Margery heard her mother calling her, and she trudged home across the shells and pebbles with a pleasant smile dimpling her cheeks;
瑪芝莉聽到媽媽在叫她,于是穿過布滿貝殼和鵝卵石的岸邊磕磕絆絆地往家里走。一絲滿足的微笑浮現(xiàn)在她臉上,
for she felt very much at home in this large, wonderful world,
因為她在這個很大很奇妙的世界里感覺非常自由自在,
and was happy to be alive, although she neither could have told, nor cared to know, the reason why.
也非常高興能夠活著,雖然她從來說不清為什么,也不在乎。
But when her mother unpinned the little girl's Highland shawl,
但當媽媽解開小女孩的格子斗篷,
and took off her hood, she said, O mother, do let me live on the doorstep! I don't like houses to stay in.
摘下她的帽子時,她說:“哦,媽媽,讓我住在門口吧!我不喜歡住在屋子里。
What makes everything so pretty and so glad? Don't you like to wonder?
是什么讓一切如此美麗,如此美好?難道您不好奇嗎?
Margery's mother was a good woman.
瑪芝莉的媽媽是個善良的人。
But then there was all the housework to do, and, if she had thoughts,
但所有的家務(wù)都要她做,只要她能想到,
she did not often let them wander outside of the kitchen door.
通常就不讓他們在廚房外晃悠。
And just now she was baking some gingerbread, which was in danger of getting burned in the oven.
剛才她正在烤箱里烤一些姜餅,眼看就有著火的危險了。
So she pinned the shawl around the child's neck again, and left her on the doorstep,
所以她又把斗篷系在了孩子脖子上,把她放在門外臺階上。
saying to herself, as she returned to her work, "Queer child! I wonder what kind of a woman she will be!"
回去繼續(xù)干活時她自言自語地說:“好奇怪的孩子!我很好奇她會變成什么樣的女人。”
But Margery sat on the doorstep, and wondered, as the sea sounded louder, and the sunshine grew warmer around her.
但瑪芝莉坐在臺階上,思考著,大海的聲音更響了,更溫暖的陽光包圍著她。
It was all so strange, and grand, and beautiful!
一切都那么奇特,那么宏大,那么美麗!
Her heart danced with joy to the music that went echoing through the wide world from the roots of the sprouting grass to the great golden blossom of the sun.
從發(fā)芽的草根到太陽開出的金色花朵,這樣的音樂回響在浩淼的世界里,而她的心便隨著這音樂歡快地舞動著。
And when the round, gray eyes closed that night, at the first peep of the stars, the angels looked down and wondered over Margery.
那天夜里,當灰色的大圓眼睛閉上時,天使們伴隨星星的出現(xiàn)低下頭驚奇地看著瑪芝莉。
For the wisdom of the wisest being God has made, ends in wonder;
因為上帝創(chuàng)造出的最聰明的生物的智慧在驚奇中結(jié)束。
and there is nothing on earth so wonderful as the budding soul of a little child.
世界上沒有比小孩子萌芽的心靈更偉大的東西了。