In the loveliest town of all, where the houses were white and high and the elm trees were green and higher than the houses, where the front yards were wide and pleasant and the back yards were bushy and worth finding out about, where the streets sloped down to the stream and the stream flowed quietly under the bridge, where the lawns ended in orchards and the orchards ended in fields and the fields ended in pastures and the pastures climbed the hill and disappeared over the top toward the wonderful wide sky, in this loveliest of all towns Stuart stopped to get a drink of sarsaparilla.
这是个所有的城镇里最可爱的小镇：这里的白房子高高指向天空而绿榆树则挺得比房子更高，房子的前院美丽而又宽敞后院的灌木丛里有许多值得你寻觅的东西，街路一直爬到小河边小河静静地流过大桥的下面，小河尽头的草地铺展到果园果园绵亘到远处的田野田野延蔓到辽阔的牧场牧场则不断蜿蜒到山顶才隐没在广袤无边的天空里——在这个众多城镇中显得最可爱的小镇斯图亚特停下车准备去喝一杯沙士。
Parking his car in front of the general store, he stepped out and the sun felt so good that he sat down on the porch for a few moments to enjoy the feeling of being in a new place on a fine day. This was the most peaceful and beautiful spot he had found in all his travels. It seemed to him a place he would gladly spend the rest of his life in, if it weren’t that he might get homesick for the sights of New York and for his family, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick C. Little and George, and if it weren’t for the fact that something deep inside him made him want to find Margalo.
他把车停到一家杂货店的门前，走出来才知阳光是这么好，就忍不住在门廊上坐下来愉快地感受着这个新镇子里的美好一天。这是他在旅途中发现的最宁静最美丽的地方。他真愿意把他的余生都在这里度过，如果他不会想纽约的家，不会思念弗里德里克·C·利特尔夫妇和乔治，也不会决心要找到玛戈的话。
After a while the storekeeper came out to smoke a cigarette, and he joined Stuart on the front steps. He started to offer Stuart a cigarette but when he noticed how small he was, he changed his mind.
不久，店主走出来和斯图亚特一起坐在门前的台阶上，并点燃了一根烟。他本想扔给斯图亚特一根烟，但一看他的个头，就改了主意。
“Have you any sarsaparilla in your store?” asked Stuart. “I’ve got a ruinous thirst.”
“你的店里有沙士吗？”斯图亚特问。“我渴坏了。”
“Let me have a bottle of sarsaparilla, please,” said Stuart, “and a paper cup.”
“请给我来一瓶沙士吧，”斯图亚特说，“再拿个纸杯来。”
“That’s very refreshing,” remarked Stuart. “There’s nothing like a long, cool drink in the heat of the day, when you’re traveling.”
“真解渴，”斯图亚特说。“当你在大热天长途跋涉时，喝一口冰凉的饮料能让你格外的舒服。”
“Certainly,” said the storekeeper. “Gallons of it. Sarsaparilla, root beer, birch beer, ginger ale, Moxie, lemon soda, Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Dipsi Cola, Pipsi Cola, Popsi Cola, and raspberry cream tonic. Anything you want.”
“当然有，”店主说。“我有很多种饮料。沙士，草根啤酒，桦树汁啤酒，姜汁啤酒，活力，柠檬苏打，可口可乐，百事可乐，迪斯可乐，匹斯可乐，冰镇可乐，还有蔗莓奶汁汽水，任何你想要的都有。”
The storekeeper went back into the store and returned with the drink. He opened the bottle, poured some out into the cup, and set the cup down on the step below Stuart, who whipped off his cap, lay down on his stomach, and dipped up some of the cool refreshing drink, using his cap as a dipper.
店主回到店里把沙士带了出来。他打开瓶子，往杯里倒了一些饮料，把它放到下面的台阶上，斯图亚特摘下帽子，肚子朝下卧在台阶上，用他的帽子来从里面舀取这冰冷可口的饮料。
“Can’t say I have,” said the storekeeper. “What does she look like?”
