearly midnight when the Potters turned into their street.
«Hey, Jim, look!» said Mrs. Potter suddenly. «Did we leave the lights on in the house?»
«The lights? No, I don't think we did. And look, the front door is open, too.»
Mr. Potter stopped the car, and they got out.
«The door has been broken open,» said Mr. Potter.
When they went into the house, they had a terrible show.
«Look, my big vase of flowers has been knocked over. There's water all over the carpet.»
«Look in here, Margaret!» called Mr. Potter from the living-room. «The desk has been broken into. The papers have been thrown all over the floor — and the money's gone! It has been stolen!»
«The drawers of the cupboard have been emptied, too — the silver's all been taken. And the radio in the kitchen — where is it?»
«The cassette recorder is gone, too. And the camera.»
«What about my jewel case? — Oh, no! It's been broken open, too. Everything in it has been stolen.»
Just then there was a knock at the front door. Mr. and Mrs. Potter looked at each other, frightened, and then they went into the hall. A policeman was standing at the door.
«Excuse me. I saw that your front door was wide open, so I thought I would just tell you — but what have we here?»
«Oh, officer, something terrible has happened. Look at all this.» Mrs. Potter sat down and began to cry.
«I see. Your house has been broken into. What's been taken?»
The police officer took a notebook out of his pocket, and together with Mr. Potter he went over the whole house.
The Potters did not sleep well that night. The next day the postman brought another letter. It said: «You '11 never guess who sent you the tickets!»
«That's the lousiest trick I've ever known!» cried Mr. Potter when he saw the letter. «How could we be so stupid! If only I could lay my hands on him!»
Vocabulary notes:
to guess – угадывать
to have a snack – перекусить
to break into the house – ворваться, вломиться в дом, в отсутствие хозяев
lousy [´laυzı] – разг. грязный, отвратительный, мерзкий
to lay hands on… – схватить
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