A couple had two little boys, ages 8 and 10, who were excessively mischievous¹. They were always getting into trouble and their parents knew that, if any mischief² occurred in their town, their sons were probably involved.

 

The boys' mother heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The clergyman agreed, but asked to see them individually. So the mother sent her 8-year-old first, in the morning, with the older boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon.

 

The clergyman, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, "Where is God?"

 

The boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there with his mouth hanging open, wide-eyed. So the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God!!?" Again the boy made no attempt to answer. So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and bellowed³, "Where is God?"

 

The boy screamed and bolted from the room, ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, "What happened?"

 

The younger brother, gasping⁴ for breath, replied, "We are in big trouble this time. God is missing -- and they think we did it!"

 

一对夫妇有两个儿子，一个8岁，一个10岁。他们都很淘气，总是惹麻烦。他们的父母知道，只要镇上发生了恶作剧，他们的儿子就很可能也参与了。

 

男孩的母亲听说镇上有一位牧师， 在教育孩子方面很在行，于是便问他是否可以跟他的儿子们谈一谈。牧师同意了，但是两个孩子要分开问。因此母亲早上先把8岁的孩子送了过去，大一点的孩子下午再过去。

 

牧师身材高大，声音洪亮。他让小孩子坐下来，严厉地问道：“上帝在哪里？”

 

男孩张大了嘴，可是没有作声，他目瞪口呆地坐在那里。于是牧师又严厉地问道：“上帝在哪里？”男孩再一次沉默。于是牧师又提高了嗓门，在男孩的面前摇着手指，怒吼道：“上帝在哪里？”

 

男孩尖叫着从屋里冲了出来，直接往家跑去，钻进了衣柜，并把门关上了。当他的哥哥在衣柜中找到他时，问道：“发生了什么事？”

 

小弟弟喘着气说：“我们闯了大祸了。上帝不见了——他们认为是我们俩干的！”

点击收听单词发音