The Ants 蚂蚁　　by Exurb1a

It so happened that I was sat in the sun with a book，and just as I was about to nod off，a little voice called out:

那天我正拿着一本书坐在太阳底下，正当我快要打盹时，一个细微的声音叫了出来:

“Excuse me，what is this for?“

“不好意思，请问这是做什么的？”

A small ant had crawled across the page of my book， and was now sat staring up at me.

一只小蚂蚁爬过了我的书页，正坐着盯着我看。

“What?“I said.

“什么？”我说。

“Excuse me，“ the ant said，“what is this for?“

“不好意思，”小蚂蚁问道，“这是做什么的？”

“What is what for?“ I said.

“什么是做什么的？”我反问道。

“This great black-and-white expanse I'm standing on right now，“ it tapped the book with a little black leg.

“我现在站在这个巨大的黑白相间的平原，”它用一条小黑腿轻拍着书。

“Look，“ I said，“you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you.“

“听着，”我说，“即使我解释给你听，你也不会明白的。”

“That might be so，“ the ant said，“but though I am very small， I am also very curious，and I don't want to turn to dust having known nothing at all. So， if you would， please – what is this for?“

“也许是这样，”蚂蚁说，“但是，我虽然很小，我同样怀有好奇，我不想再一无所知的时候化作一粒微尘。所以，如若可以的话请你告诉我——这是干什么用的?”

He stood up on his two back legs， eagerly awaiting my answer， and his antennae stood to attention most respectfully.

他两条后腿直立起来，急切地等待着我的回答，他的触角恭恭敬敬地竖起来。

I said:*Sigh*“It's like this: you're standing on a page. Pages are made from trees. We put lots ofthem together and call it a book.“

我轻叹一口气，“是这样的:你正站在一页纸上。书页是用树做的。我们把很多书页装订在一起，称之为一本书。”

“What is a book for， then?“ the ant said.

“那书又是做什么用的呢？”蚂蚁接着问道。

“Well， it stores thoughts，“ I said.

“额，书本是用来储存思想的。”我说。

“That way， we can transmit them to other people very far away.“

“这样，我们就可以把思想传播给到很远很远的地方。”

“How?“ the ant said.

“这是怎么做到的？”蚂蚁问道。

“Now， look， this isn't the time or place，“ I said， a little too firmly.

“现在，听着，这不是个正确的时间，也不是个好地点。我没有时间和你解释这一切。”我说，语气有点冲。

The ant bowed his tiny head， and his antennae wilted.

蚂蚁低下了他的小脑袋，他的触角都蔫了。

I said softly:“Look， you see those little black squiggles – excuse me; to you， very big black squiggles about you on the page?“

我轻声说:“好吧听着，你看见那些黑色的弯弯曲曲的图案了么——对不起;对你来说，书页上你周围的那些又大又黑的弯弯曲曲的图案?”

The ant nodded.

蚂蚁点点头。

“Those are words and numbers.“

“那些是词汇和数字。”

“They don't look like words and numbers，“ the ant said.

“它们看起来不像词汇和数字，”蚂蚁说。

“They represent them，“ I said.

“他们象征了词汇和数字，”我说。

“Hmm，“ the ant said， and thought about this a while.

“嗯......”蚂蚁说，思索了一会儿。

I said:“Do you understand?“

我问道:“你明白了吗？”

The ant said:“Not really. You were right. It's beyond me. But though I'll never be as clever as you animals， I'm at least a little cleverer than I was a moment ago. So thank you for that.“

蚂蚁说:“并不能，你说的对，这已经超越了我可以理解的范畴。但是，虽然我永远不会像你们人类一样聪明，我至少比刚才的自己聪明了一点。所以谢谢你。”

“You're welcome“， I said.

“不客气。”我说。

“Well， good luck on being a thing in the world，“ the ant said.

“那么，生而为世界之物，祝你好运。”蚂蚁说。

“Good luck to you， too，“ I said.

“也祝你好运。”我说。

The little ant made off on his way and disappeared into the grass.

小蚂蚁爬走了，消失在草丛中。

I read to the end of my page， but could not forget the little ant.

我读到这本书的最后一页，但始终不能忘记那只小蚂蚁。

Eventually， I looked up from the book – to the trees， to the mountain， to the sky. The moon was climbing up for evening， birds were migrating in the distance.

最后，我从书本上抬起头来——看着树木，看着山脉，看着天空。天幕正在缓缓降下，月亮正爬上夜空，远方的鸟儿正忙着迁徙。

I called out:“Excuse me， what is this for?“

我喊道:“不好意思，这是干什么用的?”

“What?“ came a booming voice above.

“什么?”上空传来一个低沉的回应。

“This great green-and-blue sphere I'm standing on right now，“ I patted the ground with my foot，“What is all this for?“

“我现在站在这个绿蓝相间的大球体上，”我用脚轻拍着地面，“这一切是为了什么?”

“Look，“ the voice said，“you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you.“

“听着，”那个声音说，“即使我解释给你听，你也不能理解。”

“That might be so，“ I shouted，“but though I am very small， I am also very curious，and I don't want to turn to dust having known nothing at all. So， if you would， please – what is all this for?“

“也许吧，”我喊道，“但是，我虽然很小，我同样怀有好奇，我不想再一无所知的时候化作一粒微尘。所以，如若可以的话请你告诉我——这是干什么用的?”

And the voice said:*Sigh*

那个声音轻叹了一口气。

“It's like this...“

“好吧，是这样的......”