The puppet workshop smelled of glue and wet paint. Wooden heads hung from hooks on every wall. Isolde loved the room. In it, nobody asked her to talk.
木偶工坊里弥漫着胶水和湿颜料的气味。每面墙上的挂钩都挂着木头脑袋。伊索尔德喜欢这个房间，在这里，没有人要她开口说话。
She came every day after school. She made small hands and sewed tiny coats. Her mother ran the theatre next door. Isolde liked the workshop better. The puppets did not ask questions. They only waited.
她每天放学后都来。她做小小的手，缝小小的外套。她妈妈经营着隔壁的剧院，伊索尔德却更喜欢工坊。木偶不会问问题，它们只是静静地等着。
Umar came too. He was fifteen, like Isolde, and he built the stage sets. He talked all the time. He talked to the saw, to the paint and to the cat. Isolde never minded. His voice filled the silence for both of them.
乌马尔也来。他和伊索尔德一样十五岁，负责搭建舞台布景。他一刻不停地说话，对着锯子说，对着颜料说，对着猫说。伊索尔德从不介意，他的声音替他们两个人填满了安静。
On Friday, a school group came to the theatre at four o'clock. It was Isolde's first show as a puppet player. She had to move the old fisherman. He sat in a boat on a cloth sea. He fished for a long time. At the end, he pulled up an old coin.
星期五下午四点，一个学校的团体要来剧院。这是伊索尔德第一次作为木偶师登台。她要操纵那个老渔夫，他坐在一艘船上，船浮在一块布做的海面上。他钓了很久很久，最后拉上来一枚旧硬币。
"The coin is the best part," said Umar. "Everybody wants it to be real."
“硬币是最精彩的部分，”乌马尔说，“人人都希望它是真的。”
The coin was real. That was Isolde's idea. She found it in the bottom of a drawer last spring. It was heavy and dark. On one side was a bird with long wings. On the other were curly letters that nobody could read. Isolde asked every visitor about it. Nobody knew the country.
硬币确实是真的。那是伊索尔德的主意。去年春天，她在一只抽屉底部找到了它。它沉甸甸的，颜色发暗，一面刻着一只长翅膀的鸟，另一面是卷曲的文字，没人认得。伊索尔德问遍了每一位来访的客人，没有人知道它来自哪个国家。
"It is not from here," her mother said once. "But it is a lovely thing."
“它不是这里的东西，”她妈妈曾说，“不过它很可爱。”
Isolde understood that very well. People often asked her where she was from. She never had a short answer.
伊索尔德对此再明白不过了。人们常常问她是从哪里来的，她从来没有一个简短的答案。
The plan was simple. A thin thread held the coin above the stage. At the end, Isolde pulled a string. The thread slid, and the coin dropped into the fisherman's net. It shone in the lamp light. In their last practice, it worked three times.
计划很简单：一根细线把硬币吊在舞台上方。结尾时，伊索尔德拉动一根绳子，线一滑，硬币就掉进渔夫的网里，在灯光下闪闪发亮。最后一次排练时，这套办法成功了三次。
At half past three, Isolde checked the thread one more time. She pulled it gently. It snapped.
三点半，伊索尔德又检查了一遍那根线。她轻轻一拉，线断了。
The coin hit the stage with a loud clink. It rolled across the boards. It stopped for one second at the edge of the boat. Then it fell into a crack between two boards and was gone.
硬币“叮”的一声砸在舞台上，滚过木板，在船边停了一秒钟，然后掉进两块木板之间的缝隙里，不见了。
"No," said Isolde. "No, no, no."
“不，”伊索尔德说，“不，不，不。”
They both dropped to the floor. Umar put his eye to the crack. "I can see it," he said. "It is under the stage. It is on the dirt, next to a box."
他们俩一起趴到地上。乌马尔把一只眼睛凑近缝隙。“我看见了，”他说，“它在舞台底下，在泥土地上，就在一只箱子旁边。”
"Can we lift the boards?"
“我们能把木板撬起来吗？”
Umar pressed on the wood with both hands. "They are nailed down. But there is a little door at the side. I can crawl under and get the coin."
乌马尔用双手按住木板。“钉死了。不过侧面有一扇小门，我可以爬进去把硬币拿出来。”
"Then we are fine!"
“那我们就没事了！”
"No. The thread is broken, and the hook is high above the stage. We cannot fix it in thirty minutes. The coin cannot fall again."
“不对。线断了，挂钩又高高地在舞台上方。三十分钟之内修不好。硬币不能再掉一次了。”
Isolde felt cold. Through the wall, she heard children laughing in the hall. The first bus was early.
伊索尔德觉得浑身发冷。隔着墙，她听见孩子们在大厅里笑闹。第一辆校车提前到了。
Isolde sat back on her feet. She wanted to run away. She wanted to go to the workshop and hide under the table. This was her one chance, and the coin was gone.
伊索尔德向后坐在自己的脚上。她想逃走，想跑回工坊，躲到桌子底下去。这是她唯一的机会，而硬币没了。
"We can use a fake coin," said Umar. "A button. A piece of paper."
“我们可以用假硬币，”乌马尔说，“一粒纽扣，或者一张纸片。”
"It will not shine," said Isolde. "They will see."
