WATCHINGTIME
(В этом рассказе 8-летняя девочка, Eva Koshal, говорит от имени будильника, которому она придает человеческие черты внешности и поступков)
Beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep.... Bang! Hooray[1], Emily awake[2], that's (
) my first job of the day done[3]. I
a small[4], pink[5], glossy[6] alarm clock[7] with green numbers[8] on my face[9] and a button on my head[10] for TURNING off[11] my loud beeping[12] shout[13]. I sit on Emily's bedside[14] table next to[15] a messy[16] pile of books[17], pens and stickers[18]. Emily
now nine and I
keeping a close eye on[19] her for the last few years. Mostly, I tick along[20] at a constant speed[21] but there
a few times when Emily
needed my help.
Two years ago, her big, beloved[22] Siamese cat[23] called[24] Captain, went missing[25]. She looked for[26] him after school everyday, calling his name[27] and asking neighbours to check in[28] their gardens and sheds. She came home miserable[29] and cried herself to sleep[30] every night.
She missed[31] this warm, furry [32], purring[33]body curled up[34] next to[35] her on the bed. I hated[36] to see her cry and the nights dragged on[37] and on. I used every scrap[38] of energy to push[39] my hands[40] round faster and faster to try and zoom through till dawn. My hands ached [41]and burned[42]and the battery grewhotter [43]and hotter. I helped to get Emily through[44] seven sad weeks before Captain reappeared and her smile came back.
Last August Isquashed into a big purple suitcase with t-shirts, beach towels and Teddy and taken on a hot summer holiday. It
wonderful. I watched while Emily ran in and out of her bedroom in her blue and pink flamingo swimming costume, her wet feet leaving puddles[45] on the stone floor.
She released a bucketful[46] of laughter as she found her water squirter[47] and ran off again outside to spray[48] her brother. I loved SEEING that huge beamingsmile[49] and wanted it to last[50] forever. I held my breath[51]
and concentrated as hard as I could on not MOVING my hands but the battery kept TRYING to push me forwards. I tensed every muscle to keep myself still[52] and managed to give her just a little more time.
But Ionly a small, pink, glossy alarm clock and I have such big job to do. I
watch Emily every second, every minute, every hour that I can. I
speed through[53] the sad times and try to hold onto[54] the happy times.
I(или
)watching time