Lorenzo opens the front door of a house in a country he has never visited. A loud voice shouts something at him. He freezes. Behind the hall table, a grey parrot is staring at him from a tall cage. "Hello," he says weakly. The bird shouts the same thing again.
洛伦佐推开一座房子的前门，这里是一个他从没来过的国家。一个很响的声音朝他喊了一句什么。他僵住了。门厅桌子后面，一只灰鹦鹉正从高高的笼子里盯着他。“你好，”他怯怯地说。那只鸟又喊了一遍同样的话。
The family has gone to stay in his apartment for two weeks. They have left a long list on the fridge. It has forty-two rules. Water the tomatoes at eight, not seven. Don't use the blue towel. Give the parrot a piece of apple at noon. Gunnar, the owner, has signed at the bottom: "Good luck. He is not as scary as he sounds."
这家人去住他的公寓了，要住两个星期。他们在冰箱上留了一张长长的清单，上面有四十二条规矩。番茄要八点浇水，不是七点。别用蓝色的毛巾。中午要给鹦鹉一块苹果。房主贡纳尔在最底下签了名：“祝你好运。它没有听起来那么吓人。”
The parrot knows only phrases in the family's language, and Lorenzo does not speak a word of it. With a translation app, he figures out what the bird is saying. "Who is there?" is one of them. "Dinner is ready!" is another. The third, according to the app, means "Stop that at once." Lorenzo suspects that the family says it often.
鹦鹉只会说这家人的语言里的几句话，而洛伦佐一个字也不懂。他用翻译应用弄明白了鸟在说什么。“是谁？”是其中一句。“开饭啦！”是另一句。按应用的说法，第三句的意思是“马上停下”。洛伦佐猜，这家人大概常说这句话。
The first days are chaotic. The parrot announces dinner at six every morning, long before Lorenzo has made his coffee. He tries to explain that it is breakfast time, but the bird obviously doesn't understand.
最初几天一团混乱。鹦鹉每天早上六点就宣布开饭，那时洛伦佐连咖啡都还没煮。他想向它解释现在是早餐时间，可那只鸟显然听不懂。
On the fifth day, he starts talking back anyway, in his own language, while he waters the tomatoes. He tells the parrot about the weather, about his job, and about why he cannot cook. The bird listens with its head on one side, like a very polite neighbour.
到了第五天，他还是开始跟它说话了，用自己的语言，一边给番茄浇水一边说。他给鹦鹉讲天气，讲自己的工作，还讲他为什么不会做饭。那只鸟歪着头听着，像一位非常有礼貌的邻居。
By the second week, they have a routine. Lorenzo says good morning, the parrot asks, "Who is there?", and Lorenzo answers slowly, "It's Lorenzo." He says it every single day. He does not expect anything to come of it.
到了第二个星期，他们有了固定的节奏。洛伦佐说早上好，鹦鹉问：“是谁？”洛伦佐就慢慢地回答：“我是洛伦佐。”他每天都这样说。他并没有指望会有什么结果。
On the last morning, he is packing his suitcase when a croaky voice calls from the hall. "Lo-ren-zo! Lorenzo, dinner is ready!"
最后一天早上，他正在收拾行李箱，门厅里传来一个沙哑的声音。“洛——伦——佐！洛伦佐，开饭啦！”
Lorenzo laughs so hard that he has to sit on his bag. Then he walks to the cage and gives the parrot its last piece of apple. "Nice try," he says. "But it's breakfast."
洛伦佐笑得太厉害，只好坐在行李包上。然后他走到笼子旁边，把最后一块苹果给了鹦鹉。“不错的尝试，”他说，“可是现在是早餐时间。”
