4 There, There

4 There, There

4 好啦好啦

"This is my favorite time of day," Blue says. "I love the late afternoon, too," says Gully. "The sunlight. The light breeze ruffling my feathers. Trash cans filled with the day's yummy garbage… What more could a seagull ask for?" Blue rides past the bookstore, the bike shop, and the ice cream parlor, waving at all their neighbors along the way. As they pass the Nautilus Inn, they see a figure on the roof. It is the inn's owner, Ms. Crabbe. "She's up there every day," Blue says. "She just loves looking down on everyone in town," notes Gully. Blue turns into Shellville Grocery's parking lot. They love the store's heavy dark green doors and its sign with gold letters and its big windows. The windows used to be full of decorations and funny advertisements. Now all Blue sees is dust and cobwebs. It seems quiet and dusty inside the store, too. A handful of customers are in line to check out, but there's no one behind the register.

“这是我一天里最喜欢的时刻。”布鲁说道。 “我也爱傍晚的时光。”格利说。 “暖暖的阳光， 微风轻轻吹得我羽毛晃呀晃， 垃圾桶里装满了一整天的美味垃圾……一只海鸥还能奢求什么呀？” 布鲁骑车经过书店、自行车店和冰淇淋店，一路上朝着所有邻居挥手问好。 他们路过鹦鹉螺旅馆的时候，看见屋顶上有个身影。 是旅馆的老板克拉布女士。 “她每天都在那儿待着。”布鲁说。 “她就喜欢低头看镇上的每个人。”格利补充道。 布鲁转进了谢尔维尔杂货店的停车场。 他们喜欢这家店厚重的深绿色大门、带金漆字母的招牌，还有大大的窗户。 以前窗户上总挂满了装饰物和有意思的广告。 可现在布鲁只看到灰尘和蜘蛛网。 店里看起来也安安静静的，落了一层灰。 有几个顾客在排队结账，可收银台后面一个人都没有。

"Where is Mr. Haddock?" Blue asks. "He was in the middle of ringing me up," a man explains. "Then he…disappeared," says the woman behind him. "Do you hear that?" Gully asks. "What is it?" wonders Blue.

“哈多克先生去哪儿了？” 布鲁问道。 “他刚才正给我结账呢。”一个男人解释说。 “然后他就……不见了。”他身后的女士说道。 “你听见那个声音了吗？” 格利问。 “是什么声音呀？”布鲁疑惑地说。

They follow the sounds back to Mr. Haddock's office. And there is Mr. Haddock. He is crying. "Oh, hello, Blue," the shopkeeper says, wiping his eyes. "I didn't hear you come in." A few months ago, Mr. Haddock's best friend died. It's been sad for everyone in Shellville. But especially for Mr. Haddock. Blue whispers to Gully, "Why don't you ring up the customers and hang up the Closed sign? This might take a while." "Aye-aye, Captain," says Gully, disappearing with a flap of his wings.

他们跟着声音走到了哈多克先生的办公室。 哈多克先生就在里面呢。 他正在哭。 “哦，你好呀，布鲁。”店主擦了擦眼睛说道。 “我没听见你进来。” 几个月前，哈多克先生最好的朋友去世了。 谢尔维尔的所有人都很难过。 尤其是哈多克先生。 布鲁小声对格利说：“你去帮顾客结完账，再挂上‘停业’的牌子好不好？ 这事可能得花点时间。” “收到，队长！”格利说着，扑棱一下翅膀就飞走了。

"I'm here to deliver your horseshoe loaves, sand dollar buns, and rocky reef muffins," Blue explains to Mr. Haddock. "But all that can wait. Right now, I'm here for you." "I miss my Marina," he says, showing Blue a framed photo. "Nothing's the same without her." "Maybe I can make her appear," Blue suggests. "Though appearing magic tends to be hazy, and it only lasts for a few seconds." "That's not enough," says Mr. Haddock. Blue thinks. "How about a bit of soothing magic?" they suggest. "I'll try anything," says Mr. Haddock. Blue clears their mind. They focus on soothing. "There, there," Blue says. "How are you feeling now?"

“我是来给你送马蹄形面包、沙美元小餐包，还有礁石岩松饼的。”布鲁对哈多克先生解释说。 “不过这些都可以先等等。 现在我是来陪你的。” “我想念我的玛丽娜。”他说着，给布鲁看一张装裱好的照片。 “没有她，什么都不一样了。” “说不定我能让她出现哦。”布鲁提议说。 “不过显现魔法的效果朦朦胧胧的，而且只能持续几秒钟。” “那不够。”哈多克先生说。 布鲁想了想。 “那试试安抚魔法怎么样？”他们建议道。 “我什么都愿意试试。”哈多克先生说。 布鲁清空脑子里的杂念。 他们全神贯注想着“安抚”。 “好啦好啦，没事了。”布鲁说。 “你现在感觉怎么样啦？”

"Better," says Mr. Haddock. "I'm thinking about the way Marina would follow me around as I arranged the store and decorated the display windows. And how she loved to sit by the register, watching over everything." Then Mr. Haddock's mustache quivers. Tears form in his eyes. "But those are just memories," he says. "My Marina isn't here with me. I feel…so alone. And now I'm even sadder!" He starts to cry again. "Oh, raisins," Blue says. "I'm so sorry. I guess I'll just…leave your delivery and go." Outside Mr. Haddock's office, Blue notices a stack of boxes.

“好点了。”哈多克先生说。 “我正想起以前我整理店铺、布置陈列橱窗的时候，玛丽娜总跟在我身边转。 还有她多喜欢坐在收银台旁边，照看着店里的一切。” 接着哈多克先生的胡子抖了抖。 他眼眶里泛起了泪花。 “可这些都只是回忆呀。”他说。 “我的玛丽娜没在这儿陪着我。 我觉得……好孤单。 现在我更难过了！” 他又开始哭了起来。 “哎呀，糟糕。”布鲁说。 “真的对不起。 我还是……把你订的东西放下就走吧。” 在哈多克先生的办公室外面，布鲁注意到了一摞箱子。