2 Chapter 2

2 Azmina opened her eyes to see that she was no longer in her backyard. Instead, she was standing in the middle of the forest. Up close, it was even

2阿兹米娜睁开眼睛，发现自己已经不在后院了。 相反，她站在森林中央。 近距离看，它是均匀的

more beautiful than it had seemed from her yard. Vines twisted around tree trunks, heavy with fruits Azmina had never seen before. Flowers of every possible color covered the ground like a carpet. Birdsong filled the air around her. Azmina noticed a tiny, fuzzy pink ball attached to a nearby vine. As she watched, the ball began to grow—right before her eyes! Within seconds, a perfect, ripe fruit had formed. It looked like a peach but smelled like raspberries. Azmina couldn't resist picking it and taking a bite. To her surprise, it tasted exactly like chocolate! What was this place?

比从她家院子里看出来的还要美。 藤蔓缠绕在树干上，上面结满了阿兹米娜从未见过的果实。 各种颜色的花像地毯一样铺满了地面。 鸟鸣声弥漫在她周围的空气中。 阿兹米娜注意到一个小小的、毛茸茸的粉红色球附着在附近的一棵藤蔓上。 就在她看着的时候，球开始变大了——就在她眼前!几秒钟之内，一个完美、成熟的果实就形成了。 它看起来像桃子，但闻起来像覆盆子。 阿兹米娜忍不住捡起来咬了一口。 令她惊讶的是，它尝起来和巧克力一模一样!这是什么地方?

The tropical smells tickled her nose, and soon Azmina felt a sneeze building up. Azmina opened her mouth, threw back her head, and … ACHOO! She just loved sneezing! It always felt like scratching a troublesome itch.

热带的气味使她的鼻子发痒，很快，阿兹米娜就想打喷嚏了。 阿兹米娜张开嘴，把头往后一仰，然后……她就是喜欢打喷嚏!总感觉像在挠痒痒。

Golden sparks fluttered down around Azmina. She looked at the glittering mist in surprise. Had she done that with her sneeze? Azmina's heart pounded wildly. Something amazing was going on. But what, exactly? Through the trees, Azmina spotted a shimmering lake. Azmina decided to check it out, and started to jog toward it. She had always been a fast runner, but today her legs felt stronger and faster than ever before. Soon, she was sprinting through the trees at top speed. She reached the lakeshore in no time. Skidding to a stop at the lake's edge, Azmina peered in. What she saw in the water made her gasp. Staring back at her from the watery surface was some kind of magnificent creature. Azmina leapt away from the lake. She whipped around to face whatever it was that was standing behind her. But she was all alone. She looked from left to right. Nothing. Maybe the creature was under the water? Or maybe she'd imagined

金色的火花在阿兹米娜周围飞舞。 她惊奇地望着闪闪发光的薄雾。 她打喷嚏的时候是这样吗? 阿兹米娜的心狂跳。 一些令人惊奇的事情正在发生。 但究竟是什么?透过树林，阿兹米娜看到了一个波光粼粼的湖。 阿兹米娜决定去看看，开始朝它慢跑。 她一直跑得很快，但今天她的腿比以往任何时候都更强壮、更快。 很快，她就以最快的速度穿过树林。 她很快就到了湖岸。 阿兹米娜在湖边停住脚步，往里看了看。 她在水里看到的情景使她倒吸了一口气。 在水面上盯着她看的，是一种壮美的生物。 阿兹米娜从湖里跳了出去。 她猛地转过身来，面对着站在她身后的东西。 但她孤身一人。她从左向右看。 什么都没有。也许那个生物在水下? 也许是她想象出来的

the whole thing? Azmina crept back to the lake and looked in once more. There it was again! It was covered in golden scales that sent tiny circles of light across the water's surface. Two elegant golden ears twitched on top of its head. Around its eyes were swirling patterns. It was a dragon! "Um … hello?" said Azmina, because she wasn't quite sure what to say to a dragon. As she spoke, Azmina saw the dragon's mouth move at the same time.

整件事?阿兹米娜爬回湖边，又往里看了看。 它又来了!它覆盖着金色的鳞片，在水面上发出微小的光圈。 两只优雅的金耳朵在它的头顶上抽动着。 它的眼睛周围是旋转的图案。 原来是一条龙!“嗯……喂?”阿兹米娜说，因为她不太确定该对一条龙说什么。 在她说话的同时，阿兹米娜看到龙的嘴在动。

Azmina stared at the dragon, her thoughts whirling. She moved her head, and the dragon's head moved, too. She stuck out her tongue, AND SO DID THE DRAGON! Azmina looked down at her feet … except she didn't have feet anymore. She had big golden paws and powerful golden legs.

阿兹米娜凝视着巨龙，思绪纷飞。 她的头动了，龙的头也动了。 她伸出舌头，龙也伸出舌头!阿兹米娜低头看着自己的脚，但她已经没有脚了。 她有金色的大爪子和有力的金色腿。