Baba never missed Hassan's birthday. For a while, he used to ask Hassan what he wanted, but he gave up doing that because Hassan was always too modest to actually suggest a present. So every winter Baba picked something out himself. He bought him a Japanese toy truck one year, an electric locomotive¹ and train track set another year. The previous year, Baba had surprised Hassan with a leather cowboy hat just like the one Clint Eastwood wore in "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"--which had unseated "The Magnificent Seven" as our favorite Western. That whole winter, Hassan and I took turns wearing the hat, and belted out the film's famous music as we climbed mounds² of snow and shot each other dead.

爸爸从来不会忘记哈桑的生日。曾经，他经常问哈桑想要什么，但后来他就不问了，因为哈桑要的东西太过细微，简直不能被称之为礼物，所以每年冬天爸爸自行挑选些东西。有一年他给买了一套日本的玩具车。上一年，爸爸让哈桑喜出望外，给他买了一顶毛皮牛仔帽，克林特·伊斯伍德带着这种帽子演出了《黄金三镖客》--这部电影取代了《七侠荡寇志》，成为我们最喜爱的西部片。整整一个冬天，哈桑和我轮流戴那顶帽子，唱着那首著名的电影主题曲，爬上雪堆，打雪仗。

We took off our gloves and removed our snow-laden boots at the front door. When we stepped into the foyer, we found Baba sitting by the wood-burning cast-iron stove with a short, balding Indian man dressed in a brown suit and red tie.

我们在前门脱掉手套，擦掉靴子上的雪。我们走进门廊，看到爸爸坐在炭火熊熊的铁炉前面，旁边坐着一个矮小的秃头印度人，他穿着棕色西装，系着红领带。

"Hassan," Baba said, smiling coyly, "meet your birthday present."

"哈桑，"爸爸说，脸上带着不好意思的微笑，"来见见你的生日礼物。"

Hassan and I traded blank looks. There was no gift-wrapped box in sight. No bag. No toy. Just Ali standing³ behind us, and Baba with this slight Indian fellow who looked a little like a mathematics teacher.

哈桑和我茫然对视。那儿没有见到任何包着礼物的盒子，没有袋子，没有玩具，只有站在我们后面的阿里，还有爸爸，和那个看上去像数学老师的印度人。

The Indian man in the brown suit smiled and offered Hassan his hand. "I am Dr. Kumar," he said. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He spoke⁴ Farsi with a thick, rolling Hindi accent.

身穿棕色西装的印度人微笑着，朝哈桑伸出手。"我是库玛大夫，"他说，"很高兴见到你。"他的法尔西语带着浓厚的印度卷舌音。

"Salaam⁵ alaykum," Hassan said uncertainly. He gave a polite tip of the head, but his eyes sought his father behind him. Ali moved closer and set his hand on Hassan's shoulder.

"你好。"哈桑惴惴说。他礼貌地点点头，但眼睛却望向站在他后面的父亲。阿里上前一步，把手放在哈桑肩膀上。

Baba met Hassan's wary--and puzzled--eyes. "I have summoned⁶ Dr. Kumar from New Delhi. Dr. Kumar is a plastic surgeon."

爸爸望着哈桑迷惑不解的眼睛:"我从新德里请来库玛大夫，库玛大夫是名整容外科医生。"

"Do you know what that is?" the Indian man--Dr. Kumar-- said.

"你知道那是什么吗?"那个印度人--库玛大夫说。

Hassan shook his head. He looked to me for help but I shrugged⁷. All I knew was that you went to a surgeon to fix you when you had appendicitis⁸. I knew this because one of my classmates had died of it the year before and the teacher had told us they had waited too long to take him to a surgeon. We both looked to Ali, but of course with him you could never tell. His face was impassive as ever, though something sober⁹ had melted into his eyes.

哈桑摇摇头。他带着询问的眼色望向我，但我耸耸肩。我只知道，人们要是得了阑尾炎，就得去找外科医生医治。我之所以知道，是因为此前一年，有个同学死于阑尾炎，我们老师说他拖了太久才去找外科医生。我们两个齐齐望向阿里，但从他那里当然也得不到答案。跟过去一样，他仍是木无表情，但眼神变得严肃一些。