Neighborhood Mystery

Neighborhood Mystery. Written by Roy Ramos. Illustrated by Joel Snyder.

小区谜案。 罗伊·拉莫斯 撰文。 乔尔·斯奈德 绘图。

strange cases. I have seen it at the same house, at the same time, every Sunday night for the last three months. A group of individuals, some of them slim, some of them stout, most of them male, but some of them female, entering this house across the street from me. Each of them wears a similar looking uniform and carry some kind of case.

离奇的箱子。 过去三个月里，每个周日晚上的同一时间，我都在同一栋房子那里看到它们。 一群人走进我家街对面的那栋房子，他们有的瘦瘦的，有的胖胖的，大多是男士，也有几位女士。 每个人都穿着款式相近的制服，还提着各式各样的箱子。

I know they are not carrying luggage. Most of the cases are too small for that. One of the cases is huge. Only some are square while others have a weird curvy shape. At 7 p .m. it is hard to see anything clearly, especially if your neighborhood does not have street lights. Aside from the porch lights and the passing cars, I can't see much of anything in the darkness. All the people walking into the house seem to be wearing the same dark color. But down along their sides, there is a line of shiny buckles, catching flickers of light from the porch light. I wonder what it all means.

我清楚他们提的不是行李。 大部分箱子都太小，装不下行李。 只有一个箱子特别大。 只有一部分箱子是方形，剩下的都有着奇怪的曲线轮廓。 到了晚上七点。 很难看清任何东西，尤其是我们小区还没有路灯。 黑暗里，除了门廊灯和过往车辆的光，我什么都看不清。 走进房子的人都穿同款深色衣服。 可沿着他们的身体侧边，有一排亮闪闪的带扣，接住了门廊灯晃出的微光。 我真好奇这一切到底是怎么回事。

I never saw anything like this while living in Boston. But I do remember seeing strange reports on television that might help explain things. At first, I was afraid to tell anyone at school about my neighborhood mystery because I was afraid they would think I was acting strange. But then, I got up the courage to ask my friend Maria, who lives in my neighborhood, if she anything about the strange happenings.

我之前住在波士顿的时候，从没遇过这种事。 但我记得在电视上看过一些奇闻报道，说不定能帮我解开谜团。 一开始我不敢跟学校的人说这件小区谜案，怕大家觉得我没事找事怪怪的。 可后来我鼓起勇气问住同一个小区的朋友玛丽亚，她知不知道这件怪事。

I caught her in the hallway after school as she was opening her locker and reaching inside. She pulled out a small case. I froze. She turned to look at me and saw my startled face. What? She exclaimed. Haven't you seen a violin case before? Of course I had seen one before. After all, I was born in Boston. Hometown of one of the most famous symphony orchestras in the world, the Boston Pops. My family heard them play on every 4th of July. Last year, I counted 30 violins in that orchestra. So yes, I've seen my share of violin cases.

放学后我在走廊拦住她，她正打开储物柜伸手往里拿东西。 她拿出了一个小箱子。 我一下子僵住了。 她转头看向我，瞧见了我一脸吃惊的样子。 怎么了？ 她大声问道。 你没见过小提琴盒吗？ 我当然之前见过呀。 毕竟我生在波士顿。 那可是世界顶级交响乐团之一——波士顿通俗交响乐团的故乡。 每年独立日，我们全家都会去听他们演出。 去年我数过，那个乐团里一共有三十把小提琴。 所以说呀，我见过的小提琴盒可多了去了。

In fact, my dad rented a violin to see if I would like it. But I really wanted to play the guitar. The violin, now that I think of it, came in a case just like Maria's. Maybe I was too busy thinking about the mystery to make the connection. Did you need something, she asked?

其实我爸爸还租过一把小提琴，想看看我喜不喜欢。 可我其实更想学弹吉他。 现在想想，那把小提琴的盒子就跟玛丽亚这个一模一样。 大概我刚才满脑子都在想谜案，没反应过来而已。 你找我有事吗？她问道。