03-02-01-圣诞欢歌 [4]
，也的确往门后看了看，其目的是看看是否有人藏在那里，但门后没有人。他“砰”地一声把门关上以示他并不惧怕。
他手举起唯一的一根蜡烛慢慢地上了楼，他无法看见所有黑暗的角落。黑暗便宜得很，所以斯克罗吉喜欢它。但他记起了那张脸，所以他到所有的房间都走了一遍看看是否一切都安然无恙。桌子底下和床底下都没人，门后也没人！卧室微小的炉火上炖着一锅汤，斯克罗吉的碗已经摆在了桌子上。所有房间里都没有人！确信此刻安全无误之后，斯克罗吉随手关上并锁上了卧室的门。他坐在火旁开始喝汤。
这是一个旧壁炉，火周围是数以百计的印有图案的瓷砖，但斯克罗吉在每张瓷砖上所看到的都是马利的脸。
“骗人的东西！”斯克罗吉对着瓷砖说，并在屋里踱着步。当他坐下之后，他发现房间的另一面墙上挂着一个铃挡。他看着看着，惊奇而又恐惧地发现铃挡慢慢地开始左右摆动起来，不一会儿，它响了起来，声音很大，紧接着屋里所有的铃铛都响了起来。
突然它们在同一时间都不响了，紧接着从下面传来了一个奇怪的声音，听上去像是有人拖着沉重的链子从地板上走过。斯克罗吉记起曾听说过有时旧房子里的鬼魂身后拖着链子。然后楼下的一间房门当啷一声开了，声音开始朝楼上走来，朝他的房门走来。
“又是骗人的鬼把戏！”斯克罗吉大声说道，但当声音径直地穿过厚厚的被锁着的房门出现在他面前时，他面无血色。这是马利的鬼魂！
斯克罗吉能够看穿它的躯体。一条长长的锁链缠在腰间，上面挂着钱盒子、钥匙、存折和厚厚的钱包。鬼魂死一般冷漠的眼睛盯着斯克罗吉看。
“哎！”斯克罗吉说，极力装出什么怪事也没发生的样子。“你想要什么？你是谁？”
“活着的时候我是你的合伙人，雅各布·马利。”
“我告诉你，这是骗人的。”斯克罗吉说。“没有鬼魂！”但当他说此话时，鬼魂发出了可怕的叫声，疯狂地摇动着身上的链子。斯克罗吉吓得立刻趴倒在地板上，大声说，“是的！是的！你是真的！我现在明白了！你来干什么？为什么人死后鬼魂要回来？告诉我，雅各布！”
“那些在世时不帮助他人的人，其灵魂死后都要在这个世界上永无休止地游荡。我们不得不戴着我们活着时为自己制造的锁链。埃比尼泽·斯克罗吉，你认出我的锁链了吗？它和你戴的锁链很相似！”
斯克罗吉向他四周看了看，但没看到锁链。“雅各布，”他说，“请你再多告诉我一些！”
“我帮不上你太大的忙，埃比尼泽！我不能停下来，我不能在一个地方久留。我已经死了七年了，在这七年中，我一直借着风的翅膀飘游着！没有安宁，死了也不得休息，因为我活着的时候从来没有行善积德！”
“但你是一个精明的商人，雅各布，”斯克罗吉说，他现在开始担忧起自己的命运来。
“生意！”鬼魂悲惨地说。“我为什么不把人看作是我的生意？我一心想的就是赚钱，但没有想过善待别人或是帮助别人。听我说，埃比尼泽！我今晚来这儿是要警告你，你还有机会拯救你自己避免重蹈我的覆辙。有三个幽灵将来看你：第一个于明天一点钟来，第二个于次日的同一时间来，第三个于大后天的午夜来。你不会再见到我了，为了你自己死后能太平，务必记住我对你说的话！”
幽灵慢慢地退回到窗前，窗户开始打开。当鬼魂到了窗前时，它举起一只手，斯克罗吉听着。他听见空中传来一声凄惨的叫声。幽灵也开始大叫，它来到了雾蒙蒙、黑漆漆的夜色里，加入到其它幽灵的行列。外面的空中到处都是幽灵，它们都戴着和马利鬼魂一样的锁链，它们都在悲惨地叫着，因为它们过晚地认识到了它们活着的时候所犯下的不可饶恕的错误。
渐渐地，幽灵们和它们的吵闹声消失在雾霭和夜色中，夜晚又恢复了平静。斯克罗吉关上窗户，检查了卧室的门。门依然锁着。他开始说，“骗人的东西！”但突然停住了。也许是因为他太累了，或是太晚了，他连衣服也没脱就上床睡觉了，而且立刻就睡着了。
■ 2 The first of the three spirits
When Scrooge woke up，it was very dark in the room．He heard the church clock start striking，and listened to see what the time was．To his great surprise，the heavy bell went on striking up to twelve，then stopped．Twelve o'clock！ It was past two in the morning when he had gone to bed．The clock must be wrong！He looked at his watch．It said twelve o'clock too！
‘Have I slept all day？Is it the next night already？’scrooge asked himself．‘Or has something happened to the sun？Perhaps it's midday，not midnight！But that's impossible！’
He climbed out of bed，and felt his way to the window．But there was nobody outside in the dark，foggy streets，and he realized it must be night-time．He went back to bed again，but could not sleep．He was worried，because he could not understand what was happening．‘Was Marley's ghost a dream？’he wondered．‘But it seemed very real…’
He lay awake until he heard the clock striking a quarter to the hour．Suddenly he remembered．The ghost had warned him that a spirit would visit him at one o'clock．He decided to stay awake until one o'clock had passed．The quarter of an hour passed very slowly，but at last he heard the clock striking the four quarters．
