Xavi plays the guitar under Larch Bridge every afternoon at four. He chooses the spot for one reason. The curved stone roof makes every note sound twice as big. Even a bad chord sounds like a church organ down there.
每天下午四点，哈维都会在落叶松桥下弹吉他。他选这个地方只有一个原因：弧形的石头拱顶能让每个音听起来大一倍。在那下面，就连弹错的和弦听起来也像教堂里的管风琴。
Today he arrives with his guitar case and finds a girl in his place. She sits on an upturned bucket with a milk crate in front of her. On the crate lie two big oven gloves, one green and one yellow. She is humming to them.
今天，他背着吉他盒来到桥下，发现自己的位置被一个女孩占了。她坐在一只倒扣的水桶上，面前放着一个牛奶箱。箱子上摆着两只大号的烤箱手套，一只绿色，一只黄色。她正对着它们哼歌。
"Excuse me," says Xavi. "That is my pitch."
“打扰一下，”哈维说，“这是我的地盘。”
"I don't see your name on it," the girl says. She does not look up.
“我没看见上面写着你的名字，”女孩说。她没有抬头。
"I have played here for two years."
“我在这儿弹了两年了。”
"And I have wanted to play here for two years. Today I am here first."
“我想在这儿表演也想了两年了。今天是我先到的。”
Xavi opens his mouth to argue. But a man in a long coat stops to hear the girl hum. Then he drops a coin on the crate. Xavi stares at the coin as if it is a personal insult.
哈维张嘴想争辩。可这时一个穿长大衣的男人停下脚步，听女孩哼歌。然后他往箱子里扔了一枚硬币。哈维盯着那枚硬币，好像它是对自己的人身侮辱。
"Fine," he says. "I will stand at the other end."
“好吧，”他说，“我去另一头站着。”
The other end of the bridge is a bad spot. The echo is weak, and a noisy road runs next to it. Xavi plays his best song twice, and nobody stops. He hears the girl at the far end, and she is laughing. A small crowd has formed around her.
桥的另一头是个糟糕的位置。回声很弱，旁边还有一条吵闹的马路。哈维把自己最拿手的歌弹了两遍，没有一个人停下来。他听见远处桥下的女孩那边传来笑声。她周围已经围起了一小群人。
He walks back to look. The girl, whose name is Sigrid, has pushed her hands into the oven gloves. The green glove is a crocodile with a huge mouth. The yellow glove is a very nervous duck. The crocodile tries to eat the duck, and the duck makes a speech to stop it. The children scream with joy.
他走回去看。女孩名叫西格丽德，她把双手伸进了烤箱手套里。绿手套是一条张着大嘴的鳄鱼，黄手套是一只非常紧张的鸭子。鳄鱼想吃掉鸭子，鸭子发表了一通演说来阻止它。孩子们高兴得尖叫起来。
Xavi hates how good it is. He also notices that the stone roof makes the duck sound brave.
哈维恨透了它有多精彩。他还注意到，石头拱顶让那只鸭子听起来格外勇敢。
The next day he arrives at three, one hour early, with a folding chair. Sigrid is already there, sitting on her bucket, and she smiles like a cat.
第二天，他三点钟就到了，比平时早一个小时，还带了一把折叠椅。西格丽德已经在那儿了，坐在她的水桶上，笑得像一只猫。
"You are early," she says.
“你来得真早，”她说。
"So are you."
“你也一样。”
"I live next to the bridge. I win."
“我家就住在桥边上。我赢了。”
For a week they fight over the pitch without saying much. One day he plays so loudly that the duck cannot be heard. The next day she turns the crocodile into a monster that chases his guitar. Nobody enjoys the contest more than the crowd. On Friday a woman gives Xavi a coin and whispers, "Please don't stop arguing."
