42 Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen
42两位感恩节绅士
There is one day that is ours.
总有一天是我们的。
There is one day when all Americans go back to the old home and eat a big dinner.
有一天，所有的美国人都会回到老家吃一顿丰盛的晚餐。
Bless the day.
祝福这一天。
The President gives it to us every year.
总统每年都会发给我们。
Sometimes he talks about the people who had the first Thanksgiving.
有时他会谈论那些过第一个感恩节的人。
They were the Puritans.
他们就是清教徒。
They were some people who landed on our Atlantic shore.
他们是一些登陆我们大西洋海岸的人。
We don" t really remember much about them.
我们真的不太记得他们。
But those people ate a large bird called turkey on the first Thanksgiving Day.
但是那些人在第一个感恩节吃了一种叫做火鸡的大鸟。
So we have turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, if we have enough money to buy turkey.
所以如果我们有足够的钱买火鸡的话，感恩节晚餐我们就吃火鸡。
That is a tradition.
这是一个传统。
Yes. Thanksgiving Day is the one day of the year that is purely American.
是的。感恩节是一年中唯一一个纯粹的美国节日。
And now here is the story to prove to you that we have old traditions in this new country.
现在有一个故事向你们证明，在这个新国家，我们有古老的传统。
They are growing older more quickly than traditions in old countries.
它们比古老国家的传统更快地衰老。
That is because we are so young and full of life.
那是因为我们还很年轻，充满活力。
We do everything quickly.
我们做任何事都很快。
Stuffy Pete sat down on a seat in the New York City park named Union Square.
古板的皮特坐在纽约市联合广场公园的一个座位上。
It was the third seat to the right as you enter Union Square from the east.
从东边进入联合广场右边的第三个座位。
Every Thanksgiving for nine years he had sat down there at one in the afternoon.
九年以来，每逢感恩节，他都会在下午一点的时候坐在那里。
Every time, things had happened to him.
每一次，事情都发生在他身上。
They were wonderful things.
它们是美妙的东西。
They made his heart feel full of joy—and they filled another part of him, too.
它们使他的心里充满了欢乐——它们也充满了他的另一部分。
They filled the part below his heart.
他们填满了他心脏下面的部分。
On those other Thanksgiving Days he had been hungry.
在过去的感恩节里，他一直很饿。
(It is a strange thing.
这是一件奇怪的事情。
There are rich people who wish to help the poor.
有些富人希望帮助穷人。
But many of them seem to think that the poor are hungry only on Thanksgiving Day.)
但他们中的许多人似乎认为穷人只有在感恩节才会挨饿。)
But today Pete was not hungry.
但是今天皮特并不饿。
He had come from a dinner so big that he had almost no power to move.
他刚吃完一顿丰盛的晚餐，几乎没有力气动弹。
His light green eyes looked out from a gray face on which there was still a little food.
他那淡绿色的眼睛从灰色的脸上向外看，脸上还剩着一点食物。
His breath was short.
他的呼吸短促。
His body had suddenly become too big for his clothes;
他的身体突然变得大得穿不下衣服;
it seemed ready to break out of them.
它似乎随时准备冲破它们。
They were torn.
他们被撕裂了。
You could see his skin through a hole in the front of his shirt.
你可以透过他衬衫前面的一个洞看到他的皮肤。
But the cold wind, with snow in it, felt pleasantly cool to him.
但是夹杂着雪的寒风却使他感到凉爽宜人。
For Stuffy Pete was overheated with the warmth of all he had had to eat.
因为闷皮特吃了这么多东西，体温过高了。
The dinner had been much too big.
晚餐太丰盛了。
It seemed to him that his dinner had included all the turkey and all the other food in the whole world.
在他看来，他的晚餐已经包括了所有的火鸡和世界上所有的其他食物。
So he sat, very, very full.
于是他坐着，吃得非常非常饱。
He looked out at the world without interest, as if it could never offer him anything more.
他毫无兴趣地望着外面的世界，仿佛这个世界再也不能给他提供任何东西似的。
The dinner had not been expected.
这顿饭是没有料到的。
He had been passing a large house near the beginning of that great broad street called Fifth Avenue.
他路过一所大房子，房子就在那条叫做第五大道的宽阔大街的起点附近。
It was the home of two old ladies of an old family.
这是一个古老家族的两位老太太的家。
These two old ladies had a deep love of traditions.
这两位老太太深爱传统。
There were certain things they always did.
有些事情他们总是会做。
On Thanksgiving Day at noon they always sent a servant to stand at the door.
在感恩节的中午，他们总是派一个仆人站在门口。
There he waited for the first hungry person who walked by.
他在那里等待着第一个路过的饥饿的人。
The servant had orders to bring that person into the house and feed him until he could eat no more.
仆人奉命把那人带进屋，喂他直到他吃不下为止。
Stuffy Pete happened to pass by on his way to the park.
古板的皮特在去公园的路上碰巧经过。
The servant had gathered him in.
仆人把他叫了进来。
Tradition had been followed.
他们遵循了传统。
Stuffy Pete sat in the park looking straight before him for ten minutes.
