2 NIGHTTIME VISITOR

CHAPTER 2 NIGHTTIME VISITOR Sassafras chattered and ran to my bedroom door and back. I clasped my hands together and gave Mom my sweetest smile. "Pleeeease, can I go?" Mom looked at her watch and sighed. "OK, but take a flashlight and come back right away. If it's something serious, I can take over for you. It's late and you need your sleep." I leaped out of bed and ran for the door, calling out over my shoulder, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise we'll be right back!" I grabbed a flashlight out of the kitchen drawer and slipped on my shoes, and then Sassafras and I bolted across the yard to the barn. My heart was pounding not just from running, but also from the excitement of meeting a new magical creature.

第二章夜来客檫树叽叽喳喳地跑到我卧室门口又跑回来。 我双手合十，给了妈妈我最甜蜜的微笑。 “求你了，我能去吗？”妈妈看了看表，叹了口气。 “好吧，但是带上手电筒，马上回来。 如果情况严重，我可以代替你。 时间不早了，你需要睡觉。” 我从床上跳起来，跑向门口，回头喊道：“谢谢，谢谢，谢谢！”我保证我们马上就回来！”我从厨房抽屉里拿了一个手电筒，穿上鞋子，然后和萨萨弗拉斯穿过院子跑向谷仓。 我的心怦怦直跳，不仅是因为跑步，还因为见到一个新的神奇生物而兴奋不已。

"Who do you think it will be this time, Sassafras?" I panted. Sassafras stopped running and leaped into the air. Then he chewed and swallowed. "Ew, Sass! Did you just eat a bug?" "Meow!" he answered triumphantly. I shook my head disapprovingly as I opened the door. "Remember, Sassafras. No trying to eat our magical friends. Even if they are very buglike. It's just not polite." We ran through the barn to the back door. The moment of truth! I took a steadying breath and opened the door. Just above the ground was a large glowing rainbow… stone? "Wowww!" I knelt down and reached out a finger. It was like a merhorse stone, but the size of a soccer ball. That familiar shimmering rainbow light meant one thing: whatever this was, it was definitely magical. Sassafras stood frozen next to me. His eyes were like big saucers. "Ahem! A little help, please? This thing is really

“你觉得这次会是谁，萨萨弗拉斯？”我喘着气说。 萨萨法斯停止了奔跑，跳到了空中。 然后他嚼了嚼，吞了下去。 “艾玛,Sass !你刚刚是不是吃了一只虫子？”“喵！”他得意地回答。 我不以为然地摇了摇头，打开了门。 “记住,黄樟。别想吃我们的魔法朋友。 即使它们很像虫子。 这是不礼貌的。”我们穿过谷仓跑到后门。 关键时刻到了！我深吸一口气，打开了门。 就在地面上有一个巨大的发光的彩虹……石头？ “Wowww !”我跪下来，伸出一根手指。 它就像一块海马石，但却有足球那么大。 那熟悉的闪烁的彩虹光意味着一件事：不管这是什么，它绝对是神奇的。 黄樟一动不动地站在我旁边。 他的眼睛像两个大碟子。 “嗯哼!请帮个忙好吗？ 这个东西真的

heavy!" called a small voice. A small voice I knew. "PIP!!!!" I shrieked. Perhaps a little too loudly. Pip stumbled backward, and I managed to grab the rainbow stone just before it hit the ground. Pip was the magical talking frog who had started it all. My mom found him hurt badly in the forest when she was my age and nursed him back to health. He was one of my favorite magical creatures—he always managed to make me laugh. "Sheesh, Zoey! You scared me! Your giant human voice can be quite startling, you know." Pip brushed himself off just in time to have a giant furry Sassafras head crash into him. This time he did fall over, and we both laughed. "I guess you both have missed me, yes?" "Absolutely!" I grinned as I helped Pip back to his feet. I held out the glowing stone. "What is it? Where did you find it? And is something wrong with this, um, rainbow stone?"

