Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 High up in the tree, dangling from a branch, was a man in a dark-green army uniform. Paul couldn't see him from this angle very well. But he knew the man was a soldier. He was attached to the tree by the strings of a parachute, which must have snagged on one of the upper branches. Paul had no doubt the man was dead. Based on his uniform, Paul guessed the soldier was American or British, or maybe Canadian.

在高高的树上，一个穿着深绿色军装的人悬在一根树枝上。 保罗从这个角度看不太清楚他。 但他知道那个人是个士兵。 他被降落伞的绳子绑在树上，降落伞一定是被上面的一根树枝卡住了。 保罗毫不怀疑那人已经死了。 根据他的制服，保罗猜测这个士兵是美国人或英国人，也可能是加拿大人。

Those countries were Hitler's enemies. They had banded together with Russia and other countries, and were fighting against Germany in the war. They had formed a team: the Allies. This soldier must have flown here from one of the air bases in England. That's where the Allies had most of their soldiers and bases now. England was one of the only countries in Europe the Nazis hadn't been able to swallow up. All that separated France from England was a narrow slice of ocean, called the English Channel.

这些国家都是希特勒的敌人。 他们与俄国和其他国家联合起来，在战争中与德国作战。 他们组成了一个团队：协约国。 这个士兵一定是从英国的某个空军基地飞过来的。 现在盟军的大部分士兵和基地都驻扎在那里。 英国是欧洲仅有的几个没能被纳粹吞并的国家之一。 分隔法国和英国的是一片狭窄的海洋，叫做英吉利海峡。

Paul tried to get a better look. He stepped slowly, his boots crunching in the grass. He used to dream that the Allies would rescue France. But he'd given up on that a long time ago. The Nazis were too strong. They had France all locked up. The beaches here in Le Roc and along the coast were lined with cannons and machine guns.

保罗想看得更清楚些。 他慢慢地走着，靴子踩在草地上发出嘎吱嘎吱的声音。 他过去常幻想协约国会拯救法国。 但他很久以前就放弃了。 纳粹太强大了。 他们封锁了整个法国。 勒洛克的海滩和沿岸都布满了大炮和机枪。

Allied planes sometimes made it through to drop bombs. But just as often their planes were shot down over France. Their soldiers sometimes escaped — they bailed out and parachuted to the ground. That's what must have happened to this soldier. But then he'd crashed into this tree… and died. "Hey, kid, can you help me?" a voice called down. Paul jumped so high he nearly hit his head on a branch. So this soldier wasn't dead. He spoke in French, but with a strange twang. American, maybe? "I need to cut myself down from here, but I dropped my knife," the soldier continued. "It's somewhere on the ground." Paul scanned the grass. There it was, a sharp-looking knife with a wooden handle. Paul took a step toward it, but then his body froze. A terrified little voice shouted inside his skull.

盟军的飞机有时会飞过去投下炸弹。 但他们的飞机也经常在法国上空被击落。 他们的士兵有时会逃脱——他们跳伞到地面。 这一定是发生在这个士兵身上的事。 但后来他撞上了这棵树，死了。 “嘿，孩子，你能帮帮我吗？”一个声音喊道。 保罗跳得很高，他的头差点撞在树枝上。 所以这个士兵没有死。 他说法语，但带着一种奇怪的鼻音。 美国人,也许?“我想从这里砍下去，但我的刀掉在地上了，”士兵继续说。 “它在地上的某个地方。” 保罗扫视着草地。就在那儿，一把木柄的锋利刀。 保罗朝它走了一步，但随后他的身体僵住了。 一个惊恐的小声音在他的脑壳里喊着。

Are you crazy?! Stop right now! Get out of here quick! Paul knew what happened to people who were caught helping Allied soldiers. A couple months ago, the Nazis had found an Allied pilot hiding in a barn near the edge of town. They shot the pilot and the farmer who owned the barn. They sent that farmer's family — including his little children — to a work camp. Nobody expected them to make it out of there alive. Run! Get away from here, the little voice whispered in Paul's mind. "Hey, kid," the man called. "It will just take a minute." Paul blocked out the voice in his skull. Instead, he thought of Papa behind barbed wire. He thought of Gerard, being shoved into a truck. He thought of Mr. Leon. And he thought of that friendly little pigeon that seemed to have led him to this exact spot.

你疯了吗？！马上停下来！快离开这里！保罗知道那些帮助盟军士兵被抓到的人会有什么下场。 几个月前，纳粹发现一名盟军飞行员藏在城镇边缘的一个谷仓里。 他们射杀了飞行员和拥有谷仓的农民。 他们把那个农民一家——包括他的孩子们——送到了劳动营。 没人指望他们能活着出来。 快跑!“离开这里，”那个小小的声音在保罗的脑海里低语。 “嘿，孩子，”男人叫道。 “只需要一分钟。” 保罗用脑子挡住了那个声音。 相反，他想到的是铁丝网后面的爸爸。 他想起了杰拉德，被塞进一辆卡车。 他想起了莱昂先生。他想起了那只友好的小鸽子，它似乎把他带到了这个地方。

Before Paul even knew what he was doing, he'd snatched the knife from the grass. He tucked it into the waistband of his trousers and started climbing up the tree.

保罗还没来得及意识到自己在做什么，就从草丛中抓起了那把刀。 他把它塞进裤腰里，开始往树上爬。