I wish Mike would come over every day,” said Benny one morning.
“我希望迈克能每天都来，”一天早上本尼说道。
“Well, I don’t!” said all the others at once.
“好吧，我可不想！”其他人异口同声地说。
Henry looked up. “I think we can get along without any company at all.”
亨利抬起头说：“我觉得我们完全可以不需要任何客人。”
“You don’t call Joe company, do you?” asked Violet.
“你不会把乔当成客人吧？”维奥莱特问道。
“Oh, no,” said Henry. “He’s just one of the family. Why? Did you want to invite him to eat with us?”
“哦，不，”亨利说，“他就是我们家的一员。怎么了？你想邀请他和我们一起吃饭吗？”
“No,” said Violet slowly. “But today he said I would be ready to play to you after my lesson.”
“没有，”维奥莱特慢吞吞地说，“但是今天他说上完课后我就可以给你们演奏了。”
“Have him stay to supper,” said Jessie. She looked at Henry.
“让他留下来吃晚饭吧，”杰西说，她看了看亨利。
“Benny, come here,” said Henry. “Did you know that today is your birthday?”
“本尼，过来一下，”亨利说，“你知道今天是你的生日吗？”
“No,” said Benny, walking over to his brother.
“不知道，”本尼说着走向他的哥哥。
“Well, it is,” Henry went on, “and now what do you want for a present? We will buy it for you.”
“嗯，确实是，”亨利继续说道，“现在你想要什么礼物？我们会买给你。”
“Cream,” said Benny.
“奶油，”本尼说。
“Do you mean ice-cream?” asked Henry.
“你是指冰淇淋吗？”亨利问。
“No, I don’t. I mean cream in a bottle like milk. A big bottle … not a little one.”
“不，不是。我是指像牛奶一样装在瓶子里的奶油。一大瓶……不是小瓶的。”
“That’s a queer kind of a present,” said Violet.
“这真是个奇怪的礼物，”维奥莱特说。
“You want to drink it?” asked Jessie.
“你想喝它吗？”杰西问。
“No, I want to put it on some blackberries, like Peter Rabbit.”
“不，我想把它浇在黑莓上，就像彼得兔那样。”
“We’ll get a big bottle of cream then, Jessie,” said Henry, laughing.
“那我们就去买一大瓶奶油吧，杰西，”亨利笑着说。
Benny began to jump around the barn and yell.
本尼开始在谷仓里又蹦又跳地大喊大叫。
“Benny,” said Jessie, “Violet is going to bake you a birthday cake before she takes her lesson.”
“本尼，”杰西说，“维奥莱特要在上课前给你烤一个生日蛋糕。”
“Is she?” asked Benny, giving a last yell. “I want to watch her make my cake.”
“是吗？”本尼最后喊了一声问道，“我想看她做我的蛋糕。”
Violet got out her cooking things. She laid everything she needed on the pie-board.
维奥莱特拿出了她的烹饪用具，把她需要的所有东西都放在了案板上。
“We will put the candles around the cake,” said Violet.
“我们要把蜡烛插在蛋糕周围，”维奥莱特说。
“I want a candle in the middle,” said Benny.
“我想要中间也有一根蜡烛，”本尼说。
“Yes, but we want to save the middle—” Violet stopped suddenly.
“是的，但我们想把中间留出来——”维奥莱特突然停住了。
“Never mind,” said Jessie. “Benny doesn’t know what we want to save the middle for.”
“没关系，”杰西说，“本尼不知道我们为什么要留出中间的位置。”
The cake looked wonderful. And when Violet took it out of the oven, Benny said, “It smells just like a birthday cake.”
蛋糕看起来棒极了。当维奥莱特把它从烤箱里拿出来时，本尼说：“闻起来真像生日蛋糕的味道。”
Before she put the frosting on, Violet put the cake on two plates to get cold.
在涂上糖霜之前，维奥莱特把蛋糕放在两个盘子里冷却。
“Let’s sit down,” said Jessie, “and have a quick lunch of bread and milk. Then Henry can get the cream and candles, and Violet can take her lesson while I wash the dishes.”
“我们坐下来吧，”杰西说，“快点吃点面包和牛奶当午餐。然后亨利可以去买奶油和蜡烛，我去洗碗的时候维奥莱特就可以去上课了。”
“I’ll wipe the dishes for you,” said Benny.
