Leif stands in the back room of the kite shop. It is nine in the morning. The festival starts at noon. A hundred kites hang in bright rows on the wall. Every one seems to look at him.
莱夫站在风筝店的后屋里。现在是早上九点，庆典中午开始。一百只风筝一排排鲜艳地挂在墙上，每一只好像都在看着他。
Today he must give the welcome speech. Greta, the owner, gives it every year. This year she says, "You do it, Leif." He cannot say no. He still does not know why.
今天他得致欢迎词。往年都是店主格蕾塔来讲。今年她说：“你来吧，莱夫。”他没法拒绝，到现在也不明白为什么。
He holds up his one good jacket to the window. It is dark blue and clean. Last night, it looked fine. Now he looks at the front, and he feels cold. The middle button is gone. The other two are small and white.
他把那件唯一像样的夹克举到窗前。夹克是深蓝色的，很干净，昨晚看着还挺好。现在他看着衣襟，心里一凉：中间的纽扣不见了。另外两颗又小又白。
"No, no, no," he says.
“不，不，不，”他说。
He checks the floor. He checks the pockets. He looks under the table and behind the chair. He looks in the hall and by the front door. The window by the table is open. He finds a paperclip, a coin and half a sandwich. He finds no button.
他查了地板，翻了口袋，又看了桌子底下和椅子后面，找了走廊和前门边。桌边的窗户开着。他找到一枚回形针、一枚硬币和半块三明治，就是没找到纽扣。
Greta comes in from the shop. She has a roll of string under her arm. "Why all the noise?" she asks.
格蕾塔从店里走进来，胳膊下夹着一卷细绳。“吵什么呢？”她问。
"My button," says Leif. He holds up the jacket. "It fell off. I cannot give a speech with an open jacket."
“我的纽扣，”莱夫说着举起夹克，“掉了。夹克敞着怀，我没法致辞。”
Greta looks at it with her head to one side. "Why not? Nobody looks at a jacket."
格蕾塔歪着头看了看。“为什么不行？没人会看夹克。”
"They look at the speaker," says Leif. "They look at everything."
“他们会看讲话的人，”莱夫说，“他们什么都看。”
"Hmm." Greta puts the string down. "Fine. Let's find you a button."
“嗯。”格蕾塔放下细绳。“好吧。咱们给你找一颗纽扣。”
They go to the big drawer under the counter. It holds thread, needles, tape and bits of cloth for kite repair. Greta pulls out a tin box. It has a picture of a boat on the lid. She opens it. It is full of buttons.
他们走到柜台下面的大抽屉前。里面放着线、针、胶带和修风筝用的碎布。格蕾塔拉出一只铁盒，盖子上印着一条小船。她打开盒子，里面装满了纽扣。
Leif sits and sorts them one by one. There are pink buttons, round buttons and square buttons. One is shaped like a star. One has a tiny cat on it. None is white. None is the right size.
莱夫坐下来，一颗一颗地挑。有粉色的、圆的、方的，一颗做成星星的形状，一颗上面有只小猫。没有一颗是白的，也没有一颗大小合适。
"Too big," says Leif. "Too bright. Too small." After ten minutes, he puts his head in his hands.
“太大了，”莱夫说，“太亮了。太小了。”十分钟后，他双手捧住了头。
Greta takes the jacket and counts the buttons. "You have two more. Could we move one?"
格蕾塔拿过夹克，数了数纽扣。“你还有两颗。能不能挪一颗过来？”
"Then the jacket is open at the bottom," says Leif. "That is just as bad."
“那夹克下面就敞开了，”莱夫说，“一样糟糕。”
"Or you could hold the jacket shut with one hand," she says. Then she shakes her head. "No, that is silly."
“要不你用一只手把夹克按住，”她说，随即又摇摇头，“不，那太傻了。”
It is a quarter to ten. Leif walks to the window and looks out at the sea wall. The long grey wall runs along the beach. Small waves touch the stones. Early visitors already walk along the top with kites under their arms.
现在是九点三刻。莱夫走到窗前，望向防波堤。长长的灰色堤墙沿着海滩延伸，小浪轻轻拍着石头。早到的游客已经腋下夹着风筝，走在堤顶上了。
An idea comes to him. "Greta," he says. "Do you have a strong needle? And thread that will not break?"
