On the Way to the Sun

广东珠海市斗门区第二实验小学 欧雪莹 译注

He hadjourneyeda long way,and was very tired.It seemed like a dream when he stood up after a sleep in the field,and looked over the wall,and saw the garden,and the flowers,and the children playing all about.He looked at the long road behind him,at the dark wood and thebarrenhills—it was the world to which hebelonged.He looked at the garden before him,at the big house,and theterrace,and the steps that led down to the smoothlawn—it was the world which belonged to the children.

他走了很远的路，已经很累了。他在田野里睡了一觉，然后站起身来，望着墙，看到了花园、鲜花和孩子们在四处玩耍，这就像是一场梦。他看着身后长长的路，看着黑暗的树林和贫瘠的山丘——这是他所属的世界。他看着面前的花园、大房子、露台和通向平坦草坪的台阶——这是属于孩子们的世界。

“Poor boy,” said the elder child,“I will get you something to eat.”

“可怜的孩子，”大孩子说，“我会给你弄点吃的。”

“But where did he come from?” the gardener asked.

“但是，他是从哪里来的？”园丁问道。

“We do not know,” the child answered,“But he is very hungry,and Mother says we may give him some food.”

“我们不知道，”孩子回答,“但是他很饿，妈妈说我们可以给他一些食物。”

“I will take him some milk,” said the little one,in one hand she carried amugand with the other she pulled along her little brokencart.

“我给他拿些牛奶，”小家伙说道。她一只手拿着一个杯子，另一只手拉着她的破小推车。

“But what is he called?” asked the gardener.

“可是，他叫什么名字？”园丁问。

“We do not know,” the little one answered,“But he is very thirsty,and we give him some milk.”

“我们不知道，”小家伙回答道，“但是他很渴，我们给了他一些牛奶。”

“Where is he going?” asked the gardener.

“他要去哪里？”园丁问。

“We do not know,” the children said,“but he is very tired.”

“我们不知道，”孩子们说，“但他很累。”

When the boy had rested well,he got up saying,“I must not stay any longer.” And he turned to go on his way.

男孩休息好后，他站起来说 ：“我不能再在这待下去了。”然后，他转身就赶路了。

“What have you to do?” the children asked.

“你要做什么？”孩子们问道。

“I am one of the ‘crew’,and must help to make the ‘world’ go round,” he answered.

“我是‘乘务员’之一，必须帮助‘世界’运转。”他回答道。

“Why do we not help too?”

“为什么我们帮不上忙？”

“You are the ‘passengers’.”

“你们是‘乘客’。”

“How far have you to go?” they asked.

“你还得走多远？”他们问道。

“Oh,a long way!” he answered,“On and on until I can touch the sun.”

“哦，还有很长的路！”他回答道，“一直走，直到我能触摸到太阳。”

“Will you really touch it?” they said,awestruck.

“你真的会触摸到太阳吗？”他们敬畏地说道。

“I dare say I shall tire long before I get there,” he answered sadly.“Perhaps without knowing it,though,I shall reach it in my sleep,” he added.But they hardly heard the last words,for he was already far off.

“我敢说，在我到达那里之前，我会很累的。”他悲伤地回答。他补充道：“也许在我不知道的情况下，我会在睡梦中够到它。”但他们几乎听不到最后一句话，因为他已经走远了。

“Why did you talk to him?” the gardener said,“He is just a working boy.”

“你为什么和他说话？”园丁说，“他只是一个童工。”

“And we do nothing! It was very good of him to notice us,” they said,humbly.

他们谦恭地说：“我们什么也没做！他能注意到我们真是太好了。”

“Good!” said the gardenerin despair.“Why,between you and him there is a great difference.”

“很好！”园丁绝望地说，“唉，你们和他之间有很大的不同。”

“There was only a wall,” they answered.“Who set it up?” they askedcuriously.

“我们之间仅仅隔着一堵墙，”他们回答。“是谁修建这堵墙的？”他们好奇地问道。

“Why,the builders,of course.Men set it up.”

“哦，当然是建筑工。是人建造的。”

“And who will pull it down?”

“谁会把它推倒呢？”

“It will not want any pulling down,” the gardener answeredgrimly,“Time will do that.”

“它不需要任何外力就会倒，”园丁冷漠地回答，“时间会做到的。”

As the children went back to their play,they looked up at the light towards which the boy was journeying.

当孩子们回去玩的时候，他们抬头看着那道光，那个男孩正迎光而去。

“Perhaps we too shall reach it some day,” they said.

“也许有一天我们也会触摸到太阳的。”他们说。

Notes:

journeyv.旅行

barrenadj.贫瘠的

belongv.属于

terracen.露台

lawnn.草坪

mugn.杯子；大缸

cartn.小推车

crewn.乘务员

awestruckadv.敬畏地

humblyadv.谦卑地

in despair 处于绝望

curiouslyadv.好奇地

grimlyadv.冷漠地