44 Arrival

44 Arrival Peanut opened her eyes and was surprised to see that it was light. "Wh-what time is it? Where are we?" It took a few seconds for the Tetris pieces in her head to fall into place and for her to remember what had happened the night before. Ahh, good morning, Peanut. It's almost seven o'clock, said Jonathan Higginbottom warmly. "We reached the south Side of the lake about two hours ago. I couldn't bring myself to wake you—you all looked so peaceful peanut looked behind her to see Little-Bit snuggled up next to Rockwell, both of them sound asleep on the alligator's back. Doodle was standing on the bank. When he saw Peanut,

44 到达 花生睁开眼睛，惊讶地发现天已经亮了 “这、这几点了？ 我们到哪儿啦？” 过了好几秒，她脑子里乱糟糟的记忆才理清，想起昨夜发生的事 啊，早上好呀，花生 快七点了，乔纳森·希金博顿温和地说道 “我们大约两小时前就到湖的南岸了 我实在不忍心叫醒你们——你们都睡得太安稳了。花生转过身，看见小不点依偎在罗克韦尔身旁，两人都在鳄鱼背上睡得正熟 杜德尔站在河岸上 看见花生的时候

he wagged his tail and barked loudly, waking the other two. Little-Bit yawned. Are we there? Have we reached the Strip?" "Yes," said Jonathan Higginbottom. "It's just across there. He pointed with his tail towards a uniform line of trees fifty metres away, beyond which they could hear the sounds of engines being revved, trams clattering along tracks and car horns beeping. And what do we do when we get there, exactly?" asked Rockwell, rubbing his eyes. Head for Main Street and turn right. It's the main avenue running through the Strip and it runs directly towards the Spire. You can't miss it. Keep a low profile, and don't do anything that might draw attention—you will need to cover all of those pens and pencils for a start, young Peanut. Somebody from the Resistance will make contact with you before you reach Rainbow Lake. You'll be in safe hands, I can promise you that. "Well, what are we waiting for?" said Rockwell. "The sooner we get to the Spire, the sooner we can rescue Peanut's dad and Mr M, and the sooner we can go home. Lead the way, Sefior Higginbottom Alas, I must leave you here. I have completed my mission and now I must return to my post. Apart from anything else, we alligators aren't really built for urban living.

他摇着尾巴大声吠叫，吵醒了另外两个小家伙 小不点打了个哈欠 我们到了吗 我们到斯特里普了吗？” “到了，”乔纳森·希金博顿说道 “就在那片对岸 他用尾巴指向五十米外整齐的一排树，树后传来发动机轰鸣、有轨电车哐当行驶和汽车鸣笛的声音 那我们到那儿之后具体要做什么呀？”罗克韦尔揉着眼睛问道 往主街走，然后右转 那是贯穿斯特里普的主大道，直通天塔 你们肯定不会走错的 保持低调，别做引人注意的事——首先，小花生，你得把那些钢笔铅笔都藏好 抵抗组织的人会在你们到彩虹湖之前和你们接头 我向你们保证，你们会很安全的 “行了，我们还等什么呢？”罗克韦尔说 “我们越早到天塔，就能越早救出花生爸爸和M先生，也就能越早回家 带路吧，希金博顿先生。哎呀，我只能送你们到这儿了 我已经完成任务，现在必须返回我的岗位了 再说了，我们鳄鱼本来就不适合城市生活呀

"Oh, but can't you come with us? I've never been friends with an alligator before," pleaded Little-Bit. "We will always be friends, regardless of whether I accompany you or not." He nudged Little-Bit's cheek gently with his nose. "I will remember that hug forever, little one. And I will see you again soon. I'm sure of it. "Thank you, Jonathan Higginbottom. For everything, said Peanut. "It was a pleasure to meet you. If I hear of any vacancies going at any nursery schools, I will be putting your name forward immediately." "That is very kind of you. With that, the alligator slipped under the black water and was gone. They were on their own once more...

“哦，你不能跟我们一起走吗 我以前从来没交过鳄鱼朋友呀，”小不点恳求道 “不管我陪不陪你们走，我们永远都是朋友” 他用鼻子轻轻蹭了蹭小不点的脸颊 “我会永远记得那个拥抱，小家伙 而且我们很快就会再见面的 我对此很肯定 “谢谢你，乔纳森·希金博顿 谢谢你做的一切，花生说道 “很高兴能认识你 要是我听说哪家幼儿园有空缺，我肯定第一时间推荐你” “你真是太好心了 话音刚落，鳄鱼滑进漆黑的湖水，不见了踪影 他们又一次只能靠自己了……