The Angel 天使

◎Lucy/译

The Angel 天使

◎Lucy/译

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.

译文

于是他们就飞走了，天使讲了这样一个故事：

“在下面这条狭窄街上的一个很低的地下室里，住着一个生病的穷孩子。从很小的时候起，他就一直躺在床上。他身体最好的时候，可以拄着拐杖在那个小房间里来回地走一两次。他至多只能做到这些。每年夏天，太阳光有几天可以射进这个地下室的前房，每次大约有半个小时的光景。当小孩坐在那儿，让温暖的太阳光照在身上的时候，他就把瘦小的指头伸到面前，望着里面鲜红的血色。这时人们就说：“今天这孩子出来了。”

他对于树林的认识是从春天里的绿色体会出来的。因为邻家的孩子带给了他第一根山毛榉的绿枝。他把它举在头上，幻想自己来到了一个山毛榉的树林里——这儿有太阳光射进来，有鸟儿在唱歌。

在一个春天的日子里，那个邻家的孩子又带给他几棵野花。在这些野花中间，有一棵还带着根子。因此这棵花就被栽在一个花盆里，放在床边，紧挨着窗边。这棵花是由一只幸运的手栽种的，因此它生长起来，冒出新芽，每年都开出花朵，成了这个病孩子的最美丽的花园——他在这世界上唯一的财富。

注释

flew飞翔(fly的过去式)

relate涉及

lane小巷

cellar地下室

afflict折磨，使痛苦

manage设法做某事

crutch拐杖

sunbeams日光

spot斑点，地点

blood血

delicate精美的

verdure碧绿

bough大树枝

beech-tree山毛榉

place放置

fancy幻想

beech-wood榉木色，山毛榉木

carolled欢乐地唱

gayly快乐地

field-flowers野花

adhered黏附，依附

flower-pot花盆

window-seat靠窗的座位

fortunate幸运的，侥幸的

shoot发芽

blossom开花

splendid辉煌的，灿烂的

treasure财产