THE GIRL WITH RED HAIR
红发姑娘
Mark likes his work in Mason’s store. He watches people, and he asks questions. What is that man putting into his bag? Why is that woman wearing two coats? Why are those two boys looking around all the time? Mark asks questions, and then he finds the answers.
马克喜欢在梅森百货的工作。他观察人们，并提出问题。那个男人往包里放了什么？那个女人为什么穿两件外套？那两个男孩为什么总是东张西望？马克提出问题，然后找到答案。
Then one day Mark sees a girl with red hair, and he can’t forget her. Now he’s got some different questions. Who is the girl with red hair? Is the little boy her baby? Who is the man in the black jacket – the good-looking man? There are a lot of questions, and Mark doesn’t always find the right answers.
后来有一天，马克看见了一个红发姑娘，便再也忘不了她。现在他有了一些不同的问题。红发姑娘是谁？那个小男孩是她的孩子吗？穿黑夹克的男人是谁——那个帅气的男人？问题很多，而马克并不总能找到正确的答案。
But he wants to look into those beautiful green eyes again…
但他想再次凝视那双美丽的绿眼睛……
1 Wow!
1 哇！
My name is Mark Sellers. I’m twenty-two years old, and I work in security in Mason’s store. You can get everything here – books, TVs, hats, flowers, sandwiches, beds, bicycles… It’s interesting work, and I like it. Sometimes I walk around in the store, and sometimes I work in the office.
我叫马克·塞勒斯。我今年二十二岁，在梅森百货做安保工作。这里什么都能买到——书、电视、帽子、鲜花、三明治、床、自行车……这份工作很有趣，我很喜欢。有时我在店里巡视，有时在办公室工作。
Leon and Shami work in security too. I like working with them.
利昂和沙米也做安保工作。我喜欢和他们一起共事。
‘Look at this woman,’ Leon says. ‘Which hat is best for her – blue or black?’
“看这位女士，”利昂说，“哪顶帽子最适合她——蓝色的还是黑色的？”
I look at the woman on the screen.
我看着屏幕上的那位女士。
‘Oh – the black hat,’ I say.
“哦——黑色的帽子，”我说。
‘No!’ says Shami. ‘The blue hat is nicer.’
“不！”沙米说，“蓝色的帽子更好看。”
We watch and wait. In the end the woman takes the blue hat.
我们看着等待着。最后那位女士拿了蓝色的帽子。
‘Hurray!’ says Shami. ‘You two know nothing about hats.’
“好耶！”沙米说，“你们俩对帽子一窍不通。”
Yes, it’s interesting work.
是的，这是份有趣的工作。
Today I’m watching the screens. I’m looking at a man with a big bag. He’s got a clock in his hand. He looks around slowly. Now he’s got a clock in his bag. The man walks to the door. I talk on my radio. Shami walks quietly behind the man. When he gets to the door, she puts her hand on his arm.
今天我在看监控屏幕。我正盯着一个拿着大包的男人。他手里拿着一块表。他慢慢地环顾四周。现在他把表放进了包里。男人走向门口。我用对讲机通报。沙米悄悄走到男人身后。当他走到门口时，她把手搭在他的胳膊上。
‘Please come with me,’ she says.
“请跟我来一趟，”她说。
Good. I go back to the screens.
很好。我继续看屏幕。
And then I see her.
然后我看到了她。
‘Wow! Who’s that girl?’
“哇！那个女孩是谁？”
‘What girl? I can see lots of girls,’ Leon says.
“哪个女孩？我能看到好多女孩，”利昂说。
Now the picture on the screen is bigger.
现在屏幕上的画面放大了。
‘That girl there – with red hair.’
“就在那儿——那个红发姑娘。”
Leon looks at the screen.
利昂看向屏幕。
‘Hmm – yes, she’s OK. But who is she? I don’t know. Why don’t you go and ask her, Mark?’
“嗯——是的，还不错。但她是谁？我不知道。你干嘛不去问问她呢，马克？”
He laughs and walks away, but I can’t stop looking at the screen. Who is that beautiful girl? What is her name? I want to meet her.
他笑着走开了，但我无法把目光从屏幕上移开。那个漂亮的女孩是谁？她叫什么名字？我想认识她。
Every day I look for the girl with red hair, but I do not see her.
每天我都寻找那个红发姑娘，但都没看到她。
‘Where is she?’ Leon says every day. ‘Where’s the girl with red hair, Mark? What’s her name?’
“她在哪儿？”利昂每天都问，“那个红发姑娘在哪儿，马克？她叫什么名字？”
‘Oh stop it, Leon,’ says Shami. ‘Mark can dream, can’t he?’
“噢，别闹了，利昂，”沙米说，“马克做个梦总可以吧？”
I laugh at first, but after three days, I want to hit Leon. Then, suddenly, I see her again.
