Every fairy tale has a dragon. Thanks to Granny, that is…
每个童话故事里都有一头龙。这都怪外婆…
Elsa is having terrible nightmares tonight. She’s always dreaded closing her eyes and no longer being able to get to the Land-of-Almost-Awake. The worst thing would be a dreamless sleep. But this is the night she learns of something even worse. Because she can’t get to the Land-of-Almost-Awake, and yet she dreams about it. She can see it clearly from above, as if she’s lying on her stomach on top of a huge glass dome, peering down at it. Without being able to smell any smells or hear any laughter or feel the rush of wind over her face when the cloud animals take off. It’s the most terrifying dream of all the eternities.
爱莎今晚做了个可怕的噩梦。她一直害怕闭上眼睛后，无法再次前往不眠大陆。最糟糕的便是无梦的沉睡。但这晚她发现原来还有更可怕的事情。她无法前往不眠大陆，却还是梦到了它。她从空中能清晰地看见它，就像趴在巨大的玻璃罩顶上向下俯视。无法闻到任何气味或听见任何笑声，也感受不到云兽们起飞时迎面扇起的风。这是所有“永恒”中最可怕的梦。
She sees all the princes and princesses and the wurses and the dream hunters and the sea-angel and the innocent people of the Land-of-Almost-Awake running for their lives. Behind them the shadows are closing in, banishing imagination and leaving nothing but death as they pass. Elsa tries to find Wolfheart in the inferno, but he’s gone. Cloud animals, mercilessly butchered, lie in the ashes. All of Granny’s tales are burning.
她看见所有王子、公主、呜嘶、捕梦人、海天使和不眠大陆的无辜百姓奔跑逃命。在他们身后，暗影逼近，驱逐想象力，所经之处只剩下死亡。爱莎想在这地狱中找到狼心，但他不见了。云兽被无情屠杀，躺在灰烬中。外婆所有的故事都在燃烧。
Miamas is burning.
密阿玛斯在燃烧。
Elsa wakes up when she throws herself out of the bed and lands facedown against the floor. She cowers there, her chest heaving, her hands covering her throat. It feels as if millions of eternities have passed before she can trust that she’s back in the real world. She’s not had a single nightmare since Granny and the cloud animals first brought her to the Land-of-Almost-Awake. She had forgotten how nightmares feel. She stands up, sweaty and exhausted, checks to see that she’s not been bitten by one of the shadows, and tries to get her thoughts into order.
爱莎滚下床，脸朝下摔在地板上，醒了。她瑟瑟发抖，大口大口喘着粗气，双手捂着自己的喉咙。在她确认自己已经回到真实世界之前，似乎过了“上百万个永恒”。自从外婆和云兽第一次将她带去不眠大陆，她就再没有做过一次噩梦，甚至已经忘记噩梦是什么样子的。她站起身，浑身是汗，精疲力竭，检查自己是不是被某只暗影咬了，同时试图理清思绪。
One figure wanders among the shadows. A slim man enveloped in a cloud of cigarette smoke. That’s the only scent Elsa can smell up there on top of the dome, the smell of Granny’s tobacco. Suddenly the figure looks up and two clear blue eyes penetrate the haze. A shroud of mist seeps between his thin lips. Then he points directly at Elsa, his forefinger deformed into a gray claw, and he shouts something, and in the next moment hundreds of shadows launch themselves from the ground and engulf her.
有个人在暗影间游荡。一个包裹在香烟烟雾中的瘦削男人。那是爱莎在玻璃罩顶唯一能闻到的气味，外婆烟草的气味。突然，那个人抬头，一双明亮的蓝色眼睛透过迷雾望过来，薄唇间吐出一片迷雾。然后他直直指向爱莎，食指扭曲变形成灰爪。他喊了些什么，下一刻，成百的暗影从地面涌上来，吞没了她。
“I see! But surely you understand, Ulrika, that it’s a bit odd for them to be calling you. Why don’t they call Kent? Kent is actually the chairman of this residents’ association and I am in charge of information, and it’s common practice for the accountant to call the chairman with these types of errands. Not just any old person!”
“我懂了！但你肯定明白的，乌尔莉卡，他们打电话给你有点儿奇怪啊。他们为什么不打给肯特？肯特才是这个租户协会的会长，信息负责人是我，这种事情会计师应该打电话给主席，而不是随便什么老家伙！”
She hears someone talking in the hall and has to muster all her powers of concentration to scatter the mists of sleep and be able to hear what’s happening.
