Information Please
by Paul Villard
When I was quite young, my family had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well the polished oak case fastened to the wall on the lower stair landing. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I even remembered the number — 105. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked into it. Once she lifted me up to speak to my father, who was away on business. Magic! Then I discovered that somewhere inside that wonderful device lived an amazing person — her name was «Information Please» and there was nothing that she did not know. My mother could ask her for anybody’s number and when our clock ran down, Information Please immediately supplied the correct time.
My first personal experience with this genie-in-the-receiver came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there didn’t seem to be of much use crying because there was no one home to offer sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver and held it to my ear. «Information Please,» I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two, and a small clear voice spoke into my ear. «Information.» «I hurt my fingerrr—» I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience. «Isn’t your mother home?» came the question. «Nobody’s at home but me,» I blubbered. «Are you bleeding?». «No», I replied. «I hit it with the hammer and it hurts». «Can you open your icebox?» she asked. I said I could. «Then chip off a little piece of ice and hold it on your finger. That will stop the hurt. Be careful when you use the ice pick,» she admonished. «And don’t cry. You’ll be alright».
After that, I called Information Please for everything. I asked for help with my Geography and she told me where Philadelphia was, and the Orinco — the romantic river I was going to explore when I grew up. She helped me with my Arithmetic, and she told me that a pet chipmunk — I had caught him in the park just that day before — would eat fruits and nuts. And there was the time that Petey, our pet canary, died. I called Information Please and told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual things grown-up say to soothe a child. But I was unconsoled. Why was it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to whole families, only to end as a heap of feathers feet up, on the bottom of a cage? She must have sensed my deep concern, for she quietly said, «Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in.» Somehow, I felt better.
Another day I was at the telephone. «Information,» said the now familiar voice. «How do you spell fix?». F-I-X.» At that instant my sister, who took unholy joy in scaring me, jumped off the stairs at me with a banshee shriek — «Yaaaaaaaaaa!» I fell off the stool, pulling the receiver out of the box by its roots. We were both terrified — Information Please was no longer there, and I was not at all sure that I hadn’t hurt her when I pulled the receiver out. Minutes later, there was a man on the porch. «I’m a telephone repairman. I was working down the street and the operator said there might be some trouble at this number.» He reached for the receiver in my hand. «What happened?» I told him. «Well, we can fix that in a minute or two.» He opened the telephone box exposing a maze of wires and coils, and fiddled for a while with the end of the receiver cord, tightened things with a small screwdriver. He jiggled the hook up and down a few times, then spoke into the phone. «Hi, this is Pete. Everything’s under control at 105. The kid’s sister scared him and he pulled the cord out of the box.» He hung up, smiled, gave me a pat on the head and walked out the door.
All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. Then, when I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston-and I missed my mentor acutely. Information Please belonged in that old wooden box back at home, and I somehow never thought of trying the tall, skinny new phone that sat on the small table in the hall. Yet, as I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversation never really left me; often in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had when I know that I could call Information Please and get the right answer. I appreciated now how very patient, understanding and kind she was to have wasted her time on a little boy.
A few years later, on my way back to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half an hour between plane connections, and I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister who lived there now, happily mellowed by marriage and motherhood. Then, really without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, «Information Please.» Miraculously, I heard again the small, clear voice that I know so well:»Information.» I hadn’t planned this, but I heard myself saying, «Could you tell me, please, how to spell the word ‘fix’?» There was a long pause. Then came the softly spoken answer. «I guess,» said Information Please, «that your finger must have healed by now.» I laughed. «So it’s really still you. I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during all that time…» «I wonder,» she replied, «if you know how much you meant to me? I never had any children, and I used to look forward to your calls. Silly, wasn’t it?» It didn’t seem silly, but I didn’t say so. Instead I told her how often I had thought of her over the years, and I asked if I could call her again when I come back to visit my sister when the semester was over. «Please do. Just ask for Sally.» «Goodbye Sally.» It sounded strange for Information Please to have a name. «If I run into any chipmunks, I’ll tell them to eat fruits and nuts.» «Do that,» she said. «And I expect one of these days you’ll be off for the Orinoco. Well, good-bye.»
Just three months later, I was back again at the Seattle airport. A different voice answered, «Information,» and I asked for Sally. «Are you a friend?» «Yes,» I said. «An old friend.» «Then I’m sorry to have to tell you. Sally had only been working part-time in the last few years because she was ill. She died five weeks ago.» But before I could hang up, she said, «Wait a minute. Did you say your name was Villard?» «Yes.» «Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down.» «What was it?» I asked, almost knowing in advance what it would be. «Here it is, I’ll read it: ‘Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He’ll know what I mean.'»
I thanked her and hung up. I did know what Sally meant.
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English Russian Dictionary
Double click on any word on the page or type a word:
Чудесный рассказ…трогает душу до слез.
Нет
NICE TOUCHING STORY
What a beautiful story, I am about to cry 😭
А почему в конце »I did know what Sally meant.» Не должно разве быть ‘I knew what Sally meant’?
