9 The Oldest Fan of All

9 THE OLDEST FAN OF ALL After he heard the final score, Jack smiled. "Okay. Now we know why this is a big day for baseball." "Yep," said Annie. "And now it's time to give Fly Ball away." She pointed at the twins. "Of course," he said. He turned to Otis and Olive. "We have a special gift for you."

听到最后的比分后，杰克笑了。 “好吧。现在我们知道为什么今天是棒球的大日子了。” “是的，”安妮说。“现在是时候把飞球送人了。” 她指着那对双胞胎。“当然，”他说。 他转向奥蒂斯和奥利弗。 “我们有一份特别的礼物要送给你。”

He took the ball from his bag and held it out to the twins. "No thanks," said Olive. "You keep it. You deserve it more." "We have lots of baseballs," said Otis. "You do?" said Annie. "Sure. We grab them when they fly over the wall of the ballpark," said Otis. "They're all in here," said Olive. "Come look! We'll show you!" Jack and Annie followed the twins into a shadowy room off the hallway. The room smelled of roses and lavender. Otis switched on a lamp. A really old woman sat in a rocking chair. She seemed to be sleeping. "See? There," whispered Olive. She pointed to a basket filled with baseballs. "We keep them here in Granny Beck's room. We know they'll be safe with her," said Otis.

他从包里拿出球，递给双胞胎。 “不，谢谢，”奥利弗说。“你留着吧。 你应该得到更多。”“我们有很多棒球，”奥蒂斯说。 “是吗？”安妮说。“当然。 当它们飞过球场的墙壁时，我们就抓住它们。”奥蒂斯说。 “他们都在这里，”奥利弗说。 “来看看!我们会告诉你的！”杰克和安妮跟着双胞胎走进了走廊边上一间阴暗的房间。 房间里弥漫着玫瑰和薰衣草的香味。 奥蒂斯打开了一盏灯。一个非常老的女人坐在摇椅上。 她似乎在睡觉。 “看到了吗?在那儿。”奥利弗小声说。 她指着一个装满棒球的篮子。 “我们把它们放在贝克奶奶的房间里。 我们知道他们和她在一起会很安全。”奥蒂斯说。

"Oh," said Jack. He and Annie glanced at the sleeping woman. "She's our great-great-granny," whispered Olive. "She's a hundred and one years old," whispered Otis. "She was born a slave." "Do I hear some little children talking about me?" the ancient-looking woman asked. She opened her eyes and smiled. "Yes, Granny Beck," said Otis. "Sorry we woke you up." "I was just resting my eyes, sweetheart," she said. "Who's that with you?" "Our friends Jack and Annie," said Olive. "They were batboys at the Dodgers game today." "Come closer, children," said the great- great-grandmother. Jack and Annie moved closer to her rocker. "Did you see Jackie Robinson today?" she asked in a whispery voice.

“哦，”杰克说。他和安妮瞥了一眼睡着的女人。 “她是我们的曾曾祖母，”奥利弗小声说。 “她已经101岁了。”奥蒂斯低声说。 “她生来就是奴隶。”“我是不是听到一些小孩子在谈论我？”老妇人问道。 她睁开眼睛，笑了。 “是的，贝克奶奶。”奥蒂斯说。 “对不起，把你吵醒了。”“我只是让眼睛休息一下，亲爱的，”她说。 “和你在一起的是谁？”“我们的朋友杰克和安妮，”奥利弗说。 “他们今天在道奇队的比赛中都是蝙蝠手。” “走近一点，孩子们。”曾曾祖母说。 杰克和安妮走近她的摇椅。 “你今天看到杰基·罗宾逊了吗？”她低声问道。

"Yes, ma'am," said Annie. "Did the crowd cheer for him?" she said. "Yes, ma'am," said Jack. "All of them?" she asked. Jack felt he couldn't lie to her. "No, ma'am. A few people didn't," he said. "They yelled mean things." "I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "What did Jackie do?" "He ignored them," said Jack. "He held his head high," said Annie. "And he walked back to the dugout without saying a word." "Of course he did. He kept his mind on the game," the old woman said. "He kept his dignity. He rose above what's mean and low." That's a good way to describe it, thought Jack. "He walked toward the good," she whispered. "Always keep your eyes on the

“是的，夫人，”安妮说。“人群为他欢呼了吗？”她说。 “是的，夫人，”杰克说。“所有人？”她问。 杰克觉得他不能对她撒谎。 “不,夫人。少数人没有，”他说。 “他们喊着难听的话。” “听到这个我很难过，”她说。 “杰基做了什么？”“他不理他们，”杰克说。 “他昂着头，”安妮说。 “然后他一言不发地走回了休息区。” “当然了。他的注意力都集中在比赛上，”老妇人说。 “他保持了自己的尊严。他超越了那些卑鄙下流的东西。” 这是一个很好的描述方式，杰克想。 “他走向善，”她低声说。 “总是把你的眼睛放在

good, children. And always keep your self- respect." "Yes, ma'am," said Jack. "Jack!" whispered Annie. "Look!" Annie pointed at the baseball in Jack's hand. Writing was magically appearing on the white ball. The letters spelled: Jackie Robinson The twins stared at the ball in amazement. "You have a ball with Jackie Robinson's autograph!" Otis said. "The ball with the name," Jack said to Annie.

很好,孩子们。永远保持你的自尊。” “是的，夫人，”杰克说。“杰克！”安妮小声说。 “看!”安妮指着杰克手里的棒球。 文字神奇地出现在白球上。 这对双胞胎惊讶地盯着球看。 “你有一个有杰基·罗宾逊签名的球！”奥蒂斯说。 “有名字的球，”杰克对安妮说。

Annie grinned and nodded. She took the ball from Jack and held it out to Granny Beck. "This belongs to you," Annie said. She placed the ball in the old woman's bent hands. "Thank you," Granny Beck whispered. She looked at the autograph. "I must be his oldest fan." Jack remembered the last three lines of the message from Morgan: Give the ball with the name To the one who knows best The rules of the game. "You know the rules of the game," Jack said softly.

安妮咧嘴一笑，点了点头。她从杰克手里接过球，递给贝克奶奶。 “这是你的，”安妮说。 她把球放在老妇人弯曲的手里。 “谢谢你，”贝克奶奶低声说。 她看了看签名。 “我一定是他最老的粉丝。” 杰克想起了摩根留言的最后三行：把写着名字的球给最了解游戏规则的人。 “你知道游戏规则，”杰克轻声说。