谁也说不清有多少级

再往下，阶梯上还有别人。一只戴着黄色安全帽的狐狸正从下面往上走，拿着一把折尺和一个笔记本。她每到一级台阶就停下来，量量它有多高，再把数字记下来。波莉让到一边，让她过去。这花了很长很长时间。

Further down there is somebody else on the staircase. A fox in a yellow hard hat is coming up from below with a folding ruler and a notebook. She stops at every step, measures how high it is, and writes the number down. Polly moves aside and lets her pass. It takes a very long time.

狐狸这样做并不傻。这些台阶是人用手凿出来的，没有两级是一样的。有的像一本厚书那么高，有的很矮。岩石上的这道槽有的地方窄，有的地方宽。凿它的人是顺着岩石的形状来凿的。

The fox is not being silly. People cut these steps by hand, and no two steps are the same. Some are as high as a thick book. Some are very low. The cut in the rock is narrow in some places and wide in others. The people who made it followed the shape of the rock.

波莉最喜欢的是这一部分：没有人确切知道一共有多少级台阶。国家遗产局说是一百八十七级。镇上的旅游局说是一百八十九级。两个都是官方的说法，两个都印出来了。它们已经对不上好多年了。

Here is the part Polly likes best. Nobody knows exactly how many steps there are. The national heritage office says one hundred and eighty seven. The town tourist office says one hundred and eighty nine. Both of them are official. Both of them are printed. They have disagreed for years.

波莉看着狐狸走到顶上，开始写字。她顺着那条磨旧的长长石阶往下看。她决定相信大的那个数，因为爬的时候，感觉台阶更多。

Polly watches the fox get to the top and start writing. She looks down the long line of worn stone. She decides to believe the bigger number, because it feels like more when you climb it.