Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them and he didn't own any. The thin sneakers1 he wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor job of keeping out the cold.
Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour already. And, try as he might, he could not come up with2 an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. He shook his head as he thought, “This is useless, even if I do come up with an idea, I don't have any money to spend.”
Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five had struggled. It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try, there just never seemed to be enough. She worked nights3 at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning could only be stretched 4 so far.
What the family lacked in5 money and material things, they made up for6 more in love and family unity. Bobby had two older and one younger sisters, who ran the household in their mother's absence.
All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother. Somehow, it just wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing.
Wiping7 a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk down to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being six without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to.
Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated8 window. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach9. It was starting to get dark and Bobby reluctantly10 turned to walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the glimmer11 of the setting sun's rays reflecting of something along the roadside. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime.
Never before has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment. As he held his new found treasure, a warmth spread throughout his entire body and he walked into12 the first store he saw. His excitement quickly turned cold when salesperson after salesperson told him that he could not buy anything with only a dime.
He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother's Christmas gift. The shop owner looked at Bobby and his ten cent offering. Then he put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and said to him, “You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you.”
As Bobby waited, he looked at the beautiful flowers and even though he was a boy, he could see why mothers and girls liked flowers.
The sound of the door closing as the last customer left shocked Bobby back to reality. All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid.
Suddenly the shop owner came out and moved to the counter. There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long stem13, red roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box.
“That will be ten cents, young man.” The shop owner said reaching out his hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime. Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime!
Sensing14 the boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, “I just happened to have some roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?”
This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking out the door that the owner was holding for Bobby, he heard the shop keeper say, “Merry Christmas, son.”
As he returned inside, the shop keeper's wife walked out. “Who were you talking to back there and where are the roses you were fixing15?”
Staring out the window, and blinking the tears from his own eyes, he replied, “A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was setting up things to open the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside16 a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway.
Then just a few minutes ago, a little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother with one small dime.
When I looked at him, I saw myself many years ago. I too was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me ten dollars. When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was, and I put together a dozen of my very best roses.”
The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped out17 into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn't feel cold at all.
鲍比坐在后院的雪地里全身发冷。他没有穿靴子；他不喜欢穿靴子，而且他根本就没有靴子。他脚下那双薄薄的胶底鞋破了几个洞，御寒效果很差。
鲍比已经在后院呆了一个小时了。尽管想了老半天，也没想出要给母亲买什么样的圣诞礼物。他边想边摇头：“想也没用，即使想到了好主意，我也没钱买。”
自从父亲三年前去世后，这个五口之家就陷于困顿。不是因为母亲不在乎这个家或没有尽力，而是怎么努力似乎都不够。她晚上在医院做事，但她挣的那点微薄的工资只能维持这样的生活。
金钱和物质上的匮乏这家人在爱和亲情上得到了加倍的补偿。鲍比有两个姐姐和一个妹妹，母亲不在家的时候，由她们操持家务。
他的三个姐妹们都已经为母亲做好了漂亮的礼物。这多少有点不公平。现在已经是圣诞前夕了，他还两手空空。
鲍比擦掉眼中的泪花，踢着雪朝店铺林立的街上走去。六岁就没了父亲，真是不容易，尤其是当他需要有个男人说说话的时候。
鲍比走过一家家店铺，眼睛挨个儿朝装饰精美的橱窗望去。一切看上去那么漂亮而又遥不可及。天开始黑了，鲍比不情愿地转身往家走，这时他的双眼看到路边上有什么东西反射着落日的余辉。他走近一看发现了一枚闪亮的十美分镍币。
从来没有任何人像鲍比那一刻一样感觉到那么富有。他攥着新发现的财富，一股暖流辐射到全身，他走进了闯入眼帘的第一家商店。当一个又一个的店员告诉他一枚十分硬币什么都买不到时，他的兴奋很快冷却了下来。
他看到一家花店，就走进去排队等候。当店主问他需要什么时，鲍比拿出那枚十分硬币，问他是否能用它买一朵花送给母亲作为圣诞礼物。店主看了看鲍比和他的十分硬币。然后用手拍拍他的肩对他说：“你在这儿等等，我去看看能为你拿点什么。”
鲍比一边等，一边打量着美丽的花儿，即使身为男儿，他也能明白为什么母亲们和姑娘们喜欢花。
当最后一个顾客离开后，关门的声音将鲍比一下子拽回到现实。鲍比独自一人在店里，开始感觉到孤独和害怕。
突然，店主出现了，他走到柜台边。柜台上，展现在鲍比眼前的是12支长长的红玫瑰，还带着绿叶和一些白色的小花，用一根打着大大蝴蝶结的银色丝带绑在一起。店主将花拿起来轻轻地放入一个长长的白色盒子里，此时鲍比的心往下一沉。
“小伙子，一共十美分。”店主说完伸手准备接钱。慢慢地，鲍比抬起手打算把钱给他。这是真的吗？换了别人是不会卖给他任何价值十美分的东西的！
店主感觉到孩子的迟疑，加了一句：“我碰巧有一些玫瑰，十美分一打降价出售，你愿意要吗？”
这下子鲍比不再犹豫了，当店主把长长的盒子放到他手上时，他知道这一切是真的。走出店主为他打开的大门，鲍比听到店主说了一声“圣诞快乐，孩子。”
店主返回店里，他的妻子走出来。“你在后头同谁讲话呢？你刚才伺弄的玫瑰哪去了？”
他盯着窗外，眨巴着眼里的泪花回答说：“今天早晨发生了一件怪事。我收拾东西准备开门的时候，好像听到有一个声音告诉我准备一打最好的玫瑰留作特别的礼物。当时我不敢肯定我是走神了还是怎么回事，但我还是将玫瑰放到了一边。
就在几分钟以前，一个小男孩来到店里，想用一枚小小的十分硬币为他母亲买一支花。
我看到他时，就像看到了许多年前的自己。当时我也是个穷孩子，没钱为母亲买圣诞礼物。一个我从不认识、长着络腮胡子的人在街上拦住我，说要送给我十美元。今晚看见那个小男孩时，我明白了那个声音是谁，我就包起了一打最好的玫瑰。”
店主和他的妻子紧紧地拥抱在一起，他们走到寒冷的屋外，竟丝毫感觉不到寒冷。
1. sneaker n． 运动鞋
2． come up with 有，想到
3． nights [naits] adv． 夜间 (＝at night,＝by night)
4． stretch v． 张开，铺开
5． lack in 在……缺少
6． make up for 补偿
7． wipe [waip] v． 擦， 揩
8． decorated adj． 装饰精美的
9． out／beyond (one＇s) reach 手不能及； （比喻）非某人的能力、权力、影响等所能及
10． reluctantly adv． 不情愿地
reluctance n． 不情愿
11． glimmer n． 闪烁
12． walk into 走进
13． stem [stem] n． 茎， 干
14． sense [sens] v． 感到， 察觉
15． fix [fiks] v． 此处意为：准备
16． set aside 留出
17． step out 走出