Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT After supper, there was a knock on Diamond dorm's door. It was Isla and Molly from Ruby dorm. "We've made some cakes," said Isla shyly. She opened the lid of a massive cake tin full of spider cupcakes. "And toffee apples," added Molly, holding out a plate. "We thought we'd take them to the stables now. Is that OK?" "Sure, we'll come with you if you like? We can finish off putting up the decorations," said Rosa. They all headed down to the barn. On the way, they stopped at the stables to say hello to their unicorns. All the unicorns trotted out of their stalls to greet their riders– all apart from Honey.

第八章晚饭后，有人敲戴蒙德宿舍的门。 是露比宿舍的艾拉和莫莉。 “我们做了一些蛋糕，”艾拉害羞地说。 她打开了一个装满蜘蛛小蛋糕的大蛋糕罐的盖子。 “还有太妃糖苹果。”莫利拿出一个盘子，补充道。 “我们想现在就把它们带到马厩去。 这样可以吗？”“当然，如果你愿意，我们可以和你一起去。” 我们可以把装饰做完了。”罗莎说。 他们都去了谷仓。 在路上，他们在马厩停下来和他们的独角兽打招呼。 所有的独角兽都跑出它们的畜栏来迎接它们的骑手——除了哈妮。

Freya went into her stall. Honey's nostrils fluttered in a whicker but then she seemed to stop herself, turning it into an unhappy snort. "Honey, don't be like this," begged Freya. "Please." She went over and stroked her, but Honey turned away. Freya's heart twisted in her chest. She knew Honey's feelings had been badly hurt. She wanted

弗雷娅走进她的隔间。 霍妮的鼻孔呼哧呼哧地翕动着，但随后她似乎停住了，把它变成了不高兴的鼻息。 “亲爱的，别这样，”弗雷娅恳求道。 “请。”她走过去抚摸她，但霍妮却转过身去。 弗雷娅的心在胸口怦怦直跳。 她知道霍妮的感情受到了严重的伤害。 她想要

to say she was sorry and tell her how much she loved her, but it was so hard to put her feelings into words. She wished she could be more like Matilda and just blurt out whatever she was thinking. Instead, she cleared her throat and picked up Honey's water bucket. "I'll get you some more water," she said. She scrubbed the bucket and refilled it, then put more sky berries in Honey's manger and fluffed up the straw in her bed. "I'll… um, see you tomorrow then," she said, hesitating in the doorway, desperately wanting to say more. Honey gave a small nod. Walking away unhappily, Freya joined the others, who were now decorating. By the time they had finished, the barn looked amazing, covered with fake cobwebs, giant spiders, cut-out ghosts and cauldrons. There were hay bales to sit on, pumpkins set out for leapfrog racing, a load of popping pea pods and a massive pile of apples on one of the straw bales ready to be put in a bucket for apple bobbing. Rosa looked around and gave a happy sigh.

说她很抱歉，告诉她她有多爱她，但很难用语言表达她的感情。 她希望自己能更像玛蒂尔达，把自己的想法脱口而出。 相反，她清了清嗓子，拿起霍妮的水桶。 “我再给你拿点水来，”她说。 她把桶擦干净，重新装满水，然后在哈妮的马槽里放了更多的天空莓，把床上的稻草弄松。 “那我……嗯，明天见。”她在门口犹豫着说，拼命想说更多的话。 霍妮轻轻点了点头。弗雷娅不高兴地走开了，加入了正在装饰的其他人的行列。 等他们完工的时候，谷仓看起来棒极了，上面挂满了假蜘蛛网、巨大的蜘蛛、雕刻出来的鬼魂和坩埚。 那里有干草捆可以坐，南瓜已经准备好要跳起来了，一堆炸开的豌豆荚和一大堆苹果放在其中一个稻草捆上，准备放进桶里去摘苹果。 罗莎环顾四周，高兴地叹了口气。

"You know, I really think this is going to be the best party ever!" Freya didn't sleep very well that night. She kept thinking about Honey and how miserable she had looked. She had pictured over and over again the grand moment when she would pull the blanket off the robot, revealing it to Honey in front of everyone. She had imagined Honey's delighted face and a strand of her own blonde hair turning red and gold like Honey's mane as they bonded. She really wanted that, but she didn't think she could bear another day of Honey looking so miserable. Maybe I should just forget about the surprise and tell her what I've been doing, she thought. She tossed and turned and by daybreak had made a decision. She was going to tell Honey what she'd been doing even if it meant ruining their chance to bond. She couldn't carry on making her unhappy. Leaving the others asleep in the dorm, she crept out to the hallway. But as she headed down the staircase, she heard footsteps at the bottom. She froze. It must be a teacher! Moving as

