Chapter 4

4 The Lighthouse Oki's home was no ordinary lighthouse. Grandma Nan had fully expected the building to be empty and run-down, but the sea otters had moved in and made it their own.The inside was a magical, spiralling grotto, fully decorated with objects found on the beach and in the sea. Huge plastic barrels were attached to

奥基的家不是一座普通的灯塔。 南奶奶原以为这栋楼是空的，破旧的，但海獭们搬进来了，把它变成了自己的房子。里面是一个神奇的螺旋形洞穴，用在海滩和海里发现的物品装饰着。 巨大的塑料桶被固定在上面

drainpipes to catch rainwater, battered old treasure chests had been repurposed for kitchen cupboards and stained-glass windows were formed of little shards of sea- glass. If something was useful, it was in use- and if something was beautiful, it was on display. 'How long have you lived here?' asked Rosa, tugging gently at a curtain made from a tatty piece of old sail. 'About three years,' said Oki, hanging out the seaweed to dry on long lines of rope that stretched from one side of the lighthouse to the other.

排水管用来接雨水，破旧的宝箱被改造成厨房的橱柜，彩色玻璃窗是用海玻璃的小碎片做成的。 如果某样东西很有用，它就在使用中；如果某样东西很漂亮，它就在展示中。 “你在这儿住了多久了？”罗莎问，一边轻轻地拉着一块破旧的旧帆做成的窗帘。 “大概三年吧，”大木说，一边把海藻挂在从灯塔一边延伸到另一边的长绳子上晾干。

'The place was empty and falling apart, so we fixed it up and moved in. You can't keep a sea otter down, that's for sure. 'I think someone called Old Boar Bill used to live here,' said Nan. 'Legend says he got so lonely -' 'Out here? With the sea?' interrupted Oki, in astonishment. 'Who could ever be lonely with the sea as a friend? It brings you gifts each day, and sings you to sleep at night!' 'Oki sounds like you, Nan,' said Rosa. 'You never get lonely or bored of being on your own.' 'Very true!' said Nan.

“那地方空无一人，快要散架了，所以我们把它修好，搬进去了。” 你无法压制海獭，这是肯定的。 “我想以前有个叫老野猪比尔的人住在这里，”南说。 “传说他很孤独——”“在这儿？” 和大海在一起？奥基惊讶地插嘴说。 “有大海做朋友，谁会感到孤独？” 它每天给你带来礼物，晚上唱歌让你入眠！“听起来很像你，南，”罗莎说。 “你永远不会感到孤独或厌倦独自一人。“非常正确！”南说。

Once the sea otter had hung up the last of the seaweed he opened a wooden door, revealing a narrow staircase. 'Ready?' he said. 'We haven't managed to fix the light yet, but the view is as clear as day from the top. They walked up the many hundreds of steps that spiralled upwards around the building. Nan found the going tough,but she wasn't one to complain, and Rosa gripped the handrail as tight as she could to feel safe. Stick bounced up behind her, seemingly having no problems at all.

当海獭把最后一根海藻挂起来后，他打开一扇木门，露出一段狭窄的楼梯。 “准备好了吗?他说。“我们还没有修好灯光，但从山顶上看，景色就像白天一样清晰。” 他们走上围绕着大楼盘旋上升的数百级台阶。 南觉得事情很棘手，但她不会抱怨，罗莎紧紧抓住扶手，让自己感到安全。 棍子在她身后弹了起来，似乎一点问题也没有。

The lighthouse had six floors, each narrower than the last, and the staircase cut through them all on its course to the light room at its top. Eventually,they stepped out into blazing daylight. You could see everything for miles on end. White seabirds with black caps swooped on the wind at their eye level, shouting hello at them as they whizzed past. 'Well, I never!' said Nan, out of puff and propping her hands on her hips.

灯塔有六层楼，一层比一层窄，楼梯穿过每一层楼，直通到塔顶的灯光室。 最后，他们走出屋外，来到了耀眼的日光下。 你可以看到绵延数英里的一切。 戴着黑帽子的白色海鸟在与他们平视的高度乘风而下，当他们呼啸而过时，它们大声向他们问好。 “嗯，我从来没有！”南喘着气说，双手撑在屁股上。