A Child’s Dream of a Star

There was once a child, and he strolled about a good deal, and thought of a number of things. He had a sister, who was a child too, and his constant companion. These two used to wonder all day long. They wondered at the beauty of the flowers; they wondered at the height and blueness of the sky; they wondered at the depth of the bright water; they wondered at the goodness and the power of God who made the lovely world.

There was once clear, shining star that used to come out in the sky before the rest, near the church spire, above the graves. It was larger and more beautiful, they thought, than all the others, and every night they watched for it, standing hand in hand at a window. So they grew to be such friends with it, that, before lying down in their beds, they always looked out once again, to bid it good night, and when they were turning round to sleep, they used to say, “God bless the star!”

                                                      一個孩子的星星夢

很久以前有個孩子，他常常一邊漫步一邊想事情。他有個妹妹，也是個小孩子，是他一直以來的玩伴。這兩個人常整天好奇著花朵的美、天空的高聳與湛藍，他們好奇著水深，也好奇著神的恩典，與造出這美好世界萬物之神的力量。

有顆明亮的星星，在休息之前會出現在天空，那是墓園之上，靠近教堂尖頂之處。他們想，它真是比世上所有的星星，還要大、還要閃亮。他們每晚都肩並肩，站在窗前注視著它。因此，他們如同朋友一般，和它一起成長，在轉身回去睡覺之前，他們總會看著窗外，和它道晚安，也為它祈禱：「願主保佑星星。」