Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR The pupils gathered together in the yard for last minute instructions. Ms Nettles stood on a mounting block with Ms Rivers, the strict Geography and Culture teacher who was going to be accompanying the students. Ms Nettles clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. When the yard was totally silent, she began. "There are a few important things you must pay attention to before you leave. Firstly, the scavenger hunt competition: the winner is the first team back with everything on the list. That's the whole team. Ms Rivers shall be

学生们在院子里集合，等待最后的指示。 尼特尔斯女士和里弗斯女士站在一个滑板上，里弗斯是一位严格的地理文化老师，她将陪同学生们。 奈特尔斯女士拍着手以引起大家的注意。 当院子里鸦雀无声时，她开始了。 “在你离开之前，有几件重要的事情你必须注意。 首先是寻宝游戏：第一个带着清单上的所有东西回来的队伍是赢家。 这是整个团队。里弗斯女士将

camping at the entrance to Dingleberry Dell and her tent is your finishing point." "Secondly, and more importantly," she continued, "Though I know you're all keen to win the competition, do not put the scavenger hunt ahead of pitching your tent. You must ensure that you are all able to sleep safely tonight! And pick your campsite carefully. Last year, some students pitched their tent on an ant hill." Her lips twitched as she waited for the laughter to fade. "They did not have a comfortable night's sleep! And don't leave putting up your tent until dark. Pitching a tent at night is almost impossible. Finally, no magic can be used in the scavenger hunt." Ms Nettles silenced the groans with a hand. "Many unicorns have still not found their magic. It would not be fair to let those lucky ones who have use it for this task, especially since the prize for winning is something quite special." "What is it?" asked Miki from Topaz dorm.

在丁格尔贝里谷和她的帐篷的入口处扎营是你的终点。” “其次，也是更重要的一点，”她接着说，“虽然我知道你们都渴望赢得比赛，但不要把寻宝游戏放在搭帐篷之前。 你们必须确保你们今晚都能安然入睡！仔细选择你的露营地。 去年，一些学生在蚁丘上搭帐篷。” 她的嘴唇抽搐着，等着笑声消失。 “他们晚上睡得不舒服！”不要等到天黑才搭帐篷。 晚上搭帐篷几乎是不可能的。 最后，在寻宝游戏中不能使用魔法。” 荨麻女士用一只手止住了呻吟声。 “许多独角兽还没有找到自己的魔力。 让那些幸运的人用它来完成这项任务是不公平的，尤其是因为获胜的奖品很特别。” “这是什么？”黄玉宿舍的美琪问。

"You'll have to wait and see, Miki." Ms Nettles said mysteriously. "Better still, you'll have to win and see! Now, Ms Rivers will lead the way to the dell. Go and get your unicorns! There's a scavenger hunt to win!" A loud cheer rang out, sending the bluebirds perched on the fence fluttering up with alarmed squawks. The sun was shining and it was a lovely ride to the dell. The mountains rose up behind the cluster of trees, tall and craggy, their peaks silhouetted against the sapphire-blue sky. At the entrance to the dell stood a tree that had turned completely white. The other trees clustered in a thick mass behind it, birds singing and squirrels scampering from branch to branch. "That white tree was once struck by lightning, children. It's easy to spot, and I shall camp just here," Ms Rivers told the students.

“你得等着瞧了，美琪。” 奈特尔斯女士神秘地说。 “更好的是，你得赢了再看！”现在，里弗斯女士将带路前往山谷。 去拿你的独角兽！有一场寻宝游戏要赢！”一阵响亮的欢呼声响起来，把栖息在篱笆上的蓝知更鸟吓得飞了起来。 阳光明媚，骑着车去小山谷很惬意。 群山耸立在树丛后面，高大而崎岖，山峰的剪影映衬着碧蓝的天空。 在山谷的入口处有一棵已经完全变白的树。 其他的树在它后面密密麻麻地簇拥在一起，鸟儿在歌唱，松鼠在树枝间蹦蹦跳跳。 “孩子们，那棵白树曾经被闪电击中过。 很容易找到，我就在这里扎营，”里弗斯女士告诉学生们。

