The Mute Singer pointed to his chest and made the sign of the cross. A beggar said, "He wants me to give him the last rites. 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 dying 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 toward 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 angles 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。