Chapter19 Mr. Edwards Meets Santa Claus 爱德华兹先生遇上圣诞老人-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《草原小屋Little House on the Prairie》下

Chapter 19 Mr.Edwards Meets Santa Claus THE DAYS were short and cold,the wind whistled sharply,but there was no snow.Cold rains were falling.Day after day the rain fell, pattering on the roof and pouring from the eaves Mary and Laura stayed close by the fire,sewing their nine-patch quilt blocks,or cutting paper dolls from scraps of wrapping-paper, and hearing the wet sound of the rain.Every night was so cold that they expected to see snow next morning,but in the morning they saw only sad,wet grass. They pressed their noses against the squares of glass in the windows that Pa had made,and they were glad they could see out.But they wished they could see snow. Laura was anxious because Christmas was near,and Santa Claus and his reindeer could not travel without snow.Mary was afraid that, even if it snowed,Santa Claus could not find them,so far away in Indian Territory.When they asked Ma about this,she said she didn't know. “What day is it?”they asked her,anxiously.“How many more days till Christmas?"And they counted off the days on their fingers,till ·280· 19 ①Santa Claus /sEnt3klb:z/n.圣 爱德华兹先生遇上圣诞老人 诞老人 白天越来越短，也越来越冷了，寒风鸣鸣地猛 ②patter /'paet/.发 吹，可就是不下雪。冷冰冰的雨，一天天地下个不 出急速轻拍声 停，嘀嘀嗒嗒打在房顶上，又从屋檐上流下来。 3 eave n.屋檐 ④scw/sju:/.缝纫， 玛丽和劳拉围坐在炉火旁，缝制用9块布拼起 缝合 ⑤quilt /kwilt/n.被子 来的被面，或者用废旧的包装纸剪纸娃娃玩，耳边 ⑥scrap/skrap/n.小 总响着凄切的雨声。每天晚上都冷得要命，她们每 片 天都期望第二天早晨能看到雪，可是早晨看到的只 是凄凉的湿漉漉的草。 她们把鼻子顶在爸爸装的方形窗玻璃上，能看 到外面的景象，感到很高兴。不过，她们盼望看到 的是雪。 ⑦anxious/'egk∫as/a. 圣诞节快到了，劳拉担心，没有雪，圣诞老人 焦急的，忧虑的 和他的驯鹿雪橇无法滑行。玛丽犯愁，即使下了 8 reindeer /'reindia/n. 驯鹿 雪，圣诞老人也无法在这么远的印第安人的领土上 找到她们。她们问妈妈这件事的时候，妈妈推说不 知道。 “今天星期几？”她们着急地问妈妈，“离圣诞 9 count off报数 节还有几天？”她们掐着指头计算，直算到只剩一 ·281· Little House on the Prairie there was only one more day left. Rain was still falling that morning.There was not one crack in the gray sky.They felt almost sure there would be no Christmas.Still,they kept hoping. Just before noon the light changed.The clouds broke and drifted apart,shining white in a clear blue sky.The sun shone,birds sang,and thousands of drops of water sparkled on the grasses.But when Ma opened the door to let in the fresh,cold air,they heard the creek roaring. They had not thought about the creek.Now they knew they would have no Christmas,because Santa Claus could not cross that roaring creek. Pa came in,bringing a big fat turkey.If it weighed less than twenty pounds,he said,he'd eat it,feathers and all.He asked Laura,"How's that for a Christmas dinner?Think