The magical mustard seed

神奇的芥籽

A woman's only son died. In her grief, she went to the holy man and asked,

一个女人的独生子死了。她非常伤心地找到神父问:

What prayers, what magical incantations do you have to bring my son back to life?

有什么样的祷告或者魔咒可以让我的儿子死而复生呢?

Instead of sending her away or reasoning with her, he said to her, Fetch me a mustard seed from a home that has never known sorrow.

神父没有把她赶走也没有和她讲道理，而是说:你去一个从来没有过痛苦的家庭给我找一枚神奇的芥籽来，

We will use it to drive the sorrow out of your life.

我要用它来赶走你的悲伤。

The woman went off at once in search of that magical mustard seed.

女人立刻踏上寻找神奇芥籽的道路。

She came first to a splendid mansion, knocked at the door, and said, I am looking for a home that has never known sorrow.

她先来到一座壮丽的公馆前，敲门问道:我在寻找一个从来没有痛苦的家庭，

Is this such a place?

这是我要找的地方吗?

It is very important to me.

这对我非常地重要。

They told her, You've certainly come to the wrong place,and began to describe all the tragic things that recently had befallen them.

公馆里的人告诉她:毫无疑问，你找错地方了。然后他们开始讲述起最近发生在他们身上的悲剧。

The woman said to herself, Who is better able to help these poor,unfortunate people than I, who have had misfortune of my own?

女人自己想:谁还能比我这个经历过这样悲痛的人更好地帮助这些可怜悲惨的人呢?

She stayed to comfort them, and then went on in search of a home that had never known sorrow.

她留下来安慰他们，然后又继续寻找从来没有过痛苦的家庭了。

But wherever she turned, in hotels and in other places, she found one tale after another of sadness and misfortune.

但是不论她去哪里，她找到的却只是一个又一个悲惨伤心的故事。

The woman became so involved in helping others cope with their sorrows that she eventually let go of her own.

女人尽心地帮助别人解决他们的伤心事，最终忘记了自己的悲痛。

She would later come to understand that it was the quest to find the magical mustard seed that drove away her suffering.

她渐渐明白了，真是她寻找神奇芥籽的过程，让她摆脱了自己的悲痛。