1 The Roar at the Ranch!

Chapter 1 The Roar at the Ranch! The old house glowed bright and warm against the growing dark of a late winter afternoon. From every room came laughter and excited chatter. Dante Dávila felt happier than he had in a long time. His whole family was celebrating his great-grandfather Arturo's ninetieth birthday at Rancho el Monte—their ranch in Las Tunas, Mexico. With the party about to begin in the living room, Dante could almost forget that in an hour or two he would return to the frightening, monster-filled world of 13th Street. His grandmother had been staring at Dante for nearly a full minute. It wasn't just annoying. It was downright dangerous! All his life, adults had told him that if someone stared at him too long, he could get

第一章 牧场的咆哮！ 深冬傍晚，天色越来越暗，老旧的房子散发着明亮又温暖的光。 每个房间都传来笑声和兴奋的交谈声。 但丁·达维拉感觉自己好久都没这么开心过了。 他们全家正在墨西哥拉斯图纳斯的埃尔蒙特牧场，为曾祖父阿图罗庆祝九十大寿。 派对马上就要在客厅开始了，但丁几乎都要忘了，再过一两个小时，他就得回到13号街那个到处都是怪物的可怕世界里去。 他奶奶已经盯着他看了快整整一分钟了。 这可不只是烦人而已。 这简直太危险了！ 从小到大，大人们都告诉他，要是有人盯着他看太久，他就会得

mal de ojo. The evil eye! Luckily, his grandmother reached out a wrinkled hand and rubbed his hair. "Abuela Beba!" Dante groaned, though he was secretly relieved. "You're messing up my "do!" "Ay, Dante," said his mother, Lola. "You're cute even with your hair messed up." "Don't worry, m'ijo," said his grandmother, "I wouldn't want you to get mal de ojo." "No such thing as the evil eye," interrupted his mother. She set a paper plate in Dante's hands. It was piled high with tamales. "But you're looking kind of thin, m'ijo. Eat."

邪眼症。 就是邪恶之眼的诅咒！ 幸好，奶奶伸出满是皱纹的手，揉了揉他的头发。 “贝芭奶奶！” 但丁嘟囔着，心里却悄悄松了口气。 “你把我发型弄乱了！” “唉，但丁，”他妈妈洛拉说。 “就算头发乱了你也还是很可爱呀。” “别担心，我的好孩子，”奶奶说，“我可不想让你得邪眼症。” “哪有什么邪恶之眼啊。”妈妈打断了她的话。 她把一个纸盘子放到但丁手里。 盘子里堆得高高的全是玉米粽。 “不过你看着有点瘦啊，我的好孩子。 多吃点。”

The food smelled delicious. As Dante unwrapped a tamal, he tried not to picture this as his last meal. "Did you know the Maya invented tamales? They needed some food they could carry with them on long trips. I read it in this book that—" "Oh Dante," said his grandmother. "You don't need to study so hard. You're so handsome! Your looks will open doors for you." Aunt Lucy shook her head. "No, Mom. Dante's more than just a pretty face." Dante felt his cheeks get red. He set down his plate and stood. "Be right back." He stomped off toward the patio door, but his

食物闻起来香极了。 但丁拆开一个玉米粽的粽叶，努力不去想这会不会是他最后一餐。 “你们知道玉米粽是玛雅人发明的吗？ 他们需要一种能带着长途旅行的食物。 我在一本书里看到过——” “哦，但丁，”奶奶说。 “你不用这么用功读书的。 你长得这么好看！ 光靠长相就能顺风顺水啦。” 露西姨妈摇了摇头。 “别这么说，妈妈。 但丁可不只是长得好看而已。” 但丁感觉自己的脸颊发烫。 他放下盘子站了起来。 “我马上回来。” 他跺着脚朝露台门走去，可他的

mother followed him outside. "Dante, are you okay?" she asked. He sighed. "Mom, y'all are so annoying." "Don't be angry. We're only complimenting you, m'ijo," she said. She had a point. And Dante used to love all the attention. Now there were more important things on his mind. Two of his classmates had been pulled into a nightmare world of monsters and ghosts. Only Dante and his cousins could save them.

妈妈跟着他走到了外面。 “但丁，你没事吧？” 她问道。 他叹了口气。 “妈妈，你们真的好烦啊。” “别生气呀。 我们只是在夸你呢，我的好孩子。”她说。 她说得没错。 但丁以前也很喜欢这种被大家关注的感觉。 可现在他心里装着更重要的事。 他的两个同学被拖进了一个满是怪物和鬼魂的噩梦世界。 只有但丁和他的表亲们能救他们。

"I know. Sorry, Mom." "Are you coming back in?" she asked. "Bathroom run," he said, nodding toward the outhouse a few steps away. "Hurry back," his mother said. "We're going to cut the cake soon. Then it's pi.ata time!" Dante gave her a thumbs-up and ran outside. His cousins, Malia and Ivan, were waiting for him beside the outhouse. "You're late," Ivan said. "I got mobbed, dude," Dante explained. "Is that Dante?" a voice said from Malia's phone. It was Susana on video chat. Malia nodded at the screen. "Yes. He just escaped his fans." "Um, whatever," Susana said, rolling her eyes. "Anywho, there's still no sign of Santiago and Rafaela, y'all. Mickey and I have been Skyping for the past few days. Because of the portal that popped up on his map

“我知道。 对不起，妈妈。” “你要回屋里来吗？” 她问。 “我去趟厕所。”他说着，指了指几步外的户外厕所。 “快点回来啊，”妈妈说， “我们马上就要切蛋糕了。 之后还有皮纳塔游戏呢！” 但丁冲她比了个大拇指，就跑了出去。 他的表亲玛利亚和伊万正在户外厕所旁边等他。 “你迟到了。”伊万说。 “我被一堆人围着走不开啊，老兄。”但丁解释道。 “是但丁吗？” 玛利亚的手机里传来一个声音。 是苏珊娜在打视频电话。 玛利亚对着屏幕点了点头。 “是他。 他刚从他的粉丝堆里逃出来。” “嗯，随你怎么说吧。”苏珊娜翻了个白眼说道。 “不说这个了，伙计们，还是没有圣地亚哥和拉斐拉的踪迹。 我和米奇这几天一直在打视频电话。 因为他地图上之前在水族馆出现过又消失的那个传送门