Dear Lucy，

亲爱的露西：

Thank you for your letter. Youasked a very good question: “Are you Santa?”

谢谢你的信. 你问了一个非常好的问题:"圣诞老人是你吗?"

I know you’ve wanted the answer to this question for a longtime, and I’ve had to give it careful thought to know just what to say.

我知道你想问这个问题已经很长时间了, 而我也一直在认真地考虑如何回答你.

The answer is no. I am not Santa. There is no one Santa.

答案是"不". 我不是圣诞老人. 圣诞老人不是一个人.

I am the person who fills your stockings with presents, though.I also choose and wrap the presents under the tree, the same way my mom did forme, and the same way her mom did for her. (And yes, Daddy helps, too.)

我却是那个将礼物装入你的圣诞袜中的人. 我也是选择并包好礼物, 并将它放在圣诞树下的人, 就如同我的妈妈为我一样, 就如同她的妈妈为她一样. (是的, 爸爸也有帮忙。)

I imagine you will someday do this for your children, and I knowyou will love seeing them run down the stairs on Christmas morning. You willlove seeing them sit under the tree, their small faces lit with Christmaslights.

我可以想像有一天你也会同样地为你的孩子这样做. 并且我知道你一定会很喜欢看到他们在圣诞节清晨跑下楼梯看到礼物的那一刻. 你也一定会喜欢他们坐在圣诞树下, 看着他们被圣诞灯照亮的小脸.

This won’t make you Santa,though.Santa is bigger than any person, and his work has gone on longer thanany of us have lived. What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teacheschildren how to have belief in something they can’t see or touch.

然而, 这却不能让你成为圣诞老人. 圣诞老人比任何一个人都伟大, 而他所做的工作也比我们任何活着的人都长久. 他所做的事其实简单, 但是却很强大. 他教会孩子们如何对自己看不到或摸不着的东西拥有信仰.

It’s a big job, and it’s an important one. Throughout your life,you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in yourtalents and in your family. You’ll also need to believe in things you can’tmeasure or even hold in your hand. Here, I am talking about love, that greatpower that will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest,coldest moments.

这是一件伟大和重要的工作. 在你的生命中, 你将需要这样的能力去相信:你自己, 你的朋友们, 你的才能和你的家庭. 你还需要相信那些你无法计量或着甚至握在手中的东西. 在这里我所说的是爱, 这个伟大的能量能使你的生命从里到外发光, 即使在最黑暗的时候, 即使在最寒冷的时刻.

Santa is a teacher, and I have beenhis student, and now you know the secret of how he gets down all those chimneyson Christmas Eve: he has help from all the people whose hearts he’s filled withjoy.

圣诞老人是一位老师, 我一直是他的学生. 现在你知道了他是如何在圣诞夜里从每一家的烟囱里下来的秘密了: 他得到了所有被他心中装满喜悦的人的帮助.

With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turnshelping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible.带着如此的心, 像爸爸和我这样的人轮流帮助着圣诞老人完成那些否则无法完成的工作.

So, no. I am not Santa. Santa is love and magic and hope andhappiness. I’m on his team, and now you are, too.因此, 不. 我不是圣诞老人. 圣诞老人是爱,奇迹,希望和喜悦. 我是他的团队里的一员, 现在, 你也是了.

I love you and I always will.

我爱你并会一直爱着你,

Mama妈妈