The Chimney Sweeper 扫烟囱孩子

--William Blake --威廉.布莱克

The Chimney Sweeper is the title of two poems by William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence¹ in 1789 and Songs of Experience in 1794.In the earlier poem, a young chimney sweeper recounts a dream had by one of his fellows, in which an angel rescues the boys from coffins² and takes them to a sunny meadow; in the later poem, an apparently³ adult speaker encounters a child chimney sweeper abandoned in the snow while his parents are at church.

When my mother died I was very young, 我母亲死的时候，我还小得很，

And my father sold me while yet my tongue 我父亲把我拿出来卖给了别人，

Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 我当时还不大喊得清，“扫呀——扫!”

So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot⁴ I sleep. 我就扫你们烟囱，裹煤屑睡觉。

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head, 有个小托姆，头发卷得像小羊头，

That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said, 剃光的时候，哭得好伤心，好难受，

"Hush⁵, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare, 我就说：“小托姆，不要紧，光了脑袋，

You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair." 打起来煤屑就不会糟踏你白头发。”

And so he was quiet; and that very night, 他就安安静静了，当天夜里，

As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight, - 托姆睡着了，事情就来得稀奇，

That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack⁶, 他看见千千万万的扫烟囱小孩

Were all of them locked up in coffins of black. 阿猫阿狗全都给锁进了黑棺材。

And by came an angel who had a bright key, 后来来了个天使，拿了把金钥匙，

And he opened the coffins and set them all free; 开棺材放出了孩子们(真是好天使!)

Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run, 他们就边跳，边笑，边跑过草坪，

And wash in a river, and shine in the sun. 到河里洗了澡，太阳里晒得亮晶晶。

Then naked and white, all their bags left behind, 光光的，白白的，把袋子都抛个一，

They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind; 他们就升上了云端，在风里游戏;

And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy, “只要你做个好孩子，”天使对托姆说，

He'd have God for his father, and never want joy. “上帝会做你的父亲，你永远快乐。”

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark, 托姆就醒了;屋子里黑咕隆咚，

And got with our bags and our brushes to work. 我们就起来拿袋子、扫帚去做工。

Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm; 大清早尽管冷，托姆的心里可温暖;

So if all do their duty they need not fear harm. 这叫做：各尽本分，就不怕灾难。