"Give me that!" Flynn yelled as Maximus finally sank his teeth into the satchel¹. Man and horse engaged in a tug-of-war until Flynn used all his might to pull the satchel free, flinging it well out of reach. It landed at the far end of a fallen tree that was rooted in the side of the cliff and stretched across the top of the deep ravine.

 

Panting, Flynn and Maximus immediately sized up the situation. Not used to having such a competent rival, Flynn leaped from the horse's back and scrambled² to get to the tree first. Maximus followed. Flynn grinned as he slipped along the underside of the tree and inched toward the satchel. No horse would dare step out on a tree overhanging a cliff.

 

No horse except Maximus.

 

The horse walked out onto the tree, trying to stomp³ on Flynn's hands with his hooves. Flynn could not believe it. The massive horse was practically tiptoeing along the top of the horizontal tree.

 

"Ha-ha!" Flynn yelled at last. Triumphantly⁴, he clung to the end of the tree, hanging on to a branch that simply could not hold the horse's weight. Flynn held up the satchel to show Maximus that he had won.

 

Maximus glared at Flynn.

 

Crack! Now they both froze as they heard the deep sound of the tree roots pulling away from the ledge⁵. Flynn and Maximus fell, screaming and neighing, as the tree broke from the cliff.

 

Maximus landed hard. Quickly, he got to his feet and shook off the dust. He was all right! But Flynn was nowhere to be found. The horse sniffed⁶ around, trying to pick up Flynn's trail.

 

Carefully and quietly, Flynn moved along a steep rocky wall. He had the satchel. He had the crown. Now he just had to get rid of that crazy horse! Seeing some bushes, he plunged⁷ his hand into them and parted their branches. He peered into the darkness and saw a cave. Perfect! He slipped into the entrance just as Maximus trotted⁸ by, sniffing⁹ like a bloodhound.

 

That horse is relentless¹⁰! Flynn thought as he held his breath. Turning, he saw that the cave had an opening on the opposite side. He was so desperate to get away from the horse that he plunged farther inside without a second's thought, and found himself in a tunnel. When he emerged from the tunnel, he stopped short.

 

Before him lay a beautiful valley. The ground was covered in lush green foliage¹¹. A waterfall glimmered¹² in the sunlight as it tumbled down the rusty-red, rocky walls surrounding the valley and splashed into a clean, fresh pond. A sparkling bright blue stream burbled along a winding¹³ path amid fields of flowers.

 

And in the middle of the valley, a tall tower reached toward the sky. Stunned¹⁴ by the valley's beauty and awed¹⁵ by this hidden world, Flynn simply stared for a moment. He had discovered something truly marvelous.

 

Flynn could faintly hear Maximus at the far end of the tunnel. Groaning¹⁶, Flynn realized that he had to do something fast to get away — something that Maximus would never be able to do. Flynn raced to the tower. He pulled out some arrows and used them to hoist¹⁷ himself up. It was a grueling effort, but he had to find refuge. Grimacing¹⁸ all the way, Flynn plunged arrow after arrow into the cracks in the tower's exterior¹⁹, pulling himself ever higher.

 

Moments later, Flynn climbed through the window at the top of the tower.

 

"Alone at last," he said, heaving a sigh of relief. He had finally found a safe harbor where no royal guard or royal horse or Stabbington brother would ever find him.

 

BANG! Something hit Flynn in the back of the head. Then his world went black.

 

“给我！” 当捍马最终紧紧地咬住了背包时，费林大叫道。人与马开始了拔河比赛，直到费林用他所有的力气把书包扔到了够不着的远处。包落在一棵倒下的树的尽头。这棵树长在悬崖一侧，向深谷上方伸出。

 

费林和捍马喘着粗气，立即把握这个形势。费林不习惯有这样一个能干的对手，他从马背跳起来，抢先爬到树上。捍马紧跟着他。当费林沿着树的下方，一步步爬向背包的时候，他咧嘴笑了。没有马敢踩在挂在悬崖的树上。

 

没有马敢，除了捍马。

 

那匹马走上了树，想用蹄子踩费林的手。费林觉得难以置信。这匹大马几乎踮着脚走在这棵平挂着的树的上方。

 

“哈哈！”费林最后喊道。他得意扬扬地抓住树端，挂在一根无法承载马的重量的树枝上。费林举起包，向捍马炫耀他赢了。

 

捍马瞪着费林。

 

树断裂了！当他们听到树根从悬崖发出的低沉响声时，他们都僵住了。树从崖壁断裂的时候，伴随着费林的尖叫和捍马的嘶叫，他们摔了下去。

 

捍马重重地落到地上。他很快站起来，抖掉了尘土。他安然无恙！但却找不到费林。马嗅嗅周围，试图寻找费林的踪迹。

 

费林小心翼翼地、轻轻地沿着陡峭的岩石壁移动。背包在他手上。他拥有皇冠。现在他只要摆脱那匹疯狂的马！他看到了灌木丛，把手伸进了进去，拨开树枝。他朝阴暗处瞥了一眼，看见一个洞。很完美！当捍马像一条警犬到处嗅着跑过的时候，他滑进了洞口。

 

那匹马真是锲而不舍！费林屏住呼吸的时候想。转身，他看见那个洞在另一面有一个开口。他不顾一切地想甩掉那匹马，毫不犹豫地跳进更深的地方。他发现自己在一个隧道里。当他从隧道中钻出来的时候，他猛地停了下来。

 

他面前出现了一个美丽的山谷。地面覆盖着茂密的绿叶。瀑布在阳光下闪烁，流下锈红色的山谷石壁，溅落到干净、清新的池塘。一条闪闪发光的明亮的蓝色溪流汩汩地沿着蜿蜒的小路在花间流淌。

 

在山谷的中央，一座高塔直入云霄。费林被山谷的美丽震惊了，对这个隐藏的世界感到敬畏，就那么目不转睛地看了片刻。他发现了真正奇妙的东西。

 

费林隐约听到隧道另一头传来捍马的声音。费林嘟囔着，意识到他必须赶快做点什么才能甩掉捍马——要做捍马永远也做不到的事。费林冲向高塔。他掏出一些箭，借助它们往上爬。这是艰难的尝试，但他必须找到避难所。费林一路上表情痛苦地把箭一支支地插入高塔外墙的裂缝，借助箭把自己往上拉。

 

过了一会儿，费林爬进了塔顶的窗户。

 

“终于就剩我一个人了。”他说着，松了一口气。他终于找到了一个皇室卫兵、马和钉刺兄弟都找不到他的避风港。

 

砰！有东西砸在了费林的后脑勺上。紧接着，他眼前一片漆黑。

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