Ch10-A Gift

CHAPTER TEN A Gift? Jack felt warm, wonderfully warm. He was wearing his shorts and T-shirt again. No time at all had passed in Frog Creek. It was still twilight on a summer night. "Nice," said Annie. "Really nice," said Jack. He reached into his pocket and took out the tiny box, empty of gold dust now. He placed it on the floor of the tree house, next to the guide to the Territory of Alaska. Annie reached into her pocket and pulled out the shimmering dark blue box, empty of stardust.

第十章礼物？杰克感到很暖和，非常暖和。 他又穿上了短裤和t恤。 青蛙溪一点时间也没有过去。 这是一个夏夜的黄昏。 “很好，”安妮说。“真的很好，”杰克说。 他把手伸进口袋，拿出那个小盒子，里面的金粉已经空了。 他把它放在树屋的地板上，就在阿拉斯加领土指南旁边。 安妮把手伸进口袋，拿出那个闪闪发光的深蓝色盒子，里面没有星尘。

She put it beside the gold box on the floor. "That was a good trip," said Annie. "Yeah, a little cold, a little stressful," said Jack, "but all in all, very good." "The best part, of course, was the dogs," said Annie. "Totally," said Jack. "Come on, let's go. Let's go home." He started down the rope ladder. "Huskies are great dogs," said Annie, following him. "Yep," said Jack. "Strong and brave." "And really smart, too. Like Saint Bernards. Remember Barry in Switzerland?" Annie said as she stepped off the ladder. "Of course," said Jack. He smiled and shook his head, remembering the giant crazy puppy high in the mountains. "And remember when Morgan turned Teddy into a terrier?" said Annie. "Of course," Jack said. "We'd better walk our bikes now. It's getting dark fast."

她把它放在地板上的金盒子旁边。 “那是一次愉快的旅行，”安妮说。 “是啊，有点冷，有点紧张，”杰克说，“但总的来说，还不错。” “当然，最精彩的部分是狗，”安妮说。 “当然，”杰克说。“来吧，我们走。 我们回家吧。”他开始顺着绳梯往下走。 “哈士奇是很棒的狗，”安妮跟着他说。 “是的，”杰克说。“坚强而勇敢。” “而且非常聪明。比如圣伯纳犬。 还记得瑞士的巴里吗？”安妮边说边走下梯子。 “当然，”杰克说。他笑了笑，摇了摇头，想起了高山上那只疯狂的大狗。 “还记得摩根把泰迪变成一只小猎犬的事吗？”安妮说。 “当然，”杰克说。“我们现在最好骑着自行车走。 天快黑了。”

"Okay," said Annie. She and Jack started pushing their bicycles over leaves and grass. The woods were filled with the sounds of summer. Bullfrogs croaked from the hidden creek. Crickets chirped in the grass. An owl hooted from a tree branch. Then came another sound: Yip! "What was that?" said Annie, stopping. "I don't know," said Jack. Yip! "It sounds like a dog," said Annie. "No way," said Jack. "That's too much of a coincidence!" Yip. Yip! "Coincidence or not, there's a dog around here somewhere," said Annie. She parked her bike against a tree. "Seriously?" said Jack. "Shhh—" said Annie. The leaves rustled. Yip. Yip! In the dark, Annie got down on her hands and knees. "Where are you?" she whispered.

“好吧，”安妮说。她和杰克开始把自行车推过树叶和草地。 树林里充满了夏日的声音。 牛蛙从隐蔽的小溪里呱呱作响。 蟋蟀在草地上啁啾。 一只猫头鹰在树枝上叫。 接着又是一声：“喂！”“那是什么声音？”安妮停下来问。 “我不知道，”杰克说。 犬吠!“听起来像狗叫，”安妮说。 “不可能，”杰克说。“这太巧了！”叫喊声。 犬吠!“不管是不是巧合，这附近一定有只狗，”安妮说。 她把自行车靠在一棵树上。 “真的吗？”杰克说。“嘘——”安妮说。 树叶沙沙作响。叫喊声。犬吠!黑暗中，安妮双手双膝跪在地上。 “你在哪儿？”她小声说。

