Chapter 2

Chapter 2 "Maybe they flew away," Ruth Rose suggested. The kids had climbed down and were standing under the falcons' tree. Josh shook his head. "They were just learning to fly," he said. "They weren't ready to leave their parents yet." "Could they have fallen out?" Dink asked. He glanced at the ground.

“也许它们飞走了，”露丝·罗斯暗示道。 孩子们爬了下来，站在猎鹰的树下。 乔希摇了摇头。“他们只是在学习飞行，”他说。 “他们还没准备好离开父母。” “他们会不会闹翻了?”丁克问道。 他看了看地面。

"I doubt it," said Josh. "If they had, the parents would still be here, watching over them." He frowned. "I think something took those birds," he said. "What do you mean?" Ruth Rose asked. "What kind of something?" "Animals," Josh explained. "Owls and snakes like to eat baby birds." "But wouldn't the parents protect the little falcons?" Dink asked. "Yeah," Josh said. "Unless something happened to them, too." "Maybe something scared the parents away" Ruth Rose said. Josh shook his head. "The parents wouldn't leave their babies." "Then what could have happened to them?" Dink asked. "Five falcons can't just disappear!" "I don't know," Josh said. He looked worried. "Come on, let's get out of here. I want to report this." "Report it to who?" Ruth Rose asked. She and Dink followed Josh back toward the path. "I'm not sure. But we can ask Mrs. Wong," said Josh. "She knows a lot about animals."

“我很怀疑。”乔希说。“如果有的话，他们的父母还会在这里守护着他们。” 他皱起了眉头。“我想是什么东西带走了那些鸟，”他说。 “你是什么意思?”露丝·罗斯问。 “什么样的东西?”“动物，”乔希解释说。 “猫头鹰和蛇喜欢吃小鸟。” “但是父母不会保护这些小猎鹰吗?”丁克问道。 “是的，”乔希说。“除非他们也发生了什么事。” “也许是什么东西把父母吓跑了，”露丝·罗斯说。 乔希摇了摇头。“父母不会丢下自己的孩子。” “那他们会出什么事呢?”丁克问道。 “五只猎鹰不可能凭空消失!”“我不知道，”乔希说。 他看上去很担心。“来吧，我们离开这里。 我想报道这件事。”“报告给谁?”露丝·罗斯问。 她和丁克跟着乔希回到小路上。 “我不确定。但我们可以问王太太，”乔希说。 “她对动物很了解。”

Twenty minutes later, the kids walked into Furry Feet, Mrs. Wong's pet shop. She was cleaning a large goldfish tank. "Hi, kids," Mrs. Wong said. "What's up? I was just about to close for the day." Josh explained about the missing falcons. "They were there yesterday," he said, "but today they're gone!" Mrs. Wong wiped her hands on her jeans. "That does seem odd," she said. "Peregrines are an endangered species," Josh said. "Should I report this to someone?" "That's a good idea, Josh," said Mrs. Wong. She went over to her desk and pulled open a drawer. "Here you go," she said, handing Josh a card. "That's the number for the Department of Environmental Protection—the DEP, for short. They have an office over at the fire station."

二十分钟后，孩子们走进了黄太太的宠物店“毛脚”。 她正在清洗一个大金鱼缸。 “嗨，孩子们，”黄太太说。 “有什么事吗?我正准备打烊呢。” 乔希解释了失踪猎鹰的事。 “他们昨天还在那儿，”他说，“但是今天他们不见了!”黄太太在牛仔裤上擦了擦手。 “这看起来确实很奇怪，”她说。 “游隼是一种濒危物种，”乔希说。 “我应该把这件事报告给谁吗?”“这是个好主意，乔希，”黄太太说。 她走到书桌前，拉开了一个抽屉。 “给你，”她说，递给乔希一张卡片。 这是环境保护部(简称DEP)的号码。 他们在消防站那边有个办公室。”

"Thanks, Mrs. Wong," Josh said. "May I use your phone?" Josh dialed the number while Mrs. Wong went back to cleaning the goldfish tank. Dink and Ruth Rose listened as Josh explained about the nest and the missing falcons. He thanked whomever he was speaking with and hung up. "Someone is gonna go out there and take a look," he told Dink and Ruth Rose. "But the guy I talked to said an owl probably got the babies." Ruth Rose shuddered. "Those poor falcons!" The kids thanked Mrs. Wong and left the store. Outside, it was starting to get dark. Ruth Rose, Josh, and Dink crossed Main Street and cut through Center Park. A family of ducks was swimming in the pond. When the parents noticed the humans, they quacked loudly to their babies. The ducklings quickly swam over to their mother and father. Josh stopped walking. "I don't think an owl could have taken those baby falcons." "You don't?" Dink asked. Josh shook his head. "Mother and father falcons are fierce! They wouldn't let an owl within ten

“谢谢，黄太太，”乔希说。 “我可以用一下你的电话吗?”乔希拨通了电话，黄太太则回去清洗金鱼缸。 丁克和露丝·罗斯听着乔希解释鸟巢和失踪的猎鹰。 他感谢了和他通话的人，然后挂断了电话。 “会有人出去看看的，”他告诉丁克和露丝·罗斯。 “但是和我交谈的那个人说，可能是猫头鹰叼走了孩子。” 露丝·罗斯打了个寒颤。“那些可怜的猎鹰!”孩子们谢过黄太太就离开了商店。 外面，天开始黑下来了。 露丝·罗斯、乔希和丁克穿过主街，穿过中央公园。 一群鸭子在池塘里游泳。 当父母注意到人类时，他们大声地叫着他们的孩子。 小鸭子们迅速地游向他们的爸爸妈妈。 乔希停了下来。“我认为猫头鹰不可能带走那些小猎鹰。” “你不?”丁克问道。乔希摇了摇头。 “猎鹰妈妈和爸爸都很凶猛!”他们不让猫头鹰在十分钟内进来

feet of their nest." "Could a snake climb that high?" Ruth Rose asked. Josh smirked. "Yeah, a human snake!" "What do you mean?" Dink asked. "You think a person stole the falcons?" Josh nodded. "But who would do something like that?" Ruth Rose asked. "I don't know," Josh said. "But we're going to find out!"

它们的窝脚。”“蛇能爬那么高吗?”露丝·罗斯问。 Josh傻笑。“对，一条人蛇!”“你是什么意思?”丁克问道。 “你认为有人偷了那些猎鹰?”杰克点了点头。 “但谁会做这种事呢?”露丝·罗斯问。 “我不知道，”乔希说。 “但我们会找到答案的!”