The Piano That Played at Night

Valentina cleans the community center every night after it closes. She locks the doors and turns off most of the lights. One night, she hears piano music from the music room. The door to that room is always locked.

瓦伦蒂娜每天晚上社区活动中心关门后打扫卫生。她锁好门，关掉大部分的灯。一天夜里，她听到音乐室里传来钢琴声。那个房间的门总是锁着的。

Valentina stops and listens carefully. The music continues, soft and slow. She walks toward the music room door. To her surprise, the door stands open just a little.

瓦伦蒂娜停下来，仔细听。音乐还在继续，轻柔而缓慢。她朝音乐室的门走去。让她吃惊的是，门微微开着一条缝。

She pushes the door open and looks inside. No one sits at the old piano in the corner. But the keys move up and down by themselves. Valentina takes a step back, a little worried.

她推开门，往里看。角落里那架旧钢琴前没有人坐着。可是琴键自己在上下起落。瓦伦蒂娜往后退了一步，有点担心。

Then she looks carefully at the piano. A large paper roll turns slowly inside it. The keys move with the paper as it turns. Valentina remembers this piano now.

然后她仔细看了看钢琴。一大卷纸在琴里慢慢转动。琴键随着纸卷的转动而起落。瓦伦蒂娜现在想起这架钢琴了。

The music teacher uses this piano for her afternoon class. It can play songs by itself with the right roll inside. The teacher forgot to turn it off after class.

音乐老师下午上课要用这架钢琴。装上合适的纸卷，它就能自己弹歌。老师下课后忘了把它关掉。

Valentina finds the switch on the side of the piano. She turns it off, and the room goes quiet. She checks the door and locks it again.

瓦伦蒂娜在钢琴侧面找到了开关。她把它关掉，房间安静了下来。她检查了门，又把它锁上。

The next morning, Valentina tells the music teacher what happened. The teacher laughs and says sorry. "I always forget that switch," she says. "Next time, I'll check it twice before I leave."

第二天早上，瓦伦蒂娜把发生的事告诉了音乐老师。老师笑了，说了声对不起。“我总是忘记那个开关，”她说，“下次我走之前会检查两遍。”

Valentina smiles and pushes her cart down the hallway.

瓦伦蒂娜笑了笑，推着她的清洁车走向走廊。