Chapter 2

Chapter two, A little while later, the four girls trotted their unicorns away from the stable block. The air was frosty and the grass crunched under the unicorns' hooves as they skirted round the edge of Sparkle Lake. Sparkle Lake's water had magical properties. It sprang up from the centre of the earth, cascaded through an ornate fountain in the middle of the lake and then flowed away around the island. The water helped all the people, plants and animals on the island flourish and it also strengthened the unicorns' magic. Lyra grinned as they left the lake and headed towards the lush green meadows. Here she was, with her own unicorn, out on an adventure at last! She loved exploring. When she was older, she wanted to be an archaeologist who discovered unknown places and found precious artefacts. She couldn't think of a more fun job! "So, where are we going to go?" Sienna asked her. "The woods," said Lyra instantly. "Are you sure, Lyra?" said Misty. "They sound dangerous and we shouldn't go in if they're out of bounds." "We'll stay on the edge. It'll be fun," said Lyra. "That's if we can find them, of course!" "You mean we might get lost?" asked Misty anxiously. Lyra ruffled her mane. "Yep! That's the best thing about exploring– you never know what's going to happen!"

过了一会儿，四个女孩赶着她们的独角兽离开了马厩。 天气很冷，草地在独角兽的蹄下嘎吱作响，他们绕着闪闪湖的边缘走着。 火花湖的水有神奇的属性。 它从地球的中心喷出，从湖中央的一个华丽的喷泉中倾泻而下，然后绕着岛流去。 水帮助岛上所有的人、植物和动物蓬勃发展，也增强了独角兽的魔力。 他们离开湖边，朝郁郁葱葱的草地走去，莱拉咧嘴一笑。 她终于带着她自己的独角兽出去冒险了！她喜欢探险。 当她长大后，她想成为一名考古学家，发现未知的地方，发现珍贵的文物。 她想不出比这更有趣的工作了！“那么，我们要去哪里呢？”西耶娜问她。 “树林。”莱拉立刻说。 “你确定吗，莱拉？”米斯蒂说。 “它们听起来很危险，如果它们在界外，我们就不应该进去。” “我们将保持在边缘。会很有趣的。”莱拉说。 “当然，前提是我们能找到他们！”“你是说我们可能会迷路？”米斯蒂焦急地问。 莱拉竖起鬃毛。“是的!这就是探索最棒的地方——你永远不知道会发生什么！”

"Oh," said Misty, gulping. "Come on, I'm bored of trotting. Let's canter," said Sienna. "Or, even better, gallop!" Sienna urged Sparkle on and they all raced across the grounds and into the meadow. A sparkling multicoloured stream wound through the long grass and the unicorns stopped beside it to have a refreshing drink. "Let's have a contest to see who can jump the widest part of the stream," said Sienna, her eyes glinting. "Yes!" agreed Sparkle, playfully splashing Flame, who was drinking next to him. "You're pretty fast, Flame, but I bet I can jump further than you." "But I was really looking forward to going to the woods," said Lyra, disappointed. "I think we should do what the others want, Lyra," said Misty quickly. "Jumping the stream sounds fun!" Lyra sighed. "OK." "Great! I'll start," called Sienna. She and Sparkle galloped towards the stream and soared over it. "Beat that, Lyra!" Sienna said, laughing over her shoulder. Lyra forgot her frustration. "You're on! Come on, Misty!" Misty set off towards an even wider part of the stream. Lyra gripped her long mane and felt her heart leap as Misty took off. The fast-flowing water sparkled beneath them for a brief second and then they landed safely on the far bank. "Our go!" called Ivy, and Flame leapt gracefully over the water. But Evie shook her head when it was her and Sunshine's turn. "We'll just watch." She clapped and cheered as the other three took it in turns to jump wider and wider stretches.

“哦，”米斯蒂说，喘着气。 “来吧，我已经厌倦了小跑。 咱们跑吧，”西耶娜说。 “或者，更好的是，疾驰！”西耶娜催着斯巴克往前跑，他们一起跑过场地，跑到草地上。 一条波光粼粼、五彩斑斓的小溪在长长的草丛中蜿蜒而过，独角兽们停在河边喝着清凉的饮料。 “我们来一场比赛，看谁能跳过小溪最宽的地方。”西耶娜说，她的眼睛闪闪发光。 “是的！”火花附和着，顽皮地朝旁边喝酒的火苗泼水。 “你跑得很快，火苗，但我敢打赌我能比你跳得更远。” “但我真的很期待去树林里。”莱拉失望地说。 “我认为我们应该按照别人的想法去做，莱拉。”米斯蒂赶紧说。 “跳小溪听起来很有趣！”莱拉叹了口气。 “好吧。”“太好了!我开始吧，”西耶娜叫道。 她和斯巴克奔向小溪，飞过水面。 “别这样，莱拉！”西耶娜回过头笑着说。 莱拉忘记了她的沮丧。 “你!快来，米斯蒂！”米斯蒂向更宽阔的河流走去。 莱拉抓住她长长的鬃毛，当米斯蒂起飞时，她的心怦怦直跳。 顷刻间，湍急的河水在他们身下闪闪发光，然后他们安全降落在对岸。 “出发！”艾薇喊道，火苗优雅地跃过水面。 但轮到她和阳光时，伊薇摇了摇头。 “我们就看着吧。”当其他三个人轮流跳得越来越宽时，她鼓掌欢呼。