她听见有人在玄关说话，立刻用尽全部力气摆脱噩梦的迷雾，集中精神去听发生了什么。
Elsa opens the bedroom door and stands in her pajamas in the doorway. Not only Britt-Marie is standing there in the hall; Lennart and Maud and Alf are also there. Samantha is sleeping on the landing. Mum is wearing only her dressing gown, hurriedly tied across her belly. Maud catches sight of Elsa and smiles mildly, with a cookie tin in her arms. Lennart gulps from a coffee thermos.
爱莎打开卧室门，穿着睡衣站在走道里。不仅布里特—玛丽站在厅里，莱纳特、莫德、阿尔夫也在那儿。萨曼莎在地板上睡觉。妈妈也只穿着睡袍，腰带在她腹部胡乱系着。莫德手上捧着一个饼干桶，看见爱莎，友善地笑了笑。莱纳特从保温杯里小口小口喝着咖啡。
Elsa understands that “any old person” is an insult. Mum’s sigh as she answers is so deep that it feels as if Elsa’s sheets are ruffled by the draft:
爱莎意识到“随便什么老家伙”是一种侮辱。妈妈深深叹了口气，这口气深到爱莎的床单都被气流给弄皱了。
“I don’t know why they called me, Britt-Marie. But the accountant said he would come here today to explain everything.”
“我不知道他们为什么打给我，布里特—玛丽。但会计师说他今天会过来解释所有事情的。”
“So the landlords have suddenly had the notion that they might be willing to sell the flats to us? After all the years that Kent has been writing them letters! Now they have suddenly decided! Just like that, easy-peasy? And then they contact you instead of Kent? That’s curious, don’t you find that curious, Ulrika?”
“所以房东突然有了念头，愿意把公寓卖给我们了？肯特给他们写了这么多年的信！现在他们倒突然决定了！就这么简单，嗯？然后他们没有联系肯特，反而联系了你？真是奇了怪了，你不觉得这不对劲吗，乌尔莉卡？”
For once Alf doesn’t look entirely in a bad mood, which means he only looks irritated in an everyday way. He nods curtly at Elsa, as if she has forced him into a secret. Only then does Elsa remember that she left him and the wurse in the garage yesterday when she ran up to the flat. Panic wells up inside of her, but Alf glares at her and makes a quick “stay calm” gesture, so that’s what she tries to do. She looks at Britt-Marie and tries to figure out if she’s worked up today because she has found the wurse, or if it’s a quite normal fuss about the usual Britt-Marie stuff. It seems to be the latter, thank God, but directed at Mum.
阿尔夫这次看上去心情不算特别糟，就是他日常的烦躁样。他短促地朝爱莎点点头，像是她强迫他参与了什么秘密组织。直到这时，爱莎才想起来，她昨天跑回公寓时，把他和呜嘶抛在了停车库。她心里恐慌起来，但阿尔夫看了她一眼，快速做了个“保持冷静”的手势，所以她也尝试照着做。她看向布里特—玛丽，想弄明白她今天来找碴儿，是不是因为发现了呜嘶，或者，是布里特—玛丽日常的那些破事。看上去是后者，谢天谢地，不过她今天针对的是妈妈。
Mum tightens her dressing gown sash. “Maybe they couldn’t get hold of Kent. And maybe since I’ve lived here so long they thought –“
妈妈紧了紧睡袍的腰带。“也许他们联系不上肯特。或者因为我住在这里很久了，所以他们觉得——”
“Isn’t Kent away on a business trip?” asks Mum.
“肯特不是出差去了吗？”妈妈问。
“Granny has lived here the longest,” Elsa mumbles, but no one seems to hear her. Especially not Britt-Marie.
“外婆住得最久。”爱莎小声说，但似乎没人听见，特别是布里特—玛丽。
“We’ve actually lived here the longest, Ulrika. Kent and I have lived here longer than anyone else!”
“我们才是这儿住得最久的住户，乌尔莉卡。肯特和我在这儿住的时间比任何人都长！”
Britt-Marie pauses at this and nods imperceptibly.
布里特—玛丽停顿了一下，微微点头。
“Alf has lived in the house the longest,” Mum corrects her.
