第15章 Piccola 皮克拉
By Celia Laighton Thaxter, who was born at Portsmouth, N. H., June 29, 1836. Much of her childhood was passed at White Island, one of the Isles of Shoals, off the coast of New Hampshire. "Among the Isles of Shoals," is her most noted work in prose. She published a volume of poems, many of which are favorites with children. She died in 1894.
Poor, sweet Piccola! Did you hear
What happened to Piccola, children dear?
'T is seldom Fortune such favor grants
As fell to this little maid of France.
'T was Christmas time, and her parents poor
Could hardly drive the wolf from the door,
Striving with poverty's patient pain
Only to live till summer again.
No gift for Piccola! sad were they
When dawned the morning of Christmas day!
Their little darling no joy might stir;
St. Nicholas nothing would bring to her!
But Piccola never doubted at all
That something beautiful must befall
Every child upon Christmas day,
And so she slept till the dawn was gray.
And full of faith, when at last she woke,
She stole to her shoe as the morning broke;
Such sounds of gladness filled all the air,
'T was plain St. Nicholas had been there.
In rushed Piccola, sweet, half wild—
Never was seen such a joyful child—
"See what the good saint brought!" she cried,
And mother and father must peep inside.
Now such a story I never heard!
There was a little shivering bird!
A sparrow, that in at the window flew,
Had crept into Piccola's tiny shoe!
"How good poor Piccola must have been! "
She cried, as happy as any queen,
While the starving sparrow she fed and warmed,
And danced with rapture, she was so charmed.
Children, this story I tell to you
Of Piccola sweet and her bird, is true.
In the far-off land of France, they say,
Still do they live to this very day.
西莉亚·雷顿·萨克斯特，1836年6月29日出生于新罕布什尔州朴次茅斯市。她的童年时光主要是在新罕布什尔州海岸边群岛浅滩的怀特岛上度过的。《在群岛浅滩的日子》是她最声名远扬的散文著作，她出版了一系列诗歌集，广受孩子们的喜爱。她死于1894年。
可怜又可爱的皮克拉！你们听到
皮克拉出了什么事吗，亲爱的孩子？
还从来没有什么好运
降临到这个法国小女孩身上。
现在是圣诞节，她父母非常穷，
没有办法摆脱贫困，
和贫穷痛苦做斗争，
只盼望挨到夏天再来到。
皮克拉没有礼物！他们很悲伤
等到了圣诞节清晨的来临。
他们的孩子高兴不起来，
圣诞老人没有给她礼物！
但是，皮克拉始终坚信
圣诞节那天，美好的东西
肯定会降临到每个孩子。
于是她睡了，直到破晓。
当她终于醒来时，信心依旧，
黎明刚到，她悄悄走到鞋边。
欢快的笑声充满了整个房间，
很明显圣诞老人已来过这里。
皮克拉冲过去，高兴得近乎狂野——
从来没见过这么高兴的孩子——
“看好心的圣诞老人带来了什么！”她叫道。
她的父母正在里面偷着看她！
下面的故事我从来没听过！
有一只冻得发抖的小鸟！
一只从窗户飞进来的麻雀，
钻进了皮克拉的小鞋里！
“可怜的皮克拉一定特别乖！”
她像女王一样开心地喊道，
她把垂死的麻雀喂饱捂暖，
开心地跳起舞，真是迷人！
孩子们，我给你们讲的
可爱的皮克拉和小鸟的故事是真的。
人们说，在遥远的法国，
她们一直活到了今天。