Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX After lunch, Isla met with Diamond dorm in the barn. She'd been thinking over and over about her conversation with Valentina and what she'd heard Valentina saying to Golden Briar. She had a very bad feeling. She wondered whether to say anything to the others but she had no proof that the letters Valentina was getting were from Ms Willow. It was just a suspicion. What if she told them and it wasn't true? She'd look so stupid! "So, how are we going to find Ms Willow?" said Freya. "If she is at the Frozen Lagoon, she's going to be practically impossible to find. No one knows its exact location and it's not marked on the Magic Map."

第六章午饭后，艾拉和戴蒙德在谷仓见面。 她一遍又一遍地回想着她和瓦伦蒂娜的谈话，以及她听到瓦伦蒂娜对金荆棘说的话。 她有一种非常不好的感觉。 她不知道是否该对其他人说些什么，但她没有证据证明瓦伦蒂娜收到的信是威洛女士写来的。 这只是一种怀疑。如果她告诉他们那不是真的呢？ 她会看起来很傻的！“那么，我们怎么才能找到威洛小姐呢？”弗雷娅问。 “如果她在冰湖，几乎不可能找到她。 没有人知道它的确切位置，魔法地图上也没有标记。”

The Magic Map was an exact replica of Unicorn Island that was kept in the Great Hall. If the map thought you wanted to help, it would magically transport you anywhere on the island that you asked it to. "We could use my magic again?" suggested Buttercup. "I could ask it to find the Frozen Lagoon." "You could," said Ariana carefully. "But if the Magic Map isn't powerful enough to show us where the Frozen Lagoon is then I'm not sure your magic will be able to help, Buttercup." Buttercup looked indignant. "Don't you think I can find Ms Willow?" "Maybe you should practise a bit more first,"

魔法地图是独角兽岛的精确复制品，保存在礼堂里。 如果地图认为你想帮忙，它就会神奇地把你送到你要求的岛上的任何地方。 “我们可以再次使用我的魔法吗？”毛茛建议道。 “我可以让它找到冰湖。” “你可以。”阿利安娜小心翼翼地说。 “但是，如果魔法地图不够强大，不能告诉我们冰礁湖在哪里，那么我就不确定你的魔法能帮上什么忙了，毛茛。” 金凤花看起来很生气。 “你觉得我找不到威洛小姐吗？”“也许你应该先多练习一下。”

said Violet quickly. "Soon your magic will be stronger and then you can try again." "If there's time," said Freya. "We've only got a couple of days left until graduation." "We need another plan," said Rosa. They threw around suggestions but by the end of lunchtime they still didn't have any idea of how to get to the Frozen Lagoon. Isla went back to her dorm to get ready for her afternoon lessons and saw another envelope lying on Valentina's bed. Isla picked the envelope up curiously and glanced across at Valentina's drawer. It was half open and she could see other letters inside. She knew she shouldn't look but no one was around. What if they were from Ms Willow? I'll just look at a few lines, Isla thought. Feeling guilty for prying but too worried not to look, Isla picked up the top letter and scanned it. You're so much smarter than all the other students, Valentina. You understand how things work. You know I want to make Unicorn Island great and you are the one student who I believe can help me. In return, I will help you and

维奥莱特赶紧说。“很快你的魔法就会变得更强，然后你就可以再试一次了。” “如果有时间的话，”弗雷娅说。 “我们离毕业只有几天了。” “我们需要另一个计划，”罗莎说。 他们提出了各种建议，但到午餐时间结束时，他们仍然不知道怎么去冰冻泻湖。 艾拉回到宿舍准备下午的课，看到瓦伦蒂娜的床上放着另一个信封。 艾拉好奇地拿起信封，朝瓦伦蒂娜的抽屉瞥了一眼。 信封半开着，她可以看到里面还有其他的信。 她知道她不应该看，但周围没有人。 如果是薇罗女士寄来的呢？ 我只要看几行就行了，艾拉想。 艾拉对自己的窥探感到内疚，但又太担心而不敢看，他拿起最上面的信，仔细地看了看。 你比其他学生聪明多了，瓦伦蒂娜。 你知道事情是如何运作的。 你知道，我想让独角兽岛变得更伟大，而你是我相信能帮助我的学生。 作为回报，我会帮助你

Golden Briar graduate. Think about it, Valentina. That is what you want most in the world, isn't it? There was no name or signature on the bottom. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, Isla shoved the letter back in the drawer and ran to her bed. She picked up her hairbrush as Molly, Anna and Valentina walked in. Isla's mind spun round and round. Who were the letters from and what did they mean? Valentina picked up the new envelope from her pillow. She quickly opened and read it, then shoved it into her drawer with the others. Then she sat down on her bed, facing away from Isla. "Are you OK?" asked Isla. "Why wouldn't I be?" Valentina said sharply. "Who was your letter from?" "None of your business!" Valentina glared at her. "You won't share your secrets with me so I won't share mine with you!" Not fair! thought Isla, stung. I'm trying to protect Unicorn Island. Can you say the same? The bell rang and everyone left together to go to afternoon lessons. Isla pretended that she'd

