When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighbourhood. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with great fascination when my mother talked to it. Then, I discovered that somewhere inside this wonderful device lived an amazing person— her name was "Information Please", and there was nothing she did not know. "Information Please" could, for example, supply anybody's number and the correct time and date.
小時候，父親是小區里最早一戶給家里裝電話的人。那時我尚幼小，還夠不著電話機，但常聽見母親對著它講話，那聊天聽得我入迷。后來，我發現這個神奇的裝置里竟然住著一個令人驚奇的人——她的名字叫做“Information Please”，她簡直無所不知。比如說吧，她能馬上給出任何人的電話，說出正確的時間和日期。
My first experience with this genie-in-a-bottle came one day when I was home alone. I whacked my finger with a toy hammer while playing. The pain was terrible, but there didn't seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give me sympathy. I walked aimlessly around in the house, sucking my throbbing finger. But suddenly I saw it hanging there...
我第一次與這位“瓶中精靈”打交道是在某一天當我獨自在家時，那天我用玩具錘不慎砸傷了手指，痛的撕心裂肺，但家里空無一人，誰也不會可憐我，大哭大喊也無濟于事。我在房間里團團轉，吮吸著陣陣抽痛的手指，突然間，我看到了那個掛在那兒的東西……
'The telephone!' Quickly, I dragged the foot stool from the parlour to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver and held it to my ear. "Information Please" I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two later, a small clear voice spoke into my ear.
電話！我迅速把腳凳從客廳拖到了樓梯口。踩著它爬上去，摘下聽筒，把它舉到耳邊：“Information Please”，我對著比我頭還高的送話口說道，一兩聲嘟嘟的連線音后，一個小而清澈的聲音說話了。

"Information" She said. "I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience. "Isn't your mother home?" came the question. "Nobody is home but me" I blubbered. "I hit my finger with a hammer and it hurts." "Can you open your icebox?" she asked. I said I could. "Then chip off a little piece of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice.
“請講”，她說。“我弄傷了我的手指…”我對著電話嚎啕大哭，突然間有了能傾聽我的人，眼淚適時般決堤似地涌了出來。“你媽媽在家嗎？”她問，“沒人呢，就我在家。”我哭得更厲害了。“我用錘子把手指砸傷了，疼極了！”“你能打開冰塊盒嗎？”她問。我說我能。“那就弄下一小塊冰，然后敷在手指頭上。”那個聲音說。
Her tip worked so well, so after that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me how to spell the word 'Fix'. She explained why my pet chipmunk, that I had caught in a park, would only eat fruit and nuts, and not candy.
她這招真管用。打那以后。我不管遇到什么事都給“Information Please”打電話。我請教她地理知識，她告訴我費城在哪里。她還輔導我數學，她教我拼寫英文單詞“Fix”，她解釋給我聽，為什么我那只從花園里逮回來的小寵物花栗鼠只吃水果和堅果，不吃糖。
When Petey, our pet canary died I was left inconsolable, so I called "Information Please" and told her the sad story. She must have sensed my intense sorrow, for she said quietly, "Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better.
當我們家的寵物金絲雀Perey死的時候，我無以為慰。于是我又給“Information Please”打電話，告訴了她這件傷心事。她一定是覺察到了我深深的悲傷，因為她的回答輕柔平靜：“保羅，永遠記得，它們有一個別的世界去歌唱。”莫名地，我釋然了一些。
When I was nine years old, we moved to another city, Boston. I missed my friend "Information Please" very much. But "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back in my old home and I somehow never thought of trying out the tall, shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. The memory of the sense of security I had as a child whenever I talked with "Information Please" however, never really left me. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
我九歲那年，舉家遷往另一個城市，波士頓。我非常舍不得我的“電話天使”朋友，但她永遠住在老家的那個老舊的木盒里。家里客廳桌上又裝了一部高高的、锃亮的新電話，也是奇怪，我連碰一下的念頭都沒有。記憶中，一個孩子與電話精靈隨時隨地聊天的那種安全感從未離去。我感激她在那個少不更事的孩子身上付出的時間、耐心、體貼和善良。
One day, years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half-an-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now.Then, without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, Information please." Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well. "Information." I heard myself saying: "Could you please tell me how to spell the word 'fix'?" There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."
多年以后，在我西去上學的路上，飛機在西雅圖降落，中間有半小時的轉機時間。我給住在那兒的姐姐打了15分鐘電話。然后，完全無意識般地，我撥通了家鄉小鎮的接線員電話，“你好，接線員。” 奇跡般地，我又聽到了那個小而清澈的聲音。我聽見自己脫口而出：“您能告訴我怎么拼寫fix嗎？”一段極長的沉寂過后，電話里傳來了溫柔的回答，“我想你的手指現在一定好了吧？”
I laughed, "So it's really still you!?" "Yes." She said. "I wonder if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look so much forward to your calls." I told her how often I had thought of her over the years. We talked for over an hour. By the end of our nostalgic conversation, I asked if I could call her again some times. "Please do," she said. "Just ask for Sally."
我笑了，“那么，真的是你！？”“是我。”她說“我不知道，你是否明白你的電話對我的生活多么重要，我沒有孩子，那時候，我常常盼著你的來電。”我也告訴她，這些年我也一直在掛念著她。我們聊了差不多一個小時，結束這場敘舊之后，我問她以后是否可以再給她打電話。“沒問題，”她說，“找薩莉就好”。
A month later I called again. But another, strange voice answered. "Information." I asked for Sally. "Are you a friend?" the voice said. "Yes" I answered. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Sally became very ill, she died three weeks ago. But did you say your name was Paul? Sally left a message for you. Her note I have here says: "Tell Paul I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean." I thanked her very much and hung up.
一個月后，我打去電話，但是聽到了另一個陌生的聲音：“接線員，請講。”我說，我找薩莉。“你是她朋友嗎？”對方問。“是的”我回答道。“非常抱歉地告知您，薩莉病重了，三周前她去世了。你是叫保羅嗎？薩莉給你留下了一條信息，她留了一張紙條，我念給你聽：“告訴保羅，我仍然相信，我們可以在別的世界里歌唱。他懂的。”我謝過了她，掛上了電話。