One day, in July 1973, I played another little trick on Hassan. I was reading to him, and suddenly I strayed from the written story. I pretended I was reading from the book, flipping pages regularly, but I had abandoned the text altogether, taken over the story, and made up my own. Hassan, of course, was oblivious to this. To him, the words on the page were a scramble of codes, indecipherable, mysterious. Words were secret doorways and I held all the keys. After, I started to ask him if he 8217;d liked the story, a giggle rising in my throat, when Hassan began to clap.
1973年7月某天，我开了哈桑另外一个玩笑。我念书给他听，接着突然不管那个写好的故事。我假装念着书，像平常那样翻着书，可是我说的跟书本毫无关系，而是抛开那个故事，自己杜撰一个。当然，哈桑对此一无所知。对他而言，书页上的文字无非是一些线条，神秘而不知所云。文字是扇秘密的门，钥匙在我手里。完了之后，我嘴里咯咯笑着，问他是否喜欢这个故事，哈桑拍手叫好。
8220;What are you doing? 8221;I said.
8220;你在干吗呢? 8221;我说。
8220;That was the best story you 8217;ve read me in a long time, 8221;he said, still clapping.
8220;你很久没念过这么精彩的故事了。 8221;他说，仍拍着双手。
I laughed. 8220;Really? 8221;
我大笑: 8221;真的吗? 8221;
8220;Really. 8221;
8220;真的。 8221;
8220;That 8217;s fascinating, 8221;I muttered. I meant it too. This was 8230; wholly unexpected. 8220;Are you sure, Hassan? 8221;
8220;太奇妙了， 8221;我喃喃说道。我是说真的，这真是……完全意料不到。 8221;没骗我吧，哈桑? 8221;
He was still clapping. 8220;It was great, Amir agha. Will you read me more of it tomorrow? 8221;
他仍在鼓掌: 8221;太棒了，阿米尔少爷。你明天可以多念一些给我听吗? 8221;
8220;Fascinating, 8221;I repeated, a little breathless, feeling like a man who discovers a buried treasure in his own backyard. Walking down the hill, thoughts were exploding in my head like the fireworks at 8220;Chaman 8221;. 8220;Best story you 8217;ve read me in a long time 8221;, he 8217;d said. I had read him a 8220;lot 8221; of stories. Hassan was asking me something.
8220;太奇妙了。 8221;我又说了一遍，有些喘不过气，好比有个男人在自家后院发现了一处宝藏。下山的时候，各种念头在我脑海炸开来，如同在察曼大道燃放的烟花。你好久没念过这么精彩的故事了。他这么说。哈桑在问我问题。
8220;What? 8221;I said.
8220;什么? 8221;我说。
8220;What does that mean, ‘fascinating 8217;? 8221;
8220; 8216;奇妙 8217;是什么意思? 8221;
I laughed. Clutched him in a hug and planted a kiss on his cheek.
我哈哈大笑，给了他一个拥抱，在他脸上亲了一下。
8220;What was that for? 8221;he said, startled, blushing.
8220;干吗这样啊? 8221;他红着脸，吃吃地说。
I gave him a friendly shove. Smiled. 8220;You 8217;re a prince, Hassan. You 8217;re a prince and I love you. 8221;
我友善地推了他一把，微笑着说: 8221;你是王子，哈桑。你是王子，我爱你。 8221;