SLEEP-STEALER

WHO stole sleep from baby's eyes？I must know.

Clasping her pitcher to her waist mother went to fetch water from the village near by.

It was noon．Te children's playtime was over；the ducks in the pond were silent.

Te shepherd boy lay asleep under the shadow of the banyan tree.

Te crane stood grave and still in the swamp near the mango grove.

In the meanwhile the sleep-stealer came and，snatching sleep from baby's eyes，few away.

When mother came back she found baby travelling the room over on all fours.

Who stole sleep from our baby's eyes？I must know．I must fnd her and chain her up.

I must look into that dark cave，where，through boulders and scowling stones，trickles a tiny stream.

I must search in the drowsy shade of the bakula grove，where pigeons coo in their corner，and fairies'anklets tinkle in the stillness of starry nights.

在這樣的夜晚，我將窺探竹林沉默地竊竊私語，在那里，螢火蟲揮霍其光亮，我將詢問我所遇到的每一個生靈：“誰能告訴我，睡眠小偷住在何處？”

誰從寶寶眼里偷走了睡眠？我必須知道。

我只要抓住她，非得好好教訓她一頓不可！

我要搜查她的窩看她把偷來的睡眠藏在哪個角落。

我要把它全都搶過來，帶回家。

我要牢牢捆綁住她的雙翅，綁在河岸上，然后讓她在燈芯草與百合花覆蓋的水面之間用一根蘆葦表演釣魚。

黃昏時分，集市散了，鄉(xiāng)村的孩子們坐在媽媽的膝蓋上，隨后夜鳥會在她的耳畔喋喋不休地嘲諷道：“現(xiàn)在你想偷誰的睡眠？”

In the evening I will peep into the whispering silence of the bamboo forest，where fre-fies squander their light，and will ask every creature I meet，“Can anybody tell me where the sleep-stealer lives？”

Who stole sleep from baby's eyes？I must know.

Shouldn't I give her a good lesson if I could only catch her！

I would raid her nest and see where she hoards all her stolen sleep.

I would plunder it all，and carry it home.

I would bind her two wings securely，set her on the bank of the river，and then let her play at fshing with a reed among the rushes and water-lilies.

When the marketing is over in the evening，and the village children sit in their mothers'laps，then the night birds will mockingly din her ears with：“Whose sleep will you steal now？”