Ch7-The Forest-of-Walking-Trees

CHAPTER SEVEN The Forest-of-Walking-Trees Annie gasped, then burst out laughing. Heart-of-the-Wind laughed, too. "Yes, it is wonderful news! I am glad it makes you happy," she said. "When the sun rises tomorrow, we will leave the City of Dawn and start the long journey back to Palenque. It will take us many moons to get there." "But—but why me?" asked Jack.

第七章可行走的树林安妮喘着气，然后大笑起来。 风之心也笑了。 “是的，这是个好消息！”我很高兴它能让你开心，”她说。 “明天太阳升起时，我们将离开黎明之城，开始返回帕伦克的漫长旅程。 我们要花很多个月亮才能到达那里。” “可是——可是为什么是我呢？”杰克问。

"My father believes you are the answer to his prayers," said Heart-of-the-Wind. "He can see you have many things to teach our people." "No, no I don't," said Jack. His words spilled over each other. "I don't know how to farm, I'm not an astronomer or a pyramid builder, I don't know anything about your Mayan calendar—" He stopped to catch his breath. "My father will teach you these things," said Heart-of-the-Wind. "And you will teach us about the wonders in your—what did you call it?" "Travel guide," said Annie. "Yes," said Heart-of-the-Wind, "the wonders in your travel guide." "No, I can't," said Jack. "I don't know how to make any of those things myself, like planes, submarines, skyscrapers, or computers. We live in a world with lots and lots of things, but we have to go to school and study for many years to understand how they work." "Besides, my brother and I really need to go back to our own parents in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania," said Annie.

“我父亲相信你是他祈祷的答案。”风之心说。 “他能看出你有很多东西可以教给我们的人。” “不，不，我不知道，”杰克说。 他的话滔滔不绝。 “我不知道怎么种地，我不是天文学家，也不是金字塔建造者，我对你们的玛雅历法一无所知——”他停下来喘了口气。 “我父亲会教你这些事情的。”风之心说。 “你会告诉我们你的奇迹——你叫它什么？”“旅游指南，”安妮说。 “是的，”风之心说，“你的旅行指南上的奇迹。” “不，我不能，”杰克说。“我不知道如何自己制造这些东西，比如飞机、潜艇、摩天大楼或电脑。 我们生活在一个有很多很多东西的世界里，但我们必须去学校学习很多年才能理解它们是如何工作的。” “再说，我哥哥和我真的需要回到我们住在宾夕法尼亚州弗格克里克的父母身边，”安妮说。

Heart-of-the-Wind looked confused. "Would your mother and father not think it a wonderful honor for Jack to be the next Great Sun of Palenque?" "They might," said Annie, "but they would miss us too much if we came to live with you." "That's right," said Jack. "We do lots of things with our parents. We have dinner and play games and read books." "And talk and laugh," said Annie. Heart-of-the-Wind lowered her head. "I have lost my own mother," she said. "We talked and laughed together, too. I miss her very much." "So you understand?" Annie said softly. "We would miss our parents terribly. And it would break their hearts if we left them alone. We have to go back home." The Mayan girl looked at Jack and Annie for a long moment. Then she nodded. "Yes. You must go back to your true mother and father," she said. "But I fear my father will not understand."

风之心看起来很困惑。 “你父母会不会觉得杰克成为下一个帕伦克的大太阳是一种莫大的荣誉？”“他们可能会，”安妮说，“但如果我们来和你住在一起，他们会非常想念我们的。” “没错，”杰克说。 “我们和父母一起做很多事情。 我们一起吃饭、玩游戏、看书。” “说着笑着，”安妮说。 风之心低下了头。 “我失去了自己的母亲，”她说。 我们也在一起有说有笑。 我非常想念她。”“那么你明白了？”安妮轻声说。 “我们会非常想念父母。 如果我们不管他们，他们会很伤心的。 我们得回家了。”玛雅女孩看了杰克和安妮很长时间。 然后她点点头。“是的。你必须回到你真正的父母身边，”她说。 “但我担心我父亲不会理解。”

"So could you help us get back to the cove on the beach?" asked Jack. "So we can cross the sea back to Cozumel? And then go home?" "To our mother and father," said Annie. Heart-of-the-Wind took a deep breath. "Yes, I will help you. I will take you to the shore," she said. "Even though it will make my father sad." "Thank you!" said Jack. "At this time, there are watchmen on the wall," said the Mayan girl. "But I have discovered a hidden way to get to the sea. In the weeks we have stayed here, I have often slipped away at night to explore the forests or swim in the waves." "Wow, you're brave," said Annie. "I like the freedom of the dark," the Mayan girl said. "I can lead you wherever you want to go." "That's great!" Jack said. "There are still guards outside the door," said Heart-of-the-Wind. "I will hold their attention while you climb out the window. Wait for me at the wall where we first met." "Got it," said Annie.

