Morris, that’s my husband’s nickname, said I was a fanatic about my tree. I couldn’t help it. It was just my way. It was a lovely tree, from the angel on top to the miniature manger my great grandfather made underneath. Grandma told us he carved it the first year they were married. She loved telling stories of knitting scarves and mittens for presents. They lived on the plains in a small clay and lumber house for their first four years.
莫里斯是我丈夫的昵称，他说我对我的树很狂热。我情不自禁。这只是我的方式。这是一棵可爱的树，从树顶的天使到我的曾祖父在树下做的微型马槽。奶奶告诉我们，他是在他们结婚的第一年刻的。她喜欢讲编织围巾和手套作为礼物的故事。他们头四年住在平原上的一个粘土和木材的小房子里。
The fresh green smell of Christmas filled the house and the sight of the tree took your breath away. Striped candy canes were evenly distributed and colorful paper chains, swans, lambs, donkeys and horses draped aesthetically on the branches to compliment the red and gold bulbs. The white silvery winged angel stood at the very top watching over the entire tree. I also placed a cassette player for sortie Christmas songs. It was a beautiful tree; and I knew it deserved a good feedback.
圣诞节清新的绿色气息充满了整个房间，看到圣诞树让你屏住呼吸。条纹的拐杖糖均匀地分布着，五颜六色的纸链，天鹅、羊羔、驴和马在树枝上悬挂着，美观地衬托着红色和金色的灯泡。那个白色的、带着银色翅膀的天使站在最高处，看着整棵树。我还放置了一个卡式录音机来放圣诞歌曲。这是一棵美丽的树，我知道它值得好好反馈。
When Laura and I were children, story telling became an integral part of the family’s tradition. It was the climax of every night. We put the manger under the tree when the decoration was done and waited for Christmas Eve when Papa read the Bible stories. Only then were we ready to put the Baby in the manger.
当劳拉和我还是孩子的时候，讲故事成了家庭传统中不可或缺的一部分。这是每个夜晚的高潮。装饰完毕后，我们把马槽放在圣诞树下，等待平安夜爸爸读圣经故事。直到那时我们才准备好把婴儿放进马槽。
That night I admired the tree critically. “Morris, don’t you think it’s a pretty tree?”
那天晚上，我以批判的眼光欣赏着这棵树。“莫里斯，你不觉得这棵树很漂亮吗？”
Laura has eleven grandchildren and we have two. Cindy and Mark, my daughter Joanne’s identical twins. are 14 years old and live in Kansas City. We’ll see them in February, but I do miss them all at Christmas. It seems a shame how families move away, but I am thankful for the invention of telephone.
劳拉有十一个孙子，我们有两个。辛迪和马克，我女儿乔安妮的双胞胎姐妹。他今年14岁，住在堪萨斯城。我们会在二月份见到他们，但是在圣诞节我真的很想念他们。一家人搬走似乎很可惜，但我很感激电话的发明。
My husband looked up from his periodical and said,”yes, Cora, overall it’s a very nice tree, as always.”We plugged the lights in when the sun went down and ate peanut butter sandwiches and cheesecakes. I looked at the tree and couldn’t denote why it didn’t seem to be perfect enough.
我丈夫从杂志上抬起头来说：“是的，柯拉，总的来说，这棵树一直都很漂亮。”太阳下山的时候，我们把灯插上，吃着花生酱三明治和芝士蛋糕。我看着这棵树，无法解释为什么它看起来不够完美。
“Cut it out, Cora, you’ll make yourself crazy. It’s a very nice tree, really. Come on look, it’s snowing,”his words led me to the opaque bay through the window. I sat down on the sofa next to my husband and picked up the TV Guide. Just as Morris pushed the “ON” button to watch a basketball tournament, the doorbell rang.
“别闹了，柯拉，你会把自己弄疯的。这棵树真的很漂亮。快来看，下雪了。”他的话引导我穿过窗户来到那个不透明的海湾。我在丈夫旁边的沙发上坐下，拿起《电视指南》。正当莫里斯按“ON”键去看篮球比赛时，门铃响了。
The man who pushed the bell was covered with the new fallen snow. He was dressed warmly enough but he looked as though he had been outside a long time. “Please, may l use your telephone?”he asked.
