CHAPTER 1
Young Carl Fredricksen sat in the darkened movie theater, wearing his leather flight helmet. He straightened in his seat as a newsreel flickered onto the screen. The newsreels were Carl’s favorite part of going to the movies. They were full of information about people, places, and exciting events going on in the world.
“Movietown News presents … ‘Spotlight on the adventure’!” came the voice of the announcer. “Our subject today: Charles Muntz.”
Carl leaned forward. Charles Muntz was a famous adventurer—and Carl’s hero.
“The beloved aviation pioneer lands his dirigible, the Spirit of Adventure, in New Hampshire this week, completing a yearlong expedition into the lost world! This lighter-than-air craft was designed by Muntz himself. And what has Muntz brought back this time?”
The black-and-white film showed an enormous blimp landing in an open field. Then Muntz appeared on the screen. He looked tall and handsome in a leather jacket and a flight helmet just like Carl’s.
“Adventure is out there!” Muntz exclaimed into the camera. He lowered his goggles over his eyes and gave a thumbs-up.
Carl lowered his goggles, too, wishing he were a grown-up. Then he could go have some adventures, just like Charles Muntz, traveling all over the world, discovering new things, and bringing back priceless treasures.
“Gentlemen, I give you the Monster of Paradise Falls!” Muntz exclaimed on the movie screen. A curtain next to him dropped, revealing the skeleton of a giant bird. It was Muntz’s latest discovery.
“But what’s this?” the announcer said. “The National Explorers Society accuses Muntz of fabricating the skeleton!”
Carl watched, horrified, as the Explorers Society removed Muntz’s photo from its Wall of Fame. How can the Explorers Society doubt Muntz? Carl thought. He’s the greatest explorer of all!
But Muntz didn’t give up. “I promise to capture the beast … alive!” he cried on the flickering screen. “And I will not come back until I do.” Carl smiled as the crowd around him cheered. Adventure is out there, all right, Carl thought. He just knew it.
Later that afternoon, Carl was still thinking about Muntz. He’d written SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE on the side of a balloon, and as he ran, he pretended the balloon was his airship. He buzzed and zoomed, making the kinds of noises he thought a blimp might make.
“Adventure is out there!” said a voice, seemingly from nowhere.
Carl stopped in his tracks. Who said that? he wondered.When he looked up, he realized that he was standing in front of an abandoned house.
Something creaked. Carl looked up and saw that someone had attached a rope to the weather vane on top of the house. The rope tugged at the weather vane, turning it.
“Look out!” cried the voice from inside the house. “Mount Rushmore. Must get Spirit of Adventure over Mount Rushmore. Hard to starboard. Hold together, old girl. Whew! How’re my dogs doing? Ruff, ruff … ruff! Good boy!”
Carl crept toward the porch. SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE was written across the front door. He squeezed past the door. When he saw what was inside, his eyes widened in surprise. Pictures of Charles Muntz were tacked to the wall. Adventure gear was everywhere—ropes, a compass, even an old bicycle. A girl stood near the front window, “steering” with the wheel of the upside-down bike. She was wearing a leather helmet like Carl’s and looking out the window. “All engines ahead full!” she commanded. “Let’s take her up twenty-six thousand feet!”
There was no doubt about it—this girl was playing adventurer, too. Carl turned to get a better look at her collection of Charles Muntz photos and newspaper clippings.
“What are you doing?” the girl asked, suddenly appearing at his side.
Carl let out a yelp. He was so surprised that he let go of his balloon.
“Don’t you know that this is an exclusive club?” the girl demanded. “Only explorers get in here. Not just any kid off the street with a helmet and a pair of goggles. Do you think you got what it takes? Well, do you?”
Carl stammered.
“All right, you’re in,” said the girl. “Welcome aboard.” She held out her hand, but Carl didn’t take it. He found the girl a bit intimidating.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, more gently. “Can’t you talk? Hey, I don’t bite.”
The girl took off her helmet and shook out her messy red hair. Buttons and badges? were pinned to the front of her shirt. She unfastened one made out of the cap from a bottle of grape soda. “You and me, we’re in a club now,” she said, pinning the cap onto Carl’s shirt.
Carl smiled, and the girl grinned back. “I saw where your balloon went,” she said, looking up toward the second story. “Come on, let’s go get it.”
The girl quickly walked out of the room, heading for the creaky old staircase in the hallway. Carl didn’t move. He was still feeling stunned.
Half a second passed. Then the girl popped back in with a quizzical look on her face. Clearly, she was wondering why Carl hadn’t followed. Then she grinned, realizing what the problem must be. She had forgotten to introduce herself!
