WHEN Marilla took Anne up to bed that night she said stiffly:
当玛丽拉带着安妮上床时，她板着脸说道：

“Now, Anne, I noticed last night that you threw your clothes all about the floor when you took them off. —
“安妮，我昨晚注意到你脱衣服的时候把它们全部扔在地板上。 —

That is a very untidy habit, and I can’t allow it at all. —
那是一个非常不整洁的习惯，我不能允许这样下去。 —

As soon as you take off any article of clothing fold it neatly and place it on the chair. —
你脱下任何一件衣服立刻整洁地叠好放在椅子上。 —

I haven’t any use at all for little girls who aren’t neat.”
我对邋遢的小女孩毫无容忍心情。”

“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. —
安妮说：“我昨晚心烦意乱，完全没想到衣服。 —

They always made us do that at the asylum. —
在救济院里，他们总是让我们这样做。 —

Half the time, though, I’d forget, I’d be in such a hurry to get into bed nice and quiet and imagine things.”
可是有时我会忘记，我总是急着安静地上床想象各种事情。”

“You’ll have to remember a little better if you stay here,” admonished Marilla. —
玛丽拉警告道：“如果留在这里，你就必须记得多一点。 —

“There, that looks something like. Say your prayers now and get into bed.”
这样看起来就好多了。现在念祷告，上床睡觉吧。”

“I never say any prayers,” announced Anne.
安妮宣布：“我从不念祷告。”

Marilla looked horrified astonishment.
玛丽拉露出惊愕的表情。

“Why, Anne, what do you mean? Were you never taught to say your prayers? —
“安妮，你是什么意思？你从未被教过念祷告吗？ —

God always wants little girls to say their prayers. —
上帝总是期望小女孩们念祷告。 —

Don’t you know who God is, Anne?”
你难道不认识上帝是谁吗，安妮？”

“‘God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth,’” responded Anne promptly and glibly.
安妮俐落而轻松地回答道：”‘神是精神，无限、永恒和不变，在他的存在、智慧、力量、圣洁、公正、善良和真实。’”

Marilla looked rather relieved.
玛丽拉看起来有些宽慰。

“So you do know something then, thank goodness! —
“所以你确实知道一些，谢天谢地！” —

You’re not quite a heathen. Where did you learn that?”
“你不算完全是异教徒。你是在哪里学到的？”

“Oh, at the asylum Sunday-school. They made us learn the whole catechism. I liked it pretty well. —
“哦，在救助院的主日学校。他们让我们学习整个教义问答。我还蛮喜欢的。 —

There’s something splendid about some of the words. ‘Infinite, eternal and unchangeable. —
有些词语听起来很壮观。‘无限、永恒和不变。’ —

’ Isn’t that grand? It has such a roll to it—just like a big organ playing. —
壮哉一声！就像大管风琴演奏一样。 —

You couldn’t quite call it poetry, I suppose, but it sounds a lot like it, doesn’t it?”
你大概不能说这是诗，但听起来很像，是吧？”

“We’re not talking about poetry, Anne—we are talking about saying your prayers. —
“我们不是在谈论诗歌，安妮——我们是在谈论祷告。 —

Don’t you know it’s a terrible wicked thing not to say your prayers every night? —
你不知道每晚不祷告是多么邪恶的事情吗？ —

I’m afraid you are a very bad little girl.”
我担心你是一个非常顽劣的小女孩。”

“You’d find it easier to be bad than good if you had red hair,” said Anne reproachfully. —
“如果你的头发是红色，那么做坏事比做好事容易多了，” 安妮指责地说。 —

“People who haven’t red hair don’t know what trouble is. —
“头发不是红色的人不知道烦恼是什么。 —

Mrs. Thomas told me that God made my hair red on purpose, and I’ve never cared about Him since. —
托马斯太太告诉我，上帝故意让我的头发是红色，所以我从那时起就不再关心他了。 —

And anyhow I’d always be too tired at night to bother saying prayers. —
反正我晚上总是太累了，懒得去念晚祷。” —

People who have to look after twins can’t be expected to say their prayers. —
照顾双胞胎的人不能指望他们念祷文。 —

Now, do you honestly think they can?”
现在，你真的认为他们能吗？

Marilla decided that Anne’s religious training must be begun at once. —
玛丽拉决定要立刻开始安妮的宗教训练。 —

Plainly there was no time to be lost.
明显地，不容拖延。

“You must say your prayers while you are under my roof, Anne.”
“安妮，在我房子里你必须念祷文。”

“Why, of course, if you want me to,” assented Anne cheerfully. —
“噢，当然，如果你想要的话，”安妮开心地同意道。 —

“I’d do anything to oblige you. But you’ll have to tell me what to say for this once. —
“我什么事都愿意帮忙。但你这次得告诉我要说些什么。 —

After I get into bed I’ll imagine out a real nice prayer to say always. —
等我上了床，我会想出一个真正美好的祷文，永远这样念。 —

I believe that it will be quite interesting, now that I come to think of it.”
我相信这将会相当有趣，想到了我就这么认为。”

“You must kneel down,” said Marilla in embarrassment.
“你得跪下，”玛丽拉尴尬地说。

Anne knelt at Marilla’s knee and looked up gravely.
安妮跪在玛丽拉的膝前，严肃地看着上面。

“Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I’ll tell you what I’d do. —
“为什么人们要跪下祷告？如果我真的想祈祷，我告诉你我会怎么做。 —

