SANTA CLAUS
圣诞老人
I.It was bright and beautiful all day.In the evening the coal glowed in the grate with a splendid blaze.All the gas-burners were lighted，and so were every body’s eyes.
2.If you had listened you might have heard a joyful tinkling of sleigh-bells out of doors；but I believe nobody could have told whether the streets were still or noisy，or whether the sky had a moon in it or not；for nobody was quiet long enough to notice.
3.By-and-by the folding-doors were opened，just like the two covers to a Christmas fairybook！Then how still it was，all in a second.Such a funny little old man！his face all alive with dimples and smiles and wrinkles！
4.His cheeks were as red and round as winter apples，and where there was not a wrinkle there was a dimple；and I suppose there was one in his chin，and his chin，may be，was double，only you could not tell，for it was hidden ever so deep under a beard as white as a snow-drift.
5.He walked along，tottering under the weight of a huge pack full of presents.His eyes twinkled with fun，and his mouth，which seemed nearly worn out with laughing，grewbigger every minute.
6.It took the little old gentleman some time to clear his throat before he made his speech.It was such a funny speech，I thought I would write it down，so that all the little boys and girls who did not hear it could read it.
【中文阅读】
1.这是个阳光灿烂、风清气爽的一天。到了晚上，煤块在壁炉里冒着漂亮的火星，所有的煤气灯都亮了，每个人的眼睛也都亮了。
2.如果你用双耳倾听，就会听到门外马拉雪橇上铃铛的“叮铃叮铃”的响声。不过没人能告诉你街道上是安静还是喧嚣，天空中是有月亮还是没有，因为没有人能安静下来去听，去看。
3.门慢慢地被推开了，就像是圣诞神话书的两个封面。就在这一刹那是多么安静啊！这样一个滑稽的小老头！他的面庞因为有酒窝、微笑和皱纹而变得那么生动！
4.他的脸又红又圆，像冬天的苹果，只有酒窝处没有皱纹。我猜他的下巴上还有一个酒窝，有一个，也许是两个，你根本弄不清楚，因为他的下巴深深地隐藏在一堆像雪堆一样的白胡子后面。
5.他向前走着，步履蹒跚，重重的身躯上的包裹里装满了圣诞礼物。他的双眼闪动着狡黠的目光，他的嘴巴总是哈哈大笑，嘴角仿佛要撕裂一般。
6.这个小老头在讲话之前需要用很长时间去清理喉咙。他的讲话非常有趣，我想我该把他的讲话写下来，那样所有没有听过他讲话的孩子们就能看到了。
THE SPEECH OF SANTA CLAUS
圣诞老人的讲话
1.“Halloo，children！halloo all round！Bless your little hearts，how do you do？Did they tell you Santa wasn‘t coming，my dears？Did your grandpas and grandmas say ’Humph！‘2.”My love to the old people-tell them they’ll have to give it up now.“Here Santa Claus made a low bow.Every body laughed and clapped；but Prudy whispered，“He‘ll drop it off，I’m afraid！”meaning the pack.
3.“Yes，any dears，here I am，as jolly as ever；but bless your sweet little eyes，I‘ve had a terrible time getting here！The wind has been blowing me up，and I’ve been shaken round like a kernel of corn in a popper！
4.”I‘ve been ducked up to the chin in some great snow-banks，away up by the North Pole！And I was cruising round all last night-didn’t sleep a wink-got so broken up，there‘s nothing left of me but pieces！
5.“Oh，oh！don’t you make fun of me，children！If you love me as I love you，you won‘t mind the looks！I set out to fix up a little，and then，thought I，I’ll come just as I am.I patted myself on the shoulder，and said，‘Santa Claus，don’t you fret，if you are growing old.‘6.”You see，father Adam and I were about of an age，but somehow I never grew up.I always thought big folks were well enough in their place，but give me the children！Harrah .for the children！
7.“I tell you，darlings，I haven’t forgot one of you？My pockets are running over！Here‘s a doll for the Prudy girl，and she may have it for nothing，and they’re cheaper than if you take a lot of them！
8.”I‘ve got more nuts than you can shake a hammer at；but I think there’s more bark to them than there is bite！Oh，oh！I can‘t crack them with my teeth as I used to a few hundred years ago.
