On the last day of the apple harvest, the Hollow Farm holds its picking contest. Every picker gets a book of paper tickets. Each full crate earns one ticket. The clerk at the weigh shed stamps it with a blue circle. At sunset, the person with the most stamps wins the Golden Ladder and a bonus for the week.
苹果丰收季的最后一天，空谷农场要举办采摘比赛。每位采摘者都会领到一本纸票。每装满一箱，就能得到一张票。称重棚的办事员会在票上盖一个蓝色的圆章。日落时，盖章最多的人将赢得“金梯子”，外加一周的奖金。
For three years, the winner has been either Zuri or Yaw. They work in neighbouring rows, and they hate to lose.
三年来，赢家不是祖里就是亚乌。他们在相邻的行里干活，而且都讨厌输。
This morning, they stand side by side at the gate, looking at the trees. The orchard stretches up the hill in neat green lines. The air smells of cut grass and sweet fruit.
今天早晨，他们并肩站在大门口，望着那些树。果园一排排整齐的绿色向山坡上延伸。空气里有割过的草和甜果子的味道。
"You have been practising," Zuri says.
“你一直在练习，”祖里说。
"I have been resting," Yaw says. "It is a different thing. You should try it."
“我一直在休息，”亚乌说，“这是两回事。你该试试。”
"I rested last year. It cost me the ladder."
“我去年休息过。结果丢了梯子。”
"I know." Yaw smiles. "It was a beautiful ladder."
“我知道，”亚乌笑了，“那可是个漂亮的梯子。”
Then the horn sounds, and the contest begins.
然后号角响了，比赛开始了。
By ten o'clock, both of them are moving like machines. Zuri works with long, smooth reaches. She twists each apple off the branch and lays it in the basket without a bruise. Yaw is quicker but rougher. He climbs his ladder four times for every one of hers. His basket is always full before hers.
到十点钟，两个人都像机器一样在运转。祖里伸手又长又顺。她把每个苹果从枝头拧下来，不伤一点皮地放进篮子。亚乌更快，但更粗糙。她爬一次梯子，他要爬四次。他的篮子总是比她的先装满。
But the clerk checks every apple, and Yaw loses points for the bruised ones. The two of them trade the lead all morning. At noon, they sit under a tree and eat sandwiches without speaking. Each of them counts a small number in their head. Neither of them says it aloud.
可是办事员会检查每一个苹果，亚乌因为碰伤的苹果被扣分。整个上午，两个人轮流领先。中午，他们坐在一棵树下，默默地吃三明治。每个人心里都数着一个不大的数字。谁也没有说出口。
In the afternoon, the pace grows even faster. The sun slides lower, and the shadows of the trees stretch down the hill like long fingers. People call out their numbers from row to row. A boy cheers for Yaw. A group of older pickers cheers for Zuri. Neither of them hears a word.
下午，节奏变得更快了。太阳越落越低，树影像长长的手指向山坡下伸去。人们隔着一行一行地喊着自己的数字。一个男孩为亚乌欢呼。一群年长的采摘者为祖里欢呼。他们两个一个字也没听见。
At half past five, with one hour left, Zuri brings her next crate to the weigh shed. The clerk is a quiet man with a rubber stamp and a very tired wrist. He weighs the crate and takes her ticket.
五点半，还剩一个钟头，祖里把她的下一箱苹果送到称重棚。办事员是个沉默的男人，手里拿着橡皮章，手腕已经很累了。他称了称那箱苹果，接过她的票。
Thunk, goes the stamp. Then, without thinking, he does it again.
咚，章落下了。然后，他不假思索地又盖了一次。
A second blue circle lands on the first.
第二个蓝圆章落在了第一个上面。
Zuri looks at the ticket. The two circles sit almost on top of each other.
祖里看着那张票。两个圆圈几乎叠在一起。
"You stamped it twice," she says.
“你盖了两次章，”她说。
"Did I?" The clerk looks at the paper. "Oh no. I am so sorry. My hand is on automatic."
“是吗？”办事员看了看纸，“哎呀。真对不起。我的手是自动在动。”
"So, does it count as two crates?"
