Chapter 1

Ava and Star JULIE SYKES

艾娃和明星朱莉·赛克斯

CHAPTER 1 "Star, wake up," whispered Ava. Star was asleep in her stable. She looked so sweet, with her eyes shut tight and her yellow-and-purple mane curling over her white coat. Ava smoothed a lilac curl that was sticking up around Star's spiraled gold-and-purple horn. "Ava?" Star's eyes snapped open and she scrambled to her hooves. "It's early, even for you. Is something wrong?" Ava grinned. "No, everything's fine. I'm just excited! Last night the teachers told us we're going on a scavenger hunt this morning instead of lessons. We've got to collect things from around the school grounds in teams!" Star pricked up her ears. "That sounds fun!" Ava nodded. "I woke up thinking about it, and when I looked out the window, I saw something I had to show you. Come with me!"

第一章“星儿，醒醒吧。”艾娃低声说。 星星在她的马厩里睡着了。 她的眼睛紧闭着，黄色和紫色的鬃毛卷在白色的皮毛上，看上去是那么可爱。 艾娃抚平了星星金色和紫色的螺旋角周围竖起的淡紫色卷发。 “阿瓦?”星星的眼睛猛地睁开，她赶紧爬起来。 “即使对你来说也太早了。 出什么事了吗？”艾娃咧嘴一笑。 “不，一切都很好。我只是很兴奋！昨晚老师告诉我们，今天上午我们要去玩寻宝游戏，而不是去上课。 我们得分组在学校操场周围收集东西！”星星竖起了耳朵。 “听起来很有趣！”艾娃点点头。 “我醒来时一直想着这件事，当我向窗外望去时，我看到了一些东西，我必须给你看。 跟我来！”

Blinking and yawning, Star followed Ava through the stable of sleeping unicorns to the door. Ava stopped. "Close your eyes." Star obediently shut her eyes. Ava felt her heart swell with happiness as she realized how much her unicorn trusted her. Putting her hand on Star's warm neck, she guided her outside. "You can open them now," she whispered. "Look!" "Wow!" Star blinked. A ball of sunshine was visible on the horizon. As it rose, filling the gap between two mountains, the dark sky rippled with orange, pink, and gold. "Doesn't the school look beautiful?" said Ava. Across the lawn, the marble walls and glass windows of Unicorn Academy glowed in the sunrise, and in the distance the multicolored water of Sparkle Lake glittered and shone.

星星眨眨眼，打着哈欠，跟着艾娃穿过熟睡的独角兽马厩来到门口。 艾娃停了下来。“闭上眼睛。” 星星乖乖地闭上了眼睛。 当艾娃意识到她的独角兽是如此信任她时，她的心充满了幸福。 她把手放在小星温暖的脖子上，领着她走了出去。 “你现在可以打开了，”她低声说。 “看!”“哇!”星星眨了眨眼睛。 地平线上可见一团阳光。 当它升起，填满两座山之间的缝隙时，黑暗的天空荡漾着橙色、粉红色和金色的涟漪。 艾娃说：“学校看起来很漂亮，不是吗？” 草坪对面，独角兽学院的大理石墙壁和玻璃窗在日出中闪闪发光，远处闪闪发光的是闪闪发光的湖水。

"It's the best sunrise I've seen in ages," said Star. Ava smiled. "I had to share it with you. Spring's coming, Star. I can smell it in the air! Shall we plant my new seedlings before I have to go for breakfast?" "Good plan!" said Star eagerly. "I'll dig the holes." "That would be brilliant." Ava kissed her unicorn on the purple star on her forehead. "I love having you as my unicorn. I can't imagine being

