13 THE HOLE STORY

CHAPTER 13 THE HOLE STORY Alexander and Rip squeezed through the balloon-holding, song-singing, pretzel-eating crowd of people with strange shadows. The boys soon found themselves near a bandstand. A brass band honked its way through "You Are My Sunshine." The bandleader had a familiar shock of white hair. "It's Mr. Hoarsely!" said Alexander. "Never mind him," said Rip. "Check out the gopher hole."

第十三章洞的故事亚历山大和瑞普挤过那群举着气球、唱着歌、吃着椒盐脆饼的人，他们的影子很奇怪。 男孩们很快发现自己来到了一个演奏台附近。 一支铜管乐队在《你是我的阳光》中演奏。 乐队指挥长着一头熟悉的浓密白发。 “是沙哑先生！”亚历山大说。 “别管他，”瑞普说。 “看看地鼠洞。”

There was a sign in front of the bandstand: STERMONT STELLA The sign pointed to a hole in the ground. "Now everyone is just waiting for Stella to pop out," said Rip. "If she doesn't see her shadow, it means we'll have an awesome spring." "Gopher Day sounds just like Groundhog Day," said Alexander. "What? NO!" Rip shouted. "Oh, wait. Maybe." Rip leaned in and whispered. "But I think Gopher Day is totally rigged! She never sees her shadow!" The band played a loud "TA-DAAA!" "Here we go!" said Rip.

乐队台前有一块牌子：斯特蒙特。斯特拉。牌子指着地上的一个洞。 “现在每个人都在等着斯特拉出来，”里普说。 “如果她看不到自己的影子，那就意味着我们将迎来一个很棒的春天。” “地鼠日听起来就像土拨鼠日，”亚历山大说。 “什么?不!”Rip喊道。“哦,等。 也许吧。”里普凑过去小声说。 “但我认为地鼠日完全被操纵了！”她从来没见过自己的影子！”乐队演奏了一声响亮的“TA-DAAA!”“走吧！”瑞普说。

Alexander scanned the crowd. The shadow smashers were pulling away from everyone's feet. They hopped from shadow to shadow until they reached the edges of the park. Everyone's shadows were back to normal. "I don't get it," said Rip. "Why did the shadow smashers all leave?" The crowd grew silent as Stella peeped out of her hole. She ran into the open. Then she sat on the ground and scratched her ear. The audience cheered. "Hooray!" said a man in a gopher hat. "Stella didn't see her shadow! Sunny days are on the way!"

亚历山大扫视了一下人群。 影子粉碎者正从每个人的脚边拉开。 他们从一个阴影跳到另一个阴影，直到到达公园的边缘。 每个人的影子都恢复正常了。 “我不明白，”瑞普说。 “影子粉碎者为什么都离开了？”斯特拉从洞里探出头来，人群安静了下来。 她跑到空旷的地方。然后她坐在地上搔着耳朵。 观众欢呼起来。“万岁！”一个戴着地鼠帽的人说。 “斯特拉没有看到她的影子！”晴天就要来了！”

Just then, the air grew as cold as winter. From all corners of the park, shadow smashers melted together and stretched upward, totally blocking out the sun. The daytime sky became entirely dark like the darkest night, with no stars.

就在这时，空气变得像冬天一样寒冷。 从公园的各个角落，阴影碎片融合在一起，向上伸展，完全挡住了阳光。 白天的天空变得一片漆黑，就像最黑暗的夜晚，没有星星。

Alexander could see his breath as he spoke. "We're too late. The shadow smashers have made a shadow dome over Stermont!" Stella squeaked as she looked up at the darkened sky. Then she scampered back into her hole.

亚历山大可以看到他说话时的呼吸。 “我们来晚了。阴影粉碎者在斯特蒙上空形成了一个阴影穹顶！”斯特拉抬头望着昏暗的天空，尖声叫道。 然后她跑回了她的洞里。