9.“But，my dear，cunning，sweet little midgets，I must be going！Queen Vic said to me，’Now，Santa，my love，do you get back to fill my children‘s pockets before the clock strikestwelve！’
10.”Good night，dears！A Merry Christmas to you all，and a Happy New Year！“11.So saying，Santa Claus suddenly disappeared at the hall-door，dropping his heavy pack，which fell to pieces with a bang，scattering its content‘s over the floor，causing Prudy to exclaim，“I s’posed he‘d drop it！I s’posed ‘twould break！”
12.In another minute the lively old gentleman was in the front parlor without any mask，and of course it was nobody but cousin Arthur “with his face off.”
13.Then they all went to work sorting out presents.It would not do to name many of them；it would take too long.
14.Prudy seized her fur tippet and put it on at once.“Oh，how pretty I look！”said she，“just like a little cat！Isn’t it cunning？”
15.Then she had a wax doll，which “would be alive if itcould talk；”to say nothing of new gaiters a hood，and a scarf.
16.Susie had no end of pretty things，too；and though she did not talk quite so much as Prudy，she was just as happy.She had what she had never dreamed was possible for a little girl to have-a bottle of “Jockey Club”-“just like a young lady！”
17.This was really a great delight to Susie；but Prudy，sniffing it，said coolly，“Oh，ho！it smells as if it didn‘t cost more than a cent！’Tisn‘t half so sweet as pep’mint！”
18.I should like to tell a great deal more about the evening；what they did and said；how they ate Santa Claus‘s nuts，candy and figs；and how they played what Prudy called “blind man’s buffalo，”with no fear of being told it was bedtime，-but I can not now.
【中文阅读】
1.“你们好，孩子们！你们好，所有的人！上帝保佑你们幼小的心灵，你们都好吗？他们有没有告诉你们圣诞老人不会来了，孩子们？你们的爷爷奶奶有没有过对这个问题只是‘哼’的一声？”2.“致我亲爱的老人们--告诉他们，一定不要那样。”说着圣诞老人深深地鞠了一躬。所有人都笑着鼓起掌来。只有普鲁迪小声嘀咕：“恐怕那就要掉下来了。”她指的是圣诞老人肩上扛的大袋子。
3.“是的，孩子们，我来了，还是一如既往地快乐地来了。但是上帝保佑你们纯洁的双眼，让你们看到，我经历了一番磨难才能来到这里。大风把我吹了起来，我被刮得就像是玉米粒在爆米花机里一样到处飞不由自己。
4.”我被大风按到一大堆雪中，大雪一直埋到下巴，--就在北极！整整一晚上我被刮得飞来飞去--没有合眼睡觉，哪怕只睡一会儿--所以身上的衣服都被吹得成了一条条的碎片。
5.“哦，不要开我的玩笑，孩子们！如果你们像我爱你们一样爱我，你们就不会介意我的穿着！后来我稍微修补了一下我的衣服，然后，我想，我还是应该和原来一样来这里，于是我就拍了拍自己的肩膀，说：‘圣诞老人，如果你已经长大成人了，就不要烦恼。’
6.”你看，父亲亚当和我都快老了，但是不管怎么样，我从未长大。我总是认为那些已经当上了爷爷奶奶的老人们真是太幸福了，但还是把他们的孩子交给我吧！哈！为了孩子们！
7.“亲爱的，我告诉你们，我没有忘掉你们任何人！我袋子里的东西快要溢出来了！这个娃娃是给普鲁迪家女孩儿的，她可以拿走了，不要钱，而且要是只拿一个，可是会大大便宜我哟！
8.”我还带来了很多很多的坚果，多得你们用锤子都砸不过来；不过我认为嘴更好用，哦！哦！我几百年前用牙咬起来可比现在厉害多了。