沉重！”一个微弱的声音叫道。 一个我熟悉的小声音。“皮普! !”我尖叫起来。 也许有点太大声了。 皮普踉跄着后退，我设法在彩虹石落地之前抓住了它。 匹普是一只会说话的神奇青蛙，是他开始了这一切。 我妈妈在我这么大的时候在森林里发现他受了重伤，并照顾他恢复了健康。 他是我最喜欢的魔法动物之一——他总能逗我笑。 “天哪,佐伊!你吓到我了！你知道，你那巨大的人声是很令人吃惊的。” 皮普及时掸掉了身上的毛，一个巨大的毛檫檫树的头撞到了他身上。 这一次他真的摔倒了，我们都笑了。 “我猜你们俩都想我了，是吗？”“绝对!”我笑着帮助匹普站起来。 我拿出那块发光的石头。 “什么事？”你在哪里找到的？ 这个彩虹石有什么问题吗？”

"Ah, great questions! I would expect nothing less from you. Let's start at the beginning. That is most definitely not a stone. It is a seed pod from some kind of magical plant." I slowly rolled it between my hands. "A magical seed pod? That is so cool." Pip nodded in agreement. "I was just getting ready for bed and was all cozy when I heard an enormous THUD outside my home. Of course I had to go see what it was! When I got outside, this was lying there on the ground. My best guess is that

“啊，好问题！”我对你期望很高。 让我们从头开始。 那绝对不是石头。 这是一种神奇植物的种子荚。” 我在两手之间慢慢地滚动着它。 “一个神奇的种子荚？”这太酷了。” 匹普点头表示同意。“我正准备上床睡觉，一切都很舒适，突然听到屋外砰的一声巨响。 我当然得去看看那是什么！我出去的时候，这个就躺在地上。 我最好的猜测是

some sort of flying magical creature was trying to steal it for food and accidentally dropped it." Sassafras watched as I poked and fiddled with the pod. "See, Sassafras? It's kind of like our pea plant. Only instead of a long seed pod, this one is round and a lot bigger. I wonder if the seeds inside look like peas. What color do you think the seeds are? Argh, this thing is impossible to open!" "Should we be trying to get it open? I wasn't sure what to do, but I figured I shouldn't just leave it at my house," Pip explained. "Oh, good point! Hmmm, let's see… it's from some sort of magical plant, so should we try to figure out which one first? Have you seen pods like this before, Pip?" "That's the thing. I haven't ever seen one like this. Do you think it's a really rare kind of plant?

某种会飞的魔法生物想偷它当食物，不小心把它掉在地上了。” 黄樟看着我拨弄着荚果。 “看,黄樟吗?有点像我们的豌豆。 只不过这个种子荚不是长长的，而是圆的，而且大得多。 我想知道里面的种子是不是看起来像豌豆。 你认为种子是什么颜色的？ 啊，这东西打不开了！”“我们应该试着打开它吗？” 我不知道该怎么办，但我想我不应该把它留在家里，”皮普解释说。 “哦，说得好！嗯，让我想想，它来自某种神奇的植物，所以我们应该先找出是哪一种吗？ 你以前见过这样的豆荚吗，匹普？”“这就是问题所在。 我从没见过这样的。 你认为这是一种非常罕见的植物吗？

What if it's endangered?" I put my hand to my mouth. "What if it's the last of its kind? We've got to get it back to where it belongs! And we need to keep it super safe until then." "That sounds like a good plan. Since I've never seen it, I think it must be from pretty far…" Pip stopped and stretched and gave a big yawn. "Um, pretty far away." And then he yawned again. And then Sassafras yawned.

如果它濒临灭绝怎么办？”我用手捂住嘴。 “如果这是最后一只呢？” 我们得把它找回来！在那之前，我们需要保证它的超级安全。” “听起来是个好计划。 因为我从来没有见过它，我想它一定来自很远的地方……”匹普停下来伸伸懒腰，打了一个大大的哈欠。 “嗯，相当远。”然后他又打了个哈欠。 接着，黄樟打了个哈欠。