8 The Green Valleys

Chapter 8 The Green Valleys Kalwidoscoppi!" said Peanut, beaming at the beautiful birds, one gold-crested, one red and one green, as they carved elegant shapes through the sky, their long feathery trains following like kite tails. Kaleidoscoppi were native to Chroma and were said to have the power to inspire amazing ideas in whoever hears their song. Mr White had, of course, ordered their capture and extermination many years ago, but a lucky few still flew free. Suddenly, the gold-crested bird broke away and swooped down towards the mesmerised children, arriving with a rush of air. He hovered in front of Peanut and sang a few bars of his beautiful melody before shooting back up to join the others and leading them in a westerly direction. "I think they want us to follow them," said Peanut.

第八章 绿色山谷 “万花筒鸟！”花生笑着说道，她望着这群漂亮的鸟儿——一只顶着金冠，一只通体艳红，一只全身翠绿，它们在天空划出优雅的弧线，长长的羽尾像风筝尾巴一样飘在身后。 万花筒鸟是克罗玛的本土鸟类，传说无论谁听到它们的歌声，都会迸发出奇妙的灵感。 当然，怀特先生许多年前就下令抓捕消灭它们了，可还是有少数幸运儿至今仍能自由飞翔。 突然，那只金冠鸟脱离队伍，朝着看呆了的孩子们猛冲下来，带起一阵疾风。 它在花生面前悬停，唱了几小节动听的旋律，接着猛地飞回天空跟上同伴，领着大伙朝西边飞去。 “我觉得它们想让我们跟着走。”花生说。

The early evening sun shone over the undulating wolds of the Green Valleys, gilding the patchwork of emerald, lime and ochre fields. Peanut, who had taken the bandolier from her bag and was now proudly wearing it, painted watercolour parasols for herself, Rockwell and Little-Bit. Keeping a careful eye out for patrolling RAZERs, the children followed the kaleidoscoppi as they swooped and soared between the candyfloss clouds. After an hour or so, they found themselves walking along the banks of a winding ribbon of water which sliced through the lush countryside. Over the next thirty minutes, the river's pace slowed as the twists and turns became sharper, and it was almost still by the time they arrived at a pretty red-and-white brick mill situated on a very tight curve.

傍晚的斜阳洒在绿色山谷起伏的丘陵上，给一块块翡翠绿、嫩黄绿和赭石色的田野都镀上了一层金边。 花生把斜挎带从包里拿出来骄傲地系在身上，她给自己、罗克威尔和小菲特都画了水彩遮阳伞。 孩子们一边小心提防着巡逻的剃刃兵，一边跟着万花筒鸟，看它们在棉花糖似的云朵间翻飞翱翔。 大约走了一个小时，他们走到了一条蜿蜒如丝带的小河岸边，小河穿过葱郁的乡间大地。 接下来的三十分钟里，河道越变越曲折，流速越来越慢，等他们走到坐落在急转弯处那座漂亮的红白砖磨坊时，河水几乎都不流动了。

"Wow," said Peanut. "It's so beautiful," said Little-Bit. "It reminds me of one of those boxes of chocolates that I get from the petrol station for Mum on Mother's Day," said Rockwell, not quite managing to embrace the romance of the scene.

“哇！”花生说。 “太美啦！”小菲特说。 “这让我想起母亲节我在加油站给妈妈买的巧克力礼盒。”罗克威尔说，他完全没感受到这个场景的浪漫氛围。

The river veered right and then left around the building, like a nimble fly-half avoiding a determined rugby tackle. At this point on its journey, the water was only around thirty centimetres deep, a fact made more obvious by the large wooden wagon sitting, abandoned, right in the middle of the river. Someone had obviously attempted to pull the hay wain from one bank to the other and given up halfway. As they flew over the wagon, the three kaleidoscoppi suddenly moved into a narrow circle formation, descended helter-skelter-style and landed on the riverbank.

小河绕着这座建筑先右拐再左弯，活像灵活的橄榄球传锋躲开对方凶猛的扑抢。 河道的这一段水深只有三十厘米左右，那艘被遗弃的大木马车停在河中央，一眼就能看出水很浅。 显然，有人曾想把这辆运干草的马车拉到对岸，结果半路上放弃了。 三只万花筒鸟飞过马车上空时，突然排成紧凑的圆圈，乱糟糟地俯冲下来，落在了河岸上。

They looked directly at the approaching children and sang an impossibly beautiful verse before nodding their heads and taking off again. "Thank you," whispered Peanut as the great birds disappeared towards the horizon. "What now?" asked Little-Bit, looking around. "You don't think the new Bunker could be near here, do you?" said Rockwell. "Hang on. I think there's something on that cart." "Something, or someone?" said Peanut. Sure enough, standing on the hay wain and looking straight at them was a small scribble of fur with legs and a tail. And it was wagging its tail so hard that the entire wagon was swaying from side to side.

它们直直望着走近的孩子们，唱了一段无比动听的歌，接着点点头，再次飞走了。 “谢谢你们。”大鸟们消失在天边时，花生轻声说道。 “接下来该怎么办？”小菲特一边张望一边问道。 “你说新地堡该不会就在这附近吧？”罗克威尔说。 “等一下。 我觉得那辆马车上有东西。” “是东西，还是人？”花生说。 果然没错，运干草的马车上站着一个小小的毛团子，长着腿和尾巴，正直直盯着他们。 它摇尾巴摇得太用力，整辆马车都跟着来回晃动。