A light drizzle was falling as my sister Jill and I ran out of the Methodist Church, eager to get home and play with the presents that Santa had left for us and our baby sister, Sharon. Across the street from the church was a Pan American gas station where the Greyhound bus stopped. It was closed for Christmas, but I noticed a family standing outside the locked door, huddled under the narrow overhang in an attempt to keep dry. I wondered briefly why they were there but then forgot about them as I raced to keep up with Jill.
天上下著毛毛細雨，我和姐姐吉爾跑出衛理公會教堂，滿心只想著快點回到家玩圣誕老人給我們和小妹妹莎倫準備的禮物玩具。教堂的對面是泛美油站，灰狗長途汽車會在那里中途停站。因為是圣誕節，那天油站沒開，不過我發現在緊鎖的站門外站著一家人，他們擠在狹小的檐篷下，想盡量不被雨淋濕。我閃過一個疑問，他們為什么站在那里呢？但在我趕上吉爾的時候也就把這個疑團拋諸腦后了。
Once we got home, there was barely time to enjoy our presents. We had to go off to our grandparents’ house for our annual Christmas dinner. As we drove down the highway through town, I noticed that the family was still there, standing outside the closed gas station.
回到家后其實根本沒時間讓我們盡情把玩禮物，因為我們馬上又得去爺爺奶奶家共進一年一度的圣誕大餐。在開車經過剛才那條大路時，我看到那一家人仍然站在緊閉的油站門外。
My father was driving very slowly down the highway. The closer we got to the turnoff for my grandparents’ house, the slower the car went. Suddenly, my father U-turned in the middle of the road and said, “I can’t stand it!”
在那主干道上爸爸的車開得很慢。越接近去爺爺奶奶家的分岔路口，車子就越慢。突然，爸爸在半路中途來了個180度轉彎，把車子原路駛回，他說：“我實在不忍心！”
“What?” asked my mother.
“什么？”媽媽問他。
“It's those people back there at the Pan Am, standing in the rain. They've got children. It's Christmas. I can’t stand it.”
“那幾個在雨中站在泛美油站外的人。他們還帶著小孩呢。圣誕節當前，我真的不忍心啊。”
When my father pulled into the service station, I saw that there were five of them: the parents and three children — two girls and a small boy.
爸爸把車開到油站旁停下，我看見那一家總共有5個人：父母倆和三個孩子——兩個女孩跟一個小男孩。
My father rolled down his window. “Merry Christmas,” he said.
爸爸搖下車窗對他們說：“圣誕快樂！”
“Howdy,” the man replied. He was very tall and had to stoop slightly to peer into the car.
“你好，”那個男人回了一句。他長得很高，要稍微彎下腰來往我們車里瞧。
Jill, Sharon, and I stared at the children, and they stared back at us.
我和吉爾、莎倫盯著那幾個小孩，他們也瞪眼看著我們。
“You waiting on the bus?” my father asked.
“你們在等汽車嗎？”爸爸問他們。
The man said that they were. They were going to Birmingham, where he had a brother and prospects of a job.
男人回答說是，他們準備去伯明翰，他有個哥哥在那邊，而且期望能謀到一份工作。
“Well, that bus isn’t going to come along for several hours, and you’re getting wet standing here. Winborn’s just a couple miles up the road. They’ve got a shed with a cover there, and some benches,” my father said. “Why don't y’all get in the car and I’ll run you up there.”
“汽車起碼要好幾個小時后才到這里，站在這兒等車你們都會淋濕的。往前幾英里就是溫邦站，那兒有個棚屋，有地方避雨，還有些板凳。不如上車我送你們到那里吧。”
The man thought about it for a moment, and then he beckoned to his family. They climbed into the car. They had no luggage, only the clothes they were wearing.
男人想了一下然后示意他家人過來。他們鉆進車里，除了身上穿著的衣服，他們沒有任何行李。
Once they settled in, my father looked back over his shoulder and asked the children if Santa had found them yet. Three glum faces mutely gave him his answer.
等他們坐好了，爸爸轉過頭來問那幾個孩子，圣誕老人找到他們沒有。三張憂郁的臉無聲地回答了他。
“Well, I didn’t think so,” my father said, winking at my mother, “because when I saw Santa this morning, he told me that he was having trouble finding all, and he asked me if he could leave your toys at my house. We'll just go get them before I take you to the bus stop.”
“我看不是吧，”爸爸邊說邊向媽媽眨眼暗示，“早上我碰到圣誕老人了，他說找不到你們，想把給你們的禮物暫時放到我們家里來。現在咱們就去拿禮物吧，待會兒我再送你們去車站。”
All at once, the three children's faces lit up, and they began to bounce around in the back seat, laughing and chattering.
三個孩子的臉頓時陰霾盡散，還在后排座位蹦蹦跳跳，笑笑嚷嚷起來。
When we got out of the car at our house, the three children ran through the front door and straight to the toys that were spread out under our Christmas tree. One of the girls spied Jill’s doll and immediately hugged it to her breast. I remember that the little boy grabbed Sharon’s ball. And the other girl picked up something of mine. All this happened a long time ago, but the memory of it remains clear. That was the Christmas when my sisters and I learned the joy of making others happy.
到了我家一下車，那三個孩子穿過大門就直奔擺在圣誕樹下的禮物。其中一個小女孩發現了吉爾的洋娃娃禮物，馬上把它抱入懷中。我記得那小男孩抓走了莎倫的小球，而另外一個女孩就挑走了一件我的東西。這些都是很久很久以前的事了，然而回憶起來還是那么清晰，因為在那個圣誕日我和我的姐妹領會到了讓別人快樂而獲得的愉悅。
My mother noticed that the middle child was wearing a short-sleeved dress, so she gave the girl Jill’s only sweater to wear.
媽媽看到他們家老二穿著的裙子是短袖的，便把吉爾僅有的毛衣給了她穿。
My father invited them to join us at our grandparents’ for Christmas dinner, but the parents refused. Even when we all tried to talk them into coming, they were firm in their decision.
爸爸邀請他們一起去爺爺奶奶家吃圣誕大餐，但他們兩夫婦拒絕了。就算怎么游說，他們還是堅拒了我們的好意。
Back in the car, on the way to Winborn, my father asked the man if he had money for bus fare.
回到車里在去溫邦的路上爸爸問那男人有沒有錢買車票。
His brother had sent tickets, the man said.
他說哥哥寄了車票來。
My father reached into his pocket and pulled out two dollars, which was all he had left until his next payday. He pressed the money into the man’s hand. The man tried to give it back, but my father insisted. “It’ll be late when you get to Birmingham, and these children will be hungry before then. Take it. I’ve been broke before, and I know what it’s like when you can’t feed your family.”
爸爸從口袋里掏出僅有的兩美元，本來是我們要熬到下次發工資的，他卻把這錢塞到了男人的手里。男人想把錢推回來，但爸爸硬要他收下。“等你們到伯明翰就已經很晚了，路上孩子們會餓的。收下吧，我以前也曾一貧如洗，讓家人挨餓的滋味不好受，我知道的。”
We left them there at the bus stop in Winborn. As we drove away, I watched out the window as long as I could, looking back at the little girl hugging her new doll.
把他們送到溫邦的車站后，我們就開車離開了。我從車窗回望良久，凝望著那小女孩擁著她的新洋娃娃
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