After supper, a few days later, the children sat resting in the doorway of the barn.
几天后的一个晚饭后，孩子们坐在谷仓门口休息。
“Listen!” said Violet suddenly.
“听！”维奥莱特突然说道。
Since Violet never said anything suddenly, everyone looked at her in surprise and listened.
因为维奥莱特从不突然说话，大家都惊讶地看着她并侧耳倾听。
Then they heard the sound of a violin.
接着他们听到了小提琴的声音。
“Who can that be?” asked Violet.
“那会是谁呢？”维奥莱特问道。
“Let’s find out,” said Henry.
“我们去看看吧，”亨利说。
Watch ran right to Captain Daniel’s hut and the four children followed.
小狗沃奇径直跑向丹尼尔船长的木屋，四个孩子紧随其后。
There sat Joe in the doorway, playing a real violin.
只见乔坐在门口，正拉着一把真正的小提琴。
He did not stop when he saw the children.
看到孩子们时，他并没有停下来。
They stared at him and watched his fingers fly as he played a very fast piece.
他们盯着他看，看着他的手指在演奏一首极快的曲子时飞快舞动。
When Joe finished, Benny said, “I didn’t know you had a violin.”
乔演奏完后，本尼说：“我不知道你还有小提琴。”
“Oh, please play it again! When did you learn to play?” cried Violet.
“哦，请再拉一遍吧！你什么时候学会拉琴的？”维奥莱特喊道。
“Could I hold it just a minute?”
“我能拿一会儿吗？”
Jessie and Henry were too surprised to speak.
杰西和亨利惊讶得说不出话来。
This was not at all like Violet.
这完全不像平时的维奥莱特。
When Joe handed the violin to her, Violet took it and put it under her chin.
当乔把小提琴递给她时，维奥莱特接过琴，把它架在下巴底下。
“Play something,” said Joe.
“拉点什么吧，”乔说。
“Oh, I can’t play it,” said Violet.
“哦，我不会拉，”维奥莱特说。
“I’d just like to hold it a minute under my chin. Do you mind, Joe?”
“我只是想把它架在下巴底下一会儿。你介意吗，乔？”
“No! No!” said Joe, “but don’t you want me to show you how to play it?”
“不！不介意！”乔说，“但不需要我教你怎么拉吗？”
“Not now,” said Violet.
“现在不用，”维奥莱特说。
“You play some more.”
“你再拉几首吧。”
She gave the violin back as if she had played one all her life.
她把小提琴还了回去，动作熟练得仿佛拉了一辈子琴似的。
Joe did play some more, first a slow little piece, and then a faster one.
乔确实又拉了几首，先是一首缓慢的小曲，然后是一首较快的。
But Jessie and Henry were not watching Joe.
但杰西和亨利并没有在看乔。
They were watching Violet.
他们在观察维奥莱特。
She stood without moving all the time Joe was playing.
在乔演奏的整个过程中，她都一动不动地站着。
Joe was watching Violet, too.
乔也在注视着维奥莱特。
He was sure she could learn to play well, because she seemed to like the violin so much.
他确信她能学好琴，因为她看起来太喜欢小提琴了。
When the family went back to the barn at last, they were all thinking of Joe’s wonderful playing.
当一家人终于回到谷仓时，大家都在回味乔精彩的演奏。
That night, when Jessie went to sleep, it seemed to her that Joe played such a sad piece that Violet cried.
那天晚上，杰西入睡时，恍惚觉得乔拉了一首悲伤的曲子，惹得维奥莱特哭了。
But when Jessie woke up, she knew that it was real crying that she heard, for Violet was crying softly.
但当杰西醒来时，她知道听到的是真实的哭声，因为维奥莱特正在轻声啜泣。
Jessie got up at once.
杰西立刻起身。
“What is the matter?” she asked, falling on her knees beside Violet’s bed.
“怎么了？”她跪在维奥莱特床边问道。
“Why are you crying?”
“你为什么哭？”
“I-I w-want to learn to play the violin!” said Violet, starting to cry again.
“我……我想学拉小提琴！”维奥莱特说着又哭了起来。
“Of course you shall!” said Jessie.
“你当然可以学！”杰西说。
“I know Grandfather will buy you a violin, and Joe can teach you how to play it.”
