Chapter 7

7 Grace, Zoe, and Sofia looked at one another. Who would have thought such big, fierce-looking creatures would be so sensitive? "What should we do?" Zoe muttered. "We have to cheer them up somehow."

格蕾丝、佐伊和索菲亚面面相觑。 谁能想到这么大，这么凶狠的生物会如此敏感? “我们该怎么办?”佐伊嘟囔着。 “我们必须想办法让他们振作起来。”

FinFin swished around Grace. "Try distracting them with a game!" she suggested. Grace smiled. It was a good idea! Games always cheered her up. Turning toward the sharks, she sighed loudly. "I guess you are too sad to have that race." Instantly, the sharks stopped crying. "We still want to race!" they called, swishing their tails from side to side. "Racing is our favorite thing to do!" "Let's do an obstacle course!" "Sure," Grace said. "But if we win, do you promise you'll tell us what you know about the missing Sea Keeper?" "Deal," said the biggest shark. "And if we win, will you come and visit again?" "Deal!" Grace, Zoe, and Sofia said at once. "Now, you must choose your fastest swimmer to race against our fastest swimmer." "Grace, that's you," Sofia said without hesitating.

芬芬在格蕾丝身边嗖嗖作响。 “试着用游戏分散他们的注意力!”她建议道。 优雅的笑了。这是个好主意!游戏总是使她高兴起来。 她转向鲨鱼，大声叹了口气。 “我猜你太伤心了，不想参加比赛。” 鲨鱼立刻停止了哭泣。 “我们还想比赛!”它们一边叫着，一边甩着尾巴。 “赛车是我们最喜欢做的事情!”“我们来玩障碍赛吧!”“当然，”格蕾丝说。 “但是如果我们赢了，你能保证告诉我们你所知道的关于失踪的海洋守护者的事情吗?”“成交，”最大的鲨鱼说。 “如果我们赢了，你还会再来吗?”“交易!”格蕾丝、佐伊和索菲亚异口同声地说。 “现在，你们必须选出你们游得最快的选手和我们游得最快的选手比赛。” “格蕾丝，就是你。”索非亚毫不犹豫地说。

"Absolutely," Zoe agreed. "I saw you training on the first day of camp. You're the fastest swimmer I've ever seen!" "Thanks," Grace said. She felt a little quiver of nerves. She knew she was fast—in the human world. But now that she was a Sea Dragon swimming against a Shiver Shark, she had no idea how good she was! "You can do this." FinFin nudged her gently. "And I'll be with you." The mood of the Shiver Sharks had completely changed. None of them looked even slightly sad anymore. They were chatting excitedly, flapping their fins, and swishing their long, smooth bodies. Then the group parted and a particularly sleek shark moved to the front. "This is our fastest shark, Smiler," the green-spotted shark said proudly. "He's actually the fastest swimmer in the entire sea. At least, we think he is. No other sea creatures have ever raced against us!"

“当然，”佐伊同意了。“我看到你在训练营的第一天训练。 你是我见过的游得最快的!”“谢谢，”格蕾丝说。 她感到神经有点发抖。 她知道自己在人类世界里是快的。 但现在，她是一条海龙，和一条颤抖的鲨鱼游泳，她不知道自己有多厉害!“你能做到的。” 芬芬轻轻地推了她一下。“我会和你在一起的。” 战栗鲨的情绪完全变了。 他们当中没有一个人看起来再悲伤了。 它们兴奋地聊着天，拍打着鳍，拍打着长而光滑的身体。 然后，这群人分开了，一条特别圆滑的鲨鱼走到前面。 “这是我们最快的鲨鱼，微笑，”绿斑鲨鱼自豪地说。 “他实际上是整个海洋中游得最快的人。 至少，我们认为他是。从来没有别的海洋生物跟我们赛跑过!”

"He sure looks fast," Grace said. Now she was really nervous! Zoe gave her a quick wing-hug. "You're a Sea Dragon, don't forget. You'll do great." "We'll be cheering you the whole way," Sofia added, wrapping a wing around the other two. "Time for the race to begin!" announced the green-spotted shark. "Listen up while I explain the course. First, you must swim through Shark City. Be careful, because if you touch any of the buildings as you pass, you will be disqualified." Grace gulped. This race was already sounding hard. "Next is the rock tunnel," the shark continued. "That's where the Snippy Clawed Crabs live. Better speed up through that part. Snippy Clawed Crabs are… well… snippy." "The final stage is the Seaweed Forest. Watch out for the Stinger Eels. They're hard to spot in all that seaweed. But you sure know if you touch one. They sting!"

