4. The Grouchy Goblin

Kirsty and Rachel spun around. A tiny fairy with crystal-colored wings was sliding down the gutter pipe. She wore a soft blue dress with fluffy white edging. Her wand was tipped with silver, and her hair was in pigtails. "Look! It's Crystal the Snow Fairy!" Kirsty gasped. The girls rushed over to her. "Hello again!" Crystal called. She looked excited. Tiny, sparkling snowflakes fizzed from the tip of her wand. "Look at all this snow," Rachel said.

科斯蒂和瑞秋转过身来。 一个长着水晶色翅膀的小仙女正从排水沟里滑下来。 她穿着一件柔软的蓝裙子，镶着毛茸茸的白色镶边。 她的魔杖上镶着银色的尖，头发扎着小辫。 “看!是雪仙女水晶！”气喘吁吁地说。 女孩们向她冲过去。 “你好!”水晶。 她看起来很兴奋。小小的、闪闪发光的雪花从她的魔杖尖嘶嘶作响。 “看看这些雪，”雷切尔说。

"We think your feather is close by." "So do I," agreed Crystal. "I can't wait to find it! But there must be a goblin nearby, too.…" She shivered, and her wings drooped. "We have to be careful." "We're going to Willow Hill," Kirsty explained. "We think the feather may be over there." Crystal fluttered down and landed on Rachel's shoulder. "Let's go!" she cried. They headed out of the Tates' garden and walked up Twisty Lane onto High Street. There were lots of people around, so Crystal hid inside a fold of Rachel's scarf.

“我们认为你的羽毛就在附近。” “我也是，”克里斯托同意道。 “我等不及要找到它了！”但附近一定也有个妖精。她颤抖着，翅膀垂了下来。 “我们必须小心。”“我们要去柳树山，”科斯蒂解释说。 “我们认为羽毛可能在那边。” 克里斯托拍着翅膀飞下来，落在瑞秋的肩上。 “我们走吧！”她喊道。他们走出塔特家的花园，沿着扭扭巷（Twisty Lane）走上高街（High Street）。 周围有很多人，所以克里斯托藏在瑞秋围巾的褶里。

Crowds of children were playing in the park, throwing snowballs and building snowmen. They were having fun, but the snow was causing lots of problems, too. The girls passed a few cars that were stuck in snowdrifts. There were other cars that had broken down. A broken pipe at the post office had flooded the road, and some of the shops were closed. "How much farther is Willow Hill?" Rachel panted. It was hard work,

成群的孩子在公园里玩耍，扔雪球，堆雪人。 他们玩得很开心，但是雪也造成了很多问题。 女孩们经过了几辆陷在雪堆里的汽车。 还有其他的车也坏了。 邮局的水管破裂淹没了道路，一些商店也关门了。 “柳树山还有多远？”瑞秋气喘。 这是一项艰苦的工作，

tramping through the deep snow. Kirsty pointed up ahead of them. "There it is," she replied breathlessly. Rachel's heart sank. The snow-covered hill looked very high. As they trudged out of the village, the snow seemed to be getting deeper, too. It was almost up to the top of Rachel's boots. "I have an idea," Kirsty said suddenly, as her feet sank into a snowdrift. "Why don't we use some of our fairy dust? Then we can fly the rest of the way!" Crystal popped her head out of Rachel's scarf. "Good idea!" she said. Kirsty and Rachel opened their lockets. They each took a pinch of fairy dust and sprinkled it over themselves. Immediately, they began to shrink, and wings grew from their shoulders.

在厚厚的积雪中跋涉。 科斯蒂指着前方。 “在那儿，”她上气不接下气地回答。 瑞秋的心一沉。白雪覆盖的小山看起来很高。 当他们艰难地走出村庄时，雪似乎也越来越深了。 几乎到了瑞秋的靴子上。 “我有个主意，”科斯蒂突然说，她的脚陷进了雪堆里。 “我们为什么不用点仙尘呢？” 然后我们就可以飞剩下的路了！”克里斯托从瑞秋的围巾里探出头来。 “好主意！”她说。科斯蒂和瑞秋打开了她们的挂坠盒。 他们每人拿了一小撮仙尘，撒在自己身上。 他们立刻开始缩小，肩膀上长出了翅膀。

"Come on." Crystal took their hands. "Let's fly to the top of the hill. I can see a house up there." "That's Willow Cottage," explained Kirsty. "It's Mrs. Fordham's house." Crystal and the girls flew to the top of the hill, dodging the falling snowflakes, which seemed as big as dinner plates to Rachel and Kirsty.

“来吧。”克里斯托拉住他们的手。 “我们飞到山顶上去吧。 我能看到上面有一所房子。” “那是柳树小屋，”科斯蒂解释说。 “这是福德汉姆太太的房子。” 克里斯托和女孩们躲着飘落的雪花飞到了山顶，雪花在瑞秋和科斯蒂看来就像餐盘那么大。

As they got closer to the cottage, Kirsty spotted smoke coming from the chimney. "That's funny!" she said with a frown. "Mrs. Fordham lives by herself, and she's at our house. So who started the fire?" "Let's look inside," suggested Crystal. The three girls swooped down and hovered outside a frosty window. Crystal waved her wand to melt some of the frost, making a small peephole. They peered inside.

当他们走近小屋时，科斯蒂发现烟囱里冒出了烟。 “真有趣！”她皱着眉头说。 “福德汉姆太太一个人住，她住在我们家。 那么是谁放的火呢？”“我们进去看看吧。”克里斯托建议道。 三个女孩俯冲下来，在结霜的窗户外盘旋。 克里斯托挥了挥魔杖，融化了一些霜，弄出了一个小猫眼。 他们往里面看了看。