Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 They hit the icy River Thames hard, the freezing-cold water numbing Toto instantly. Luckily, since her last aquatic adventure at Catstonbury, she been taking lessons from her friend Lutra the otter, and was now a competent swimmer. She actually quite liked the water, in fact. The same couldn't be said for her brothers, who she could sense were floundering in the fast-flowing river. Listening over the torrent of water, she could just about make out their voices.

他们重重地撞在冰冷的泰晤士河上，冰冷的河水使托托立刻麻木了。 幸运的是，自从上次在卡斯顿伯里进行水上冒险以来，她一直在向她的朋友水獭卢特拉学习，现在她已经是一名称职的游泳运动员了。 事实上，她很喜欢这里的水。 但她的哥哥们就不一样了，她能感觉到他们在湍急的河水中挣扎。 她隔着激流听着，几乎能听到他们的声音。

'HELP! I can only swim half a length with armbands!' she heard Silver yell. 'Don't worry, I'm coming!' she called. Swimming powerfully, she cut across the current to where he and Socks were both kicking and spluttering. 'HOLD ON TO ME. AND DON'T PANIC; she told her brothers. Toto knew she'd have to take that advice herself. Yes, she wasn't a bad swimmer, but there was no way she had the strength to keep her head above the water and support her two brothers for long. The ninja knew she had to think of something fast. Breathing slowly, she concentrated on the ripples in the water around her, searching for anything they could grab hold of. 'Over there, sis, a fallen tree!' For once, Silver was way ahead of her. But the tree was in a part of the river that was flowing faster- she'd have one shot to make it or they'd be goners!

“帮助!我戴着臂章只能游半段距离！她听见西尔弗喊道。 “别担心，我来了！”她叫道。 她有力地游过水流，游到他和索克斯都在踢腿和泼水的地方。 “抓住我。”不要惊慌；她告诉了她的兄弟们。 托托知道她必须自己接受这个建议。 是的，她游泳游得不差，但她没有足够的力量把头伸出水面，长时间地支撑她的两个哥哥。 忍者知道她必须尽快想出办法。 她慢慢地呼吸着，把注意力集中在她周围的水波上，寻找着任何可以抓住的东西。 “那边，姐姐，一棵倒下的树！”这一次，小银走在了她前面。 但那棵树在河水流速较快的地方——她只有一次机会，否则他们就完蛋了！

She kicked towards the floating trunk, but with her brothers' weight and her freezing body beginning to tire, she started to feel it was hopeless... They'd never make it. She tried to clear her mind and focus- surely she could do something to give them a chance? 'LINK PAWS AND DON'T LET GO,' she yelled.

她朝漂浮的树干踢去，但由于哥哥们的体重和她冰冷的身体开始感到疲惫，她开始感到绝望…… 他们不会成功的。她试着理清思绪，集中注意力——她肯定能做点什么给他们一个机会吧？ “钩住爪子，别松手，”她喊道。

With her last ounce of strength, Toto hurled the two cats through the air. So they formed a kind of CAT DAISY CHAIN! It was Silver who landed on the trunk of the old oak and, scrambling up, he managed to drag Socks and then Toto on to the tree and to safety. Exhausted, they all lay still for a moment, bewildered and stunned, and tried to work out what had just happened. TOTO WAS CONFUSED, uncertain and even a little angry with her boss. SURELY HE COULDN'T BE GUILTY OF STEALING OLD TOM'S COLLAR, but who else apart from him and Cyril had a key? And it was more than that. He had looked so defeated... why wouldn't he fight back if he was innocent? Toto tried to shake that thought- this was LARRY. He was a ninja and her friend. There had to be another reason for the way he'd acted. Toto's thoughts were interrupted by Socks. 'What

托托用尽最后一点力气，把两只猫扔向空中。 所以他们形成了一种猫雏菊链！西尔弗落在老橡树的树干上，他爬上去，设法把袜子和托托拖到树上，逃到了安全的地方。 他们都筋疲力尽，一动不动地躺了一会儿，既困惑又震惊，试图弄清楚刚刚发生了什么。 托托很困惑，不确定，甚至有点生老板的气。 当然，他偷了老汤姆的衣领是有罪的，但是除了他和西里尔，还有谁有钥匙呢？ 不仅如此。 他看起来很沮丧…… 如果他是无辜的，为什么不反击？ 托托试图摆脱这个想法——这是拉里。 他是个忍者，也是她的朋友。 他的行为一定另有原因。 托托的思绪被袜子打断了。 “什么

was that thing Larry said before we escaped? "Hope lies under the milk trolley"? I haven't a scooby what that could mean. Do you, sis?' Toto just shook her head. Without her mentor, she didn't even know where to start! As they were all pondering this, the large trunk gently came to rest at the side of the riverbank. The cats all looked up; they were now far from the heart of the city, where the river was quieter, and the banks were lined with bright green grass. If it wasn't for the predicament they found themselves in, the beach they had been washed up on would be a perfect place for a picnic. Which was apt, because as they looked around, they saw a human child's toy boat moored up and a familiar face enjoying just that. 'WELL I SAY, THIS IS A WONDERFUL SURPRISE! DID YOU PLAN IT? CARE FOR AN EGG SANDWICH? Lying on the beach by the river bank, book in hand,

那是我们逃跑前拉里说的吗？ “希望在牛奶手推车下”？ 我完全不知道那是什么意思。 是吗，姐姐？”托托只是摇了摇头。 没有她的导师，她甚至不知道从哪里开始！当他们都在思考这个问题时，大箱子轻轻地停在了河边。 猫们都抬起头来；他们现在离市中心很远了，那里的河水比较安静，河岸上长满了鲜绿的草。 如果不是因为他们发现自己陷入了困境，他们被冲上的海滩将是一个完美的野餐场所。 这是恰当的，因为当他们环顾四周时，他们看到一个人类孩子的玩具船停泊在那里，一张熟悉的脸正享受着这一切。 “好吧，我说，这真是个惊喜！”是你计划好的吗？ 要不要来个鸡蛋三明治？躺在河边的沙滩上，手里拿着书，

a picnic basket full of sandwiches, roast chicken and pork pies by his side (Silver couldn't help but lick his lips) and a fishing rod dug into the sand, their cat-rat pal was enjoying a VERY different day from the one the cats were having.

他身边有一个装满三明治、烤鸡和猪肉馅饼的野餐篮（西尔弗忍不住舔了舔嘴唇），还有一根插在沙子里的钓鱼竿，他们的猫鼠朋友正在享受与猫们截然不同的一天。