整整一个星期，他们没怎么说话，只是在为那个位置较劲。有一天，他弹得特别响，把鸭子的声音完全盖住了。第二天，她让鳄鱼变成一只追着他吉他跑的怪物。最喜欢这场较量的是围观的人群。星期五，一位女士给了哈维一枚硬币，小声说：“请不要停止争吵。”
Then a man in a green jacket arrives with a clipboard. He is from the city office, and he does not smile at anyone.
后来，一个穿绿夹克的男人拿着写字夹板来了。他是市政办公室的，对谁都不笑。
"I have a complaint," he says. "Two street acts in one pitch is against the rules. Under this bridge, only one act is allowed."
“我接到了投诉，”他说，“一个位置上有两个街头表演，违反规定。这座桥下只允许一个表演。”
"Which one?" asks Sigrid.
“哪一个？”西格丽德问。
"That is for me to decide. Come to my office on Monday with your act, and I will choose."
“这由我来决定。星期一带着你们的表演到我的办公室来，我来选。”
Xavi and Sigrid look at each other. Each of them thinks the other act is a danger to the pitch. Neither of them speaks until the man has gone.
哈维和西格丽德互相看了看。两个人都觉得对方的表演会威胁到这个位置。男人走了以后，他们谁也没有说话。
"If I lose this spot," Xavi says finally, "I lose my best echo."
“要是我失去了这个地方，”哈维终于开口，“我就失去了我最好的回声。”
"If I lose it, I lose my best audience," Sigrid says. "Nobody stops on the other side of the road."
“要是我失去了它，我就失去了我最好的观众，”西格丽德说，“马路另一边没人会停下来。”
"We could play for him at the same time. As one act."
“我们可以同时给他表演。当成一个节目。”
"A guitar and a crocodile?" She laughs, but she does not say no.
“一把吉他加一条鳄鱼？”她笑了，但没有说不行。
They have three days. They spend the first one in Xavi's garage. His father keeps old paint tins there, and a broken lawn mower. Sigrid brings the gloves in a shopping bag. Xavi brings his guitar and a big pot of glue.
他们有三天时间。第一天他们是在哈维的车库里度过的。他爸爸在那儿放着旧油漆罐，还有一台坏掉的割草机。西格丽德把手套装在购物袋里带来。哈维带来了他的吉他和一大罐胶水。
"The gloves need eyes," he says. "At the moment the crocodile looks like a kitchen accident."
“手套得有眼睛，”他说，“现在这条鳄鱼看起来像一场厨房事故。”
"You can't glue eyes on. They must move."
“你不能把眼睛粘上去。它们得能动。”
"Then I will sew buttons."
“那我就缝扣子。”
"You can't sew," she says.
“你根本不会缝，”她说。
"I can learn."
“我可以学。”
By the end of the afternoon he has sewn two big white buttons on the green glove. One of them hangs by a thread, and the crocodile looks dizzy. Sigrid claps her hands over her mouth and laughs until she cries. Xavi pretends to be angry, but he is laughing too.
到下午快结束的时候，他在绿手套上缝了两颗大大的白纽扣。其中一颗只用一根线吊着，鳄鱼看起来晕头转向。西格丽德捂着嘴拍手，笑得眼泪都流出来了。哈维假装生气，可他也在笑。
On the second day the real work begins, and it is harder. Xavi plays a quiet song, and Sigrid says it is too sad for a crocodile. She hums a new tune, and Xavi says it has no rhythm. They both lose their patience. For an hour they sit at opposite ends of the garage. The only sound is a dripping tap.
第二天，真正的工作开始了，也更难了。哈维弹了一首安静的曲子，西格丽德说对于一条鳄鱼来说太悲伤了。她哼了一段新曲子，哈维说它没有节奏。两个人都失去了耐心。有一个小时，他们坐在车库的两头。唯一的声音是水龙头的滴水声。
"I have an idea," Sigrid says at last. "You always play the same chords. What happens if the crocodile hates them?"
“我有个主意，”西格丽德终于说，“你总是弹同样的和弦。要是鳄鱼讨厌它们呢？”
"Why would he hate my chords?"
