这是艾伦十岁时，在学校学习美国西部淘金时期历史时写的一篇文章。老师给的作业题目是，“假设你生活在十九世纪中叶，你是怎么决定去西部淘金的”。我当时读了艾伦这故事，对他讲故事的能力感到吃惊，也不知道这和他小时候的经历有多大的关系，那时他和我搬到上海快两年了。今天想起这篇文章来，我一边自我反省，一边翻译出来和大家分享。- 译者注
Way Back West!!!
回到西去的路！!
- Alan Deutsch, May 2014 (age 10)
狄艾伦，2014年5月 （十岁时写作）
My name is Sally, and I'm an orphan girl. I've lived in the Kansas City Orphanage since I was nine. Now It's 1849, I'm 18, tall but scared... scared of whats out there in the real world.
我的名字叫萨利，我是一个孤女。从九岁起我就住在堪萨斯市立孤儿院。现在是一八四九年，我十八岁了，个高胆小......对那外面的世界心存恐惧。
I remember that day loud and clear. I was sitting at Billy's table. It's the same thing I've been doing for nine years. He's my best and only friend. Inside the orphanage we were both bullies but scared of what lies outside. We were just talking about life and what we would do when we left. Billy said, "I never want to leave this place. It's my home and family."
Just about then the matron called me. She said, "We need to talk!"
I remember the first time she said, "We need to talk!" It was when I first arrived at the orphanage. Now, from my experiences with her, when she says that, it usually means that I'm in trouble. Something tells me that this time it was more ominous... something else, something worse.
我对那天记得一清二楚。我坐在比利的桌旁。九年来我总是坐在比利的桌旁。他是我最好的，也是我唯一的朋友。在这孤儿院里面，我俩都有点欺负人，但对外面的世界却都感到害怕。我俩正在聊着生活，聊着假如我们得离开孤儿院该怎么过。比利说，“我永远都不想离开这地方。这儿就是我的家、我的家庭。”
就在那时，嬷嬷叫我了。她说，“我们得聊聊。”
我记得第一次她说“我们得聊聊”。那时我刚到这孤儿院。现在我和她交往下来的经验是，她说这话时，我总是惹了麻烦。可是这一次我的直觉给我一个不祥的预感，...... 这一次不一样，要糟糕多了。
When I stepped into her office she told me to sit down so I sat and wondered what it was that she wanted me to know.
She said, “You've come to an age of independence and adventure." She then said, "You've been with me for a long time but it is time you take matters into your own hands."
This basically meant that she was kicking me out of the orphanage. She gave me 30 dollars to start off and said, “Good luck,” which I thought was a pretty weak farewell.
After that, I hugged Billy hoping we would see each other again, but something tells me that that won't happen.
我进到她的办公室。她让我坐下，我就坐下，心里想着她要和我说什么。
她说，“你已经到了独立和冒险的年龄了。” 她接着说，“你已经跟着我多年了，现在到了你该自己管自己的时候。”
这就基本上意味着她要把我踢出孤儿院了。她打发给我三十美元，说声“祝你好运”就算轻而易举地和我告别了。
接着，我拥抱了比利，希望我们后会有期，可是另一个声音告诉我，我们再也见不到了。
I walked outside and realized that I'm officially alone and independent. The thought frightened me but I trapped it inside me hoping it wouldn't come out. I walked down Berly Street when a flyer gave me an idea for money. It read, “San Francisco's got jackpot.” Below, it said, “Join Mr. Tootsie as he hunts down gold in San Francisco. Meet me at 23 George Street where our journey begins."
I ran to the address as fast as my legs could carry me holding the flyer in my hand. When I got there, I knocked on the door and there was no response. I stepped inside and saw a man playing pool with his daughter who was about my age and 2 younger sons. I spoke up:
“Hello, I saw this flyer and was wondering..."
He suddenly interrupted me:
"Come back tomorrow. I'm busy,” he barked.
By the looks of it, he wasn't too busy but I wasn't just about to argue, ruining my only chance of moving west. I walked out of the house and took a room in a nearby hotel until morning.
我走到外面，意识到我正式成了独自一人，一个独立生存的人。这想法让我恐惧，但是我把这恐惧紧紧地裹在心里，希望它不会显示出来。我沿着贝尔利街走着，这时一张传单飞入眼帘给我一个捞钱的主意。上面写着，“三藩市有大赌注，” 接下来上面写的是，“加入图兹先生去三藩市淘金。在乔治街23号汇合启程。”
我手里拿着传单，竭力撒腿跑向那个地址。我一到那儿就敲门，却无人应答。我走进去，看见里面有个男人，正在和他那看似和我同龄的女儿还有两个小些的儿子玩桌球。我说话了，
“嗨，我看到这张传单，我想......”
他打断我，吼道，“明天再来，我正忙着呢。”
他那样子并不太忙，但我可不想和他争执，我怕把我唯一西去的机会给毁了。我走出他家，在附近找了一个客栈住到第二天早上。
At the crack of dawn, I knocked on his door again and he groaned,
“You again? Well, come on now, were leaving today.”
He showed me the wagon and introduced me to his children. Then he introduced Mrs. Tootsie. I shook their hands and coughed up 10 dollars to ride with them. He said,
“You came just in time, a few more hours and we would've been gone."
破晓时分，我又去敲门了，他以抱怨的口气说，
“又是你？好吧，来吧，我们今天上路。”
他把四轮马车指给我看，把我介绍给他孩子们。然后他又介绍了图兹太太。我和他们一一握手，又勉强掏出十美金做为同行的路费。他说，
“你来得正是时候，如果晚来几小时，我们就已经走了。”
I brought my luggage and remaining money on the wagon and just like that, I was traveling with a bunch of strangers I've never seen before.
It seemed just yesterday I was 9, when I had a perfect life and family. Then my parents died in the horrifying fire, and now I'm here.
I looked outside the prairie and knew that we weren't going on an average trail. We would encounter dangers like blizzards, swamps, and native tribes, but of course… I didn't know that until now.
我带上我的行李和我剩下的那点钱，上车了。就那样，我和一堆从未见过的陌生人一起走上了旅途。
我九岁时，似乎那就在昨天，我拥有完美的人生和家庭。然后我的父母死于那场令人恐怖的火灾，而今我到了这儿。
我看着外面的草原，知道我们走的将不是一段普普通通的路程。我们将经历暴风雪、沼泽地，还有土著部落，但是，当然了...... 那些都是我后来到了现在才知道的。
