今年的復活節來得早。坐雪橇的日子才剛剛過；院子裡的積雪還在；融雪的水匯集成流，順著村子的街道而下。
來自兩個不同家庭的小女孩，在分隔兩個家園的巷子湊巧碰面了，髒水流過農場以後，在那兒成了一個大水坑。一個女孩很小，另一個稍稍大一點。她們的母親都給她們穿上新的罩袍。小的穿著一件藍色罩袍，另一個是黃色打印，兩個頭上都綁著紅色頭巾。她們相遇的時候都才從教堂回來，她們先相互顯示她們的漂亮服飾，然後她們開始玩耍。很快的花俏的想法讓她們在水邊潑水玩，當年長的制止她的時候，這小一點的正要連鞋子和一切，都踩進水坑裡。
「不要這樣子走進去，瑪麗莎，」她說：「妳的媽咪會罵妳。我要脫掉我的鞋子和襪子，妳也脫掉妳的。」
她們這樣做了，然後，撩起她們的裙子，各自從兩邊要通過水坑，走向對方。水高到了瑪麗莎的膝蓋，她說：
「水很深，愛可雅，我怕怕！」
「沒什麼，」另一個回答：「不要怕。就只有這麼深。」
當她們互相接近了，愛可雅說：
「小心，瑪麗莎，不要打水。小心走！」
當她幾乎還沒把話說完的時候，瑪麗莎突然一腳下去，把水濺到了愛可雅的罩袍。那罩袍被濺濕了，也濺到了愛可雅的眼睛和鼻子。當她看到了她的罩袍上的污跡，她很生氣。追著瑪麗莎要打她。瑪麗莎害怕了，看見她自己已經惹上了麻煩，她慌張的跑出水坑，準備跑回家。正在那時，愛可雅的母親正好經過，看到她的女兒的裙子被濺濕了，她的袖子髒了，她說：
「妳這個調皮，骯髒的女孩，妳幹了什麼事？」
「瑪麗莎故意弄的，」這女孩子回答。
這時候愛可雅的母親抓住了瑪麗莎，打了她的脖子後面。瑪麗莎開始大聲吼叫，要整條街都聽得到她的叫聲。她的母親出來了。
「你為什麼打我的女兒？」她說；開始責罵她的鄰居。一句接另一句，她們很憤怒的爭吵。男人們跑出來了，一群人聚集在街上，每個人大聲叫，沒有人在聽。他們都繼續爭吵，一直到有一個人推了另一個人一把，這件事差一點就要打起來了，當愛可雅的老祖母，走到他們中間，試著要平息他們。
「朋友們，你們在想什麼？這種行為是對的嗎？特別是在今天！這是值得欣喜的日子，並不是要做像這種愚蠢的事。」
他們不會聽這老婦人的話，而且差一點把她打倒在地上。假如不是因為愛可雅和瑪麗莎她們自己倆人，她不可能平息這群眾。當這兩個婦人互相辱罵的時候，愛可雅擦掉了她的罩袍上的泥巴，走回到水坑。她撿了一塊石頭，開始刮走水坑前面的泥土，做一個溝渠，讓水可以流到街上去。現在瑪麗莎一起加入，用一個木片幫她挖溝渠。正當男人們正要開始打架，水從小女孩們的溝渠，整股的流進街道，正往老婦人勸架的地方流去。小女孩們跟著水流；一人一邊跟著小水流跑。
「抓住它，瑪麗莎！抓住它！」愛可雅叫著；而瑪麗莎笑到不能講話。
非常的高興，看到那木片跟著浮在她們的水流上跑，小女孩們一直衝進了那群人；那老婦人看到她們，告訴大人們說：
「難道你們自己不覺得羞愧嗎？為著這些小女孩們打架，當她們自己都忘了是怎麼一回事，而且快快樂樂的玩在一快兒。親愛的小精靈！她們比你們有智慧！」
這些男人看著小女孩們，感到慚愧，他們只好自己笑笑，每個人走回他自己的家去。
「除非你們回轉，變成小孩子的樣式，你們別想進入天國。」
*************************
It
was an early Easter. Sledging was only just over; snow still lay in
the yards; and water ran in streams down the village street.
Two
little girls from different houses happened to meet in a lane between
two homesteads, where the dirty water after running through the
farm-yards had formed a large puddle. One girl was very small, the
other a little bigger. Their mothers had dressed them both in new
frocks. The little one wore a blue frock the other a yellow print,
and both had red kerchiefs on their heads. They had just come from
church when they met, and first they showed each other their finery,
and then they began to play. Soon the fancy took them to splash about
in the water, and the smaller one was going to step into the puddle,
shoes and all, when the elder checked her:
'Don't
go in so, Malásha,' said she, 'your mother will scold you. I will
take off my shoes and stockings, and you take off yours.'
They
did so, and then, picking up their skirts, began walking towards each
other through the puddle. The water came up to Malásha's ankles, and
she said:
'It
is deep, Akoúlya, I'm afraid!'
'Come
on,' replied the other. 'Don't be frightened. It won't get any
deeper.'
When
they got near one another, Akoúlya said:
'Mind,
Malásha, don't splash. Walk carefully!'
She
had hardly said this, when Malásha plumped down her foot so that the
water splashed right on to Akoúlya's frock. The frock was splashed,
and so were Akoúlya's eyes and nose. When she saw the stains on her
frock, she was angry and ran after Malásha to strike her. Malásha
was frightened, and seeing that she had got herself into trouble, she
scrambled out of the puddle, and prepared to run home. Just then
Akoúlya's mother happened to be passing, and seeing that her
daughter's skirt was splashed, and her sleeves dirty, she said:
'You
naughty, dirty girl, what have you been doing?'
'Malásha
did it on purpose,' replied the girl.
At
this Akoúlya's mother seized Malásha, and struck her on the back of
her neck. Malásha began to howl so that she could be heard all down
the street. Her mother came out.
'What
are you beating my girl for?' said she; and began scolding her
neighbor. One word led to another and they had an angry quarrel. The
men came out and a crowd collected in the street, every one shouting
and no one listening. They all went on quarrelling, till one gave
another a push, and the affair had very nearly come to blows, when
Akoúlya's old grandmother, stepping in among them, tried to calm
them.
'What
are you thinking of, friends? Is it right to behave so? On a day like
this, too! It is a time for rejoicing, and not for such folly as
this.'
They
would not listen to the old woman and nearly knocked her off her
feet. And she would not have been able to quiet the crowd, if it had
not been for Akoúlya and Malásha themselves. While the women were
abusing each other, Akoúlya had wiped the mud off her frock, and
gone back to the puddle. She took a stone and began scraping away the
earth in front of the puddle to make a channel through which the
water could run out into the street. Presently Malásha joined her,
and with a chip of wood helped her dig the channel. Just as the men
were beginning to fight, the water from the little girls' channel ran
streaming into the street towards the very place where the old woman
was trying to pacify the men. The girls followed it; one running each
side of the little stream.
'Catch
it, Malásha! Catch it!' shouted Akoúlya; while Malásha could not
speak for laughing.
Highly
delighted, and watching the chip float along on their stream, the
little girls ran straight into the group of men; and the old woman,
seeing them, said to the men:
'Are
you not ashamed of yourselves? To go fighting on account of these
lassies, when they themselves have forgotten all about it, and are
playing happily together. Dear little souls! They are wiser than
you!'
The
men looked at the little girls, and were ashamed, and, laughing at
themselves, went back each to his own home.
'Except
you turn, and become as little children, you shall in no wise enter
into the kingdom of heaven.'
Leo
Tolstoy
1885
Bill
Lin 譯
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