3. Goblin on the Loose!

Goblin on the Loose! "I don't like the idea of dodging that popcorn again." Goldie sighed. She leaned back to examine a little mark on one of her wings. "I almost burned myself last time." "There's a path that runs down the side of the field to the farm," Kirsty told her. "I'll ask Mom if we can go for a quick walk before bedtime."

妖精跑了！“我不想再躲着爆米花了。” 戈尔迪叹了口气。她向后靠了靠，仔细检查了一只翅膀上的一个小印记。 “上次我差点烧伤了自己。” “有一条小路从田野的一边通到农场，”柯斯蒂告诉她。 “我会问妈妈我们能不能在睡觉前出去散个步。”

Minutes later, the three of them were on their way. The air was shimmering with heat. There were cracks in the ground where the dirt had become hardened by the sun, flowers wilted along the sides of the path, and the grass had turned dry and brown. There wasn't the slightest breath of wind in the air. Once the girls and Goldie reached the farm, they started searching for the goblin. First, they peeked into the stables. Two very hot horses were inside, hiding from the sun. "Hello," Goldie said. "You haven't seen a goblin hanging around here, have you?" One of the horses shook her mane.

几分钟后，他们三个就上路了。 空气中热得闪闪发光。 泥土被太阳晒得硬化，地面上出现了裂缝，路旁的花朵枯萎了，草也变得干枯，变成了褐色。 空气中没有一丝风。 女孩们和戈尔迪一到农场，就开始寻找小妖精。 首先，他们窥探马厩。 两匹非常热的马在里面，躲着太阳。 “你好，”戈尔迪说。“你没看见妖精在附近游荡吧？”其中一匹马抖了抖鬃毛。

"All we've seen today is this stable," she said. "And there are no goblins in here." "It's too hot to go outside," the other horse whinnied. Next, the girls and Goldie slipped into the barn where the cows stayed. The cows were all half-asleep in the heat. There was no goblin there, either! At last, the three friends came to the duck pond. They wondered if the goblin might be cooling off in the water, but there was no sign of him—or the Sunshine Feather.

她说：“我们今天看到的就是这种稳定。” “这里也没有半兽人。” “外面太热了，”另一匹马嘶鸣着说。 接着，女孩们和戈尔迪溜进奶牛住的谷仓。 奶牛在炎热中都半睡半醒。 那里也没有妖精！最后，三个朋友来到了鸭塘。 他们想知道妖精是不是在水里降温，但是没有他的影子——也没有阳光羽毛的影子。

"You should ask the pigs," one duck quacked helpfully from a shady spot in the cattails. "They've been grumbling all day about something. Plus, pigs are nosy. They're always sniffing around! If there's a goblin on the farm, they'll know about it." Goldie politely thanked the duck. "I think I hear the pigs over this way," Rachel said, walking around the side of the farmhouse. Soon they could all hear the pigs grunting and squealing. The duck was right! The pigs seemed very upset about something. But they all turned to look curiously at Goldie when she flew over to them.

“你应该去问猪，”一只鸭子从香蒲丛中一个阴凉的地方呱呱地说。 “他们一整天都在抱怨什么。 另外，猪很爱管闲事。他们总是到处乱嗅！如果农场里有妖精，他们会知道的。” 戈尔迪礼貌地向鸭子道谢。 “我想我听到这边有猪在叫，”瑞秋边说边绕着农舍走。 很快，他们都能听到猪的哼哼声和尖叫声。 鸭子是对的！猪们似乎在为什么事心烦意乱。 但当戈尔迪飞向他们时，他们都转过身来好奇地看着她。

Goldie fluttered down and landed on the biggest pig's snout. "What's wrong?" she asked kindly. The pig squinted at the golden fairy in front of his little blue eyes. "It's like this," he began in a squeaky voice. "It's been so hot that the farmer added some cold water to the mudhole, so that us pigs could keep nice and cool." He twitched his ears indignantly. "But someone

戈尔迪拍着翅膀飞下来，落在最大的猪鼻子上。 “怎么了？”她和蔼地问。 小猪眯着眼睛看着小蓝眼睛前的金仙女。 “是这样的，”他用尖细的声音说。 “天气太热了，农民往泥坑里倒了些冷水，这样我们猪就能保持凉爽。” 他愤怒地抽动着耳朵。 “但是有人

else has stolen our spot in the mud—and he won't let us in!" "It's not fair," a piglet squealed, running up to Rachel and Kirsty. "We're so hot! It's not fair!" "No, it's not," Kirsty agreed, giving him a pat on the head. "That sounds like the kind of trick a goblin would play!" Rachel pointed out. "Where is the mudhole?" The pigs gave them directions, and the girls set off for the mudhole with Goldie flying above them. It seemed to get hotter and hotter as they walked. Rachel crossed her fingers. She was sure that they would find a goblin in the mud. Who else would be mean enough to stop the pigs from cooling off in their own mud pool? The girls hadn't been walking for very long when they heard someone singing in a croaky voice: "I've been having so much fun Blasting out this golden sun. It's roasting, toasting, popcorn weather. Oh, how I love my Sunshine Feather!" Kirsty, Rachel, and Goldie all ducked behind a nearby tree and carefully peeked out. There, covered in thick, wet mud, was an

别的人把我们在泥里的位置偷走了——他不让我们进去！”“这不公平，”一只小猪尖叫着跑到瑞秋和科斯蒂面前。 “我们太热了！”这不公平!”“不，不是的，”科斯蒂同意了，拍拍他的头。 “这听起来像是妖精会玩的把戏！”瑞秋指出。 “泥坑在哪里？”猪给她们指路，姑娘们就朝泥坑走去，戈尔迪在她们头顶上飞翔。 他们越走越热。 瑞秋交叉着手指。 她确信他们会在泥里找到一个妖精。 还有谁会卑鄙到阻止猪在自己的泥池里降温呢？ 女孩们没走多久，就听到有人用沙哑的声音在唱歌：“我玩得很开心，把这金色的太阳炸出来。” 这是烘烤、烘烤、爆米花的天气。 哦，我多么爱我的阳光羽毛！”科斯蒂、瑞秋和戈尔迪都躲在附近的一棵树后面，小心翼翼地往外偷看。 在那里，被厚厚的湿泥覆盖着的是一个