A light drizzle was falling as my sister Jill and I ran out of the Methodist Church, eager to get home and play with the presents that Santa had left for us and our baby sister, Sharon. Across the street from the church was a Pan American gas station where the Greyhound bus stopped. It was closed for Christmas, but I noticed a family standing outside the locked door, huddled under the narrow overhang in an attempt to keep dry. I wondered briefly why they were there but then forgot about them as I raced to keep up with Jill.

　　天上下著毛毛細(xì)雨，我和姐姐吉爾跑出衛(wèi)理公會(huì)教堂，滿心只想著快點(diǎn)回到家玩圣誕老人給我們和小妹妹莎倫準(zhǔn)備的禮物玩具。教堂的對(duì)面是泛美油站，灰狗長(zhǎng)途汽車會(huì)在那里中途停站。因?yàn)槭鞘フQ節(jié)，那天油站沒(méi)開(kāi)，不過(guò)我發(fā)現(xiàn)在緊鎖的站門外站著一家人，他們擠在狹小的檐篷下，想盡量不被雨淋濕。我閃過(guò)一個(gè)疑問(wèn)，他們?yōu)槭裁凑驹谀抢锬?但在我趕上吉爾的時(shí)候也就把這個(gè)疑團(tuán)拋諸腦后了。

　　Once we got home, there was barely time to enjoy our presents. We had to go off to our grandparents' house for our annual Christmas dinner. As we drove down the highway through town, I noticed that the family was still there, standing outside the closed gas station.

　　回到家后其實(shí)根本沒(méi)時(shí)間讓我們盡情把玩禮物，因?yàn)槲覀凂R上又得去爺爺奶奶家共進(jìn)一年一度的圣誕大餐。在開(kāi)車經(jīng)過(guò)剛才那條大路時(shí)，我看到那一家人仍然站在緊閉的油站門外。

　　My father was driving very slowly down the highway. The closer we got to the turnoff for my grandparents' house, the slower the car went. Suddenly, my father U-turned in the middle of the road and said, "I can't stand it!"

　　在那主干道上爸爸的車開(kāi)得很慢。越接近去爺爺奶奶家的分岔路口，車子就越慢。突然，爸爸在半路中途來(lái)了個(gè)180度轉(zhuǎn)彎，把車子原路駛回，他說(shuō)："我實(shí)在不忍心!

　　"What?" asked my mother.

　　"什么?"媽媽問(wèn)他。

　　"It's those people back there at the Pan Am, standing in the rain. They've got children. It's Christmas. I can't stand it."

　　"那幾個(gè)在雨中站在泛美油站外的人。他們還帶著小孩呢。圣誕節(jié)當(dāng)前，我真的不忍心啊。"

　　When my father pulled into the service station, I saw that there were five of them: the parents and three children - two girls and a small boy.

　　爸爸把車開(kāi)到油站旁停下，我看見(jiàn)那一家總共有5個(gè)人：父母?jìng)z和三個(gè)孩子--兩個(gè)女孩跟一個(gè)小男孩。

　　My father rolled down his window. "Merry Christmas," he said.

　　爸爸搖下車窗對(duì)他們說(shuō)："圣誕快樂(lè)!"

　　"Howdy," the man replied. He was very tall and had to stoop slightly to peer into the car. Jill, Sharon, and I stared at the children, and they stared back at us.

　　"你好，"那個(gè)男人回了一句。他長(zhǎng)得很高，要稍微彎下腰來(lái)往我們車?yán)锴?。我和吉爾、莎倫盯著那幾個(gè)小孩，他們也瞪眼看著我們。

　　"You waiting on the bus?" my father asked.

　　"你們?cè)诘绕噯?"爸爸問(wèn)他們。

　　The man said that they were. They were going to Birmingham, where he had a brother and prospects of a job.

　　男人回答說(shuō)是，他們準(zhǔn)備去伯明翰，他有個(gè)哥哥在那邊，而且期望能謀到一份工作。

　　"Well, that bus isn't going to come along for several hours, and you're getting wet standing here. Winborn's just a couple miles up the road. They've got a shed with a cover there, and some benches," my father said. "Why don't y'all get in the car and I'll run you up there."

　　"汽車起碼要好幾個(gè)小時(shí)后才到這里，站在這兒等車你們都會(huì)淋濕的。往前幾英里就是溫邦站，那兒有個(gè)棚屋，有地方避雨，還有些板凳。不如上車我送你們到那里吧。"

　　The man thought about it for a moment, and then he beckoned to his family. They climbed into the car. They had no luggage, only the clothes they were wearing.

　　男人想了一下然后示意他家人過(guò)來(lái)。他們鉆進(jìn)車?yán)?，除了身上穿著的衣服，他們沒(méi)有任何行李。

　　Once they settled in, my father looked back over his shoulder and asked the children if Santa had found them yet. Three glum faces mutely gave him his answer.