5. A Fresh Canvas

5 A Fresh Canvas Winding his way through the streets of Paris, Stanley finally found a grand stone building in a maze of cobblestoned streets. The sign above the doorway read L'école d'Art, the same words that were on the sketchbook.

新鲜的画布斯坦利在巴黎的街道上蜿蜒前行，终于在鹅卵石街道的迷宫中找到了一座宏伟的石头建筑。 门口上方的牌子上写着“艺术”，和速写本上的字一模一样。

Stanley pushed open the giant door. Once inside he realized what l'école d'art meant: It was an art school. He crept down a dimly lit hallway lined with empty classrooms until he came to one at the end, where he spotted the spidery teacher from the museum through the door's window. Inside, a handful of students were painting.

斯坦利推开了那扇巨大的门。 一进去，他就明白了我的意思:这是一所艺术学校。 他蹑手蹑脚地穿过一条灯光昏暗的走廊，走廊两边都是空荡荡的教室，直到他来到尽头的一间教室，他透过门的窗户看到了博物馆里那位身材纤细的老师。 里面，几个学生正在画画。

Stanley scanned the room.... There was Etoile, painting near the back! He'd found her! Now all he needed to do was find a way to return her sketchbook. Stanley quickly removed his scarf, hat, boots, and gloves. The less he wore, the more invisible he could make himself when he snuck inside. He even pulled off the puffy-sleeved shirt from the painting, so he was wearing only a white undershirt and his pants. He folded everything into a neat pile and hid it behind a trash bin in the corner of the hall. Then, holding nothing but Etoile's sketchbook, he slipped beneath the closed door. Stanley stayed low, skirting the edge of the room until he was directly behind Etoile. She was painting a young woman bending over a piece of lace she was mending. It reminded Stanley of one of the paintings he'd seen at the Louvre.

斯坦利扫视了一下房间.... 埃托勒在后面画画!他找到她了!现在他要做的就是想办法把她的速写本还给她。 斯坦利迅速脱下围巾、帽子、靴子和手套。 他穿得越少，溜进去的时候就越不显眼。 他甚至脱下了画上那件蓬松的衬衫，所以他只穿了一件白色的汗衫和裤子。 他把所有东西整齐地叠成一堆，藏在大厅角落的垃圾桶后面。 然后，除了埃托勒的速写本，他什么也没拿，从关着的门下面溜了进去。 斯坦利保持低姿态，沿着房间边缘走，一直走到埃托勒的正后方。 她正在画一个年轻女子弯腰修补一块花边。 这让斯坦利想起了他在卢浮宫看过的一幅画。

When the teacher's back was turned, Stanley popped up between Etoile and her painting. Her big blue eyes widened in surprise, but she stayed quiet. Then her eyes darted across the room—she was clearly worried that Stanley would get caught. As the teacher looked their way, Stanley quickly handed Etoile her sketchbook and folded his head and arms back behind her easel so his white T-shirt looked like a blank canvas itself. Etoile immediately started painting on him. Stanley tried not to giggle as she gently dabbed her brush against his chest.

当老师转过身去的时候，斯坦利突然出现在埃托尔和她的画之间。 她那双蓝色的大眼睛惊讶地睁大了，但她保持沉默。 然后她的目光扫视了一下房间——她显然担心斯坦利会被抓住。 当老师看向他们的方向时，斯坦利迅速把她的速写本递给了埃托勒，把他的头和胳膊叠在她的画架后面，这样他的白t恤本身就像一张空白的画布。 埃托勒立即开始在他身上作画。 当她轻轻地用刷子擦他的胸口时，斯坦利忍住不笑。

Fifteen minutes later Stanley held his breath as the teacher came to look at Etoile's painting. "Très bien, Etoile," the teacher said in an unusually soft voice. Stanley remembered that meant "very good." Soon class was dismissed. Etoile said something to her teacher in French as the other students filed out—Stanley guessed that she was

十五分钟后，斯坦利屏住呼吸，老师过来看埃托勒的画。 “tr<s:1> bien, Etoile，”老师用一种异常柔和的声音说。 斯坦利记得这句话的意思是“非常好”。 很快下课了。当其他学生鱼贯而出时，埃托勒用法语对她的老师说了几句话

saying she wanted to finish her painting. The teacher left, closing the door behind her. And then they were alone. Etoile said something excitedly in French. Stanley rose up and shook his head. "I don't understand a word you're saying," he told her. She grinned and poked his shoulder. "You were in the painting at the Louvre!" she said in English.

说她想完成她的画。 老师走了，随手关上了门。 然后就剩下他们了。埃托勒激动地用法语说了些什么。 斯坦利站起来摇了摇头。 “你说的话我一个字也听不懂，”他对她说。 她咧嘴一笑，拍了拍他的肩膀。 “你在卢浮宫的那幅画里!”她用英语说。