174 寻找梅利斯

旁白 neutral

Perda landed in a rural area. The village was visible in the distance

珀达降落在一片乡村地区。远处的村庄依稀可见。

旁白 neutral

" I see that ugly tower Zira added to her house," she thought

“我看见了齐拉在她房子上加的那座丑陋的塔，”她想。

旁白 neutral

Then she looked around. She'd chosen her landing spot at random

然后她环顾四周。她随意选择了降落地点。

旁白 neutral

Now she had to find that plonk farm. But she didn't

even know what a plonk was!

旁白 neutral

A woman was walking past with a basket under her arm

一个女人胳膊下夹着篮子从她身边走过。

旁白 neutral

" Excuse me," Perda said, shuffling toward her." Is there

a plonk farm around here?"

旁白 neutral

" A plonk farm?" the woman asked in a friendly way

“普隆克农场？”那个女人友善地问。

旁白 neutral

Then she saw Perda's shackled wrists and legs

然后她看见了珀达被镣铐锁住的手腕和脚踝。

旁白 neutral

" Oh dear," she said quickly." You must be one of Zira's prisoners

“哦，天哪，”她急忙说，“你肯定是齐拉的囚犯。

旁白 neutral

If I help you, I might meet the same fate! I'm sorry."

如果我帮你，我可能会落得同样的下场！对不起。”

旁白 neutral

She hurried off before Perda could say anything else

珀达还没来得及再说什么，她就匆匆离开了。

旁白 neutral

Perda shuffled along the road. It was hard to walk in the shackles

珀达在路上拖拖拉拉地走着。戴着脚镣很难行走。

旁白 neutral

She tried hopping instead. That was faster but much more tiring

她试着改为一跳一跳地走。这样快了些，但也累多了。

旁白 neutral

A man came into sight

一个男人出现在视线里。

旁白 neutral

He was humming happily and juggling a loaf of bread

and a couple of pieces of fruit.

旁白 neutral

" Hello!" Perda said." Could you please point me toward

the nearest plonk farm?"

旁白 neutral

The man was so surprised that he dropped the fruit, though

he managed to hang onto the bread.

旁白 neutral

" Who are you?" he asked. Then he, too, noticed the shackles

and looked suspicious.

旁白 neutral

" Why are you asking about the plonk farm?"

“你为什么打听普隆克农场？”

旁白 neutral

Perda sighed, realizing it wouldn't be easy to find

her friends if she was shackled.

旁白 neutral

For a moment she was tempted to give up and zap back

before Zira noticed she was missing.

旁白 neutral

Zira would have to remove the shackles the next time

she wanted Perda to do chores.

旁白 neutral

Maybe then she could try to escape again

也许那时她可以再试着逃跑。

旁白 neutral

But then she noticed the man glancing nervously

toward a side road.

旁白 neutral

" Is that the way to the plonk farm?" she blurted out

“那是去普隆克农场的路吗？”她脱口而出。

旁白 neutral

" You didn't hear it from me."

“你可别说是我告诉你的。”

旁白 neutral

The man quickly grabbed the fruit he'd dropped

hugging all his food to his chest.

旁白 neutral

" I don't want Sir Vilkor to take back my stuff!"

“我可不想让维尔科大人收回我的东西！”

旁白 neutral

" You got that food from Vilkor?" Perda asked

“你那些食物是从维尔科那里得到的？”珀达问道。

旁白 neutral

" He should have told you that you can create

all the food you want yourself."

旁白 neutral

The man looked suspicious again

男人又露出了怀疑的神色。

旁白 neutral

" What are you talking about?

“你在说什么？

旁白 neutral

Sir Vilkor and his assistant, Zira, warned that troublemakers

would be envious of their power and tell lies about them.

旁白 neutral

Keep away from me, troublemaker!"

离我远点，捣乱者！”

旁白 neutral

" Wait!" Perda cried as he rushed away." At least let me

show you how you can—"

旁白 neutral

" No!" the man snapped

“不！”男人厉声说道。

旁白 neutral

" You're lucky I don't run back to the village

and tell Sir Vilkor about your mischief!"

旁白 neutral

Perda watched him go. Then she shuffled toward the side road

hoping she could find the plonk farm on her own.

旁白 neutral

A few minutes later, she spotted a boy her age on the road ahead

几分钟后，她看到前方路上有个年纪相仿的男孩。

旁白 neutral

She hopped to catch up to him

她单脚跳着想追上他。

旁白 neutral

" Hi," she said." Is there a plonk farm around here?"

