“We must be ready at ten o’clock,” said Jessie the next morning.
“我们必须在十点钟准备好，”杰西第二天早上说。
“Grandfather told Captain Daniel to meet him with the boat at ten o’clock and he is always on time.”
“爷爷告诉丹尼尔船长十点准时开船来接他，他向来守时。”
“We must certainly show him the museum,” said Henry.
“我们一定要带他参观博物馆，”亨利说。
“I know he will be interested in the Indian things, but I’m not so sure about the birds and flowers.”
“我知道他对印第安人的东西会感兴趣，但对鸟类和花卉就不太确定了。”
“I think he will like our museum,” said Violet.
“我觉得他会喜欢我们的博物馆，”维奥莱特说。
“It has his name on the door.”
“门上还写着他的名字呢。”
She looked up and read the sign again, “THE JAMES H. ALDEN MUSEUM.”
她抬起头又读了一遍牌子：“詹姆斯·H·奥尔登博物馆”。
“Everything is ready,” said Jessie.
“一切都准备好了，”杰西说。
She took one last look.
她最后检查了一遍。
“Let’s go down on the dock to wait for him.”
“我们去码头等他吧。”
Mr. Alden was delighted to see his grandchildren all waving from the dock.
奥尔登先生看到孙辈们都在码头上向他挥手，感到非常高兴。
“Fine children,” he said to Captain Daniel.
“真是好孩子，”他对丹尼尔船长说。
“Best that ever I saw,” agreed Captain Daniel, waving, too.
“是我见过最好的孩子，”丹尼尔船长也挥着手表示赞同。
He tied the boat and watched the old man and his happy grandchildren as they went out of sight into the barn.
他系好船，看着老人和他快乐的孙辈们走进谷仓，直到看不见身影。
“I want to see every single thing you have,” said Mr. Alden.
“我想看看你们所有的东西，”奥尔登先生说。
He sat down in the company chair and looked around him.
他在待客椅上坐下，环顾四周。
“Say, what’s this I see? A museum?”
“咦，我看到的是什么？一个博物馆吗？”
Grandfather was on his feet in a minute.
爷爷立刻站了起来。
“Are you going to let me see it?” he asked excitedly, with his foot on the stairs.
“你们打算让我看看吗？”他兴奋地问道，一只脚已经踏上了楼梯。
“Of course!” cried Jessie.
“当然！”杰西喊道。
“If you don’t mind the heat. It’s awfully hot up there.”
“只要您不介意热就行，上面非常热。”
“No, I don’t mind,” said Mr. Alden at the top of the stairs.
“不，我不介意，”奥尔登先生走到楼梯顶端时说。
He saw what the museum was like, with one look.
他只看了一眼就看出了博物馆的样子。
“Which one of you thought of this? Tell me about it.”
“这是谁想出来的？跟我说说吧。”
They told him all about their museum.
他们把博物馆的一切都告诉了他。
They showed him the flowers, the seaweed, the boxes of shells and butterflies, and the paper birds in real branches.
他们给他看了花朵、海藻、装满贝壳和蝴蝶的盒子，以及放在真树枝上的纸鸟。
Mr. Alden looked for a long time at the bluebird sitting near its nest.
奥尔登先生久久注视着鸟巢旁的蓝知更鸟。
There were four blue eggs cut from paper in the nest.
巢里有四个用纸剪成的蓝色鸟蛋。
“The birds left that nest,” said Henry, “so we took it.”
“鸟儿们离开了那个巢，”亨利说，“所以我们就把它拿来了。”
“Good!” said Mr. Alden, smiling.
“很好！”奥尔登先生笑着说。
“And what did you find, Benny?”
“那你发现了什么，本尼？”
“I found a big bone in the shell-pile.”
“我在贝壳堆里发现了一根大骨头。”
“We ought to tell you about that bone, Grandfather,” said Henry, laughing.
“我们应该跟您讲讲那根骨头的事，爷爷，”亨利笑着说。
“Let’s go downstairs and you can sit in the company chair. You see we found the skeleton of a whole Indian, and Benny found his leg bone. Joe says it is very important and not to tell anyone but you.”
“我们下楼去吧，您可以坐在待客椅上。要知道我们发现了一具完整的印第安人骨架，本尼找到了他的腿骨。乔说这非常重要，除了您之外不要告诉任何人。”
“Where is this skeleton?” cried Mr. Alden.
“这具骨架在哪里？”奥尔登先生喊道。
“It’s near a very big pile of shells on the end of the island.”
