天堂飘来的叶子

1、天堂飘来的叶子A LEAF FROM HEAVEN（安徒生著余显文译）HIGH up in the clear, pure air flew an angel, with a flower plucked from the garden of heaven. As he was kissing the flower a very little leaf fell from it and sunk down into the soft earth in the middle of a wood. It immediately took root, sprouted, and sent out s

2、hoots among the other plants.一个天使拿着一束采自天堂的花，高高地飞翔在清澈明净的天空中。在他亲吻花瓣的时候，一片小叶子掉了下来，落到林中肥沃松软的泥土里，叶子即刻生根，发芽，在灌木丛中伸出幼嫩的枝条。What a ridiculous little shoot! said one. No one will recognizeit; not even the thistle nor thestinging nettle.可是有声音说道：“好可笑的枝条啊！没人会喜欢的，就连蓟和刺人的荨麻也不堪与之为伍的。”It must be a kind of garden pla

3、nt, said another; and so theysneered and despised the plant as a thing from a garden.马上有声音附和： “这肯定是来自花园的另类。”于是，“这另类”便受到大家的嘲笑和蔑视。1Where are you coming? said the tall thistles whose leaves were all armed with thorns. It is stupid nonsense to allow yourself to shoot out in this way; we are not here to

4、support you. “你从哪里来？”蓟问道，蓟是一种高大的植物，叶子上布满了小刺。 “你在这里生根发芽简直愚蠢，注定没人喜欢你的。”Winter came, and the plant was covered with snow, but the snowglittered over it as if it had sunshine beneath as well asabove. When spring came, the plant appeared in full bloom: a more beautiful object than any other plant in the

5、forest. And now the professor of botany presented himself, one who could explain his knowledge in black and white. He examined and tested the plant, but it did not belong to his system of botany, nor could he possibly find out to what class it did belong. It must be some degenerate species, said he;

6、 I do not know it, and it is not mentioned in any system. 冬天来了，雪盖住了它，还结出冰来，那叶子长出的植物便显得晶莹剔透，通体发光。春天到了，它开出绚烂的花来，美得让林子里所有的植物都相形见绌。这时，林子里来了一位植物学家，他是一位对植物学了如指掌的人。他细细地观察测量，却发现这株植物并不属于他所熟知的植物学范畴，也不知道该把它归属到哪个科类。“这肯定是一种退化的物种，”他说，“我不认识它，也未见它在植物分类体系中被提及过。”2Not known in any system! repeated the thistles and the

7、 nettles. The large trees which grew round it saw the plant and heard the remarks, but they said not a word either good or bad, which is the wisest plan for those who are ignorant .“名不见经传！”蓟和荨麻赶紧附和。听到这些议论，长在这株植物周围的古木，却一言不发，未置可否。其实，这才是对未知事物最明智的办法。There passed through the forest a poor innocent girl;

8、her heart was pure, and her understanding increased by her faith. Her chief inheritance had been an old Bible, which she read and valued. From its pages she heard the voice of God speaking to her, and telling her to remember what was said of Josephs brethren when persons wished to injure her. They i

9、magined evil in their hearts, but God turned it to good. If we suffer wrongfully, if we are misunderstood or despised, we must think of Him who was pure and holy, and who prayed for those who nailed Him to the cross, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. 一位天真的女孩从林中走过。她心地纯朴，她的信仰引领着她逐渐懂

10、事。她主要的知识都源自她读过而且深爱的旧约。在它的字里行间，她听到上帝和她对话的声音，上帝告诉她，有人要伤害她时，一定要记住圣经 中说过的关于约瑟兄弟的话。“他们心中有邪恶， 但上帝却把他们心中的恶魔变成了善类。” 如3果我们未被善待，遭受误解，被人轻视，我们务必要想到圣洁的主，他被人钉到十字架上，却反过来为那些人祈祷。“主饶恕他们，因为他们对自己的所作所为无知。”The girl stood still before the wonderful plant, for the greenleaves exhaled a sweet and refreshing fragrance, and t

11、he flowersglittered and sparkled in the sunshine like colored flames, and theharmony of sweet sounds lingered round them as if eachconcealedwithin itself a deep fountof melody, which thousands ofyears could not exhaust. With pious gratitude the girl looked upon this glorious work of God, and bent do

12、wn over one of the branches, that she might examine the flower and inhale the sweet perfume. Then a light broke in on her mind, and her heart expanded. Gladly would she have plucked a flower, but she could not overcome her reluctance to break one off. She knew it would so soon fade; so she took only