推铃的人被新落下的雪盖住了。他穿得很暖和，但看上去好像在外面待了很长时间。“请问，我能用一下你的电话吗？”他问道。
Morris took the stranger back to the car. The young couple and their three children had started out after work. According to their timetable, they were expected to arrive at their destination four hours ago. Thirty minutes after they left Morris and the man were back with the whole family. I had poured coffee and made a few strawberry sandwiches. Morris wasn’t able to get the car started.
莫里斯把陌生人带回车里。这对年轻夫妇和他们的三个孩子下班后就出发了。根据他们的时间表，预计他们将在四小时前到达目的地。他们离开三十分钟后，莫里斯和那个男人带着全家人回来了。我倒了咖啡，做了几个草莓三明治。莫里斯发动不了汽车。
The man carried four-year-old Katherine. She was named after her grandmother.
那个男人抱着四岁的凯瑟琳。她以祖母的名字命名。
“I have had ear trouble, my car battery got busted,”he said.”I had to walk about a mile before I saw your chimney smoke and the lights shinning in the window. I guess a lot of people aren’t home tonight.”He looked so cold and before I could evaluate him Morris led him into the hall and closed the door. He said his family was in the car wrapped in blankets. They were on the way to his mother-in-law’s house.
“我的耳朵有毛病，我的汽车电池坏了，”他说。“我走了大约一英里才看到你家的烟囱冒烟，窗子里的灯光闪闪发亮。我猜今晚很多人都不在家。”我还没来得及评价他，莫里斯就把他领进大厅，关上了门。他说他的家人裹着毯子在车里。他们正在去他岳母家的路上。
There had been so many warnings about people doing horrible things once they got into someone’s house, my first thought was don’t let him in.
人们一旦进入别人的房子就会做出可怕的事情，这种警告太多次了，我的第一反应就是不要让他进来。
I asked if she was Kathy.”No, I’m Katherine.”she said. The little boy was only two years older than Katherine. He held shyly to his father’s coat. “Is this Grandma’s?” he asked his mother.
问她是否是凯西。“不，我是凯瑟琳。”她说。这个小男孩只比凯瑟琳大两岁。他羞怯地紧紧握住他的手父亲的外套。“这是奶奶的吗？”他问他的母亲。
“What a miracle you two are, to take us in.”she said.”I was afraid something had happened to Kevin.”She laid the baby on my cherry patterned sofa. I poured the coffee and served the sandwiches. David, the little boy, and Katherine ate slices of bacon and toast. Then we all went back into the living room with more coffee and cookies. Morris made telephone calls and left messages on answering machines. doubtful that anyone would answer on Christmas Eve.
“你们俩收留我们真是个奇迹。”她说。“我担心凯文出了什么事。”她把婴儿放在我樱桃图案的沙发上。我倒了咖啡，上了三明治。大卫，那个小男孩和凯瑟琳吃了几片培根和烤面包。然后我们带着更多的咖啡和饼干回到起居室。莫里斯打电话，在电话答录机上留言。有人会在平安夜回答这个问题吗。
“No, honey, this is someone else’s grandma.”The young mother’s white wool stole slipped from her dark hair. She bound the baby in 3 blue blanket and maybe it was the Light’s flare reflecting from the ceiling’s dome in the hall or maybe it was the special night, but just at that moment she looked like the Madonna. Her big brown eyes were filled with tenderness as she touched the baby. I felt what she felt. I am a mother myself, you know. She smiled at me, like the smile of an innocent angel, without any impurity.
“不，亲爱的，这是别人的奶奶。”年轻母亲的白色羊毛披肩从她黑色的头发上滑落下来。她把婴儿裹在3条蓝色的毯子里，也许是大厅天花板穹顶反射出的光芒，也许是那个特别的夜晚，但就在那一刻，她看起来就像圣母玛利亚。她抚摸着婴儿，棕色的大眼睛里充满了柔情。我感受到了她的感受。你知道，我自己也是个母亲。她对我微笑，像一个天真无邪的天使，没有任何杂质。
I poured a cup of coffee for the young mother and asked her name. She smiled that Madonna smile and said. “Maryann.”
