1 LOOKING UNDERWATER

PROLOGUE These days my cat Sassafras and I are always desperately hoping we'll hear our barn doorbell. I know most people are excited to hear their doorbell ring. It might mean a present or package delivery, or a friend showing up to play. But our doorbell is even more exciting than that. Because it's a magic doorbell. When it rings, it means there's a magical animal waiting outside our barn. A magical animal who needs our help. My mom's been helping them basically her whole life. And now I get to help too...

这些天，我和我的猫Sassafras总是绝望地希望我们能听到我们谷仓的门铃。 我知道大多数人听到门铃响都很兴奋。 它可能意味着一个礼物或包裹的递送，或者一个朋友出现在一起玩。 但我们家的门铃比那更令人兴奋。 因为这是一个魔法门铃。 当它响的时候，就意味着有一只神奇的动物在我们的谷仓外面等着。 一只需要我们帮助的神奇动物。 我妈妈基本上一辈子都在帮助他们。 现在我也要帮忙了……

CHAPTER 1 LOOKING UNDERWATER

第1章水下观察

A shadow caught my eye and I ran to the window. Was that–? No, it was just a crow. I sighed. Our baby dragon friend, Marshmallow, had returned to his life in the forest weeks ago. But I was hoping he'd come visit again soon. Really soon. The sooner the better. I sighed and rolled a giant tube back and forth on our dining room table with one hand while I searched the sky for Marshmallow. Just in case. "Ow! Hey, that's my hand!" I yelped. Sassafras must have been aiming for the rolling tube, which he probably thought was now alive. But his needle-sharp claws landed on my poor hand instead. "You're not even supposed to be on the table, stinker," I said as I lowered him to my lap. "Meow!" he complained. He slipped his front paws onto the table one at a time and looked up to see if I'd noticed.

一个影子映入我的眼帘，我跑到窗前。 是- ?不，那只是一只乌鸦。 我叹了口气。我们的小龙朋友，棉花糖，几周前回到了森林里。 但我希望他能很快再来。 真的很快。越快越好。 我叹了口气，用一只手在餐桌上来回滚动着一个巨大的管子，同时在天空中搜寻棉花糖。 以防万一。“噢!嘿，那是我的手！”我叫喊起来。 萨萨法斯的目标一定是滚动的管子，他可能认为管子现在是活的。 但它尖利的爪子却落在了我可怜的手上。 “你甚至不应该在桌子上，臭东西。”我说着把他放到我的腿上。 “喵！”他抱怨道。它把前爪一只一只地滑到桌子上，抬起头来看看我是否注意到了。

I had, but I decided to let him stay and watch. "Just a little longer before we go to the stream, Sass. With my underwater viewer, I'll be able to see all the bugs at the bottom of the stream really well. I'll be the best stream bug hunter ever." Argh! The piece of plastic wrap I'd grabbed from the kitchen wasn't big enough to fit over the end of the tube. I picked up Sassafras and set him on my chair. I patted his head. "I'll be right back and then we can go."

是的，但我决定让他留下来看着。 “再过一会儿，我们就到河边去了，萨斯。 有了我的水下观看器，我就能很好地看到河底的所有虫子。 我将成为最棒的溪流虫猎手。” 啊!我从厨房里拿出来的那张保鲜膜不够大，无法盖住管子的末端。 我抱起萨萨弗拉斯，把他放在我的椅子上。 我拍了拍他的头。“我马上回来，然后我们就可以走了。”

I pulled the plastic wrap out of the kitchen drawer and heard a loud yowl from the dining room. "Meeoooooooowww!" I shook my head. That silly cat. I checked the dining room, but I didn't see Sassafras anywhere. Thunk. I looked down at the floor. Something moved. The plastic tube for my underwater viewer was now under the table. How did that get there? I bent down to pick it up, and it turned toward me. My cat's face peered at me from inside the tube.

我把保鲜膜从厨房抽屉里拿出来，听到餐厅里传来一声惨叫。 “Meeoooooooowww !”我摇了摇头。 那只笨猫。我检查了餐厅，但没看到黄樟。 铛。我低头看着地板。 搬东西。我的水下观看器的塑料管现在在桌子下面。 那是怎么来的？我弯下腰想把它捡起来，它却转向了我。 我的猫的脸从地铁里盯着我。