雙語(yǔ) ● Christmas Day in the Morning　圣誕節(jié)的早晨

Christmas Day in the Morning　圣誕節(jié)的早晨

◎ Pearl S. Buck

He woke suddenly and completely. It was four o’clock, the hour at which his father had always called him to get up and help with the milking. Strange how the habits of his youth clung to him still! His father had been dead for thirty years, but, this morning it was Christmas, he did not try to sleep.

他猛地一下醒來(lái)，就再也睡不著了?，F(xiàn)在是凌晨四點(diǎn)鐘，正是以前父親叫他起床幫忙擠奶的時(shí)間。奇怪的是，他年輕時(shí)養(yǎng)成的早醒習(xí)慣還一直保持著！他的父親已經(jīng)去世30年了，他仍舊一到4點(diǎn)鐘就會(huì)醒。可今天是圣誕節(jié)的早晨，所以他不想再接著睡了。

Yet what was the magic of Christmas now? His childhood and youth were long past, and his own children had grown up and gone.

可現(xiàn)在的圣誕節(jié)對(duì)他來(lái)說(shuō)又有什么樣的魔力呢？他的童年和青春已然離他遠(yuǎn)去，他的兒女也已經(jīng)長(zhǎng)大成人、各奔前程去了。

Yesterday his wife had said, it isn’t worthwhile, perhaps—And he had said, “Oh, yes, Alice, even if there are only the two for us, let’s have a Christmas of our own.”

昨天，他的妻子說(shuō)，也許現(xiàn)在不用過(guò)什么圣誕節(jié)了——可他卻十分肯定地說(shuō)：“不！愛(ài)麗絲，即使現(xiàn)在就剩下我們兩個(gè)人，那也得過(guò)一個(gè)屬于自己的圣誕節(jié)。”

Then she had said, “Let’s not trim the tree until tomorrow, Robert. I’m tired.”

妻子接著說(shuō)：“羅伯特，我們明天再裝飾圣誕樹(shù)吧！我有點(diǎn)累了。”

He had agreed, and the tree was still out by the back door.

他同意了。于是，那棵圣誕樹(shù)就被原封不動(dòng)地放在后門那兒。

He lay in his bed in his room. The door to her room was shut because she was a light sleeper. Years ago they had decided to use separate rooms. Neither of them slept as well as they once had. They had been married so long that nothing could separate them, actually.

他在自己的臥室里睡下了，而妻子睡得淺，所以連接兩個(gè)房間的門總是關(guān)著的。分房睡是夫妻倆多年前作出的決定?？蓮哪侵笏麄兙驮僖膊幌褚郧八媚敲聪懔?。畢竟他們一起生活了很久，已經(jīng)沒(méi)有什么能把他們分開(kāi)。

Why did he feel so awake tonight? For it was still night, a clear and starry night. No moon, of course, but the stars were extraordinary! Now that he thought of it, the stars seemed always large and clear before the dawn of Christmas day.

為何今夜他久久不能入眠？因?yàn)榻裢硎且粋€(gè)萬(wàn)里無(wú)云、滿天星斗的夜晚。雖不見(jiàn)月亮，但繁星閃爍。每當(dāng)他回憶起這件往事時(shí)，特別是在圣誕節(jié)的黎明之前想起它，星星就好像顯得特別大，特別亮。

He slipped back in time, as he did so easily nowadays. He was fifteen years old and still on his father’s farm. He loved his father. He had not known it until one day a few days before Christmas, when he had overheard what his father was saying to his mother.

這些年以來(lái)，他總是不由自主地回憶起那些舊事來(lái)。那時(shí)的他才15歲，就住在父親的農(nóng)場(chǎng)里。他深愛(ài)著他的父親?？伤辉煊X(jué)到父親也是那樣地愛(ài)著他，直到圣誕節(jié)前的某一天，他無(wú)意中聽(tīng)到父母的談話。

“Mary, I hate to call Rob in the mornings. He’s growing so fast and he needs his sleep. If you could see how he sleeps when I go in to wake him up! I wish I could manage alone.”

“瑪麗，我實(shí)在不愿意那么早就把羅布叫醒。他正在長(zhǎng)身體，需要睡眠?？吹剿鞘焖臉幼?，我都不忍心叫醒他。我真想一個(gè)人就把活全都干了?！?

“Well, you can’t Adam.” His mother’s voice as brisk, “Besides, he isn’t a child anymore. It’s time he took his turn.”

他的母親毫不猶豫地說(shuō)：“噢！亞當(dāng)，你這么想就不對(duì)了。他已經(jīng)長(zhǎng)大了，是時(shí)候幫家里做點(diǎn)事了?！?

