A POOR OUTLOOK FOR CHRISTMAS
圣誕節前景不佳
But a certain Christmas season two years after Pat’s arrival found things in bad condition on the Ballinger farm. The fruit crop, which was depended upon to carry them through the year, had been a failure. Some wood had been sold, but the returns from this were small; and as Christmas approached, Ballinger became worried and anxious. His children were not accustomed to any elaborate celebration of the day, but there always had been something for them. Now it looked as if there would be nothing.
但在帕特到來兩年后的某個圣誕節，巴林格農場的情況很糟糕。巴林格一家需要依靠水果作物來維持一年的生計，但收成并不好。他們賣掉了一些木材，但利潤很低；圣誕節臨近，巴林格變得擔心而焦慮。他的孩子們不習慣于精心慶祝圣誕節，但總還是要做一些事情的。現在看來好像什么都沒有了。
Pat fully understood the situation, and was as much disturbed as his employer. So Pat now worried, said mean things about the world in general, and made daily trips to Old Mission to see if the mail had brought Ballinger the check expected for timber he had sold. In the gathering dusk of Christmas eve he was seen returning through the snow, as if his life depended on his speed. “Here ye are!” he shouted, wildly waving a letter. “Here’s the cash for the timber.” Ballinger ran to meet him, his eyes sparkling. Then suddenly he stopped, his arms dropped to his sides, and he became the picture of a man greatly discouraged. “Too late,” he said. “We can make it up to them later, but Christmas won’t be Christmas. There’s nothing to be had this side of Traverse City.” Pat’s face became as long as one of the gaunt pine trees.
帕特完全了解情況，他和他的雇主一樣感到不安。所以帕特現在很擔心，經常咒罵這個世界，每天還要去Old Mission教堂看看有沒有收到郵件，里面夾著他為巴林格出售木材的錢。在圣誕夜的暮色中，人們看到他從雪地里狂奔而歸。“給你！”他大聲喊道，一邊瘋狂地揮舞著一封信。“這是賣木材的錢。”巴林格跑去迎接他，眼睛閃閃發光。然后他突然停了下來，雙臂垂向身體兩側，他非常沮喪，靜止不動，好像成了一幅畫像。“太晚了，”他說。“我們以后可以補償他們，但以后的圣誕節不會是現在的圣誕節。特拉弗斯城這邊沒什么可吃的。”帕特的臉色沉了下來，像是一棵憔悴的松樹。
Old Mission boasted of only one little general Store, that could supply none of the things needed, and the only communication with Traverse City, aside from that furnished by the mail carrier, was supplied by a stage that made the trip twice a week. “I’ll cross to Elk Rapids on the ice,” he suggested, “and get the train.”
Old Mission教堂只有一個小雜貨店，完全無法供應需要的東西，除了郵遞員進行交流外，這里與特拉弗斯城的唯一聯系是通過一個每周兩次的舞臺。“我要去冰上的麋鹿灘，”他建議說，“然后坐火車。”
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