圣诞之父 第12期
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圣诞老人之所以在圣诞那一天驾雪橇走遍全世界、挨家挨户钻烟囱给小朋友送礼物，是因为他原来也只是一个平凡的父亲。
Long ago there lived an explorer named Nicholas. He traveled around the world in search of new lands, new animals, and new relics1) to discover. And in every place he visited, Nicholas found a special gift to bring back to his son Christian.
In his most perilous2) journey, Nicholas traveled to the Arctic to find the North Pole. After weeks of tireless dogsled3) trekking4), Nicholas reached the northern Arctic Circle where very little life could survive.
Nicholas relied on the direction of his compass. As the weeks turned to months, Nicholas could still not find the North Pole and his food supply was getting low. His compass began constantly spinning and it could no longer help him find his way. So Nicholas decided to head back home to civilization and admit defeat. But it seemed that no matter what direction he walked in, he kept finding himself stranded5) deeper and deeper in the vast wilderness.
By this time, Nicholas' beard had grown long and it was constantly covered with snow and ice. It was in his most desperate moment, when he had all but given up, that Nicholas saw small footprints in the snow. Hungry and freezing, Nicholas followed the footprints to a small village. He could not believe that anyone could live in such a frigid6) place, but there were dozens of small huts7) around him.
Nicholas unleashed8) his dogs and went exploring as he did best. In the center of the village there sat a small tree, the only one within miles and miles. But what caught Nicholas' eye was a hat sitting atop9) the tree. It was reddish10) brown in color and had a ball on top. Nicholas fought through the wind to reach the small tree and grabbed the hat. Not only did it look warm, but also he thought that it would also make a perfect gift for Christian―if he ever made it out of the Arctic and back home.
The moment Nicholas placed the hat on his head, everything changed. The villagers left their huts and came out to surround him. He noticed that each of them was roughly three feet tall. The dogs became frightened and ran away at the sight of the crowd. Nicholas was too startled11) to chase after them.
Knowing how to deal with peoples of all different cultures, Nicholas asked to speak with their leader or chief.
"We do not have one," replied a woman with a smile, "all of us are equal. But Michael is 2000 years old, and that makes him the eldest."
"How can that be?" asked Nicholas.
Michael stepped forward and spoke. "The hat you are wearing was removed from the top of our tree. That tree is the North Pole, where there is no day and no night. As long as the hat stays here, we are unaffected by time. Now that you wear the hat, you, too will not age."
"Me?" asked Nicholas as he tried to take off the hat.
"It cannot be removed," said Michael, "I am sorry."
"But I must get home," said Nicholas, "please tell me how to find my way back south to my village."
"You cannot leave us," pleaded the woman.
"It's true," said Michael, "if you were to leave with the hat, we would not be able to survive."
Nicholas was devastated12). He sat down on his sled and cried. He needed to get back to his son.
很久以前，有一位名叫尼古拉斯的探险家，他走遍世界各地，寻找尚未被人类发现的地方、动物和文化古迹。每到一处，尼古拉斯都会找一份特别的礼物，带回家送给他的儿子克里斯蒂安。
为了寻找北天极，尼古拉斯深入北极，这是他最危险的一次探险。尼古拉斯坐在由几只狗拉的雪橇上，长途跋涉，不知疲倦，几星期后终于到达了北极圈的北部。这里几乎没有什么生命能够存活。
尼古拉斯依靠手里的指南针指引方向。几个星期过去了，几个月又过去了，可尼古拉斯仍然找不到北天极，而他带的食物越来越少，指南针也开始转个不停，没法再帮他指路。于是，尼古拉斯决定掉头回家，回到他的文明社会，承认这次探险失败。可是，似乎无论他往哪个方向走，最后却总是发现自己越来越深入广阔无垠的茫茫荒野，无法走出。
此时，尼古拉斯的胡子已经长长了，上面总是沾满了冰雪。就在他最绝望的时刻，在他几乎要放弃的时候，他突然看到雪地上有一些很小的脚印。饥寒交迫的尼古拉斯沿着这些脚印来到了一个小村庄。他无法相信有人能在这么寒冷的地方生活，但他却的确看见四周有许多小木屋。
尼古拉斯解开套在雪橇狗身上的皮带，开始驾轻就熟地四处探索。村庄的中心有一棵小树，这是方圆几公里内唯一的一棵树。但让尼古拉斯眼前一亮的却是树梢上挂着的一顶帽子。这是一顶红棕色的帽子，帽尖上还系了一个小球。尼古拉斯顶着凛冽的寒风，一步一步走到小树前，一把摘下了树梢上的帽子。这顶帽子不仅看上去非常暖和，而且他觉得把它送给克里斯蒂安当礼物再合适不过了――要是他能成功走出北极返回家中的话。
就在尼古拉斯把帽子戴到头上的一刹那，一切都发生了变化。所有的村民都走出小屋，将他团团围住。他发现这里的村民都有约三英尺高。看到这么多人突然出现，几只雪橇狗吓坏了，一溜烟全跑掉了。而尼古拉斯也大吃一惊，都忘了去把它们追回来。
不过尼古拉斯很清楚应该怎样和各种不同文化背景的人打交道，于是他提出要和村长或酋长对话。
“我们这儿没有村长，”一位妇人微笑着回答道，“每个人都是平等的。不过迈克尔两千岁了，他是我们这儿年纪最大的。”
“这怎么可能呢？”尼古拉斯问。
迈克尔走上前来说：“你现在头上戴的这顶帽子是从我们的树上拿的。那棵树是北天极，在这里没有昼夜之分。只要这顶帽子在这里，我们就不会受时间影响。现在既然你戴上了这顶帽子，你也永远不会变老。”
“我？”尼古拉斯边问边想办法要把帽子摘掉。
“它是摘不下来的，”迈克尔说，“很抱歉。”
“但我必须要回家啊，”尼古拉斯说，“请告诉我怎么走才能回到南方我生活的那个村庄。”
“您不能离开我们。”那位妇人乞求道。
“是真的，”迈克尔说，“如果你戴着帽子离开这里，我们就都活不了了。”
尼古拉斯彻底崩溃了。他一屁股坐在自己的雪橇上，放声大哭起来。他必须要回到儿子身边。
1. relic [ˈrelɪk] n. 遗迹
2. perilous [ˈperələs] adj. (充满)危险的
3. dogsled [ˈdɒsled] n. 狗拖的雪橇
4. trek [trek] vi. (缓慢或艰难地)旅行；长途跋涉
5. strand [strænd] v. (使)搁浅
6. frigid [ˈfrɪdʒɪd] adj. 寒冷的；极冷的，凛冽的
7. hut [hʌt] n. (简陋的)小屋
8. unleash [ʌnˈliːʃ] vt. 解皮带放开
9. atop [əˈtɒp] prep. 在……顶上
10. reddish [ˈredɪʃ] adj. 带红色的，微红的，淡红的
11. startled [ˈstːtld] adj. 受到惊吓的；吃惊的
12. devastated [ˈdevəsteɪtɪd] adj. 极度悲伤和震惊的
13. caribou [ˈkærɪbuː] n. 【动】北美驯鹿(亦作reindeer)
14. yonder [ˈjɒndə(r)] pron. 那边，远处
15. carpenter: 参见P7注释30
16. prank [præŋk] n. 胡闹，恶作剧；(使人难堪的)玩笑
17. console [kənˈsəʊl] vt. 安慰，抚慰