“阿尔夫住得最久。”妈妈纠正她。
“Maybe that’s why they didn’t get hold of him. That’s why I called you as soon as I hung up after speaking to the acc –“
“也许这就是他们没联系他的原因，所以我跟会计师一通完电话就找你——”
“But surely it’s common practice to contact the chairperson of the leaseholders’ association!” says Britt-Marie with consternation.
“但联系租户协会的会长，才是常理！”布里特—玛丽不安地说。
“It isn’t a leaseholders’ association yet,” Mum sighs.
“那还不是个租户协会呢。”妈妈叹了口气。
“But it will be!”
“马上就是了！”
“And that is what the landlords’ accountant wants to come and talk about today — he says they’re finally willing to convert our rental contracts into leaseholds. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. As soon as I’d hung up the phone after talking to him, I contacted you. And then you woke up the whole house and now here we are. What more do you want me to do, Britt-Marie?”
“这正是房东的会计师想今天来讨论的——他说他们终于愿意把我们的租户合同变成租赁所有权了。这就是我想跟你说的。我跟他通完电话，立刻就联系了你。然后你就吵醒整栋楼的人，跑到这里来。你还想让我做什么，布里特—玛丽？”
“What sort of nonsense is that, coming here on a Saturday? Surely one doesn’t have meetings like this on a Saturday, surely one doesn’t, Ulrika? Do you think one does? Probably you do, Ulrika!”
“什么鬼话，周六来？没人会在周六开会，不可能的吧，乌尔莉卡？你觉得有可能吗？也许只有你会这么干，乌尔莉卡！”
“Well we can’t have the meeting without Kent,” Britt-Marie splutters.
“反正我们不能在肯特缺席的情况下开会。”布里特—玛丽着急地说。
Mum massages her temples. Britt-Marie inhales and exhales fairly demonstratively and turns to Lennart and Maud and Alf for support. Maud tries to smile encouragingly. Lennart offers Britt-Marie a shot of coffee while they are waiting. Alf looks as if he’s now approaching his usual level of ill-humor.
妈妈按摩着太阳穴。布里特—玛丽示威似的大口喘着气，转向莱纳特、莫德和阿尔夫，想获得他们的支持。莫德试着露出鼓励的微笑。莱纳特问布里特—玛丽要不要在等待的时候来杯咖啡。阿尔夫看起来正渐渐向超越平常的那种坏情绪靠拢。
“No, of course, only if Kent can make it back,” Mum agrees exhaustedly. “Why don’t you try calling him again?”
“是，当然，如果肯特能赶回来就太好啦。”妈妈精疲力竭地同意，“你再打个电话给他，好吗？”
Alf grunts something behind them. Britt-Marie spins around. Alf pushes his hands into his jacket pockets and grunts something again.
阿尔夫在他们身后咕哝着什么。布里特—玛丽转过身。阿尔夫双手插着上衣口袋，又嘟囔了起来。
“His plane hasn’t landed yet! He’s actually on a business trip, Ulrika!”
“他的飞机还没落地！他是真的出差了，乌尔莉卡！”
“Sorry?” say Mum and Britt-Marie at the same time, but in diametrically opposed tones of voice.
“你说什么？”妈妈和布里特—玛丽同时说，但语气截然相反。
“I’m just bloody saying that I sent Kent a text twenty minutes ago when you started making a bloody racket about this, and he got back to tell me he’s on his bloody way,” says Alf, and then adds, “The idiot wouldn’t miss this for all the tea in China.”
“我说，二十分钟前我给肯特发了条短信，就是你们开始乱嚷嚷的时候，他回我说，他正赶回来。”阿尔夫补充道，“这蠢货怎么可能错过这种事情。”
George comes out of the kitchen behind Mum, wearing jogging shorts, a very green sweater, and an even greener apron. He gives them an amused look, while holding a smoking frying pan.
乔治走出厨房，站到妈妈身后。他穿着紧身短裤，很绿很绿的卫衣和更绿的围裙。他朝大家扮了个鬼脸，手上拿着冒烟的平底锅。
“Ja, Klaus! JA! We will dizcuzz thiz in Frankfurt!”
“呀（好的），克鲁兹！呀！我们回头在法兰克福再讨论！”
Britt-Marie seems not to hear the last bit. She brushes invisible dust from her skirt and folds her hands and gives Alf a superior glance, because she knows quite clearly that it’s impossible for Kent to be on his way here, because, in fact, his plane hasn’t landed yet and, in fact, he’s on a business trip. But then there comes the sound of the door slamming on the ground floor and Kent’s footsteps. You can tell they’re Kent’s because someone is screaming German into a telephone, the way Nazis speak in American films.
