"Just let us go, Assef,"I said, hating the way my voice trembled. "We're not bothering you."

"放我们走，阿塞夫，"我说，对自己颤抖的声音感到厌恶，"我们没有碍着你。"

"Oh, you're bothering me,"Assef said. And I saw with a sinking heart what he had fished out of his pocket. Of course. His stainless-steel brass¹ knuckles² sparkled in the sun. "You're bothering me very much. In fact, you bother me more than this Hazara here. How can you talk to him, play with him, let him touch you?"he said, his voice dripping with disgust. Wali and Kamal nodded and grunted³ in agreement. Assef narrowed his eyes. Shook his head. When he spoke⁴ again, he sounded as baffled as he looked. "How can you call him your friend?"

"哦，你们碍着我了。"阿塞夫说。看到他从裤兜里掏出那个东西，我的心开始下沉。当然，他掏出来的是那黄铜色的不锈钢拳套，在阳光下闪闪发亮。"你们严重地碍着我。实际上，你比这个哈扎拉小子更加碍着我。你怎么可以跟他说话，跟他玩耍，让他碰你?"他的声音充满了嫌恶。瓦里和卡莫点头以示同意，随声附和。阿塞夫双眉一皱，摇摇头。他再次说话的时候，声音显得跟他的表情一样困惑。"你怎么可以当他是'朋友'?"

"But he's not my friend!" I almost blurted⁵. "He's my servant!" Had I really thought that? Of course I hadn't. I hadn't. I treated Hassan well, just like a friend, better even, more like a brother. But if so, then why, when Baba's friends came to visit with their kids, didn't I ever include Hassan in our games? Why did I play with Hassan only when no one else was around?

可是他并非我的朋友!我几乎冲口说出。我真的想过这个问题吗?当然没有，我没有想过。我对哈桑很好，就像对待朋友，甚至还要更好，像是兄弟。但如果这样的话，那么何以每逢爸爸的朋友带着他们的孩子来拜访，我玩游戏的时候从来没喊上哈桑?为什么我只有在身边没有其他人的时候才和哈桑玩耍?

Assef slipped on the brass knuckles. Gave me an icy look. "You're part of the problem, Amir. If idiots like you and your father didn't take these people in, we'd be rid of them by now. They'd all just go rot in Hazarajat where they belong. You're a disgrace to Afghanistan."

阿塞夫戴上他的不锈钢拳套，冷冷瞟了我一眼。"你也是个问题，阿米尔。如果没有你和你父亲这样的白痴，收容这些哈扎拉人，我们早就可以清除他们了。他们全都应该去哈扎拉贾特Hazarajat，阿富汗中部山区，为哈扎拉人聚居地。，在那个属于他们的地方烂掉。你是个阿富汗败类。"

I looked in his crazy eyes and saw that he meant it. He really meant to hurt me. Assef raised his fist and came for me.

我看着他那狂妄的眼睛，看懂了他的眼色，他是真的要伤害我。阿塞夫举起拳头，向我走来。

There was a flurry of rapid movement behind me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hassan bend down and stand up quickly. Assef's eyes flicked⁶ to something behind me and widened with surprise. I saw that same look ol astonishment⁷ on Kamal and Wali's faces as they too saw what had happened behind me.

我背后传来一阵急遽的活动声音。我眼角一瞄，看见哈桑弯下腰，迅速地站起来。阿塞夫朝我身后望去，吃惊地瞪大了眼睛。我看见瓦里和卡莫也看着我身后，眼里同样带着震惊的神色。

I turned and came face to face with Hassan's slingshot. Hassan had pulled the wide elastic⁸ band all the way back. In the cup was a rock the size of a walnut⁹. Hassan held the slingshot pointed¹⁰ directly at Assef's face. His hand trembled with the strain of the pulled elastic band and beads¹¹ of sweat had erupted on his brow.

我转过身，正好看到哈桑的弹弓。哈桑把那根橡皮带满满拉开，弓上是一块核桃大小的石头。哈桑用弹弓对着阿塞夫的脸，他用尽力气拉着弹弓，双手颤抖，汗珠在额头上渗出来。

"Please leave us alone, Agha,"Hassan said in a flat tone. He'd referred to Assef as "Agha",and I wondered briefly¹² what it must be like to live with such an ingrained sense of one's place in a hierarchy¹³.

"请让我们走，少爷。"哈桑语气平静地说。他称呼阿塞夫为少爷，有个念头在我脑里一闪而过：带着这种根深蒂固的意识，生活在一个等级分明的地方，究竟是什么滋味?

Assef gritted¹⁴ his teeth. "Put it down, you motherless Hazara."

阿塞夫咬牙切齿:"放下来，你这个没有老娘的哈扎拉小子。"

"Please leave us be, Agha,"Hassan said.

"请放过我们，少爷。"哈桑说。

Assef smiled. "Maybe you didn't notice, but there are three of us and two of you."

阿塞夫笑起来:"难道你没有看到吗?我们有三个人，你们只有两个。"