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His sisters sewed presents, and his mother and father always bought something he needed, a warm jacket, maybe, or a book. And he always saved and bought them each something, too.
他的妹妹們自己縫制禮物，他的父母總是買一些他需要的東西，一件保暖的夾克，或是一本書。他也總是攢錢給他們每個人買東西。
He wished, that Christmas he was fifteen, he had a better present for his father instead of the usual tie from the ten-cent store. He lay on his side and looked out of his attic window.
那年圣誕節他十五歲，他希望送給他父親一份好點的禮物，而不是從便宜的商店買來的普通的領帶。他側身躺著，從閣樓的窗戶向外看。
"Dad," he had once asked when he was a little boy. "What is a stable?"
“爸爸，”當他還是小孩子的時候曾經問過，“馬廄是什么？”
"It's just a barn," his father had replied, "like ours."
“就是牲口棚，”父親答道，“就像我們家的那個。”
Then Jesus had been bom in a barn, and to a barn the shepherds and the Wise Men had come, bringing their Christmas gifts!
耶穌就是在馬廄里降生的，牧羊人和圣人們都帶著他們的圣誕禮物來到馬廄！
A thought struck him like a silver dagger. Why should he not give his father a special gift, out there in the bam? He could get up earlier, creep into the barn and get all the milking done. And then when his father went in to start the milking, he'd see it all done.
他靈機一動。為什么不在牲口棚里送給父親一件特別的禮物呢？他可以早點起床， 悄悄溜進牲口棚，把牛奶都擠完。然后當他父親進去開始擠牛奶時，就會發現活兒都干完了。
He laughed to himself as he gazed at the stars. It was what he would do, and he mustn't sleep too soundly.
他凝視著星星，暗自笑了。他就要這么做，決不能睡得太死。
He must have woken twenty times, striking a match each time to look at his old watch.At a quarter to three, he got up and crept downstairs, careful of the creaky boards, and let himself out. A big star hung low over the roof, a reddish gold. The cows looked at him, sleepy and surprised. It was early for them, too.
他醒了足有20次，每次醒來都劃根火柴看看他那塊舊表。差一刻鐘三點，他起床了，悄悄下樓，小心翼翼地不讓地板發出吱吱的聲音，然后走了出去。一顆很大的星星低懸在屋頂上空，發出淡紅色的金光。奶牛瞅瞅他，睡意未盡，有些吃驚。對它們來說，時間也太早了。
