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一家拥挤的自助餐厅能让命运发生良好的转变，一本好书，比如《龙骑士》（本刊2005年10月号曾介绍过）可以让你结识一个好朋友。你知道其中的奥秘吗？
I look at spiders and butterflies. I watch caterpillars1 and moths2. Sometimes I think I’m the only one who notices these things. Butif it hadn’t been for a crowdedcafeteria, I wouldn’t have evernoticed Valeri. After all, I wasn’t looking for new friends.
Valeri was a new student. She walked to class with her books huddled against her chest and her head down. She talked only when the teacher asked her a question. After a month at our school, she hadn’t made any friend. At recess, she sat on a bench and read. If you asked who she was, you’d get a response like this, “She’s in my PE class. I can’t remember her name.”
One day at lunch, I had nowhere to sit. Most tables were full, my friends scattered among them. But Valeri sat alone, book in hand. I walked over to her.
“May I sit here?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said.
The cafeteria was noisy, but silence hung between us. Valeri didn’t seem to mind, but it drove me crazy. I searched my mind for things to say.
“So,” I said, “is that a good book?” Valeri gave a small nod and went back to reading. “What’s it about?” I asked, after several more agonizing seconds of silence. She looked at me, her eyes sparkling.
“Well, it’s called Eragon, and it’s about a dragon! This boy, Eragon, finds this dragon egg when he goes hunting one day. He thinks it’s a rock! The egg hatches and Eragon hides the dragon from his cousin and uncle until it gets too big.”
“That sounds cool,” I said. I was about to ask another question, but the bell rang.
As I rushed out of the cafeteria, I called to Valeri, “See you later.”
“Yeah,” she said, “see you later.” She sounded doubtful.
A couple days later, I spotted Valeri looking for a place to sit at lunch.
“Valeri, over here.” I pointed to an empty chair.
She sat down and pulled out her book. Everyone was talking about next week’s talent show. “So, what are you doing for the show?” My friend Erin asked my friend Kelly.
“Oh, I don’t know, probably nothing,” Kelly sighed. “What are you doing?” She pointed to Valeri.
“Oh.” Valeri put her book down. “I don’t know. Maybe nothing.”
The week flew by. Before I knew it, I was sitting in the auditorium3, listening to a group of girls sing the latest pop songs at the talent show. I was bored out of my life, and I wanted it to end so I could read Eragon. I’d checked it out at the library. Then a shy girl walked onstage. I recognized her immediately. Valeri clutched4 a violin in one hand and a bow in the other.
She started to play. The notes formed a soft, sweet tune. Then it turned fast, then faster. The music stopped altogether before the soft tune returned. Valeri ended the song with one hard, fast, loud note. The auditorium fell completely silent until we realized the music was finished. Still in a half-trance, we burst into applause. Valeri took a swift bow and walked offstage.
I smiled to myself. Valeri wasn’t just a “quiet girl”. She knew about wonderful books and could play the violin like nothing I’d ever heard. Like a caterpillar or butterfly, she was beautiful and amazing when you looked closely.
我看蜘蛛和蝴蝶。我观察毛毛虫和飞蛾。有时候，我想我是唯一一个注意这些事物的人。但如果不是在一家拥挤的自助餐厅里，我可能永远也不会注意到瓦莱丽。毕竟，我没有在寻找新朋友。
