Chapter 1: A Letter for Adam
第一章：给亚当的一封信
One day a postman came to my village. The postman brought me a letter from my son, Saul.
有一天，一位邮递员来到我们村庄。他给我带来了一封我儿子索尔的信。
‘Is your name Adam?’ the postman asked. ‘Yes,’ I said.
“你叫亚当吗？”邮递员问道。“是的，”我说。
‘I’ve got a letter for you.’ The postman read the envelope: ‘Adam of the village of Minta.’
“我有你一封信。”邮递员看着信封念道：“敏塔村的亚当。”
‘A letter for me. Who is it from?’ I asked. The postman looked at the envelope again. ‘From Saul’ he said. He gave me the letter and walked away.
“给我的信？谁寄来的？”我问。邮递员又看了看信封，说：“是索尔寄来的。”他把信交给我就走了。
‘Martha, Martha,’ I called to my wife. ‘Come here. We have a letter from our son, Saul.’
“玛莎，玛莎，”我呼唤我的妻子，“快过来。我们收到了儿子索尔的信。”
Martha came out and looked at the letter. She was excited but she was also worried.
玛莎走出来看着那封信。她既激动又有些担心。
‘A letter from Saul,’ she said. ‘Is he alive and well? I’m going to find the school teacher. He can read the letter.’
“是索尔的信，”她说，“他还好吗？平安吗？我去找学校老师，他能读这封信。”
There was no school fifty years ago. So I cannot read or write. I live in a small village. The only work is farming. My only son, Saul, left the village two years ago and my three daughters are married. Saul is making a lot of money in a foreign country.
五十年前这里没有学校，所以我不识字也不会写字。我住在一个小村庄里，唯一的营生就是种地。我唯一的儿子索尔两年前离开了村子，三个女儿也都出嫁了。索尔在国外赚了很多钱。
Martha and the school teacher came back. A lot of other people came. Everyone wanted to hear my letter. The school teacher opened the envelope and read the letter.
玛莎和学校老师回来了。许多其他人也来了，大家都想听听我的信。老师打开信封读了起来：
“Dear Father,”
“亲爱的父亲：”
“I am living in London. I have a job in a factory. The work is very hard. But the pay is good.”
“我现在住在伦敦，在一家工厂工作。活儿很累，但薪水不错。”
“I am well and I live with people from my country.”
“我身体很好，和来自我们国家的人住在一起。”
“I am sending you $100 in this letter. This is for you and my mother.”
“我在信里给您寄了100美元，这是给您和母亲的。”
“Love to you and mother.”
“爱您和母亲。”
“Saul”
“索尔”
‘One hundred dollars!’ I said to the school teacher. ‘You’re wrong. It’s a mistake.’
“一百美元！”我对老师说，“你肯定看错了，这不可能。”
‘No’, the school teacher said. ‘I’m not wrong. It’s not a mistake. Here is the money.’ And he gave me a piece of paper.
“不，”老师说，“我没看错，这不是弄错了。钱在这儿。”说着他递给我一张纸。
‘What is this?’ I asked.
“这是什么？”我问。
‘A money order,’ the school teacher said. ‘Go to Darpur. Take this money order to the Post Office in Darpur. The money order is worth one hundred dollars. The Post Office official will give you the money.’
“这是一张汇款单，”老师说，“去达尔普尔吧，把这张汇款单拿到那里的邮局。它值一百美元，邮局的工作人员会把钱兑给你。”
‘One hundred dollars!’ I said again.
“一百美元！”我又念叨了一遍。
Everyone laughed and said, ‘Adam, you are a rich man. You can buy many things for your farm and for your house.’
大家都笑着说：“亚当，你现在可是富人了。你可以给农场和家里添置好多东西了。”
‘And I can buy some good food and drink in Darpur. I am going to give a party for you all,’ I told my friends.
“我还要在达尔普尔买些好酒好菜，请你们大家好好聚一聚，”我对朋友们说。
Martha said, ‘Saul is a good son.’
玛莎说：“索尔真是个好儿子。”
That evening, the village people talked about the money order and my money. Martha and I also talked about the money. We needed many things for the farm.
那天晚上，全村人都在谈论那张汇款单和我的这笔钱。玛莎和我也在商量这笔钱的用途，我们的农场确实需要添置很多东西。
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