Chapter 1

I SURVIVED THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE, 1871

我在1871年芝加哥大火中幸存了下来

CHAPTER 1 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1871 11:30 P.M. CHICAGO The fire started inside a barn. It was tiny at first, a glowing dot, some wisps of white smoke. But then flames reached up. They grabbed hold of a pile of hay. Crackle! Pop! And then, Boom! Towers of flame shot up, higher, higher, punching through the roof, reaching for the sky. Voices screamed out. "Fire! Fire! Fire!"

第一章1871年10月8日星期日晚上11:30 芝加哥:大火是从一个谷仓里开始的。 起初它很小，一个发光的点，几缕白烟。 但接着火焰窜了上来。 他们抓住一堆干草。 裂纹!流行!然后，砰!火焰塔越升越高，冲破了屋顶，直冲云霄。 声音尖叫起来。“火!火!火!”

Alarm bells clanged. Firefighters readied their horses and raced their pumpers through the streets. But it was too late. The flames blasted a shower of fiery sparks into the windy sky. Like a swarm of flaming wasps, they flew through the air, starting fires wherever they landed. Shops and homes erupted in flames. Warehouses exploded. Mansions burned. Crowds of panicked people fled their houses and rushed through the streets and along the wooden sidewalks. They screamed and pushed and knocked one another down, desperate to get away from the choking smoke and broiling flames. But there was no escape. The winds blew harder. Flames shot hundreds of feet in the air, spreading across miles and miles. And in the middle of it all was eleven-year-old Oscar Starling. Oscar had never felt so terrified, not even two years ago, when a killer blizzard hit his family's Minnesota farm. He was trapped inside a burning house, fighting for his life. He'd made it down the stairs,

警铃响了。消防队员们准备好马匹，推着消防车在街道上狂奔。 但为时已晚。火焰向多风的天空喷射出一阵炽热的火花。 它们像一群燃烧的黄蜂，在空中飞来飞去，降落在哪里就在哪里起火。 商店和住宅都燃起了大火。 仓库发生爆炸。豪宅焚烧。 惊慌失措的人们逃离他们的房子，冲过街道和木制人行道。 他们尖叫着，互相推搡着，把对方打倒在地，拼命想要逃离呛人的烟雾和炙热的火焰。 但没有人能逃脱。风刮得更厉害了。 火焰向空中喷射数百英尺，蔓延数英里。 11岁的奥斯卡·斯塔林站在中间。 奥斯卡从未感到如此恐惧，即使是两年前，当一场致命的暴风雪袭击了他家在明尼苏达州的农场时。 他被困在着火的房子里，与死神搏斗。 他已经爬下楼梯了

desperate to escape. And then, Crash! A ball of fire and cinders crashed through the window, and the house exploded in flames. And suddenly, Oscar was in the fire's ferocious grip. The flames clawed at him, seared him, threw him to the ground. Smoke gushed up his nose and into his mouth. But the worst was the blistering heat, the feeling of being roasted alive. Was this the end? Oscar had never wanted to come to this city. And now he was sure he was going to die here.

不顾一切地逃跑。然后，Crash!一个火球和煤渣从窗户撞了进来，房子在火焰中爆炸了。 突然，奥斯卡被烈火凶猛地抓住了。 火焰抓着他，烧焦了他，把他扔在地上。 烟从他的鼻子里喷了出来，进了他的嘴里。 但最糟糕的是酷热，被活活烤熟的感觉。 这就结束了吗?奥斯卡从未想过要来这座城市。 现在他确信他将死在这里。