It was mid-morning on a day in January—a very cold, bright day. Holding a potted plant before her, a girl of fourteen jumped off the bus in front of the Old Ladies’ Home. “I’m a Campfire Girl…I have to pay a visit to some old lady,” she told the nurse at the desk. This was a woman in a white uniform who looked as if she were cold, from the outside and the inside. Marian, the little girl, did not tell her that this visit would give her three points in the competition held at the girl’s scouts’ association she was part of.
這是一月的一天，上午10點左右， 一個非常寒冷但很晴朗的日子。一個名叫瑪麗安的14歲女孩手里捧著一盆盆栽植物，蹦蹦跳跳地下了大巴車，來到了敬老院門前。“我是一名露營少女團團員......我要到敬老院里拜訪一位老太太。”她告訴前臺的護理人員。她是一位身穿白色制服的女士，外表和說話的語氣都讓人感覺冷冰冰的。瑪麗安并沒有告訴她，這次拜訪會讓她在自己參加的女童子軍協會舉辦的競賽中贏得三個獎勵積分。
“Acquainted with any of our residents?” asked the nurse. She lifted one eyebrow and spoke like a man. “With any old ladies? No—but—that is, any of them will do,” Marian stammered. The nurse shrugged and rose, and walked towards the hallway. There was a smell in the entire hallway like the interior of a clock. Everything was silent until, behind one of the doors before which they stopped, an old lady cleared her throat which sounded like a sheep bleating.
“認識住在這里的一位老太太？”護理人員問道，同時抬起一側的眉毛，說話的聲音像男人一樣。“認識住在這里的老太太？不，不，但，探望誰都行。”瑪麗安結結巴巴地說。護理人員聳了聳肩，然后站起身來走向走廊。穿過整個走廊給人一種進入鐘表內部的感覺。到處寂靜一片，直到她們停在其中一扇門前，門里傳來一位老太太清嗓子的聲音，聽起來像一只綿羊在咩咩叫。
“There are two in each room,” the nurse remarked over her shoulder. “Two what?” asked Marian without thinking. One old woman was pulling the door open in short, gradual jerks. Marian saw next to her the side-face of another woman, even older, who was lying flat in bed. “Visitor,” said the nurse, and left. “
每個房間住著兩位老人。”護理人員邊說邊側過身來。“兩位什么？”瑪麗安不假思索地問道。房間里的一位老婦人用帶著短暫抽搐的手拉開了房門。瑪麗安看到了這位老婦人旁邊另一位老婦人的側臉。她平躺在床上，看上去年齡更大。 “有訪客，”護理人員說了一聲就離開了。
Marian stood tongue-tied; both hands held the potted plant. The old woman was waiting…Perhaps she said something. The old woman in bed said nothing at all, and she did not look around. “My, my, my,” said the old lady standing suddenly. “Did you come to be our little girl for a while?” Then something was snatched from Marian’s hand—the little potted plant. “Flowers!” screamed the old woman. “Pretty flowers,” she added.
瑪麗安雙手捧著盆栽植物，呆呆地站在那里，不知道該說什么好。老婦人在等著她開口......也許她的確說了些什么。躺在床上的老婦人沒有說話，甚至沒有抬頭看看發生了什么。“天啊，天啊，天啊，”站著的老太太突然說道。“小姑娘，你是來陪我們一會兒的嗎？”然后，瑪麗安手里的東西被奪走了——就是那一小盆盆栽植物。“是花！”老太太尖叫道。“這花真漂亮。”她補充說。
The old woman in bed cleared her throat and also spoke. “They are not pretty,” she said, still without looking around, but very distinctly. “Pretty flowers,” the first woman insisted. “Stinkweeds,” said the other old woman sharply. She had a bunchy white forehead and red eyes like a sheep. Now she turned them toward Marian. The fogginess seemed to rise in her throat again, and she bleated, “Who—are—you?”
那位躺在床上的老太太清了清嗓子，也開口說話了。“不怎么好看，”她說，仍然沒有抬頭看，但說的話非常清楚。“很漂亮，”第一位老太太堅持說。“臭草而已。”另一位老太太嚴厲地說道。她白色的額頭上掛滿了皺紋，眼睛紅色像綿羊一樣。此時，她的雙眼轉向了瑪麗安。她對瑪麗安說：“你……是……誰？”她的喉嚨里似乎又進了什么東西，說話的聲音像綿羊一樣。
To her surprise, Marian could not remember her name. “I’m a Campfire Girl,” she said finally. “You mustn’t pay any attention to old Addie,” the other woman said to Marian. “She’s ailing today.” “Will you shut your mouth?” said the woman in bed. “I am not.” “The flowers are beautiful,” the other old woman whispered again. “Ugly,” said the woman in bed.
