Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE The girls charged into the stable block. Rainbow's eyes brightened. "Sophia," he whickered. "You haven't run away! What made you change your mind?" "The lake!" Sophia gasped. "We need to go to the woods." "We'll explain as we go," said Ava hurriedly as she led Star to the door. In next to no time, Rainbow and Star were galloping across the grounds towards the woods, the girls each clutching a bucket to carry the frogs in. Rainbow's silky mane blew up in Sophia's face, tickling her nose. Sophia

姑娘们冲进马厩。 彩虹的眼睛亮了。 “索菲亚，”他低声说。“你没有逃跑！”是什么让你改变主意的？”“湖!”索菲娅气喘吁吁地说。 “我们得去树林里。” “我们走的时候会解释的，”艾娃匆忙地说，她把星带到门口。 不一会儿，彩虹和小星星就跑过场地，奔向树林，女孩们各自抓着一个水桶，把青蛙装进去。 彩虹柔滑的鬃毛吹到了索菲亚的脸上，弄痒了她的鼻子。 索菲娅

laughed. She was on her way to save the lake and clear her name! "You said we'd have adventures, Rainbow! Well, I think this is our first one!" she cried. Rainbow neighed in delight. The gardens passed by in a blur. As they reached the woods, Rainbow slowed. The gloomy woods felt cold and strange hoots and screeches came from the shadows. Star's ears flickered nervously. "I'm scared.

笑了。她是在去拯救湖泊，为自己正名的路上！“你说过我们会一起冒险的，彩虹！”嗯，我想这是我们的第一个！”她叫道。 彩虹高兴地嘶鸣着。 花园模糊地过去了。 当他们到达树林时，彩虹放慢了脚步。 阴暗的树林感到寒冷，从阴影中传来奇怪的叫声和尖叫声。 星星的耳朵紧张地颤动着。 “我很害怕。

I feel like something bad is going to happen." "We'll be fine. We just need to find the frogs and get out of here fast," said Ava. The unicorns cantered along the path, jumping the tree roots that seemed to want to trip them up. There was a howl in the trees. Both unicorns skittered nervously. Sophia patted Rainbow's neck. "I like it when you do that," said Rainbow. "It makes me feel braver." Sophia stroked Rainbow again and he whickered with delight. They reached the grove and pushed their way through the trees. They could hear the frogs croaking as they stepped into the clearing. Sophia blinked in the morning sunlight that streamed from the sky and danced across the surface of the pond. The frogs were everywhere, perched on lily pads, swimming in the water or lazily croaking to each other among the rushes.

我觉得不好的事情要发生了。” “我们会没事的。我们只需要找到青蛙，然后尽快离开这里，”艾娃说。 独角兽们沿着小路绕着中心，跳着似乎要把它们绊倒的树根。 树林里传来一声嗥叫。 两只独角兽紧张地蹦蹦跳跳。 索菲亚拍了拍彩虹的脖子。 “我喜欢你这样做，”彩虹说。 “这让我觉得自己更勇敢了。” 索菲娅又抚摸了一下彩虹，他高兴得发出呜呜声。 他们来到小树林，从树林中挤了出来。 他们走进空地时，能听到青蛙的叫声。 索菲亚在清晨的阳光下眨着眼睛，阳光从天空中射下来，在池塘的水面上翩翩起舞。 到处都是青蛙，有的栖息在睡莲上，有的在水里游泳，有的在灯心草中懒洋洋地互相叫着。

She and Ava dismounted and carefully scooped up the frogs, placing them in the buckets along with some water. "We'll bring you back as soon as you've worked your magic on the lake," promised Ava. Sophia had just hooked a frog from a lily pad when she heard a twig snap behind her. "Who's there?" She spun round, her eyes searching the tree line. "I didn't hear anyone," said Rainbow. Sophia's eyes raked the woods. They were empty, but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching. She carried on catching

她和艾娃下了马，小心翼翼地捞起青蛙，把它们和一些水一起放进桶里。 “等你在湖上施展完魔法，我们就把你带回来。”艾娃答应道。 索菲亚刚从睡莲上勾起一只青蛙，就听到身后一根小树枝啪地一声折断了。 “谁在那里?”她转过身来，眼睛搜寻着林木线。 “我没听到任何人的声音，”彩虹说。 索菲亚的眼睛扫视着树林。 他们是空的，但她无法摆脱有人在看着她的感觉。 她继续捕捉

frogs but every now and then she glanced round, just in case. "That should be enough," said Ava, when each bucket was half full of frogs. She and Sophia jumped back on their unicorns and set off back to the school. The woods seemed darker after the brightness of the clearing. Sophia couldn't wait to be out of them. The rustling bushes were making her nervous. She stared around. What was that? Sophia's heart drummed as she caught sight of a figure moving through the trees. Goosebumps prickled along Sophia's arms. The figure was dressed in dark clothes with a mask covering their face, just like the person she'd seen earlier tipping something into the lake! "Rainbow," she whispered. "Follow that figure!" Rainbow changed direction, plunging into the trees with Star following silently behind. The person hurried along an uphill path. At the

但她不时地环顾四周，以防万一。 “这应该足够了，”艾娃说，当每个桶都装满了一半的青蛙。 她和索菲娅跳上各自的独角兽，返回学校。 明亮的空地过后，树林似乎更暗了。 索菲亚迫不及待地想摆脱它们。 灌木丛的沙沙声使她紧张不安。 她环顾四周。那是什么？ 当索菲亚看到一个人影在树林里走动时，她的心怦怦直跳。 索菲娅的胳膊上起了鸡皮疙瘩。 那个人影穿着深色衣服，脸上戴着面具，就像她之前看到的那个往湖里倒东西的人一样！“彩虹，”她低声说。 “跟着那个人影！”彩虹改变了方向，跳进树林里，星星默默地跟在后面。 这个人沿着一条上坡的小路匆匆而行。 在

top, they momentarily disappeared from view. The unicorns sped up and found themselves on the brow of a grassy hill. The path went down a steep slope into a valley. The mysterious figure had disappeared. "They must be further down the hill!" said Rainbow. "We've got to catch them up!" said Sophia. "Come on!" "We need to be careful," Star called anxiously. "Remember the woods are dangerous." But Rainbow and Sophia were already cantering towards a heap of rust-coloured leaves at the bottom of the valley. Ava and Star raced after them. As they approached the pile, Sophia frowned. Something wasn't right. What was it? As Rainbow reached the leaves, she suddenly realised. "Rainbow, stop!" cried Sophia, as Ava and Star came racing up behind them. "How can

顶部，他们暂时从视野中消失了。 独角兽们加速前进，发现自己来到了一座长满草的小山顶上。 这条小路沿着陡峭的斜坡进入山谷。 那个神秘的身影消失了。 “他们一定在山下更远的地方！”彩虹说。 “我们得赶上他们！”索菲亚说。 “来吧!”“我们得小心点，”星星焦急地叫道。 “记住，森林里很危险。” 但彩虹和索菲亚已经跑向山谷底部一堆铁锈色的树叶。 艾娃和星星追着他们跑。 当他们走近那堆东西时，索菲亚皱起了眉头。 有些地方不对劲。是什么？ 当彩虹走到树叶上时，她突然意识到。 “彩虹，停下！”索菲亚喊道，这时艾娃和星星跑到了他们身后。 “怎么能