I heard footfalls, shouts, an approaching melee of kite runners. But they were wasting their time.

我听见脚步声，叫喊声，一群追风筝的人正闹哄哄向这边跑来。但他们只是白费时间。

For kite runners, the most coveted prize was the last fallen kite of a winter tournament.

对追风筝的人来说，最大的奖励是在冬天的比赛中捡到最后掉落的那只风筝。

When the sky cleared of kites and only the final two remained, every kite runner readied himself for the chance to land this prize.

每当满天风筝消失得只剩下最后两只，每个追风筝的人都厉兵秣马，准备摘取此项大奖。

They fell from the sky like shooting stars with brilliant, rippling tails, showering the neighborhoods below with prizes for the kite runners.

它们像流星那样划过苍天，拖着闪亮的尾巴，散落在临近的街区，给追风筝的人带来奖赏。

And suddenly Hassan's voice whispered in my head: " For you, a thousand times over" . Hassan the harelipped kite runner.

突然间，哈桑的声音在我脑中响起：为你，千千万万遍。哈桑，那个兔唇的哈桑，那个追风筝的人。

Over the years, I had seen a lot of guys run kites. But Hassan was by far the greatest kite runner I'd ever seen.

多年过去，我曾见到无数家伙参与追风筝，但哈桑是我见过的人中最精此道的高手。

Up and down the streets, kite runners were returning triumphantly, their captured kites held high. They showed them off to their parents, their friends.

街头巷尾满是凯旋而回的追风筝者，他们高举追到的战利品，拿着它们在亲朋好友面前炫耀。

Omar headed the ball to his brother" .I hear he's a great kite runner" . His brother headed the ball back to him. Omar caught it, tossed it up and down.

奥马尔用头将足球顶给他弟弟，" 我听说他追风筝可厉害了。" 他弟弟将足球顶回来，奥马尔伸手抓住，拍上拍下。

The chase got pretty fierce; hordes of kite runners swarmed the streets, shoved past each other like those people from Spain I'd read about once, the ones who ran from the bulls.

追风筝的人蜂拥着漫过大街小巷，相互推搡，像西班牙人那样。我曾看过一本书，说起他们在斗牛节时被公牛追赶的景象。

But he fell with the kite still in his hands. And when a kite runner had his hands on a kite, no one could take it from him. That wasn't a rule. That was custom.

但他跌下来时手里还抓着那只风筝。如果追风筝的人手里拿着风筝，没有人能将它拿走。这不是规则，而是风俗。

That was where the kite runners came in, those kids who chased the windblown kite drifting through the neighborhoods until it came spiraling down in a field, dropping in someone's yard, on a tree, or a rooftop.

这时，该追风筝的人出动，那些孩子追逐那个在随风飘扬的风筝，在临近的街区奔走，直到它盘旋着跌落在田里，或者掉进某家的院子里，或挂在树上，或停在屋顶上。