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. —
我会独自去一个大大的田野或者进入深深的树林，然后仰望天空—向上—向上—向上—那片漂亮的蓝天，看起来没有尽头的蓝色。 —

And then I’d just feel a prayer. Well, I’m ready. —
然后我会感到祷文。好了，我准备好了。 —

What am I to say?”
我要说什么？”

Marilla felt more embarrassed than ever. She had intended to teach Anne the childish classic, “Now I lay me down to sleep. —
玛丽拉感到比以往任何时候都更尴尬。她本打算教安妮那首儿童经典之作，“现在我安静地躺下睡觉。” —

” 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; —
但她有着（正如我告诉你的）一点幽默感——这其实只是对事物合宜性的一种称呼； —

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 about God’s love, since she had never had it translated to her through the medium of human love.
突然间，她意识到这首对着母亲抱膝唠叨的、神圣的小小祷文，其实完全不适合这位布满雀斑的女巫般的姑娘，她既不了解也不在意上帝的爱，因为这种爱从未通过人类的爱来传达给她。

“You’re old enough to pray for yourself, Anne,” she said finally. —
“你已经长大到可以自己为自己祈祷了，安妮，”玛丽拉最终说。 —

“Just thank God for your blessings and ask Him humbly for the things you want.”
“感谢上帝给你的恩赐，虔诚地向祂祈求你想要的东西。”

“Well, I’ll do my best,” promised Anne, burying her face in Marilla’s lap. —
“好的，我会尽力的，”安妮承诺道，把脸埋在玛丽拉的膝盖中。 —

“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? —
“亲爱的天父—教堂里的牧师就是这么说的，所以我觉得这种方式在私人祈祷里也是可以的，不是吗？ —

” she interjected, lifting her head for a moment.
“她插嘴说，抬起头来露出一会儿。

“Gracious heavenly Father, I thank Thee for the White
“亲爱的天父，我感谢你为白色

Way of Delight and the Lake of Shining Waters and Bonny
“快乐之路、闪亮湖泊和邦尼。”

and the Snow Queen. I’m really extremely grateful for
1， 和雪女王。我真的非常感激

them. And that’s all the blessings I can think of just
他们。那就是我现在只能想到感谢祢的一切祝福。

now to thank Thee for. As for the things I want,
至于我想要的东西，

they’re so numerous that it would take a great deal of
他们太多了，要把它们全部列出来需要很多

time to name them all so I will only mention the two
时间，所以我只提到两个

most important. Please let me stay at Green Gables;
最重要的。请让我留在绿谷；

and please let me be good-looking when I grow up.
请让我长大后变得漂亮。

I remain,
我顺祝

                “Yours respectfully,

“敬祢的，

                   Anne Shirley.

安妮·雪莉。

“There, did I do all right?” she asked eagerly, getting up. —
“那样写对吗？”她急切地问道，站起来。 —

“I could have made it much more flowery if I’d had a little more time to think it over.”
“如果我有更多时间来考虑，我本可以写得更华丽。”

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. —
马丽拉只能靠记住安妮对这个非同寻常的请求负责的不是不敬，而只是精神上的无知，才得以不完全崩溃。 —

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.
她把孩子送上床，心里誓言第二天一定要教孩子祈祷，正在离开房间时，安妮叫住了她。

“I’ve just thought of it now. I should have said, ‘Amen’ in place of ‘yours respectfully,’ shouldn’t I? —
“我刚想到。我应该说‘阿门’来代替‘敬祢的’，对吗？ —

—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. —
“我——股神父们那样做。我忘了，但我觉得应该以某种方式完成祷告，所以我加了另一个。” —

Do you suppose it will make any difference?”
“你认为这会有所不同吗？”

“I—I don’t suppose it will,” said Marilla. —
“我——我不认为会有什么不同，”玛丽拉说。 —

“Go to sleep now like a good child. Good night.”
“现在像个好孩子一样去睡觉吧。晚安。”

“I can only say good night tonight with a clear conscience,” said Anne, cuddling luxuriously down among her pillows.
“我只能说今晚有个清白的良心了。”安妮舒适地蜷缩在枕头间。

Marilla retreated to the kitchen, set the candle firmly on the table, and glared at Matthew.
玛丽拉退到厨房，将蜡烛牢牢地放在桌子上，瞪着马修。

“Matthew Cuthbert, it’s about time somebody adopted that child and taught her something. —
“马修卡思伯特，是时候有人领养那孩子并教她些东西了。 —

She’s next door to a perfect heathen. Will you believe that she never said a prayer in her life till tonight? —
她几乎是个未开化的野蛮人。你能信她这辈子从未念过一次祷文吗？ —

I’ll send her to the manse tomorrow and borrow the Peep of the Day series, that’s what I’ll do. —
我明天就送她去牧师府，借《今日一瞥》系列给她，就这么办。 —

And she shall go to Sunday-school just as soon as I can get some suitable clothes made for her. —
等我给她做些合适的衣服后，她应该马上去主日学校。 —

I foresee that I shall have my hands full. —
我预见到我将忙得不可开交。 —

Well, well, we can’t get through this world without our share of trouble. —
“唉，唉，没有我们分担些麻烦就过不去这个世界。 —

I’ve had a pretty easy life of it so far, but my time has come at last and I suppose I’ll just have to make the best of it.”
“到目前为止，我过得相当轻松，但我时机终于到了，我想我只能尽力而为。”