那是1961年的圣诞节。我在俄亥俄州的一个小镇上教小学三年级。班上27个孩子都在积极参加"礼物赠送日"的活动。a tr covrd with tinsl and gaudy papr chains gracd on cornr. in anothr rstd a mangr scn producd from cardboard and postr paints by chubby, and somtims grubby, hands. somon had brought a doll and placd it on th straw in th cardboard box that srvd as th mangr. it didn't mattr that you could pull a string and har th blu-yd, goldn-haird dolly say, "my nam is susi." "but jsus was a boy baby!" on of th boys proclaimd. nonthlss, susi stayd.教室的一角被一棵树装点得熠熠生辉，树上缀满了金银丝帛和华丽的彩纸。教室的另一角是一个涂着海报油彩由纸板制成的马槽，这出自孩子们那胖乎乎、脏兮兮的小手。有人带来了一个娃娃，把它放在纸板槽里的稻草上(假装小耶稣)。只要拉拉它身上的一条细绳，这个蓝眼睛、金发的娃娃就会说道，"我叫苏西"，不过这都没有关系。一个男孩提出："耶稣可是个小男孩呀!"不过苏西还是留了下来。ach day th childrn producd som nw wondr -- strings of popcorn, hand-mad trinkts, and grman blls mad from wallpapr sampls, which w hung from th ciling. through it all sh rmaind aloof, watching from afar, smingly mils away. i wondrd what would happn to this quit child, onc so happy, now so suddnly withdrawn. i hopd th fstivitis would appal to hr. but nothing did. w mad cards and gifts for mothrs and dads, for sistrs and brothrs, for grandparnts, and for ach othr. at hom th studnts mad th popular frid marbls and vid with on anothr to bring in th prttist ons. " you put thm in a hot frying pan, tachr. and you lt thm gt ral hot, and thn you watch what happns insid. but you don't fry thm too long or thy brak."so, as my gift to thm, i mad ach of my studnts a littl pouch for carrying thir frid marbls. and i knw thy had ach mad somthing for m: bookmarks carfully cut, colord, and somtims pastd togthr; cards and spcial drawings; liquid mbroidry doilis, hand-fringd, of cours.每天孩子们都会做点儿新玩意--爆米花串成的细链子、手工做的小装饰品和墙纸样做的德国式风铃，我们把这些风铃挂在了天花板上。但自始至终，她都是孤零零地远远观望，仿佛是隔了一道几里长的障碍。我猜想着这个沉默的孩子发生了什么事，原来那个快乐的孩子怎么突然变得沉默寡言起来。我希望节日的活动能吸引她，可还是无济于事。我们制作了许多卡片和礼物，准备把它们送给爸爸妈妈、兄弟姐妹、祖父母和身边的同学。学生们在家里做了当时很流行“油炸"玻璃弹子，并且相互比着，要把最好看的拿来。"老师，把玻璃弹子放在热油锅里，让它们烧热，然后看看里面的变化。但不要炸得时间过长否则会破裂。"所以，我给每个学生做了一个装"油炸弹子"的小袋作为礼物送给他们。我知道他们每个人也都为我做了礼物：仔细剪裁、着色，或已粘集成串的书签;贺卡和特别绘制的图片;透明的镶边碗碟垫布，当然是手工编制的流苏。th day of gift-giving finally cam. w oohd and aahd ovr our handiwork as th prsnts wr xchangd. through it all, sh sat quitly watching. i had mad a spcial pouch for hr, rd and grn with whit lac. i wantd vry much to s hr smil. sh opnd th packag so slowly and carfully. i waitd but sh turnd away. i had not pntratd th wall of isolation sh had built around hrslf.赠送礼物的那天终于到了。在交换礼物时我们为对方亲手做的小礼品不停地欢呼叫好。而整个过程，她只是安静地坐在那儿看着。我为她做的小袋很特别，红绿相间还镶着白边。我非常想看到她笑一笑。她打开包装，动作又慢又小心。我等待着，但是她却转过了身。我还是没能穿过她在自己周围树起的高墙，这堵墙将她与大家隔离了开来。aftr school th childrn lft in littl groups, chattring about th grat day yt to com whn long-hopd-for two-whlrs and bright slds would appar bsid thir trs at hom. sh lingrd, watching thm bundl up and go out th door. i sat down in a child-sizd chair to catch my brath, hardly awar of what was happning, whn sh cam to m with outstrtchd hands, baring a small whit box, unwrappd and slightly soild, as though it had bn hld many tims by unwashd, childish hands. sh said nothing. "for m?" i askd with a wak smil. sh said not a word, but noddd hr had. i took th box and gingrly opnd it. thr insid, glistning grn, a frid marbl hung from a goldn chain. thn i lookd into that ldrly ight-yar-old fac and saw th qustion in hr dark brown ys. in a flash i knw -- sh had mad it for hr mothr, a mothr sh would nvr s again, a mothr who would nvr hold hr or brush hr hair or shar a funny story, a mothr who would nvr again har hr childish joys or sorrows. a mothr who had takn hr own lif just thr wks bfor.放学后，学生们三三俩俩地离开了，边走边说着即将到来的圣诞节：家中的圣诞树旁将发现自己心系已久的自行车和崭新发亮的雪橇。她慢慢地走在后面，看着大家拥挤着走出门外。我坐在孩子们的小椅子上稍稍松了口气，对要发生的事没有一点准备。这时她向我走来，双手拿着一个白色的盒子向我伸过来。盒子没有打包装，稍有些脏。好像是被孩子未洗过的小手摸过了好多遍。她没有说话。"给我的吗?"我微微一笑。她没出声，只是点点头。我接过盒子，非常小心地打开它。盒子里面有一条金色的链子，上面坠着一块闪闪发光的“油炸"玻璃弹子。然后我看着她的脸，虽只有8岁，可却是成人的表情。在她深棕色的眼睛里我找到了问题的答案。我在一瞬间明白过来--这是她为妈妈做的项链。i hld out th chain. sh took it in both hr hands, rachd forward, and scurd th simpl clasp at th back of my nck. sh stppd back thn as if to s that all was wll. i lookd down at th shiny pic of glass and th tarnishd goldn chain, thn back at th givr. i mant it whn i whisprd," oh, maria, it is so bautiful. sh would hav lovd it."nithr of us could stop th tars. sh stumbld into my arms and w wpt togthr. and for that brif momnt i bcam hr mothr, for sh had givn m th gratst gift of all: hrslf.我拿起那条链子。她用双手接过它，向前探了探身，在我的脖子后把简易的项链钩系好。然后她向后退了几步，好像在看看是否合适。我低下头看着闪闪发亮的玻璃珠和已失去光泽的金色链子，然后抬起头望着她。我很认真地轻声说道：“哦，玛丽亚，这链子真漂亮。你妈妈一定会喜欢的。"我们已无法抑制住泪水。她踉踉跄跄地扑进我的怀里，我们都哭了。在那短暂的一刻我成了她的妈妈，而她送给了我一份最珍贵的礼物：她的信任和爱。