LESSON 65

MARY DOW

玛丽·道

1．"Come in, little stranger," I said,

As she tapped at my half-open door;

While the blanket^〔1〕, pinned over her head,

Just reached to the basket she bore.

2．A look full of innocence fell

From her modest and pretty blue eye,

As she said, "I have matches^〔2〕 to sell,

And hope you are willing to buy.

3．"A penny^〔3〕 a bunch is the price,

I think you'll not find it too much;

They are tied up so even and nice,

And ready to light with a touch."

4．I asked, "What's your name, little girl?"

"'Tis Mary," said she, "Mary Dow;”

And carelessly tossed off a curl,

That played on her delicate^〔4〕 brow.

5．"My father was lost on the deep;

The ship never got to the shore;

And mother is sad, and will weep,

To hear the wind blow and sea roar.

6．"She sits there at home, without food,

Beside our poor, sick Willy's bed;

She paid all her money for wood,

And so I sell matches for bread.

7．"I'd go to the yard and get chips,

But then it would make me too sad

To see the men building the ships,

And think they had made one so bad.

8．"But God, I am sure, who can take

Such fatherly care of a bird,

Will never forget nor forsake^〔5〕

The children who trust in his word.

9．"And now, if I only can sell

The matches I brought out to-day,

I think I shall do very well,

And we shall rejoice at the pay."

10．"Fly home, little bird," then I thought,

"Fly home, full of joy, to your nest;”

For I took all the matches she brought,

And Mary may tell you the rest.

【中文阅读】

1．当她轻轻叩响我那半开的门扇，

“请进，小陌生人，”我开口，

别在她头上的布毯，

垂落到她手中的篮子里。

2．她的蓝色眼睛美丽而害羞，

投向我的眼神天真可爱，

她说：“我有一些火柴出售，

希望您愿意购买。”

3．“一把火柴只要一便士，

我想这个价钱您不会觉得很高；

火柴捆得整整齐齐，

轻轻一擦就能点着。”

4．我问她：“你叫什么名字，小姑娘？”

“我叫玛丽。”她说，“姓陶，名叫玛丽。”

一缕卷发随意滑落脸上，

在她精致的额前嬉戏。

5．“我父亲的船没能回到岸边，

他消失在海的深处；

只要一听见海风海浪的声音，

伤心的母亲就会哭。”

6．“她守在可怜的威利病床边，

整天在家里吃不下饭；

她买木柴就花了所有的钱，

所以为了面包我才出来卖火柴。”

7．“我愿意到院场上捡拾碎木片，

可是那会让我非常伤心，

因为我会见到工人在造船，

想起曾经有过一艘坏船夺走了父亲，”

8．“可是上帝，我深信不疑，

能给予小鸟慈父般呵护的上帝，

永远不会忘记，也不会放弃，

信赖他每一句话的孩子。”

9．“现在，只要我能卖掉，

今天带出来的这些火柴，

我想我会做得很好，

挣的钱会让我们感到愉快。”

10．“飞回家吧，小鸟儿，”后来我在心里独白，

“飞回家，满怀欢乐，飞回你的巢里。”

因为我买下了她所有的火柴，

剩下的事情也许玛丽会告诉你。

注释

〔1〕Blanket, a square of loosely woven woolen cloth.

〔2〕Matches,small splints of wood, one end of which has been dipped in a preparation which will take fire by rubbing.

〔3〕Penny, cent.

〔4〕Delicate, soft and fair.

〔5〕Forsake, leave, reject.