3. The Ninja Way

3 The Ninja Way Stanley was shown to a beautiful room in Oda Nobu's beautiful home. The walls, and even the doors, were made of delicate rice paper stretched across wooden frames. The only piece of furniture was a bed—a mat on a low platform, nearly on the floor. A handsome kimono, embroidered with scarlet dragons, lay across the bed. Stanley slipped his arms into the sleeves and wrapped the kimono around himself. And around and around— apparently kimonos were not styled for people with his shape—until finally he could tie the sash. Then, one of the ninjas, the one who had thrown a flying kick at Stanley, appeared at the door. He gestured for Stanley to follow him. At the end of a long sunlit hallway, the ninja slid open a rice paper door. There was Oda Nobu,

史丹利被带到织田信美丽的家中一间漂亮的房间。 墙壁，甚至门，都是用精致的宣纸铺在木制框架上做成的。 唯一的家具是一张床——一张铺在低矮平台上的垫子，几乎在地板上。 床上放着一件绣着红龙的漂亮和服。 斯坦利把胳膊伸进袖子，把和服裹在自己身上。 一圈又一圈——显然和服不是为他这种体型的人设计的——直到他终于可以系上腰带。 这时，一个忍者出现在门口，就是刚才朝斯坦利踢了一脚的那个。 他示意斯坦利跟他走。 在一条长长的阳光走廊的尽头，忍者打开了一扇宣纸门。 有Oda Nobu，

seated on a straw mat in front of a low table. The movie star smiled as the ninja showed Stanley how to sit at the table, with his legs folded beneath him. For once, Stanley was grateful to be flat. Oda Nobu gestured over the objects laid upon the table: ceramic bowls, a small scoop, a ladle, and a covered jar. Beside these, water boiled in an iron pot above a flame. "This is the tea ceremony, Stanley-san," he said. "It is a very ancient and very important tradition for Japanese people."

坐在矮桌子前的草席上。 当忍者向斯坦利展示如何坐在桌子旁，双腿交叉在身下时，这位电影明星笑了。 这一次，斯坦利庆幸自己是平的。 织田信在桌子上的物品上做了个手势:陶瓷碗、一个小勺子、一个长柄勺和一个有盖的罐子。 旁边是用铁锅在火上烧开的水。 “这是茶道，斯坦利先生，”他说。 “对日本人来说，这是一个非常古老、非常重要的传统。”

Stanley watched as Oda Nobu measured powdered leaves into one of the ceramic bowls. Next, he ladled hot water into the bowl. He used the whisk to stir the tea. Stanley could tell that the careful motions had taken a lot of practice to learn. The movie star bowed to Stanley and held the bowl out to him. Stanley bowed and took the bowl. Oda Nobu made a drinking gesture, and Stanley took a sip. Stanley had never had tea before. It tasted… Stanley searched for a word. Mrs. Lambchop always said, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Thinking about his mother reminded Stanley of the delicious hot chocolate she often made for special occasions. For an instant, homesickness washed over him, but he fought it, because this was a special

史丹利看着织田信把叶子粉末量进一个陶瓷碗里。 接着，他把热水舀进碗里。 他用打蛋器搅茶。 斯坦利看得出来，这些小心翼翼的动作是经过大量练习才学会的。 电影明星向斯坦利鞠了一躬，把碗递给他。 斯坦利鞠了一躬，拿起了碗。 Oda Nobu做了一个喝酒的手势，Stanley喝了一口。 斯坦利以前从来没有喝过茶。 它尝起来……斯坦利想找个词。 兰切普太太总是说:“如果你说不出好话，那就什么都别说。” 想到母亲，斯坦利想起了她经常为特殊场合做的美味的热巧克力。 刹那间，乡愁涌上心头，但他忍住了，因为这是一次特别的经历

occasion! And he wanted to tell Oda Nobu how much he appreciated the tea ceremony, even if the tea tasted… And then a solution came to him: The tea tasted interesting! He started to say this, but his host held a finger to his lips. "We will talk soon," he said, and reached for the bowl of tea. Stanley passed it to him, and Oda Nobu drank. When they were finished, Oda Nobu cleaned all the tea ceremony's objects and arranged them neatly on the table. He and Stanley bowed to each other once again. Then Oda Nobu stood and motioned for Stanley to follow him out of the tearoom and into a garden. They sat on a bench next to a fountain. Around the fountain were the smallest trees Stanley had ever seen. "Bonsai," Oda Nobu explained, as if he had read Stanley's mind. "The art of training plants into pleasing miniature shapes. Another important tradition to my people. Yet another one is…" Oda Nobu looked directly at Stanley. "Stanley-san," he said, "do you know the history of the ninja?" "Sure," Stanley said. "Well, that is, I've seen all of your movies several times!"