В таких случаях do, did перед глаголом используются для того, чтобы подчеркнуть его смысл. «Я действительно знал, что Салли имела в виду». Очень распространённая конструкция.
I do like — Мне правда нравится
Большое-пребольшое спасибо!)
Нет
Tha story is realy cute. I shed tears. Thank you.
But what did she meant? I try to translate but I dont understand all that I read.
She reminded him about the bird that died when he was little. She tried to comfort him then and said: «Always remember that there are other worlds to sing in». Many years later, she died, but she didn’t want him to feel sad about it, so she repeated those words as a farewell.
Truly. I forgot this moment, thanks.
Средний сложности тексты читаю, имею некоторые трудности с переводом, помогите как это переводиться
Why was it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to whole families, only to end as a heap of feathers feet up, on the bottom of a cage? She must have sensed my deep concern, for she quietly said, «Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in.»
Почему так устроено, что птицы так красиво поют и приносят радость целым семьям — только чтобы закончить жизнь кучкой перьев, лежащей лапками вверх на дне клетки? Она, видимо, почувствовала глубокую печаль, охватывавшую меня, потому что тихо сказала: «Пол, никогда не забывай: есть и другие миры, чтобы петь».
1. «охватывавшую меня» в английском варианте нет таких слов
2. «Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in» а для чего здесь in просто » to sing»
3. «only to end as a heap of feathers feet up, on the bottom of a cage?» запятая здесь не правильно стоит, вводит в заблуждение
4. «She must have sensed my deep concern, for she quietly said,» не понятно зачем здесь » for»
Английская грамматика (и пунктуация в том числе) сильно отличается от русской. При переводе с английского на русский принято не переводить слово в слово (это часто невозможно), а переводить по смыслу. Текст написан англоязычным писателем, в этих предложениях всё правильно (хотя и непохоже на то, как строятся русские предложения).
I somehow never thought if trying the tall, как переводиться
Опечатка, должно быть «thought of». Поправила, спасибо.
I somehow never thought это мне понятно как переводится а дальше «if trying the tall,» идиоматика английская, вот по программированию руководства на английском когда читаешь таких трудностей с переводом не возникает, литературное их это преткновение какое то.
I somehow never thought of trying the tall, skinny new phone… — Мне почему-то никогда не приходило в голову попробовать новый тонкий телефон…
think of — задумываться о
Very sad story
Марина, спасибо вам большое! Рассказы все прекрасные, и этот не исключение. Хочу только тоже спросить: parlour или parlor? Новое слово для меня, хочу правильно его выучить
И так и так можно :)
Sad but very beautiful story. I liked it very much. Thank you)
обычно болше 5-7 раз в переводчик не лезу, но тут же …
спасибо
Здравствуйте,а можно перевести «Infromation please» как «оператор»? Не потеряется ли суть?
Здравствуйте! Вполне можно.
Спасибо! Не подскажете,какие еще есть варианты перевода данного высказывания ?
Например, «Справку, пожалуйста», «Оператор, дайте справку», «Это служба информации?», «Справочная», «Алло, это справочная?». Все варианты контекстные, конечно. В качестве заглавия рассказа мне больше всего нравится последний.
sad story, why did she die?
Нет ли опечатки в «…But before I could hung up…»?
Ведь модальный глагол должен использоваться с инфинитивом?
Вы правы, спасибо, исправила.
» I had about half an hour between plan connections» — не пропущена ли буква в слове plane?
Верно, спасибо, поправила
Я нашла опечатку в конце этого рассказа — в оригинала не — I did know what Sally meant.
а как раз — I knew what Sally meant.
Исправьте пожалуйста, очень меняется смысл.
Перепроверила — здесь всё правильно. Вот, например, полный текст оригинала: http://www.telephonetribute.com/a_true_story.html
Но даже если заменить фразу на ту, которую вы написали, смысл не изменится:
I did know what Sally meant. — Я и правда знал, что имела в виду Салли.
I knew what Sally meant. — Я знал, что имела в виду Салли.
А где аудио? :(
У этого текста нет аудио, к сожалению…
бля , ещё комент мой не пропустили …
Здесь действует политика «без мата», сожалею.
зашибись , значит , предыдущий такой же не пропустили … а этот норм …
Этот — в виде исключения, чтобы объяснить причину удаления предыдущего.
I read this with fascination, thsnk you.
Здравствуйте как ваши дела. Хочу что бы вы ответили что у вас все хорошо. Читая этот рассказ представил вас. Спасибо за ваше участие в нашем образовании.
Здравствуйте, Ваня. У меня всё хорошо. Спасибо, что спрашиваете об этом, — мне очень приятно.
Огромное спасибо Марина. Чудесный рассказ, очень трогательно.
Мария, спасибо за подборку замечательных рассказов! Уже на прочтении третьего рыдаю, как девчонка)
Рада, что вам нравится!
This is a very touching story! This helps to realize the importance of seemingly not significant events!
Thank you!