A bright, merry boy, with laughing face,
一个阳光、快乐的男孩，脸上绽开笑颜，
Whose every motion was full of grace,
他的举手投足都风度翩翩，
Who knew no trouble and feared no care,
他不识困难，无忧无虑，
Was the light of our household—the youngest there.
是我们家中的光明所在。
He was too young, this little elf,
他太年轻，这个小精灵，
With troublesome questions to vex himself;
不会让费解的问题把自己折磨，
But for many days a thought would rise,
但很多天来，一个想法出现，
And bring a shade to his dancing eyes.
给他跃动的眼睛蒙上一层阴影。
He went to one whom he thought more wise than any other beneath the skies;
他去找他认为比天底下任何人都更具智慧的人请教；
"Mother,"—O word that makes the home!
“妈妈，”——哦，这个词切中要害，
"Tell me, when will to-morrow come?"
“告诉我，明天什么时候到来？”
"It is almost night," the mother said,
“现在已经是夜里了，”妈妈说，
And time for my boy to be in bed;
该是我儿子上床睡觉的时间了
When you wake up and it's day again,
当你醒来时，就是白天了，
It will be to-morrow, my darling, then.
那时就是明天了，我的宝贝。
The little boy slept through all the night,
小男孩整夜熟睡，
But woke with the first red streak of light;
但随着早晨的第一缕阳光醒来；
He pressed a kiss to his mother's brow,
他亲吻妈妈的额头，
And whispered, "Is it to-morrow now?"
轻声问道：“现在是‘明天’了吗？”
No, little Eddie, this is today:
不，小艾迪，这是‘今天’；
To-morrow is always one night away.
明天总是要过一个晚上。
He pondered a while, but joys came fast,
他思考了一会儿，但很快高兴了起来。
And this vexing question quickly passed.
这个费解的问题很快过去了。
But it came again with the shades of night;
但它随着夜幕的降临又卷土重来；
"Will it be to-morrow when it is light?"
“等天亮了是不是就是明天了？”
From years to come he seemed care to borrow,
他似乎想要从未来的年月里借记时间，
He tried so hard to catch tomorrow.
他试图努力抓住明天。
You can not catch it, my little Ted;
你是抓不住它的，我的小泰德
Enjoy to-day, the mother said;
享受今天，妈妈说道；
Some wait for to-morrow through many a year
有些人在一年中的每天等待明天
It is always coming, but never is here.
它总是即将到来，但永远无法到达。
