Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE Isla and Buttercup had arranged to meet Diamond dorm in the barn next to the stables before breakfast to try Buttercup's finding magic again. When Isla woke, Molly and Anna were still sleeping but Valentina's bed was empty. Where was she? As Isla left the dorm, she spotted a white envelope on the floor that had been pushed under their door. It had Valentina's name on it, in exactly the same handwriting as the one from the day before. Isla's eyes widened. Did Valentina have a boyfriend? Was that who the letters were from? Biting back a giggle, she put the envelope on Valentina's bedside table.

第五章艾拉和毛茛约好早餐前在马厩旁边的谷仓里见戴蒙德宿舍，再试试毛茛的寻找魔法。 艾拉醒来时，莫莉和安娜还在睡觉，瓦伦蒂娜的床是空的。 她在哪里？当艾拉离开宿舍时，她发现地板上有一个白色的信封，是塞在门底下的。 上面有瓦伦蒂娜的名字，笔迹和前一天的一模一样。 艾拉睁大了眼睛。瓦伦蒂娜有男朋友吗？ 信是他寄来的吗？ 她忍住咯咯的笑，把信封放在瓦伦蒂娜的床头柜上。

As Isla headed for the Ruby dorm stables, Valentina poked her head out of Golden Briar's stall. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Oh… I'm just doing something with Diamond dorm," Isla said vaguely. "Is it time already?" Buttercup asked, looking over her stall door. "Is it time for what?" said Valentina. "Nothing," said Isla firmly. "Nothing at all." "Ready when you are, Isla!" called Rosa. Isla got Buttercup out of her stable. Valentina followed them up the aisle. "What are you all doing? Can I come too?" she asked. "No," Rosa spoke bluntly. "You don't like us and we don't much like you either." Isla wished Rosa hadn't been quite so harsh, but Valentina had been unkind to Matilda in the past and Rosa was a loyal friend.

艾拉朝鲁比宿舍的马厩走去，瓦伦蒂娜从金荆棘的马厩里探出头来。 “你在这儿干什么？”她问。 “哦……我正在处理钻石宿舍的事情。”艾拉含糊地说。 “时间到了吗？”金凤花问，从她的隔间门往外看。 “是干什么的时候了吗？”瓦伦蒂娜说。 “没什么。”艾拉坚定地说。 “什么也没有。”“准备好了，艾拉！”罗莎叫道。 艾拉把毛茛从马厩里弄了出来。 瓦伦蒂娜跟着他们走过过道。 “你们都在干什么？”我也能去吗？”她问。 “不，”罗莎直截了当地说。“你不喜欢我们，我们也不怎么喜欢你。” 艾拉希望罗莎不要这么严厉，但瓦伦蒂娜过去对玛蒂尔达不友好，而罗莎是她忠实的朋友。

"Fine!" Valentina barked. "I bet you're all doing something stupid anyway!" She stomped back into Golden Briar's stall. Isla joined the others as they cantered to the barn. "Are you ready to do your magic, Buttercup?" Matilda said. "Definitely!" said Buttercup. "It's going to work this time, I just know it is!" "Go, Buttercup!" said Ariana. "Stand back, everyone," said Buttercup, clearly loving being the centre of attention. "Here

“很好!”瓦伦蒂娜吠叫。“我敢打赌你们都在做蠢事！”她跺着脚回到金荆棘的隔间里。 艾拉和其他人一起跑向谷仓。 “准备好施魔法了吗，毛茛？”玛蒂尔达说。 “当然！”毛茛说。 “这次一定会成功的，我就是知道！”“加油，毛茛！”阿利安娜说。 “大家退后。”金凤花说，显然很喜欢成为大家关注的焦点。 “在这里

goes!" She struck the ground dramatically. "Find Ms Willow!" Sparks engulfed her hoof, twirling up in the air to form a quivering, coloured arrow. Matilda squealed in excitement. Buttercup shot Isla a smug look as the arrow floated towards the barn door. "Go!" cried Isla, leaping on Buttercup's back, as the arrow began to gather speed. She heard the whoops and cries of the others as they thundered behind her. Isla leaned forward, enjoying the wind on her face as they galloped. "Where's it going?" she cried to Buttercup as the arrow headed out towards the vegetable gardens. "I don't know!" said Buttercup. The arrow reached a large compost heap that stood beside a dilapidated brick outbuilding at the bottom of the garden. It had a tree beside it, with branches that drooped down gracefully to the ground. The door was slightly ajar. The arrow hovered above the shed, pointing at it. Buttercup skidded to a halt. "Why's the arrow pointing at the shed?" said Rosa.