“那么，这算两箱吗？”
"No." The clerk shakes his head firmly. "Absolutely not. The rule says a double stamp makes the ticket void. It is nothing. It does not count at all."
“不，”办事员坚决地摇摇头，“绝对不算。规则说，双重盖章会使这张票作废。它什么也不是。完全不算数。”
"That is not fair," says a voice behind her.
“这不公平，”她身后有个声音说。
It is Yaw. He has just arrived with his own crate, and he heard everything. He takes the ticket from the clerk's hand and holds it up to the light.
是亚乌。他刚带着自己的一箱苹果赶到，把一切都听见了。他从办事员手里拿过那张票，对着光举起来。
"She picked that crate fairly," he says. "I watched her pick it. Look at the weight on the card. It is the biggest crate of the day."
“她那箱是公平采的，”他说，“我看着她采的。看看卡片上的重量。那是今天最大的一箱。”
Zuri stares at him. She does not expect this from her biggest rival.
祖里盯着他。她没想到她最大的对手会这样做。
"I know it does not help me," Yaw says. "But the clerk made the mistake. She should not lose for it."
“我知道这对我没好处，”亚乌说，“可是错是办事员犯的。她不该为此吃亏。”
"Thank you," Zuri says slowly. "That is very decent of you."
“谢谢你，”祖里慢慢地说，“你真是太正派了。”
"Do not get used to it," says Yaw.
“别习惯了，”亚乌说。
They both look at the clerk. He looks at his stamp, and then at the two pickers, and he sighs.
他们两个都看着办事员。他看看自己的章，又看看两位采摘者，叹了口气。
"I cannot change the rules," he says. "But I can ask the owner."
“我不能改规则，”他说，“不过我可以去问问主人。”
The owner of Hollow Farm arrives five minutes later. She is a big woman in muddy boots, with a pencil behind her ear. She looks at the ticket for a long time. Then she looks at the tally board, where the two names stand side by side.
五分钟后，空谷农场的主人来了。她是个身材高大的女人，穿着沾满泥的靴子，耳朵后面夹着一支铅笔。她盯着那张票看了很久。然后她看向记分板，上面两个名字并排站着。
"Forty for Zuri and forty-one for Yaw," she says. "Interesting."
“祖里四十，亚乌四十一，”她说，“有意思。”
"With the double ticket, I would have forty-one," Zuri says.
“加上那张双章的票，我就是四十一了，”祖里说。
"Then it is a tie. Without it, Yaw wins by one." The owner scratches her chin. "A tie is boring, and a void is unfair. I have an idea."
“那就是平局。不算它，亚乌赢一分。”主人挠了挠下巴。“平局很无聊，作废又不公平。我有个主意。”
She points up the hill with her pencil. At the very top of the orchard, a single row of old, tall trees stands against the sky. They are the Winter Queens, the oldest trees on the farm. Their apples are the best of the harvest, pale and golden and heavy with juice. But the branches grow almost eight metres above the ground.
她用铅笔指向山上。在果园的最顶端，一排高大的老树在天空的映衬下矗立着。那是“冬后”，农场上最古老的树。它们的苹果是整个丰收季里最好的，颜色浅，金黄，汁水沉甸甸的。可是它们的树枝离地将近八米。
"Nobody picks the Winter Queens," the owner says. "My best ladder is too short, and the ground up there is stony. The apples are going to waste. Pick one full crate from those trees before the horn, and I will honour this ticket."
“没人去摘冬后，”主人说，“我最好的梯子也太短，而且上面的地是石头地。那些苹果都白白浪费了。在号角响之前，从那几棵树上摘满一整箱，我就承认这张票。”
"By myself?" Zuri asks.
“我一个人？”祖里问。
"One of you on the ladder, and one of you holding it steady," the owner says. "Because nobody climbs those trees alone. If the ladder moves, the person on top falls."
“一个人上梯子，一个人扶稳，”主人说，“因为没人能一个人爬那些树。梯子一动，上面的人就会摔下来。”
Zuri and Yaw look at each other. Neither of them speaks.
祖里和亚乌对视了一眼。谁也没有说话。
"We have fifty minutes," Yaw says at last.
