The perfect Christmas Tree
In our house in Middle Cove, Newfoundland, the tradition was to find the perfect tree before Christmas Eve. And this year, my brother Gilbert and I were being trusted to do it entirely on our own. And we took the challenge very seriously. So, axe in Gilberts hand, saw in mine, we set out for all the spots we imagined we might find a magnificent fir (冷杉树).
We were young, but we knew the rules. Trees could not be taken from personal land and not near any road.
We started out with the best of intentions. We were on Pine River Lane, and looking at the firs in the fields, but none of them looked quite good enough. It was getting dark but we still had no luck. On the way home, it was Gilbert who stopped, grabbed my arm and said, "I see it!"
"You see what?" I said.
"Right there, look. It's perfect."
And he was right. It was a young tree, two metres tall, standing alone. It was the classic Christmas tree. In all my years, I had never seen such a perfect one.
Perfect except for one small problem. The tree was pretty close to the road. Also, it was behind a fence, so the tree was in someone's yard. And not just any someone. It was in the yard of Timmy Green, my best friend.
However, the chances of our finding another one like it were slim to none.
"You stand guard," Gilbert said. And with that, we were over the fence and on our bellies crawling toward the target. I lay in the snow and put the Greens, house under surveillance (监视). I was to whistle or cough if I saw anyone coming.
Within a few minutes, it fell.
"Grab the end," Gilbert said, and we lifted it over the fence. Now we were on the road.
注意：
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2）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语己为你写好；
Suddenly Gilbert's eyes widened. "Our footprints!" he said.
So it shocked me when I found Mr. Green in our house with my parents, drinking tea on Christmas Eve.
