1 The Rider

The Sorcerer's Shadow

巫师的影子

CHAPTER 1

第一章

The Rider Dudda-lump! Dudda-lump! Dudda-lump! Horse hooves drummed frantically across the forest floor. Prince Lucas, Clara, and Ruskin stopped to listen. Lucas had just rescued a nest of baby birds that had fallen from a tree. He gently rested the nest in the crook of a thick branch so the mother bird would find her babies safe and sound. Then he climbed down the tree and jumped to the ground. The pounding hooves drew closer.

真傻！Dudda-lump !Dudda-lump !马蹄声疯狂地踏过森林的地面。 卢卡斯王子、克拉拉和罗斯金停下来听。 卢卡斯刚刚救了一窝从树上掉下来的小鸟。 他轻轻地把鸟巢放在一根粗树枝的弯曲处，这样鸟妈妈就会发现她的孩子们安然无恙。 然后他爬下树，跳到地上。 马蹄声越来越近了。

"Someone sure is in a huge hurry," Lucas remarked as he looked down the trail. "I wonder if something's wrong." The rider roared into view and thundered right by them. Lucas and Clara had to shield their faces from the dirt kicked up by the rider. "It's a knight!" Clara exclaimed.

“肯定有人非常着急，”卢卡斯看着小路说。 “我想知道是不是出了什么事。” 骑手呼啸而过，从他们身边呼啸而过。 卢卡斯和克拉拉不得不捂着脸，不让骑手踢起的泥土挡住他们的脸。 “是个骑士！”克拉拉喊道。

Lucas nodded. "He's probably headed for the castle," he said. "Let's follow him!" Ruskin, Lucas's dragon, took flight. The two best friends jumped on their horses and galloped after the rider, who had ridden far ahead. Lucas and Clara

卢卡斯点点头。“他可能往城堡去了，”他说。 “我们跟着他吧！”拉斯金，卢卡斯的龙，飞走了。 这两个最好的朋友跳上马，追着骑在前面很远的骑手疾驰而去。 卢卡斯和克拉拉

slowed to a canter when they got to the village. The villagers had spilled into the street to see who was in such a big rush. The butcher, the blacksmith, and the chandler had all left their shops and were standing in the midst of a crowd. They watched through the churned-up dust that the rider had left in his wake. Clara waved to her father as they sped past her family's bakery, the Daily Bread. "What's going on, Clara?" her father asked. "I don't know," she called over her shoulder. "But we're going to find out!"

他们到达村子时放慢了速度。 村民们都跑到街上去看是谁这么着急。 屠夫、铁匠和出纳员都离开了他们的店铺，站在人群中间。 他们透过骑马人身后留下的搅碎的灰尘观察着。 克拉拉向父亲挥了挥手，他们飞快地经过了她家的面包店——每日面包。 “发生什么事了，克拉拉？”她父亲问。 “我不知道，”她回过头喊道。 “但我们会找到答案的！”