On Christmas Eve the Tuscumbia schoolchildren had their tree, to which they invited me. In the centre of the schoolroom stood a beautiful tree ablaze and shimmering in the soft light, its branches loaded with strange, wonderful fruit. It was a moment of supreme happiness. I danced and capered round the tree in an ecstasy. When I learned that there was a gift for each child, I was delighted, and the kind people who had prepared the tree permitted me to hand the presents to the children. In the pleasure of doing this, I did not stop to look at my own gifts; but when I was ready for them, my impatience for the real Christmas to begin almost got beyond control. I knew the gifts I already had were not those of which friends had thrown out such tantalizing hints, and my teacher said the presents I was to have would be even nicer than these. I was persuaded, however, to content myself with the gifts from the tree and leave the others until morning.
圣诞前夜，塔斯坎比亚镇上的学生们立起圣诞树开起聚会，邀请我一同参加。漂亮的圣诞树就放在教室中央，枝头挂满了奇异的果实，在柔和的灯光下闪亮闪亮的。那是最幸福的一刻。我围着圣诞树又蹦又跳，欢呼雀跃，当我得知大家都有礼物的时候，更是高兴极了。和善的晚会筹划者让我给孩子们分发礼物，于是，我乐呵呵地忙碌了一晚上，连自己的礼物都没顾上看。圣诞节怎么还没来呢？我真是等不及了。我知道，这些礼物还不是朋友们逗我玩时提到的那些，因为沙利文小姐说，家人们送我的礼物要比这些还要好。不过，她也对我说，先凑合玩玩树上的礼物吧，明天一早答案就会揭晓了。
The first Christmas after Miss Sullivan came to Tuscumbia was a great event. Everyone in the family prepared surprises for me, but what pleased me most, Miss Sullivan and I prepared surprises for everybody else. The mystery that surrounded the gifts was my greatest delight and amusement. My friends did all they could to excite my curiosity by hints and half-spelled sentences which they pretended to break off in the nick of time. Miss Sullivan and I kept up a game of guessing which taught me more about the use of language than any set lessons could have done. Every evening, seated round a glowing wood fire, we played our guessing game, which grew more and more exciting as Christmas approached.
沙利文小姐来到塔斯坎比亚后的第一个圣诞节成为了家中的一件大事。家人个个都在为我准备惊喜意外的礼物，而我和沙利文小姐也在一起为他们准备着惊喜，这才是最令我开心的。也许这礼物的未知与神秘才是我最大的兴趣所在。朋友们也想方设法地逗我，故意给我一丁点儿暗示，或者说些不着边际的话，装着要揭示谜底似的让我去猜。沙利文小姐趁热打铁，和我玩起了猜谜游戏，我从中学会了许多词的用法，比上课的时候还要受益匪浅。每天晚上，我们围坐在暖烘烘的火炉前玩猜谜游戏。随着圣诞节一天天临近，我们也越来越兴奋。
One morning I left the cage on the window-seat while I went to fetch water for his bath. When I returned I felt a big cat brush past me as I opened the door. At first I did not realize what had happened; but when I put my hand in the cage and Tim’s pretty wings did not meet my touch or his small pointed claws take hold of my finger, I knew that I should never see my sweet little singer again.
有天早上，我去打水给小蒂姆洗澡，顺手把笼子搁在了窗台上。等我回来开门的时候，一只大猫似乎擦着我腿边溜了过去。一开始我并没在意，可是当我把手伸到笼子里的时候，没有触摸到小蒂姆的翅膀，它那尖尖的攀趾也没有来抓我的手指。那时候我才明白，我再也见不到我可爱的小小歌唱家了。
That night, after I had hung my stocking, I lay awake a long time, pretending to be asleep and keeping alert to see what Santa Claus would do when he came. At last I fell asleep with a new doll and a white bear in my arms. Next morning it was I who waked the whole family with my first “Merry Christmas!” I found surprises, not in the stocking only, but on the table, on all the chairs, at the door, on the very window-sill; indeed, I could hardly walk without stumbling on a bit of Christmas wrapped up in tissue paper. But when my teacher presented me with a canary, my cup of happiness overflowed.
那个平安夜，我挂起自己的长袜，醒着在床上躺了好久。我佯装睡着，实际上却保持清醒，一心想看看圣诞老人来时会做些什么。最后，我怀抱着晚上新得到的洋娃娃和一只小白熊睡着了。第二天早上，我是家里第一个起床的，全家人都被我的圣诞问候给唤醒了。我不仅在长袜里找到了意想不到的礼物，在每一张桌子和椅子上，甚至在门口以及每个窗棂上，我几乎每迈出一步都是惊喜连连。而当沙利文小姐送给我一只金丝雀的时候，我快乐的情绪达到了顶点。
I named this canary “Tim.” Little Tim was so tame that he would hop on my finger and eat candied cherries out of my hand. Miss Sullivan taught me to take all the care of my new pet. Every morning after breakfast I prepared his bath, made his cage clean and sweet, filled his cups with fresh seed and water from the well-house, and hung a spray of chickweed in his swing.
我把这小家伙叫作蒂姆。温顺的小蒂姆常常跳上我的手指尖，从我手中啄食樱桃蜜饯。沙利文小姐教会我如何照顾这个新伙伴。每天早餐之后我会给它洗澡，把笼子打扫得干干净净，然后给它的小杯子添上从井房打来的水，加上一点儿新鲜的草籽，再往它的栖木上悬吊一小捆繁缕草。
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