George weighed the bag with his hands. "I don't mind it," he said. "I don't notice it any more. It's just a part of me."
乔治用手掂了掂残障袋的重量。“没关系,”他说,“我已经感觉不到它了。它就像我身体的一部分。”
"You've been so tired lately—kind of worn out,'' said Hazel. "If there was just some way we could make a little hole in the bottom of the bag, and just take out something. Just a little."
“你最近都很累——好像被累坏了,”海瑟说,“如果我们可以在袋子底下打个小洞,拿出点儿东西来就好了。就拿出一点儿来。”
"Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every piece I took out," said George. "I don't call that a bargain."
“每拿出一颗,我就得坐两年牢,外加2000美元罚款,”乔治说,“这可不太划算。”
"If you could just take a few out when you came home from work," said Hazel. "I mean—you don't compete with anybody around here. You just sit around."
“你可以工作完回家时拿出一些,”海瑟说,“我是说——在这儿你不和什么人竞争,只是坐着而已。”
"If I tried to get away with it," said George, "then other people'd get away with it—and pretty soon we'd be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn't like that, would you?"
“但如果我试着那样做,”乔治说,“其他人也会,然后我们很快就会回到黑暗时代,所有人都彼此竞争。你不喜欢那样,不是吗?”
"I'd hate it," said Hazel.
“我很讨厌那样,”海瑟说。
"There you are," said George. "The minute people start cheating on laws, what do you think happens to society?"
“那就对啦,”乔治说,“当人们开始逃避法律,你想社会将变成什么样?”
If Hazel hadn't been able to come up with an answer to this question, George couldn't have supplied one. A siren was going off in his head.
如果海瑟想不出答案,乔治也没法帮她想一个。他脑中一阵警报大作。
"Think it'd fall all apart," said Hazel.
“我想它会四分五裂,”海瑟说。
"What would?" said George blankly.
“什么会四分五裂?”乔治茫然地问。
"Society," said Hazel uncertainly. "Wasn't that what you just said?"
“社会啊,”海瑟不太确定地说,“你刚才讲的不是这个吗?”