31 THE CAMPFIRE

CHAPTER 31 THE CAMPFIRE Woodsmoke billowed up from the backyard and drifted across the farm. Roz was building a campfire for the Shareefs. In her old life, the robot made fire by cracking special stones together until she got a spark. In her new life, she used a lighter. The family sat around the rippling flames and gazed up at the stars. The dog stretched out on the warm ground. The robot was standing nearby but her thoughts were far away. Her computer brain was scrolling back through memories of campfires and of stargazing with Brightbill. Fluffy white marshmallows were skewered onto the ends of sticks and then roasted above the flames. The children laughed as their marshmallows caught fire. They liked them charred on the outside and gooey on the inside. Their father preferred his evenly browned. When the Shareefs weren't stuffing their mouths, they were chattering happily.

第三十一章营火的柴烟从后院滚滚升起，飘过农场。 罗兹在为shareef家生营火。 在她的旧生活中，机器人通过将特殊的石头放在一起，直到她得到火花来生火。 在她的新生活中，她使用打火机。 一家人围坐在摇曳的火焰旁，仰望着天上的星星。 狗在温暖的地上伸开四肢。 机器人就站在附近，但她的思绪却在很远的地方。 她的电脑大脑在回忆篝火和和Brightbill一起看星星的情景。 松软的白色棉花糖被串在木棍的两端，然后在火上烤。 棉花糖着了火，孩子们笑了起来。 他们喜欢外面烧焦，里面黏糊糊的。 他们的父亲更喜欢他均匀的棕色皮肤。 酋长们不往嘴里塞东西的时候，就愉快地叽叽喳喳地说个不停。

"That's the Space Station," said Jaya, pointing to a tiny dot that was slowly moving through the sky. "I can't believe people live there." "Animals live there too," said Jad. "The station has a farm. We should bring our cows up and show those space farmers how it's done!" "I think our cows are perfectly content right here on Earth," said Mr. Shareef. "And so am I." Once the marshmallows were gone, Jaya and Jad snuggled up with Oscar, stared into the flames, and asked their father about the old days. But the children were just too cozy to stay awake for long. So Mr. Shareef spoke to Roz instead. "We made campfires all the time when I was a boy." The man poked the coals with his marshmallow stick, and glowing embers floated into the air. "The whole family would sit around like this, telling stories. We had a nice life here. But then my brother and sister moved to the city, my parents got old, and everyone expected me to take over the farm. "I couldn't run this place by myself," he went on, "so I hired Jamilla. I did the farmwork and she managed the business. We made a good team. And then we fell in love.

“那是空间站，”贾亚指着一个在天空中慢慢移动的小点说。 “我不敢相信有人住在那里。” 贾德说：“动物也住在那里。 “车站有一个农场。我们应该把我们的奶牛带上去，让那些太空农民看看是怎么做的！”“我认为我们的奶牛在地球上非常满足，”谢里夫说。 “我也是。”棉花糖吃完后，贾亚和杰德依偎在奥斯卡身边，凝视着火焰，向他们的父亲问起过去的日子。 但是孩子们太舒服了，不能长时间保持清醒。 因此，谢里夫转而找了罗兹。 “当我还是个孩子的时候，我们一直在生火。” 那人用他的棉花糖棒戳煤，灼热的余烬飘向空中。 “全家人都会像这样围坐在一起，讲故事。 我们在这里过得很好。但后来我的哥哥和妹妹搬到了城市，我的父母也老了，每个人都希望我接管农场。 “我一个人没法经营这个地方，”他接着说，“所以我雇了贾米拉。 我干农活，她经营生意。 我们是一个很好的团队。然后我们就相爱了。

"When Jamilla was pregnant with Jad we bought a few automachines to help out. Then Jaya showed up and we bought a few more. If I'd known one of those machines would be the death of her…" The farmer's voice trailed off. Roz wanted to know more about Jamilla, and about Mr. Shareef, and about the rest of his family. But a normal robot wouldn't ask personal questions. So she kept her questions to herself and dropped another log on the fire.

“当贾米拉怀上杰德的时候，我们买了一些自动售货机来帮忙。 后来贾亚出现了，我们又买了几件。 如果我早知道那些机器会害死她……”农夫的声音渐渐小了。 罗兹想更多地了解贾米拉，了解谢里夫先生，了解他的家人。 但正常的机器人不会问私人问题。 于是她把问题藏在心里，又往火里扔了一根木头。