圣誕的早晨 Christmas Morning

圣誕的早晨 Christmas Morning

◎ Jayne Dough

A light drizzle was falling as my sister Jill and I ran out of the Methodist Church, eager to get home and play with the presents that Santa had left for us and our baby sister, Sharon. Across the street from the church was a Pan American gas station where the Greyhound bus stopped. It was closed for Christmas, but I noticed a family standing outside the locked door, huddled under the narrow overhang in an attempt to keep dry. I wondered briefly why they were there but then forgot about them as I raced to keep up with Jill.

天空正下著細(xì)雨，我和姐姐吉爾從衛(wèi)理公會(huì)教堂沖出來(lái)，一心只想快點(diǎn)回家，玩圣誕老人送給我們和小妹莎倫的玩具禮物。長(zhǎng)途汽車會(huì)在教堂對(duì)面的泛美加油站停靠。因?yàn)槟翘焓鞘フQ節(jié)，加油站關(guān)門了，但我卻發(fā)現(xiàn)有一家人站在緊鎖的加油站門外。他們蜷縮在狹窄的檐篷下，盡量避免被雨淋濕。我的腦海中忽然閃現(xiàn)出一個(gè)問(wèn)題：他們?yōu)槭裁匆驹谀莾耗?？但在追趕吉爾時(shí)，這個(gè)疑問(wèn)很快便被拋至腦后了。

Once we got home, there was barely time to enjoy our presents. We had to go off to our grandparents’ house for our annual Christmas dinner. As we drove down the highway through town, I noticed that the family was still there, standing outside the closed gas station.

當(dāng)我們到家后，幾乎沒(méi)有什么時(shí)間去盡情擺弄禮物，因?yàn)轳R上要去爺爺奶奶家共進(jìn)一年一度的圣誕大餐。我們的車路經(jīng)剛才那個(gè)街區(qū)時(shí)，我看到那家人仍站在緊閉的加油站門外。

My father was driving very slowly down the highway. The closer we got to the turnoff for my grandparents’ house, the slower the car went. Suddenly, my father U-turned in the middle of the road and said, “I can’t stand it!”

爸爸沿著高速公路開得很慢，越接近去爺爺奶奶家的岔路口，車子就越慢。突然，爸爸在公路中間來(lái)了個(gè)一百八十度大轉(zhuǎn)彎，原路返回，他說(shuō)：“我實(shí)在不忍心！”

“What?” asked my mother.

“什么？”媽媽問(wèn)他。

“It’s those people back there at the Pan Am, standing in the rain. They’ve got children. It’s Christmas. I can’t stand it.”

“那幾個(gè)站在泛美加油站門外淋雨的人，他們還帶著小孩呢。今天是圣誕節(jié)，我怎么能忍心呢。”

When my father pulled into the service station, I saw that there were five of them: the parents and three children two girls and a small boy.

爸爸把車停在了加油站旁邊，我看見那一家共有五口人：父母和三個(gè)孩子——兩個(gè)女孩，一個(gè)小男孩。

My father rolled down his window. “Merry Christma!” he said.

爸爸把車窗搖了下來(lái)，對(duì)他們說(shuō)：“圣誕快樂(lè)！”

“Howdy!” the man replied. He was very tall and had to stoop slightly to peer into the car.

“你好！”那個(gè)男人答道。他個(gè)子很高，稍微彎下腰來(lái)朝我們車?yán)锟础?/p>

Jill, Sharon, and I stared at the children, and they stared back at us.

我和吉爾、莎倫盯著那幾個(gè)小孩，他們也瞪眼看著我們。

“You waiting on the bus?” my father asked.

“你們是在等車嗎？”爸爸問(wèn)。

The man said that they were. They were going to Birmingham, where he had a brother and prospects of a job.

男人說(shuō)是，他們準(zhǔn)備去伯明翰，他有個(gè)哥哥在那邊，而且希望能在那找份工作。

“Well, that bus isn’t going to come along for several hours, and you’re getting wet standing here. Winborn’s just a couple miles up the road. They’ve got a shed with a cover there, and some benches,” my father said. “Why don’t you all get in the car and I’ll run you up there?”

“嗯，汽車至少得幾個(gè)小時(shí)后才能來(lái)，站在這等，你們都會(huì)淋濕的。往前兩英里是溫邦車站，那兒有個(gè)遮棚，可以避雨，還有長(zhǎng)凳可以坐。”爸爸說(shuō)，“要不你們上車，我把你們捎到那兒吧？”

The man thought about it for a moment, and then he beckoned to his family. They climbed into the car. They had no luggage, only the clothes they were wearing.