“Yes,” his father said slowly. “But I sure do hate to wake him.”

“話是沒(méi)錯(cuò)，”他的父親緩緩地說(shuō)道，“但我真的不忍心吵醒他?！?

When he heard these words, something in him spoke: his father loved him! He had never thought of that before, taking for granted the tie of their blood. Neither his father nor his mother talked about loving their children—they had no time for such things. There was always so much to do on the farm. Now that he knew his father loved him there would be no more loitering in the mornings and having to be called again. He got up after hat, stumbling blind with sleep and pulled on his clothes.

聽(tīng)到父母的這些話后，他從心底明白了父親對(duì)他的愛(ài)。這是他以前從未想到的，他以前只是想當(dāng)然地以為血緣關(guān)系應(yīng)該就是那樣了吧！他的父母都不會(huì)把對(duì)孩子的愛(ài)掛在嘴上——他們也沒(méi)有時(shí)間那樣做。農(nóng)場(chǎng)里總是有太多事要忙?，F(xiàn)在他明白父親是愛(ài)他的，所以早晨他再也不想賴床，再也不用父親把他叫醒了。這時(shí)，他揉著惺忪睡眼，磕磕絆絆地從床上爬起來(lái)，把衣服穿上。

And then on the night before Christmas, that year when he was fifteen, he lay for a few minutes thinking about the next day. They were poor, and most of the excitement was in the turkey they had raised themselves and mince pies his mother made. His sisters sewed presents and his mother and father always bought something he needed, not only a warm jacket, maybe, but something more, such as a book. And he saved and bought them each something, too.

還記得，那是他15歲那年的圣誕節(jié)前夕，他躺在床上想著第二天要干的事。他家里窮，圣誕節(jié)最激動(dòng)人心的時(shí)刻就是吃自家養(yǎng)的火雞和媽媽親手做的餡餅。他的姐姐會(huì)親手縫制禮物，而父母會(huì)買一些他需要的東西，可能是一件暖和的夾克，也可能是書(shū)本那些東西。當(dāng)然，他也會(huì)用自己省下的零花錢給家人買些禮物。

He wished, that Christmas when 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.

他希望在自己15歲的這個(gè)圣誕節(jié)給父親買一份好點(diǎn)的禮物，而不像過(guò)去那樣，只是到10美分店鋪里買一條普通的領(lǐng)帶。他側(cè)躺著，透過(guò)閣樓的那個(gè)窗戶向外望去。

“Dad,” he had once asked when he was a little boy, “What is a stable?”

“爸爸，”他年幼時(shí)曾經(jīng)問(wèn)過(guò)父親，“馬廄是什么？”

“It’s just a barn,” his father had replied, “l(fā)ike ours.”

“它就是個(gè)養(yǎng)牲口的地方，”他的父親回答道，“就像我們家里的牲口棚一樣?！?

Then Jesus had been born in a barn, and to a barn the shepherds and the Wise Men had come, bringing their Christmas gifts!

耶穌就是在馬廄里出生的，而牧師和智者也會(huì)在馬廄里分發(fā)圣誕禮物！

The thought struck him like a silver dagger. Why should he not give his father a special gift too, out there in the barn? He could get up early, earlier than four o’clock, and he could creep into the barn and get all the milking done. He’d do it alone, milk and clean up, and then when his father went in to start the milking he’d see it all done.

突然他的腦海里閃過(guò)一絲念頭：我為什么不能在牲口棚里給爸爸送一份特別的禮物呢？我可以在凌晨四點(diǎn)之前起來(lái)，這樣就能比父親起得早。接著我就偷偷溜進(jìn)牲口棚把擠奶、清洗牲口棚的活都干完。這樣，當(dāng)父親進(jìn)入牲口棚準(zhǔn)備開(kāi)始干活時(shí)，就能看到自己所做的一切。

He laughed to himself as he gazed at the stars. It was what he would do, and he mustn’t sleep too sound.

他凝望著夜空中的繁星，安靜地想著，不知不覺(jué)得意地笑了。他決定了，就那么做。所以，今晚他不能睡得太沉。

He must have waked twenty times, scratching a match each time to look at his old watch—midnight, and half past one, and then two o’clock.

那一夜，他醒了不下20次，每次都要擦根火柴，借著火光看他那只舊懷表。時(shí)間一分一秒地過(guò)去：1點(diǎn)半，2點(diǎn)……

At a quarter to three he got up and put on his clothes. He crept downstairs, careful of the creaky boards, and let himself out. The cows looked at him, sleepy and surprised. It was early for them too.

