2. The Magic Hive

The Magic Hive "We have to find out where this honey came from!" Rachel said excitedly. "Yes," Kirsty agreed. "Mom? Can we stay here a bit longer, please?" "As long as it's OK with Mrs. Merry," Kirsty's mom replied. Mrs. Merry beamed. "Of course they can stay," she said kindly. Mr. and Mrs. Tate decided to continue their walk. "Make sure you come back to Dolphin Cottage by lunchtime," Kirsty's mom said. "And be careful!" "We will," Kirsty promised.

“我们必须找出这些蜂蜜是从哪里来的!”瑞秋兴奋地说。 “是的，”科斯蒂同意了。“妈妈? 我们能在这里多待一会儿吗?”“只要梅里太太同意就行。”柯斯蒂的妈妈回答。 梅里太太笑了。“他们当然可以留下来，”她和蔼地说。 泰特夫妇决定继续散步。 “你一定要在午餐时间回到海豚小屋，”科斯蒂的妈妈说。 “小心点!”“我们会的，”科斯蒂保证。

"Come along then, girls." Mrs. Merry set off across the smooth, green lawn. Rachel and Kirsty followed her to some old and twisted apple trees. Six wooden hives stood underneath. Kirsty stared at the row of hives. "Which one did the honey we tasted come from?" she asked. Mrs. Merry looked pleased. "Did you enjoy it? The honey from that hive tastes especially good at the moment." Rachel and Kirsty grinned at each other. "I think we might know why," Rachel whispered to Kirsty. "Yes," Kirsty agreed. "It could be fairy honey!" "That's the one," Mrs. Merry said proudly, pointing to the very back of the yard. One hive stood there all alone, beneath the tallest apple tree.

“来吧，姑娘们。”梅里太太穿过光滑的绿色草坪。 瑞秋和柯斯蒂跟着她来到一棵又老又扭的苹果树前。 下面有六个木制的蜂箱。 柯斯蒂盯着那排蜂箱。 她问:“我们尝到的蜂蜜是哪棵树的?” 梅里太太看上去很高兴。 “你喜欢吗?”现在那个蜂巢里的蜂蜜味道特别好。” 瑞秋和科斯蒂相视而笑。 “我想我们可能知道原因了，”瑞秋小声对科斯蒂说。 “是的，”科斯蒂同意了。“可能是仙女蜂蜜!”“就是那个，”梅里太太骄傲地说，指着院子的最后面。 有一个蜂巢孤零零地站在最高的苹果树下。

As they walked toward the hive, the girls could hear a sleepy buzzing sound. "The bees in this hive are very peaceful nowadays," said Mrs. Merry. "I've never known them to be so happy." "Can we get a bit closer?" Rachel asked eagerly. She couldn't wait to find out if the hive held a magical secret!

当她们走向蜂巢时，女孩们听到了一种昏昏欲睡的嗡嗡声。 “现在蜂巢里的蜜蜂都很安静，”梅里太太说。 “我从来没见过他们这么开心。” “我们能再靠近一点吗?”瑞秋急切地问。 她迫不及待地想知道蜂巢里是否藏着一个神奇的秘密!

Mrs. Merry looked thoughtful. "I think it's safe, with the bees so quiet," she decided. "But you had better wear a hood like mine, just in case." She went into a nearby shed and brought out two beekeepers' hoods. "Here you are." Rachel and Kirsty pulled the hoods over their heads. It was a bit dark and stuffy inside, but they could see through the netting just fine.

梅里太太若有所思。 “我想这里很安全，蜜蜂们都很安静，”她决定道。 “不过你最好像我一样戴一顶兜帽，以防万一。” 她走进附近的一个棚子，拿出两个养蜂人的头罩。 “给你。”瑞秋和科斯蒂把兜帽套在头上。 里面有点黑，有点闷，但他们可以透过网看得很清楚。

They moved closer to the hive. The soft buzzing sounded almost like music. "We need to open it and take a look," Kirsty whispered to Rachel. Rachel nodded. But they couldn't start searching for the Yellow Fairy with Mrs. Merry there. Ruby had warned them that no grown-ups should see the fairies. Suddenly, Kirsty had an idea. "Mrs. Merry, could I have a drink of water, please?" she asked. "Of course you can, dear," Mrs. Merry said. "I'll be right back." She went off toward the cottage. The girls waited until Mrs. Merry disappeared inside.

他们向蜂巢靠近。 那轻柔的嗡嗡声听起来几乎像音乐。 “我们得打开看看，”科斯蒂低声对瑞秋说。 雷切尔点了点头。但他们不能在梅里太太在场的情况下开始寻找黄仙女。 鲁比警告过他们，大人不应该去看仙女。 突然，科斯蒂有了一个主意。 “梅里太太，我能喝点水吗?”她问。 “当然可以，亲爱的，”梅里太太说。 “我马上就回来。”她朝小屋走去。 姑娘们一直等到梅里太太消失在屋里。

"Quick!" Kirsty spun around. "Let's open the hive." Rachel grasped one end of the lid. Kirsty took hold of the other end. They pulled hard, and the lid slowly came loose with a squeaky sound. Strings of golden honey stretched down from it. "Watch out. It's very sticky," Rachel said. The girls bent down and laid the heavy wooden top carefully on the ground. Kirsty wiped her fingers on the grass. "Look!" Rachel whispered as she stood up. Kirsty turned to see, and gasped.

“快!”科斯蒂转过身来。 “我们把蜂巢打开吧。”瑞秋抓住盖子的一端。 科斯蒂抓住了另一端。 他们使劲拉，盖子慢慢地松开了，发出吱吱的声音。 一串串金黄色的蜂蜜从树上垂下来。 “小心。它很粘，”雷切尔说。 姑娘们弯下腰，小心翼翼地把沉重的木制顶盖放在地上。 柯斯蒂在草地上擦了擦手指。 “看!”瑞秋站起来小声说。 科斯蒂转过身去看，倒吸了一口气。