墓里的孩子
这是一篇散文诗，首次发表在斯德哥尔摩１８５９年１２月出版的《新北欧诗歌和芬兰、丹麦及瑞典作家剪影集》上。安徒生在他的手记中说：“《墓里的孩子》像《母亲的故事》一样，所给予我的愉快，比我的任何作品都多，因为许多深切悲哀的母亲从中获得了安慰和力量。”这个故事表面上歌颂了上帝的“爱”和善良的意旨，但真正描写的是母亲的伟大：她既要钟爱死去的孩子，也要保护活着的亲人，她得在“爱”和“人生的责任”之间来挣扎，来保持平衡。安徒生无法解决这个问题，只好又求助于“上帝”——这表明一个作家是如何经常在进行灵魂的斗争。
IT was a very sad day，and every heart in the house felt the deepest grief，for the youngest child，a boy of four years old，the joy and hope of his parents，was dead.Two daughters，the elder of whom was going to be confirmed，still remained.They were both good，charming girls，but the lost child always seems the dearest，and when it is youngest，and a son，it makes the trial still more heavy.
这是令人悲哀的一天，每一颗心都充满了悲伤。一个四岁的男孩夭折了。他是他爸爸妈妈最小的儿子，是他们的欢乐和未来的希望。他的爸爸妈妈另外还有两个较大的女儿，最大的那一个这一年就要受坚信礼了。她们全是惹人怜爱的好孩子，但是死去的孩子一直是他们最心疼的孩子，况且他还是一个最小的独生儿子呢？这使得他们更加伤心。
The sisters mourned(mourn v.哀悼，忧伤，服丧)as young hearts can mourn，and were especially grieved at the sight of their parentssorrow.The fathers heart was bowed down，but the mother sunk completely under the deep grief.Day and night she had attended to the sick child，nursing and carrying it in her bosom(bosom n.胸部，胸，胸怀，内心，内部vt.怀抱，隐匿)，as a part of herself.She could not realize the fact that the child was dead，and must be laid in a coffin to rest in the ground.She thought God could not take her darling little one from her，and when it did happen notwithstanding her hopes and her belief，and there could be no more doubt on the subject，she said in her feverish agony(agony n.苦恼，极大的痛苦)，“God does not know it.He has hardhearted ministering spirits on earth，who do according to their own will，and heed not a mothers prayers.”
两个姐姐幼小的心灵已经悲伤到了极点；父母的悲痛使她们更感到尤其难过。父亲的腰已经弯了，妈妈也被这种空前的悲哀彻底压垮了。她曾经日日夜夜忙着看护这个生病的孩子，照料他，抱着他，拥着他，觉得他已经成了她身体的一部分。她不能接受他已经死了，快要躺进棺材，被埋葬到坟墓里去的事实。她觉得上帝不可能把这个孩子从她的手中抢走。尽管她有自己的希望和信念但事情确实发生了，而且成了千真万确的事实，所以她在极度的痛苦中说道：“上帝不晓得这件事！他的那些在世上的奴仆，有的真是没有一点良心；这些人随便处理事情，几乎不听母亲们的祷告。”
Thus in her great grief she fell away from her faith in God，and dark thoughts arose in her mind respecting death and a future state.She tried to believe that man was but dust，and that with his life all existence ended.But these doubts were no support to her，nothing on which she could rest，and she sunk into the fathomless(fathomless adj.深不可测的，无法计量的，无法了解的)depths of despair.In her darkest hours she ceased to weep，and thought not of the young daughters who were still left to her.The tears of her husband fell on her forehead，but she took no notice of him，her thoughts were with her dead child，her whole existence seemed wrapped up in the remembrances of the little one and of every innocent(innocent adj.(～of)清白的，无罪的，天真的，无知的)word it had uttered.
她在极大的痛苦中舍弃了上帝。她的心中出现了阴暗的思想——她想到了死，永远的死。她觉得人不过是尘土中的尘土，随着儿子的死去，她这一生是完了。这种思想令她觉得自己无所依靠，她陷入绝望的深渊中去了。当她痛苦到了极点的时候，连哭都哭不出来。她忘了她还有幼小的女儿。她丈夫的眼泪滴到她的额上，可是她没有注意。她只是想着那个过世了的孩子。她的整个生命和存在都沉浸在回忆中：回忆她的孩子，回忆他所讲过的每句天真幼稚的话。
The day of the little childs funeral came.For nights previously the mother had not slept，but in the morning twilight of this day she sunk from weariness into a deep sleep，in the mean time the coffin was carried into a distant room，and there nailed down，that she might not hear the blows of the hammer.When she awoke，and wanted to see her child，the husband，with tears，said，“We have closed the coffin；it was necessary to do so.”
举行葬礼的日子最终到来了。在这之前她有许多夜晚没有睡过觉，但是天明的时候，她疲倦到了极点，因此就迷迷糊糊地睡去了。棺材就在这时候被抬到一间僻静的房子里。棺材盖就是在那儿钉上的，因为担心她听见锤子的声音。她一醒，就马上爬起来，要去看孩子。她的丈夫含着眼泪说：“我们已经把棺材钉上了——事情必须这样做！”
“When God is so hard to me，how can I expect men to be better？”she said with groans(groan n.呻吟，叹息vi.呻吟，受折磨vt.呻吟着说)and tears.
“上帝都对我这样残忍，”她大声说，“我怎么能指望人们对我更好呢？”于是她呜呜咽咽地哭起来了。
The coffin was carried to the grave，and the disconsolate mother sat with her young daughters.She looked at them，but she saw them not，for her thoughts were far away from the domestic hearth.She gave herself up to her grief，and it tossed her to and fro，as the sea tosses a ship without compass or rudder(rudder n.舵，方向舵).So the day of the funeral passed away，and similar days followed，of dark，wearisome pain.With tearful eyes and mournful glances，the sorrowing daughters and the afflicted husband looked upon her who would not hear their words of comfort，and，indeed，what comforting words could they speak，when they were themselves so full of grief？It seemed as if she would never again know sleep，and yet it would have been her best friend，one who would have strengthened her body and poured peace into her soul.They at last persuaded(persuade v.说服，劝说，(使)相信，劝某人做(不做)某事)her to lie down，and then she would lie as still as if she slept.
棺材被搬到墓地里去了。这个悲痛到极点的母亲跟她的两个女儿坐在一起。她望着她们，但是她的眼睛里却没有她们，因为在她的意识中已经再没有什么家庭了。悲哀掌握了她整个的灵魂。悲哀冲击着她，正如海浪冲击着一条失去了罗盘和舵的船一样。入葬的那一天就是这样过去的，接着是一长串同样苦闷和沉痛的日子。这悲哀的一家用湿润的眼睛和愁苦的目光望着她，她完全听不进他们抚慰的话语。真的，他们自己也悲痛极了，还有什么话可说呢？她好像不再知道睡眠是什么东西了。这时谁要能够使她的身体复原过来，使她的灵魂得到休息，谁就可以说是她最好的朋友。大家劝她在床上躺一躺，她就动也不动地躺在那儿，似乎睡着了似的。