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The boy was at first delighted to discover the present his mother had hidden away as his Christmas gift. But then he began to worry that his mother would now no longer have the pleasure of giving him a surprise. What was he to do?
發現了母親為他藏好的圣誕禮物男孩起先很高興。但接著他就開始擔心，媽媽將因此失去給他一個驚喜的喜悅。他該怎么辦呢？
A Magician at Stretching a Dollar
能把一塊錢拉長的魔術師
That December, with Christmas approaching, she was out at work and Doris was in the kitchen when I let myself into her bedroom one afternoon in search of a safety pin. Since her bedroom opened onto a community hallway, she kept the door locked, but needing the pin, I took the key from its hiding place, unlocked the door and stepped in. Standing against the wall was a big, black bicycle with balloon tires. I recognized it instantly. It was the same second-hand bike I'd been admiring in a Baltimore Street shop window. I'd even asked about the price. It was a shock. Something like $15. Somehow my mother had scraped together enough for a down payment and meant to surprise me with the bicycle on Christmas morning.
那年的十二月，圣誕節臨近了。一天下午，媽媽在外面上班，妹妹多麗絲在廚房里，我為了找一枚安全別針而開門走進了媽媽的臥室。因為她的臥室門正對著共用的走廊，她總是把門鎖著，但我因為需要別針，便從藏鑰匙的地方取出鑰匙，打開門，走了進去。只見靠墻立著一輛低壓輪胎的、大的黑色自行車。我一下子就認出了它。這正是那擺在巴爾的摩大街一家商店櫥窗里一直讓我羨慕不已的二手車。我甚至還問過這輛車的價錢。簡直貴得嚇人。差不多要十五塊錢。媽媽想辦法湊足了首付款，打算在圣誕節早晨拿這輛自行車給我一個驚喜。
I was deeply moved by the discovery and yet sickened by the knowledge that, bursting into her room like this, I had robbed her of the pleasure of seeing me astonished and delighted on Christmas day. I hadn't wanted to know her lovely secret; still coming upon it like this made me feel as though I'd struck a blow against her happiness. I backed out, put the key back in its hiding place, and thought over what to do.
這一發現讓我深為感動，然而想到這樣闖進她的臥室，從而剝奪了她在圣誕節那天見到我又驚又喜時的歡樂，我又感到厭惡。我本不想知道她這個可愛的秘密；但像這樣偶然地發現了它仍然使我覺得好像重重地打擊了她的歡樂一樣。我從她的臥室退了出來，把鑰匙放回原處，認真考慮著該怎么辦才好。