13、 a single green leaf, carried it home, and laid it in her Bible, where it remained ever green, fresh, and unfading. Between the pages of the Bible it still lay when, a few weeks afterwards, that Bible was laid under the young girls head in her coffin. A holy calm rested on her face, as if the earthl

14、y remains bore the impress of the truth that she now stood in the presence of God.女孩静静地站在那株神奇的植物面前，因为她的绿叶散发出甜甜的沁人心脾的芳香，它的花瓣在阳光下闪烁，犹如五彩的火4苗。那宜人的芳香弥漫在周围的每个角落里，仿佛它体内隐匿着千年不竭的芬芳的源泉。心怀虔诚和感激，女孩仰视着上帝辉煌的杰作；然后她俯身到一根枝条上，细细地欣赏着花瓣，慢慢吸入那甜甜的香味。突然，她的脑子里闪过一道亮光，感觉浑身血脉贲张。要是能采朵花该多好啊！但是，她又不愿折断它。她想，花很快就会褪色的，于是她只摘了片叶子带回家，

15、放到她的圣经里，在书页里叶子依然翠绿鲜嫩，色泽不衰。几周以后，女孩去了天堂，她躺在棺材里，圣经枕在她的头下，书页间依然夹着那片叶子。女孩的脸圣洁而平静，她那尘世的躯体仿佛在昭示她已站在上帝的面前。In the forest the wonderful plant still continued to bloom till it grew and became almost a tree, and all the birds of passage bowed themselves before it.林中，那株神奇的植物依然开着鲜花，直到它长成一棵小树，过往的鸟儿都向它鞠躬致意。That pla

16、nt is a foreigner, no doubt, said the thistles and the burdocks. We can never conduct ourselves like that in this country. And the black forest snails actually spat at the flower.“毫无疑问，这家伙与我们格格不入。”蓟和牛蒡说， “在这个国度里，我们绝不像它那样招摇。”林子里的黑蜗牛也朝那花吐唾沫。5Then came the swineherd；he was collecting thistles and shrub

17、s to burn them for the ashes. He pulled up the wonderful plant, roots and all, and placed it in his bundle. This will be as useful as any, he said; so the plant was carried away.这时，一个猪倌走了过来。他正在采集蓟和杂木，烧制炭灰。他连根拔起那株植物，捆到柴禾里。猪倌说，“让这家伙像其它东西一样也起点作用。”就这样，那株植物被弄走了。Not long after, the king of the country suf

18、fered from the deepestmelancholy . He was diligent and industrious, but employment didhim no good. They read deep and learned books to him, and then thelightest and most triflingthat could be found, but all to nopurpose.Then they applied for advice to one of the wise men of theworld, and he sent the

19、m a message to say that there was one remedywhich would relieve and cure him, and that it was a plant of heavenlyorigin which grew in the forest in the kings own dominions. Themessenger described the flower so that its appearance could not bemistaken.过了不久，国王感到忧郁寡欢，并因此受尽折磨。国王原本勤政勤勉， 但大臣们一无是处。他们给国王诵读学

20、问深奥的书籍，所获却微不足道，毫无用处。于是，他们便向世上的一位智者/圣人求教。圣人回话说，有一方可以减轻或治愈国王所患之病，6那就是找到那株来自天堂，生长在国王领地里的植物。信使详细描述了那种花，以使人们对它的外貌了然于心。Then said the swineherd, I am afraid I carried this plant away from the forest in my bundle, and it has been burnt to ashes long ago. But I did not know any better. 这时猪倌说话了， “恐怕我已把它捆在柴禾里从

21、林中弄走了。它已早被化为灰烬。 不过当时， 我和你们一样， 对此一无所知啊。 ”You did not know, any better! Ignorance upon ignorance indeed!“你和我们一样一无所知？简直愚昧之极！”The poor swineherd took these words to heart, for they were addressed to him; he knew that there were not others who were equally ignorant. Not even a leaf of the plant could be

22、found. There was one, but it lay in the coffin of the dead; no one knew anything about it.可怜的猪倌只得忍受这些话，这些话是对他而说，他也知道世上没有谁比他更无知。结果，一片叶子也没有找的。倒是有一片，不过它在死去女孩的棺材里，可是，谁知道呢？Then the king, in his melancholy, wandered out to the spot in the wood. Here is where the plant stood, he said; it is a sacred place. Then he ordered