you can manage one of those drumsticks③？” She said,yes,she could.But she was sober.Then Mary asked him if the creek was going down,and he said it was still rising. Ma said it was too bad.She hated to think of Mr.Edwards eating his bachelor cooking all alone on Christmas day.Mr.Edwards had been asked to eat Christmas dinner with them,but Pa shook his head and said a man would risk5 his neck,trying to cross that creek now. “No,”he said.“That current's too strong.We''ll just have to make up our minds that Edwards won't be here tomorrow." Of course that meant that Santa Claus could not come,either. Laura and Mary tried not to mind too much.They watched Ma dress the wild turkey,and it was a very fat turkey.They were lucky little girls,to have a good house to live in,and a warm fire to sit by,and such a turkey for their Christmas dinner.Ma said so,and it was true.Ma ·282· 草原小屋 天。 那天早上还下着雨。阴沉沉的天上没有一点缝 隙。她们觉得十有八九过不成圣诞节了。当然，心 中还是抱着希望。 ①drift/drift/.漂移， 临近中午时分，天放晴了。一朵朵云彩散开， 漂流 飘然而去，风和日丽，碧空如洗。太阳出来了，鸟 儿在歌唱，千万颗晶莹的水珠洒落在草丛上，可 2 drop /drop/n.滴 是，当妈妈打开门通风时，她们听到河水在咆哮。 她们没有想到河流这个障碍。现在她们知道， 确实是过不成圣诞节了。因为圣诞老人没办法跨过 咆哮的河流。 爸爸进来了，拿着一只又肥又大的火鸡。爸爸 说，要是它不到20磅重的话，他就连毛带骨把它 吃下去。他问劳拉：“用它过圣诞节怎么样？你能 吃掉一条鸡腿吗？” 她说，是的，她能吃掉。但她还是闷闷不乐。 ③drumstick /"drAmstik/n.鼓槌 接着，玛丽问爸爸，河水是不是下降了，他说，没 有，还在上涨。 妈妈抱怨天气太糟糕了。她一想到圣诞节那天， ④bachelor/batfala/ 爱德华兹先生孤孤单单地一个人做饭吃，心里就难 n.单身汉 过。他们曾邀请爱德华兹先生和他们一起过圣诞节 risk/risk/.冒… 共进午餐，可是爸爸摇摇头说，这个时候，一个人 的危险 想穿过那条河是要冒生命危险的。 ⑥current/'kAr3nt/n. (水、气、电流 他说：“不行，水流太急。看来对爱德华兹先 生明天到这里来，咱们不能寄什么希望了。” 当然，那就是说圣诞老人也不能来了。 劳拉和玛丽尽量不去多想圣诞老人的事。她们 看妈妈煺火鸡，那是一只非常肥的火鸡。她们是幸 运的小女孩，住在舒适的房子里，坐在暖烘烘的炉 火边，还有这么好的火鸡过圣诞节。妈妈这么讲， ·283· Little House on the Prairie said it was too bad that Santa Claus couldn't come this year,but they were such good girls that he hadn't forgotten them;he would surely come next year. Still,they were not happy. After supper that night they washed their hands and faces,buttoned their red-flannel nightgowns,tied their nightcap strings,and soberly said their prayers2.They lay down in bed and pulled the covers up.It did not seem at all like Christmas time. Pa and Ma sat silent by the fire.After a while Ma asked why Pa didn't play the fiddle,and he said,"I don't seem to have the heart3 to, Caroline." After a longer while,Ma suddenly stood up. “T'm going to hang up your stockings①，girls,”she said.“Maybe something will happen." Laura's heart jumped.But then she thought again of the creek and she knew nothing could happen. Ma took one of Mary's clean stockings and one of Laura's,and she hung them from the mantelshelf5,on either side of the fireplace.Laura and Mary watched her over the edge of their bedcovers. “Now go to sleep,”Ma said,kissing them good night..