Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT Rainbow snorted in alarm. "No, Sophia! You can't run away! I know you're missing Clover but you belong here. Just tell the teachers Valentina is lying." Sophia hugged herself. "Valentina's parents are governors. No one will believe me. I have to go." "You don't!" Rainbow shook his head and jumped to his feet. "I'll help you clear your name." Sophia shook her head. "No." Rainbow stamped a hoof. "Stay or I'll tell the teachers and then they'll stop you leaving!"

第八章彩虹惊恐地哼了一声。 “不,索菲娅!你跑不掉的！我知道你想念克拉弗，但你属于这里。 告诉老师瓦伦蒂娜在撒谎。” 索菲亚拥抱了自己。“瓦伦蒂娜的父母是州长。 没人会相信我的。我得走了。” “你不要!”彩虹摇了摇头，跳了起来。 “我会帮你洗清罪名的。” 索菲娅摇了摇头。“没有。” 彩虹跺了跺脚。“留下，否则我就告诉老师，他们就会阻止你离开！”

Sophia gasped. "You'd really tell the teachers?" Rainbow nodded. "I'm not going to just let you go. You're my best friend." "Friends don't break each other's trust!" exclaimed Sophia. "Friends don't run away from each other!" snapped Rainbow. Fighting back more tears, Sophia ran from the stables. Just when she didn't think things could get worse, she'd argued with Rainbow! She didn't know what to do. She looked at the clock, high on the outside of the hayloft. There was still enough time to go back to the dorm for her things and leave before anyone woke. It would take ages to get home but she couldn't bear to stay at school any longer. Sophia hurried across the grass towards the school building. In the distance, she noticed a tall figure dressed in dark trousers and a cloak walking towards the lake. Something about the

索菲娅气喘吁吁地说。“你真的会告诉老师吗？”彩虹点了点头。 “我不会就这么让你走的。 你是我最好的朋友。”“朋友是不会破坏彼此的信任的！”索菲亚大声说道。 “朋友是不会从彼此身边跑开的！”彩虹厉声说。 索菲娅强忍着眼泪从马厩里跑了出来。 就在她认为事情不会变得更糟的时候，她和彩虹吵了起来！她不知道该怎么办。 她看了看高高挂在干草棚外面的钟。 她还有足够的时间回宿舍拿东西，在别人醒来之前离开。 到家要花很长时间，但她不能再呆在学校了。 索菲亚匆匆穿过草地向学校大楼走去。 在远处，她注意到一个穿着深色裤子和斗篷的高个子向湖边走来。 关于

stealthy way the person was moving made Sophia duck down behind a bush. Who was that? What were they doing so early in the morning? Reaching the lakeside, the figure stopped and looked around. Sophia peered out over the top of the bush. With lightning speed, the figure reached into a pocket and scattered something into the lake. The moment it hit the water, the lake bubbled and hissed. The person watched for a moment then hurried towards a side door in the school. A sour smell rose in the air.

那个人移动的鬼鬼祟祟的样子使索菲娅躲到了灌木丛后面。 那是谁？他们一大早在做什么？ 到了湖边，人影停了下来，环顾四周。 索菲亚从灌木丛的顶端往外看。 那个身影以闪电般的速度把手伸进口袋，把什么东西撒进了湖里。 它一入水，湖水就沸腾起来，嘶嘶作响。 那人看了一会儿，然后匆匆向学校的侧门走去。 空气中升起一股酸味。

Sophia cried out in dismay as the water turned a sickly shade of yellow. She jumped to her feet, anger boiling in her stomach. Who was under the cloak? Why would anyone want to do such a dreadful thing to Sparkle Lake? Everyone knew the whole of Unicorn Island depended on its water. There was only one way to find out what was going on. Sophia followed the figure into the school. The corridor was empty but a trail of wet footprints led straight to the hall. Sophia peeked inside. Early morning sunlight streamed through the domed glass ceiling illuminating the empty room and making the magical map shimmer. Sophia stared around, her eyes coming back to the map. There was no one here. Had the mysterious figure used the map to escape? Her footsteps echoed as she crossed to the middle of the hall. There were several splodges of coloured lake mud on Sophia's side of the

当水变成一种病态的黄色阴影时，索菲亚沮丧地叫了起来。 她一跃而起，怒火中烧。 斗篷下面是谁？为什么会有人想对闪耀湖做出如此可怕的事？ 每个人都知道整个独角兽岛都依赖于它的水。 只有一个办法能弄清楚到底发生了什么。 索菲亚跟着那个身影进了学校。 走廊里空无一人，但一串湿脚印一直通向大厅。 索菲亚往里面偷看了一眼。清晨的阳光透过圆顶玻璃天花板照射进来，照亮了空荡荡的房间，让那张神奇的地图闪闪发光。 索菲亚环顾四周，目光又回到地图上。 这里一个人也没有。这个神秘人物是用地图逃跑的吗？ 她走到大厅中央时，脚步声回响着。 索菲娅那边有几块彩色的湖泥

barrier but it was impossible to tell if the map had been used or not. "Sophia!" a voice hissed. "What are you doing?" Sophia spun round. "Ava! Why are you here?" "I was looking for you. I saw your bed was empty and then I found this!" Ava held out the note that Sophia had crumpled up. "How could anyone write such mean things? I thought you'd run away." Ava gave Sophia a hug. "I was about to," said Sophia truthfully. "But that's not important now. We need to talk!" She pulled Ava along the corridor, until she reached a secluded alcove. Ava glanced out of the window. The lake had turned mustardy yellow. "Eeew!" Ava's eyes widened. "Why is the lake that colour?" Quickly, Sophia told Ava everything. Ava was shocked. "You mustn't run away, Sophia. I'd miss you tons. Everyone in our

障碍，但不可能判断地图是否被使用过。 “索菲亚！”一个声音嘶嘶地说。“你在干什么？”索菲亚转过身来。 “瓦”!你为什么在这里？”“我正在找你。 我看到你的床是空的，然后我发现了这个！”艾娃拿出索菲亚揉成一团的纸条。 “怎么会有人写出这么卑鄙的东西呢？” 我还以为你跑掉了呢。” 艾娃给了索菲亚一个拥抱。“我正要去，”索菲娅如实地说。 “但现在这已经不重要了。 我们需要谈谈！”她拉着艾娃沿着走廊走，走到一个僻静的壁龛前。 艾娃瞥了一眼窗外。 湖水已经变成了芥末黄色。 “Eeew !”艾娃睁大了眼睛。 “湖为什么是那种颜色？”很快，索菲亚把一切都告诉了艾娃。 艾娃惊呆了。“你不能逃跑，索菲亚。 我会很想你的。我们的每个人

dorm would. Everyone likes you, apart from stupid Valentina, and everyone knows that you wouldn't harm the lake." Looking into Ava's earnest eyes, Sophia felt her confusion and unhappiness fade slightly. "Go to Rainbow and tell him you're sorry," urged Ava. "He'll be feeling awful that you've argued." Sophia nodded. "I will," she decided. "But

宿舍。每个人都喜欢你，除了愚蠢的瓦伦蒂娜，每个人都知道你不会伤害这个湖。” 看着艾娃热切的眼睛，索菲娅感到她的困惑和不快乐稍微消失了。 “去找彩虹，告诉他你很抱歉，”艾娃催促道。 “他会因为你们吵架而感觉很糟糕。” 索菲娅点了点头。“我会的，”她下定决心。 “但