08 The Rainbow Serpent

Chapter 8, The Rainbow Serpent. The mother kangaroo bounded out of the trees. She landed ten feet away from Jack, Annie, Teddy, and Joey. They all were still for a moment, as if they all were holding their breath. Then Joey tried to jump out of Jack's backpack. Hold on, said Jack. He put his pack on the ground.

第八章 彩虹蛇 袋鼠妈妈从树林里蹦了出来 她落在了杰克、安妮、泰迪和乔伊十英尺远的地方 他们一时间都一动不动，好像都屏住了呼吸 这时候乔伊想从杰克的背包里跳出来 "别乱动，"杰克说。他把背包放到了地上

The little kangaroo leaped out. He leaped again, then again, and dived headfirst into his mother's pouch. Joey turned himself over inside the pouch, then he peeked out at Jack and Annie. "'Yay,' said Jack and Annie together. They laughed and clapped with relief. "'He looks happy to be home,' said Annie. "'His mother looks happy, too,' said Jack. The mother kangaroo was gazing down at her Joey. She patted his head with her small paws. Then she looked at Jack and Annie with soft eyes. "'She's saying thank you to us,' Annie said. "'You're welcome,' Jack said. "'It was no problem,' Annie told the kangaroo. "'You have a great Joey.'"

小袋鼠蹦了出来。他蹦了一下又一下，一头扎进了妈妈的育儿袋里 乔伊在育儿袋里翻了个身，然后探出头偷看杰克和安妮 "耶！"杰克和安妮异口同声地说。他们松了口气，笑着拍起手来 "回到家他看起来好开心呀。"安妮说 "他妈妈看起来也很开心。"杰克说。袋鼠妈妈正低头看着她的乔伊 她用小爪子拍了拍他的脑袋，然后用温柔的眼神看向杰克和安妮 "她在跟我们说谢谢呢。"安妮说 "不客气呀。"杰克说 "小事一桩啦，"安妮对袋鼠说，"你的乔伊超级棒。"

The kangaroo gave a little nod, then she bent over and used a front paw to pick up a small piece of bark from the wet grass. The kangaroo held the piece of bark out to Jack and Annie.

袋鼠轻轻点了点头，然后弯下腰，用前爪从湿草地上捡起一小块树皮 袋鼠把那块树皮递向杰克和安妮

Jack took it from her. Oh, man, he whispered, it's our gift from a kangaroo. The kangaroo then sprang into the air. She bounded gracefully away through the charred forest. Thanks, called Jack. Bye, called Annie. Good luck. Erf, erf, Teddy barked. The rain stopped as Jack studied the piece of bark. There was a tiny painting on it. It was just like the snake painting in the cave. I wonder what the snake means, said Jack. Jack opened the wet cover of the Australia book. He carefully turned the damp pages. He found a picture of the snake painting. Listen, said Jack. He read.

杰克从她手里接过了树皮 "哇哦，"他小声说，"这是袋鼠送给我们的礼物呀。" 袋鼠随后纵身一跃跳了起来 她优雅地蹦跳着穿过烧焦的森林，越走越远 "谢谢！"杰克大喊道 "再见！"安妮大喊道 祝你们好运呀 "汪！汪！"泰迪叫了起来 杰克仔细端详那块树皮的时候，雨停了 树皮上有一幅小小的画 它和山洞里那幅蛇的画一模一样 "不知道这条蛇代表什么意思。"杰克说 杰克翻开了那本封面湿掉的澳大利亚之书 他小心翼翼地翻着受潮的书页 他找到了那幅蛇画的图片 "你们听。"杰克说 他读了起来

The first people of Australia are called Aborigines. They have lived there for 40 ,000 years. Their myths take place in a time they call Dream Time. In Dream Time, there is a rainbow serpent who sends life -giving rain. Aborigine artists paint the rainbow serpent on cave walls or on pieces of bark. In special ceremonies, they sometimes honor the rainbow serpent by painting their hand prints on the magic snake. See? said Annie. That explains everything. Explains what? said Jack. We put our hands on the painting of the rainbow serpent, she said. It was like a rainbow serpent.

澳大利亚的原住民被称为土著居民 他们已经在那里生活了四万年 他们的神话都发生在一个被他们叫做“梦时代”的时期 在梦时代里，有一条彩虹蛇，会降下滋养万物的雨水 土著艺术家会把彩虹蛇画在洞壁上或者树皮上 在特殊的庆典上，他们有时会把自己的手印画在这条神蛇身上，以此表达对彩虹蛇的敬意 "你看？"安妮说，"这就全都说得通啦。" "说得通什么？"杰克问 "我们把手放在了彩虹蛇的画上呀。"她说 那相当于我们完成了彩虹蛇的

special ceremony, so the Rainbow Serpent sent the rain to put out the wildfire. Arf! Teddy barked. Jack frowned. But it's not a real creature, he said. It's in dream time, not real time. Annie smiled. And how do you explain that? she said. She pointed at the sky. The rain clouds were gone. The Sun had come back out. A rainbow curved across the blue Australian sky. Oh man! whispered Jack. Though the air was warm again, he shivered. Teddy led us to the painting, said Annie. We should thank him. How did he know about the Rainbow Serpent in the cave? Jack asked.

特殊仪式，所以彩虹蛇降下雨水扑灭了野火 "汪！泰迪叫了起来。杰克皱起了眉头。"但它不是真实存在的生物呀，"他说，"它只存在于" 梦时代，不是现实世界。"安妮笑了。"那你怎么解释这件事？"她说。她 指向了天空。雨云都散了，太阳重新露了脸，一道彩虹 横跨在澳大利亚湛蓝的天空上。哇哦！杰克小声说。虽然空气又变得 暖和了，他还是打了个寒颤。"是泰迪带我们找到那幅画的，"安妮说，"我们应该谢谢" 他。他怎么知道山洞里有彩虹蛇的呀？"杰克问