男人想了一下，然后示意家人過(guò)來(lái)。他們鉆進(jìn)車?yán)?，除了身上穿的衣服，沒(méi)有任何行李。

Once they settled in, my father looked back over his shoulder and asked the children if Santa had found them yet. Three glum faces mutely gave him his answer.

等他們坐好了，爸爸回過(guò)頭來(lái)問(wèn)那幾個(gè)孩子，圣誕老人有沒(méi)有找到他們。三張憂郁的臉無(wú)聲地回答了他。

“Well, I didn’t think so,” my father said, winking at my mother, “because when I saw Santa this morning, he told me that he was having trouble finding you , and he asked me if he could leave your toys at my house. We’ll just go get them before I take you to the bus stop.”

“嗯，我不這么認(rèn)為，”爸爸邊說(shuō)邊眨眼暗示媽媽，“因?yàn)樵缟衔矣龅绞フQ老人了，他說(shuō)找不到你們，就問(wèn)我是否能把給你們的禮物先寄存在我家?，F(xiàn)在咱們就去拿禮物吧，一會(huì)兒我再送你們?nèi)ボ囌尽?rdquo;

All at once, the three children’s faces lit up, and they began to bounce around in the back seat, laughing and chattering.

三個(gè)孩子的臉頓時(shí)神采飛揚(yáng)，開始在后座上歡呼雀躍，笑笑嚷嚷起來(lái)。

When we got out of the car at our house, the three children ran through the front door and straight to the toys that were spread out under our Christmas tree. One of the girls spied Jill’s doll and immediately hugged it to her. I remember that the little boy grabbed Sharon’s ball. And the other girl picked up something of mine. All this happened a long time ago, but the memory of it remains clear. That was the Christmas when my sisters and I learned the joy of making others happy.

到了我家，一下車，那三個(gè)孩子穿過(guò)大門就直奔圣誕樹下的禮物。其中一個(gè)小女孩看到了吉爾的洋娃娃，立刻把它抱在懷里。我記得那小男孩把莎倫的小球抓去了，而另外一個(gè)女孩則拿走了我的一件禮物。這是很久以前發(fā)生的事了，至今我仍記憶猶新。因?yàn)槟莻€(gè)圣誕節(jié)，我和我的姐妹們感受到了使別人快樂(lè)的愉悅。

My mother noticed that the middle child was wearing a short-sleeved dress, so she gave the girl Jill’s only sweater to wear.

媽媽看到他們家老二穿著的裙子是短袖的，便把吉爾唯一的一件毛衣送給了她。

My father invited them to join us at our grandparents’ for Christmas dinner, but the parents refused. Even when we all tried to talk them into coming, they were firm in their decision.

爸爸邀請(qǐng)他們一起去爺爺奶奶家吃圣誕大餐，但他們夫婦拒絕了。不管我們?cè)趺磩裾f(shuō)，他們還是堅(jiān)持他們的決定。

Back in the car, on the way to Winborn, my father asked the man if he had money for bus fare.

回到車上，返回溫邦的路上，爸爸問(wèn)那個(gè)男人是否有買車票的錢。

His brother had sent tickets, the man said.

他說(shuō)他哥哥把車票寄來(lái)了。

My father reached into his pocket and pulled out two dollars, which was all he had left until his next payday. He pressed the money into the man’s hand. The man tried to give it back, but my father insisted. “It’ll be late when you get to Birmingham, and these children will be hungry before then. Take it. I’ve been broke before, and I know what it’s like when you can’t feed your family.”

爸爸把手伸進(jìn)了口袋里，掏出了僅有的兩美元，那是我們熬到下次發(fā)工資前的所有錢。他把錢塞到那個(gè)男人的手里，男人試圖把錢推回來(lái)，但爸爸堅(jiān)持要他收下。“等你們到伯明翰時(shí)已經(jīng)很晚了，路上孩子們會(huì)餓的。收下吧，我以前也曾一貧如洗，我理解，讓家人挨餓的滋味很難受。”

We left them there at the bus stop in Winborn. As we drove away, I watched out the window as long as I could, look back at the little girl hugging her new doll.

把他們送到溫邦的車站后，我們便離開了。當(dāng)我們驅(qū)車離開時(shí)，我透過(guò)車窗望了他們好久，看著那個(gè)小女孩抱著她的新玩偶。

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