起初我还笑笑，但三天后，我真想揍利昂一顿。然后，突然间，我又看到了她。
I am watching a woman with a big bag. And then, there she is – the girl with red hair. She’s got green eyes too. But there is a baby with her, a little boy. They are looking at a book about trains.
我正在观察一个提着大包的女人。紧接着，她就出现了——那个红发姑娘。她也有一双绿眼睛。但她身边带着一个小宝宝，是个小男孩。他们正在看一本关于火车的书。
‘Look, Greg,’ she says. ‘Look at the big train.’
“看，格雷格，”她说，“看这列大火车。”
The little boy smiles. He’s got red hair and green eyes too. Her baby. So – has she got a husband? A boyfriend? I look at her beautiful green eyes again, and then I go back to work. But there are lots of questions in my head.
小男孩笑了。他也是红头发、绿眼睛。是她的宝宝。那么——她有丈夫吗？有男朋友吗？我再次凝视她美丽的绿眼睛，然后回去工作。但我脑海里充满了疑问。
She comes to the store on Wednesday mornings. She usually arrives at about eleven o’clock.
她每周三上午来商店。通常大约十一点到。
‘How’s your girl?’ asks Leon.
“你的女孩怎么样了？”利昂问。
‘She’s not my girl,’ I say. ‘I don’t know her name. Her little boy’s name is Greg, but she’s – the girl with red hair.’
“她不是我的女孩，”我说，“我不知道她的名字。她的小男孩叫格雷格，但她就是——那个红发姑娘。”
‘Well, let’s give her a name,’ says Leon. ‘What do you think, Shami?’
“好吧，咱们给她起个名字吧，”利昂说，“你觉得呢，沙米？”
‘Hmm – Scarlet! Her name is Scarlet,’ says Shami.
“嗯——斯嘉丽！她叫斯嘉丽，”沙米说。
‘Apples are red,’ says Leon. ‘Apple is a nice name—’
“苹果是红色的，”利昂说，“‘苹果’这个名字不错——”
Then he looks at my face, and runs out the door.
然后他看了看我的脸色，跑出了门。
2 Boohoo
2 呜呜
Next Wednesday I am in the store when the girl with red hair comes in with Greg. She stops and looks at a picture. Greg takes his hat off and drops it. I pick up the hat and go over to her.
下个周三，当红发姑娘带着格雷格进店时，我正在店里。她停下来看一幅画。格雷格摘下帽子掉在了地上。我捡起帽子走向她。
‘Excuse me,’ I say. ‘Is this your little boy’s hat?’
“打扰一下，”我说，“这是你家小男孩的帽子吗？”
She smiles at me.
她对我微笑。
‘Oh, thank you,’ she says. ‘Greg, look, it’s your hat.’
“哦，谢谢，”她说，“格雷格，看，这是你的帽子。”
Greg laughs. She puts out her hand and takes the hat from me. Is she wearing a ring? No, there is no ring on her hand.
格雷格笑了。她伸出手从我这里接过帽子。她戴戒指了吗？没有，她手上没有戒指。
Wednesday is the best day of the week, I think.
我觉得周三是一周中最美好的一天。
Ten minutes later, I am near the flowers when Leon speaks to me on my radio.
十分钟后，当我在花区附近时，利昂通过对讲机叫我。
‘Mark, go to the door!’ he says. ‘You must stop her – the girl with red hair.’
“马克，去门口！”他说，“你必须拦住她——那个红发姑娘。”
‘What? What’s happening?’ I say.
“什么？发生什么事了？”我说。
‘Go quickly – now. It’s the little boy – he’s got one of the red planes.’
“快去——马上。是那个小男孩——他拿了一架红色小飞机。”
Those red planes! Children take them all the time, because they like the colour. Then they get to the door and the alarm rings. Children cry, and their mothers get angry. I hate those planes!
那些红色小飞机！孩子们经常拿走它们，因为喜欢那个颜色。然后他们走到门口警报就会响。孩子们哭闹，妈妈们生气。我讨厌那些飞机！
When I get to the door, the alarm is ringing. The girl with red hair is standing there, and her face is red.
当我赶到门口时，警报正在响。红发姑娘站在那里，满脸通红。
‘What’s happening?’ she says.
“怎么回事？”她说。
‘Please come back into the store for a minute,’ I say.
“请回店里待一会儿，”我说。
We go back into the store, and the alarm stops.
我们回到店里，警报停了。
‘This young man has got the answer, I think. Where’s the plane?’ I say to Greg.
“我想这位小朋友知道答案。飞机在哪儿？”我对格雷格说。
‘Plane,’ says Greg, and he waves a little red plane at us.
“飞机，”格雷格说着，向我们挥舞着一架红色小飞机。
‘Oh, I am sorry!’ she says.
