Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 Lily studied the unicorns eagerly. Which one would be hers? Hopefully not the tall unicorn with the silver-blue mane and proud stare. He was very beautiful but looked far too regal to be her partner. She wouldn't know what to say to him! And the smaller unicorn next to him with the red-and- orange mane looked too naughty and mischievous. A unicorn with a pretty pink mane shouldered past him and stamped a hoof, looking confidently out at the audience. Lily's attention was caught by a unicorn with a violet-yellow-and-blue mane who was standing at the back. She was peeking out shyly from under her silky forelock. Her long eyelashes fluttered as she glanced out at the girls and boys before staring at the floor. Lily's heart melted. The unicorn looked awkward, as if she felt she didn't belong there. Just like me, Lily thought.

第二章莉莉急切地研究着独角兽。 哪一个是她的？希望不是那个长着银蓝色鬃毛，眼神高傲的高大独角兽。 他很漂亮，但看起来太帝王了，不适合做她的伴侣。 她不知道该对他说什么！而他旁边那头长着红橙相间鬃毛的小独角兽看起来太调皮了。 一头长着漂亮的粉红色鬃毛的独角兽从他身边走过，跺着蹄子，自信地看着观众。 莉莉的注意力被一只长着紫黄蓝相间鬃毛的独角兽吸引了，它站在后面。 她羞怯地从她丝般柔顺的额发下向外窥视。 她的长睫毛抖动着，扫视了一下女孩和男孩，然后盯着地板。 莉莉的心融化了。独角兽看起来很尴尬，好像她觉得自己不属于那里。 就像我一样，莉莉想。

Ms. Nettles began to call out names— the student's first and then the unicorn's. The first pairing was a boy from Topaz dorm called Spike, who had bright red hair and a sly smile, and Dynamo, the mischievous unicorn with the red- and-orange mane. They both seemed delighted as they moved to the far side of the stage, immediately putting their matching red heads together and looking as though they were planning to cause trouble. One by one, Ms. Nettles called out names until it was Amethyst dorm's turn.

奈特尔斯老师开始叫名字——先是那个学生的，然后是独角兽的。 第一对是来自黄玉宿舍的男孩斯派克（Spike），他有一头鲜红的头发，脸上带着狡黠的微笑；另一对是迪纳摩（Dynamo），一只顽皮的独角兽，长着红橙相间的鬃毛。 他们俩似乎都很高兴地走到舞台的另一边，立即把他们的红头发凑在一起，看起来好像他们打算制造麻烦。 奈特尔斯一个接一个地叫着名字，直到轮到紫水晶宿舍。

"Aisha," said Ms. Nettles. "You will be paired with Silver." Aisha shimmied from her chair, humming a happy tune. Silver was a small unicorn with a green-silver-and-red mane. He danced out from the crowd, lifting his glittering hooves high, his tail swishing. Aisha ran up the steps and threw her arms around him. He nuzzled her happily, and hearing the sound of her tune, he trotted in time to it as they walked over to the far side of the stage. The watching students giggled. "Oh dear," said Ms. Nettles, shaking her head. "I hope I haven't made a mistake pairing you two music lovers together!" She silenced the gigglers with a stern look. "Next from Amethyst dorm we have Phoebe. You will be paired with Shimmer." Phoebe gave a high-pitched squeal of delight as a unicorn with a long pink-and-blue mane whinnied. "Oh, wow! I was hoping for that exact unicorn! Thank you, Ms. Nettles! Thank you! You've made my dreams come true!" She ran up the steps and hugged the head teacher, who looked very taken aback. "That will do, my dear!" she said, shooing Phoebe away.