“这我可说不准，”店主说。“她什么样子？”
“What’s she like?” asked Stuart. “Fair, fat, and forty?”
“她长相如何？”斯图亚特问。“一般，很胖，还是像四十岁？”
“Are you going far?” asked the storekeeper.
“你还要走很远吗？”店主问。
“You mean in my stocking feet?” said Stuart.
“你是说我只穿袜子时的身高吗？”斯图亚特说。
“Perhaps very far,” replied Stuart. “I’m looking for a bird named Margalo. You haven’t sighted her, have you?”
“可能吧，”斯图亚特说。“我在找一只叫玛戈的小鸟。你见过她吗？”
“Perfectly beautiful,” replied Stuart, wiping the sarsaparilla off his lips with the corner of his sleeve. “She’s a remarkable bird. Anybody would notice her. She comes from a place where there are thistles.”
“非常的漂亮，”斯图亚特回答着，用袖口抹去唇边的沙士汽水沫。“她是一只出众的小鸟。任何人都会注意到她的。她来自生长着大蓟的地方。”
“Who’s that?” asked Stuart, yawning.
“他是谁？”斯图亚特打着哈欠问。
“Harriet Ames,” said the storekeeper. “She’s just your size — maybe a trifle shorter, if anything.”
“哈丽雅特·埃姆斯，”店主说。“她差不多和你一样高——只可能比你矮一点儿。”
“No, Harriet is young and she is quite pretty. She is considered one of the best dressed girls in this town, too. All her clothes are tailored specially for her.”
“不，哈丽雅特是个很漂亮的小女孩。她也是这个镇子里穿得最美的女孩子之一。她的所有衣裳都是专门订作的。”
“Yes.”
“是的。”
The storekeeper looked at Stuart closely.
店主仔细看了看斯图亚特。
“You know,” said the storekeeper, thoughtfully, “there’s somebody in this town you really ought to meet.”
“你知道，”店主想了想，说，“这个镇子里有个人你真该见见。”
“How tall are you?” he asked.
“你多高？”他问。
“Two inches nothing and a quarter,” answered Stuart. “I haven’t been measured recently, however. I may have shot up a bit.”
“比两英寸还多四分之一英寸，”斯图亚特回答。“不过，我最近没再量过。我没准儿又长个了呢。”
“Yes. Harriet’s quite a girl. Her people, the Ameses, are rather prominent in this town. One of her ancestors used to be the ferryman here in Revolutionary days. He would carry anybody across the stream — he didn’t care whether they were British soldiers or American soldiers, as long as they paid their fare. I guess he did pretty well. Anyway, the Ameses have always had plenty of money. They live in a big house with a lot of servants. I know Harriet would be very much interested to meet you.”
“是的。哈丽雅特是很美的女孩子。她们埃姆斯家在这个镇子里相当的出名。她的一个祖先在大革命时代曾经做过船夫。他把每个人都带到小河对岸去——不管他们是英国士兵还是美国士兵，只要他们肯付船钱就行。我猜他的买卖一定很不错。不管怎样，总之埃姆斯家总是非常有钱。他们现在住在一个有许多佣人的大房子里。我知道，哈丽雅特见到你一定非常高兴。”
“That’s very kind of you,” replied Stuart, “but I’m not much of a society man these days. Too much on the move. I never stay long anywhere — I blow into a town and blow right out again, here today, gone tomorrow, a will o’ the wisp. The highways and byways are where you’ll find me, always looking for Margalo. Sometimes I feel that I’m quite near to her and that she’s just around the turn of the road. Other times I feel that I’ll never find her and never hear her voice again. Which reminds me, it’s time I was on my way.” Stuart paid for his drink, said good-by to the storekeeper, and drove off.
“非常感谢，”斯图亚特回答，“但是这些天我没时间去交朋友了。我只有不停地到处走。我从不在一个地方呆很久——我像一阵风一样在无数的镇子里进出，今天到这里，明天去那里，行踪总是飘忽不定。不管是在大路还是小道，你都能看到在时刻寻找玛戈的我。有时我感觉已经离她很近了，她似乎就在路的转弯处。其它的时候我觉得我永远也找不到她也听不到她的声音了。这使我意识到，我又到了该继续上路的时候了。”斯图亚特付了汽水钱，和店主说声再见便离开了。
“That so?” remarked Stuart.
