Aiko pushed the door of the vet clinic with her shoulder. She held her dog in her arms. In her other hand, she held a small cloth bag.
爱子用肩膀顶开了宠物诊所的门。她怀里抱着自己的狗，另一只手里拎着一个小布袋。
The dog was big and heavy. His eyes were half closed. He made a low sound in his throat.
狗又大又重，眼睛半闭着，喉咙里发出低低的声音。
"Please," Aiko said to the girl at the desk. "I think he ate something bad."
“拜托了，”爱子对前台的女孩说，“我觉得他吃了什么不好的东西。”
"What did he eat?" the girl asked.
“他吃了什么？”女孩问。
"Marbles," said Aiko. "Nine of them. Maybe more."
“弹珠，”爱子说，“九颗。也许更多。”
The girl wrote on a card. "Please sit down," she said. "The doctor will see you soon."
女孩在一张卡片上写了几笔。“请坐吧，”她说，“医生很快就会给你们看。”
Aiko sat on a hard plastic chair. The waiting room was small and bright. A fish tank stood in the corner. A clock on the wall ticked loudly.
爱子坐在一把硬邦邦的塑料椅上。候诊室不大，但很明亮。角落里放着一个鱼缸。墙上的钟嘀嗒嘀嗒，响得很大声。
Three other people sat there. A man held a cat in a box. A boy had a rabbit on his knees. A young man had nothing at all. He looked at his hands.
另外还坐着三个人。一个男人抱着一只装在箱子里的猫。一个男孩膝盖上趴着一只兔子。一个年轻男子什么也没带，只是低头看着自己的手。
Aiko made glass pictures. It was her job. She used marbles in her work. She cut them, melted them, and set them into windows. That morning, she bought forty new ones at the market. They were deep blue, like the sea at night.
爱子做玻璃画，这是她的工作。她的作品里会用到弹珠，她把弹珠切开、熔化，再嵌进窗子里。那天早上，她在市场买了四十颗新的。弹珠是深蓝色的，像夜里的大海。
She left the bag on the kitchen floor for a minute. When she came back, the bag was open and empty. Marbles lay all over the room. The dog stood in the middle of them. He had a strange look on his face.
她把袋子放在厨房地板上，只离开了一小会儿。等她回来，袋子敞着口，里面是空的。弹珠滚得满屋都是，狗站在它们中间，脸上的表情怪怪的。
She picked up the marbles from every corner. She dropped them into the bag. Then she counted them. Thirty-one. There should be forty. So nine were missing.
她从每个角落里捡起弹珠，扔进袋子里，然后数了数。三十一颗。本该有四十颗，所以少了九颗。
And the dog lay on the floor. He did not want to stand.
而狗躺在地板上，不肯站起来。
She did not think. She lifted the dog and ran to the car.
她来不及多想，抱起狗就跑向了车子。
Now she looked down at him. He put his head on her knee. His breath was warm and slow. She felt a cold fear in her chest.
此刻，她低头看着他。他把头靠在她的膝盖上，呼吸温热而缓慢。她感到胸口一阵发冷的恐惧。
"What is in the bag?" the boy asked. He looked at her with big eyes.
“袋子里是什么？”男孩问。他睁着大眼睛看着她。
"Marbles," said Aiko. "Blue ones."
“弹珠，”爱子说，“蓝色的。”
"Can I see?"
“我能看看吗？”
She did not want to talk. But the boy was kind, and she needed something to do. She opened the bag and poured the marbles into her hand. They shone under the lights. They clicked together like small bells.
她不想说话。可男孩很和善，而且她也需要找点事情做。她打开袋子，把弹珠倒在手心里。弹珠在灯光下闪闪发亮，碰在一起叮当作响，像一串小铃铛。
"They are so pretty," said the boy. "Are they magic?"
“它们真漂亮，”男孩说，“是魔法弹珠吗？”
"No," she said. "But I like them very much."
“不是，”她说，“不过我非常喜欢它们。”
"How many are there?" he asked.
“一共有多少颗？”他问。
"Thirty-one," said Aiko. "The dog ate the rest."
“三十一颗，”爱子说，“其余的被狗吃了。”
The boy looked at the dog. Then he looked at the marbles. "Can I count them?" he asked.
男孩看看狗，又看看弹珠。“我能数一数吗？”他问。
"Why?" said Aiko. She felt a little tired. But she gave him the marbles anyway.
“为什么？”爱子说。她觉得有点累，但还是把弹珠给了他。
The boy put them on the chair between them. He moved them into rows of five. The rabbit watched with its nose twitching. It was very quiet.
男孩把弹珠摆在两人中间的椅子上，五颗一排地排好。兔子的鼻子抽动着，静静地看着。
"Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, thirty," the boy said. He picked up the last marble and held it up. "Thirty-one. That is right."
“五，十，十五，二十，二十五，三十，”男孩说。他拿起最后一颗弹珠，举了起来。“三十一。没错。”
"Yes," said Aiko. "I told you."
“是啊，”爱子说，“我跟你说过了。”
At that moment, the vet opened a door. He was a tall man with a kind, tired face. His name was Caspian.
就在这时，兽医打开了一扇门。他是个高个子男人，脸上带着和善而疲惫的神情，名叫卡斯皮安。
"Next, please," he said. "The dog with the marbles."
