Story 1
The First Jumper¹

Every year, in early November, Grandma Maureen started knitting².

1. 2to knit – stricken

Nobody³ asked her to⁴. Nobody wanted her to. But every year, like⁵ the rain and the dark evenings, the knitting began.

1. 3nobody – niemand
2. 4to ask sb to do sth – fragen; jdn. bitten, etw. zu tun
3. 5like – wie

"I've started your jumper, love⁶," she told her son Graham over the phone. "This year's theme⁷ is 'Winter Wonderland'."

1. 6love – Liebe; Schatz /als Anrede/
2. 7theme – Motto, Thema

Graham closed his eyes. Last year's theme had been "The Twelve Days of Christmas⁸." His jumper had featured⁹ twelve tiny¹⁰ knitted drummers¹¹ across¹² the chest¹³. The drummers had looked less¹⁴ like musicians and more like angry potatoes holding¹⁵ sticks¹⁶.

1. 8The Twelve Days of Christmas – bekanntes englisches Weihnachtslied
2. 9to feature – zeigen, darstellen
3. 10tiny – winzig
4. 11drummer – Trommler
5. 12across – quer über
6. 13chest – Brust
7. 14less – weniger
8. 15to hold – halten
9. 16stick – Stock

"That sounds¹⁷ lovely¹⁸, Mum," Graham said, because Graham always said things were lovely. It was his greatest¹⁹ skill²⁰ and his greatest weakness²¹.

1. 17to sound – klingen
2. 18lovely – schön, herrlich
3. 19great – toll, großartig; groß
4. 20skill – Fähigkeit, Können
5. 21weakness – Schwäche

Graham's wife, Helen, was listening from the kitchen doorway²². She made a face²³. Graham made a face back.

1. 22doorway – Türöffnung, Tür
2. 23to make a face – eine Grimasse schneiden, das Gesicht verziehen

"What colour?" Helen whispered²⁴.

1. 24to whisper – flüstern

Graham covered²⁵ the phone. "She hasn't said yet²⁶."

1. 25to cover – bedecken, zuhalten
2. 26not yet – noch nicht

"Ask."

"Mum, what colour is it this year?"

"Oh, it's going to be beautiful, love. Purple and orange. With silver thread²⁷ for the snow."

1. 27thread – Faden, Garn

Purple and orange. With silver thread. Graham looked at Helen. Helen looked at Graham.

"That sounds wonderful, Mum," Graham said.

He hung up²⁸ the phone and sat down heavily²⁹ at the kitchen table.

1. 28to hang up – auflegen
2. 29heavily – schwer

"Purple and orange," he told Helen.

"Of course."

"With silver thread."

"Naturally."

Their daughter Emily walked into the kitchen, eating toast. She was sixteen and had very strong³⁰ opinions³¹ about fashion³². "What's happening?"

1. 30strong – stark; entschieden, fest
2. 31opinion – Meinung, Ansicht
3. 32fashion – Mode

"Grandma's³³ started knitting."

1. 33's – hat /Kurzform von has/

Emily stopped chewing³⁴. "Already³⁵? It's the first of November."

1. 34to chew – kauen
2. 35already – schon, bereits

"She started earlier this year," Graham said. "Last year it was the fifth. The year before³⁶, the third."

1. 36before – vor; vorher, zuvor

"By³⁷ 2030, she'll start in September," Helen predicted³⁸.

1. 37by – mit, von; bis spätestens
2. 38to predict – vorhersagen

"What's the theme?" Emily asked carefully.

"Winter Wonderland. Purple and orange."

Emily put down her toast. "I'm not wearing it."

"You are wearing it."

"Dad, I wore³⁹ the drummer one to school. Kyle Patterson called me 'Potato Girl' for three months."

1. 39to wear – tragen, anhaben

"It's Christmas. We wear the jumpers. We smile. We tell Grandma they're beautiful. That's the rule⁴⁰."

1. 40rule – Regel

"It's a terrible rule."

"It's the only⁴¹ rule that keeps this family together⁴²."