去!”她戏剧性地摔倒在地。 “找到威罗女士！”火星吞没了她的蹄子，在空中旋转，形成了一个颤抖的彩色箭头。 玛蒂尔达兴奋地尖叫起来。 金凤花得意地看了艾拉一眼，箭飘向谷仓门。 “走！”艾拉喊道，跳上毛茛的背，因为箭的速度开始加快。 她听到了其他人在她身后雷鸣般的喊叫声。 艾拉身体前倾，享受着疾驰时拂面的微风。 “它要去哪里？”当箭飞向菜园时，她向毛茛喊道。 “我不知道！”毛茛说。 箭射到了花园尽头一座破旧的砖砌外屋旁边的一大堆堆肥堆上。 旁边有一棵树，树枝优雅地垂到地上。 门微掩着。 箭在小屋上方盘旋，对准小屋。 金凤花滑了一下停了下来。 “为什么箭指向小屋？”罗莎问。

Freya caught her breath. "Maybe Ms Willow is inside!" They all looked at each other in alarm. "What should we do?" whispered Matilda. Just then, the door moved. They all froze. Something the size of an apple with eight legs and googly eyes came scuttling out. Ariana shrieked but the rest of them sighed with relief. "It's just a cave spider!" exclaimed Violet as the spider ran past them and up the tree trunk. "The tree!" Freya pointed. "It's a weeping willow. That must be why the arrow brought us here. Buttercup, you found a willow tree, not Ms Willow!" They all burst out laughing. "Whoops!" said Buttercup. "What's going on here, girls?" Ms Nettles emerged from the shed, her glasses rattling on the end of her bony nose. The arrow exploded in a shower of sparkles that faded like a spent firework. The girls stopped laughing instantly as the head teacher looked at them sternly, one hand on her hip. "Ms Nettles!" Rosa gasped in shock.

弗雷娅屏住了呼吸。“也许威罗女士在里面！”他们都惊恐地面面相觑。 “我们该怎么办？”玛蒂尔达小声说。 就在这时，门动了。 他们都僵住了。一个苹果大小、八条腿、大眼睛的东西窜了出来。 阿利安娜尖叫起来，但其他人都松了一口气。 “这只是一只洞蜘蛛！”当蜘蛛从他们身边跑过，爬上树干时，维奥莱特惊叫道。 “这棵树!”弗雷娅指出。 “是一棵垂柳。这一定是箭把我们带到这里的原因。 毛茛，你找到的是一棵柳树，不是柳树女士！”他们都大笑起来。 “哎呀！”毛茛说。“这是怎么回事，姑娘们？”荨麻女士从棚子里出来，她的眼镜在她瘦骨嶙峋的鼻尖上格格作响。 箭在一阵闪光中爆炸了，像用完的烟花一样渐渐消失了。 当校长一只手放在臀部严厉地看着她们时，女孩们立即停止了笑。 “荨麻女士!”罗莎震惊地倒吸了一口冷气。

"Why are you all up so early?" Ms Nettles asked. "Erm… We were… out looking for sparkle moss," Matilda invented. Violet nodded furiously. "To decorate the ballroom for graduation day." Ms Nettles frowned. "Sparkle moss grows near water. I would try by the lake and stay away from here. This building isn't safe." "We'll go to the lake right away," said Freya. Isla remembered something. "Ms Nettles, Buttercup's got finding magic!" she said excitedly.

“你们怎么起得这么早？”荨麻女士问。 “嗯……我们……出去找闪光苔藓了，”玛蒂尔达说。 维奥莱特狂怒地点了点头。“为毕业典礼装饰舞厅” 荨麻女士皱起了眉头。“闪光苔藓生长在水边。 我会尽量去湖边，远离这里。 这栋楼不安全。” “我们马上去湖边，”弗雷娅说。 艾拉想起了什么。 “荨麻老师，毛茛找到魔法了！”她兴奋地说。