The Angel 天使

◎Lucy/譯

The Angel 天使

◎Lucy/譯

And as they flew the angel related the history.

“Down in that narrow lane，in a low cellar，lived a poor sick boy；he had been afflicted from his childhood，and even in his best days he could just manage to walk up and down the room on crutches once or twice，but no more.During some days in summer，the sunbeams would lie on the floor of the cellar for about half an hour. In this spot the poor sick boy would sit warming himself in the sunshine，and watching the red blood through his delicate fingers as he held them before his face.Then he would say，“He had been out.”

Yet he knew nothing of the green forest in its spring verdure，till a neighbor’s son brought him a green bough from a beech-tree.This he would place over his head，and fancy that he was in the beech-wood while the sun shone，and the birds carolled gayly.

One spring day the neighbor’s boy brought him some field-flowers，and among them was one to which the root still adhered.This he carefully planted in a flower-pot，and placed in a windowseat near his bed.And the flower had been planted by a fortunate hand，for it grew，put forth fresh shoots，and blossomed every year.It became a splendid flower-garden to the sick boy，and his little treasure upon earth.

譯文

于是他們就飛走了，天使講了這樣一個故事：

“在下面這條狹窄街上的一個很低的地下室里，住著一個生病的窮孩子。從很小的時候起，他就一直躺在床上。他身體最好的時候，可以拄著拐杖在那個小房間里來回地走一兩次。他至多只能做到這些。每年夏天，太陽光有幾天可以射進這個地下室的前房，每次大約有半個小時的光景。當(dāng)小孩坐在那兒，讓溫暖的太陽光照在身上的時候，他就把瘦小的指頭伸到面前，望著里面鮮紅的血色。這時人們就說：“今天這孩子出來了。”

他對于樹林的認識是從春天里的綠色體會出來的。因為鄰家的孩子帶給了他第一根山毛櫸的綠枝。他把它舉在頭上，幻想自己來到了一個山毛櫸的樹林里——這兒有太陽光射進來，有鳥兒在唱歌。

在一個春天的日子里，那個鄰家的孩子又帶給他幾棵野花。在這些野花中間，有一棵還帶著根子。因此這棵花就被栽在一個花盆里，放在床邊，緊挨著窗邊。這棵花是由一只幸運的手栽種的，因此它生長起來，冒出新芽，每年都開出花朵，成了這個病孩子的最美麗的花園——他在這世界上唯一的財富。

注釋

flew飛翔(fly的過去式)

relate涉及

lane小巷

cellar地下室

afflict折磨，使痛苦

manage設(shè)法做某事

crutch拐杖

sunbeams日光

spot斑點，地點

blood血

delicate精美的

verdure碧綠

bough大樹枝

beech-tree山毛櫸

place放置

fancy幻想

beech-wood櫸木色，山毛櫸木

carolled歡樂地唱

gayly快樂地

field-flowers野花

adhered黏附，依附

flower-pot花盆

window-seat靠窗的座位

fortunate幸運的，僥幸的

shoot發(fā)芽

blossom開花

splendid輝煌的，燦爛的

treasure財產(chǎn)