4 Under the Elephant Ears

Chapter 4 Under the Elephant Ears "Whoever is planning to steal the chicks will be back soon," said Paulo in a tight voice. "Probably when it gets dark." "Then we'll spend the night here," said Sofia. She planted herself in front of the tree, her arms crossed.

“计划偷小鸡的人很快就会回来的，”保罗用紧张的声音说。 “可能天黑的时候吧。” “那我们就在这儿过夜吧。”索非亚说。 她双臂交叉地站在树前。

"We won't let anyone take them." Paulo shook his head. "It's too dangerous to wait in plain sight. We don't know who's coming... or what they'll do to get those chicks." "Then we'll hide!" said Max. "If someone comes, we can jump out to stop them. And if they look dangerous, we can run for help. There are plenty of places to hide around here, like... under one of these plants with those huge leaves." He reached out to stroke a waxy, heart-shaped leaf that was nearly as long as he was tall. "The elephant ear plant?" asked Paulo with a smile. "Hey, those leaves do look like elephant ears!" said Sofia, studying the plant. "Is there room for all three of us?" Max dropped to his knees to test it out. "Definitely," he decided. As moisture seeped through his shorts, he hurried back out. "But we might want to bring something to sit on." Paulo looked curious. "Are you two sure you can spend the night guarding the nest with me? I'm sure my mom won't mind. I camp out in the forest all the time. But what about you? Won't your families wonder where you are?"

“我们不会让任何人拿走它们。” 保罗摇了摇头。“在光天化日之下等待太危险了。 我们不知道谁会来…… 或者他们会做些什么来得到那些小鸡。” “那我们就躲起来！”麦克斯说。 “如果有人来了，我们可以跳出来阻止他们。 如果他们看起来很危险，我们可以跑去求救。 这里有很多地方可以躲，比如… 在这些长着巨大叶子的植物下面。” 他伸出手去抚摸一片蜡状的心形叶子，叶子几乎和他的身高一样长。 “象耳植物？”保罗笑着问。 “嘿，这些叶子真像大象的耳朵！”索非亚说，一边研究着这种植物。 “我们三个人都坐得下吗？”马克斯跪下来测试一下。 “当然，”他决定道。湿气渗进了他的短裤，他赶紧跑了出去。 “但我们可能想带点东西坐下来。” 保罗看起来很好奇。“你们俩确定今晚能和我一起守窝吗？” 我相信我妈妈不会介意的。 我经常在森林里露营。 但是你呢？你们的家人不会好奇你们在哪里吗？”

"Our folks won't miss us," Sofia promised. Max raised an eyebrow at her, and she gave him a small shrug. I'm not lying, she reasoned to herself. "Okay, great," said Paulo. "We have a few hours before night falls. I'll take you to my mother's restaurant in town, not far from here. You can meet her and Antonio. And we can pick up some food there." Instead of leading them back the way they'd come, Paulo seemed to head deeper into the rain forest. He picked up his pace, pushing through the trees so quickly that Max and Sofia had to race to keep up. After a while, the trees began to thin out. Max's heart quickened when he spotted a small town up ahead. Wooden houses and buildings lined a single street. In a field nearby, a group of kids played soccer beside a large community garden.

“我们的父母不会想念我们的，”索菲亚保证道。 马克斯朝她扬起眉毛，她轻轻地耸了耸肩。 我没有说谎，她对自己说。 “好的，太好了，”保罗说。 “离夜幕降临还有几个小时。 我带你去我妈妈在城里开的餐馆，离这儿不远。 你可以见见她和安东尼奥。 我们可以在那里买些吃的。” 保罗似乎没有带他们回到他们来的地方，而是向雨林深处走去。 他加快了脚步，穿过树林，速度很快，马克斯和索非亚不得不赛跑才能跟上。 过了一会儿，树开始变薄了。 马克斯看到前面有一个小镇时，心跳加快了。 木房子和建筑排列在一条街上。 在附近的一块空地上，一群孩子在一个大型社区花园旁边踢足球。

As Sofia followed Paulo down the street, she noticed a group of people spilling off a boat onto a small pier. "Are those tourists?" she asked. Some had sunburned noses beneath their straw hats. Others wore binoculars around their necks. Paulo nodded. "I'm happy to see so many of them," he said. "My mother will be, too." But Max noticed that the tourists didn't seem quite as happy. They looked, well... bored. "What a disappointment!" one woman said. "So much of the forest just burned down." "I know," said another, shaking her head. "It's so

索菲亚跟着保罗在街上走，她注意到一群人从一艘船上涌到了一个小码头上。 “那些是游客吗？”她问。 有些人戴着草帽，鼻子被晒伤了。 其他人脖子上戴着双筒望远镜。 保罗点了点头。“我很高兴看到这么多人，”他说。 “我妈妈也会的。”但马克斯注意到游客们似乎不太高兴。 他们看起来，嗯……无聊。 “太令人失望了！”一位女士说。 “很多森林都被烧毁了。” “我知道，”另一个人摇着头说。 “这太

sad... And hardly any animals to be seen." Sofia glanced at Max. "Paulo did say that lots of animals were driven away from the forest," she whispered. "Like the flock of scarlet macaws. Where do you think they went?" Max shrugged sadly. "I don't know. But this is bad. We have to make sure we keep those chicks safe." "Here we are," called Paulo, waving them toward a small, run-down building near the water. A faded sign reading Juliana's was nailed above the door. Inside, the tables were nearly empty. Photographs of the rain forest hung on yellow walls whose paint was peeling, and the sweet scent of fried dough wafted from the back of the restaurant, making Max's mouth water. "Paulo!" called a woman who stepped from the back room. She swiped a strand of dark hair back into her bun and smiled warmly. "Hi, Mom," Paulo said, giving her a quick hug. "These are my friends Max and Sofia. They're visiting." "Welcome!" said the woman. "You can call me Juliana. Are you hungry? We've got lots of space." As she waved her arm around the restaurant, her face fell.

悲伤……几乎看不到任何动物。” 索菲亚瞥了马克斯一眼。“保罗说过很多动物被赶出了森林，”她低声说。 “就像一群猩红色的金刚鹦鹉。 你认为他们去哪儿了？”马克斯伤心地耸了耸肩。 “我不知道。但这很糟糕。 我们必须确保这些小鸡的安全。” “我们到了，”保罗喊道，挥手示意他们朝水边一座破旧的小建筑走去。 门上方钉着一块褪色的牌子，上面写着“朱莉安娜的”。 在里面，桌子几乎是空的。 黄色的墙壁上挂着雨林的照片，墙上的油漆已经剥落，餐厅后面飘来了油条的香味，马克斯都流口水了。 “保罗！”一个女人从后面的房间里走了出来。 她把一缕黑发梳回发髻，热情地微笑着。 “嗨，妈妈，”保罗说，给了她一个快速的拥抱。 “这是我的朋友马克斯和索菲亚。 他们来访。”“欢迎！”女人说。 “你可以叫我朱莉安娜。你饿了吗？ 我们有很多空间。”当她在餐厅周围挥动手臂时，她的脸沉了下来。

"We used to be much busier, but since the fire, well... there are so few tourists." Her eyes flicked back to Paulo and she forced a smile. "Have you come for some black bean stew?"

“我们以前要忙得多，但自从火灾以来，嗯…… 游客太少了。” 她的目光转向保罗，勉强挤出一丝微笑。 “你是来吃炖黑豆的吗？”