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THE STORY OF A MOTHER
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A MOTHER sat by her little child; she was very sorrowful, fearing that it would die. Its little face was pale, and its eyes were closed. The child drew its breath with difficulty, and sometimes as deeply as if it were sighing; and then the mother looked more sorrowfully than before on the little creature .

There was a knock at the door, and a poor old man came in, wrapped up in something that looked like a great horse-cloth, for that keeps one warm; and he needed it, for it was cold winter. Without, everything was covered with ice and snow, and the wind blew so sharply that it cut one's face.

And as the old man trembled with cold, and the child was quiet for a moment, the mother went and put some beer on the stove in a little pot, to warm it for him. The old man sat down and rocked the cradle, and the mother seated herself on a chair by him, looked at her sick child that drew its breath so painfully, and lifted the little hand.

“You think I shall keep it, do you not? ”she asked.“The good God will not take it from me!”

And the old man----he was Death----nodded in such a strange way, that it might just as well mean yes as no. And the mother cast down her eyes, and tears rolled down her cheeks.Her head became heavy: for three days and three nights she had not closed her eyes; and now she slept, but only for a minute; then she started up and shivered with cold.

“What is that?”she asked, and looked round on all sides; but the old man was gone, and her little child was gone; he had taken it with him. And there in the corner the old clock was humming and whirring; the heavy leaden weight ran down to the floor----plump!----and the clock stopped.

But the poor mother rushed out of the house crying for her child.

Out in the snow sat a woman in long black garments,and she said,“Death has been with you in your room; I saw him hasten away with your child: he strides faster than the wind, and never brings back what he has taken away.

Only tell me which way he has gone, said the mother.“Tell me the way, and I will find him.”

“I know him, said the woman in the black garments;“but before I tell you, you must sing me all the songs that you have sung to your child. I love those songs; I have heard them before. I am Night, and I saw your tears when you sang them.”

“I will sing them all,all!”said the mother.“But do not detain me, that I may overtake him, and find my child.”

But Night sat dumb and still. Then the mother wrung1 her hands, and sang and wept. And there were many songs, but yet more tears, and then Night said,“Go to the right into the dark fir wood; for I saw Death take that path with your little child.”

Deep in the forest there was a cross-road, and she did not know which way to take. There stood a thorn bush,with not a leaf nor a blossom upon it; for it was in the cold winter-time, and icicles hung from the twigs2.

“Have you not seen Death go by, with my little child?”

“Yes,”replied the Bush,“but I shall not tell you which way he went unless you warm me on your bosom3.I'm freezing to death here, I'm turning to ice.”

And she pressed the thorn bush to her bosom, quite close, that it might be well warmed. And the thorns pierced into her flesh, and her blood oozed4 out in great drops. But the thorn shot out fresh green leaves, and blossomed in the dark winter night: so warm is the heart of a sorrowing mother! And the thorn bush told her the way that she should go.

Then she came to a great lake,on which there were neither ships nor boat. The lake was not frozen enough to carry her, nor sufficiently5 open to allow her to wade6 through, and yet she must cross it if she was to find her child. Then she laid herself down to drink the lake; and that was impossible for any one to do. But the sorrowing mother thought that perhaps a miracle might be wrought7.

“No, that can never succeed,”said the lake.“Let us rather see how we can agree. I'm fond of collecting pearls, and your eyes are the two clearest I have ever seen: if you will weep them out into me I will carry you over into the great greenhouse, where Death lives and cultivates flowers and trees; each of these is a human life.”

“Oh, what would I not give to get to my child!”said the afflicted8 mother; and she wept yet more, and her eyes fell into the depths of the lake, and became two costly9 peards. But the lake lifted her up, as if she sat in a swing, and she was wafted10 to the opposite shore, where stood a wonderful house, miles in length. One could not tell if it was a mountain containing forests and caves, or a place that had been built with wood. But the poor mother could not see it, for she had wept her eyes out.