瓦莱丽是一名新来的学生。她走进教室的时候总是将书抱在胸前，脑袋低垂着。只有当老师提问她时，她才说话。她到我们学校一个月了，还没有交到一个新朋友。课间休息的时候，她总是坐在长椅上看书。如果你向别的学生打听她是谁，那你多半会得到这样的回答：“我和她在一个班上体育课。我不记得她的名字了。” 一天吃午餐的时候，我找不到座位。大多数的餐桌都坐满了人，我的朋友们分散其中。但瓦莱丽正一个人坐着，手里拿着书。于是，我走了过去。
“我可以坐在这儿吗？”我问。
“当然。”她说。
虽然自助餐厅里人声鼎沸，但我们却一直保持沉默。瓦莱丽似乎并不在意，但我却快要发疯了。我搜肠刮肚地没话找话。
“呃，”我说，“你那本书很好看吧？”瓦莱丽轻轻地点了点头，继续看书。“是关于什么的？”在经过几秒中令人恼火的沉默之后 ，我忍不住又问道。她看着我，眼睛闪着光。
“唔，这本书叫《龙骑士》，说的是一条龙的故事！一天，这个名叫鄂尔古的男孩去打猎，找到了一枚龙蛋。但他以为那只是一块石头！那枚龙蛋孵化出来以后，鄂尔古就把那条龙藏了起来，没让他的堂兄和叔叔看到。但是后来，那条龙长大了，就瞒不住了。”
“听起来很不错，”我说。我正准备问下一个问题时，上课铃响了。
我一边向自助餐厅外冲去，一边对瓦莱丽大叫：“再见。”
“好的，”她说，“再见。”她的声音听起来充满了怀疑。
几天后，在吃午餐的时候，我看到瓦莱丽在找座位。
“瓦莱丽，过来，”我指着一个空座位说。
她坐下来，取出书。当时，大家都在谈论下个星期就要举行的业余歌手演唱会。“那你表演什么节目？”我的朋友伊瑞恩问我的朋友凯利。
“噢，我不知道，也许什么也不演，”凯利叹着气说。“你表演什么呢？”她问瓦莱丽。
“噢，”瓦莱丽放下书，“我不知道。也许什么也不演。”
那个星期飞快地过去了。不知不觉中，我已经坐在业余歌手演唱会的会堂里，听一群女孩子唱目前最流行的歌曲了。我厌倦极了，希望演唱会快点结束，以便我能去看《龙骑士》。我已经在图书馆找到这本书了。然后，一个羞涩的女孩走上了舞台。我立刻就认出了她——瓦莱丽。她一手抓着一把小提琴，一手拿着一个琴弓。
她开始演奏。一个个音符组成一曲柔和、甜美的旋律。然后，她越拉越快，越拉越急。拉着拉着，音乐声戛然而止了。乐曲在瓦莱丽拉出一个强硬、急速、洪亮的音符后归于沉寂。会堂里出奇地安静，直到我们都意识到音乐已经演奏完了。仍然处于一种半陶醉半痴迷状态中的我们突然爆发出一阵雷鸣般的掌声。瓦莱丽迅速地鞠了一躬，走下了舞台。
我暗自微笑。瓦莱丽不只是一个“安静的女孩”。她知道奇妙的好书，能以我从没有听过的方式拉小提琴。就像一只毛毛虫或者蝴蝶，当你靠近去看的时候，她又美丽又令人惊异。
关月 摘译自 My Stories
I look at spiders and butterflies. I watch caterpillars1 and moths2. Sometimes I think I’m the only one who notices these things. Butif it hadn’t been for a crowdedcafeteria, I wouldn’t have evernoticed Valeri. After all, I wasn’t looking for new friends.
Valeri was a new student. She walked to class with her books huddled against her chest and her head down. She talked only when the teacher asked her a question. After a month at our school, she hadn’t made any friend. At recess, she sat on a bench and read. If you asked who she was, you’d get a response like this, “She’s in my PE class. I can’t remember her name.”
One day at lunch, I had nowhere to sit. Most tables were full, my friends scattered among them. But Valeri sat alone, book in hand. I walked over to her.
“May I sit here?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said.
The cafeteria was noisy, but silence hung between us. Valeri didn’t seem to mind, but it drove me crazy. I searched my mind for things to say.
“So,” I said, “is that a good book?” Valeri gave a small nod and went back to reading. “What’s it about?” I asked, after several more agonizing seconds of silence. She looked at me, her eyes sparkling.
“Well, it’s called Eragon, and it’s about a dragon! This boy, Eragon, finds this dragon egg when he goes hunting one day. He thinks it’s a rock! The egg hatches and Eragon hides the dragon from his cousin and uncle until it gets too big.”
“That sounds cool,” I said. I was about to ask another question, but the bell rang.
As I rushed out of the cafeteria, I called to Valeri, “See you later.”
“Yeah,” she said, “see you later.” She sounded doubtful.
A couple days later, I spotted Valeri looking for a place to sit at lunch.
“Valeri, over here.” I pointed to an empty chair.
She sat down and pulled out her book. Everyone was talking about next week’s talent show. “So, what are you doing for the show?” My friend Erin asked my friend Kelly.
“Oh, I don’t know, probably nothing,” Kelly sighed. “What are you doing?” She pointed to Valeri.
“Oh.” Valeri put her book down. “I don’t know. Maybe nothing.”
