The Lost God

(Originally In Au Lac Language)

A businessman had two sons. One was six years old and the other was nine. Since both husband and wife were busy doing business, they did not have time to educate their children; therefore, the two kids became so restless and hyperactive that they got involved in any fight and minor theft. After going to court for their children's wrongdoings, the couple was so depressed that they both agreed to bring the kids to a church in the village and asked the minister to educate them in hopes that they would become better boys. Upon their insistence, the minister finally agreed to spend some of his spare time to educate the youngsters. He told the couple to send the younger one to him first. The couple was elated. They took their younger son to the church the next morning and went home with excitement.

The minister took the boy into his office, thinking that he would teach him a little bit on religion and virtue. Using a gentle voice, he asked the boy: "Do you know where God is?" The boy did not say anything. He was just quiet and looked around the room. He looked at the pictures on the wall, and in the corner of the room, and bent down to look under the table, et cetera. Finally, he looked at the face of the minister without saying one word.
The minister felt uneasy, but he reluctantly asked him one more time. This time, he raised his voice thinking that, perhaps the boy had not heard him clearly before. He repeated: "Do you know where God is?" Hearing his loud voice, the boy's face looked a bit frightened. However, besides looking around the room, he did not say a word, and then again turned his eyes toward the face of the minister.
At this point, the minister could not bear it anymore. He pointed his finger at the boy's face and yelled loudly: "I...I, I'm asking you for the last time. Do you know where God is?"

This time, the boy was truly scared. He hurriedly pushed aside the chair and ran home. As he arrived home, he immediately looked for his brother. Without saying a word, he pulled him to a corner and said with a shaken voice: "This time, the matter is very grave!" Watching his younger brother in such a terrible state, he was also worried. He asked his younger brother again: "What happened? You look so miserable?" The younger brother answered in a broken voice: "God...has been stolen, and they suspect... suspect... that we are the ones who took Hirm!!!"

一位生意人有两个儿子，分别为六岁和九岁。由于他和太太只顾忙着做生意，根本没时间管教孩子，因此这两个小孩变得非常随便、放纵，到处惹事生非；打架闹事、偷东西都有他们的份。某次夫妇俩为了孩子的不良行为上法院之后，他们非常沮丧，一致同意把两个孩子带到村里的教堂，请牧师帮忙管教，希望他们能变成好孩子。禁不起夫妇两人一再地请求，牧师终于同意拨一些闲暇时间来教育那两个小孩。他告诉他们先把小的送到他那儿，这对夫妇非常高兴，隔天早上把小儿子带到教堂后，便兴高采烈地回家了。
　牧师把小孩带到他的办公室，打算先教小孩一点宗教和道德观念。他用很温和的声音问那小孩：「你知道上帝在哪儿吗？」那男孩什么也没说，只是安静地环顾房间四周，看看墙上的画、房间角落，并且弯下身看看桌下…等，最后，他看着牧师的脸，什么也没说。牧师觉得不太自在，但他仍勉强地又问了那男孩一次，他想或许那孩子上次没听清楚，所以这次他提高嗓音问说：「你知道上帝在哪儿吗？」那男孩听到他的大嗓音，脸色有点害怕，可是除了看看四周之外，他还是什么也没说，仍然看着牧师的脸。这时，牧师再也无法忍受了，他指着男孩的脸大声吼着：「我再问你最后一次，你知道上帝在哪儿吗？」

这次，那男孩真的吓坏了，赶紧推开椅子跑回家去。
　当他到家后，马上找他哥哥，一句话也没说便把哥哥拉到角落，并用颤抖的声音说：「这次事情可严重了！」哥哥看着弟弟这么慌张的神情也跟着担心起来，他问弟弟说：「发生了什么事情？你怎么看起来那么惊慌？」弟弟结结巴巴地说：「上…上帝被偷了，而且他们怀疑是我们做的。」