Lise worked for a sign painter named Bertil. Their small shop stood on a busy street. Every morning, Bertil mixed the paint. Every morning, Lise washed the brushes.
莉泽为一位名叫贝蒂尔的招牌画师工作。他们的小店开在一条热闹的街上。每天早上，贝蒂尔调颜料，莉泽洗画笔。
She was new, and she wanted to paint. But for three months, she only cleaned.
她是新来的，她想画画。可是三个月来，她只是在打扫。
One Monday, Bertil looked at his sore wrist. He put down his brush.
一个星期一，贝蒂尔看了看自己酸痛的手腕，放下了画笔。
"I have a job at the shoe shop," he said. "Henrik wants a new sign. I cannot hold the brush today."
“鞋店有个活儿，”他说，“亨里克想要一块新招牌。我今天拿不了笔。”
"Who paints it?" Lise asked.
“那谁来画？”莉泽问。
"You do," Bertil said.
“你来画，”贝蒂尔说。
Lise looked at him. "Me? Alone?"
莉泽看着他。“我？一个人？”
"You know the letters. You watched me for months."
“字母你都会。你看了我好几个月了。”
"I only watched," she said.
“我只是看看而已，”她说。
"Then now you paint," Bertil said. He gave her a ruler and a pencil. He gave her black paint.
“那现在你来画，”贝蒂尔说。他给了她一把尺子和一支铅笔，又给了她黑色的颜料。
Lise walked to the shoe shop. Henrik stood at the door. He was a tall man with kind, tired eyes. Above him hung the old sign. The paint was gone.
莉泽走到鞋店。亨里克站在门口。他是个高个子男人，眼神和善而疲惫。他头上挂着那块旧招牌，上面的颜料已经掉光了。
"Where is Bertil?" Henrik asked.
“贝蒂尔呢？”亨里克问。
"His wrist hurts. I am Lise. I paint your sign."
“他手腕疼。我是莉泽，我来画你的招牌。”
Henrik looked at her hands. Then he nodded. "Please begin. I have shoes to fix."
亨里克看了看她的手，点了点头。“请开始吧。我还有鞋要修。”
Lise drew the letters in pencil first. She measured each one with the ruler. Her hand was slow, but the lines were straight. People stopped and watched her. A boy said, "She is good."
莉泽先用铅笔打好字母的草稿，每个字母都用尺子量过。她的手很慢，可线条是直的。路人停下来看她。一个男孩说：“她画得真好。”
Then she took the brush. She painted H. She painted E. She painted N. The black paint was smooth and bright.
然后她拿起了画笔。她画了H，画了E，画了N。黑色的颜料光滑又鲜亮。
In SHOES, she painted a big round O. She was almost done. Then a drop of paint fell from the brush. It ran down the white board. It made a long black line under the O.
在SHOES里，她画了一个又大又圆的O。她就快画完了。这时，一滴颜料从笔上掉了下来，顺着白色的木板流下去，在O的下面拖出了一道长长的黑线。
Lise stopped. Her face went hot.
莉泽停住了，脸一下子烧了起来。
"No," she whispered. She wanted to wash it off. But the paint was already dry at the edges.
“不，”她低声说。她想把它洗掉，可是颜料的边缘已经干了。
Henrik came out of his shop. He looked at the sign. He did not speak.
亨里克从店里走了出来。他看着招牌，什么也没说。
"I am sorry," Lise said. "I paint the whole board again."
“对不起，”莉泽说，“我把整块板重新画一遍。”
"That takes all day," Henrik said.
“那要花一整天，”亨里克说。
"Yes."
“是的。”
"Wait," said a voice behind her. It was Bertil. He held his wrist in his other hand. "I walked here. I wanted to see."
“等一下，”她身后传来一个声音。是贝蒂尔。他用另一只手托着手腕。“我走过来的。我想看看。”
He looked at the long black line for a moment. Lise waited for him to be angry.
他盯着那道长长的黑线看了一会儿。莉泽等着他发火。
"Every painter makes a drip," he said. "I made one last week."
“每个画师都会滴到颜料，”他说，“我上个星期就滴过一次。”
"What did you do?" she asked.
“你怎么办的？”她问。
"I looked at it. A drip is only a line. What can a line become?"
“我看着它。一滴颜料不过是一条线。一条线能变成什么？”
Lise looked again. The line was thin and long. It had a small round end at the bottom.
莉泽又看了一遍。那条线细细长长，底部有个小小的圆头。
"A shoelace," she said slowly.
“一根鞋带，”她慢慢地说。
"Maybe," Bertil said. "Paint it."
“也许吧，”贝蒂尔说，“把它画出来。”
Lise took the thinnest brush. She made the line curl to the left. Then she made a small loop. She added two short tips at the end. They looked like a real lace. The O became a shoe with a lace hanging down.
莉泽拿起最细的画笔。她让那条线向左弯，又绕出一个小圈，在末端加了两个短短的尖头。它们看起来就像真的鞋带。那个O变成了一只鞋，鞋带垂了下来。
Nobody spoke. Henrik walked closer to the sign. He touched the air near the lace.
没有人说话。亨里克走近招牌，用手在鞋带旁边的空气里比划了一下。
"It looks like a loose shoe," he said. "That is my work. People bring me shoes with loose laces and holes."
“看上去像一只松了的鞋，”他说，“那就是我的活儿。人们拿来的鞋，不是鞋带松了，就是鞋上有洞。”
"I can make it neater," Lise said.
“我可以画得更整齐些，”莉泽说。
"No," Henrik said. "Leave it."
“不用，”亨里克说，“就这样留着。”
Bertil smiled and gave her a small paper. It was his old list of paint colors. "Tomorrow you paint the bike shop," he said. "I hold the ladder."
贝蒂尔笑了，递给她一张小纸条。那是他的旧颜料配色单。“明天你去画自行车店，”他说，“我来扶梯子。”
Lise put the brush in the tin. Henrik hung the new sign above his door. Then he turned the card in his window. CLOSED became OPEN.
莉泽把画笔放进罐子里。亨里克把新招牌挂在门上方。然后他翻了翻橱窗里的牌子，上面的“休息”变成了“营业”。
