Happy, happy, never-retuning time of childhood! How can we help loving and dwelling upon its recollections? They cheer and elevate the soul, and become to one a source of higher joys.
幸福的,幸福的,一去不复返的童年时代啊!怎能不爱惜、不珍重对童年的回忆呢?这些回忆使我精神舒爽,心情振奋,是我的无上乐趣的源泉.
Sometimes, when dreaming of bygone days, fancy that, tired out with running about I have sat down in my high arm-chair by the tea-table. It is late, and I have long since drunk my cup of milk. My eyes are heavy with sleep as I sit there and listen. How could I not listen, seeing that Mamma is speaking to somebody, and that the sound of her voice is so melodious and kind? How much its echoes recall to my heart! With my eyes veiled with drowsiness I gaze at her wistfully.
有时,我会回忆起流逝的岁月.那时跑不动了,我就在茶桌旁那把高背安乐椅上安逸地坐下来；夜深了,我就喝光所有的牛奶,迷迷糊糊地合上眼睛,静坐在那儿聆听着妈妈在同什么人说话,她的声音是那么婉转优美!那声音不停地在我的心灵深处荡漾,让我想起那段美妙的时光.我用迷糊的睡眼渴望地看着妈妈的脸.
Suddenly she seems to grow smaller and smaller, and her face vanishes to a point; yet I can still see it - can still see her as she looks at me and smiles. Somehow it pleases me to see her grown so small. I blink and blink, yet she looks no larger than a boy reflected in the pupil of an eye. Then I rouse myself, and the picture fades. Once more I half-close my eyes, and cast about to try and recall the dream, but it has gone, I rise to my feet, only to fall back comfortably into the armchair.
忽然,妈妈的身影逐渐变小,她的面孔缩小成了一个小黑点；可是,我依然可以看到她,她笑眯眯地瞥了我一眼.不知什么缘故,我喜欢看见妈妈变得这么小的样子.我眨了眨双眼,她的样子变得和瞳孔里的小孩儿一样大了.后来我被惊醒了,画面也不见了.我眨眨眼睛,举目四望,努力想使梦中的景象再现,却一点也想不起来了.我本想站起来,却又马上惬意地靠在安乐椅上.
"There! You are falling asleep again, little Nicolas," says Mamma, "You had better go to by-by."
"你又睡着了,尼古拉斯,"妈妈对我说,"你还是上楼去睡比较好."
"No, I won't go to sleep, Mamma," I reply, though almost inaudibly, for pleasant dreams are filling all my soul. The sound sleep of childhood is weighing my eyelids down, and for a few moments. I sink into slumber and oblivion until awakened by some one. I feel in my sleep as though a soft hand were caressing me. I know it by the touch, and, though still dreaming, I seize hold of it and press it to my lips.
"我不想睡,妈妈."我朦朦胧胧地叨念,我心里装的都是那些迷幻而幸福的梦想.还是小孩的我抵挡不住那浓浓的睡意,眼皮慢慢合了起来,刹那间就来到了沉沉的梦乡,直到最终被人唤醒.朦胧间,我觉得有人用手在轻轻地抚摩我,这种触摸的感觉告诉我,是妈妈的手.睡梦中的我情不自禁地拉住那只手,把它牢牢地按在嘴唇上.
Every one else has gone to bed, and only one candle remains burning in the drawing-room. Mamma has said that she herself will wake me. She sits down on the arm of the chair in which I am asleep, with her soft hand stroking my hair, and I hear her beloved, well-known voice say in my ear, "Get up, my darling. It is time to go by-by."
所有的人都已经离开,客厅里只剩下一根燃烧的蜡烛.妈妈说,她要自己叫醒我.妈妈坐在我睡的那张椅子扶手上,用她那温暖的手抚摸着我的头发,用我熟悉的、暖人的声音在我耳边说："起来吧,我的乖宝贝,该去睡觉了."
No envious gaze sees her now. She is not afraid to shed upon me the whole of her tenderness and love. I do not wake up, yet I kiss and kiss her hand.
她不会因为任何人嫉妒的眼光而有丝毫犹疑,她根本不顾虑把她的全部温柔和慈爱赋予我.我合着眼,只是一次又一次地亲她的手.
"Get up, then, my angel."
"起来吧,我的天使!"
She passes her other arm round my neck, and her fingers tickle me as they move across it. The room is quiet and in half-darkness, but the tickling has touched my nerves and I begin to awake. Mamma is sitting near me-that I can tell - and touching me; I can hear her voice and feel her presence. This at last rouses me to spring up, to throw my arms around her neck, to hide my head in her bosom, and to say with a sigh, "Ah, dear, darling Mamma, how much I love you!"
