英美著名儿童诗一百首 [46]
P atmore①
My little Son, who look'd from thoughtful eyes
And moved and spoke in quiet grown-up wise,
Having my law the seventh time disobey'd,
I struck him, and dismiss'd
With hard words and unkiss'd,
—His Mother, who was patient, being dead.
Then, fearing lest his grief should hinder sleep,
I visited his bed,
But found him slumbering deep,
With darken'd eyelids, and their lashes yet
From his late sobbing wet.
And I, with moan,
Kissing away his tears, left others of my own;
For, on a table drawn beside his head,
He had put, within his reach,
A box of counters and a red-vein a stone,
A piece of glass abraded by the beach,
And six or seven shells,
A bottle with bluebells,
And two French copper coins, ranged there with careful art,
To comfort his sad heart.
So when that night I pray'd
To God, I wept, and said:
"Ah, when at last we lie with tranced breath,
Not vexing Thee in death,
And Thou rememberest of what toys
We made our joys,
How weakly understood
Thy great commanded good,
Then, fatherly not less
Than I whom Thou has moulded from the clay,
Thou'lt leave Thy wrath, and say,
‘I will be sorry for their childishness.’"
■ 八十一 玩 具
考文垂·帕特莫尔
我的小儿子，带着沉思的目光，
像大人那样平静地说话行事，
已经七次违背了我订的规章，
我打了他，叫他走开些，
口气粗暴，更没有吻别，
——他的母亲有耐心，可已经去世。
后来，怕他太伤心会影响睡眠，
我走到他床前，
发现他睡得正酣，
眼睑阴暗，睫毛上面
刚才哭泣的泪痕未干。
我不禁悲声叹息，
吻去他的泪，留下我的泪滴；
原来在一张桌子上，紧挨他头边，
在够得着的距离内，他摆起
一盒假银币，一枚红纹石，
一块被海滩沙子磨损的玻璃片，
六个或七个贝壳，
一瓶子蓝铃花朵，
两枚法国铜币，精心地排成图案，
来舒展他悲伤的心田。
那天晚上，我向上帝祷告，
我不禁哭了，说道：
"啊！等我们到了弥留之际，
临死也不打搅您上帝，
而您记起了那些玩具——
我们的乐趣，
我们几乎不懂得
您掌握的伟大美德，
于是，您会像我一样慈爱——
我原是您用泥土捏出来——
您会收起愤怒，说，
‘对他们的幼稚，我感到难过。’"
屠 岸译
① 考文垂·帕特莫尔（1823—1896），英国诗人。1847年与爱密莉结婚。1862年爱密莉亡故，留下子女六人。《玩具》是诗人跟儿子发生矛盾的真实写照。
■ 82 THE LAMPLIGHTER
Robert Louis Stevenson
My tea is nearly ready and the sun has left the sky;
It's time to take the window to see Leerie going by;
For every night at tea-time and before you take your seat,
With lantern and with ladder he comes posting up the street.
Now Tom would be a driver and Maria go to sea,
And my papa's a banker and as rich as he can be;
But I, when I am stronger and can choose what I'm to do,
O Leerie, I'll go round at night and light the lamps with you!
For we are very lucky, with a lamp before the door,
And Leerie stops to light it as he lights so many more;
And O! before you hurry by with ladder and with light,
O Leerie, see a little child and nod to him to-night!
■ 八十二 点灯的人
罗伯特·路易斯·斯蒂文森
茶快煮好了，太阳已经西落；
这时候，可以在窗口见到李利走过身旁；
每晚，喝茶的时候，你还没就座，
李利拿着提灯和梯子走来了
My little Son, who look'd from thoughtful eyes
And moved and spoke in quiet grown-up wise,
Having my law the seventh time disobey'd,
I struck him, and dismiss'd
With hard words and unkiss'd,
—His Mother, who was patient, being dead.
Then, fearing lest his grief should hinder sleep,
I visited his bed,
But found him slumbering deep,
With darken'd eyelids, and their lashes yet
From his late sobbing wet.
And I, with moan,
Kissing away his tears, left others of my own;
For, on a table drawn beside his head,
He had put, within his reach,
A box of counters and a red-vein a stone,
A piece of glass abraded by the beach,
And six or seven shells,
A bottle with bluebells,
And two French copper coins, ranged there with careful art,
To comfort his sad heart.
So when that night I pray'd
To God, I wept, and said:
"Ah, when at last we lie with tranced breath,
Not vexing Thee in death,
And Thou rememberest of what toys
We made our joys,
How weakly understood
Thy great commanded good,
Then, fatherly not less
Than I whom Thou has moulded from the clay,
Thou'lt leave Thy wrath, and say,
‘I will be sorry for their childishness.’"
■ 八十一 玩 具
考文垂·帕特莫尔
我的小儿子，带着沉思的目光，
像大人那样平静地说话行事，
已经七次违背了我订的规章，
我打了他，叫他走开些，
口气粗暴，更没有吻别，
——他的母亲有耐心，可已经去世。
后来，怕他太伤心会影响睡眠，
我走到他床前，
发现他睡得正酣，
眼睑阴暗，睫毛上面
刚才哭泣的泪痕未干。
我不禁悲声叹息，
吻去他的泪，留下我的泪滴；
原来在一张桌子上，紧挨他头边，
在够得着的距离内，他摆起
一盒假银币，一枚红纹石，
一块被海滩沙子磨损的玻璃片，
六个或七个贝壳，
一瓶子蓝铃花朵，
两枚法国铜币，精心地排成图案，
来舒展他悲伤的心田。
那天晚上，我向上帝祷告，
我不禁哭了，说道：
"啊！等我们到了弥留之际，
临死也不打搅您上帝，
而您记起了那些玩具——
我们的乐趣，
我们几乎不懂得
您掌握的伟大美德，
于是，您会像我一样慈爱——
我原是您用泥土捏出来——
您会收起愤怒，说，
‘对他们的幼稚，我感到难过。’"
屠 岸译
① 考文垂·帕特莫尔（1823—1896），英国诗人。1847年与爱密莉结婚。1862年爱密莉亡故，留下子女六人。《玩具》是诗人跟儿子发生矛盾的真实写照。
■ 82 THE LAMPLIGHTER
Robert Louis Stevenson
My tea is nearly ready and the sun has left the sky;
It's time to take the window to see Leerie going by;
For every night at tea-time and before you take your seat,
With lantern and with ladder he comes posting up the street.
Now Tom would be a driver and Maria go to sea,
And my papa's a banker and as rich as he can be;
But I, when I am stronger and can choose what I'm to do,
O Leerie, I'll go round at night and light the lamps with you!
For we are very lucky, with a lamp before the door,
And Leerie stops to light it as he lights so many more;
And O! before you hurry by with ladder and with light,
O Leerie, see a little child and nod to him to-night!
■ 八十二 点灯的人
罗伯特·路易斯·斯蒂文森
茶快煮好了，太阳已经西落；
这时候，可以在窗口见到李利走过身旁；
每晚，喝茶的时候，你还没就座，
李利拿着提灯和梯子走来了