45 THE BARN CONVERSATIONS

CHAPTER 45 THE BARN CONVERSATIONS As winter dragged on, Roz spent more of her time inside with the herd. There were long stretches of quiet. The cows chewed their hay. The robot tapped the farm computer. The wind gently rattled the windows. And then someone would start talking, someone else would chime in, and the quiet of the barn would gradually be overtaken by conversations like these. "I am so bored." Tess was staring at the floor. "I can't wait until spring, when I can wander through tall grass and feel warm sunlight on my back. I just hope I don't die of boredom first!" Old Annabelle snorted. "You young cows are spoiled rotten," she said. "Your lives are so easy, and still you find things to complain about!" Tess rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, we should be grateful for what we've got, you've told us before."

第四十五章谷仓里的谈话随着冬天的流逝，罗丝花了更多的时间和牛群在一起。 很长一段时间都很安静。 牛啃干草。 机器人轻敲农场电脑。 风轻轻地吹得窗户格格作响。 然后有人开始说话，另一个人插话，然后谷仓的安静会逐渐被这样的谈话所取代。 “我好无聊。”苔丝盯着地板。 “我等不及春天的到来了，那时我可以漫步在高高的草丛中，感受温暖的阳光照在背上。 我只希望我不要先无聊死了！”老安娜贝尔哼了一声。 “你们这些小母牛都被宠坏了，”她说。 “你们的生活如此轻松，可你们还是有抱怨的地方！”苔丝翻了个白眼。 “是啊，是啊，我们应该感激我们所拥有的，你之前告诉过我们。”

"Well, you should be grateful for what you've got!" said Annabelle. "I've lived on other farms, and trust me, you have nothing to complain about." Tess couldn't help being curious, and she said, "What were those other farms like?" "Oh, I'd rather not discuss them," said Annabelle in a low voice. "You see, I witnessed some terrible things on those farms. It was a blessing when I was moved here, but I often think about the animals I left behind. I hope they're okay." The old cow sank into thought for a minute. "I know life here isn't perfect," she said at last. "But we have so much to be grateful for. We have our lovely herd, and we have this beautiful barn, and—" "And we have Roz," added Tess. "And we have Roz." Annabelle turned and smiled at the robot in the corner. "Roz listens to us, and treats us with love and kindness, and she makes our lives as comfortable as she possibly can. We certainly will miss her when she's gone." "Roz, why do humans need so much cow's milk?" said Lily as the other calves crowded around her. It

“嗯，你应该感激你所拥有的！”安娜贝尔说。 “我在别的农场住过，相信我，你没什么可抱怨的。” 苔丝忍不住好奇起来，她说：“其他的农场是什么样子的？”“哦，我宁愿不讨论它们，”安娜贝利低声说。 “你看，我在那些农场里目睹了一些可怕的事情。 当我搬到这里时，这是一种祝福，但我经常想起我留下的动物。 我希望他们没事。”老牛陷入了沉思。 “我知道这里的生活并不完美，”她终于说。 “但我们有太多值得感激的事情。 我们有可爱的牛群，有漂亮的谷仓，还有——”“我们还有罗丝，”苔丝补充说。 “我们还有罗兹。”安娜贝尔转过身，对着角落里的机器人微笑。 “罗兹倾听我们，用爱和善良对待我们，她尽可能让我们的生活舒适。 她走了以后，我们一定会想念她的。” “罗兹，为什么人类需要这么多牛奶？”莉莉说，其他的小牛都围了过来。 它

was a question they'd all been wondering about. "Well, there are billions of humans in the world," explained Roz, "and many of them drink milk and combine it with different ingredients to make different foods." "What kinds of foods?" said another calf. "Butter and cheese and yogurt are made with milk," said Roz. "Many desserts are also made with milk." "What's a dessert?" said someone else. "A dessert is a sweet food eaten at the end of a meal. Popular desserts include cake and custard and ice cream." This answer only raised more questions. "What is cake?" "What is custard?" "What is ice cream?" Roz tried her best to explain these foods to the calves. But it wasn't easy. After all, the robot couldn't even perform the simple act of eating. How could she possibly describe the flavors and sensations of tasting delicious desserts? Lily interrupted. "Just tell me this, Roz. When we're older, will our milk be used to make desserts?" "Yes," said the robot.

