“现在我给你一幅来自法兰克福的画面。” 月亮说。“我特别注意到那里的一座建筑。那不是歌德出生的房子，也不是旧的市政厅，在加冕皇帝的时候，人们透过市政厅带栅栏的窗户可以看到正在烤着准备分给人们的牛的角。不，那是一座私人住宅，外观朴素，漆成了绿色。它坐落在旧的犹太人街附近。那是罗斯柴尔德的房子。”

“I will now give you a picture from Frankfort,” said the moon. “I especially noticed one building there. It was not the house in which Goethe was born, nor the old council house, through whose grated windows peered the horns of the oxen that were roasted and given to the people when the emperors were crowned. No, it was a private house, plain in appearance, and painted green. It stood near the old Jews’ Street. It was Rothschild’s house.

“我透过敞开的门往里看。楼梯被照得很亮：拿着大银烛台、里面点着蜡烛的仆人站在那里，向一个老妇人深深鞠躬，她正坐在轿子里被抬下楼。”

“I looked through the open door. the staircase was brilliantly lighted: servants carrying wax candles in massive silver candlesticks stood there, and bowed low before an old woman, who was being brought downstairs in a litter.

房子的主人光着头站着，恭敬地在老妇人的手上亲了一下。她是他的母亲。她亲切地向他和仆人们点点头，他们把她抬进黑暗狭窄的街道，抬进她居住的一所小房子里。她的孩子们就是在这里出生的，这个家族的财富也是从这里开始积累的。如果她离开这条被人瞧不起的街道和这所小房子，财富也会离开她的孩子们。这是她坚定的信念。”

“the proprietor of the house stood bare-headed, and respectfully imprinted a kiss on the hand of the old woman. She was his mother. She nodded in a friendly manner to him and to the servants, and they carried her into the dark narrow street, into a little house, that was her dwelling. here her children had been born, from hence the fortune of the family had arisen. If she deserted the despised street and the little house, fortune would also desert her children. that was her firm belief.”

月亮不再跟我说什么了；他今晚的拜访太短暂了。但我想到了那个住在狭窄、被人瞧不起的街道上的老妇人。她只需一句话，泰晤士河边就会为她建起一座辉煌的房子 —— 只需一句话，那不勒斯湾就会为她准备好一座别墅。

“如果我离开这所简陋的房子，我儿子们的财富最初就是在这里开始绽放的，财富就会离开他们！” 这是一种迷信，但却是一种这样的迷信，知道这个故事、看到这幅画面的人，只需在画面下面写上两个字就能让他理解它；这两个字就是：“一位母亲。”

“If I deserted the lowly house, where the fortunes of my sons first began to bloom, fortune would desert them!” It was a superstition, but a superstition of such a class, that he who knows the story and has seen this picture, need have only two words placed under the picture to make him understand it; and these two words are: “A mother.”

第二十五个晚上

twENtY-FIFth EVENING

“那是昨天，在黎明的曙光中”—— 这是月亮告诉我的话 ——“在这座大城市里，还没有一个烟囱在冒烟 —— 而我正看着那些烟囱。”

“It was yesterday, in the morning twilight” — these are the words the moon told me— “in the great city no chimney was yet smoking — and it was just at the chimneys that I was looking.

突然，一个小脑袋从其中一个烟囱里冒了出来，接着是半个身子，胳膊撑在烟囱管帽的边缘上。“哟呵！哟呵！” 一个声音喊道。是那个小扫烟囱的人，他平生第一次爬过烟囱，在烟囱顶上探出了头。“哟呵！哟呵！” 没错，这和在黑暗狭窄的烟囱里爬来爬去可大不一样！空气如此清新，他可以俯瞰整个城市，一直望到那片绿色的树林。太阳刚刚升起。它又圆又大，正好照在他的脸上，他的脸上闪耀着胜利的光芒，尽管被烟灰弄得非常漂亮的漆黑。

“Suddenly a little head emerged from one of them, and then half a body, the arms resting on the rim of the chimney-pot. ‘Ya-hip! ya-hip!’ cried a voice. It was the little chimney-sweeper, who had for the first time in his life crept through a chimney, and stuck out his head at the top. ‘Ya-hip! ya-hip’ Yes, certainly that was a very different thing to creeping about in the dark narrow chimneys! the air blew so fresh, and he could look over the whole city towards the green wood. the sun was just rising. It shone round and great, just in his face, that beamed with triumph, though it was very prettily blacked with soot.

