凯特·温斯莱特 | 讲圣诞奇幻故事《遗失的信》

Some say the best way to send father Christmas a letter is not to use regular mail, all that you need is a fire and a chimney. Wait, let's explain with a strange festive tale.

有人说给圣诞老人寄信最好不要用普通邮件，你只需要一个火把和一个烟囱。等等，让我们用一个神奇的圣诞童话来解释一下。

On the night before Christmas, our story takes wings as snow softly falls on the town of Hope Springs, where the light from a window glows warm and inviting. Inside, a young spaceman is busily writing.

圣诞节的前夜，当雪花轻轻飘落在希望泉小镇上，我们的故事开始了。一户人家窗户发出引人注目的温暖光芒。屋内，一位年轻的“宇航员”正笔不停歇。

At last, with his letter to Santa complete, cadet Henry Franklin ran out to the street to make sure his house would be seen from the sky, in case father Christmas forgot to drop by.

给圣诞老人的信终于写完了，“宇航员”亨利·弗兰克冲出家门跑上街道，确保他的房子能从空中被看见，以防圣诞老人忘记停下拜访。

One house in the neighborhood though remain dark, no candle, no light, not so much as a spark. A gloomy old residence spoiling the view. “Oh, no.” figured Henry. This just wouldn't do.

不远处的一座房子居然漆黑一片，没有烛火，没有灯光，一丝光亮都看不见。一座阴郁的老宅破坏了景致。“哦，不。”亨利心想。这样可不行。

With tinsel and baubles and good will to spare, Henry was only too eager to share. But the lady that answered the door was perplexed and quite unprepared for what happened next.

带着（圣诞树上的）亮片和装饰球和一片好心，亨利急切地想分享这份喜悦。但是开门的这位女士感到很困惑，而且对接下来发生的事毫无防备。

There, in the room stood Henry delighted, ready to help though he'd not been invited. And so he began to dispense Christmas cheer until the old girl made her feelings quite clear.

亨利高兴地站在房间里，虽然他未接到邀请，但他随时准备帮忙。于是他开始为圣诞节欢呼，直到那位年长的女士坦明自己的感受。

Even now as the lady sat sipping her tea, Henry was out implementing plan B. From above came a deafening hullabaloo, as two festive callers descended the flew. But on the way down, Henry's bird was aware of a dusty old thing that should not have been there.

即使这位女士正坐着喝茶，亨利在门外还想着如何执行B计划。随着屋顶上传来一阵震耳欲聋的喧闹声，两位节日的欢呼者从烟囱上爬了下来。在往下爬的时候，亨利的小鸟注意到一件老旧满尘，也不该在烟囱里的东西。

From the hearth in a powdery cloud of debris came Henry, his bird, and the top of the tree. Mortified, Henry gazed down at the pieces was the girl, one of the old lady's nieces or maybe her daughter.

随着一阵烟尘的涌出，亨利和他的小鸟带着圣诞树装饰品，从壁炉中走了出来。亨利愣愣地注视着打碎的相框，相框中的女孩儿也许是这位女士的侄女或女儿。

The lady just smiled and told him the tale of a sad lonely child. Alone in the world, with no sister or brother, the girl had so longed for the warmth of another, that one Christmas eve she decided to send a letter “Dear Santa, please bring me a friend”.

这位女士笑了笑，然后给亨利讲了一个孤苦伶仃的女孩儿的故事。她在这个世上举目无亲，无兄无妹，却非常渴望别人的关怀，于是她决定在圣诞节前夕寄一封信给圣诞老人：亲爱的圣诞老人，请赐我一个朋友吧。

“But nobody answered that poor girl's request,” explain the old lady. You've probably guessed that I was that child, which is why I insist you forget about Santa. He doesn't exist.

“但是没有人回应女孩儿的请求。”这位年长的女士说。你可能已经猜到我就是那个女孩儿了，这就是我坚持让你别再想圣诞老人的原因，因为圣诞老人不存在。

That poor girl, thought Henry, just wanted a friend. His own letter now seemed too silly to send. What was the point. “So completely bereft”, he said it down sadly and silently left.

可怜的女孩儿，亨利心想，她只是想要一个朋友。现在看来，他想寄给圣诞老人的信似乎太傻了，有什么意义呢。“太让人失望了。”他垂头丧气地说完便默默离开了。

Inside the mansion, already regretting her words to the boy, the old lady sat fretting. But what was this curious frantic display? What was this pesky bird trying to say?

老宅里，这位坐立不安的女士很后悔对男孩儿说的那些话。但这种奇怪的疯狂暗示是什么？这只讨厌的小鸟想说什么？

As a dusty old envelope dropped to the floor, the lady was sure that she'd seen it before. It must have been stuck there unsent all these years. She thought and it almost reduced her to tears.

当这封满是灰尘的信封掉在地板上时，这位女士确信自己曾经见过它。这么多年，这封信一定是被卡在烟囱没被从出去，她想着，几乎快流下泪水。

And so for the first time since that fateful night, the fire in the grate was once more set alight. All thanks to a bird who now cleverly reckoned that one letter ought to be joined by a second.

于是，从那个命运般的夜晚开始，壁炉里的火被再次点燃。多亏这只机灵的小鸟提醒，亨利的那封信也立即被放进壁炉中。

Rising up through the chimney, entwining and spinning, two letters caught fire, two wishes beginning their journey toward the north pole on that night, wreathed in a glittering magical light.

两封点燃的信旋转缠绕着从烟囱中飞升，两个心愿伴随着闪闪的神奇光辉，在那一晚开始飞往北极的旅程。

Still haunted by thoughts of his pointless endeavor, young Henry awoke to the worst Christmas ever or so he imagined, until he caught sight of the present that Santa had left in the night.

年轻的亨利仍然被他毫无意义的努力所困扰，他大概能想象到在这个圣诞节醒来有多糟糕，直到他发现圣诞老人在昨夜留给他的礼物。

But it wasn't just Henry whose wish had come true, the old lady's Christmas was wonderful too. Her letter she now knew was truly enchanted, her simple request for a friend had been granted.

但不仅仅是亨利的愿望得以实现，那位年长的女士今年的圣诞节也非常棒！她知道她的那封信被施了魔法，而她希望交到一个朋友的愿望也得以实现。

You better believe that it's never too late wishes come true, and they're well worth the wait. Hope springs eternal, of that there's no doubt message received Santa, over and out.

你要相信，实现愿望永远不会太迟，它们都值得等待。毫无疑问，只要圣诞老人收到你的信件，实现愿望的希望总是有的。