一把名叫希拉的沙发

我是Ria。

This is Ria.

欢迎收听《小故事，小听众》。

Welcome to Little Stories for Tiny People.

你可以写任何主题的故事。

You can write a story about anything.

真的。

It's true.

不信吗？

Don't believe me?

这个故事的灵感来自一张沙发，我觉得效果特别好。

Well, this story is about a sofa, a sofa, And I think it came out really good.

我真的很喜欢它。

I love it, actually.

希望你也喜欢。

I hope you do too.

我们直接开始吧。

Let's get right to it.

这个故事叫《一张名叫希拉的沙发》。

The story is called a sofa named Sheila.

交给你了，利夫。

Take it away, Leaf.

成员没有大脚。

A member have no big foot.

你只能在心里让他们难堪。

You have to embarrass them in your mind.

好的。

Okay.

好了，开始吧。

Yet, here we go.

希拉从无梦的睡眠中醒来，发现自己在一个陌生的房间里。

Sheila woke up from a dreamless sleep to find herself in the wrong room.

灯光刺眼地照在她的座位上。

The lights were blazing down on her seats.

她的枕头歪了。

Her pillow was askew.

她所在的房间没有天花板，也没有墙壁。

The room she was in had no ceiling, no walls.

这根本就不是一个房间，但希拉还不知道。

It wasn't a room at all, but Sheila didn't know that yet.

她已经大约十二年没出过门了。

She hadn't been outside in about twelve years.

那时候，从商店到卡车，再从卡车到公寓，她短暂暴露在外，身上盖着一块防水布。

And back then, she'd been covered by a tarp for the short time that she'd been exposed to the elements between the store and the truck and the truck and the apartment.

她之所以盖着防水布，是因为她当时那么新，那么珍贵。

She had been covered by a tarp because she was so new, so precious.

现在她身上什么也没盖，但又被什么东西盖着。

Now she wasn't covered with anything except she was covered with something.

灰尘。

Dust.

一种她从未见过的黄色灰尘。

Yellow dust she'd never seen before.

她瞪着那些灰尘，真希望自己的胳膊能动，可她的胳膊只是用来给人搭手的。

She glared at that dust wishing she had arms that moved, but her arms were just there to prop up people's arms.

根本没法掸灰。

They were no good for dusting.

希拉试着回想前一天发生的事情。

Sheila tried to replay the events from the day before.

她努力拼凑着，自己是怎么从房间里那个舒服的位置，来到这个没有天花板、没有墙壁、空气还湿漉漉的奇怪地方的，记忆开始慢慢浮现。

She tried to piece together how she'd gone from her comfortable spot in her room to this weird place where there was no ceiling and no walls and the air was somehow wet, and the memories started to come back to her.

她就像往常一样坐在那里，想着什么时候才会有人来给她吸尘。

She'd been just sitting there as usual, wondering when she'd be vacuumed.

那只叫朱朱的猫，已经在她身上趴了一个星期了，好像别的地方都不值得它趴似的。

The cat, Juju, had been sprawling on her for a week as if he didn't have other places he could sprawl.

希拉身上沾满了猫毛，特别想被吸尘器吸一吸。

And Sheila was covered in cat hair and wanted to be vacuumed.

可同时呢，她又不想被吸，因为她讨厌吸尘器的声音。

But at the same time, she did not wanna be vacuumed because she hated the sound of it.

刚被吸完的那种感觉，干净、通透、仿佛重获新生，那种感觉特别神奇，但每次吸尘器要来之前，她还是照样紧张。

The feeling she had just after being vacuumed, clean, open, young again, It was a magical feeling, but it never made her any less anxious before the vacuum came around.

吸尘器来晚了。

The vacuum was late.

它本该几天前，或者至少昨天就该来的。

It should have come around a few days ago or at least yesterday.

那家人平时挺守时的，虽然谁去吸尘这事儿他们总是推来推去。

The people were usually pretty good about staying on a schedule even if they went back and forth about who would do the vacuuming.

我记得上周四是我吸的。

Pretty sure I did it last Thursday.