“这是我这么多年来看到的最好的日出，”星星说。 艾娃笑了。“我不得不和你分享。 春天来了，星星。我在空气中都能闻到！在我去吃早餐之前，我们可以种下我的新幼苗吗？”“好计划！”星急切地说。 “我来挖洞。”“那太棒了。” 艾娃吻了她额头上紫色星星上的独角兽。 “我喜欢你做我的独角兽。 我无法想象

partnered with a unicorn who didn't like gardening!" "And I can't imagine being partnered with a girl who didn't like nature!" said Star, her warm breath tickling Ava and making her giggle. Ava and Star had been paired together in January, three months ago, when they'd both started at Unicorn Academy. Ava still found it hard to believe that she was really here, training to become a guardian of wonderful Unicorn Island. The island was nourished by magical waters that flowed up from the center of the earth and out through the fountain in Sparkle Lake. Rivers carried the precious water around the land so that it helped all the people, animals, and plants on Unicorn Island to flourish. Students usually spent a year at Unicorn Academy when they were ten, but sometimes they stayed longer if their unicorn needed more time to discover their magic power or if they hadn't yet bonded with their unicorn. Bonding was the highest form of friendship, and when it happened, a lock of the student's hair would turn the same color as their unicorn's mane. Ava couldn't help feeling a little surprised she and Star hadn't bonded

和一只不喜欢园艺的独角兽搭档！”“我无法想象和一个不喜欢大自然的女孩搭档！”斯达说，她温暖的呼吸让艾娃发痒，让她咯咯笑起来。 三个月前的一月份，艾娃和斯达在一起，当时她们都在独角兽学院上学。 艾娃仍然很难相信她真的在这里，被训练成为奇妙的独角兽岛的守护者。 这个岛是由神奇的水滋养的，这些水从地球的中心流出，通过闪耀湖的喷泉流出。 河流把珍贵的水带到了陆地上，所以它帮助独角兽岛上所有的人、动物和植物蓬勃发展。 学生们通常在十岁时在独角兽学院待一年，但如果他们的独角兽需要更多的时间来发现自己的魔力，或者他们还没有和他们的独角兽建立联系，有时他们会待得更久。 亲密是友谊的最高形式，当它发生时，学生的一绺头发会变成和他们的独角兽鬃毛一样的颜色。 艾娃不禁感到有点惊讶，她和斯达没有走到一起

already. "Do you think Ms. Primrose paired us together because we both love plants and nature?" asked Star. "Maybe," said Ava. "Or maybe there was another reason. You never know with Ms. Primrose." Ms. Primrose was the wise head teacher who had been in charge of the academy for many years. She was strict, but she could also be very kind. "Well, whatever her reason, I'm glad she did," said Star. "I wonder when I'll find out what my magic power is and when we'll bond." Ava felt a clench in her stomach. Two of the girls from Sapphire dorm had already bonded with their unicorns. Ava couldn't help but worry that she was doing something wrong. She knew a lot about plants and animals, but she wasn't very good at reading and writing. What if Star never found her magic power and they never bonded because she wasn't clever enough to help her? That would be awful! Star nudged her. "Should we get your plants from the greenhouse?" Ava squashed her growing anxiety. "Aren't you

了。“你认为？ 樱草花把我们撮合在一起，是因为我们都喜欢植物和自然？”星问道。 “也许吧，”艾娃说。或许还有别的原因。 你永远不会知道迎春花小姐的情况。” 樱草花女士是一位睿智的校长，她管理这所学校已经很多年了。 她很严格，但她也很善良。 “好吧，不管她的原因是什么，我很高兴她这么做了，”星星说。 “我想知道我什么时候会发现我的魔力是什么，什么时候我们会联系在一起。” 艾娃感到胃里一阵痉挛。 蓝宝石宿舍的两个女生已经和她们的独角兽结缘了。 艾娃忍不住担心自己是不是做错了什么。 她知道很多关于植物和动物的知识，但她不擅长阅读和写作。 如果斯达没有找到她的魔力，他们也没有结合，因为她不够聪明，无法帮助她呢？ 那太可怕了！星推了她一下。 “我们要不要把你的植物从温室里拿出来？”艾娃压制住了她日益增长的焦虑。 “你不是