2015-10-31

【Aiden in English】

        Some people think Halloween’s just a way kids get fat. Others may think it is a day that kids are kidnapped by strangers. Whatever the reason was, I wasn’t going Trick-or-Treating this year. Until this Saturday I realized that I was going to have no activities at the last minute. Neither did I even have a costume? Plans do change faster than expected of course, and life is all about being flexible.

        I haven’t Trick-or-Treated since third grade. Issues with mom have come up when I asked if I could miss a piano lesson for Halloween (typical Chinese), and my braces kind of killed my chances at free candy ever since. But, my salvation was in sight, as my braces would be coming off in a month or so, and mom, with a bit of persuasion on my part, agreed to let me hold onto the candy until my braces came off. 

        This year I went with my friends, and they began in their neighborhood at six in the afternoon. One problem with my neighborhood was how far apart each house was, whereas my friends could get twice as much candy in their neighborhood. Unlike four years ago, there were a lot more people outside than usual while many of them were watching the Notre Dame vs. Temple college football game outside their houses. Not to be a downer, but Temple is going to lose. The night rapidly cooled down, and in no time I was shivering in my costume. Now, we were ready to roll. As soon as we started, I saw how my bag was going to heavy. After hitting up about ten houses, the group was out of breath, and the bags were getting heavy already. One thing I noticed about the candies that many people preferred to give out Kit-Kats and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, nearly everyone was either giving out good, delicious kinds of candy. Back at my neighborhood, a few houses gave out toothpaste and tooth brushes. Last time I checked, toothpaste wasn’t edible, and the only reason I took one was to be polite. My friend’s streets were nothing like that. They gave out chocolate bars the size of my hand, and allowed us to take as many as we wished. The night went on, and we stopped sprinting to catch our breath. One house gave out soda, and we all took one, but I threw it out. It was way too gassy.

        This year many kids dressed up as M&M’s or wore tuxes, taking the easy way out. I was a minion from Despicable Me, and nearly every parent I saw said how there were a ton of me around. Passing by each house, I tried to respond to each adult, other than the usual “have a nice day” comment. For a football fan, I said how Temple would get a beating, but he replied otherwise. To a police man, I commented on how this was the one night where people went faster when they saw a cop. I missed Trick-or-Treating terribly, and from now on, I don’t care what mom says. It won’t change my decision.

【红霞译文】

        有人觉得万圣节极易让少儿们发胖，还有人认为那一天小孩极易被陌生人拐骗，无论什么原因，起先我并没打算参加今年“不给糖就捣乱”活动，直到本周六万圣节当天意外发现闲得无聊，才萌发过节的念头，可我连一身入时的化装礼服也没有，真可谓计划赶不上变化。但识事务者为俊杰，我只有顺应变化才能紧跟时代的脚步。

        自三年级以来，我连续错过了几回万圣节，问题出在妈妈不肯让我以翘钢琴课为代价来换取“不给糖就捣乱”，典型的中国家长作风；而武装到牙齿的口腔矫形器又将一切可能得到免费糖果的机会扼杀在摇篮中。但曙光就在前头，再过一个月，我将彻底告别牙箍时代；同时，妈妈也在我的感召下同意把家里库存的糖衣炮弹留待我解除枷锁摆脱束缚之后享用。

        今年我与住在其它小区的同学朋友结伴，定于晚上六点钟开始行动，之所以这么做是因为我家左邻右舍间距太远，花同样功夫可以在朋友那里收获两倍以上的成果。与四年前相比，现在热衷过万圣节的民众越来越多，有些人家干脆把电视机搬到屋外，一边忙于给来客发糖，一边观看圣母大学与天普大学之间的橄榄球赛实况，别怪我士气低落，天普大学肯定会输。晚间气温很快降了下来，身上穿的这套行头让我颇感透心凉，好在大家一切就绪。上路后不久，我便发觉自己手上拎的糖袋子不断膨胀，差不多刚走过十户已累得气喘吁吁，袋子变得沉甸甸的。有一点值得庆幸，今年发放的糖果多为杏仁夹心威化饼和瑞芝花生酱巧克力玲珑杯，各家竞相拿出最好吃的东西与大家共享。相比之下，我家小区却为奇葩一朵，个别人家甚至赠送牙刷牙膏，据最新资料显示，牙膏万万吃不得，要不是出于礼貌，我才不愿欣然接受。朋友家的街坊邻里则大相径庭，送来的巧克力棒足有我巴掌那么大，而且我们想拿多少就拿多少。就这样一家接着一家，大伙不由得停下脚步好生喘口气消停一下；有一家还拿出苏打饮料，每人各取一听，不过我随后又把它扔掉，里面碳酸气过多。

        今年有很多小朋友打扮成“只溶在口，不溶在手”巧克力模样，或者为图省事索性套上西服革履，我以电影《神偷奶爸》中的小黄人为模版，难怪家长们见状不无感慨，满城尽带黄金甲。每当离开各家各户，我不再沿用客套术语“祝你有个美好的一天”，而是因事而异，看人下菜碟。譬如：对于橄榄球迷，我情愿谈点天普大学如何技逊一筹，而对方也接着我的话把聊上几句；面对警察，我直言不讳，只有在今晚万圣节上，老百姓才敢穷追警察不放，若不给糖定拿你们兴师问罪。我真的很喜欢“不给糖就捣乱”，从今往后不管妈妈再说什么，都无法动摇我参与决心。