第27章 鍾 The Bell(第4/12 頁)

沒有比鐘聲更甜美的旋律了。

one wrote a whole poem about it, and said the bell sounded like the voice of a mother to a good dear child, and that no melody was sweeter than the tones of the bell.

這個國家的國王也注意到了這件事，併發誓說，誰能找出聲音的來源，誰就應該獲得 “萬能敲鐘人” 的稱號，即使那實際上不是一個鐘。

the king of the country was also observant of it, and vowed that he who could discover whence the sounds proceeded, should have the title of “Universal bell-ringer,” even if it were not really a bell.

現在很多人去了森林，為了找到那個地方，但只有一個人帶著一種解釋回來了；因為沒有人走得足夠遠，那個人也沒有比其他人走得更遠。然而，他說聲音是從一棵空心樹裡的一隻非常大的貓頭鷹那裡傳來的；一隻博學的貓頭鷹，它不斷地用頭撞樹枝。但是聲音是來自它的頭還是來自空心樹，沒有人能確定地說出來。

many persons now went to the wood, for the sake of getting the place, but one only returned with a sort of explanation; for nobody went far enough, that one not further than the others. however, he said that the sound proceeded from a very large owl, in a hollow tree; a sort of learned owl, that continually knocked its head against the branches. but whether the sound came from his head or from the hollow tree, that no one could say with certainty.

所以現在他得到了 “萬能敲鐘人” 的職位，並每年寫一篇簡短的論文《論貓頭鷹》；但每個人都和以前一樣聰明。

So now he got the place of “Universal bell-ringer,” and wrote yearly a short treatise “on the owl”; but everybody was just as wise as before.

這是堅信禮的日子。牧師講得如此動人，接受堅信禮的孩子們深受感動；對他們來說，這是一個重要的日子；他們一下子從孩子變成了成年人；就好像他們幼小的靈魂現在一下子要飛進更有理解力的人的身體裡。

It was the day of confirmation. the clergyman had spoken so touchingly, the children who were confirmed had be