“她真的那么美吗？”斯图亚特说。
“Harriet Ames,” he murmured.
“哈丽雅特·埃姆斯。”他嘀咕着。
But Ames’ Crossing seemed like the finest town he had ever known, and before he reached the end of the main street he swerved sharp left, turned off onto a dirt road, and drove down to a quiet spot on the bank of the river. That afternoon he swam and lay on his back on the mossy bank, his hands crossed under his head, his thoughts returning to the conversation he had had with the storekeeper.
可是因为埃姆斯镇实在是他到过的最美的小镇，所以他在开到离开这里的主干道前还是忍不住把车来了个左转弯，转向一条泥土路，开到河边的一处宁静的地方。那个下午，他游了一个泳，然后就躺在铺满青苔的岸边手枕着头休息了，这时他又回忆起那个店主的话。
In the morning the sun rose warm and bright and Stuart slipped into the river again for an early dip. After breakfast he left his car hidden under a skunk cabbage leaf and walked up to the post office. While he was filling his fountain pen from the public inkwell he happened to glance toward the door and what he saw startled him so that he almost lost his balance and fell into the ink. A girl about two inches high had entered and was crossing the floor toward the mail boxes. She wore sports clothes and walked with her head held high. In her hair was a stamen from a flower.
早晨的太阳变得温暖而又明亮时，斯图亚特又跳到水里游泳了。早饭后，他把车藏到一片甘蓝叶的下面，然后往邮局那里走。他在那里的公用墨水槽里给他的钢笔灌墨水时，偶然间朝门口瞥了一眼。他所看到的使他大吃一惊，以至于身体突然失去了平衡，差点儿栽倒在墨水槽里。有一个大约两英寸高的小女孩正从地板那里往信箱这边走。她穿着运动服，走路时头昂得高高的。她的头发里插着一根花芯。
Evening came, and Stuart still lingered by the stream. He ate a light supper of a cheese sandwich and a drink of water, and slept that night in the warm grass with the sound of the stream in his ears.
夜晚来临时，斯图亚特还在小河边徘徊着。他吃了一块三明治，又喝了点水，就在满耳的水流声的陪伴下，睡倒在温暖的长草丛里了。
Stuart began to tremble from excitement.
斯图亚特激动得颤抖起来。
“Must be the Ames girl,” he said to himself. And he kept out of sight behind the inkwell as he watched her open her mail box, which was about a quarter of an inch wide, and pull out her letters. The storekeeper had told the truth: Harriet was pretty. And of course she was the only girl Stuart had ever encountered who wasn’t miles and miles taller than he was. Stuart figured that if the two of them were to walk along together, her head would come a little higher than his shoulder. The idea filled him with interest. He wanted to slide down to the floor and speak to her, but he didn’t dare. All his boldness had left him and he stayed hidden behind the inkwell until Harriet had gone. When he was sure that she was out of sight, he stole out of the post office and slunk down the street to the store, half hoping that he would meet the beautiful little girl, half fearing that he would.
“那一定就是埃姆斯家的那个女孩，”他自语。他躲在墨水槽的后面偷看她打开她那四分之一英寸高的邮箱，往外取信。店主告诉他的话是真的：哈丽雅特真美。而且她也是斯图亚特遇到过的唯一不比自己高很多倍的女孩子。斯图亚特能算出来，如果他们在一起走，她的头将和他的肩膀那里差不多高。这个想法顿时让他来了兴致。他想跳到地板上和她说话，可是又不敢。所有的勇气陡然间都弃他而去，他只好躲在那里直到她离开。当他确信她真的走远了，才偷偷地溜出邮局，来到街边的一家商店，心里既盼望在这里再见那个美丽的小女孩，又怕真的会再见到她。
“Have you any engraved stationery?” he asked the storekeeper. “I’m behind on my correspondence.”
