Chapter 4

Chapter four, Evie settled down in the dorm and read, her eyes quickly skimming over the words. The folly in the grounds had been built a hundred years ago by a headteacher called Ms Evergreen. According to the book, Ms Evergreen had been a fascinating woman, intrepid and brave and a passionate guardian of the island. Before becoming headteacher she had been an archaeologist and had spent many years searching for a precious jewel known as the Unicorn's Diamond. "The Unicorn's Diamond," Evie whispered aloud, feeling a shiver of excitement. The diamond was legendary for both its beauty and its power. Just then her friends came up the stairs, chattering loudly. Sienna threw the door open. "We won. We beat the boys five matches to three." "It was fun and when we got back to the stables, there was an explosion!" added Lyra. "One of the automated trolleys was trundling along with a bucket full of sky berries. It was just passing Sunshine's stable when there was a loud bang. The berries exploded and went everywhere." "Really?" Evie's eyes widened. "Was anyone hurt?" Ivy grinned. "No, but there was a huge mess. We had to wash Sunshine's mane. It turned blue with sky berry juice. "Is she OK?" "She's fine," said Ivy, putting a reassuring arm round Evie. "Ms Tulip thought the berries may have exploded because they were from last season and they'd been left in a warm cupboard. Sunshine seemed a bit shocked at first but we cleaned her up and left her munching on a hay net. She said not to tell you but we thought you'd want to know." Evie wondered why Sunshine hadn't wanted her to come and help but she pushed the thought away as she remembered her news. "You'll never guess what I've found out," she said.

第四章，艾薇在宿舍里坐下来读了起来，她的眼睛快速地浏览了一下文字。 操场上的那座蠢房子是一百年前由一位名叫常绿女士的校长建造的。 根据这本书，常绿女士是一个迷人的女人，勇敢无畏，是这个岛屿的热情守护者。 在成为校长之前，她是一名考古学家，花了许多年的时间寻找一颗被称为独角兽钻石的珍贵宝石。 “独角兽的钻石。”伊薇低声说，兴奋得打了个寒颤。 这颗钻石因其美丽和力量而成为传奇。 就在这时，她的朋友们走上楼梯，大声地叽叽喳喳。 西耶娜猛地把门打开。 “我们赢了。我们以五比三击败了男孩队。” “很有趣，当我们回到马厩时，就发生了爆炸！”莱拉补充道。 其中一辆自动手推车载着满满一桶天空莓。 它刚经过阳光的马厩，就听到一声巨响。 浆果爆炸了，到处都是。” “真的吗?”伊薇睁大了眼睛。 “有人受伤吗？”艾薇咧嘴一笑。 “没有，但是那里一团糟。 我们得给阳光洗鬃毛。 它被天空莓汁染成了蓝色。 “她还好吗？”“她很好，”艾薇说着，伸出一只安慰的手臂搂住了艾薇。 “郁金香女士认为这些浆果可能爆炸了，因为它们是上一季的，被放在一个温暖的橱柜里。 阳光起初似乎有点震惊，但我们清理了她，让她在干草网上大嚼特嚼。 她说不要告诉你，但我们觉得你会想知道的。” 伊薇想知道为什么阳光不想让她来帮忙，但当她想起这个消息时，她把这个想法打消了。 “你永远猜不到我发现了什么，”她说。

They all sat on her bed while Evie explained what she'd discovered about the folly in the grounds. "Ms Evergreen, who built it, was headteacher here a hundred years ago. She sounds awesome. She was previously an archaeologist and she'd spent years searching for the Unicorn's Diamond." "The Unicorn's Diamond," said Lyra thoughtfully. "A beautiful diamond that grants the heart's desire of anyone who holds it. Isn't that just a legend?" "This book says no one knows for sure," said Evie. She glanced at its pages. "The legend is that it was created in ancient times, formed from the tears of joy shed by Unicorn Island's original unicorn, Daybreak, on the birth of her first foal. The—" "Daybreak?" interrupted Sienna. "Hang on! Isn't that the unicorn on the tapestry downstairs that hides the entrance to the secret room?" "Yes, and we had to follow carvings of Daybreak to get to the second piece of the map," said Ivy. Evie gasped loudly. "What is it?" demanded Lyra. "Have… have you got the– the map?" Evie asked, stumbling over her words in her excitement. "Yes. Why?" Lyra pulled the pieces out of her pocket and smoothed them out. "Look!" Evie's voice came out as a squeak as she stabbed her finger at the top corner of each piece. "There are pictures of Daybreak here too, in each corner. Could the map take you to—" "The Unicorn's Diamond!" finished Lyra. They all stared at each other. "Do you really think this map could lead us to the diamond?" whispered Sienna.

