11 THE STRAGGLERS

CHAPTER 11 THE STRAGGLERS Wild geese are known for migrating in the autumn and the spring. But exactly when a flock migrates is up to its members. Some flocks choose to fly early in the season, others straggle far behind. And it was one of those straggling flocks that caught the attention of our robot. Honk! Honk! Honk! The geese were heard before they were seen. Their honking voices echoed across the farm, and then the flock appeared above the fields, flying in a wobbly V formation. They glided over the pasture and plunked down into the pond. None of them were very concerned as Roz approached. The geese had seen similar creatures on other farms, and they knew there was nothing to fear. But they were about to learn that our robot was very different from the others. "Hello, geese," said Roz. "Welcome to Hilltop

野鹅以在秋天和春天迁徙而闻名。 但是鸟群迁徙的确切时间取决于它的成员。 一些鸟群选择在这个季节的早期飞行，其他鸟群则在后面挣扎。 正是这些散乱的鸟群中的一个引起了我们机器人的注意。 嘎!嘎!嘎!鹅的叫声先听后见。 它们的叫声在农场里回荡，然后这群鸟出现在田野上空，排成摇摇晃晃的V字形飞行。 它们滑过牧场，扑通一声掉进池塘里。 当罗兹走近时，他们都不怎么担心。 这些鹅在其他农场也见过类似的生物，它们知道没什么好害怕的。 但他们很快就会知道，我们的机器人和其他机器人非常不同。 “你们好，鹅们，”罗兹说。“欢迎来到山顶

Farm!" The geese froze. They stared at Roz with suspicious eyes. And then the biggest goose slowly swam over. "I've come across plenty of monsters like you," he said, "but I've never met one who could talk!" "I am not a monster, I am a robot. My name is Roz." The goose scratched his head. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Roz the robot," he said

农场!”鹅冻住了。他们用怀疑的目光盯着罗兹。 然后那只最大的鹅慢慢地游了过来。 “我遇到过很多像你这样的怪物，”他说，“但我从来没有遇到过一个会说话的！”“我不是怪物，我是机器人。 我叫罗兹。”鹅挠了挠头。 “嗯，很高兴见到你，机器人罗兹，”他说

at last. "My name is Wingtip, and this is my flock." Roz gave a friendly wave, and soon the flock was gathering around, curious to meet this odd character. As you can imagine, the geese were shocked to learn that Roz had a goose for a son. They asked her all kinds of questions about Brightbill, and about her old life on the island, and about her new life on the farm. Then Roz asked them a question of her own. "Do you think Brightbill's flock would ever come this way on their migration?" "Doubtful," said Wingtip. "It sounds like his flock takes the eastern flyways. They'd never come this far west." The robot slumped with disappointment. "However, we geese are full of surprises," added Wingtip. "I'll promise you this, Roz: if we ever meet Brightbill, we'll point him in your direction." The talk was interrupted by giggling and barking. The children were taking their dog for a walk. Roz couldn't be seen chatting with geese, so she whispered a quick good-bye to her new friends and went back to work. And when she looked down at the pond later that day, she saw that the flock was gone.

最后。“我叫翼尖，这是我的羊群。” 罗兹友好地挥了挥手，很快鸟群就围了过来，好奇地想见见这个奇怪的人物。 你可以想象，当鹅们得知罗兹有个鹅儿子时，他们非常震惊。 他们问了她关于布莱特比尔的各种问题，关于她在岛上的旧生活，关于她在农场的新生活。 然后罗兹问了他们一个她自己的问题。 “你认为布莱特比尔的羊群在迁徙时会走这条路吗？”“不知道。”翼尖说。 “听起来他的鸟群走的是东方的航线。 他们从来没有到过这么远的西部。” 机器人失望地瘫倒在地。 “然而，我们鹅总是充满惊喜，”Wingtip补充道。 “我向你保证，罗兹：如果我们遇到布莱特比尔，我们会把他指给你的。” 谈话被咯咯的笑声和狗吠声打断。 孩子们正在遛狗。 不能让人看到罗兹和鹅们聊天，所以她小声地跟新朋友们说了声再见，然后回去工作了。 那天晚些时候，当她低头看池塘时，她发现鸟群已经不见了。