6. Vanished into Thin Air

Chapter 6 Vanished into Thin Air "What?" the second man said. "Your pony wears a wig?" "Um, they were dressed for a Fourth of July contest," Bradley said. "Polly was supposed to be Thomas Jefferson. Pal—he's our dog—had a big Declaration of Independence on his back." "This sounds more like an April Fools' Day trick," the woman said. But she was smiling. "Try the stables next to the barn. Ask for Bucky, the stable manager."

“什么？”第二个人问。 “你的小马戴假发？”“嗯，他们穿着独立日比赛的衣服，”布拉德利说。 “波莉应该是托马斯·杰斐逊。 帕尔——它是我们的狗——背上有一大块《独立宣言》。” “这听起来更像是愚人节的恶作剧，”这位女士说。 但她在微笑。“去谷仓旁边的马厩试试。 去找马厩经理巴基吧。”

"I hope you find them," the first man said. "Giddyup!" he told his horse. The three horses trotted away. The kids hurried up the horse trail. Soon they saw a red barn with a stable off to one side. Horse heads and necks stretched out over some of the stall doors. The stable yard was busy with workers and people who had come to ride the horses. "I wonder which one is Bucky," Brian said. Bradley stopped a guy who was carrying a bale of hay toward the stables. "Excuse me, are you Bucky?" Bradley asked. The man laughed. "Not hardly," he said. He pointed with his chin. "That's her in the pink shirt." "Bucky is a girl?" Brian said. The man let out a loud laugh. "Don't let her hear you calling her a girl!" he said. The kids walked over to the woman in the pink shirt. She was old enough to be a grandmother. Her skin was tanned and her arms looked strong. She was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. "Can I help you kids?" the woman asked.

“我希望你能找到他们，”第一个人说。 “快跑！”他对他的马说。 三匹马小跑着走了。 孩子们顺着马道匆匆而上。 很快，他们看到了一个红色的谷仓，旁边有一个马厩。 马的头和脖子伸在一些马厩的门上。 马厩的院子里挤满了工人和来骑马的人。 “我想知道哪一个是巴基，”布莱恩说。 布拉德利拦住了一个扛着一捆干草走向马厩的人。 “对不起，你是巴基吗？”布拉德利问。 那人笑了。“不难，”他说。 他用下巴指了指。“穿粉红色衬衫的就是她。” “巴基是个女孩？”布莱恩说。 那人发出一声大笑。 “别让她听见你叫她姑娘！”他说。 孩子们走向穿粉红色衬衫的女人。 她已经到了当奶奶的年龄了。 她的皮肤晒得黝黑，手臂看起来很强壮。 她戴着棒球帽和太阳镜。 “我能帮你们吗，孩子们？”女人问。

"We're looking for a pony," Bradley said. "I got plenty of ponies," Bucky said. She gave the kids a once-over. "You're not old enough to ride alone. Where are your parents?" "We didn't come to ride," Lucy said. "Our pony and dog ran away and we wonder if they came here." "Polly's wearing a hat and wig," Nate said.

“我们在找一匹小马，”布拉德利说。 “我有很多小马，”巴奇说。 她把孩子们看了一遍。 “你还太小，不能独自骑马。 你的父母呢？”“我们不是来骑马的。”露茜说。 “我们的小马和狗跑了，我们想知道他们是否来过这里。” “波莉戴着帽子和假发，”内特说。

"Who's Polly?" Bucky asked. "Our pony," Brian said. "We dressed her for a contest. If we win, we get to be mayor for the day!" Bucky stared at Brian. "You kidding me?" she asked. "It was for the July Fourth parade," Bradley explained. "But Polly and our dog took off before it even started. Have you seen them?" Bucky shook her head. "Nope. But stroll over to the stables," she said. "I s'pose your pony might've snuck in there when I wasn't looking." Bucky walked away, shaking her head. The kids raced for the stables. The stalls on the right held tall horses. But there were five ponies on the left.

“波利是谁?”巴基问道。 “我们的小马，”布赖恩说。“我们给她穿上了参加比赛的衣服。 如果我们赢了，我们就会成为当天的市长！”巴基盯着布莱恩。 “开什么玩笑？”她问。 布拉德利解释说：“这是为了7月4日的游行。” “但是波莉和我们的狗还没开始就跑了。 你见过他们吗？”巴基摇了摇头。 “不。不过你可以到马厩去走走，”她说。 “我想你的小马可能趁我不注意溜进去了。” 巴奇摇着头走开了。 孩子们跑向马厩。 右边的马厩里养着高大的马。 但是左边有五匹小马。

One was white. One was black. Three were brown. None of them looked anything like Polly. "She's not here," Bradley muttered. Nate gazed at the other ponies. "They look like they know something," he said. "Yeah, they know someone else is gonna be mayor for a day," Brian said. "The contest must be over by now."

一个是白色的。一个是黑色的。 三个是棕色的。他们都不像波莉。 “她不在这儿。”布拉德利喃喃地说。 内特凝视着其他小马。 “他们看起来好像知道些什么，”他说。 “是的，他们知道别人会当一天的市长，”布莱恩说。 “比赛现在一定结束了。”

The kids left the stable yard and took the bike path back to Bridge Lane. They kept their eyes open for any sign of Polly and Pal. "How can a pony and dog just disappear?" Bradley asked. "They didn't disappear," Lucy said. "They have to be somewhere we haven't looked." "Right," Nate said, "like up in a tree or down a rabbit hole." "No," Brian said. "We haven't looked in the most logical place yet." "And where is that, brother?" Bradley asked. "Home," Brian said. "Maybe Polly just went home. She could have run back to our house while we were searching everywhere else." "Brilliant!" Nate said. "Thank you, thank you," Brian said, taking a little bow. Bradley poked his brother. "I hope you're right!" he said. "I'm always right!" Brian crowed. "You're never right!" Nate said. The kids took off running.

孩子们离开马厩的院子，沿着自行车道回到桥巷。 他们睁大眼睛寻找波莉和帕尔的踪迹。 “小马和狗怎么就这么消失了？”布拉德利问。 “他们没有消失。”露茜说。 “他们一定在我们还没找过的地方。” “对，”内特说，“就像在树上或者在兔子洞里。” “不，”布莱恩说。“我们还没有找到最合理的地方。” “那在哪儿呢，兄弟？”布拉德利问。 “回家，”布莱恩说。“也许波莉只是回家了。 她可能在我们到处搜查的时候跑回我们家了。” “太好了!”内特说。“谢谢你，谢谢你，”布莱恩说着，微微鞠了一躬。 布拉德利戳了戳他的弟弟。 “我希望你是对的！” “我永远是对的！”布莱恩拥挤。 “你永远都不对！”内特说。 孩子们跑了起来。