Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 Twisting desperately, Ava grabbed at the branch, the bark biting into her hands as she caught hold. She hung from the tree, legs dangling. "Ava!" squeaked Sophia and Olivia. "I'm right beneath you, Ava," called Star. Ava's arms ached, but she hung on tightly until the branch stopped swaying. Knowing Star was standing beneath her made her feel braver, and she prepared to pull herself back up. It was a bit of a scramble, but at last she was sitting astride the branch again. "Well done!" Sophia called in relief. "Thanks," panted Ava, blowing on her stinging fingers. This time, when Ava offered the spider her hand, it came at once, scuttling into her palm. Ava giggled as its little feet tickled her. Gently, she stroked its back. "Look at you, so cute!"

艾娃拼命地扭着身子，抓住树枝，但她抓住树枝时，树皮咬住了她的手。 她吊在树上，双腿晃来晃去。 “艾娃！”索菲亚和奥利维亚尖声叫道。 “我就在你下面，艾娃，”斯塔喊道。 艾娃的胳膊很疼，但她还是紧紧地抓着树枝，直到树枝不再摇晃。 知道星星就站在她下面，她觉得自己更勇敢了，她准备把自己拉上来。 这是一场混战，但最后她又跨坐在了树枝上。 “做得好!”索菲娅松了一口气。 “谢谢，”艾娃气喘吁吁地说，吹了吹她刺痛的手指。 这一次，当艾娃向蜘蛛伸出手时，它立刻伸出手来，窜进了她的掌心。 艾娃咯咯地笑着，它的小脚挠她痒痒。 她轻轻地抚摸着它的背部。 “看看你，好可爱！”

The spider gazed at her adoringly, then it rubbed its head against her hand and shook its bottom like a happy dog. "Aww!" cooed Ava. "You're gorgeous. Valentina is a total fluff head!" she called to the others. "Cave spiders are the friendliest spiders ever. This one's definitely lost. Sorry, you two, but I can't go on with the scavenger hunt until I've found its cave. I'll catch up with you later." "We're not going anywhere without you," said Sophia. "Where do you think it lives?" "There are some caves a bit farther on through the trees, aren't there, Ava?" called Star. "We went there once when we were looking for shadow-vetch seeds for your garden." "Good thinking!" Holding the spider carefully, Ava slowly climbed down and got back on Star. "Can you take us there, please?" Star whinnied. "Of course!" They set off through the trees until they reached a rocky cliff face. The spider perked up as they got closer, dancing in Ava's hand, its long legs kicking wildly.

蜘蛛崇拜地望着她，然后用头在她的手上蹭来蹭去，又像一只快乐的狗一样摇着屁股。 “哇！”艾娃低声说。“你是华丽的。 瓦伦蒂娜真是个笨蛋！”她对其他人喊道。 “洞穴蜘蛛是有史以来最友好的蜘蛛。 这个肯定丢了。 抱歉，你们两个，在我找到它的洞穴之前我不能继续寻宝游戏。 我一会儿去找你。” “没有你，我们哪儿也不去。”索菲亚说。 “你认为它住在哪里？”“树林里再远一点的地方有一些洞穴，是不是，艾娃？”星星叫道。 “我们有一次去那儿，为你的花园寻找影紫杉的种子。” “好主意!”艾娃小心翼翼地抱着蜘蛛，慢慢爬了下来，回到了星上。 “你能带我们去那儿吗？”明星嘶叫。 “当然!”他们穿过树林出发了，一直走到一个岩石峭壁前。 当他们走近时，蜘蛛活跃了起来，在艾娃的手里跳舞，它的长腿疯狂地踢着。

Ava couldn't stop giggling. "Is this your home, then? Is that what you're trying to tell me?" In answer, the spider jumped onto Star's back, let out a sparkly pink thread, then used it to sail down to the ground. It scuttled across the grass and into a small cave in the side of the cliff. Ava sighed happily. There was a rustle, and the spider's head popped out of the entrance, its big eyes wobbling. It waved a leg at Ava and Star before disappearing again, this time for good. Ava smiled and hugged Star. "I love a happy ending."

艾娃笑个不停。 “那么，这是你的家吗？”这就是你想告诉我的吗？”作为回答，蜘蛛跳到星星的背上，放出一根闪亮的粉红色线，然后用它飞向地面。 它飞快地穿过草地，跑进悬崖边的一个小洞里。 艾娃高兴地叹了口气。沙沙的一声，蜘蛛的头从入口探了出来，它的大眼睛颤抖着。 它向艾娃和斯塔挥了挥手，然后又消失了，这次是永远地消失了。 艾娃微笑着拥抱了斯达。 “我喜欢大团圆的结局。”

