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LESSON 61 The widow's lamp
第六十一課 寡婦的燈
Once there was a poor widow who lived on a hill near the sea-shore.
從前，在海邊的一座小山上有一位生活很拮據的寡婦。
She had no children, and she passed a lonely life.
她沒有孩子，過著孤苦無依的生活。
She was so poor that she had to work hard every day.
生活不富裕，所以每天都得辛苦工作。
But one night as she sat at her work the widow said to herself,
一天晚上海風呼呼的刮著，海浪拍打著巖石，
while the winds blew and the waves dashed on the rocks,
寡婦坐在她的工作臺前
"I wish I could be of some use in the world.
自言自語“我希望成為一個對世界有用的人。
Can I not do good to some one besides myself?"
難道我不能為身邊的人做些什么嗎？”
At last she bethought her that ships were sometimes wrecked on the coast near her house,
最后她想到了有的船只晚上不小心撞上她家附近的海岸，
as there was no light-house to warn them of their danger at night.
經常會因為沒有燈塔的指引
From her window she could look out on the sea.
而她的窗戶可以直接看到大海。
Why might she not keep a lighted lamp at the window every night,
為什么不每天晚上在窗戶邊拿著油燈
so as to warn the poor sailors when their ships came near to the rocks on the coast.
為那些開船到附近的水手們指引方向呢？
The widow felt glad when the thought flashed through her mind.
這個念頭閃過她的腦海時她不禁高興起來。
She found that, if she worked an hour later each night,
她想著，如果每天晚上多工作一小時，
she could earn enough to pay for the oil to feed the lamp.
那她就可以掙到足夠的錢來買燈油。
So she sat up and earned money to buy the oil;
想到這她又直起身來做工，努力賺買燈油的錢，
and then she trimmed the lamp, and placed it at the window each night, and in this way she saved many lives.
她撥了撥燈芯并每晚將油燈放置到窗前，就這樣她挽救了很多人的生命。
She had been doing this for five years without reward,
五年來不求回報，默默無聞；
or the hope of reward; but good deeds, even in this world, are often found out.
好在她的付出慢慢得到回報。
The sailors whose lives had been saved now began to send gifts to her from far-off lands.
被她油燈所救的水手經常把從遙遠的地方帶來的禮物送給她。
They sent her tea from China and shawls from India, silks from France and grapes from Spain.
比如說中國的茶葉，印度的披肩，法國的絲綢和西班牙的葡萄。
But the poor widow did not need these gifts to make her happy.
但真正讓寡婦開心的不是這些禮物。
She used to give many of them to the poor and the sick.
她把大多數禮物送給了窮人和病人。
She was happy with the thought that she was doing good;
只要想到自己在做善事，她就很開心。
and so, as long as she lived, she lit her lamp each night, and put it at the window.
因此，只要她活著，她就會將窗前的油燈點燃。