‘It's one o'clock！’cried Scrooge delightedly，‘and nothing has happened！’But he spoke before the hour bell had sounded．The clock now struck a deep，sad ONE，and immediately light shone into Scrooge's bedroom．The curtains round his bed were pulled open．Scrooge sat up in bed，and stared at his ghostly visitor．
A strange figure，half like a child，half like an old man， looked back at him．It had long，white hair，but its skin was soft and young．It wore a short，white robe，covered with both summer and winter flowers．But the strangest thing about it was that from the top of its head shone a bright，clear light．Perhaps this light was sometimes too bright，because under one arm it carried a hat，which looked like a large extinguisher．
‘Who and what are you，sir？’asked Scrooge．
‘I am the ghost of Christmas Past，’replied the spirit，in a soft，gentle voice．
‘Do you mean long ago in the past？’asked Scrooge．
‘No．Your past．’
‘Spirit，please tell me why you are here．’
‘I am here for your own good，’answered the ghost．
‘Thank you，’replied Scrooge politely．But secretly he thought，‘Bah！A night of unbroken sleep is a more useful thing to have！’
The spirit seemed to hear him thinking，and said at once，‘I am here to help you change your life！Watch and listen！’It put out a strong hand，and held Scrooge by the arm
他手举起唯一的一根蜡烛慢慢地上了楼，他无法看见所有黑暗的角落。黑暗便宜得很，所以斯克罗吉喜欢它。但他记起了那张脸，所以他到所有的房间都走了一遍看看是否一切都安然无恙。桌子底下和床底下都没人，门后也没人！卧室微小的炉火上炖着一锅汤，斯克罗吉的碗已经摆在了桌子上。所有房间里都没有人！确信此刻安全无误之后，斯克罗吉随手关上并锁上了卧室的门。他坐在火旁开始喝汤。
这是一个旧壁炉，火周围是数以百计的印有图案的瓷砖，但斯克罗吉在每张瓷砖上所看到的都是马利的脸。
“骗人的东西！”斯克罗吉对着瓷砖说，并在屋里踱着步。当他坐下之后，他发现房间的另一面墙上挂着一个铃挡。他看着看着，惊奇而又恐惧地发现铃挡慢慢地开始左右摆动起来，不一会儿，它响了起来，声音很大，紧接着屋里所有的铃铛都响了起来。
突然它们在同一时间都不响了，紧接着从下面传来了一个奇怪的声音，听上去像是有人拖着沉重的链子从地板上走过。斯克罗吉记起曾听说过有时旧房子里的鬼魂身后拖着链子。然后楼下的一间房门当啷一声开了，声音开始朝楼上走来，朝他的房门走来。
“又是骗人的鬼把戏！”斯克罗吉大声说道，但当声音径直地穿过厚厚的被锁着的房门出现在他面前时，他面无血色。这是马利的鬼魂！
斯克罗吉能够看穿它的躯体。一条长长的锁链缠在腰间，上面挂着钱盒子、钥匙、存折和厚厚的钱包。鬼魂死一般冷漠的眼睛盯着斯克罗吉看。
“哎！”斯克罗吉说，极力装出什么怪事也没发生的样子。“你想要什么？你是谁？”
“活着的时候我是你的合伙人，雅各布·马利。”
“我告诉你，这是骗人的。”斯克罗吉说。“没有鬼魂！”但当他说此话时，鬼魂发出了可怕的叫声，疯狂地摇动着身上的链子。斯克罗吉吓得立刻趴倒在地板上，大声说，“是的！是的！你是真的！我现在明白了！你来干什么？为什么人死后鬼魂要回来？告诉我，雅各布！”
“那些在世时不帮助他人的人，其灵魂死后都要在这个世界上永无休止地游荡。我们不得不戴着我们活着时为自己制造的锁链。埃比尼泽·斯克罗吉，你认出我的锁链了吗？它和你戴的锁链很相似！”
斯克罗吉向他四周看了看，但没看到锁链。“雅各布，”他说，“请你再多告诉我一些！”
“我帮不上你太大的忙，埃比尼泽！我不能停下来，我不能在一个地方久留。我已经死了七年了，在这七年中，我一直借着风的翅膀飘游着！没有安宁，死了也不得休息，因为我活着的时候从来没有行善积德！”
“但你是一个精明的商人，雅各布，”斯克罗吉说，他现在开始担忧起自己的命运来。
“生意！”鬼魂悲惨地说。“我为什么不把人看作是我的生意？我一心想的就是赚钱，但没有想过善待别人或是帮助别人。听我说，埃比尼泽！我今晚来这儿是要警告你，你还有机会拯救你自己避免重蹈我的覆辙。有三个幽灵将来看你：第一个于明天一点钟来，第二个于次日的同一时间来，第三个于大后天的午夜来。你不会再见到我了，为了你自己死后能太平，务必记住我对你说的话！”
幽灵慢慢地退回到窗前，窗户开始打开。当鬼魂到了窗前时，它举起一只手，斯克罗吉听着。他听见空中传来一声凄惨的叫声。幽灵也开始大叫，它来到了雾蒙蒙、黑漆漆的夜色里，加入到其它幽灵的行列。外面的空中到处都是幽灵，它们都戴着和马利鬼魂一样的锁链，它们都在悲惨地叫着，因为它们过晚地认识到了它们活着的时候所犯下的不可饶恕的错误。
