02 An Important Discovery

CHAPTER 2 AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY Tag stomped through the woods on his way home. He heard a rustle nearby. Someone... or something was watching. Tag picked up a stick. Footsteps scritched and scratched through the dry leaves. Closer. Closer. Until...

第二章重要的发现泰格在回家的路上穿过树林。 他听到附近有沙沙声。某人…… 或者有什么东西在监视。 泰格拿起一根棍子。脚步声在干枯的树叶间窸窣作响。 近了。近了。直到……

"Gotcha!" "Ahhh!" Tag yelled. A small gray squirrel fell to the ground laughing. "Scaredy owl!" "Skyla! That's not funny!" Tag said. "I almost hit you." "That twig wouldn't hurt me," his best friend replied. "I thought you were a brave warrior?" "I am," Tag said. "One day, I'm going to be an Owl of Valor and save the wood from the evil—" Skyla jumped up and put her paw over Tag's beak. "Don't say his name!"

“明白了!”“啊!”泰格喊道。 一只灰色的小松鼠笑着倒在地上。 “胆小猫头鹰!”“Skyla !这一点也不好笑！”泰格说。 “我差点撞到你。”“那根树枝不会伤害我的，”他最好的朋友回答。 “我还以为你是个勇敢的战士呢？”“是的，”泰格说。 “总有一天，我要成为一只英勇的猫头鹰，从邪恶的手中拯救森林——”斯凯拉跳起来，用爪子捂住泰格的嘴。 “别说他的名字！”

"I'm not afraid of Thorn," Tag mumbled. Skyla's eyes went wide. "You should be." Tag looked at the river. It used to be full of clear blue water. Now it was dry—because of Thorn. He walked on, kicking at the dusty ground. "I know what will cheer you up!" Skyla tapped Tag on the wing. "You're it!" "No fair!" Tag chased after her. "I can't run as fast as you." But I can fly! Tag took off, gliding through the trees.

“我不怕索恩。”泰格咕哝道。 斯凯拉睁大了眼睛。“你应该害怕。” 塔格看着河。它曾经充满了清澈的蓝色海水。 由于荆棘的缘故，现在是干的。 他继续往前走，踢着尘土飞扬的地面。 “我知道什么能让你高兴起来！”斯凯拉拍了拍泰格的翅膀。 “你!”“不公平!”泰格追着她。 “我跑不了你那么快。” 但我能飞！泰格起飞了，在树林间滑翔。

After a few minutes, he called, "Skyla! Where are you?" "I'm here!" Skyla giggled. Tag landed beside her and looked around. They had gone farther than he'd thought. "Oh no," Tag groaned. "We are at the Howling Caves! Grey told us to stay away." "Let's get out of here!" Skyla said, looking at the three creepy caves. There was a sudden whisper on the wind. A black cloud covered the sun so that it was almost as dark as night.

几分钟后，他喊道：“斯凯拉！你在哪儿？”“我在这里!”Skyla咯咯笑了。 泰格落在她身边，环顾四周。 他们走得比他想象的要远。 “哦，不，”泰格呻吟道。“我们在嚎叫洞穴！”格蕾叫我们离远点。” “我们离开这里吧！”斯凯拉看着那三个令人毛骨悚然的洞穴说。 风中突然传来一阵低语。 一片乌云遮住了太阳，几乎和黑夜一样黑。

"The Shadow!" Skyla grabbed her slingshot. "It's probably just a storm," Tag said. He flapped closer to the largest cave. "Don't go in there!" Skyla warned. This could be my chance to prove how brave I am, Tag thought. The cave looked like a mouth open wide, ready to gobble them up. The wind blew harder and howled around them.

“影子!”斯凯拉抓起她的弹弓。 “这可能只是一场风暴，”泰格说。 他拍着翅膀靠近最大的洞穴。 “别进去！”Skyla警告说。 泰格想，这可能是我证明自己有多勇敢的机会。 山洞就像张得大大的嘴巴，准备把他们吞下去。 风刮得更厉害了，在他们周围怒号。

No wonder these are called the Howling Caves, Tag thought. "Don't worry, Skyla," Tag said. "Tiger bats only come out at night." "Who said anything about tiger bats?" Skyla asked. "Um... Grey did," Tag said. He pointed to the dark sky. "Come on! We need somewhere to shelter from the storm." Tag peered into the deep, dark cave. A red light glowed. "What's that?" He hopped inside, heading toward the light. "I don't like this," Skyla said, loading her slingshot. "But someone has to make sure you don't get eaten!"

难怪这些地方被称为嚎叫洞穴，泰格想。 “别担心，斯凯拉，”泰格说。 “虎蝠只在晚上出来。” “谁说虎蝠了？”Skyla问道。 “嗯……格蕾去了，”泰格说。 他指着黑暗的天空。 “来吧!我们需要一个躲避风暴的地方。” 泰格凝视着那个又深又黑的洞穴。 一盏红灯亮了。“那是什么?”他跳了进去，朝着灯光走去。 “我不喜欢这样，”斯凯拉一边说，一边给弹弓上膛。 “但总得有人确保你不被吃掉！”