9. A PUZZLING BOX

CHAPTER 9 A PUZZLING BOX The Dragon Masters studied the three paths in front of them. Rune's Dragon Stone glowed, and then Lysa shone her light on the walls. Carved words became visible. DAY CAN SOMETIMES LOOK LIKE NIGHT. A BABY BIRD WILL ONE DAY TAKE FLIGHT. SOMETHING SMALL CAN HAVE GREAT MIGHT. BUT WHAT IS WRONG WILL NEVER BE BLANK. "The last word must be 'right'!" Drake said.

龙主们研究了他们面前的三条路。 符文的龙石闪闪发光，莱莎用她的光照着墙壁。 雕刻的文字清晰可见。 白天有时看起来像夜晚。 小鸟总有一天会飞起来的。 小事物可以有伟大的力量。 但错误永远不会是空白的。 “最后一个词一定是‘对’！”德雷克说。

"Yes, but why is that word missing?" Darma wondered. Hema relayed Darma's question to Lysa, and the dragons gave Rune's answer to the boys. I think I know! The word "right" has two meanings. We should go right, not left. Drake grinned. "I think Rune is right." Darma signed to Rune. Yes!

“是的，但是为什么这个词不见了呢？”达玛想知道。 赫玛把达玛的问题转告莱莎，恶龙把符文的回答转告孩子们。 我想我知道了！“right”这个词有两个意思。 我们应该向右走，而不是向左走。 德雷克咧嘴一笑。“我认为符文是对的。” 达玛签了符文。是的!

They all headed down the path until they came to a dead end at a large, wooden door. Rune pulled at the handle, but it wouldn't open. Then Drake spotted something. To the right of the door was a stone pedestal topped with a wooden box. "I wonder if this box holds a key to the door?" he asked. He picked up the box and shook it. "Something is rattling inside. But how do we open it?" The box was made of slats of wood with lines carved in them. Rune took the box from Drake. Rune says: It's a puzzle box, like the ones I have in the castle! If you arrange the slats just the right way, the box will open. Rune started to push the slats with his hands, and they moved! He moved them several times, then he frowned. The box was not opening.

他们沿着小路往前走，一直走到一扇大木门的尽头。 符文拉把手，但打不开。 然后德雷克发现了一些东西。 门的右边是一个石台，上面有一个木箱。 “不知道这个盒子里有没有门的钥匙？”他问。 他拿起盒子摇了摇。 “里面有东西在嘎嘎作响。 但是我们怎么打开它呢？”这个盒子是用木板做成的，木板上刻有线条。 符文从德雷克手里拿走了盒子。 符文说：这是一个拼图盒，就像我在城堡里的那些一样！如果你把板条按正确的方式排列，盒子就会打开。 符文开始用手推板条，板条动了！他移动了几下，然后皱起了眉头。 盒子打不开。

"Perhaps when all the slats are arranged correctly, those carved lines form a picture," Darma suggested. Drake studied the lines, and the way they curved. He started to recognize some shapes. A tail an ear Dragon! Drake signed to Rune and Darma. Rune looked at the box again and his eyes lit up. He moved the slats until the lines joined together to show a dragon on the box. Then one slat popped open!

“也许当所有的板条排列正确时，那些雕刻的线条就形成了一幅画，”达玛建议道。 德雷克研究了这些线条和它们弯曲的方式。 他开始辨认出一些形状。 一条尾巴一条耳朵！德雷克签约了符文和达玛。 符文又看了看盒子，眼睛一亮。 他移动板条，直到线条连在一起，在盒子上显示出一条龙。 然后一条板条开了！

Grinning, Rune shook the box and a brass key slid out. "We did it!" Drake cheered, holding up the key. "Look at these prongs. Don't they look like dragon's teeth?" Ca-caw! Suddenly, a crow swooped down. It plucked the key out of Drake's hands and flew away!

符文咧嘴一笑，摇了摇盒子，一把黄铜钥匙滑了出来。 “我们成功了！”德雷克举起钥匙欢呼起来。 “看看这些尖头。它们看起来不像龙的牙齿吗？”呜哇!突然，一只乌鸦飞了下来。 它从德雷克手中夺过钥匙飞走了！