"Rob!"
“罗布!”
"Yes, Dad—"
“嗯,爸爸——”
"You son of a—" His father was laughing, a queer sobbing sort of a laugh. "Thought you'd fool me, did you?" His father was standing beside his bed, feeling for him, pulling away the cover.
“你这个——”父亲笑了,一种奇妙的带点儿哽咽的笑。“你以为你能骗过我,是吗?”,父亲站在他的床边,一边去摸他,一边掀开了被子。
"It's for Christmas, Dad!"
“爸爸,这是圣诞节的礼物!”
He found his father and 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.
他摸到父亲,紧紧地抱住他。他感觉到父亲的双臂也抱住了他。天色漆黑,他们看不见彼此的脸。
"Son, I thank you. Nobody ever did a nicer thing一"
“儿子,谢谢你。没有人做过比这更好的事——”
"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.
“哦,爸爸,我想让你知道——我真想表现得好一些!”这些话脱口而出。他不知道说什么 好。他的心里充满着爱。
"Well, I reckon I can go back to sleep," his father said after a moment. "No, listen—the little ones are waking up. Come to think of it, son, I've never seen you children when you first saw the Christmas tree. I was always in the barn. Come on!"
“嗯。我想我可以回去睡觉了,”父亲过了一会儿说道,“不,听,比你小的孩子也醒了。之前还没发现,现在想起来,儿子,我还从未在你们看到圣诞树前见到你们呢。我总是在牲口棚里。来吧!”
He pulled on his clothes again, and they went to the Christmas tree, and soon the sun was creeping up to where the star had been. Oh, what a Christmas morning, and how his heart had nearly burst with shyness and pride as his father told his mother about how he, Rob, had got up all by himself.
他又穿上衣服,和父亲一起来到圣诞树前,不久太阳便升起在原来那颗星星的位置。啊,多么美好的圣诞节的早晨啊!当父亲告诉母亲罗布是怎么独自起床的时候,他的心里再次充满了害羞与自彖。
"The best Christmas gift I ever had, and I'll remember it, son, every year on Christmas morning, as long as I live."
“这是我收到的最好的圣诞礼物。儿子,我会记住它的。只要我活着,每年圣诞节早晨我都会记起它。”