Bert's Thanksgiving

伯特的感恩节

By J. T. Trowbridge revised by Kristina Harding

特罗布里奇【著】. 克里斯汀娜•哈丁【修订】.

At noon on a dreary November day, a lonesome little fellow stood at the door of a cheap restaurant in Boston, and offered a solitary copy of a morning paper for sale to the people passing. But there were really not many people passing, for it was Thanksgiving Day, and the shops were closed, and everybody who had a home to go to, and a dinner to eat, seemed to have gone home.

十一月的一个沉闷的午间，一位寂寞的小伙子站在波士顿一家廉价餐馆门口，想把一份晨报卖给路人。但是由于这天是感恩节，路上没有很多行人，商店也都关门了，那些有家可归、有晚餐要赴的人们，似乎也都已经回家了。

An old man, with a face that looked pinched, and who was dressed in a seedy black coat, stopped at the same doorway, and, with one hand on the latch, he appeared to hesitate between hunger and a sense of poverty, before going in. It was possible, however, that he was considering whether he could afford himself the indulgence of a morning paper, seeing it was Thanksgiving Day; so at least Bert thought, and addressed him accordingly.

这时，有一个满脸消瘦的老人，身上穿着破旧的黑色外套，在餐馆门前停了下来，一只手搭在门把上准备进去，但在进门前，他看起来似乎在饥饿感与贫穷之间犹豫不决。而卖报纸的小伙伯特也在考虑老人能否看在今天是感恩节的份上，买一份晨报。不管怎样，至少伯特认为有可能，因此他走上前问了这位老人。

"Buy a paper, sir? All about the fire in East Boston, and arrest of burglars in Springfield. Only two cents."

“先生，买一份报纸吗？今天的内容是关于东波士顿的火灾和斯普林菲尔德的窃贼被捕。只要两美分。”

The little old man looked at the boy, with keen gray eyes which seemed to light up the pinched look of his face, and answered in a shrill voice,"You ought to come down in your price, this time of day. You can't expect to sell a morning paper at 12 o'clock for full price."

那位瘦弱的老人看着小伙，锐利的灰色眼睛似乎为他憔悴的面色增添了一丝生机，他用尖锐的声音回答道，“你应该在今天把报纸的价格降下来。因为你不能指望在中午十二点还能以原价来卖出晨报。”

"Well, give me a cent, then," said Bert. "That's less than cost; but never mind. I'm bound to sell out, anyhow."

“好吧，那付我一美分就好。”伯特说。“尽管这价钱低于成本，但没关系，我无论如何都要把它们卖出去。”

"You look cold," said the old man.

老人说，“你看起来很冷。”

"Cold," replied Bert, "I'm nearly frozen. And I want my dinner. And I'm going to have a big dinner, too, seeing it's Thanksgiving Day."

“冷？”伯特回答说，“我都要被冻僵了。我想要吃晚餐，一顿丰盛的晚餐，毕竟今天是感恩节。”

"Ah! Lucky for you, my boy!" said the old man. "You've a home to go to, and friends, too. I hope."

“欧！你是多么幸运啊，我的孩子！”老人说，“你有家可回，还有朋友，我猜。”

"No, sir; no home, and no friend—only my mother."

“不，先生。我没有家，也没有朋友，我只有妈妈。”

"It's more lonesome not to eat at all," said the old man, his gray eyes twinkling. "Here, I guess I can find one cent for you—though there's nothing in the paper, I know."

“如果完全不吃点什么东西会更孤独吧”，那位老人说着说着，灰色的眼睛里闪烁出了光芒。“我想我可以找出一分钱来买份报纸，虽然我知道里面并没有什么可读的。”