“我们还有五十分钟，”亚乌终于开口。
"I am lighter," Zuri says. "I should climb."
“我轻一些，”祖里说，“我该爬。”
"I am stronger," says Yaw. "I should hold."
“我力气大，”亚乌说，“我该扶。”
"If you let go, I will never forgive you."
“你要是松手，我永远不会原谅你。”
"If you drop the apples, I will never forgive you," Yaw says.
“你要是把苹果掉了，我也永远不会原谅你，”亚乌说。
They race up the hill together, carrying the empty crate between them. It is the first time all day that they have walked side by side.
他们一起冲上山坡，两人合抬着那只空箱子。这是一整天里他们头一次并肩走路。
The ground under the Winter Queens is stony and uneven, just as the owner said. Yaw plants the ladder carefully and pushes the legs into the earth. He puts his shoulder against it and plants his feet.
冬后树下的地面崎岖不平，满是石头，正如主人所说。亚乌小心地立好梯子，把梯脚扎进泥土里。他用肩膀顶住梯子，两脚站稳。
"Ready," he says.
“好了，”他说。
Zuri climbs. Each step makes the ladder shiver, and Yaw leans in harder. Higher and higher she goes, until she is among the branches. The fruit hangs round her like lamps.
祖里往上爬。每上一级，梯子都会颤一下，亚乌就靠得更紧。她越爬越高，直到置身于枝叶之间。果实像灯一样挂在她四周。
"Left a little," she calls down. "No, your left. Good. Hold it there."
“往左一点，”她朝下喊，“不对，是你的左边。好。就保持这样。”
"I am holding it. I am holding it. Are you picking or talking?"
“我扶着呢。我扶着呢。你是在摘还是在聊天？”
"Both. Catch."
“两样都干。接着。”
She drops the first apple. He catches it neatly in the crate. Then comes the second, and the third. They find a rhythm that neither of them has used before. She picks, he catches, and the crate fills.
她扔下第一个苹果。他稳稳地用箱子接住。接着是第二个，第三个。他们找到了一种两个人从未用过的节奏。她摘，他接，箱子渐渐装满。
Every few minutes, Yaw moves the ladder to a new branch. Each time, Zuri waits patiently, her feet steady, and each time he says, "Ready." The word starts to sound like a friend's name.
每隔几分钟，亚乌就把梯子挪到新的树枝旁。每一次，祖里都耐心地等着，两脚稳稳的，每一次他都说：“好了。”这个词听起来渐渐像是朋友的名字。
When the light turns orange, they have one crate. When the horn sounds in the valley, they have three.
等到光线变成橙色时，他们有了一箱。等到山谷里号角响起时，他们有了三箱。
They carry the crates down the hill, one handle each, in two trips. The clerk is waiting at the door of the weigh shed. When he sees the pale golden fruit, he lets out a low whistle. He takes the old ticket and presses the stamp down once, with great care.
他们分两趟把箱子抬下山，一人一边提手。办事员正等在称重棚的门口。看到那淡金色的果实，他低低地吹了声口哨。他拿过那张旧票，非常小心地只盖了一次章。
A last, careful stamp falls.
最后一个小心的章落了下来。
"Forty-one for Zuri," he says. Then he stamps two new tickets, one for each of them. "Forty-two for Zuri. Forty-two for Yaw."
“祖里四十一，”他说。然后他又盖了两张新票，一人一张。“祖里四十二。亚乌四十二。”
The owner steps out of the shed with the Golden Ladder under one arm. It is smaller than Zuri remembers. It has a tiny silver ladder on top. Below it is a plate with room for exactly one name.
主人从棚子里走出来，胳膊下夹着“金梯子”。它比祖里记忆中的小。顶上有一座小小的银梯子。下面是一块铭牌，刚好只够写一个名字。
"The farm has a problem," she says. "I only have one trophy."
“农场有个问题，”她说，“我只有一座奖杯。”
Yaw looks at Zuri. Zuri looks at Yaw. A slow smile spreads across her face.
亚乌看着祖里。祖里看着亚乌。她的脸上慢慢绽开了笑容。
"So," she says, "who gets to carry it home?"
“那么，”她说，“谁来把它抱回家呢？”