“‘现在全城的人都能看到我了。’他叫道，‘现在月亮能看到我了，太阳也能看到我了。哟呵！哟呵！’他得意洋洋地挥舞着扫帚。”

“‘the whole town can see me now,’ he exclaimed, ‘and the moon can see me now, and the sun too. Ya-hip! ya-hip!’ And he flourished his broom in triumph.”

第二十六个晚上

twENtY-SIxth EVENING

“昨晚我俯瞰着中国的一个城镇。” 月亮说。“我的光芒照在构成那里街道的光秃秃的墙壁上。当然，偶尔能看到一扇门，但门是锁着的，因为中国人在乎外面的世界干什么呢？房子墙壁后面的窗户都被紧闭的木百叶窗遮住了；但是从寺庙的窗户里透出一丝微弱的光。我向里望去，看到了里面古雅的装饰。从地板到天花板都画着画，颜色极其鲜艳，还镀着厚厚的金 —— 画的是众神在人间的功绩。”

“Last night I looked down upon a town in china,” said the moon. “my beams irradiated the naked walls that form the streets there. Now and then, certainly, a door is seen; but it is locked, for what does the chinaman care about the outer world? close wooden shutters covered the windows behind the walls of the houses; but through the windows of the temple a faint light glimmered. I looked in, and saw the quaint decorations within. From the floor to the ceiling pictures are painted, in the most glaring colours, and richly gilt — pictures representing the deeds of the gods here on earth.

每个壁龛里都摆放着雕像，但它们几乎完全被彩色的帷幔和垂下来的旗帜遮住了。在每一尊神像（它们都是锡制的）前都放着一个小圣水坛，上面摆着鲜花和燃烧的蜡烛。在所有神像之上的是佛祖，主要的神，穿着黄色的丝绸衣服，因为黄色在这里是神圣的颜色。在祭坛脚下坐着一个活人，一个年轻的牧师。他似乎在祈祷，但在祈祷的过程中，他似乎陷入了沉思，这一定是不对的，因为他的脸颊发红，他低下了头。可怜的苏鸿！也许他在梦想着在高墙后面的小花坛里干活吗？对他来说，这个活计似乎比在寺庙里看守蜡烛更让人愉快吗？或者他想坐在丰盛的宴席上，每道菜之间用银纸擦嘴吗？或者他的罪过如此之大，以至于如果他敢说出来，天朝会以死来惩罚他吗？他的思绪是不是冒险随着蛮夷的船只飞到了他们在遥远的英国的家呢？不，他的思绪没有飞得那么远，但它们仍然是有罪的，像年轻的心所产生的思绪一样有罪，在寺庙里，在佛祖和其他神圣的神面前是有罪的。

“In each niche statues are placed, but they are almost entirely hidden by the coloured drapery and the banners that hang down. before each idol (and they are all made of tin) stood a little altar of holy water, with flowers and burning wax lights on it. Above all the rest stood Fo, the chief deity, clad in a garment of yellow silk, for yellow is here the sacred colour. At the foot of the altar sat a living being, a young priest. he appeared to be praying, but in the midst of his prayer he seemed to fall into deep thought, and this must have been wrong, for his cheeks glowed and he held down his head. poor Soui-hong! was he, perhaps, dreaming of working in the little flower garden behind the high street wall? And did that occupation seem more agreeable to him than watching the wax lights in the temple? or did he wish to sit at the rich feast, wiping his mouth with silver paper between each course? or was his sin so great that, if he dared utter it, the celestial Empire would punish it with death? had his thoughts ventured to fly with the ships of the barbarians, to their homes in far distant England? No, his thoughts did not fly so far, and yet they were sinful, sinful as thoughts born of young hearts, sinful here in the temple, in the presence of Fo and the other holy gods.

“我知道他的思绪飘向了哪里。”

“I know whither his thoughts had strayed.

