53 Starry Night

53 Starry Night By the time Peanut had steered them to the far side of the final pond, night had fallen. The sky, sketched in several shades of dark blue, appeared to move and swirl with the breeze, ebbing and flowing around a beautifully composed canvas studded with large, yellow stars. The dappled, sun-flecked terrain of the Light District had given way to the harder lines and more distinct brushstrokes of Vincent Fields. Peanut looked to their right. She could see a small town, half a mile or so away, silhouetted against the brilliant sky. The few splashes of cosy, warm orange in the windows of the houses suddenly made her miss the comforts of home. And Mum.

53 星空 等皮纳特把船划到最后一片池塘的对岸时，夜幕已经降临了。 天空晕染出深浅不一的深蓝色，随着微风轻轻旋转涌动，像一块构图优美的画布，缀着大大的明黄色星星，在画布上起伏变幻。 原本光斑错落的光之区，已经变成了文森特田野，这里线条硬朗，笔触分明。 皮纳特望向自己的右侧。 她能看到半英里开外有一座小镇，在明亮的天幕下透出清晰的轮廓。 家家户户窗户里漏出的几缕暖融融的橙光，忽然让她想念起家里的舒适生活。 还有妈妈。

"That looks like as good a place as any to start looking for the Yellow House," she said to herself. "The sooner we find it, the sooner we can bed down for the night."

“找黄房子的话，从这儿开始应该最合适不过了。”她自言自语道。 “我们越早找到它，就能越早躺下休息过夜了。”

She gently woke the others and they set off across the fields, following the paths cut into the corn. Eventually they arrived at a flat, dusty road that led into the town.

她轻轻叫醒伙伴们，沿着玉米地里踩出的小路，穿越田野出发了。 最后他们走到一条平坦积着尘土的大路，这条路直通小镇。

It didn't take long for them to find the Yellow House, despite the fact that there were no streetlights. It certainly lived up to its name! The small cottage was on the corner of the first block of buildings they came to and, compared to the buildings surrounding it, it was luminous. It didn't look like anybody was home. The green shutters were all closed and, although the cottage itself shone, there was no light coming from inside. Peanut strode confidently forward and knocked on the door. Nothing. She knocked again. Still nothing. Oh, Peanut. I'm so tired. Please can we just go back to sleep?" pleaded Little-Bit. Peanut was tired too. She tried the door handle and, to her surprise, it opened. Great. Come on. "Er, I think this is what's known as "breaking and entering"" said Rockwell. "Yes, I suppose it is," said Peanut, before kicking off her boots and disappearing inside, closely followed by Little-Bit and Doodle. Rockwell shrugged and followed them. The front door led straight into a sitting room, sparsely furnished with a few simple wood and wicker chairs, a couple of old crates that doubled up as tables and a green spiral staircase in the corner. The floor was covered with large terracotta tiles that felt nice and cool against the children's tired feet.

哪怕没有路灯，他们也很快就找到了黄房子。 它果然名副其实！ 这栋小屋坐落在他们碰到的第一排建筑的拐角，和周围的建筑比起来，它明亮得发光。 看起来屋里没人。 所有绿色的百叶窗都关着，虽说小屋本身亮堂堂的，屋里却没透出一丝光亮。 皮纳特自信地走上前去敲了敲门。 没动静。 她又敲了一遍。 还是没动静。 哦，皮纳特。 我好累呀。 我们能不能回去睡觉呀？小比特央求道。 皮纳特也很累了。 她转了转门把手，没想到门居然开了。 太棒了。 走吧。 “呃，我觉得这就是人们说的‘私闯民宅’吧。”罗克威尔说。 “嗯，好像是哦。”皮纳特说完，脱了靴子走进屋，小比特和杜德尔紧跟着也进去了。 罗克威尔耸了耸肩，也跟着进去了。 前门一进去就是客厅，家具很少，只有几把简简单单的木椅和藤椅，两个旧板条箱兼当桌子，角落还有一个绿色旋转楼梯。 地板铺着大块陶土砖，孩子们踩在上面，疲惫的双脚感觉凉凉的很舒服。

On one of the chairs sat an envelope with a large letter P printed on it. Peanut picked it up and opened it. Peanut Jones. At daybreak, head to Die Brücke. Stay close to the city limits. You will be met at the beginning. Agent X "Met at the beginning?" said Rockwell. "The beginning of what?" "I guess we'll find out," sighed Peanut. "More importantly, I wonder who Agent X is." "We don't have to leave until daybreak? So does that mean we can go to sleep?" said Little-Bit. "Yes," said Peanut, relieved that they were in the right place and back on track. "Head upstairs and see if you can find a bed. At the top of the stairs was a small bathroom and a bedroom containing three small but comfortable-looking beds and a dog basket. The children washed their faces and climbed in.

其中一把椅子上放着一个信封，上面印着一个大大的字母P。 皮纳特拿起信封，把它拆开了。 皮纳特·琼斯收。 天亮时分，前往桥社。 待在城市边界附近。 会有人在起点和你碰面。 X探员 “在起点碰面？”罗克威尔说道。 “到底是什么的起点？” “我猜我们到时候就知道了。”皮纳特叹了口气。 “更重要的是，我好奇X探员是谁呀。” “我们要等到天亮才出发？” 那是不是说我们现在可以睡觉了？小比特说道。 “对。”皮纳特说道，她松了一口气，因为他们找对了地方，回到了正轨。 “上楼去看看能不能找到床吧。” 楼梯顶有一间小浴室，还有一间卧室，里面放着三张不大但看上去很舒服的床，还有一个狗篮。 孩子们洗完脸，都爬上床了。

Despite their exhaustion, all three struggled to sleep. "Peanut..." said Little-Bit after a couple of minutes. "I wish Daddy was here. He would love this city." Then, after another minute, "Do you think we'll ever find him?" "You're right," said Peanut. "He would love it here." Her eyes prickled. "And yes, I do think we're going to find him. I can feel it in my bones. "Whenever I couldn't get to sleep, he would always sing me songs." Peanut, will you sing to me now?" "You know I can't, LB. My voice is awful. It would give you nightmares." "Oh pleeeeeaaaase, Peanut. Just a nursery rhyme or something." Just close your eyes LB and—" "Twinkle, twinkle, little star..." A clear, sweet voice from the other side of the room started to sing. "...How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are." "Rockwell," Little-Bit yawned. "I'm beginning to like you. Within a minute they were all asleep.

虽然三个孩子都累坏了，可谁都睡不着。 过了几分钟，小比特开口：“皮纳特……” “真希望爸爸在这里呀。” “他肯定会爱上这座城市的。” 又过了一分钟，她又问：“你觉得我们能找到他吗？” “你说的没错。”皮纳特说。 “他肯定会喜欢这里的。” 她的眼睛一阵发酸。 “而且，我确定我们一定能找到他。” 我打心底里有这种感觉。 “以前我睡不着的时候，爸爸总会给我唱歌。” “皮纳特，你现在能给我唱一首吗？” “你知道我不行的，小比。” “我的嗓子太难听了。” “会把你吓出噩梦的。” “哦求求你啦求求你，皮纳特。” “就唱一首儿歌什么的就行。” “快闭上眼睛小比，就——” “一闪，一闪，小星星……” 一个清亮甜美的声音从房间另一头响了起来。 “……我真想知道你是什么。” “挂在高空高高在上，就像钻石闪在天空上。” “一闪，一闪，小星星，我真想知道你是什么。” “罗克威尔。”小比特打着哈欠说。 “我开始有点喜欢你了。” 不到一分钟，三个人就都睡着了。