Chapter 9

9 The Greybacks Nan led the way through the woods. Although the ground was lumpy and potholed, it was far easier walking through the woods after the bison had cleared a path. Even Stick managed to scamper through it for a while-although towards the end her small paws struggled and Rosa carried her.

9灰背狼南带路穿过树林。 虽然地面凹凸不平，坑坑洼洼，但在野牛开辟出一条小路后，穿过树林要容易得多。 就连棍子也逃了一段时间——尽管最后她的小爪子挣扎着，罗莎抱着她。

Eventually they reached the glade, and all four were bathed in golden sunlight. It was a scene of calm and beauty, and totally unlike the dark and dangerous woods surrounding them. A cluster of buildings — left over from the old mine — were built around a shallow stream, which burbled through an open grassy meadow. Three wolf cubs splashed about joyfully, watched by a group of their elders. Stick squirmed in Rosa's arms, desperate to get down. 'You smell of wolf,' said a wolf, stepping out of the shadows behind them all. She was followed by at least six more.

最后，他们来到了林间空地，四个人都沐浴在金色的阳光下。 这是一幅平静而美丽的景色，与他们周围黑暗而危险的树林完全不同。 一群老矿遗留下来的建筑围绕着一条浅浅的小溪而建，小溪潺潺流过一片开阔的草地。 三只小狼在一群长辈的注视下欢快地嬉戏。 棍子在罗莎的怀里扭动着，不顾一切地想下来。 “你身上有狼的味道。”一只狼从他们身后的阴影里走出来说。 她身后至少还有六个人。

Higgs rolled into a ball, as always, and Nan quickly moved to protect Rosa, who stepped backwards. The wolf's eyes turned to Rosa, and in particular Stick, who was still held in her arms. 'Where did you find her?' said the wolf. Rosa stroked Stick to calm her. Unlike the first time she'd encountered the wolves, Rosa felt protective — and now more so of Stick than herself. 'She needed help after the storm, said Rosa bravely. 'She was alone, so we're trying to find her family? The wolf moved closer to Stick and stretched out her snout so they could smell each other. Up close, Rosa saw kindness in the wolf's eyes. Despite feeling scared, her fear started to feel misplaced.

希格斯像往常一样滚成一团，南迅速上前保护罗莎，罗莎退后一步。 狼的眼睛转向罗莎，尤其是仍旧被她抱在怀里的棍子。 “你在哪儿找到她的？”狼说。 罗莎抚摸着木棍让她平静下来。 与第一次遇到狼群时不同的是，罗莎有一种保护欲——现在对斯蒂克比对自己更有保护欲。 “暴风雨过后她需要帮助，”罗莎勇敢地说。 “她是一个人，所以我们要找她的家人？” 狼走近木棍，伸出鼻子，这样他们就能闻到对方的味道了。 近距离观察，罗莎看到了狼眼中的善意。 尽管感到害怕，但她开始觉得自己的恐惧是多余的。

'Humans don't normally help us,' said the wolf. 'Well, we do,' said Rosa. She looked to Nan for reassurance, and she got a toothy smile in response. 'We help everyone, if we can.' The wolf sniffed the air, as though using her sense of smell to understand Rosa, to work out if she was telling the truth. Rosa felt the tension between them disappear, and the wolf sat back calmly and swished her tail. Rosa knew what this meant from watching Stick. Just like dogs, wolves wagged their tails when they were happy.

“人类通常不会帮助我们的，”狼说。 “嗯，我们有，”罗莎说。她向南看了看，希望得到安慰，她得到了一个露齿的微笑作为回应。 “如果可以的话，我们会帮助所有人。”狼嗅了嗅空气，好像用她的嗅觉来了解罗莎，想知道她说的是不是真话。 罗莎感到他们之间的紧张气氛消失了，狼平静地坐了下来，摇着尾巴。 罗莎从他的观察中知道这是什么意思。 就像狗一样，狼高兴的时候也会摇尾巴。