42 THE STRANGE FAMILY

CHAPTER 42 THE STRANGE FAMILY It was a sweltering afternoon, and the heat had put everyone in a bad mood. Roz was standing in the shade watching her son out on the water. The other goslings were teasing him about something when they suddenly burst into laughter, and Brightbill turned and hurried home with a stormy expression on his face. He stomped into the garden and right past his mother without saying a word. "What is wrong, Brightbill?" said Roz as she followed her son into the Nest. "Nothing!" he squawked. "Leave me alone!" "Tell me what is wrong." "I don't want to talk about it!" "Maybe I can help." "Mama, the other goslings were making fun of me." "What did they say?" "They called you a monster and then laughed at me

第四十二章奇怪的家庭这是一个闷热的下午，热得每个人都心情不好。 罗丝站在阴凉处看着她的儿子在水上玩耍。 其他的小鹅正在拿什么事逗弄他，突然爆发出笑声，布莱特比尔转过身来，脸上带着愤怒的表情匆匆回家。 他一声不吭地大步走进花园，从他母亲身边走过。 “怎么了，布莱特比尔？”萝丝跟着儿子走进鸟巢，问道。 “没什么！”他尖声说。“放开我！”“告诉我出什么事了。” “我不想谈这个！”“也许我能帮上忙。” “妈妈，其他小鹅都在取笑我。” “他们说什么？”“他们叫你怪物，然后嘲笑我

for having a monster mother." "They should know by now that I am not a monster. Would you like me to talk to them?" "No! Don't do that! That'll just make things worse." The robot sat next to her son. "Mama, I know you're a robot. But I don't understand what a robot is." "A robot is a machine. I was not born. I was built." "Who built you?" "I do not know. I do not remember being built. My very first memory is waking up on the northern shore of this island." "Were you smaller back then?" said the gosling. "No, I have always been this size." Roz looked down at her weathered body. "However, I used to be shiny, like the surface of the pond. I used to stand straighter than a tree trunk. I used to speak a different language. I have not grown bigger, but I have changed very much." The robot wanted to explain things to her son, but the truth was that she understood very little about herself. It was a mystery how she had come to life on the rocky shore. It was a mystery why her computer

因为我有个怪物妈妈。” “他们现在应该知道，我不是一个怪物。 你想让我和他们谈谈吗？”“不!别这样！那只会让事情变得更糟。” 机器人坐在她儿子的旁边。 “妈妈，我知道你是个机器人。 但我不明白机器人是什么。” “机器人就是机器。我还没有出生。 我是被造的。”“谁造了你？”“我不知道。 我不记得被建造过。 我最初的记忆是在这个岛的北岸醒来。” “那时候你还小吗？”小鹅说。 “不，我一直都这么大。” 罗兹低头看着她饱经风霜的身体。 “然而，我曾经是闪亮的，就像池塘的表面。 我曾经站得比树干还直。 我以前说的是另一种语言。 我没有变大，但我已经改变了很多。” 机器人想向她的儿子解释一些事情，但事实是她对自己知之甚少。 她是如何在岩石海岸上苏醒过来的，这是个谜。 为什么她的电脑

brain knew certain things but not others. She tried to answer Brightbill's questions, but her answers only left him more confused. "What do you mean, you're not alive?" squawked Brightbill. "It is true," said Roz. "I am not an animal. I do not eat or breathe. I am not alive." "You move and talk and think, Mama. You're definitely alive." It was impossible for such a young goose to understand technical things like computer brains and batteries and machines. The gosling was much better at understanding natural things like islands and forests and parents. Parents. The word suddenly left Brightbill feeling uneasy. "You're not my real mother, are you?" "There are many kinds of mothers," said the robot. "Some mothers spend their whole lives caring for their young. Some lay eggs and immediately abandon them. Some care for the offspring of other mothers. I have tried to act like your mother, but no, I am not your birth mother." "Do you know what happened to my birth mother?" Roz told Brightbill about that fateful day in spring.

布莱恩知道某些事情，但不知道其他事情。 她试图回答布莱特比尔的问题，但她的回答只会让他更加困惑。 “你说你没活着是什么意思？”布莱特比尔尖声说。 “这是真的，”罗兹说。“我不是动物。 我不吃也不呼吸。我不是活着的。” “你会动，会说话，会思考，妈妈。 你肯定还活着。”对于这样一只年轻的鹅来说，不可能理解像计算机大脑、电池和机器这样的技术知识。 小鹅更善于理解自然事物，比如岛屿、森林和父母。 的父母。这句话突然让布莱特比尔感到不安。 “你不是我的亲生母亲，对吧？”“有很多种妈妈，”机器人说。 “有些母亲一生都在照顾自己的孩子。 有的产卵后立即丢弃。 有些照顾其他母亲的后代。 我试着表现得像你的母亲，但不，我不是你的生母。” “你知道我生母出了什么事吗？”罗兹向布莱特比尔讲述了春天那个决定命运的日子。

About how the rocks had fallen and only one egg had survived. About how she'd put the egg in a nest and carried it away. About how she'd watched over the egg until a tiny gosling hatched. Brightbill listened carefully until she finished. "Should I stop calling you Mama?" said the gosling. "I will still act like your mother, no matter what you call me," said the robot. "I think I'll keep calling you Mama." "I think I will keep calling you son." "We're a strange family," said Brightbill, with a little smile. "But I kind of like it that way." "Me too," said Roz.

关于岩石如何坠落，只有一个蛋幸存下来。 关于她如何把蛋放进巢里，然后把它带走。 关于她如何照看蛋，直到一只小鹅孵出来。 布莱特比尔仔细地听着，直到她说完。 “我不应该再叫你妈妈了吗？”小鹅说。 “不管你叫我什么，我还是会像你妈妈一样，”机器人说。 “我想我会一直叫你妈妈。” “我想我会一直叫你儿子。” “我们是一个奇怪的家庭，”布莱特比尔微笑着说。 “但我有点喜欢这样。” “我也是，”罗兹说。