在城市的另一头，在铺着瓷器的平坦屋顶上，摆着绘有花朵的漂亮花瓶，美丽的璞坐在那里，她有调皮的小眼睛、饱满的嘴唇和小巧的脚。紧鞋让她脚疼，但她的心更疼。她优雅地抬起圆润的胳膊，她的绸缎衣服沙沙作响。在她面前放着一个玻璃碗，里面有四条金鱼。她用一根细长的漆棍小心地搅动着碗，动作非常缓慢，因为她也陷入了沉思。她是不是在想，也许，鱼儿身上的金装是多么华丽，它们在水晶般的世界里是多么平静安详地生活着，它们定期有人喂食，但如果它们是自由的，那该会多么幸福啊？是的，这一点她完全能理解，美丽的璞。她的思绪从家里飘走了，飘向了寺庙，但不是为了神圣的事物。可怜的璞！可怜的苏鸿！

“At the farther end of the city, on the flat roof paved with porcelain, on which stood the handsome vases covered with painted flowers, sat the beauteous pu, of the little roguish eyes, of the full lips, and of the tiny feet. the tight shoe pained her, but her heart pained her still more. She lifted her graceful round arm, and her satin dress rustled. before her stood a glass bowl containing four gold-fish. She stirred the bowl carefully with a slender lacquered stick, very slowly, for she, too, was lost in thought. was she thinking, perchance, how the fishes were richly clothed in gold, how they lived calmly and peacefully in their crystal world, how they were regularly fed, and yet how much happier they might be if they were free? Yes, that she could well understand, the beautiful pu. her thoughts wandered away from her home, wandered to the temple, but not for the sake of holy things. poor pu! poor Soui-hong!

“他们尘世的思绪相遇了，但我冰冷的光芒横在他们两人之间，就像天使之剑。”

“their earthly thoughts met, but my cold beam lay between the two, like the sword of the cherub.”

第二十七个晚上

twENtY-SEVENth EVENING

“空气宁静。” 月亮说，“水清澈得如同最纯净的以太，我在其中滑行，在水面下很深的地方，我能看到奇异的植物，它们像森林里的参天大树一样向我伸展着长长的手臂。鱼儿在它们的顶端游来游去。”

“the air was calm,” said the moon; “the water was transparent as the purest ether through which I was gliding, and deep below the surface I could see the strange plants that stretched up their long arms towards me like the gigantic trees of the forest. the fishes swam to and fro above their tops.

高空中一群野天鹅正在振翅飞翔，其中一只天鹅疲倦地扇动着翅膀，越飞越低，它的眼睛望着空中渐渐远去的雁群。它展开翅膀，缓缓降落，就像一个肥皂泡在静止的空气中下沉一样，直到触到水面。最后，它的头耷拉在翅膀中间，静静地躺在那里，像一朵白色的莲花漂浮在宁静的湖面上。一阵微风轻轻吹起，吹皱了平静的湖面，湖面闪烁着光芒，就像大片大片涌动的云朵；天鹅抬起头，闪烁着蓝色火焰般光芒的湖水溅落在它的胸脯和背上。黎明的曙光照亮了红色的云朵，天鹅振作起来，朝着初升的太阳飞去，朝着雁群飞去的蓝色海岸飞去；但它是孤独地飞翔，心中充满渴望。它孤独地飞越蓝色的波涛汹涌的大海。

“high in the air a flight of wild swans were winging their way, one of which sank lower and lower, with wearied pinions, his eyes following the airy caravan, that melted farther and farther into the distance. with outspread wings he sank slowly, as a soap bubble sinks in the still air, till he touched the water. At length his head lay back between his wings, and silently he lay there, like a white lotus flower upon the quiet lake. And a gentle wind arose, and crisped the quiet surface, which gleamed like the clouds that poured along in great broad waves; and the swan raised his head, and the glowing water splashed like blue fire over his breast and back. the morning dawn illuminated the red clouds, the swan rose strengthened, and flew towards the rising sun, towards the bluish coast whither the caravan had gone; but he flew alone, with a longing in his breast. Lonely he flew over the blue swelling billows.”

第二十八个晚上

twENtY-EIGhth EVENING

“我再给你一幅瑞典的画面。” 月亮说。“在幽暗的松林之中，靠近斯托克森河忧郁的河岸，坐落着古老的韦雷塔修道院教堂。我的光芒透过格栅照进宽敞的拱顶下，国王们在巨大的石棺中静静地长眠。在每一个坟墓上方的墙上，都挂着世俗荣耀的象征 —— 一顶王冠；但它只是用木头做成的，上了漆并镀了金，挂在一个钉在墙上的木钉上。”

“I will give you another picture of Sweden,” said the moon. “Among dark pine woods, near the melancholy banks of the Stoxen, lies the old convent church of wreta. my rays glided through the grating into the roomy vaults, where kings sleep tranquilly in great stone coffins. on the wall, above the grave of each, is placed the emblem of earthly grandeur, a kingly crown; but it is made only of wood, painted and gilt, and is hung on a wooden peg driven into the wall.

