7 A Splashy Reunion

Chapter 7 A Splashy Reunion Sofia kicked nervously at the leg of her chair as they sat in the reception area of the animal rescue center, a room lined with framed photos of seabirds and animals. It had been only a couple of hours since the coast guard had brought the mama seal here to clean the oil off her fur. But for Sofia, it felt more like days. She leaned her head against Maisie's shoulder and wondered if the mama had been reunited with her pup

他们坐在动物救助中心的接待区，房间里挂满了海鸟和动物的照片，索菲亚紧张地踢着椅子腿。 距离海岸警卫队把海豹妈妈带到这里来清理毛皮上的油污只有几个小时。 但对索菲亚来说，这更像是几天。 她把头靠在麦茜的肩膀上，想知道妈妈是否已经和她的小狗团聚了

yet. The rescue team had brought the pup in, too, because it was too young to survive without its mother. "We'll hear something soon," said Max. "Don't worry." Maisie suddenly sat up straight in her chair. "Ma! Dad!" she said, looking over at the doorway. "You're here!" A ginger-haired woman stepped into the waiting area, a worried expression on her face, followed by a man in a cap who was pale with fright. When the woman spread her arms, Maisie leaped out of her chair and ran to her mother. "I'm sorry," Maisie cried. "I'm so sorry about Bonnie!"

然而。救援队也把这只幼崽带了进来，因为它太小了，没有妈妈就活不下去。 “我们很快就会有消息的。”麦克斯说。 “别担心。”麦茜突然在椅子上坐直了身子。 “妈!爸爸！”她看着门口说。 “你在这里!”一个姜黄色头发的女人走进等候区，脸上带着担忧的表情，后面跟着一个戴帽子的男人，他吓得脸色发白。 当那个女人张开双臂时，麦齐从椅子上跳起来，跑向她的母亲。 “对不起，”麦奇叫道。 “邦妮的事我很难过！”

"Hush now," said her mother. "The winds were strong and no one was hurt. Bonnie has had a good long life." As Maisie wiped a tear away, Max swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew Maisie was thinking about her granny. "There'll be a new Bonnie," Maisie's dad soothed her.

“嘘，”她妈妈说。 “风很大，没有人受伤。 邦妮已经活得很长了。” 麦茜擦去眼泪，马克斯咽下了哽在喉咙里的泪水。 他知道麦茜在想她的奶奶。 “会有一个新的邦妮的，”麦茜的爸爸安慰她。

Max's ears perked right up. "You know how to build a boat?" Maisie's dad grinned. "We do. With a little help from Granddad. And it's possible we've nearly finished it already." He winked at Maisie. "Wait, you have?" Maisie's eyes widened. "Really?" Her dad ruffled up her hair. "Yes, sweet girl, we have." He turned back toward Max. "We've known for a while now that the original Bonnie would have to be retired. Running an engine like that isn't environmentally friendly, as the oil spill shows. The new Bonnie is an eco-sailboat made from recycled wood. It uses only wind for power, so there will be no oil to leak." "That's so cool!" said Max. The door to the waiting area opened and a rescue worker stepped through. She wore rubber gloves and a white, water-spattered apron with a name tag that said Lucy. "I heard there were some visitors here who might like to see their seal friends," Lucy said with a bright smile. "Yes!" Sofia was first through the door. She followed Lucy down the long, winding hall. In a room at the end, two seals were splashing around in a big blue plastic tub. Sofia recognized the big-eyed baby right away, and the large spotted seal

马克斯的耳朵竖起来了。 “你知道怎么造船吗？”麦茜的爸爸笑了。 “我们做的。在爷爷的帮助下。 很可能我们已经快完成了。” 他朝麦齐眨了眨眼睛。“等等，你有？”麦茜睁大了眼睛。 “真的吗?”她爸爸把她的头发弄乱。 “是的，可爱的姑娘，我们见过。” 他转向马克斯。 “我们早就知道原来的邦妮要退休了。 像这样运行引擎是不环保的，正如石油泄漏所表明的那样。 新的邦妮是一艘由回收木材制成的生态帆船。 它只使用风力发电，所以不会有石油泄漏。” “太酷了！”麦克斯说。 等候区的门打开了，一名救援人员走了进来。 她戴着橡胶手套，围着一条溅满水的白色围裙，围裙上还有一个名牌，上面写着露西。 “我听说这里有一些游客可能想看看他们的海豹朋友，”露西微笑着说。 “是的!”索菲亚第一个进了门。 她跟着露茜走进长长的、蜿蜒的大厅。 在最后的一个房间里，两只海豹在一个蓝色的大塑料桶里戏水。 索菲亚立刻认出了那个大眼睛的婴儿，还有那只大斑点海豹

beside it had to be its mother—she kept nosing at it, as if to make sure it was okay. And the pup nipped at her flippers, as if to say, Where have you been? As Max and Maisie stepped into the room behind her, Sofia turned to face Lucy. "Is the mother seal all right? Will she be okay?" Lucy nodded. "You were right to call the coast

它的旁边一定是它的妈妈——她不停地用鼻子嗅着它，好像要确保它没事。 小狗咬着自己的鳍，好像在说，你去哪儿了？ 马克斯和麦奇跟在她后面走进房间，索菲亚转过身来面对露西。 “母海豹没事吧？” 她会没事吗？”露西点点头。 “你叫海岸来是对的

guard when you did. Although she had lots of oil on her fur, she doesn't seem to have swallowed any." Max stepped closer to the tub. "But how did you clean her up so quickly? She was completely covered!" He shuddered at the memory. "Seal fur is usually thin and easy to clean," Lucy explained. "And fortunately, the rest of the seals were spotted far away from the spill, so they're okay, too. You all did a very good thing today. You saved this mother seal and her wee boy. We're going to release them into a safe, quiet cove tomorrow morning—at West Beach beside the village. Would you like to join us?" "Yes!" exclaimed Maisie. She looked toward Max and Sofia. "Will you come, too?" Max and Sofia smiled at each other. "Maybe we could have a sleepover on Wind Rider?" Sofia whispered. Just the thought of staying an extra day sent a jolt of excitement from her head to her toes. "Yes!" Max's eyes lit up. "We might need Wind Rider to give us a few new blankets, though." "What do you say?" Maisie asked. She reached for their hands and squeezed. "We'll be there." Sofia squeezed back and grinned.

当你这样做的时候。虽然她的皮毛上有很多油，但她似乎没有吞下任何油。” 马克斯走近浴缸。 “可你是怎么这么快就把她收拾干净的？” 她完全被遮住了！”他一想起这事就不寒而栗。 “海豹毛通常很薄，很容易清洗，”露西解释说。 幸运的是，其余的海豹被发现离泄漏点很远，所以它们也没事。 你们今天都做得很好。 你救了这只母海豹和她的小男孩。 明天早上，我们要把他们放到一个安全、安静的海湾里——在村庄旁边的西海滩。 你想加入我们吗？”“是的！”麦奇叫道。 她朝马克斯和索菲亚看了看。 “你也来吗？”马克斯和索菲亚相视一笑。 “也许我们可以在风骑士上过夜？”索非亚低声说。 一想到还要多待一天，她就从头到脚都感到一阵兴奋。 “是的!”麦克斯的眼睛亮了起来。“不过，我们可能需要风骑士给我们几条新毯子。” “你说呢？”梅齐问道。 她伸手抓住他们的手，紧紧握住。 “我们会去的。”索菲亚向后挤了挤，咧嘴一笑。