“My name’s Ellie,” she said cheerfully. Carl’s face turned bright red as she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the hall.
Together the two picked their way up the stairs. Carl followed Ellie, careful to tread in her exact footsteps. He didn’t want to fall through the rotten wood.
At the top, Ellie took Carl’s hand and helped him over the last step. Carl blushed, but Ellie didn’t notice. “There it is,” she said, pointing to the balloon. Unfortunately, it was floating in a room that didn’t have a floor. A single beam stretched across the empty space.
Carl gulped. It was a twelve-foot drop to the floor below.
“Well, go ahead,” Ellie urged.
Carl screwed up his courage and stepped onto the beam. He took another step, inching forward. He was halfway across when he felt the beam splinter. He had just enough time to see the shocked look on Ellie’s face before he fell.
Carl propped up the flashlight with his good arm. He was trying to read in bed, but it wasn’t too comfortable. He’d broken his arm when he had fallen off the beam in Ellie’s clubhouse.
The curtains fluttered like ghosts as a breeze blew gently across the room. A blue balloon with a stick tied to the end floated in through Carl’s window. Carl let out a shriek and jumped, banging his arm against the side table. “Ow!”
A head of messy red hair popped in through the window. “Hey, kid!”
Carl shrieked again and hit himself in the face with his cast. “Ow!”
“Thought you might need a little cheerin’ up,” Ellie said as she climbed through the window. She joined Carl under the tent he had made with his blankets. “I got something to show you. I am about to let you see something I have never shown to another human being. Ever. In my life.” She added, “You’ll have to swear you will not tell anyone.”
Carl nodded, wide-eyed.
“Cross your heart. Do it.”
Carl crossed his heart, and Ellie nodded, satisfied.
“My adventure book,” Ellie said, pulling out her home-made scrapbook. She turned to the first page—a photo of Charles Muntz. “You know him. Charles Muntz … explorer. When I get big, I’m going where he’s going—South America.” She pointed to a map that was pasted into the book. “It’s like America, but south. Wanna know where I’m gonna live? Paradise Falls. ‘A land lost in time.’ ” She pointed to a beautiful photo of a tepui, a steep, rugged mountain with a flat top. She had drawn a picture of her clubhouse sitting on the tepui, next to the falls. “I ripped this right out of a library book. I’m gonna move my clubhouse there and park it right next to the falls. Who knows what lives up there! And once I get there …” She flipped through the book until she came to a page marked STUFF I’M GOING TO DO. After that, all the pages were blank. “Well, I’m saving these pages for all the adventures I’m gonna have,” Ellie explained. “Only, I just don’t know how I’m gonna get to Paradise Falls.”
Carl glanced up at the shelf that held his collection of toy blimps. His blue balloon floated beside them. Ellie followed his gaze.
“That’s it!” she cried. “You can take us there in a blimp! Swear you’ll take us. Cross your heart! Cross it! Cross your heart.”
Carl crossed his heart.
Ellie heaved a sigh of relief. “Good. You promised. No backing out.”
Carl shook his head. No way would he back out. This girl was a real adventurer. Look at what had happened today! Carl had spent ten minutes with her, and he’d already had the biggest adventure of his life. If she said she was going to South America, then Carl wanted to go along.
“Well, see you tomorrow, kid!” Ellie chirped happily as she headed toward the window and climbed out. “Bye. Adventure is out there!” She poked her head back in.“You know, you don’t talk very much. I like you!” With those parting words, Ellie disappeared into the night.
Carl stared at the empty window for a moment.“Wow,” he said, resting his cheek against the top of the balloon.
His balloon popped, as if it completely agreed with him.
第 1 章
昏暗的電影院里坐著一個(gè)頭戴皮革頭盔名叫卡爾·費(fèi)迪遜的小男孩。這時(shí),屏幕一閃,跳出一則新聞,他不由得挺直了身板。到電影院看新聞短片,是小卡爾的一大樂趣。因?yàn)檫@些新聞短片融匯了世界各地的風(fēng)土人情,講述著激動(dòng)人心的重大事件。
“您正在收看的是‘影城新聞’隆重推出的《聚焦探險(xiǎn)》節(jié)目!”影廳里響起了播音員的聲音,“今天我們的主角是:查爾斯·蒙茲。”
卡爾把身子向前傾了傾。查爾斯·蒙茲不僅是一位著名的探險(xiǎn)家,在卡爾心中,他更是一位偉大的英雄。
“本周,我們敬愛的航空先驅(qū)乘著他的飛船‘探險(xiǎn)精神號’在新罕布什爾州著陸了,完成了在遺失世界為期一年的探險(xiǎn)!我們現(xiàn)在看到的這架航空器是蒙茲自行設(shè)計(jì)的,它比空氣還要輕。那么,蒙茲這次歸來給我們帶來了什么東西呢?”
