They still wore the rags in which they had been clothed on the day of their death, and they retained, after their resurrection, a wild and timid air. The sturdiest of the three, Maxime, was the son of a half-witted woman, who followed the soldiers to war, mounted on an ass4. One night he fell from the pannier in which she carried him, and was left abandoned by the roadside. From that time forward he had lived solely5 by theft. The feeblest, Robin6, could hardly recall his parents, peasants in the highlands, who being too poor or too avaricious7 to support him had deserted8 him in the forest. The third, Sulpice, knew nothing of his birth, but a priest had taught him his alphabet. The storm had ceased; in the buoyant, limpid9 air the birds were calling loudly to one another. The smiling earth was green. Modernus having fetched the mules10, Bishop11 Nicolas mounted his, and carried Maxime wrapped in his cloak: the deacon took Sulpice and Robin upon his crupper, and they set off toward the city of Trinqueballe.
The road unfolded itself between fields of corn, vineyards, and meadows. As they went along the great Saint Nicolas who already loved the children with all his heart, examined them on subjects suitable to their age, and asked them easy questions such as: “How much is five times five?” or “What is God?” He obtained no satisfactory answers. But, far from shaming them for their ignorance, he thought only of gradually dissipating it by the application of the best pedagogic methods.
“Modernus,” he said, “we will teach them firstly the truths necessary for salvation12, and secondly13 the liberal arts, especially music, so that they may sing the praises of the Lord. It will also be expedient14 to teach them rhetoric15, philosophy, and the history of men, plants, and animals. I desire that they shall study, in their habits and their structure, the animals, all of whose organs, in their wonderful perfection, attest16 the glory of the Creator.”
Scarcely had the venerable Pontiff concluded this speech when a peasant woman passed along the road, dragging by the halter an old mare17 so heavily laden18 with branches cut with their leaves on that her knees were trembling, and she stumbled at every step.
“Alas,” sighed the great St. Nicolas, “here is a poor horse carrying more than its burden. He has unfortunately fallen into the hands of unjust and hard-hearted masters. One should not overload19 any creature, not even beasts of burden.”
At these words the three boys burst out laughing. The Bishop having asked why they laughed so loudly:
“Because——” said Robin.
“That is——” said Sulpice.
“We laughed,” said Maxime, “because you mistook a mare for a horse. Can’t you see the difference? It is very plain to me. Don’t you know anything about animals?”
“I think,” said Modernus, “the first thing is to teach these children manners.”
At every town, borough20, village, hamlet or castle by which he passed, St. Nicolas showed the people the children rescued from the salting-tub, and related the great miracle performed by God, on his intercession; whereupon they were all very joyful21, and blessed him. Informed by messengers and travellers of so prodigious22 an occurrence, the entire population of Trinqueballe came out to meet their pastor23, unrolling precious carpets and scattering24 flowers in his path. The citizens, their eyes wet with tears, gazed at the three victims who had escaped from the salting-tub, and cried: “The Lord be praised!” But the poor children knew no better than to laugh and stick out their tongues; this caused further wonder and compassion25, as being a palpable proof of their innocence26 and misfortune.
The saintly Bishop Nicolas had an orphan27 niece, Mirande by name, who had just reached her seventh year, and was dearer to him than the light of his eyes. A worthy28 widow by name Basine was rearing her in piety29, good manners, and ignorance of evil. The three miraculously30 saved children were confided31 to the care of this lady. She was not lacking in judgment32. She quickly saw that Maxime had courage, Robin prudence33, and Sulpice the power of reflection. She devoted34 herself to confirming these good qualities, which, by the corruption35 common to the whole human race, tended unceasingly to become perverted36 and distorted; for Robin’s cautiousness turned easily into hypocrisy37, and mostly hid a greedy covetousness38; Maxime was subject to fits of rage, and Sulpice frequently and obstinately39 expressed false ideas in very important matters. However, they were but mere40 children who went bird’s-nesting, stole the garden fruit, tied cooking-pots to dogs’ tails, put ink the holy water font, and cow-itch in Modernus’ bed.
At night, wrapped in white sheets and walking on stilts41, they would go into the gardens, and frighten into a swoon the serving-maids belated in their lovers’ arms. They would cover the seat which Madame Basine was wont42 to use with bristling43 spikes44, and when she sat down they would delight in her sufferings, observing the confusion with which she openly applied45 a heedful and comforting hand to the damaged spot, for she would not for all the world have been lacking in modesty46.
In spite of her age and virtues47, this lady inspired them with neither love nor fear. Robin called her an old goat, Maxime an old she-ass, and Sulpice, the ass of Balaam. They teased little Mirande in all sorts of ways; they would dirty her pretty clothes by making her fall face downward on the stones. Once they pushed her head right up to the neck into a barrel of treacle48. They taught her to sit astride railings, and to climb trees, contrary to the decorum of her sex; they taught her words and manners that smacked49 of the inn and the salting-tub. Following their example, she called Madame Bassne “an old goat,” and even, taking the part for the whole, “old goat’s rump.” But she remained completely innocent. The purity of her soul was unchangeable.
