A wonderful present

By Fulton Oursler

精美的礼物

Peter Richards was the loneliest man in the town on the day that little Jean Grace opened the door of his shop.

 皮特。里查德是镇上最孤独的人。那天，一个叫珍格蕾丝的小姑娘推开了他的店门。

 Peter’s grandfather had owned the shop until his death. Then the shop became Peter’s. The front window was full of beautiful old things: jewelry of a hundred years ago, gold and silver boxes, carved figures from China and Japan and other nations.

 皮特的小店原属于他的祖父。直到祖父死后，皮特成了店主。店前的橱窗里摆满了各种各样美丽而又古老的东西：有一百年历史的珠宝，金子和银子制成的首饰盒，来自中国、日本和一些其他国家的雕塑。

 On this winter afternoon, a child stood there, her face close to the window. With large and serious eyes, she studied each piece in the window. Then, looking pleased, she stepped back from the window and went into the shop.

 就在这个冬天的下午，一个孩子站在那里，她的脸蛋贴在橱窗玻璃上，一双大眼睛仔仔细细地研究着橱窗里的每一个角落。然后，她带着满意的神情离开橱窗走进商店。

 There was not much light inside the shop, but the little girl could see that the place was full of things: old guns and clocks, more jewelry and boxes and figures, and a hundred other things for which she didn’t even know the names.

 店里的光线并不充足，但是小姑娘能够看见这里摆满了商品：古老的枪和时钟，琳琅满目的珠宝、首饰盒和雕像，甚至还有上百种她从来也叫不上名字的东西。

 Peter himself stood behind the counter. He was only 30 years old, but already his hair was turning gray. His eyes were cold as he looked at the small girl.

 皮特站在柜台的后面。他才仅仅30岁，但是头发都已经呈现灰白色。他用冷冷的眼神瞧着面前这个小姑娘。

 “Please,” she said,” would you let me look at the pretty string of blue beads in the window?”

 “劳驾，”小姑娘说，“您可以让我看一看橱窗里那串漂亮的蓝色珠子项链吗？”

 Peter took the string of blue beads from the window. The beads were beautiful against his hand as he held the necklace up for her to see.

 皮特从橱窗里拿出了蓝珠项链，当他把项链拿给她看时，珠子在他的手中显得非常漂亮。

 “They are just right,” said the child as though she were alone with the beads. “Will you wrap them up in pretty paper for me, please?”

 “它们看起来真不错，”小女孩好像仅仅在对那串珠子说，“您可以用漂亮的纸为我把它们包装起来吗？”

 Peter studied her with his cold eyes. “Are you buying these for someone?” he asked.

 皮特用他惯有的冷漠眼神打量着她，“你是买这个送人吗？”他问。

 “They are for my big sister. She takes care of me. You see, this will be the first Christmas since our mother died. I’ve been looking for a really wonderful Christmas present for my sister.”

 “我买它们送给我姐姐。她是那么悉心地照顾我。你看，这是妈妈死后我们的第一个圣诞节。我想找到一件真正精美的圣诞礼物送给姐姐。”

 “How much money do you have?” asked Peter.

 “你有多少钱？” 皮特问。

 From the pocket of her coat, she took a handful of pennies and put them on the counter. “This is all I have,” she explained simply. “I’ve been saving the money for my sister’s present.”

 小姑娘从她的大衣口袋里掏出一大把便士放在柜台上。“全都在这儿。”她简单地解释说，“我专门存着它们为姐姐买礼物。”

Peter looked at her, his eyes thoughtful. Then he carefully closed his hand over the price mark on the necklace so that she could not see it. How could he tell her the price? The happy look in her big blue eyes struck him like the pain of an old wound.

 皮特看着她，陷入了思考。然后，他小心地把项链上的价格标签抓在手里，不让小姑娘看见。他怎么能告诉她价格？她大大的蓝眼睛里流露出来的快乐撞击着他，就如皮特心底的旧伤的隐痛。

 “Just a minute,” he said, and went to the back of the shop. “What’s your name?” he called out. He was very busy about something.

 “稍候，”他边说边走进后店。“你叫什么名字？”他在店里大声问道，同时不停地忙碌着。

 “Jean Grace,” answered the child.

 “珍?格蕾丝”，小女孩回答道。

 When Peter returned to the front of the shop, he held a package in his hand. It was wrapped in pretty Christmas paper and tied with green ribbon.

 当皮特回到前店，手中拿着一个小包裹，用漂亮的圣诞纸包裹着，还系上了绿色的丝带。

 “There you are,” he said. “Don’t lose it on the way home.”

 “给你，”他说，“路上小心，不要弄丢了。”

 She smiled happily at him as she ran out the door. Though the window he watched her go. He felt more alone than ever.

 女孩高兴的冲他笑笑，跑出了小店。皮特透过橱窗的玻璃目送她远去，忽然感到比从前更加深刻的孤独。