她的另外一只手搂住我的脖子.手指滑过我的脖子,让我觉得很痒.房间里没有一点儿声音,光线忽明忽暗,但挠痒让我精神振奋,睡意全无.此刻,妈妈就坐在我的身边-这我感觉得到-充满爱意地抚着我；我听到她的声音,真实地感觉到了她的气息.我赶紧跳了起来,双手抱住妈妈的脖颈,把头钻进她的怀里,叹息了一声说道："噢,亲爱的,亲爱的妈妈,我多么爱你呀!"
She smiles her sad, enchanting smile, takes my head between her two hands, kisses me on the forehead, and lifts me on to her lap. "Do you love me so much, then?" she says. Then, after a few moments'silence, she continues, "And you must love me always, and never forget me. If your Mamma should no longer be here, will you promise never to forget her - never, Nicolas?" and she kisses me more fondly than ever.
妈妈露出忧郁而迷人的微笑,然后用双手托住我的头,亲亲我的前额,最后抱起来让我坐在她的腿上."这么说你十分爱我?"她停了片刻,随后说,"记住,你一定要永远爱我,永远不要忘了我.如果妈妈不在人世了,你不会忘掉她吧?尼古拉斯,你不会忘记吧?"她更加轻柔地亲我.
"Oh, but you must not speak so, darling Mamma, my own darling Mamma!" I exclaim as I clasp her knees, and tears of joy and love fall from my eyes.
"不,不要这么说,我亲爱的妈妈,我最亲爱的妈妈!"我喊了起来,使劲抱住她的双腿,爱和狂喜的泪水止不住地往下流.
How, after scenes like this! I would go upstairs, and stand before the icons, and say with a rapturous feeling, "God bless Papa and Mamma!" and repeat a prayer for my beloved mother which my childish lips had learnt to lisp-the love of God and other blending strangely in a single emotion!
所有的事情都过去后,我回到楼上,虔诚地站在圣像前祷告："主啊,求你祝福我的爸爸和妈妈."这一刻我的心情是多么美好啊!幼稚的我重复着为亲爱的妈妈的祈祷-我对她的爱和对上帝的爱神奇地融合在了一起.
After saying my prayers, I would wrap myself up in the bedclothes. My heart would feel light, peaceful, and happy, and one dream would follow another. Dreams of what? They were all of them vague, but all of them full of pure love and of a sort of expectation of happiness. Usually, also, there would be some favorite toy-a china dog or the bedarner into the bed-corner behind the pillow, and it would please me to think how warm and comfortable and well cared-for it was there.
说完祈祷词后我爬进被窝,心情是又轻快,又平和,又快乐.美梦接二连三,我梦见了什么呢?它们大都不合逻辑,然而,纯洁的爱和对幸福的向往却充溢在我的梦里.随后,我就把我宠爱的瓷玩具-一只小狗或者一只小兔-放到枕头后面的床角,看着它们如此安逸温暖地躺在那里,我就感到心满意足了.
Also, I would pray God to make everyone happy, so that every one might be contented, and also to send fine weather tomorrow for our walk. Then I would turn myself over on to the other side, and thoughts and dreams would become jumbled and entangled together until at last I slept soundly and peacefully, though with a face wet with tears.
接着,我又祈祷,恳求上帝赐给大家幸福,让人们都心想事成,还恳求上帝让明天有个好天气,那样我们才能去散步；后来我翻了一下身,思绪和梦境交织混杂在一起；最后,我舒服地进入了梦乡,脸上还留着湿漉漉的泪水.
Do in after life the freshness and light-heartedness, the craving for love and for strength of faith, ever return which we experience in our childhood's years? What better time is there in our lives than when the two best of virtues-innocent gaiety and a boundless yearning for affection-are our sole objects of pursuit? Where now are our ardent prayers? Where now are our best gifts-the pure tears of emotion which a guardian angel dries with a smile as he sheds upon us lovely dreams of ineffable childish joy? Can it be that life has left such heavy traces upon one's heart that those tears and ecstasies are for ever vanished? Can it be that there remains to us only the recollection of them?
只有童年时代才会有朝气蓬勃、心无杂念的心情,对爱的向往和对信仰的坚定,在我们以后的人生岁月里真的还能得到吗?当天真的喜悦和对爱的无限渴求-这两种崇高的美德-成为生命中仅有的愿望,我们的生命中,还会有比这更美妙的事物吗?那些衷心的祈祷现在在哪里?最珍贵的礼物-由情感激发的纯洁泪水-现在又在哪里呢?守护天使曾降临在我们周围,微笑着拭去那些眼泪,指引我们进入那充满无法形容的童真乐趣的甜蜜梦境.难道生活在我们的心头划过的伤痕,已经让那些泪水和欢乐永远远离我们了吗?难道剩下的只是对昔日的留恋了吗?
