仙女的新年礼物

向晨

Two little boys were at play one day when a Fairy suddenly appeared before them and said， “I have been sent to give you New Year presents.” She handed to each child a package， and in an instant1 was gone. Carl and Philip opened the packages and found in them two beautiful books， with pages as pure and white as the snow when it first falls.

有一天，两个小男孩正在玩耍，一位仙女突然出现在他们面前，对他们说：“有人派我来给你们送新年礼物。”她给了每个孩子一个包裹，然后就消失了。卡尔和菲利普打开包裹，发现里面有两本漂亮的书，页面纯白，仿佛刚飘落的雪花。

Many months passed and the Fairy came again to the boys. “I have brought you each another book.” said she， “and will take the first ones back to Father Time who sent them to you.”

过了几个月，那位仙女再次出现了。她对男孩们说：“我给你们带来了另外两本书，而我将拿走时间老人第一次送给你们的书。”

“May I keep mine a little longer？” asked Philip. “I have hardly thought about it lately. Id like to paint something on the last leaf that lies open.” “No，” said the Fairy， “I must take it just as it is.”

菲利普问道：“我可以把书保留长一点时间吗？最近我都没想到它，我想在最后一页上画点什么。”“不行，”仙女说：“我必须把书按原样带走。”

“I wish that I could look through mine just once，” said Carl， “I have only seen one page at a time， for when the leaf turns over it sticks fast， and I can never open the book at more than one place each day.”

“我希望能一次性通读我的书，”卡尔说：“但是每次我都只能看一页，因为书页翻过去后，它就马上粘在一起了，我每天都只能打开一次。”

“You shall look at your book，” said the Fairy， “and Philip， at his.” And she lit for them two little silver lamps2， by the light of which they saw the pages as she turned them.

“你来看看你的书，”仙女说：“菲利普，你也看看自己的。”她为男孩们点了两盏小银灯，在灯光下，他们看着她把书一页页的翻开。

The boys looked in wonder3. Could it be that these were the same fair books she had given them a year ago？ Where were the clean， white pages， as pure and beautiful as the snow when it first falls？ Here was a page with ugly， black spots and scratches4 upon it； while the very next page showed a lovely little picture. Some pages were decorated with gold and silver and gorgeous5 colors， others with beautiful flowers， and still others with a rainbow of softest， most delicate6 brightness. Yet even on the most beautiful of the pages there were ugly blots and scratches.

男孩们好奇地看着。这还是一年前仙女送给他们的那两本书吗？那些如初落的雪花般洁白美丽的书页去哪了呢？这一页上是些丑丑的黑点和歪扭的划痕；紧接着的一页，又是一副可爱的小图画。有些书页上涂有金色、银色等其它耀眼的颜色；有些书页上画着些美丽的花朵；还有些书页上则画了温暖明亮的彩虹。不过，就算是最最美丽的书页上，也还是有些丑陋的小黑点和划痕。

Carl and Philip looked up at the Fairy at last. “Who did this？” they asked. “Every page was white and fair as we opened to it； yet now there is not a single blank place in the whole book！”

最后，卡尔和菲利普都抬起头看着仙女。他们问道：“这是谁干的呢？我们以前翻开时，每一页都是纯白的，可现在整本书竟然没有一处是空白的！”

“Shall I explain some of the pictures to you？” said the Fairy， smiling at the two little boys. “See， Philip， roses blossomed on this page when you let the baby have your play things； and this pretty bird， that looks as if it were singing with all its might， would never have been on this page if you had not tried to be kind and pleasant the other day， instead of quarreling.”

“让我来给你们解释一下其中的一些画吧。”仙女对两个小男孩微笑着说。“看，菲利普，这一页开出了玫瑰花，因为那会儿你把自己的玩具礼让给了一个小孩；这只可爱的小鸟仿佛在竭尽全力唱歌呢，它出现在这一页是因为那天你没有与人争吵，而是努力表现出友好和愉快。”

“But what makes this blot？” asked Philip.

“可是为什么会有黑点呢？”菲利普问。

“That，” said the Fairy sadly， “that came when you told a lie one day， and this when you did not mind mamma. All these blots and scratches that look so ugly， both in your book and in Carls， were made when you were naughty. Each pretty thing in your books came on its page when you were good.”

仙女伤心地说：“黑点呀……那个黑点是因为你那天说了谎，这个黑点是因为你把妈妈的话当作了耳旁风。当你们淘气的时候，所有这些丑丑的黑点和划痕就会出现在你和卡尔的书里，而每一次你们表现良好的时候，书页上就会出现美丽的东西。”

“Oh， if we could only have the books again！” said Carl and Philip.

“噢！如果我们能重新拥有这两本书就好了！”卡尔和菲利普说道。

“That cannot be，” said the Fairy. “See！ they are dated for this year， and they must now go back into Father Times bookcase， but I have brought you each a new one. Perhaps you can make these more beautiful than the others.” So saying， she vanished7， and the boys were left alone， but each held in his hand a new book open at the first page. And on the back of this book was written in letters of gold， “For the New Year.”

“这可不行，”仙女说：“它们的这一年已经结束啦，现在它们得回到时间老人的书箱里去了。不过，我给你们每人带了一本新书，你们可以让这两本书变得更漂亮一些。” 一说完，仙女就消失了，只留下男孩们手上已翻开第一页的新书。而在书的背面，写着几个金色的大字：“致新的一年。”

[1] in an instant 瞬间；马上 [2] lamp n. 灯 [3] in wonder 在惊奇中，惊讶地

[4] scratch n. 抓痕；乱写 [5] gorgeous adj. 华丽的，灿烂的；极好的

[6] delicate adj. 微妙的；精美的，雅致的 [7] vanish vi. 消失；突然不见