David grew up in the kitchen of the inn. His father was the innkeeper. His mother cooked the food. David’s older sisters cleaned the rooms, and his older brother swept the stable. David loved to sing. He would sing to his mother as she cooked the food. David made up songs and banged on pots and bowls as he sang to her. David’s mother smiled at him. "Someday you will sing in the temple, my son," his mother said. David grinned at his mother. "Tem-ple," David said very carefully.

大衛(wèi)的爸爸是一個旅店的老板，大衛(wèi)從小在旅店的處方里長大，他的媽媽做飯，他的姐姐打掃房間，他的哥哥掃馬廄。大衛(wèi)喜歡唱歌，他媽媽做飯的時候他就給媽媽唱歌，大衛(wèi)可以隨便編歌，唱歌的時候還在在盆盆罐罐上敲節(jié)奏。大衛(wèi)的媽媽笑著對大衛(wèi)說：“兒子，總有一天，你會在神殿里面唱歌的。”大衛(wèi)對媽媽露齒而笑，認真的說道：“神--殿”

David’s father came into the kitchen. "How is my big boy?" David’s father asked as he swung David onto his shoulders. "Pum Pum Pum! Tem-ple come!" David sang as he drummed on his father’s head with a wooden spoon. David’s father smiled as his son kept on drumming. "We must find this boy a drum or my poor head will not survive!" said David’s father, with a laugh.

大衛(wèi)的爸爸進到廚房，把大衛(wèi)扛到肩頭，說“我的寶貝兒子怎么樣啊?”。大衛(wèi)在他爸爸的頭上用木勺子敲著唱到：“砰砰砰，去神殿。”大衛(wèi)的爸爸笑著說：“看來我必須得給兒子找個鼓，不然我的頭就要被敲壞了”。

（兼職編輯：楊帆）

A few years later David got a small drum for his birthday. Soon he was beating rhythms on his drum wherever he went. Pat-a-rum, pat-a-rum, pat-a-rum, David drummed to copy the donkeys on the road. Swish-click-click-tum, swish-click-click-tum, went David’s drumming to copy his brother sweeping straw in the stable.

過了幾年，大衛(wèi)過生日，就得到了一個小鼓生日禮物，于是，他走到哪里就敲到了哪里。啪啪啪，大衛(wèi)模仿驢走路的節(jié)奏。沙沙沙，大衛(wèi)模仿他哥哥掃馬廄的節(jié)奏。

One day David’s father said to his family, "We are going to be very busy. Caesar Augustus has ordered a count of all the families in all the towns." "Pum Pum. Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum. I counted six of us!" David sang. "Why does this make us busy?" "Because people will come to Bethlehem to be counted with their families," said David’s father. "They will need a place to stay. They will stay with us, and we will be very busy."

有一天，大衛(wèi)的爸爸跟家人說：“我們接下來會很忙，凱撒奧古斯命令所有鎮(zhèn)的所有人都到這里集合。”。大衛(wèi)邊敲邊唱到：“咚咚咚，我家有六人，這為什么會讓我們忙呢?”大衛(wèi)的父親答到：“因為人們都會和他們的家人到伯利恒(耶穌降生地)來，他們需要一個住的地方，他們會跟我們一起住，我們會非常忙。”

David’s mother cooked more food. David’s sisters cleaned the rooms. David’s brother swept out the stable and put new hay and pots of water in the stalls. David’s father greeted the people as they came into town. Soon the inn was very full. David played his drum and sang his songs for the people.

大衛(wèi)的媽媽做了更多食物，大衛(wèi)的姐姐打掃房間，大衛(wèi)的哥哥掃馬廄，還在畜欄里放了新干草和水。大衛(wèi)的爸爸去招呼來鎮(zhèn)里的人，很快旅店就住滿了，大衛(wèi)就給大家打鼓唱歌。

Late one night there was a knock at the door. David peeked around his father at the young man and his wife, who was on a donkey. They had no room for these people! What could they do? David’s father was a kind man. "You can stay in the stable," he said. "It is warm and dry there. I can send food out to you." The young man thanked David’s father and walked the donkey to the stable.

一天夜里，有人敲門，大衛(wèi)偷偷看了一眼，原來來了一對騎著驢的夫婦，但是旅店已滿，已經(jīng)沒有地方給他們夫妻倆住了，怎么辦呢?大衛(wèi)的父親心腸非常好，他說：“你們可以住在馬廄了，那里很暖和也很干燥，我可以把食物給你們送過去”。年輕人謝過大衛(wèi)的爸爸，然后牽著驢去了馬廄。

David helped his mother carry bread and cheese out to the young couple. His mother told him the woman was going to have a baby soon. The next day there was a lot of excitement. "The young woman who stayed in the stable last night had her baby," David’s mother told him. "The baby is the King of Kings, they say!" said David’s father.

大衛(wèi)幫他媽媽把面包和起司送到那對年輕夫婦那里，大衛(wèi)的媽媽跟他說那個年輕的女人就快要生寶寶了，第二天發(fā)生了很多高興的事。大衛(wèi)的媽媽跟他說：“那個在馬廄里住著的女人昨晚生了個寶寶。”大衛(wèi)的爸爸說：“他們說那是上帝。”

David could not see the baby because of the crowd around the stable. David stood at the back of the crowd and began to make up a song for the baby: "Come, they told me, our newborn king to see. Our finest gifts we bring to lay before the king. So to honor him when we come."

大衛(wèi)根本看不到嬰兒，因為馬廄里擠滿了人，大衛(wèi)站在人群后面，然后給嬰兒唱了首歌：“來吧，他們跟我說，我們的新生王誕生了，我們把最好的禮物拿來放在王的面前，我們來膜拜他。”

The crowd began to part when they heard David’s beautiful singing: "Baby Jesus, I am a poor boy, too. I have no gift to bring that’s fit to give a king. Shall I play for you on my drum?"

當大家聽到大衛(wèi)美麗的歌聲時自動分出一條路來，大衛(wèi)唱到：“小耶穌，我也是個窮人，我沒有禮物給我的王，我能給你敲個鼓么?”

David stepped closer to Mary, Joseph, and their son. Baby Jesus smiled at David, reached out, and patted his drum.

大衛(wèi)走進瑪麗、約瑟夫和小耶穌，小耶穌沖著大衛(wèi)笑了笑，伸出手，輕拍了他的鼓。

Love, spirit, and the beat of his drum brought one little boy closer to the infant Jesus.

是愛和心靈還有鼓聲讓這個小男孩靠近了還是嬰兒的耶穌。

（兼職編輯：楊帆）