One hot summer afternoon Tony, John and Pip were cutting the long grass. The sun was hot and they were tired. Mr Wood came into the field.
一個炎熱的夏日午后,托尼、約翰和皮普在割著那些高高的草。太陽很毒,他們都累壞了。伍德先生突然來到田里。
'Now, boys,' he said, 'I have a job for you.'
“喂,孩子們,”他說,“我給你們找了點活兒干。”
'He always has a job for us!' said Pip very quietly. The other boys smiled. The farmer liked to keep them busy. They walked with him to an old wooden building near the farmhouse.
“他總是有活兒給我們干!”皮普小聲說,另外兩個孩子都笑了。農(nóng)場主喜歡讓他們忙個不停。他們隨他一起走到農(nóng)場不遠(yuǎn)處的一幢破舊的木屋那兒。
'Now,' said Mr Wood. 'My new car will arrive here next week. I want this building for a garage. Get the rubbish out of the building. Then clean it really well. I want to keep the car in it.'
“是這樣的,”伍德先生說道,“我的新車下個星期就要到了,我想把這幢房子變成車庫。你們把屋里的垃圾都弄出去,然后把屋子徹底收拾干凈。我想把汽車放在這里面。”
'What shall we do with the rubbish, Mr Wood?' asked Pip.
“那么垃圾怎么處理呢,伍德先生?”皮普問道。
'Get rid of it, of course!' answered the farmer. 'Now stop asking questions, young Pip. I'm a busy man.' He walked away.
“當(dāng)然是把它們都扔掉!”農(nóng)場主答道,“別問那么多了,小皮普,我忙著呢。”他說完便走了。
The three boys opened the doors of the building. They looked at the rubbish, then they looked at each other.
三個孩子打開屋門,他們看看那些沒用的東西,又互相瞧瞧。
'This is going to take a long time,' said Tony.
“這得花上好一會兒呢。”托尼說。
He went to the back of the building. He saw something behind a lot of old boxes. It was very big.
他走到屋子后面,瞧見在一大堆舊盒子后頭有樣?xùn)|西。是個大家伙。
'What's this?' asked Tony.
“這是什么?”托尼問道。
'Is it a cupboard?' asked Pip.
“是不是個櫥柜?”皮普問道。
John came and moved some of the boxes. 'It isn't a cupboard,' he said in surprise. 'It's an old piano.'
約翰走過來,把一些盒子挪開。“這哪兒是什么櫥柜,”他吃了一驚,“這是一架舊鋼琴。”
The piano was made of beautiful, dark brown wood. Tony took off his shirt and cleaned the wood with it. He saw brightly-coloured birds, flowers and leaves. They shone like stars in the dark, dirty building. Tony opened the piano. He looked at the keys.
鋼琴是用美麗的黑褐色木頭做成的。托尼脫掉襯衫,用它擦了擦木頭。他看到上面印有色彩鮮亮的飛鳥、繁花和樹葉,在這座又暗又臟的房子里,它們像星星一樣閃閃發(fā)亮。托尼打開鋼琴,看了看琴鍵。
'We can't get rid of this,' he said. 'We really can't.' He found an old, broken chair and sat down at the piano. His fingers touched the keys. He closed his eyes. Half-forgotten music danced through his mind. His fingers began to move. They moved up and down the keys. He began to play an old song. He was suddenly very happy.
“我們不能把它扔掉,”他說,“絕對不行。”他找來一把破舊的椅子,坐在鋼琴前,手指撫過琴鍵。他閉上眼睛,忘得差不多的音樂在腦海中跳躍。他開始移動手指,在琴鍵上流暢地敲擊。他開始彈奏一首古老的曲子,忽然之間感到非常幸福。
'I can play the piano,' he thought. 'Nobody taught me, but my mind tells my fingers what to do, and I can make music. '
“我能彈鋼琴,”他心想,“從來沒人教過我,可是我的大腦自動指揮手指怎么彈,而且我還能彈奏出曲子。”
His friends listened.
他的伙伴們側(cè)耳傾聽。
'That's beautiful,' said John. 'What is it?'
“真美,”約翰說道,“這是哪一首曲子?”
'I don't know,' said Tony.
“我也不知道。”托尼回答。
They heard a noise behind them. Linda Wood was standing at the door. She was a tall, thin girl with long, soft brown hair. She was not beautiful, but she had big, kind brown eyes and a sweet smile. She was smiling now, and she was singing very quietly.
