Chapter 2-1

CHAPTER ONE Princess Florizella sets out for a lovely ride on u fine day. What could possibly go wrony? It was a bright, sunny morning as Princess Florizella threw back her bedroom curtains and saw, to her relief, that no overnight spell had turned her kingdom into a watery waste, or the people into butterflies, or any of the other tedious and unpredictable things that can happen to a fairytale princess.

第一章 阳光明媚的一天，弗洛里泽拉公主出门骑马散心。 谁能料到会遇上意外呢？ 这是个晴朗明媚的清晨，弗洛里泽拉公主一把拉开卧室的窗帘，松了口气：昨夜没有魔法把她的王国变成水洼，也没把臣民变成蝴蝶，更没发生童话公主总会遇上的那些烦人又难预料的怪事。

Since everything seemed normal, she leaned out of the window to see her horse, Jellybean, grazing in the field beyond the palace gardens. She put two fingers in her mouth and gave a piercing whistle. Jellybean's head went up and his ears went forward and he thundered down the paddock towards the gate and cleared it with a metre to spare, narrowly missing the king, who was gardening on the other side. "I do wish she wouldn't do that," said the king as he pulled himself out of the rose bush. The queen gave him a helpful tug, and watched Florizella slide down the drainpipe and jump from the windowsill on to Jellybean's warm back, and trot round to the stables.

见一切都正常，她探出窗户，就看见自己的马儿软糖豆正在王宫花园那头的草地上吃草。 她把两根手指放进嘴里，吹了个响亮的口哨。 软糖豆立刻抬起头，耳朵向前支棱着，哒哒哒冲过围场朝大门跑来，一跃跳过门槛还高出一米，差点撞上正在门另一边种花的国王。 “我真希望她别总这么干，”国王从玫瑰丛里爬出来的时候嘟囔道。 王后搭了把手把他拉起来，看着弗洛里泽拉顺着排水管滑下来，从窗台一跳落到软糖豆暖乎乎的背上，哒哒朝着马厩跑去。

"I wish she'd use the doors," she agreed. "But she's always been a princess in her own way." "Undoubtedly!" said the king, with much feeling. "Undootedly!" Florizella had Jellybean tacked up in a few minutes. She put on her hard hat with its smart princess cover, and trotted out of the stableyard, over the castle drawbridge and down the lane towards the Purple Forest. It was a wonderful day in early summer; the scarlet swallows and the golden swifts were swooping low over the river, and in the central square, the fairies were holding a farmers" market, buying and selling farmers. Florizella was singing to herself, and Jellybean put his ears forward and went into an easy canter down the track that runs through the Purple Forest and up to the high moorland. But somehow they took a wrong turn. Florizella rode for a little while, then she pulled Jellybean to a standstill and looked around. She had never been this deep into the Purple Forest

“我也希望她能好好走门。”王后附和道。 “可她从来都是个有自己主意的公主。” “那当然！”国王语气激动地说。 “那当然！” 弗洛里泽拉没几分钟就给软糖豆配好了马鞍。 她戴上套着精致公主装饰的安全帽，哒哒跑出马厩院子，跨过城堡吊桥，沿着小路朝着紫森林去了。 这是初夏里格外舒服的一天； 鲜红的燕子和金色的雨燕低低掠过河面，镇子中心的广场上，精灵们正在办农贸市集，买卖各种农产品。 弗洛里泽拉哼着歌，软糖豆支着耳朵，慢悠悠地小跑在穿过紫森林、通往高沼地的小路上。 可不知怎么的，他们走岔了路。 弗洛里泽拉骑了一小会儿，拉住软糖豆停下脚步，四下张望。 她从来没进到紫森林这么深的地方。

before and she was surprised at how dark it was. She knew there were wolves and lions in the forest, as well as witches and enchanters. Florizella felt rather uncomfortable– as if there were cold fingers walking up and down her spine. It grew darker, and Florizella started to wish she was at home. The black bushes and shadowy trees seemed to whisper in the wind, and the little rustlings sounded like someone coming closer. Jellybean put back his ears, a sure sign that he was unhappy, and moved restlessly. Florizella patted his neck and said, "Silly Jellybean! Fancy being frightened!" as if she were not nervous herself, and she turned him round to ride back the way she had come. Then suddenly the rain started– great thick drops of rain that cascaded through the leaves of the trees and soaked Florizella and Jellybean in seconds so they both stopped being scared and became cold and miserable. Jellybean's head drooped and his lovely bright chestnut coat went all streaky and dark with the wet. Florizella was wet through, rain dripping off her hat and down

这里暗得让她吃了一惊。 她知道森林里有狼、有狮子，还有女巫和魔法师。 弗洛里泽拉心里有点发毛——就好像有冰凉的手指在她后背上来回爬。 天越来越暗，弗洛里泽拉开始希望自己现在正在家里。 乌黑的灌木丛和影影绰绰的树木好像在风里低声说话，细碎的沙沙声听着就像有人正在朝她走近。 软糖豆把耳朵往后抿，这可是他不高兴的明确信号，还不安地挪着步子。 弗洛里泽拉拍了拍他的脖子说：“傻软糖豆！ 怎么还害怕啦！” 说得好像她自己一点都不慌似的，接着她调转马头，打算顺着来的路骑回去。 忽然就下起了雨——大颗大颗的雨珠砸下来，穿过树叶，没几秒就把弗洛里泽拉和软糖豆浇了个透，这下他俩都忘了害怕，只觉得又冷又难受。 软糖豆耷拉着脑袋，他那身好看的亮栗色毛被淋湿了，变得深一块浅一块。 弗洛里泽拉浑身湿透，雨水顺着帽子滴下来，流进

her neck. Then there was a great Crash! of thunder and a great Crack-crack! of lightning. Jellybean flung up his head and reared in fright and Florizella tumbled off his back and down into the mud. Before she could catch the reins, Jellybean was gone! Back to his warm stable– because he had known the way home all along, but hadn't been able to explain it. That was bad. But there was worse to come! The lightning had struck a great tree nearby– it was groaning and creaking and swaying. Florizella could see it looming over her, but she was so stunned by her fall that she couldn't move. She could only lie there in the mud while the great tree leaned and cracked and finally came down with a great roar and a crackle of breaking branches. She was always the luckiest of princesses! The two main branches of the tree fell either side of her. The tree trunk, which could have crushed her, fell short; the boughs that could have broken her bones were spread out all around her.

她的脖子里。 接着“轰隆！”一声炸雷响起， 又“咔嚓！咔嚓！” 劈下一道闪电。 软糖豆吓得猛地抬头扬起前蹄，弗洛里泽拉从他背上摔下来，跌到了泥地里。 她还没来得及抓住缰绳，软糖豆就跑没影了！ 他是回自己暖和的马厩去啦——因为他一直都认得回家的路，只是没法说出来而已。 这已经够糟了。 可更糟的还在后面！ 闪电劈中了旁边的一棵大树——树正嘎吱嘎吱地呻吟着，摇摇晃晃。 弗洛里泽拉看着大树朝自己压过来，可她摔得懵懵的，根本动不了。 她只能躺在泥地里，看着大树歪着、发出断裂的声响，最后伴着一声巨响和树枝折断的噼啪声倒了下来。 她从来都是最幸运的公主！ 大树最粗的两根枝桠落在了她的两侧。 本来能把她压碎的树干落在了离她还有段距离的地方； 本来能把她骨头砸断的枝杈都散落在她的周围。