3 Trust the Magic

Chapter 3 Trust the Magic As Paulo led the way back into the lush green forest, Max could once again hear the pitter-patter of water

第三章相信魔法当保罗带路回到郁郁葱葱的绿色森林时，马克斯再次听到了水声

drops and the chirping of birds and insects. Paulo seemed to know exactly where he was going. He pushed past palms and stepped over the tangled roots easily. Sofia and Max followed closely behind. "Is the nest far?" asked Max. "No," Paulo said. He gave them an approving smile. "For tourists, you both speak very good Portuguese." "Huh?" Sofia's jaw dropped open. "Um, thanks," said Max. But as soon as Paulo was out of earshot, Max grabbed Sofia's hand. "I thought Paulo was speaking English!" he whispered. "Me too!" said Sofia. "Turns out we're speaking his language." Max's eyes drifted down to the wooden beads around her neck. "I think I understand," he said. He reached for his own necklace and slipped it off over his head. Then he waited. "Como vai?" Paulo called from the trail ahead.

还有鸟鸣和昆虫的叫声。 保罗似乎很清楚自己要去哪里。 他推开棕榈树，轻松地跨过纠缠在一起的树根。 索菲亚和马克斯紧跟在后面。 “鸟巢远吗？”马克斯问。 “不，”保罗说。他给了他们一个赞许的微笑。 “对于游客来说，你们俩的葡萄牙语都说得很好。” “嗯?”索菲亚的下巴都张大了。 “嗯，谢谢，”马克斯说。但保罗一走到听不见的地方，马克斯就抓住了索菲亚的手。 “我以为保罗说的是英语！”他低声说。 “我也是！”索菲亚说。“原来我们说的是他的语言。” 马克斯的目光落到了她脖子上的木珠上。 “我想我明白了，”他说。 他伸手去拿自己的项链，把它戴在头上。 然后他等待着。“科莫vai ?”保罗在前面的小路上喊道。

Como what? Max cocked his head, then put the beaded necklace back on. "What was that, Paulo?" he asked. "I asked how it was going back there," said Paulo —in perfect English. Max grinned. "That's what the necklaces are for!" he whispered to Sofia. "They help us speak Paulo's language!"

科莫什么?马克斯歪着头，然后把串珠项链戴上。 “那是什么，保罗？”他问。 “我问你在那里过得怎么样，”保罗用流利的英语说。 马克斯咧嘴一笑。“项链就是做这个用的！”他低声对索非亚说。 “他们帮助我们说保罗的语言！”

"I told you to trust the magic," she whispered back with a smile. "So what do you know about scarlet macaws?" Paulo asked when they caught up to him. "I know they're parrots," said Sofia. "That's right," said Paulo. "Large parrots with red, yellow, and blue feathers. They can live up to forty or fifty years in the wild, at least if their home is protected. They eat fruit, nuts, and seeds. Insects, too, and the nectar of flowers. Oh, and they also eat dirt and clay." "Huh?" asked Max. "That sounds, um.... tasty." He wrinkled his nose. Paulo laughed. "I don't know if it tastes good, but I think the clay gives them minerals they need—that's what Antonio says, anyway. They get it from walls of clay, where the water has eroded the riverbank. We call them clay licks. You should see how many macaws can gather at one clay lick at a time. It's amazing!" "I hope we do," said Sofia, crossing her fingers. Finally, Paulo stopped beside a palm tree. "This is it," he whispered. The tree looked dead, with only a few brown leaves sprouting from the top of its tall,

“我告诉过你要相信魔法。”她微笑着小声回答。 “那么你对猩红金刚鹦鹉了解多少？”当他们追上他时，保罗问道。 “我知道它们是鹦鹉，”索非亚说。 “没错，”保罗说。 “长着红色、黄色和蓝色羽毛的大型鹦鹉。 它们在野外可以活到四五十年，至少如果它们的家园受到保护的话。 他们吃水果、坚果和种子。 还有昆虫，还有花蜜。 哦，它们还吃泥土和粘土。” “嗯？”麦克斯问。“听起来，嗯.... 好吃。”他皱起鼻子。 保罗笑了。“我不知道它是否好吃，但我认为粘土给了他们所需的矿物质——安东尼奥是这么说的。 河水侵蚀了河岸，它们从粘土的墙壁上获得了水分。 我们称其为黏土舔舐。你应该看看一次舔泥土能聚集多少金刚鹦鹉。 这太神奇了!”“我希望是这样。”索非亚交叉着手指说。 最后，保罗停在一棵棕榈树旁。 “就是这里。”他低声说。 那棵树看上去已经死了，只有几片褐色的叶子从它那高大、

skinny trunk. "Where's the nest?" asked Sofia, glancing up. Paulo pointed toward a hole in the trunk, high above the ground. "The nest is built in the knothole. C'mon, let's climb this rubber tree for a closer look." Paulo started up a nearby tree that had glossy, oval- shaped leaves. He used the vines that were wrapped around the thick trunk to pull himself up. Sofia scrambled up behind him, eager to see the nest. As Paulo scooted out onto a branch, she followed. "Here," he said, holding out the binoculars. She held them to her eyes. At first, all she could see was the gray trunk of the tree. But as she slid the binoculars downward, the knothole came into view. And just inside? She saw two little chicks, with bald gray heads and tiny beaks.

瘦的树干。“巢在哪里？”索非亚抬起头来问。 保罗指着树干上一个离地面很高的洞。 “巢建在结孔里。 来吧，我们爬上这棵橡胶树仔细看看。” 保罗爬上附近一棵长着光滑的椭圆形叶子的树。 他用缠绕在粗树干上的藤蔓把自己往上拉。 索非亚爬到他身后，急切地想看看鸟巢。 保罗跑到一根树枝上，她也跟着。 “给你，”他说着，伸出望远镜。 她把它们贴在眼睛上。 起初，她只能看到灰色的树干。 但当她把双筒望远镜往下滑动时，那个节孔就出现了。 里面呢？她看到两只小小鸡，秃顶的灰色的头和小喙。

Sofia gasped. "They hatched! The chicks hatched!" She reached out a hand to steady herself and handed Paulo the binoculars. As Max slid onto the branch beside Sofia, a patch of red caught his eye. A macaw swooped down from the branches above and landed on the edge of the knothole of the palm tree. "Look," he breathed, nudging Sofia.

索非亚气喘吁吁地说。“他们孵化!小鸡孵出来了！”她伸出一只手稳住自己，把望远镜递给保罗。 当马克斯滑到索菲亚旁边的树枝上时，一片红色映入了他的眼帘。 一只金刚鹦鹉从上面的树枝上俯冲下来，落在棕榈树的节孔边缘。 “看。”他轻轻推了推索非亚，喘着气说。