令瑪麗安驚訝的是，她自己居然沒想起自己的名字。“我是一名露營少女團團員。”她終于說了出來。“你一定沒注意到老艾迪，”另一位老婦人對瑪麗安說，“她今天病了。”“你閉嘴好嗎？”躺 在床上的那位老婦人說。“我沒病。”“花很美，”另一位老太太再次低聲說道。“難看死了。”躺在床上的老婦人說。
If we bring flowers— “Marian began, then fell silent. She had almost said that if Campfire Girls brought flowers to the Old Ladies’ Home, the visit would count one extra point. But the old woman had not listened, anyway. “Poor Addie is ailing.” She said. She has to take medicine—see?” she said, pointing a horny finger at a row of bottles on the table.
“如果我們帶花來…..”瑪麗安剛開口便又重新陷入了沉默。她差點就說出：如果露營少女團團員給敬老院送來花卉，她們就會在這次拜訪敬老院的活動中多獲得一個積分。但，這位老婦人根本并沒有聽她說什么。“可憐的艾迪病了。”她說。她不得不吃藥——看到了吧？”她說著用一跟粗糙的手指指向桌子上的一排藥瓶。
“I am not more sick than you are,” said the woman in bed. “Oh, yes you are! I even got more sense than you have” said the other old woman. “Will you hush! Will you hush!” cried the other one. Marian leaned back rigidly in her chair.
“你比我病得嚴重多了。”躺在床上老婦人說。“哦，沒錯，你說得對！我還比你聰明呢！”另一位老婦人說。“你能安靜點嗎？你能安靜點嗎？”另一位老婦人喊道。瑪麗安坐在那里，身體僵硬地靠在椅子背上。
“When I was a little girl like you, I went to school and all,” said the other old woman. “Hush!” said the sick woman in the bed. “You never went to school. You never came and you never went. You never were anything—only here. Your head is empty, your heart and hands and your old black purse are all empty—you showed it to me. And yet you talk, talk, talk, talk, talk all the time until I think I’m losing my mind! Do they seriously suppose that I’ll be able to keep it up, day in, day out, night in, night out, living in the same room with a terrible old woman forever?”
“當我還是一個像你這樣的小女孩時，我也在上學，跟你做一樣的事情。”另一位老婦人說。“別亂說了！”臥病在床的老婦人說。“你從未上過學。除了這里，你哪都沒去過！你頭腦空空、沒心沒肺、游手好閑，你那個舊的黑色錢包里也什么沒有，你讓我看過的。但是，你卻一直在不停地說啊、說啊、說啊，我都快被你逼瘋了！他們是否真的覺得我能一直忍下去，日復一日，年復一年，跟你這個可怕的老太婆永遠住在一個房間里？”
“Now, now, Addie,” said the first old woman. “That’s not polite. Do you know what’s really the matter with old Addie today?” “The matter?” the child repeated stupidly. “What’s the matter with her?” “Why, she’s mad because it’s her birthday!” said the other old woman.
“好啦，好啦，艾迪，”第一位老婦人說。 “她今天有點失禮了。你知道今天老艾迪究竟怎么了嗎？”“怎么了？”小女孩傻傻地重復道。“她怎么了？”“她生氣是因為今天是她的生日！”另一位老婦人說。
“It is not, it is not!” screamed the old woman in bed. “It is not my birthday, no one knows when that is but myself, and will you please be quiet and say nothing more, or I’ll go straight out of my mind!”
“不是，不是！”床上的老婦人尖叫道。“今天不是我的生日。除了我自己，沒人知道我的生日是哪天。請你保持安靜，別再說了，否則我就瘋了！”
“How old are you?” Marian finally dared to ask. “I won’t tell!” The old face on the pillow, where Marian was bending over it, slowly changed into something that looked like a reflection in a broken mirror. “She’s crying!” Marian said and turned to the other old woman. “That’s Addie for you,” the old woman said spitefully. Marian jumped up and moved toward the door. She ran down the hall, without looking behind her and without looking at the nurse. Her yellow hair under the white cap, her scarlet coat, her bare knees flashed in the sunlight as she ran to meet the big bus rocketing through the street. “Wait for me!” she shouted. The bus stopped
“您多大年紀了？”瑪麗安終于壯著膽子彎下腰，對著枕頭上的老婦人的臉問道。“我不會告訴你的！”與此同時，那張老臉慢慢變得像破碎鏡子中的倒影。“她哭了！”瑪麗安說，然后轉向另一位老婦人。“這才是真正的艾迪，”老婦人不懷好意地說道。瑪麗安跳了起來，奔向門口，沿著走廊向外跑，沒回頭看一眼，也沒有看護理人員。她白色的帽子下的黃色頭發、她的猩紅色外套，還有她裸露的雙膝在陽光下閃閃發光，她迎著大巴車從街道上飛速穿行的方向跑去。“等等我！”她喊道。大巴車停了下來……