72 THE RETURN

CHAPTER 72 THE RETURN On their long flight home, Brightbill and Glimmer soared above rolling waves, and above tall sea cliffs, and above the wide, flat tundra. They passed high above a beach and continued above the poison tide as it spread south through the ocean. After three days of flying, that familiar rocky shape appeared in the distance. The island looked awful. It was gray and spiked with dead trees and surrounded by cloudy water. But as the geese flew closer, the island's greener interior came into view. They glided over the hills and down into the forest, and there, following Loudwing through the undergrowth, were their precious little goslings. Not so little, actually. The goslings were growing fast. They'd already lost their fluff and were covered with silky feathers. Loudwing sang to the goslings as they waddled along. "Left, right, left, right, we walk like this when we're not in flight." And the goslings repeated, "Left, right, left, right, we walk like this when we're not in flight."

七十二章回家在他们回家的长途飞行中，亮比尔和微光飞过翻滚的海浪，飞过高高的海崖，飞过宽阔平坦的苔原。 他们从海滩上方飞过，继续越过毒潮，毒潮在海洋中向南蔓延。 经过三天的飞行，那个熟悉的岩石形状出现在远处。 这个岛看起来糟透了。它是灰色的，到处都是枯树，四周是浑浊的水。 但随着大雁飞得越来越近，岛上更绿的内陆映入眼帘。 他们滑过小山，进入森林，在那里，跟着大翅膀穿过灌木丛，是他们珍贵的小鹅。 实际上，并不是很少。小鹅长得很快。 它们已经失去了绒毛，浑身长满了丝般柔软的羽毛。 当小鹅摇摇摆摆地走着的时候，响亮的翅膀对着它们唱歌。 “左，右，左，右，我们不飞行的时候就这样走。” 小鹅们重复着：“左，右，左，右，我们不飞行的时候就是这样走的。”

The old goose stopped suddenly, and the goslings piled up behind her. "Look who it is!" she whispered. The goslings smiled and squawked and flapped over to their parents, bonking into one another and tumbling across the ground. Brightbill and Glimmer wrapped their wings around the five little geese, and they all held each other close, for a very long time.

老母鹅突然停了下来，小鹅们在她身后堆成一堆。 “看看是谁来了！”她低声说。 小鹅们笑着，叫着，拍着翅膀飞到他们的父母身边，撞在一起，在地上翻滚。 亮嘴和微光用翅膀包裹着五只小鹅，他们紧紧地拥抱在一起，持续了很长时间。