“你这里有信纸吗？”他问店主。“我要写一封信。”
The storekeeper helped Stuart up onto the counter and found some letter paper for him — small paper, marked with the initial “L.” Stuart whipped out his fountain pen and sat down against a five-cent candy bar and began a letter to Harriet:
店主把他放到柜台上，给他找了几张信纸——那些纸很小，每张纸的上角还印着一个字母“L”。斯图亚特拉下钢笔帽，倚坐在一块价值五美分的硬糖上，开始给哈丽雅特写信：
“Pray forgive me, Miss Ames,” continued Stuart, “for presuming to strike up an acquaintance on so slender an excuse as our physical similarity; but of course the fact is, as you yourself must know, there are very few people who are only two inches in height. I say ‘two inches’– actually I am somewhat taller than that. My only drawback is that I look something like a mouse. I am nicely proportioned, however. Am also muscular beyond my years. Let me be perfectly blunt: my purpose in writing this brief note is to suggest that we meet. I realize that your parents may object to the suddenness and directness of my proposal, as well as to my somewhat mouselike appearance, so I think probably it might be a good idea if you just didn’t mention the matter to them. What they don’t know won’t hurt them. However, you probably understand more about dealing with your father and mother than I do, so I won’t attempt to instruct you but will leave everything to your good judgment.
“请原谅我的鲁莽，埃姆斯小姐，”斯图亚特继续写，“但是当看到你那与我相似的外表时我感到就如同遇到了一个旧友。就是这样，因为你知道，很少有人身高只有两英寸。我说‘两英寸’还不太确切——实际上我比那还高一点儿。我唯一的缺陷是我的样子像一只老鼠。但即便如此，我还是一个很不错的人。我还有着一身与我的年龄不相称的强壮肌肉。我干脆坦白说吧：我写这个便条的目的是想约你出来见一面。我怕你的父母可能会反对我这个直率而又突然的提议，而且由于我的外表像老鼠一样，所以我想如果你不对他们谈起这件事，结果会更好。这样他们就会一无所知，也不会受到伤害了。可是，你也许更愿意和你的父母讨论这件事，如果那样的话我也不会强迫你别这么做，但我还是要把我的意见留给你做参考。
“MY DEAR MISS AMES,” he wrote. “I am a young person of modest proportions. By birth I am a New Yorker, but at the moment I am traveling on business of a confidential nature. My travels have brought me to your village. Yesterday the keeper of your local store, who has an honest face and an open manner, gave me a most favorable report of your character and appearance.”
“我亲爱的埃姆斯小姐，”他写。“我是一个谦虚的年轻人。我来自纽约，出来旅行是由于一个秘密的目的。现在我来到了你们这个镇。昨天你们的一个店主，就是有着一张诚实的面孔和开朗性格的那个男人，对我说了不少关于你的好话。”
At this point in the letter Stuart’s pen ran dry from the long words and Stuart had to get the storekeeper to lower him head-first into a bottle of ink so that he could refill the pen. Then he went back to letter writing…
写到这里钢笔没水了，斯图亚特只好让店主拎着他的尾巴把他顺到浅浅的墨水瓶里，这样才可以把他的钢笔灌满墨水。然后他又坐回来接着写……
After Stuart had sealed his letter in an envelope, he turned to the storekeeper.
斯图亚特把他的信装到一个信封里，然后走向店主。
“Being an outdoors person, I am camped by the river in an attractive spot at the foot of Tracy’s Lane. Would you care to go for a paddle with me in my canoe? How about tomorrow afternoon toward sundown, when the petty annoyances of the day are behind us and the river seems to flow more quietly in the long shadows of the willows? These tranquil spring evenings are designed by special architects for the enjoyment of boatmen. I love the water, dear Miss Ames, and my canoe is like an old and trusted friend.”