還沒(méi)到3點(diǎn)，他就起床穿好了衣服。他躡手捏腳地走下樓，生怕弄出聲音吵醒父母。牲口棚里，一頭奶牛睡眼惺忪地看著他，仿佛正為他這么早來(lái)擠奶而感到奇怪。

But they accepted him placidly and he fetched some hay for each cow and then got the milking pail and the big milk cans.

但是它們還是乖乖地順從了他。他給奶牛添了一些干草，然后將擠奶用的桶和奶罐擺放整齊。

He had never milked all alone before, but it seemed almost easy. He smiled and milked steadily, two strong streams rusing into the pail, frothing and fragrant. The cows were behaving well, as though they knew it was Christmas.

他以前從來(lái)沒(méi)有單獨(dú)擠過(guò)奶，這件事情對(duì)他來(lái)說(shuō)好像也不是很容易。他笑著，不慌不忙地干了起來(lái)。他看著不斷涌出的牛奶流進(jìn)奶桶里，散發(fā)著一股醉人的奶香味。奶牛很聽(tīng)話，好像它們知道今天是圣誕節(jié)似的。

The task went more easily than he had ever known it to go before. Milking for once was not a chore. It was something else, a gift to his father who loved him. He finished, the two milk cans were full, and he covered them and closed the milk-house door carefully, making sure of the latch. He put the stool in its place by the door and hung up the clean milk pail. Then he went out of the barn and barred the door behind him.

任務(wù)完成得比他想象的要順利很多。擠一次奶對(duì)他來(lái)說(shuō)算不上什么繁雜的事情，而是給深愛(ài)他的父親準(zhǔn)備的一份特別禮物。他擠的奶裝滿了兩大奶罐。他蓋上蓋子，小心翼翼地把牛棚的大門關(guān)上，反復(fù)確認(rèn)是否上了門閂。他把凳子放回門邊，把清洗奶桶的刷子掛回門后。然后，他關(guān)上身后的門離開(kāi)牛棚。

Back in his room he had only a minute to pull off his clothes in the darkness and jump into bed, for he heard his father up. He put the covers over his head to silence his quick breathing. The door opened.

回到房間后，他只有1分鐘的時(shí)間摸黑脫掉自己的衣服，然后爬進(jìn)被窩里。因?yàn)樗?tīng)到了父親起床的聲音。他用被子把頭蒙住，好讓狂跳不止的心盡快平靜下來(lái)。這時(shí)，門開(kāi)了。

“Rob!” His father called. “We have to get up, son, even if it is Christmas.”

“羅布,”他的父親叫著他的名字，“孩子，即使今天是圣誕節(jié)我們也得早起呀！”

“Aw-right,” he said sleepily.

“好的，爸爸?！彼b出一副還沒(méi)睡醒的樣子答道。

“I’ll go on out,” his father said. “I’ll get things started.”

“那我先去了，”父親說(shuō)，“我得把事情先干起來(lái)?！?

The door closed and he lay still, laughing to himself. In just a few minutes his father would know. His dancing heart was ready to jump from his body.

門關(guān)上了，他仍舊躺在床上，自己傻笑著。幾分鐘之后，父親就會(huì)看到自己所做的一切。他的心跳加速，那顆心好像時(shí)刻準(zhǔn)備著逃出他的身體。

The minutes were endless—ten, fifteen, he did not know how many—and he heard his father’s footsteps again. The door opened and he lay still.

等待總是漫長(zhǎng)的——10分鐘過(guò)去了，15分鐘過(guò)去了，他甚至不知道究竟過(guò)去了多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。然后他聽(tīng)見(jiàn)父親的腳步聲再一次響起。門開(kāi)了，他仍舊躺在床上。

“Rob!”

“羅布！”

“Yes, Dad—”

“我在呢，爸爸?！?

“You son of a—” His father was laughing, a queer sobbing sort of laugh.

“你小子……”他的父親笑了，哽咽道。

“Thought you’d fool me, did you?” His father was standing by his bed, feeling for him, pulling away the cover.

“你小子騙了我，是不是？”父親就站在他的床邊，掀開(kāi)蒙著他的被子。父親感動(dòng)極了！

“It’s for Christmas, Dad!”

“那是我為你準(zhǔn)備的圣誕禮物，爸爸！”

He found his father had clutched him in a great hug. He felt his father’s arms go around him. It was dark and they could not see each other’s faces.