“Morning will come quicker if you're asleep." She sat down again by the fire and Laura almost went to sleep.She woke up a little when she heard Pa say,"You've only made it worse, Caroline."And she thought she heard Ma say:"No,Charles.There's the white sugar."But perhaps she was dreaming. Then she heard Jack growl savagely.The door-latch rattled and some one said,"Ingalls!Ingalls!"Pa was stirring up the fire,and when he opened the door Laura saw that it was morning.The outdoors was gray. ·284· 草原小屋【 也确实是这样。妈妈说，遗憾的是圣延老人今年不 能来了，不过她们都是好样的孩子，他一定不会忘 记她们，明年肯定会来。 话虽这么说，她们还是闷闷不乐。 那天晚上吃过晚饭，她们洗了手和脸，扣上红 ①flannel/'flaenl/n.法 色法兰绒睡衣的扣子，系好睡帽带子，正经八百地 兰绒 ②prayer/pre/n.祈 做了祷告。然后躺到床上，盖好被子。这一点都不 祷，祷告，祷文 像过圣诞节的样子呀。 爸爸和妈妈静静地坐在炉火边。过了一会儿 ③have the heart有情 绪（做某事），忍心 妈妈问爸爸怎么不拉小提琴，他说：“我好像没有 (做某事） 心思拉琴，卡罗琳。” 又过了好长一段时间，妈妈突然站了起来。 “我去挂你们的长筒袜子去，姑娘们，”她说， ④stocking'stok0/n. 长袜 “也许会有什么事儿。” 劳拉的心怦怦直跳。可是她随之又想到了那条 河，她知道不会发生什么事儿 妈妈拿了玛丽的一只干净袜子，拿了劳拉的一 只，把它们分别挂在壁炉的两边。劳拉和玛丽把头 ⑤mantelshelf n.壁炉 钻出被子口，看妈妈挂袜子。 架 “好了，快睡吧，”妈妈说着，亲吻了她们，跟 她们道晚安。“你们睡着了，早晨会来得更快。” 她重新又坐在火旁，劳拉迷迷糊糊快睡着了。 她半醒半睡，听见爸爸说：“卡罗琳，你这样做只 会更糟。”她想是妈妈在说：“没事儿，查尔斯 家里有白糖。”不过，也许是她在做梦。 后来，她听见杰克的狂叫声。门闩哐当当地响， 有人喊：“英格尔斯！英格尔斯！”爸爸当时正在 拨拉炉火，他打开门时，劳拉看到已经是早晨了。 门外的天色灰蒙蒙的。 ·285· Little House on the Prairie "Great fishhooks,Edwards!Come in,man!What's happened?" Pa exclaimed. Laura saw the stockings limply dangling,and she scrooged 3 her shut eyes into the pillow.She heard Pa piling wood on the fire,and she heard Mr.Edwards say he had carried his clothes on his head when he swam the creek.His teeth rattled and his voice shivered.He would be all right,he said,as soon as he got warm. “It was too big a risk,Edwards,”Pa said.“We're glad you're here, but that was too big a risk for a Christmas dinner." "Your little ones had to have a Christmas,"Mr.Edwards replied. "No creek could stop me,after I fetched them their gifts from Independence.” Laura sat straight up in bed."Did you see Santa Claus?"she shouted. “I sure did,”Mr.Edwards said. "Where?When?What did he look like?What did he say?Did he really give you something for us?"Mary and Laura cried. "Wait,wait a minute!"Mr.Edwards laughed.And Ma said she would put the presents in the stockings,as Santa Claus intended5.She said they mustn't look. Mr.Edwards came and sat on the floor by their bed,and he answered every question they asked him.They honestly tried not to look at Ma,and they didn't quite see what she was doing. When he saw the creek rising,Mr.Edwards said,he had known that Santa Claus could not get across it.