Every day at noon, Emmeline climbs the bell tower. There are ninety steps. She counts them out loud.
每天中午，艾米琳都会爬上钟楼。一共九十级台阶。她出声地数着。
At the top, she hangs her coat on a hook. The window is open. Her grandfather's compass stays in the pocket. She likes to know that it is there. She rings the bell twelve times. Then she goes home. She does this every day. The village hears her bell and knows it is noon.
到了顶上，她把外套挂在钩子上。窗户开着。她祖父的指南针一直放在口袋里。她喜欢知道它就在那里。她敲十二下钟。然后回家。她天天都是这样。村子听到她的钟声，就知道是正午了。
On Monday, the compass is not in her pocket.
星期一，指南针不在她的口袋里。
Emmeline checks the left pocket and the right pocket. She checks the stairs. She checks her bag. Nothing. It is five to twelve. The bell waits.
艾米琳检查了左边的口袋和右边的口袋。她检查了楼梯。她检查了她的包。什么也没有。离十二点还差五分钟。钟在等着。
"Not today," she says. "I ring first. I look later."
“今天不行，”她说，“先敲钟。回头再找。”
She rings the bell. The sound rolls over the roofs and fields. Then she searches the whole top room. She looks under the bench and behind the ropes.
她敲响了钟。钟声滚过屋顶和田野。然后她搜遍了整个顶层的小屋。她看了长凳下面，又看了绳子后面。
The compass is on the far window ledge. Its lid is open. Emmeline stares at it.
指南针在远处的窗台上。它的盖子是开着的。艾米琳盯着它。
It never leaves her pocket. She is sure of that.
它从来不离开她的口袋。这一点她很确定。
Then she sees the needle. It does not point north. It points at the wall. It points at a wide gap between two stones.
接着她看到了指针。它没有指向北方。它指着墙。指着两块石头之间的一道宽缝。
Emmeline turns the compass in her hand. The needle swings back to north. She puts it on the ledge again. The needle swings back to the wall.
艾米琳在手里转动指南针。指针摆回了北方。她把它又放到窗台上。指针又摆向了墙。
"That is wrong," she says.
“不对劲，”她说。
She walks around the room with the compass in her hand. By the bench, the needle is normal. By the east window, it shakes. Near the gap, it turns and will not move.
她手里拿着指南针，在屋里走了一圈。在长凳旁边，指针正常。在东边窗户旁边，它发抖。靠近那道缝的地方，它转了过去，就再也不动了。
Emmeline does not like it. For twenty years, the tower never surprises her. It is a quiet place. The stones are old, and the ropes are plain. Now something in the wall pulls at her little friend.
艾米琳不喜欢这样。二十年来，这座塔从来没有让她吃惊过。这是个安静的地方。石头是旧的，绳子是普通的。现在，墙里有什么东西在拉扯她的小伙伴。
At the bottom of the stairs, she meets Rania. Rania is the new clock mender. She carries a bag of tools.
在楼梯底下，她遇到了拉尼娅。拉尼娅是新来的钟表修理工。她提着一袋工具。
"You look worried," says Rania.
“你看起来很担心，”拉尼娅说。
"My compass was on the wrong ledge," says Emmeline. "And its needle likes the wall."
“我的指南针跑到了不对的窗台上，”艾米琳说，“而且它的指针喜欢上了那面墙。”
Rania laughs. Then she sees that Emmeline is not joking.
拉尼娅笑了。接着她发现艾米琳不是在开玩笑。
"Show me," she says.
“带我看看，”她说。
They climb together. Rania looks at the compass for a long time. She holds it near the gap. The needle shakes and points straight at it.
她们一起爬上去。拉尼娅看了指南针很久。她把它拿到缝隙旁边。指针抖动着，笔直地指着那里。
"Something in there pulls the needle," Rania says. "Something with a lot of iron."
“里面有什么东西在拉指针，”拉尼娅说，“有很多铁的东西。”
"Or a magnet."
“或者是一块磁铁。”
"A magnet," Rania agrees. "But why is a magnet in a tower wall?"
“一块磁铁，”拉尼娅同意，“可是塔墙里为什么会有磁铁呢？”
Emmeline does not know. She thinks about the village. For two weeks, small things disappear. The café loses its best spoon. The mayor cannot find two keys. Someone takes a ring of silver buttons from the school.
