The town library has a new cabinet with tiny wooden drawers, each holding paper packets of seeds. People borrow seeds in spring and return seeds in autumn. Mrs. Park, the librarian, asks Su to help label the drawers because Su is quiet and careful. Su likes the work: marigold, basil, sunflower, bean.
镇上的图书馆添了一个新柜子，里面有许多小木抽屉，每个抽屉都放着纸包的种子。人们在春天借种子，秋天再还回来。图书管理员帕克太太请苏禾帮忙给抽屉写标签，因为苏禾安静又细心。苏禾喜欢这份活儿：万寿菊、罗勒、向日葵、豆子。
She writes each name in her neatest handwriting. The library smells of ink and dust and, somehow, of rain. Su imagines the seeds sleeping in their paper beds, waiting for gardens she will never see. On the first borrowing day, she stands behind the cabinet with a pencil and a list, ready to be useful.
她用最工整的字写下每一个名字。图书馆里有墨水味、灰尘味，不知怎么的，还有雨的味道。苏禾想象种子睡在纸做的床上，等着她永远见不到的花园。第一个借种日，她拿着铅笔和清单站在柜子后面，准备帮上忙。
A man in a green coat asks for moonflower seeds. Su finds the packet and drops it into his hand. Later, checking the drawers, she sees her mistake: the moonflower drawer is still full, and the marigold drawer is missing one packet. She runs outside, but the man is already gone.
一位穿绿外套的先生来要月光花种子。苏禾找到那包种子，放进他手心。后来整理抽屉时，她发现了自己的错误：月光花的抽屉还是满的，万寿菊的抽屉却少了一包。她跑到外面，可那位先生已经走了。
Mrs. Park says it is a small mistake and not to worry. Su cannot let it go. She takes the borrowing list, finds an address on the far side of town, and walks there after school. All the way, she practices what she will say. Her voice sounds very small inside her head.
帕克太太说这只是个小错，不用担心。苏禾却放不下。她拿出借种登记表，找到一个在镇子另一头的地址，放学后走了过去。一路上，她反复练习要说的话。在她脑子里，自己的声音显得特别小。
The man opens the door. Behind him, a narrow garden climbs with green vines. Su explains the mix-up in one breath. He laughs and says the seeds are already in the ground. They look at the leaves together, and neither of them is sure what will bloom. 'We will find out,' he says.
那位先生打开门。他身后，一个窄窄的花园里爬满绿色藤蔓。苏禾一口气解释了弄错的事。他笑了，说种子已经种进土里了。他们一起看那些叶子，谁也不能确定会开出什么花。“我们会知道的，”他说。
Before she leaves, he gives her a jar of saved bean seeds for the cabinet. On the way back, Su realizes she has talked with a stranger for ten minutes and has not once looked at her shoes. At the library, she writes a new label for the jar: 'Beans from Mr. Lin's garden. Please share.'
临走前，他送给她一罐留好的豆种，放进柜子里。回去的路上，苏禾意识到自己和陌生人聊了十分钟，竟一次也没看自己的鞋。到了图书馆，她为那个罐子写了一张新标签：“林先生花园里的豆子。请分享。”