“我知道爷爷会给你买一把小提琴，而且乔可以教你拉。”
“It’s not that,” said Violet.
“不是因为这个，”维奥莱特说。
“You see, I want to practice, and it’s so selfish to go off and practice all by myself when I ought to be helping—”
“你看，我想练琴，可当我本该帮忙的时候，却独自跑去练习，这太自私了——”
Henry came in with the flashlight.
亨利拿着手电筒走了进来。
“Oh, my goodness!” cried Jessie.
“哦，天哪！”杰西叫道。
“What can I say? You talk to her, Henry!”
“我该说什么好？亨利，你来劝劝她吧！”
“I heard most of it,” said Henry.
“我差不多都听到了，”亨利说。
“She thinks she’s selfish to practice, when we came down here to have a good time together. Is that it?”
“她觉得我们大家来这里是为了共度美好时光，而她去练琴是自私的表现。是这样吗？”
“That’s just it,” said Jessie.
“正是这样，”杰西说。
“Now Violet, look here,” said Henry.
“听着，维奥莱特，”亨利说。
“You couldn’t be selfish if you tried. We all want you to learn to play the violin.”
“就算你想自私也做不到啊。我们都希望你能学会拉小提琴。”
“Most people don’t even like to practice, you know.”
“你要知道，大多数人甚至都不喜欢练习呢。”
Henry’s little talk with Violet made her feel better.
亨利的这番简短谈话让维奥莱特感觉好多了。
Soon they were all talking again, and even laughing a little.
很快大家又聊了起来，甚至还轻笑了几声。
“Sh!” said Jessie.
“嘘！”杰西说。
“We’d better be quiet, we don’t want to wake Benny. He would certainly howl.”
“我们最好安静点，别吵醒本尼。他肯定会大哭大闹的。”
The children left Violet feeling happy again, and thinking about the little violin her grandfather would surely buy for her.
孩子们离开后，维奥莱特重新快乐起来，心里想着爷爷一定会给她买的那把小提琴。
The next morning, Joe got Captain Daniel to telephone Mr. Alden.
第二天早上，乔请丹尼尔船长给奥尔登先生打了个电话。
He listened to the story, and thought about his own beautiful violin carefully packed away.
他听了事情的原委，想起了自己那把精心收好的漂亮小提琴。
But he said to Captain Daniel, “Certainly, Violet must have a violin. The only trouble is that I am too busy this morning to buy one for her.”
但他对丹尼尔船长说：“当然，维奥莱特必须有一把小提琴。唯一的问题是，我今天上午太忙了，没法亲自去给她买。”
“Joe thinks he could pick one out,” said Captain Daniel.
“乔觉得他可以帮忙挑选一把，”丹尼尔船长说。
“His playing is just wonderful.”
“他的琴技真是太棒了。”
“That Joe is a very interesting man,” replied Mr. Alden.
“那个乔真是个有趣的人，”奥尔登先生回答。
“I’ll have a talk with him when I come over. Give him the money for the violin, Captain, and let him buy one if he thinks he can.”
“等我过去的时候要跟他谈谈。船长，把钱给他，如果他认为自己能挑到合适的，就让他去买吧。”
When Joe came back to the Alden Island with the little violin, Violet was waiting for him on the dock.
当乔带着小提琴回到奥尔登岛时，维奥莱特正在码头上等他。
Joe was sure that Violet could some day be a wonderful player, so he had bought her a fine violin.
乔确信维奥莱特有朝一日能成为出色的演奏者，所以他为她买了一把好琴。
The rest of the family came flying down to see if Joe had had any luck.
家里其他人飞奔下楼，看看乔是否顺利买到了琴。
After they all had seen the violin, Violet shut the box.
大家都看过小提琴后，维奥莱特合上了琴盒。
“I don’t think it likes to be outdoors,” she said.
“我觉得它不喜欢待在户外，”她说。
“I don’t think so, either,” agreed Joe.
“我也这么认为，”乔表示赞同。
“Let’s take it to the hut, and I will give you your first lesson.”
“我们把它带到木屋去吧，我来给你上第一课。”
“I’ll go with you,” said Benny.
“我跟你们一起去，”本尼说。
“No, you had better stay on the dock with us and fish,” said Henry quickly.
“不，你最好留在码头跟我们一起钓鱼，”亨利急忙说。
“Are you going to fish?” asked Benny.
