Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. So one day he asked God, “They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless¹?”

God replied, “Among the many angels³, I chose one for you. She will be waiting for you and will take care of you.”

But the child wasn't sure he really wanted to go. “But tell me, here in Heaven, I don't do anything else but sing and smile, that's enough for me to be happy.”

“Your angel² will sing for you and will also smile for you every day. And you will feel your angel's love and be happy.”

“And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me,” the child continued, “if I don't know the language that men talk?”

God patted⁴ him on the head and said, “Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.”

“And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?”

But God had an answer for that question too. “Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.”

“I've heard that on earth there are bad men, who will protect me?”

“Your angel will defend you even if it means⁵ risking her life!”

“But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore,” the child continued warily⁶.

God smiled on the young one. “Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way for you to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you.”

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from earth could already be heard. The child knew he had to start on his journey very soon. He asked God one more question, softly⁷, “Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel's name.”

God touched the child on the shoulder and answered, “Your angel's name is not hard to remember. You will simply call her Mommy.”

从前，有个孩子马上就要诞生了。因此有一天他问上帝：“听说明天你就送我去人间了，但是，我这么弱小和无助，我在那儿怎么生活呢？”

上帝答道：“在众多的天使中，我特别为你挑了一位。她会守候你、无微不至地照顾你。”

小孩还是拿不准自己是否真的想去。“但是在天堂，我除了唱唱笑笑外，什么也不做。这就足以让我感到幸福了。”

“你的天使每天会为你唱歌，为你微笑。你会感受她的爱，并且因此而幸福。”

“如果我不懂人类的语言，他们对我说话时，我怎么听得懂呢？”孩子继续问道。

上帝轻轻地拍了一下孩子的脑袋说：“你的天使会对你说最最美丽、最最动听的话语，而这些都是你从未听过的。她会不厌其烦地教你说话。”

“如果我想与你说话怎么办？”

上帝胸有成竹地回答：“你的天使会将你的双手合拢，教你如何祈祷。”

“听说尘世有很多坏蛋，谁来保护我呢？”

“即使冒着生命危险，你的天使也会保护你的。”

“但是见不到你，我会难过的。”小孩小心翼翼说道。

听到这儿，上帝对着小孩笑了。“尽管我会一直陪伴你左右，你的天使仍会提起我，教你重返天堂之路。”

此时，天堂一片宁静，凡间的声音已可听到，小孩明白自己得赶紧上路了。 他又轻声问了最后一个问题，“哦，上帝，假如我现在就出发，请你告诉我，我的天使叫什么名字。”

上帝把手放在小孩的肩上，答道：“你的天使的名字很容易记住， 你就叫她——妈妈。”