3.“Try it once,”replied Herbert.“Treat Fritz kindly,and I am certain he will feel so ashamed and unhappy,that he would far rather have you kick or beat him.”
4.Joe was not really such a bad boy at heart,but he was now in a very ill-temper,and he said,sullenly,“But you’ve told me a story,cousin Herbert.You said this kind of coals would burn,and they can‘t at all.”
5.“You are mistaken about that,”said his cousin,cheerily.“I have known such coals to burn up a great amount of rubbish-malice,envy,ill-feeling,revenge,and I don’t know how much more-and then leave some very cold hearts feeling as warm and pleasant as possible.”
6.Joe drew a long sigh.“Well,tell me a good coal to put onFritz‘s head,and I’ll see about it.”
7.“You know,”said cousin Herbert,smiling,“that Fritz is very poor,and can seldom buy himself a book,although he is very fond of reading;but you have quite a library.
8.”Now,suppose-ah!well,I won‘t suppose anything about it.I’ll just leave you to think over the matter,and find your own coal;and be sure and kindle it with love,for no other fire burns so brightly and so long;“and with a cheery whistle,cousin Herbert sprang over the fence and was gone.
9.Before Joe had time to collect his thoughts,he saw Fritz coming down the lane,carrying a basket of eggs in one hand and a pail of milk in the other.
10.For one minute the thought crossed Joe‘s mind,“What a grand smash it would have been if Fritz had fallen over the string!”and then again he blushed to the eyes,and was glad enough that the string was safe in his pocket.
11.Fritz started,and looked very uncomfortable,when he first caught sight of Joe,but the boy began abruptly,“Fritz,do you have much time to read now?”
12.“Sometimes,”said Fritz,“when I’ve driven the cows home,and done all my chores,I have a little piece of daylight left;but the trouble is,I‘ve read everything I could get hold of.”
13.“How would you like to take my new book of travels?”
14.Fritz’s eyes danced.“Oh!may I?may I?I‘d be so carefulof it.”
15.“Yes,”answered Joe,“and perhaps I’ve some others you would like to read.And Fritz,”he added,a little slyly,“I wouldask you to come and help sail my boat to-day,but someone has torn up the sails and made a great hole in the bottom.Who do you suppose did it?”
16.Fritz‘s head dropped upon his breast;but after a moment he looked up with a great effort,and said,“I did it,Joe;but I can’t began to tell you how sorry I am.You didn‘t know I was so mean,when you promised me the books?”
17.“Well,I rather thought you did it,”said Joe,slowly.
18.“And yet you didn’t”-Fritz could not get any farther,for his cheeks were in a perfect blaze,and he rushed off without another word.
19.“Cousin Herbert was right,”said Joe to himself;“that coal does burn;and I know Fritz would rather I had smashed every egg in his basket than offer to lend him that book.-But I feel fine;”and little Joe took three more summersaults,and went home with a light heart,and a grand appetite for breakfast.
20.When the captain and crew of the little vessel met at the appointed hour,they found Fritz there before them eagerly trying to repair the injuries;and as soon as he saw Joe,he hurried to present him with a beautiful little flag which he had bought for the boat with part of his egg-money that very morning.
21.The boat was repaired,and made a grand trip,and every thing turned out as cousin Herbert had said.And Joe‘s heart was so warm and full of kind thoughts,that he never was more happy in all his life.
【中文阅读】
1.“惩罚的办法就是如果你的敌人饿了,就给他面包吃,如果渴了,就给他水喝。你如果把烧着的煤放在他头上,他会感谢你的。”赫伯特一本正经地说,“我认为这样是对小弗里兹最好的惩罚。”
2.乔的脸拉得很长,“赫伯特,这是谅解,根本不是惩罚。”
3.“试一下,”赫伯特回答,“对弗里兹好些,我敢肯定他会感觉羞愧,会觉得不高兴,会觉得还不如让你踢他一脚或者打他一顿。”4.乔其实并不是心地不善良的人,但是现在他确实气坏了,突然,他说:“赫伯特你给我讲过,你说过那煤会烧起来,那可不行。”5.“你错了,”表哥高兴地说,“我知道有的煤能一下子把如怨恨、邪恶、变态、报复等很多很多这样的垃圾烧光,使那个冰冷心肠的人感到无比温暖,感到无比愉快。”
6.乔长叹了一口气:“那么你告诉我那种能放在弗里兹头上的煤吧。”
7.“你知道,”赫伯特表哥微笑着说:“弗里兹很穷,自己买不起书,但他很喜欢看书,而你有很多书。
8.”现在你自己想想吧--哈!我不用多说了,就让你自己想吧,找到你想用的煤,找到后用爱去点燃它,没有比爱更能让这种煤燃烧得更亮、时间更长的东西了。“说完,赫伯特吹着口哨,高兴地走了。
9.还没等乔有时间仔细考虑这个问题,他就看到弗里兹从远处走了过来,一只手拎着篮子,另一只手拎着一桶牛奶。
10.一刹那,乔突然有了个想法,”如果真用这根绳子把弗里兹绊倒,那他可真是出大丑了。“想到这里,他感到了羞愧,同时也很高兴现在绳子已经放到了他的口袋里。
11.弗里兹走了过来。当他第一眼看到乔,似乎有些慌乱。但乔却说话了:“弗里兹,你有时间看书吗?”
12.“有时候有。”弗里兹回答,“我放完牛回到家里,再做完所有的家务就有一点时间了。但问题是,所有我自己的书都已经看完了。”
13.“我有一本关于旅游的书,你想不想看?”
14.弗里兹眼睛一亮,“哦!我能看吗?我能看吗?我一定会悉心保管好的。”
15.“好。”乔回答,“我还有些其他书,也许你想看。弗里兹,”他又说,有点害羞,“我想请你帮忙,和我一起给我的船下水,但是不知道谁把船帆撕坏了,船底也弄了个大洞,你帮我想想是谁弄的?”
16.弗里兹深深地低下了头。过了一会儿他鼓足勇气抬起头来,说:“乔,是我干的,但是我不好意思开口说抱歉。你不知道我很小气吗?还给我看你的书?”
17.“我宁愿是你干的,”乔慢慢说道,“但是你不会。”
18.弗里兹再也说不出话来,他的脸颊通红,一句话也没说就跑远了。
19.“赫伯特表哥是对的,”乔自己对自己说,“煤烧起来了,现在我知道了,弗里兹宁愿我把他所有的鸡蛋都打碎,也比我这样给他书看让他更舒服些--但是我感觉很好。”说着他翻了三个筋斗,心情愉快地回到家,饱饱地吃了一顿早餐。
20.小船的船长和船员在约好的时间碰面了,乔发现弗里兹早就到了那里,着急地修着他弄坏的小船。弗里兹一看到乔,急忙拿出一面漂亮的小旗子给他看,这面旗子是他用每天卖鸡蛋挣到的钱买的。
21.船修好了,试水也非常成功,一切都证明赫伯特表哥所说的是正确的。乔感觉很温暖,也充满了善心,而且从没感觉到像现在这么幸福。