Chapter 1

TO BEE, OR HOT TO BEE! MINEERIFT STONESHORD SACR

要蜜蜂，还是不要蜜蜂！我的石斧神器

PROLOGUE Harper didn't want to hurt the bees. They weren't making it easy for her, though. They were buzzing all around her. One of them broke loose from the swarm, diving at her. It aimed its stinger right at her face. She lifted her shield just in time, batting it away. But she knew it would try again. A hissing sounded at her back. She spun around as a spider lunged at her.

哈珀不想伤害蜜蜂。 不过，他们并没有让她好过。 它们在她周围嗡嗡作响。 其中一只从蜂群中挣脱出来，扑向她。 它把毒刺对准了她的脸。 她及时举起盾牌，把它打飞了。 但她知道它会再次尝试。 她背后传来一阵嘶嘶声。 一只蜘蛛向她扑来，她转过身来。

"Bad spider!" she said, swatting at it with her empty hand. That knocked it back, giving her some room. Maybe she could escape…. But more buzzing forced her to whirl around again. Another bee struck her shield. And then another. And another. The spider hissed behind her. She could sense its approach. She turned… And again… And again… She couldn't keep this up for long. It was a battle of the bugs. And both sides wanted to destroy her. And the worst part was this: if she fought back, she and her friends—and maybe the entire Overworld— were doomed.

“坏蜘蛛！”她说着，用空空的手拍打着它。 这就把它击退了，给了她一些空间。 也许她能逃脱.... 但更多的嗡嗡声迫使她再次旋转。 另一只蜜蜂击中了她的盾牌。 然后是另一个。和另一个。 蜘蛛在她身后发出嘶嘶声。 她能感觉到它靠近了。 她转过身来，一遍又一遍，她坚持不了多久。 这是一场虫子的战斗。 双方都想毁掉她。 最糟糕的是：如果她反抗，她和她的朋友们——也许是整个上世界——都完蛋了。

Chapter 1 TO BEE, OR NOT TO BEE MARKED ABSENT IS NOT A GOOD QUESTION TO ASK THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING. Woodsword Middle School was abuzz with excitement. Harper Houston had never really understood that expression before today. But as she stood on the front lawn of the school, surrounded by her classmates, she could hear it. It was the sound of dozens of students whispering at once. Their voices were too low—and too numerous—for Harper to make out any individual words. But those voices, overlapping and reverberating across the lawn? Together, they sounded distinctly like a buzz. Harper's entire grade had been instructed to meet their homeroom group on the lawn. Now her

要不要被记为缺席，这可不是一大早就该问的好问题。 木剑中学一片热闹。 哈珀·休斯顿在今天之前从未真正理解过这种表达。 但当她站在学校前面的草坪上，周围都是同学时，她听到了这个声音。 那是几十个学生同时窃窃私语的声音。 他们的声音又低又多，哈珀一个字也听不清。 但是那些声音，重叠并回荡在草坪上？ 它们合在一起，听起来明显像嗡嗡声。 哈珀的整个年级都被要求在草坪上和他们的班主任见面。 现在她的

homeroom teacher, Ms. Minerva, was attempting to take attendance while a hundred kids chattered and squirmed with excitement. She seemed a little flustered. Her hair was extra frizzy, and her eyes were a little intense. She took a long sip of her coffee, followed by a deep breath. "Theo?" she said, raising her voice to be heard over the racket. "Is Theo Grayson here?" "Present!" said Theo, and he cut through the crowd, waving his hand in the air. "I wasn't late, honest! I just got a little lost." Ms. Minerva checked off his name on her clipboard. "Harper Houston?" she said.

班主任密涅瓦女士正试图点名，而一百个孩子兴奋地叽叽喳喳，扭动着身体。 她似乎有点慌乱。 她的头发特别卷曲，她的眼睛有点紧张。 她深深地喝了一口咖啡，然后深吸了一口气。 “西奥？”她说，提高了嗓门，好盖过喧闹声。 “西奥·格雷森在吗？”“在场！”西奥说，他穿过人群，在空中挥舞着他的手。 “我没有迟到，真的！”我只是有点迷路了。” 密涅瓦在写字板上勾出了他的名字。 “哈珀·休斯顿？”她说。