他們聽到身后有聲響。琳達(dá)·伍德正站在門口。她是位個子高高的苗條姑娘,有一頭柔軟的褐色長發(fā)。她長得并不好看,可是褐色的眼睛又大又溫柔,笑起來甜甜的。她這會兒就在微笑著,還輕輕地哼唱著曲子。
Tony heard her and stopped playing. He stood up. His face was red and he felt hot and uncomfortable.
托尼聽到她的聲音,止住了琴聲。他紅著臉站起身來,感到自己渾身發(fā)熱,很不自在。
'Don't stop, Tony,' said Linda.
“接著彈呀,托尼。”琳達(dá)鼓勵道。
'I've finished,' said Tony shortly. He closed the piano.
“我彈完了。”托尼迅速答道。他合上了琴蓋。
Linda came into the building. 'Look,' she said, 'Mother has sent you some cakes and milk. She asked me to bring them.'
琳達(dá)走進(jìn)屋來。“瞧,”她說道,“媽媽給你們準(zhǔn)備了些蛋糕和牛奶。她讓我?guī)н^來的。”
Mrs Wood was a very good cook. The cakes were still warm... They all ate and drank.
伍德太太的手藝很棒。蛋糕還是熱乎乎的……他們都開始又吃又喝起來。
Linda looked at the piano. 'Who taught you to play the piano, Tony?' she asked.
琳達(dá)瞅著鋼琴。“是誰教你彈鋼琴的,托尼?”她問道。
Tony looked down at his dirty old shoes. 'I can't play the piano,' he said.
托尼低下腦袋,盯著自己又臟又舊的鞋子。“我不會彈琴。”他答道。
'Yes, you can!' said Linda. 'I heard you. I have piano lessons at school, but I can't play like you. I like that song. It's called Green Fields. I've got the music at school, but I can't play it. It's too difficult for me. Do you want to borrow it?'
“不,你會彈!”琳達(dá)說,“我聽見你彈來著。我在學(xué)校里學(xué)彈鋼琴,可我彈得沒你好。我喜歡那首曲子,那是《綠色的田野》。我在學(xué)校里看過譜子,可我彈不了,它對我來說太難了。你想不想借我的譜子看看?”
'I can't read music,' said Tony. 'We didn't have music lessons at my school.' He looked unhappy and thoughtful. 'Music!' thought Tony. He remembered the street musician with his little monkey. Then he thought about Mrs Lark. He remembered those wonderful Tuesday mornings, and he smiled. 'We sang a little on Tuesday mornings, that's all,' he said.
“我不識樂譜,”托尼答道,“我們學(xué)校里不開音樂課。”他變得憂郁起來,一副若有所思的樣子。“音樂!”托尼在心里念著。他想起了那個帶著小猴子的流浪琴師,然后他又想到了拉克夫人。他回憶起那些美妙的星期二的早晨,微微笑了起來。“我們只在每個星期二的早晨唱一會兒歌,僅此而已。”他說。
He stood and looked at the piano. 'I must have it,' he said to himself. 'I'll ask Mr Wood.'
他站起身看著那架舊鋼琴。“我一定要擁有它,”他對自己說道,“我要去問問伍德先生可不可以。”
At seven o'clock Tony washed in cold water and put on his clean shirt. Then he went to the kitchen with Pip and John. They sat down at the big kitchen table and Mrs Wood put the food on three hot plates. Then she went to have supper with Mr Wood and Linda.
晚上7點,托尼用冷水沖了澡,換上一件干凈的襯衫,然后就跟皮普和約翰一起進(jìn)了廚房。他們圍著廚房寬大的桌子坐下,伍德太太將飯菜盛在三個熱騰騰的盤子里端了上來,然后她便去跟伍德先生和琳達(dá)一起用晚餐了。
Tony ate his meat and potatoes and drank two cups of strong, sweet tea. Then he had three small cakes and an apple. He was always hungry. He washed his plate and his cup and put them away.
托尼吃完了他的那份肉和土豆,喝了兩杯又濃又香的茶,接著他又吃了三塊小蛋糕和一個蘋果。他的胃口總是那么好。他洗了自己的盤子和杯子,把它們放好。
'Now!' he thought. He got up and went to the door.
“我這就去!”他心里想著,并站起身來,走到門口。
'Where are you going?' asked John.
