Chapter 7

CHAPTER VII Anne Says Her Prayers When Marilla took Anne up to bed that night she said stiffly: "Now, Anne, I noticed last night that you threw your clothes all about the floor when you took them off. That is a very untidy habit, and I can't allow it at all. As soon as you take off any article of clothing fold it neatly and place it on the chair. I haven't any use at all for little girls who aren't neat." "I was so harrowed up in my mind last night that I didn't think about my clothes at all," said Anne. "I'll fold them nicely tonight. They always made us do that at the asylum. Half the time, though, I'd forget, I'd be in such a hurry to get into bed nice and quiet and imagine things." "You'll have to remember a little better if you stay here," admonished Marilla. "There, that looks something like. Say your prayers now and get into bed."

第七章 安妮做祷告 那天晚上玛丽拉带安妮上楼睡觉时，她生硬地说：“对了安妮，我昨晚就发现，你脱衣服的时候把衣服扔得满地都是。 这个习惯太邋遢了，我绝对不能允许。 你每脱一件衣服，都要把它叠整齐，放在椅子上。 我可不喜欢不爱干净的小姑娘。” “我昨晚心里乱得厉害，根本没顾上想衣服的事，”安妮说。 “今晚我会好好叠的。 孤儿院的时候大家一直要求我们这么做。 不过多半我都会忘，我总急着赶紧躺到床上安安静静地胡思乱想。” “你要是住在这儿，就得记牢点，”玛丽拉告诫道。 “好了，这才像话。 现在做祷告，然后上床睡觉。”

"I never say any prayers," announced Anne. Marilla looked horrified astonishment. "Why, Anne, what do you mean? Were you never taught to say your prayers? God always wants little girls to say their prayers. Don't you know who God is, Anne?" "`God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth,'" responded Anne promptly and glibly. Marilla looked rather relieved. "So you do know something then, thank goodness! You're not quite a heathen. Where did you learn that?" "Oh, at the asylum Sunday-school. They made us learn the whole catechism. I liked it pretty well. There's something splendid about some of the words. `Infinite, eternal and unchangeable." Isn't that grand? It has such a roll to it-just like a big organ playing. You couldn't quite call it poetry, I suppose, but it sounds a lot like it, doesn't it?" "We're not talking about poetry, Anne-we are talking about saying your prayers. Don't you know it's a terrible wicked thing not to say your prayers

“我从来不做祷告，”安妮大声说。 玛丽拉满脸震惊诧异。 “哎呀，安妮，你这话是什么意思？ 从来没人教过你做祷告吗？ 上帝一直都希望小姑娘做祷告呀。 你难道不知道上帝是谁吗，安妮？” “‘上帝是灵，他的存在、智慧、能力、圣洁、公义、良善和真理，都是无限、永恒、永不改变的，’”安妮顺口流畅地答了出来。 玛丽拉这下稍稍松了口气。 “原来你还是懂些东西的，谢天谢地！ 你不全是个不懂教的野孩子。 你这是在哪学的？” “哦，在孤儿院的主日学校。 他们让我们把整本教义问答都背下来。 我还挺喜欢这个的。 有些词念起来特别气派。 ‘无限、永恒、永不改变。’ 是不是很大气？ 读起来朗朗上口，就像大风琴在演奏一样。 我觉得它算不上诗，可读着特别有诗的感觉，你说对不对？” “我们现在说的不是诗，安妮，我们说的是你做祷告的事。 你难道不知道不做祷告是非常邪恶糟糕的事吗

every night? I'm afraid you are a very bad little girl." "You'd find it easier to be bad than good if you had red hair," said Anne reproachfully. "People who haven't red hair don't know what trouble is. Mrs. Thomas told me that God made my hair red ON PURPOSE, and I've never cared about Him since. And anyhow I'd always be too tired at night to bother saying prayers. People who have to look after twins can't be expected to say their prayers. Now, do you honestly think they can?" Marilla decided that Anne's religious training must be begun at once. Plainly there was no time to be lost. "You must say your prayers while you are under my roof, Anne." "Why, of course, if you want me to," assented Anne cheerfully. "I'd do anything to oblige you. But you'll have to tell me what to say for this once. After I get into bed I'll imagine out a real nice prayer to say always. I believe that it will be quite interesting, now that I come to think of it." "You must kneel down," said Marilla in embarrassment.

每天晚上都做？ 我真担心你是个很坏的小姑娘。” “你要是长红头发，就会发现变坏比做好容易多了，”安妮嗔怪地说。 “没长红头发的人根本不知道这有多烦人。 托马斯太太说上帝是故意把我头发弄红的，打那以后我就再也不喜欢他了。 再说我晚上总是累得要命，哪有精力做祷告。 你总不能指望要照顾双胞胎的人还能做祷告吧。 现在你说实话，你觉得她们能吗？” 玛丽拉决定必须立刻开始给安妮做宗教教导。 显然这件事已经不能再拖了。 “你住在我的屋檐下，就必须做祷告，安妮。” “那当然啦，你要是希望我做，我就做，”安妮开开心心地答应了。 “我什么都愿意配合你。 不过这次你得告诉我该说什么。 等我上床后，我会想出一段很棒的祷告，以后都用它。 我现在想想，这事还挺有意思的呢。” “你得跪下，”玛丽拉有些局促地说。