“它不会发光，”伊索尔德说，“他们会看出来的。”
"Then we cut the ending."
“那就删掉结尾。”
"No." She said it so fast that she surprised herself. "The ending is the point. A thing from far away arrives, and everyone looks at it. I do not want to cut that."
“不行。”她说得那么快，连自己都吃了一惊，“结尾才是重点。一样来自远方的东西到来了，所有人都看着它。我不想删掉这一幕。”
Umar looked at her for a moment. Then he smiled. "You talk when it matters," he said. "Good. Now I have an idea."
乌马尔看了她一会儿，然后笑了。“关键的时候你会开口，”他说，“很好。现在我有个主意了。”
He pointed at the floor. "I go under the stage. I crawl to the coin. You use the sea cloth, the blue one. It has a slit for the waves. I push the coin up through the slit at the right moment. The fisherman does not catch it from the sky. He catches it from the sea."
他指了指地板。“我到舞台底下去，爬到硬币那儿。你用海面布，就是那块蓝的，上面有一道给浪花留的缝。我在恰当的时刻把硬币从缝里顶上去。渔夫不是从天上接到它，而是从海里捞起它。”
Isolde thought about it. It was strange, and it was perfect. A man on a boat pulls a coin out of the water. Of course it comes from below.
伊索尔德想了想。这个主意很怪，却很完美：船上的老人从水里拉出一枚硬币，它当然是从下面来的。
"What if the children see your hand?" she asked.
“要是孩子们看见你的手怎么办？”她问。
"The cloth is thick. They only see a light." He grinned. "Besides, I am quick."
“布很厚，他们只会看到一点亮光。”他咧嘴一笑，“再说，我手很快。”
"How do I know when you are ready?"
“我怎么知道你准备好了？”
"Three taps," said Umar. "I knock three times on the floor. After the third one, you lift the net."
“三下轻敲，”乌马尔说，“我在地板上敲三下。第三下之后，你就把网提起来。”
He opened the little door at the side of the stage. It was dark and small inside, and it smelled of dust. Umar took a torch. He went down on his knees and crawled in. The door closed behind him, and Isolde was alone on the stage.
他打开舞台侧面的小门。里面又暗又窄，散发着灰尘的气味。乌马尔拿了一支手电筒，跪下身爬了进去。门在他身后关上，舞台上只剩下伊索尔德一个人。
At four o'clock, the lamps came on. The children sat on the floor in rows. Some of them were very small. A girl in the front row held a toy rabbit. Behind the curtain, Isolde held the fisherman's two sticks. Her hands were wet.
四点钟，灯亮了。孩子们一排排坐在地板上，有些非常小。前排的一个女孩抱着一只玩具兔子。幕布后面，伊索尔德握着渔夫的两根操纵杆，手心全是汗。
She moved the old man a little. He lifted his arm. He dropped his line into the blue cloth. A child laughed. The fisherman waited. He sighed. He waited some more.
她让老人动了一下，他抬起手臂，把钓线抛进蓝色的布里。一个孩子笑了。渔夫等着，叹了口气，又接着等。
In the show, this part took four minutes. Isolde counted every one. The fisherman fell asleep. He woke up. He looked at the sky and shook his head. Then she heard it, under her feet. Tap. Tap. Tap.
演出中，这一段要持续四分钟，伊索尔德数着每一分钟。渔夫睡着了，又醒来，抬头望望天，摇了摇头。然后她听到了，就在脚下。咚，咚，咚。
Isolde lifted the net.
伊索尔德提起了网。
Something rose from the sea cloth. It was small and bright, and it came up very slowly. The lamp touched it, and it turned from dark to gold. The coin climbed out of the blue like a little moon. The fisherman bent his head and looked at it.
有什么东西从海面布里升了起来。它小小的，亮亮的，升得非常缓慢。灯光照到它，它从暗色变成了金色。硬币从蓝色里爬出来，像一轮小小的月亮。渔夫低下头，注视着它。
Nobody in the hall made a sound. Then the girl with the rabbit spoke in a clear voice. "Where is it from?"
大厅里没有一个人出声。然后，那个抱着兔子的女孩用清脆的声音开了口：“它是从哪里来的？”
Isolde did not answer from behind the curtain. The fisherman only held the coin up high. He showed it to the whole room. The children clapped and clapped.
伊索尔德没有在幕布后面回答。渔夫只是把硬币高高举起，展示给整个大厅看。孩子们不停地鼓掌。
After the show, the hall was empty. Umar came out of the little door. He had dust on his knees and his face. He held out his hand. The coin lay in his palm.
演出结束后，大厅里空了。乌马尔从那扇小门里钻了出来，膝盖上和脸上都沾着灰。他伸出手，硬币躺在他的掌心里。
"My arm is asleep," he said. "But it worked."
“我的胳膊睡着了，”他说，“不过成功了。”
Isolde took the coin. It was warm now. She walked to the workshop and found the small wooden box. She put the coin inside and picked up a pencil. On the lid, in her smallest writing, she wrote: Not from here. Still ours.
伊索尔德接过硬币，它现在是暖的。她走进工坊，找到那只小木盒，把硬币放进去，又拿起一支铅笔。在盒盖上，她用最小的字写道：不是来自这里，依然是我们的。