“在岛尽头的一个大贝壳堆附近。”
“Yes, I remember seeing that pile of shells when I was a boy,” said Mr. Alden.
“是的，我记得小时候见过那个贝壳堆，”奥尔登先生说。
“Joe told us not to pick up the Indian bones,” said Benny.
“乔告诉我们不要捡那些印第安人的骨头，”本尼说。
“He said you could get men to do it right after we go home.”
“他说等我们回家后，您可以找专业的人来处理。”
“That Joe seems to know a lot,” said Mr. Alden.
“那个乔似乎懂得很多，”奥尔登先生说。
“I’ll see him before I go.”
“我走之前要见见他。”
“Look in this box, Grandfather,” said Benny.
“看看这个盒子，爷爷，”本尼说。
“That’s an arrowhead, and that’s an ax-head, and that’s a cooking bowl, all Indian. And that’s a tool made out of bone. Watch found the ax-head and the tool.”
“那是箭头，那是斧头，那是烹饪碗，都是印第安人的东西。还有那个是用骨头做的工具。沃琪找到了斧头和工具。”
“Well, well!” cried Mr. Alden.
“哎呀，哎呀！”奥尔登先生叫道。
“Who told you? Did anyone tell you to make a museum to put these things in?”
“谁告诉你们的？有人让你们建个博物馆来放这些东西吗？”
“No,” said Henry.
“没有，”亨利说。
“Don’t you like it?”
“您不喜欢吗？”
“Yes, Henry, I like it very much indeed. It just seems strange, because it’s the very thing I used to do myself. I used to go out in the woods all alone and sit for hours listening to the birds.”
“喜欢，亨利，我真的非常喜欢。只是觉得很奇妙，因为这正是我小时候常做的事。我以前常常独自走进树林，坐上几个小时听鸟叫。”
“Yes,” said Henry, smiling.
“是啊，”亨利笑着说。
“We do the very same thing; we must be just like you.”
“我们也做同样的事；我们一定很像您。”
Then Violet brought her violin for him to see.
然后维奥莱特拿来小提琴给他看。
To their surprise, Mr. Alden put it under his chin and began to play.
令他们惊讶的是，奥尔登先生把琴架在下巴下开始演奏起来。
He played very well.
他拉得非常好。
“You didn’t know I played, did you?” said Mr. Alden to the surprised children.
“你们不知道我会拉琴，对吧？”奥尔登先生对惊讶的孩子们说。
“That’s a fine little violin, Violet.”
“这把小提琴真不错，维奥莱特。”
“You’re a wonderful grandfather!” cried Henry.
“您真是个了不起的爷爷！”亨利喊道。
“Always doing something new! We didn’t know you could play.”
“总是能带来惊喜！我们都不知道您会拉琴。”
“I am out of practice,” said Mr. Alden, handing the violin back to Violet.
“我已经很久没练了，”奥尔登先生说着把琴还给维奥莱特。
“Haven’t even held a violin for years. Now what else have you to show me?”
“好多年都没碰过小提琴了。现在还有什么要给我看的吗？”
“You must come to the little hut to see Joe,” said Benny.
“您一定要去小屋看看乔，”本尼说。
“I think Joe went over to the mainland this morning,” said Violet.
“我想乔今天早上去了大陆那边，”维奥莱特说。
“That’s funny,” said Henry, “because he certainly knew you were coming today.”
“真奇怪，”亨利说，“因为他明明知道您今天要来。”
“It makes me cross,” shouted Benny.
“这让我很生气，”本尼大声说。
“I want you to see Joe. He’s my best friend in all the world.”
“我想让您见见乔。他是世界上我最好的朋友。”
“Then I’m cross, too,” said Mr. Alden.
“那我也生气了，”奥尔登先生说。
“What time do you have dinner around here?”
“你们这里几点吃午饭？”
“Almost right away!” cried Jessie.
“马上就好！”杰西喊道。
“Are you hungry?”
“您饿了吗？”
“I am hungry as a bear,” answered Mr. Alden.
“我饿得像头熊，”奥尔登先生回答。
At once, Jessie put some water in the big kettle.
杰西立刻在大水壶里装了水。
“You children set the table and get the milk out, so that Grandfather won’t have to wait a minute after dinner is ready.”
“你们几个摆好餐桌，把牛奶拿出来，这样饭一做好爷爷就不用多等一分钟。”
“Oh, you needn’t hurry as much as that,” said Mr. Alden.
“哦，你们不用这么着急，”奥尔登先生说。
“I can wait half an hour, maybe.”
