评论
打印
His sisters sewed presents, and his mother and father always bought something he needed, a warm jacket, maybe, or a book. And he always saved and bought them each something, too.
他的妹妹们自己缝制礼物，他的父母总是买一些他需要的东西，一件保暖的夹克，或是一本书。他也总是攒钱给他们每个人买东西。
He wished, that Christmas he was fifteen, he had a better present for his father instead of the usual tie from the ten-cent store. He lay on his side and looked out of his attic window.
那年圣诞节他十五岁，他希望送给他父亲一份好点的礼物，而不是从便宜的商店买来的普通的领带。他侧身躺着，从阁楼的窗户向外看。
"Dad," he had once asked when he was a little boy. "What is a stable?"
“爸爸，”当他还是小孩子的时候曾经问过，“马厩是什么？”
"It's just a barn," his father had replied, "like ours."
“就是牲口棚，”父亲答道，“就像我们家的那个。”
Then Jesus had been bom in a barn, and to a barn the shepherds and the Wise Men had come, bringing their Christmas gifts!
耶稣就是在马厩里降生的，牧羊人和圣人们都带着他们的圣诞礼物来到马厩！
A thought struck him like a silver dagger. Why should he not give his father a special gift, out there in the bam? He could get up earlier, creep into the barn and get all the milking done. And then when his father went in to start the milking, he'd see it all done.
他灵机一动。为什么不在牲口棚里送给父亲一件特别的礼物呢？他可以早点起床， 悄悄溜进牲口棚，把牛奶都挤完。然后当他父亲进去开始挤牛奶时，就会发现活儿都干完了。
He laughed to himself as he gazed at the stars. It was what he would do, and he mustn't sleep too soundly.
他凝视着星星，暗自笑了。他就要这么做，决不能睡得太死。
He must have woken twenty times, striking a match each time to look at his old watch.At a quarter to three, he got up and crept downstairs, careful of the creaky boards, and let himself out. A big star hung low over the roof, a reddish gold. The cows looked at him, sleepy and surprised. It was early for them, too.
他醒了足有20次，每次醒来都划根火柴看看他那块旧表。差一刻钟三点，他起床了，悄悄下楼，小心翼翼地不让地板发出吱吱的声音，然后走了出去。一颗很大的星星低悬在屋顶上空，发出淡红色的金光。奶牛瞅瞅他，睡意未尽，有些吃惊。对它们来说，时间也太早了。
