8 The Giant Great-Ancestor

8 THE GIANT GREAT-ANCESTOR A blinding light flashed over the grasslands. The wind blew. Birds cried out. Trees and bushes trembled. Speedy swiveled his head to look around. He let out a shriek. Jack and Annie turned to look behind them. A creature was rising up from the blowing tall yellow grass. He had a massive head with upright ears. He had a thick neck, as long as a giraffe's! Slowly the creature rose to his full height. He stood as tall as a two-story building. The body of the ancient creature was covered with hairless gray skin that looked like armor. His four legs were as thick as huge tree trunks. Rosie and her baby froze in place. The masked poachers stopped, too. Annie and Jack gasped.

巨大的祖先草原上闪过一道炫目的光。 风在吹。鸟儿在叫。 树木和灌木丛都在颤抖。 飞毛腿转过头四处张望。 他发出一声尖叫。杰克和安妮回头看了看身后。 一个生物正从随风飘动的高大的黄草上爬起来。 他有一个巨大的头和直立的耳朵。 他的脖子很粗，和长颈鹿的一样长！这个生物慢慢地站了起来。 他站起来有两层楼那么高。 这种古老生物的身体覆盖着一层无毛的灰色皮肤，看起来像盔甲。 他的四条腿粗得像巨大的树干。 罗茜和她的孩子僵在原地。 蒙面偷猎者也停了下来。 安妮和杰克倒吸了一口气。

"The rhino's great-ancestor," said Annie, "from thirty million years ago!" "Oh, man," Jack whispered. "This isn't real." "It's real, totally real," said Annie. "And it's magic." The prehistoric rhino started moving toward them, his huge feet crushing the tall grass. As the creature came closer, his head swayed from right to left. He looked at the two smaller rhinos and the helicopter parked on the ground. Then he stopped and glared down at the two masked men. The giant let out a low, deep sound—a strange bellowing that seemed to come from a world before the time of humans. The creature's voice grew louder and louder, until its booming roar shattered the air. The prehistoric giant started moving toward the poachers. Faster and faster. His thundering footfalls shook the ground. The poachers howled in terror. They dashed to the chopper. They scrambled back into the cockpit. The rotor blades started spinning. The helicopter lifted off the ground, rocking from side to side. A whirlwind of dust blew up from the dirt road.

“犀牛的祖先，”安妮说，“来自三千万年前！”“哦，天哪，”杰克低声说。 “这不是真的。”“这是真的，完全是真的，”安妮说。 “这很神奇。”史前犀牛开始向他们移动，他巨大的脚踩在高高的草上。 当那个怪物靠近时，他的头从右到左摇晃着。 他看着两只小犀牛和停在地上的直升机。 然后他停下来，瞪着下面那两个蒙面人。 巨人发出一种低沉的声音——一种奇怪的咆哮，似乎来自人类出现之前的世界。 那怪物的声音越来越大，直到它那轰隆的吼声震碎了空气。 这个史前巨人开始向偷猎者移动。 越来越快。他雷鸣般的脚步声震动了大地。 偷猎者惊恐地嚎叫。 他们冲向直升机。 他们爬回驾驶舱。 旋翼叶片开始旋转。 直升飞机离开地面，左右摇晃。 尘土从土路上刮起一阵旋风。

The chopper rose shakily through the dust. It almost tipped over. The ancient rhino looked up and bellowed again. The fleeing helicopter rose higher. It turned and sputtered away across the sky.

直升机在尘土中摇摇晃晃地升起。 它几乎倾覆了。古老的犀牛抬起头来，又吼了一声。 逃离的直升机飞得更高了。 它转过身，噼噼啪啪地划过天空。

The chopper was gone. The grasslands seemed stunned into a watchful silence. The birds and frogs were quiet. Rosie and her calf didn't move. Jack and Annie were speechless. Speedy broke the stillness. He slipped out of Annie's arms. Jabbering excitedly, he jumped down onto the baby rhino's back. From there, he leapt onto Rosie's head. From there, he scrambled onto the back of the ancient rhino. Speedy hugged the giant's neck. He made happy noises, as if welcoming the ancient creature to this world. The huge rhino lowered his head and looked around again. Then he started moving toward Rosie and her baby. Jack held his breath, afraid for their safety. But as the giant stepped closer to them, Rosie and Rosita walked toward him as if to thank him. The giant rhino leaned over. He nuzzled Rosie's head with his own. Then the three of them stood calmly together. "Let's go down. It's safe now," Annie said.

直升机不见了。草原似乎被震得鸦雀无声。 鸟儿和青蛙都很安静。 罗茜和她的幼崽没有动。 杰克和安妮哑口无言。 斯皮蒂打破了寂静。 他从安妮的怀里溜走了。 他兴奋地叽叽喳喳地跳到了小犀牛的背上。 从那里，他跳到罗茜的头上。 从那里，他爬上了古老犀牛的背部。 飞毛腿抱住巨人的脖子。 他发出高兴的声音，好像欢迎这个古老的生物来到这个世界。 巨大的犀牛低下头，再次环顾四周。 然后他开始向罗茜和她的孩子走去。 杰克屏住呼吸，担心他们的安全。 但是当巨人走近他们时，罗茜和罗西塔走向他，好像要感谢他。 巨大的犀牛俯下身来。 他用自己的头蹭罗西的头。 然后他们三个静静地站在一起。 “我们下去吧。现在安全了，”安妮说。

Jack nodded. He felt the same. The peace among the rhinos seemed to extend everywhere. Jack and Annie climbed down from the tree. They slowly approached the rhino family. Annie stroked the baby's head. Then she rested her hand on Rosie. "Hi there. This is your great-ancestor," she said softly. "He saved you." Jack reached out and touched the leathery skin of the ancient ancestor. The giant gazed at Jack and Annie with soft, dark eyes. He dipped his large, curved head down to touch their heads. Then the creature stood up straight, looming over them all. "Thanks for saving them," said Annie, looking up at him. "Yes… thank you," Jack murmured. "Thank you for helping us." The giant seemed to nod. Then he turned and began walking away. Speedy climbed down from the creature's back and jumped into Annie's arms. Jack, Annie, Rosie, and her calf stood together. They watched the prehistoric rhino stop for a

杰克点了点头。他也有同样的感觉。 犀牛群之间的和平似乎延伸到了所有地方。 杰克和安妮从树上爬了下来。 他们慢慢走近犀牛家族。 安妮抚摸着婴儿的头。 然后她把手放在罗茜身上。 “嗨。这是你的祖先。”她轻声说。 “他救了你。”杰克伸出手，摸了摸这位远古祖先坚韧的皮肤。 巨人用柔和的黑眼睛盯着杰克和安妮。 他俯下头去摸他们的头。 然后那怪物笔直地站了起来，俯视着他们所有人。 “谢谢你救了他们，”安妮抬头看着他说。 “是的……谢谢你。”杰克喃喃地说。 “谢谢你帮助我们。” 巨人似乎点点头。然后他转身走开了。 飞毛腿从怪物背上爬下来，跳进安妮的怀里。 杰克、安妮、罗茜和她的小牛站在一起。 他们看着史前犀牛停了一会儿