10. Through the Hedge Maze

THROUGH THE HEDGE MAZE 10 The walls of the hedge maze towered over Sam and his friends. "Going through this maze is the only way back to school," Sam said. "And if this whole swamp-maze thing was a trap from the start, we really need to hurry!" Lucy said. "The monkey bars are on the far side of the playground," Antonio said. "They're right next to the school's rear steps."

穿过树篱迷宫树篱迷宫的墙壁高耸在山姆和他的朋友们的头顶上。 “穿过这个迷宫是回到学校的唯一途径，”萨姆说。 “如果这整个沼泽迷宫从一开始就是一个陷阱，我们真的需要快点！”露西说。 “猴架在操场的另一边，”安东尼奥说。 “就在学校后面的台阶旁边。”

"So we need to go toward the monkey bars!" Sam said. "Come on!" The friends began to follow the winding path. Antonio dropped breadcrumbs as they walked. The dark maze snaked through the playground! Sam saw the same things he had seen during recess— the swings and the slides— but everything was different now. Grassy walls surrounded the playground equipment. The ground was mucky and wet. Vines crawled over everything. Rocking horses seemed to cry out as Sam walked past. Their springs squeezed and their eyes bulged.

“所以我们要往单杠那边走！”山姆说。 “来吧!”朋友们开始沿着弯弯曲曲的小路走去。 他们走着走着，安东尼奥把面包屑掉在地上。 黑暗的迷宫蜿蜒穿过操场！山姆看到的东西和课间休息时看到的一样——秋千和滑梯——但现在一切都不同了。 绿草如茵的围墙环绕着运动场的设备。 地面又脏又湿。 藤蔓爬满了一切。 山姆走过时，摇摇晃晃的马似乎在喊叫。 他们的弹簧挤压着，眼睛鼓了起来。

A merry-go-round, covered in vines, spun on its own. It creaked and howled with each turn. Finally, Sam spotted the monkey bars. "We're almost to the steps!" "But getting there won't be easy," Lucy said. Lucy was right. There was now a swamp below the monkey bars! It covered the entire path. There was no way around it.

一个爬满藤蔓的旋转木马自己旋转着。 每转一圈，它就吱吱作响，嚎叫一声。 最后，萨姆发现了单杠。 “快到台阶了！”“可是去那儿可不容易。”露茜说。 露西说得对。现在猴架下面是一片沼泽！它覆盖了整个路径。 没有别的办法。

"Maybe we can swim across the swamp?" Antonio asked. "The last swamp almost ate me!" Lucy said. "Maybe this one is different..." Antonio said. "Lucy," Sam said. "Do you have anything in your backpack you don't need?" Lucy opened her backpack. She dug past her school books and sunglasses and pulled out her neon yellow pencil case. Sam took the case. "Let's see how the swamp reacts if we throw this in."

“也许我们可以游过沼泽？”安东尼奥问道。 “最后一片沼泽差点把我吃了！”露西说。 “也许这个不一样……” 安东尼奥说。“露西，”萨姆说。 “你背包里有什么不需要的东西吗？”露西打开她的背包。 她翻过课本和太阳镜，拿出她的霓虹黄色铅笔盒。 萨姆接过箱子。“让我们看看，如果我们把这个扔进去，沼泽会有什么反应。”

He tossed the pencil case into the swamp. It splashed onto the muddy water and floated on top. Suddenly, a long, winding branch burst through the muddy surface. The branch grabbed the case and dragged it below. Sam, Lucy, and Antonio all gulped. "Nope," Lucy said. "This swamp's not any different." "Then there's only one way across," Sam said, stepping up. He reached out and grabbed hold of a bar. It was covered in vines and moss. Sam took a deep breath. "I'll go first," he said. Then he began to climb.

他把铅笔盒扔进沼泽里。 它溅到泥泞的水面上，浮在水面上。 突然，一根长长的、蜿蜒的树枝从泥泞的地面上伸出来。 树枝抓住箱子，把它拖了下去。 萨姆、露西和安东尼奥都咽了口气。 “没有。”露茜说。“这片沼泽也一样。” “那么只有一条路可以过去了。”萨姆边说边走上前去。 他伸手抓住了一根棒子。 它被藤蔓和苔藓覆盖着。 萨姆深吸了一口气。“我先走，”他说。 然后他开始往上爬。