3 Chapter 3

3 Naomi and Unichick flew to the edge of the glade. The force field that protected the glade buzzed with powerful magic. Naomi knew that Unichick

拿俄米和尤西克飞到空地边上。 保护林间空地的力场充满了强大的魔法。 内奥米知道尤奇克

wouldn't come in with her. Only those who had been summoned by the Tree Queen could pass through the force field. Naomi felt a little sad to say goodbye to the gorgeous bird. She already felt like a friend. "I'll return when you need me," Unichick promised, as though she could hear Naomi's thoughts. "Good luck!" With that, she fluttered away. Naomi took a deep breath and pressed through the force field. It always reminded her of passing a hand slowly through running water … except the force field wasn't wet. The air inside the glade was warm and sweet-smelling. Naomi was relieved to see that within the glade, the plants were still colorful, and the flowers smelled just as they should. "Hi, Naomi!" called a cheerful voice. "We just got here, too." Two Dragon Girls were hovering near the majestic tree in the center. One silver and one gold —both dazzling. Naomi felt her heart leap. Willa

不愿和她一起进来。 只有那些被树女王召唤的人才能穿过力场。 和这只美丽的小鸟说再见，娜奥米感到有点难过。 她已经觉得自己像个朋友了。 “当你需要我的时候，我会回来的。”尤尼克承诺道，好像她能听到内奥米的想法。 “祝你好运!”说完，她就飞走了。 娜奥米深吸了一口气，用力推开了力场。 它总是让她想起手慢慢地穿过流水……只不过力场不是湿的。 林间空地里的空气温暖而芬芳。 看到林间空地上的植物依然色彩斑斓，花朵的气味也一如既往，娜奥米松了口气。 “嗨，内奥米!”一个欢快的声音喊道。 “我们也刚到这里。”两个龙女在中心那棵雄伟的树附近徘徊。 一银一金——都很耀眼。 内奥米的心怦怦直跳。 威拉

was a very old friend from kindergarten, and Azmina was a very new friend. It was so good to see them both! The branches of the tree began to sway gently. As Naomi watched, two branches softened into long, elegant arms. The lower part of the trunk changed into a flowing gown. The upper part became a neck, and soon a kind, beautiful face

是幼儿园的老朋友，而阿兹米娜是新认识的朋友。 看到他们俩真是太好了!树枝开始轻轻摆动。 在娜奥米的注视下，两根树枝变成了长长的、优雅的手臂。 衣箱的下半部分变成了一件飘逸的长袍。 上半部分变成了脖子，很快变成了一张善良、美丽的脸

appeared. The face was framed by long locks of wavy brown hair. The Tree Queen stood before the Dragon Girls. She looked strong and healthy, but when she smiled, Naomi could see worry in her eyes. "What's wrong, Tree Queen?" she asked, stepping forward. "You can tell us anything, you know." "Ah, but that is exactly the problem," replied the queen, frowning. "I can't talk freely at all. Look!" The Tree Queen pointed one of her strong, flexible arms at the protective shield of the glade. Naomi saw gray shapes moving across its surface. Were they clouds? "Shadow Sprites!" Azmina gasped. "Can they get in here?" Willa asked nervously. "No," the Tree Queen assured them. "Here in the glade we are safe from harm. But I fear they can hear us. Normally, they cannot get so close to the force field. My magic is too powerful. But their Shadow Queen has created a long-lasting

出现了。他的脸被一缕缕卷曲的棕色长发框住了。 树后站在龙女们面前。 她看起来很强壮，很健康，但当她微笑的时候，内奥米能从她的眼睛里看到忧虑。 “怎么了，树后?”她上前问道。 “你可以告诉我们任何事情，你知道的。” “啊，但这正是问题所在，”王后皱着眉头回答。 “我完全不能畅所欲言。 看!”树女王用她强壮灵活的手臂指着林间空地的保护罩。 娜奥米看到一些灰色的物体在它的表面移动。 它们是云吗?“影子精灵!”Azmina气喘吁吁地说。 “他们能进来吗?”威拉紧张地问。 “不，”树后向他们保证。 “在这片林间空地上，我们是安全的。 但我担心他们能听到我们。 正常情况下，它们不能如此接近力场。 我的魔法太强大了。但他们的影子女王创造了一个持久的

sunset, and the sprites can move almost anywhere. As you've all noticed, they are stealing the color from the trees and flowers of the forest. Some of the birds and butterflies are losing their color, too." Naomi thought about Unichick's gorgeous multicolored feathers. It was too terrible to think of her turning gray!

日落时分，精灵几乎可以移动到任何地方。 正如你们所注意到的，它们正在窃取森林里树木和花朵的颜色。 一些鸟类和蝴蝶也在失去颜色。” 娜奥米想到了乌尼克那绚丽多彩的羽毛。 想到她的头发变白，真是太可怕了!

"But we can make a potion to stop them, right?" Naomi asked. "There is a potion," the Tree Queen agreed, "but I can't tell you the ingredients. If the Shadow Sprites hear what you need to find, they will get to the ingredients first. And they will destroy what you require." The Glitter Dragons looked at one another in dismay. How could they gather ingredients for a potion when they had no idea where to start? It didn't seem possible. Then Naomi had an idea. Sometimes, on the way to school, her dad gave her logic puzzles to solve. Just yesterday, he'd asked, "Naomi, what goes up and up, but never comes down?" That was an easy one, and Naomi had gotten it straightaway. A person's age! "Maybe you could tell us the ingredients as riddles?" she suggested to the Tree Queen. "Yes!" Azmina nodded. "I bet we can work them out before the sprites do."

“但我们可以配制一种魔药来阻止它们，对吗?”拿俄米问道。 “有一种药水，”树后同意道，“但我不能告诉你成分。 如果暗影精灵听到了你要找的东西，他们会先找到原料。 他们必毁坏你所要的。” 闪光龙们惊愕地面面相觑。 他们怎么能在不知道从哪里开始的情况下收集药剂的原料呢? 这似乎是不可能的。然后Naomi有了一个主意。 有时，在上学的路上，她爸爸会让她解决逻辑难题。 就在昨天，他还问:“娜奥米，什么东西一直往上走，却永远不会下来?”这很简单，娜奥米马上就明白了。 一个人的年龄!“也许你可以把配料当谜语告诉我们?”她向树后建议。 “是的!”Azmina点点头。“我打赌我们能在精灵之前解决它们。”