A Gift of Dreams
梦寐以求的礼物

A Gift of Dreams is a small yet moving story written by George H. Brooks. On Christmas Eve, a sailor in the U. S. Navy encountered a nine-year old skinny boy and volunteered to buy him a whole set of train toy with the money he had just won at poker.
《梦寐以求的礼物》是乔治·H. 布鲁克斯写的一则短小感人的故事。圣诞前夕，美国海军的一名士兵遇到一个消瘦的九岁小男孩，他用打扑克牌赢来的钱给这个初次见面的孩子买了一整套玩具火车。

In the beginning, the sailor was disheartened by the news that another friend had been killed in European battlefield. Overwhelmed by unshakable sadness, this 18-year-old young man loitered alone in a strange city. Nothing seemed to make any kind of sense. But things changed when his otherwise aimless vision focused on the little boy, his nose pressing against the window glass and craving for the train toy inside.
故事的开头描写了一名百无聊赖的士兵，刚刚得知又有一个朋友在欧洲战场上牺牲，心情十分沉重，悲痛不已。这个年仅18岁的士兵在一个陌生的城市漫无目的地走着，似乎一切都失去了意义。直到他游离的目光锁定一个小男孩，小男孩的鼻子紧紧贴着橱窗玻璃，满眼都是对玩具火车的渴望。

The soldier bought the toy for this stranger because the shadow in his disappointed eyes resembled much of the soldier's own when he was that age. At the end of the story, the soldier paid a visit to the boy's home and witnessed what a cash-strapped yet warm and loving family there was. Then the revelation came. He suddenly knew what this war and all the fighting was about. It was something at once wonderful and simple. His country turned out to be a place of dreams and of dreamers who had the faith and the will to make dreams come true.
士兵在小男孩眼里看到了自己当年失望也渴望的影子，于是他主动为他买下了这套玩具。故事结尾，士兵陪着小男孩将玩具送到家。他看到小男孩的家，虽然生活拮据，但温馨友爱。于是，那一刻他明白了，这场战争和所有的激战意味着什么。突然一切变得既简单又精彩：他的祖国，这片让人梦寐以求的国土，正是那些有信心、有决心的人寻梦的地方。