In the morning of life came a good fairy with her basket,and said:"Here are gifts. Take one, leave the others,And be wary,choose wisely!For only one of them is valuable."
在生命之初,一位仙女帶著籃子走來,對一位年輕人說道:“這里有幾份禮物,你可以從中選一份,留下其它的。你要小心,做一個明智的選擇;啊,你要明智地進行選擇!因為這里面只有一份禮物是珍貴的。”
The gifts were five: Fame, Love, Riches, Pleasure, Death.The youth, said, eagerly:"There is no need to consider"; and he chose Pleasure.
一共有五份禮物:名聲,愛情,財富,快樂,還有死亡。年輕人迫不及待地說:“沒有必要多想。”他選了快樂。
He went out into the world and sought out the pleasures that youth delights in . But each in its turn was short-liyed and disappointing, vain and empty; and each, departing, mocked him .In the end he said:"These years i have wasted.If i could but choose again, I would choose wisely."
此后他就開始步入世界,追逐年輕人所喜愛的快樂。然而每一種快樂都是如此短暫,令人感到空虛和失望。每當一種快樂棄他而去時,還要把他嘲弄一番。最后,年輕人感嘆道:“這些年我都浪費了。如果我可以再選一次,我一定會做一個明智的選擇。”
The fairy appeared, and said:"Four of the gifts remain.choose once more: and oh, remember--time is flying, and only one of them is precious."
這時仙女又出現了,她說:“這里還有四份禮物。再選一次吧。噢,記住時間飛逝,而其中只有一件是珍貴的。”
The man considered long,then chose Love;and did not mark the tears that rose in the fairy's eyes.After many,many years the man sat by a coffin,in an empty home.And he communed with himself,saying:"One by one they have gone away and leftme;and now she lies here,the dearest and the last.Desolation after desolation has swept over me;but each hour of happiness the treacherous trader,Love,sold me i have paid a thousand hours of grief!Out of my heart of hearts i curse him!"
他思考了很久,最終選擇了愛情;他沒有注意到仙女眼里泛起的淚光。許多許多年之后,這個人坐在一口棺材旁邊,屋子里空蕩蕩的。他自言自語道:“他們一個一個地走了,只剩下我。現在,她就躺在這兒,我最親愛的人兒,我最后的親人。孤獨一次又一次把我包圍。都是因為愛情這個陰狡詐的商人,他出售給我的每個甜蜜的小時,我現在都要用數千個小時的悲傷來償還!我從心底里詛咒他!”