“Give me one hair — only one single hair — from the head of the sinner for whom the fire shall never be extinguished, of the sinner whom God will condemn to eternal punishment in hell.”
“是啊，应该能这么轻易地救赎你，你这纯洁、虔诚的女人。” 他说。
“Yes, one ought to be able to redeem you so easily, you pure, pious woman,” he said.
“跟我来。” 死去的女人说。“上天准许我们这样做。在我身边，你想去哪儿就能飞到哪儿，只要你的心思所至。”
“Follow me,” said the dead woman. “It is thus granted to us. by my side you will be able to fly wherever your thoughts wish to go.
在人看不见的情况下，我们要潜入他们最隐秘的房间；但你必须精准地找出那个注定要遭受永生折磨的人，而且必须在鸡鸣之前找到他！” 他们就像被长了翅膀的思绪带着一样，迅速来到了大城市，城墙上用火红的字母闪耀着致命罪孽的名字：傲慢、贪婪、酗酒、放荡 —— 简而言之，就是罪孽的整个七彩之弓。
Invisible to men, we shall penetrate into their most secret chambers; but with sure hand you must find out him who is destined to eternal torture, and before the cock crows he must be found!” As quickly as if carried by the winged thoughts they were in the great city, and from the walls the names of the deadly sins shone in flaming letters: pride, avarice, drunkenness, wantonness — in short, the whole seven-coloured bow of sin.
“是的，在那里，正如我所相信的，正如我所知道的，” 牧师说，“住着那些将被投入永生之火的人。”
“Yes, therein, as I believed, as I knew it,” said the pastor, “are living those who are abandoned to the eternal fire.”
他们站在灯火辉煌的大门前；宽阔的台阶上装饰着地毯和鲜花，舞会音乐在喜庆的大厅里回荡。
And they were standing before the magnificently illuminated gate; the broad steps were adorned with carpets and flowers, and dance music was sounding through the festive halls.
一个穿着丝绸和天鹅绒衣服的男仆，拿着一根镶着大银头的棍子站在入口附近。
A footman dressed in silk and velvet stood with a large silver-mounted rod near the entrance.
“我们的舞会可比得上国王的舞会呢，” 他说，然后轻蔑地转身面向街上围观的人群。他心里所想的在他的神情和举止中表露无遗：“可怜的乞丐们，你们在这儿围观，和我比起来你们什么都不是。”
“our ball can pare favourably with the king’s,” he said, and turned with contempt towards the gazing crowd in the street. what he thought was sufficiently expressed in his features and movements: “miserable beggars, who are looking in, you are nothing in parison to me.”
“傲慢，” 死去的女人说，“你看到他了吗？”
“pride,” said the dead woman; “do you see him?”
“那个男仆？” 牧师问。“他不过是个可怜的傻瓜，不会被投入火中遭受永生的折磨！”
“the footman?” asked the pastor. “he is but a poor fool, and not doomed to be tortured eternally by fire!”
“不过是个傻瓜！” 这话在整个傲慢之屋回响：那里的人全都是傻瓜。
“only a fool!” It sounded through the whole house of pride: they were all fools there.
然后他们飞进了守财奴那四面光秃秃的墙壁里面。
then they flew within the four naked walls of the miser.
老人瘦得像具骷髅，又冷又饿，浑身发抖，满脑子想的都是他的钱。
Lean as a skeleton, trembling with cold, and hunger, the old man was clinging with all his thoughts to his money.
他们看见他狂热地从那张可怜的床榻上跳起来，从墙上抠出一块松动的石头；一只旧袜子里藏着金币。
they saw him jump up feverishly from his miserable couch and take a loose stone out of the wall; there lay gold coins in an old stocking.
他们看见他焦急地摸索着一件破旧的上衣，衣服里缝着金币，他湿漉漉的手指在颤抖。
they saw him anxiously feeling over an old ragged coat in which pieces of gold were sewn, and his clammy fingers trembled.
“他病了！那是疯狂 —— 一种毫无乐趣的疯狂 —— 被恐惧和可怕的梦境所困扰！”
“he is ill! that is madness — a joyless madness — besieged by fear and dreadful dreams!”
他们很快离开，来到了罪犯们的床铺前；这些不幸的人一排排地并排睡着。
they quickly went away and came before the beds of the criminals; these unfortunate people slept side by side, in long rows.
其中一个人像头凶猛的野兽一样，从睡梦中惊醒，发出一声可怕的喊叫，用尖尖的肘部猛地捅了一下他的同伴的肋骨，同伴在睡梦中翻了个身：
Like a ferocious animal, one of them rose out of his sleep and uttered a horrible cry, and gave his rade a violent dig in the ribs with his pointed elbow, and this one turned round in his sleep:
“安静点，怪物 —— 睡觉！这种事每晚都发生！”
“be quiet, monster — sleep! this happens every night!”
