Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 The squirrels' tiny claws clicked softly on the tiled floor of the basilica's long hallway. "Where to now?" Pearl whispered, her voice echoing off the walls. "We need to find a way to let Michael know where we are," Merle answered. "But how?"

第十三章松鼠的小爪子轻轻地敲着长方形教堂长廊的瓷砖地板。 “现在去哪儿？”珠儿低声说，她的声音在墙上回响。 “我们得想个办法让迈克尔知道我们在哪儿。”莫尔回答。 “可是什么?”

Suddenly, the sounds of an approaching crowd filled the hallway. Merle and Pearl scurried into a nearby alcove to avoid being seen. As the footfalls grew louder, the voice of a young woman rang out: "This church was built directly on the site believed to be the house of Mary. It was here where the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced that she would give birth to the Son of God, Jesus. That announcement is called the Annunciation— the event for which this church, or basilica, is named." Merle shrugged. "Makes sense," he said as a small tour group, led by the guide, passed their alcove. Pearl pressed her paw over Merle's snout to shush him. Once the group had passed, they peeked their heads out. "C'mon, let's follow them," Merle suggested. "This is interesting." "What about finding a way to contact Michael?" Pearl asked. "Maybe we'll figure something out along the way?" Merle took off after the tour. Keeping out of sight, the squirrels followed the group and their guide into the lower part of the church. A web of gray concrete beams supported an octagonal hole in the ceiling, and stone walls surrounded a small chapel, looking kind of like a futuristic basement. In the center of the chapel, railings surrounded an even lower level, which the guide called a grotto. Pearl struggled to keep her oohs and aahs to herself as they followed the group down a set of stairs into the grotto.

突然，走廊里充满了人群靠近的声音。 莫尔和珀尔赶紧跑到附近的一个壁龛里，以免被人看见。 随着脚步声越来越大，一个年轻女子的声音响起：“这座教堂直接建在被认为是玛丽的房子的地方。 就是在这里，天使加百列向她显现，并宣布她将生下上帝的儿子耶稣。 这个宣告被称为天使报喜，这座教堂或长方形教堂就是以此命名的。” 默尔耸耸肩。“有道理，”他说，这时一个小旅行团在导游的带领下经过他们的壁龛。 珠儿把爪子压在莫尔的鼻子上，让他安静下来。 那群人一过去，他们就探出头来。 “来吧，我们跟着他们。”莫尔建议道。 “这很有趣。”“想办法联系迈克尔怎么样？”珠儿问道。 “也许我们会在这个过程中想出一些办法？”参观结束后，梅尔离开了。 松鼠们躲在看不见的地方，跟着这群人和他们的向导进入了教堂的下层。 灰色混凝土梁网支撑着天花板上的一个八角形洞，石墙环绕着一个小教堂，看起来有点像未来主义风格的地下室。 在教堂的中央，栏杆环绕着更低的一层，向导称之为洞穴。 当他们跟着这群人走下楼梯进入洞穴时，珠儿努力忍住自己的呜呜声。

"We are now entering the Grotto of the Annunciation," the tour guide announced. "The modern church above us was built in the 1960s, but what you see here are the remains of the earliest churches on this site, dating back to the fourth century." Merle and Pearl hid behind a pillar as the guide continued, "This is the site of Mary's childhood home— where the Word was made flesh."

“我们现在进入报喜洞了，”导游宣布。 “我们上面的现代教堂建于20世纪60年代，但你在这里看到的是这个地方最早的教堂的遗迹，可以追溯到4世纪。” 默尔和珀尔躲在一根柱子后面，导游继续说道：“这是玛丽童年的家——圣言成为肉身的地方。”