同路人(一)

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Poor John was in great tribulation, for his father was very ill, and could not get well again. Except these two, there was no one at all in the little room; the lamp on the table was nearly extinguished, and it was quite late in the evening.

"You have been a good son, John," said the sick father. "Providence will help you through the world. "And he looked at him with mild earnest eyes, drew a deep breath, and died: it was just as if he slept. But John wept; for now he had no one in the world, neither father nor mother, neither sister nor brother. Poor John! He knelt down beside the bed, kissed his dead father's hand, and shed very many salt tears; but at last his eyes closed, and he went to sleep, lying with his head against the hard bed-board.

Then he dreamed a strange dream: he saw the sun and moon curtsy to him, and he beheld his father again, fresh, and well, and he heard his father laugh as he had always laughed when he was very glad. A beautiful girl, with a golden crown upon her long beautiful hair, gave him her hand; and his father said, "Do you see what a bride you have gained? She is the most beautiful in the whole world!" Then he awoke, and all the splendour was gone. His father was lying dead and cold in the bed, and there was no one at all with them. Poor John!

In the next week the dead man was buried. The son walked close behind the coffin, and could now no longer see the good father who had loved him so much. He heard how they threw the earth down upon the coffin, and stopped to see the last corner of it; but the next shovelfull of earth hid even that; then he felt just as if his heart would burst into pieces, so sorrowful was he. Around him they were singing a psalm; it sounded so beautifully, and the tears came into John' s eyes; he wept, and that did him good in his sorrow.

The sun shone magnificently on the green trees, just as if it would have said, "You shall no longer be sorrowful, John! Do you see how beautifully blue the sky is? Your father is up there, and prays to the Father of all that it may be always well with you."

"I will always be good," said John, "then I shall go to heaven to my father; and what joy that will be when we see each other again! How much I shall then have to tell him! And he will show me so many things, and explain to me so much of the glories of heaven, just as he taught me here on earth. Oh, how joyful that will be!"

He pictured that to himself so plainly, that he smiled, while the tears were still rolling down his cheeks. The little birds sat up in the chestnut trees, and twittered, "Tweet-weet! Tweet-weet!" They were joyful and merry, though they had been at the burying, but they knew quite well that the dead man was now in heaven; that he had wings, far larger and more beautiful than theirs; that he was now happy, because he had been a good man upon earth, and they were glad at it. John saw how they flew from the green trees out into the world, and he felt inclined to fly too. But first he cut out a great cross of wood to put on his father's grave; and when he brought it there in the evening the grave was decked with sand and flowers; strangers had done this, for they were all very fond of the good father who was now dead.

Early next morning John packed his little bundle, and put in his belt his whole inheritance, which consisted of fifty dollars and a few silver shillings; with this he intended to wander out into the world. But first he went to the churchyard, to his father's grave, repeated the Lord's Prayer, and said, "Farewell, dear father, I will always be good, and so you may well venture to pray to the good God that things may go well with me."

Out in the field where he was walking all the flowers stood fresh and beautiful in the warm sunshine; and they nodded in the wind, just as if they would have said, "Welcome to the green wood! Is it not fine here?" But John turned back once more to look at the old church, in which he had been christened when he was a little child, and where he had been every Sunday with his father at the service, and had sung his psalm; then, high up in one of the openings of the tower, he saw the church-goblin standing in his little pointed red cap, shading his face with his bent arm, to keep the sun from shining in his eyes. John nodded a farewell to him, and the little goblin waved his red cap, laid his hand on his heart, and kissed his hand to John a great many times, to show that he wished the traveller well and hoped he would have a prosperous journey.

