双语 ● Information Please 在别的世界里歌唱
Information Please 在别的世界里歌唱
◎ Paul Villard
When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother used to talk to it. Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person her name was “Information Please” and there was nothing she did not know. “Information Please” could supply anybody’s number and the correct time.
当我年幼的时候，父亲是我们社区里第一个为家里装上电话的人。我还记得那个固定在墙上、擦得锃亮的旧式电话机，闪闪发亮的听筒挂在电话盒旁边。那时我太小，还够不着电话，倒是常常在母亲拿起它讲话时，在一旁听得入迷。后来，我发现就在这只神奇的盒子里，住着一个了不起的人，她的名字是“樱芙美心·葡丽丝”，而且她简直无所不知。“樱芙美心·葡丽丝”能答出任何人的电话号码，报出正确的时间。
My first personal experience with this genie-in-the-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there didn’t seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway.
我第一次与这“瓶中妖”的接触，是在妈妈去拜访一位邻居的那一天。我自己在地下室的工具凳上玩的时候，锤子砸到了我的手指头。当时痛极了，但看起来似乎没任何理由哭泣，因为家里除我之外别无他人，没有人会同情我。我吮吸着疼得钻心的指头，在房间里走来走去，最后来到了楼梯口。
The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the foot stool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear. “Information Please,” I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear, “Information.”
电话！我快步冲向放在客厅的脚凳，把它拖到了楼梯口。爬上脚凳，摘下了听筒，我将听筒贴近我的耳边。“樱芙美心·葡丽丝，”我对准头上方的送话口说道。听筒里传来一两声嘟嘟声后，我的耳畔响起了一个清脆的声音。“樱芙美心。”
“I hurt my finger...” I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.
“我弄伤了手指……”我朝着话筒哭泣道，眼泪肆无忌惮地汹涌而出，我终于有了一个观众。
“Isn’t your mother home?” came the question.
“妈妈不在家吗？”她问。
“Nobody’s home but me,” I blubbered.
“没人在家，只有我一个人！”我哭得更伤心了。
“Are you bleeding?” the voice asked.
“流血了吗？”那个声音又说道。
“No,” I replied. “I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts.”
“没有，”我回答。“锤子砸到了我的手指头，好疼啊！”
“Can you open your icebox?” she asked. I said I could. “Then chip off a little piece of ice and hold it to your finger.” said the voice.
“你能打开冰箱吗？”她问。我说可以。“那取出一小块冰来，然后敷在手指头上。”那个声音又说。
After that, I called “Information Please” for everything. I asked her for help with my geography and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts. Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary died. I called “Information Please” and told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was unconsoled. I asked her, “Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?” She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, “Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in.” Somehow I felt better.
在那之后，不管有什么事，我都给“樱芙美心·葡丽丝”打电话。我问她地理，她就告诉我费城在哪里。她帮我补习数学。她告诉我，前天我在公园捉住的那只宠物花栗鼠想吃水果或坚果。后来，有一次我们的宠物金丝雀“皮蒂”死了。我又一次拨通了“樱芙美心·葡丽丝”，告诉她这个伤心的消息。她静静地听着，然后说了些大人常常安慰小孩子的话。但是，我并没得到宽慰。我问她：“为什么鸟儿唱歌那么好听，还把欢乐带给所有的家庭，可是死的时候却变成了蜷在笼底的一堆羽毛？”她一定感觉到了我深深的悲伤，因为她轻声说道：“保罗，一定要记住，它们还可以在别的世界里歌唱！”不知为什么，我感觉好多了。
Another day I was on the telephone. “Information Please.”
一天，我再次来到了电话旁。“樱芙美心·葡丽丝。”
“Information.” said the now familiar voice.
“樱芙美心，”耳边传来了熟悉的声音。
“How do you spell fix?” I asked.
我问，“Fix怎么拼写？”
All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. “Information Please” belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the tall, shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity, I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
这一切发生在太平洋西北部的一个小镇上。当我9岁的时候，我们全家搬迁到了波士顿。我特别想念我的朋友。“樱芙美心·葡丽丝”永远属于老家的那个老式木盒子，不知为什么，我从没有想过去试试放在客厅桌上那个高高的、闪亮的新电话。当我到了十多岁的时候，那童年记忆的对话也从未从我的脑海中逝去。常常在我感到疑虑与困惑时，我会回想起那时拥有的那种宁静的安全感。我感激她在那个小男孩身上付出的时间，感激她的耐心、理解和善良。
A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half-an-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now.
几年后，在我奔赴西部去上大学的路上，我的飞机在西雅图降落。我有半小时的转机时间。我给住在那里的姐姐打了约15分钟的电话。
Then, without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, “Information please.”
然后，还没有意识到自己在做什么，我就拨通了家乡小镇的接线员，说：“樱芙美心·葡丽丝。”
Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well.
奇迹般地，我又听到了那清脆而温柔的无比熟悉的声音。
“Information.”
“樱芙美心。”
I hadn’t planned this, but I heard myself saying, “Could you please tell me how to spell fix?”
我本来并没打算这么做，但是我听见自己说：“你能告诉我怎么拼写fix吗？”
There was a long pause. Then came the soft-spoken answer, “I guess your finger must have healed by now.”
一阵长时间的沉寂。接下来是一个轻言细语的回答：“我猜你的小手指头现在一定痊愈了。”
I laughed, “So it’s really still you,” I said. “I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time.”
我笑了，“所以，还真的是你！”我说，“你知不知道，在那个时候，你对我有多么重要。”
“I wonder,” she said, “if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls.”
“我想，”她说，“你是否知道你的电话对我意味着什么。我没有孩子，所以常常期盼着你的电话。”
I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.
我告诉她，这些年我一直很想念她。我问她我再回来看姐姐时，是否还能打电话给她。
“Please do,” she said. “Just ask for Sally.”
她欣然许诺：“当然啦！找萨莉就行！”
Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, “Information.”
三个月后，我再次回到西雅图。接电话的是一个不同的声音，“樱芙美心。”
I asked for Sally. “Are you a friend?” she said.
我说我要找萨莉。她问：“你是她的朋友吗？”
“Yes, a very old friend.” I answered.
“是的，很熟悉的老朋友。”我说。
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” she said. “Sally had been working part time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago.”
“我很抱歉要告诉你，”她说，“萨莉病了好长时间了，所以过去几年来她一直做兼职。五个星期前她去世了。”
Before I could hang up she said, “Wait a minute. Is your name Paul?”
在我就要挂断电话前，她说：“等一等，你是不是叫保罗？”
“Yes.”
“是。”
“Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you.” The note said, “Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He’ll know what I mean.”
“对了，萨莉给你留了一张便条，她怕你万一打电话来。我读给你听。”便条上写着，“告诉他，我依然会说，还可以在别的世界里歌唱。他知道我的意思。”
I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.
我谢过她之后，挂上了电话。我明白萨莉的意思。
Never underestimate the impression you may make on others. Whose life have you touched today?
永远不要低估你给别人留下的印象。今天你又走进了谁的生活？
