Christmas Day in the Morning 圣诞节的早晨
◎ 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.
他猛地一下醒来，就再也睡不着了。现在是凌晨四点钟，正是以前父亲叫他起床帮忙挤奶的时间。奇怪的是，他年轻时养成的早醒习惯还一直保持着！他的父亲已经去世30年了，他仍旧一到4点钟就会醒。可今天是圣诞节的早晨，所以他不想再接着睡了。
Yet what was the magic of Christmas now? His childhood and youth were long past, and his own children had grown up and gone.
可现在的圣诞节对他来说又有什么样的魔力呢？他的童年和青春已然离他远去，他的儿女也已经长大成人、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，他的妻子说，也许现在不用过什么圣诞节了——可他却十分肯定地说：“不！爱丽丝，即使现在就剩下我们两个人，那也得过一个属于自己的圣诞节。”
Then she had said, “Let’s not trim the tree until tomorrow, Robert. I’m tired.”
妻子接着说：“罗伯特，我们明天再装饰圣诞树吧！我有点累了。”
He had agreed, and the tree was still out by the back door.
他同意了。于是，那棵圣诞树就被原封不动地放在后门那儿。
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.
他在自己的卧室里睡下了，而妻子睡得浅，所以连接两个房间的门总是关着的。分房睡是夫妻俩多年前作出的决定。可从那之后他们就再也不像以前睡得那么香了。毕竟他们一起生活了很久，已经没有什么能把他们分开。
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.
为何今夜他久久不能入眠？因为今晚是一个万里无云、满天星斗的夜晚。虽不见月亮，但繁星闪烁。每当他回忆起这件往事时，特别是在圣诞节的黎明之前想起它，星星就好像显得特别大，特别亮。
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.
这些年以来，他总是不由自主地回忆起那些旧事来。那时的他才15岁，就住在父亲的农场里。他深爱着他的父亲。可他不曾察觉到父亲也是那样地爱着他，直到圣诞节前的某一天，他无意中听到父母的谈话。
“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.”
“玛丽，我实在不愿意那么早就把罗布叫醒。他正在长身体，需要睡眠。看到他那熟睡的样子，我都不忍心叫醒他。我真想一个人就把活全都干了。”
“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.”
他的母亲毫不犹豫地说：“噢！亚当，你这么想就不对了。他已经长大了，是时候帮家里做点事了。”
“Yes,” his father said slowly. “But I sure do hate to wake him.”
“话是没错，”他的父亲缓缓地说道，“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.
听到父母的这些话后，他从心底明白了父亲对他的爱。这是他以前从未想到的，他以前只是想当然地以为血缘关系应该就是那样了吧！他的父母都不会把对孩子的爱挂在嘴上——他们也没有时间那样做。农场里总是有太多事要忙。现在他明白父亲是爱他的，所以早晨他再也不想赖床，再也不用父亲把他叫醒了。这时，他揉着惺忪睡眼，磕磕绊绊地从床上爬起来，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.
还记得，那是他15岁那年的圣诞节前夕，他躺在床上想着第二天要干的事。他家里穷，圣诞节最激动人心的时刻就是吃自家养的火鸡和妈妈亲手做的馅饼。他的姐姐会亲手缝制礼物，而父母会买一些他需要的东西，可能是一件暖和的夹克，也可能是书本那些东西。当然，他也会用自己省下的零花钱给家人买些礼物。
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岁的这个圣诞节给父亲买一份好点的礼物，而不像过去那样，只是到10美分店铺里买一条普通的领带。他侧躺着，透过阁楼的那个窗户向外望去。
“Dad,” he had once asked when he was a little boy, “What is a stable?”
“爸爸，”他年幼时曾经问过父亲，“马厩是什么？”
“It’s just a barn,” his father had replied, “like ours.”
“它就是个养牲口的地方，”他的父亲回答道，“就像我们家里的牲口棚一样。”
Then Jesus had been born in a barn, and to a barn the shepherds and the Wise Men had come, bringing their Christmas gifts!
耶稣就是在马厩里出生的，而牧师和智者也会在马厩里分发圣诞礼物！
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.
突然他的脑海里闪过一丝念头：我为什么不能在牲口棚里给爸爸送一份特别的礼物呢？我可以在凌晨四点之前起来，这样就能比父亲起得早。接着我就偷偷溜进牲口棚把挤奶、清洗牲口棚的活都干完。这样，当父亲进入牲口棚准备开始干活时，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.
他凝望着夜空中的繁星，安静地想着，不知不觉得意地笑了。他决定了，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，借着火光看他那只旧怀表。时间一分一秒地过去：1点半，2点……
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.
还没到3点，他就起床穿好了衣服。他蹑手捏脚地走下楼，生怕弄出声音吵醒父母。牲口棚里，一头奶牛睡眼惺忪地看着他，仿佛正为他这么早来挤奶而感到奇怪。
But they accepted him placidly and he fetched some hay for each cow and then got the milking pail and the big milk cans.
