It must have been about two in the morning when I returned home.

我回到家时，肯定已是凌晨两点左右了。

I tried to wake up my wife by ringing the doorbell, but she was fast asleep,

我按响了门铃，试图唤醒我的妻子，但她睡得很熟。

so I got a ladder from the shed in the garden, put it against the wall, and began climbing towards the bedroom window.

于是，我从花园的小棚里搬来了一个梯子，把它靠在墙边，开始向卧室的窗口爬去。

I was almost there when a sarcastic voice below said,

快要爬到窗口时，下面一个人用讽刺的口吻说：

"I don't think the windows need cleaning at this time of the night."

“我看不必在夜里这个时候擦窗子吧。”

I looked down and nearly fell off the ladder when I saw a policeman.

我向下面看去。当我看清是一个警察时，差一点儿从梯子上掉下去。

I immediately regretted answering in the way I did, but I said, "I enjoy cleaning windows at night."

我回答了他的话，但马上又后悔不该那样说，我是这样说的：“我喜欢在夜里擦窗子。”

"So do I," answered the policeman in the same tone.

“我也是的，”警察用同样的声调回答，

"Excuse my interrupting you.

“请原谅我打断了您。

I hate to interrupt a man when he's busy working, but would you mind coming with me to the station?"

当一个人在忙着干活时，我是不愿意去打断他的，但请您跟我到警察局去一趟好吗？”

"Well, I'd prefer to stay here," I said. "You see. I've forgotten my key."

“可我更愿意呆在这儿，”我说，“您瞧，我忘带钥匙了。”

"Your what?" he called.

“什么？”他大声问。

"My key," I shouted.

“钥匙！”我喊道。

Fortunately, the shouting woke up my wife who opened the window just as the policeman had started to climb towards me.

幸运得很，这喊声惊醒了我的妻子。就在警察开始向我爬上来时，她打开了窗子。