尊享预览：一座房子的故事

大家好。

Hello, everyone.

我是莉亚，带来一个简短的通知。

This is Rhea with a quick note.

这是仅限于《小故事高级版》的剧集预览。

This is a preview of an episode exclusive to Little Stories Premium.

《小故事高级版》为您提供更多您喜爱的故事、无广告的聆听体验，以及专属的《小故事助眠》节目——这是一档专为睡前时刻打造的播客，包含全新、适合放在睡前歌单最后一首的催眠故事。

Little Stories Premium gives you more of the stories you love, an ad free listening experience, and access to Little Stories for Sleep, an exclusive bedtime podcast featuring brand new sleepy stories perfect for that last track on a bedtime playlist.

请访问 littlestoriespremium.com 订阅或购买礼物订阅。

Subscribe or purchase a gift subscription by visiting littlestoriespremium.com.

现在，进入正题。

Now, on to the show.

我是莉亚。

This is Rhea.

欢迎来到《给小小人的小故事》。

Welcome to little stories for tiny people.

我们今天的故事非常适合睡前聆听。

Our story today is perfect for bedtime.

它节奏缓慢，主题真挚，主角几乎没有什么移动。

It has a slow pace and a heartfelt theme, and its main character doesn't really move a whole lot.

所以，盖好你的加重毯，闭上眼睛，聆听我们的故事吧。

So settle in beneath your weighted blanket and close your eyes and listen to our tale.

我不确定你能否坚持到结尾，但如果你做到了，一定不会后悔。

I don't know if you'll be able to stay awake until the end, but you won't regret it if you do.

这个故事叫做《一座房子的故事》。

It's called the story of a house.

交给你了，乌尔里希。

Take it away, Ulrich.

记住，这里没有插图。

Remember, there are no pictures.

你可以自己想象那些画面。

You can imagine the pictures.

只要你愿意，你可以任意想象它们的样子。

You mind, you can imagine them however you want.

好的。

Okay.

我们开始吧。

Let let's go.

这是一个房子的故事。

This is the story of a house.

你可能认识这所房子，不是这栋确切的房子，但你很可能知道一模一样的另一所。

You may know this house, not this exact house, but you likely know of a house just like this one.

当我向你描述它时，你可能会转向身边的人，心照不宣地点点头说：‘我知道那种房子。’

Once I describe it to you, you might turn to the person next to you and nod knowingly saying, I do know that house.

几乎每个有房子的地方，都有一所这样的房子。

There's one in nearly every place that has houses.

街区里的其他大多数房子都很整洁。

Most of the other houses on the block are tidy.

如果前面有一片草地，它会时不时地被修剪一次。

If there's a patch of grass out front, it's trimmed once in a while.

如果有树，它们会在春天长出叶子。

If there are trees, they grow leaves in the springtime.

凌晨四点，通常会有一辆车停在路边，或一辆摩托车停在棚子里。

At 4AM, there is usually a car tucked against the curb or a motorcycle in the shed.

对于大多数房子来说，房子与周围的动植物之间有着明确的界限。

When it comes to most houses, there is a clear separation between the house and the flora and fauna surrounding it.

如果这些房子里有动物，那也是人们邀请它们来的。

If there are animals inside these houses, they were invited there by people.

或许最重要的是，几乎每一栋其他房子。

Perhaps most importantly, nearly every other house.

即使草坪没有修剪，门前的树也没有在春天长出新叶，几乎每一栋其他房子都显示出它们在履行所有房屋共同的目标——为人们提供一个家的迹象。

Even if the grass is not trimmed or the tree out front does not spring leaves, nearly every other house shows signs of serving the purpose that all houses aim to serve, providing a home for people.

但这栋房子，我们故事所讲述的这栋，却没有任何这些特征。

But this house, the one our story follows, has none of those characteristics.

它坐落在街道后方，尽头是一条漫长而多处破损磨损的车道。

It sits away back from the street at the end of a long driveway, itself broken and worn away in places.

