6 The den

CHAPTER SIX The den 'AaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGH!' The foxes swung back and forth in Frank's talons as he swooped high over the tops of the tall, spiky trees. At one point they even flew through the clouds, which made their fur go chilly and damp. THUNK Frank dropped the foxes onto the ground. 'Sorry about that,' said Titus, trotting casually out from the undergrowth. 'It was the easiest way to get you here.' Nancy sniffed the air. 'Foxes,' she murmured. 'I can smell… other foxes. Where are they?' 'Ah,' said Titus. 'You are a smart thing. Yes, apparently there used to be some foxes here in Grimwood. No idea where they are now, but their den is still here. You may as well have it before someone else starts using it as a holiday home.' 'Pamela was thinking about storing her foot spa here,' muttered Frank, examining his talons.

第六章洞穴“啊……啊……啊……”狐狸在弗兰克的爪子里来回摆动，他从高高的、带刺的树顶上俯冲下来。 有一次，它们甚至飞过云层，这让它们的皮毛变得又冷又湿。 弗兰克把狐狸扔到地上。 “对不起，”提图斯说着，漫不经心地从矮树丛里小跑出来。 “这是把你带到这里最简单的方法。”南希嗅了嗅空气。 “狐狸，”她低声说。“我能闻到……其他狐狸的味道。 他们在哪里？提多说，啊。 “你是个聪明的家伙。是的，显然格里姆伍德曾经有一些狐狸。 不知道它们现在在哪里，但它们的巢穴还在这里。 你最好在别人把它当作度假屋之前拥有它。“帕梅拉想把她的足疗放在这里，”弗兰克嘟囔着，检查着自己的爪子。

'Well, she'll have to find somewhere else,' said Titus. 'Ooh, I almost forgot– I swung by my place and brought you a few snacks!' And he held out a wicker basket which was piled high with all sorts of tasty-looking things. 'Cor!' said Ted, who was suddenly too hungry to be scared. 'Thank you!' He scampered over to the food. There were sandwiches, apples, carrots, grapes and sticky buns. Nancy's tummy was rumbling so loudly everyone could hear it, but she didn't go near the basket. She was frowning at Titus and Frank. 'We can't give you anything for the food,' she said. 'You don't need to give me anything,' said Titus gently. He took a few steps back. 'Come on, Frank. Let's leave them to get settled.' Frank turned his beady gaze away from the foxes and swooped after Titus. Nancy turned around to see Ted's bum and tail hanging out of the basket. He'd dived in snout-first and was stuffing himself silly.

“嗯，她得另找地方了，”提图斯说。 “哦，我差点忘了——我路过我家，给你带了一些零食！”他拿出一个柳条篮子，篮子里高高堆着各种各样看起来很好吃的东西。 “天哪!泰德说，他突然饿得不害怕了。 “谢谢你!”他蹦蹦跳跳地奔向食物。 有三明治、苹果、胡萝卜、葡萄和甜面包。 南希的肚子咕咕叫得很响，每个人都能听到，但她没有走近篮子。 她对着提图斯和弗兰克皱着眉头。 “我们不能给你任何食物，”她说。 “你不需要给我任何东西，”提图斯温和地说。 他向后退了几步。“来吧，弗兰克。 让他们自己安顿下来吧。”弗兰克把他那炯炯的目光从狐狸身上移开，猛扑向提图斯。 南希转过身来，看到特德的屁股和尾巴挂在篮子外面。 他一头扎进水里，把自己灌得烂醉如泥。

'Move,' said Nancy, shoving him to one side and attacking the basket in a frenzy. After about five seconds the foxes lay panting on the floor. They'd demolished every last scrap of food and it had been deeeelicious. Oh, what I'd give for a sticky bun.

