3. La Fiesta

3 La Fiesta As the sun set over Mexico City, Stanley stood in the courtyard of Carmen's home, where her family had gathered to celebrate after the bullfight. Stanley had never known a person with so many brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts, in-laws, nieces, nephews, and godchildren. An older woman with enormous eyeglasses rushed up and squealed at Stanley. She reached out to squeeze his cheeks, but pinched the sides of his head instead. He tried to smile. "Bienvenidos," the woman cried. "Bienvenidos!" Stanley looked around for Carmen to translate. "Bien means 'well'," a voice said. It was an older boy, the first signs of a mustache sprouting on his lip. "Venidos comes from the verb venir, 'to come'. Bienvenidos means—"

当墨西哥城的夕阳西下时，斯坦利站在卡门家的院子里，她的家人在斗牛结束后聚集在那里庆祝。 斯坦利从来没有见过一个人有这么多的兄弟、姐妹、表亲、叔叔、阿姨、姻亲、侄女、侄子和教子。 一个戴着大眼镜的老妇人冲上来，对着斯坦利尖叫。 她伸手去捏他的脸颊，却捏了捏他的头两侧。 他试图微笑。“再见，”女人叫道。 “Bienvenidos !”斯坦利环顾四周，找卡门翻译。 “Bien的意思是‘好’，”一个声音说。 这是一个大一点的男孩，嘴唇上开始长出了小胡子。 Venidos来自动词venir，意思是“来”。 Bienvenidos意味着- - - - - -”

"Well—come. Welcome!" Stanley said. "You speak English!" "I am Eduardo," the boy said, nodding. "We are excited to meet you." He stepped aside to reveal a group of children.

“很有。欢迎!”斯坦利说。 “你会说英语!”“我是爱德华多，”男孩点头说。 “我们很高兴见到你。” 他走到一边，露出一群孩子。

"Está liso como un plato," a little girl said, gasping, wide-eyed. "She says you are flat as a pancake," said Eduardo. He grabbed Stanley and led him through the crowd. A moment later, Stanley and Eduardo stood in a corner of the courtyard, the other children arranged around them on the grass. Eduardo said they were eager to hear Stanley's stories of adventure. Eduardo would translate. The children ooohed as Stanley told them how he had used his body as a lever to rescue his friend Calamity Jane from a gold mine. They aaahed as he described how he had used his elbows as lethal weapons to defeat ruthless villains in Japan. They gasped when he told them he could fly like a jet plane using nothing but his muscled, aerodynamic body. Stanley did not tell them that his brother, Arthur, had helped save Calamity Jane. He did not tell them that neither the villains he had encountered in Japan nor his elbows were particularly dangerous. And he did not tell them that he couldn't really fly like an airplane,

“estiso como un plato，”一个小女孩说，眼睛睁得大大的，喘着粗气。 “她说你像煎饼一样扁平，”爱德华多说。 他抓住斯坦利，领着他穿过人群。 过了一会儿，斯坦利和爱德华多站在院子的一个角落里，其他孩子围着他们坐在草地上。 爱德华多说他们很想听听斯坦利的冒险故事。 爱德华多会翻译。斯坦利告诉孩子们，他是如何用自己的身体作为杠杆，把朋友简从金矿里救出来的，孩子们都发出了呜呜的声音。 当他讲述自己如何用胳膊肘作为致命武器击败日本的无情恶棍时，他们啧啧称奇。 当他告诉他们，他可以像喷气式飞机一样飞行时，他们倒吸了一口气。 斯坦利没有告诉他们，他的哥哥亚瑟曾帮助拯救过灾难简。 他没有告诉他们，他在日本遇到的坏蛋和他的胳膊肘都不是特别危险的。 他并没有告诉他们他不能像飞机一样飞，

although he sometimes got carried away by heavy winds… or, at moments like this one, by telling stories that weren't quite true. It was dark when Stanley concluded his tale of the mummy he befriended in an ancient Egyptian tomb. There was no mistaking the admiration and amazement of his listeners. Someone called something out to Eduardo. The other children cried, ".Sí! .Sí!" "We have a surprise for you," Eduardo said, with a grin. "Come!" They led Stanley to a grand tree. The little girl who had compared Stanley to a pancake stepped forward and held out her hands. They were filled with small candies in shiny wrappers. "Thank you!" said Stanley. He took one and started unwrapping it. "Not yet," said Eduardo in a low voice. "You must put them in your pockets." Stanley did. "Up!" commanded Eduardo, and two tall boys grabbed Stanley's legs and lifted him into the air. Above his head was a tree limb. Stanley grabbed on with both hands. This is a strange surprise, thought Stanley. He looked down and saw the little girl standing

虽然他有时会被大风吹走，或者在像现在这样的时刻，讲一些不太真实的故事。 当斯坦利结束他在古埃及墓穴中结识的木乃伊的故事时，天已经黑了。 听众们对他的钦佩和惊奇是毫无疑问的。 有人对爱德华多说了什么。 其他的孩子叫道:“.Sí!.Si !”“我们给你准备了一个惊喜，”爱德华多笑着说。 “来了!”他们把斯坦利带到一棵大树前。 那个把斯坦利比作煎饼的小女孩走上前来，伸出了双手。 里面装满了包装闪闪发光的小糖果。 “谢谢你!”斯坦利说。 他拿了一个，开始拆开包装。 “还没有。”爱德华多低声说。 “你必须把它们放在口袋里。” 斯坦利。“起来!”爱德华多命令道，两个高个子男孩抓住斯坦利的腿，把他举到空中。 他头顶上有一根树枝。 斯坦利用两只手紧紧抓住。 这是一个奇怪的惊喜，斯坦利想。 他低下头，看见小女孩站在那里

beneath him. Her wide eyes were hidden by a blindfold. The other children started spinning her around and counting. ".Uno! .Dos! .Tres! .Cuatro! .Cinco! .Seis! .Siete!" After seven spins, the girl weaved with dizziness. Someone handed her a giant stick. The girl held the stick over her head and swung it. Stanley felt a swish of air against his leg. "Hey!" he cried. All the children were cheering. "What are you doing!" yelled Stanley again as the girl swung the stick a second time, grazing his foot.

在他的周围。她的大眼睛被眼罩遮住了。 其他孩子开始围着她转，数着。 “.Uno !做吧!.Tres !.Cuatro !.Cinco !.Seis !.Siete !”转了七圈后，女孩感到头晕目眩。 有人递给她一根大棍子。 女孩把棍子举过头顶，挥舞着。 斯坦利感到一阵气流拍打着他的腿。 “嘿!”他叫道。所有的孩子都在欢呼。 “你在干什么!”斯坦利又喊了一声，女孩第二次挥动棍子，擦到了他的脚。