It was a close competition. Ivy and Flame dropped out first and then, when Sienna and Sparkle had jumped a really wide part of the stream, Misty shook her head. "I can't jump that far," she told Lyra. "I'm sure of it." "OK," said Lyra, not wanting to force her. "That's fine. You win," she called to Sienna. "Well done," she added generously. "Sparkle was great." Sienna whooped in delight. "We're the champions!" she said, punching the air. She leant down and hugged Sparkle. He snorted happily and then jumped back over the stream to join the others. "We should probably go back to the stables," said Evie, looking at the sun sinking in the sky. "Yes, it'll be dark soon," said Sienna. "Come on. Last one there is a snot-flop snail!" She clapped her heels to Sparkle's sides. Laughing and shouting, the girls galloped after her. After settling the unicorns with big buckets of sky berries and bulging haynets, Lyra and the others walked back to school. The sun was setting and the academy's tall marble and glass towers glowed against the red- gold sky. Lyra's eyes sought out the tower where their dormitory was situated. Ruby dorm was on the top floor of the north tower, along with Topaz dorm. The setting sun made the five windows flame pink. Lyra frowned and stopped for a moment, letting the others walk on. Five! That wasn't right, was it? The two dorms were identical and they had two windows each, so why was there a fifth window above Ruby dorm? There must be another room– a hidden room– above our dorm, she realised. "Hey!" she called. The others looked round. "What's up?" asked Ivy. "Look at our tower and count the number of windows." They all glanced up at the tower and then turned back to Lyra with puzzled expressions. "There are five," said Sienna. "So?" Lyra quickly explained what she'd discovered. "There must be a hidden

这是一场势均力敌的比赛。 艾薇和火苗先退了下来，然后，当西耶娜和闪闪跳过一段相当宽的河段时，米斯蒂摇了摇头。 “我跳不了那么远。”她告诉莱拉。 “我敢肯定。”“好吧。”莱拉说，不想强迫她。 “那很好。你赢了，”她对西耶娜喊道。 “干得好，”她慷慨地补充道。 “火花棒极了。”西耶娜高兴得大叫起来。 “我们是冠军！”她挥舞着拳头说。 她弯下身子，抱住了斯巴克。 他高兴地哼了一声，然后跳回小溪，加入了其他人的行列。 “我们也许应该回马厩去，”艾维说，看着太阳在天空中下沉。 “是的，天很快就黑了，”西耶娜说。 “来吧。最后一个是鼻涕蜗牛！”她用脚跟拍打着Sparkle的身体两侧。 姑娘们又笑又叫地跟在她后面疾驰而去。 莱拉和其他人用大桶的天空浆果和鼓鼓囊囊的干草把独角兽安顿好后，就走回学校。 夕阳西下，学院高大的大理石和玻璃塔楼在红金色的天空映衬下闪闪发光。 莱拉的眼睛寻找着他们宿舍所在的塔楼。 红宝石宿舍在北塔的顶层，和黄玉宿舍在一起。 夕阳把五扇窗户照得火红的。 莱拉皱起眉头，停了一会儿，让其他人继续往前走。 五个!那不对，是吗？ 两个宿舍一模一样，每个宿舍都有两扇窗户，那为什么露比的宿舍上面还有第五扇窗户呢？ 她意识到，在我们宿舍楼上一定还有一个房间——一个隐蔽的房间。 “嘿！”她喊道。其他人回头看了看。 “怎么了？”艾薇问。“看看我们的塔楼，数一数窗户的数量。” 他们都抬头看了一眼高塔，然后带着困惑的表情转向莱拉。 “有五个，”西耶娜说。 “所以?”莱拉很快解释了她的发现。 “一定有什么秘密

room! I'm going to try to find it. Ruby dorm, there's a mystery we need to solve…"

房间!我要试着找到它。 鲁比宿舍，我们有个谜要解开……”