该你了。

You're up.

我的脚趾头被那只蜜蜂蜇了，现在还疼呢。

My toe is sore from when that bee stung me.

那不是上个月的事吗？

Wasn't that last month?

他们不可能忘了她，因为他们每天都坐在希拉身上。

It wasn't something they forgot about because they sat on Sheila every single day.

他们怎么可能忘了她呢？

How could they forget about her?

所以希拉既为要被吸尘而焦虑，又为没被吸尘而焦虑，她不停地想为什么还没来，又不停地做好它随时会来的准备。

So Sheila was feeling anxious about being vacuumed and anxious about not being vacuumed, And she couldn't stop wondering why it hadn't happened, and she couldn't stop bracing herself for it to happen.

然后她听到那两个人说话，说的是以前从没说过的话。

Then she heard the people talking, and they were saying things they'd never said before.

她完全忘了吸尘器的事，专心听他们说话。

She forgot about the vacuum altogether, and she listened.

我不会把希拉送走的。

I'm not getting rid of Sheila.

她是我的朋友。

She's my friend.

听到自己的名字，希拉一下子膨胀了起来。

Sheila puffed up at the mention of her name.

我觉得你给沙发起名字的时候我已经挺理解的了，但现在它成了你的朋友？

I feel like I was pretty understanding when you named the couch, but now it's your friend?

人们会给自己的车起名字。

People name their cars.

我敢说还有人会给自己的胡子起名字呢。

I'll bet people name their mustaches.

听我说。

Look.

这东西我们至少用了十年了。

We've had it at least ten years.

对吧？

Right?

有个人一屁股坐到希拉身上，还抱住了她的灰色靠枕。

One of the people dropped onto Sheila and hugged her gray pillow.

希拉被那人压得都塌下去了。

Sheila slouched under the person's weight.

那又怎么样？

So?

希拉坐着可舒服了。

Sheila's so comfy.

她走的是破旧时尚风。

She's shabby chic.

希拉三年前就走破旧时尚风了。

Sheila was shabby chic like three years ago.

我们可以换个新希拉。

We can get a new Sheila.

换个新的我。

A new me.

希拉觉得自己的内心像打了结一样纠结。

Sheila felt like her insides were twisting in knots.

这么多压力，她的面料都要起球了。

All this stress was going to make her upholstery pill.

新的东西被高估了。

New is overrated.

再说了，希拉又不老。

Anyway, Sheila's not old.

她是被深深爱着的。

She's well loved.

那个人抱住了希拉。

The person hugged Sheila.

希拉也想用胳膊回抱，但她的胳膊动不了。

Sheila would have used her arms to hug back, but they didn't move.

关于怎么处理希拉的讨论被打断了，因为另一个人提议去跑步，然后他们就真的去跑步了。

The discussion of what to do with Sheila was cut short when the other person suggested they go for a jog, and they went for a jog.

希拉完全不知道慢跑是什么，也不知道它尝起来是什么味道，但她知道，等他们吃完慢跑回来，就会瘫倒在她身上，打开那个会动的彩色盒子，一切就又会好起来的。

And Sheila had no idea what a jog was or what it tasted like, but she knew that when they returned from eating jogs, the people would collapse on her and turn on the colorful box with the moving pictures, and all would be well again.

他们确实这么做了。

And they did do that.

但就在他们吃慢跑的时候，或者后来看完彩色盒子、走远之后，关于怎么处理希拉的那场讨论肯定又开始了。

But while they were eating their jugs or later when they were out of earshot after watching the colorful box, that discussion of what to do with Sheila must have restarted again.

而且那场对话的结局一定很重要，因为现在，希拉已经不在那个房间里了。

And the end of that conversation must have been important because now, Sheila was no longer in the room.

希拉在一个新的非房间里，其实就是在外面，她身上盖满了那种黄色的灰尘。

Sheila was in the new non room, the one that was actually outside, and she was covered in that yellow dust.

她那个灰色的枕头也歪了。

And her one gray pillow was askew.

