06 Stampede!

Chapter 6 Stampede. Wow, whispered Jack and Annie together. Black Hawk looked silently at the grazing buffalo. Hand me the research book, said Jack. Annie lifted Teddy out of the bag, then she slid the book out and gave it to Jack. He found a picture of a buffalo herd. He read to himself. The true name of the buffalo is Bison. At the beginning of the 1800s,

第六章 野牛狂奔 “哇。”杰克和安妮异口同声地低声说。 黑鹰静静地望着正在吃草的野牛群。 “把研究手册递给我。”杰克说。 安妮先把泰迪从包里抱出来，接着抽出书递给杰克。 他找到了一张野牛群的配图。 他小声读了起来。 野牛的正式学名是美洲野牛。 19世纪初，

There were 40 million bison on the Great Plains. One hundred years later, there were less than 300. Almost all had been killed by white hunters and soldiers. Jack looked back at the vast herd. As far as he could see, there was nothing but buffalo.

大平原上生活着四千万头美洲野牛。一百年后，存活的野牛数量不足 300头，几乎全被白人猎手和士兵猎杀了。杰克回头望向那片浩大的野牛群。 目光所及之处，全是密密麻麻的野牛。

Now Jack knew for certain they'd come to the time before the white settlers and soldiers had arrived, before the end of the great buffalo herds. I have been on many hunts, Black Hawk said, his eyes still on the buffalo. Were you scared? said Jack. Black Hawk shook his head. You're really brave, said Annie. Black Hawk smiled proudly. I will show you how a brave hunter moves, he said. He slid off his pony. Wait, your grandmother said not to hunt, said Annie. Plus you don't have your wolf suit. I am not afraid, said Black Hawk. I don't think you should go down there.

这下杰克确定了，他们来到了白人定居者和士兵到来之前的时代 那时候庞大的野牛群还没有走向消亡。 “我参加过好多次狩猎呢。”黑鹰说，目光依然停留在野牛群身上。 “你当时害怕吗？”杰克问。 黑鹰摇了摇头。 “你可真勇敢呀。”安妮说。 黑鹰骄傲地笑了。 “我来给你们演示勇敢的猎人是怎么行动的。”他说。 他翻身从自己的小马上滑了下来。 “等等，你奶奶说过不能狩猎的呀。”安妮说。 而且你也没穿你的狼皮套装呀。 “我才不怕呢。”黑鹰说。 我觉得你不该往那边去。

Said Jack, there's no grownups around. But Blackhawk wasn't listening. He began creeping on all fours toward the buffalo. I have a feeling something bad is going to happen, said Annie. Jack had the same feeling. He looked back at the book. A bison can weigh 2 ,000 pounds and stand six feet high. If one becomes alarmed by a hunter, he might start running and set off a terrifying stampede. Jack looked back at Blackhawk. He was creeping closer and closer to the herd. Jack's heart pounded. He wanted to shout come back, but he didn't want to scare any of the huge, fierce looking animals.

杰克说：“这儿附近都没有大人呀。” 可黑鹰根本没听进去。 他手脚并用地朝野牛群爬去。 “我有种不好的预感，感觉要出事。”安妮说。 杰克也有同样的感觉。 他回头看向手里的书。 一头美洲野牛体重可达2000磅，站立高度有6英尺。 要是有一头野牛被猎人惊动，它就会开始奔跑 进而引发恐怖的大规模狂奔。 杰克回头看向黑鹰。 他正离野牛群越来越近。 杰克的心怦怦直跳。 他想大喊叫黑鹰回来，可又怕惊动这些体型庞大、 看起来凶巴巴的动物。

Keeping his eyes on Blackhawk, Jack handed the planes book to Annie. She slid it back into the bag beside Teddy. Blackhawk stopped just as he was passing the nearest buffalo. His eyes squeezed shut. His nose wrinkled up. His mouth opened. What's he doing? Asked Jack. Ah, ah, chew! Blackhawk sneezed. Uh -oh, said Annie. The huge buffalo jerked its head up. It made a low moaning sound. Then it pointed its horns and charged. Watch out! cried Jack. Blackhawk threw himself out of the way of the charging buffalo. A ripple went through the herd as other shaggy animals looked up.

杰克眼睛紧盯着黑鹰，把手里的研究书递给了安妮。 她把书塞回包里，放在泰迪旁边。 黑鹰刚走到离他最近的那头野牛身边，突然停住了。 他紧紧闭上了眼睛。 他的鼻子皱了起来。 他张开了嘴。 “他在干嘛呀？” 杰克问道。 阿、阿——嚏！ 黑鹰打了个喷嚏。 “哎呀，糟了。”安妮说。 那头体型庞大的野牛猛地抬起了头。 它发出了一声低沉的咕哝声。 接着它亮出头角，径直冲了过来。 “小心！”杰克大喊道。 黑鹰猛地往旁边一扑，躲开了冲过来的野牛。 其他毛茸茸的野牛纷纷抬头，整个牛群里泛起了一阵骚动。