“My sweet，darling mother.”she heard the child say.It was the wellknown，beloved voice，and kiss followed kiss，in boundless delight.Then the child pointed to the dark curtain.“There is nothing so beautiful on earth as it is here.Mother，do you not see them all？Oh，it is happiness indeed.”
“我亲爱的妈妈！生我养我的妈妈！”她听到她的孩子这样喊。这声音是那么熟悉，那么亲热。她在无比的幸福中把他吻了又吻。孩子指着那个黑色的帘子。“人世间不可能这么美丽！妈妈，你瞧！你看见它们了吧！这就是幸福呀！”
But the mother saw nothing of what the child pointed out，only the dark curtain.She looked with earthly eyes，and could not see as the child saw—he whom God has called to be with Himself.She could hear the sounds of music，but she heard not the words，the Word in which she was to trust.
但母亲什么也没有看见。在她看来，孩子所指的那块地方，除了黑夜之外，什么也没有。她用人间的眼睛，看不见这个被上帝亲自召去了的孩子所能瞧见的东西。她只能听到音乐的声调，可是分辨不出其中的字句——她应该相信的字句。
“I can fly now，mother，”said the child，“I can fly with other happy children into the presence of the Almighty.I would fain fly away now，but if you weep for me as you are weeping now，you may never see me again.And yet I would go so gladly.May I not fly away？And you will come to me soon，will you not，dear mother？”
“妈妈，现在我能飞了！”孩子说，“我要跟其他许多幸福的孩子一起飞到上帝那儿去。我渴望飞走，可当你为我哭的时候，当你像现在这样哭着的时候，我就没有办法离开你了。我是多么盼望飞啊！我能不能飞走呢？亲爱的妈妈，不久你也可以到我这里来了！”“Oh，stay，stay！”implored the mother，“Only one moment more，only once more，that I may look upon thee，and kiss thee，and press thee to my heart.”
“啊，不要飞吧！啊，不要飞吧！”她说。“等一会儿吧。我要再看你一次，再吻你一次，再抱你一次！”
Then she kissed and fondled her child.Suddenly her name was called from above，what could it mean？Her name uttered in a plaintiveplaintive adj.悲哀的，哀伤的voice.
于是她亲着他，紧紧地拥抱着他。这时上面有一个声音在叫着她的名字——这是一个悲哀的声音。这是什么意思呢？
“Hearest thou？”said the child.“It is my father who calls thee.”And in a few moments deep sighs were heard，as of children weeping.“They are my sisters.”said the child.“Mother，surely you have not forgotten them.”
“你听见没有？”孩子问。“那是爸爸在叫你。”不久，又有一个深沉的叹息声传来了，一个像是哭着的孩子发出来的叹息声。“这是姐姐们的声音！”孩子说。“妈妈，你还记得她们吧？”And then she remembered those she left behind，and a great terror came over her.She looked around her at the dark night.Dim forms flitted by.She seemed to recognize some of them，as they floated through the regions of death towards the dark curtain，where they vanished.Would her husband and her daughters flit past？No，their sighs and lamentations still sounded from above；and she had nearly forgotten them，for the sake of him who was dead.
于是她记起了她留在家里的那些孩子。她心里产生了一阵恐惧。她向黑夜凝望。有许多人影飘过去了，其中有几个她好像很熟悉。他们飘过死神的大厅，飘向那黑色的帘子，于是便不见了。难道她的丈夫、她的女儿也在这群幽灵中间吗？不，他们的喊声，他们的叹息，依然是从上面飘浮来的。她为了死去的孩子而几乎把他们忘记了。
“Mother，now the bells of heaven are ringing，”said the child，“mother，the sun is going to rise.”
“妈妈，天上的钟声已经响起来了！”孩子说。“妈妈，太阳快要出来了！”
An overpowering light streamed in upon her，the child had vanished，and she was being borne upwards.All around her became cold，she lifted her head，and saw that she was lying in the churchyard，on the grave of her child.The Lord，in a dream，had been a guide to her feet and a light to her spirit.She bowed her knees，and prayed for forgiveness(forgiveness n.宽恕，宽仁之心).She had wished to keep back a soul from its immortal(immortal adj.不朽的)flight，she had forgotten her duties towards the living who were left her.
这时有一道强烈的光向她射来。孩子消失了，她被托到空中，周围是一片寒气。她抬起头来，发现自己是在教堂墓地里，儿子的坟墓边。当她做梦的时候，上帝来劝慰她，使她的理智放出光辉。她跪下来，祈求上帝宽恕。因为她曾经想阻止一个不灭的灵魂飞走，曾经忘掉了上帝留给她的对活着的人的任务！
And when she had offered this prayer，her heart felt lighter.The sun burst forth，over her head a little bird carolled his song，and the churchbells sounded for the early service.Everything around her seemed holy，and her heart was chastened.She acknowledged the goodness of God，she acknowledged the duties she had to perform，and eagerly she returned home.She bent over her husband，who still slept，her warm，devoted kiss awakened him，and words of heartfelt love fell from the lips of both.Now she was gentle and strong as a wife can be，and from her lips came the words of faith：“Whatever He doeth is right and best.”
她说完这些话，心里轻松了许多。太阳出来了，一只小鸟在她的头上唱着歌，教堂的钟声正在呼唤人们去做早祷。她的身旁有一种神圣的气氛，她的心里也有一种神圣的感觉！她清楚了上帝，她认识了她的任务，怀着渴望的心情迅速赶回家来。她向丈夫弯下腰，用温暖的、热烈的吻把他弄醒了。他们说着知心和热情的话。她现在又变得坚强和温柔起来——像一个主妇所能做到的那样。她心中如今怀有一种充满了信心的强大力量。“上帝的意思永远是最好的！”
Then her husband asked，“From whence hast thou all at once derived such strength and comforting faith？”
她的丈夫问她：“你从什么地方得到这种力量——这种恬静的心态？”
And as she kissed him and her children，she said，“It came from God，through my child in the grave.”
她吻了他，还亲了吻了她的孩子。“我通过墓里的孩子，从上帝那里得来的。”
