03 Woomph - Woomph!

Woomph – Woomph! Little Billy was running with the speed of an arrow, but each time he glanced back over his shoulder the puffs of orange-red smoky-breath had got closer. They were so close now he could feel the wind of them on the back of his neck. And the noise! It was deafening in his ears, this fearsome swooshing whooshing whiffling panting noise. Woomph-woomph, it went. Woomph-woomph, woomph-woomph! Woomphwoomph! It was like the noise made by a steam locomotive pulling out from a station.

呜——呜!小比利以箭一般的速度奔跑着，但每次他回头看，那股橙红色的烟雾就越来越近了。 他们现在离得很近了，他可以感觉到他们的风吹过他的脖子后面。 还有那噪音!这可怕的嗖嗖、嗖嗖、呼哧呼哧的声音在他耳朵里震耳欲聋。 呜——呜，它走了。Woomph-woomph, Woomph-woomph !Woomphwoomph !这声音就像蒸汽机车从车站驶出时发出的声音。

Then suddenly he heard another noise that was somehow more fearsome still. It was the pounding of gigantic galloping hooves on the floor of the forest. He glanced round again, but the Thing, the Beast, the Monster, or whatever it was, was hidden from his sight by the smoke it shot out as it galloped forward. The smoky-breath was billowing all around him now. He could feel its hotness. Worse still, he could smell its smell. The smell was disgusting. It was the stench that comes from deep inside the tummy of a meat-eating animal. 'Mummy!' he cried out. 'Save me!' Suddenly, directly in front of him, Little Billy saw the trunk of an enormous tree. This tree was

突然，他听到了另一种更可怕的声音。 那是巨大的马蹄声在森林的地面上奔驰。 他又回头看了一眼，但那东西，那野兽，那怪物，不管它是什么，都被它向前疾驰时喷出的烟给遮住了。 现在他周围弥漫着烟雾。 他能感觉到它的热。 更糟糕的是，他闻到了它的味道。 那气味令人作呕。这是一种来自食肉动物肚子深处的恶臭。 “妈妈!他叫道。“救我!”突然，在他的正前方，小比利看到了一棵大树的树干。 这棵树

different from the others because it had branches hanging down very low. While still running, he made a frantic jump for its lowest branch. He caught it and pulled himself up.

不同于其他树，因为它的树枝垂得很低。 他一边跑，一边疯狂地向最低的树枝跳去。 他抓住它，把自己拉了上来。

Then he grabbed the next branch above his head and pulled himself up again. Then again and again, climbing higher and higher to get away from the terrible snorting, smoke-blowing, smellybreathed beast down below. He stopped climbing

然后他抓住头顶上的另一根树枝，又把自己拉了上去。 然后一次又一次地爬得越来越高，以逃离下面那只可怕的喷着烟、呼吸着臭气的野兽。 他停止了攀登

only when he was too exhausted to climb any higher. He looked up, but even now he couldn't see the top of the giant tree. It seemed to go on forever. He looked down. He couldn't see the ground either. He was in a world of green leaves and thick, smooth branches with no earth or sky in sight. The snorting smelly smoke-blowing beast

只有当他累得爬不动更高的时候。 他抬起头来，但即使是现在，他也看不到那棵大树的树梢。 它似乎永远持续下去。 他低下头。他也看不见地面。 他生活在一个绿树成荫、枝繁叶茂的世界里，看不到大地和天空。 那只喷着臭烟的野兽

was miles away down below somewhere. He couldn't even hear it any more. Little Billy found a comfortable place where two big branches came together and he sat down to rest. For the moment, at any rate, he was safe. Then something very peculiar happened. There was a huge smooth branch very close to where Little Billy was sitting and he suddenly noticed

在几英里外的地下某处。 他甚至再也听不见了。 小比利找了一个舒适的地方，两根大树枝交汇在一起，他坐下来休息。 无论如何，眼下他是安全的。 然后，一件非常奇怪的事情发生了。 在离小比利坐的地方很近的地方有一根又大又光滑的树枝，他突然注意到了