Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Princess Pulverizer searched through the groves of trees. She peered into bushes. She looked behind boulders. But there was no sign of Dribble or Lucas. And just for a moment, Princess Pulverizer thought maybe the whole tale of the Yabko-kokomo Beast was a true story—that her friends really had been kidnapped. But then she thought better of it. She hadn't seen a single sign of a beast. No matted fur

第三章粉碎机公主在树林里搜寻。 她向灌木丛中窥视。她朝巨石后面望去。 但是没有运球和卢卡斯的影子。 就在那一刻，粉碎机公主认为，也许整个Yabko-kokomo野兽的故事是一个真实的故事——她的朋友们真的被绑架了。 但后来她又想了想。 她没有看到任何野兽的迹象。 没有打结的皮毛

that had been shed on the ground or caught on the limbs of trees. No beastly cloven hoofprints in the mud. Nothing. So if Lucas and Dribble weren't kidnapped, what had happened to them? They wouldn't have just left her. Or would they? Maybe she'd really crossed the line this time, ordering them around and making them go look for the Yabko-kokomo Beast. She could have been nicer about it. Maybe she drove them away. No! Dribble and Lucas were loyal. They might be upset with her, but they would never abandon her. Princess Pulverizer looked down at a deep hole in the earth. Could her friends have been dragged underground? Well, Lucas might have been. He was scrawny enough to fit into the burrow. But not Dribble. A dragon could never squeeze into there.

它们要么掉在地上，要么挂在树枝上。 泥里没有野兽的蹄印。 什么都没有。如果Lucas和Dribble没有被绑架，那他们发生了什么事？ 他们不会就这么离开她。 他们会吗？也许她这次真的越界了，命令他们四处走动，让他们去找亚布科-科科莫野兽。 她本可以表现得更好的。 也许是她赶走了他们。 不!运球和卢卡斯都很忠诚。 他们也许会生她的气，但绝不会抛弃她。 粉碎机公主低头看着地上的一个深洞。 她的朋友会不会被拖到地下？ 卢卡斯可能是。 他骨瘦如柴，能钻进洞穴。 但运球不是。龙永远挤不进去。

So what had happened? Dribble and Lucas couldn't have disappeared into thin air. Although she didn't see their footprints in the mud, either. But those could have easily been washed away, because it had started to rain. And not just a little drizzle. This was a full-on, torrential rainstorm. And from the looks of the dark clouds above, there was a lot more coming. Princess Pulverizer was stuck in a foreign land, in the pouring rain, without a single friend. For the first time in a really long time, Princess Pulverizer wasn't feeling brave at all. She was scared. And lonely. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep in her own bed, in her own castle. The princess wondered if any of her father's Royal Knights of the Skround Table ever felt

那么发生了什么？运球和卢卡斯不可能凭空消失。 虽然她也没有在泥里看到他们的脚印。 但这些东西很容易被冲走，因为已经开始下雨了。 不仅仅是一点点毛毛雨。 这是一场猛烈的暴雨。 从头顶的乌云来看，还有更多的乌云要来。 粉碎机公主被困在异国他乡，在倾盆大雨中，没有一个朋友。 很长一段时间以来，粉碎机公主第一次觉得自己一点也不勇敢。 她很害怕。和孤独。 她只想回家，睡在自己的床上，在自己的城堡里。 公主不知道她父亲的皇家圆桌骑士是否有过这种感觉

this way. There was only one way to find out. She would have to go back to Empiria and ask them. Sure! That was the answer. She'd go home to Empiria and talk to a few brave knights. Maybe grab a hot meal that wasn't a grilled cheese sandwich. And then she could head back out on her Quest of Kindness feeling refreshed and rested. And her next act of kindness would be to find Dribble and Lucas. She would even bring a whole search party with her to help. It wasn't a bad plan at all. Except for one thing. Princess Pulverizer had absolutely no idea how to get back to Empiria from here. She wasn't even sure where here was! Zing! Just then, a small gnat bit at the princess's face. Ouch. That hurt—like an arrow piercing her cheek. An arrow! That's it!

这种方式。只有一个办法能知道。 她得回到帝国大厦去问他们。 当然!这就是答案。 她会回帝国去和几个勇敢的骑士谈谈。 也许可以吃一顿热饭，而不是烤奶酪三明治。 然后她就可以回到她的“寻求善良”中，感觉精神焕发，休息好了。 她的下一个善举就是找到运球和卢卡斯。 她甚至会带上一整支搜索队来帮忙。 这计划一点也不坏。 除了一件事。粉碎机公主完全不知道怎么从这里回到帝国。 她甚至不知道这里在哪里！活力!就在这时，一只小蚊子咬了公主的脸。 哎哟。那刺痛就像一支箭刺进了她的脸颊。 箭!这是它!

Quickly, Princess Pulverizer pulled a long arrow with orange and yellow feathers from her bag. It had been a gift from the mayor of Ire-Mire-Briar-Shire. And if she remembered correctly, the mayor had distinctly told her, "If ever the holder of the arrow finds themselves lost, the arrow will always point them toward home." Well, Princess Pulverizer was definitely lost now. She held the arrow in the air and watched as it wiggled a little to the left and to the right. It twitched in front of her. It pointed over her shoulder. And then it stopped. Princess Pulverizer's heart pounded excitedly. She'd found the way home. All she had to do was turn around and follow the arrow.

粉粉公主迅速从包里掏出一支长箭，箭上有橙色和黄色的羽毛。 这是briar - mire - briar - shire市长送的礼物。 如果她没记错的话，市长明确地告诉过她：“如果持箭者发现自己迷路了，箭总是会指引他们回家的方向。” 粉碎机公主现在肯定是迷路了。 她把箭举在空中，看着它左右摆动。 它在她面前抽搐着。 它指向她的肩膀。 然后就停了。粉碎公主的心兴奋地怦怦直跳。 她找到了回家的路。她所要做的就是转身跟着箭头走。

It seemed to Princess Pulverizer that she'd been traveling an awfully long time. It was night now, and she had to squint to see the magic arrow in the moonlight. And to make matters worse, she had to watch out for all the giant holes in the ground. At least the rain had stopped. But she was still sopping wet. Princess Pulverizer couldn't wait to get back to the palace and change into a dry tunic. The princess followed the arrow to an old wooden fence. The arrow twisted slightly and pointed toward a splintery gate that was falling off its hinges. Huh? That made no sense. How was going through that gate going to bring her home? But the princess had trusted the arrow this far. So she followed its pointed tip down through the gate.

在粉碎机公主看来，她似乎已经旅行了很长时间。 现在是晚上，她必须眯着眼睛才能在月光下看到那支神奇的箭。 更糟糕的是，她还得小心地上所有的大洞。 至少雨停了。 但她还是浑身湿透了。 粉碎机公主迫不及待地回到宫殿，换上一件干的束腰外衣。 公主跟着箭来到一个旧木篱笆前。 箭微微扭了一下，指向一扇快要从铰链上掉下来的破门。 嗯?这毫无意义。穿过那扇门怎么能把她带回家？ 但公主对箭的信任到此为止。 于是，她跟着它的尖头进了大门。