“哦，真对不起！”她说。
‘It’s all right,’ I say. ‘It happens all the time. Can I have the plane? Good boy!’
“没关系，”我说，“这种事常发生。能把飞机给我吗？好孩子！”
‘Thank you very much,’ says the girl with red hair. But the alarm is ringing again. I must go.
“非常感谢，”红发姑娘说。但警报又响了。我得走了。
I walk into the office upstairs. Shami is watching the screens. She stops and looks at my face.
我走进楼上的办公室。沙米正在看监控。她停下来看着我的脸。
She says nothing, but she smiles. Then she goes back to work.
她什么也没说，只是笑了笑。然后她继续工作。
I look at the screens too – but I am dreaming.
我也看着屏幕——但我却在出神做梦。
I’m happy. I’m really happy. But how can I meet her again? I think about this for the next six days, but I can’t find any answers. Then it’s Wednesday again.
我很开心。真的非常开心。但我怎样才能再见到她？接下来的六天我一直在想这个问题，却找不到任何答案。然后又是周三了。
I’m sitting in the office watching the screens. Ten o’clock comes and goes, then eleven o’clock. I can’t see her.
我坐在办公室里看监控。十点过了，十一点也过了。我没看到她。
I look on every screen in the store. In the end I see her near the door. She’s looking at her watch, and talking to Greg. Is she waiting for somebody?
我看遍了店里的每一个监控画面。最后在门口附近看到了她。她看着手表，跟格雷格说话。她在等人吗？
Perhaps she’s meeting somebody. Perhaps she’s late. Perhaps her mother is coming. Perhaps—
也许她在跟人碰面。也许她迟到了。也许她妈妈要来了。也许——
But now she’s waving at somebody.
但现在她正在向某人挥手。
A good-looking man in a black jacket walks up to the girl with red hair and kisses her. Greg laughs, and the man picks him up and kisses him too. Is he the baby’s father? Of course he is. Anybody can see that.
一个穿着黑夹克的帅气男人走向红发姑娘并亲吻了她。格雷格笑了，男人把他抱起来也亲了一口。他是孩子的父亲吗？当然是。谁都看得出来。
I don’t want to look, but I can’t take my eyes away from the screen. Then they all go down the road, away from the store.
我不想看，却无法把视线从屏幕上移开。然后他们都沿着路走远了，离开了商店。
I look around the room. Leon and Shami are in the store, and the room is very quiet. It feels cold.
我环顾房间。利昂和沙米都在店里，房间里很安静。感觉好冷。
Then Leon and Shami come in. ‘Now that’s not a happy face,’ Shami says. ‘What’s the matter?’
接着利昂和沙米进来了。“瞧这张脸可不高兴啊，”沙米说，“怎么了？”
I tell them. I tell them about the girl with red hair, and Greg, and the good-looking man – and the kiss.
我告诉了他们。我讲了红发姑娘、格雷格、那个帅气的男人——还有那个吻。
Leon looks at my face and thinks for a minute.
利昂看着我的脸想了一会儿。
‘Look, Mark,’ he says. ‘It’s a dream, that’s all. You see a nice girl, you think about her, you talk to her – and one day her boyfriend arrives. Boohoo. You stop dreaming. But there are always more girls.’
“听着，马克，”他说，“这只是个梦罢了。你看到一个漂亮的女孩，想念她，和她说话——然后某天她的男朋友出现了。呜呜。你别做梦了。总会有更多女孩的。”
‘Yes, but—’ I say, and then I stop.
“是啊，但是——”我说，然后停住了。
‘But they’re not the girl with red hair, right?’ says Leon. ‘But she’s got a boyfriend. You need a different girl, Mark – a girl without a boyfriend. Why don’t you come out with us tonight? We’re going to Ocean Blue. It’s a wonderful club, and there are lots of nice girls there.’
“但她们都不是那个红发姑娘，对吧？”利昂说，“但她已经有男朋友了。你需要换个女孩，马克——一个没有男朋友的女孩。今晚跟我们出去玩怎么样？我们要去‘蓝海’俱乐部。那是个很棒的夜店，那里有很多漂亮的女孩。”
I don’t really want to go, but I don’t want to stay at home and do nothing.
我不太想去，但也不想待在家里无所事事。
‘OK, then,’ I say.
“那好吧，”我说。
‘Good man,’ says Leon. ‘See you there at nine.’
“好样的，”利昂说，“九点那儿见。”
3 Yay!!
3 耶！！
The club is dark. There’s a lot of noise, and a lot of people, but the music is good.
俱乐部里灯光昏暗。噪音很大，人很多，但音乐很棒。
Leon is there with his girlfriend Ellie. I talk to them and their friends. I’m feeling good. Perhaps tonight I can forget about everything. Leon and Ellie are dancing, so I go to get a drink.
