4. An Artist’s Eye

4 An Artist's Eye Stanley froze quickly. His face went slack. His eyes focused on Mona Lisa's smile. The girls stared, their mouths hanging open. One of them imitated the sound of Stanley's momentary burst of laughter. They giggled and whispered to each other. Suddenly their teacher appeared behind them. She was a tall spidery woman in a long black dress. She said something quick and stern in French. The girls looked at the floor and mumbled apologetically. One of the girls went across the gallery to the Mona Lisa. The girl with blue eyes stayed where she was, pulled out a sketchbook, peered up at Stanley intently, and started drawing.

斯坦利很快僵住了。 他的脸变得松弛了。他的目光集中在蒙娜丽莎的微笑上。 姑娘们目瞪口呆，张着嘴。 他们中的一个模仿着斯坦利瞬间爆发的笑声。 他们咯咯地笑着，互相窃窃私语。 突然，他们的老师出现在他们身后。 她是一个身材修长，穿着黑色长裙的女人。 她用法语迅速而严厉地说了几句。 姑娘们看着地板，嘟哝着道歉。 其中一个女孩穿过画廊走向《蒙娜丽莎》。 那个蓝眼睛的女孩呆在原地，拿出一本速写本，目不转睛地盯着斯坦利，然后开始画画。

Stanley had never seen a person concentrate so hard. As she worked with her pencil and eraser, feelings blew across the girl's face like seasons: She was disappointed, then frustrated, and finally pleased. Stanley was very, very curious: What did her drawing look like? Did it look like him?

斯坦利从来没有见过一个人如此全神贯注。 当她用铅笔和橡皮擦工作时，情绪像季节一样在女孩的脸上掠过:她先是失望，然后是沮丧，最后是高兴。 斯坦利非常非常好奇:她画的是什么样子? 看起来像他吗?

After nearly an hour, the girl paused. She held the book at arm's length, judging her work. Stanley's curiosity got the best of him, and he peeled his head forward to see. The girl looked up, and he immediately snapped back into place. Her big blue eyes narrowed. She took a step forward, studying him more closely than ever. Stanley didn't dare move. The Mona Lisa was smiling as if she knew what a fool he'd been. Then the strict teacher's voice barked something, and the girl snapped to attention. She fumbled to put away her pencil and sketchbook. A guard by the door made an announcement, and people started exiting the gallery. The museum was closing! The girl crept close to Stanley's painting. "Au revoir," she whispered, and rushed out after her classmates. As she did, her sketchbook, which she'd shoved into a pocket of her satchel, fell out and onto the floor. Stanley almost called out after her, but he caught himself. Soon the gallery was empty.

过了将近一个小时，女孩停了下来。 她把书拿在一臂远的地方，评价她的作品。 斯坦利的好奇心战胜了他，他把头向前探了探。 女孩抬起头来，他立刻迅速回到原位。 她那双蓝色的大眼睛眯了起来。 她向前迈了一步，更仔细地打量着他。 斯坦利不敢动。蒙娜丽莎在微笑，仿佛她知道他是个多么愚蠢的人。 然后严厉的老师的声音咆哮着什么，女孩立刻立正。 她摸索着把铅笔和速写本收起来。 门口的一个警卫宣布了一件事，人们开始离开画廊。 博物馆要关门了!女孩蹑手蹑脚地走近斯坦利的画。 “再见。”她低声说，然后冲出去追她的同学。 就在这时，她原本塞进书包口袋里的速写本掉了出来，掉在了地板上。 斯坦利几乎要在她后面喊，但他控制住了自己。 很快，画廊就空了。

When he was sure the coast was clear, Stanley slipped from his frame and dropped to the floor. Creeping over to the girl's sketchbook, he picked it up, opened it, and found page after page of sketches—one painting after another, drawn in fine detail. There was even one of the Mona Lisa. Finally Stanley came to the girl's latest sketch. Stanley was impressed. It looked just like him, except with a beard and a floppy hat. The girl with big blue eyes was very, very talented.

当他确信没有危险时，斯坦利从他的框架上滑了下来，倒在了地板上。 他蹑手蹑脚地走到女孩的速写本前，拿起它，打开它，发现一页又一页的速写——一幅又一幅画，画得非常精细。 甚至还有一幅《蒙娜丽莎》。 最后，斯坦利看了看那姑娘的最新素描。 斯坦利被打动了。它长得和他一模一样，只是留着胡子，戴着一顶松软的帽子。 那个有着大大的蓝眼睛的女孩非常非常有才华。

He turned back to the front cover. It read: Le livre du Etoile Dubois L'école d'Art 22 rue d'Excaver Montmartre, Paris

他转过身去看封面。 上面写着:Le livre du Etoile Dubois L' acei d' art 22 rue d' excaver Montmartre，巴黎

Her name is Etoile, Stanley realized. I have to return this to her! Stanley looked up at the Mona Lisa. No one had tried to steal her... yet. She was safe for the night. Surely it would be okay for Stanley to stretch his legs after hanging on the wall all day— as long as he stayed in disguise and was back at his aunt's in time for dinner? Stanley crept through the museum, moving silently along the walls and floors. He slipped behind one guard, and then another. He passed paintings by artists with names like Degas and Caravaggio. Stanley slithered down a staircase. He passed the pale bust of a woman whose arms had broken off; a sign said she was called Venus de Milo. Finally Stanley found his way back to the front of the museum. The last of the visitors were leaving, and he caught a glimpse of a girl in a school uniform and a dark ponytail walking out the front doors—Etoile! Stanley slipped into the coatroom. In a corner he found a large cardboard box labeled Perdus et Trouvés. Inside was a jumble of items, including

她的名字叫埃托勒，斯坦利意识到。 我得把这个还给她!斯坦利抬头看着《蒙娜丽莎》。 没有人试图偷走她…… 然而。她今晚是安全的。 在墙上挂了一天之后，斯坦利可以活动活动筋骨——只要他能乔装打扮，及时赶回姨妈家吃晚饭就行了。 斯坦利蹑手蹑脚地穿过博物馆，静静地沿着墙壁和地板移动。 他溜过一个又一个警卫。 他走过德加和卡拉瓦乔等艺术家的画作。 斯坦利滑下楼梯。 他走过一个断臂的女人苍白的半身像;牌子上写着她叫维纳斯·米洛。 最后斯坦利找到了回到博物馆前面的路。 最后一批客人正要离开，他瞥见一个穿着校服、扎着深色马尾辫的女孩正从前门走出来——哎哟!斯坦利溜进衣帽间。 在一个角落里，他发现了一个大纸板箱，上面写着珀杜斯和特鲁瓦斯。 里面是一堆乱七八糟的东西，包括