5 Pausing in the Park

Chapter 5 Pausing in the Park Somebody slapped him on the shoulder. Startled, Ivan let out a yelp and spun around. It was Dante and Malia. Ivan pulled down his earmuffs. Malia pointed at the trees. "What was that, Ivan?" "The cougars," he explained. "Their laughter doesn't just make you sick. It controls your mind!" Dante shook his head. "Not the hypnotism, dude. THE BIG TREES THAT JUST SWALLOWED BOTH OF US WHOLE!" "You didn't see the elf?" Ivan asked. They looked

第五章 在公园停步 有人拍了拍他的肩膀。 伊万吓了一跳，尖叫一声猛地转过身。 是但丁和玛利亚。 伊万拉下了耳罩。 玛利亚指着那些树。 “刚才那是什么情况，伊万？” “是那些美洲狮，”他解释道。 “它们的笑声不光会让你难受。 还能控制你的思想！” 但丁摇了摇头。 “我不是说催眠那回事，老兄。 是刚才把我们俩整个吞掉的那些大树啊！” “你们没看见小精灵吗？” 伊万问道。 他们一脸茫然地

at him blankly. "I'll explain later. There's supposedly a park up ahead. Earmuffs up, just in case." The cousins set off at a run. A few yards ahead, the warehouses disappeared, replaced by sheer rock and trees, and a path that wound through muddy, dead grass.

看着他。 “我之后再解释。 据说前面有个公园。 把耳罩戴好，以防万一。” 几个表亲拔腿往前跑。 往前跑了几码，仓库就不见了，取而代之的是陡峭的岩石和树木，还有一条小径蜿蜒穿过泥泞的枯草。

Only on 13th Street could a park look this horrible, Ivan thought. The three kids stopped and looked back. No cougars. Dante's lips were moving. Ivan pulled his earmuffs away from one ear. "Excuse me?" he said. "How'd you snap out of it?" Dante asked. "Inside my tree was a little green creature, like an elf. It used a glowing stone to break the spell." "I knew it!" Dante shouted. "Just like powering up in video games. We need to keep an eye out for more." "Jades or elves?" Ivan asked. "Both, duh!" Malia replied. "The elves hid us till the cougars went away. They might help us again." The cousins started walking toward some woods that spread before them on the far side of the park. They tried thinking of options for defeating the cougars.

也就只有在13号街，公园才能长得这么吓人，伊万心想。 三个孩子停下来回头看。 没有美洲狮的踪影。 但丁的嘴唇在动。 伊万把耳罩从一只耳朵上拉开。 “你说什么？”他问。 “你是怎么从幻觉里醒过来的？” 但丁问道。 “我待的那棵树里有个绿色的小生物，像是小精灵。 它用一块发光的石头破解了咒语。” “我就知道！” 但丁大喊道。 “就跟电子游戏里攒满能量升级一样。 我们得留神找更多这样的东西。” “是找玉还是找小精灵？” 伊万问。 “当然两个都找啊！” 玛利亚回答。 “小精灵们把我们藏起来，直到美洲狮走掉。 它们说不定还会再帮我们的。” 几个表亲开始朝着公园另一头延伸到他们面前的树林走去。 他们试着想办法要打败那些美洲狮。

"Maybe taping their mouths shut?" Dante wondered. "Good luck getting close to their mouths," Malia responded. "Even with earmuffs on to keep their cackling out of your head, those were some big teeth." "And spears," Dante added. "They looked like warriors or something." Ivan snapped his fingers and pulled his journal

“要不把它们的嘴用胶带封上？” 但丁琢磨道。 “你要是能凑近它们的嘴才算厉害呢，”玛利亚回应道。 就算你戴了耳罩听不到它们的怪笑不会被控制，它们那牙齿也大得吓人啊。” “还有长矛呢，”但丁补充道。 “它们看起来就跟战士似的。” 伊万打了个响指，又把他的笔记本

out again. "Those symbols on the cougars" leg bands. I've seen them before." He flipped through the pages and then pointed. "The Maya used to name their days with a number and a glyph, a special symbol that stood for a word. I copied them down. Those two mean Yikes."

掏了出来。 “美洲狮腿环上的那些符号。 我之前见过。” 他翻了翻书页，然后指了指。 “玛雅人以前会用数字和 glyph，也就是代表一个词的特殊符号，来给他们的日子命名。 我把它们都抄下来了。 那两个的意思是……哎呀妈呀。”