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When his mother came to where John Thomas was standing under the apple tree, she at first could see nothing. But the boy pointed to a bare spot and there on the ground was a perfect cube about one inch each way.
他的母亲走到了约翰·托马斯站立的那棵苹果树下，起先她什么也没有看到。但是孩子指着一块空地，而在那块空地上确实有一个绝对标准的立方体物件，每一面约有一英寸。
"It appears to be made of highly polished steel," Mrs. Thompson said, and stooped to pick it up. To her surprise, she could not lift it. "That's the strangest thing I ever saw", she said as her fingers slipped on the gleaming surfaces.
“它看上去是由打磨得很光的钢制成的，”汤普森太太说。她弯腰想去将它捡起来。令她惊奇的是，她没能提起来。“这是我所见过的最奇怪的东西了，”她边说，手指边在那闪闪发光的表面上滑动着。
By this time Mr.Thompson had come out to see what was going on, and he, too, tried to lift the cube, without success. "John Thomas," he said, "did you bury a steel rod in the ground just to see what would happen?"
这时，汤普森先生也已走了出来，看看发生了什么事儿。他也想拿起那个立方体，但没有成功。“约翰·托马斯，“他说，“你没有在地里埋下一根钢棒，想看看会有什么结果吧?”
"No, Father", the boy said, "I didn’t. Honest. I found it that way."
“没有，爸爸，”男孩说。“我没有埋。真的，我发现它时就是这个样儿。”
"Why don't you get a shovel and see whether it's buried?" Mrs.Thompson asked reasonably.
“你为什么不去拿把铁锹，看看是不是有钢棒埋着呢?”汤普森太太合乎情理地说道。
"I believe I will," Mr.Thompson said. He got a garden spade from the garage and shoved it into the ground at an angle under the metal cube. The spade cut easily into the soft earth without striking an obstruction.
“我这就去。”汤普森先生答道。他从车库里拿了一把种花用的铁锹，斜着朝金属立方体的底下铲下去。铁锹一下子插进了松软的泥土，没有碰到任何障碍。
"You see", Mrs.Thompson said, "it isn't buried."
“你瞧，”汤普森太太说。“它不是埋着的。”
Mr. Thompson grasped the spade firmly and tried to lift the dirt with the cube resting on top. He couldn't do it. He then shifted both hands to the end of the spade handle and tried to pry with it. The handle bent slightly with his effort, but the metal cube remained immovable.
汤普森先生紧紧握住铁锹，试图把泥土和上面的立方体一起铲起来。但他铲不动。然后，他把双手挪到铁锹柄头上，想用铁锹撬。他一使劲，铁锹柄略微弯曲，而那金属立方体却纹丝未动。