如果她能的话，她真想用胳膊抱住自己，再抱住她那个灰色的枕头，但她的胳膊动不了。

And if she could have, she would have hugged herself with her arms, and she would have hugged her one gray pillow, but her arms didn't move.

然后她听到了什么声音。

And then she heard something.

听起来像是纸在风中飘动的声音。

It sounded like paper fluttering in the wind.

然后有脚步声，来了两个人。

Then footsteps, people, two of them.

他们走近，其中一个人伸出手，碰了碰贴在希拉身上的那张飘动的纸。

They approached, and one reached out a hand and touched the fluttering paper attached to Sheila.

免费。

Free.

你想要个沙发吗？

You want a couch?

我本来想要个绿色的沙发。

I wanted a green couch.

不过这个是免费的。

This one's free, though.

对。

Yeah.

不。

No.

我不想要。

I don't want it.

你要葡萄干吗？

You want raisins?

要。

Yes.

我要葡萄干。

I want raisins.

他们就去拿葡萄干了。

They left to go get some raisins.

那只是第一批来的人。

Those were just the first people to come.

后来又来了更多人。

More came.

更多人碰了那张飘动的纸。

More touched the fluttering paper.

有些人直接坐在了希拉身上。

Some sat right down on Sheila.

其他人绕着她走，用手指划过她的瑕疵，让她畏缩。

Others walked around her, running their fingers over her imperfections, making her flinch.

那些时候，她真想陷进人行道里。

Those were the times she wanted to sink into the sidewalk.

第一天晚上，一个生物从垃圾桶里跳出来，蹒跚地走向希拉。

That first night, a creature came ambling towards Sheila after leaping out of a trash bin.

它依偎在她的垫子上，她能感觉到它的心跳。

It nestled into her cushion, and she could feel its heartbeat.

希拉试着想象那是猫咪朱朱。

Sheila tried to imagine it was Juju, the cat.

她从没想过自己会想念朱朱。

She never thought she'd miss Juju.

小睡了一会儿后，那个家伙悄悄溜走了。

After napping for a while, the creature slunk away.

希拉在想它有没有留下一些毛，她又想起了吸尘器。

Sheila wondered whether it left some fur behind, and she thought again about the vacuum.

她想知道自己还能不能再次体验到那种吸尘后的感觉——干净、开阔、年轻。

She wondered if she'd ever get that after vacuum feeling again, clean, open, young.

早上，一只鸟落在了希拉身上。

In the morning, a bird landed on Sheila.

一只很爱说话的鸟。

A talkative bird.

嘿，你好啊。

Well, hello.

你昨天不在这儿。

You were not here yesterday.

你是个沙发吗？

You are a alofa?

不是。

No.

不对。

That's not right.

不对。

That's not right.

阿鲁法·斯托法。

Allufa Stofa.

斯托法。

Stofa.

不。

No.

错了。

That's wrong.

穆芬。

Moofin.

松饼。

Muffin.

那是个词。

That's a word.

对。

Yes.

你是个松饼。

You are a muffin.

我不是松饼，希拉心里想。

I am not a muffin, Sheila thought to herself.

天气真好，是吧？

Nice day, isn't it?

简直太美了。

Simply beautiful.

确实如此。

And it was.

天空是淡蓝色的，云朵是淡粉色的，太阳很亮，但又不刺眼。

The sky was a pale blue, and the clouds were a pale pink, and the sun was bright, but not too bright.

空气的感觉嘛，哦，又有一个松饼。

And the air felt, oh, there's another muffin.

希拉能感觉到小鸟的脚在她胳膊上轻轻挪动，她花了几秒钟才明白小鸟在说什么，于是她使劲扭头去看。

Sheila could feel the bird's little feet shifting on her arm, and it took her a second to understand what the bird was saying, and she strained to take a look.

果然在那儿。

And there it was.

那并不是松饼。

It was not a muffin.

那是一张崭新的沙发。

It was a brand new sofa.

真有意思。

That's funny.

我在这儿从来没见过松饼。

I never see muffins here.

结果现在突然冒出来两个松饼。

And now all of a sudden, two muffins.