"When you have completed the scavenger hunt, come and find me. Now, off you all go!" Everyone whooped and set off into the trees. At first there were students and unicorns everywhere but gradually they all separated, following different paths. Rosa led the way for Diamond Dorm. "Let's get far away from everyone else!" she said, heading for the centre of the dell. They cantered through the trees, their unicorns leaping nimbly over roots and stones on the track. At last, when the noise from the other students had faded and they were

“当你完成寻宝游戏后，来找我。 现在，你们都走吧！”每个人都叫了起来，向树林里走去。 起初到处都是学生和独角兽，但渐渐地他们都分开了，走上了不同的道路。 罗莎带路去钻石宿舍。 “我们离别人远点吧！”她说着，朝山谷中心走去。 他们在树林里跑着，他们的独角兽敏捷地跳过铁轨上的树根和石头。 最后，当其他同学的喧闹声渐渐远去，他们

completely alone, Rosa and Crystal halted in a grassy clearing. "OK, let's have a look at the list," Rosa said. Each team had been given a list of things they had to find in the dell. Everyone crowded round as Rosa scanned the piece of paper. "It says we need a green feather, a six-petal daisy, an orange leaf, something pink, a sparkly hag stone– that's a stone with a hole in the middle– and a sprig of red heather," she said. "Should we get started?" "I think we should sort our camp out first," said Ariana. "Let's put the tents up before it gets dark, like Ms Nettles told us to." "But it won't be dark for ages," argued Rosa. "I know. Why don't we find some of the things on the list and then find somewhere to camp?" suggested Violet. "But if we want to win the scavenger hunt we should find all the things first," Rosa disagreed.

只有罗莎和克里斯托两人在一片草地上停下来。 “好吧，让我们看看名单，”罗莎说。 每个小组都拿到了一张清单，上面列着他们必须在山谷里找到的东西。 罗莎仔细看那张纸时，大家都围了过来。 “上面说我们需要一根绿色的羽毛，一朵六瓣的雏菊，一片橙色的叶子，一些粉红色的东西，一块闪闪发光的海格石——一种中间有一个洞的石头——和一根红色的石南枝，”她说。 “我们可以开始了吗？”“我想我们应该先把营地安排好。”阿利安娜说。 “让我们在天黑之前把帐篷搭起来，就像荨麻老师告诉我们的那样。” “但是天不会黑的，”罗莎争辩道。 “我知道。我们为什么不找一些单子上的东西，然后找个地方扎营呢？”维奥莱特建议道。 “但是如果我们想赢得寻宝游戏，我们应该先找到所有的东西，”罗莎不同意。

As they continued to argue about what to do, Matilda pulled out her sketchbook and started to draw the trees around her. It was a very pretty clearing, with a sparkling stream running through it and pink and purple flowers growing around the base of the trees. She was drawing a squirrel when she became aware that Rosa was talking to her. "Matilda! Did you hear what I just asked? We're taking a vote. Are you in or out?" "In or out of what?" said Matilda in confusion. Rosa frowned. "Honestly, Matilda. You never listen, do you? We're voting on whether we should find somewhere to camp or look for the things on the list first." "Oh." Matilda frowned. "Well, why don't we just camp here and then start looking for the scavenger hunt stuff?" The others looked round. "I suppose this would be a good place to camp," said Ariana

当他们继续争论该怎么办时，玛蒂尔达拿出速写本，开始画她周围的树。 这是一块非常漂亮的空地，一条波光粼粼的小溪流过，树底周围开着粉红色和紫色的花。 她正在画一只松鼠，这时她意识到罗莎正在跟她说话。 “玛蒂尔达!你听到我刚才问的了吗？ 我们要投票。你参加还是不参加？”“在什么里面还是在什么外面？”玛蒂尔达困惑地说。 罗莎皱起了眉头。“老实说,玛蒂尔达。 你从来不听人说话，是吗？我们正在投票决定是找个地方扎营，还是先去找单子上的东西。” “哦。”玛蒂尔达皱起了眉头。“那么，我们为什么不在这里扎营，然后开始寻找寻宝游戏呢？”其他人回头看了看。 “我想这是个露营的好地方。”阿利安娜说