“阿伊莎，”奈特尔斯女士说。 “你将和西尔弗搭档。” 艾莎从椅子上摇摇晃晃地站起来，哼着一支欢快的曲子。 西尔弗是一头小独角兽，长着红绿相间的鬃毛。 他从人群中跳了出来，把闪闪发光的蹄子高高举起，尾巴嗖嗖作响。 艾莎跑上台阶，搂住了他。 他高兴地用鼻子蹭着她，听到她的曲调，他及时地小跑着，他们走到舞台的另一边。 围观的学生们咯咯地笑起来。 “哦，天哪，”奈特尔斯女士摇着头说。 “我希望我没有把你们两个音乐爱好者配对错！”她严厉地看了一眼，让咯咯笑的人安静了下来。 “下一个来自紫水晶宿舍的是菲比。 你将和微光搭档。” 菲比高兴地尖声叫了一声，一只长着粉红色和蓝色长毛的独角兽呜呜地叫着。 “哦,哇!我正希望看到那只独角兽呢！谢谢你。 荨麻!谢谢你！你让我的梦想成真了！”她跑上台阶，拥抱了校长，校长看起来很吃惊。 “好了，亲爱的！”她说着，把菲比赶走了。

"This is the best day of my ENTIRE life, everyone!" Phoebe said. She raced over to Shimmer. "We will be friends forever!" Shimmer exclaimed with a toss of his mane. He seemed just as dramatic as Phoebe. Ms. Nettles cleared her throat. "Very nice, dears. Now move to the side, please." Phoebe and Shimmer left the center of the stage and joined Aisha and Silver. Zara was paired with a dreamy-looking unicorn with a pure silver mane, called Moonbeam, and then finally it was Lily's turn. "Lily, you will be paired with…" Lily's heart raced as she stared at the remaining unicorns. Which one was it going to be? "Feather," Ms. Nettles announced. Lily's heart leaped as the nervous unicorn she'd spotted earlier stepped forward. Feather stumbled awkwardly as she reached the center of the stage. Lily hurried up the steps, blushing, aware that the whole room was watching them. "Um…hi," she said. "Hi," muttered Feather, staring at the floor.

“各位，这是我一生中最美好的一天！”菲比。 她跑向希默。 “我们永远是朋友！”微光甩了甩鬃毛，叫道。 他看起来和菲比一样戏剧化。 奈特尔斯清了清嗓子。 “很好，亲爱的。现在请移到一边去。” 菲比和希默离开舞台中央，加入了艾莎和西尔弗的行列。 Zara的搭档是一头长着纯银鬃毛的梦幻独角兽，名叫Moonbeam，最后轮到Lily了。 “莉莉，你将和……”莉莉盯着剩下的独角兽，心跳加速。 会是哪一个呢？ “羽毛，”纳特尔斯宣布。 莉莉的心怦怦直跳，她刚才看到的那只紧张的独角兽走上前来。 羽毛笨拙地踉跄着走到舞台中央。 莉莉急忙走上台阶，满脸通红，意识到整个房间的人都在看着他们。 “嗯……你好，”她说。“嗨。”羽毛盯着地板喃喃地说。

Lily could tell Feather hated being watched by everyone just as much as she did. It made her feel braver, like she wanted to protect her. "I was hoping you'd be my unicorn," she whispered. Feather's eyes flew to hers, and as their gazes met, Lily felt a strong connection surge between them. Feather nuzzled her, her warm, sweet- smelling breath tickling Lily's hands.

莉莉看得出来，羽毛和她一样讨厌被所有人盯着看。 这让她觉得自己更勇敢了，好像她想保护她。 “我希望你是我的独角兽，”她低声说。 羽毛的目光掠过她的眼睛，当他们的目光相遇时，莉莉感到他们之间产生了一种强烈的联系。 羽毛用鼻子蹭着她，她那温暖的、甜甜的呼吸使莉莉的手发痒。

They joined the others in Amethyst dorm while Ms. Nettles moved on to Opal dorm. All around Lily, the students who had been paired up were whispering excitedly to their unicorns. She and Feather exchanged shy looks. Skye and Amber, the two girls who had been mean to Lily, were in Opal dorm and were the last to be matched with their unicorns.

他们和其他人一起住在紫水晶宿舍。 荨麻去了欧泊宿舍。 在莉莉周围，一对对的学生正兴奋地对着各自的独角兽窃窃私语。 她和羽毛交换了害羞的眼神。 斯凯和安布尔，这两个对莉莉不好的女孩，住在欧泊宿舍，是最后一个和她们的独角兽配对的。