我给这位年轻的母亲倒了一杯咖啡，问她的名字。她笑了，麦当娜笑着说。“玛丽安。”
“Look at the pretty tree, Mama.”The little boy said.
“妈妈，看那棵漂亮的树。”小男孩说。
“Let me hold the baby while you drink your coffee.”I said.”I think I can remember how.”
“你喝咖啡的时候，让我抱着孩子。”我说。“我想我还记得是怎么做的。”
“No, David, just look at it.”His mother said.
“不，大卫，你看看。”他母亲说。
“Can I hold the little wooden baby?”He asked.
“我能抱抱这个小木娃娃吗？”他问。
His little fingers felt the smooth wood and he kissed the carving. Then his father gently put the Baby back into the manger.
他的小手指摸着光滑的木头，亲吻着雕刻品。然后他的父亲轻轻地把婴儿放回马槽。
“Yes, it’s a pretty tree, honey.”I said,”Look at the manger. It’s a token from my great grandfather. He made it a long time ago.”
“是的，这棵树很漂亮，亲爱的。”我说：“看看马槽。这是我曾祖父留给我的纪念品。他是很久以前做的。”
“Of course, you can hold it.”I said. I handed the carved baby Jesus to the little boy.
“当然，你可以拿着它。”我说。我把雕刻好的婴儿耶稣递给小男孩。
We talked and tried to decide what to do next. Kevin had kept calling his mother-in- law repeatedly. Finally, at 10:00 o’clock the man from John’s garage came with a red wrecker truck. Morris and Kevin went with him and at the minimum of twenty minutes they were back. The Kevin’s family were ready to proceed with their trip.
我们交谈着，试图决定下一步该怎么做。凯文不停地给岳母打电话。最后，10：00时，约翰车库里的那个人开着一辆红色的拖车来了。莫里斯和凯文跟他一起去了，他们至少回来了20分钟。凯文一家准备继续他们的旅行。
As they drove out of sight Morris and I came back into the warm room. The Bible was on the coffee table where Morris pm it after he had read to me earlier. The draft from the door turned the fine Bible pages. We sat down and glanced at the holy book. “Anyone who takes care of a little child like this is caring for me!” I leaned back into my husband’s arms and looked at my Christmas tree.
当他们开车离开我们的视线时，我和莫里斯回到了温暖的房间。圣经就放在咖啡桌上，莫里斯先前给我读完圣经后，就把它放在了那里。从门口拿出的稿子翻动着精美的《圣经》。我们坐下来，扫了一眼圣经。“任何照顾这样一个小孩的人都是在照顾我！”我向后靠在丈夫的怀里，看着我的圣诞树。
They all bundled into their warm clothing and Maryann kissed us goodbye. The baby had been sleeping most of the time when they were in our house. When she put his blankets around him, she handed him to me. She put the white stole back on her black hair and I looked at the baby. He opened his eyes and I knew he was too young to smile, but I told you — he did. I would never forget the look on that infant face. Maybe it was the special night or, as I said, maybe the hall light cast a reflection, but in the blanket around the baby’s head, brightness glowed. They started out the door. “Wait!”I yelled. I put the carved infant Jesus into David’s hand. “I will never forget you.”I said.”Nor we VOU.”said the father.”or your kindness to strangers.”
她们都穿上了保暖的衣服，玛丽安吻别了我们。他们在我们家的时候，孩子大部分时间都在睡觉。当她给他盖上毯子时，她把他递给了我。她把白色的披肩披在黑色的头发上，我看着婴儿。他睁开了眼睛，我知道他太小了，笑不出来，但我告诉过你——他笑了。我永远不会忘记那张婴儿般的脸上的表情。也许那是一个特别的夜晚，或者，正如我所说的，也许大厅的灯光投射了一个反射，但是在婴儿头部的毯子上，亮光闪烁。他们出门了。“等等！”我喊道。我把雕刻的婴儿耶稣放在大卫的手里。“我永远不会忘记你。”我说。“我们也是。”父亲说。”或者你对陌生人的仁慈”
IT WAS A PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREE!
这是一棵完美的圣诞树！
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