最好的圣诞礼物

I have received many Christmas gifts over the years. The best gift I ever received was presented to me by a stranger. I never even knew his name and I only had contact with him for less than 60 seconds. His Christmas present to me changed the way I think about people and about Christmas.

这些年我收到过很多圣诞礼物，其中最好的礼物来自一个陌生人。我不曾知道他的名字，我俩之间沟通不到60秒。他送我的圣诞礼物改变了我对别人和圣诞节的看法。

I hate Black Friday sales. It's often a gathering of people who are there for many different reasons. Some are looking for a deal on that one item for their loved one, or perhaps themselves. Their intentions are completely unrelated to the festive time of year, and can merely be summed up with one word, "EBay!"

我讨厌黑色星期五的特卖，总有很多人因为很多不同的原因聚在一起。有些人是为所爱的人或者可能为自己买东西。他们的目的都跟一年一度的节日一点关系都没有，只能总结为一个词：“便宜”！

It was several years ago when my wife asked me to meet her at the local department store on Black Friday morning. They had advertised a child's bike that she wanted to purchase for our son. We stood with a very large crowd, waiting for the manager to blow the whistle. After a while the whistle blew. It was like throwing a bucket of chum into a tank of sharks. I told my wife that if we obtained a bike, fine, but if we did not, I was OK with that too.

几年前妻子让我在“黑五”早上和她在当地百货公司门口会和，他们正在特价销售一款儿童自行车，她想买给我们的儿子。还有一大群人站在那儿等着经理吹哨。过了一会，哨声响起，当时的场景就像一桶三文鱼被扔进了鲨鱼水箱里。我跟妻子说如果我们抢到自行车还好，如果没抢到我也无所谓。

As the pallet of bikes began to gradually decrease in size, I saw my polite opportunity to wrap my hands around the corner of one of the boxes. I lifted it off the crate and suddenly felt some mild resistance. I looked up to see one of the largest gentlemen I had ever seen in my life. Intimidating was not the word to describe his presence. He was adorned with numerous straps of metal spiked leather around both arms and even his neck. Tattoos were an obvious passion of his.

货架上的自行车越来越少，我看到了一个“文雅”的机会，把手伸到了一个自行车包装盒的角上，把盒子拎了起来，突然感觉到有人轻轻地阻止我。我抬头看见了平生所见的最高大的人，“吓人”这个词已经不足以形容他了。他胳膊上甚至脖子上满是带有铆钉的皮带子，很明显纹身是他的最爱。

I started to relinquish the box but he gently pushed it back in my direction and back into my hands. He then directed it into my shopping cart. He looked at me, smiled, and said, "Merry Christmas."My wife and I went to the checkout, paid for the bike and went home. All the way home I was thinking that this moment was by far the best Christmas gift I had ever received. The kindness of a stranger that broke all preconceived notions I may have had of stereotypes and prejudices. The tenderness of a human heart in a simple act. I will never forget it.

我想把盒子放回去，但他从他的方向轻轻把自行车推了回来，又推回到我手里，然后直接放进了我的购物车里，他看着我微笑着说：“圣诞节快乐”。妻子和我去了收款处，付完钱就回家了。回家的一路上我都在想那一刻是至今我收到的最好的圣诞礼物。一个陌生人的善良打破了我所有对于成见和偏见原有的看法，人内心的柔软就体现在小小的行为上，我永远不会忘记这次经历。