“Where shall I find Death, who went away with my little child? she asked.

“He has not arrived here yet,”said the old gravewoman, who was going about and watching the hothouse of Death. “How have you found your way here, and who helped you?

“The good God has helped me,” she replied.“He is merciful, and you will be merciful too. Where shall I find my little child?”

“I do not know it,”said the old woman, “and you cannot see. Many flowers and trees have faded this night,and death will soon come and transplant them. You know very well that every human being has his tree of life, or his flower of life, just as each is arranged. They look like other plants, but their hearts beat. Children's hearts can beat too. Go by that. Perhaps you may recognize the beating of your child's heart. But what will you give me if I tell you what more you must do?”

“I have nothing more to give,”said the afflicted mother.“But I will go for you to the ends of the earth.”

“I have nothing for you to do there,”said the old woman, “but you can give me your long black hair. You must know yourself that it is beautiful, and it pleases me. You can take my white hair for it, and that is always something.”

“If you ask for nothing more,”said she,“I will give you that gladly.”And she gave her beautiful hair, and received in exchange the old woman's white hair.

And then they went into the great hothouse of death, where flowers and trees were growing marvellously together. There stood the fine hyacinths under glass bells, and there stood large,sturdy peonies; there grew water-plants, some quite fresh, others somewhat sickly;water-snakes were twining about them, and black crabs11 clung tightly to the stalks.There stood gallant12 palm trees, oaks, and plantains, and parsley and blooming thyme. Each tree and flower had its name; each was a human life: the people were still alive, one in China, another in Greenland, scattered13 about in the world. There were great trees thrust into little pots, so that they stood quite crowded, and were nearly bursting the pots; there was also many a little weakly flower in rich earth, with moss14 round about it, cared for and tended. But the sorrowful mother bent15 down over all the smallest plants, and heard the human heart beating in each, and out of millions she recognized that of her child.

“That is it!”she cried, and stretched out her hands over a little blue crocus flower, which hung down quite sick and pale.

“Do not touch the flower,”said the old dame;“but place yourself here; and when Death comes----I expect him every minute----then don't let him pull up the plant, but threaten him that you will do the same to the other plants; then he'll be frightened. He has to account for them all;not one may be pulled up till he receives commission from Heaven.”

And all at once there was an icy cold rush through the hall, and the blind mother felt that Death was arriving.

“How did you find your way hither?”said he. “How have you been able to come quicker than I?”

“I am a mother,” she answered.

And Death stretched out his long hands towards the little delicate flower; but she kept her hands tight about it, and held it fast; and yet she was full of anxious care lest she should touch one of the leaves. Then Death breathed upon her hands, and she felt that his breath was colder than the icy wind; and her hands sank down powerless.

“You can do nothing against me,”said Death.

“But the merciful God can,”she replied.

“I only do what He commands,”said Death.“I am His gardener. I take all His trees and flowers, and transplant them into the great Paradise gardens, in the unknown land. But how they will flourish there,and how it is there, I may not tell you.”

“Give me back my child,”said the mother;and she implored16 and wept. All at once she grasped two pretty flowers with her two hands, and called to Death,“I'll tear off all your flowers, for I am in despair.”

“Do not touch them,”said Death.“You say you are so unhappy, and now you would make another mother just as unhappy!”

“Another mother?”said the poor worman; and she let the flowers go.

“There are your eyes for you,”said Death.“I have fished them up out of the lake; they gleamed up quite brightly. I did not know that they were yours. Take them back----they are clearer now than before----and then look down into the deep well close by. I will tell you the names of the two flowers you wanted to pull up, and you will see their whole future,their whole human life;you will see what you were about to frustrate17 and destroy.”

And she looked down into the well, and it was a happiness to see how one of them became a blessing18 to the world, how much joy and gladness was diffused19 around her. And the woman looked at the life of the other, and it was made up of care and poverty, misery20 and woe21.