("But you crossed it,"Laura said. “Yes,”Mr,Edwards replied,“but Santa Claus is too old and fat.He couldn't make it,where a long,lean razor 3-back like me could do so.")And Mr.Edwards reasoned that if Santa Claus couldn't cross the creek,likely he would come no farther south than Independence.Why ·286· 草原小屋【 ①fishhook n.鱼钩 “好家伙，爱德华兹！快进来，伙计！出什么事 儿啦？”爸爸惊奇地问。 ②limply /'limpl/ad 柔软地，无力地，松 劳拉看见袜子软不拉沓地吊着，伤心地把眼睛 弛地 闭上捂在枕头里。她听见爸爸往火上加木柴，听见 ③scrooge/skru:d3/ 捂 爱德华兹先生说，他游过河的时候，把衣服脱了顶 在头上。他的牙齿在打战，声音也在发颤。他说， 一暖和过来就好了。 爸爸说：“真是太冒险了，爱德华兹，我们很 高兴你到这儿来，但是为了一顿圣诞节午餐这样 做，太冒险了。” ④fetch/fetf/v..取来， 带来 “你们的小孩子不能不过圣诞节呀，我从独立镇 给她们弄到礼物，就不顾河流的阻拦过来了。”爱 德华兹先生回答说。 5 intend /in'tend/v. 打算 劳拉一下从床上坐起来。“您看到圣诞老人 6 honestly /'pnistli/ad. 啦？”她叫道。 真诚地 “那当然喽。”爱德华兹先生说。 “在哪儿？什么时候？他什么样子？他说什么 了？他真的让您带给我们礼物了？”劳拉和玛丽喊 叫。 ⑦lean/i:n/a.瘦的 “等等，等一下！”爱德华兹先生笑着说。这时， 8 razor /reiza/n.剃 刀 妈妈说，她要按照圣诞老人的意思，把礼物放在长 筒袜子里。她不许她们偷看。 ·287· Little House on the Prairie should he come forty miles across the prairie,only to be turned back?Of course he wouldn't do that! So Mr.Edwards had walked to Independence.("In the rain?"Mary asked.Mr.Edwards said he wore his rubber coat.)And there,coming down the street in Independence,he had met Santa Claus.("In the daytime?"Laura asked.She hadn't thought that anyone could see Santa Claus in the daytime.No,Mr.Edwards said;it was night,but light shone out across the street from the saloons.) Well,the first thing Santa Claus said was,"Hello,Edwards!" (“Did he know you?”Mary asked,and Laura asked,“How did you know he was really Santa Claus?"Mr.Edwards said that Santa Claus knew everybody.And he had recognized Santa at once by his whiskers2. Santa Claus had the longest,thickest,whitest set of whiskers west of the Mississippi.) So Santa Claus said,"Hello,Edwards!Last time I saw you you were sleeping on a corn-shuck bed in Tennessee."And Mr.Edwards ·288· 草原小屋 爱德华兹先生走过来坐在她们床边的地板上， 回答她们提出的每一个问题。她们老老实实地并不 试图看妈妈，也不完全明白她在干什么。 爱德华兹先生说，他看到河水上涨时，就知道 圣诞老人过不来了。(“但是您过来了。”劳拉说。 爱德华先生回答说：“是的，可是圣诞老人年龄太 大了，又长得那么胖。他可过不来呀。只有像我这 样细高个子的人才能浮过来。”)爱德华兹先生推 测，如果圣诞老人过不了河，那么他到了独立镇就 不会再往南走了。他为什么要白走40英里路，穿 过茫茫大草原，什么都不干，再返回去呢？他当然 不会这样做喽！ 所以爱德华兹先生就徒步到独立镇去了。(“冒 着雨去的？”玛丽问。爱德华兹先生说，他穿着橡 胶雨衣去的。)到了那儿，走在独立镇的街上，他 就碰上了圣诞老人。(“在白天碰上的？”劳拉问。 她想没有人在白天看见过圣诞老人。爱德华兹先生 说，不是，是在晚上，不过酒吧里的灯光射出来把 街道照得明晃晃的。) 嗯，圣诞老人开口就说：“喂，爱德华兹” D saloon /sa'lu:n/n. 酒吧 (“他认识您吗？”玛丽问，劳拉问：“您怎么知道 他真是圣诞老人呢？”爱德华兹先生说，圣诞老人 认识每一个人。而他从那一把苍髯上一下就认出了 圣诞老人。圣诞老人长着密西西比河西部最长、最 ②whisker/"hwiska/n. 浓、最白的胡子。) 腮须胡须 接着圣诞老人说：“喂，爱德华兹！上次我见 到你，你正睡在田纳西州一个玉米壳堆起的床上。” 而爱德华兹先生清楚地记得圣诞老人那次送给他的 ③shuck∫ak/n.(植物 的)壳 那副小红纱线连指手套。 ·289·