他们都坐在她的床上，听伊维解释她发现的操场上的荒唐事。 “建造它的常青女士，一百年前是这里的校长。 她听起来很棒。她之前是一名考古学家，花了数年时间寻找独角兽的钻石。” “独角兽的钻石。”莱拉若有所思地说。 “一颗美丽的钻石，能满足任何拥有它的人心中的愿望。 那不是传说吗？”“这本书说没有人知道确切的答案，”艾薇说。 她瞥了一眼那几页。传说它是在古代创造的，由独角兽岛的原始独角兽黎明在她的第一个小马驹出生时流下的喜悦的眼泪形成的。 “天亮了？”西耶娜插嘴说。 “等等!楼下挂毯上的那只独角兽不是藏着密室入口的吗？”“是的，我们必须跟着黎明的雕刻才能到达地图的第二部分。”艾薇说。 伊薇大声喘着气。“那是什么？”莱拉问。 “你……你拿到——地图了吗？”伊维问，激动得说不出话来。 “是的。为什么?”莱拉从口袋里掏出碎片，把它们弄平。 “看!”当艾维用手指戳每一块的顶部角时，她的声音像尖叫声一样发出来。 “这里每个角落都有《黎明》的照片。 这张地图能把你带到——”“独角兽的钻石！”莱拉问。 他们都面面相觑。 “你真的认为这张地图能指引我们找到钻石吗？”西耶娜低声说。

"Yes! I do!" Evie picked up her book again and read a paragraph out. "According to the legend, anyone who holds the diamond in their hand will be granted their heart's desire. For centuries people have sought the diamond in order to ask for their greatest wish. But the diamond, if it ever existed, has been so well hidden that so far no one has found it." She looked up, her eyes shining. "But maybe Ms Evergreen did find it—" Lyra broke in. "And hid it somewhere safe so that people couldn't get their hands on it. It would be awful if it was found by someone who wanted to make bad things happen." Evie nodded. "But Ms Evergreen made a map so that it could be found again if it needed to be. She cut it into four and hid the pieces in the school grounds." "And if we find the rest of the map, we'll find the diamond!" said Lyra, looking as if she was about to burst with excitement. "We've got to find it," said Sienna. Lyra jumped up. "Let's go and find the folly right now!" "We can't," said Ivy. "It's lunchtime."

“是啊!我做的!”伊薇又拿起她的书，念了一段。 “根据传说，任何把钻石拿在手里的人都会得到他们心中的愿望。 几个世纪以来，人们寻找钻石是为了实现他们最大的愿望。 但是那颗钻石，如果它曾经存在过的话，已经被隐藏得很好了，到目前为止还没有人发现它。” 她抬起头来，眼睛闪闪发光。 “但也许常绿小姐确实找到了——”莱拉插嘴说。 把它藏在一个安全的地方，这样别人就拿不到它了。 如果它被一个想制造坏事的人发现，那就太可怕了。” 艾维-点了点头。但常绿女士制作了一张地图，以便在需要的时候可以再次找到它。 她把它切成四块，藏在学校操场上。” “如果我们找到地图的其余部分，我们就会找到钻石！”莱拉说，似乎兴奋得要爆发了。 “我们必须找到它，”西耶娜说。 莱拉跳了起来。“我们现在就去找那个傻瓜吧！”“我们不能，”艾薇说。 “现在是午饭时间。”

"After lunch then," said Lyra. "No, Spiny Copse, where the folly is, is at the edge of the school grounds," said Evie. "We won't be able to get there and back before dark. We'll have to wait until Saturday– three days' time." Sienna nodded. "We could tell Ms Rivers we want to look at the wildlife and ask if we can take a picnic with us, then we can have the whole day to explore the tower." There was a faint noise outside their dorm door. Lyra hurried over and pulled the door open but there was no one there. She shut it behind her again. "Phew! I thought for a moment someone was listening to us. This must stay as our secret. We can't tell anyone about it. Promise?" They all nodded. "Promise!"

“那就午饭后吧。”莱拉说。 “不，小刺林，傻瓜所在的地方，在学校操场的边上。” “我们不可能在天黑之前来回。 我们得等到星期六——三天以后。” 黄土点点头。“我们可以告诉里弗斯女士，我们想看看野生动物，并询问我们是否可以一起野餐，然后我们就可以有一整天的时间来探索这座塔。” 他们宿舍门外传来了微弱的声音。 莱拉急忙走过去，把门拉开，但里面一个人也没有。 她又把门关上了。 “唷!有那么一会儿，我以为有人在听我们说话。 这是我们的秘密。 我们不能告诉任何人。 承诺?”他们都点了点头。 “承诺!”