2 City of Light

CHAPTER Two City of Light The three friends scrambled through the cave as fast as they could. Grrr! Grrr! Whatever was behind them was following swiftly. "There's light up ahead!" Julie called back. "I'm there!" said Neal. "Last one out is a rotten egg!" Eric cried. They hurled themselves out of the mouth of the cave and into the light. Bright light. And green grass. And flowers.

第二章光明之城三个朋友以最快的速度爬出了山洞。 叽阿!叽阿!不管他们后面是什么，都在飞快地跟着他们。 “前面亮着灯！”朱莉回话了。 “我在那儿！”尼尔说。“最后一个出来的是臭蛋！”埃里克喊道。 他们冲出洞口，冲进了亮光里。 明亮的光。还有绿草。 和鲜花。

They tripped over a low wall and tumbled down a short slope to a wire fence. "We're trapped!" Neal yelled. Suddenly, the kids heard laughter. They sat up and squinted through the fence. Standing behind it were Princess Keeah and her father, King Zello. "Welcome to Droon!" the king boomed. They looked back at the cave. The red eyes blinked and disappeared into the darkness. Eric jumped to his feet. "You mean… we're safe?" "Very," Keeah said with a giggle. "You just looked funny running out of the wolves' cave." Neal gulped. "Did you say… wolves? Man, I hope we never go back into that cave!" Keeah and her father opened an iron gate and helped the three kids outside the fence. "The red wolves of Droon are famous," King Zello said. "They protect our city!" The king was a tall man with broad shoulders. He wore a helmet with horns and carried a wooden club. Princess Keeah had long blonde hair. She wore a green tunic and leather boots. "Welcome to Jaffa City," Keeah said. "Jaffa is the royal city of Droon!"

他们被一堵矮墙绊了一下，又从一个短坡上滚下来，落在铁丝网上。 “我们被困!”Neal喊道。 突然，孩子们听到笑声。 他们坐起来，眯着眼睛从栅栏里往外看。 站在它后面的是姬娅公主和她的父亲泽洛国王。 “欢迎来到德鲁恩！” 他们回头看了看山洞。 那双红眼睛眨了眨，消失在黑暗中。 埃里克跳了起来。“你是说……我们安全了？”“很好，”基娅咯咯笑着说。 “你从狼群的洞穴里跑出来的样子真奇怪。” 尼尔一饮而尽。“你是说……狼？” 伙计，我希望我们永远不要再回到那个山洞里去！”基娅和她的父亲打开一扇铁门，把三个孩子扶出了栅栏。 “德鲁恩的红狼很有名。”泽洛国王说。 “他们保护我们的城市！”国王身材高大，肩膀宽阔。 他戴着有角的头盔，拿着一根木棍。 姬亚公主有一头金色的长发。 她穿着绿色的束腰外衣和皮靴。 “欢迎来到雅法城，”Keeah说。 “雅法是德鲁恩的王城！”

The princess led them out to a stone courtyard that was larger than a baseball stadium. At one side was a busy marketplace. Men and women strolled and shopped at colorful tents. Their children played happily by a beautiful fountain nearby. "Wow," said Eric. "I had bad daydreams about Sparr. But things look pretty okay here!" On the other side of the square rose giant buildings of white and silver and green and pink stone. In between grew flowers and bushes, and birds sang in white-blossomed apple trees. A soft breeze blew across the vast open space. "It sure is beautiful," Julie said as they passed the fountain. The children of Droon waved to the three friends from the Upper World. "Friendly, too," Neal said, giving the kids the peace sign. "And someday Keeah will rule over this city as well as all the villages outside," the king said. "Just like her mother, Queen Relna." Keeah's mother was a wizard who had been transformed into a white falcon. In that shape, she had helped the kids fight Lord Sparr. Now she herself needed help to become human again. "But for now, Keeah," the king said, "you must get ready for your magic lessons. Galen will be here soon. Max will