金荆棘大学毕业生。想想吧，瓦伦蒂娜。 这就是你在这个世界上最想要的，不是吗？ 底部没有名字，也没有签名。 听到楼梯上有脚步声，艾拉把信塞回抽屉里，跑向自己的床。 莫莉、安娜和瓦伦蒂娜走了进来，她拿起了梳子。 艾拉的脑子转啊转。 这些信是谁寄来的，有什么意思？ 瓦伦蒂娜从枕头上拿起新信封。 她迅速打开看了看，然后把它和其他的一起塞进了抽屉。 然后她坐在床上，背对着艾拉。 “你还好吗？”艾拉问。“我为什么不高兴呢？”瓦伦蒂娜严厉地说。 “你的信是谁寄来的？”“不关你的事！”瓦伦蒂娜怒视着她。 “你不愿与我分享你的秘密，所以我也不愿与你分享我的！”不公平的!艾拉被刺痛了，心里想。 我在努力保护独角兽岛。 你能说同样的话吗？下课铃响了，大家一起去上下午的课了。 艾拉假装知道

forgotten her pencil case and ran back to the dorm. When she got there, she pulled out the letter Valentina had just received from the top of the pile. It simply read: Tonight, I want to help you. It is time to prove your loyalty. A feeling of foreboding shivered down Isla's spine. What should I do? she thought. If I tell the others, they might confront Valentina and she'll know I've read her letters. And what if it's nothing? I'll have falsely accused Valentina of something bad… Isla hesitated a moment longer, before pushing the letter back in the drawer and running to her lesson. Later, as Isla got ready to practise the drill ride her dorm would perform in front of the parents, she watched Valentina through the partition that separated Buttercup's stable from Golden Briar's. Valentina was whispering and Golden Briar was shaking his head emphatically. Isla moved closer to the partition. "We've got to go, Golden Briar," she heard Valentina plead.

忘了带铅笔盒，跑回宿舍。 到了那里，她从一堆信的最上面拿出瓦伦蒂娜刚刚收到的那封信。 上面只写着：今晚，我想帮助你。 是时候证明你的忠诚了。 一种不祥的感觉在艾拉的脊背上颤抖。 我该怎么办？她想。 如果我告诉其他人，他们可能会质问瓦伦蒂娜她就会知道我看过她的信。 如果什么都没有呢？我会诬告瓦伦蒂娜做了坏事……艾拉又犹豫了一会儿，把信塞回抽屉，跑去上课。 后来，当艾拉准备在家长面前练习她的宿舍会表演的骑马演习时，她隔着金凤花的马厩和金荆棘的马厩之间的隔墙看着瓦伦蒂娜。 瓦伦蒂娜在窃窃私语，金荆棘使劲摇着头。 Isla向分界靠近。 “我们得走了，金荆棘。”她听见瓦伦蒂娜恳求道。

"No, Valentina, we can't!" "But this could be our only chance to—" "What's up, Isla?" Buttercup called out. "Why are you standing over there?" "No reason," said Isla, hurrying back to her. She thought about what Valentina had said: We've got to go. Go where? She bit her lip. If the letters were from Ms Willow, did that mean Valentina was planning on meeting with her? Another shiver ran down her spine as she remembered the letter she had read: Tonight, I want to help you. It is time to prove your loyalty. "Are you sure you're all right?" Buttercup nudged her. "You seem distracted." Isla bit her lip. "Buttercup, if you suspected someone was going to make a really big mistake would it be right to tell your friends? Even if there was a chance you were wrong and might be falsely accusing that person, as well as making yourself look stupid?" Isla suddenly realised she trusted Buttercup's opinion. They were very different but together that made them stronger. "You should definitely tell your friends," said Buttercup immediately. "Imagine if you didn't

“不，瓦伦蒂娜，我们不能！”“但这可能是我们唯一的机会——”“怎么了，艾拉？”毛茛喊道。 “你为什么站在那里？”“没什么，”艾拉说着，急忙回到她身边。 她想着瓦伦蒂娜说的话：我们得走了。 去哪里?她咬着嘴唇。 如果这些信是威洛女士写的，这是否意味着瓦伦蒂娜打算和她见面？ 想起刚才读过的那封信，她又一次打了个寒颤：今晚，我想帮助你。 是时候证明你的忠诚了。 “你确定你没事吗？”金凤花推了她一下。 “你似乎心烦意乱。”艾拉咬着嘴唇。 “毛茛，如果你怀疑某人会犯一个很大的错误，你会告诉你的朋友吗？” 即使有可能你错了，可能会错误地指责那个人，也会让自己看起来很愚蠢？”艾拉突然意识到她相信毛茛的意见。 他们非常不同，但在一起使他们更强大。 “你一定要告诉你的朋友，”毛茛立刻说。 “想象一下，如果你没有