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I began to think of what it would be like to leave the Den.
我开始想象离开小窝会是什么样子。
The day everything changed began with Hungry stumbling into the culvert to lie down instead of going on the hunt,
Hungry跌跌撞撞地走进涵洞躺下，而不是去打猎，从这一天起，一切都变了，
his breathing labored, his tongue sticking out of his mouth.
他呼吸困难，舌头从嘴里吐了出来。
Mother nuzzled Hungry before she left, and when I sniffed at him his eyes remained shut.
母亲临走前用鼻子蹭了蹭Hungry的肚子，我闻了闻他，他还是闭着眼睛。
Over the culvert was a road, and along the road we’d once found a large dead bird,
在涵洞的上方有一条路，沿着这条路，我们曾发现一只大鸟的尸体，
which we’d all torn into until Fast picked it up and ran off with it.
我们本打算把它撕成碎片，Fast却叼起它跑开了。
Despite the danger of being seen, we tended to range up and down this road, looking for more birds,
尽管有被人看见的危险，我们还是倾向于在这条路上走来走去，寻找更多的鸟，
which was what we were doing when Mother suddenly raised her head in alarm.
正在我们这么做的时候，妈妈突然惊慌地抬起了头。
We all heard it the same instant: a truck approaching.
同时我们听到了声音：一辆卡车开了过来。
But not just any truck—this same vehicle, making the same sounds,
但它不是随便一辆卡车——而是那辆同样的车，发出同样的声音，
had been back and forth along our road several times the past few days, moving slowly, even menacingly,
在过去的几天里，它在我们的路上来来回回走了好几次，走得很慢，甚至有些吓人，
as if hunting specifically for us.
就像是在专门猎杀我们一样。
We followed Mother as she darted back to the culvert, but for reasons I’ll never fully understand,
我们跟着妈妈冲回了涵洞，但出于某些我永远无法完全理解的原因，
I stopped and looked back at the monstrous machine, taking an extra few seconds before I followed Mother into the safety of the tunnel.
我停了下来，回头看了看那台巨大的机器，又花了几秒钟才跟着母亲走进安全的隧道。
Those few seconds proved to make all the difference—they had spotted me.
那几秒钟证明了一切——他们发现了我。
With a low, rumbling vibration, the truck came to a stop directly overhead.
随着一声低沉的震动，卡车在正上方停了下来。
The engine clanked and went quiet, and then we heard the sounds of boots on gravel.
引擎丁当一声，静了下来，接着我们听到了砂砾上的靴子声。
Mother gave a soft whimper.
母亲轻轻地呜咽了一声。
When the human faces appeared at either end of the culvert, Mother went low, tensing her body.
当人的面孔出现在涵洞的两端时，母亲低下了头，紧绷着身体。
They showed their teeth at us, but it didn’t seem to be a hostile gesture.
他们对我们露出牙齿，但这似乎不是一种敌对信号。
Their faces were brown, marked with black hair, black brows, and dark eyes.
他们的脸是棕色的，有黑色的头发，黑色的眉毛和黑色的眼睛。