“那你能帮我们回到海滩上的小海湾吗？”杰克问。 “这样我们就可以渡海回到科苏梅尔了？” 然后回家？”“敬我们的爸爸妈妈，”安妮说。 风之心深深地吸了一口气。 “是的，我会帮助你的。我带你去海边，”她说。 “尽管这会让我父亲伤心。” “谢谢你！”杰克说。“这个时候，城墙上有守望者，”玛雅女孩说。 “但我发现了一条通往大海的隐蔽之路。 在我们住在这里的几个星期里，我经常在晚上溜出去，到森林里探险，或者到海里游泳。” “哇，你真勇敢，”安妮说。 “我喜欢黑暗的自由，”玛雅女孩说。 “我可以带你去任何你想去的地方。” “太好了!”杰克说。 “门外还有卫兵。”风之心说。 “你从窗户爬出去，我来吸引他们的注意力。 在我们第一次见面的城墙等我。” “明白了，”安妮说。

"Stay in the shadows," the Mayan girl said. "Be as quiet as cats." Then she slipped out the door, closing it behind her. "Let's go!" said Annie. "Wait," said Jack. "Let's take off our shoes. They make too much noise." Jack and Annie pulled off their flip-flops and stuffed them in the bag. Barefoot, they stepped to the window. Annie climbed out first. "Take this," Jack whispered. He dropped the bag into Annie's waiting arms. Then he jumped silently to the ground. He could hear voices coming from the other side of the stone building: Heart-of-the-Wind and the guards. Jack and Annie crept away from the House of Columns, moving through the shadows. The night was eerily still, as if everyone in the City of Dawn had disappeared until sunrise. When they reached the break in the stone wall, they crouched down and waited for Heart-of-the-Wind. Jack saw the silhouettes of the guards standing on top of the wall. He counted four watchmen with bows and arrows facing the sea.

“躲在暗处，”玛雅女孩说。 “像猫一样安静。”然后她溜出门，随手把门关上。 “我们走吧！”安妮说。“等等，”杰克说。 “我们把鞋脱了吧。 它们太吵了。” 杰克和安妮脱下他们的人字拖，把它们塞进袋子里。 他们光着脚走到窗前。 安妮第一个爬了出来。“拿着这个。”杰克小声说。 他把包扔进安妮等候的怀里。 然后他静静地跳到地上。 他能听到从石头建筑的另一边传来的声音：风之心和守卫。 杰克和安妮蹑手蹑脚地离开了圆柱屋，穿过阴影。 夜静得可怕，仿佛黎明之城的每个人都消失了，直到日出。 当他们到达石墙的缺口时，他们蹲下来等待风之心的到来。 杰克看到守卫们的剪影站在墙头上。 他数了数，有四个拿着弓箭面向大海的守望者。

The Mayan girl suddenly appeared before them. Jack hadn't seen or heard her approach. "Follow me," she whispered, and she led the way through the narrow opening in the wall. Once they had all squeezed through, Heart-of-the-Wind surprised Jack by turning away from the sea and heading down through thick vegetation growing on the northern slope of the bluff. Jack and Annie followed her down the hill. Prickly bushes and shrubs scratched Jack's bare legs and feet, but he didn't stop. He wanted to be as fleet as Heart-of-the-Wind. At the bottom of the hill, the Mayan girl waited for Jack and Annie to catch up. "To return to the beach, we must first travel through the Forest-of-Walking-Trees," she said. "Forest-of-Walking-Trees?" said Annie. "That sounds cool. But sort of scary." "Do not be afraid," said Heart-of-the-Wind. "They are very kind trees." Jack laughed. "I like kind trees," he said. "Me too," said Annie.

玛雅女孩突然出现在他们面前。 杰克没有看到也没有听到她走近。 “跟我来。”她低声说着，领着大家穿过墙缝。 当他们都挤过去后，风之心号让杰克大吃一惊，它离开了大海，穿过了悬崖北坡茂密的植被。 杰克和安妮跟着她下了山。 多刺的灌木和灌木挠着杰克裸露的腿和脚，但他没有停下来。 他想要像风之心号一样迅捷。 在山脚下，玛雅女孩等着杰克和安妮赶上来。 “要回到海滩，我们必须先穿过‘行走树森林’，”她说。 “行走树森林？”安妮说。 “听起来很酷。但有点吓人。” “不要害怕，”风之心说。 “它们是非常善良的树。” 杰克笑了。“我喜欢善良的树，”他说。 “我也是，”安妮说。