English Original
They were to eat peaches, as planned, after her nap, and now she sat across from the man who would have been a total stranger except that he was in fact her father. They had been together again for almost a hundred years now, or was it only since day before yesterday? Anyhow, they were together again, and he was kind of funny. First, he had the biggest mustache she had ever seen. Second, he wore a blue-and-white striped jersey instead of a shirt and tie, and no coat. He was barefoot, and so was she.
He was at home in Paris. He was thirty-six; and she was six, just up from sleep on a very hot afternoon in August.
That morning, she had seen peaches in a box outside a small store, so he had bought a kilo. Now, the peaches were on a large plate on the card table at which they sat. There were seven of them, but one of them was flawed. It looked as good as others, but where the stem had been there was now a break that went straight down into the heart of the seed.
He placed the biggest peach on the small plate in front of the girl, and then took the flawed peach and began to remove the skin. When he had half the skin off he ate that side, neither of them talking.
The man held the half-eaten peach and looked down into the cavity, into the open seed. The girl looked too.
While they were looking, two feelers poked out from the cavity. They were attached to a kind of brown knob-head, which followed the feelers, and then two large legs took a strong grip on the edge of the cavity and hoisted the rest of the creature out.
The man studied the seed dweller, and so did the girl. The creature paused a moment, then continued to come out of the seed and walk down the eaten side of the peach.
The girl had never seen anything like it—a brown thing with a knob-head, feelers, and many legs. The man placed the peach back on the plate. The creature moved onto the white plate and stopped.
"Who is it?" the girl said.
"Gaston."
"Where does he live?"
"Well, he used to live in this peach seed, but now that the peach has been harvested and sold, and I have eaten half of it, it looks as if he's out of house and home."
"Aren't you going to squash him?"
"No, of course not, why should I?"
"He is a bug. He is ugh."
"Not at all. He is Gaston the grand boulevardier."
"Everybody hollers when a bug comes out of an apple, but you don't."
"Of course not. How should we like it if somebody hollered every time we came out of our house?"
"Why would they?"
"Precisely. So why should we holler at Gaston?"
"He is not the same as us."
"Well, not exactly, but he's the same as a lot of other occupants of peach seeds. Now, the poor fellow hasn't got a home, and there he is with all that pure design and handsome form, and nowhere to go."
"Handsome?"
"Gaston is just about the handsomest of his kind I've ever seen."
He opened the seed and placed the two halves near Gaston.
"Is that where he lives?"
"It's where he used to live. Gaston is out in the world and on his own now."
"Now what has he got?"
"Not very much, I'm afraid."
"What's he going to do?"
"What are we going to do?"
"Well, we're not going to squash him," the girl said.
"What are we going to do, then?"
"Put him back?"
"Oh, that house is finished."
"Well, he can't live in our house, can he?"
"Not happily."
"I want a peach with somebody in the seed."
"Well, I'll go out and see if I can find one."
He went out. She watched Gaston wandering on the plate.
The telephone rang. Her mother was sending the chauffeur to pick her up for a party, and tomorrow they would fly back to New York.
"Let me speak to your father," she said.
"He's gone to get a peach."
"One peach?"
"One with people."
"You haven't been with your father two days and already you sound like him."
"There are peaches with people in them. I know. I saw one of them come out."
"A bug?"
"Not a bug. Gaston."
After the call, the girl watched Gaston. She actually didn't like him. He was all ugh. He didn't have a home and he was wandering. She cried a little, but only inside.
The man returned with more peaches, hoping to find another flawed one.
His daughter was in her best dress.
"My mother phoned," she said, "and she's sending the chauffeur for me."
"I liked being in your house."
"I liked having you here."
"Why do you live here?"
"This is my home."
"It's nice, but it's a lot different from our home."
"Yes, I suppose it is."
"It's kind of like Gaston's house."
"Where is Gaston?"
"I squashed him."
"Really? Why?"
"Everybody squashes bugs and worms."
"Oh. Well. I found you a peach."
"I don't want a peach anymore."
He helped her get ready. When the chauffeur arrived, he walked her down. In the street, he was about to hug her but decided not to. They shook hands instead, as if they were strangers.
He watched the car drive off, and then went for his coffee, feeling a little, he thought, like Gaston on the white plate.
