“I will not scold you， my little Frantz； you must be punished enough； that is the way it goes； every day we say to ourselves： ’Pshaw！ I have time enough. I will learn to-morrow.’ And then you see what happens. Ah！ it has been the great misfortune of our Alsace always to postpone its lessons until to-morrow. Now those people are entitled to say to us： ’What！ you claim to be French， and you can neither speak nor write your language！’ In all this， my poor Frantz， you are not the guiltiest one. We all have our fair share of reproaches to address to ourselves.

　　“我不责备你，我的小弗朗茨，你可能受够了惩罚……事情就是如此。每天，我们都对自己说：算了吧！我有的是时间。我明天再学。现在，你知道出了什么事……唉！我们阿尔萨斯人的最大不幸就是把教育拖延到明天。现在，那些人有权利对我们说：”怎么！你们声称自己是法国人，可你们即不会说也不会写你们的语言！’……我可怜的弗朗茨，造成所有这一切，责任最大的并不是你。我们每个人都有许多应该责备自己的地方。

　　“Your parents have not been careful enough to see that you were educated. They preferred to send you to work in the fields or in the factories， in order to have a few more sous. And have I nothing to reproach myself for？ Have I not often made you water my garden instead of studying？ And when I wanted to go fishing for trout， have I ever hesitated to dismiss you？”

　　“你们的父母没有尽心让你们好好读书。他们宁愿把你们打发到田里或纱厂里去干活，为的是多挣几个钱。我自己呢，难道我一点也没有应该责备自己的地方吗？我不也是经常让你们到我的花园浇水以此代替学习吗？当我想钓鳟鱼的时候，我不是随随便便就给你们放假吗？”

　　Then， passing from one thing to another， Monsieur Hamel began to talk to us about the French language， saying that it was the most beautiful language in the world， the most clear， the most substantial； that we must always retain it among ourselves， and never forget it， because when a people falls into servitude， “so long as it clings to its language， it is as if it held the key to its prison.”