Conrad wants to make a scarf for his sister. Her birthday is in six weeks. He cannot knit. So on Tuesday he goes to the library. A sign on the wall says, "Knitting Circle, 3 p.m."
康拉德想给妹妹织一条围巾。她的生日还有六个星期。他不会织毛线。所以星期二那天，他去了图书馆。墙上的牌子写着：“编织小组，下午3点”。
He opens the door. Eight people sit in a circle with wool in their hands. They are all over seventy. Conrad is twenty-four. Everyone looks at him.
他推开门。八个人围坐成一圈，手里拿着毛线。他们都七十多岁了。康拉德二十四岁。大家都看向他。
"Come in, dear," says a woman in a green sweater. "Sit here."
“进来吧，孩子，”一位穿绿毛衣的女士说，“坐这儿。”
Conrad takes the needles and starts. He drops a stitch. Then he drops another. His first row has holes like a fishing net.
康拉德拿起毛衣针，开始织。他掉了一针。接着又掉了一针。他织的第一行满是洞，像一张渔网。
A man next to him laughs, but in a kind way. "You hold the needles too hard," he says. "Hold them softly."
旁边的一位男士笑了，但笑得很和善。“你把针握得太紧了，”他说，“要握得轻一点。”
The woman in green shows him how to fix a dropped stitch. Another woman brings him tea. In one hour, the woman in green makes half a sock. Conrad makes one row.
穿绿毛衣的女士教他怎么补好掉了的针。另一位女士给他端来了茶。一个小时里，穿绿毛衣的女士织好了半只袜子。康拉德只织了一行。
He comes every Tuesday. He is slow, but the group never stops helping. After four weeks, his scarf is as long as his arm.
他每个星期二都来。他很慢，但大家一直在帮他。四个星期后，他的围巾已经有他的手臂那么长了。
Before the birthday, the woman in green gives him a small box. Inside are old wooden needles.
生日前，穿绿毛衣的女士递给他一个小盒子。里面是一副旧木毛衣针。
"These are lucky," she says. "My mother gave them to me. I want you to have them."
“这副针很吉利，”她说，“是我妈妈给我的。我想把它送给你。”
"I can't take them," Conrad says.
“我不能收，”康拉德说。
"Of course you can. I have six other pairs."
“当然可以。我还有另外六副呢。”
Conrad laughs. He puts the needles in his bag and starts a new row.
康拉德笑了。他把毛衣针放进包里，又开始织新的一行。