Anne knelt at Marilla's knee and looked up gravely. "Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I'll tell you what I'd do. I'd go out into a great big field all alone or into the deep, deep, woods, and I'd look up into the sky-up-up-up-into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I'd just FEEL a prayer. Well, I'm ready. What am I to say?" Marilla felt more embarrassed than ever. She had intended to teach Anne the childish classic, "Now I lay me down to sleep." But she had, as I have told you, the glimmerings of a sense of humor-which is simply another name for a sense of fitness of things; and it suddenly occurred to her that that simple little prayer, sacred to white-robed childhood lisping at motherly knees, was entirely unsuited to this freckled witch of a girl who knew and cared nothing bout God's love, since she had never had it translated to her through the medium of human love. "You're old enough to pray for yourself, Anne," she said finally. "Just thank God for your

安妮跪在玛丽拉的膝边，严肃地抬起头。 “为什么人们祈祷要跪着呀？ 如果我真的想祈祷，我告诉你我会怎么做。 我会一个人去一大片空旷的田野，或是去深深的密林里，然后抬头望着天空——往上——往上——一直望着那可爱的蓝天，那望不到尽头的湛蓝天空。 然后我就能自然而然感受到祈祷了。 好了，我准备好了。 我该说什么呀？” 玛丽拉比刚才更难为情了。 她本来想教安妮那首小孩都学的经典祷告：“现在我躺下来安睡。” 不过啊，之前也说过，玛丽拉其实隐约懂点幽默——幽默其实就是懂分寸的另一种说法； 她突然想到，这段简单的祷告，本来是穿得干干净净的小孩在妈妈膝边咿咿呀呀念的，完全不适合这个满脸雀斑的古怪女孩，她从未通过人间的爱感受过上帝的爱，对上帝的爱一无所知也毫不在意。 “你长大了，可以自己祷告了，安妮，”她最终说道。 “只要感谢上帝给你的

blessings and ask Him humbly for the things you want." "Well, I'll do my best," promised Anne, burying her face in Marilla's lap. "Gracious heavenly Father-that's the way the ministers say it in church, so I suppose it's all right in private prayer, isn't it?" she interjected, lifting her head for a moment. "Gracious heavenly Father, I thank Thee for the White Way of Delight and the Lake of Shining Waters and Bonny and the Snow Queen. I'm really extremely grateful for them. And that's all the blessings I can think of just now to thank Thee for. As for the things I want, they're so numerous that it would take a great deal of time to name them all so I will only mention the two most important. Please let me stay at Green Gables; and please let me be good-looking when I grow up. I remain, "Yours respectfully, Anne Shirley. "There, did I do all right?" she asked eagerly, getting up. "I could have made it much more flowery if I'd had a little more time to think it over."

感谢恩典，再谦卑地向祂祈求你想要的东西。" "好啦，我会尽力做好的。"安妮答应着，把脸埋进了玛丽拉的膝头。 "仁慈的天父——牧师们在教堂里都这么说，所以我觉得私人祷告这么说也没问题，对不对？" 她突然插了句话，稍稍抬起了头。 "仁慈的天父，我感谢你赐给我欢乐白径、闪光水湖、邦尼还有白雪皇后。 我真的万分感谢这一切。 这就是我现在能想到的，所有要感谢你的恩典。 至于我想要的东西实在太多了，全部说出来要花好长时间，所以我只说两件最重要的。 求求你让我留在绿山墙，也求求你让我长大以后变漂亮。 谨致敬意，安妮·雪莉。" "你看，我做得对吗？" 她急切地问道，站起身来。 "要是多给我一点时间思考，我本来能说得更动人呢。"

Poor Marilla was only preserved from complete collapse by remembering that it was not irreverence, but simply spiritual ignorance on the part of Anne that was responsible for this extraordinary petition. She tucked the child up in bed, mentally vowing that she should be taught a prayer the very next day, and was leaving the room with the light when Anne called her back. "I've just thought of it now. I should have said, `Amen" in place of `yours respectfully," shouldn't I?-the way the ministers do. I'd forgotten it, but I felt a prayer should be finished off in some way, so I put in the other. Do you suppose it will make any difference?" "I-I don't suppose it will," said Marilla. "Go to sleep now like a good child. Good night." "I can only say good night tonight with a clear conscience," said Anne, cuddling luxuriously down among her pillows. Marilla retreated to the kitchen, set the candle firmly on the table, and glared at Matthew. "Matthew Cuthbert, it's about time somebody adopted that child and taught her something. She's next door to a perfect heathen. Will you believe that she never said a prayer in her life till tonight?

可怜的玛丽拉差点彻底绷不住，还好她想起安妮不是故意不敬，只是根本不懂祷告的规矩，才说出这番奇特的祷告词。 她给安妮盖好被子，心里暗下决心明天一定要教安妮正确的祷告，她拿着灯正要走出房间，安妮就把她叫住了。 "我刚刚突然想到这件事。 我本该说‘阿门’，而不是‘谨致敬意’对不对？牧师们都是这么结尾的。 我刚才忘了，可我觉得祷告总得有个结尾，就换上了那个说法。 你说这会有什么影响吗？" "我——我觉得没关系的。"玛丽拉说。 "好孩子，快睡吧。 晚安。" "今晚我才能问心无愧地说晚安啦。"安妮说着，舒舒服服地缩进了枕头里。 玛丽拉走回厨房，把蜡烛稳稳放在桌子上，狠狠盯着马修。 "马修·卡斯伯特，早该有人好好教这孩子学点东西了。 她简直和纯正的异教徒没两样。 你敢信吗？她长这么大，今晚才第一次做祷告！"