0501翻译：窃读记（林海音）
Translation: Bookstore Freeloader’s Journal (Lin Haiyin)
(translated by: alexcwlin; edited by: Adam Lam)
转过街角，看见饭店的招牌，闻见炒菜的香味，听见锅勺敲打的的声音，
After turning around a street corner, I noticed the store-sign, cooking-aroma and spatula-knocking-pan noises of the restaurant.
我放慢了脚步。
I slowed down my pace.
放学后急匆匆地从学校赶到这里，目的地可不是饭店，而是紧邻它的一家书店。
After school, I hurried over here, but my destination was not the restaurant but the bookstore right next to it.
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我边走边想：“昨天读到什么地方了？
As I was walking, I thought in my mind: “Where was I yesterday with the book I was reading?
那本书放在哪里？
Where did I leave the book?
左边第三排，不错……”
Was it at the third row on the left? It has to be…”
走到门口，便看见书店里仍像往日一样挤满了顾客。
When I walked up to the door, I saw the bookstore was packed with customers as usual.
我可以安心了。
I felt at ease.
但我又担忧那本书会不会卖光，因为一连几天都看见有人买，昨天好像只剩下一两本了。
But then I was worried that book could have been sold out because I noticed people were buying it for each of the last few days, and it seemed there were only one or two copies left yesterday.
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我跨进店门，暗喜没人注意。
I stepped into the bookstore and was clandestinely pleased that I was not noticed.
我踮起脚尖，从大人的腋下钻过去。哟，把短头发弄乱了，
I tiptoed through under the armpits of adults and in the process, messed up my hair.
没关系，我总算挤到里边来了。
That did not matter and I finally squeezed to inside of the store.
在一排排花花绿绿的书里，我的眼睛急切地寻找，却找不到那本书。
Among rows of colorful books, my eyes were searching anxiously but I could not find the book I was looking for.
从头来，再找一遍。
Then I started from the top to search all over again.
啊！它在这里，原来不在昨天的地方了。
Oh, it was here and actually it was not at yesterday’s location.
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急忙打开书，一页，两页，我像一匹饿狼，贪婪地读着。
I quickly opened the book and read greedily like a hungry wolf page after page.
我很快乐，也很惧怕——这种窃读的滋味！
I was very happy but also very afraid in experiencing the taste in steal-reading.
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我害怕被书店老板发现，
I was concerned the bookstore owner might find out what I was doing.
每当我觉得当时的环境已不适宜再读下去的时候，我会知趣地放下书走出去，再走进另一家。
Every time when I felt situation at a certain moment was inappropriate to continue on reading, I would alertly put down the book and left for another bookstore.
有时，一本书要到几家书店才能读完。
Sometimes I had to go to several bookstores to finish reading a book.
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我喜欢到顾客多的书店，因为那样不会被人注意。
I preferred going to bookstores with plentiful customers because I would not be noticed that way.
进来看书的人虽然很多，但是像我这样常常光顾而从不购买的，恐怕没有。
Even though there were many people coming in to look at books, yet likely there was nobody like me who would just visit and not buy anything.
因此我要把自己隐藏起来。
Therefore I had to do a good job in making myself unnoticeable.
有时我会贴在一个大人的身边，仿佛我是他的小妹妹或小女儿。
Sometimes I would stay close to the side of an adult as if I were his younger sister or little daughter.
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最令人开心的是下雨天，越是倾盆大雨我越高兴，
Rainy days made me happy, and the heavier was the rain, the merrier I would become.
因为那时我便有充足的理由在书店待下去。
That way I would have a sufficient excuse to stay on inside the bookstore.
就像在屋檐下躲雨，你总不好意思赶我走吧？
It would be like taking shelter from the rain under the roof of a building, and someone would not be so brash as to drive me away.
我有时还要装着皱起眉头，不时望着街心，好像说：“这雨，害得我回不去了。”
Sometimes I pretended to be frowning in anguish and looked out at the street once in a while as if I was saying, “This rain is a real pain in holding me up from going home.”
其实，我的心里却高兴地喊着：“大些！再大些！”
Actually I was happily shouting in my mind: “Rain heavier; more rain please!”
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当饭店飘来一阵阵菜香时，我已饿得饥肠辘辘，
When appetizing smell from restaurant drifted over, my stomach was growling from hunger.
那时我也不免要做白日梦：如果口袋里有钱该多好！去吃一碗热热的面条，
At that moment, I could not help from daydreaming a little in fantasizing how wonderful it would be if I had money in my pocket to afford eating a bowl of steaming hot noodles.
回到这里时，已经有人给摆上一张沙发，坐上去舒舒服服地接着看。
When I came back to reality, someone had seated himself in a sofa and continued to read books comfortably.
我的腿真酸哪，不得不交替着用一条腿支撑着，
My feet were getting sore and had to shift weight to each leg alternatively.
有时又靠在书柜旁，以求暂时的休息。
Sometimes I had to lean against the side of a bookshelf to get a temporary rest.
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每当书店的日光灯忽地亮了起来，我才发觉已经站在这里读了两个多钟头了。
When the fluorescent lights of the bookstore suddenly came on, I would then realize I had been reading for over two hours on my feet.
我合上书，咽了一口唾沫，好像把所有的智慧都吞下去了，然后才依依不舍地把书放回书架。
I closed the book, swallowed the saliva in my mouth as if I were gulping down all my wisdom, and then put the book back to the bookshelf reluctantly.
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我低着头走出书店，
I walked out of the bookstore with my head down.
脚站得有些麻木，我却浑身轻松。
My legs were a bit numb from standing but I felt relaxed all over.
这时，我总会想起国文老师鼓励我们的话：“记住，你们是吃饭长大的，也是读书长大的！”
At that moment, I always thought of what my Chinese Language teacher said in encouraging us: “Remember that you grow up not only by eating rice, but also by reading books as well.”
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