The Fairy's New Year Gift 仙女的新年礼物 by Emilie Poulsson，这个故事告诉大家，时间在溜走，看似抓不着，但是他在某处记满了你此生所做的事，好事，坏事。珍惜时间，用心灵谱写自己的人生

Two little boys were at play one day when a Fairy suddenly appeared before them and said, "I have been sent to give you New Year presents."She handed to each child a package, and in an instant was gone.

两个小男孩有一天正在玩耍，一个仙女突然出现在他们面前，说：“有人派我来给你们送新年礼物。” 她给了他们每人一个小包裹，立刻消失了。

Carl and Philip opened the packages and found in them two beautiful books, with pages as pure and white as the snow when it first falls.

卡罗和非利普打开包袱，发现了两本很漂亮的书，书页纯白纯白的，象刚刚落下的雪一样。

Many months passed and the Fairy came again to the boys. "I have brought you each another book?" said she, "and will take the first ones back to Father Time who sent them to you."

很多个月过去了，仙女再次找到了这两个孩子。“我又给你们带来了两本书，我得把上次那两本时间老人送给你们的书带走，还给他。

"May I not keep mine a little longer?" asked Philip. "I have hardly thought about it lately. I'd like to paint something on the last leaf that lies open."

“我能不能再保留多一点点时间？”非利普问：“最近我都没想起它来，我想在最后一页上画点什么。”

"No," said the Fairy; "I must take it just as it is."

“不行。”仙女说：“我必须把它们按原样带走。”

"I wish that I could look through mine just once," said Carl; "I have only seen one page at a time, for when the leaf turns over it sticks fast, and I can never open the book at more than one place each day."

“我希望我能一次看完我的那一本，”卡罗说：“我每次只能看一页，因为书页一翻过，就牢牢粘在一起了，我每天只能打开一次。”

"You shall look at your book," said the Fairy, "and Philip, at his." And she lit for them two little silver lamps, by the light of which they saw the pages as she turned them.

“你现在可以看你的书了。”仙女说：“非力普，你可以看你的。”她为两个孩子点亮了两盏小银灯，在灯光下，孩子们看着她把书一页页翻开。

The boys looked in wonder. Could it be that these were the same fair books she had given them a year ago? Where were the clean, white pages, as pure and beautiful as the snow when it first falls? Here was a page with ugly, black spots and scratches upon it; while the very next page showed a lovely little picture. Some pages were decorated with gold and silver and gorgeous colors, others with beautiful flowers, and still others with a rainbow of softest, most delicate brightness. Yet even on the most beautiful of the pages there were ugly blots and scratches.

孩子们好奇地看着。这还是她上次送给他们的那两本书吗？那些像初次飘落的白雪一样洁白美丽的书页到哪里去了呢？在这一页上，有几个丑丑的黑点和歪歪扭扭的线条，在另一页上，又有一副可爱的小小图画。一些书页上，涂上了金色、银色还有其他美丽的颜色，另一些书页上，则画上了美丽的花朵和明亮的彩虹。不过，就算是最最美丽的书页上，也还是有一些小黑点和乱涂抹的线条。

Carl and Philip looked up at the Fairy at last.

最后，卡罗和非力普抬起头来看着仙女。

"Who did this?" they asked. "Every page was white and fair as we opened to it; yet now there is not a single blank place in the whole book!"

“这是谁干的呢？”他们问：“我们以前翻开的时候，每一页都是洁白洁白的，可现在，整本书里没有一页是空白的！”

"Shall I explain some of the pictures to you?" said the Fairy, smiling at the two little boys.

“让我来为你们解释一下其中一些画吧。”仙女对两个小男孩微笑着说。

"See, Philip, the spray of roses blossomed on this page when you let the baby have your playthings; and this pretty bird, that looks as if it were singing with all its might, would never have been on this page if you had not tried to be kind and pleasant the other day, instead of quarreling."

“看，非力普，当你让一个还孩子玩你的玩具的时候，这一页上就有了开放的玫瑰；而如果那天你不是努力对别人好，让人觉得愉快的话，这只可爱的小鸟就不会出现在这一页上，你看，它好象在用尽力气唱歌呢。

"But what makes this blot?" asked Philip.

“可，为什么会有黑点呢？”非力普问。

"That," said the Fairy sadly; "that came when you told an untruth one day, and this when you did not mind mamma. All these blots and scratches that look so ugly, both in your book and in Carl's, were made when you were naughty. Each pretty thing in your books came on its page when you were good."

“这个，”仙女悲哀地说，“当你们有一天说了谎，或者把妈妈的话当了耳边风，这些小黑点就出现了。当你们很淘气的时候，这些最难看的小黑点就出现了，每一次你们做得很好的时候，书里就会都一样漂亮的东西。”

"Oh, if we could only have the books again!" said Carl and Philip.

“如果我们能重新拥有这两本书就好了。”卡罗和非力普说。

"That cannot be," said the Fairy. "See! they are dated for this year, and they must now go back into Father Time's bookcase, but I have brought you each a new one. Perhaps you can make these more beautiful than the others."

“这可不行，”仙女说，“它们的这一年到头啦，现在，它们得回到时间老人的书箱里去了。但我给你们带来了两本新的。或者你们能让这两本书变得更漂亮一些。”

So saying, she vanished, and the boys were left alone, but each held in his hand a new book open at the first page.

说完，仙女消失了，孩子们的手里多了本在第一页翻开的书。

And on the back of this book was written in letters of gold, "For the New Year."

在书的背面，有几个金色的大字：“新的一年。”