介绍： MT英语（ID:mtkouyu)
专辑：【英文原版童话故事】
文本整理：Doris

Magic Tree House Ghost Town at Sundown-10.4 Hands Up

“It’s the colt!” said Annie. “He’s looking for his mother!”
“是小马!”安妮说, “它在找它妈妈!”

She ran toward the wild-eyed little horse.
她说着便跑向那匹眼神中充满野性的小马。

“Wai...

介绍： MT英语（ID:mtkouyu)
专辑：【英文原版童话故事】
文本整理：Doris

Magic Tree House Ghost Town at Sundown-10.4 Hands Up

“It’s the colt!” said Annie. “He’s looking for his mother!”
“是小马!”安妮说, “它在找它妈妈!”

She ran toward the wild-eyed little horse.
她说着便跑向那匹眼神中充满野性的小马。

“Wait!” called Jack. “Oh, brother.” He pulled the book out of his pack.
“等等!”杰克喊道, 随即从背包里又拿出了那本书。

He found a chapter titled “Horses of the Wild West.” He started reading.
他翻到了题为“狂野西部的马匹”那一章, 读了起来：

At the end of the 1800s, over a million wild horses, called mustangs, wandered the West.These tough, fast horses were descendants of runaway Spanish horses. Mustang herders captured them and sold them to ranchers.Breaking a wild mustang took great skill.
在19世纪末, 有超过100万匹“野马”在西部游荡。这些暴烈而速度极快的马匹是逃跑的西班牙马匹的后代。野马捕猎者把它们捉住后卖给牧场主。而要驯服一匹野马是需要极高技巧的。

Jack turned the page. There was a picture of a herd of horses. Two of them even looked like the beautiful mare and her colt.
杰克翻过一页, 书页上画着一群马, 其中的两匹看起来很像那匹漂亮的母马和它的孩子。

“Hey, Annie, ” Jack called. “You should see this picture.”
“嘿, 安妮。”杰克喊着, “你过来看看这幅画!”

Annie didn’t answer.
安妮没有回答。

Jack looked up.
杰克抬起头。

Annie was trying to get close to the young mustang, but he kept darting away.
安妮正试图接近那匹小野马, 但小马却总是想躲开。

“Watch it! He’s wild!” said Jack.
“小心啊!这马可烈呢!”杰克说。

Annie was speaking softly to the colt.
安妮正轻柔地和小马说着什么。

She slowly reached out and grabbed the end of his rope. Still talking to him, she led him to a broad wooden post.
安妮慢慢地伸出手去, 抓住了马脖上绳索的一端。她一面和马儿说话, 一面把它带到了一个大木桩前。

“Stop! Don’t do anything!” said Jack.
“停!什么也别做!”杰克说。

He flipped the pages of his book. He found a section called “How to Treat a Horse.”
他翻着手上的那本书, 找到了“如何对待马匹”的那一节, 上面写着：

The basic rules on how to treat a horse are simple：a soft hand, a firm voice, a sunny attitude, praise, and reward.
对待马匹的基本原则很简单：手要轻柔, 声音要坚定, 态度要热情, 要赞扬和奖励它。

“I’ve got the rules!” shouted Jack. “Don’t do anything before I write them down!”
“我这里有方法!”杰克喊道, “在我把它们写下来之前你什么也别做哦!”

Jack pulled out his notebook and pencil. He wrote：
杰克掏出笔记本和铅笔, 写道：

Horse Rules
驯马方法

1.soft hand
1.手要轻柔

2.firm voice
2.声音要坚定

3.sunny attitude
3.态度要热情

4.Praise
4.赞扬

5.Reward
5.奖励

“Okay, listen—” Jack looked up.
“好了, 听着——”杰克抬起头一看。

But Annie was already sitting on the colt’s back!
可这时安妮早已经坐在小马背上了。

Jack froze. He held his breath.
杰克愣住了, 不禁屏住了呼吸。

The mustang whinnied and pawed the ground. He snorted and tossed his head.
小野马一面叫着, 一面用蹄子蹬踏着地面, 它的鼻子里发出呼哧的声音, 头扭来扭去。

Annie kept patting his neck and talking softly.
安妮不断地轻拍着小马的脖子, 和它轻声地说着话。

Finally the young horse grew still.
终于, 小马安静下来了。

Annie smiled at Jack. “I named him Sunset, ” she said.
安妮冲杰克笑了笑, 说：“我给它起了个名叫‘日落’。”

Jack let out his breath.
杰克舒了口气。

“Let’s go, ” said Annie. “We have to take him to his mom.”
安妮说：“咱们走吧, 我们还要带它去找妈妈呢。”

“Are you nuts?” said Jack. “We have to solve our riddle. It’ll be dark soon. And those guys were real bad guys, I could tell.”
“你糊涂了吧?”杰克说, “我们还得解开谜语呢。天就要黑了。而那些人肯定是坏人, 我一看就知道。”

“We don’t have any choice, ” said Annie.
“我们没有选择啊。”安妮说。

“Oh, brother.” Jack knew she wouldn’t change her mind. “Let’s see what the book says.” He read more about mustangs：
“哦, 天啊!”杰克明白安妮是不会改变主意的了。“咱们看看书里写了些什么。”他又继续读起了关于野马的叙述。

Wild mustangs live together in families.The bond between a mare and her young is very strong. His sounds of distress or hunger will always bring her to him. A mustang cannot bear to wander alone.
野马以家庭为单位生活在一起。母马与小马之间的联系相当紧密。一旦小马发出表达沮丧或饥饿的声音, 母马就会来到它的身边。野马往往无法忍受独自流浪。

Jack groaned. He looked at Sunset. The young mustang did have a sad look in his eyes.
杰克嘟囔着, 看了看“日落”。那匹小马的眸子里真的带着一种忧伤的神气。

“Okay, we’ll make a plan, ” he said. “But first I have to get out of these boots.”
“好, 咱们来做个计划。”杰克说, “不过我首先得把这靴子脱了。”

Jack grabbed one of his boots and pulled.
杰克抓住其中一只靴子使劲地拽着。

“Hurry!” said Annie.
“快点啊!”安妮说。

“I can’t even think in these things!” said Jack.
“穿着这鬼东西我的脑子都不转了!”杰克说。

He huffed and puffed and pulled. Then a deep voice stopped him cold：“Hands up—or I'll shoot!”
他鼓着腮帮子往外呼着气, 一面使劲拽着。突然一个深沉的声音冷冷地止住了他手上的动作：“举起手来——要不我就射击了!”

A cowboy rode out of an alley. His face was bony and tanned. He was riding a gray horse and pointing a six-shooter.
一个牛仔从小巷里飞奔而出, 那人脸型瘦削, 晒得黑黑的, 骑着一匹灰马, 手里的六弹gun正指着他们。

“I reckon you’re the smallest horse thieves I’ve ever come across, ” he said.
“看来, 你们是我见过的最小的盗马贼了。”他说。