THE cottage was a thatched one,

The outside old and mean;

Yet everything within that cot

Was wondrous neat and clean.

The night was dark and stormy,

The wind was howling wild;

A patient mother knelt beside

The deathbed of her child:

A little worn-out creature—

His once bright eyes grown dim;

He was a collier's only child—

They called him little Jim.

And oh, to see the briny tears

Fast hurrying down her cheek,

As she offered up a prayer in thought;

She was afraid to speak,

Lest she might waken one she loved

Far better than her life;

For there was all a mother's love

In that poor collier's wife.

With hands uplifted, see, she kneels

Beside the suff'rer's bed;

And prays that He will spare her boy

And take herself instead!

She gets her answer from the child;

Soft fell these words from him:

“Mother, the angels do so smile,

And beckon little Jim!”

“I have no pain, dear mother, now;

But oh, I am so dry!

Just moisten poor Jim's lips again;

And, mother, don't you cry.”

With gentle, trembling haste she held

The tea-cup to his lips;

He smiled, to thank her, as he took

Three tiny little sips.

“Tell father, when he comes from work,

I said good-night to him;

And, mother, now I'll go to sleep”—

Alas! poor little Jim!

She saw that he was dying—

The child she loved so dear

Had uttered the last words that she

Might ever hope to hear.

The cottage door was opened,

The collier's step was heard;

The mother and the father met,

Yet neither spoke a word!

He knew that all was over—

He knew his child was dead;

He took the candle in his hand,

And walked towards the bed.

His quivering lips gave token

Of grief he'd fain conceal;

And see! his wife has joined him—

The stricken couple kneel!

With hearts bowed down with sadness,

They humbly ask of Him,

In heaven once more to meet again

Their own poor little Jim.

—Edward Farmer

Questions

Where was the mother kneeling? In what state was the boy? Why did she offer up her prayer in thought? From whom did she get her answer? What were Jim's last words? What did his mother do when he came in? What did both father and mother then do?

Pronunciation

cot'-tage col'-lier an'-swer ut'-tered coup'-le

ev'-er-y-thing hur'-ry-ing trem'-bling nei'-ther up-lift'-ed

storm'-y pray'-er dy'-ing hum'-bly an'-gels

Write

patient uttered couple

moisten neither stricken

hurrying trembling quivering

小屋外罩著茅草，

屋外又舊又簡陋，

但是屋里整潔又干凈。

夜色沉沉，暴風雨快要來臨，

屋外狂風在怒吼；

一位堅忍的母親跪在床邊，

她孩子是在這張床上去世的；

這是一個逝去的小生命——

他曾經明亮的眼睛變得暗淡；

他是一位礦工的獨子——

人們叫他小吉姆。

她已害怕開口說話，

只在心里獻上祈禱，

當她祈禱之時，

啊，那咸咸的淚水

快速從她臉頰上滑落。

她唯恐驚醒深愛的孩子，

她愛這孩子勝過愛自己的生命；

這個窮礦工的妻子，

擁有一個母親對孩子所有的愛。

看，她抬起胳膊，

跪在這個可憐的小生命的床邊；

祈禱上帝不要把她的孩子帶走，

她愿意用自己的性命換回孩子！

她聽到了孩子的回答，

那聲音是如此輕柔：

“媽媽，天使真的會微笑，

他們召喚著小吉姆！”

我現在一點都不痛，親愛的媽媽，

但是，啊，我好口渴！

再一次滋潤可憐的小吉姆的嘴唇吧；

媽媽，不要哭啊。”

她輕輕地、顫顫巍巍地，

馬上把茶杯送到他的嘴邊，

他微笑地說聲謝謝，

吮吸了三小口水。

“爸爸下班回來的時候告訴他，

說我和他道聲晚安；

媽媽，我要睡覺了”——

唉！可憐的小吉姆！

她看著孩子的生命被慢慢地奪走——

這個她深深愛著的孩子，

說出了最后的幾句話，

最后幾句她可能希望聽到的話。

小屋的門開了，

礦工的腳步聲響起了；

孩子的爸爸和媽媽見面了，

但是他們誰都沒有說一句話！

他知道一切都結束了——

他知道他的孩子死去了；

他手里拿著蠟燭，

走向床邊。

他強掩著悲痛，

但顫抖的嘴唇卻將他出賣；

看吶！他的妻子也和他一樣——

這對悲痛的夫婦跪在床邊！

他們痛苦又悲傷，

他們謙卑地向上帝祈求，

在天堂再次見到

他們家可憐的小吉姆！

-愛德華·法默