Chapter 2

Chapter TWO Inkibelle swished around my bedroom, squiggling her little octopus arms as I rummaged in the toy chest for my backpack. When I found it I stuffed my pair of binoculars and the book about sea sprites into it, along with a packet of sea biscuits—

当我在玩具箱里翻找我的背包时，英基贝利在我的卧室里嗖嗖地转着，扭动着她那章鱼般的小胳膊。 当我找到它的时候，我把我的双筒望远镜和一本关于海精灵的书塞了进去，还有一包海饼干

according to the book, sea sprites love sea biscuits! Then Inkibelle and I swam out of the palace and into the royal gardens, hoping that we wouldn't bump into anyone on the way.

书上说，海精灵爱吃海饼干！然后，因基贝利和我游出宫殿，进入皇家花园，希望我们不会在路上撞到任何人。

I couldn't see Delphina anywhere when I got outside. 'She's late!' I said to Inkibelle. I gazed around at all the beautiful sea plants in the garden and the rows of brightly coloured anemones shining like jewels among the rocks, when suddenly I saw something move.

我到外面的时候根本没看见戴尔菲娜。 “她的迟到!”我对英基贝利说。 我环顾四周，看着花园里所有美丽的海草和一排排色彩鲜艳的海葵，它们像宝石一样在岩石间闪闪发光。突然，我看到有什么东西在动。

'Pssst!' came Delphina's voice from inside a huge frond of seaweed. 'Emerald!' I turned to see two eyes staring at me from among the waving leaves. I couldn't help laughing. 'No one must see us!' hissed Delphina. Then, quick as a flash, she shot out of the seaweed and swam away from the palace gardens, trailing strips of slimy seaweed behind her. I followed as we turned our backs on the palace and headed north, out into the deep open sea.

“嘿,德尔菲娜的声音从一片巨大的海藻里传来。 “翡翠!”我转过身来，看见两只眼睛正从摇曳的树叶中盯着我。 我忍不住笑了。“不能让人看见我们！”德尔菲娜嘶嘶地说。 然后，她像闪电一样迅速地从海藻中冲出，游出了宫殿花园，身后拖着一缕缕黏糊糊的海藻。 我跟在后面，我们转身背对宫殿，向北行驶，进入深邃的大海。

'Ooh it's getting a bit chilly,' said Delphina after we had been swimming for an hour or more. 'My tail is getting tired!' I said. We had left the clear aqua waters of Scallop City behind and everything seemed darker here. The ocean was a deep sapphire blue and below us on the rippling sand, hundreds of silver starfish glowed with their own magical light. Ghost-like jellyfish floated gently through the water, trailing shiny strings that glinted in the faint sunshine from up above. I shivered. Do you think we're heading in the right direction?' asked Delphina. 'I think so,' I replied, opening the

“哦，有点冷了，”我们游了一个多小时后，德尔菲娜说。 “我的尾巴累了！”我说。 我们已经离开了扇贝城清澈的海水，这里的一切似乎都变暗了。 大海是深蓝色的，在我们下面荡漾的沙滩上，数百只银色的海星闪烁着自己神奇的光芒。 幽灵般的水母在水中轻轻地漂浮，拖着闪亮的丝线，在上面微弱的阳光下闪闪发光。 我不禁打了个哆嗦。你觉得我们的方向对吗？德尔菲娜问。 “我想是的，”我回答，打开了

book and checking the map once again. I put my binoculars to my eyes and squinted through them.

再次预订并检查地图。 我把双筒望远镜凑近眼睛，眯着眼睛看过去。