“你要上哪兒去?”約翰問道。
'I want to ask Mr Wood about that piano,' said Tony. 'Pianos cost a lot of money. We must tell him about this one. Then he can decide what to do with it.'
“我想問問伍德先生那臺鋼琴的事,”托尼答道,“鋼琴是貴重的東西。我們必須告訴他,然后由他來決定怎么辦。”
He knocked at the door of the sitting-room.
他敲了敲起居室的門。
'Come in!' said the farmer. He was reading his Farmer's Weekly. Mrs Wood was mending a hole in Linda's school dress. Linda herself was doing her homework at the table in the corner.
“進(jìn)來!”農(nóng)場主說。他正在看《農(nóng)人周報》,伍德太太在給琳達(dá)補(bǔ)校服上的破洞,琳達(dá)自己則坐在角落里的桌旁寫作業(yè)。
'Please, Mr Wood,' began Tony, 'there's an old piano in that building...'
“伍德先生,請聽我說,”托尼開口說,“那幢房子里有一架舊鋼琴……”
'I don't want to know, boy!' said Mr Wood.
“孩子,我不想知道這些事!”伍德先生說道。
'You don't want to know?' said Tony. 'But a piano isn't rubbish, sir...'
“您不想知道嗎?”托尼詫異道,“可是,先生,鋼琴不是垃圾……”
'It is rubbish, boy. Take it away. Get rid of it. I want that building for my new car. Now go away. I'm tired. I've had a busy day and I want to read my newspaper.'
“孩子,它就是垃圾,把它搬走,扔了它。我需要那間屋子來存放我的新車?,F(xiàn)在出去吧。我累壞了。我這一天忙得不可開交,現(xiàn)在只想看看報紙。”
'But...' began Tony again.
“可是……”托尼再一次開口道。
'I don't want to know!' said Mr Wood. 'Go away!' He shook his newspaper angrily.
“我不想聽!”伍德先生嚷道,“走吧!”他生氣地?fù)]著手里的報紙。
'Yes, Mr Wood,' said Tony. He went out and closed the door behind him. He came back into the kitchen.
“好的,伍德先生。”托尼說。他退出房間,隨手關(guān)上了門,回到廚房里。
'Listen — can you help me?' he said to Pip and John. 'Mr Wood doesn't want that old piano. He says I can have it. He wants the building for his new car. I can have the piano if I want it. And oh, yes — I want it very much. But where can I put it?'
“聽我說——你們倆能幫幫我嗎?”他對皮普和約翰說,“伍德先生不想要那架舊鋼琴了,他說可以給我。他只想騰出那間房子放他的新車。如果我想要,那架鋼琴就是我的了。嗯,是的——我確實很想擁有它??墒?,我能把鋼琴放在哪兒呢?”
'That's easy,' said Pip. 'We can put it on Mr Wood's lorry. We can take the piano to your house. Your family will love it!'
“這很簡單,”皮普說道,“我們可以把它載上伍德先生的卡車,運(yùn)到你家去。你家里人一定會很喜歡的!”
'You've never seen our house,' said Tony. 'It's very small, and there are seven people living in it. We can't take the piano there.'
“你們從來沒見過我們家的房子,”托尼說道,“我家的房子很小,住了七個人。我們不能把鋼琴放到那兒去。”
'Sell it, then,' said John. 'Buy something nice with the money.'
“那就把鋼琴賣了吧,”約翰提議。“用換來的錢買些好東西。”
'I don't want money,' said Tony. 'I want the piano.'
“可我不想要錢,”托尼說道,“我要的是那臺鋼琴。”
'How can I tell them?' he thought. 'How can I tell them how I feel about it?' He looked at his hands. He wanted to feel the black and white keys under his fingers again. He wanted to hear the music in his mind... 'What's happening to me?' he thought.
“怎么跟他們說呢?”托尼心想,“怎么才能向他們表達(dá)清楚我的感受呢?”他看著自己的雙手。他想要再一次用手指觸摸那些黑白相間的琴鍵,他渴望再一次聽到音樂在心頭涌動……“我這是怎么了?”他不明所以。
Pip looked at the clock. 'It's late,' he said. 'And I'm tired. I'm going to go to bed. We can think about your piano tomorrow.'
皮普看了看鐘。“時候不早了,”他說道,“我也累了,我要睡了。明天再考慮你的鋼琴問題吧。”