Bela sorts metal at a junkyard after school. She wears thick gloves and a yellow helmet. She puts old pipes in one pile. She puts old wheels in another.
贝拉放学后在一个废品场里分拣金属。她戴着厚手套和一顶黄色安全帽。她把旧管子堆成一堆，又把旧车轮堆成另一堆。
The junkyard is full of broken cars, bikes, and fridges. A friendly brown dog lives there. It follows every worker around. It naps on every warm car roof.
废品场里到处都是报废的汽车、自行车和冰箱。一只友好的棕色小狗住在这里。它跟着每一个工人转来转去，还在每一个晒得暖暖的车顶上打盹。
Today, a basket sits on the front counter. It holds six hard green pears. A note hangs from the handle.
今天，前台柜台上放着一只篮子。里面装着六个又硬又青的梨。篮子的提手上挂着一张字条。
Bela reads the note. "For the hero who found my key. Thank you! From the farmer on Hill Road."
贝拉读了读字条。“送给找到我钥匙的英雄。谢谢你！山路上的农夫留。”
"Hero?" Bela says to the dog. "Which hero?"
“英雄？”贝拉对小狗说，“哪位英雄？”
The dog wags its tail and says nothing.
小狗摇着尾巴，什么也没说。
Dilan walks in, pushing a wheel in front of him. He is Bela's best friend, and he works at the junkyard too. He reads the note too.
迪兰推着一只车轮走了进来。他是贝拉最好的朋友，也在废品场干活。他也读了那张字条。
"The farmer lost his tractor key in the junkyard yesterday," Dilan says. "He looked for two hours. You gave him the key at the end."
“昨天农夫的拖拉机钥匙丢在废品场里了，”迪兰说，“他找了两个小时。最后是你把钥匙交给他的。”
"I did?" Bela says. She thinks about it. "Yes, I did. I put it in his hand."
“是我吗？”贝拉说。她想了想。“对，是我。我把钥匙放到了他手里。”
"Then the basket is yours," says Dilan. "Congratulations, hero."
“那这篮子就是你的了，”迪兰说，“恭喜你，英雄。”
Bela smiles and takes a pear. She bites it. The pear is as hard as a stone. She makes a face and puts it back.
贝拉笑了笑，拿起一个梨咬了一口。梨硬得像石头。她做了个鬼脸，把梨放了回去。
"It is not ready," she says. "It needs one week."
“还没熟，”她说，“还得再等一个星期。”
"A hero must be patient," Dilan says.
“英雄必须有耐心。”迪兰说。
Bela holds the basket close. Then she frowns. "But I only carried the key," she says. "I did not find it. You found it, Dilan."
贝拉把篮子抱在身前。然后她皱起了眉头。“可我只是把钥匙拿过去而已，”她说，“并不是我找到的。是你找到的，迪兰。”
"Me?" Dilan says. He drops the wheel with a loud bang. "I did not find it either."
“我？”迪兰说。他哐的一声扔下了车轮。“我也没找到啊。”
"You pulled it out of a pile of old pipes," Bela says.
“是你从一堆旧管子里把它拽出来的。”贝拉说。
"Yes, but I did not know where to look," says Dilan. "The owner told me to check the pipes at the back."
“是啊，可我根本不知道该去哪儿找，”迪兰说，“是老板叫我去看后面那堆管子的。”
Bela pushes the basket into his hands. "Then you are the hero."
贝拉把篮子塞到他手里。“那你就是英雄。”
"No, no, no," says Dilan. He holds the basket as if it is hot. "We must ask the owner."
“不，不，不，”迪兰说。他捧着篮子，像捧着一块烫手的东西。“我们得去问问老板。”
They walk through the junkyard together. Bela carries nothing. Dilan carries the basket. The dog walks behind them. Its tail swings from side to side.
他们一起穿过废品场。贝拉什么也没拿，迪兰拿着篮子，小狗跟在他们后面，尾巴左右摇晃。
The owner sits in a small metal hut. He eats a sandwich and reads a magazine about tractors.
老板坐在一间小铁皮屋里。他一边吃三明治，一边读一本讲拖拉机的杂志。
"A basket!" he says. "For me?"
“一只篮子！”他说，“给我的吗？”
"It is for the hero who found the key," Dilan says. "We think it is you. You told me where to look."
“这是送给找到钥匙的英雄的，”迪兰说，“我们觉得是你。是你告诉我去哪儿找的。”
The owner puts down his sandwich. He looks at the basket for a long time. Then he shakes his head.