布里特—玛丽似乎没有听到最后的部分。她掸去裙子上隐形的灰尘，交叉双手，傲慢地扫了阿尔夫一眼，显然很清楚地知道，肯特不可能正赶回来，事实上，他的飞机还没降落，他正在出差。然而这时传来了底层大门的开关声和肯特的脚步声。很容易分辨出是他，因为有人正冲着电话大喊德语，就像美国电影里纳粹说话那样。
“Anyone want some breakfast? I’ve made eggs.” He looks as if he’s going to add that there are also some newly bought protein bars on offer, but seems to change his mind when he realizes they may run out.
“有人想吃早饭吗？我煎了鸡蛋。”他好像准备补充说，还有一些新买的蛋白棒，但改变了主意，因为他意识到那些也许不够分。
Britt-Marie immediately sets off down the stairs to meet him and tell him about the impudence that’s been impudent enough to take place here in his absence.
布里特—玛丽立刻下楼去接他，告诉他，在他缺席期间发生的这些无礼言行。
“I’ve brought some cookies,” says Maud expansively, giving Elsa the whole tin and patting her tenderly on the cheek. “You have that, I can get some more,” she whispers and walks into their flat.
“我带了些饼干。”莫德慷慨地把整罐饼干都给了爱莎，温柔地拍了拍她的脸蛋。“这些都给你，我再去拿点儿。”她小声说，走进了公寓。
Kent strides up the stairs and appears in the doorway. He is wearing jeans and an expensive jacket. Elsa knows that because Kent usually tells her how much his clothes cost, as if he’s awarding points in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Britt-Marie hurries along behind him, mumbling repeatedly, “The rudeness, the sheer rudeness of not calling you, of just calling any old person. Isn’t that just so rude? Things can’t be allowed to go on like this, Kent.”
肯特走上楼梯，出现在走廊上。他穿着牛仔裤和一件昂贵的外套。肯特总是对爱莎讲，他的衣服多少钱，就像他在给欧洲歌唱大赛的选手打分。布里特—玛丽紧跟在他身后，反复絮叨：“太无礼了，居然不打电话给你，而是随便打给了个老家伙。这简直太粗鲁了！不能允许这种事发生，肯特。”
“I want to know exactly what the accountant said when he called.”
“我想知道，会计师打电话时说的原话。”
“Is there coffee?” asks Lennart nervously, having another shot of standby coffee as he follows her.
“有咖啡吗？”莱纳特跟在她身后紧张地说，喝了一口他的备用咖啡。
Kent doesn’t really acknowledge his wife’s raving, but points dramatically at Elsa’s mum.
肯特并没有理会他妻子的胡言乱语，而是夸张地指着爱莎的妈妈。
But before Mum has time to say anything, Britt-Marie brushes off some invisible dust from Kent’s arm, and whispers to him in a radically changed tone of voice. “Maybe you should go down first and change your shirt, Kent?”
妈妈正要开口说话时，布里特—玛丽掸去肯特手臂上隐形的灰尘，语气突然一转，对肯特小声说：“也许你应该先去换件衬衫，肯特？”
“Please, Britt-Marie, we’re doing business here,” Kent says dismissively, more or less like Elsa when Mum wants her to wear something green.
“别闹，布里特—玛丽，我们在谈正事。”肯特不屑一顾的态度有点儿像被妈妈要求穿绿色衣服时爱莎的态度。
Mum opens her mouth to try to say something again, but Kent catches sight of George.
妈妈张嘴想要说些什么，但肯特看见了乔治。
“I can throw it in the machine, come along, Kent. There are freshly ironed shirts in your wardrobe. You really can’t be wearing a wrinkly shirt when the accountant comes, Kent, what will the accountant think of us then? Will he think we can’t iron our shirts?” She laughs nervously.
“我可以直接扔洗衣机里，来吧肯特。你衣橱里有刚熨好的干净衬衫。会计师来的时候，你怎么能穿着件皱巴巴的衬衫呢，肯特？那会计师会怎么想我们，嗯？他会觉得我们连衬衫都熨不好！”她神经质地大笑。
She looks crestfallen.
她看上去很消沉。
“Ah! You’ve got eggs?” Kent bursts out enthusiastically.
