Story text / 故事文字
The Hall of Remembering
The next evening, Mia sat at her desk in her pyjamas. Every night at bedtime, she played the song Grandma had sung into her laptop before Grandma went home. On the windowsill, Bit was still thinking. "How will Robo remember his cards?" he asked. "Let's ask Old Byte," said Lulu. "She keeps the Hall of Remembering. Everything the laptop remembers is in there." Glitch fluttered down beside them. "Can I come too?"
Bit, Lulu and Glitch slipped down into Glowtown. At the end of a quiet street stood a tall golden hall. Inside, shelves went up and up, full of little glass jars. Some jars glowed. Some jars were dark. Old Byte, the wise glowing snail, came slowly to meet them. "Welcome to the Hall of Remembering," she said.
"Each jar keeps just one little light," said Old Byte. "It is on, or it is off." Bit peered at a jar. "That's not much to remember." Old Byte smiled. "One jar can't keep much. But a whole row of jars, in the right order, can keep anything. A picture, a story, even a song."
Old Byte showed them a low shelf with a little music note. "This row is Grandma's song," she said. On, off, on, on, off, on. "When Mia presses play, the Sparklings read the jars, from the first one by the music note to the last, and the song comes out of Mia's laptop." Then she looked far up to the top shelf. "And up there I keep a copy, the same jars in the same order, just in case."
Glitch fluttered close to the low shelf to look at the song jars. But the old hall was very dusty, and her nose began to tickle. "Ah, ah, ah," she went, "ACHOO!" Her sneeze shook the low shelf, and the six song jars tumbled off. They rolled across the soft mossy floor, this way and that, glowing and dark, all mixed up.
Up in her room, Mia pressed play. Down in the hall, the Sparklings hurried to read the song, but the jars lay all over the floor. They read them just as they lay, this way and that. Out of Mia's laptop came a squeak, a bonk and a wobbly la-wah! Mia frowned. "That's not Grandma's song," she said softly. "I'll try once more, then it's time to sleep." Down in the hall, Bit heard her.
"Quick!" cried Bit, and he nudged the jars back onto the shelf as fast as he could. On, on, on, on, off, off. "There!" But the row looked different. "They're the right jars, but in the wrong order," said Lulu. "A glowing jar where a dark one should be makes a different song."
"I'm sorry," whispered Glitch. "Every jar is fine," said Old Byte kindly. "They are only in the wrong places." Lulu looked up and up. "The copy! The copy on the top shelf!" The top shelf was very high, far too high for Bit. "Let me go," said Glitch. "I'll fly up and read the copy to you!" And up she went, while Lulu stayed below to help Bit.
Bit and Lulu took the jars down again, gently this time. From the top shelf, Glitch called down, one jar at a time. "First jar, on!" Bit nudged a glowing jar into the first place. "Second jar, off!" Lulu rolled in a dark one. On, off, on, on, off, on. Now the low row looked just like the copy at the top, and the copy stayed safe on its shelf.
Up in her room, Mia pressed play one more time. Softly, sweetly, out came Grandma's song. Mia smiled and hummed along, and her eyes grew sleepy. Down in the hall, the Sparklings swayed, and Glitch did a very small, very careful dance.
"Now I know how Robo remembers his cards!" said Bit. "Inside him there's a little row of jars, on and off, in the right order." Old Byte nodded slowly. "Toys, phones and laptops all keep things that way." And Glitch dusted the shelves, very gently, so no one would sneeze again.
Bit and Lulu climbed back up to the windowsill. Mia was fast asleep in bed. Far away in Glowtown, something went tick, tock, tick, tock. "What's that ticking?" Bit wondered, and he curled up to sleep.