“我来帮你擦盘子吧，”本尼说。
“Aren’t you a good boy!” cried Jessie. “And on your birthday, too. You will have a happy birthday, I’m sure.”
“你真是个乖孩子！”杰西叫道，“而且还是在你的生日这天。我相信你一定会过一个快乐的生日。”
They were just finishing when Joe and Violet came in carrying their violins.
他们刚吃完，乔和维奥莱特就拿着小提琴走了进来。
“Violet is ready to play for you,” said Joe. “Will everyone please sit down?”
“维奥莱特准备好为你们演奏了，”乔说，“请大家坐下好吗？”
Jessie was excited as she sat down on one of the boxes between Henry and Benny. Violet did not seem to be either excited or afraid. It was the first time she had played for anyone besides Joe. She waited now, holding her violin, for her teacher to tell her where to stand.
杰西兴奋地坐在亨利和本尼之间的一个箱子上。维奥莱特似乎既不兴奋也不害怕。这是她第一次在乔以外的人面前演奏。她现在手里拿着小提琴，等着老师告诉她站在哪里。
Joe told Violet to stand facing the door. He stood with his back to the wall, where he could watch Violet. Then they began to play. Violet’s part was very easy, but Joe’s part was hard. It seemed to be only Violet’s playing that the children heard. Violet did not seem like their sister.
乔让维奥莱特面朝门站着。他背靠着墙站，这样可以看着维奥莱特。然后他们开始演奏。维奥莱特的部分很简单，但乔的部分很难。孩子们似乎只听到了维奥莱特的琴声。此刻的维奥莱特看起来不像他们的姐妹，而像一位真正的演奏家。
“Beautiful!” cried Jessie at the end.
“太美了！”演奏结束时杰西喊道。
“She’s good, isn’t she?” asked Joe, turning around.
“她拉得很好，是吧？”乔转过身问道。
“Wonderful!” said Henry. “She could be a real violin player, couldn’t she, Joe?”
“太精彩了！”亨利说，“她可以成为一名真正的小提琴手，对吧，乔？”
“She could be, and she will be,” replied Joe.
“她可以的，而且她会的，”乔回答道。
“I wish Violet would play it again, so I would get used to it,” said Benny.
“我希望维奥莱特能再拉一遍，这样我就能习惯了，”本尼说。
“Do play it again,” said Jessie. “I could listen all day.”
“再拉一遍吧，”杰西说，“我可以听一整天。”
Violet and Joe began to play the piece again. When they were halfway through it, Mr. Browning appeared at the barn door. Violet looked up and smiled, but she did not stop playing.
维奥莱特和乔又开始演奏这首曲子。当他们拉到一半时，布朗宁先生出现在谷仓门口。维奥莱特抬头笑了笑，但没有停止演奏。
When the piece was finished, Mr. Browning cried, “John!”
曲子演奏完后，布朗宁先生喊道：“约翰！”
Joe turned around and said, “Oh, Mr. Browning!” He held out his hand. “I’m really glad to see you. Everything is all right again.”
乔转过身说：“哦，布朗宁先生！”他伸出手来，“见到您真高兴。一切都恢复正常了。”
“Well, I’m glad to see you, my boy!” said Mr. Browning. “I have been looking for you for a long time.”
“嗯，我也很高兴见到你，孩子！”布朗宁先生说，“我找你找了很久了。”
“Here are my friends,” said Joe. “This is Jessie—”
“这些是我的朋友们，”乔说，“这位是杰西——”
“Oh, we did meet Mr. Browning,” said Jessie, with a smile. “We know him quite well. Please everybody sit down.”
“哦，我们见过布朗宁先生，”杰西笑着说，“我们和他很熟。请大家坐下吧。”
“I could never forget the girl who makes apple pies with a green bottle,” said Mr. Browning, taking the company chair. “Or this little girl who plays the violin so well. You see, children, this Joe of yours is my best friend.”
“我永远不会忘记那个用绿瓶子做苹果派的女孩，”布朗宁先生坐上客椅说道，“也不会忘记这位小提琴拉得这么好的小女孩。你们知道吗，孩子们，你们的这位乔是我最好的朋友。”
“He’s my best friend,” said Benny.
“他也是我最好的朋友，”本尼说。
“Yes, I think you told me so, when I was here before,” answered the man, looking at Benny. “But he was my best friend before he was yours.”
