5 The Gift of Magic

CHAPTER Five The Gift of Magic Thwang! Thwang! Arrows whizzed past the kids as they dashed across the snowy courtyard. The arrows plinked and clanked against the frosted stones. "Head for the rows of market stalls!" Keeah said, pointing ahead. "We can hide there!" Max skittered on the stones behind Keeah. "Oh, if only my master, Galen, were here!" They darted into the thick of the marketplace. The tents were crusted with snow and ice. Men and women stood by

第五章魔法的礼物！Thwang !孩子们冲过白雪皑皑的院子时，箭矢嗖嗖地从他们身边飞过。 箭在结霜的石头上发出丁当的响声。 “去一排排的市场摊位吧！”姬娅指着前方说。 “我们可以躲在那里！”马克斯在姬娅身后的石头上蹦蹦跳跳。 “啊，要是我的主人盖伦在这里就好了！”他们冲进了拥挤的市场。 帐篷上结了一层冰雪。 男人和女人站在旁边

their tables. But they weren't moving. They were completely frozen. "This is so sad," said Julie, out of breath. "I know them," Keeah added. Clomp! Crash! The Ninns burst through the first row of stalls searching for the kids. They tore down the tents and overturned the tables. "Oh, dear!" Max chittered. "Terrible brutes!" "I agree!" said Eric, hurrying past a stall filled with barrels of sugar and flour. Clomp! Ninns were storming around from behind. Soon they would see the kids. "Ninn sandwich!" Neal said. "We're trapped!" "I've got an idea!" Eric whispered. Then he grabbed Neal and pushed his face into one of the sugar barrels. "Hey!" Neal yelped, pulling himself back up, his face covered with white sugar. "What are you doing? I mean—mmm. That's good sugar." "Shhh!" Eric gasped. "Pretend you're frozen!" "Huh?" Then Neal's eyes went wide. "Oh, I get it! The sugar looks like frost!" He went stiff. Julie and Keeah got the idea, too. They stuck their faces in the sugar barrel, then popped back up. They stood as still as statues. Eric did the same. So did Max.

他们的桌子。但是他们没有动。 他们完全被冻住了。 “这太悲哀了，”朱莉上气不接下气地说。 “我认识他们，”基娅补充道。 重踏着走!崩溃!奶妈们冲进第一排摊位寻找孩子们。 他们拆掉了帐篷，掀翻了桌子。 “哦,亲爱的!”马克斯啾啾而鸣。 “可怕的野兽!”“我同意！”埃里克说着匆匆走过一个摆满糖桶和面粉的摊位。 重踏着走!Ninns从后面冲过来。 很快他们就能看到孩子们了。 “Ninn三明治!”Neal说。 “我们被困!”“我有个主意！”Eric低声说。 然后他抓住尼尔，把他的脸推到一个糖桶里。 “嘿!”尼尔大叫一声，把自己拉了起来，脸上沾满了白糖。 “你在干什么？”我mean-mmm。 那是好糖。”“嘘!”埃里克气喘吁吁地说。 “假装你被冻住了！”“嗯?”然后尼尔睁大了眼睛。 “哦，我明白了！”糖看起来像霜一样！”他僵住了。 朱莉和基娅也有了这个想法。 他们把脸伸进糖桶里，然后又蹦了出来。 他们像雕像一样静静地站着。 埃里克也这样做了。麦克斯也是。

Their faces were completely frosted in sugar. They held their breaths. Clomp! Clank! Two red Ninns in black armor stomped between the stalls to the children. "Child?" growled one. He poked one of his six claws at Neal's nose. He waved the other in front of Eric's face. Both boys stared straight ahead. They didn't move. They didn't breathe.

他们的脸上完全涂上了糖霜。 他们屏住呼吸。重踏着走!叮当作响!两个身穿黑盔甲的红衣ninn在摊位间向孩子们走来。 “孩子？”其中一个咆哮道。它用六只爪子中的一只戳了戳尼尔的鼻子。 他在埃里克面前挥舞着另一个。 两个男孩都盯着前方。 他们没有动。他们没有呼吸。

"Frozen?" the Ninn said.

