評論
打印
Again the gardener was astounded. It seemed as though his ideas were becoming confused again. He stared at his daughter and scratched his head. His face demanded another explanation. Then the teacher turned to the attendant and said to him: "Call a child of the preparatory class for me." The attendant returned, in a short time, with a deaf-mute of eight or nine years, who had entered the institution a few days before. "This girl," said the mistress, "is one of those whom we are instructing in the first elements. This is the way it is done. I want to make her say a. Pay attention."
園丁更加奇怪了，茫然若失地看著女兒搔頭，好像要求說明。先生向在旁的侍者說：“去叫一個預科的學生來！”侍者去了一會兒，領了一個才入學的八九歲的聾啞生出來。先生說：“這孩子才學初步的課程，我們是這樣教的：我現在叫她發 A 字的音，你仔細看！”
The teacher opened her mouth, as one opens it to pronounce the vowel a, and motioned to the child to open her mouth in the same manner. Then the mistress made her a sign to emit her voice. She did so; but instead of a, she pronounced o. "No," said the mistress, "that is not right." And taking the child's two hands, she placed one of them on her own throat and the other on her chest, and repeated, "a." The child felt with her hands the movements of the mistress's throat and chest, opened her mouth again as before, and pronounced extremely well, "a." In the same manner, the mistress made her pronounce c and d, still keeping the two little hands on her own throat and chest. "Now do you understand?" she inquired. The father understood; but he seemed more astonished than when he had not understood. "And they are taught to speak in the same way?" he asked, after a moment of reflection, gazing at the teacher.
于是先生張開嘴，做發母音 A 字的狀態，示給那孩子看，用手勢叫孩子也做同樣的口形。然后再用手勢叫她發音。那孩子發出的音來不是 A，卻變了 O。“不是。”先生說，拿起孩子的兩手，叫她把一手按在先生的喉部，一手按在腦際，反復地再發 A 字的音。孩子從手上了解了先生的喉與胸的運動，重新如前開口，造完全發出了 A 字的音。先生又繼續地叫孩子用手按住自己的喉與胸，教授 C 字與 D 字的發音。再向園丁說：“怎樣？你明白了吧？”園丁雖已明白許多，似乎比本明白時更加驚異了：“那么，是這樣一一把話說教給他們的嗎？”說了暫停，又注視著先生。
"You have the patience to teach them to speak in that manner, little by little, and so many of them? one by one through years and years? But you are saints; that's what you are! You are angels of paradise! There is not in the world a reward that is worthy of you! What is there that I can say? Ah! leave me alone with my daughter a little while now. Let me have her to myself for five minutes." And drawing her to a seat apart he began to interrogate her, and she to reply, and he laughed with beaming eyes, slapping his fists down on his knees; and he took his daughter's hands, and stared at her, beside himself with delight at hearing her, as though her voice had been one which came from heaven; then he asked the teacher, "Would the Signor Director permit me to thank him?"
“是這許多孩子都一一費了任久的年月逐漸這樣教嗎？呀！你們真是圣人，真是天使！在這世界上，恐怕沒有可以報答你們的東西吧？啊！我應該怎樣說才好啊！請讓我把女兒暫留在這里！五分鐘也好，把她暫時借給我！”于是園丁把女兒領到一旁，問她種種事情。女兒一一回答。父親用拳擊膝，瞇著眼笑。又攜了女兒的手熟視打量，聽著女兒的話聲入魔了，好像這聲音是從天上落下來的。過了一會兒，向著先生說：“可以讓我見見校長，當面道謝嗎？”
"The director is not here," replied the mistress; "but there is another person whom you should thank. Every little girl here is given into the charge of an older companion, who acts the part of sister or mother to her. Your little girl has been intrusted to the care of a deaf-mute of seventeen, the daughter of a baker, who is kind and very fond of her; she has been assisting her for two years to dress herself every morning; she combs her hair, she teaches her to sew, she mends her clothes, she is good company for her. "
“校長不在這里。你應該道謝的人卻還有一個。這學校中，凡年幼的孩子，都由年長的學生當做母親或是姊姊照顧著。照顧你女兒的是一個年紀十七歲的面包商人的女兒。她對于你女兒那才真是親愛呢。這兩年來，每天早晨代為著衣梳發，教她針線，真是好伴侶！”
