9 The Grimwood Players

CHAPTER NINE The Grimwood Players

第九章格里姆伍德的玩家

We're almost there!' cried Willow, as she and Ted climbed up the massive hill. They emerged from a thicket of silver birch trees and Willow started to bounce up and down and point up at the sky. 'BEHOLD!' she said proudly. 'The Magic Tower!' Ted looked up. It was an electricity pylon. It buzzed quietly. 'Have you ever seen anything like it in your LIFE?' bellowed Willow, still hopping up and down. 'They say it gives Grimwood magical powers!' Ted had, in fact, seen many electricity pylons in his life. He could have told Willow that the hot, fizzy electricity whizzing through those cables was used by humans to watch television, charge their phones and switch the lights on. But as he was a gentle and polite young fox, Ted just said, 'No! What an amazing thing.' Just then, a long black cable started to wave around madly in the air, like an arm made from spaghetti. There was a strange squawky noise. 'Duck!' said Ted, pushing Willow to the ground and covering their heads with his tail. 'It's not a duck, it's an eagle, you silly,' said Willow. 'It's Pamela. She likes to chew on the loose wire now and then. Says it gives her a "massive buzz".'

我们快到了！威洛叫道，她和泰德爬上了那座大山。 他们从一丛白桦树中出来，柳树开始上下弹跳，指向天空。 “看哪!她骄傲地说。 “魔法塔！”泰德抬起头来。 那是一座电塔。 它轻轻地嗡嗡作响。“你这辈子见过这样的事吗？”威洛吼道，仍然跳上跳下。 “他们说它赋予格里姆伍德神奇的力量！”事实上，泰德一生中见过很多电塔。 他本可以告诉威洛，这些电缆发出的热气和嘶嘶声是人类用来看电视、给手机充电和开灯的。 但因为他是一只温柔而有礼貌的小狐狸，特德只是说：“不！多么神奇的事情啊。”就在这时，一根长长的黑色缆绳开始在空中疯狂地摆动，就像一只用意大利面做成的手臂。 有一种奇怪的刺耳的声音。 “鸭子!泰德说着，把威洛推倒在地，用尾巴盖住他们的头。 “那不是鸭子，那是鹰，你这个笨蛋，”威罗说。 这是帕梅拉。她喜欢时不时地咬一下松动的电线。 她说这让她“非常兴奋”。

'But… but that could KILL her!' squeaked Ted. 'Yup.' Willow nodded. 'But Pamela's a tough ol' bird. She wants to feel the power of the Magic Tower.' Hello, everyone! Just a friendly note to say please don't go near electricity cables, and definitely do not attempt to chew them. It would mean certain death and would likely ruin your day! Thaaaaaaanks! Xx Ted watched as Pamela wrestled with the loose cable. He sniffed. The air stank of burning feathers. 'They say the hoomins built this tower many years ago,' said Willow. 'Humans, you mean.' 'Yes, hoomins. That's what I said.'

“可是……可是那会害死她的！”泰德尖声说。 “是的。”柳点点头。“但帕梅拉是个坚强的老女人。 她想感受魔法塔的力量。”你好,每个人!只是一个友好的通知，请不要靠近电缆，绝对不要试图咀嚼它们。 这将意味着死亡，可能会毁了你的一天！Thaaaaaaanks !泰德看着帕梅拉使劲拽着松动的电缆。 他闻了闻。空气中弥漫着羽毛燃烧的恶臭。 “他们说胡民在许多年前建造了这座塔，”威罗说。 “你是说人类吗？”“是的，哼！” 我就是这么说的。”

'Humans.' 'Hoomins.' 'Humans.' 'Hoomins.' 'Humans.' 'Hoomins.' 'Humans.' 'Hoomins.' Now listen, this is getting very silly. 'Anyway, they say that it gives Grimwood a very special kind of energy,' said Willow. 'Oh! Is that why you're all so weird?' asked Ted. 'Pardon?' 'I mean, is that why you're all so… unusual?' said Ted, correcting himself. 'It's what makes us different,' said Willow proudly, puffing her chest out. Ted looked at Willow, who now seemed to be putting on some sparkly purple legwarmers. She started to

