Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 Michael and Justin raced their bikes to the park. Merle and Pearl rode along in their usual place inside Michael's backpack, popping their heads out of the top like puppies hanging out a car window, ears flapping in the wind. "Woohoo!" Merle shouted. "This is even better than roller-skating!" "I know, right?!" Michael called over his shoulder. He was relieved to be out of the house. He'd been starting to feel guilty; any longer and he might have had to come clean to his mom about Jane and the elephant.

迈克尔和贾斯汀骑着自行车跑到公园。 梅尔和珀尔在迈克尔背包里的老地方骑着马，把头探出背包，就像挂在车窗外的小狗，耳朵在风中拍打着。 “哦吼!”默尔喊道。“这比滑旱冰还好玩！”“我知道，对吧？！”迈克尔回头喊道。 他走出了屋子，感到如释重负。 他开始感到内疚；他可能不得不向他妈妈坦白简和大象的事。

They rolled up to the park to find Sadie waiting for them. Before long, a three-versus-two soccer game was under way— Justin and Sadie against Michael and the squirrels. Merle turned out to be a natural. Squirrels' ankle joints are super flexible, which helps them to climb up and down trees, and had the added benefit of helping Merle control the ball amazingly well. In no time, Michael and the squirrels were up 5–0. "This is not a fair match!" Sadie complained. Merle bicycle-kicked the ball into the back of the net. "Where has this game been all my life?!" he wondered aloud. "Soccer's been around for thousands of years," Sadie informed Merle. "It was being played in China and parts of the Roman Empire in your day." "If you wanna know anything about history," Michael said, "just ask Sadie."

他们来到公园，发现赛迪正在等着他们。 不久，一场三对二的足球比赛开始了——贾斯汀和赛迪对阵迈克尔和松鼠。 莫尔原来是天生的。 松鼠的踝关节非常灵活，这有助于它们在树上爬上爬下，而且还有一个额外的好处，那就是帮助莫尔控制球的能力惊人地好。 很快，迈克尔和松鼠队以5比0领先。 “这不是一场公平的比赛！”赛迪抱怨道。 莫尔用自行车把球踢进了球门。 “我这辈子都在玩这个游戏？！”他大声地问。 “足球已经有几千年的历史了，”赛迪告诉梅尔。 “在你们那个时代，中国和罗马帝国的部分地区都在演奏。” “如果你想了解历史，”迈克尔说，“就问赛迪吧。”

"Yep! You don't know where you're going unless you know where you've been!" Sadie quoted. It sounded like something she had said many times before. Pearl decided to sit out for a few minutes to rest and even up the teams. On the sidelines, she noticed a nice, straight line of acorns running from the soccer field into a hedge of bushes. Due to her squirrel instincts, Pearl was always on the lookout for food, especially tasty acorns. Had she thought about it a little more, she might have noticed that they were laid out a little too neatly. When acorns fall naturally from oak trees, they don't land in a straight line. "The Romans would wrap seeds or hair in linen cloth to make balls for kicking around," Pearl heard Sadie say in the distance as she collected the nuts, picking up the nicest ones as she followed the line into the hedge. As she crawled into the bushes, she suddenly felt like she was

“是的!除非你知道你去过哪里，否则你不知道你要去哪里！”赛迪引用。 这听起来像是她以前说过很多次的话。 珀尔决定坐下来休息几分钟，让两队打个平手。 在场边，她注意到一排笔直的橡子从足球场延伸到一排灌木丛中。 由于她的松鼠本能，珍珠总是在寻找食物，尤其是美味的橡子。 如果她再仔细想想，她可能会注意到它们摆放得有点太整齐了。 橡子从橡树上自然掉落时，不会落在一条直线上。 “罗马人会把种子或头发裹在亚麻布里，做成球来踢来踢去，”珠儿听到赛迪在远处说，她一边捡坚果，一边顺着绳子拣起最好的坚果，走进树篱。 当她爬进灌木丛时，她突然觉得自己

walking on a wood floor. If she hadn't had her mind on collecting acorns, she might have thought this was a bit odd and turned around. Suddenly, a door snapped shut behind Pearl. She was trapped in a cage!

走在木地板上。如果她没有一心想着收集橡子，她可能会觉得这有点奇怪，然后转过身来。 突然，一扇门在珠儿身后啪的一声关上了。 她被困在笼子里了！