The paper crane sat on the top step of the library van. Fatou saw it before she opened the door. It was small and white, and it did not move.
那只纸鹤停在流动图书馆车最上面的一级台阶上。法图还没开门就看见了它。它小小的，白白的，一动不动。
She picked it up. The paper was warm, like a cup of milk. Then the crane lifted one wing, as if it said hello.
她把它拿了起来。纸是温热的，像一杯牛奶。然后，纸鹤抬起一只翅膀，像是在打招呼。
Fatou almost dropped it. Fatou drove the mobile library. In six years she saw wet books, flat tyres and a goat. But she never saw a paper bird wake up.
法图差点把它掉在地上。法图开的是流动图书馆车。六年里，她见过泡湿的书、瘪掉的轮胎，还有一只山羊。可她从没见过一只纸鸟醒过来。
"Well," she said. "Hello to you too."
“哎呀，”她说，“你好啊。”
It was Thursday. The van stood at the old farm gate in Hillfoot. This was the third stop on her route. Every Thursday, the same readers came. A woman came for crime stories. Two small sisters came for books about horses. And Darius came for the adventure novels.
那天是星期四。车停在山脚村的旧农场大门口。这是她路线上的第三站。每个星期四，来的都是同样几位读者。一位女士来借侦探小说。两个小姐妹来借关于马的书。还有达里乌斯，他来借冒险小说。
Darius was fifteen. He was tall and quiet. He always wore the same green jacket. He came first, before everyone else. He knew the shelves better than Fatou did. He liked to say, "Something with a map in the front, please."
达里乌斯十五岁，个子高高的，不爱说话。他总是穿同一件绿夹克。他总是第一个来，比所有人都早。他对书架的熟悉程度比法图还高。他喜欢说：“请给我一本前面有地图的书。”
Today it was ten past four. The woman came and left. The sisters came and left. Darius did not come.
今天已经四点十分了。那位女士来了又走了。小姐妹来了又走了。达里乌斯没有来。
Fatou looked at the crane in her hand. She had a strange feeling that it wanted something. She put it down on the counter. At once, it jumped up and flew across the van. It landed on a high shelf.
法图看着手里的纸鹤。她有一种奇怪的感觉，觉得它想要什么。她把它放在柜台上。它立刻跳起来，飞过车厢，落在一个高高的书架上。
"Hey!" said Fatou. "That is not a bird shelf."
“嘿！”法图说，“那可不是鸟待的架子。”
The crane tapped one book with its beak. The book was called "A Hundred Roads Home." Fatou took it down. It was a thick story about a boy. He walked across a whole country. It was Darius's favorite. He read it twice.
纸鹤用喙点了点一本书。那本书叫《一百条回家的路》。法图把它取了下来。这是一部厚厚的小说，讲一个男孩走遍了整个国家。这是达里乌斯最喜欢的书，他读了两遍。
"I see," she said. "You belong to Darius."
“我明白了，”她说，“你是达里乌斯的。”
The crane flapped its wings, fast and proud.
纸鹤拍着翅膀，又快又得意。
Fatou frowned. Why did Darius leave a magic crane and no note? Why did he not come? She thought about last week. Darius stood at the counter with his big pile of books. She was in a hurry, and she said something quickly.
法图皱起了眉头。达里乌斯为什么留下一只会魔法的纸鹤，却没有留字条？他为什么没来？她想起上个星期。达里乌斯站在柜台前，抱着一大摞书。她当时很匆忙，匆匆说了几句话。
"Next Thursday is the last time here," she said. "I will explain after that—"
“下个星期四是在这里的最后一次，”她说，“之后我再向你解释——”
Then her phone rang. She answered it, and Darius left without a word.
然后她的电话响了。她接起电话，达里乌斯一句话没说就走了。
Fatou put a hand over her mouth. "Oh no," she said. "I know what he thought."
法图用手捂住嘴。“糟了，”她说，“我知道他是怎么想的了。”
The crane flew to the door and waited. Its little head turned back to her. It seemed to ask, "Are you coming?"
纸鹤飞到门口等着。它小小的脑袋转过来看着她，好像在问：“你来不来？”
"I cannot just leave the van," said Fatou.
“我不能就这样丢下车，”法图说。
The crane did not move. It looked at the door. It looked at her again.
纸鹤一动不动。它看看门，又看看她。
Fatou sighed. She turned the sign to "Back Soon." She locked the back doors and took the book. Then she followed the crane out into the field.
法图叹了口气。她把牌子翻到“马上回来”那一面，锁好后门，拿上那本书，跟着纸鹤走进了田野。
The crane flew low over the grass. It never went too fast. Each time Fatou stopped to breathe, it stopped too. It waited on a fence post. They crossed the field and went through a gap in the hedge. They went down a path past three sheep. The sheep looked at them with deep interest.