“由于是一个离家在外的流浪者，我只好在河边特蕾西大道尽头处的一个很雅致的地方露营。你愿意来和我一起泛舟吗？你愿意明天下午日落时来那里，把我们一天中的烦恼全都抛开，只是与我共同欣赏着比日里更静的河水在长长的柳荫下流动的美景吗？这样宁静的春晚是特别为喜欢荡舟的人预备的。我爱河水，亲爱的埃姆斯小姐，我的独木舟就仿佛一个值得信赖的老朋友。”
“If you wish to accept my invitation, be at the river tomorrow about five o’clock. I shall await your arrival with all the eagerness I can muster. And now I must close this offensive letter and catch up with my affairs.
“如果你愿意接受我的邀请，请在明天下午五点准时在河边等我。我将用我所有的渴望来期盼您的莅临。现在我得封上这无礼的信了，因为我还有别的事情要做。”
“Yours very truly, STUART LITTLE.”
“你真诚的朋友斯图亚特·利特尔”
Stuart forgot, in the excitement of writing Harriet, that he did not own a canoe.
斯图亚特由于太激动，都忘了他根本没有什么独木舟了。
“Where can I get hold of a canoe?” he asked.
“我上哪里能找到一艘独木舟？”他说。
“Right here,” replied the storekeeper. He walked over to his souvenir counter and took down a little birchbark canoe with the words SUMMER MEMORIES stamped on the side. Stuart examined it closely.
“就在这里，”店主回答。他走到他的纪念品柜台，从上面拿下一艘很小的用桦树皮制成的独木舟，舟身上还刻着一行字：“夏天的记忆。”斯图亚特仔细地检查了一番。
“Does she leak?” asked Stuart.
“她不会漏水吧？”斯图亚特问。
“These will work out all right as paddles,” he said.
“这东西用来做船桨很合适，”他说。
“It’s a nice canoe,” replied the storekeeper, bending it gently back into shape with his fingers. “It will cost you seventy-five cents plus a penny tax.”
“这是艘不错的独木舟，”店主用手指轻叩着舟身。“它只需花掉你七十五美分，外加一美分的税。”
Stuart took the spoons, but he was disgusted with the looks of them.
斯图亚特接过小勺。可是当他再看看那独木舟时，便有些不高兴了。
“What about paddles?” he said, making his voice sound businesslike. The storekeeper hunted around among the souvenirs but he couldn’t seem to find any paddles, so he went over to the ice cream counter and came back with two little cardboard spoons — the kind you use for eating ice cream on picnics.
“船桨在哪里？”他显得很认真地说。店主在那些纪念品中间到处打量着，可是却找不到什么船桨，于是他便走到冰淇淋柜台那里，找出了两个硬纸板做的小勺子——就是那种你在野餐时用来舀冰淇淋吃的小勺。
The storekeeper carried the canoe and the paddles out in front of the store and set them down in the street. He wondered what this tiny boatman would do next, but Stuart never hesitated. Taking a piece of thread from his pocket, he lashed the paddles to the thwarts, swung the canoe lightly up on his head, and walked off with it as calmly as though he were a Canadian guide. He was very proud of his ability with boats and he liked to show off.
店主只好替他把独木舟和船桨拿到店外的街路上。他对这个小船夫下一步怎么做很感兴趣，但斯图亚特可丝毫没有犹豫。他从衣兜里拿出一根线，把船桨捆在独木舟里，再把独木舟轻轻翻过来扣到头上，然后就沉着地往前走去，就像一个常做这类事的加拿大专家一样。他为自己的应变能力骄傲，也乐于炫耀自己的天才。
Stuart took out his money and paid the man. Then he looked inside the canoe and noticed that there were no paddles.
斯图亚特掏出钱付给了那个男人。然后他又朝独木舟里面看，这才注意到那里没有船桨。
“They may work out all right,” said Stuart, “but I would hate to meet an American Indian while I had one of these things in my hand.”
“船和船桨也许都很合适，”斯图亚特说，“可要是我的双手都拿着这些东西，就无法对付一个印第安人的突然袭击了。”
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