天真与经验之歌:第7篇 扫烟囱的孩子

 　　The Chimney-sweeper 扫烟囱的孩子

　　When my mother died I was very young, 我母亲死的时候我还很小，

　　And my father sold me while yet my tongue 我父亲就卖了我，那时我还不会叫，

　　Could scarcely cry 'Weep! weep! weep! weep!' 简直没有一声哭哭啼啼，

　　So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot¹ I sleep. 就这样扫你的烟囱、睡在煤灰堆里。

　　There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head, 有个小汤姆·戴克他的鬈发像羊羔，

　　That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved; so I said, 给他剃头时他哭声号啕，

　　'Hush², Tom! never mind it, for, when your head's bare, 我就说汤姆你别吵，别在乎头剃光，

　　You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair.' 你要知道煤灰就不会再把你银发弄脏。

　　And so he was quiet, and that very night, 于是他安静下来，就在那天夜间，

　　As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight! 汤姆正在睡觉，他居然看见

　　That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack³, 成千上万的扫烟囱小孩狄克、乔、奈德和贾克

　　Were all of them locked up in coffins⁴ of black. 都被关进了漆黑的棺材里，还上了锁，

　　And by came an angel, who had a bright key, 这时来了个天使拿着一把亮亮的钥匙，

　　And he opened the coffins, and set them all free; 他把棺材打开、把他们全都开释

　　Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing, they run 然后他们跑下绿绿的平原欢蹦乱跳，

　　And wash in a river, and shine in the sun. 在河里洗澡、在阳光里闪耀。

　　Then naked and white, all their bags left behind, 赤条条的洗得白白，他们把口袋留下，

　　They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind: 升上了云端，在风中戏耍。

　　And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy, 天使告诉汤姆，如桌他做个乖小孩，

　　He'd have God for his father, and never want joy. 上帝就会做他的父亲，永远乐开怀。

　　And so Tom awoke, and we rose in the dark, 汤姆醒来了，我们就摸黑起身，

　　And got with our bags and our brushes to work. 拿着我们的口袋和刷子去上工。

　　Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm: 尽管早晨挺冷，汤姆却暖和又开心。

　　So, if all do their duty, they need not fear harm. 大家都尽本分，他们无需怕灾祸降临。

1 soot   

n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟

参考例句：

• Soot is the product of the imperfect combustion of fuel.煤烟是燃料不完全燃烧的产物。
• The chimney was choked with soot.烟囱被煤灰堵塞了。

2 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

3 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

4 coffins   

n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物

参考例句：

• The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热，空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句
• Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里，捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白