“你们要去钓鱼吗？”本尼问。
“Yes!” said Henry, who had not thought of fishing until that very minute.
“是的！”亨利说，其实直到这一刻他才想到钓鱼这件事。
“Just think, Benny, we’ve been here by the ocean four weeks and we haven’t had a single fishing trip yet.”
“想想看，本尼，我们在海边待了四周了，却还没钓过一次鱼呢。”
Suddenly Henry found that he wanted to go fishing himself.
突然间，亨利发现自己也很想去钓鱼了。
“You will find fishlines and bait in an old box under the dock,” called Joe.
“码头下面的旧箱子里有鱼线和鱼饵，”乔喊道。
Luck was surely with Henry.
运气显然站在亨利这边。
He baited a hook with a clam.
他用一只蛤蜊作鱼饵挂在钩上。
Then he let down a long line and gave the end to Benny.
然后他放下长长的鱼线，把末端交给了本尼。
Almost at once Benny began to yell and pull away on his line, hand over hand.
几乎就在同时，本尼开始大叫起来，双手交替用力往回拉鱼线。
“Good!” cried Henry when Benny finally landed the fish on the dock.
“好样的！”当本尼终于把鱼拉到码头上时，亨利欢呼道。
“What a wonderful fisherman you are, Benny! Wait, I’ll take it off the hook for you, and put it on a string.”
“你真是个了不起的渔夫啊，本尼！等等，我来帮你把鱼从钩上取下来，然后用绳子穿起来。”
“What a big one!” said Jessie.
“好大一条鱼啊！”杰西说。
“Don’t catch many more of those, Benny, or we’ll be eating fish for a week.”
“别再抓那么多这种大鱼了，本尼，不然我们要吃整整一周的鱼了。”
The children sat on the dock for a long time, but nothing happened.
孩子们在码头上坐了很久，但再也没有动静。
“I wish I could catch one,” said Jessie.
“真希望我也能钓到一条，”杰西说。
“Another fish like the one Benny caught and we would have enough for dinner. And I know just how to bake them with dressing.”
“要是再有一条像本尼钓到的那样的鱼，我们的晚餐就够吃了。而且我知道怎么用填料烤制它们。”
“I’m getting tired of this,” said Henry.
“我开始厌倦了，”亨利说。
“I’m going to stop.”
“我不钓了。”
“I’m not,” said Benny.
“我还要继续，”本尼说。
“My grandfather told me fishing takes lots of time.”
“爷爷告诉我，钓鱼需要很多耐心和时间。”
“He did take you fishing once, didn’t he?” said Henry.
“他确实带你去钓过一次鱼，对吧？”亨利说。
“I remember I wanted to go, but I had to do school work.”
“我记得我当时也想去，但不得不做功课。”
“He told me that if I think I won’t catch a fish, then I will catch one for sure. And so when I do catch one, I am surprised,” said Benny.
“他告诉我，如果我觉得钓不到鱼，反而肯定能钓到。所以当我真的钓到时，就会感到惊喜，”本尼说。
“I see,” said Henry, sitting down again.
“我明白了，”亨利说着又坐了下来。
He tied his own line to the dock.
他把自己的鱼线系在码头上。
And because he really did not think he would get any fish, he looked out at the boats.
因为他真的觉得自己钓不到鱼，便望向远处的船只。
Henry had just sat down when Benny shouted, “Hurry! You’ve got a fish! Don’t you see your line pull?”
亨利刚坐下，本尼就大喊：“快！你有鱼上钩了！你没看到鱼线被拉动了吗？”
Benny jumped for Henry’s line and before anyone could help him, he pulled in another fish just like the first one.
本尼扑向亨利的鱼线，还没等别人帮忙，他就拉上来另一条和第一条一模一样的鱼。
“Oh, Jessie! Isn’t that something? They are two twins, I guess!”
“哦，杰西！这难道不神奇吗？我看这两条鱼是双胞胎！”
“I guess you are the fisherman of this family, all right,” said Henry.
“看来你才是我们家真正的渔夫啊，”亨利说。
“You and Grandfather. I don’t even know when there is a fish on my own line.”
“你和爷爷都是。我甚至连自己线上有鱼都不知道。”
Henry put a string through the mouth of the other fish, and Benny carried them proudly home.