老板放下三明治。他盯着篮子看了很久，然后摇了摇头。
"I only pointed at the pipes," he says. "I did not choose them myself. A customer told me to look there. He wore a green cap."
“我只是指了指那些管子，”他说，“又不是我自己选的。是一位顾客叫我去那儿看的。他戴着一顶绿帽子。”
"Which customer?" asks Bela.
“哪位顾客？”贝拉问。
"The one who buys bike wheels every month," says the owner. "He is over by the fence. Go and ask him."
“每个月都来买自行车轮的那位，”老板说，“他就在栅栏那边。去问问他吧。”
The three of them walk to the fence. The dog walks with them. A tall man in a green cap stands there. He holds a bike wheel up to the light. He turns it slowly.
三个人一起走向栅栏，小狗也跟着。一个戴绿帽子的高个子男人站在那里。他把一只自行车轮举到光线下，慢慢地转动着。
Bela explains the story. The man listens with his mouth open. Then he starts to laugh.
贝拉把事情说了一遍。男人张着嘴听完，然后笑了起来。
"Me? A hero?" he says. "I only stood there and watched. It was not my idea."
“我？英雄？”他说，“我只是站在那儿看着。那可不是我的主意。”
"Whose idea was it?" asks Dilan.
“那是谁的主意？”迪兰问。
"I will tell you what I saw," the man says. "The farmer cried and walked in circles. Everybody looked at the big pile of engines. But the dog did not look at the engines. It went to a small pile of pipes at the back."
“我来告诉你们我看到的，”男人说，“农夫哭着，来回转圈。大家都在看那一大堆发动机。可是那只狗没有看发动机。它跑到了后面一小堆管子那儿。”
The man points a finger at the dog. "It dug there for ten minutes. I told the owner, 'Look where the dog digs.' The owner told Dilan. Dilan found the key under the pipes."
男人伸出一根手指指着小狗。“它在那里刨了十分钟。我对老板说：‘看狗在哪儿刨。’老板又告诉了迪兰。迪兰就在管子底下找到了钥匙。”
Nobody speaks. Everybody looks at the dog.
谁也没有说话。大家都看着小狗。
The dog sits down in the dust. It turns its head to the left. It looks at the basket, and then at Bela.
小狗在尘土里坐了下来。它把头歪向左边，看了看篮子，又看了看贝拉。
"The dog is the hero," Dilan says slowly.
“英雄是小狗。”迪兰慢慢地说。
"The dog is the hero," says the owner. He picks up his sandwich again.
“英雄是小狗。”老板说。他又拿起了三明治。
"The dog is the hero," the man in the green cap says. He puts his hand on his heart.
“英雄是小狗。”戴绿帽子的男人说。他把一只手按在心口。
Bela laughs so hard that she has to sit on a tire. "I carried a basket for a dog," she says. "And I ate half a stone."
贝拉笑得太厉害，只好坐到一只轮胎上。“我为一条狗拎了一篮子梨，”她说，“还啃了半块石头。”
Dilan puts the basket on the ground in front of the dog. He takes a pear and holds it out with a flat hand.
迪兰把篮子放在小狗面前的地上。他拿起一个梨，摊平手掌递了过去。
The dog sniffs the pear. It sniffs again. Then it sneezes and turns its head away. It does not want the pear at all.
小狗嗅了嗅梨，又嗅了嗅。接着它打了个喷嚏，把头扭到一边。它根本不想要这个梨。
"It does not like it," says Bela.
“它不喜欢，”贝拉说。
"The dog is a smart hero," says Dilan. "It knows the pears are not ready."
“这英雄真聪明，”迪兰说，“它知道这些梨还没熟。”
The owner finishes his sandwich and wipes his hands. "So what do we do with six pears that nobody can eat?" he asks.
老板吃完三明治，擦了擦手。“那这六个没人能吃的梨，我们该拿它们怎么办？”他问。
Bela thinks for a moment. Then she picks up the basket. She walks to the office window. The sun shines on a long shelf there. She puts the basket there, in the warmest spot.
贝拉想了一会儿，然后拿起篮子，走到办公室的窗边。那里有一条长架子，阳光正照在上面。她把篮子放在那儿，放在最暖和的地方。
"We wait one week," she says. "Then the dog gets the first pear."
“我们等一个星期，”她说，“然后第一个梨给小狗。”
The dog follows her. It jumps on the chair under the shelf. It turns around three times and lies down. It puts its chin on the basket and closes its eyes.
小狗跟着她。它跳上架子下面的椅子，转了三圈，趴了下来。它把下巴搁在篮子上，闭上了眼睛。
