2. The First Rule of Being a Kid

2 The First Rule of Being a Kid I was eating breakfast when the greatest Christmas vacation of my life got even greater. My mom was sitting at the table reading her newspaper when I saw this on the back page.... SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN!

当我正在吃早餐的时候，我生命中最棒的圣诞假期变得更加美好了。 当我在最后一页看到这个的时候，我妈妈正坐在桌子旁看报纸.... 圣诞老人要进城了！

I leaned forward so I could read the small letters. They said that Santa was going to be at our local shopping mall on Saturday, just before Christmas. All my dreams had come true! If you ask me, Santa Claus is the greatest man in the history of the world. Anybody who gives toys to kids should get the No Bell

我身体前倾，以便能看清那些小字。 他们说圣诞老人星期六会在我们当地的购物中心，就在圣诞节前。 我所有的梦想都实现了！如果你问我，我会说圣诞老人是世界历史上最伟大的人。 任何给孩子们玩具的人都应该得到这个No Bell

Prize. But I figure Santa will never get the No Bell Prize, because that's a prize they give out to people who don't have bells. And if there's one thing Santa has plenty of, it's bells. "Can you take me to the mall on Saturday?" I asked my mom. "Please, please, please?" "Dad and I need to clean out the garage on Saturday," my mom replied. "You can clean out the garage anytime, Mom," I told her. "Santa is only going to be at the mall on Saturday. If I don't go, I'll never get to see him for the rest of my life." "Sorry, A.J. Not this Saturday." "But I need to buy a present for Amy," I begged. My sister, Amy, is three years older than me. She's annoying, but I have to get her a present anyway.

奖。但我想圣诞老人永远拿不到“无铃奖”，因为那是他们给没有铃铛的人颁发的奖。 如果说圣诞老人有很多一样东西，那就是铃铛。 “星期六你能带我去商场吗？”我问妈妈。 “求你了，求你了，求你了？”“爸爸和我星期六要打扫车库，”妈妈回答说。 “你可以随时打扫车库，妈妈，”我告诉她。 “圣诞老人只会在周六出现在购物中心。 如果我不去，我这辈子都见不到他了。” “对不起，a。j。这个星期六不行。” “但我需要给艾米买件礼物，”我恳求道。 我姐姐艾米比我大三岁。 她很烦人，但我还是要送她礼物。

"No," Mom said. "No means no." Hmmm. Begging usually works for me. I would have to try something else. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. That's what my parents always say. You can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it. It was time to put Plan B into effect. I started crying. If you want something really badly and the situation is hopeless, there's only one thing to do—cry. That's the first rule of being a kid. I peeked to see if my mom was watching me cry. "A.J.," she said. "Those are crocodile tears." What do crocodiles have to do with anything? "Come on, Mom!" I pleaded. "I've been

“不，”妈妈说。“不就是不。” 嗯。乞讨通常对我有用。 我得试试别的办法。 如果第一次不成功，就努力，再努力。 我父母总是这么说。 如果你用心去做，你可以完成任何事情。 是时候实施B计划了。 我哭了起来。如果你非常想要某样东西，而情况又毫无希望，那就只有一件事可以做——哭。 这是当孩子的第一准则。 我偷看了一下，看妈妈是不是在看我哭。 “a.j.，”她说。“那是鳄鱼的眼泪。” 鳄鱼跟这事有什么关系？ “加油，妈妈！”我承认。 “我已经

waiting to meet Santa Claus my whole life." Mom put down her newspaper and looked at me. She had a serious look on her face. "Your father and I have been meaning to tell you something for a while now, A.J.," she said. "It's about Santa Claus. We think it's time you knew that Santa—"

我等了一辈子都在等圣诞老人。” 妈妈放下报纸，看着我。 她脸上带着严肃的表情。 “你父亲和我一直想告诉你一件事，aj，”她说。 “是关于圣诞老人的。我们认为是时候让你知道圣诞老人——”

But she didn't get the chance to finish her sentence because the phone rang. I picked it up. It was my friend Ryan, who will eat anything, even stuff that isn't food. "Santa is coming to the mall!" Ryan shouted into the phone. "I know!" I shouted back. "Do you think it's the real Santa? I mean, how could he visit every mall in the world?" "He's not visiting every mall in the world," Ryan told me. "He's just visiting our mall! That's why we have to be there. Are you in? My mom said she would drive us. Spread the word." I hung up and called my friends Michael, Neil, and Alexia to tell them the big news about Santa. "I want to go!" said Michael, who never ties his shoes.

但她还没来得及说完，因为电话响了。 我把它捡起来。是我的朋友瑞恩，他什么都吃，甚至不是食物的东西。 “圣诞老人要来商场了！”瑞安对着电话喊道。 “我知道!”我喊道。“你认为这是真的圣诞老人吗？” 我的意思是，他怎么可能走遍世界上所有的商场？”“他并没有走遍世界上所有的商场，”瑞安告诉我。 “他只是来参观我们的商场！”所以我们必须去那里。 你在吗？我妈妈说她会开车送我们。 传播这个词。”我挂了电话，打电话给我的朋友迈克尔、尼尔和亚历克西亚，告诉他们关于圣诞老人的重大消息。 “我想去！”迈克尔说，他从来不系鞋带。