Pitschen ma en gamba - Small, but powerful [A Band of Brothers Story]

Christmas

As Ella ambled through the forest, hands buried deep in her pockets and shoulders hunched up, a distant sound reached her ears. She stopped and listened.

From the German lines, the familiar verses of 'O Christmas Tree' floated across the clearing. Sighing softly, the girl put her head back and looked up into the clear night sky. Stars twinkled down on her. Must be nice up there, she thought. Away from all the pain, the fear, the death.

Absently, the brunette began singing along with the Germans under her breath, a mere whisper on the winter breeze. The words slid from her lips, tongue not even noticing the different language, switching effortlessly with the ease of yearlong practice.

With the song, homesickness came. Wrapping her arms tighter around her shivering frame, Ella spoke quietly: "Hey Mama, fröhlichi Wianachta. I hoff, es got dr guat. I ha di liab." The stars didn't answer, but she found their light slightly comforting.

Footsteps approached. "Hello, Ella."

The small girl tore her gaze away from the sky to glance at her former CO. "Hello sir", she greeted.

After a beat, she looked at him again, a genial smile on her face. "Merry Christmas, sir."

Captain Winters returned the smile. "Merry Christmas, Ella."

He came to stand next to her.

"You're shaking", he noted.

Her eyes flickered over to him for a moment, glittering. "So are you, sir." She looked up. "Clear nights are always colder", she added quietly.

It was indeed brutally cold, more so than the previous nights. Each breath was like a mouthful of needles travelling down her throat. She had asked the NCOs to ensure that at least 3 people shared a foxhole. She didn't want to find any more men frozen to death the next morning.

Over on the enemy line, the singing picked up again, the tune changing to 'Silent Night'. Ella fell in, still keeping her voice low.

***

"Where did you learn German?", Winters asked softly after listening to her a while. He already knew she was at least bilingual, some foreign words sometimes sneaking into her speech, but he hadn't heard her speak German before.

"Oh, my Mama taught me. It's my second- no hang on...my third? Ach, never mind, it's one of my mother tongues", she answered, a touch of pride underneath her normal nonchalance.

"How many languages do you speak at home then?", he inquired.

The brunette coughed into her sleeve-clad hands. "Pardon me", she said before answering: "Well, growing up, we spoke English with my Papa. My mother switched between English, German, Swiss German and Rumantsh. It was her way of giving us a connection to our roots, to her side of the family." A gentle smile appeared on her lips. "Mama is Swiss, you know. They have four national languages there and she said almost each part of the country speaks a different dialect."

The captain was impressed, and intrigued. He smiled at her enthusiasm. "That sounds confusing. Do the people even understand each other?"

Ella nodded her head vigorously. "Oh yes, sir, most of the time. Where my Mama grew up, they spoke Rumantsh and Swiss German. And everything written – or almost everything – was in German."

He frowned. "So, the people in Switzerland have an own version of German?"

"Uhm... yes, those dialects. But in school, they all have to learn the German that's spoken in Germany, but it's not the same German, because some words are different." She broke off and frowned as well. "You're right. It is confusing."