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.

大卫的爸爸是一个旅店的老板，大卫从小在旅店的处方里长大，他的妈妈做饭，他的姐姐打扫房间，他的哥哥扫马厩。大卫喜欢唱歌，他妈妈做饭的时候他就给妈妈唱歌，大卫可以随便编歌，唱歌的时候还在在盆盆罐罐上敲节奏。大卫的妈妈笑着对大卫说：“儿子，总有一天，你会在神殿里面唱歌的。”大卫对妈妈露齿而笑，认真的说道：“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.

大卫的爸爸进到厨房，把大卫扛到肩头，说“我的宝贝儿子怎么样啊?”。大卫在他爸爸的头上用木勺子敲着唱到：“砰砰砰，去神殿。”大卫的爸爸笑着说：“看来我必须得给儿子找个鼓，不然我的头就要被敲坏了”。

（兼职编辑：杨帆）

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.

过了几年，大卫过生日，就得到了一个小鼓生日礼物，于是，他走到哪里就敲到了哪里。啪啪啪，大卫模仿驴走路的节奏。沙沙沙，大卫模仿他哥哥扫马厩的节奏。

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，大卫的爸爸跟家人说：“我们接下来会很忙，凯撒奥古斯命令所有镇的所有人都到这里集合。”。大卫边敲边唱到：“咚咚咚，我家有六人，这为什么会让我们忙呢?”大卫的父亲答到：“因为人们都会和他们的家人到伯利恒(耶稣降生地)来，他们需要一个住的地方，他们会跟我们一起住，我们会非常忙。”

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.

大卫的妈妈做了更多食物，大卫的姐姐打扫房间，大卫的哥哥扫马厩，还在畜栏里放了新干草和水。大卫的爸爸去招呼来镇里的人，很快旅店就住满了，大卫就给大家打鼓唱歌。

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，有人敲门，大卫偷偷看了一眼，原来来了一对骑着驴的夫妇，但是旅店已满，已经没有地方给他们夫妻俩住了，怎么办呢?大卫的父亲心肠非常好，他说：“你们可以住在马厩了，那里很暖和也很干燥，我可以把食物给你们送过去”。年轻人谢过大卫的爸爸，然后牵着驴去了马厩。

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.

大卫帮他妈妈把面包和起司送到那对年轻夫妇那里，大卫的妈妈跟他说那个年轻的女人就快要生宝宝了，第二天发生了很多高兴的事。大卫的妈妈跟他说：“那个在马厩里住着的女人昨晚生了个宝宝。”大卫的爸爸说：“他们说那是上帝。”

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."

大卫根本看不到婴儿，因为马厩里挤满了人，大卫站在人群后面，然后给婴儿唱了首歌：“来吧，他们跟我说，我们的新生王诞生了，我们把最好的礼物拿来放在王的面前，我们来膜拜他。”

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?"

当大家听到大卫美丽的歌声时自动分出一条路来，大卫唱到：“小耶稣，我也是个穷人，我没有礼物给我的王，我能给你敲个鼓么?”

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

大卫走进玛丽、约瑟夫和小耶稣，小耶稣冲着大卫笑了笑，伸出手，轻拍了他的鼓。

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

是爱和心灵还有鼓声让这个小男孩靠近了还是婴儿的耶稣。

（兼职编辑：杨帆）