It was a Christmas night. I was an unlucky nurse who had to work on such a beautiful festival. When I was complaining(抱怨)about it, three people appeared at my desk－a tired woman and her two children, a son and a daughter.
"Are you all sick?" I asked doubtfully because they seemed all right.
"Yes," the woman answered weakly and lowered her head.
But when they started to present their problems, things became unclear. The daughter had a fever, but her temperature was OK. The son had an earache, but he couldn't tell me which ear hurt. It seemed that the mother was pretending(假装)to cough.
Something was wrong. But I only explained that it might take a while before a doctor could meet them. "Take your time, please," said the mother. I checked their charts－no address. All of a sudden I knew they were homeless while the hospital was warm.
The family huddled(蜷缩)together under the Christmas tree, smiling and talking with each other sweetly. Quietly, I went back to the nurses' station and told them what happened in the waiting room. It was just like God sending us a gift on this Christmas night. The nurses' station suddenly came back to life. All the nurses went into action for "a Christmas emergency(急诊)".
We took out our meals for our Christmas "patients". We also put together oranges and apples as presents. We tried to exceed(超过)the needs of a family who only wanted a warm place on Christmas night. Later, the little girl kissed me and said, "Thanks for being our angel."
