Every night at eleven, footsteps climbed our stairs. They stopped at the fourth floor, waited, and came back down. Our apartment is on the fourth floor.
每天晚上十一点，楼梯上都会响起脚步声。它们停在四楼，等一会儿，再走下去。我们家就住在四楼。
My brother said it was the wind. My mother said it was a neighbor. I lay awake and listened, and the steps sounded too slow for the wind and too heavy for a cat.
哥哥说是风。妈妈说是一位邻居。我躺在床上听着，那脚步对风来说太慢，对猫来说又太重。
On Friday I stayed awake with a flashlight and a glass of water. At eleven, the steps began. I opened the door a finger's width and saw a long shadow move across the landing.
星期五，我拿着手电筒和一杯水，一直没睡。十一点，脚步声开始了。我把门打开一条缝，看见一个长长的影子从楼梯平台上移过。
My heart jumped. Then the shadow bent down and picked up something: our newspaper, which the delivery boy always leaves by the wrong door. The steps turned and went back down.
我的心猛地一跳。接着，影子弯下腰，捡起了什么东西：我们的报纸，送报的男孩总是把它放在错误的门口。脚步声转过去，下楼了。
The next morning I waited by the stairs. An old man came up slowly, holding a newspaper. He lived on the second floor and liked to read on the roof before sunrise.
第二天早上，我在楼梯边等着。一位老人慢慢地走上来，手里拿着一份报纸。他住在二楼，喜欢在日出前到楼顶上看报。
I told him he had been delivering our paper to the fourth floor for weeks, and he laughed until he had to sit down. Now he knocks on our door and hands it to me. At eleven, the stairs are quiet, but I still listen, just in case.
我告诉他，好几个星期以来，他一直把我们的报纸送到四楼。他笑得不得不坐下来。现在他会敲我们家的门，把报纸递给我。十一点，楼梯安静了，可我还是会听一听，以防万一。