Ilan had a blue mug. He loved it. It was big, and it was his.
伊兰有一个蓝色的马克杯。他很爱它。它很大，而且是他的。
Every evening, he left the mug on his desk. Every morning, it was gone. He looked under the desk. He looked in his bag. It was not there.
每天傍晚，他把杯子留在桌上。每天早上，杯子都不见了。他看了桌子底下，又翻了翻包，都没有。
On Monday, the mug sat on Jolene's desk. She did not touch it. On Tuesday, it sat by the printer. On Wednesday, it stood on a shelf in the hall.
星期一，杯子出现在乔琳的桌上，她没有碰它。星期二，它在打印机旁边。星期三，它站在走廊的架子上。
"This is strange," Ilan said. "Who takes my mug?"
“真奇怪。”伊兰说，“是谁拿了我的杯子？”
Jolene sat at the next desk. She looked at him and laughed.
乔琳坐在隔壁的桌子。她看着他，笑了起来。
"Maybe the mug walks," she said.
“也许是杯子自己走的。”她说。
"A mug does not walk," Ilan said. "Someone moves it."
“杯子不会走路。”伊兰说，“是有人挪了它。”
"Then let us find the person," Jolene said. "I can help you. We need clues."
“那我们就把这个人找出来。”乔琳说，“我来帮你。我们需要线索。”
On Thursday, Ilan came to work early. The mug stood on the desk of a tall man. Ilan said nothing. He picked it up and looked at it.
星期四，伊兰很早就到了公司。杯子放在一个高个子男人的桌上。伊兰什么也没说，他拿起杯子仔细看。
"Look at this," he said. "The mug is clean."
“你看，”他说，“杯子是干净的。”
Jolene came closer. She touched the mug. It was dry, too.
乔琳走近了，摸了摸杯子。它也是干的。
"Nobody here washes mugs at night," she said. "The kitchen is closed."
“这里没有人晚上洗杯子。”她说，“厨房已经关门了。”
"That is clue number one," Ilan said.
“这是第一条线索。”伊兰说。
He turned the mug over. A small white sticker was under it. It said "14."
他把杯子翻过来。杯底贴着一张小小的白贴纸，上面写着“14”。
"What is fourteen?" Jolene asked.
“十四是什么？”乔琳问。
"I do not know," Ilan said. "That is clue number two."
“我不知道。”伊兰说，“这是第二条线索。”
He put the mug on his desk again. Then he took a photo of the sticker.
他又把杯子放回自己的桌上，然后给贴纸拍了张照片。
At lunch, they walked to the supply room. A cart stood by the door. It had soap, cloths, and a big bag. A paper hung on the cart.
午饭时，他们走到杂物间。门口停着一辆小推车，上面有肥皂、抹布和一个大袋子，车上挂着一张纸。
Jolene read the paper. "It is a map of the office," she said. "Look. It has numbers on every desk."
乔琳读了读那张纸。“这是办公室的地图。”她说，“你看，每张桌子上都有号码。”
Ilan looked at the map. Desk fourteen was by the printer. He looked again.
伊兰看了看地图。十四号桌在打印机旁边。他又看了一遍。
"This map is old," he said. "The desks are not there now."
“这张地图很旧了。”他说，“现在那里已经没有桌子了。”
"That is clue number three," Jolene said.
“这是第三条线索。”乔琳说。
A woman came out of the room. She was Leona, the night cleaner. She had a kind face and a small bucket.
一位女士从房间里走出来，她是莉奥娜，夜班清洁工。她面容和善，手里提着一个小桶。
"Hello," she said. "Can I help you?"
“你们好。”她说，“有什么需要帮忙的吗？”
"Do you wash a blue mug at night?" Ilan asked.
“你晚上会洗一个蓝色的马克杯吗？”伊兰问。
Leona smiled. "Yes, I do. It was on the floor one night. I washed it."
莉奥娜笑了。“会的。有天晚上它在地板上，我就洗了。”
"But why does it change desks?" Jolene asked.
“可是它为什么会换桌子呢？”乔琳问。
"The sticker says fourteen," Leona said. "My map says desk fourteen is by the printer. I put it there. Next day, it is in a new place. So I try a new number."
“贴纸上写着十四。”莉奥娜说，“我的地图上十四号桌在打印机旁边，我就把它放在那里。第二天它又到了别的地方，所以我就试另一个号码。”
Ilan looked at the sticker. Then he began to laugh.
伊兰看着贴纸，然后笑了起来。
"The first owner of this mug sat at desk fourteen. He left years ago."
“这个杯子的第一个主人坐在十四号桌。他好几年前就离开了。”
"And the map is years old," Jolene said.
“而这张地图也有好几年了。”乔琳说。
Leona took the map from the cart. She looked at it for a long time.
莉奥娜从推车上取下地图，看了很久。
"Oh no," she said. "I read this map every night. I am sorry."
“哎呀，”她说，“我每天晚上都看这张地图。真对不起。”
"Please do not be sorry," Ilan said. "You wash my mug. That is very kind."
“请别说对不起。”伊兰说，“你帮我洗杯子，这太好心了。”
That evening, Ilan took a pen. He wrote his name on a new sticker. He put it over the old number.
那天傍晚，伊兰拿了一支笔，在一张新贴纸上写下自己的名字，贴在旧号码上面。
Jolene printed a new map of the office. She gave it to Leona.
乔琳打印了一张新的办公室地图，交给了莉奥娜。
Next morning, Ilan came to work. The blue mug sat on his desk. It was clean and dry.
第二天早上，伊兰来上班。蓝色的杯子就放在他的桌上，又干净又干燥。
"Well," Jolene said. "The mug stays home."
“好啦，”乔琳说，“杯子留在家里了。”
Ilan picked it up and smiled. "Now I need coffee," he said. He went to the kitchen.
伊兰拿起杯子，笑了。“现在我需要一杯咖啡。”他说着，走向了厨房。
