Aza

 

去年的圣诞，阿昵八岁，开始质疑圣诞老人是真的还是假的。

先生早被这八年的礼物搞得不耐烦，跟我说：今年我一定要打破圣诞老人的传说，告诉她们真相。

我不忍心，说还是不要吧。让她们自己想明白。

阿昵有个问题总是想不通，为什么圣诞老人每年都要用我们家的纸包礼物？

我跟她说：因为圣诞老人太忙了，每次都是来了后才开始包礼物的。

阿昵总是问十岁的阿蜜：“你相信圣诞老人吗？”

阿蜜说：“我不知道，随便。”

阿昵说：“我相信。”

她们会写字后，每年都要给圣诞老人写一封信。第一次写信，两个人很兴奋地列了两页纸的清单，里面有一个要求居然是请圣诞老人给她们一个小弟弟作为礼物。

我告诉她们，圣诞老人要照顾全世界的小朋友，因此你们以后不能什么都要，而且，小弟弟是个人，圣诞老人是不能把人当作礼物送的。

今年阿昵九岁了，仍然在想圣诞老人的问题。

我们在ＫＭＡＲＴ看到一个圣诞老太，阿昵告诉我，那是　Mrs. Clause

以后的几天，我们讨论的话题就是Mrs. Claus平时都干些啥。

阿昵说：烧饭了，因为 Mr. Claus　是不会烧饭的。

除了烧饭还做些什么呢？

煮热巧克力给Mr. Claus　，洗碗，打扫房间。

我催她快点给圣诞老人写信，否则圣诞节前寄不到，没有礼物。

阿昵说，给圣诞老人发 Email　吧，　

我说　Email地址是不是　Santa@Claus.com?

先生在关键时候特别地聪明，大叫一声：不对，是　ali_20682000@yahoo.com

在她们写Email之前，先生循循善诱，教育了她们半天，结果，我就收到这样一封Email, 翻成中文是：

亲爱的圣诞老爷爷，

您好！

我们都很乖，我数学考了个Ｃ，不过我是从Ｄ进步到Ｃ的，妈妈说要考Ａ才有礼物，我猜她是吓唬我的。

本来我想要很多礼物的，可是爸爸刚才告诉我，说圣诞老爷爷因为经济不好，炒股票亏了钱，破产了。所以我也不好意思多要礼物了，希望你以后不要再炒股票了，因为爸爸说炒股票最终是会把钱赔光的。你没钱了，我们明年是不是就没有礼物了？

我想要一个　Gameboy　Advanced XP和 Playstation 2, 可以吗？我姐姐叫阿蜜，你送给她两个游戏盘，这样我们就可以一起玩了。

PS, 我还有两只猫，幸运儿和龟背，她们因为没有玩具玩，把我妈妈新大衣上的毛拔光了，妈妈很生气，说要把她们的皮拔下来补大衣，请你给幸运儿和龟背带两个猫玩具，另外给我妈妈一件新大衣。

此致

敬礼！

阿昵

我收到Email, 用中文骂了一句国骂：“ＴＭＤ，连猫都要圣诞礼物，拖了先生，去血拼　（Shopping)

我问店员：“　有没有　Playboy Game　２?”

店员眼睛瞪得溜圆，先生连声说Sorry, 把我拉开狂骂：

“你满脑子尽想什么呢？　丢人现眼的东西，一脸地无辜，一肚子坏水，整天就想 Playboy。”

我一头雾水。Email　上不是说要　Palyboy Game 2吗？

他拿出打印出来的Ｅ，我大叫冤枉：

老爷爷，我真的不是故意的呀！

柳蝉

December 18, 2003 10:26 PM

About Santa

Zoe started questioning about Santa last year when she was eight.

“Do you believe in Santa?” She asked me.

I did not know what to say.

Dad had long been sick and tired of the Santa mania. “I am going to tell them the truth!” he muttered.

I couldn’t bear seeing her childhood dreams shattered. “Please don’t. They will figure it out themselves.” I pleaded.

Every year I would awake them on the morning of Christmas with excitement: “Kids, Get up! Santa has been here!”

I would watch them open the gifts with joy.

Zoe always had lots of questions: “How come Santa used our gift wrap to wrap the gifts?”

Oops, next year I’d better hide the gift wrap in my bag. “ Oh, Santa was too busy to wrap the gifts before he came to our house, so he used our gift wrap.”

Zoe and her sister started to write letters to Santa since they first learned how to write.

The first letter they wrote was two-pages long. The letter ended with the following request:

“We really like babies, can you give us a baby brother as a gift as well?

I told them, Santa has to take care of all the kids in the world, so the gifts are limited to two per kid. And Santa does not give babies as gifts.

This year Zoe is nine and still obsessed with Santa. Once she asked her sister Lea, who is two years older: ” Do you believe in Santa?”

Lea replied with a shrug: “ I don’t know. I don’t care.”

Not discouraged by the indifference, Zoe declared in a firm voice : “ I do believe in Santa.”

One day we saw a lady in a Santa-suit in Kmart, Lea told me “ that is Mrs. Claus”

I said: “My god! I can’t believe Santa is married!”

She said: “What’s so surprising? You are married too.”

“What does Mrs. Claus do everyday?

“Making hot chocolate for Mr. Claus.

“What else?”

“Cooking! Santa does not know how to cook.”

Lea is an apple lover and we are always running out of apples in the house

Zoe told Lea: “Maybe you should ask Santa for fruit this year.”

I asked them to write a letter to Santa ASAP. “If Santa couldn’t receive the letter before Christmas, there wouldn’t be any gifts.”

Zoe suggested: “Send him a email.”

I laughed. “What is Santa’s email address? Santa@claus.com?”

Dad always comes to the rescue at critical moments: “NO! It should be Ali@yahoo.com”

Hours later I received an email:

Dear Santa,

We are all very good girls. My mom told me I couldn’t get a gift if I didn’t get straight A’a in school. But you don’t really look at kid’s grades, do you?

I was going to ask for something very expensive, but Dad told me that you are broke because the economy is not so good and you lost money in the stock market.

Please don’t gamble in the stock market anymore. Dad said you could only lose. If you lose, does that mean we won’t have any gift next year?

Well, I want a Game Boy Advance SP and a Play Station 2. My sister’s name is Lea, you can give her some games so we can play together.

P.S. I also have two cats, Lucky and Tortese. They don’t have any toys to play so they destroyed my mom’s new coat. Please bring them some toys and bring my Mom a new coat because my mom is mad at them.

Love,

Zoe

I thought “Damn! Even cats have to be bought Christmas gifts.”

I took the email and went shopping with Dad.

I asked the clerk: “Do you have Playboy Game 2?”

The clerk looked at me astonished.

Dad was furious.

He pulled me aside and whispered angrily: “What are you talking about? You certainly have been in this country long enough to know what Playboy is!”

I didn’t know what he was talking about: “What do you mean? Your daughters want a Playboy Game 2, what’s wrong with that?

“Read the email more carefully!”

Oops. Maybe I should start to pay some serious attention to all aspects of American culture, to save myself from some future embarrassment.

柳蝉
December 24, 2003 4:49 PM