中文翻译
按计划，她午睡后他们要一起吃桃子。此刻，她坐在那个男人对面。若不是他其实是她的父亲，他本应是个完全的陌生人。他们又在一起了，感觉像有一百年了，还是仅仅从前天开始？总之，他们又在一起了，而他有点滑稽。首先，他留着地见过的最大的胡子。其次，他穿着一件蓝白条纹的运动衫，而不是衬衫领带，也没穿外套。他光着脚，当然，她也光着脚。
他在巴黎的家里。他三十六岁；而她六岁，在八月一个炎热的下午刚睡醒。
那天早上，她在一家小店外的箱子里看到了桃子，于是他买了一公斤。现在，桃子放在他们坐着的牌桌的大盘子上。一共有七个，但其中一个有瑕疵。它看起来和其他的一样好，但在原来果梗的位置有一道裂缝，直通果核深处。
他把最大的桃子放在女孩面前的小盘子里，然后拿起那个有瑕疵的桃子开始剥皮。剥掉一半皮后，他吃了那一半，两人都没说话。
男人拿着吃了一半的桃子，低头看向那个空洞，看向打开的果核。女孩也看着。
就在他们看的时候，两根触须从洞里探了出来。它们连着一个棕色的球状脑袋，脑袋跟着触须出来，然后两条粗壮的腿紧紧抓住洞的边缘，把那个生物的其余部分拽了出来。
男人研究着这位果核居民，女孩也是。那生物停顿了片刻，然后继续从果核里出来，沿着被吃掉的那面桃子爬下去。
女孩从未见过这样的东西——一个棕色的东西，有球状脑袋、触须和许多条腿。男人把桃子放回盘子。那个生物移到白色的盘子上，停了下来。
“它是谁？”女孩说。
“加斯顿。”
“它住在哪里？”
“嗯，它以前住在这个桃核里，但现在桃子被收获、卖掉，我又吃了一半，看来它无家可归了。”
“你不打算捏死它吗？”
“不，当然不，我为什么要那样做？”
“它是个虫子。它很恶心。”
“才不是。它是伟大的都市闲逛者加斯顿。”
“虫子从苹果里爬出来时，大家都会大叫，但你不叫。”
“当然不。如果每次我们从家里出来都有人大叫，我们会怎么想？”
“他们为什么要叫？”
“正是。那我们为什么要对加斯顿大叫呢？”
“它和我们不一样。”
“嗯，不完全一样，但它和许多其他桃核里的住客是一样的。现在，这可怜的家伙没了家，空有这纯粹的设计和英俊的外形，却无处可去。”
“英俊？”
“加斯顿差不多是我见过的同类中最英俊的了。”
他打开果核，把两半放在加斯顿旁边。
“那是它住的地方吗？”
“那是它以前住的地方。加斯顿现在出来闯荡，自力更生了。”
“那它现在有什么？”
“恐怕不多了。”
“它要怎么办？”
“我们要怎么办？”
“嗯，我们不会捏死它，”女孩说。
“那我们怎么办？”
“把它放回去？”
“哦，那个房子已经完了。”
“那它不能住在我们家，对吧？”
“不会开心的。”
“我想要一个有‘人’在核里的桃子。”
“好吧，我出去看看能不能找到一个。”
他出去了。她看着加斯顿在盘子上徘徊。
电话响了。她母亲派司机来接她去参加一个派对，明天她们就飞回纽约。
“让你父亲接电话，”她说。
“他去买桃子了。”
“一个桃子？”
“一个有‘人’的桃子。”
“你和你父亲待了还不到两天，说话就像他了。”
“有‘人’在里面的桃子是有的。我知道。我看见一个出来了。”
“虫子？”
“不是虫子。是加斯顿。”
通话结束后，女孩看着加斯顿。她其实不喜欢它。它很恶心。它没有了家，在四处徘徊。她哭了一下，但只在心里。
男人带着更多桃子回来了，希望能再找到一个有瑕疵的。
他的女儿穿着她最好的裙子。
“我妈妈来电话了，”她说，“派司机来接我了。”
“我喜欢待在你家。”
“我喜欢有你在这里。”
“你为什么住在这里？”
“这是我的家。”
“这里很好，但和我们家很不一样。”
“是的，我想是的。”
“有点像加斯顿的房子。”
“加斯顿在哪里？”
“我把它捏死了。”
“真的？为什么？”
“大家都捏死虫子和蠕虫。”
“哦。好吧。我给你找到了一个桃子。”
“我不想要桃子了。”
他帮她准备好。司机到来后，他送她下楼。在街上，他本想拥抱她，但决定还是不要。他们握了握手，仿佛陌生人一般。
他望着汽车驶离，然后去喝他的咖啡，心想，自己感觉有点像白色盘子上的加斯顿。