"What in the world are you going to do?" he asked with a grin. “你到底要做什么？”他咧嘴笑着问道。

Betty grinned back at him. "You take the ax and go over to the grove and cut down a Christmas tree. 贝蒂也朝他笑了一下说：“你拿着斧子去树林里，砍一棵圣诞树吧。”

Uncle Ben said we could have one. 叔叔本说我们可以要颗圣诞树。

"But we haven't a thing to put on it." "We shall have something when you get back. Uncle Ben will go with the horse and wagon and bring the tree home." “但我们没有什么东西可以挂在树上。”“你回来时，我们就有的挂了。叔叔本会驾着马车走，然后把树拉回家。”

Bob went off, wondering, and Betty began to cut out pieces from an old gray flannel shirt of Uncle Ben's and to hunt in the button box for old shoe buttons. 鲍勃心里寻思着走开了，贝蒂开始从叔叔本的灰色旧法兰绒衬衫上剪下一个个碎片，并在按钮盒里寻找旧鞋扣。

When Bob drove in with Uncle Ben and the little tree, Betty dangled in front of her brother seven gray mice by their tails of string. 鲍勃和叔叔本带着一颗小树回来时，贝蒂拿着七只灰色老鼠的尾巴，在她哥哥面前摇晃着。

With shoe buttons for eyes and bodies made of gray flannel, they looked so real that Uncle Ben jumped when he saw them. 这些老鼠的眼睛是鞋扣做的，身体是灰色的法兰绒布条卷成的，它们看起来就像真的一样，叔叔本看到时都跳了起来。

"My land, child, those mice would fool any cat in the country!" “天啊，贝蒂，这些老鼠能骗过乡下所有的猫啊！”

"Smell,” answered Betty, as she dangled them under her uncle's nose. "Catnip mice," he chuckled. “你闻闻，”贝蒂一边回答，一边把它们放到叔叔的鼻子下面摇晃，“猫草做的老鼠，”他笑着说。

"I guess I know now who your poor folks will be this year. They haven't a cent to their names, nor a shirt to their backs," laughed Bobby. “我想我知道你今年的穷伙伴是谁了，他们一分钱也没有，也没有衬衫可穿。” 鲍勃笑着说。

"But why the tree?" "Come and help me set it up; then you'll find out," answered Betty. “但是为什么要树呢？”“来帮我把它装点好，然后你就知道了，”贝蒂回答说。