亨利用绳子穿过另一条鱼的嘴，本尼骄傲地提着两条鱼回家了。
“Joe can clean them for me,” said Benny.
“乔可以帮我清理这些鱼，”本尼说。
“Oh, I can do that!” said Henry.
“哦，这个我会做！”亨利说。
“I can clean fish, even if I can’t catch them.”
“虽然我不会钓鱼，但我还是会清理鱼的。”
“Cut them in half, Henry, will you?” called Jessie.
“把它们切成两半好吗，亨利？”杰西喊道。
“I will go in and start the dressing.”
“我进屋去准备填料。”
Benny would not leave his twin fishes even for a minute.
本尼一刻也不肯离开他的“双胞胎”鱼。
After Henry had washed them, Benny brought them to Jessie, and stayed by her side while she put them in a pan.
亨利把鱼洗净后，本尼把它们端给杰西，并在她把鱼放入烤盘时一直守在旁边。
Jessie piled the dressing made of bread, onions, melted butter, and salt on four pieces of fish.
杰西将面包、洋葱、融化的黄油和盐做成的填料堆在四块鱼肉上。
“I guess they will be good,” said Benny, as the oven door shut.
“我想味道一定不错，”烤箱门关上时，本尼说道。
He sat by the oven with the dog, until Jessie said that it was dinner time.
他和狗一起坐在烤箱旁，直到杰西宣布晚饭做好了。
Violet came in. She put her violin carefully away, but she did not talk about her lesson.
维奥莱特走了进来。她小心翼翼地把小提琴收好，但没有提起上课的事。
“What do I smell?” she cried.
“我闻到什么香味了？”她叫道。
“It’s the twins,” said Benny.
“是那对‘双胞胎’，”本尼说。
“They are in the oven baking.”
“它们正在烤箱里烤着呢。”
“Twins!” cried Violet.
“双胞胎！”维奥莱特惊呼。
“What does he mean?”
“他是什么意思？”
Jessie opened the oven door and took out the pan to show her.
杰西打开烤箱门，拿出烤盘给她看。
“They are done. We can each have half a fish,” she said.
“烤好了。我们可以每人分半条鱼，”她说。
“And Benny shall have his first, because he caught them.”
“本尼先吃，因为是他钓到的。”
She put the fish carefully on four plates.
她小心地把鱼分到四个盘子里。
“I wish Grandfather could see us eating your fish, Benny,” said Henry.
“真希望爷爷能看到我们在吃你钓的鱼，本尼，”亨利说。
“You are a very good fisherman.”
“你真是个很棒的小渔夫。”
“He’s coming to visit us tomorrow,” said Violet.
“他明天要来看我们，”维奥莱特说。
“He telephoned to Captain Daniel and said he would be over tomorrow, if it was all right.”
“他给丹尼尔船长打了电话，说如果方便的话，他明天就过来。”
“It’s all right with me,” cried Henry.
“我没问题，”亨利高兴地说。
“And me,” said Jessie.
“我也没问题，”杰西说。
“But what shall we have to eat? I suppose we ought to have some meat for dinner.”
“但我们该准备什么吃的呢？我想晚餐应该备些肉才对。”
“I think Grandfather would like to eat just what we do,” said Violet.
“我觉得爷爷会喜欢吃和我们一样的饭菜，”维奥莱特说。
“Maybe Grandfather and I could go fishing,” said Benny, “but we might not catch anything.”
“也许爷爷和我可以去钓鱼，”本尼说，“但也可能什么都钓不到。”
“Grandfather won’t have time to go fishing, Benny,” said Henry.
“爷爷没时间钓鱼的，本尼，”亨利说。
“Let’s have dinner from our own garden. Remember those little vegetables we had in the boxcar days, Benny?”
“我们就用自己菜园里的蔬菜做晚餐吧。还记得我们在车厢日子里吃的那些小蔬菜吗，本尼？”
“Oh, yes, little vegetables with melted butter!” cried Benny.
“哦，记得，淋了融化黄油的小蔬菜！”本尼喊道。
“Let’s have vegetables.”
“我们就吃蔬菜吧。”
“That’s a better idea. Then we’ll be sure to have some dinner,” said Jessie, laughing.
“这个主意更好。这样我们肯定能有顿丰盛的晚餐了，”杰西笑着说。
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