环绕房屋的草地早已退化为一片草原，自成一个完整的生态系统。

The grass surrounding the house has long since given way to a meadow, an entire ecosystem unto itself.

院子里那棵孤树多年前就已枯死，但附近无人会担心每次风暴来袭时的情况。

The lone tree in the yard died years ago, but there's no one within striking distance to worry each time a storm rambles through.

细长的常春藤枝条攀爬而上，覆盖着房屋的外墙，仿佛永无止境地将它拉入大地的怀抱。

Spindly arms of English ivy creep upwards over its edifice as if perpetually pulling it into an earthly embrace.

房屋与周围环境之间完全没有任何清晰的界限。

There is no clear distinction between the house and its environs at all.

房屋一侧有个洞，是木头腐烂后形成的，一丛灌木从洞中探出头来。

There is a hole in one of its sides where the wood rotted through which a shrub pokes.

楼上的一扇窗户玻璃缺失，蝙蝠已在此安家。

An upper windowpane is missing and bats have taken up residence.

地下室是无数生物的家园，也是持续上演着以老鼠、田鼠、蛇类和偶尔出现的青蛙为主角的戏剧的舞台。

The basement is home to innumerable creatures and is the stage for unceasing dramas starring rats, mice, snakes, and the occasional frog.

这所房子丑陋不堪，破坏了原本平淡无奇的景观。

The house is an eyesore, a blight on an otherwise unremarkable landscape.

这是一所据说闹鬼的房子。

It's the kind of house rumored to be haunted.

那种让无聊的青少年互相挑衅靠近、然后笑着逃跑的房子。

The kind bored teenagers dare one another to approach then run away from giggling.

但大多数时候，它是一处人人都视而不见的地方。

But mostly, it's the kind of place everyone ignores.

房子在自身的重压下叹息。

The house sighs under its own weight.

每当有人把空罐子扔进窗户时，它都会瑟缩一下。

It flinches each time someone tosses an empty can through a window.

它白天沉睡，夜晚当蝙蝠飞起并四处走动时才醒来。

It sleeps during the day and wakes at night when the bats are up and shuffling around.

它凝视着月亮。

It watches the moon.

它记得另一种生活。

It remembers a different life.

它并非一直如此。

It wasn't always this way.

没有哪所房子生来就是破败不堪的。

No house ever begins as a falling down mess.

每一所房子最初都始于一个梦想，一个承诺。

They all begin, each one as a dream, a promise.

一座新建的房子是希望的 concrete 证据。

A newly built house is concrete evidence of hope.

每一所房子都有明确的建造目的。

Each one is built with a clear purpose.

它们没有一所曾预料会落得如此下场。

None of them ever expect to end up like this.

所有这些凄凉破败的房子——你熟悉的和我熟悉的——最初都是崭新的。

Every single one of these sad, decrepit houses, the ones you know and the ones I know, all started out brand new.

所以，让我们在早春一个特别的日子里造访这所房子时，铭记这一点。

So let us remember that as we visit this house of ours on a very particular day in early spring.

这是一个晴朗清爽的午后，房子正沉睡着。

It is the middle of a crisp, sunny afternoon, and the house is asleep.

楼上，阁楼里，蝙蝠们正在安睡。

Upstairs, in the attic, the bats are asleep.

楼下，地下室里，老鼠们躲在墙内酣睡。

Down below, in the basement, the mice are asleep within the walls.

这所房子位于一条安静的街道上。

The house is on a quiet street.

由于现在还是早春，没有割草机的声音，也没有其他人在天气转暖时会做的那些动静。

And since it is still early in spring, there are no sounds of lawnmowers or any of those other things people get up to as the weather warms.

直到屋外门廊传来人声，房子才被唤醒。

It is quiet until the house wakens to the sound of voices on the porch.

为什么他们到现在还没把这房子挂出去卖呢？

Why haven't they put it on the market before now?