這時(shí)，只見(jiàn)父親給了他一個(gè)大大的擁抱。他感覺(jué)到父親的雙臂正環(huán)繞著自己，即使在這個(gè)漆黑的看不到彼此的房間里。

“Son, I thank you. Nobody ever did a nicer thing—”

“孩子，謝謝你。這是我收過(guò)的最好的禮物?！?

“Oh, Dad, I want you to know—I do want to be good!” The words broke from him of their own will. He did not know what to say. His heart was bursting with love.

“噢，爸爸！我想讓你知道——我能做得很好！”這些話仿佛自發(fā)地從他嘴里冒出來(lái)。他不知該說(shuō)些什么。此刻他的心中滿滿的都是愛(ài)。

He got up and pulled on his clothes again and they went down to the Christmas tree. Oh what a Christmas, and how his heart had nearly burst again with shyness and pride as his father told his mother and made the younger children listen about how he, Rob, had got up all by himself.

他再一次起床穿上衣服，然后和父親一起走到圣誕樹(shù)旁。多美好的圣誕節(jié)啊！特別是當(dāng)他聽(tīng)到父親對(duì)母親說(shuō)他現(xiàn)在不用別人叫就知道自己起床的時(shí)候，他感到有點(diǎn)害羞，但更多的是自豪。

“The best Christmas gift I ever had, and I’ll remember it, son every year on Christmas morning, so long as I live.”

“這是我收到的最好的圣誕禮物。孩子，只要我活著，每年圣誕節(jié)的早晨我都會(huì)想起它。”

They had both remembered it, and now that his father was dead, he remembered it alone: that blessed Christmas dawn when, alone with the cows in the barn; he had made his first gift of true love.

父子倆都會(huì)記住它?，F(xiàn)如今，他的父親去世了，只有他獨(dú)自一人回憶著：在那個(gè)美好的圣誕節(jié)早晨，他獨(dú)自一人在牛棚里制作了一份充滿愛(ài)的禮物。

Outside the window now the stars slowly faded. He got out of bed and put on his slippers and bathrobe and went softly downstairs. He brought in the tree, and carefully began to trim it. It was done very soon. He then went to his library and fetched the little box that contained his special gift to his wife a diamond brooch, not large but dainty in design. But he was not satisfied. He wanted to tell her—to tell her how much he loved her.

窗外，繁星那閃爍的光環(huán)漸漸褪去。他起床穿上拖鞋、睡袍，輕輕地走下樓。他悄悄地把圣誕樹(shù)搬進(jìn)屋中，小心翼翼地開(kāi)始裝扮起來(lái)。不一會(huì)兒，圣誕樹(shù)就完成了裝扮。接著他到書(shū)房取來(lái)一個(gè)小盒子，里面裝著他為妻子準(zhǔn)備的特殊禮物——一枚不大但設(shè)計(jì)精美的鉆石胸針。然而，他卻仍舊不滿意這份禮物。他想告訴她——自己是多么愛(ài)她。

How fortunate that he had been able to love! Ah, that was the true joy of life, the ability to love! For he was quite sure that some people were genuinely unable to love anyone. But love was alive in him. It still was.

他暗自慶幸自己還能愛(ài)。這正是生活的真正樂(lè)趣所在——能夠愛(ài)。因?yàn)樗钪恍┤说牡拇_確不會(huì)去愛(ài)任何人。但是，愛(ài)卻能在他的身體里生根發(fā)芽。愛(ài)一直都在！

It occurred to him suddenly that it was alive because long ago it had been born in him when he knew his father loved him. That was it: Love alone could awaken love. And he could give the gift again and again.

他忽然明白，自從知道父親深愛(ài)著自己后，愛(ài)就久久地活在他心中。那就是：獨(dú)自去愛(ài)也能喚醒愛(ài)。更重要的是，他還能一次又一次將禮物送給摯愛(ài)。

This morning, this blessed Christmas morning, he would give it to his beloved wife. He could write it down in a letter for her to read and keep forever. He went to his desk and began his love letter to his wife: My dearest love...

這個(gè)早晨，這個(gè)美好的圣誕節(jié)早晨，他將把愛(ài)送給心愛(ài)的妻子。他將把愛(ài)寫進(jìn)一封信里，讓妻子看后能將愛(ài)永遠(yuǎn)地保存下來(lái)。他走到書(shū)桌旁坐下，開(kāi)始了他那封寫給摯愛(ài)的情書(shū)：我最親愛(ài)的愛(ài)人……

Such a happy, happy, Christmas!

多么美好、多么幸福的圣誕節(jié)??！

超多雙語(yǔ)閱讀，盡在聽(tīng)力課堂