Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE "Layla dear. Is everything all right?" Ms Tulip said as she rode up. Layla rubbed her nose, unable to speak in case she burst into a storm of tears. She felt like such a failure. "You're not comfortable doing cross- country, are you?" said Ms Tulip kindly. "Don't worry, jumping and galloping are useful skills but they're not essential. Your knowledge of unicorns, their welfare and magical properties, is outstanding, Layla. If you carry on working this hard, you're going to make an excellent

第三章“亲爱的蕾拉。 一切都好吗？”杜丽普女士骑着马走过来说。 蕾拉揉了揉鼻子，说不出话来，生怕突然大哭起来。 她觉得自己很失败。 “你不习惯越野，是吗？”郁金香女士和蔼地说。 “别担心，跳跃和奔跑是有用的技能，但不是必需的。 你对独角兽的了解，它们的福利和魔法属性，真是太棒了，蕾拉。 如果你继续这么努力，你会成为一个优秀的

guardian." "Even if I don't want to jump?" asked Layla uncertainly. Ms Tulip smiled. "Even if you don't want to jump. Now, while the rest of the class go around the course how about you go back to school and groom Dancer?" "Thanks, Ms Tulip," said Layla gratefully. She heaved a sigh as she and Dancer rode back to school. On the one hand she was so relieved to escape the cross-country course and to know she could still be a guardian without jumping, but on the other hand she felt guilty for not being brave enough to face her fears. To make things worse, Dancer was being totally lovely about it, not complaining once, even though he was missing out on the fun. As they rode past Sparkle Lake, the cheers of her friends drifted to her on the breeze. The leaves on the trees rustled and several swirled to the ground, one catching in Layla's long black hair.

监护人。”“即使我不想跳？”莱拉不确定地问。 郁金香女士笑了。“即使你不想跳。 现在，当班上的其他人去上课的时候，你回学校去给丹瑟训练怎么样？”“谢谢，郁金香女士，”蕾拉感激地说。 她和丹瑟骑马回学校时，叹了口气。 一方面，她为从越野赛中逃脱而感到宽慰，因为她知道自己不用跳下去也能当守护者，但另一方面，她又为自己没有足够的勇气面对恐惧而感到内疚。 更糟糕的是，丹瑟对这件事表现得非常可爱，一次也没有抱怨，尽管他错过了乐趣。 当他们骑马经过闪闪湖时，她的朋友们的欢呼声随着微风飘向她。 树上的叶子沙沙作响，有几片叶子在地上打转，其中一片夹在蕾拉长长的黑发上。

"That's supposed to be lucky, catching a falling leaf," said Dancer. "But it's too early for the leaves to be falling. Summer's not over yet." A red-eyed fly with pink and turquoise wings buzzed past her nose. Layla swatted it away and was immediately set upon by two more. Layla squinted at them. The flies were unlike any she'd seen before and, even though they were pests, their glittery wings sparkled prettily in the sunlight.

“接住一片落叶被认为是幸运的，”丹瑟说。 “但现在落叶还为时过早。 夏天还没结束呢。”一只长着粉红色和绿松石色翅膀的红眼苍蝇嗡嗡地飞过她的鼻子。 蕾拉把它赶走了，马上又有两只猫扑过来。 莱拉眯着眼睛看着他们。这些苍蝇和她以前见过的苍蝇都不一样，尽管它们是害虫，但它们闪亮的翅膀在阳光下闪闪发光。

Layla stopped to groom Dancer in the meadow in the shade of a tree. As she combed out his tail, she heard laughter and the clatter of hooves as her friends returned from the cross- country lesson. Layla didn't feel like company. Dropping a kiss on Dancer's nose she said, "I'm going to go now. I'm sorry. I bet you wish you had a braver rider, someone like Scarlett or Isabel." "I wouldn't swap you for anyone." Dancer's whiskers were tickly on Layla's face as he nuzzled her. "I don't mind about the jumping. I just wish you'd trust me. I'd make sure you were safe." Layla bit her lip. "I know," she mumbled. "And I'm sorry. I'll try harder next time." Layla wandered through the grounds, hardly noticing where she was going, just wanting to stay out of everyone's way, until a strange sight stopped her in her tracks. Ms Nettles was kneeling on the grass, her nose to the ground

蕾拉在树荫下的草地上停下来给丹瑟梳洗。 当她给它梳尾巴的时候，她听到了朋友们从越野训练课上回来的笑声和马蹄声。 蕾拉不喜欢有人陪。 她在丹瑟的鼻子上吻了一下，说：“我现在要走了。 我很抱歉。我敢打赌，你一定希望有个更勇敢的骑手，像思嘉或伊莎贝尔那样的人。" “我不会用你换任何人。” 丹瑟用鼻子蹭蕾拉的脸，他的胡子在蕾拉脸上挠得很痒。 “我不介意跳。 我只希望你能相信我。 我会确保你的安全。” 蕾拉咬着嘴唇。“我知道，”她喃喃地说。 “我很抱歉。下次我会更加努力的。” 蕾拉在院子里徘徊，几乎没有注意到自己要去哪里，只是想避开每个人的视线，直到一个奇怪的景象让她停下了脚步。 荨麻女士跪在草地上，鼻子贴着地面

and her bony bottom sticking in the air. It was almost enough to bring a smile to Layla's lips despite the way she was feeling. "Um, Ms Nettles?" she asked. "Are you OK?" "Stop!" Ms Nettles shrieked as Layla stepped towards her. "You nearly squashed a berry beetle!" Layla saw a small purple beetle with silver spots crawling slowly across the path, carrying a huge ripe strawberry. "It must have a nest," breathed Layla. She remembered reading about the berry beetle in a book that Ava had lent her. "They're not like other beetles, are they?

她瘦骨嶙峋的屁股翘在空中。 这几乎足以让蕾拉的嘴唇露出微笑，尽管她的感觉很糟糕。 “嗯，荨麻女士？”她问。 “你还好吗？”“住手!”当蕾拉走向她时，荨麻女士尖叫起来。 “你差点压扁了一只浆果甲虫！”蕾拉看见一只长着银色斑点的紫色小甲虫，背着一颗成熟的大草莓，慢慢地爬过小路。 “它一定有窝，”蕾拉轻声说。 她记得在艾娃借给她的一本书里读到过浆果甲虫。 “它们不像其他甲虫，是吗？”

They look after their eggs until the beetles have hatched and the babies are big enough to forage for food." "That's right!" Ms Nettles exclaimed. "I didn't know that you liked beetles, Layla." "I like learning about everything on the island," said Layla. "Plants, animals, geography and history. It's fun finding out about different things and how they depend on each other."

它们会照顾自己的蛋，直到甲虫孵化出来，婴儿长大到可以觅食。” “没错!”荨麻女士叫道。 “我不知道你喜欢甲虫，莱拉。” “我喜欢了解岛上的一切，”莱拉说。 “植物、动物、地理和历史。 发现不同的事物以及它们如何相互依赖是很有趣的。”