“每晚！” 另一个人重复道。“是的，每晚他都来折磨我！我一时冲动做了这样那样的事。我生来就心地邪恶，这已经是我第二次进这儿了；但如果我做错了事，我也为此受到了惩罚。不过，有一件事我还没坦白。不久前我出狱的时候，路过我以前主人的院子，当我想起这想起那的时候，邪恶的念头在我心里升起。我在墙上擦了一根火柴；可能离茅草屋顶太近了。全都烧光了 —— 一股巨大的热浪涌起，就像有时候会把我淹没的那种感觉。”
“Every night!” repeated the other. “Yes, every night he es and tortures me! In my violence I have done this and that. I was born with an evil mind, which has brought me hither for the second time; but if I have done wrong I suffer punishment for it. one thing, however, I have not yet confessed. when I came out a little while ago, and passed by the yard of my former master, evil thoughts rose within me when I remembered this and that. I struck a match a little bit on the wall; probably it came a little of the thatched roof. All burnt down — a great heat rose, such as sometimes overes me.
我自己还帮忙抢救了牲口和一些东西，除了一群飞进火里的鸽子，没有活物被烧死，还有那条院子里的狗，我当时没想到它；人们能听到它在火里嚎叫，我想睡觉的时候还能听到那嚎叫声；等我睡着了，那条又大又凶的狗就会跑过来趴在我身上，嚎叫着、压着我、折磨着我。现在听我跟你们说！你们能打呼噜；你们一整晚都在打呼噜，而我连一刻钟都睡不了！” 激动的罪犯气血上涌，他扑向同伴，握紧拳头朝他脸上打去。
I myself helped to rescue cattle and things, nothing alive burnt, except a flight of pigeons, which flew into the fire, and the yard dog, of which I had not thought; one could hear him howl out of the fire, and this howling I still hear when I wish to sleep; and when I have fallen asleep, the great rough dog es and places himself upon me, and howls, presses, and tortures me. Now listen to what I tell you! You can snore; you are snoring the whole night, and I hardly a quarter of an hour!” And the blood rose to the head of the excited criminal; he threw himself upon his rade, and beat him with his clenched fist in the face.
“邪恶的马茨又发疯了！” 他们彼此说道。其他罪犯抓住他，和他扭打起来，把他弯成对折，让他的头夹在两膝之间，然后把他绑起来，绑得他眼睛和全身的毛孔都快渗出血来。
“wicked matz has bee mad again!” they said amongst themselves. the other criminals seized him, wrestled with him, and bent him double, so that his head rested between his knees, and they tied him, so that the blood almost came out of his eyes and out of all his pores.
“你们会害死这个不幸的人的，” 牧师说，他伸出手去保护这个已经饱受折磨的人，这时场景变换了。
“You are killing the unfortunate man,” said the pastor, and as he stretched out his hand to protect him who already suffered too much, the scene changed.
他们飞过富丽堂皇的大厅和破败的小屋；放荡和嫉妒，所有致命的罪孽，都在他们眼前闪过。
they flew through rich halls and wretched hovels; wantonness and envy, all the deadly sins, passed before them.
一位正义天使宣读着他们的罪行和他们的辩词；辩词并不精彩，但它是呈现在上帝面前的，上帝能洞悉人心，知晓一切，包括来自内心和外界的邪恶，上帝是仁慈与爱的化身。
An angel of justice read their crimes and their defence; the latter was not a brilliant one, but it was read before God, who reads the heart, who knows everything, the wickedness that es from within and from without, who is mercy and love personified.
牧师的手颤抖着；他不敢伸出去，不敢从罪人的头上拔下一根头发。
the pastor’s hand trembled; he dared not stretch it out, he did not venture to pull a hair out of the sinner’s head.
泪水如一股慈悲与爱的溪流从他眼中涌出，这清凉的泪水熄灭了地狱的永恒之火。
And tears gushed from his eyes like a stream of mercy and love, the cooling waters of which extinguished the eternal fire of hell.
就在这时，公鸡打鸣了。
Just then the cock crowed.
“万慈之父，请赐予她我无法为她求得的安宁！”
“Father of all mercy, grant thou to her the peace that I was unable to procure for her!”
“我现在明白了！” 死去的女人说。“是你那些严厉的话语，你对人类的绝望，你对上帝及其造物的阴郁信念，把我引到你这儿来的。要学会了解人类！即使在恶人身上也存有上帝的一部分 —— 而这能熄灭并战胜地狱之火！”
“I have it now!” said the dead woman. “It was your hard words, your despair of mankind, your gloomy belief in God and his creation, which drove me to you. Learn to know mankind! Even in the wicked one lives a part of God — and this extinguishes and conquers the flame of 地狱之火！”
牧师感觉嘴唇上被亲了一下；一道亮光环绕着他 —— 上帝明亮的太阳照进了房间，他活着的、甜美且充满爱意的妻子把他从上帝赐予他的梦境中唤醒了！
the pastor felt a kiss on his lips; a gleam of light surrounded him — God’s bright sun shone into the room, and his wife, alive, sweet and full of love, awoke him from a dream which God had sent him!