60 THE HUNTERS

CHAPTER 60 THE HUNTERS Crack! A gunshot echoed through the mountains. There weren't many hunters willing to trek into that wilderness, but those who did were serious. They camped out, wore camouflage, and fired traditional rifles for the sport of it. Crack! Roz and Brightbill were desperate to stay clear of the hunters. However, that was proving difficult. The trees were tightly packed together and the undergrowth was tough and tangled. So they followed the deer paths that cut through this part of the forest. But they never knew when or where the next shot would be fired. Crack! The gunshots were growing louder. Our friends slowed to a crawl, afraid of being seen or heard. And then the chatter of forest animals fell silent.

第六十章猎人们啪！枪声在山间回荡。 没有多少猎人愿意长途跋涉进入那片荒野，但那些愿意的人是认真的。 他们在野外露营，穿着迷彩服，用传统步枪射击。 裂缝!罗兹和布莱特比尔不顾一切地想避开猎人。 然而，事实证明这很困难。 树木密密麻麻地挤在一起，矮树丛又硬又乱。 于是他们沿着穿过这片森林的鹿道走。 但他们永远不知道下一枪会在何时何地打响。 裂缝!枪声越来越响。 我们的朋友们放慢了脚步，害怕被人看见或听见。 接着，森林里动物的叽叽喳喳声安静了下来。

CRACK! A bullet whizzed through the undergrowth and a deer went bounding away. At the same time, birds screeched and flapped into the air. Unfortunately, one of those birds was Brightbill. Scared and confused, the young goose fluttered up to a tree limb just as two hunters emerged from the bushes. "What's a goose doing alone in these mountains?" said Hank, staring up at Brightbill. "And what's it doing in a tree?" "There must be something wrong with it," said Miguel. "Maybe you should put it out of its misery." Hank reloaded his rifle. "We're here to hunt deer," he said, "but it looks like we're having goose for dinner." Had the hunters known Brightbill the way we do, reader, I'm sure they would have left him alone. But they knew nothing about him. To them, Brightbill was just another goose, a meal, and they were getting hungry. The hunter raised his rifle. He took a deep breath. His finger reached for the trigger. And then a fierce gust of wind suddenly blew

裂缝!一颗子弹嗖地穿过矮树丛，一只鹿蹦蹦跳跳地跑开了。 与此同时，鸟儿尖叫着拍打着翅膀飞向空中。 不幸的是，其中一只鸟是Brightbill。 这只小鹅又害怕又困惑，就在两个猎人从灌木丛中走出来的时候，它扑腾着翅膀飞到了一根树枝上。 “一只鹅一个人在山里做什么？”汉克抬头盯着布莱特比尔说。 “它在树上做什么？”米格尔说：“肯定有什么地方出了问题。” “也许你应该让它结束痛苦。” 汉克给他的步枪重新装上子弹。“我们是来打鹿的，”他说，“但看起来晚餐要吃鹅肉了。” 如果猎人们像我们这样了解布莱特比尔，读者，我相信他们会放过他的。 但他们对他一无所知。 对他们来说，布莱特比尔只是另一只鹅，一顿美餐，他们饿了。 猎人举起步枪。 他深吸了一口气。他伸手去扣动扳机。 然后突然刮起一阵狂风

across the forest floor. No, not wind. Footsteps! Something was stomping toward the hunters! Their rifles were ripped away, bent into hooks, and thrown aside. The men had hunted all manner of beasts, but they'd never come across this… this… well, they didn't know what this thing was. It looked like a tree stump, standing on two long roots, with branches hanging from its sides. The men stumbled backward, eyes and mouths opened wide. Then they turned and ran, and their terrified noises trailed off through the leaf litter. The goose was terrified too. He slumped off his branch and into his mother's arms. The poor bird was trembling with fear, but he was unharmed. "I am so sorry, Brightbill," said the robot. "I should have acted sooner. You are safe now, I promise."

穿过森林的地面。不，不是风。 脚步!有什么东西在向猎人们走来！他们的步枪被扯掉，弯成钩子，扔到一边。 人们猎杀过各种各样的野兽，但从来没有遇到过这个……这个……嗯，他们不知道这是什么东西。 它看起来像一个树桩，立在两根长长的根上，树枝从它的两侧垂下来。 那些人踉跄着向后退去，眼睛和嘴巴都张得大大的。 然后他们转身就跑，他们恐惧的声音在落叶堆中渐渐消失了。 母鹅也吓坏了。 他从树枝上跌落到母亲的怀里。 这只可怜的鸟吓得发抖，但他没有受伤。 “我很抱歉，布莱特比尔，”机器人说。 “我应该早点行动。 你现在安全了，我保证。”