English and Chinese children's stories

被偷的銀器 - Stolen Silver

2/9/2018

Victor Hugo’s literary classic Les Misérables tells the story of Jean Valjean, whose already difficult life is brought down by one lone decision when he steals a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving children. As a consequence, he spends the next 19 years in the notorious Bagne of Toulon prison. Unable to find work after his release because he is an ex-convict, Valjean begs at the home of the bishop of Digne, who feeds him and gives him a bed for the night. But Valjean, overcome by despair at what seems an impossibly bleak future, yields to temptation, steals some of the bishop’s silver, and slips away in the night.

He doesn’t get far, however, before he is arrested with the silver and hauled back to face the bishop. Knowing what will happen to Valjean if he is convicted a second time, the kind bishop takes a chance on Valjean and tells the police, “I gave him the silver.”

在他的經典文學著作《悲慘世界》裡，雨果提到吉恩維吉安的故事。維吉安因一個輕率的決定，而使他原本已困難重重的生命，更遭致命一擊。維吉安偷了一條麵包給他姐姐飢餓的孩子吃，結果在臭名昭著的土倫監獄中渡過19年的歲月。出獄後，因他的前科記錄，所以找不到工作。維吉安跑到主教家乞討，主教不但給他食物吃，並讓他留下過夜。但維吉安因為對似乎無前途的陰霾未來而感到絕望，以致屈服於誘惑，偷了主教的一些銀器，並連夜溜走。

然而，他沒跑多遠，就被人贓俱獲，押送回主教處。仁慈的主教知道他若再次被定罪，下場會很慘，便決定要給他一次重新做人的機會，告訴警察說：「這些銀器是我給他的。」

Valjean is free from the legal consequences of his action, but not yet from his bad habits. After he steals yet again, he is driven to another point of decision, and this time he repents, and from that moment on he is a changed man. He goes through more upheavals and faces more tough decisions in the years that follow, but he remains true to the new course God has helped him chart.

Les Misérables is a moving portrayal of the redeeming power of God’s love, but it also illustrates how our lives are shaped by our decisions. Even seemingly small decisions can be far reaching. How can we ensure that we make right decisions? The only way is to involve God in the decision-making process, because He alone knows what’s best. He wants to see us make good choices and is always there to back us up when we do. The smartest decision we can make is to ask for His help.

維吉安這次雖沒有因自己的行徑而受到法律制裁，卻仍難擺脫自己的壞習慣。在他再次偷竊後，他又面臨人生的另一個抉擇點。這次他悔過，並從那時起變成一個洗心革面的新人。在後來的歲月裡，他又經歷更多劇變、面臨許多更艱難的抉擇，但他始終忠心地追隨上帝為他策劃的人生新旅途。

《悲慘世界》感人地描繪出上帝之愛的拯救力量，同時也說明，我們的生命是由我們的決定所塑造成的。即使看來微不足道的小決定，也可能會造成深遠的後果。我們如何才能確定我們做的決定是正確的呢？唯一的方法就是讓上帝來與我們一起做決定，因為只有祂才知道什麼是最好的。祂想要看到我們做好的選擇，而當我們那麼做時，祂總是會在我們身旁支持幫助我們。我們所能做的最聰明的決定，就是請求祂的幫助。

Story from of Activated magazine. Used by permission. Images courtesy of http://lesmiserablesshoujocosette.wikia.com/wiki/The_Silver_Candlesticks.

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