第4章 LITTLE JIM 小吉姆

The cottage was a thatched one,

The outside old and mean;

Yet everything within that cot

Was wondrous neat and clean.

The night was dark and stormy,

The wind was howling wild;

A patient mother knelt beside

The deathbed of her child:

A little worn-out creature—

His once bright eyes grown dim;

He was a collier's only child—

They called him little Jim.

And oh, to see the briny tears

Fast hurrying down her cheek,

As she offered up a prayer in thought;

She was afraid to speak,

Lest she might waken one she loved

Far better than her life;

For there was all a mother's love

In that poor collier's wife.

With hands uplifted, see, she kneels

Beside the suff'rer's bed;

And prays that He will spare her boy

And take herself instead!

She gets her answer from the child;

Soft fell these words from him:

“Mother, the angels do so smile,

And beckon little Jim!”

“I have no pain, dear mother, now;

But oh, I am so dry!

Just moisten poor Jim's lips again;

And, mother, don't you cry.”

With gentle, trembling haste she held

The tea-cup to his lips;

He smiled, to thank her, as he took

Three tiny little sips.

“Tell father, when he comes from work,

I said good-night to him;

And, mother, now I'll go to sleep”—

Alas! poor little Jim!

She saw that he was dying—

The child she loved so dear

Had uttered the last words that she

Might ever hope to hear.

The cottage door was opened,

The collier's step was heard;

The mother and the father met,

Yet neither spoke a word!

He knew that all was over—

He knew his child was dead;

He took the candle in his hand,

And walked towards the bed.

His quivering lips gave token

Of grief he'd fain conceal;

And see! his wife has joined him—

The stricken couple kneel!

With hearts bowed down with sadness,

They humbly ask of Him,

In heaven once more to meet again

Their own poor little Jim.

—Edward Farmer

Questions

Where was the mother kneeling? In what state was the boy? Why did she offer up her prayer in thought? From whom did she get her answer? What were Jim's last words? What did his mother do when he came in? What did both father and mother then do?

Pronunciation

cot'-tage col'-lier an'-swer ut'-tered coup'-le

ev'-er-y-thing hur'-ry-ing trem'-bling nei'-ther up-lift'-ed

storm'-y pray'-er dy'-ing hum'-bly an'-gels

Write

patient uttered couple

moisten neither stricken

hurrying trembling quivering

小屋外罩着茅草，

屋外又旧又简陋，

但是屋里的一切

是多么整洁干净。

黑夜里暴风雨肆虐，

风在咆哮，

一位坚忍的母亲跪在床边，

她孩子的病榻上。

一个可怜的小生命——

他曾经明亮的眼睛变得暗淡；

他是一位矿工的独子——

人们叫他小吉姆。

啊，那咸咸的泪水

快速从她脸颊上滑落。

她默默祷告，

不敢说话。

她唯恐惊醒深爱的孩子，

她爱这孩子胜过爱自己的生命。

这个穷矿工的妻子，

拥有一个母亲对孩子所有的爱。

看，她抬起胳膊，

跪在这个可怜的小生命的床边；

祈祷上帝不要把她的孩子带走，

她愿意用自己的性命换回孩子！

她听到了孩子的回答，

那声音是如此轻柔：

“妈妈，天使真的会微笑，

他们召唤着小吉姆！”

“我现在一点都不痛，亲爱的妈妈，

但是，啊，我口好渴！

再一次滋润可怜的小吉姆的嘴唇吧；

妈妈，不要哭啊！”

她轻轻地、颤颤巍巍地，

马上把茶杯送到他的嘴边，

他微笑地说声谢谢，

吮吸了三小口水。

“爸爸下班回来的时候告诉他，

说我和他道声晚安；

妈妈，我要睡觉了”——

唉！可怜的小吉姆！

她看着孩子的生命被慢慢地夺走——

这个她深深爱着的孩子，

说出了最后的几句话，

最后几句她可能希望听到的话。

小屋的门开了，

矿工的脚步声响起了；

孩子的爸爸和妈妈见面了，

但是他们谁都没有说一句话！

他知道一切都结束了——

他知道他的孩子死去了；

他手里拿着蜡烛，

走向床边。

他强掩着悲痛，

但颤抖的嘴唇却将他出卖；

看哪！他的妻子也和他一样——

这对悲痛的夫妇跪在床边！

他们痛苦又悲伤，

他们谦卑地向上帝祈求，

在天堂再次见到

他们家可怜的小吉姆！

-爱德华·法默