73 THE PIGEONS

CHAPTER 73 THE PIGEONS In the very heart of the city was a great swath of greenery. The old park. It had rolling lawns and flower gardens and dense wooded areas. It had lakes and ponds and fountains. It had playgrounds and benches and miles of cobblestone pathways. It also had pigeons. Thousands and thousands of pigeons. The city pigeons witnessed things you wouldn't believe. Nothing shocked them. They certainly weren't shocked by robots. So when Roz marched into the middle of the park, the pigeons there weren't troubled in the least. She approached a flock that was about a hundred birds strong, all cooing and strutting across the cobblestones as if they owned the place. But as Roz stomped closer and closer, the pigeons scuttled out of the way to let her pass by. However, Roz didn't pass by. She stopped and glanced around, and when she saw that she was alone

第七十三章鸽子在城市的正中心有一大片绿地。 老公园。这里有连绵起伏的草坪、花园和茂密的树林。 它有湖泊、池塘和喷泉。 这里有操场、长凳和数英里长的鹅卵石小径。 它也有鸽子。成千上万的鸽子。 城里的鸽子见证了你无法相信的事情。 没有什么能让他们震惊。他们当然不会对机器人感到震惊。 因此，当罗兹大步走进公园中央时，那里的鸽子丝毫没有受到困扰。 她走近一群大约有一百只鸟的鸟群，它们都咕咕叫着，昂首阔步地走过鹅卵石路，好像它们是这块地方的主人似的。 但随着罗兹越走越近，鸽子们迅速闪开，让她通过。 然而，罗兹并没有经过。 她停了下来，环顾四周，当她看到她独自一人时

with the pigeons, she started speaking to them in the language of the animals. "Hello, pigeons, my name is Roz." The pigeons cocked their heads, which meant, "Is this robot actually speaking to us?" "Yes, I am actually speaking to you," continued Roz. "I am searching for my son. He is a goose named Brightbill. Have you seen him?" For the first time in a long time, the pigeons were shocked. Several of them fluttered away from the talking robot, but most were too curious to leave. One pigeon was so curious that she strutted out from the flock and right up to the robot. "Let me get this straight," said the curious pigeon. "Your name's Roz, and you've got a son named Brightbill, who's a goose?" "That is correct." "I can't believe it!" The pigeon flapped her wings and turned to the others. "You guys, this is Roz! From Graybeak's stories! Remember?" The flock began cooing excitedly. "You have heard of Graybeak?" said Roz. "Everyone's heard of Graybeak!" said the pigeon. "A while back she started telling stories about a

对于鸽子，她开始用动物的语言对它们说话。 “你们好，鸽子们，我叫罗兹。” 鸽子歪着头，意思是：“这个机器人真的在和我们说话吗？”“是的，我就是在跟你说话，”罗兹继续说。 “我在找我的儿子。 他是一只叫布莱特比尔的鹅。 你见过他吗？”这么长时间以来，鸽子们第一次感到震惊。 其中有几个人从会说话的机器人身边飞走了，但大多数人都太好奇了，不敢离开。 一只鸽子非常好奇，她从鸽群中昂首阔步地走出来，径直走到机器人面前。 “让我搞清楚，”好奇的鸽子说。 “你叫罗兹，你有个儿子叫布莱特比尔，他是只鹅？”“没错。” “我简直不敢相信！”鸽子拍打着翅膀，转向其他鸽子。 “伙计们，这是罗兹！”从格雷比克的故事里！还记得吗?”鸟群开始兴奋地咕咕叫。 “你听说过格雷比克吗？” “大家都听说过格雷比克！”鸽子说。 “不久前，她开始讲一个关于

goose whose mother was some kind of wild robot. We all thought she was joking, but I guess not!" "She was not joking," said Roz. "But I have lost my son, and I do not know how to find him. Perhaps Graybeak could help. Do you know where she is?" "I hate to tell you this, Roz, but Graybeak is dead." The birds all lowered their heads. "Ya know, life ain't easy for us pigeons. We only live a few years out here, if we're lucky. But we were especially sad when we lost Graybeak. She was one of the best." The others cooed in agreement. "I am sorry for your loss," said Roz. "I wish I had gotten to meet Graybeak. My son was very fond of her." The pigeon gazed up at the robot with a steely look in her eye. "Any friend of Graybeak is a friend of

鹅的妈妈是某种野生机器人。 我们都以为她是在开玩笑，但我想不是！”“她不是在开玩笑，”罗兹说。 “但是我失去了我的儿子，我不知道怎样才能找到他。 也许格雷比克能帮上忙。 你知道她在哪儿吗？”“我不想告诉你，罗兹，格雷比克死了。” 鸟儿们都低下了头。 “你知道，我们鸽子的生活并不容易。 幸运的话，我们在这里只能活几年。 但当我们失去格雷比克时，我们尤其伤心。 她是最好的之一。”其他人低声表示同意。 “我对你的损失感到遗憾，”罗兹说。 “我真希望我能见到格雷比克。 我儿子很喜欢她。” 鸽子抬头看着机器人，眼神坚毅。 “格雷比克的朋友就是

ours. If Brightbill is lost, we're gonna find him." She turned to the others. "You heard me, flock! Hit the skies! And tell every pigeon you see to start searching for a goose named Brightbill!" At those words the flock erupted into flight. Only the robot and the curious pigeon remained. "By the way, they call me Strutter," said the pigeon, fluffing out her chest feathers. "It is very nice to meet you, Strutter," said the robot. "Thank you for searching for Brightbill. What can I do to help?" "You can help by staying put! I want you in this park when we return with your son. Don't hide or wander off and make us go searching for you too! "Oh, and another thing," Strutter added. "Stay away from the park ranger robot. He spends most of his time taking care of the grounds, but he's always on the lookout for troublemakers." The pigeon gave a quick salute to the robot. Then she joined the search for Brightbill.

我们的。如果布莱特比尔不见了，我们会找到他的。” 她转向其他人。“你们听到了，羊群！”飞上天！告诉你看到的每一只鸽子，开始寻找一只叫布莱特比尔的鹅！”听到这些话，羊群突然四散奔逃。 只剩下机器人和好奇的鸽子。 “顺便说一下，他们叫我Strutter，”鸽子说着，抖了抖胸前的羽毛。 “很高兴见到你，斯特拉特，”机器人说。 “感谢您搜索Brightbill。 我能帮什么忙？”“你待在原地可以帮上忙！”我们带着你儿子回来时，你要留在公园里。 不要躲起来，不要乱跑，让我们也去找你！“哦，还有一件事，”斯特拉特补充说。 “离护林员机器人远点。 他大部分时间都在照顾场地，但他总是在注意那些捣乱的人。” 鸽子迅速地向机器人行了个礼。 然后她加入了寻找布莱特比尔的行列。