“Both are the will of God,”said Death.

“Which of them is the flower of misfortune, and which the blessed one?”she asked.

“That I may not tell you,”answered Death;“but this much you shall hear, that one of these two flowers is that of your child.It was the fate of your child that you saw----the future of your own child.”

Then the mother screamed aloud for terror.

“Which of them belongs to my child? Tell me that!Release the innocent child! Let my child free from all that misery! Rather carry it away! Carry it into God's kingdom! Forget my tears, forget my entreaties22, and all that I have done!”

“I do not understand you,”said Death.“will you have your child back, or shall I carry it to that place that you know not?”

Then the mother wrung her hands, and fell on her knees, and prayed to the good God.

“Hear me not when I pray against Thy will, which is at all times the best! Hear me not! hear me not! And she let her head sink down on her bosom.

And Death went away with her child into the unknown land.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 wrung b11606a7aab3e4f9eebce4222a9397b1     
绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 ); 握紧(尤指别人的手); 把(湿衣服)拧干; 绞掉(水)
参考例句:
  • He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。
  • He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。
2 twigs 17ff1ed5da672aa443a4f6befce8e2cb     
细枝,嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
  • Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。
3 bosom Lt9zW     
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的
参考例句:
  • She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
  • A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。
4 oozed d11de42af8e0bb132bd10042ebefdf99     
v.(浓液等)慢慢地冒出,渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 );使(液体)缓缓流出;(浓液)渗出,慢慢流出
参考例句:
  • Blood oozed out of the wound. 血从伤口慢慢流出来。
  • Mud oozed from underground. 泥浆从地下冒出来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
5 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地,充分地
参考例句:
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
6 wade nMgzu     
v.跋涉,涉水;n.跋涉
参考例句:
  • We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
  • We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。
7 wrought EoZyr     
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的
参考例句:
  • Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
  • It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。
8 afflicted aaf4adfe86f9ab55b4275dae2a2e305a     
使受痛苦,折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
  • A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。
9 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
10 wafted 67ba6873c287bf9bad4179385ab4d457     
v.吹送,飘送,(使)浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The sound of their voices wafted across the lake. 他们的声音飘过湖面传到了另一边。
  • A delicious smell of freshly baked bread wafted across the garden. 花园中飘过一股刚出炉面包的香味。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 crabs a26cc3db05581d7cfc36d59943c77523     
n.蟹( crab的名词复数 );阴虱寄生病;蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 gallant 66Myb     
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的
参考例句:
  • Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
  • These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。
13 scattered 7jgzKF     
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
参考例句:
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
14 moss X6QzA     
n.苔,藓,地衣
参考例句:
  • Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
  • He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。
15 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
16 implored 0b089ebf3591e554caa381773b194ff1     
恳求或乞求(某人)( implore的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
  • She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。
17 frustrate yh9xj     
v.使失望;使沮丧;使厌烦
参考例句:
  • But this didn't frustrate Einstein.He was content to go as far as he could.但这并没有使爱因斯坦灰心,他对能够更深入地研究而感到满意。
  • They made their preparations to frustrate the conspiracy.他们作好准备挫败这个阴谋。
18 blessing UxDztJ     
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿
参考例句:
  • The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
  • A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。
19 diffused 5aa05ed088f24537ef05f482af006de0     
散布的,普及的,扩散的
参考例句:
  • A drop of milk diffused in the water. 一滴牛奶在水中扩散开来。
  • Gases and liquids diffused. 气体和液体慢慢混合了。
20 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦
参考例句:
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
21 woe OfGyu     
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌
参考例句:
  • Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
  • A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸,自认福是福。
22 entreaties d56c170cf2a22c1ecef1ae585b702562     
n.恳求,乞求( entreaty的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He began with entreaties and ended with a threat. 他先是恳求,最后是威胁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves. 暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。 来自《简明英汉词典》


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