‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house；
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer! and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder! and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.
汉语翻译
圣诞节前夜，整间屋子静悄悄；
万物沉默，连老鼠也不吵不闹；
在壁炉前，挂上长袜，动作是如此轻缓；
圣诞老人快快出现；
这是最殷切的期盼；
孩子们躺在小被窝里，暖洋洋的那么舒服；
美梦中的小糖果在脑海里翩翩起舞；
妈妈裹着头巾，我戴着睡帽，放下所有的心事，在冬夜里睡个长觉；
突然，屋外的草坪传来一阵声响，我从床上一跃而起，要去细细端详；
我冲到窗前，快的像一道电光；拉开了窗帘，拉开了窗框；
月光投入初雪的怀抱，万物沐浴正午般的光芒，令人惊叹的事情发生啦！
吸引住我的目光，一只小雪橇，八只小驯鹿，还有一个驾车的小老头，那么欢快！那么神速！我立刻明白，是圣诞老人在赶路！
雪橇比神鹰更迅即，圣诞老人吹着口哨，还要把每只驯鹿的名字叫：“快！飞毛腿！快！舞蹈家……飞过廊顶，跃过墙头，快快向前，向前，一起向前！”
像飓风来临时，枯叶随风飘扬，只要遇到障碍，立刻飞向空中，飞过屋顶，飞向远方，雪橇上装满玩具，还载着圣诞老人；
转眼前，一道风闪过，我听见屋顶传来蹦跳声，踢踏声，每只小鹿蹄在欢腾，我从窗前缩回脑袋，转过身来，刚好看见圣诞老人从烟囱里跳下，他从头到脚裹着皮衣，烟灰和尘土弄脏了衣服；
他背着一大包玩具，像一个小贩打开了包裹，他的眼睛明亮闪光，他的酒窝快乐荡漾，他的脸颊玫瑰般鲜红，他的鼻子樱桃般鲜亮，那滑稽的小嘴弓一般鼓起来，下巴上的胡须雪一般洁白，牙齿紧咬着，还未吸完的烟斗喷出的烟雾像花环环绕着头，脸胖乎乎的，小肚子圆滚滚的，一笑起来像一碗颤动的果冻，他又圆又胖，像个乐呵呵的老顽童；
我看着他，也忍不住笑嘻嘻，他转过头来，两眼直眨巴，立刻让我安心，什么也不用害怕，他什么也不说，只顾专心工作，把礼物装满所有的袜子，又急着转身忙活，他伸出手指，放在鼻子边上，又冲我点点头……
他爬上了烟囱，他跳上雪橇，像驯鹿打了个忽闪，飞驰而去，雪橇越来越远，我听见他大声的祝愿:
祝所有人圣诞快乐！祝所有人晚安！
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