“下一位，”他说，“那只吃了弹珠的狗。”
Aiko stood up fast. The marbles fell. They rolled across the floor in every direction. The cat in the box meowed. The young man looked up for the first time.
爱子猛地站起来，弹珠掉了一地，朝四面八方滚去。箱子里的猫喵喵叫了起来。那个年轻男子第一次抬起了头。
"Oh no," Aiko said. She dropped to her knees to pick them up.
“哎呀，不好，”爱子说着，跪下去捡弹珠。
The boy helped her. So did Caspian. The three of them crawled between the chairs. They found marbles under the fish tank and under the desk. One was under the cat's box.
男孩来帮她，卡斯皮安也来了。三个人在椅子之间爬来爬去。他们在鱼缸底下和前台下面都找到了弹珠，有一颗还在猫的箱子下面。
Aiko put her hand in her coat pocket to find her keys. Then she stopped.
爱子把手伸进外套口袋，想找钥匙。然后她停住了。
Something clicked there. She pulled out her hand. It was full of blue glass.
那里有什么东西在叮当作响。她抽出手来，手里满是蓝色的玻璃珠。
She stared at it. Her mouth opened. She counted them in her palm. One, two, three, all the way to nine.
她盯着手里的东西，张大了嘴。她在掌心里数着：一，二，三，一直数到九。
"Oh," she said. "Oh no."
“哦，”她说，“哦，不。”
Caspian looked at her hand, and then at her face. "Nine," he said. "That is the number you gave the girl."
卡斯皮安看看她的手，又看看她的脸。“九颗，”他说，“正是你告诉前台女孩的数目。”
"I put them in my pocket," Aiko said slowly. "I did it when I picked them up. My hands were full, and I was in a hurry. I forgot."
“我把它们放进了口袋，”爱子慢慢地说，“是捡弹珠的时候放的。我两只手都拿满了，又急着出门，就忘了。”
Nobody said anything. The clock ticked. The boy tried not to laugh. He held his hand over his mouth.
没有人说话。钟在嘀嗒作响。男孩努力不笑出声，用手捂住了嘴。
"So there are forty marbles," Caspian said. "Thirty-one in the bag, and nine in your pocket."
“这么说一共是四十颗，”卡斯皮安说，“袋子里三十一颗，你口袋里九颗。”
"Yes," said Aiko. She felt very small. "I am so sorry. I wasted your morning."
“是的，”爱子说。她觉得自己渺小极了。“真的很抱歉，浪费了你一早上的时间。”
"You did not," said Caspian. "Your dog is still sick. Something made him sick. Let us find out what."
“没有浪费，”卡斯皮安说，“你的狗还是病了。是有什么东西让他不舒服。我们来查一查。”
He lifted the dog onto the table in the next room. Aiko followed. He pressed the dog's stomach with careful fingers. He looked in his mouth. He looked in his ears.
他把狗抱到隔壁房间的台子上，爱子跟了进去。他用小心的手指按了按狗的肚子，看了看嘴巴，又看了看耳朵。
"Did he eat anything else today?" he asked.
“他今天还吃过别的东西吗？”他问。
Aiko thought. "I gave him his normal food," she said. "Oh. And the bin in the kitchen was open when I came back."
爱子想了想。“我给他喂了平常的饭，”她说，“哦，还有，我回来的时候，厨房的垃圾桶是开着的。”
"What was in the bin?"
“垃圾桶里有什么？”
"A paper bag from last night," she said. "A lot of fish and chips."
“昨晚的一个纸袋，”她说，“里面有好多炸鱼薯条。”
Caspian nodded slowly. "That explains it," he said. "Too much oil. Too much salt. He ate a whole dinner, I think. And he found the marbles and played with them. That is all."
卡斯皮安慢慢点了点头。“这就说得通了，”他说，“油太多，盐也太多。我想他把一整顿晚饭都吃了，然后又找到弹珠玩了起来。就是这么回事。”
"He is not in danger?" Aiko asked.
“他没有危险吧？”爱子问。
"No. He needs water, rest and a plain meal. He will be fine by tomorrow."
“没有。他需要喝水、休息，再吃一顿清淡的饭。明天就会好起来。”
Aiko sat down on a stool. All the fear left her at once. She laughed, and then she nearly cried. The dog opened one eye and looked at her. He looked almost proud.
爱子在一张凳子上坐下。所有的恐惧一下子都消失了。她笑了起来，接着差点哭出来。狗睁开一只眼睛看着她，看上去几乎有些得意。
"I am sorry," she said again. "I counted wrong. I even made a boy count for me."
“真对不起，”她又说了一遍，“我数错了。我甚至还让一个男孩帮我数。”
"He counted right," said Caspian. "You only forgot your pocket."
“他数对了，”卡斯皮安说，“你只是忘了自己的口袋。”
Aiko took the dog's head in her hands. She kissed his nose. Then she stood up and took the bag from the table.
爱子双手捧起狗的脑袋，亲了亲他的鼻子。然后她站起身，从台子上拿起了袋子。
Caspian opened the door for her. In the waiting room, the boy and the rabbit waved.
卡斯皮安为她开了门。候诊室里，男孩和兔子朝她挥手。
"Well," Caspian said, with a small smile. "Next time, count your pockets first."
“好了，”卡斯皮安带着淡淡的笑意说，“下次先数一数口袋。”
"I will," said Aiko. "And I will close the bin."
“我会的，”爱子说，“我还会把垃圾桶盖好。”
