The Tour Guide Who Ran Out of Facts

Barnaby had been hired to lead walking tours of his small harbor town for the summer, mostly because nobody else had applied. The job came with a laminated map, a bright yellow cap, and a folder of facts put together by the town council years ago.

巴纳比被雇来在夏天带领游客步行游览他所在的海港小镇，主要是因为没有别人来应聘。这份工作配有一张塑封地图、一顶亮黄色的帽子，还有一个多年前由镇议会整理的资料夹。

The folder was thin. By the third stop, the old clock tower, Barnaby had already told his group everything it contained. The tower was built in 1902, and the clock had been running five minutes fast ever since.

那个资料夹很薄。到第三站，也就是那座古老的钟楼时，巴纳比已经把里面的内容全讲完了。钟楼建于1902年，那座钟从那时起就一直快五分钟。

Eight tourists were looking at him, waiting for more. He probably should have admitted the truth. Instead, he pointed at a small window near the top of the tower.

八位游客看着他，等他再讲点什么。他或许该承认实情。可他却指向钟楼顶部附近的一扇小窗。

"That window," he said, "is where the clockmaker lived. He refused to come down for eleven years, because he was convinced the town would steal his gears."

“那扇窗，”他说，“是钟表匠住过的地方。他整整十一年不肯下来，因为他深信镇上的人会偷他的齿轮。”

The tourists laughed and took photos. Encouraged, Barnaby kept going. The fountain in the square, he explained, had been designed by a sailor who was homesick for the sea. The crooked lamppost outside the bakery had been hit by a runaway cheese wheel in the 1950s. He was starting to enjoy himself.

游客们笑了起来，拍了照。受到鼓舞的巴纳比接着往下讲。他解释说，广场上的喷泉是一个思念大海的水手设计的。面包店外那根歪斜的路灯杆，在二十世纪五十年代被一只滚下坡的奶酪轮撞过。他开始乐在其中了。

Only one person wasn't taking photos. She was an older woman in a green raincoat, and after every story she wrote something down in a small notebook.

只有一个人没有拍照。那是一位穿绿色雨衣的年长女士，每讲完一个故事，她都会在一个小笔记本上写点什么。

At the end of the tour, she waited until the others had left. "Young man," she said, "my name is Imelda Ross. I've been the town's volunteer historian for thirty years."

游览结束时，她等其他人都走了。“年轻人，”她说，“我叫伊梅尔达·罗斯。我在这个镇上当义务历史学家已经三十年了。”

Barnaby felt his face turn hot. He tried to think of an excuse, but nothing came to mind.

巴纳比觉得脸一下子烧了起来。他想找个借口，却什么也想不出来。

"The clockmaker story is nonsense," she continued. "The cheese wheel is nonsense. The sailor is nonsense." She closed her notebook. "They were also the first stories anyone has actually enjoyed on that tour since it started."

“钟表匠的故事是胡扯。”她接着说，“奶酪轮是胡扯。水手也是胡扯。”她合上了笔记本。“不过，它们也是这趟游览开办以来，第一批真正有人喜欢听的故事。”

Then she told him that the town's real history was far stranger than anything he had invented. The clock ran fast because the mayor in 1902 had wanted everyone to arrive early for church. The fountain had been paid for by a man who lost a bet about the weather.

然后她告诉他，这个镇真正的历史比他编的任何东西都离奇得多。钟之所以走得快，是因为1902年的镇长想让大家去做礼拜时都早点到。喷泉是一个打赌天气输了的人出钱修的。

"The council's folder leaves all of that out," she said. "They thought it was undignified."

“议会的资料夹把这些全略掉了。”她说，“他们觉得那样有失体面。”

The next morning, Barnaby found a thick envelope that had been pushed under the door of the tourist office. Inside were forty pages of handwritten notes, each one marked with a date and a source. On the last page, Imelda had added a short message.

第二天早晨，巴纳比发现旅游办公室的门缝下被塞进了一个厚厚的信封。里面是四十页手写的笔记，每一条都标着日期和出处。在最后一页，伊梅尔达加了一段简短的话。

"Real facts only from now on. But you may keep the cheese wheel."

“从今往后只讲真事。不过，奶酪轮你可以留着。”