A CHRISTMAS CAROL

A Christmas Carol. Written by Penny Dolan. Illustrated by Karen Donnelly.

《圣诞颂歌》。作者：佩妮·多兰。绘者：凯伦·唐纳利。

1. Scrooge hears a warning. It was Christmas Eve and everyone was hurrying home. Mr Scrooge stayed on in his cold, gloomy office, adding up how much money people owed him. Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's helper, had to work too. But he longed to go home.

1. 斯克鲁奇收到警告 平安夜到了，大家都急匆匆往家赶 斯克鲁奇先生还待在他又冷又暗的办公室里，算着大家欠他多少钱 斯克鲁奇的助手鲍勃·克拉奇蒂也得留下来加班 可他心里巴不得赶紧回家

Just then, Scrooge's nephew, Fred, popped into the office. Hello, Uncle, he said cheerfully. Will you come round for Christmas tomorrow? Scrooge scowled. No. Christmas is a waste of time, he grumbled. Go away. You too, Cratchit.

就在这时，斯克鲁奇的外甥弗雷德一头钻进了办公室 “您好呀，舅舅。”他乐呵呵地打招呼 “明天来我家过圣诞节好不好？” 斯克鲁奇沉下了脸 “不去，圣诞节就是浪费时间。”他嘟囔着 “走开。还有你，克拉奇蒂，也滚。”

Scrooge went home, his footsteps echoing along the cold, empty streets. As he approached his gloomy house, a dreadful figure appeared from the fog. It was ghostly white and had dark, hollow eyes. Scrooge stared. It can't be, he stammered. It reminded him of his old friend, Marley. But Marley was dead.

斯克鲁奇往家走，脚步声在冷清空旷的街道上回响 快走到他那座阴森的房子时，雾里突然冒出个可怕的人影 那人影惨白像鬼，长着一双黑洞洞的凹陷眼睛 斯克鲁奇瞪大了眼睛 “不可能啊。”他结结巴巴地说 这人影让他想起了自己的老朋友马利 可马利早就死了啊

As Scrooge went inside, his front door slammed shut behind him. He was so scared that he ran up to his room and lit every candle. Suddenly, the clocks rang out, on and on. But then Scrooge heard something far worse. Iron chains were rattling up the stairs, closer and closer. A terrible ghost entered, dragging a metal chest full of rusty money. It was Marley's ghost.

斯克鲁奇刚走进屋，大门“砰”的一声在他身后关上了 他吓得魂都飞了，冲回房间把所有蜡烛都点上了 突然，所有钟都响了起来，响个不停 可接下来斯克鲁奇听到的声音更吓人 铁锁链哗啦啦地顺着楼梯往上爬，越来越近 一个恐怖的鬼魂走了进来，身后拖着个装满锈钱的铁箱子 那就是马利的鬼魂

I'm here to warn you, Scrooge," he howled. Three strange ghosts will visit you tonight. Look and listen, or it'll be the worse for you. With a terrible cry, Marley's ghost disappeared. Scrooge dived into bed and pulled the covers up tightly.

“我是来警告你的，斯克鲁奇。”他嚎叫着 “今晚有三个奇怪的鬼魂会来找你” “好好看好好听，不然你会倒大霉的” 马利的鬼魂发出一声惨叫，就消失不见了 斯克鲁奇一头钻进被窝，把被子死死裹在身上