Bradley's Silent¹ Night 

Bradley was very sad. It was Christmas Eve, and Dad wasn't home like he had promised. Christmas just couldn't be the same without him. But Christmas is the time of miracles²! 

Bradley sat by the window and stared at the quiet street. The snow had been falling all day and the street looked lonely, just like he was feeling. 

Bradley's Mom walked in the room and put her arm on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" 

"I'm okay." said Bradley. 

"Emily and Brian are going to watch a movie and I'm going to make some popcorn³. Would you like to join us?" asked Mom. 

"No, I think I'll just stay here." said Bradley. 

"Honey, you've hardly moved from that spot all day and you barely⁴ ate any supper." said Mom. 

"Mom, Dad promised he would be home today!" 

"I know, Bradley. But the weather has been so bad that they closed the airport in Vancouver." 

Bradley looked at his mom with tears in his eyes. "But Dad promised and it's Christmas Eve. He should be here!" Bradley turned to look out the window again hoping his dad would suddenly drive up. 

Mom was disappointed⁵ too and she thought for a moment. "Children, I have an idea. I'd like to show you something I saw earlier this week. It's a few blocks away, so get dressed and we'll drive over. Bradley, we would really like you to join us." 

"I just want to wait for Dad." said Bradley. 

"We won't be long and it would mean a lot to me if we could all go together." said Mom. 

"All right. I'll come." said Bradley. 

"Emily," said Mom, "bring your doll." 

"Why?" asked Emily. 

"You'll see." said Mom. ( to be continued )

　　中文：

　　布拉德利非常悲伤。已经是圣诞节前夕了，爸爸却没有履行诺言回家。圣诞节他不在家就是不一样，不过在圣诞节奇迹经常发生。

　　布拉德利坐在窗口，眼睛直盯着安静的街道。雪下了一整天了，街道看起来有些孤寂，就像现在的他。

　　布拉德利的妈妈走进房间，把胳膊放在他的肩膀上：“你没事吧？”

　　“我还好。”布拉德利说。

　　“艾米丽和布赖恩要去看电影，我马上去做些爆米花。你想跟我们一起去吗？”妈妈问他。

　　“不，我就想待在这里。”布拉德利说。

　　“宝贝，你一整天几乎都没离开那个地方，晚饭也几乎没吃。”妈妈说。

　　“妈妈，爸爸答应今天会到家的！”

　　“我知道，布拉德利。但天气这么糟糕，温哥华的机场都关了。”

　　布拉德利眼含泪水望着妈妈：“但是爸爸答应过的，已经是平安夜了，他应该到家了！”布拉德利再次望向窗外，希望爸爸会突然开车回来。

　　妈妈也很失望，她想了一会儿，说：“孩子们，我有一个主意。我想让你们看样东西，是这周早些时候我看到的，离这儿就几个街区。去穿好衣服，我们开车去那里。布拉德利，我们都想让你也去。”

　　“我只想等爸爸回来。”布拉德利说。

　　“我们用不了多长时间。并且我们一起去，对我来说意义非同一般。”妈妈说。

　　“那好吧，我去。”布拉德利说。

　　“艾米丽，”妈妈说，“带着你的洋娃娃。”

　　“为什么？”艾米丽问。

　　“到时候你就明白了。”妈妈说。（待续）

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