Yoon ran the river ferry at Long Bend. The ferry was a flat wooden boat on a thick rope. The rope ran from one bank to the other. To cross, Yoon pulled the rope with both hands. Hand over hand, forty times a day.
尹在长湾经营河上的渡船。那渡船是一条扁平的木船，挂在一根粗绳上。绳子从河的这一岸拉到那一岸。要过河，尹就用双手拉绳子。一把接一把，一天四十趟。
Her arms were strong. Her back was not.
她的胳膊很有力，腰却不行。
One morning she sat on the dock and rubbed her shoulders. Nobody else was there. The river was calm and brown.
一天早晨，她坐在码头上揉着肩膀。附近没有别人。河水平静，呈褐色。
"I want this rope to pull itself," she said.
“我真希望这根绳子能自己拉自己，”她说。
"I can help," said a voice.
“我可以帮忙，”一个声音说。
A woman stood on the path behind her. She had a toolbox in one hand. Over her shoulder hung a huge yellow roll of cord. Her name was Livia, and she fixed lights for cafés.
一个女人站在她身后的小路上，一只手提着工具箱，肩上搭着一大卷黄色的电线。她名叫莉维娅，专给咖啡馆修灯。
"I'm going to the café on the far bank," she said. "I fix their lights. But I heard you. I have an idea."
“我要去对岸的咖啡馆，”她说，“给他们修灯。不过我听见你说的话了。我有个主意。”
"I have a bad back," said Yoon. "I don't need ideas."
“我腰不好，”尹说，“不需要什么主意。”
"You need this." Livia opened her toolbox. Inside lay a small, heavy machine with a wheel. "It's a winch. It pulls rope. You put it on the boat, and it does the work."
“你需要这个。”莉维娅打开工具箱，里面躺着一台带轮子的小机器，很沉。“这是绞盘，能拉绳子。你把它装在船上，活儿就由它来干。”
"What power does it use?"
“它用什么动力？”
"Electric." Livia patted the yellow coil. "This is my longest cord. It goes to the socket in your ticket hut. It's made for outdoor work. And it has a safety switch that cuts the power."
“电。”莉维娅拍了拍那卷黄线。“这是我最长的一根电线，可以一直接到你售票亭里的插座。它是专门给户外用的。而且带有一个能切断电源的安全开关。”
Yoon looked at the machine. She looked at the cord. For a long time she said nothing. Then she smiled for the first time that week.
尹看看那台机器，又看看那根电线。她好一阵没说话。然后她笑了，这是她这个星期第一次露出笑容。
"Show me," she said.
“演示给我看看，”她说。
It took an hour. Livia fixed the winch to the front of the boat. She wound the rope around its wheel. She tied empty plastic bottles along the cord, so it floated. At last she pushed one end into the hut socket. The other end went to the winch.
忙了一个钟头。莉维娅把绞盘固定在船头，把绳子绕在它的轮子上。她沿着电线绑了一些空塑料瓶，让它能漂在水面上。最后，她把电线的一头插进售票亭的插座，另一头接到绞盘上。
By then, three cyclists and a man with two goats waited. They paid for their tickets and climbed on board. Livia came too, with her toolbox.
到那时，已经有三个骑车的人和一个带着两只山羊的男人在等了。他们付了船票，上了船。莉维娅也提着工具箱一起上来了。
"Ready?" said Livia.
“准备好了吗？”莉维娅问。
"Ready," said Yoon.
“准备好了，”尹说。
Livia pressed a green button. The winch hummed. The wheel turned, and the rope began to slide through it. Slowly and smoothly, the ferry left the dock.
莉维娅按下一个绿色按钮。绞盘嗡嗡地响起来，轮子转动，绳子开始从中滑过。渡船缓缓地、平稳地离开了码头。
Yoon did not touch the rope. She folded her arms. She felt like a queen.
尹没有碰绳子。她抱起双臂，觉得自己像个女王。
"Look at that," said one cyclist. "Nobody pulls the rope."
“你们看，”一个骑车的人说，“没人拉绳子。”
"The boat drives itself," said the man with the goats. One goat made a rude noise.
“船自己会开，”带山羊的男人说。一只山羊发出了一声很不礼貌的怪叫。
The ferry slid over the water. The cord floated behind it like a long yellow snake. Yoon sat on the bench and ate an apple. It was the best crossing of her life.