虫子咬噬着镀金的木头，蜘蛛从王冠上一直织到沙子里，织成了一张网，就像一面哀悼的旗帜，脆弱而短暂，如同凡人的悲伤。他们睡得多么安详！我还能清清楚楚地记得他们。我仍然能看到他们嘴唇上大胆的笑容，那笑容强烈而清晰地表达着喜悦或悲伤。当汽船像一只神奇的蜗牛在湖面上蜿蜒前行时，一个陌生人常常来到教堂，参观地下墓穴；他询问国王们的名字，那些名字听起来死气沉沉且被人遗忘。他微笑着瞥一眼被虫子蛀蚀的王冠，如果他恰好是一个虔诚、深思的人，那么一丝忧伤会与微笑交织在一起。睡吧，你们这些死者！月亮想着你们，夜晚的月亮把光芒洒向你们寂静的王国，在那里，一顶松木王冠高悬着。

“the worms have gnawed the gilded wood, the spider has spun her web from the crown down to the sand, like a mourning banner, frail and transient as the grief of mortals. how quietly they sleep! I can remember them quite plainly. I still see the bold smile on their lips, that so strongly and plainly expressed joy or grief. when the steamboat winds along like a magic snail over the lakes, a stranger often es to the church, and visits the burial vault; he asks the names of the kings, and they have a dead and forgotten sound. he glances with a smile at the worm-eaten crowns, and if he happens to be a pious, thoughtful man, something of melancholy mingles with the smile. Slumber on, ye dead ones! the moon thinks of you, the moon at night sends down his rays into your silent kingdom, over which hangs the crown of pine wood.”

第二十九个晚上

twENtY-NINth EVENING

“靠近大路的地方，” 月亮说，“有一家客栈，对面是一个很大的马车棚，它的草顶正在重新铺盖。我从光秃秃的椽子中间向下看，透过敞开的阁楼看到下面不舒服的空间。火鸡栖息在横梁上，马鞍放在空的马槽里。在棚子中央停着一辆旅行马车；车主在里面睡得很沉，而马正在喝水。马车夫伸了个懒腰，尽管我很确定在上一段路程的一半时间里他睡得非常舒服。”

“close by the high-road,” said the moon, “is an inn, and opposite to it is a great waggon-shed, whose straw roof was just being re-thatched. I looked down between the bare rafters and through the open loft into the fortless space below. the turkey-cock slept on the beam, and the saddle rested in the empty crib. In the middle of the shed stood a travelling carriage; the proprietor was inside, fast asleep, while the horses were being watered. the coachman stretched himself, though I am very sure that he had been most fortably asleep half the last stage.

仆人的房间门敞开着，床看起来好像被翻来覆去折腾过；蜡烛立在地上，已经烧到烛台深处了。风冷冷地吹过车棚：现在离黎明比离午夜更近了。在地上的木框里，一家流浪的乐师正在睡觉。父亲和母亲似乎在梦见瓶子里剩下的烈酒。脸色苍白的小女儿也在做梦，因为她的眼睛里含着泪水。竖琴放在他们头边，狗伸展着身子躺在他们脚边。

“the door of the servants’ room stood open, and the bed looked as if it had been turned over and over; the candle stood on the floor, and had burnt deep down into the socket. the wind blew cold through the shed: it was nearer to the dawn than to midnight. In the wooden frame on the ground slept a wandering family of musicians. the father and mother seemed to be dreaming of the burning liquor that remained in the bottle. the little pale daughter was dreaming too, for her eyes were wet with tears. the harp stood at their heads, and the dog lay stretched at their feet.”

第三十个晚上

thIRtIEth EVENING

“那是在一个小省城，” 月亮说，“肯定是去年发生的事，但那与此事无关。我看得清清楚楚。今天我在报纸上看到了这件事，但报纸上说得没这么清楚。在小客栈的酒吧间里，驯熊人坐着吃他的晚饭；熊被拴在外面，木柴堆后面 —— 可怜的布鲁因，它谁也没伤害，尽管它看起来够凶的。在阁楼里，三个小孩子借着我的光在玩耍；最大的也许六岁，最小的肯定不到两岁。‘噔噔噔’—— 有人上楼来了：会是谁呢？门被猛地推开 —— 是布鲁因，那只大而毛茸茸的布鲁因！它在院子里等得不耐烦了，就找到了上楼的路。‘我全看见了。’月亮说。”