他突然有了个主意。“格蕾塔，”他说，“你有结实的针吗？还有不会断的线？”
"I have kite thread," says Greta. "It does not break, even if you pull a boat with it."
“我有风筝线，”格蕾塔说，“就算用它拖一条船也不会断。”
"Perfect," says Leif. He takes a needle and the green thread. He runs to the door.
“太好了，”莱夫说。他拿起一根针和绿色的线，向门口跑去。
"Where are you going?" Greta calls.
“你去哪儿？”格蕾塔喊道。
"To the beach!" he shouts back.
“去海滩！”他回喊。
He runs down the steps to the sand. The beach is cool and nearly empty. He walks along the foot of the wall. He looks at the ground. He passes dry weeds, a bottle and a piece of rope. He finds one orange shell, then another. They are all wrong.
他跑下台阶来到沙滩上。沙滩凉凉的，几乎没有人。他沿着堤墙脚走，盯着地面。他经过干枯的野草、一只瓶子和一段绳子。他找到一只橙色的贝壳，又找到一只，可是都不对。
Near the end of the wall, he sees a small round shell. It is flat and grey-blue. It is the size of a button. In the middle, the sea makes two tiny holes. It looks almost like a real button.
快走到堤墙尽头时，他看见一枚小小的圆贝壳，扁扁的，灰蓝色，大小正好像一颗纽扣。中间有大海磨出的两个小孔，看上去几乎就像一颗真纽扣。
"Yes," says Leif. He picks it up and wipes it on his sleeve.
“就是它了，”莱夫说。他捡起来，在袖子上擦了擦。
He hurries back up the steps. Greta waits at the shop door with her arms crossed. "A shell?" she says.
他匆匆跑回台阶上去。格蕾塔抱着胳膊等在店门口。“一枚贝壳？”她说。
"A shell," says Leif. He grins.
“一枚贝壳，”莱夫说着咧嘴一笑。
He sits on the stool by the counter. He takes the green thread. He pushes the thread through the needle on the third try. His hands are not quite steady. He goes through one hole in the shell, then through the cloth. Then he goes through the second hole and back to the cloth. He does it again and again. The thread pulls tight each time.
他坐在柜台边的凳子上，拿起绿线，试到第三次才把线穿进针眼。他的手有点不稳。他先穿过贝壳的一个孔，再穿过布料；接着穿过第二个孔，又回到布料。一遍又一遍，每一次线都拉得紧紧的。
Greta watches. "You sew well," she says.
格蕾塔看着。“你缝得真好。”她说。
"My mother taught me," says Leif. "I never planned to use it here."
“我妈妈教我的，”莱夫说，“我从没想过会在这儿派上用场。”
When he finishes, he bites the thread. Then he puts on the jacket. He pushes the shell through the hole. It fits perfectly. The grey-blue shell shines against the dark cloth.
缝完后，他用牙咬断线头，穿上夹克，把贝壳推过扣眼。刚刚好。灰蓝色的贝壳在深色的布料上闪着光。
"Not bad," says Greta. She steps back to look at him. "It looks like you meant to do it."
“不赖，”格蕾塔说。她后退一步打量他。“看起来就像你是故意这么做的。”
Leif looks in the small mirror by the door. A young man looks back at him. He has a shell on his jacket. He looks strangely calm.
莱夫看了看门边的小镜子。镜子里的年轻人胸前扣着一枚贝壳，神情出奇地平静。
"I can do this," he says. He half believes it.
“我能行，”他说。他自己也只信了一半。
At noon, the square by the sea wall is full of people. Hundreds of kites float up into the sky, blue, yellow and white. Leif walks to the little stage with his speech in his hand. Greta stands near the front. She has a proud look on her face.
中午，防波堤旁的广场上挤满了人。成百上千只风筝飘上天空，蓝的、黄的、白的。莱夫手里拿着讲稿，走向那座小舞台。格蕾塔站在前排附近，脸上带着骄傲的神情。
He climbs the three steps. He turns to the crowd and opens his mouth. Just then, he sees something on the sea wall behind them.
他登上三级台阶，转向人群，张开了嘴。就在这时，他看见人群身后的防波堤上有个东西。
A gull sits on the stones. Something small and white shines in its beak. It looks just like his lost button.
一只海鸥停在石头上，嘴里叼着一个小小的白色东西，闪闪发亮。看上去，那简直就是他丢掉的纽扣。
Leif forgets his first word.
莱夫忘了自己的第一个字。