John thought what a number of fine things he would get to see in the great splendid world;and he went on farther--farther than he had ever been before. He did not know the places at all through which he came, nor the people whom he met. Now he was far away in a strange region.(to be continued)

可怜的约翰心里很难过,因为他的爸爸生病了,再也好不起来了。除了父子两人,小屋里再没有别人。桌上的灯火就要熄灭,夜已经很深了。

“你是个孝顺的孩子,约翰。”生病的父亲说,“上帝会帮你在世上生活的。”他用温和、恳切的目光注视着儿子,深深地吸了一口气,就要死了,好像是熟睡一样。约翰痛哭起来,因为现在他在世上再也没有亲人了,没有父母,没有兄弟姐妹。可怜的约翰!他跪倒在床边,吻着爸爸的手,洒下多少辛酸的泪水!最后他闭上眼睛,睡着了,脑袋搭在硬床板上。

这时他做了一个奇怪的梦:他看见太阳和月亮向他行礼;他又看见了自己的爸爸,那么健康,那么有活力;他又听到了爸爸的笑声,平时高兴的时候,他都是这么笑的。有一个漂亮的姑娘,长长的秀发上戴着顶金王冠,把手伸了过来。他爸爸说:“你看,你的新娘多么漂亮呀!她是全世界最美的人啦。”然后他就醒了,所有壮丽的景象都从他眼前消失得无影无踪。爸爸还躺在床上,尸体发僵,他身边一个人也没有。可怜的约翰啊!

在下一个星期,死去的爸爸被埋葬了。儿子紧贴着棺材,他再也见不到亲爱的爸爸了,而爸爸曾是那么地爱他。他听到人们把上盖在棺材上的声音,抬头看了棺材最后一眼。再加上一锨上,连棺材的一角也看不见了。他觉得自己心疼得都快碎了。在他的周围响起唱圣诗的歌声,听起来是那么美,泪水又一次溢满了他的双眼。他失声痛哭,在悲痛中,哭对他倒是件好事。

太阳灿烂地照在绿树上,好像它想说:“你不要这么伤心了,约翰。你看到蓝蓝的天空是多么好看吗?你爸爸就在上面,向上帝祈祷吧,它会永远伴随在你身边。”

“我会一辈子做好事的,”约翰说,“到时候我也要到天堂去,到我的爸爸身边。我们再次重逢的时候,会多么快乐!我有多少话要对他说呀!他肯定会带我看许多东西,告诉我天国的辉煌,就像他在人世间教育我时一样。啊,那有多快乐呀!”

他心里描画着,这些图景是那么真切,他笑了,尽管泪珠还顺着脸朝下滚落。站在栗子树上的小鸟叫了起来,“啾啾,啾啾!”它们是那么欢快。尽管它们看到了老人被埋葬,但它们十分清楚,这个死去的人现在已经在天堂里了。他长了翅膀,而且比它们的翅膀又大又漂亮。他现在很快乐,因为他在人间的时候是个善良的人。鸟儿都为此而高兴。约翰看到它们飞离绿树林,飞进大干世界,自己也禁不住想飞。但他先得刻一个大木十字架,放在爸爸的坟上。当他晚上带着十字架到了坟地的时候,坟上已经点缀上了沙子和鲜花。这是陌生人做的,他们都喜欢这个死去的好父亲。

第二天一早,约翰打好自己的一个小袋行李,将自己得到的所有遗产都放在皮带里,那只有五十块钱和一些零头。他带着这些东西,想去世界上闯荡闯荡。但他先去了墓地,到了爸爸的坟上,再一次祈祷,说:“再见,亲爱的爸爸。我会永远善良的,请您向慈爱的上帝祷告,保佑我一切顺利。”

他走在野外,在温暖的阳光下,所有新鲜的、美丽的花儿都挺立着。它们在风中点着头,仿佛在说:“欢迎你到绿森林来!这儿不是很美吗?”但约翰又一次转过头,望着古老的教堂,当他还是个孩子时,他就是在那里受洗的;每个星期天,他都和爸爸一起在那儿守礼拜,唱赞美诗。这时,在教堂塔顶的一个洞里,他看见了教堂的小精灵戴着小红帽站在那儿,弯起胳膊遮住脸,以免阳光照到自己的眼睛上。约翰冲他点头告别,小精灵也挥了挥自己的小红帽,把另一只手放在胸口,不停地对着约翰做吻手的动作,表示自己祝愿他一路平安,希望他能有一个美好的旅程。

约翰想,他到五彩缤纷的世界去,会看到多少好东西呀。他越走越远,走得比以前经过的都要远。他不知道自己走过的是什么地方,也不认识遇见的人们。现在他已经远在陌生的地方了。

(未完待续)