16 DISAPPOINTED

CHAPTER 16 DISAPPOINTED I dragged my feet over to Mom. "I don't understand. I thought this would work!" I felt like crying, but I took some breaths and tried to stay calm. We'd figure out something, I told myself. "I did too, sweetie." Mom hugged me. "But it's a long way to walk. First the grumplets have to hear the unicorns, then they have to walk a few miles through the forest toward the sound until they find the berry trail from the edge of the forest to here. That could take some time, I imagine." "I guess," I said. "It's just that the grumplets were really fast when I saw them last. I figured they'd be here by now." I flumped to the ground, crossed my legs, and set my head in my hands. Pip and Sassafras came over and snuggled me. Then Sassafras started chattering.

我失望地拖着脚向妈妈走过去。 “我不明白。我想这会有用的！”我想哭，但我吸了几口气，努力保持冷静。 我们会想出办法的，我告诉自己。 “我也是，亲爱的。”妈妈拥抱了我。 “但是要走很远的路。 首先，小矮人必须听到独角兽的声音，然后它们必须沿着声音的方向在森林里走几英里，直到找到从森林边缘到这里的浆果小径。 我想，这可能需要一些时间。” “我想是的，”我说。“只是我上次看到它们的时候，它们跑得太快了。 我想他们现在应该到了。” 我扑通一声倒在地上，跷起二郎腿，双手抱头。 皮普和萨萨弗拉斯走过来依偎着我。 接着，黄樟开始叽叽喳喳。

I looked up. Sassafras was chattering? That meant… "Yesss!" I whispered. I could see the first of the grumplets eating a berry from our berry trail. The unicorns spotted it and stopped shouting. They effortlessly glided to either side of the berry trail to clear a path for the grumplets. First one, then another, then several more grumplets appeared. They followed the berry trail just like I'd planned.

我抬起头来。黄樟在叽叽喳喳？ 这意味着……“对！”我低声说。 我可以看到第一只小矮人正在吃我们的浆果小径上的浆果。 独角兽们看见了，停止了叫喊。 他们毫不费力地滑到浆果小径的两边，为小矮人扫清道路。 先是一个，然后是另一个，接着又出现了几个小矮人。 就像我计划的那样，他们顺着浆果的足迹走了。

When the grumplets got to the plants, they looked a little confused. Then they started snuffling. One found a berry on the plant and stared for a minute, then plucked it off and ate it. The others watched and did the same! "I hope there are enough berries!" I whispered to Mom, and she nodded. They ate just a few of the wild berries before patting their stomachs. The smallest grumplet gave a little burp! "What are they going to do now, Zoey?" whispered Pip. "I have no idea," I whispered back. The grumplets moved a bit farther into the new patch of plants, and one of the grumplets pointed at an old hollowed-out tree trunk. All the grumplets snortled and squeaked at each other, and then they looked along the ground. I stood and picked up Sassafras so we could get a better view. Pip hopped on Mom's head and she stood too. "What are they doing?" I whispered. The grumplets were gathering up moss and

当小矮人到达植物时，他们看起来有点困惑。 然后他们开始抽鼻子。 其中一只在植物上发现了一颗浆果，盯着看了一分钟，然后把它摘下来吃了。 其他人看着，也跟着做了！“我希望有足够的浆果！”我小声对妈妈说，她点了点头。 他们只吃了一些野生浆果，然后拍了拍肚子。 最小的小矮人打了个小嗝！“他们现在要做什么，佐伊？”匹普低声说。 “我不知道，”我低声回答。 小矮人向那片新植物的深处移动了一点，其中一个小矮人指着一根挖空的老树干。 所有的小矮人都喷着鼻息，互相吱吱叫着，然后他们沿着地面看了看。 我站起来，拿起萨萨弗拉斯，这样我们就能看得更清楚。 皮普跳到妈妈的头上，妈妈也站了起来。 “他们在干什么？”我低声说。 小矮人正在长满苔藓

lichen and putting it in the hollow part of the trunk. "Oh! I think they are making a bed!" I quietly told Sassafras. "Meow!" he replied. One by one the grumplets piled on top of each other inside the tree trunk. Before we knew it, they were SNORING! We held back our giggles so we wouldn't wake them.

把它放在树干的中空部分。 “哦!我想他们在铺床！”我悄悄地告诉黄樟。 “喵！”他回答。小矮人一个接一个地堆在树干里。 我们还没反应过来，他们就开始打鼾了！我们忍住不笑，以免吵醒他们。