黑白電影屏幕上,一架巨大的飛船在一片開闊的空地著陸了。這時(shí),蒙茲出現(xiàn)在了屏幕上。他身穿皮夾克,頭戴一頂和卡爾一樣的飛行頭盔,看起來高大英俊。
“探險(xiǎn)就要開始了!”蒙茲對著鏡頭歡呼道。他把眼鏡從頭頂拉下來架在眼睛上,并豎起了大拇指。
卡爾也把眼鏡從頭頂拉了下來,他多么渴望自己現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)長大成人了??!那樣的話,他就可以去探險(xiǎn)了,可以像查爾斯·蒙茲一樣周游世界,探尋新鮮事物,發(fā)掘無價(jià)珍寶。
“先生們,我?guī)砹颂焯闷俨祭锏墓治铮?rdquo;蒙茲在電影屏幕上高聲宣布。這時(shí),他身旁的幕簾落了下來,一副巨型大鳥的骨架呈現(xiàn)在人們眼前。這就是蒙茲的新發(fā)現(xiàn)。
“但這是什么?”播音員發(fā)出疑問,“全國探險(xiǎn)家協(xié)會指控蒙茲偽造生物骨架!”
卡爾專注地看著,嚇了一跳,因?yàn)樗吹教诫U(xiǎn)家協(xié)會把蒙茲的照片從榮譽(yù)墻上摘了下來。探險(xiǎn)家協(xié)會怎么能懷疑蒙茲?卡爾心想。他可是世界上最偉大的探險(xiǎn)家!
但蒙茲沒有放棄。“我保證捉到這個(gè)怪物……而且是捉活的!”在閃爍的屏幕上,蒙茲叫道,“不然,我誓不返回!”周圍的人群歡呼起來,卡爾臉也露出了微笑。好啊,探險(xiǎn)就要開始了,卡爾默默地對自己說。他就知道會這樣。
那天下午的晚些時(shí)候,卡爾仍然心心念念地想著蒙茲。他在一只氣球的一側(cè)寫了“探險(xiǎn)精神號”五個(gè)大字,把它想象成自己的飛船,跟著氣球奔跑起來。他一邊奔跑,一邊模仿著飛行器的聲音,嘴里“嗡嗡”地響著。
“探險(xiǎn)就要開始了!”不知從哪里傳來一個(gè)聲音。
他停下腳步,驚訝地想:誰在說話?他抬頭望去,發(fā)現(xiàn)自己正站在一座廢棄的房子前面。
有什么東西在“嘎吱”作響??柼痤^,看見那座房子頂部的風(fēng)向標(biāo)上系著一根繩子。風(fēng)向標(biāo)受到繩子的牽引,呼呼地轉(zhuǎn)著。
“小心!”房子里傳來叫喊聲。“前面就是拉什莫爾山。要讓‘探險(xiǎn)精神號’越過拉什莫爾山。很難向右轉(zhuǎn)舵。堅(jiān)持啊,姑娘。唷!我的狗還好嗎?汪,汪……汪!好樣的!”
卡爾悄悄走向門廊,看見前門上寫著“探險(xiǎn)精神號”五個(gè)大字。他擠進(jìn)了門,走到里面。看到里面的東西后,他驚訝地睜大了雙眼。他看到墻上貼著許許多多查爾斯·蒙茲的照片。而且,探險(xiǎn)裝備無處不在——繩索、指南針,甚至還有一輛舊自行車。一個(gè)女孩站在前窗旁,“駕駛”著一輛倒置自行車的車輪。她戴著一頂和卡爾一樣的皮革頭盔,望著窗外。“所有引擎,全速前進(jìn)!”她命令道,“讓她上升到二萬六千英尺的高空!”
毫無疑問,這個(gè)女孩也在玩探險(xiǎn)家游戲??栟D(zhuǎn)過身調(diào)了個(gè)位置,這樣就能更好地欣賞女孩收藏的查爾斯·蒙茲的照片和剪報(bào)了。
“你在干什么?”女孩突然出現(xiàn)在他身旁,冷不丁問道。
卡爾發(fā)出一聲尖叫。他倍感驚訝,不由得松開了手中的 氣球。
“難道你不知道這是一個(gè)會員專屬俱樂部嗎?”女孩盤問道,“只有探險(xiǎn)家才能來這里,不是大街上任何帶著頭盔和眼鏡的小孩就能隨隨便便進(jìn)來的。你明白了嗎?聽明白了嗎?”
