3 Making friends

Chapter Three MAKING FRIENDS Cheng broke into a run, splashing through the steaming springs, doing his best to keep his eye on the puppy. For such a little thing, it was fast! Cheng sped up. Leah was just behind him. The trees beyond the hot springs were thinner than the rainforest they had left behind. Cheng caught glimpses of the ocean

程跑了起来，在热气腾腾的泉水里溅起水花，同时尽力看着小狗。 对于这么小的东西来说，它跑得很快！程加快了脚步。 利亚就在他后面。温泉那边的树木比他们留下的雨林还要稀疏。 程瞥见了海洋

through the twisting trunks and branches, and found he was closer to the beach than he'd realized. The roar of the surf thundered ahead as he ducked under the overhanging branches, startling a few birds with leaf- green plumage. The birds skittered into the sky with alarm. Cheng and Leah stopped on the edge of a wide, curving beach.

穿过扭曲的树干和树枝，他发现他离海滩比他想象的要近。 当他躲在悬垂的树枝下时，海浪的轰鸣声震耳欲聋，吓了几只长着绿叶羽毛的鸟。 鸟儿惊慌地飞向天空。 程和利亚在一个宽阔弯曲的海滩边停了下来。

"Where'd that puppy go?" Leah asked through panted breaths. The sound of the surf was louder here, with breakers smashing and foaming on the white sand. Cheng glimpsed surfers bobbing around in the waves, riding brightly colored boards. Their glistening black wet suits reminded Cheng of sea lions. Cheng shaded his eyes. The puppy crouched in the sand several yards in front of him, looking back with wide brown eyes. "There you are!" he said, and started to run again.

“那只小狗去哪儿了？”利亚气喘吁吁地问。 这里的海浪声更响，浪花拍打着白色的沙滩，溅起泡沫。 程瞥见冲浪者骑着色彩鲜艳的冲浪板在海浪中上下浮动。 他们闪闪发光的黑色潜水衣让程想起了海狮。 程遮住了眼睛。小狗蹲在离他几码远的沙子里，棕色的大眼睛瞪着他。 “你在这儿！”他说着，又开始跑起来。

Right away, the puppy sprang to its feet and took off down the beach. "Come back!" he roared, running faster. The puppy wasn't listening. It skipped and dodged, and ran around. It was clearly having the time of its life. "Cheng, this isn't working!" said Leah, as Cheng tried in vain to grab the little animal, and fell onto the soft sand. "Chasing the puppy is just making it more excited. It thinks this is a game." Cheng wrinkled his nose in thought. "So how are we going to catch it?" Leah rubbed her chin. "We make it come to us," she said. A bright yellow ball was lying in a dip in the sand, near the line of the trees. Leah walked over and picked it up. "Here we go," she said. "Wish me luck!"

小狗立刻跳了起来，沿着海滩跑去。 “回来！”他吼道，跑得更快了。 小狗不听。 它蹦蹦跳跳，躲闪躲避，到处跑。 很明显，这是它一生中最快乐的时光。 “小程，这样不行！”利亚说，小程试图抓住这只小动物，但没有成功，他摔倒在柔软的沙滩上。 “追逐小狗只会让它更兴奋。 它认为这是一场游戏。” 程皱起鼻子在想。 “那我们怎么才能抓住它呢？”利亚揉了揉下巴。 她说：“我们让它来找我们。” 一个明黄色的球躺在靠近树林的沙地里。 利亚走过去把它捡了起来。 “我们走吧，”她说。“祝我好运吧！”

She waved the yellow ball at the puppy. "Come and play, puppy," she said. "Look at this pretty yellow ball. Come and get it!" The puppy stopped running around, and stared at Leah and the ball. It tipped his head to one side. Then it crouched into the sand, with its bottom in the air and its tail waving. "It looks like it's going to run away again," Cheng warned, propping himself up in the sand with his elbows. "Patience," said Leah. She waved the ball again. "Come on, puppy! Come and play!" The puppy leaped to its feet. It let out a little bark of delight and scampered toward Leah, who scooped it up with her free hand. "Success!" she said triumphantly, giving the ball to the puppy as a reward.

她向小狗挥舞着黄色的球。 “过来玩吧，小狗，”她说。 “看这个漂亮的黄球。 快来拿！”小狗不再跑来跑去，盯着莉娅和球。 它使他的头歪向一边。 然后它蜷缩在沙子里，屁股翘在空中，尾巴摇摆着。 “看起来它又要跑了，”程警告说，用胳膊肘支撑着自己。 “耐心点，”利亚说。她又把球挥了一下。 “来吧，小狗！来玩吧！”小狗跳了起来。 它高兴地叫了一声，跑向莉娅，莉娅用空着的那只手把它捞了起来。 “成功了！”她得意地说，把球给了小狗作为奖励。

"Well done, Leah!" Cheng got to his feet and clapped. "Impressive animal knowledge," he said. He went to Leah and gave the puppy a little scratch behind its soft brown ears. "Now all we have to do is find your owner, little guy."

“干得好，莉娅！”程站起来鼓掌。 “令人印象深刻的动物知识，”他说。 他走到莉娅身边，在小狗柔软的棕色耳朵后面轻轻抓了一下。 “现在我们要做的就是找到你的主人，小家伙。”