“哈！你煎了蛋？”肯特热切地说。
Mum ties the sash of her dressing gown round her a little tighter, and says, with a deeply controlled sigh, “Just come on in, all of you. Make yourselves at home.”
妈妈将睡裙的腰带系得更紧了些，边叹气边用克制的语气说：“请进吧，大家。当自己家，随意随意。”
George nods with satisfaction. Kent immediately darts past Mum into the flat. Britt-Marie hurries after him with a frown. When she passes Mum, Britt-Marie looks bothered as she lets slip, “Oh well, when one is busy with a career like you are, Ulrika, there’s no time to clean, of course not.” Even though every inch of the flat is in perfect order.
乔治满意地点点头，肯特立即快步走过妈妈身旁，进了玄关。布里特—玛丽皱眉紧跟在他身后。她经过妈妈时露出一副很困扰的表情，然后脱口而出：“哦，也是，你工作这么忙肯定没时间打扫，乌尔莉卡，不奇怪。”但是公寓里每一寸都井井有条。
Elsa dives into her room and changes out of her pajamas into jeans as quick as she can, so she can run down and check on the wurse in the cellar while everyone is busy up here. Kent interrogates Mum in the kitchen about the accountant, and Britt-Marie echoes him with an “mmm” after every other word.
爱莎跑进自己房间，用最快的速度把睡衣换成牛仔裤，打算趁所有人都在楼上时，跑去地下室看望呜嘶。肯特在厨房审问妈妈关于会计师的事，而布里特—玛丽则在他每说两个字之后都用“嗯”附和。
“Thanks for not saying anything about the…” she starts to say, but she stops herself before she has to say “wurse.”
“谢谢你，没有告发…”她在自己说出“呜嘶”之前停了口。
The only one who stays in the front hall is Alf. Elsa sticks her thumbs in her jeans pockets and pokes her toes against the edge of the threshold, trying to avoid looking him in the eye.
唯一留在玄关的是阿尔夫。爱莎把大拇指插在她的牛仔裤口袋里，大脚趾抵着门槛的边缘，回避着他的目光。
“I’m not a bloody kid!” snaps Elsa.
“我才不是什么小孩！”爱莎恼怒地说。
Alf shakes his head grumpily.
阿尔夫粗暴地摇头。
“Touché,” Elsa whispers at the threshold.
“说得对。”爱莎低头冲门槛小声说。
“You shouldn’t have rushed off like that. If you’ve taken that animal on, you have to bloody shoulder your responsibility for it, even if you’re a kid.”
“你不应该那样跑掉。如果你要养动物，就必须得承担起照顾它的责任，不管你是不是小孩。”
“So quit behaving like one, then.”
“那就别表现得像个小孩。”
“The animal is in the storage unit. I’ve put up some sheets of plywood so people can’t see inside. Told it to keep its mouth shut. I think it got the point. But you have to find a better hiding place. People will find it sooner or later,” says Alf.
“那动物在储藏间。我搭了几片胶合板，这样别人就看不见里面了。告诉它闭上嘴。我觉得它听得懂。但你得找个更好的藏身地。迟早会有人发现它的。”阿尔夫说。
“The bloody leaseholds.”
“租赁所有权什么的。”
“What are they talking about?” she asks Alf, with a nod towards the kitchen, to shake off the thought.
“他们在聊什么？”她问阿尔夫，头朝厨房点了点，想转移话题。
Alf snorts.
阿尔夫哼了一声。
Elsa understands that when he says “people” he means Britt-Marie. And she knows he’s right. She has a terribly bad conscience about abandoning the wurse yesterday. Alf could have called the police and they would have shot it. Elsa abandoned it like Granny abandoned Mum, and this scares her more than any nightmares.
爱莎明白，他口中的“人”指的是布里特—玛丽。她知道他是对的。她对昨天抛下呜嘶的事情非常内疚。阿尔夫可能会报警，他们可能会打死它。爱莎抛下了呜嘶，就像外婆抛下了妈妈，这比噩梦更让她害怕。
“What does it mean?”
“那是什么意思？”
“Jesus, I can’t stand here explaining everything,” he groans. “The difference between a rental contract and a leasehold in a bloo –“
“老天，什么事情都要我解释。”他骂骂咧咧地说，“租户合同和租赁所有权之间的区别是——”
“I’m asking what it means; why are they all talking about it!” Elsa clarifies, in the way one clarifies things without being very clear at all.