渡船在水面上滑行。那根电线像一条长长的黄蛇，漂在船后。尹坐在长凳上，吃着一个苹果。这是她一生中最美好的一趟渡河。
Near the far bank, the ferry slowed. It slowed some more. Then it stopped, and the winch gave a sad little hum.
快到对岸时，渡船慢了下来。又慢了一些。然后它停住了，绞盘发出一声悲伤的小小嗡鸣。
Behind them, the cord was tight. It rose out of the water and hung straight in the air. All the bottles shook on it.
在他们身后，电线绷得紧紧的。它从水里升起来，直直地悬在半空，上面所有的瓶子都在抖动。
"What happened?" said Yoon.
“怎么回事？”尹问。
Livia looked back at the hut. It was very small and very far away. Then she looked at the cord.
莉维娅回头望向售票亭。它又小又远。然后她看了看那根电线。
"It's too short," she said.
“太短了，”她说。
"How short?"
“短多少？”
"It's sixty meters long."
“它有六十米长。”
"And the river?"
“那河呢？”
Livia looked at the water. "A little more than that."
莉维娅看了看水面。“比这个宽一点点。”
"How much more?"
“宽多少？”
"About twenty meters."
“大约二十米。”
"Twenty meters!" said Yoon.
“二十米！”尹说。
"The map said the river was narrow here," said Livia.
“地图上说这里的河很窄，”莉维娅说。
Then the safety switch clicked. The winch went quiet. Far away, the plug fell out of the socket.
这时，安全开关咔嗒响了一声。绞盘安静下来。远处，插头从插座里掉了出来。
For a moment nothing happened. Then a wind came down the river. The rope slid freely through the wheel. The ferry began to drift. It did not go forward. It went back, slowly, like a sleepy cow going home.
有那么一会儿，什么也没发生。然后一阵风顺着河吹下来。绳子从轮子里自由滑动。渡船开始漂走。它没有向前，而是往后退，慢悠悠的，像一头困倦的母牛往家走。
"The boat goes back," said a cyclist.
“船在往回走，”一个骑车的人说。
"We paid for the far bank!" said another.
“我们买的票是到对岸的！”另一个说。
"The wish worked," said Livia. "The ferry moved by itself. It just moved the wrong way."
“愿望实现了，”莉维娅说，“渡船自己动了。只是它动错了方向。”
Yoon looked at her. Livia did not say any more.
尹看着她。莉维娅没有再说什么。
The ferry bumped softly against the dock. Livia jumped off and ran to the hut. She pushed the plug back in. She ran back and jumped on. She pressed the green button. The ferry crossed sixty meters, stopped and drifted home again.
渡船轻轻撞上了码头。莉维娅跳下船，跑向售票亭，把插头重新插好，又跑回来跳上船，按下绿色按钮。渡船走了六十米，停住，又漂回了原处。
They did it a second time. They did it a third time. Each time the cyclists grew quieter. Each time the goats grew louder.
他们又来了第二次。又来了第三次。每一次，骑车的人都更沉默一些。每一次，山羊都叫得更响一些。
"I must sell these goats before noon," said the man. "It's eleven now."
“我中午前必须把这些山羊卖掉，”那个男人说，“现在已经十一点了。”
Livia wiped her face. "I have a second cord in my van," she said. "At home."
莉维娅擦了擦脸。“我的货车里还有一根电线，”她说，“在家里。”
"How far is your home?" asked Yoon.
“你家有多远？”尹问。
"Four hours."
“四个小时。”
Nobody spoke. The river moved quietly past the boat. Somewhere a bird laughed.
没有人说话。河水静静地从船边流过。不知什么地方，一只鸟在笑。
Yoon stood up. She pulled the plug out of the winch. She rolled the cord into a yellow circle. She unwound the rope from the wheel. Then she looked at her passengers.
尹站了起来。她把插头从绞盘上拔下来，把电线盘成一个黄色的圈，又把绳子从轮子上解下来。然后她看向她的乘客们。
"Good news," she said. "Today the ferry is free for everyone who pulls."
“好消息，”她说，“今天，凡是帮忙拉绳子的人，渡河免费。”
The cyclists looked at each other. One of them smiled. The man with the goats took off his jacket.
骑车的人互相看了看。其中一个笑了。带山羊的男人脱下了外套。
Yoon held the rope out to Livia. "It was your idea," she said.
尹把绳子递给莉维娅。“这是你的主意，”她说。
Livia sighed. She put down her toolbox. She took the rope in both hands and began to pull.
莉维娅叹了口气。她放下工具箱，双手握住绳子，开始拉了起来。