“是的，我想你上次来的时候告诉过我，”那人看着本尼回答道，“但在成为你的朋友之前，他已经是我的好朋友了。”
Benny thought this over, “He could have two best friends,” he said.
本尼想了想说：“他可以有两个最好的朋友。”
“Good for you! Will you let me ask him where he has been, and what is the matter with him?”
“说得好！你能让我问问他这段时间去哪儿了，以及他出了什么事吗？”
“Nothing is the matter with Joe,” said Benny.
“乔没出什么事，”本尼说。
“That’s right,” said Joe. “I wasn’t well for a long time and for a while I didn’t even remember who I was. I’ll tell you all about it later. Now, I’m better, and ready to go back to the museum. And to my uncle, if he’ll have me.”
“没错，”乔说，“我病了很长时间，有一阵子甚至不记得自己是谁了。以后我会把一切都告诉你们。现在我好了，准备回博物馆去了。也回到我叔叔身边，如果他愿意接纳我的话。”
“Have you!” said Mr. Browning. “Your uncle has almost worn himself out worrying about you.”
“他当然愿意！”布朗宁先生说，“你叔叔因为担心你都快累垮了。”
“Then the sooner, the better,” said Joe.
“那就越快越好，”乔说。
“He works in a museum,” thought Henry.
“他在博物馆工作，”亨利心想。
“He is a very clever man,” thought Jessie.
“他是个非常聪明的人，”杰西心想。
“Did you really think Joe was a handy man working for Captain Daniel?” asked Mr. Browning.
“你们真的以为乔是给丹尼尔船长干活的杂工吗？”布朗宁先生问。
“N—no,” said Henry. “I thought he worked in a museum, but was taking some time off.”
“不——不是，”亨利说，“我以为他在博物馆工作，只是休假一段时间。”
“I began wondering when he got us all those books,” said Violet. “He found the names of the shells and flowers right away.”
“当他给我们找来那些书的时候，我就开始怀疑了，”维奥莱特说，“他一下子就找到了贝壳和花的名字。”
“Joe,” said Jessie, “did you write all those books? I remember we said the name on the books is just like ours.”
“乔，”杰西说，“那些书都是你写的吗？我记得我们说过书上的名字和我们的很像。”
Joe smiled, but he didn’t say anything.
乔笑了笑，但什么也没说。
“I don’t think you know yet who he is!” cried Mr. Browning.
“我觉得你们还不知道他是谁呢！”布朗宁先生喊道。
“I do,” said Benny. “He knows more than what is in all those books, and he works in a museum.”
“我知道，”本尼说，“他知道的比那些书里的还多，而且他在博物馆工作。”
“That’s right,” said Mr. Browning. “He is the head of a museum. Do you think his name is Joseph Alden?”
“没错，”布朗宁先生说，“他是一个博物馆的馆长。你们觉得他的名字叫约瑟夫·奥尔登吗？”
“Yes,” said Benny. “I think that, too.”
“是的，”本尼说，“我也这么认为。”
“Well, it is. It is John Joseph Alden,” said Mr. Browning. “But you don’t understand yet. He is your cousin.”
“嗯，确实是。他叫约翰·约瑟夫·奥尔登，”布朗宁先生说，“但你们还没明白过来。他是你们的表亲。”
“What!” cried the children together.
“什么！”孩子们齐声惊呼。
“Yes,” said Mr. Browning. “Joe’s father and your grandfather were brothers.”
“是的，”布朗宁先生说，“乔的父亲和你们的祖父是亲兄弟。”
“Joe, did you ever live with Grandfather?” asked Henry.
“乔，你曾经和祖父住在一起过吗？”亨利问。
Joe looked at his cousins and said, “I used to live there before I went away, and now I think I’ll go back. That is, if Uncle James will have me and my cousins don’t mind?”
乔看着他的表亲们说：“离开之前我曾住在那里，现在我想我要回去了。也就是说，如果詹姆斯叔叔愿意接纳我，而且我的表亲们不介意的话？”
“Mind!” cried Henry. “It would be wonderful!”
“介意！”亨利喊道，“那简直太棒了！”
“Oh, Joe!” shouted Benny. “You can keep on knowing things all the time. I’d rather have you live with us than even Watch!”
“哦，乔！”本尼大喊道，“你可以一直懂得那么多知识。比起沃奇（狗名），我更愿意让你和我们住在一起！”
And nobody could say more than that.
没有人能说出比这更真挚的话了。
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