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Nai didn’t know how to read, because he had grown up on a boat, but he really wanted to know what was in the red book.
奈不认识字，因为他是在船上长大的，但他真的很想知道红皮书里有什么。
It had to be a very special treasure, because you had to learn to read to understand it.
它肯定是一个非常特别的宝藏，因为你必须学习阅读才能理解它。
Nai’s father didn’t care about the book and wanted to sell it, but the boy cried and told his father he really wanted to learn to read, so he could read the book.
奈的父亲没注意这本书，想把它卖了，但男孩哭了，告诉父亲他真的很想学习阅读，这样他就可以读这本书了。
Nai’s father said, ‘Fine. It probably won’t sell for much, anyway. Who wants books?’ and he dived into the water to find more treasure.
奈的父亲说：“好吧。反正它可能也卖不了多少钱。谁愿意买书呢？”他潜入水中去寻找更多的宝藏。
For years, Nai looked at the book every night. He touched the words, tried to understand them. But he couldn’t teach himself to read.
多年来，奈每天晚上都会看这本书。他摸着那些字，试着去理解它们。但他没法自学阅读。
Sometimes, when they were in a city, he asked other children to read the words to him.
有时，当他们在城市里时，他会让其他孩子教他读单词。
He didn’t know if they were correct or not, but he remembered which words were which, and at night, he said the words to himself.
他不知道读的对不对，但他记得哪些话是哪些，晚上，他对着自己自言自语。
Nai knew what most of the words meant: ‘leaf’ and ‘wind’. But there were also words he didn’t know, like ‘Gemma’.
奈知道了大部分单词的意思：“树叶”和“风”。但也有一些他不认识的词，比如‘Gema’。
‘You alright, honey?’ Gemma jumped off her chair. It was her mother.
“你还好吗，亲爱的？”杰玛从椅子上跳了起来。是她的母亲。
‘I brought you a cup of tea,’ said Gemma’s mother. ‘What are you reading?’
“我给你端了杯茶，”杰玛的母亲说。“你在读什么？”
‘Oh, just a book I got from the school library,’ said Gemma.
“哦，就是我从学校图书馆借的一本书。”杰玛说。
‘Is it scary? You jumped when I came in.’
“是恐怖的书吗？我进来的时候，你都跳了起来。”
Gemma laughed and closed the book. ‘A bit.’
杰玛笑着合上了这本书，“有点儿。”
‘Well, you keep on reading. It’s great to see you’re interested in books.’
“好吧，你继续读吧。很高兴看到你喜欢读书。”
Gemma’s mother left, and Gemma kept reading, forgetting about her cup of tea.
杰玛的母亲走了，杰玛继续看书，忘了那杯茶。
When Nai grew older, he saw that all the other children knew how to read.
当奈长大后，他发现所有其他的孩子都知道如何阅读。
He asked if he could stay in a city for a while and learn to read. But his father always said no.
他问他是否可以在城市里待一段时间，学习阅读。但他父亲总是拒绝。
‘I need you, Nai. I’m growing old, and soon I won’t be able to dive myself.’
“我需要你，奈。我老了，很快我就不能潜水了。”
But Nai didn’t want to dive for treasures until he was old.
但奈想着他老了才愿意潜水去寻宝。
He found the treasures so boring now, because he saw all the interesting things that people in the cities could do.
现在，他觉得那些宝藏了然无趣，因为他看到城里的人可以做很多有趣的事。
So one night, Nai ran away. He wrapped the red book in its plastic and ran away into one of the cities.
于是有一天晚上，奈跑了。他把红皮书用塑料包起来，然后跑到了一座城市里。
For months, Nai tried to learn to read. But living in the city was much harder than he thought.
几个月来，奈一直在努力学习阅读。但在城市里生活比他想象的要难得多。
He was big now, and adults didn’t like him. Nobody wanted to take him inside when it rained, and he had no treasures to sell for food.
现在他长大了，大人们都不喜欢他了。下雨的时候没人愿意让他到室内躲雨，他也没有宝物可以卖给别人换食物。
And when he told people he wanted to learn to read, they looked at him and laughed.
当他告诉人们他想学习阅读时，人们看着他笑了起来。
But Nai never lost the book. Sometimes, people asked to buy the book from him. But he wouldn’t sell it.
但奈从未丢失过这本书。有时，人们会要求把这本书买走。但他不同意卖。
The red book was more important than food. When it rained, he wrapped the book in plastic. He could get wet, but the book had to stay dry.
红皮书比食物更重要。下雨的时候，他用塑料袋把书包起来。他可能会被淋湿，但书必须保持干燥。
One day, Nai met an old woman who had bought an old library.
有一天，奈遇到了一位买了一座旧图书馆的老妇人。
‘This place is full of treasures,’ she said. ‘Beautiful old books. But they’re old and wet and they need help.
她说，“这里遍布珍宝，有一些很漂亮的旧书。但它们又老又湿，需要帮助。
Will you work here and help me look after these books?’
你愿意在这里工作，帮我照看这些书吗？”
‘Of course!’ said Nai.
“当然愿意！”奈说。
He couldn’t read, but he wanted to work with books. And he worked hard. He moved the books and cleaned the library.
他不识字，但他想和书打交道。他工作很努力。他搬走了书，打扫了图书馆。
When the books were dry, he put them on the shelves. The old woman said that Nai did a good job, and she paid him well.
等书干了，他就把它们摆在书架上。老太太说，奈做得很好，她给了他很高的报酬。
She was interested in his red book, but she never asked to see it.
她对他的红皮书很感兴趣，但她从未要求看过。
When the old woman learned that Nai couldn’t read, she said, ‘I’m going to teach you. I don’t care how long it takes. Everyone should be able to read.’
当老妇人得知奈不识字时，她说：“我要教你。不管花费多长时间。每个人都应该学会阅读。”
