朗读英语美文（84）圣诞前夜
ON CHRISTMAS EVE
圣诞前夜
A friend of mine named Paul
received an automobile
from his brother as Christmas present.
我有个朋友，保罗
在圣诞节那天
收到了一份来自他哥哥的礼物，
一辆轿车。
On Christmas eve,
when Paul came out of his office,
a street urchin
was looking around the shining new car,
admiring it.
在圣诞前夜，
当保罗从他的办公室走出来时，
一个街头顽童正围着他的新车打转地看，
非常羡慕。
“Is this your car, Mister?”
he said.
“这是您的汽车吗，先生？”
他说。
Paul nodded,
“My brother gave it to me for Christmas.”
保罗点了点头，
“我哥哥给我的圣诞礼物。
The boy was astounded,
“You mean your brother gave it to you,
and didn’t cost you anything?”
小男孩诧异了，
“你是说你哥哥给你的，
不用花你一分钱？”
“Boy, I wish…”
he hesitated.
“兄弟，我希望…”
他迟疑了。
Of course
Paul knew what he was going to wish for.
He was going to wish
he has a brother like that.
But what the lad said jarred Paul
all the way down his heels.
保罗当然清楚他希望什么，
他希望他也有个那样的哥哥，
但这个小家伙说的话，
使保罗大吃了一惊。
“I wish,”
the boy went on,
“that I could be a brother like that.”
“我希望，
小男孩继续说道，
“我可以做一个那样的哥哥。”
Paul looked at the boy in astonishment,
then inpulsivly he added,
“Would you like to take a ride in my car?”
保罗惊奇地看着小男孩
然后激动地说了句
“你想不想做我的车去兜兜风？”
“Oh, yes. I’d love that.”
“哦，想！我喜欢！”
After a short ride,
the boy turned his eyes aglow,
said, “Mister, would you mind
driving in front of my house?”
跑了一小段路后，
小男孩眼光水灵闪闪地说道，
“先生，您可以把车开到我家门前吗？”
Paul smiled a little.
He thought he knew what the lad wanted.
He wanted to show his neighbours
that he could ride home in a big automobile.
But Paul was wrong again.
保罗微微一笑。
他觉得他知道这个小家伙想要干什么，
他想要向他的邻居炫耀他可以坐一辆大汽车回家。
但是，保罗又一次想错了。
“Would you stop at those with two steps?”
the boy asked.
“您可以在那有两个台阶的房子前停下吗？”
小男孩问道。
He ran up stairs.
Then in a little while, Paul heard him coming back,
but he was not coming fast.
他跑着上楼去了。
然后一小会儿，
保罗听到他回来的脚步声，
但他没再用跑的了。
He was carrying his little crippled brother.
He set him down on the bottom step.
Then a sort of squeezed up against him
and pointed to the car.
保罗看见他正搀扶着他的跛脚的弟弟，
他扶着他坐在最底层的台阶上，
然后拥抱着他，
指着这部车。
“There she is, buddy,
just like I told you upstairs.
His brother gave it to him for Christmas
and didn’t cost him a cent.
“弟弟，那就是我在楼上跟你说的那部车。
他哥哥给他的圣诞礼物，
不用花他一分钱。
And some day,
I’m gonna give you one just like it.
Then you can see for yourself
all the prettiest things in the windows
that I was trying to tell you about.”
将来某天我也要给你一部像那样的车，
那样你就可以自己去看，
我以前尽力想让你知道的
那些窗边的圣诞饰品了。”
Paul got off
and lifted the lad into the front of his car.
The shinning eyed old brother
climbed in beside him.
And three of them
began a memorable holiday ride.
保罗下车把跛脚的小孩抱上了车的前座，
他的眼睛水灵灵的哥哥爬上了车，
坐到了他旁边。
然后他们三个开始一段令人难忘的旅程。
That Christmas eve,
Paul learned what Jesus meant,
when he said,
“It is more blessed to give than to receive…”
那个圣诞前夜，
保罗收获了很多，
他真正体会了耶稣所说的那句话，
“施舍比接受更有福…”