记忆大厅
第二天晚上，米娅穿着睡衣，坐在书桌前。每天睡觉前，她都要放一首歌听。那是奶奶回家以前，对着她的电脑唱的歌。窗台上，比比还在想：“罗博要怎么记住他的卡片呢？”“我们去问问老拜特吧，”露露说，“记忆大厅是她管的，电脑要记住的东西，全都放在那里。”小故障扑扑翅膀，落在他们旁边：“我也可以去吗？”
比比、露露和小故障溜进了发光城。在一条安静的小街尽头，有一座高高的金色大厅。大厅里，架子一层一层往上，摆满了小小的玻璃罐子。有的罐子亮着，有的罐子暗着。老拜特，那只会发光的老蜗牛，慢慢地迎了过来。“欢迎来到记忆大厅，”她说。
“每个罐子里，只装着一盏小小的灯，”老拜特说，“它要么亮，要么不亮。”比比凑近看了看一个罐子：“这也记不了多少东西呀。”老拜特笑了：“一个罐子记不了多少。可是一整排罐子，按对的顺序排好，什么都能记住。一张画，一个故事，连一首歌也行。”
老拜特带他们看一层低低的架子，上面画着一个小小的音符。“这一排，就是奶奶的歌，”她说。亮，不亮，亮，亮，不亮，亮。“米娅一按播放，小火花们就从音符旁边的第一个罐子，一个一个读到最后一个，歌就从米娅的电脑里唱出来了。”她又抬头望向高高的最上面一层：“那上面，我还放了一份一模一样的，一样的罐子，一样的顺序，以防万一。”
小故障飞到低低的架子跟前，想看看装着歌的罐子。可是老老的大厅里，灰尘可多了，她的鼻子开始痒痒了，痒得她忍不住打了一个大大的喷嚏！这一个喷嚏，把低低的架子震得直晃，六个装着歌的罐子掉了下来，在软软的青苔地上滚呀滚，滚得到处都是，亮的暗的全混在一起了。
在上面的房间里，米娅按下了播放。下面的大厅里，小火花们赶紧去读那首歌，可是罐子滚得满地都是。它们只好照着罐子躺的样子，东一个西一个地读。米娅的电脑里传出来“吱吱”一声，“咚”一声，还有一段乱七八糟的歌声！米娅皱起了眉头。“这不是奶奶的歌，”她小声说，“我再试一次，然后就该睡觉了。”下面的大厅里，比比听见了。
“快！”比比喊着，用脑袋把罐子一个一个顶回架子上，越快越好。亮，亮，亮，亮，不亮，不亮。“好啦！”可是这一排看起来不一样了。“罐子是对的，可是顺序不对，”露露说，“亮的罐子放到了暗罐子的地方，就变成另一首歌啦。”
“对不起，”小故障小声说。“罐子都好好的，”老拜特温和地说，“只是放错了地方。”露露抬头往上看呀看：“那一份！最上面那一份！”最上面那一层好高好高，比比可上不去。“让我去吧，”小故障说，“我飞上去，把那一份念给你们听！”她说着就飞了上去，露露留在下面帮比比。
比比和露露把罐子又轻轻地搬了下来。小故障在最上面一层往下喊，一次喊一个罐子。“第一个，亮！”比比把一个亮着的罐子顶到了第一个位置。“第二个，不亮！”露露推过来一个暗着的。亮，不亮，亮，亮，不亮，亮。现在，下面这一排，和最上面那一份一模一样了。那一份呢，还好好地放在最上面。
在上面的房间里，米娅又按了一次播放。轻轻地，甜甜地，奶奶的歌唱了出来。米娅笑了，跟着轻轻地哼，眼睛慢慢地困了。在下面的大厅里，小火花们跟着摇呀摇，小故障跳了一支很小很小、很小心的舞。
“现在我知道罗博是怎么记住卡片的啦！”比比说，“他身体里也有一小排罐子，亮的和不亮的，按对的顺序排着。”老拜特慢慢点点头：“玩具、手机、电脑，都是这样记东西的。”小故障轻轻地擦掉了架子上的灰，这样就再也没有谁会打喷嚏了。
比比和露露爬回了窗台上。米娅躺在床上，已经睡熟了。远远的发光城里，有个声音在响：嘀嗒，嘀嗒，嘀嗒。“那是什么在嘀嗒响呢？”比比想着，缩成一团睡着了。