但是它们还是乖乖地顺从了他。他给奶牛添了一些干草，然后将挤奶用的桶和奶罐摆放整齐。
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.
他以前从来没有单独挤过奶，这件事情对他来说好像也不是很容易。他笑着，不慌不忙地干了起来。他看着不断涌出的牛奶流进奶桶里，散发着一股醉人的奶香味。奶牛很听话，好像它们知道今天是圣诞节似的。
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.
任务完成得比他想象的要顺利很多。挤一次奶对他来说算不上什么繁杂的事情，而是给深爱他的父亲准备的一份特别礼物。他挤的奶装满了两大奶罐。他盖上盖子，小心翼翼地把牛棚的大门关上，反复确认是否上了门闩。他把凳子放回门边，把清洗奶桶的刷子挂回门后。然后，他关上身后的门离开牛棚。
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.
回到房间后，他只有1分钟的时间摸黑脱掉自己的衣服，然后爬进被窝里。因为他听到了父亲起床的声音。他用被子把头蒙住，好让狂跳不止的心尽快平静下来。这时，门开了。
“Rob!” His father called. “We have to get up, son, even if it is Christmas.”
“罗布,”他的父亲叫着他的名字，“孩子，即使今天是圣诞节我们也得早起呀！”
“Aw-right,” he said sleepily.
“好的，爸爸。”他装出一副还没睡醒的样子答道。
“I’ll go on out,” his father said. “I’ll get things started.”
“那我先去了，”父亲说，“我得把事情先干起来。”
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.
门关上了，他仍旧躺在床上，自己傻笑着。几分钟之后，父亲就会看到自己所做的一切。他的心跳加速，那颗心好像时刻准备着逃出他的身体。
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.
等待总是漫长的——10分钟过去了，15分钟过去了，他甚至不知道究竟过去了多长时间。然后他听见父亲的脚步声再一次响起。门开了，他仍旧躺在床上。
“Rob!”
“罗布！”
“Yes, Dad—”
“我在呢，爸爸。”
“You son of a—” His father was laughing, a queer sobbing sort of laugh.
“你小子……”他的父亲笑了，哽咽道。
“Thought you’d fool me, did you?” His father was standing by his bed, feeling for him, pulling away the cover.
“你小子骗了我，是不是？”父亲就站在他的床边，掀开蒙着他的被子。父亲感动极了！
“It’s for Christmas, Dad!”
“那是我为你准备的圣诞礼物，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.
这时，只见父亲给了他一个大大的拥抱。他感觉到父亲的双臂正环绕着自己，即使在这个漆黑的看不到彼此的房间里。
“Son, I thank you. Nobody ever did a nicer thing—”
“孩子，谢谢你。这是我收过的最好的礼物。”
“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！我想让你知道——我能做得很好！”这些话仿佛自发地从他嘴里冒出来。他不知该说些什么。此刻他的心中满满的都是爱。
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，然后和父亲一起走到圣诞树旁。多美好的圣诞节啊！特别是当他听到父亲对母亲说他现在不用别人叫就知道自己起床的时候，他感到有点害羞，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.”
“这是我收到的最好的圣诞礼物。孩子，只要我活着，每年圣诞节的早晨我都会想起它。”
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.
父子俩都会记住它。现如今，他的父亲去世了，只有他独自一人回忆着：在那个美好的圣诞节早晨，他独自一人在牛棚里制作了一份充满爱的礼物。
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，繁星那闪烁的光环渐渐褪去。他起床穿上拖鞋、睡袍，轻轻地走下楼。他悄悄地把圣诞树搬进屋中，小心翼翼地开始装扮起来。不一会儿，圣诞树就完成了装扮。接着他到书房取来一个小盒子，里面装着他为妻子准备的特殊礼物——一枚不大但设计精美的钻石胸针。然而，他却仍旧不满意这份礼物。他想告诉她——自己是多么爱她。
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.
他暗自庆幸自己还能爱。这正是生活的真正乐趣所在——能够爱。因为他深知一些人的的确确不会去爱任何人。但是，爱却能在他的身体里生根发芽。爱一直都在！
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，自从知道父亲深爱着自己后，爱就久久地活在他心中。那就是：独自去爱也能唤醒爱。更重要的是，他还能一次又一次将礼物送给挚爱。
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...
这个早晨，这个美好的圣诞节早晨，他将把爱送给心爱的妻子。他将把爱写进一封信里，让妻子看后能将爱永远地保存下来。他走到书桌旁坐下，开始了他那封写给挚爱的情书：我最亲爱的爱人……
Such a happy, happy, Christmas!
多么美好、多么幸福的圣诞节啊！