同一天，两个松饼。

Two muffins, same day.

看起来是从那边那辆卡车上掉下来的。

Looks like it came off that truck right there.

那辆卡车已经完成了它的任务。

The truck had done its job.

它开走了，留下另一张沙发正对着希拉。

It drove away, leaving the other sofa facing Sheila.

鸟儿说：“呃，这就有点尴尬了。”

Well, this is awkward, the bird said.

希拉真想一把把鸟赶走，可她的胳膊就那么垂着，好像在嘲笑她，什么忙都帮不上，一点用都没有。

Sheila wished she could swat the bird away, but her arms just sat there, taunting her with their inability to do anything helpful, anything at all.

更糟的是，希拉意识到，那张从卡车上卸下来的崭新完美的沙发，正好把她的侧面看得一清二楚。

Worse still, Sheila realized that the brand new perfect sofa straight from a truck had a full view of Sheila's side.

那一面，在十二年的时间里，被猫咪朱朱抓得破破烂烂。

The side that, over the course of twelve years, had been ripped up by Juju the cat.

哦，真是太丢人了。

Oh, it was so embarrassing.

希拉又一次希望自己能陷进人行道里。

Again, Sheila wished she could sink into the sidewalk.

那些人，就是以前常躺在希拉身上的那些人，出现了，却连看都没看她一眼。

The people, the very same people who used to lounge on Sheila, appeared and didn't even look in her direction.

相反，他们搬起那张崭新的沙发，慢慢朝公寓走去。

Instead, they picked up the brand new sofa and slowly carried it towards the apartment.

希拉看着他们摇摇晃晃地把沙发搬出了视线。

Sheila watched them lurch the sofa out of sight.

它就这么走了。

There it goes.

再见，小松饼。

Bye, Muffin.

这不是挺好的吗？

Wasn't that nice?

颜色很漂亮，你不觉得吗？

Beautiful color, don't you think?

现在也许有人会过来把你带走。

Now maybe some people will come along and take you away.

你觉得呢，另一个松饼？

What do you think, other muffin?

我才不是什么另一个松饼。

I am not other muffin.

要说的话，我才是正宗的松饼，希拉心里想。

I am the original muffin, if anything, Sheila thought to herself.

她叹了口气，希望那只鸟赶紧走开，结果它真的走了。

She sighed, wishing the bird would just go away, and it did.

它飞走了。

It flew away.

希拉又一个人了。

Sheila was alone again.

那天晚上，她想知道那个家伙会不会再来打个盹，但它没来。

That night, she wondered if the creature would come back for another nap, but it didn't.

早上，希拉醒来时听到街那头传来很响的声音。

In the morning, Sheila woke up to hear something very loud coming down the block.

她明白那是什么声音，因为她以前听过很多次了。

She understood what the sound was because she'd heard it many times before.

那声音总是让一个人拎着一袋垃圾冲出公寓，嘴里说着类似“这次我一定能赶上”的话。

It was the sound that always made one of the people run wildly out of the apartment carrying a bag of trash, saying something like, I'm gonna make it this time.

对。

Uh-huh.

这次记得一定要把垃圾放到路边去。

Just make sure you put it all the way to the curb this time.

不放路边他们不收的。

They won't take it if it's not on the curb.

果然，那个在希拉身上坐过无数次、给希拉起名字的人，准时从公寓里冲了出来，手里甩着一袋垃圾，把它放在了希拉旁边。

And right on time, the the person who had sat on Sheila too many times to count, the person who had named Sheila, that person came running out of the apartment, swinging a bag of trash, and set it down right next to Sheila.

然后那个人因为跑得太猛，喘着粗气走了回去。

Then the person walked back panting for running so hard.

就在那一刻，希拉意识到自己已经被拖到了路边。

And in that moment, Sheila realized she had been dragged to the curb.

她成了垃圾。

She was trash.

希拉头顶上的云朵，在灰色的天空映衬下，呈现出乳白色。

The clouds above Sheila were a milky white against the gray sky.