“我问那是什么意思，那意味着什么。为什么他们都在谈论这个！”
“I know what a bloody leasehold is, I’m not bloody thick,” says Elsa.
“我知道租赁所有权是什么意思，我又不是个白痴。”爱莎说。
“Why are you asking, then?” says Alf defensively.
“那你问什么？”阿尔夫戒备地问。
“Kent has been going on about these sodding leaseholds ever since he moved back in, he won’t be satisfied until he can wipe his ass with the money he’s shat out first,” explains Alf, in the manner of one who doesn’t know very many seven-year-olds. At first Elsa is going to ask what Alf meant when he said that Kent “moved back in,” but she decides to take one thing at a time.
“自从肯特搬回来，他就一直抓着这个该死的租赁所有权不放。他永远不会满足，除非他的钞票多到能用来擦屁股。”阿尔夫解释的方式完全没有顾及爱莎只有七岁。爱莎开始想问阿尔夫说的肯特“搬回来”是什么意思，但她决定一次只问一件事。
“And that’s what Kent wants, the bastard. He’s always wanted to move out of here.”
“那就是肯特想干的，那个混蛋。他一直想搬出去。”
Elsa ponders. Alf creaks his leather jacket.
爱莎陷入了沉思。阿尔夫的皮夹克发出响声。
“Won’t we all make money? You and Mum and George and all of us?”
“这样的话，我们不都挣钱了？你、妈妈、乔治和我们所有人？”
“What?”
“什么？”
“If we sell the flats and move, yeah,” grunts Alf.
“如果我们卖了公寓，搬走的话。”阿尔夫抱怨地说。
That is why she’s having all these nightmares, she realizes. Because if the creatures from the Land-of-Almost-Awake turn up in the house now, then maybe the house will start to become a part of the Land-of-Almost-Awake, and if they all want to sell their flats, then…
她意识到，这就是她做噩梦的原因。如果不眠大陆的居民和生物现在出现在这栋房子里，那么房子本身也许就是不眠大陆的一部分，而如果他们都想要卖掉公寓，那么…
The door slamming at the bottom of the house echoes through the stairwell. Then discreet footsteps, heading up. It’s the accountant.
底层大门撞击的声响在楼道里回荡。稳重的脚步声向楼上传来，是会计师。
“Then we won’t be escaping Miamas. We’ll be leaving of our own free will,” says Elsa out loud to herself.
“我们不是逃出密阿玛斯的，我们是自愿离开的。”爱莎大声自言自语。
Britt-Marie drowns out Kent’s voice in the kitchen. She doesn’t get any response from Kent insofar as the shirt change goes, so she compensates with a lot of indignation about other things. There is a rich supply of such topics. It’s difficult for her to decide which is most upsetting, of course, but she has time to run through several matters, including her threat to call the police if Elsa’s mum doesn’t immediately move Granny’s car from Britt-Marie’s space in the garage, and also that Britt-Marie will make the police break the lock of the stroller that’s still chained up by the entrance, and that she won’t hesitate to put pressure on the landlord to put up cameras on the stairs, so they can stop the vile malpractice of people coming and going as they please and putting up notices without first informing the head of information. She’s interrupted by the very short man with the very friendly face now standing in the doorway, knocking tentatively against the doorframe.
厨房里，布里特—玛丽的声音盖过了肯特。在换衬衫这件事上，她没有得到肯特的回应，于是用对其他事情的愤怒来弥补。这话题说起来可就多了。显然她很难决定哪个最让她生气，但她有时间来处理好几件事，包括威胁妈妈如果不立即把外婆的车从布里特—玛丽的车位上移走，她就要报警；还有，布里特—玛丽要叫警察把还锁在入口的婴儿车的锁给钳断；然后她也会毫不犹豫地敦促房东在楼梯上安装摄像头，来制止人们随意出入以及在不通知信息负责人的情况下就张贴告示。一个矮个子男人打断了她。男人长着一张友善的脸，正站在楼道里，试探地敲着门框。
“Nothing,” mumbles Elsa.
“没什么。”爱莎小声说。
The accountant points amicably at his briefcase and makes an amicable gesture towards the kitchen.
会计师友善地指了指他的公文包，朝厨房友好地比了比。
Kent breaks in impatiently. “So about the leaseholds: what’s your price?”
肯特不耐烦地插嘴。“谈回租赁所有权，你的开价是？”
“The door was open,” says the accountant amicably.
