4 Chapter 4

4 In Naomi's opinion, flying was the very best thing about being a Dragon Girl. It felt as natural to Naomi as running or walking. And it was much

在娜奥米看来，飞行是作为龙女最棒的事情。 对内奥米来说，这就像跑步或走路一样自然。 这是很重要的

more fun. She loved practicing midair gymnastics, doing backward somersaults and forward rolls as she zoomed above the treetops. But today Naomi knew they had to stay focused on the mission ahead. Once the sun set, the Shadow Sprites would be even more powerful. Naomi looked down at the forest below her. She couldn't see any Shadow Sprites right now, but she could definitely see their work. Many trees and flowers were completely gray, and the grass looked like it was dying. She frowned. They just had to stop those sprites from ruining the Magic Forest! Azmina zoomed up beside her. "Where are we headed?" she asked. "Do you know what the Tree Queen meant by 'aim high'?" "I figure she meant that we should go to the highest point in the forest," Naomi said. She nodded to the mountain looming in the distance. "I'm thinking we go up there."

更多的乐趣。她喜欢练习空中体操，在树梢上空盘旋时做后空翻和前滚。 但今天内奥米知道他们必须专注于前方的任务。 一旦太阳落山，暗影精灵会更加强大。 娜奥米俯视着脚下的森林。 她现在看不到任何暗影精灵，但她肯定能看到他们的工作。 许多树和花完全是灰色的，草看起来像要死了。 她皱起了眉头。他们必须阻止那些精灵破坏魔法森林!阿兹米娜在她身边急速蹿起。 “我们要去哪儿?”她问。 “你知道树女王说的‘志存高远’是什么意思吗?”“我想她的意思是我们应该去森林的最高点，”内奥米说。 她向远处若隐若现的山点了点头。 “我想我们应该去那里。”

Willa flew up on Azmina's other side. "Isn't that a bit … obvious?" she said. "I mean, aren't riddles more complicated than that?" Naomi felt a little wriggle of doubt inside her, but she pushed it away. "It's only the first part of the riddle, remember. We also have to 'get to the root of the problem.' " "What does that mean, I wonder?" Azmina mused.

威拉飞到了阿兹米娜的另一边。 “这不是有点……显而易见吗?” “我的意思是，谜语不是比这更复杂吗?”娜奥米心里有点疑惑，但她把它赶走了。 “记住，这只是谜语的第一部分。 我们还必须找到问题的根源。’”“我想知道这是什么意思?”Azmina沉思。

"We'll work that out when we get there," said Naomi. "Let's speed up. Who knows how long we've got until the sun sets!" The mountain looked big from a distance. But as they flew toward the peak, Naomi realized it was enormous! The air grew icy cold and thin. Naomi felt that wriggle of doubt again as they came in to land. The top of the mountain was almost completely bare. The wind whipped across their glittering scales. All Naomi could see were some rocks and a huge leafless tree, its bare branches reaching for the sky. Naomi could feel the others watching her. She thought about the Tree Queen's riddle. Find the one who seems calm but is actually petrified. She knew that petrified was another word for "scared." But there was no one up here who was calm or scared. There was no one up here at all! What did the Tree Queen mean? Naomi wished she could ask her dad for help. When she got stuck

娜奥米说:“我们到了那里就会解决这个问题。” “让我们加快速度。谁知道离太阳落山还有多久!”从远处看这座山很大。 但当他们飞向山顶时，内奥米意识到它是巨大的!空气变得冰冷而稀薄。 当他们着陆时，内奥米再次感到疑惑。 山顶几乎是光秃秃的。 风吹过它们闪闪发光的鳞片。 娜奥米所能看到的只有一些岩石和一棵巨大的光秃秃的树，光秃秃的树枝伸向天空。 娜奥米能感觉到其他人在看着她。 她想了想树后的谜语。 找到那个看起来很平静，但实际上很害怕的人。 她知道石化是“害怕”的另一种说法。 但这里没有一个人是冷静或害怕的。 这里根本就没有人!树后是什么意思? 娜奥米希望她能向她爸爸求助。 当她陷入困境时

on a riddle, he always came up with a hint to get her thinking right. "Let's look around the tree," Naomi suggested. Maybe there was a little animal living there that they needed to find. As Naomi circled the tree, one of her wings brushed against the trunk. She stopped. Had the tree just shivered? Naomi patted the tree again, and this time she was sure the tree moved. She placed a paw on its sturdy trunk. It wasn't like a normal tree. It felt harder and colder than wood. There came a deep, hearty laugh. "Please don't do that!" said a voice. "People don't think that stone is ticklish, but it actually is." The Glitter Dragons stared at one another, and then at the tree. "Did you just speak?" Naomi asked the tree. "Yes." The voice sounded hollow but relaxed. "I've been expecting you. A little bird told me that my cousin, the Tree Queen, sent you."

对于一个谜语，他总是想出一个提示，让她正确思考。 “我们绕着树看看吧，”娜奥米建议道。 也许那里住着一种他们需要找到的小动物。 娜奥米绕着树转的时候，一只翅膀擦着树干。 她停了下来。那棵树刚刚在颤抖吗? 娜奥米又拍了拍树，这次她确信树动了。 她把一只爪子放在它结实的树干上。 它不像一棵普通的树。 它摸起来比木头更硬、更冷。 传来一阵深沉而爽朗的笑声。 “请不要那样做!”一个声音说。 “人们不认为这块石头很怕痒，但实际上它很怕痒。” 闪闪发光的龙彼此对视了一下，然后又看了看那棵树。 “你刚才说话了吗?”娜奥米问树。 “是的。”这声音听起来空洞而轻松。 “我一直在等你。一只小鸟告诉我，是我的表姐，树后派你来的。”

"Wow, the Tree Queen is your cousin? Can you transform like she does?" Azmina asked. "No, I stopped being able to do that long, long ago," replied the tree creakily. "Back before I hollowed out and turned to stone." "You're made of stone?" Willa exclaimed. "Yes. I am a petrified tree," said the tree proudly. "That's what it's called when wood turns to stone. I actually quite like it. I don't have problems with termites or woodpeckers anymore. Turns out it's rather relaxing being made of stone." Excitement shot through Naomi. She understood the queen's riddle! This tree was very calm, but it was also petrified! "We are making a potion to stop the Shadow Sprites. Do you have anything we might use?" Naomi asked. The tree creaked apologetically. "Nothing up here, I'm afraid. But if you went down to my roots, you might find something."

“哇，树后是你的表妹?” 你能像她那样变形吗?”Azmina问道。 “不，我很久很久以前就不会那样做了。”树吱吱嘎嘎地回答。 "在我被掏空变成石头之前" “你是石头做的?”威拉喊道。 “是的。我是一棵石化了的树。”树骄傲地说。 “这就是木头变成石头的原因。 其实我挺喜欢的。我再也不担心白蚁和啄木鸟了。 事实证明，由石头制成是相当放松的。” 内奥米兴奋不已。 她明白了女王的谜语!这棵树很平静，但它也被石化了!“我们正在配制一种药水来阻止暗影精灵。 你有什么我们可以用的东西吗?”拿俄米问道。 树抱歉地吱吱作响。 “恐怕这里什么也没有。 但如果你深入我的根，你可能会有所发现。”