文◎ Gary Soto 译 ◎刘宛妮 绘 ◎马豆子

Today it's going to cost us twenty dollars to live.Five for a softball, four for a book, a handful of①ones for coffee and two sweet rolls, bus fare, rosin②for your mother’s violin.

We're completing our task. The tip I left for the waitress filters down like rain, wetting the new roots of a child, perhaps, a belligerent③cat that won't let go of a balled sock until there’s chicken to eat.

As far as I can tell④, daughter, it works like this:You buy bread from a grocery⑤, a bag of apples from a fruit stand⑥, and what coins are passed on helps others buy pencils, glue, tickets to a movie in which laughter is thrown into their faces. If we buy a goldfish, someone tries on a hat. If we buy crayons⑦, someone walks home with a broom⑧. A tip, a small purchase here and there,and things just keep going. I guess.

今天我们花二十块钱就可以生活。五块买一个垒球，四块买一本书，一把一块的硬币换来咖啡和两个甜面包卷、车票，还有给你妈妈的小提琴上的松香。

我们的任务还没完成。我留给服务员的小费像雨水一样过滤下来，滋润一个孩童，或是一只不到有鸡肉吃的时候就不放开袜子球的好斗猫咪的幼嫩的根。

据我所知，女儿，生活就这样运转：你在百货店买面包，在水果店买一袋苹果，你花出去的硬币就帮别人买了铅笔、胶水、电影票，那部电影叫他们发笑。

如果我们买一条金鱼，就有人可以试一顶帽子。我们买蜡笔，就有人可以在回家路上添一把扫帚。一笔小费，这里那里买一点东西，大家的生活就这样维持下去。我想是这样吧。

①a handful of 一把；少量的；一小部分

②rosin 英 ['rɒzɪn] n. 松香；树脂vt. 用松香或树脂擦抹

③ belligerent 英 [bə'lɪdʒ(ə)r(ə)nt] adj. 交战的；好战的；交战国的n. 交战国；参加斗殴的人或集团

④as far as I can tell 据我所知

⑤ grocery 英 ['grəʊs(ə)rɪ] 美 ['ɡrosəri]

n. 食品杂货店；食品杂货

⑥fruit stand 水果店

⑦ crayon 英 [kreɪən] 美 [kreən]

n. 蜡笔，有色粉笔vt. 以蜡笔作画，用彩色粉笔画⑧ broom 英 [bruːm] 美 [brum]

n. 扫帚；金雀花vt. 扫除vi. 桩顶开花或开裂