11 THE FLIGHT

CHAPTER 11 THE FLIGHT Roz stood on the sea cliffs with Brightbill and Glimmer on her shoulders. They were staring down at the poison tide. The way it gently shimmered in the water was strangely beautiful. It was hard to believe it could be so dangerous, and yet its destructive power was plain to see. The coast was edged with dead plants, and the rocks were scattered with dead fish. Glimmer turned to Roz and said, "What do you think is causing the poison tide?" The robot searched her computer brain for explanations and said, "The poison tide might be similar to red tides, the harmful blooms of algae that can occur in the ocean. Or it might be ash that has erupted from an underwater volcano. Or it might be a toxic substance that has spilled from a tanker ship. Or it might be something else entirely. It would be helpful to study the poison tide up close. I can climb down to the rocks and examine the shallows, but I will need someone to watch for waves." Brightbill fluttered his wings and squawked, "Ma,

萝丝站在海边的悬崖上，布莱特比尔和微光骑在她的肩上。 他们凝视着下面的毒潮。 它在水中微微闪烁的样子美得出奇。 很难相信它会如此危险，但它的破坏力是显而易见的。 海岸两旁是枯死的植物，岩石上散落着死鱼。 格里默转向罗兹说：“你认为是什么引起了毒潮？”机器人在她的电脑大脑中搜索解释，说：“毒潮可能与赤潮相似，赤潮是海洋中可能发生的有害藻类繁殖。 也可能是海底火山喷发出的火山灰。 也可能是一种从油轮上泄漏出来的有毒物质。 也可能是完全不同的东西。 近距离研究毒潮是有帮助的。 我可以爬到岩石上，检查浅滩，但我需要有人监视海浪。” 布莱特比尔拍打着翅膀叫道：“妈妈，

don't go anywhere near the poison tide! We can't risk your safety. You're too important to the island." In the distance, another flock of birds was flying south over the ocean. And this gave Glimmer an idea. "Plenty of other birds are safely flying above the ocean," she said. "Brightbill and I could fly above the poison tide and see where it leads." "That's a good idea," said Brightbill. "We might learn something useful." The idea made Roz nervous, but she knew the geese would look out for each other. Once they were all in agreement, Brightbill and Glimmer took flight. They soared high above the poison tide and disappeared into the northern sky. Four days later, on a drizzly afternoon, Brightbill and Glimmer returned and found Roz in her home. They sat together, and the geese explained what they'd seen. "Luckily, the poison tide hasn't spread everywhere," said Brightbill. "It's more like a huge river flowing through the ocean, twisting and turning and spreading wider as it goes. We followed it north, around islands

不要靠近毒潮！我们不能拿你的安全冒险。 你对这个岛来说太重要了。” 在远处，另一群鸟正在向南飞过海洋。 这给了格里默一个主意。 她说：“许多其他鸟类正在海洋上空安全飞行。” “布莱特比尔和我可以飞到毒潮上方，看看它通向哪里。” “这是个好主意，”布莱特比尔说。 “我们可能会学到一些有用的东西。” 这个想法让罗兹很紧张，但她知道鹅们会互相照顾的。 他们达成一致意见后，布莱特比尔和格里姆默就飞走了。 他们在毒潮上空翱翔，消失在北方的天空中。 四天后，一个下着毛毛雨的下午，布莱特比尔和格里姆默回到家里，发现了罗兹。 他们坐在一起，鹅们解释他们所看到的。 “幸运的是，毒潮并没有蔓延到所有地方，”布莱特比尔说。 “它更像是一条流经海洋的大河，蜿蜒曲折，越走越宽。 我们跟着它向北，绕过岛屿

and along coastlines and back out to open ocean. At times, the flow sank deep into the water and then surfaced again, somewhere else. Eventually, the flow completely vanished down into the depths, so we headed home." "On our way back, we flew with birds who were leaving the north," said Glimmer. "Nobody knows what's causing the poison tide, but everybody knows about the Ancient Shark. Some say she's as big as a whale. Others say she's older than the sea. It sounded like the shark was nothing more than a legend, but the birds insisted that she's real and that she's the only one who can help. They don't know how to find the Ancient Shark. All they know is that she lives somewhere in the far north."

沿着海岸线，回到开阔的海洋。 有时，水流会深深沉入水中，然后又在其他地方浮出水面。 最后，水流完全消失在深处，所以我们回家了。” “在我们回来的路上，我们和离开北方的鸟儿一起飞行，”格里默说。 “没有人知道是什么导致了毒潮，但每个人都知道古代鲨鱼。 有人说她和鲸鱼一样大。 也有人说她比大海还老。 听起来鲨鱼只是一个传说，但鸟儿们坚持认为她是真实的，她是唯一能帮忙的人。 他们不知道怎么找到古鲨。 他们只知道她住在遥远的北方。”