Yip, yip, yip! "I've got you!" said Annie, and she lifted a wiggling little black-and-white puppy out of the greenery. "I don't believe this," said Jack. "Look—look!" said Annie. She stood up and carried the puppy over to Jack. "Here, pet him." Jack reached out, and the next thing he knew, his hand was wet from puppy licks. "Oh, man!" he said, laughing. "Can you push my bike?" Annie asked. "I'll carry him to the street so we can get a good look at him." Annie took off with the puppy. Jack tried to steer two bikes through the woods. Annie's bike twisted and fell over, but Jack finally got a good grip and wheeled both bikes out to the sidewalk. Annie was standing under a streetlamp, cradling the puppy in her arms. "Let me see him," said Jack. He parked the bikes and looked at the puppy under the light. The

喂，喂，喂！“我抓住你了！”安妮说着，从草木丛中抱起一只扭动的黑白小狗。 “我不相信，”杰克说。 “看——看！”安妮说。 她站起来，把小狗抱到杰克面前。 “来，摸摸它。”杰克伸出手，接下来他知道的是，他的手被小狗舔湿了。 “哦，天哪！”他笑着说。 “你能推我的自行车吗？”安妮问。 “我要把他抱到街上，这样我们就能好好看看他了。” 安妮带着小狗跑了。 杰克试图驾驶两辆自行车穿过树林。 安妮的自行车扭了一下，倒在了地上，但杰克终于抓住了，把两辆自行车都推到了人行道上。 安妮站在路灯下，怀里抱着小狗。 “让我看看他。”杰克说。 他把自行车停好，在灯光下看着小狗。 的

tiny dog had beautiful big brown eyes. His curly black-and-white fur was soft and shiny. "Ohh," said Jack, stroking the furry little head. "He's really cute." "Let's get him home," said Annie. "I'm sure he's hungry and thirsty." Jack grabbed their bikes again and started down the sidewalk with Annie and the puppy. "What breed do you think he is?" he asked.

小狗有一双漂亮的棕色大眼睛。 它那卷曲的黑白毛柔软而有光泽。 “哦，”杰克抚摸着毛茸茸的小脑袋说。 “他真的很可爱。”“我们把他送回家吧，”安妮说。 “我敢肯定他又饿又渴。” 杰克又抓起他们的自行车，带着安妮和小狗沿着人行道往前走。 “你认为它是什么品种的？”他问。

"I think he's a mix," said Annie. "A mix of what, I wonder," said Jack. "Lots of dogs! All sizes, big, small, and in between. Saint Bernard, terrier, husky," said Annie. "He's a mix of all the dogs we've ever loved." Jack nodded. "Cool," he said. "I hope Mom and Dad will let us keep him." "They will," said Annie. "They said we could get a dog when we found the right one. And this is definitely the right one." "Yeah, but what if he's just lost?" said Jack. "Don't worry. We'll ask around and put up signs," said Annie. "But I have a feeling he's not lost. I think he was actually in the woods waiting for us. I think he's a gift." "A gift? From who?" said Jack. "Maybe from Merlin and Morgan," said Annie. "A gift to thank us." Jack smiled. He liked that idea. "So what do you think we should name him?" he said.

“我觉得他是混血儿，”安妮说。 “我想是什么混合的，”杰克说。 “好多狗！”各种尺寸，大的，小的，中间的。 圣伯纳犬、小猎犬、哈士奇，”安妮说。 “它是我们爱过的所有狗的混合体。” 杰克点了点头。“酷，”他说。 “我希望爸爸妈妈能让我们养它。” “他们会的，”安妮说。“他们说我们找到合适的狗就可以养狗。 这绝对是正确的选择。” “是的，但如果他只是迷路了呢？”杰克说。 “别担心。我们会四处打听，张贴告示，”安妮说。 “但我有一种感觉，他并没有迷路。 我觉得他当时在树林里等我们。 我认为他是一份礼物。”“一个礼物吗? 谁送的？”杰克问。“也许是梅林和摩根，”安妮说。 “一份感谢我们的礼物。”杰克笑了笑。 他喜欢这个主意。“那么你认为我们应该给他取什么名字呢？”他说。