Lazlo works in the basement of the city library. The basement is cool and dim and full of old maps. They lie flat in long wooden drawers. They smell like dust and glue.
拉兹洛在市图书馆的地下室工作。地下室凉爽、昏暗，里面堆满了旧地图。它们平放在长长的木抽屉里，闻起来有灰尘和胶水的味道。
Most days, nobody comes down the stairs. Lazlo likes that. He drinks coffee, cleans the glass cases, and talks to the maps.
大多数日子，没有人走下楼梯。拉兹洛喜欢这样。他喝咖啡，擦玻璃柜，对着地图自言自语。
This afternoon, the stairs creak. Lazlo looks up. Two men come down together. They have the same nose, coat, and brown eyes.
今天下午，楼梯吱呀作响。拉兹洛抬起头。两个男人一起走了下来。他们的鼻子、外套和棕色的眼睛，全都一模一样。
"We are here for the prize," says the first man.
“我们是来领奖的，”第一个男人说。
"We are here for the prize," says the second man at once.
“我们是来领奖的，”第二个男人立刻说。
"Which prize?" Lazlo asks.
“哪个奖？”拉兹洛问。
"The Silver Compass," says the first man. "For the best map of our city. The city office says the winner gets the prize in this room."
“银罗盘奖，”第一个男人说，“奖给我们城市最好的地图。市政办公室说，获奖者要在这个房间里领奖。”
Lazlo remembers the contest. The library asked people to draw their part of the city. One map was clearly the best. It showed every house, every tree, and every cat. A tiny ship sailed on the river in the corner. Lazlo is proud to keep it in the glass case.
拉兹洛记得那场比赛。图书馆请大家画出自己所在的那一片城区。其中有一幅地图明显是最好的。它画出了每一栋房子、每一棵树和每一只猫。角落的河上还有一艘小小的船在航行。拉兹洛很自豪能把它收在玻璃柜里。
He looks at the entry form. There is only one name on it: Barsony.
他看了看参赛表。上面只有一个名字：巴尔索尼。
"There is one map," Lazlo says. "And there are two of you."
“只有一幅地图，”拉兹洛说，“可你们有两个人。”
"I drew it," says the first man.
“是我画的，”第一个男人说。
"I drew it," says the second man.
“是我画的，”第二个男人说。
"You cannot both draw it," says Lazlo.
“你们不可能都画了它，”拉兹洛说。
"We can," says the first man. "But the prize is for one person."
“可以的，”第一个男人说，“可奖是只发给一个人的。”
"So it is mine," says the second man.
“那就是我的，”第二个男人说。
"No, it is mine."
“不，是我的。”
They begin to argue. They talk fast, and they wave their hands. Their voices bounce off the stone walls. Lazlo sits down and puts his head in his hands.
他们争吵起来，说得很快，还挥着手。他们的声音在石墙上来回撞击。拉兹洛坐下来，双手抱住了头。
He has a problem. The rules are clear. One map, one winner, one prize. But the twins look the same. They sound the same. He cannot tell them apart. He cannot even tell which one lies.
他有麻烦了。规则很清楚：一幅地图，一个获奖者，一份奖品。可这对双胞胎长得一样，声音也一样，他分不出他们谁是谁，甚至分不出到底谁在撒谎。
A voice speaks from the back of the room. "Excuse me. I am sorry. Can I help?"
房间后面传来一个声音。“打扰一下。对不起。我能帮忙吗？”
Lazlo turns round. A woman stands by the last drawer. She has a notebook and a pencil in her hand. He sees her here often, but he does not know her name.
拉兹洛转过身。一个女人站在最后一个抽屉旁，手里拿着笔记本和铅笔。他常在这里见到她，却不知道她叫什么名字。
"I am Yelena," she says. Her English is slow and careful. "I come here three days a week. I study maps of my home country. And I study English. The two things together."
“我叫叶连娜，”她说。她的英语说得慢而谨慎。“我每周来这里三天。我研究我家乡的地图，也学英语。两件事一起做。”
"I know you," says Lazlo. "You sit at the little table by the window."
“我认得你，”拉兹洛说，“你坐在窗边的小桌子旁。”
"Yes," Yelena says. "I hear your problem. Two men, one map. May I look at it?"
“是的，”叶连娜说，“我听到了你的难题。两个人，一幅地图。我可以看看它吗？”
Lazlo waits. He is the keeper of the maps, and she is a stranger. But he is also tired of the noise. He unlocks the glass case and lifts the map onto the table.