这是他们一直在想的问题。 “嗯，世界上有数十亿人，”罗兹解释说，“他们中的许多人喝牛奶，并将牛奶与不同的成分混合成不同的食物。” “什么样的食物？”另一头小牛问。 “黄油、奶酪和酸奶都是用牛奶做的，”罗兹说。 “很多甜点也是用牛奶做的。” “什么是甜点？”另一个人问。 甜点是餐后吃的甜食。 受欢迎的甜点包括蛋糕、蛋奶冻和冰淇淋。” 这个答案只会引出更多的问题。 “蛋糕是什么？”“蛋奶冻是什么？”“什么是冰淇淋？”罗兹尽了最大的努力向小象们解释这些食物。 但这并不容易。毕竟，这个机器人连吃东西这样简单的动作都不会做。 她怎么可能描述品尝美味甜点的味道和感觉呢？ 莉莉打断。“告诉我，罗兹。 等我们长大了，我们的牛奶会被用来做甜点吗？”“是的，”机器人说。

The calves smiled. Then they trotted away, happy in the knowledge that, someday, they'd help to bring sweet and delicious things into the world. "It is almost spring," said Roz to the herd. "It is almost time for me to run away, back home to the wilderness. I am sorry that I must leave, but you will all be well cared for when I am gone, I promise." Cows began mooing from their stalls. "Don't worry about us, Roz." "There's no need to apologize." "We understand why you're running away." Lily poked her head through the railings of her stall and said, "I could never run away to the wilderness. I would be too frightened!" "I'd love to roam through the wilderness!" said Tess. "It sounds so exciting!" "No wilderness for me, thank you very much," said Annabelle. "I just want a quiet, cozy life." "I have plenty to fear in the wilderness," said Roz. "However, I have more to fear here. I can never be my true self around humans. And so I must try to return to my home. "I only wish I could do it by myself," she went on.

小牛笑了。然后他们小跑着离开了，因为他们知道，总有一天，他们会为这个世界带来甜蜜和美味的东西。 “快到春天了，”罗兹对牛群说。 “差不多是我逃跑的时候了，回到荒野的家去。 对不起，我必须走了，但我保证，我走后你们会得到很好的照顾。” 奶牛开始从牛栏里出来。 “别为我们担心，罗兹。” “没必要道歉。” “我们理解你为什么要逃跑。” 莉莉从她的马厩的栏杆里探出头来，说：“我永远不会跑到荒野里去。 我太害怕了！”“我很想在荒野里漫游！”苔丝说。 “听起来太令人兴奋了！”“我不去荒野了，谢谢你。”安娜贝尔说。 “我只想要一个安静、舒适的生活。” “在荒野中我有很多恐惧，”罗兹说。 “然而，我更担心的是。 在人类身边，我永远做不到真正的自己。 所以我必须设法回到我的家。 “我只希望我能自己做这件事，”她接着说。

"But I need help. I could never escape from the farm without the children, and I could never find my way home without my son. I feel bad for asking so much of them." "Don't feel bad," said Lily. "Brightbill and the children want to help you. They love you! We all do. The farm won't feel the same without you, Roz. But we know you're doing the right thing." The herd agreed with Lily. And throughout the barn, cows quietly nodded their heads.

“但我需要帮助。没有孩子们，我永远也逃不出农场，没有儿子，我也永远找不到回家的路。 对他们要求这么多，我觉得很不好意思。” “别难过，”莉莉说。 “布莱特比尔和孩子们想帮助你。 他们爱你！我们都是这样。没有你，农场就不一样了，罗兹。 但我们知道你在做正确的事。” 牛群同意莉莉的看法。 在整个谷仓里，奶牛们安静地点着头。