这种天空完全看不出接下来会发生什么。

It was the kind of sky that gave no hint as to what might happen next.

这种天空可能带来任何天气——雨、晴、雾——你都不会觉得意外。

It was the kind of sky that could deliver any type of weather, rain, sun, fog, and you wouldn't be surprised.

当垃圾车越来越近时，希拉努力把注意力集中在那片灰色的天空上。

Sheila tried to focus on that gray sky as the trash truck came ever closer.

垃圾车停在了隔壁公寓楼前。

It stopped at the apartment building next door.

人们往里扔东西，发出哐当哐当的响声。

People tossed things in that clunked around.

然后，它就到了希拉面前。

Then there it was, right in front of Sheila.

她感觉到四只大手抓住了她的胳膊，她最渴望的就是自己的胳膊能动起来，能挣扎，能喊一声“喂”。

She felt four big hands grip her arms, and she wished more than anything that her arms could move, could thrash, could hey.

喂。

Hey.

不好意思。

Excuse me.

我想我们打算搬走这张沙发，可以吗？

I think we're gonna take that sofa, if that's alright.

谁啊？

Who's that?

两个新来的人跟垃圾车那边的人说话。

Two new people speaking to the people from the trash truck.

停顿了一下。

There was a pause.

那四只大手松开了希拉的胳膊，然后消失了。

The four big hands ungripped Sheila's arms and disappeared.

垃圾车那边有个人捡起希拉旁边的袋子，甩手扔进了车里。

One of the people from the trash truck picked up the bag next to Sheila and swung it up into the truck.

希拉直到那一刻才意识到自己一直在屏住呼吸，她呼出一口气，坐垫也跟着叹了口气。

Sheila hadn't even realized she was holding her breath until that moment, and she let it out, and her cushion sighed.

那个灰色的枕头也叹了口气。

The one gray pillow sighed too.

垃圾车转过街角，声音渐渐远去。

The sound of the trash truck receded as it turned the corner.

那两个新来的人走了过来。

The two new people approached.

其中一个人一屁股坐到了希拉的坐垫上，抱住了那个灰色靠枕。

One of them dropped onto Sheila's cushion and hugged the gray pillow.

怎么会有人舍得扔掉这张沙发呢？

How could anyone get rid of this sofa?

说真的，这沙发简直完美。

Seriously, it's perfect.

希拉觉得自己的沙发套都在嗡嗡作响，被那个词激活了。

Sheila felt like her upholstery was humming, alive from that word.

完美。

Perfect.

他们觉得我完美。

They think I'm perfect.

我叫希拉，希拉想开口说，但什么声音也发不出来。

My name is Sheila, Sheila tried to say, but nothing came out.

附近停着一辆破旧的面包车。

There was an old beat up van parked nearby.

那些人弯下膝盖，抬起希拉，把她带走了。

The people bent at the knees and picked up Sheila and carried her away.

他们不知道她的名字。

They didn't know her name.

他们永远不会知道她的名字。

They would never know her name.

但他们还是爱她。

They loved her anyway.

那是三天前的事了。

That was three days ago.

在她的新房间里，有一只狗。

In her new room, there is a dog.

那只狗叫古斯塔沃。

The dog is named Gustavo.

古斯塔沃整天趴在希拉身上，只有人们出去散步时才离开。

Gustavo lays on Sheila all day except when the people go for walks.

然后狗叫了一声，就跟着人们出去散步了。

Then the dog barks and goes out for a walk with the people.

希拉不知道散步是什么，也不知道那是什么滋味，但她知道，每当人们和古斯塔沃吃完散步回来，狗就会趴在她身上，和她依偎着度过剩下的时间。

And Sheila doesn't know what a walk is or what it tastes like, but she knows that when the people and Gustavo come back from eating walks, the dog will collapse on Sheila and snuggle with her for the rest of the day.

当人们第一次拿着吸尘器靠近希拉时，她又感到了之前在旧房间里对吸尘器的那种焦虑，她做好了准备，迎接那巨大的噪音和粗暴的触感。

And the first time the people come at Sheila with a vacuum, she gets that anxious feeling she had about the vacuum back in the old room before, and she braces herself for the loud sound and the roughness of it.