我想他们几年前就搬出州了，我觉得这事儿麻烦得不值得去操心。

I think they moved out of state a while back, and I guess it just didn't seem to be worth the trouble.

当然，这房子也卖不了多少钱。

It won't get much for it, of course.

那人用一双钢头靴子向下踩了踩门廊，测试其稳固性。

The person presses a steel toed boot downward, testing the porch.

如果我们站在上面时门廊没塌，那就算我们走运了。

We'll be lucky if this porch doesn't collapse with us on it.

房子现在完全醒来了，感到羞耻的热意沿着常春藤缓缓上升。

The house is fully awake now, feeling the heat of embarrassment creep up its ivy.

房子颤抖了一下，门廊发出一声响亮的吱呀声。

The house shudders and a loud creaking sound emanates from the porch.

明白我的意思了吗？

See what I mean?

两个男人笑了起来，仿佛这真是个天大的笑话。

Both men laugh as if it's some big joke.

他们朝房子的窗户里张望，她希望这些窗户能比现在更脏一些。

They peer into the house's windows, and she wishes they were even grimier than they are.

房子缩了缩，想象着他们透过窗户能看到什么——客厅里墙上那个大洞，悬挂在天花板上歪斜的吊灯，还有那些被遗忘的家具，成了林间生物的游乐场。

The house cringes, imagining what they can see through the window, the living room with that big hole in one of the walls, the chandelier that hangs crookedly from the ceiling, the forgotten pieces of furniture that act as a playground for woodland creatures.

至少这股臭味是透不过玻璃的。

At least the stench can't travel through the glass.

看看那墙纸。

Check out that wallpaper.

这一切都太过了。

It's all too much.

房子考虑着把蝙蝠叫醒。

The house considers waking the bats.

也许它们会飞出来，把那些人吓跑。

Maybe they'd fly out, scaring the people away.

也许这房子可以……哦，真好。

Maybe the house could oh, good.

人们离开了。

The people are leaving.

房子浮现出一个悲伤的想法。

A sad thought comes to the house.

仅仅透过窗户看了一眼就足以让他们离开，但房子甩开了这个想法带来的悲伤，取而代之的是一种释然。

Just looking through the window was enough to make them leave, but the house shakes off the grief that comes with that thought and replaces it with relief.

人们已经走到了前院小路上。

The people are down the front path.

好吧。

Alright.

保重啊。

Take care now.

再见。

See you.

房子叹了口气。

The house sighs.

门廊也轻轻叹了口气。

The porch sighs too.

蝙蝠在楼上房间里似乎动了一下，然后又安静下来。

The bats seem to stir for a moment in the upstairs room then settle.

太阳仍高悬在天空，房子再次陷入沉睡。

The house drifts back to sleep as the sun is still high in the sky.

在这个时候醒来，让她想起了那些本想遗忘的事。

And being awake at this hour makes her think of things she wished to forget.

当她陷入宁静时，房子有了一个念头。

The house has a thought as she settles into the quiet.

他们现在走了，而且永远不会回来。

They are gone now and they will never come back.

但人们确实会回来。

But the people do come back.

一周后，房子在白天正中沉沉睡去。

A week later, the house is asleep in the middle of the day.

这一次，它被屋后传来的脚步声唤醒。

This time, it wakens to the sound of people at the rear of the house.

这还是头一回。

This is new.

这所房子习惯了青少年从前门鬼鬼祟祟地溜达，偷看窗户，然后被蝙蝠吓跑。

The house is used to teenagers sneaking around the front, peeking into the windows, and being scared off by the bats.

从来没人会到后院来，可这些人又回来了，偏偏就去了后院。

No one ventures out back, but here are these same people again doing just that.

他们朝小屋走去。

They approach the shed.

不是小屋，房子心想，它的身躯颤抖着发出声响。

Not the shed, the house thinks, her shudders rattling.

房子完全不知道他们后院会发现什么。

The house has no idea what they'll find back there.

小屋里可能什么都有。

There could be anything in the shed.