"Me too!" Sophia agreed. "But we haven't finished yet. Where's that list?" She pulled it out of her jodhpurs pocket, laid it on Rainbow's neck, and smoothed out the creases. "We need heart-shaped berries and also a jumping bean. Ava, any ideas?" Ava grinned. "Actually, yes. Follow me…." When every item on the list had been scavenged and safely stored in the backpack, Ava, Sophia, and Olivia raced back to school. Olivia was confident that they'd won. "And all thanks to Ava." Ava wasn't so sure. She wasn't surprised when they saw that Scarlett's team had beaten them back to school. As they rode up to the finish line, Scarlett and Isabel were triumphantly hugging a rather scared-looking Layla. Ava felt sorry for her. Layla was very clever, but Ava was sure that she didn't enjoy galloping as much as everyone else. She gave her a sympathetic smile. "We won!" Isabel boasted loudly. "You did not win!" Ms. Nettles was in charge of checking the bags of scavenged items. She gave a

“我也是!”索菲娅同意了。“但是我们还没有完成。 那张单子在哪儿？”她把它从马裤口袋里拿出来，放在彩虹的脖子上，抚平了折痕。 “我们需要心形的浆果和一颗跳豆。 艾娃，你有什么主意吗？”艾娃咧嘴一笑。 “事实上,是的。跟我来……” 当清单上的所有东西都被清理干净并安全地放进背包后，艾娃、索菲亚和奥利维亚跑回了学校。 奥利维亚确信他们赢了。 “这都要感谢艾娃。”艾娃不太确定。 当他们看到思嘉的队伍把他们赶回学校时，她并不感到惊讶。 当他们骑向终点线时，思嘉和伊莎贝尔正得意洋洋地拥抱着神色颇为惊恐的莱拉。 艾娃为她感到难过。蕾拉很聪明，但艾娃确信她不像其他人那样喜欢骑马。 她对她报以同情的微笑。 “我们赢了!”伊莎贝尔大声自夸。 “你没有赢！”内特尔斯女士负责检查那些被捡来的物品的袋子。 她给了

thin smile, her glasses rattling on her bony nose as she held up a plant. "This is boneheal. You were asked to find knitbone." Isabel scowled. "What? Are you sure? The flowers…" "The red flowers are similar to knitbone, but the leaves are quite different." Ms. Nettles took Ava's bag and pulled out the contents one by one, checking them off her list. "Lovely," she said. "What a fine specimen of knitbone. You must tell me where you found this herb." "I…I…grew it," Ava stammered, the intensity of Ms. Nettles's stare making her uncomfortable. "Really." Ms. Nettles looked thoughtful. Ava looked away, and when she glanced back Ms. Nettles was continuing to empty the bag. "Well done, girls," she said. Her sour face crinkled into a rare smile. "You are the winners! Your prize is a giant bar of chocolate. Don't eat it all before lunch!" "I can't believe it! I never win at anything," said Olivia as they rode their unicorns back to the stables. "Thanks for letting me join your team. I've had so much fun."

她微微一笑，眼镜在瘦骨嶙峋的鼻子上格格作响，手里拿着一株植物。 “这是骨愈合。你被要求找到针织品。” 伊莎贝尔皱起了眉头。“什么?你确定吗？ 这些花……”“红色的花和针织品很像，但是叶子却大不相同。” 纳特尔斯接过艾娃的包，把里面的东西一件一件地拿出来，从清单上一一核对。 “好极了，”她说。“多好的针织品标本啊。 你必须告诉我你在哪里找到这种草药的。” “我……我……种的，”艾娃结结巴巴地说。 荨麻的凝视使她感到不舒服。 “真的。”内特尔斯女士显得若有所思。 艾娃把目光移开，当她回望时。 荨麻继续倒空袋子。 “干得好，姑娘们，”她说。 她那张愁眉苦脸皱起眉头，露出难得的微笑。 “你们是赢家！”你的奖品是一大块巧克力。 不要在午饭前吃完！”“我真不敢相信！我从来没有赢过。”他们骑着独角兽回马厩时，奥利维亚说。 “谢谢你让我加入你的团队。 我玩得很开心。”

It didn't take long to settle the unicorns with a deep bed of fresh straw and an apple and carrot snack. Ava left Star drinking from her water trough, which automatically refilled with colorful water from the lake, before leaving the stables with Sophia and Olivia. "I'm starving," said Sophia. "I hope there's something good for lunch." Lunch was a huge buffet with sandwiches, tapas, pizza, and spring rolls. Ava and her friends ate hungrily, sitting at a table overlooking the lake with all their friends from Sapphire dorm. Isabel was still a little huffy over losing the scavenger hunt, but her smile returned as she plowed through a multicolored ice-cream sundae with cherries for dessert.

没过多久，他们就给独角兽们铺了一层厚厚的稻草，吃了苹果和胡萝卜。 艾娃让星喝着她的水槽里的水，水槽里会自动灌满五颜六色的湖水，然后她带着索菲亚和奥利维亚离开了马厩。 “我饿死了，”索菲亚说。 “我希望午饭有好吃的。” 午餐是丰盛的自助餐，有三明治、西班牙餐前小吃、披萨和春卷。 艾娃和她的朋友们狼吞虎咽地吃着，她们和蓝宝石宿舍的朋友们坐在一张可以俯瞰湖面的桌子旁。 伊莎贝尔还在为输掉寻宝游戏而生气，但当她狼吞虎咽地吃着五颜六色的圣代冰淇淋，甜点是樱桃时，她的笑容又回来了。