“It was in a little provincial town,” the moon said; “it certainly happened last year, but that has nothing to do with the matter. I saw it quite plainly. to-day I read about it in the papers, but there it was not half so clearly expressed. In the taproom of the little inn sat the bear leader, eating his supper; the bear was tied up outside, behind the wood pile — poor bruin, who did nobody any harm, though he looked grim enough. Up in the garret three little children were playing by the light of my beams; the eldest was perhaps six years old, the youngest certainly not more than two. ‘tramp, tramp’ — somebody was ing upstairs: who might it be? the door was thrust open — it was bruin, the great, shaggy bruin! he had got tired of waiting down in the courtyard, and had found his way to the stairs. I saw it all,” said the moon.

孩子们一开始很害怕这只毛茸茸的大动物；他们每个人都爬进一个角落，但它把他们都找了出来，闻了闻他们，却没有伤害他们。“这一定是一只大狗。” 他们说，然后开始抚摸它。它躺在地上，最小的男孩爬到它背上，垂下一头金色的卷发小脑袋，玩起了藏在这只野兽毛茸茸的皮毛里的游戏。不一会儿，最大的男孩拿起他的鼓，敲得鼓又响了起来；熊用后腿站了起来，开始跳舞。这是一幅迷人的景象。现在每个男孩都拿起了他的枪，熊也必须有一把，它把枪举得非常端正。他们找到了一个很棒的玩伴；他们开始行进 —— 一、二；一、二。

“the children were very much frightened at first at the great shaggy animal; each of them crept into a corner, but he found them all out, and smelt at them, but did them no harm. ‘this must be a great dog,’ they said, and began to stroke him. he lay down upon the ground, the youngest boy clambered on his back, and bending down a little head of golden curls, played at hiding in the beast’s shaggy skin. presently the eldest boy took his drum, and beat upon it till it rattled again; the bear rose upon his hind legs, and began to dance. It was a charming sight to behold. Each boy now took his gun, and the bear was obliged to have one too, and he held it up quite properly. here was a capital playmate they had found; and they began marching — one, two; one, two.

“突然有人来到门口，门开了，孩子们的母亲出现了。你应该看看她那无声的恐惧，她的脸像粉笔一样苍白，嘴半张着，眼睛惊恐地盯着。但最小的男孩兴高采烈地向她点点头，用他幼稚的咿呀声喊道：‘我们在玩当兵的游戏。’然后驯熊人跑了过来。”

“Suddenly some one came to the door, which opened, and the mother of the children appeared. You should have seen her in her dumb terror, with her face as white as chalk, her mouth half open, and her eyes fixed in a horrified stare. but the youngest boy nodded to her in great glee, and called out in his infantile prattle, ‘we’re playing at soldiers.’ And then the bear leader came running up.”

第三十一个晚上

thIRtY-FIRSt EVENING

风猛烈而寒冷地吹着，云朵匆匆飘过；只有偶尔月亮才会露一下脸。他说：“我从寂静的天空俯瞰着疾驰的云朵，看到巨大的阴影在大地上相互追逐。”

“the wind blew stormy and cold, the clouds flew hurriedly past; only for a moment now and then did the moon bee visible. he said, ‘I looked down from the silent sky upon the driving clouds, and saw the great shadows chasing each other across the earth.’

我望着一座监狱。一辆封闭的马车停在它前面；一个囚犯要被带走。我的光芒透过带栅栏的窗户照向墙壁；囚犯在墙上划了几行字，作为离别的记号；但他写的不是字，而是一段旋律，是他内心的倾诉。门打开了，他被带了出来，眼睛盯着我的圆盘。云朵在我们之间飘过，仿佛他看不到自己的脸，我也看不到他的脸。他上了马车，门关上了，鞭子一响，马疾驰进茂密的森林，我的光芒无法追随他；但当我透过带栅栏的窗户看过去时，我的光芒照在那些音符上，那是他留在监狱墙上的最后告别 —— 言语无法表达之处，声音常常能诉说。我的光芒只能照亮孤立的音符，所以写在那里的大部分内容对我来说将永远是黑暗的。他在那里写的是死亡赞美诗吗？这些是欢快的音符吗？他是去赴死，还是奔向他心爱的人的怀抱？月亮的光芒读不懂人类所写的一切。

