2. The Redwood Forest

2 The Redwood Forest Stanley sat up. The back of the van was bare, except for a complicated-looking set of instruments and television screens on one wall. There were no windows—just a slit at the front, through which Stanley could make out the back of the driver's head. "My name is Lily Fox," said the girl in the wheelchair. "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Lambchop. You're a hero of mine."

红木森林斯坦利坐了起来。 面包车的后面空荡荡的，除了一组看起来很复杂的仪器和一面墙上的电视屏幕。 车里没有窗户，只有前面的一条缝，斯坦利可以从缝里看到司机的后脑勺。 “我叫莉莉·福克斯，”坐在轮椅上的女孩说。 “很荣幸见到你，兰博切先生。 你是我心目中的英雄。”

"What? Oh, uh, thank you," stammered Stanley's father. "Actually, I was talking to Stanley," said Lily. All at once, Stanley realized what was happening. "You're kidnapping me!" he blurted. "Just like my friend Oda Nobu's fans kidnapped him when I was in Japan!" Mr. Lambchop pointed a finger at Lily Fox. "How dare you! Don't you know it's impolite to

“什么?哦，谢谢，”斯坦利的父亲结结巴巴地说。 “其实，我是在和斯坦利说话。”莉莉说。 突然，斯坦利意识到发生了什么。 “你在绑架我!”他脱口而出。 “就像我在日本的时候，我朋友Oda Nobu的粉丝绑架了他一样!”兰切普先生把矛头指向了莉莉·福克斯。 “你怎么敢!”难道你不知道……是不礼貌的吗

kidnap people?" "We're not kidnapping you," Lily answered calmly. "You don't have to come with us if you don't want to." For the first time, Stanley noticed the wheels on the girl's wheelchair. They were big, studded, and rugged, like a mountain bike's tires. Stanley got to his feet. "What do you want?" Lily Fox wheeled over to the console and pushed some buttons. A grainy black-and-white video flickered to life on one of the screens: It was a street scene with a crowd of people. A boy walked up to a cardboard cutout and shook it roughly. Wait a minute, thought Stanley. That's me and that boy at Fisherman's Wharf earlier today! Stanley's stomach turned as he remembered the kid's face. The boy had recognized Stanley as "the famous flat kid." Without even asking, he had pulled Stanley's head back and put his chin on Stanley's shoulders so it looked as though his head was perched atop a flat body. "Quick! Take a picture!" He'd cackled to a friend. Stanley had been too embarrassed to speak. He might as well

绑架的人?”“我们没有绑架你。”莉莉平静地回答。 “如果你不想和我们一起去，你可以不去。” 斯坦利第一次注意到女孩轮椅上的轮子。 它们又大又硬，像山地车的轮胎。 斯坦利站了起来。“你想要什么?”莉莉·福克斯转到控制台，按了几个按钮。 一块屏幕上闪过一段模糊的黑白视频:这是一幅有一群人的街景。 一个男孩走到一张纸板前，粗暴地摇晃着它。 等一下，斯坦利想。 这是我和那个男孩今天早些时候在渔人码头!当斯坦利想起那孩子的脸时，他的胃一阵翻腾。 这个男孩认出斯坦利是“著名的扁平小孩”。 连问都没问，他就把斯坦利的头往后拉了拉，把下巴搁在斯坦利的肩膀上，这样看起来他的头就像是搁在一个扁平的身体上。 “快!拍张照吧!”他对一个朋友咯咯地笑。 斯坦利尴尬得说不出话来。 他还不如

have been a painted wooden character at a carnival. "Stanley, do you ever get tired of people looking at you funny?" asked Lily, bringing him back to the present. Stanley sucked in his breath. "Sometimes," he said. On the screen, his head was tucked out of sight as people crowded around and started lining up to

曾经是嘉年华上的一个彩绘木头人。 “斯坦利，你不厌倦人们用奇怪的眼光看你吗?”莉莉问，把他带回了现实。 斯坦利吸了口气。 “有时候，”他说。在屏幕上，他的头被遮住了，人们围着他，开始排队等候

have their pictures taken. "Do you ever feel as if you're invisible? Like all that most people can see is that you're different, and they can't see anything else?" On the screen, Mr. Lambchop shooed everyone away with an angry wag of his finger. In the van, he gently squeezed Stanley's shoulder. Stanley looked at his feet. "Yeah. I guess." The girl pushed a button, and the screen went black. "Then imagine what it's like being in a wheelchair."

给他们拍照。 “你有没有觉得自己是隐形人?” 就像大多数人只看到你与众不同一样，他们看不到其他的东西吗?”在屏幕上，兰姆切普愤怒地挥动手指，把所有人都赶走了。 在车里，他轻轻地捏了捏斯坦利的肩膀。 斯坦利看着自己的脚。 “是的。我猜。”女孩按下一个按钮，屏幕就黑了。 “那想象一下坐在轮椅上是什么感觉。”

Stanley looked at Lily for what felt like the first time. She was a few years older than he was. Her hair was pulled back in a dark ponytail. She looked athletic, and there was something strong about her face. She looked... determined. With a slight jolt, the van came to a stop. A moment later the driver opened the cargo doors. He was a tall man wearing a tank top, Bermuda shorts, and flip-flops.

斯坦利看着莉莉，感觉像是第一次。 她比他大几岁。 她的头发向后梳成一个黑色的马尾。 她看起来很健壮，脸上有一种强壮的神情。 她看起来……确定。随着轻微的震动，货车停了下来。 过了一会儿，司机打开了货舱的门。 他身材高大，穿着背心、百慕大短裤和人字拖。