艾米琳不知道。她想起了村子。两个星期来，一些小东西不见了。咖啡馆丢了它最好的勺子。镇长找不到两把钥匙。有人拿走了学校的一串银纽扣。
"Maybe it is a thief," she says. "A thief who only wants small shiny things."
“也许是个小偷，”她说，“一个只想要闪闪发亮的小东西的小偷。”
"A very small thief," says Rania. She points at the ledge. A single black feather lies in the dust.
“一个非常小的小偷，”拉尼娅说。她指着窗台。灰尘里躺着一根黑色的羽毛。
They both look at it. Then they look at the gap.
她们俩都看着它。然后又看着那道缝。
Rania takes a small tool from her bag. She works carefully around one loose stone. It slides out with a scrape.
拉尼娅从包里拿出一件小工具。她小心翼翼地绕着一块松动的石头动手。它吱的一声滑了出来。
Behind it is a nest. It is full of treasure. There are four spoons and a handful of buttons. There are three keys, a coin, and a tiny silver bell. In the middle sits a small horseshoe magnet. It has a faded label. It says SCHOOL SCIENCE BOX.
后面是一个鸟巢。里面满是宝贝。有四把勺子，一小把纽扣。有三把钥匙、一枚硬币和一只小小的银铃铛。正中间放着一块小小的马蹄形磁铁。上面有一张褪了色的标签。写着：学校科学盒。
"No," says Emmeline. "It cannot be."
“不会吧，”艾米琳说，“不可能。”
"A jackdaw," says Rania. "They love shiny things."
“寒鸦，”拉尼娅说，“它们爱闪亮的东西。”
Emmeline starts to laugh. She laughs until she needs to sit down. The magnet, the spoons, the keys, the buttons.
艾米琳笑了起来。她笑得不得不坐下。磁铁，勺子，钥匙，纽扣。
"It took my compass too," she says. "It dropped it on the way."
“它连我的指南针也拿走了，”她说，“是它在半路掉的。”
"Then the magnet made your needle crazy," says Rania.
“那么是磁铁把你的指针弄疯了，”拉尼娅说。
Rania lifts the keys and spoons out of the nest. Then she stops and looks at Emmeline.
拉尼娅把钥匙和勺子从巢里拿出来。然后她停下来，看着艾米琳。
"We cannot take everything," she says. "The bird lives here."
“我们不能全拿走，”她说，“那只鸟住在这里。”
Emmeline thinks. A jackdaw has a right to a home. But not to the café owner's spoon.
艾米琳想了想。一只寒鸦有权利拥有一个家。但没有权利拥有咖啡馆老板的勺子。
"We take the keys and the spoons," she decides. "We leave the coin and the little bell. And we leave the magnet and a few buttons."
“我们拿走钥匙和勺子，”她决定，“留下硬币和小铃铛。还有磁铁和几颗纽扣也留下。”
"The school will not mind?"
“学校不会介意吗？”
"They will want the magnet back," says Emmeline. "But I will tell them the truth. A bird borrowed it first."
“他们会想要回磁铁，”艾米琳说，“不过我会告诉他们实话。是一只鸟先借走的。”
Rania fits the stone back, but only halfway. Now there is a small door in the wall.
拉尼娅把石头塞回去，但只塞了一半。现在墙上有了一道小门。
Emmeline puts the compass in her pocket. Her hand stays on the lid for a moment. Then she goes down the ninety steps, counting out loud.
艾米琳把指南针放进口袋。她的手在盖子上停了一会儿。然后她走下那九十级台阶，出声地数着。
The next day, she climbs the tower at the same time. She counts the ninety steps. At the top, she leaves her compass in her coat.
第二天，她在同一时间爬上钟楼。她数了九十级台阶。到了顶上，她把指南针留在外套里。
A black bird sits on the rail. It holds a silver button in its beak. It turns the button in the light. It looks like a person reading a letter.
一只黑鸟停在栏杆上。它的喙里叼着一颗银纽扣。它在光线里转动着纽扣。看上去像一个人在读信。
Emmeline rings the bell. The bird does not move. It only closes its eyes. It listens to the bell, calm and still.
艾米琳敲响了钟。那只鸟没有动。它只是闭上了眼睛。它听着钟声，平静而安然。
