WALL · E picked up his pace as he headed toward his truck. He scurried¹ up and pulled a lever on the truck's side. Slowly the back began to come down, and WALL · E happily sped up the ramp² and into the trailer. Home!

 

The wind whipped the truck as WALL · E peeled his new rubber treads from his wheels. He would put them on again in the morning before returning to work. But now it was time to relax. He removed a battered³ BnL cooler from his back. It was his collection box, and he was ready to begin the nightly ritual of going through the treasures he had found in the trash during the day.

 

But first, WALL · E went to an old television set and turned on his favorite video: Hello, Dolly! He always played it when he arrived home. After watching the video for a minute, he turned back to press a button that activated⁴ the rotating racks of shelves where he neatly⁵ stored his treasures. The day had yielded some very special finds: a few old toys and utensils⁶ (all of which made WALL · E curious, since he didn't know what they were) and a lighter⁷.

 

As he listened to the background music from the video, WALL · E perked⁸ up. He moved among his many treasures, stopping often in front of the fuzzy images scrolling⁹ across his television screen. The actors were singing and dancing to the song WALL · E had been humming all day. He paused, waiting for the next part. When it came, he hit the Record button on his chest and moved closer. WALL · E could see that the actors were not dancing now. They were walking together and looking into each other's eyes. Then they took each other's hands.

 

WALL · E tilted¹⁰ his head, his large eyes gazing tenderly at the screen. He interlocked his own two robotic hands. And for a moment the lonely robot wondered what it would be like to hold someone else's hand.

 

Later that night, when the storm had ended, WALL · E rolled outside and turned over his collection box to clean it out. He pressed the Play button on his chest and listened to the song again. Although the little robot wasn't programmed to understand romance, it was romance that pulsed through his circuits. It was this same strange impulse that made WALL · E gaze up at the few stars visible through the polluted haze¹¹ and wish for someone to share his world.

 

Suddenly, WALL · E's internal systems gave him a warning sign. The wind was picking up again. WALL · E checked the horizon. A massive sandstorm was approaching across the dried-up bay.

 

WALL · E swiftly headed back into the truck. He was familiar with the dangers of being caught in a sandstorm—air so clogged¹² with dirt and debris¹³ that he wouldn't be able to see; whipping winds that would fill every crevice¹⁴ in his robotic joints¹⁵ with sand; and, of course, the chance of being buried. This time he was lucky: he was close to the safety of his truck.

 

A blinding wave of sand roared closer as WALL · E entered the truck and began to raise its door. He stopped for a moment, remembering, and then turned and made a robotic noise—like a whistle—to call for his cockroach¹⁶. The door shut just as the storm hit, with both master and pet safe inside their little home.

 

WALL · E unwrapped a BnL sponge cake and set it on a shelf. Still moist from the preservatives¹⁷ that had kept it intact for centuries, the little cake made a comfy cockroach bed.

 

WALL · E collapsed¹⁸ into a box shape and backed into an empty shelf. Rocking the shelf back and forth¹⁹ like a cradle, he closed his eyes and shut down for the night. Outside, the full force of the storm raged across the terrain²⁰.

 

瓦力加快速度向着他的货车驶去。他匆匆赶过去，拉动货车一侧的拉杆。货车尾部的车厢门慢慢降下来，瓦力开心地加速驶上坡道，进入车厢。到家了！

 

瓦力将他的新橡胶履带从轮子上剥了下来，而外面狂风正抽打着货车。他会在早上回去工作之前再戴上这对履带，但是现在是休息的时间。他从背部取下一台破破烂烂的大卖场冷藏箱。这是他的百宝箱，接下来他准备开始他每晚的例行活动——整理他白天在垃圾堆里找到的珍宝。

 

但是在那之前，瓦力走到一台旧电视机前，打开了他最喜爱的录像节目《你好，多莉！》。他总是一回家就播放它。看了一分钟录像后，他转身按下一个按钮，启动了一个旋转储物架。储物架的搁板上整整齐齐地摆放着他的宝贝们。今天他发现了一些非常特别的东西：几个旧玩具和厨房用具（他不知道它们是什么，所以对它们非常好奇），还有一个打火机。

 

听着录像带的背景音乐，瓦力感到活力充沛。他在众多的宝贝间移动，经常停在电视机前看着屏幕上闪过的模糊影像。演员们起舞歌唱，伴奏的正是瓦力一整天都在哼着的那首曲子。他停了下来，等着播放下一部分。等开始放下个部分的时候，他按下胸前的“录音键”，并靠近电视机。瓦力能看见演员们现在不跳舞了。他们一起走着，互相注视着对方的眼睛。然后，他们握住了对方的手。

 

瓦力歪了歪脑袋，他的大眼睛温柔地盯着电视屏幕。他将自己的两只机械手交握在一起。这个孤独的机器人疑惑了好一会儿：握住别人的手会是什么感觉？

 

那晚深夜，暴风雨停歇了，瓦力慢慢驶到货车外，将他的百宝箱倒过来清理干净。他按下胸前的“播放”键，重听那首歌。虽然这个小机器人的程序设定中没有对爱情的理解，他的线路中却搏动着浪漫的冲动。正是这种奇怪的冲动使瓦力抬头凝视着浓浓雾霾中仅仅可见的几颗星星，希望有人能和他共享他的世界。

 

突然，瓦力的内部系统发出了一个警告信号。风又加速了。瓦力看向地平线，发现一场超强的沙暴正从干涸的海湾那里向他袭来。

 

瓦力迅速驶向货车。他很熟悉遇上沙暴可能面临的种种危险——空气中满是灰尘和碎片，他会看不见；狂风会抽打着他，使他机械关节的各个缝隙里都填满沙子；当然，还有被深埋的可能性。这一次他很幸运，因为他离他的货车不远，那里很安全。

 

在瓦力进入货车开始升起车厢门的时候，一阵让人睁不开眼睛的风沙咆哮着向他越靠越近。他停顿了一下，想起了一件事，然后转身发出类似口哨的机械声音来召唤他的蟑螂。沙暴眼看要袭来，车门恰好关闭，主人和他的宠物进入了他们安全的小家。

 

瓦力打开一块大卖场的海绵蛋糕，将它放在一块搁板上。蛋糕里的防腐剂使其几百年来都没有腐坏，还保持着湿润。这一小块蛋糕成了蟑螂舒适的床铺。

 

瓦力收缩成盒子形状，后退到一块空搁板上。他让搁板像摇篮一样前后晃动，然后闭上眼睛，关闭电源过夜。车厢外，沙暴威力十足，在这片土地上肆虐。

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