哦，这个吸尘器不一样。

And, oh, this vacuum is different.

它比之前那个安静多了。

It's quieter than the other one.

人们用了一个小吸头，在她表面很柔软。

The people use a small attachment that's soft in her surface.

这个吸尘器发出咕噜咕噜的声音，让希拉想起了那只叫朱朱的猫。

This vacuum makes a purring sound, and it reminds Sheila of Juju, the cat.

希拉以前从没想过自己可能爱过朱朱，但现在她开始思考这件事了。

And Sheila never considered that maybe she had loved Juju, but now she does consider it.

她想念朱朱，而且再也见不到它了。

She misses Juju, and she will never see Juju again.

她很难过。

And she is sad.

吸尘器收起来后，古斯塔沃跳上希拉，依偎着她。

After the vacuum is gone, Gustavo leaps onto Sheila and snuggles against her.

古斯塔沃爱希拉。

Gustavo loves Sheila.

她能感觉到。

She can tell.

如果可以的话，希拉真想用胳膊抱住那条狗，但她的胳膊动不了。

And if she could, Sheila would use her arms to hug the dog, but her arms don't move.

所以希拉让自己在新房间、新房子、新吸尘器、还有那些连她名字都不知道的人那里，接受这份爱。

So Sheila allows herself to be loved in her new room, in her new house, with her new vacuum, and the people who don't even know her name.

希拉叹了口气，感觉自己的坐垫也跟着一起叹气。

Sheila sighs, and she feels her her cushions sigh along with her.

她渐渐进入一种平静的状态，回想自己经历的一切。

She slips into a peaceful state, reflecting on all that has happened to her.

她想起了那张新沙发，就在不久前她还对它感到那么生气。

She thinks about that new sofa, the one she'd felt so angry towards just a little while earlier.

而第一次，她对那张新沙发有了一个新的想法。

And for the first time, she has a new thought directed at that new sofa.

你就是我。

You are me.

十二年前，你和我一样。

Twelve years ago, you are just like me.

我们没什么不同。

We are no different.

我们之间只隔着时间，别的什么都没有。

We are separated only by time and nothing else.

希拉感觉到古斯塔沃在动来动去，给自己找了个最舒服的姿势。

Sheila feels Gustavo shift around, finding the best possible position for himself.

然后他停了下来，一动不动。

Then he stops and is still.

希拉睡着了。

Sheila falls asleep.

狗也睡着了。

The dog falls asleep too.

写这个关于希拉的故事真的很有趣。

Writing this story about Sheila was really fun.

我没想到会这么顺利。

I didn't expect it to work out.

本来只是练练手，结果我特别喜欢。

It was just practice, really, but I ended up loving it.

我知道你们很多人也在写自己的故事。

I know there are many of you out there writing stories of your own.

所以也许作为写作练习，你可以找一个物件，赋予它生命。

So maybe as a writing exercise, you can think of a thing and give it a life.

给它一些经历。

Give it experiences.

它会有什么感受？

What does it feel?

它会想些什么？

What does it think?

它最终会去哪里？

Where does it end up?

《小人物的故事》由我，瑞亚·赫克托，撰写、表演和制作。

Little Stories for Tiny People is written, performed, and produced by me, Rhea Hector.

我的内部技术总监彼得·凯，负责运营我的网站，并把我的故事上传到互联网上，供大家欣赏。

My in house tech director, Peter Kay, runs my web site and puts my stories on the Internet for all of you to enjoy.

感谢利夫在节目开头带来的特别介绍。

Thank you to Leaf for the very special intro message at the beginning.

还要特别感谢那些为本故事提供出色音效的听众们。

And a big thank you to the listeners who provided the outstanding sound effects heard in this story.

谢谢奥利弗、阿玛贝拉、赛普拉斯和亚伦。

Thank you, Oliver, Amabella, Cypress, and Aaron.

一如既往，感谢你们的收听。

Thank you, as always, for listening in.