Mark and his two friends decided to meet at the Christmas Market in their city. They were good friends, but they all had different jobs, and they finished at work at different time. Moreover, they lived at different parts of the city, so they didn’t meet too often.
And that was the reason why they decided to meet at the Christmas Market. They were not so busy at work and the Christmas Market took place only once a year. The people who came there were happy and smiling. They all were in very good mood.
Mark didn’t like the Christmas Markets too much, but he wanted to meet his friends. That’s the reason why he agreed to come there.
He didn’t like the Christmas Markets because there were too many people there. Mark hated crowded places. And food and drinks were expensive. And it was cold. Sometimes it rained. Sometimes it snowed.
But he came. And he came half an hour earlier than they agreed. It was cold, so he started walking from one stall to another. In one stall they sold hot wine and hot punch. At another stall they sold sausages and other food with meat. And then it all repeated. The food and hot wine smelled very good.
He was hungry and he was cold. He didn’t want to eat without his friends, but he decided to buy one hot wine. He wanted to be warm again.
He came closer to one stall with hot drinks. There were many people everywhere. On his left, on his right, there were people everywhere.
‘Can I get one hot wine, please?’ said Mark when he got to the counter.
‘Of course,’ said the young woman inside the stall. ‘Would you like red or white wine?’
‘I will have red hot wine, please,’ said Mark. He waited for the wine and when the young woman put it on the counter, Mark started looking for his wallet. But he couldn’t find it!
‘Where is my wallet?’ he thought. ‘I know that I took it with me. So where is it?’ He checked all his pockets, but he didn’t find the wallet.
‘Is there a problem?’ asked the young woman.
‘Yes. I think I lost my wallet. Or somebody stole it,’ said Mark. ‘Yes, I think somebody stole it. There are so many people here…’ he was very angry. He was angry and sad.
‘I am sorry, but I cannot take this wine now,’ he said and he wanted to leave.
‘Wait!’ said the young woman. I am very sorry that someone stole your wallet. I hope you will find it. But please, take this wine. It is for you. It is a little present. So take it and look around. Maybe your wallet fell on the ground.’
‘It is very kind of you, thank you.’
‘Merry Christmas,’ said the young woman and then she turned to another customer.
moreover /mɔːrˈəʊvə(r)/ – navyše, okrem toho
take place – konať sa
once a year – raz za rok
That’s the reason why – to je ten dôvod prečo..
crowded /ˈkraʊdɪd/ – preplnený ľuďmi
stall /stɔːl/ – predajný stánok
Sparrow's English Reader 