1. 41only – nur; einzig
2. 42to keep sth together – zusammenhalten

Emily picked up⁴³ her toast again. "Can I at least⁴⁴ wear a coat over it?"

1. 43to pick sth up – aufheben, in die Hand nehmen
2. 44at least – wenigstens, zumindest

"No. Your grandmother checks."

"She checks?"

"She once made⁴⁵ your Uncle Peter unzip⁴⁶ his jacket at Christmas lunch because she wanted to see if⁴⁷ her reindeer⁴⁸ pattern⁴⁹ was visible⁵⁰. He had tried to hide⁵¹ it under three layers⁵²."

1. 45to make sb do sth – jdn. dazu bringen, etw. zu tun
2. 46to unzip – den Reißverschluss öffnen
3. 47if – wenn, falls; ob
4. 48reindeer – Rentier
5. 49pattern – Muster
6. 50visible – sichtbar
7. 51to hide – verstecken
8. 52layer – Schicht

"Uncle Peter is a wise man."

"Uncle Peter was caught⁵³ and punished⁵⁴. He had to wear the jumper for the entire⁵⁵ Boxing Day walk⁵⁶. In public⁵⁷. Past⁵⁸ the neighbours⁵⁹."

1. 53to catch – fangen; erwischen
2. 54to punish – bestrafen
3. 55entire – ganz, gesamt
4. 56Boxing Day walk – Spaziergang am zweiten Weihnachtsfeiertag
5. 57in public – in der Öffentlichkeit
6. 58past – an … vorbei
7. 59neighbour – Nachbar

Emily considered⁶⁰ this. "What happened to the neighbours?"

1. 60to consider sth – über etw. nachdenken

"Mrs Henderson from number forty-two asked where he bought it. She thought it was deliberately⁶¹ ugly⁶². Ironic fashion, she called it."

1. 61deliberately – absichtlich
2. 62ugly – hässlich

"Was it ironic?"

"No, Emily. It was just⁶³ ugly."

1. 63just – gerade; einfach, nur

Helen poured herself⁶⁴ more tea. "The real problem isn't the jumper. It's your mother's face when she gives it to you. She looks so happy. So proud⁶⁵. She's been knitting for weeks, thinking about each⁶⁶ stitch⁶⁷."

1. 64to pour oneself sth – sich etw. einschenken
2. 65proud – stolz
3. 66each – jeder, jede, jedes
4. 67stitch – Masche

"I know," Graham said quietly⁶⁸. "That's why⁶⁹ we can never tell her."

1. 68quietly – leise
2. 69that's why – deshalb, darum

"Tell her what?"

"That every jumper she has ever⁷⁰ knitted is, without question⁷¹, the ugliest piece of clothing⁷² in the entire United Kingdom."

1. 70ever – je, jemals
2. 71without question – ohne Frage, zweifellos
3. 72piece of clothing – Kleidungsstück

The kitchen was silent⁷³ for a moment.

1. 73silent – still, stumm

"Some of them are quite⁷⁴ warm," Helen offered⁷⁵.

1. 74quite – ziemlich
2. 75to offer – anbieten; einwerfen

"That is literally⁷⁶ the only positive thing anyone has ever said about them."

1. 76literally – buchstäblich, wirklich

Emily finished her toast. "I love Grandma."

"We all love Grandma."

"I just wish⁷⁷ she loved us enough⁷⁸ to stop knitting."

1. 77to wish – wünschen
2. 78enough – genug

Graham sighed⁷⁹. Somewhere⁸⁰ in a small house in Wolverhampton, Maureen Fletcher was happily knitting purple and orange wool, humming⁸¹ Christmas songs, and creating⁸² something that would make her family smile through gritted teeth⁸³ on Christmas morning.

1. 79to sigh – seufzen
2. 80somewhere – irgendwo
3. 81to hum – summen
4. 82to create – schaffen, erschaffen
5. 83through gritted teeth – zähneknirschend, mit zusammengebissenen Zähnen

It was tradition. It was love. It was absolutely hideous⁸⁴.

1. 84hideous – scheußlich, grässlich