“I looked upon a prison. A closed carriage stood before it; a prisoner was to be carried away. my rays pierced through the grated window towards the wall; the prisoner was scratching a few lines upon it, as a parting token; but he did not write words, but a melody, the outpouring of his heart. the door was opened, and he was led forth, and fixed his eyes upon my round disc. clouds passed between us, as if he were not to see his face, nor I his. he stepped into the carriage, the door was closed, the whip cracked, and the horses gallopped off into the thick forest, whither my rays were not able to follow him; but as I glanced through the grated window, my rays glided over the notes, his last farewell engraved on the prison wall — where words fail, sounds can often speak. my rays could only light up isolated notes, so the greater part of what was written there will ever remain dark to me. was it the death-hymn he wrote there? were these the glad notes of joy? did he drive away to meet death, or hasten to the embraces of his beloved? the rays of the moon do not read all that is written by mortals.”

第三十二个晚上

thIRtY-SEcoNd EVENING

“我爱孩子们，” 月亮说，“尤其是非常小的孩子们 —— 他们是那么滑稽。有时，当他们没想到我的时候，我会从窗帘和窗框之间向房间里窥视。看到他们穿衣服和脱衣服让我很开心。”

“I love the children,” said the moon, “especially the quite little ones — they are so droll. Sometimes I peep into the room, between the curtain and the window frame, when they are not thinking of me. It gives me pleasure to see them dressing and undressing.

首先，圆润的小裸肩从衣服里慢慢露出来，接着是胳膊；或者我看到袜子是怎么被脱下来的，一条胖乎乎的小白腿露了出来，还有一只适合被亲吻的小白脚，我也亲吻了它。

“但是关于我正要告诉你的事情。今晚我透过一扇窗户往里看，窗前没有拉窗帘，因为对面没有人住。我看到一整群小孩子，都是一家人，其中有一个小妹妹。她只有四岁，但祷告起来和其他孩子一样好。母亲每天晚上坐在她的床边，听她祷告；然后她得到一个吻，母亲坐在床边，直到小宝贝睡着，通常她一闭上眼睛就睡着了。

“今晚两个大一点的孩子有点闹。一个穿着长长的白色睡衣单脚跳着，另一个站在椅子上，周围都是孩子们的衣服，宣称他在扮演希腊雕像。第三个和第四个孩子小心地把干净的亚麻布放进盒子里，因为这是必须要做的事情；母亲坐在最小的孩子的床边，告诉其他所有孩子要安静，因为小妹妹要祷告了。

“我越过灯往里看，看到小姑娘的床上，她躺在整洁的白色被单下，双手端庄地叠放在一起，小脸十分严肃庄重。”

“First, the little round naked shoulder es creeping out of the frock, then the arm; or I see how the stocking is drawn off, and a plump little white leg makes its appearance, and a white little foot that is fit to be kissed, and I kiss it too.

“but about what I was going to tell you. this evening I looked through a window, before which no curtain was drawn, for nobody lives opposite. I saw a whole troop of little ones, all of one family, and among them was a little sister. She is only four years old, but can say her prayers as well as any of the rest. the mother sits by her bed every evening, and hears her say her prayers; and then she has a kiss, and the mother sits by the bed till the little one has gone to sleep, which generally happens as soon as ever she can close her eyes.

“this evening the two elder children were a little boisterous. one of them hopped about on one leg in his long white nightgown, and the other stood on a chair surrounded by the clothes of all the children, and declared he was acting Grecian statues. the third and fourth laid the clean linen carefully in the box, for that is a thing that has to be done; and the mother sat by the bed of the youngest, and announced to all the rest that they were to be quiet, for little sister was going to say her prayers.

“I looked in, over the lamp, into the little maiden’s bed, where she lay under the neat white coverlet, her hands folded demurely and her little face quite grave and serious.

她正在大声地背诵主祷文。但她的母亲在她祷告到一半的时候打断了她。“这是怎么回事，” 她问道，“当你为每日的面包祈祷完后，你总是加上一些我不明白的话？你必须告诉我那是什么。” 小女孩静静地躺着，尴尬地看着她的母亲。“你在为我们的每日面包祈祷完后说了什么？”“亲爱的妈妈，别生气：我只是说，还要有很多黄油在上面。”

“She was praying the Lord’s prayer aloud. but her mother interrupted her in the middle of her prayer. ‘how is it,’ she asked, ‘that when you have prayed for daily bread, you always add something I cannot understand? You must tell me what that is.’ the little one lay silent, and looked at her mother in embarrassment. ‘what is it you say after our daily bread?’ ‘dear mother, don’t be angry: I only said, and plenty of butter on it.’”