拉兹洛犹豫了。他是地图的管理员，而她是个陌生人。但他也受够了这些吵闹声。他打开玻璃柜，把地图拿到桌上。
Yelena puts on her glasses. She looks at the map for a long time. She does not look at the twins. She does not look at Lazlo. She looks only at the lines.
叶连娜戴上眼镜。她看了地图很久。她没有看那对双胞胎，也没有看拉兹洛。她只看那些线条。
"Every night I practice letters," she says at last. "A, B, C, and so on. I copy them again and again, like a child. So now I see small shapes in writing. Look here."
“我每天晚上都练字母，”她终于说，“A、B、C，一个个往下写。我一遍又一遍地抄，像个孩子一样。所以现在，我能看出书写里的小形状。看这里。”
She points to the street names. "These letters are tall and straight. Every 'g' has a little flat tail. This is one writer."
她指向街道的名称。“这些字母又高又直。每个‘g’都有一条小小的平尾巴。这是一个人写的。”
Then she points to the river and the little ship. "And here, the lines are soft and round. The 'g' in the word 'Bridge' has a big loop. This is a second writer."
然后她指向河流和那艘小船。“而这里，线条又软又圆。‘Bridge’这个词里的‘g’有一个大大的圈。这是第二个人写的。”
Lazlo leans closer. She is right. He looks at this map every week, but he never sees it.
拉兹洛凑近了些。她说得对。他每周都看这幅地图，却从来没有注意到。
"Two writers," he says slowly. "Two people drew this."
“两个人写的，”他慢慢地说，“这幅地图是两个人画的。”
The twins stop talking. The room is suddenly very quiet.
双胞胎不说话了。房间里一下子变得非常安静。
"Is this true?" Lazlo asks. He looks from one man to the other.
“这是真的吗？”拉兹洛问。他的目光从一个人移到另一个人身上。
The first man looks at the floor. The second man looks at the ceiling. Then the first man sighs.
第一个男人看着地板。第二个男人看着天花板。然后第一个男人叹了口气。
"I drew the streets," he says. "My brother is not good at straight lines."
“街道是我画的，”他说，“我弟弟不擅长画直线。”
"And I drew the river and the ship," says the second man. "My brother cannot draw a boat. His boats look like shoes."
“河和船是我画的，”第二个男人说，“我哥哥不会画船。他画的船看上去像鞋子。”
"They do not look like shoes," says the first man.
“才不像鞋子，”第一个男人说。
"They look like very sad shoes."
“像很伤心的鞋子。”
Lazlo covers his mouth. He tries not to laugh. Yelena puts her pencil down and smiles.
拉兹洛捂住嘴，努力不笑出来。叶连娜放下铅笔，微微一笑。
"Why did you both say you drew it?" Lazlo asks.
“你们为什么都说是自己画的？”拉兹洛问。
"We wanted the prize," says the first man. "But we did not want to say that we need each other."
“我们想要那个奖，”第一个男人说，“可我们不想承认我们需要彼此。”
"We are not good at saying that," says the second man.
“我们不擅长说这样的话，”第二个男人说。
Lazlo nods. He looks at the rules again, and he thinks. The rules say one map, one winner. They do not say the winner must be one person.
拉兹洛点点头。他又看了一遍规则，想了想。规则上说，一幅地图，一个获奖者。可没有说获奖者必须是一个人。
"Two hands drew one map," he says. "So the Silver Compass goes to the Barsony brothers. I will write both names on the form."
“两双手画了一幅地图，”他说，“所以银罗盘奖属于巴尔索尼兄弟。我会把两个名字都写在表格上。”
The twins shake hands, then hug. They thank Yelena three times, in the same words.
双胞胎握了握手，然后拥抱在一起。他们用一模一样的话，向叶连娜道了三次谢。
Lazlo opens a drawer and takes out the prize. It is a beautiful silver compass on a short chain. The twins look at it. Then they look at each other.
拉兹洛打开一个抽屉，取出奖品。那是一只漂亮的银罗盘，系在一条短链上。双胞胎看着它，然后又看向对方。
"I will wear it on Mondays," says the first man.
“我星期一戴它，”第一个男人说。
"I will wear it on Mondays," says the second man.
“我星期一戴它，”第二个男人说。
"We have a new problem," says the first man.
“我们又有新问题了，”第一个男人说。
Lazlo and Yelena look at each other and start to laugh.
拉兹洛和叶连娜互相看了一眼，笑了起来。
"That is not a map problem," Yelena says. "That is a family problem."
“这不是地图的问题，”叶连娜说，“这是家务事。”