公主带他们来到一个比棒球场还大的石头庭院。 一边是一个繁忙的市场。 男男女女在五颜六色的帐篷里散步和购物。 他们的孩子们在附近一个美丽的喷泉边快乐地玩耍。 “哇，”埃里克说。“我做过关于斯帕尔的噩梦。 不过这里的情况看起来还不错！”广场的另一边矗立着由白色、银色、绿色和粉色的石头建成的巨大建筑。 中间生长着鲜花和灌木，鸟儿在开着白花的苹果树上歌唱。 一阵微风吹过广阔的空地。 “真是太美了，”经过喷泉时朱莉说。 德鲁恩的孩子们向来自上界的三位朋友挥手。 “也很友好，”尼尔一边说，一边给孩子们做了个和平手势。 “总有一天，基亚会统治这座城市和外面所有的村庄，”国王说。 “就像她的母亲，蕾尔娜女王。” 基娅的母亲是一名巫师，她被变成了一只白色的猎鹰。 就这样，她帮助孩子们与斯帕尔勋爵作战。 现在她自己也需要帮助才能重新变成人类。 “但是现在，基娅，”国王说，“你必须准备好上魔法课。 盖伦马上就来。马克斯会

come, too, of course." Galen was a powerful old wizard. Max was his spidertroll assistant. The king beamed with pride and said, "Galen tells me that in some ways Keeah's powers are greater than his own. When the time is right, her true powers will be revealed." Eric's eyes went wide. "Powers? Cool!" Keeah made a face. "More like lukewarm. So far, I've broken seven clay pots, one bowl, a chair, and two clocks." "Three clocks," her father said, smiling. "But Galen will teach you. And look, here he comes!" A thick blue mist rose in the middle of the square. Sparks of light streaked through it. An instant later—zamm! A bearded old man in a long blue robe stood there. Next to him sat a large spider with four arms and four legs. He had a round face, a pug nose, and orange hair that stood straight up. "Galen! Max!" Eric said. "Good to see you again!" But the wizard did not look happy. "What's wrong?" the king asked, gripping his wooden club tightly. There was fear in Max's eyes as he spoke. "Terrible!" he chittered. "Lord Sparr! He's coming!" "I fear the worst," Galen said. "A curse has been sent by the evil one. We've tracked it across the plains. Now look!"

当然也要来。”盖伦是一个强大的老巫师。 麦克斯是他的蜘蛛怪助手。 国王骄傲地笑着说：“盖伦告诉我，在某些方面，基厄的力量比他自己更强大。 时机成熟时，她真正的力量就会显露出来。” 埃里克睁大了眼睛。“权力? 酷!”基娅做了个鬼脸。“更像是不温不火。 到目前为止，我已经打破了七个陶罐、一个碗、一把椅子和两个时钟。” “三个钟，”她父亲微笑着说。 “但是盖伦会教你的。 瞧，他来了！”一层浓浓的蓝雾从广场中央升起。 一粒粒的光穿过它。 过了一会儿——赞！一位留着胡子、身穿蓝色长袍的老人站在那里。 他旁边坐着一只有四只胳膊和四条腿的大蜘蛛。 他长着一张圆脸，鹰钩鼻，橙色的头发笔直地竖着。 “盖伦!麦克斯!”Eric说。“很高兴再次见到你！”但是男巫看起来并不高兴。 “怎么了？”国王问，手里紧紧攥着木棍。 马克斯说话时眼里充满了恐惧。 “太可怕了！”“主Sparr !他来了!”“我担心最坏的情况，”盖伦说。 "邪恶者发出了诅咒。 我们在平原上追踪它。 现在看!”

Galen pointed to the skies above them. A vast black cloud passed quickly in front of the sun. The entire courtyard fell into shadow.

盖伦指着他们头顶上的天空。 一大片乌云迅速地从太阳前面掠过。 整个院子都笼罩在阴影中。

"It is a curse!" Max muttered.

“这是诅咒！”马克斯嘟囔着。