At the beach, Dad gave each team a bucket, a shovel, and a paper flag. Mei was captain of the family team. She put on her straw hat sideways and looked at the wet sand. 'First we draw the castle,' she said.
在海滩上，爸爸给每个队发了一个桶、一把铲子和一面纸旗。梅是家庭队的队长。她把草帽歪戴着，看了看湿湿的沙子。“我们先画城堡，”她说。
Jun groaned. 'Drawing takes forever. Let us just build.' He pushed his shovel into the sand and made a tall tower. It leaned to one side. Mei did not argue. She drew a wide circle with her heel.
俊嘟囔起来：“画图要花好久。我们直接堆吧。”他把铲子插进沙里，堆起一座高塔。塔朝一边歪去。梅没有争辩。她用脚跟画了一个大大的圆圈。
Jun's tower grew higher than his head. 'See?' he said. Then a wave slid up the beach and touched its base. The tower folded into a soft brown lump. Jun stared at the flat place where it had been.
俊的塔长得比他的头还高。“看见了吗？”他说。这时，一个浪头爬上海滩，碰到了塔底。塔塌成一团软软的棕色沙堆。俊盯着那片平地发呆。
Mei handed him a bucket. 'Wet sand first,' she said. 'Then the wall. Then the tower.' They worked in a line: Mei filled, Jun carried, Dad packed. The wall curved around them like a small brown arm.
梅递给他一个桶。“先湿沙，”她说，“再围墙，最后堆塔。”他们排成一条线：梅装沙，俊运沙，爸爸压实。墙围着他们弯过去，像一条棕色的小胳膊。
The castle had three towers, a gate, and a moat. Mei planted the flag on the smallest tower. 'Why not the tallest?' Jun asked. 'Because the smallest one needs a job too,' she said. Jun laughed and saluted her.
城堡有三座塔、一扇门和一条护城河。梅把旗插在最小的塔上。“为什么不插最高的？”俊问。“因为最小的塔也需要一份工作，”她说。俊笑了，向她敬了个礼。
The tide came in before the judges did. Their castle melted slowly, tower by tower. Mei did not look sad. 'We built it together,' she said. On the bus home, Jun let her keep the paper flag. It was damp, but it still said CAPTAIN.
评委还没来，潮水就先来了。他们的城堡慢慢地融化，一座塔接一座塔。梅看上去并不难过。“我们一起建的，”她说。回家的公交车上，俊让她保管那面纸旗。旗子湿了，可上面还写着“队长”。