2 Chapter 2

2 Naomi knew she had to hurry to the glade at the center of the forest. This was the safe place where the Tree Queen lived. Willa and Azmina would

拿俄米知道她必须赶快到森林中央的空地上去。 这是树女王住的安全的地方。 威拉和阿兹米娜会的

also be on their way to the glade. They would be eager to discover what their next quest was, too. All the same, Naomi couldn't resist bending down to smell the flowers growing all around her. Naomi took a deep breath. The flowers smelled like a heady mix of sunshine, honey, and magic. But then the scent began to fade. A moment later, the smell was completely gone. When Naomi took another breath, the flowers smelled like … cardboard. Even worse, the color began to fade. Now the flowers were gray! "What is going on?" Naomi cried in shock. "It's the Shadow Queen and her tricky Shadow Sprites," said a nearby voice. From behind a tree appeared the strangest, most delightful little bird Naomi had ever seen. She had gorgeous, bright tail feathers, and tiny wings that were all the colors of the rainbow. The bird's tail was long, almost like a pony's tail, and streamed out behind her. Her eyes twinkled in a friendly

他们也在去林间空地的路上。 他们也会急切地想知道他们的下一个任务是什么。 尽管如此，内奥米还是忍不住弯下腰去闻周围的花香。 娜奥米深吸了一口气。这些花闻起来像阳光、蜂蜜和魔法的混合物，令人陶醉。 但随后气味开始消失。 片刻之后，气味完全消失了。 娜奥米再次呼吸时，这些花闻起来像……纸板。 更糟糕的是，颜色开始褪色。 现在花儿是灰色的!“发生了什么事?”娜奥米震惊地哭了起来。 “是暗影女王和她那狡猾的暗影精灵。”旁边一个声音说。 从一棵树后面出现了一只娜奥米从未见过的最奇怪、最可爱的小鸟。 她长着华丽明亮的尾羽，还有像彩虹一样的小翅膀。 那只鸟的尾巴很长，几乎像小马的尾巴，在她身后飘动着。 她的眼睛友好地闪烁着

way. Most curious of all, a tiny horn protruded from the bird's little forehead. "My name's Unichick," chirped the creature, landing on a branch and giving a little bow. "Because of my unicorn horn, obviously. I'm here to help whenever you need me." Naomi liked the little bird already. And she was very happy to hear Unichick was there to help! "The Shadow Sprites are stealing the color from the flowers now?" she asked, frowning.

道路。最奇怪的是，一只小角从鸟儿的小额头上伸出来。 “我叫尤奇克。”这家伙叽叽喳喳地说，停在一根树枝上，微微鞠了一躬。 “显然是因为我的独角兽角。 当你需要我的时候，我就在这里。” 娜奥米已经喜欢上这只小鸟了。 她很高兴听到尤尼克在那里帮忙!“暗影精灵又在偷花的颜色了?”她皱着眉头问道。

The sprites had already tried to take away the sunshine and the sparkle from the forest's waters. Unichick flew closer. "Not just from the flowers. They're also taking it from the grasses and the trees—and all the berries and other fruits that grow in the forest." Naomi looked around. Just moments before, the trees and plants around her had been bright and beautiful. Now she saw the color slowly fading away. The grass beneath her paws, the leaves on the trees, even the ivy was gradually turning pale and gray. Naomi's heart pumped faster. "We have to stop this!" "Yes, and there isn't much time," said Unichick in her singsong voice. "Have you noticed the sky?" Naomi glanced up and saw that the sky glowed red. "The sun is setting much earlier than usual," explained Unichick. "The Shadow Sprites are more powerful in the twilight, when the

精灵们已经试图从森林的水中夺走阳光和闪光。 尤尼克飞得更近了。“不只是从花上。 他们还从草和树，以及所有生长在森林里的浆果和其他水果中摄取。” 娜奥米环顾四周。就在片刻之前，她周围的树木和植物还是明亮美丽的。 现在她看到颜色慢慢地消失了。 她脚掌下的草地，树上的叶子，甚至常春藤也逐渐变得灰白。 内奥米的心跳加快了。 “我们必须阻止这一切!”“是的，时间不多了。”尤契克用她那轻快的声音说。 “你注意到天空了吗?”娜奥米抬头一看，只见天空泛着红光。 “太阳落山比平时早得多，”尤契克解释说。 "暗影精灵在黄昏时更强大，当

shadows are longer. It's going to be hard to outsmart them with the sun so low." "There's no way we Glitter Dragons are letting those Shadow Sprites beat us," declared Naomi. "Come on, Unichick. Let's race to the glade." The trees grew very close together in this part of the Magic Forest. It was hard for Naomi to see where she was flying. The strange red glow of the sky made it harder still. Luckily, Naomi's gymnastics gave her quick reflexes. She ducked underneath low-hanging branches and swooped around thorny bushes. Unichick stuck close to her side. The little creature's bright feathers seemed to glow, which helped Naomi see her way through the dense thicket. It felt good to have the little bird with her because everywhere she looked, Naomi could see signs of the Shadow Sprites. Many of the tree trunks were concrete gray, and when she brushed

影子更长。太阳这么低，想要智胜他们很难。” “我们闪光龙绝对不会让那些暗影精灵打败我们，”娜奥米宣称。 “来吧，尤奇克。我们跑到林间空地去吧。” 在魔法森林的这一部分，树木长得很近。 娜奥米很难看清自己飞向了哪里。 天空奇怪的红光使它更加困难。 幸运的是，娜奥米的体操训练让她反应迅速。 她躲在低垂的树枝下，绕过荆棘丛生的灌木丛。 尤尼克紧紧地贴在她身边。 这只小动物明亮的羽毛似乎在发光，这帮助内奥米在茂密的灌木丛中找到了路。 有小鸟在身边的感觉真好，因为娜奥米到处都能看到影子精灵的踪迹。 许多树干都是混凝土灰色的，当她刷的时候

against the leaves, they crumbled into ash-like dust. Sometimes she saw gray shapes slither from the undergrowth and curl up the trees. Wherever the shadowy shapes went, they left a faded streak behind them. "The sprites are everywhere," Unichick cheeped. "They are determined to win this time." "Don't worry," said Naomi. "Azmina, Willa, and I will fix this. We're a great team." Just saying the words made Naomi feel stronger. The Glitter Dragon Girls could do anything—she was sure of it! Up ahead, the branches of trees had formed a tunnel. The space was very narrow, but Naomi knew they needed to get through it. "Lucky you're so tiny," she called to Unichick.

在树叶的映衬下，它们碎成了灰一样的尘土。 有时，她看到灰色的身影从灌木丛中爬出来，在树上盘旋。 影子所到之处，总会留下一道褪了色的条纹。 “到处都是精灵，”尤尼克吱吱地说。 “他们这次决心要赢。” “别担心，”娜奥米说。 "阿兹米娜，薇拉和我会解决的。 我们是一个伟大的团队。”这句话让娜奥米感觉更坚强了。 闪光龙女郎什么都能做——她对此深信不疑!在前面，树枝形成了一条隧道。 空间非常狭窄，但内奥米知道他们需要通过它。 “幸好你这么小，”她对尤尼克喊道。