那个穿着钢头靴的男人用力拉扯着小屋的门。

The man with the steel toed boots pulls at the shed door.

由于多年未使用，门已经变形，卡在了地上。

It is warped from years of disuse, and it catches against the ground.

门打不开。

It's not going to open.

房子的思绪欣慰地飘向这些年来的雨水和湿气，正是它们让小屋的门扭曲得不再方正。

The house's thoughts drift gratefully to all the rains and the humidity over the years that twisted the shed door so that its angles are not quite square.

男人稳稳站定，用更大的力气拉门。

The man plants his feet firmly against the ground and pulls the door with greater force.

门再次卡住，然后终于打开了。

It catches again, and then it opens.

不。

No.

天啊。

Oh, wow.

这里有一台割草机。

There's a mower in here.

我觉得它得有六年了。

I think it's gotta be, like, six years old.

哦，我知道这个型号。

Oh, I know that model.

它刚买来的时候肯定是顶级款。

Must have been top of the line when it was new.

房子这么想，尽管她并不情愿。

It was, the house thinks, in spite of herself.

她突然闪现出割草机崭新时的记忆。

A memory of the mower, brand new, comes to her in a flash.

这些人为什么要这么做？

Why are these people doing this?

搅动本该被埋葬的往事。

Stirring up things that should be left to the past.

在绕着房产转了一圈后，那些人离开了。

After traipsing around the property, the people leave.

这次，房子有种不祥的预感，他们还会回来。

This time, the house has a bad feeling they will return.

她勉强进入了一种不安的睡眠。

She settles into an uneasy sleep.

接下来几周，房子忐忑不安地浅睡着，期待着那些人回来。

The house sleeps fitfully for a few weeks on tender hooks, expecting the people to come back.

但经过数周的寂静后，她陷入了更深的困扰睡眠中。

But after several weeks of quiet, she slips deeper into a troubled slumber.

晚春来临，带来了炎热与潮湿。

Late spring comes, bringing heat and damp.

房子里的动物们都显得 sluggish。

The animals in the house are sluggish.

割草机的声音和除草机的嗡嗡声时有时无。

The sounds of lawn mowers and the buzzing of weed whackers come and go.

但真正让这栋房子从昏沉中惊醒的，是锤子敲击木头的声音。

But it is the sound of a mallet hitting wood that finally jostles the house from its stupor.

当她从深沉的睡梦中苏醒时，她的百叶窗随之颤抖。

Her shutters rattle as she ascends from the depths of sleep.

房子里的动物们动了动，翻了个身。

The animals in the house stir and turn over.

声音停了一会儿，房子又开始打起盹来。

The sound stops for a moment, and the house begins to doze once more.

但接着，那声音又响了起来。

But then the sound comes again.

房子瑟缩了一下。

The house flinches.

她透过前窗向外望去。

She gazes out her front windows.

她看到一个男人——那个曾经造访过她的人——正把一块牌子钉进地里，一块出售的牌子。

She sees a man, one of the people who visited her, hammering a sign into the ground, a for sale sign.

接下来发生的事迅速而至。

What happens next happens swiftly.

那声音如此熟悉，深深烙印在她的记忆中，将这栋房子拉回了过去。

The sound so familiar, so lodged in her frame, knocks the house back in time.

数十年光阴瞬间消逝，房屋漫长的记忆带她回到了遥远的过去——那时，另一个锤子正将另一块售房标志敲入地面，而她才刚出生几天。

Decades shrink to nothing as the house's long memory carries her back, far back to when another mallet hit another for sale sign into place when she was just a few days old.

这个故事还有更多内容。

There is so much more to this story.

您可以通过成为《小故事》高级订阅用户来收听完整剧集。

You can hear the full episode by becoming a Little Stories Premium subscriber.

请访问 littlestoriespremium.com 加入我们。

Visit littlestoriespremium.com to join.

一如既往，感谢您的收听。

And thank you, as always, for listening in.