“他看起来确实很快，”格蕾丝说。 现在她真的很紧张!佐伊迅速给了她一个翅膀拥抱。 “你是海龙，别忘了。 你会做得很好的。”“我们会全程为你们加油的。”索菲亚补充道，用一只翅膀裹住了另外两只。 “比赛开始的时间到了!”绿斑鲨宣布。 “听好了，我在讲解课程。 首先，你必须游过鲨鱼城。 小心点，因为如果你在经过的时候碰到任何建筑物，你就会被取消资格。” 格蕾丝一饮而尽。这场比赛听起来已经很艰难了。 “下一个是岩石隧道，”鲨鱼继续说。 “那就是尖爪蟹住的地方。 最好加快速度通过这部分。 脾气暴躁的蟹……嗯……脾气暴躁。” “最后一个阶段是海藻森林。 小心毒刺鳗鱼。 在海藻中很难发现它们。 但你肯定知道，如果你碰了一个。 他们刺!”

"I thought Shiver Sharks were scared of everything," Zoe whispered. "They seem pretty brave to me." "I know, right?" Sofia said. "Maybe they're only nervous when they're getting to know someone. I'm like that, too." The spotted shark held up its fins. "Competitors, get ready to race!" The sleek shark called Smiler swam alongside Grace. Grace felt her stomach flutter. Smiler was so big and powerful! Did she stand any chance of beating him? To Grace's surprise, Smiler reached out a fin. "I'm so happy that I finally get a chance to race!" he said, showing a broad, toothy smile. "Good luck, and let's have fun!" Grace took hold of the shark's fin with her paw and gave it a friendly shake. It was clear Smiler got just as excited as Grace did about swimming competitions. It was weird—she had never expected to have something in common with a

“我以为颤栗鲨什么都害怕，”佐伊低声说。 “在我看来，他们很勇敢。” “我知道，对吧?”索菲亚说。 “也许他们只有在了解某人的时候才会紧张。 我也是这样。”斑点鲨举起它的鳍。 “选手们，准备比赛吧!”这条名叫“微笑”的光滑鲨鱼游在格蕾丝身边。 格蕾丝感到胃里一阵颤动。 微笑是如此的巨大和强大!她有可能打败他吗? 令格蕾丝吃惊的是，斯迈勒伸出了鱼鳍。 “我太高兴了，我终于有机会参加比赛了!”他说，露出一个大大的、露出牙齿的微笑。 “祝你好运，让我们玩得开心!”格蕾丝用爪子抓住鲨鱼的鳍，友好地摇了一下。 很明显，斯迈勒和格蕾丝一样对游泳比赛感到兴奋。 这真奇怪——她从没想过会和一个男人有什么共同之处

shark. Then again, Grace had never expected to turn into a Sea Dragon. Life could be very surprising! "Good luck to you, too!" she said warmly. "Three, two, one, GO!" Smiler shot off in a whirl of bubbles. Grace set off behind him, with FinFin by her side. "Go, Grace!" yelled Zoe and Sofia. Swimming through Shark City was tricky. This wasn't just because the streets were narrow and full of sharks. It was also because it was such an interesting place. Everywhere Grace looked, she saw cool buildings, underwater parks, and beautiful sea sculptures. There was even a huge fountain! Pink water flowed from it before merging with the surrounding seawater. Stay focused, Grace reminded herself, tearing her eyes away from all the sights. She needed to win this race so they could find out about the missing dolphin leader. The Tree Queen was counting on them!

鲨鱼。话又说回来，格蕾丝从没想过自己会变成一条海龙。 生活可能会非常令人惊讶!“也祝你好运!”她热情地说。 “三，二，一，开始!”微笑在一团泡泡中飞了出去。 格蕾丝跟在他后面出发了，芬芬在她身边。 “加油，格蕾丝!”佐伊和索菲亚喊道。 在鲨鱼城游泳很棘手。 这不仅仅是因为街道狭窄，到处都是鲨鱼。 这也是因为它是一个有趣的地方。 格蕾丝所到之处，都能看到很酷的建筑、水下公园和美丽的海洋雕塑。 甚至还有一个巨大的喷泉!粉红色的水从里面流出，然后与周围的海水融合。 集中注意力，格蕾丝提醒自己，把目光从眼前移开。 她需要赢得这场比赛，这样他们才能找到失踪的海豚首领。 树后就指望着他们了!