闷闷的皮特在公园里坐了十分钟，直直地望着前面。
Then he felt a desire to look in another direction.
接着，他想看看另一个方向。
With a very great effort, he moved his head slowly to the left.
他费了很大的劲，慢慢地把头移向左边。
Then his eyes grew wider and his breath stopped.
然后他的眼睛睁得更大了，呼吸也停止了。
His feet in their torn shoes at the ends of his short legs moved about on the ground.
他的脚穿着那双破鞋，在短腿的末端在地上走来走去。
For the Old Gentleman was coming across Fourth Avenue toward Stuffy" s seat.
因为老先生正穿过第四大道，朝“闷闷”的座位走去。
Every Thanksgiving Day for nine years the Old Gentleman had come there to find Stuffy Pete on his seat.
九年来的每一个感恩节，老先生都会到那里去找坐在座位上的闷皮特。
That was a thing that the Old Gentleman was trying to make into a tradition.
老先生想把这变成一种传统。
Every Thanksgiving Day for nine years he had found Stuffy there.
九年来的每个感恩节，他都在那里找到了斯塔格。
Then he had led Stuffy to a restaurant and watched him eat a big dinner.
然后，他带着斯古去了一家餐馆，看着他吃了一顿丰盛的晚餐。
They do these things more easily in old countries like England.
在像英国这样的古老国家，他们更容易做到这些。
They do them without thinking about them.
他们不加思考就做了。
But in this young country, we must think about them.
但在这个年轻的国家，我们必须为他们着想。
In order to build a tradition, we must do the same thing again and again for a long time.
为了建立一个传统，我们必须在很长一段时间里一遍又一遍地做同样的事情。
The Old Gentleman loved his country.
老先生爱他的国家。
He believed he was helping to build a great American tradition.
他相信他正在帮助建立一个伟大的美国传统。
And he had been doing very well.
他一直做得很好。
Nine years is a long time here.
九年在这里是很长的一段时间。
The Old Gentleman moved, straight and proud, toward the tradition that he was building.
老先生笔直而自豪地朝着他正在建立的传统走去。
Truly feeding Stuffy Pete once a year was not a very important tradition.
每年喂一次“闷皮特”并不是什么重要的传统。
There are greater and more important traditions in England.
英国有更伟大、更重要的传统。
But it was a beginning.
但这只是一个开始。
It proved that a tradition was at least possible in America.
它证明了至少在美国有一种传统是可能的。
The Old Gentleman was thin and tall and sixty.
老先生又瘦又高，六十岁了。
He was dressed all in black.
他一身黑衣。
He wore eyeglasses.
他戴着眼镜。
His hair was whiter and thinner than it had been last year.
他的头发比去年更白更细了。
His legs did not seem as strong as they had seemed the year before.
他的腿似乎不像一年前那么结实了。
As this kind Old Gentleman came toward him, Stuffy began to shake and his breath was shorter.
当这位和蔼的老先生向他走来时，闷闷开始发抖，呼吸也变得急促起来。
He wished he could fly away.
他希望他能飞走。
But he could not move from his seat.
但是他不能离开他的座位。
" Good morning," said the Old Gentleman.
“早上好，”老绅士说。
" I am glad to see that the troubles of another year have not hurt you.
“我很高兴看到又一年的烦恼没有伤害到你。
You continue to move in health about the beautiful world.
你继续在美丽的世界里健康地移动。
For that blessing you and I can give thanks on this day of thanksgiving.
在这感恩节的日子里，你和我都要感谢上帝的祝福。
If you will come with me, my man, I will give you a dinner that will surely make your body feel as thankful as your mind."
如果你愿意和我一起去，我的朋友，我会给你一顿晚餐，这顿饭一定会让你的身体和你的心灵都感到感激。”
That is what the Old Gentleman said every time.
老先生每次都这么说。
Every Thanksgiving Day for nine years.
九年以来的每个感恩节。
The words themselves were almost a tradition.
这些词本身几乎就是一种传统。
Always before, they had been music in Stuffy" s ear.
在此之前，它们一直是塞格耳中的音乐。
But now he looked up at the Old Gentleman" s face with tears of suffering in his eyes.
但现在他抬头看着老先生的脸，眼里含着痛苦的泪水。
The snow turned quickly to water when it fell upon his hot face.
雪落在他热乎乎的脸上，很快就变成了水。
But the Old Gentleman was shaking with the cold.
可是老先生冻得直发抖。
He turned away, with his back to the wind, and he did not see Stuffy" s eyes.
他转过身去，背对着风，没有看见“闷”的眼睛。
Stuffy had always wondered why the Old Gentleman seemed sad as he spoke.
古塔一直想知道为什么老先生说话的时候看起来很悲伤。
He did not know that it was because the Old Gentleman was wishing that he had a son.
他不知道这是因为老先生希望他有个儿子。
A son would come there after he himself was gone.
一个儿子会在他自己走后来到那里。
A son would stand proud and strong before Stuffy, and say:
一个儿子会骄傲而坚强地站在古塔面前，说:
" In remembrance of my father."