“我可以等半个小时，也许更久。”
Before that time, the little vegetables were done.
没过多久，蔬菜就煮好了。
Jessie put them in a big dish and poured melted butter over them.
杰西把它们盛在一个大盘子里，浇上融化的黄油。
There was plenty of bread and butter to go along with the vegetables.
还有足够的面包和黄油搭配蔬菜。
And because they had company, Jessie had put two eggs and some sugar into the milk.
因为家里有客人，杰西还在牛奶里加了两个鸡蛋和一些糖。
“This is a delicious drink!” said Mr. Alden.
“这饮料真好喝！”奥尔登先生说。
“I shall come again.”
“我以后还要来。”
“Please do!” cried Violet.
“请一定要来！”维奥莱特喊道。
“But you’re not going home for a long time yet, I hope?”
“但希望您不会很快就回家吧？”
“I think I am,” said Mr. Alden, “and I should like to take you all with me. Just on a little trip for an hour or so,” he added quickly.
“我想我是要回去了，”奥尔登先生说，“而且我想带你们一起去。只是出去一小会儿，大概一个小时左右，”他赶紧补充道。
“All right,” said Jessie.
“好吧，”杰西说。
“I thought for a minute that you wanted us to leave the island for good.”
“我还以为您是想让我们永远离开这个岛呢。”
“You like it, don’t you? No, it won’t take very long. I want to show you something.”
“你们喜欢这里，对吧？不，不会花太长时间的。我想给你们看样东西。”
It did not take long for Captain Daniel to get the family to the mainland.
丹尼尔船长很快就把一家人送到了大陆。
They got into Mr. Alden’s waiting car and were taken to a big building they had never seen before.
他们坐上等候在那里的奥尔登先生的车，被带到了一座从未见过的大楼前。
“It’s a museum!” cried Henry.
“是个博物馆！”亨利喊道。
“Look, Jessie look!”
“快看，杰西快看！”
Henry pointed at the name over the door, which said in large letters cut in stone, THE ALDEN MUSEUM.
亨利指着门上方的名字，上面用石刻大字写着：奥尔登博物馆。
“My goodness!” cried Jessie.
“天哪！”杰西叫道。
“Is that named for you, Grandfather?”
“那是以您的名字命名的吗，爷爷？”
“I suppose it is,” said Mr. Alden.
“我想是的，”奥尔登先生说。
“It has been here a long time.”
“它在这里已经很久了。”
“You gave the money to build it!” cried Henry.
“是您出钱建的！”亨利喊道。
The surprised children followed their grandfather inside, where a young girl came and showed them everything he wanted them to see.
惊讶的孩子们跟着爷爷走进去，一位年轻女孩过来带他们参观了爷爷想让他们看的所有展品。
At last they came to a small room, and the girl told them to go in.
最后他们来到一个小房间，女孩让他们进去看看。
Jessie was the first to see a sign which read, THE FIRST COLLECTION MADE BY JAMES HENRY ALDEN WHEN HE WAS A BOY OF FIFTEEN.
杰西第一个看到了一块牌子，上面写着：詹姆斯·亨利·奥尔登十五岁时制作的第一批藏品。
“What do you know!” cried Henry, looking at the birds.
“真没想到！”亨利看着那些鸟标本喊道。
“Our birds are just like yours!”
“我们的鸟和您的一模一样！”
Mr. Alden’s birds were painted ones, too, and they were sitting in real trees.
奥尔登先生的鸟也是彩绘的，栖息在真正的树枝上。
“The birds left these nests,” said Mr. Alden with a twinkle in his eyes, “so I took them.”
“鸟儿们离开了这些巢，”奥尔登先生眼中闪烁着光芒说，“所以我就把它们拿来了。”
Henry laughed and said, “You didn’t want to kill any birds either, did you?”
亨利笑着说：“您也不想伤害任何鸟儿，对吧？”
Mr. Alden went on, “No, the real birds out in the museum were found dead and brought to us. Not a bird in this museum was killed for me. And now, I’ll let you go back to your island and wash your dishes.”
奥尔登先生继续说：“没错，外面展厅里的真鸟标本都是死后被发现并送来的。这个博物馆里没有一只鸟是为我而杀的。现在，我让你们回岛上去洗碗吧。”
When they got into the boat, he gave them each a box.
当他们上船时，他给了每人一个盒子。
And it was not until later that he remembered that he had not seen Joe, the handy man.
直到后来他才想起来，他还没见到那位勤杂工乔。
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