Grandmother Charged in Baby Jesus Theft祖母被控偷竊嬰孩耶穌

◎ 俞智敏

Virginia Voiers thought she was taking part in a rambunctious holiday custom, but a carriage driver thought differently and called police when he saw the 70-year-old grandmother stealing the baby Jesus from the city's nativity scene.

維吉尼亞．瓦爾斯以為她不過是參與一項熱鬧的節日習俗，但一名馬車車夫卻不以為然，當他看到這位70歲的祖母從鎮上的耶穌誕生裝飾裡偷走嬰孩耶穌時，就打電話報警。

Voiers was ticketed for misdemeanor theft by an officer who quickly caught up with her van after she foisted the statue.

瓦爾斯偷走雕像後不久，一名警官迅速追上她的廂型車，而且開給她一張偷竊輕罪的罰單。

"It was a lark, it wasn't any serious stealing," Voiers said. Usually, the baby Jesus is returned by the thief. Voiers said her caper was the first time she'd taken anything from the nativity.

「這只是好玩，不是什麼重大竊案，」瓦爾斯說。通常竊賊都會歸還嬰孩耶穌雕像。瓦爾斯說，這次惡作劇是她第一次從耶穌誕生裝飾中拿走任何東西。

"I didn't know we had a tattletale downtown," said Voiers, who is also a Sunday school teacher at a Methodist church. She said she told her pastor what happened.

「我可不知道我們鎮上有人這麼愛告密，」瓦爾斯說，她也是一所衛理教會的主日學老師。她說，她已經告知教會牧師此事。

新聞辭典

rambunctious：粗暴、喧鬧、充滿精力而難以管教的，如︰Their rambunctious son always got into trouble.（他們那個任性的兒子老是惹麻煩。）

misdemeanor：（在法律上指）輕罪，較重罪（felony）犯行輕微。

foist：採欺騙手段出售、偷偷加進或混進、強迫他人接受，如︰foist something off on someone（魚目混珠把劣貨賣給別人），或 I try not to foist my values on the children.（我試著不要把自己的價值觀強加於孩子身上。）

lark：在此為名詞，指玩笑、嬉耍，如ran for office on a lark（出於好玩而參選），亦可做動詞，指愚弄、取笑等。另一名詞則指雲雀。

tattletale：亦可作tell-tale，指告密者、搬弄是非的人。