1 Chapter 1

Azmina lay on her stomach in her brand-new backyard. The weather was warm for fall, but Azmina didn't feel the sun on her skin. She didn't

阿兹米娜躺在她崭新的后院。 秋天的天气很暖和，但阿兹米娜感觉不到阳光照在她的皮肤上。 她没有

notice a dog barking nearby. She didn't even hear her mom singing as she unpacked boxes in the house they had just moved into. A strange sound had caught Azmina's attention. The sound blocked out everything else. It was as if someone was whispering the first line of a song. Magic Forest, Magic Forest, come explore … Through a gap in the back fence, Azmina could see the edge of a forest. Was the music coming from there? Azmina wasn't used to lying around on the grass, admiring trees. She thought of herself as a city girl, through and through. Well, she used to, anyway. She wasn't quite sure who she was in this new place yet. Back in the city she was always on the go: Singing lessons, playing soccer with her friends, organizing sleepovers. But now, there wasn't anyone to organize sleepovers with. Everything had changed when she and her mom moved. Azmina liked the kids at

注意到附近有只狗在叫。 她甚至没有听到妈妈在他们刚搬进来的房子里拆箱子时唱歌。 一个奇怪的声音引起了阿兹米娜的注意。 那声音盖过了一切。 就好像有人在低声念着一首歌的第一句。 魔法森林，魔法森林，来探索吧……透过后面栅栏的缝隙，阿兹米娜可以看到森林的边缘。 音乐是从那里传来的吗? 阿兹米娜不习惯躺在草地上欣赏树木。 她认为自己是个地地道道的城市女孩。 好吧，她过去是这样的。 在这个新地方，她还不太确定自己是谁。 回到城里，她总是忙忙碌碌:唱歌课，和朋友踢足球，组织过夜活动。 但现在，没有人可以组织过夜活动了。 她和妈妈搬家后，一切都变了。 阿兹米娜喜欢学校的孩子们

her new school, but she didn't have any besties yet. In school, she had been assigned to a table with two other girls named Willa and Naomi. Somehow Azmina just knew that she was meant to be friends with them. She could feel it, fizzing like bubbles in a soft drink, deep in her stomach. But she wasn't quite sure how to make it happen.

她的新学校，但她还没有闺蜜。 在学校里，她被分配和另外两个女孩威拉(Willa)和娜奥米(Naomi)坐在一张桌子上。 不知怎么的，阿兹米娜知道她注定要和他们做朋友。 她能感觉到它，就像软饮料里的气泡一样，在她的胃里发出嘶嘶声。 但她不太确定如何实现这一目标。

Azmina sighed. She knew that friendships took time, but she hated being the new girl. Magic Forest, Magic Forest, come explore … Azmina sat up. The singing was clearer now. It was definitely coming from the forest! But it was different from any music Azmina had heard before. The melody was like the songs of a thousand birds and the babble of a river all mixed together with the rustling of leaves. Azmina jumped up and ran to the back fence. She leaned over to get a closer look. Because she was from the city, she'd never seen a real forest up close before. She couldn't take her eyes off it! The leaves had turned the colors of fall. These were Azmina's favorites—brilliant red, fiery orange, and best of all, bright yellow. The forest floor looked like it was covered with treasure. There was one tree that caught Azmina's attention. It was the tallest of all, with long and graceful branches. The tree's leaves shone as if

Azmina叹了口气。她知道友谊需要时间，但她讨厌成为新来的女孩。 魔法森林，魔法森林，来探索吧……阿兹米娜坐起来。 歌声现在更清晰了。 它肯定是从森林里来的!但这与阿兹米娜以前听过的任何音乐都不一样。 这旋律就像一千只鸟的歌唱，河流的潺潺声，夹杂着树叶的沙沙声。 阿兹米娜跳起来，跑到后面的篱笆那里。 她俯下身去凑近看。 因为她来自城市，她从来没有近距离看过真正的森林。 她目不转睛地盯着它!树叶变成了秋天的颜色。 这是阿兹米娜最喜欢的颜色——鲜红、火红，最喜欢的是明黄色。 森林的地面看起来就像被宝藏覆盖着。 有一棵树引起了阿兹米娜的注意。 它是所有树中最高的，长着长长的、优美的树枝。 树叶闪闪发光，仿佛

they were made of pure gold. Azmina felt a little shiver of excitement run up her back. There was something special about that tree. Something magical. As she gazed into the forest, Azmina realized there were other curious things about it. "I can smell flowers," Azmina muttered to herself. "But that doesn't make sense! Most of the flowers are gone now that it's fall." But that wasn't even the strangest thing. Azmina thought she could smell pineapples and mangoes. Azmina didn't know much about forests, but she was pretty sure pineapples and mangoes didn't grow around here! Now that she was closer, Azmina could hear more singing coming from the forest. Magic Forest, Magic Forest, come explore. Magic Forest, Magic Forest, hear my roar! Hear my roar? What could that mean?

它们是纯金做的。 阿兹米娜感到一阵兴奋的颤栗涌上她的后背。 那棵树很特别。 神奇的东西。当她凝视着森林时，阿兹米娜意识到还有其他奇怪的事情。 “我能闻到花香，”阿兹米娜自言自语道。 “但这说不通啊!”现在是秋天，大部分的花都凋谢了。” 但这还不是最奇怪的事情。 阿兹米娜觉得她能闻到菠萝和芒果的味道。 阿兹米娜不太了解森林，但她很确定这里不长菠萝和芒果!现在她离得更近了，阿兹米娜能听到森林里传来更多的歌声。 魔法森林，魔法森林，来探索吧。 魔法森林，魔法森林，听我的怒吼!听到我的咆哮了吗? 这是什么意思呢?