No one ever saw the Mute¹ Singer at night. Nobody even knew where he slept. But during the day he could be found at the same place, sitting near the church and playing his guitar while his lips moved silently with the music.

从未有人在晚上看见过沉默的歌手，没人知道他睡在哪里。但是白天，总能在同样的地方看到他，他坐在教堂附近，弹着吉他，嘴唇随着音乐张合。

Everybody liked the Mute Singer-the peasants as much as the beggars³. People threw their pennies into the cups of the beggars sitting on the ground, asking for help. But not so with the Mute Singer. Into his cup, they dropped their pennies gently. He used the shell of a turtle as a cup. He got much more money than the others, but this did not trouble any of the beggars.

大家都喜欢沉默的歌手——农民们和乞丐都喜欢他。人们将钱扔进那些坐在地上乞求帮助的乞丐的罐中。但对沉默的歌手不是这样，他们总是轻轻地将钱放进去。他把龟壳当作罐，他得的钱总是比其他人多，但这并不影响到其他乞丐。

At the end of the day, the beggars crowded around the Mute Singer in front of the church. He took a clean white handkerchief from the pocket of his old coat, and put it smoothly⁴ on the ground. He made it seem like a religious ceremony. Then he put all his money on the clean white cloth, he made all the beggars an equal share of the money but kept nothing for himself.

在一天结束的时候，乞丐围在站在教堂前的“沉默的歌手”身旁，他从旧衣服中掏出一条白手帕，轻轻地放到地面。放佛在进行着某种宗教仪式。他将讨来的钱放在感情的白布上，将钱均分给其他乞丐，但自己却不要一分钱。

Sadly, he looked around at the beggars, covered with dirt and disease⁵. The sun was sinking fast and the peasants had all left the church area. The Mute Singer lowered his head and started to pray; the beggars were on their knees, joining him in prayer.

他难过地看着周围的乞丐，他们身上满是泥土，都身患疾病。太阳西沉，农民们都已经离开了教堂。沉默的歌手低下头开始祈祷，乞丐们也跪下来一起祈祷。

Then the Mute Singer began to play his guitar, moving his lips with the music. The beggars sat still and listened. The music cut deep into their hearts. It cut through their years of pain and suffering and loss of hope. It made them feel human again. Many of them cried, and with dried old hands wiped away their tears.

沉默的歌手开始谈起吉他，嘴唇随着音乐张合。乞丐们静静地坐着，倾听。音乐触及到他们的心灵。穿过多年的痛苦和希望的丧失。音乐使乞丐们再次感觉到自己是人。很多人哭了，用苍老的手抹去眼泪。

I heard a beggar² say the Mute Singer was not a human being, but God dressed as a beggar. "If that is true," another answered, "he would not come as a beggar, but as a priest⁶..."

我听说有个乞丐说“沉默的歌手”不是人而是乔装的上帝，“如果这是真的”，另一个乞丐说“他不应该是乞丐，而应试神父……”

One day, hundreds of new peasants entered the city. They were welcomed at the church by its religious leaders who dropped water on their heads and blessed them. Religious singing and church bells felled the air, as did the cried of the beggars asking for help.

一天，很多新农民来到城里，他们来到教堂接受洗礼和赐福。教堂的歌声和钟声弥漫在空气中，乞丐乞求帮助的声音也充斥在空气中。

As the peasants came out of the church, the Mute Singer began to play. The peasants crowded around him and dropped pennies into his cup. Suddenly, his fingers hit the wrong strings⁷. He threw his arms into the air. His guitar fell to the ground and broke. One of the beggars caught the Mute Singer as he fell and held his beautiful head on his knees.

当农民们从教堂里出来的时候，沉默的歌手开始弹奏。农民们聚拢在他的周围，将钱扔进罐中。土人，他的手指弹错了弦。他扑倒了，吉他落到地上碎了。有个乞丐在他摔倒的时候接住了他，将他的头放在膝盖上。

We carried him into my mother's empty barn⁸ and put him down gently. I held his hand and he slept a little, then opened his eyes and smiled weakly. He looked like a lost child.

我们将他抬进我妈妈的空谷仓中，轻轻将他放下。我握住他的手，他小睡了一会儿，然后睁开眼睛，虚弱地笑了小。他看上去就像走失的孩子。

The Mute Singer pointed⁹ to his chest and made the sign of the cross. A beggar said, "He wants me to give him the last rites¹⁰. Can you get me a piece of bread?"

沉默的歌手指着胸膛，做了个交叉的手势。有个乞丐说道“他想让我给他进行最后的仪式。你能给我片面包吗？”

"But you are not a priest," I said.

“但你不是神父，”我说道。

"This is something any man would be glad to do for him it is an emergency. But I am dirty, my clothes are dirty. Hurry, get some bread and a white shirt."

“这是每个人都乐意为他做的时，事情紧急。但是我很脏，我的衣服也很脏,快点，拿点面包和一件白色的法衣”

I ran out and got some bread. Next to my house was a synagogue, and in the dark I saw the rabbi's finest white shirt hanging to be dried. I took the shirt and hurried to the side of the dying¹¹ Mute Singer.

我跑了出去，去拿了些面包。挨着我房子的是犹太教会堂，黑暗中我看到教士最好的白色法衣挂在哪里晾干。我拿起法衣，飞奔到奄奄一息的“沉默的歌手”身旁。

The beggar put on the white shirt, and gave me a candle to hold. Then he got down close to the Mute Singer and said:

乞丐穿上白色法衣，给我一只蜡烛让我握着。然后他来到歌手近前说道：

"Hear me, my brother! Open your eyes if you can, so that you may see the sign of the cross made over you. Here is your Last Communion, a beggar's Communion of black bread."

“听我说，我的兄弟！如果你能就请睁开双眼，那样你就能看到为你而造的十字架。这是你的最后圣餐，一个乞丐的黑面包圣餐。

The dying man looked at the beggar, smiled weakly and left us forever....

奄奄一息的歌手看了看乞丐，虚弱地笑了笑，永远地离开了我们。

That night I had very strange dreams. In one dream, I saw something white moving slowly toward¹² me. It was like a flog. But when it got very close it changed into the shape of a man. It was the Mute Singer still holding his guitar. Then two angles¹³ floated out of the dark into my dream: they fell to their knees before the Mute Singer, kissing his hands while he gently touched their heads. It was like what I had often seen in old religious paintings.

那天晚上我做了个奇怪的梦。在梦里，我看见有个白色的东西缓缓向我移动，看上去像只青蛙。但当它走到近前是，它变成了人性。原来是沉默的歌手，他依然拿着吉他。两个甜食从黑暗中进入到我的梦里，他们在沉默的歌手前跪到，亲吻着他的手，而歌手轻轻地摸着他们的头。就像我在古老的教堂油画里看到的一样。

I slept badly. I felt something heavy, and it was hurting me. I awoke and saw that I was holding too hard against my chest, the shell of a turtle. It was the turtle shell which the Mute Singer used as a beggar's cup for money. He gave it to me while he lay dying.

我睡得很沉。我感到有个沉东西，它弄疼了我。我醒来，看到我贴近胸膛紧紧握着龟壳。那是沉默的歌手用来讨钱的罐子。当他奄奄一息时，他将那给了我。