6 Under the Mulberry Tree

6 UNDER THE MULBERRY TREE Ben led Jack and Annie down Market Street. Pigs and chickens crossed their path. Horse-drawn carts clattered over the dirty cobblestones. But the heat and smells didn't seem so bad now. "We're here! Come along!" said Ben. Jack and Annie followed Ben down the alley to his courtyard. "Please, sit!" said Ben. He motioned to chairs under the shade of the mulberry tree —the same tree that hid the magic tree house. "Ahhh!" said Ben, settling into his chair. "Not much cooler here, though, is it?" "No, but it's nice," said Annie. "So, you wish to learn more about me?"

本领着杰克和安妮沿着市场街走去。 猪和鸡穿过他们的路。 马车辚辚地驶过肮脏的鹅卵石。 但现在，炎热和气味似乎没有那么糟糕了。 “我们在这里!来吧！”本说。 杰克和安妮跟着本穿过小巷来到他的院子。 “请坐！”本说。他指了指桑树树荫下的椅子——那棵树就藏着魔法树屋。 “啊！”本说着，坐到椅子上。 “不过这里也没凉快多少，对吧？”“不，但是很好，”安妮说。 “那么，你想更多地了解我？”

said Ben. "Ask me anything!" "Well, um…let's start with when you were a kid," said Annie. Ben laughed. "Excellent starting place— when I was a baby goat!" he said. "My father made candles and soap, and I was one of fifteen children. We were so poor, I had only two years of school, then I had to go to work." "Whoa. What did you do?" said Jack. "I worked in my brother's printing office. At seventeen I left Boston and came to Philadelphia all by myself. I started my own printing shop. Soon I published a newspaper called the Pennsylvania Gazette. Then I created the first public library in North America, the one you just saw. I wrote and printed a bestselling yearly pamphlet called Poor Richard's Almanack. "I started the first fire company in Philadelphia and the first post office. I invented the Franklin woodstove. I

本说。“问我什么都行！”“嗯，让我们从你小时候说起吧，”安妮说。 本笑了。“很好的起点——当我还是一只小山羊的时候！”他说。 “我父亲制作蜡烛和肥皂，我是15个孩子中的一个。 我们太穷了，我只上了两年学，然后就得去工作。” “哇。你做了什么？”杰克说。 “我在我哥哥的印刷厂工作。 17岁时，我离开波士顿，独自来到费城。 我开了自己的印刷厂。 不久，我出版了一份名为《宾夕法尼亚公报》的报纸。 然后我创建了北美第一个公共图书馆，就是你们刚才看到的那个。 我编写并印刷了一本畅销的年度小册子，叫做《穷理查年鉴》。 “我在费城创办了第一家消防公司和第一家邮局。 我发明了富兰克林的柴炉。 我

introduced cobblestones and street lamps to the city. I founded a college and a hospital. I grabbed electricity from the clouds in my famous kite experiment. And that led to my invention of the lightning rod. "I supplied the army in the French and Indian War. I was elected to the Assembly of Pennsylvania. I was elected the first postmaster general of all the colonies. I helped write the Declaration of Independence. "I was the American representative to England, France, and Sweden. I negotiated a treaty with England. And I became governor of Pennsylvania." Ben stopped to catch his breath. "Is that all?" said Annie. The three of them laughed. "I knew I liked you," said Ben. "But since you asked, there are a few more things I've done. For instance, I invented bifocals. By the way, you have very nice glasses, Jack."

将鹅卵石和路灯引入城市。 我创办了一所大学和一所医院。 在我著名的风筝实验中，我从云层中获取了电。 于是我发明了避雷针。 “我在法印战争中为军队提供物资。 我被选为宾夕法尼亚州议会议员。 我被选为所有殖民地的第一位邮政局长。 我帮助起草了《独立宣言》。 “我是美国驻英国、法国和瑞典的代表。 我与英国谈判达成了一项条约。 我成为了宾夕法尼亚州的州长。” 本停下来喘口气。 “就这些吗？”安妮说。 他们三个都笑了。 “我就知道我喜欢你，”本说。 “但既然你问了，我又做了几件事。 例如，我发明了双光眼镜。 顺便说一下，你的眼镜很漂亮，杰克。”

"Thanks," said Jack. "And I invented a new kind of ship's anchor," said Ben. "I created a candle that makes a bright white light and lasts longer than other candles. I've written about waterspouts at sea and the origin of northern storms. I've kept journals about dolphins, crabs, and the moon." "Wow," said Annie. There was silence for a moment. "Oh, I almost forgot," said Ben. "I've also studied ants and pigeons." They all laughed again. Then Ben sighed. "I'm afraid I must stop there because I am growing quite tired of talking about myself." "Well, what are you doing these days?" Jack asked nervously. He knew Ben didn't want to talk about the meetings at the state house. But, to Jack's surprise, Ben leaned forward in his chair. "Can you keep a secret?" he

“谢谢，”杰克说。“我还发明了一种新的船锚，”本说。 “我发明了一种蜡烛，它发出明亮的白光，比其他蜡烛持续的时间更长。 我写过海上的水龙卷和北方风暴的起源。 我写过关于海豚、螃蟹和月亮的日记。” “哇，”安妮说。沉默了一会儿。 “哦，我差点忘了，”本说。 “我也研究过蚂蚁和鸽子。” 他们又笑了。本叹了口气。 “恐怕我必须说到这里了，因为我已经厌倦了谈论我自己。” “那么，你最近在做什么？”杰克紧张地问。 他知道本不想谈论在州议会大厦开会的事。 但是，令杰克吃惊的是，本在椅子上向前倾了倾。 “你能保守秘密吗？

whispered. "Yes!" Jack and Annie whispered back. They leaned closer to him. "I tell you this in absolute secrecy," said Ben. "At the age of eighty-one, I am a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, working to help frame a Constitution for the United States." "No!" whispered Annie. "Yes!" whispered Ben. He sat back in his chair and grinned at them. "So, when will the new Constitution be ready?" said Jack. "That I do not know," said Ben. He sighed. He frowned. "In truth, dear Jack and Annie, I don't know if it will ever be ready." "Why? What do you mean?" said Jack. "The delegates disagree on so many things!" said Ben. "I worry about the stormy debates we have." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Honestly, right now, I myself do not plan to sign the document."

小声说。“是的!”杰克和安妮小声回答。 他们向他靠得更近了。 “我绝对保密地告诉你这件事，”本说。 “81岁的我是制宪会议的代表，致力于帮助制定美国宪法。” “不！”安妮小声说。“是的！”本小声说。 他靠在椅背上，朝他们咧嘴一笑。 “那么，新宪法什么时候准备好呢？”杰克说。 “我不知道，”本说。 他叹了口气。他皱起了眉头。“说实话，亲爱的杰克和安妮，我不知道它是否准备好了。” “为什么?你是什么意思？”杰克说。 “代表们在很多事情上意见不一致！”本说。 “我担心我们之间激烈的辩论。” 他摘下眼镜，揉了揉眼睛。 “老实说，现在我自己不打算签署这份文件。”

"You don't?" said Annie. "You don't?" said Jack. Ben sighed again. He put his glasses back on and looked at them. "No, children," he said. "I fear I do not."

“你不知道？”安妮说。“你不知道？”杰克说。 本又叹了口气。他戴上眼镜看了看。 “不，孩子们，”他说。“恐怕我不知道。”