“嗨，”她说，“这附近有普隆克农场吗？”

旁白 neutral

The boy stared at her." Um, I don't know." His eyes

were shifty and nervous.

旁白 neutral

" Please, don't worry," Perda said." I won't tell

anyone you spoke to me."

旁白 neutral

She took a closer look at the boy." Hmm, you look

sort of familiar. Do I know you?"

旁白 neutral

" No, I don't think so," he said." Excuse me, I have to go."

“不，我想没有，”他说，“抱歉，我得走了。”

旁白 neutral

Suddenly Perda realized why he looked familiar

突然，珀达意识到他为什么看起来眼熟。

旁白 neutral

He resembled someone she'd met a couple of

days earlier—the father of Mellis' friend.

旁白 neutral

" Are you Anso?" she asked

“你是安索吗？”她问。

旁白 neutral

The boy looked startled." How do you know my name?"

男孩看上去很吃惊。“你怎么知道我的名字？”

旁白 neutral

" I'm Perda," she said." Mellis is my friend

“我是珀达，”她说，“梅利斯是我的朋友。

旁白 neutral

I'm searching for her. Do you know where she is?"

“我在找她。你知道她在哪儿吗？”

旁白 neutral

" Shh!" Anso glanced around. But there was nobody in sight

“嘘！”安索扫视四周，但眼前一个人也没有。

旁白 neutral

" Yes, I'm going there now." He showed Perda

a loaf of bread hidden in his shirt.

旁白 neutral

" Her new boss won't give her any food

“她的新老板不给她任何食物。

旁白 neutral

He says she has to eat with the plonks she's taking care of."

他说她得和她照看的普隆克们一起吃饭。”

旁白 neutral

" Please bring me to her," Perda begged

“请带我去见她，”珀达恳求道。

旁白 neutral

" I need to see her so I can figure out how

to rescue her. You can trust me. I promise!"

旁白 neutral

Anso hesitated, and then nodded with a small smile

安索犹豫了一下，然后微微笑着点了点头。

旁白 neutral

" Any friend of Mellis is a friend of mine

“梅利斯的朋友就是我的朋友。

旁白 neutral

Come! We'll have to sneak past Trof, the owner

of the farm. He's not a nice man."

旁白 neutral

They headed down the road as quickly as Perda could shuffle

他们以珀达拖着脚能走的最快速度沿路前行。

旁白 neutral

As they went, she told Anso everything that had happened

since she and Zann had arrived in Terrica.

旁白 neutral

Anso looked a bit skeptical when Perda said she came from

another world, but he seemed willing to believe her.

旁白 neutral

Finally Perda saw the farm. Anso led her into a grove of trees

珀达终于看见了农场。安索把她带进一片小树林。

旁白 neutral

They sneaked through them to the back fence of the farm

他们悄悄穿过树林，来到农场的后栅栏边。

旁白 neutral

It was hard to climb the fence in shackles

but with Anso's help, Perda managed it.

旁白 neutral

They crept across a dirty yard and into a pen

where a dozen large,

旁白 neutral

short-legged creatures snorted and squealed and fought

each other for scraps of smelly food.

旁白 neutral

" So those are plonks," Perda thought

“原来那就是普隆克呀。”珀达心想。

旁白 neutral

And then she spotted something else. Perched on a barrel

was a dirty and disheveled Mellis.

旁白 neutral

Her face lit up when she saw Perda and Anso

看到珀达和安索，她的脸上顿时亮了起来。

旁白 neutral

" You came!" Mellis cried

“你们来了！”梅利斯喊道。

旁白 neutral

She rushed toward them

她朝他们跑了过来。

旁白 neutral

Suddenly a young plonk dashed in front of her

its beady eyes fixed on a half-eaten vegetable.

旁白 neutral

Mellis tripped over the animal, sending it tipping

over into the muck.

旁白 neutral

The plonk squealed loudly, and within seconds

the rest of the plonks took up the cry.

旁白 neutral

" Hey!" a man shouted." What's going on out there?"

“嘿！”一个男人喊道，“那边怎么回事？”

旁白 neutral

" We have to hide!" Anso hissed in terror

“我们得藏起来！”安索惊恐地低声说。

旁白 neutral

But the sticky muck of the plonk pen made it even

harder for Perda to move.

旁白 neutral

Before she could hide, a large, mustached man

with a ruddy face stomped into the pen.

旁白 neutral

" Who dares to sneak onto my property?"

he roared, grabbing Anso by the arm.