利昂和他的女朋友艾莉也在那儿。我和他们以及他们的朋友聊天。我感觉不错。也许今晚我可以忘掉一切。利昂和艾莉去跳舞了，我去买杯喝的。
Leon is right about one thing – there are a lot of nice girls at Ocean Blue. Tall girls, interesting girls, girls with black hair, blue hair – and red hair.
利昂有一点说对了——“蓝海”确实有很多漂亮的女孩。高挑的女孩、有趣的女孩、黑发的女孩、蓝发的女孩——还有红发的女孩。
Red hair? I’m waiting for my drink, and I’m standing next to the girl with red hair. No, two girls with red hair. Is this really happening?
红发？我在等酒的时候，正站在一个红发姑娘旁边。不，是两个红发姑娘。这是真的吗？
The girl with red hair looks at me and smiles. ‘Just a minute,’ she says. ‘Don’t I know you?’
那个红发姑娘看着我笑了。“等一下，”她说，“我是不是认识你？”
She’s talking to me! Why can’t I say anything?
她在跟我说话！我怎么什么都说不出来？
‘In the store,’ I say at last. ‘In Mason’s store. With your little boy. And the red plane.’
“在商店里，”我终于开口了，“在梅森百货。你和你的小男孩在一起。还有那架红色小飞机。”
The girl with red hair laughs.
红发姑娘笑了。
‘Oh, with Greg!’ she says. ‘I remember. But he isn’t my baby – he’s Claire’s. This is my sister Claire – she’s his mother.’ The second girl with red hair waves at me.
“哦，是和格雷格！”她说，“我记得。但他不是我的宝宝——他是克莱尔的。这是我姐姐克莱尔——她是他的妈妈。”第二个红发姑娘向我挥了挥手。
‘But I always see you with him,’ I say.
“但我总是看到你和他在一起，”我说。
‘I look after Greg on Wednesday mornings, and we always go to Mason’s,’ she says. ‘Then I meet Claire. Well, usually, that is. But not this week.’
“我周三上午照顾格雷格，我们总是去梅森百货，”她说，“然后我和克莱尔碰面。嗯，通常是这样的。但这周例外。”
Just then a good-looking man in a black jacket arrives. ‘Sorry I’m late,’ he says, and kisses Claire. ‘Hi, Kate.’
就在这时，一个穿黑夹克的帅气男人到了。“抱歉我来晚了，”他说着亲吻了克莱尔，“嗨，凯特。”
Claire smiles at him, and the girl with red hair says hello. I’m starting to understand. This is Claire’s husband, and Greg’s father. And the girl with red hair is called Kate.
克莱尔对他微笑，那个红发姑娘也打了招呼。我开始明白了。这是克莱尔的丈夫，也是格雷格的父亲。而那个红发姑娘名叫凯特。
My face is red.
我的脸红了。
‘Hey, I’m sorry,’ I say to Kate. ‘It’s – well, Greg’s got your hair and your eyes. But I can see now. He’s got Claire’s hair and eyes. Of course.’
“嘿，对不起，”我对凯特说，“就是——嗯，格雷格的头发和眼睛跟你一样。但我现在看出来了。他长得像克莱尔。当然了。”
‘It’s OK,’ Kate says. ‘It happens all the time. People say, “Isn’t your little boy happy!” And sometimes I just say, “Yes, he is.” ‘
“没关系，”凯特说，“这种事常有。人们会说：‘你家小男孩真开心啊！’有时候我就直接回答：‘是啊，他很开心。’”
Claire and her husband go off to dance, and I get Kate a drink.
克莱尔和她丈夫去跳舞了，我给凯特买了一杯饮料。
‘Here you are, Kate. My name’s Mark.’
“给你，凯特。我叫马克。”
‘Thanks, Mark,’ she says. ‘So you work in Mason’s.’
“谢谢，马克，”她说，“所以你在梅森百货工作。”
‘Yes,’ I say. ‘I work in security. I look for little boys with red planes, and girls with red hair.’
“是的，”我说，“我做安保工作。我负责找拿红色小飞机的小男孩，还有红发姑娘。”
‘And do you find them?’
“那你找到了吗？”
‘I find lots of little boys with red planes.’
“我找到了很多拿红色小飞机的小男孩。”
‘And the girls?’
“那女孩呢？”
‘Just one.’
“只找到一个。”
Now I have the answers to my questions. The girl with red hair is Kate. She hasn’t got a husband, and she hasn’t got a baby. And those green eyes are smiling at me. Yes, Wednesday really is the best day of the week.
现在我有了所有问题的答案。那个红发姑娘叫凯特。她没有丈夫，也没有孩子。而且那双绿眼睛正对着我笑。是的，周三真的是一周中最美好的一天。
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