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Erika
Berger – An Advent Wreath and a Wonderful Meal in the Heart of the
Forest
It
was 1975 and the last Friday before Christmas. Erika Berger had had a
great year. Her hairdressing business had done amazingly well, and,
with the recent opening of her second saloon, Erika Berger and her
team of hard working girls were going out to celebrate
Christmas in a very big way. And so, at three o-clock on the
dot, Erika Berger locked up and off they all went for a nice
Christmas meal.
And,
the restaurant Erica Berger had chosen was perfect. It was in the
depths of the Vienna Woods in the picturesque village of Sulz. And,
with snow on the ground the magic of Christmas was complete. And,
the meal was fantastic and the girls were having a wonderful time.
And then, Monika, one of the girls, pointed at the giant Advent
wreath with its 4 burning candles. It looked great hanging from the
ceiling in the middle of the restaurant.
And,
Erika Berger went white in the face.
She
had forgotten to blow out the Advent wreath candles in her saloon. They
were still burning. And, Erika Berger began to feel ill. Advent
wreaths, being made out of fir twigs and fir
cones, could easily burn.
But,
Erika Berger kept a clear head and went into action.
There
were two other people with keys for the saloon. Erica Berger's
mother and the lady living next door to the saloon. And so, leaving
the girls to phone these two ladies, Erika Berger jumped into her car
and drove with great speed back to town! But, would she get there in
time, and, would she still have a saloon?
And
there, in the saloon was her neighbour. The neighbour
had got there just in time. The girls had managed to reach her. Two
minutes later and the saloon would have gone up in flames.
And,
Erika Berger felt both ill and relieved – a mixture of both. She
was unable to cry and unable to laugh! She had, after all, just
spent the last two or three months painting and decorating and
renovating her saloon, and, had almost just lost it! There could
have easily been a disaster.
But,
of course, Erika Berger went back to her party and they carried on
until late. And, everyone was happy that they still had a saloon and
a job to go back to. And, ever since that day, Erika Berger has
never again allowed candles in any of her hairdressing shops.
Erika
Berger. She went out for dinner and forgot to blow out the candles,
but kept a calm head and all was OK!
Erika
Berger – An Advent Wreath and a Wonderful Meal in the Heart of the
Forest!
A Christmas Party - by Nigel A JAMES
Vocabulary
extinguish
- löschen
fir
cones – Tannenzapfen
fir
twigs - Tannenzweig
hard
working – fleißig
neighbour
- Nachbar
never
once – nicht ein Mal
on
the dot - pünktlich
