Twenty years ago, I was told a story of Little Brother at a party which has delighted and inspired me ever since. Little Brother, who was an ambitious painter and trying to be an artist, went to France to 1 himself with beauty and inspiration. One afternoon, he 2 a conversation in a cafe with a group of charming young people. They took a liking to Little Brother and invited him to a party that weekend in a 3 in the Loire Valley. It would be 4 by the rich and famous and by several crowned heads of Europe. Best of all, it was a masquerade ball ( 假面舞会 ). 5 , Little Brother worked all week on a costume and held back on neither the details nor the craziness of this creation. Then he rented a car and drove three hours to the castle. Little Brother entered the ballroom, head 6 high. Upon which he immediately realized his 7 . This was 8 a costume party but he had missed one detail in 9 : This was a themed costume party. The theme was “a medieval court” 10 Little Brother was dressed as a lobster ( 龙虾 ). He stood at the top of the steps for one long, horrible moment. Running away in 11 seemed like the most dignified response. But he didn’t run. 12 , he found his resolve. He’d come this far, after all. He’d worked tremendously hard to make this costume, and he was 13 of it. He took a deep breath and walked onto the dance floor. As he moved into the crowd, a silence 14 . The other guests gathered around Little Brother. Finally someone asked him what on earth he was. Little Brother bowed deeply and 15 , “I am the court lobster.” Then: laughter. Not ridicule — just 16 . They loved him. They loved his sweetness, his weirdness, his giant red claws, his skinny legs in his bright tights. He was the trickster among them, and he 17 the party. Little Brother even ended up dancing with the queen of Belgium. I have never created anything in my life that did not make me feel like I was the guy who just walked into a fancy ball wearing a homemade lobster costume. But you must 18 walk into that room, and you must hold your head high. Never 19 for it, never explain it away, and never be ashamed of it. You did your best with what you knew, and you worked with what you had, in the time you were given. Sometimes it’s like that. What you absolutely must not do is walk out. Otherwise you will miss the party, and that would be a pity 20 we did not come all this great distance, and make all this great effort, only to miss the party at the last moment.