“他为什么会讨厌我的和弦？”
"Because they sleep. He wants them to wake up."
“因为它们在睡觉。他想让它们醒过来。”
Xavi thinks about that. Then he plays the chords fast, with a funny jump at the end. The green glove snaps its mouth on the last note. The sound is perfect. The crocodile looks at the guitar, then at Xavi, and then it bites his sleeve.
哈维琢磨了一下。然后他飞快地弹起那些和弦，结尾处加了一个滑稽的跳音。绿手套在最后一个音符上啪地合上了嘴。声音完美极了。鳄鱼看了看吉他，又看了看哈维，然后咬住了他的袖子。
"Again," Xavi says. "But slower."
“再来一遍，”哈维说，“不过慢一点。”
On the third day they practise until the sun goes down. Sigrid learns that Xavi taps his foot when he is nervous. Xavi learns that she says "hmm" before every joke, so that the audience feels it coming. Each of them hides a small smile every time the other does something clever.
第三天，他们一直练习到太阳下山。西格丽德发现哈维紧张的时候会用脚打拍子。哈维发现她每个笑话前都会先“嗯”一声，让观众提前感觉到包袱要来了。每当对方做出聪明的举动，两个人都藏起一抹微笑。
On Monday they walk into the city office with their instruments, the gloves and a plan. The man in the green jacket sits at a desk with a cup of coffee. He does not look pleased to see them. Sigrid puts the crocodile on her right hand, and Xavi sits on a chair and starts to play.
星期一，他们带着乐器、手套和一个计划走进了市政办公室。穿绿夹克的男人坐在桌前，端着一杯咖啡。他看到他们，一点也不高兴。西格丽德把鳄鱼套在右手上，哈维坐到椅子上，开始弹奏。
The show lasts four minutes. The duck gets lost in the office. The crocodile finds the duck and wants to eat it, but the duck sings a sad song instead. The crocodile stops, because it has never heard a duck sing. In the end the two gloves dance on the man's desk. The guitar plays so fast that the coffee shakes.
表演持续了四分钟。鸭子在办公室里迷了路。鳄鱼找到了鸭子，想把它吃掉，可是鸭子唱了一首悲伤的歌。鳄鱼停了下来，因为它从来没听过鸭子唱歌。最后，两只手套在男人的桌子上跳起舞来。吉他弹得那么快，咖啡都在晃。
The man does not smile. He writes something on his clipboard and tears off the page.
男人没有笑。他在写字夹板上写了点什么，撕下那一页。
"One permit," he says. "Both of you on it. One act, one pitch."
“一张许可证，”他说，“上面写你们两个。一个表演，一个位置。”
"Is that a yes?" asks Xavi.
“这是同意了吗？”哈维问。
"It is a yes. And please, no more arguing under the bridge." He turns his face away, but his shoulders are shaking.
“是同意了。还有，请你们别再在桥下吵架了。”他把脸扭向一边，肩膀却在发抖。
They walk back to Larch Bridge in the late light. The stone roof glows gold. For the first time that week the place feels like it belongs to both of them. A small crowd is already waiting. A boy holds up a sign that says CROCODILE.
他们在暮色中走回落叶松桥。石头拱顶泛着金光。这个星期里，头一次让人觉得这个地方是属于他们两个人的。一小群人已经在等着了。一个男孩举着一块牌子，上面写着：鳄鱼。
After the show, the hat is so full of coins that Xavi needs both hands to hold it. Sigrid sits on her bucket with the green glove still on her hand. She is out of breath. The crocodile turns slowly towards Xavi and opens its mouth.
演出结束后，帽子里装满了硬币，哈维得用两只手才拿得住。西格丽德坐在她的水桶上，绿手套还戴在手上，上气不接下气。鳄鱼慢慢转向哈维，张开了嘴。
"Excuse me," it says in a squeaky voice. "Does the guitar player want to hold my hand?"
“打扰一下，”它用尖尖的嗓音说，“弹吉他的先生想牵我的手吗？”