纸鹤贴着草地低低地飞，从不飞得太快。每次法图停下来喘气，它也停下来，等在一根篱笆桩上。他们穿过田野，钻过树篱的一个缺口，沿着一条小路走过三只羊。羊兴致盎然地望着他们。
At last, they came to an old wooden gate on a hill. A boy in a green jacket sat on the top bar. A big bag lay at his feet. He planned to leave it at the van. He did not have the courage. He looked at the valley below. He did not see her.
终于，他们来到山坡上的一扇旧木门前。一个穿绿夹克的男孩坐在门的最上面一根横杆上，脚边放着一个大包。他本来打算把它留在车旁，却没有勇气。他望着下面的山谷，没有看见她。
"Darius?" said Fatou.
“达里乌斯？”法图喊道。
He jumped. Then he saw the crane on her shoulder. His face went pale. "It found you," he said.
他吓了一跳。然后他看见了她肩上的纸鹤，脸一下子白了。“它找到你了，”他说。
"It did. It is a very good crane."
“找到了。它是一只很棒的纸鹤。”
Darius looked at his shoes. "I folded it on Sunday. I found an old book of paper art in my mother's room. I wanted to make something lucky."
达里乌斯低头看着自己的鞋。“我是星期天折的。我在妈妈房里发现了一本旧的折纸书。我想做一件带来好运的东西。”
"Lucky for what?"
“带来什么好运？”
"For you," he said. "You said it was the last time here. So I thought, maybe the van will stop coming here. Maybe it will not come to Hillfoot again."
“给你的，”他说，“你说这是在这里的最后一次。所以我想，也许图书馆车不会再来这儿了。也许它不会再来山脚村了。”
He opened the bag. It was full of library books. "I brought them all back. I did not want to keep them if the van stops. I only wanted to say good-bye."
他打开了包。里面装满了图书馆的书。“我把它们全都带回来了。如果车不来了，我就不想留着它们了。我只是想说声再见。”
Fatou did not know whether to laugh or to hug him. She did a little of both.
法图不知道该笑还是该抱抱他。她两样都做了一点。
"Darius," she said. "I said the last time here. I meant the farm gate. I did not mean Hillfoot."
“达里乌斯，”她说，“我说的是在这里的最后一次。我指的是农场大门口，不是山脚村。”
He stared at her. "What?"
他瞪着她。“什么？”
"The farm gate is too far from the village. The road is bad, and many readers cannot walk to it." Fatou smiled. "So from next week, the van parks at the school gate. It is in the middle of the village. It is only three minutes from your house."
“农场大门离村子太远了。路又不好走，很多读者走不过来。”法图笑了。“所以从下个星期起，车会停在学校门口。那在村子中间，离你家只有三分钟。”
Darius's mouth opened. Then it closed. Then, slowly, he began to laugh. It was a big, surprised laugh. It made the crane flap its wings.
达里乌斯张大了嘴，又合上。然后，他慢慢地笑起来，是那种又大声又惊喜的笑，惊得纸鹤扑腾起了翅膀。
"I thought the van stopped coming to us for ever," he said.
“我还以为图书馆车再也不来我们这儿了，”他说。
"I only move the stop. I am sorry. I was in a hurry, and I did not explain."
“我只是换了个停靠点。对不起，我当时很匆忙，没有解释清楚。”
"I am sorry too. I will ask next time."
“我也对不起。下次我会问的。”
"You did a very good thing," said Fatou. She held out "A Hundred Roads Home." "I think the crane wants you to read this one again."
“你做了一件很棒的事，”法图说。她递出那本《一百条回家的路》。“我想，纸鹤是希望你再读一遍这本。”
Darius took the book. The little crane left her shoulder and landed on his hand. It sat there for a moment, small and calm. Then it folded its wings flat. It was only paper again.
达里乌斯接过书。小纸鹤离开她的肩膀，落在他的手上。它在那里停了片刻，小小的，安安静静的。然后它把翅膀折平了。它又只是一张纸了。
They walked back across the field together. The sun was low behind the hills. Darius carried the heavy bag, and Fatou carried the crane.
他们一起穿过田野走回去。太阳低低地挂在山后。达里乌斯背着那个沉甸甸的包，法图拿着纸鹤。
At the van, she opened the door. She did not put the crane in a drawer. She put it on the dashboard, in front of the big window. It sat there while she checked the books, one by one. Darius chose a new pile.
回到车旁，她打开了门。她没有把纸鹤放进抽屉里。她把它放在仪表盘上，大窗户前面。她一本一本地查点书的时候，它就坐在那里。达里乌斯挑了一摞新书。
When she drove away, the light was gold on the glass. The little paper crane stayed on the dashboard. Its shadow moved slowly over the road ahead.
她驶离的时候，光线在玻璃上镀了一层金色。小纸鹤留在仪表盘上。它的影子慢慢地移过前方的道路。
