圣诞夜的蟋蟀Christmas Cricket

文·图/[美]伊芙·邦婷 译/姚人杰

圣诞夜的蟋蟀Christmas Cricket

文·图/[美]伊芙·邦婷 译/姚人杰

It was cold in the garden. Cricket felt small and worthless in the bigness of night.

He hopped up steps, under a door, and into a kitchen.

下着雨的庭院冷飕飕。在茫茫的黑夜中，小蟋蟀感觉自己好渺小，毫无用处。

它艰难地一级级跳上了台阶, 从房门底下的一条缝里钻了进去, 进入了一户人类家庭的厨房。

He jump-jumped across something, cold as frozen snow, skid-skidded across somewhere, slippery as pond ice, and onto a place soft and fresh as grass.

它跳啊跳，穿过冷得像冰雪的白地砖，溜过像池塘冰面一样光滑的地板，来到了一片像草一样柔软的地方，人类把它称为地毯。

Cricket hop-hopped around and into and out of things and over to a tall tree with stars clinging to it.

He jumped onto a low branch, hid himself, and began a song.

小蟋蟀跳来跳去，跳出跳进，好奇地打量着四周，最终跳到房间里一棵高高的树上。这是一棵圣诞树，上面挂着闪亮的星星。

小蟋蟀跳到低处的一根树枝上，把自己藏好后，开始唱歌。

“Dad, I thought I heard the angel sing,” a small voice said, so close that it scared Cricket into silence.

What should he do? He must not be found. Should he jump? Should he try to get away? Should he stay hidden?

“爸爸，我觉得我听到了天使的歌声。”一个稚嫩的嗓音说道，声音离得如此之近，吓得小蟋蟀立刻安静下来。

怎么办呢？小蟋蟀可不能被人发现。它应该跳下去吗？它应该尝试逃跑吗？它应该躲在藏身处吗？

“I thought I heard singing, too.” This was a bigger voice.

A fnger gently swung his branch.

What was happening? Cricket felt dizzy. He held on tight. Around him everything swayed and jangled and chimed.

“我觉得我也听见了歌声。”说话的是一个更为响亮的嗓音。

一根手指轻轻地摇动起小蟋蟀藏身的树枝。

出了什么事？小蟋蟀觉得头晕眼花，可是它紧紧抱住树枝。它周围的一切都在摇摆，圣诞树上的星星挂件被碰响后，还发出了叮叮当当的声音。

The swinging stopped.

“Did you know that angels sing in the songs of birds, and frogs and people and crickets?” the big voice asked, a voice so gentle that it calmed Cricket’s pounding heart.

“I didn’t know that,” the little voice said.

树枝突然不再摇动。

“你知道天使是用鸟儿的鸣声、青蛙的叫声、人类的歌声和蟋蟀的鸣叫来歌唱的吗？”那个更响亮的嗓音问道，嗓音听起来如此温柔，让小蟋蟀扑通扑通跳个不停的心脏平静下来。

“我不知道。”稚嫩的嗓音说道。

Angels sing in the voices of crickets? Cricket didn’t know that, either. He was small, then. But not worthless. What a great discovery!

“Shall we sing with the angel?” the big voice asked.

“Yes, please.”

天使会用蟋蟀的声音来歌唱吗？小蟋蟀也不知道。它仍然很渺小，但并非全无用处。天使会用我的声音来歌唱，这是多么大的发现！

“我们要不要和天使一起歌唱？”那个更响亮的嗓音问道。

“好呀，爸爸。”

Together the two sang “Joy to the World”. And in his hiding place, Cricket rubbed his wings, one against the other, for his own joy, and sang, and sang, and sang.

这对父子唱起了圣诞颂歌《普世欢腾》。小蟋蟀躲在藏身之处，也摩擦起两片翅膀，鸣叫起来，享受起自己的那份愉悦, 在圣诞树上唱啊唱，度过了圣诞之夜。