场合!他想告诉织田信他是多么欣赏茶道，即使茶尝起来……然后他想到了一个解决办法:茶尝起来很有趣!他刚要这么说，主人却把一根手指放在他的嘴唇上。 “我们一会儿再谈，”他说着，伸手去拿那碗茶。 斯坦利递给他，小田信喝了下去。 茶道结束后，织田信把茶道里所有的东西都洗干净，整齐地放在桌子上。 他和斯坦利又一次互相鞠躬。 然后Oda Nobu站了起来，示意Stanley跟着他走出茶室，进入一个花园。 他们坐在喷泉旁的长凳上。 喷泉周围是斯坦利从未见过的最小的树。 “盆景。”Oda Nobu解释道，仿佛看穿了Stanley的心思。 “把植物培育成令人愉悦的微型形状的艺术。 这是我们族人的另一个重要传统。 还有一个是……”Oda Nobu直视着Stanley。 “史丹利先生，”他说，“你知道忍者的历史吗?”“当然，”斯坦利说。 “嗯，就是说，你的电影我都看过好几遍了!”

Oda Nobu laughed. "Ah, yes, of course! But permit me to tell you a little more." He picked up a stick, and in the sand he drew what looked like a charging seahorse. "In the old times," he said, "Japan had many rulers. Each had his own kingdom, his own army, his own people and lands to protect." Oda Nobu drew small circles inside the larger outline, which Stanley now realized was the shape of Japan. "Often these rulers would fight one another," Oda Nobu continued. "Like people everywhere, I am sorry to say. If you have something I want, and I believe I am more powerful than you, I just might decide to take it from you." Oda Nobu drew a line between two circles in the sand. "Of course, a ruler could use his army to take what he wanted," he said. "But often he believed it was better to use ninjutsu. Do you know what that word means, Stanley-san?" "Well," Stanley said, "it sounds a little like ninja." "Yes, it does," Oda Nobu said. "Ninjutsu means 'the art of stealth.' Ninjas are trained in the art of going undetected, of not being seen."

Oda Nobu笑了。“啊，是的，当然!”不过请允许我再告诉你一点。” 他拿起一根棍子，在沙子上画了一个东西，看起来像一只正在冲锋的海马。 “在古代，”他说，“日本有很多统治者。 每个人都有自己的王国，自己的军队，自己的人民和自己的土地要保护。” Oda Nobu在更大的轮廓内画了小圆圈，Stanley现在意识到这就是日本的形状。 “这些统治者经常会相互争斗，”Oda Nobu继续说。 “和世界各地的人一样，我很遗憾地说。 如果你有我想要的东西，而且我相信我比你更强大，我可能会决定从你那里拿走它。” Oda Nobu在沙地上的两个圆圈之间画了一条线。 “当然，统治者可以用他的军队来夺取他想要的东西，”他说。 但他常常认为使用忍术更好。 你知道这个词是什么意思吗，史丹利先生?”“嗯，”斯坦利说，“听起来有点像忍者。” “是的，确实如此，”Oda Nobu说。 忍术的意思是“潜行的艺术”。忍者被训练成不被发现，不被发现的艺术。”

"But," Stanley said, "I could see your ninjas pretty clearly." "Stanley-san, you are a very funny young man," Oda Nobu said. "And very honest in your observations. No, those men are not ninjas. They are my bodyguards. They just like to wear the ninja uniforms." "Bodyguards?" Stanley asked. "Why would you need bodyguards? You're Oda Nobu!" Oda Nobu shrugged. He looked embarrassed. "Of course I don't need bodyguards. It is the movie studio. They think it makes their biggest movie star look even more important." Oda Nobu brushed away his drawings. He stood up and then bowed to Stanley. "Stanley-san," he said in a low voice, "I must ask you a very important question. Will you be my personal ninja?" Stanley couldn't believe his ears. His favorite movie star was asking him to be his personal ninja? Wait until Arthur heard about this! "But," Stanley said, "why me? I don't know anything about karate or judo or jujitsu or any of that!"

“但是，”斯坦利说，“我可以很清楚地看到你的忍者。” “史丹利先生，你是一个非常有趣的年轻人，”Oda Nobu说。 “而且你的观察也很诚实。 不，那些人不是忍者。 他们是我的保镖。他们只是喜欢穿忍者制服。” “保镖?”斯坦利问道。 “你为什么需要保镖?” 你是织田信!”Oda Nobu耸了耸肩。 他看起来很尴尬。“我当然不需要保镖。 这是电影制片厂。他们认为这会让他们最大的电影明星看起来更重要。” Oda Nobu擦掉了他的画。 他站起来，然后向斯坦利鞠了一躬。 “史丹利先生，”他低声说，“我必须问你一个非常重要的问题。 你愿意做我的私人忍者吗?”斯坦利简直不敢相信自己的耳朵。 他最喜欢的电影明星邀请他做他的私人忍者? 等着瞧，亚瑟听说了这件事!“但是，”斯坦利说，“为什么是我? 我对空手道、柔道、柔术之类的一窍不通!”