Tock was the robot in Room 4. It was tall and silver, with two round eyes. It helped the teacher, Rosa, with the lessons. It was very good at numbers.
托克是四号教室里的机器人。它又高又银亮，有一双圆圆的眼睛。它帮老师罗莎上课，特别擅长算数。
"Seven plus eight is fifteen," Tock said every morning. "Twenty minus six is fourteen."
“七加八等于十五，”托克每天早上都这样说，“二十减六等于十四。”
The children loved Tock. It never got tired. It never forgot a name. It could count all the chairs in one second.
孩子们都喜欢托克。它从不觉得累，也从不忘记别人的名字。它一秒钟就能数完所有的椅子。
But Tock had a secret. It could not draw.
可是托克有个秘密：它不会画画。
One Friday, Rosa gave the class a new job. "Today we draw an animal," she said. "Pick one you like. Use your colors."
星期五，罗莎给全班布置了一项新任务。“今天我们画一只动物，”她说，“选一只你喜欢的，用你的彩笔。”
The children got their paper. Kira, a girl of seven, sat near the window. She wanted to draw a cat. She had a black pencil and a pink one.
孩子们拿出了纸。七岁的女孩基拉坐在窗边，她想画一只猫。她有一支黑铅笔和一支粉红铅笔。
Tock rolled to the front of the room. "I want to draw too," it said. "I can do a cat."
托克滚到教室前面。“我也想画，”它说，“我能画猫。”
The class looked up. Nobody knew that Tock could draw.
全班都抬起头来。没有人知道托克会画画。
Tock took a big pen in its metal hand. It moved the pen across the paper. The room was quiet. After ten seconds, it held up its picture.
托克用金属手拿起一支粗笔，在纸上移动。教室里很安静。十秒钟后，它举起了自己的画。
The picture had a square head and a square body. It had four square legs. The eyes were two perfect circles. The tail was a straight line.
画上的猫有一个方方的头，一个方方的身子，四条方方的腿。眼睛是两个完美的圆，尾巴是一条直线。
"This is a cat," said Tock.
“这是一只猫，”托克说。
A boy at the back laughed. Then everyone laughed. Tock's eyes turned from blue to gray.
后排的一个男孩笑了，接着大家都笑了。托克的眼睛从蓝色变成了灰色。
"Is something wrong?" it asked.
“有什么不对吗？”它问。
"No," said Rosa. She smiled. "But cats are not square, Tock."
“没有，”罗莎笑着说，“不过，猫不是方的，托克。”
"I know," said Tock. "I measure everything. A cat has four legs, two ears, and twenty-four whiskers. I put it all in my picture. But it looks wrong."
“我知道，”托克说，“我什么都量过。猫有四条腿、两只耳朵、二十四根胡须。我把这些都画进去了，可它看起来还是不对。”
Kira put her pencil down. She walked to the front of the room. She looked at Tock's picture. Then she looked at its face.
基拉放下铅笔，走到教室前面。她看了看托克的画，又看了看它的脸。
"I can help you," she said.
“我可以帮你，”她说。
"You are a child," said Tock.
“你是个孩子，”托克说。
"I draw a lot," said Kira. "Come here."
“我常常画画，”基拉说，“过来吧。”
She sat on the floor with a new paper. Tock rolled down next to her.
她拿了一张新纸坐在地板上，托克滚过去，在她旁边停下。
"First, do not count," said Kira. "Just look. A cat is like a soft pile of things. It has no corners."
“首先，别数数，”基拉说，“只要看。猫就像一团软软的东西，没有棱角。”
"No corners," said Tock.
“没有棱角，”托克说。
"Start with a circle for the head. Then a bigger circle for the body. Then make the lines go around, not straight."
“先画一个圆当头，再画一个大一点的圆当身体，然后让线条绕着圈走，别画直线。”
Tock tried. Its first circle was too perfect. Kira laughed and said, "Make it a little wobbly. Like this."
托克试了试。它画的第一个圆太完美了。基拉笑着说：“画得稍微有点歪，像这样。”
She put her small hand on Tock's metal hand. They moved the pen together. The line went up and down, soft and slow.
她把小手放在托克的金属手上，两个人一起移动笔。线条起起伏伏，又轻又慢。
Tock tried again alone. Its second cat had a round head. It had a round body too. It had two pointy ears. The tail went up in a curve.
托克自己又试了一次。它的第二只猫有圆圆的头，也有圆圆的身子，还有两只尖尖的耳朵，尾巴弯弯地翘起来。
"Now the whiskers," said Kira.
“现在画胡须，”基拉说。
"Twenty-four," said Tock.
“二十四根，”托克说。
"No," said Kira. "Just draw some. Make them go in all ways."
“不用，”基拉说，“随便画几根，让它们朝各个方向。”
Tock drew six whiskers on one side. It drew five on the other. They were not equal. It looked at the picture for a long time.
托克一边画了六根胡须，另一边画了五根，数量不一样。它看了那幅画很久。
"It looks like a cat," Tock said, very quietly.
“它看起来像一只猫，”托克非常轻声地说。
At day end, Rosa hung the pictures up. Kira's cat was next to Tock's cat. They were not the same. Tock's cat was a little crooked.
放学时，罗莎把画贴了起来。基拉的猫挨着托克的猫，两只猫并不一样。托克的猫有一点歪。
Tock rolled up to the wall. Its eyes turned from gray to bright blue. Inside its metal chest, something felt warm and light.
托克滚到墙边，眼睛从灰色变回了明亮的蓝色。它的金属胸膛里，有什么东西变得温暖而轻盈。
