There were two brothers who were always up to some mischief.  有两兄弟总是搞恶作剧。

If somebody had been locked up in his house,  如果有人被锁在自己的房子里，

or if somebody's dog had been painted green, one always knew who the culprits were-the brothers.  或者谁家的狗被漆成了绿色，人们总知道谁是罪魁祸首——兄弟俩。

One day the boys' mother asked a priest to talk to her sons and put the fear of God in them so that they would mend their ways.  一天，男孩的母亲请牧师和她的儿子们谈谈，让他们对上帝感到敬畏，以便他们能改善他们的行为。

The priest asked her to send her sons to him one at a time.  牧师叫她把两兄弟一个一个地送过来。

When the younger boy came, he made him sit and asked him: "Where is God?"  年幼一些的孩子过来了，牧师让他坐下，问他:“上帝在哪里?”

The boy did not answer.  男孩没有回答。

The priest asked again, in a louder voice: "Where is God?"  牧师又问，这次声音更大了:“上帝在哪里?”

The boy remained silent.  男孩仍然保持沉默。

But when the priest asked the same question for a third time, the boy jumped up and ran away.  当牧师第三次问同样的问题时，男孩跳起来跑走了。

He went straight to his brother.  他直奔向他的哥哥。

"We are in big trouble!" he gasped.  “我们有大麻烦了!”他喘着气说。

"What's wrong?" asked the older boy, warily, wondering which of their sins had caught up with them.  “你怎么了?”年长的男孩谨慎地问，想知道到底因为他们做的哪件坏事人们要逮捕他俩。

"God is missing," said the youngster, "and they think we have something to do with it!" “上帝不见了，”弟弟说，“他们认为这事和我们有关!”