“Oh, Those Days of Childhood”
“Happiness follows simplicity.”
-IRISH PROVERB
In the springtime of life there is aplenty to do. Oh, those dampsnowy days, early in spring, when we loved to go to the woods, and look for thefirst bloom of the trailing arbutus, which sometimes blooms beneath the snow, or gather the pussy willows. Feelingnearer to God’s intentions, nearer to nature. Where in some respects, we arefree, where there is beauty and tranquility,where we sometimes long to be, quiet and undisturbed, free from the hubbub of life.
Haying time on the farm, when they gather the grain, fruit and berries of all description,and the little folks gather the eggs. When the church picnic comes, and thechildren can have all the cake and lemonade they want, water melon and peanuts, what a wonderful treat!
And the fall of the year, and there are many odd jobs to attend to, food to be stored away for the coming cold weather,the ground to be plowed for rye and other crops before it is frozen hard. Ditchesto dig. Poultry to cull and house.
Thanksgiven, in some homes there will be rejoicing, in others there will be sorrow. But wethat can give thanks, should, there is so much to be thankful for, and praiseGod for all blessings, and the abundance of all things.
And then wintertime! When zero stands at 25or 30, when we cannot deny the pleasure of skating till we have bumped heads,and bleedy noses, and the ice is like glass. Oh what joy and pleasure as we get together, to go for the Christmas tree, what aircastles we build as we slide down the hill, who can rebuild what we see on that Christmas tree?
Oh, those days of childhood!
BY GRANDMA MOSES
ARTIST AND CENTENARIAN
記取童年歡樂時光
純樸的生活中自有幸福
－愛爾蘭諺語
在春天有很多事可做。噢，在那些早春潮濕的下雪日子，我們愛到林中去尋找早開的長春藤灌木的花朵，它有時候開在雪下，有時候糾纏在柔軟的柳樹上。感到接近神的旨意，接近大自然，在某些方面來說，在那裏我們感到自由自在，有美感和寧靜，可以獨自沈思，秘密而不受擾亂，從生活的喧嘩中得到解脫。
農忙季節，當大人忙於收成五穀、果類和各種漿果，小孩們則忙於撿蛋。當教堂野餐聖會屆臨，孩子們可以盡量地吃喝各種西點和檸檬水，還有西瓜和落花生，真是多麼好的款待呀！
每年的秋季，有許多零工要做，食糧要加以儲藏，以應付即將來臨的寒冷天氣，田地得犁鬆，使在尚未結冰時種下黑麥以及雜糧，還要挖壕溝。牲口也要位及選種和分配畜舍。
到了感恩節，真是幾家歡樂幾家愁。我們過得不壞，都得感謝上帝的恩賜，而且值得感謝的事簡直太多了，用各種的祝福和各方面的富足來讚美上帝。
摩西老祖母（藝術家、百齡人瑞）
Aplenty: 豐富地; 極, 非常
Damp: 有濕氣的; 潮濕的
Bloom: (尤指觀賞的)花; (一棵樹或一季內開的)...
Trailing: 蔓生的, 蔓延的
Arbutus: 野草莓樹
Beneath: 在下; 向下
pussy willow: 貓柳; 褪色柳
tranquility: 平靜; 安靜; 安寧
hubbub: 吵鬧聲; 騷動
gather: 收集; 召集; 使聚集
lemonade: 檸檬水
melon: 瓜, 甜瓜
rejoicing: 欣喜, 喜悅, 高興
