04 Hands Up!

Chapter 4. Hands Up. It's the Colt, said Annie. He's looking for his mother. She ran toward the wild -eyed little horse. Wait, called Jack. Oh, brother. He pulled the book out of his pack. He found a chapter titled Horses of the Wild West. He started reading. At the end of the 1800s, over a million wild horses, called Mustangs, wandered the West. These tough, fast horses were called the Mustangs.

第四章 举起手来 是小马驹，安妮说。他正在找自己的妈妈。 她朝着这匹眼神慌乱的小马跑过去。 等等，杰克大喊。唉，真要命。 他从背包里掏出那本书。 他找到了标题为《西部荒野的马》的章节。 他开始读起来。 19世纪末，有超过一百万匹名叫野马的野生马匹在西部游荡。 这些强壮敏捷的马就叫做野马。

descendants of runaway Spanish horses. Mustang herders captured them and sold them to ranchers. Breaking a wild Mustang took great skill. Jack turned the page. There was a picture of a herd of horses. Two of them even looked like the beautiful mare and her colt. Hey, Annie, Jack called. You should see this picture. Annie didn't answer. Jack looked up. Annie was trying to get close to the young Mustang, but he kept darting away. Watch it, he's wild, said Jack. Annie was speaking softly to the colt. She slowly reached out and grabbed the end of his rope. Still talking to him, she led him to a broad wooden post.

它们是从西班牙人手里跑走的马的后代。 牧马人会捕捉野马，卖给牧场主。 驯服野生野马需要极高的技巧。 杰克翻过一页。 书上有一张马群的图片。 其中两匹马看起来甚至像那匹漂亮的母马和她的小马驹。 嘿，安妮，杰克喊道。 你该看看这张图片。 安妮没有回答。 杰克抬起头。 安妮正试着靠近这匹小野马，可他总是猛地躲开。 小心点，他是野生的，杰克说。 安妮正轻声跟小马驹说话。 她慢慢伸出手，抓住了他的绳子末端。 她一边继续跟他说话，一边把他领到一根粗木柱旁。

Stop! Don't do anything! said Jack. He flipped the pages of his book. He found a section called, How to Treat a Horse. The basic rules on how to treat a horse are simple. A soft hand, a firm voice, a sunny attitude, praise, and reward. I've got the rules! shouted Jack. Don't do anything before I write them down! Jack pulled out his notebook and pencil. He wrote, Horse rules. One, soft hand. Two, firm voice. Three, sunny attitude. Four, praise. Five, reward.

停下！什么都别做！杰克说。 他哗哗翻着手里的书。 他找到了名为《如何对待马》的部分。 对待马的基本规则很简单。 温和的动作，坚定的声音，友善的态度，表扬还有奖励。 我找到规则啦！杰克大喊。 在我记下来之前什么都别做！ 杰克掏出他的笔记本和铅笔。 他写道：和马相处的规则。 第一，动作温和。 第二，声音坚定。 第三，态度友善。 第四，多多表扬。 第五，给点奖励。

Okay, listen," Jack looked up, but Annie was already sitting on the colt's back. Jack froze, he held his breath. The Mustang whinnied and pawed the ground. He snorted and tossed his head. Annie kept patting his neck and talking softly. Finally the young horse grew still. Annie smiled at Jack. I named him Sunset, she said. Jack let out his breath. Let's go, said Annie. We have to take him to his mom. Are you nuts? Said Jack. We have to solve our riddle. It'll be dark soon. And those guys were real bad guys, I could tell. We don't have any choice, said Annie.

好啦，听着，”杰克抬起头，可安妮已经坐到小马驹的背上了。 杰克僵住了，他屏住了呼吸。 野马嘶鸣起来，用蹄子刨着地。 他喷着鼻息，甩着脑袋。 安妮一直拍着他的脖子，轻声跟他说话。 终于，这匹小马安静了下来。 安妮对着杰克笑了。 我给他取名叫日落，她说。 杰克长出了一口气。 我们走吧，安妮说。 我们得把他送回他妈妈身边。 你疯了吗？ 杰克说。 我们还得解开我们的谜语呢。 天很快就要黑了。 而且那些人真的是坏人，我看得出来。 我们别无选择呀，安妮说。

Oh, brother. Jack knew she wouldn't change her mind. Let's see what the book says. He read more about Mustangs. Wild Mustangs live together in families. The bond between a mare and her young is very strong. His sounds of distress or hunger will always bring her to him. A Mustang cannot bear to wander alone. Jack groaned. He looked at sunset. The young Mustang did have a sad look in his eyes. Okay, we'll make a plan, he said. But first, I have to get out of these boots. Jack grabbed one of his boots and pulled. Hurry, said Annie. I can't even think in these things, said Jack.

唉，真要命。杰克知道她不会改变主意的。 看看书里怎么说吧。他接着读关于野马的内容。 野生野马是按家族群居的。母马和幼崽之间的羁绊非常深。 幼崽发出的痛苦或者饥饿的叫声总会把母马引过来。野马受不了独自游荡。 杰克抱怨了一声。他看向日落。这匹小野马的眼睛里确实带着悲伤的神色。 好吧，我们来定个计划，他说。但首先，我得把这双靴子脱下来。 杰克抓住一只靴子用力扯。 快点呀，安妮说。穿这玩意儿我都没法思考了，杰克说。

He huffed and puffed and pulled, and a deep voice stopped him cold. Hands up, or I'll shoot. Jack let go of his boot. He raised his hands in the air, so did Annie. A cowboy rode out of an alley. His face was bony and tanned. He was riding a gray horse and pointing a six -shooter. I reckon you're the smallest horse thieves I've ever come across, he said.

他呼哧呼哧用力扯着，一个低沉的声音突然响起，把他吓呆了。 举起手来，不然我开枪了。 杰克松开了手里的靴子。 他把双手举到空中，安妮也一样。 一个牛仔从小巷里骑了出来。 他脸瘦瘦的，皮肤晒得黝黑。 他骑着一匹灰马，手里举着一把六发左轮手枪。 我想你们是我见过的个头最小的偷马贼了，他说。