The Christmas list.
圣誕愿望清單。

There’s the request for the Nerf Rhino-Fire Blaster, or the desire for those little Monster High dollies of the night. But pull away from the kids you know and take a look at what’s on the Christmas lists that end up in mailboxes all over town, addressed to the North Pole.
也許你身邊的孩子想要犀牛雙管機槍，或是精靈高中的玩偶。但是暫時忘掉那些孩子的愿望吧，看看寄到北極的信，看看孩子們在信上寫的圣誕愿望清單。

The chief elf-in-charge of these letters is Sherry Johnson-Battle, and she’s letting us look through some of the 500 letters that came from children in the nation’s capital this year.
主管這些信的圣誕老人精靈助手是雪莉·約翰森-百特爾，她讓我們有機會看到了來自紐約小朋友的500封信中的一部分。

More than half of the requests were taken on by companies or fellow elves to make sure the wishes were filled.
孩子們的心愿超半數都由公司或精靈助手來幫助達成。

Yes, the children want Xboxes, iPhones and televisions. They provide specific information for the make, model and color of the $100 sneakers they will outgrow in two weeks.
的確，孩子們想要游戲機、蘋果手機和電視。還有孩子給出了自己想要的100美元運動鞋的具體信息，包括產地、型號和顏色，盡管他們要的鞋穿不到兩個星期就小了。

And there are sure signs of self-confidence.
有些孩子體現出了高度的自信心。

“I would like you to grant me my wishes because I’m a great child.
“我希望你答應我三個愿望，因為我是個很棒的孩子。

1. electric scooter
電動踏板車

2. Barbie Dream House
芭比夢幻屋

3. Baby Alive.”
淘氣寶貝娃娃”

Maybe a trophy, too, great child?
再來一個獎杯，怎么樣？

But then you come across the stories of a city in these letters, too.
不過，你也會在這些信中讀出一個城市的故事。

“Dear Santa,” they all begin.
“親愛的圣誕老人”，他們都這樣開頭。

“I am the middle child,” one continues.
“我是老二”，一個孩子緊接著寫道。

“I lived in a shelter for 5 years. My father abanded [sic] me all my life ever since I was born. My mother was trying to take care of us but she was struggling to put food in our mouths.”
“我在一家收容所生活了5年。差不多從我出生起，我爸爸就拋棄了我。媽媽設法照顧我們，但也卻只能勉強糊口。”

These are the tough ones to read.
讀這些信會讓你難過。

Because they also tell you about the state of a city and a civilization, the way an economy, situations and environment mold a child’s soul.
因為他們也告訴你一個城市和一種文明的狀態。一個經濟體、某種情境和環境對孩子心靈的影響。

“Dear Santa. For Christmas, I will not ask for much. I really need khaki uniform pants,” wrote one 11-year-old girl, who explained that she has “very few pairs of pants for school.”
一個11歲的女孩這樣寫道，“親愛的圣誕老人，我不會要太多圣誕禮物。我真的很想要卡其制服的褲子，因為我幾乎沒有上學穿的褲子。”

“I also need a very steep and nice-size bookbag for school. I’m in 6th grade and carry alot of books,” she said, explaining that her bag had ripped.
小女孩說，“我還想要一個很大很能裝的書包。我現在上六年級，背的書很多。”她解釋道她的書包已經破了。

The kids who have these stories almost always ask for something for a parent or a sibling, too. Or, more often, they ask for things only for others.
此外，有這種故事的孩子總是為父母或兄弟姐妹要禮物。或者，更多情況下，他們要的禮物都給別人的。

It’s a community and spirit baked into some of the American underclass. For centuries, even.
幾個世紀以來，這種“團隊”文化與精神已經深入到美國底層階級的思想中。

A New York guy remodeling his Hell’s Kitchen apartment recently found letters to Santa from more than 100 years ago. A fatherless child of Irish immigrants wrote a letter in 1907 asking for a wagon for her brother. And then reminded Santa: “P.S. Please do not forget the poor.”
最近，一名正在整修其地獄廚房公寓的紐約人發現了一些100多年前寫給圣誕老人的信。1907年，一名失去父親的愛爾蘭移民小孩在信中寫道，想要一輛馬車作為哥哥的圣誕禮物。還提醒圣誕老人：“注：請不要忘記窮人。”

Sometimes, a request raises the elf’s eyebrows:
有時，也會有些讓精靈助手吃驚的請求：

“A Victoria’s Secret gift card for mom,” we read.
比如，我們會讀到這樣的信，“想要給媽媽一個維多利亞的秘密（內衣名牌）的禮品卡，”

“Guess she wants mom to get her swag,” the elf said.
孩子說，“可能她想讓媽媽也拉風一回，”

But most of those letters in the nation’s capital come from kids asking Santa to help pay parents’ bills, to help dads get jobs, to get the family an apartment or to bring a “grocery cart” to help mom lug her groceries home.
但大多數紐約孩子都會在信中請求圣誕老人來幫助父母支付賬單、幫助父親找到工作、幫助家庭買一套公寓或給一輛“購物車”幫媽媽把雜貨運回家等。

It looks like a class thing. But the truth is, all children have that light within. And we adults choose what to do with it.
這看起來像是專屬于某個階層的愿望。但事實是，所有的孩子內心都是善良的。我們成年人來選擇如何面對。

This week, when my son started a last-minute scramble to rewrite his Christmas list (again), he surprised me.
這周，當我的兒子在最后時刻匆忙重寫他的圣誕列表時，讓我吃了一驚。

He had just talked on the phone to my brother, a commercial fisherman who can’t leave the waters this time of year, and the boys ached to see him.
他剛剛和我弟弟通過電話。我的弟弟是一個商業漁民，每年這個時候不能離開水，但是孩子們很渴望能見到他。

“I only want one thing from Santa. A plane ticket for Uncle Mike so he could be with us,” my son said.
兒子寫道，“我只希望圣誕老人幫我實現一件事。給麥克叔叔一張機票，這樣他就可以和我們團聚了。”

Listen to the kids, my friends.
聽聽孩子的聲音吧，朋友們。

英文來源：華盛頓郵報
譯者：趙麗麗
審校&編輯：丹妮