美国小学英语教材3:第143课 格雷琴的惊喜(4)

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So Gretchen set⁴ her shoes together and then sat⁵ down near them; for she was going⁶ to watch until⁷ Rupert came⁸ by. 于是格雷琴把鞋子放在了一起，接着坐在鞋子的旁边，因为她想一直看着鲁伯特的到来。

All over the city the bells were ringing, and so sweetly did⁹ they sing to little Gretchen that they sang¹⁰ her to sleep that Christmas Eve¹¹. 钟声响遍了整座城市，它们向小格雷琴吟唱起甜美的夜曲。唱着唱着，小女孩在这个平安夜里进入了梦乡。

In another part¹² of the great city, that night, a little American girl named Margaret started out with a basketful of toys to help Santa Claus. 那天晚上，在这个大城市的另一个地方，一个名叫玛格丽特的美国小姑娘拿着一篮子的玩具出发了，她要去给圣诞老人帮忙。

Her father was with her, and they were so happy that they sang Christmas songs as³ they went along¹³ the street. 她的父亲跟她在一起，他们非常高兴，沿着街道一边走一边唱着圣诞歌曲。

They happened to pass in front of the boarding-house just after Gretchen had gone to sleep by her empty shoes. 他们碰巧经过了这间寄宿小屋的前面，这时候，格雷琴刚好在自己的空鞋子旁睡着了。

When Margaret and her father saw¹⁴ them, they stopped in surprise. 玛格丽特和她的父亲看到了空鞋子，他们惊讶地停了下来。

They had been in lands¹⁵ across¹⁶ the sea; 他们去过一些海外的国家，

so they knew that the little girl was waiting for Santa Claus or his helper¹⁷, Rupert, to come with gifts. 他们知道这位小姑娘是在等圣诞老人或他的帮手鲁伯特来送礼物。

What can we give her? whispered¹⁸ Margaret's father, as he looked into the basketful of toys. But Margaret knew. “我们能给她什么呢？”玛格丽特的父亲小声说。他一边说着，一边看了看那一篮子的玩具，但玛格丽特知道。

She took¹⁹ from the basket a baby doll — one that looked as if it wanted to be loved — and laid²⁰ it gently²¹ beside the wooden²² shoes. 她从篮子里拿出了一个婴儿娃娃——就是那个看起来好像需要人疼爱的娃娃，她把它轻轻地放在了木鞋旁。

When Gretchen woke²³ up, she did not see Margaret and her father, for they had gone. 格雷琴醒来的时候，没有看到玛格丽特和她的父亲，他们已经走了。

But, oh! what a wonderful thing she did see! 但是，她看到了多么神奇的一件礼物啊！

There, beside the shoes, was the dearest Christmas gift that ever²⁴ came to a homesick²⁵ little girl in a strange²⁶ country. 对于这个处在异国他乡、无比思念故土的小女孩来说，最珍贵的圣诞礼物就在鞋子旁边。

 

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