《返老還童》故事正文
當(dāng)我們的主還在地上巡視時(shí),有一天晚上,他帶著圣彼得到一個(gè)鐵匠家投宿,鐵匠倒還樂意。這時(shí)碰巧來了位乞丐,年邁體弱,精神不振,樣子十分可憐,他求鐵匠施舍點(diǎn)東西給他,圣彼得很同情他,說:“主呀,如果你愿意,請(qǐng)幫他治一下病吧,讓他能夠自己掙得食物。”
上帝非常和藹地說:“師傅,請(qǐng)把你的鐵爐借我用一下,加些炭在里面,我要把這老乞丐煉得年輕些。”
鐵匠非常樂意,圣彼得便拉起風(fēng)箱,上帝把乞丐推進(jìn)爐火中的最旺處,老人在里面燒得像玫瑰般通紅,口里還大聲贊美著上帝。過了一會(huì)兒,上帝踏到水槽前,把這燒紅的人放了進(jìn)去浸在水中,等他冷卻后,上帝就向他祝福。過了一會(huì)兒,那小個(gè)子老人一躍而出,面目一新了,他顯得那樣挺直、健康,就像一位二十歲的小伙子。鐵匠在一旁仔細(xì)地瞧著,請(qǐng)他們一起吃了晚飯。鐵匠有位半瞎背駝的老岳母,她走到年輕人的跟前,仔細(xì)地瞧著,問他爐火可曾燒了他。那人告訴他從來沒有這般舒服過,立在爐火中,就像沐浴在清涼的露水中一樣。那年青人的話在老婦人的耳邊響了一整夜。
第二天早上,上帝準(zhǔn)備上路了,他感謝了鐵匠,鐵匠認(rèn)為他也能把自己的老岳母變得年輕些,因?yàn)樽蛱斓囊磺兴伎丛谘劾?。于是他問岳母是否也想變成個(gè)十八歲的少女跳來跳去。她說:“我太想了。”于是鐵匠生起了一爐大火,把老婦人推了進(jìn)去。她在里面翻來覆去,叫得十分可怕。“安靜地坐著,你又叫又跳干什么?”鐵匠對(duì)她叫道。說完他又重新拉風(fēng)箱,把老婦人的破衣服都燒了個(gè)精光。老婦人還是叫不絕口,鐵匠便懷疑道:“難到我手藝沒學(xué)到家?”于是把她拖了出來,扔進(jìn)水槽里。老人又是一陣尖叫,連住在樓上的鐵匠的妻子和老人的媳婦都聽見了,她們一齊跑下樓梯來。只見老婆子在水槽里卷成一團(tuán),號(hào)啕大哭,她的臉已起皺,燒得不成樣子了。那兩個(gè)人正懷著孩子,由于受了驚嚇,那天晚上就生下了兩個(gè)小孩,不像人,而像猴子。
后來他們跑進(jìn)了森林,從此地上就有了猴子。
《返老還童》讀后感:生老病死是每個(gè)人都會(huì)經(jīng)歷的過程,這時(shí)眾所周知的常識(shí),我們都只是凡人,不要妄圖去改變那些根本無法改變的東西,尤其是像故事里鐵匠愚蠢的做法,在火里只可能被毀容或者是燒死,怎么可能變得年輕呢!所以,我們應(yīng)該自然的接受自己的容貌,不管是怎樣的面容,我們都該愛自己,好好生活。
《返老還童》英文版
While our Lord was still patrolling the earth, one night he took St. Peter to a blacksmith's house. The blacksmith was happy. At this time, a beggar happened to come. He was old, weak and in low spirits. He looked very pitiful. He begged the blacksmith to give him something. St. Peter sympathized with him and said, "Lord, if you like, please help him cure his illness so that he can earn his own food."
God said very kindly, "master, please lend me your iron stove and add some charcoal in it. I'll make the old beggar younger."
The blacksmith was very happy. St. Peter pulled up the bellows. God pushed the beggar into the most prosperous part of the fire. The old man burned like a rose and praised God loudly. After a while, God stepped in front of the sink and put the red man in the water. When he cooled down, God blessed him. After a while, the little old man jumped out and changed his face. He looked so straight and healthy, just like a 20-year-old boy. The blacksmith watched carefully and invited them to dinner. The blacksmith had an old mother-in-law who was half blind and hunchbacked. She went up to the young man, looked carefully and asked him if the fire had burned him. The man told him that he had never been so comfortable. Standing in the fire was like bathing in cool dew. The young man's words rang in the old woman's ears all night.
The next morning, God was ready to go. He thanked the blacksmith. The blacksmith thought he could make his old mother-in-law younger, because he saw everything yesterday. So he asked his mother-in-law if she wanted to become an 18-year-old girl and jump around. "I miss it so much," she said So the blacksmith started a big fire and pushed the old woman in. She tossed and turned inside and screamed horribly. "Sitting quietly, what are you doing shouting and jumping?" Cried the blacksmith to her. Then he pulled the bellows again and burned all the old woman's rags. The old woman still couldn't stop talking, so the blacksmith doubted, "it's so difficult that I haven't learned my craft?" So he dragged her out and threw her into the sink. The old man screamed again. Even the blacksmith's wife who lived upstairs and the old man's daughter-in-law heard it. They ran down the stairs together. I saw the old woman curled up in the sink and wailed. Her face was wrinkled and burned out of shape. The two men were pregnant with children. Because they were frightened, they gave birth to two children that night, not like people, but like monkeys.
Then they ran into the forest and there were monkeys on the ground.