雙語讀電影 《魔發(fā)奇緣》第04章 :人們仍然相信有一天他們的公主會回來

At that very moment, a dashing thief named Flynn Rider was running through the forest as fast as he could. The two Stabbington brothers, his partners in crime, ran with him.

Hot on their heels rode the mounted palace guards. The guards’ highly trained and powerful white horses were as intent on catching the thieves as the guards themselves. Flynn Rider and the Stabbington brothers had stolen the crown that belonged to the long-lost princess. In the kingdom, this was no joking matter. The people still believed that their princess would return one day, and her crown must be ready for her! The royal guards would stop at nothing to get it back.

Flynn Rider halted at a tree and tried to catch his breath. Noticing a wanted poster of himself, he scoffed, “Would you look at this?” The Stabbington brothers stared blankly at the poster. “Is it too much to ask to get my nose right?” Flynn felt insulted. “It’s just so ... bulbous,” he added petulantly.

“There they are!” A group of the royal guards had spotted the thieves from a ridge above. Flynn stuffed the poster into his satchel as he and the Stabbingtons took off. Again they ran at top speed, but they soon found themselves trapped at the end of a ravine. The only way out was to climb the sheer fifteen-foot walls.

Though the burly Stabbington brothers were Flynn’s partners, they were probably the most dangerous cutthroats he had ever met. They were identical twins, big and strong, with matching scars. The only way Flynn could tell them apart was that one of them wore an eye patch and never spoke. But right now Flynn was worried that they might kill him for the crown. He needed a plan to escape them and the royal guards!

“Okay,” Flynn said, thinking fast, “give me a boost and then I’ll pull you up.”

“Give us the satchel first,” demanded the brother without the eye patch.

“What?” Flynn pretended to be stunned, hurt! “Why, I just can’t believe that after all we’ve been through together, you don’t trust me!”

But the Stabbington brothers wouldn’t budge. Flynn could see that it was hopeless. Grumbling, he handed the brothers the satchel containing the crown and began climbing over their shoulders. But Flynn was a clever fellow. As he climbed, he grabbed the satchel back, unnoticed.

When he reached the top of the ledge, he held up the satchel and gave the brothers a grin.

“Enjoy prison!” he called back as he ran away. “Find a hobby!”

The captain of the royal guard saw Flynn making a run for it. “He’s getting away!” he shouted. “Don’t let him get away!”

A shower of arrows rained down around Flynn, but he dodged them all, leaping over rocks and fallen trees, skirting bushes, and ducking under low-hanging branches.

With the royal guards still hot on his trail, Flynn spotted a Y-shaped tree up ahead and ran right for it. He hurled himself straight through the opening in the Y, landing safely on the other side. The horses of the royal guard stumbled to a stop behind him — all but one. The captain’s horse! Flynn was astounded.

“Ha! We’ve got him now, Maximus!” the captain said to his muscle-bound white horse. “He won’t get away this time!” Flynn took a quick glance back at the horse. How had he jumped through that gap?

Grabbing a vine, Flynn swung through the air and looped back, knocking the captain right off his horse and taking his place in the saddle.

“Hee-yah!” Flynn yelled triumphantly, feeling pretty smug. He knew he’d pulled off a classic move. But his grin quickly left his face when the horse suddenly came to a halt, nearly throwing Flynn out of the saddle.

“Come on, Fleabag!” Flynn yelled.

Maximus was the best horse in the kingdom, and he did not like being called Fleabag. The horse whipped his head around angrily and started nipping at Flynn’s precious satchel.

“No!” Flynn shouted. “Stop it! Stop it! Bad horse, bad horse!”

Maximus began spinning in circles, trying to throw Flynn, but the young thief held on tightly.

“Whoa, who-o-o-o-oah!” Flynn shouted. Flynn had a new enemy — a maniacal horse!