English Original
At a rich merchant's house, there was a children's party attended by the offspring of wealthy and prominent families. The merchant was an educated man, having been sent to college by his father, a formerly honest and industrious cattle dealer who had amassed a fortune, which his son had further increased. Though clever and kind-hearted, the merchant was more often noted for his wealth than his character. Guests of all sorts frequented his home—the well-born, the intellectual, and some who possessed neither distinction.
At the party, the children engaged in candid prattle. Among them was a beautiful but terribly proud little girl—a trait she had learned from the servants, not her sensible parents. Her father held the high court position of groom of the Chambers. "I am a child of the court," she declared, asserting that only the well-born could rise in the world. Reading and hard work were useless, she claimed, for those not well-born. "And those whose names end with 'sen,'" she added, "can never be anything. We must hold our arms akimbo, elbows pointed, to keep such people at a distance." She demonstrated with her pretty arms.
The merchant's daughter grew angry, for her father's name was Petersen. She retorted proudly, "But my papa can buy a hundred dollars' worth of bonbons and give them away. Can yours?"
The daughter of a newspaper editor then spoke up: "My papa can put your papa and everybody's papa in the newspaper. Everyone is afraid of him because he controls the paper." The little maiden looked as proud as a princess.
Outside the ajar door stood a poor boy, peeking through the crack. Of such low station, he was not permitted to enter. He had been turning the spit for the cook, who allowed him to watch the merry, well-dressed children. "Oh, if I could be one of them," he thought. Hearing the talk about names saddened him deeply. His parents could not afford a newspaper, much less write for one. Worst of all, his father's name—and thus his own—ended in "sen," so he believed he could never succeed. Yet, he resigned himself to his station in life.
That was the evening's event.
Many years later, most children had grown up. A splendid house filled with beautiful and valuable objects stood in town, attracting visitors from far and wide. Which child from that party owned it? It was not easy to guess. The house belonged to the poor boy who had stood behind the door that night. He had achieved greatness, despite his name ending in "sen"—for he was Thorwaldsen.
As for the other three children—those of birth, money, and intellectual pride—they were respected and honored in the world, well-provided for by their birth and position. They had no reason to reproach themselves for their thoughts and words that long-ago evening, for it was, after all, mere "children's prattle."
中文翻译
一位富商家中举办了一场儿童派对，到场的是富贵显赫人家的子女。商人是个有学问的人，他的父亲曾送他上大学并通过了考试。商人的父亲起初只是个牛贩子，但为人诚实勤勉，因而积攒了财富，他的儿子，即这位商人，又进一步增加了家产。商人虽然聪明且心地善良，但人们更多谈论的是他的财富而非他的品格。形形色色的人都曾造访过他家——有出身高贵的，有学识渊博的，也有一些两者皆无的。
派对上，孩子们进行着坦率的闲谈。其中有一个漂亮但极其骄傲的小女孩——这种骄傲是从仆人那里学来的，而非她明智的父母所教。她的父亲担任着宫廷要职“内室侍从官”。“我是宫廷的孩子，”她宣称，并断言只有出身好的人才能在世上出人头地。她说，读书和勤奋对出身不好的人来说毫无用处。“还有那些姓氏以‘森’结尾的人，”她补充道，“永远成不了气候。我们必须双手叉腰，让胳膊肘尖尖地伸出去，好把这些人远远隔开。”她用她漂亮的手臂演示着。
商人的女儿生气了，因为她父亲的名字是彼得森。她骄傲地反驳道：“但我爸爸能买一百块钱的糖果分给孩子们。你爸爸能吗？”
一位报纸编辑的女儿随即说道：“我爸爸能把你的爸爸和所有人的爸爸都登在报纸上。所有人都怕他，因为他能控制报纸。”这个小女孩骄傲得像位真正的公主。
门外站着一个贫穷的男孩，正透过门缝偷看。他地位低微，甚至不被允许进入房间。他一直在为厨师转动烤肉叉，厨师允许他站在门后观看里面那些衣着光鲜、玩得正欢的孩子们。“哦，要是我能成为他们中的一员就好了，”他想。听到关于姓氏的谈论，他更加难过了。他的父母连买一份报纸的钱都没有，更别说在上面写文章了。最糟糕的是，他父亲的名字——当然也包括他自己的——以“森”结尾，因此他相信自己永远不可能成功。然而，他只能认命于自己的人生境遇。
这就是那个晚上发生的事。
许多年后，大多数孩子都已长大成人。城里矗立着一座华丽的宅邸，里面摆满了各种美丽珍贵的物品，吸引了远近的访客前来参观。当年派对上的哪个孩子是这座宅邸的主人呢？这并不容易猜到。宅邸属于那个当晚站在门后的贫穷男孩。尽管姓氏以“森”结尾，他却取得了伟大的成就——因为他就是托瓦尔森。
至于另外三个孩子——出身高贵的、有钱的和以知识为傲的——他们在世上备受尊敬和荣耀，他们的出身和地位为他们提供了优渥的生活。他们无需为很久以前那个晚上的所思所言而自责，因为那终究不过是“孩子们的闲谈”。