Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE A NAUGHTY LITTLE GIRL The chair rose off the roof and flew down to a little window. It put two of its legs there and balanced itself most unsafely, flapping its wings all the time so that it wouldn't fall. Binky and the children peered in at the window. Frannie and Tommy always had a night-light, and they could see the room quite clearly. Frannie was asleep in her cot, and Tommy was asleep in his small bed. 'Look! There's Santa's feet coming out of the fireplace!' said Binky excitedly. 'Don't they look funny! And now there's his knees- and his waist- and all of him. It's funny he doesn't get sooty!'

第三章淘气的小女孩椅子从屋顶上飞下来，飞到一扇小窗户上。 它把两条腿放在那里，极不安全地保持平衡，不停地拍打着翅膀，以免坠落。 Binky和孩子们从窗户往里看。 弗兰妮和汤米总是有一盏夜灯，他们可以很清楚地看到房间。 弗兰妮在她的小床上睡着了，汤米在他的小床上睡着了。 “看!圣诞老人的脚从壁炉里伸出来了！宾基兴奋地说。 “他们看起来真滑稽！”现在他的膝盖——还有他的腰——还有他的整个身体。 他身上没有煤烟，真有趣！”

Santa Claus slipped right out of the fireplace and tiptoed to Frannie's bed. There was a stocking hanging at the end. Santa put the oranges, apples, and nuts at the bottom, and then stuffed in the puzzle and the twin dolls. Frannie didn't stir! She was quite sound asleep. Santa Claus went to Tommy next and

圣诞老人从壁炉里溜了出来，蹑手蹑脚地走到弗兰妮的床边。 最后挂着一只长统袜。 圣诞老人把橙子、苹果和坚果放在底部，然后塞进拼图和双胞胎娃娃。 弗兰妮没有动！她睡得很熟。 圣诞老人接着去找汤米

filled his stocking too. Then he tiptoed back to the chimney, put his head up, and was soon lost to sight. The wishing-chair flew back to the roof and waited there for Santa. Up he came, puffing and blowing. 'I saw you peeping in at the window!' he said. 'You gave me quite a fright at first. Come along now- to the next house where there are children!'

也装满了他的袜子。然后他踮着脚尖走回烟囱，抬起头，很快就看不见了。 许愿椅飞回屋顶，在那里等待圣诞老人。 他气喘吁吁地走了上来。 “我看见你从窗户往里偷看！”他说。 “一开始你吓了我一跳。 现在走吧——到隔壁有孩子的房子里去！”

It was not far off, for Harry and Ronald, two big boys, lived next door! Santa looked them up in his notebook and found that they were good, clever boys. Neither of them had asked for anything in their stockings. They had just left it to Santa Claus to choose for them. 'Now, let me see,' said Santa. 'Clever boys, my notebook says. What about a book on aeroplanes for Harry, and a big meccano set -and a book on ships for Ronald, and a really difficult puzzle? Put your hand in the sack, Peter, and see what you can find! Peter slipped in his hand- and, of course,

离这儿不远，因为哈利和罗恩这两个大男孩就住在隔壁！圣诞老人在笔记本上查了一下，发现他们都是聪明的好孩子。 他们俩都没有要袜子里的东西。 他们只是让圣诞老人为他们挑选。 “现在，让我看看，”圣诞老人说。 “聪明的孩子，”我的笔记本上写着。 给哈利一本关于飞机的书，给罗纳德一本关于船的书，还有一个非常难的谜题，怎么样？ 彼得，把手伸进袋子里，看看你能找到什么！彼得滑到他手里——当然，

he found the books, the meccano, and the puzzle at once! It almost seemed as if the toys arranged themselves just right for Santa Claus! It was part of his magic, Peter supposed. He handed the things out to Santa Claus, and then took apples, nuts, oranges, and a few crackers from the sack too. Santa Claus got off the chair and went down the chimney again. 'Come on, Chair,' said Mollie. 'Let's go and peep in at the window again!' So the chair flew down to the window-sill and tried to balance itself. Harry and Ronald had no night-light, but the moon shone well in at their window, and the children and Binky could easily see what was happening inside.

他立刻找到了书，找到了meccano，找到了拼图！就好像这些玩具为圣诞老人自己安排得恰到好处！彼得猜想这是他魔法的一部分。 他把东西递给圣诞老人，然后又从麻袋里拿出苹果、坚果、橙子和几块饼干。 圣诞老人从椅子上下来，又走下了烟囱。 “来吧，主席，”莫丽说。 “我们再从窗户往里瞧一瞧吧！”于是椅子飞到窗台上，试图保持平衡。 哈利和罗恩没有夜灯，但月亮照在他们的窗户上，孩子们和宾奇很容易就能看到里面发生的事情。