Suddenly she whirled |to whirl – кружиться, вертеться| from the window and stood before the glass. Her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its colour within |в течение, в пределах чего-либо| twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulled down |to pull down – потянуть вниз| her hair and let it fall |буквально – позволила упасть. Лучше – отпустила| to its full length.

Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs |в конце имени Джима стоит “s”, а значит речь о семье Янгов, а не о Джиме| in which they both took a mighty pride |чем они очень гордились|. One was Jim’s gold watch that had been his father’s and his grandfather’s. The other was Della’s hair. Had the Queen of Sheba lived |Если бы хоть сама царица Савская жила…| in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out of the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty’s jewels and gifts |специально сушила бы волосы напротив окна, просто чтобы заставить померкнуть|. Had King Solomon been the janitor |у слова “a janitor” много значений. Это и уборщик, и дворник, и слуга, и швейцар. Тут О. Генри имеет в виду именно швейцара, который стоит и встречает гостей, а в подвале у него все богатства Соломона, а Джим бы, зная об этих богатствах все равно проходил бы мимо и вытаскивал бы свои прекрасные часы, а швейцар-Соломон, видел бы эти часы, и при всех своих богатствах, завидовал бы Джиму|, with all his treasures piled up |to pile up – собирать в кучу, накапливать| in the basement, Jim would have pulled out |выдергивал бы. Would и have, и третья форма глагола здесь значат, что вся эта ситуация гипотетическая и в реальной жизни никак не возможна| his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.

So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her, rippling and shining |сверкая, окутали ее| like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment |одеяние| for her. And then she did it up |подняла их| again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered |засомневалась. Сейчас в речи в этом смысле чаще используется слово ”to doubt”| for a minute and stood still |to stand still – замереть| while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.

On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat |О. Генри часто пользуется приемом инверсии – переставляет слова в предложении так, что оно получается не вполне стандартным для английского языка. On went her old brown jacket – это инверсия. Обычное предложение выглядело бы “her old brown jacket went on” – она надела| With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she cluttered out |устремилась| of the door and down the stairs to the street.

Where she stopped the sign read |буквально – на знаке читалось|: “M-me Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds.” One flight up Della ran |взбежала на один пролет, а значит, на второй этаж|, and collected herself, panting |перевела дух|. Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the “Sofronie |не выглядела сообразно своему имени|.”

“Will you buy my hair?” asked Della.

“I buy hair,” said Madame. «Take yer |это не опечатка. О. Генри передает произношение мадам| hat off and let’s have a sight at the looks of it.”

Down rippled the brown cascade.

“Twenty dollars,” said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand.

“Give it to me quick” said Della.

Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings |пролетели на розовых крыльях|. Forget the hashed metaphor |Буквально – забудьте грубую метафору. Лучше – простите за избитую метафору|. She was ransacking |рыскала| the stores for Jim’s present.

She found it at last |наконец|. It surely had been made |было сделано| for Jim and no one else. There was no other like it in any of the stores, and she had turned all of them inside out |вывернула их на изнанку в поисках|. It was a platinum fob chain |цепочка для часов| simple and chaste |строгая| in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation |ценная самим материалом, а не показушными орнаментами| – as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim’s. It was like him |Это была его вещь|. Quietness and value – the description applied to both. Twenty-one dollars they took from her for it, and she hurried home with the 78 cents. With that chain on his watch Jim might be properly anxious |может переживать о времени| about the time in any company. Grand as the watch was, he sometimes looked at it on the sly on account of the old leather strap |украдкой из-за кожаного ремешка…| that he used in place of a chain.

When Della reached home her intoxication |тут О. Генри имеет в виду не интоксикацию в буквальном смысле, а нечто вроде воодушевления, на смену которому пришел разум| gave way a little to prudence and reason. She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love |последствия великодушия и любви|. Which is always a tremendous task |огромная задача| dear friends —a mammoth |громадная| task.