“你知道吗，我真的认为这将是有史以来最棒的派对！”弗雷娅那天晚上没睡好。 她一直在想着霍妮，想着她当时的样子是多么痛苦。 她一遍又一遍地想象着她把毯子从机器人身上扯下来，当着大家的面把它展示给哈妮的那一刻。 她想象着当他们结合在一起的时候，霍妮高兴的脸和她自己的一缕金发变成了像霍妮的鬃毛一样的红色和金色。 她真的很希望这样，但她觉得自己不能再忍受霍妮这么痛苦的样子了。 也许我应该忘掉那个惊喜，告诉她我在做什么，她想。 她辗转反侧，到天亮时做出了决定。 她打算告诉哈妮她所做的一切，即使这意味着毁掉他们建立关系的机会。 她不能再让她不开心了。 留下其他人在宿舍里睡觉，她蹑手蹑脚地走到走廊上。 但当她走下楼梯时，她听到楼下有脚步声。 她愣住了。一定是老师！移动,

silently as she could, she went back up the stairs, past the dorm and into the secret room. Letting herself into it, her eyes fell on the robot. An idea formed in her mind. Why didn't she take the robot to Honey now? After all, it was Honey's birthday already. There was no reason she had to wait until the party that evening. I'll do it, she thought, feeling a rush of excitement. Tucking the blanket under her arm and getting her torch and some rope from the toolbox, she lifted the robot into the tunnel. "Robot… Forward!" she commanded. The robot started to trundle down the slope at her side, its wheels clattering on the stone. When they reached the chamber under the lake, Freya glanced at the right-hand passageway. Where did it lead to? If the stables were to the left, then the right must lead in the direction of the walled vegetable garden. Curiosity pricked at her, but she shook her head. No, there was no time to explore it. She needed to get to Honey and explain. A noise came from the tunnel behind her.

她尽量悄悄地走上楼梯，经过宿舍，进入了密室。 她走进去，目光落在了机器人身上。 她心中形成了一个想法。 为什么她现在不把机器人带给哈妮？ 毕竟，今天已经是哈妮的生日了。 她没有理由非得等到那天晚上的晚会。 我来干吧，她想，心里一阵激动。 她把毯子夹在胳膊下，从工具箱里拿出手电筒和绳子，把机器人抬进了隧道。 “机器人……前进！”她命令道。 机器人开始从她身边的斜坡上缓缓而下，车轮在石头上发出咔嗒的声音。 当他们来到湖底的房间时，弗雷娅瞥了一眼右边的通道。 它通向哪里？如果马厩在左边，那么右边一定指向有围墙的菜园。 好奇心刺痛了她，但她摇了摇头。 没有，没有时间去探索。 她得去找霍妮解释。 一个声音从她身后的隧道里传来。

Freya swung round just as a stone bounced out of it into the chamber. She stiffened. "Is anyone there?" she demanded, stepping forwards bravely. There was no answer. Freya breathed out in relief. The stone must just have been dislodged by the robot's wheels. "Robot… Forward!" she said, turning it towards the passageway that led to the barn. The robot trundled on. It was tricky getting it through the trapdoor at the end but with the rope she managed to heave it into the barn. As she climbed out, an idea formed in her head. Maybe she could reveal the robot to Honey in here and still make it a bit of a surprise? She put the robot in the centre of the barn, covered it with the blanket and headed towards the door, but as she did so there was a flash of violet light from the direction of the tunnel. She swung round. POP! POP! POP! The pea pods that were piled on one of the hay bales started to explode, the peas whizzing through the air like marbles fired from a catapult.

弗雷娅转过身来，一块石头弹了出来，进入了房间。 她加强了。“有人吗？”她问，勇敢地走上前去。 没有人回答。弗雷娅松了一口气。 石头一定是被机器人的轮子移走了。 “机器人……前进！”她说着，把它转向通往谷仓的通道。 机器人继续前进。要把它从最后的活板门里拖出来是很困难的，但她还是用绳子把它拖进了谷仓。 当她爬出来时，一个想法在她的脑海里形成了。 也许她可以在这里把机器人展示给哈妮看，同时还能给她一点惊喜？ 她把机器人放在谷仓中央，用毯子盖住它，朝门口走去，但就在她这么做的时候，从隧道的方向闪过一道紫光。 她转过身来。流行!流行!流行!堆在一个干草捆上的豌豆荚开始爆炸，豌豆在空中嗖嗖作响，就像从弹弓里发射出来的弹子。