“冰封？”奶妈说。

The other Ninn peered at Keeah. Then he pushed his big red face down close to Julie's. His dark, beady eyes stared into hers. "Frozen," he grunted to his fellow Ninn. They wandered away noisily between the stalls. Finally they headed back to the palace. Eric let out a long breath. "That was close!" "Real close," Neal said, brushing the sugar from his cheeks. "I never knew food could save your life!" "Let's get out of here," said Julie. "Before that big lug decides to breathe on me again—" "Shhh!" Keeah said. "I hear something." The kids stood still and listened. Eric looked up. "It sounds like… wings!" "It's Queen Relna!" Max exclaimed. "Look!" Down through the swirling snow came a white falcon. She fluttered slowly above them. "Mother!" the princess said softly. "Keeah, my child," the falcon said. "How I can speak to you, I do not know. But Keeah… only you have the power to save our city." "My magic failed!" Keeah replied. "I couldn't help Galen. I tried to, but Sparr froze him!" "And it's all my fault," Eric muttered.

另一个宁盯着基厄。 然后他把他那张又大又红的脸凑近朱莉的脸。 他那双乌黑发亮的眼睛盯着她的眼睛。 “冰封。”他对同伴宁哼了一声。 他们在摊位间嘈杂地溜达着。 最后，他们回到了宫殿。 埃里克深深地吸了一口气。 “好险啊！”“非常接近，”尼尔说，拂去脸颊上的糖。 “我从来不知道食物可以救你的命！”“我们离开这里吧，”朱莉说。 “在那只大鸭子决定再次对我吐气之前——”“嘘！”Keeah说。 “我听到了什么声音。”孩子们静静地站着听。 埃里克抬起头来。“听起来像……翅膀！”“是蕾尔娜女王！”马克斯喊道。 “看!”一只白色的猎鹰穿过纷飞的雪飞了下来。 她在他们上方慢慢地拍打着翅膀。 “妈妈！”公主轻声说。 “呃，我的孩子，”猎鹰说。 “我不知道怎么跟你说话。 但是，Keeah……只有你有能力拯救我们的城市。” “我的魔法失败了！”Keeah答道。 “我帮不了盖伦。我试过了，可是斯帕把他冻僵了！”“这都是我的错，”埃里克嘟囔着。

The bird spoke again. "Sometimes bad things happen for a reason. We need to be tested, so that we grow stronger. Keeah, remember who you are. And know this: True magic comes from a magic heart." Then the bird hovered over the barrel of sugar. From her eyes came a spiral of blue light. The light fell on the sugar. The sugar began to sparkle. "Hurry!" said the queen. "You have but a little time left before what is frozen remains frozen!" Then, with a rapid flutter of wings, Keeah's mother was gone. "Wow, is that magic dust?" Julie asked. Eric remembered how Keeah had once sprinkled shiny powder on his sprained ankle, curing him. The princess tossed a handful of the sparkling crystals in the air and watched them fall. "I think it is magic," she said. "Then let's get to the palace right away and try the dust on Galen," Eric said. "Excuse me," Neal said, raising his hand. "But Sparr is in there, with a million nasty Ninns." "Neal's right," Keeah said. She filled a velvet pouch on her belt with the powder. "We'll need some help first." "Good thinking!" Neal said. He dipped his finger in the barrel of sugar and licked it. "Mmm. It's magic, but it still tastes good."

鸟儿又说话了。“有时候坏事的发生是有原因的。 我们需要经受考验，这样我们才能变得更强大。 Keeah，记住你是谁。 要知道：真正的魔法来自于一颗神奇的心。” 然后鸟在糖桶上方盘旋。 从她的眼睛里射出一道蓝光。 灯光照在糖上。 糖开始闪闪发光。 “快点！”王后说。“在冻结的东西保持冻结之前，你只剩下一点点时间了！”接着，随着翅膀的急速拍打，基娅的母亲飞走了。 “哇，那是魔尘吗？”朱莉问。 埃里克记得有一次，基亚在他扭伤的脚踝上洒了闪亮的粉末，治好了他。 公主把一把闪闪发光的水晶抛向空中，看着它们落下。 “我觉得这很神奇，”她说。 “那我们现在就去宫殿，试试盖伦身上的灰尘。”埃里克说。 “对不起，”尼尔举起手说。 “但斯帕尔在里面，带着一群讨厌的小鬼。” “尼尔说得对，”姬娅说。 她把粉末装在腰带上的一个天鹅绒口袋里。 “我们需要一些帮助。” “好主意!”Neal说。 他把手指浸入糖桶里，舔了舔。 “嗯。它很神奇，但味道仍然很好。”