i looked in my mail box. there were only bills in it, a sheaf of them, and two white envelopes which i was sure contained more bills. i went up three dusty flights of stairs and i cried, shivering in my thin coat. but i made myself smile so i could greet my little daughter with a pretense of happiness. she opened the door for me and threw herself in my arms, screaming joyously and demanding that we decorate the tree immediately.
回到家我打开邮箱，只有一把账单，还有两个白色的信封，肯定里面装的也是账单。我爬上三层积满灰尘的楼梯，禁不住凄然泪下，又加衣衫单薄冷得直打哆嗦。但我擦擦眼泪，强挤出笑容，要让自己在女儿面前露出喜悦之情。她打开门，直扑我的怀抱，欣喜地喊叫着要马上装饰圣诞树。
peggy had proudly set our kitchen table for our evening meal and put pans out and three cans of food which would be our dinner. for some reason, when i looked at those pans and cans, i felt brokenhearted. we would have only hamburgers for our christmas dinner tomorrow. i stood in the cold little kitchen, misery overwhelmed me. for the first time in my life, i doubted the existence and his mercy, and the coldness in my heart was colder than ice.
佩吉已自豪地支好了桌子，摆上盘子和3个罐头，这就是我们的晚餐。不知道为什么，当我看着那些盘子和罐头时，我心痛欲碎。明天的圣诞晚餐我们将只有汉堡包。我站立在又冷又窄小的厨房里，满腹悲伤。有生以来我第一次怀疑仁慈上帝的存在，心里比冰雪还要冷。
the doorbell rang and peggy ran fleetly to answer it, calling that it must be santa claus. then i heard a man talking heartily to her and went to the door. he was a delivery man, and his arms were full of parcels. "this is a mistake," i said, but he read the name on the parcels and there were for me. when he had gone i could only stare at the boxes. peggy and i sat on the floor and opened them. a huge doll, three times the size of the one i had bought for her. gloves. candy. a beautiful leather purse. incredible! i looked for the name of the sender. it was the teacher, the address was simply "california", where she had moved.
这时门铃响了，佩吉一边飞奔着去开门，一边叫着一定是圣诞老人。随后我听到一个人与佩吉在热情交谈，便走了过去。他是邮递员，抱着好几个包裹。“这弄错了吧，”我说，但他念出包裹上的名字，确实是给我的。他走后，我吃惊地盯着这些盒子。佩吉和我在地板上坐下来，把包裹打开。一个大大的娃娃，有我给她买的娃娃3倍大，还有手套、糖果、漂亮的皮夹子！难以置信！我找出了寄送者的名字，是那个教师，上面只简单地写着“加利福尼亚”，她已经搬到那儿去了。
our dinner the nigh was the most delicious i had ever eaten. i forgot i had no money for the rent and only fifteen dollars in my purse and no job. my child and i ate and laughed together in happiness. then we decorated the little tree and marveled at it. i put peggy to bed and set up her gifts around the tree and a sweet peace flooded me like a benediction. i had some hope again. i could even examine the sheaf of bills without cringing.
那天的晚饭是我吃过的最可口的晚饭。我忘了还得交房租，忘了兜里只有15元钱，忘了自己还没有工作。我和孩子边吃边幸福地欢笑着。饭后我们装点小圣诞树，装点得那么漂亮让我们自己都惊奇不已。我安置好佩吉睡觉，将她的礼物放在圣诞树的周围。一种甜蜜的宁静笼罩着我，像在给我祝福，我心里又燃起了希望。我甚至可以毫不畏惧地打开那一叠账单了