The week flew by. Before I knew it, I was sitting in the auditorium3, listening to a group of girls sing the latest pop songs at the talent show. I was bored out of my life, and I wanted it to end so I could read Eragon. I’d checked it out at the library. Then a shy girl walked onstage. I recognized her immediately. Valeri clutched4 a violin in one hand and a bow in the other.
She started to play. The notes formed a soft, sweet tune. Then it turned fast, then faster. The music stopped altogether before the soft tune returned. Valeri ended the song with one hard, fast, loud note. The auditorium fell completely silent until we realized the music was finished. Still in a half-trance, we burst into applause. Valeri took a swift bow and walked offstage.
I smiled to myself. Valeri wasn’t just a “quiet girl”. She knew about wonderful books and could play the violin like nothing I’d ever heard. Like a caterpillar or butterfly, she was beautiful and amazing when you looked closely.
我看蜘蛛和蝴蝶。我观察毛毛虫和飞蛾。有时候，我想我是唯一一个注意这些事物的人。但如果不是在一家拥挤的自助餐厅里，我可能永远也不会注意到瓦莱丽。毕竟，我没有在寻找新朋友。
瓦莱丽是一名新来的学生。她走进教室的时候总是将书抱在胸前，脑袋低垂着。只有当老师提问她时，她才说话。她到我们学校一个月了，还没有交到一个新朋友。课间休息的时候，她总是坐在长椅上看书。如果你向别的学生打听她是谁，那你多半会得到这样的回答：“我和她在一个班上体育课。我不记得她的名字了。” 一天吃午餐的时候，我找不到座位。大多数的餐桌都坐满了人，我的朋友们分散其中。但瓦莱丽正一个人坐着，手里拿着书。于是，我走了过去。
“我可以坐在这儿吗？”我问。
“当然。”她说。
虽然自助餐厅里人声鼎沸，但我们却一直保持沉默。瓦莱丽似乎并不在意，但我却快要发疯了。我搜肠刮肚地没话找话。
“呃，”我说，“你那本书很好看吧？”瓦莱丽轻轻地点了点头，继续看书。“是关于什么的？”在经过几秒中令人恼火的沉默之后 ，我忍不住又问道。她看着我，眼睛闪着光。
“唔，这本书叫《龙骑士》，说的是一条龙的故事！一天，这个名叫鄂尔古的男孩去打猎，找到了一枚龙蛋。但他以为那只是一块石头！那枚龙蛋孵化出来以后，鄂尔古就把那条龙藏了起来，没让他的堂兄和叔叔看到。但是后来，那条龙长大了，就瞒不住了。”
“听起来很不错，”我说。我正准备问下一个问题时，上课铃响了。
我一边向自助餐厅外冲去，一边对瓦莱丽大叫：“再见。”
“好的，”她说，“再见。”她的声音听起来充满了怀疑。
几天后，在吃午餐的时候，我看到瓦莱丽在找座位。
“瓦莱丽，过来，”我指着一个空座位说。
她坐下来，取出书。当时，大家都在谈论下个星期就要举行的业余歌手演唱会。“那你表演什么节目？”我的朋友伊瑞恩问我的朋友凯利。
“噢，我不知道，也许什么也不演，”凯利叹着气说。“你表演什么呢？”她问瓦莱丽。
“噢，”瓦莱丽放下书，“我不知道。也许什么也不演。”
那个星期飞快地过去了。不知不觉中，我已经坐在业余歌手演唱会的会堂里，听一群女孩子唱目前最流行的歌曲了。我厌倦极了，希望演唱会快点结束，以便我能去看《龙骑士》。我已经在图书馆找到这本书了。然后，一个羞涩的女孩走上了舞台。我立刻就认出了她——瓦莱丽。她一手抓着一把小提琴，一手拿着一个琴弓。
她开始演奏。一个个音符组成一曲柔和、甜美的旋律。然后，她越拉越快，越拉越急。拉着拉着，音乐声戛然而止了。乐曲在瓦莱丽拉出一个强硬、急速、洪亮的音符后归于沉寂。会堂里出奇地安静，直到我们都意识到音乐已经演奏完了。仍然处于一种半陶醉半痴迷状态中的我们突然爆发出一阵雷鸣般的掌声。瓦莱丽迅速地鞠了一躬，走下了舞台。
我暗自微笑。瓦莱丽不只是一个“安静的女孩”。她知道奇妙的好书，能以我从没有听过的方式拉小提琴。就像一只毛毛虫或者蝴蝶，当你靠近去看的时候，她又美丽又令人惊异。
关月 摘译自 My Stories