A POOR OUTLOOK FOR CHRISTMAS
圣诞节前景不佳
But a certain Christmas season two years after Pat’s arrival found things in bad condition on the Ballinger farm. The fruit crop, which was depended upon to carry them through the year, had been a failure. Some wood had been sold, but the returns from this were small; and as Christmas approached, Ballinger became worried and anxious. His children were not accustomed to any elaborate celebration of the day, but there always had been something for them. Now it looked as if there would be nothing.
但在帕特到来两年后的某个圣诞节，巴林格农场的情况很糟糕。巴林格一家需要依靠水果作物来维持一年的生计，但收成并不好。他们卖掉了一些木材，但利润很低；圣诞节临近，巴林格变得担心而焦虑。他的孩子们不习惯于精心庆祝圣诞节，但总还是要做一些事情的。现在看来好像什么都没有了。
Pat fully understood the situation, and was as much disturbed as his employer. So Pat now worried, said mean things about the world in general, and made daily trips to Old Mission to see if the mail had brought Ballinger the check expected for timber he had sold. In the gathering dusk of Christmas eve he was seen returning through the snow, as if his life depended on his speed. “Here ye are!” he shouted, wildly waving a letter. “Here’s the cash for the timber.” Ballinger ran to meet him, his eyes sparkling. Then suddenly he stopped, his arms dropped to his sides, and he became the picture of a man greatly discouraged. “Too late,” he said. “We can make it up to them later, but Christmas won’t be Christmas. There’s nothing to be had this side of Traverse City.” Pat’s face became as long as one of the gaunt pine trees.
帕特完全了解情况，他和他的雇主一样感到不安。所以帕特现在很担心，经常咒骂这个世界，每天还要去Old Mission教堂看看有没有收到邮件，里面夹着他为巴林格出售木材的钱。在圣诞夜的暮色中，人们看到他从雪地里狂奔而归。“给你！”他大声喊道，一边疯狂地挥舞着一封信。“这是卖木材的钱。”巴林格跑去迎接他，眼睛闪闪发光。然后他突然停了下来，双臂垂向身体两侧，他非常沮丧，静止不动，好像成了一幅画像。“太晚了，”他说。“我们以后可以补偿他们，但以后的圣诞节不会是现在的圣诞节。特拉弗斯城这边没什么可吃的。”帕特的脸色沉了下来，像是一棵憔悴的松树。
Old Mission boasted of only one little general Store, that could supply none of the things needed, and the only communication with Traverse City, aside from that furnished by the mail carrier, was supplied by a stage that made the trip twice a week. “I’ll cross to Elk Rapids on the ice,” he suggested, “and get the train.”
Old Mission教堂只有一个小杂货店，完全无法供应需要的东西，除了邮递员进行交流外，这里与特拉弗斯城的唯一联系是通过一个每周两次的舞台。“我要去冰上的麋鹿滩，”他建议说，“然后坐火车。”
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