渐渐地，幽灵们和它们的吵闹声消失在雾霭和夜色中，夜晚又恢复了平静。斯克罗吉关上窗户，检查了卧室的门。门依然锁着。他开始说，“骗人的东西！”但突然停住了。也许是因为他太累了，或是太晚了，他连衣服也没脱就上床睡觉了，而且立刻就睡着了。
■ 2 The first of the three spirits
When Scrooge woke up，it was very dark in the room．He heard the church clock start striking，and listened to see what the time was．To his great surprise，the heavy bell went on striking up to twelve，then stopped．Twelve o'clock！ It was past two in the morning when he had gone to bed．The clock must be wrong！He looked at his watch．It said twelve o'clock too！
‘Have I slept all day？Is it the next night already？’scrooge asked himself．‘Or has something happened to the sun？Perhaps it's midday，not midnight！But that's impossible！’
He climbed out of bed，and felt his way to the window．But there was nobody outside in the dark，foggy streets，and he realized it must be night-time．He went back to bed again，but could not sleep．He was worried，because he could not understand what was happening．‘Was Marley's ghost a dream？’he wondered．‘But it seemed very real…’
He lay awake until he heard the clock striking a quarter to the hour．Suddenly he remembered．The ghost had warned him that a spirit would visit him at one o'clock．He decided to stay awake until one o'clock had passed．The quarter of an hour passed very slowly，but at last he heard the clock striking the four quarters．
‘It's one o'clock！’cried Scrooge delightedly，‘and nothing has happened！’But he spoke before the hour bell had sounded．The clock now struck a deep，sad ONE，and immediately light shone into Scrooge's bedroom．The curtains round his bed were pulled open．Scrooge sat up in bed，and stared at his ghostly visitor．
A strange figure，half like a child，half like an old man， looked back at him．It had long，white hair，but its skin was soft and young．It wore a short，white robe，covered with both summer and winter flowers．But the strangest thing about it was that from the top of its head shone a bright，clear light．Perhaps this light was sometimes too bright，because under one arm it carried a hat，which looked like a large extinguisher．
‘Who and what are you，sir？’asked Scrooge．
‘I am the ghost of Christmas Past，’replied the spirit，in a soft，gentle voice．
‘Do you mean long ago in the past？’asked Scrooge．
‘No．Your past．’
‘Spirit，please tell me why you are here．’
‘I am here for your own good，’answered the ghost．
‘Thank you，’replied Scrooge politely．But secretly he thought，‘Bah！A night of unbroken sleep is a more useful thing to have！’
The spirit seemed to hear him thinking，and said at once，‘I am here to help you change your life！Watch and listen！’It put out a strong hand，and held Scrooge by the arm