“I am fortunate,” said the holy Bishop Nicolas, “in that I rescued these children from the salting-tub, to make them good Christians50. They will become faithful servants of God, and their merits will be accounted to me.”
Now, by the third year after their resurrection, when they were already tall and well-made, on a day of spring, as they were all playing in the field beside the river, Maxime in a moment of facetiousness51 and natural high spirits, threw the Deacon Modernus into the water. Hanging on to the branch of a willow-tree, Modernus called for help. Robin ran up, made as though to draw him out by the hand, took off his ring, and fled.
Meanwhile, Sulpice, sitting motionless on the bank with his arms crossed, said:
“Modernus is making a bad end. I can see six devils, in the form of flittermice, ready to seize his soul as it comes out of his mouth.”
When this serious affair was reported to him by Madame Basine and Modernus, the holy Bishop was much afflicted52 and fell a-sighing.
“These children,” he said, “were reared in suffering, by unworthy parents. The excess of their misfortunes has caused the deformity of their characters. We must redress53 their wrongs by enduring patience, and persevering54 kindness.”
“Monseigneur,” answered Modernus, who was chattering55 with fever in his dressing-gown, and sneezing under his nightcap, for his bath had given him a cold, “it is possible that their wickedness is derived56 from the wickedness of their parents. But how do you explain, father, the fact that neglect has produced in each of them different and, so to speak, contrary vices57, and that the desertion and destitution58 into which they were thrown before they were put in the salting-tub has made one avaricious, a second violent, and the third a visionary? And in your place, my Lord, I should feel most uneasy about the last.”
“Each of these children,” answered the Bishop, “has yielded in his weak spot. Ill-treatment has deformed59 their souls in those portions that offered the least resistance. Let us straighten them out with a thousand precautions, for fear of increasing the evil instead of diminishing it. Mildness, clemency60, and forbearance are the only means which should ever be employed for the improvement of men, heretics of course excepted.”
“No doubt, Monseigneur, no doubt,” said Modernus, sneezing three times. “But you cannot have a good education without chastisement61, nor discipline without discipline. I know what I am about. If you do not punish these three little ragamuffins, they will grow up worse than Herod. I assure you I am right.”
“Modernus could not be mistaken,” said Madame Basine.
The Bishop did not answer. With the widow and the Deacon, he paced the length of a hawthorn62 hedge, which breathed forth63 an agreeable fragrance64 of honey and bitter almonds. In a slight hollow, where the soil received the water from a neighbouring spring, he stopped before a bush, whose twisted, close-packed branches were covered with gleaming, clean-cut leaves and white clusters of flowers.
“Look,” he said, “at this leafy, fragrant65 shrub66, this lovely may, this noble thorn-bush, so strong and vigorous. Observe that it is in more abundant leaf, and more glorious with bloom, than all the other thorns in the hedge. But notice also that the pale bark of its branches bears only a few thorns, which are weak and soft and blunt. What is the reason of this? It is because, growing in a rich, moist soil, quiet and secure in the wealth which sustains its life, it has utilized67 all the juices of the earth to augment68 its power and its glory, and being too strong to dream of arming against its feeble enemies, it has devoted itself entirely69 to the joys of its magnificent and delicious fertility. Now come a few steps up this rising path, and look at this other hawthorn, which having with difficulty issued from a dry, stony70 soil, languishes71, deficient72 in both wood and leaves, and has had no other thought during its hard life than to defend itself against the innumerable enemies that threaten the weal. It is nothing but a bundle of thorns. It has employed the little sap which it received in fashioning innumerable spears, broad at the base, hard and sharp, which but ill restore confidence to its apprehensive73 weakness. It has nothing left over for fruitful and fragrant blossom. My friends, we are like the hawthorns74. The care given to our childhood makes us better. Too harsh an up bringing hardens us.”
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1
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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gleaning
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| n.拾落穗，拾遗，落穗v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的现在分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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lured
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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avaricious
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| adj.贪婪的，贪心的 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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limpid
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| adj.清澈的，透明的 | |
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mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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rhetoric
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| n.修辞学，浮夸之言语 | |
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attest
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| vt.证明，证实；表明 | |
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mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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overload
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| vt.使超载；n.超载 | |
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20
borough
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| n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇 | |
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21
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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24
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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31
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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perverted
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| adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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37
hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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covetousness
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obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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41
stilts
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| n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷 | |
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42
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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44
spikes
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| n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划 | |
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45
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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46
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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47
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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48
treacle
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| n.糖蜜 | |
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49
smacked
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| 拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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51
facetiousness
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| n.滑稽 | |
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52
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
redress
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| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
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54
persevering
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| a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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55
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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56
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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57
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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58
destitution
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| n.穷困，缺乏，贫穷 | |
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deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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60
clemency
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| n.温和，仁慈，宽厚 | |
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61
chastisement
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| n.惩罚 | |
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hawthorn
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| 山楂 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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shrub
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| n.灌木，灌木丛 | |
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67
utilized
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| v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
augment
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| vt.(使)增大，增加，增长，扩张 | |
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69
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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70
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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71
languishes
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| 长期受苦( languish的第三人称单数 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐 | |
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72
deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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74
hawthorns
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| n.山楂树( hawthorn的名词复数 ) | |
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