3. Stop, Thief!

"Quick, hide!" Hayley whispered. "We need to come up with a plan." Kirsty and Rachel looked around desperately. The goblin was coming closer and closer. There was nowhere to hide! "What about the trees?" Kirsty suggested. "If we turn into fairies, we can hide in the branches!" Rachel pulled out the magic locket that the Fairy Queen had given her to use in times of danger. Kirsty found hers, too, and both girls sprinkled themselves with glittering fairy dust.

“快躲!”海莉低声说。 “我们需要拿出一个计划。” 柯斯蒂和瑞秋绝望地环顾四周。 妖精越来越近了。 没有地方可躲！“那树呢？”作者建议。 “如果我们变成仙女，我们可以躲在树枝里！”瑞秋拿出了仙女女王给她的魔法挂坠盒，让她在危险的时候使用。 科斯蒂也找到了她的，两个女孩都往自己身上撒了闪闪发光的仙尘。

Kirsty felt her shoulders tingle as delicate fairy wings grew there. She fluttered straight into the air, heading for the nearest branch. Rachel also felt herself shrinking. She zoomed upward on her sparkly wings and landed next to Kirsty. Just then, she spotted an empty bird's nest on a nearby branch. "Quick! In here!" she whispered. Kirsty and Hayley jumped in beside Rachel. The nest was lined with moss and fluffy feathers. It felt cozy and dry. "Great idea, Rachel. This is a perfect place to hide!" Hayley said, grinning. As soon as the girls were out of sight, the goblin floated beneath the tree in his umbrella boat. One of the ducks flapped its wings angrily, pulling at its rope. The umbrella wobbled in the water and almost tipped over.

科斯蒂感到她的肩膀发麻，精致的仙女翅膀在那里长出来了。 她直接飞向空中，飞向最近的树枝。 雷切尔也感到自己在萎缩。 她振着闪闪发光的翅膀飞了起来，落在科斯蒂旁边。 就在这时，她发现附近树枝上有一个空鸟窝。 “快!在这儿！”她低声说。 Kirsty和Hayley跳到了Rachel旁边。 巢上长满了苔藓和蓬松的羽毛。 感觉又舒适又干燥。“好主意，瑞秋。 这是一个完美的藏身之处！”海莉笑着说。 姑娘们一看不见，妖精就乘着他的伞船浮到了树下。 其中一只鸭子生气地拍打着翅膀，拉着绳子。 伞在水里摇晃着，几乎翻了。

"Hey! I almost fell out!" the goblin complained. "Stop trying to get away, you silly ducks. You've got my nice warm scarf for a rope. I'm the one who's freezing! Achoo!" His loud sneeze echoed through the park like a foghorn. Kirsty, Rachel, and Hayley quietly peeked out of the nest. They could see that the goblin was very thin, with enormous hands and feet. Rain poured from the brim of his battered hat and dripped onto his long, crooked nose.

“嘿!我差点摔下来！”妖精抱怨道。 “别想逃跑了，你们这些笨鸭子。 你用我温暖的围巾做绳子。 冻死的是我！啊嚏!”他响亮的喷嚏像雾角一样在公园里回响。 科斯蒂、瑞秋和海莉悄悄地从巢里往外偷看。 他们可以看到妖精非常瘦，手脚很大。 雨水从他破旧的帽檐上滴落下来，落在他又长又歪的鼻子上。

The goblin shivered and sniffed. He rubbed the tip of his nose, which was all red and shiny. "It's not fair. I wanted to go after the Sunshine Feather, and instead I get stuck with this rotten old Rain Feather! I should be toasty warm, not as cold as yesterday's mud oatmeal and as soggy as a squashed worm! Achoo!"

妖精颤抖着，嗅了嗅。 他揉了揉鼻尖，鼻尖又红又亮。 “这不公平。我本想去找阳光羽毛，结果却被这只烂旧的雨羽毛缠住了！我应该暖和得像烤面包一样，而不是像昨天的泥燕麦粥那样冷，像被压扁的虫子一样湿！啊嚏!”

"He has a really nasty cold," murmured Hayley. "Serves him right!" Kirsty said. Just then, the goblin lifted his hat and pulled out a beautiful copper-colored feather with silvery streaks. He jabbed it angrily into the air. "Just stop this rain, right now!" he muttered. The rain stopped at once, and the goblin grinned with triumph. "At least it follows directions," he grunted, stuffing the feather back under his hat.

“他得了严重的感冒，”海莉喃喃地说。 “他活该！”基说。 就在这时，妖精摘下帽子，抽出一根漂亮的带银色条纹的铜色羽毛。 他愤怒地把它向空中一挥。 “快把雨停了，马上！” 雨立刻停了，半兽人得意地笑了。 “至少它能听指示。”他咕哝着，把羽毛塞回帽子底下。

"Oh, the poor Rain Feather!" whispered Hayley. Suddenly, the goblin's miserable face lit up with a grin. He had spotted the girls' raft. "Oh, goody, a real boat just for me!" he cried. Using his big hands as paddles, the goblin pulled up alongside the raft. Then he scrunched up his long legs, sprang straight in the air, and landed in the raft. "Nice duckies. Let's harness you to my new boat," he said. "That's it. All ready now. Off we go!"

“哦，可怜的雨羽！”海莉小声说。 突然，妖精痛苦的脸上露出了笑容。 他发现了女孩们的木筏。 “哦，太好了，一艘真正的船只属于我！”他叫道。 妖精用他的大手当桨，把船划到木筏旁边。 然后他蜷缩起两条长腿，一跃而起，落在木筏上。 “好鸭子。让我们把你套到我的新船上吧，”他说。 “就是这样。现在都准备好了。 我们走吧！”