“人类。“Hoomins。“人类。“Hoomins。“人类。“Hoomins。“人类。“Hoomins。”听着，这太蠢了。 “不管怎么说，他们说它给了格里姆伍德一种非常特殊的能量。” “啊!所以你们才这么奇怪吗？泰德问。 “你说什么?“我是说，这就是你们这么……不寻常的原因吗？”泰德纠正自己说。 “这就是我们与众不同的地方。”薇罗骄傲地说，挺起胸膛。 泰德看了看威洛，她现在似乎穿上了一套闪闪发光的紫色护腿。 她开始

stretch, making 'OOH' and 'AAAAH' noises as she lifted her arms, touched her toes and waggled her ears around. 'Just warming up before Drama Club,' she explained, bending over so much her head was between her legs. 'The Big Show's in a few days. We've been rehearsing for ages.' Ted clasped his paws to his face. 'Drama Club? Tell me more!' he said. 'Well, every few months, there's a big talent show in Grimwood,' said Willow. Ted's tail started wagging. 'What kinds of things do people do in the show?' 'Oh, there's all sorts,' said Willow. 'The Grimwood Players put on a play or a musical. The badgers have a

她一边伸伸懒腰，一边抬起胳膊，摸着脚趾，摇着耳朵，发出“哦”和“啊”的声音。 “在参加戏剧俱乐部之前做热身。”她解释道，身子弯得很低，头都夹在两腿之间了。 “再过几天就是大秀了。 我们已经排练很久了。”泰德用爪子捂着脸。 “戏剧俱乐部吗?告诉我更多！他说。 “嗯，每隔几个月，格里姆伍德就有一场大型的才艺表演。” 泰德的尾巴开始摇晃。 “人们在剧中都做些什么？”“哦，有各种各样的，”威罗说。 格里姆伍德剧团上演了一出戏剧或音乐剧。 獾有一个

male voice choir. There's a mole called Emo Omar who recites difficult poetry.' Ted's brain was a-poppin' and a-fizzin' with excitement. 'It sounds fantastic! Is this the rehearsal Ingrid was talking about earlier?' 'Yup,' said Willow. 'And she wants me to bring you. So come on, then.' There was a nagging feeling in Ted's tummy. He'd been away from the den for a while and should probably be getting back. But he pushed the feeling away. He grabbed Willow's paw. 'Let's go!' They arrived at a copse which had been decorated with bunting and streamers. There was a small wooden stage and a few benches. Some efficient-looking beavers were adjusting two large spotlights nestled in the boughs of a pair of copper beeches. Animals were bustling about, looking very busy and important. 'Golly!' said Ted. Ingrid the duck's nervous-looking assistant, Tamara, waddled over to where they were standing.

男声合唱团。有个鼹鼠叫埃莫·奥马尔，他会背诵难读的诗歌。”泰德的脑子里兴奋得嘣嘣作响。 “听起来太棒了！”这是英格丽德之前说的排练吗？“是的，”威罗说。 “她要我带你去。 那么，来吧。”泰德的肚子里有一种唠叨的感觉。 他离开洞穴有一段时间了，也许该回来了。 但他把这种感觉推开了。 他抓住威洛的爪子。“我们走吧!”他们来到一片用狩猎和彩带装饰的小树林前。 那里有一个小木舞台和几条长凳。 一些看起来很有效率的海狸正在调整一对铜山毛榉树枝上的两个大射灯。 动物们忙来忙去，显得非常忙碌和重要。 “天啊!泰德说。鸭子的助手英格丽德神情紧张，塔玛拉摇摇摆摆地走到他们站着的地方。