“为了纪念我的父亲。”
Then it would really be a tradition.
那就真的是传统了。
But the Old Gentleman had no family.
但是老先生没有家人。
He lived in a room in one of the old houses near the park.
他住在公园附近一所老房子里的一个房间里。
In the winter he grew a few flowers there.
冬天他在那里种了一些花。
In the spring he walked on Fifth Avenue.
春天里，他走在第五大道上。
In the summer he lived in a farmhouse in the hills outside New York, and he talked of a strange bug he hoped some day to find.
夏天，他住在纽约郊外山上的一所农舍里，他谈到一种奇怪的虫子，他希望有一天能找到它。
In the fall season he gave Stuffy a dinner.
秋天的时候，他给古塔吃了一顿饭。
These were the things that filled the Old Gentleman" s life.
这些就是老先生生活的全部。
Stuffy Pete looked up at him for a half minute, helpless and very sorry for himself.
古板的皮特抬头看了他半分钟，既无助又自怨自艾。
The Old Gentleman" s eyes were bright with the giving pleasure.
老先生的眼睛里充满了喜悦。
His face was getting older every year, but his clothes were very clean and fresh.
他的脸一年比一年老，但他的衣服却很干净。
And then Stuffy made a strange noise.
然后闷闷发出一种奇怪的声音。
He was trying to speak.
他试图说话。
As the Old Gentleman had heard the noise nine times before, he understood it.
老绅士已经听过这声音九次了，他明白了。
He knew that Stuffy was accepting.
他知道古塔正在接受。
" Thank you.
“谢谢你。
I" m very hungry."
我很饿。”
Stuffy was very full, but he understood that he was part of a tradition.
闷得很饱，但他明白自己是传统的一部分。
His desire for food on Thanksgiving Day was not his own.
他在感恩节对食物的渴望不是他自己的。
It belonged to this kind Old Gentleman.
它属于这位善良的老先生。
True, America is free.
没错，美国是自由的。
But there are some things that must be done.
但有些事情是必须做的。
The Old Gentleman led Stuffy to the restaurant and to the same table where they had always gone.
老先生把闷闷领到餐厅，坐在他们常去的那张桌子上。
They were known here.
他们在这里很有名。
" Here comes that old man," said a waiter, " that buys that old no-good fellow a dinner every Thanksgiving."
“那个老人来了，”一个侍者说，“他每年感恩节都给那个没用的老家伙买一顿晚餐。”
The Old Gentleman sat at the table, watching.
老先生坐在桌旁看着。
The waiters brought food, and more food.
服务员送来了食物，又送来了更多的食物。
And Stuffy began to eat.
古塔开始吃东西。
No great and famous soldier ever battled more strongly against an enemy.
没有一个伟大而著名的士兵在与敌人的战斗中表现得如此强大。
The turkey and all the other food were gone almost as quickly as they appeared.
火鸡和其他所有的食物几乎和它们出现的速度一样快。
Stuffy saw the look of happiness on the Old Gentleman" s face.
古塔看到老先生脸上幸福的表情。
He continued to eat in order to keep it there.
他继续吃，以保持它在那里。
In an hour the battle was finished.
一个小时后，战斗结束了。
" Thank you," Stuffy said.
“谢谢你。”古塔说。
" Thank you for my Thanksgiving dinner."
“谢谢你请我吃感恩节晚餐。”
Then he stood up heavily and started to go to the wrong door.
然后，他沉重地站起来，开始向错误的门走去。
A waiter turned him in the right direction.
一个侍者给他指了正确的方向。
The Old Gentleman carefully counted out $1.30, and left fifteen cents more for the waiter.
老先生仔细地数出了1.3美元，又给侍者多留了15美分。
They said goodbye, as they did each year, at the door.
他们像每年一样，在门口道别。
The Old Gentleman went south, and Stuffy went north.
老绅士往南走，古板往北走。
Stuffy went around the first corner, and stood for one minute.
古塔转过第一个拐角，站了一分钟。
Then he fell.
然后他摔倒了。
There he was found.
在那里他被发现了。
He was picked up and taken to a hospital.
他被抬起来送到了医院。
They put him on a bed, and began to try to discover what strange sickness had made him fall.
他们把他放在床上，开始试图找出是什么奇怪的疾病使他倒下的。
And an hour later the Old Gentleman was brought to the same hospital.
一小时后，老先生被送到了同一家医院。
And they put him on another bed, and began to try to discover what his sickness could be.
他们把他放在另一张床上，开始检查他是什么病。
After a little time one of the doctors met another doctor, and they talked.
过了一会儿，其中一个医生遇到了另一个医生，他们聊了起来。
" That nice old gentleman over there," he said.
“那边那位和蔼的老先生，”他说。
" Do you know what" s wrong with him?
“你知道他怎么了吗?”
He" s almost dead for the need of food.
他快要饿死了。
A very proud old man, I think.
我想他是个非常骄傲的老人。
He told me he has had nothing to eat for three days."
他告诉我他已经三天没吃东西了。”