06 Flying Bears

Chapter 6 Flying Bears The cubs whimpered louder. They want to go to her, but they're afraid of the ice, whispered Jack. Annie petted the cubs. Don't be afraid, she told them. You'll get back to your mother. The big polar bear growled. She paced back and forth, sniffing the air. Annie kept patting the two cubs and whispering to them.

第六章 会飞的熊 幼崽们呜咽得更响了。 杰克小声说：“它们想去找妈妈，可是害怕冰面。” 安妮摸了摸幼崽们。 她对它们说：“别害怕。” “你们会回到妈妈身边的。” 那只高大的北极熊低吼了一声。 她来回踱着步，嗅着空气里的味道。 安妮一直轻轻拍着两只幼崽，小声安抚它们。

Jack looked in the book for anything that might help. Finally, he found something. Even though a female polar bear can weigh as much as 750 pounds, she can walk on ice too thin to hold a person by balancing her weight and sliding her paws over the ice. Man, that's incredible, whispered Jack. He watched the mother polar bear walk down the snowbank. On large silent feet, she crept about at the edge of the frozen sea. She tried to step onto the ice, but each time she did, it cracked, and she had to retreat. At last, she found a firm spot. Then the polar bear stretched out her four legs and lay on the ice. Slowly, she moved.

杰克在书里翻找可能有用的办法。 终于，他找到了相关的内容。 虽然母北极熊的体重可达750磅， 但她能在撑不住一个人的薄冰上行走，只要平衡好体重， 让爪子在冰面上滑行就可以。 杰克小声惊叹：“哇，太不可思议了。” 他看着熊妈妈走下雪堆。 她迈着宽大的爪子悄无声息地在结冰的海面边缘挪动。 她试着踩上冰面，可每次一踩，冰就裂开， 她只好退回来。 终于，她找到了一块结实的冰面。 接着北极熊伸开四条腿，趴在了冰面上。 她慢慢往前移动。

forward, pushing herself with her claws. Is she coming for her babies? said Jack. Or is she coming to get us? I don't know, said Annie. Hey, let's put on the masks. What for? said Jack. Maybe they'll protect us, said Annie. Maybe she'll think we're polar bears too. Oh, brother, said Jack. But Annie gave him a bear mask. He took off his glasses and slipped it on. Jack peered through the mask holes. It was hard to see the huge white bear sliding over the frozen sea. He squinted. That helped. The polar bear looked at her cubs and let out a deep moan. The two little bears carefully went to their mother. She licked the cubs and touched her mother's face.

往前挪，用爪子推着自己前进。 杰克问：“她是过来接宝宝的吗？” “还是过来抓我们的？我不知道。” 安妮说：“嘿，我们戴上面具吧。” 杰克问：“戴那个干嘛？”安妮说：“说不定能保护我们呀，” “说不定她会以为我们也是北极熊呢。” 杰克说：“哎哟，拜托。”不过安妮还是递给他一个熊面具。 他摘下眼镜，把面具戴上。 杰克透过面具上的洞往外看。 很难看清那只正在冰面上滑行的大白熊。 他眯起眼睛，这下看清楚了。 北极熊看着自己的幼崽，发出一声低低的呜咽。 两只小幼崽小心翼翼地走到妈妈身边。 她舔了舔两只幼崽，碰了碰它们的小脸。

her nose against each of theirs. Then they crawled under her back. They're safe now, said Jack. Even if the mother breaks through the ice she can swim with them to the shore. Yeah, I just wish she wouldn't leave us behind, said Annie. The mother bear slowly turned her body around. Then she pushed off with her hind legs. With her cubs on her back she began sliding away.

把鼻子凑到每个宝宝的脸上蹭了蹭，接着它们就爬到了她的背上。 杰克说：“它们现在安全啦。就算熊妈妈踩破冰面，她也能带着它们游泳” “游到岸边去。” 安妮说：“是啊，我只希望她别把我们丢在这儿。”熊妈妈慢慢转过 身子。接着她用后腿蹬了蹬冰面，背着两只幼崽 开始滑远了。

Let's try moving like her Annie said but we could break through and freeze to death Said Jack if we just stay here will freeze too said Annie Remember the seal hunter said his people had learned from the polar bears Jack took a deep breath Okay, he said let's try it. He lay on his stomach. He spread out his arms and legs Then he copied the bear he pressed his

安妮说：“我们试试学她那样移动吧。”杰克说：“可是我们可能会踩破冰面，冻死在里面啊。” 安妮说：“要是我们一直待在这儿，也会冻死的呀。” “还记得那个猎海豹的人说过，他的族人都是跟北极熊学的本事吗？” 杰克深吸了一口气。 “好吧，”他说，“我们试试。”他趴在冰面上，伸开胳膊和腿。 接着他模仿北极熊的动作，把自己的

mittens against the ice and pushed off sliding his feet. Amazingly, there was no cracking sound. He growled and he pushed off again. Jack heard Annie sliding behind him. He kept going. He pushed and slid. He pushed again and slid again. He made the movements over and over until something happened. He didn't feel like a boy anymore. He felt like a polar bear. Then Jack felt something even stranger. He felt like a flying polar bear. Jack swirled along as if his arms and legs were giant wings and the moonlit sea ice were a glassy sky. He remembered what the seal hunter had said. Polar bears can fly.

连指手套按在冰面上，一蹬，脚往前滑。神奇的是，冰面一点开裂的声音都没有。 他低吼了一声，又蹬了一下。杰克听到安妮在他身后也跟着滑，他继续往前滑。 他蹬一下，滑一段，再蹬一下，再滑一段。他一遍遍地重复这个动作， 直到奇妙的事情发生了：他觉得自己不再是个小男孩了，他觉得自己就是一只北极熊。 接着杰克感觉到更神奇的事：他觉得自己是一只会飞的北极熊。杰克向前滑行， 仿佛他的胳膊和腿是巨大的翅膀，月光下的海面冰原就是光滑澄澈的天空。 他想起了猎海豹的人说过的话：北极熊会飞。