“门开着。”会计师友好地回答。
“Well, well? What about these leaseholds, then?” he demands at once. “What price per square foot are you offering?”
“所以呢，嗯？租赁所有权的事情怎么样了？”他用命令的口气说，“每平方米你们打算要多少钱？”
“Please excuse the mess, they’re all so preoccupied with their careers in this family,” says Britt-Marie well-meaningly. Mum does her absolute best to pretend she didn’t hear that. As they all head into the kitchen, Britt-Marie stops, turns to Elsa, and clasps her hands together.
“这一团糟的，还请见谅，这家人全身心都投入在工作上。”布里特—玛丽看似客气地说。妈妈尽力装作没有听见的样子。他们都朝厨房走去，布里特—玛丽停下，转向爱莎，拍了下手。
Britt-Marie storms out of the kitchen from behind and points at the accountant accusingly. “How did you get in?”
布里特—玛丽从后面冲出厨房，指着会计师质问道：“你是怎么进来的？”
And when he catches sight of Elsa, he winks at her. As if they share a secret. Or at least Elsa thinks that’s what he means.
他看见爱莎，朝她挤了挤眼睛。爱莎还以为他俩之间有什么共同的秘密。
“Should we sit down, perhaps?”
“我们坐下谈，好吗？”
“I’m the accountant,” he says amicably.
“我是会计师。”他和气地说。
“There’s coffee,” Lennart says expansively.
“请用咖啡。”莱纳特客气地说。
Kent steps authoritatively out of the kitchen with his hands on his hips over his overcoat and looks the accountant up and down.
肯特摆起架子走出厨房，手叉在外套的腰部，上下打量着会计师。
“And cookies,” Maud says with a nod.
“还有饼干。”莫德点点头。
“And eggs!” George hollers from the kitchen.
“还有煎蛋！”乔治在厨房里喊道。
She almost asks, “Was it Wolfheart?” and then stops herself, because she can’t imagine how Britt-Marie could possibly know that Wolfheart is her friend.
她差点儿就问“是狼心吗”，然后制止了自己，她不能想象布里特—玛丽是怎么知道狼心是她朋友的。
“You do understand, dear, I would obviously never ever think you and your grandmother’s friends had anything to do with junkies. Obviously I’m not to know if the gentleman who was looking for you yesterday took drugs or not. That’s not at all what I mean to say.”
“你知道的，亲爱的，我肯定不会以为你和你外祖母的朋友们跟‘瘾君子’有什么瓜葛。我都不知道昨天找你的那位先生是不是嗑了药。我可完全不是这个意思。”
Elsa gawks at her, puzzled.
爱莎呆呆地看着她，一头雾水。
“What? What friends? Who was asking for me yesterday?”
“什么？什么朋友？昨天谁找我？”
“Your friend who was here looking for you yesterday. The one I jettisoned from the premises. There’s a smoking ban on the stairs, you can tell him that. That is not how we behave in this leaseholders’ association. I understand that you and your granny have very curious acquaintances, but rules apply to everyone, they really do!” She straightens an invisible wrinkle in her skirt and clasps her hands on her stomach before continuing: “You know who I mean. He was very slim and stood here smoking on the stairs. He was looking for a child, a family friend, he said, and then he described you. He looked exceedingly unpleasant, actually, so I told him that in this leaseholders’ association we do not allow smoking indoors.”
“你朋友昨天来这里找你。我在楼道里撞见的。你告诉他，楼梯间不许吸烟。这个租户协会里，大家都应该自觉。我理解的，你和你外婆有一些非常特别的熟人，但每个人都得遵守规矩，必须这样！”她拉平裙子上一道隐形的皱褶，双手交叠在肚子上，继续说，“你当然知道我说的是谁！他很瘦，站在楼梯那里抽烟。他在找一个小孩，家里的朋友，他这么形容了你的样子。他不太懂礼貌，所以我告诉他，在这个租户协会里，我们不允许在室内抽烟。”
Because every fairy tale has a dragon.
因为每个童话故事里，都有一头龙。
Elsa’s heart shrinks. Consumes all the oxygen in her body. She has to hold on to the doorframe to stop herself collapsing. No one sees her, not even Alf. But she understands what’s about to happen in this adventure now.
爱莎的心抽紧，耗尽了全部氧气。她必须扶着门把手才站得住。没有人看见她，连阿尔夫也没注意到。但她知道这场冒险的终点会有什么在等待着她。
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