8 Out of the Wind

Chapter 8 OUT OF THE WIND A howl came again from the hillside. Then another howl and another and another, until there was a chorus of howls. "Oh, no! The wolves are after the horses!" cried Annie. Before Jack could think, everything happened at once. The three Takhi started galloping away from the wolves. They were heading toward Jack and Annie. Their hooves pounded against the ground. The howling noises grew louder. More wolves moved down the slope of the hill. The wolves scrambled onto the plain. They started chasing after the horses. The Takhi kept running toward Jack and Annie.

山坡上又传来一声嚎叫。 接着又是一声嚎叫，一声又一声，直到大家齐声嚎叫。 “哦,不!狼在追马！”安妮叫道。 杰克还没来得及思考，一切就同时发生了。 三个塔基人开始从狼群中疾驰而去。 他们朝杰克和安妮走去。 他们的蹄子重重地踩在地上。 嚎叫的声音越来越大。 更多的狼从山坡上走下来。 狼群爬上了平原。 他们开始追赶那些马。 塔基人不停地向杰克和安妮跑去。

"Now's the time!" shouted Annie. "We have to sing!" "Sing what? How?" called Jack. "Just sing!" cried Annie. "That's what Morgan told us to do! Sing of wild things. Let the wind do the rest! Spin air into song!" She stood up on her bike pedals and held her head high. Annie sang to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus." She sang as loud as she could. "The horses on the plain are running and running. The horses on the plain are running back home!" It wasn't a good song. But Annie kept singing. Jack stood on his pedals. He made up words to the same tune. "The wind on the plain is blowing and blowing! The wind on the plain is blowing them home!" Together Jack and Annie sang as loud as they could. They bellowed the words of their song over and over. Suddenly the wind seemed to capture their voices and fill the night with their song. Strange whistling and low rumblings began to shake the earth. All the sounds blended together perfectly.

“现在是时候了！”安妮喊道。 “我们必须唱歌！”“唱什么? 怎么做？”杰克问。“唱吧！”安妮叫道。 “摩根叫我们这么做的！”歌颂狂野的事物。 剩下的就让风来做吧！把空气变成歌曲！”她站在自行车踏板上，高昂着头。 安妮跟着“公共汽车上的轮子”的曲调唱歌。 她尽可能大声地唱着。 平原上的马跑啊跑啊。 平原上的马都跑回家了！”这不是一首好歌。 但安妮一直在唱。杰克踩着踏板站起来。 他以同样的调子编造了几个词。 “平原上的风在刮啊刮啊！”平原上的风把他们吹回家了！”杰克和安妮一起尽可能大声地唱歌。 他们一遍又一遍地咆哮着他们的歌词。 突然间，风似乎捕捉到了它们的声音，让黑夜充满了它们的歌声。 奇怪的呼啸声和低沉的隆隆声开始撼动大地。 所有的声音完美地融合在一起。

And then the wind spun the song into a swirling column of air. The whirlwind swirled over the grass, growing bigger and bigger—until out of its swirl, a beautiful white stallion leapt forward. "WOW!" shouted Annie. "See that?" "YES!" Jack yelled, though he could hardly believe his eyes. The magnificent horse had a long neck and a flowing mane. The horse raced toward the Takhi. The wind shifted direction, and the mountain bikes swerved to the left. With the rushing wind pushing them across the plain, Jack and Annie raced after the white horse. The huge stallion halted before the oncoming Takhi. He reared up on his hind legs. He neighed loudly, as if commanding the smaller horses to follow.

接着，风把这首歌吹成了一团旋转的空气。 旋风在草地上盘旋，越刮越大——直到从旋风中跳出一匹美丽的白色骏马。 “哇！”安妮喊道。“看到了吗?”“是的!”杰克喊道，尽管他几乎不敢相信自己的眼睛。 这匹骏马有长长的脖子和飘逸的鬃毛。 马奔向塔希。 风改变了方向，山地车转向了左边。 疾风吹过平原，杰克和安妮追赶那匹白马。 那匹巨大的种马在迎面而来的塔吉面前停了下来。 他用后腿站立起来。 他大声地嘶鸣着，好像在命令那些较小的马跟着他。

Then the stallion started back toward the entrance of the nature reserve. The three Takhi galloped after him. Jack's and Annie's bikes swerved again and sped after the horses. Jack could hear the wolves howling behind them. The beautiful white horse galloped over the silver sea of moonlit grass. The Takhi galloped behind him. The mountain bikes zoomed faster.

然后，那匹种马开始向自然保护区的入口返回。 三个塔吉人跟在他后面疾驰。 杰克和安妮的自行车又突然转向，跟在马后面疾驰而去。 杰克听到狼群在他们身后嚎叫。 那匹美丽的白马在月光下银色的草地上疾驰。 塔基人在他后面疾驰。 山地车开得更快了。

The wolves couldn't keep up. The sounds of their howls grew fainter as they fell farther behind. Finally they faded away completely. Soon only the wind and the thumping of horse hooves could be heard. Nearing the fenced area, the white stallion and the Takhi slowed to a trot. The wind fell to a whisper. Jack's and Annie's bikes coasted to a stop. From inside the corral came the sound of neighing. "Jack, let them in!" Annie shouted. Jack jumped off his bike and hurried to the gate. The gate was tied shut with a thin rope. Jack untied the knot. He threw open the gate. The three Takhi trotted into the corral. They galloped off to join their herd. Jack closed the gate firmly. He tied the knot tightly.

狼群跟不上了。 他们越落后，嚎叫的声音就越微弱。 最后它们完全消失了。 不久，只听得见风声和马蹄声。 在靠近围栏的地方，白色的种马和塔奇放慢了速度。 风减弱成耳语。 杰克和安妮的自行车滑行着停了下来。 从畜栏里传来了嘶鸣的声音。 “杰克，让他们进来！”安妮喊道。 杰克跳下自行车，匆匆奔向大门。 大门用一根细绳子系上了。 杰克解开了绳结。他猛地打开大门。 三个塔基人跑进畜栏。 他们疾驰而去加入牧群。 杰克紧紧地关上了大门。 他把绳结系得很紧。

"Done!" he shouted. He nearly collapsed with relief. "Whew! Good work!" said Annie. Jack looked around for the mysterious white stallion. "Where is he?" he asked. "I don't know," said Annie. "He was here. Then he wasn't." "Where did he come from?" asked Jack. "The wind… maybe?" said Annie. "But how did he just disappear?" said Jack. "Maybe—I don't know—the wind made him," said Annie. "And now the wind's

“搞定了！”他喊道。他几乎松了一口气。 “嘘!干得好！”安妮说。 杰克四处寻找那匹神秘的白色种马。 “他在哪里？”他问。“我不知道，”安妮说。 “他在这儿。然后他就不是了。” “他从哪儿来的？”杰克问。 “也许是风？”安妮说。 “可他是怎么消失的？”杰克问。 “也许——我不知道——是风让他来的，”安妮说。 “现在是风