9 Shell Collectors

CHAPTER 9

第九章

Shell Collectors That night Lucas dreamed about the underwater kingdom again. "Follow me!" beckoned Avalon. She waited for Lucas to catch up to her. This time her long, dark hair floated freely in the water. She held a sack over her shoulder. Lucas swam toward Avalon in his bedclothes and bare feet. A school of fish parted to make way for him. Then the two friends swam side by side. They passed a graceful manta ray and an old sea turtle. They glided under the bottom of a great ship. They dove closer to the ocean floor. Lucas could see ripples on the sand below. He noticed a coral reef up ahead.

那天晚上卢卡斯又梦见了海底王国。 “跟我来！”阿瓦隆招呼道。 她等着卢卡斯追上她。 这一次，她又长又黑的头发自由地浮在水面上。 她肩上挎着一个麻袋。 卢卡斯穿着床单，光着脚向阿瓦隆游去。 一群鱼分开给他让路。 然后两个朋友并肩游。 他们经过一条优雅的蝠鲼和一只老海龟。 他们在一艘大船的船底下滑行。 他们更靠近海底。 卢卡斯可以看到下面沙滩上的涟漪。 他注意到前面有一个珊瑚礁。

"Help me collect shells!" Avalon said. She reached into her bag and handed him a net made of woven seaweed. "Sometimes the waves push shells into the reef. You'll find them in the nooks and crannies." "It's like a treasure hunt!" exclaimed Lucas. Avalon nodded. Lucas swam to the reef and began to search for shells. He found a calico scallop, a lion's paw, and a striped moon shell. Inside the mouth of a small cave, he uncovered a lightning whelk and something else very rare.

“帮我收集贝壳！”阿瓦隆说。 她把手伸进包里，递给他一张海苔织成的网。 “有时海浪会把贝壳推到礁石上。 你会在角落和缝隙里找到它们。” “这就像一场寻宝游戏！” 阿瓦隆点了点头。卢卡斯游向礁石，开始寻找贝壳。 他发现了一只印花扇贝、一只狮子爪和一只条纹的月亮贝壳。 在一个小洞穴的洞口，他发现了一个闪电螺和其他一些非常罕见的东西。

"Look!" Lucas cried. "I found a morning glory of the sea!"

“看!”卢卡斯哭了。“我找到了海中的牵牛花！”

Avalon swam over. "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed. "My friend Clara has always wanted to find one of these." "Why don't we leave it for her at Mermaid's Cove?" Avalon suggested. "I'll show you where when we're done." Lucas nodded. Maybe this would be the perfect way to prove to Clara that this was all real. "Avalon, you're a genius!" When their seaweed nets were full, Lucas followed Avalon to Mermaid's Cove. They hid the shells on the beach behind Turtle Rock.

阿瓦隆游了过来。“真漂亮！”她惊呼道。 “我的朋友克拉拉一直想找到一个这样的东西。” “我们为什么不把它留在美人鱼湾给她呢？”阿瓦隆。 “干完了我带你去。” 卢卡斯点点头。也许这是向克拉拉证明这一切都是真的最好的方式。 “阿瓦隆，你是个天才！”当他们的海藻网满了，卢卡斯跟着阿瓦隆去了美人鱼湾。 他们把贝壳藏在海龟岩后面的海滩上。