“让开，”南希说着，把他推到一边，疯狂地进攻篮筐。 大约五秒钟后，狐狸躺在地板上喘着气。 他们把最后一点食物都吃光了，而且非常美味。 我真想换一个小圆面包。

'Nance,' said Ted, rubbing his furry belly. 'I reckon those guys are just being nice to us, you know.' 'Nobody's ever nice for no reason,' said Nancy, licking bits of sandwich off her fur. Ted thought for a while. 'But the big horse guy said we didn't need to give him anything.' 'He's just trying to keep us sweet,' said Nancy. 'That stupid bird stole my phone, remember? Also, he's not a horse.' 'What is he, then?' 'I think he's a reindeer.' Hullo! Titus is a stag, actually

“南希，”特德说，揉着他毛茸茸的肚子。 “我想那些家伙只是对我们好，你知道的。“没有人会无缘无故地友好，”南希说，一边舔着毛皮上的三明治碎片。 泰德想了一会儿。“但是那个养马的大家伙说我们不需要给他任何东西。“他只是想让我们保持甜蜜，”南希说。 “那只笨鸟偷了我的手机，记得吗？” 而且，他不是马。“那么，他是什么人呢？”“我想他是一头驯鹿。”哈啰!事实上，提图斯是一头牡鹿

'I wonder who used to live here?' said Ted, plonking down his rucksack and sniffing around. Nancy took one of the blankets and hung it across the den, creating two separate spaces. 'You go here,' she barked. 'And behind this curtain is MY space, got it? No little boy foxes allowed.' Ted wrinkled his snout at her. As if he'd want to go in Nancy's bit of the den anyway. He preferred to keep things neat and tidy. He set to work dusting the floor, then unpacked the contents of his rucksack. He still didn't know what to do with Princess Buttons' tail. It was an awkward reminder of the pickle they were in. When Nancy woke up, she had absolutely no idea where she was. Then a gnat nibbled her armpit and she remembered she was in the countryside. 'Rise and shine, wee foxes!' boomed a voice from outside the den. 'Special delivery.' Nancy scrambled out to see Frank the owl swooping down to land. In his talons he was clutching two bottles filled with a strange, gloopy green liquid. 'Freshly made smoothies,' he announced. Nancy grabbed one of the bottles and gave it a sniff. Then she chugged the whole lot down in seconds. 'You're welcome,' said Frank. Nancy wiped her snout with the back of her paw.

“我想知道谁以前住在这里？”泰德说着放下背包四处嗅了嗅。 南希拿起其中一张毯子，把它挂在书房的另一边，形成了两个独立的空间。 “你到这儿来，”她吼道。 “窗帘后面是我的空间，明白吗？” 小狐狸不允许进来。”泰德朝她皱起鼻子。 好像他无论如何都想进南希的小房间似的。 他喜欢把东西保持整洁。 他开始打扫地板，然后打开背包里的东西。 他仍然不知道该怎么处理巴顿公主的尾巴。 这是对他们所处困境的尴尬提醒。 南希醒来时，完全不知道自己身在何处。 这时，一只小蚊子咬了她的腋窝，她记起自己是在乡下。 “起床吧，小狐狸们！”洞穴外面一个声音轰隆地说。 “快递”。南希爬了出来，看到猫头鹰弗兰克俯冲下来着陆。 他用爪子抓着两个瓶子，瓶子里装着一种奇怪的、粘糊糊的绿色液体。 “刚做的冰沙，”他宣布。 南希抓起其中一个瓶子闻了闻。 然后她在几秒钟内把所有的东西都吃了下去。 “不用谢，”弗兰克说。 南希用爪子的背面擦了擦鼻子。

'Thanks,' she grunted. 'It's not me you should be thanking, smiler,' said Frank, stretching out his enormous wings. Nancy grunted again and looked at the bottle. 'I don't know why he's bothering,' snapped Frank. 'His heart's too big for his own good, that stag. Where's the kid?' Nancy rubbed her eyes and felt a sudden lurch of panic in her chest. Where was Ted? 'Ted!' she barked. 'TED!' She dashed back inside the den to double check but he wasn't there. She came back outside again, and started to run around in circles, desperate to pick up his scent. Had

“谢谢，”她咕哝着说。“你应该感谢的不是我，微笑。”弗兰克说着，展开了他那巨大的翅膀。 南希又哼了一声，看着瓶子。 “我不知道他为什么要麻烦你，”弗兰克厉声说。 “那头鹿，他的心太大了。 那孩子在哪儿？”南希揉了揉眼睛，突然感到一阵恐慌涌上心头。 泰德在哪儿？“泰德!她吼道。 “泰德!”她冲回洞里再次检查，但他不在那里。 她又回到外面，开始绕着圈子跑，不顾一切地想闻到他的气味。 有