卡爾被嚇得話都不會說了。
“算了,反正你也進(jìn)來了,”女孩說,“歡迎登船。”她伸出手,但卡爾并沒有伸手握住。他總覺得那個(gè)女孩看起來有點(diǎn)兒嚇人。
“怎么了?”女孩的語氣變得柔和起來,輕聲問道,“你不會講話啦?嘿,我不咬人。”
女孩摘下頭盔,搖了搖自己亂蓬蓬的紅頭發(fā)。她的襯衫前面別著許多紐扣和徽章。她摘下了一個(gè)用葡萄汽水瓶蓋做成的徽章。“你和我,現(xiàn)在是同一個(gè)俱樂部的成員了。”說著,她就把這枚瓶蓋徽章別在了卡爾的襯衫上。
卡爾笑了笑,女孩也笑起來。“我知道你的氣球飛哪去了,”她抬頭望了望二樓,說道,“來吧,我們?nèi)グ阉一貋怼?rdquo;
女孩快步走出房間,朝走廊里那個(gè)年久失修的樓梯走去。但卡爾還站在原地,他受到了驚嚇,還沒有回過神來。
眨眼工夫,女孩突然折了回來,一臉疑惑。很顯然,她想知道卡爾為什么沒有跟上來。意識到了問題所在,她笑了笑,原來她竟然忘了介紹自己!
“我叫艾莉。”女孩興高采烈地說。說著,她抓起卡爾的手,把他拉進(jìn)了走廊。這一舉動(dòng)使卡爾滿臉通紅。
他們一起走上樓梯??栃⌒囊硪淼馗诎蚝竺?,一步一步地緊跟著。他可不想從這些破舊的木板上掉下去。
到達(dá)頂樓時(shí),艾莉伸出手,把卡爾拉上最后一級臺階??柕哪樣旨t了,可艾莉并沒有注意到。“在那兒。”艾莉指著那個(gè)氣球說。只可惜,這個(gè)房間沒有地板,只有一條獨(dú)木板懸空橫跨兩端,而氣球就這樣飄浮在上空。
卡爾倒吸了一口氣:這里離地面足足有12英尺高。
“好了,去拿吧。”艾莉催促道。
卡爾鼓起勇氣,踏上那條木板。接著他又向前移動(dòng)了一步。走到一半時(shí),木板突然裂開了。而在掉下去之前,他只夠瞥見艾莉震驚的臉。
卡爾用自己那只沒受傷的胳膊舉著手電筒。他試著躺在床上看書,但感覺不太舒服。他從艾莉俱樂部的木板上摔下來時(shí),摔斷了一只胳膊。
一陣微風(fēng)輕輕吹過房間,窗簾像鬼魂一樣飄動(dòng),一只系著木棍的藍(lán)色氣球從卡爾的窗戶飄了進(jìn)來??柊l(fā)出一聲尖叫,嚇得從床上跳了起來,胳膊撞到了旁邊的桌子。他痛呼一聲:“哎喲!”
突然,窗外鉆進(jìn)來了一個(gè)頂著亂蓬蓬紅發(fā)的小腦袋:“嘿,小家伙!”
卡爾再次尖叫起來,驚慌中揮動(dòng)的拳頭竟打在了自己臉上,他痛得大叫:“哎喲!”
“我估計(jì)你想要點(diǎn)好玩的東西吧。”艾莉說著就從窗戶爬了進(jìn)來,鉆進(jìn)了卡爾用毯子支起的帳篷。艾莉說:“我給你看樣?xùn)|西吧,這個(gè)東西我從來沒給別人看過呢,從來沒有。”她又補(bǔ)充道,“你要發(fā)誓不準(zhǔn)告訴別人哦。”
卡爾點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭,睜大了眼睛。
“發(fā)誓。發(fā)啊。”
卡爾發(fā)過誓,艾莉滿意地點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭。
“這是我的探險(xiǎn)書。”艾莉邊說邊拿出了她自制的剪貼簿。她翻到了第一頁,上面是查爾斯·蒙茲的照片。“你認(rèn)識他吧。查爾斯·蒙茲……是個(gè)探險(xiǎn)家。等我長大了,我也要去他去過的地方——南美洲。”她指了指粘在這本書中的一幅地圖說道,“它和美洲的形狀很像,但是是在南部。想知道我打算住在哪兒嗎?天堂瀑布:‘即將消失的土地’。”她指著特普伊山的美麗照片,那山陡峭崎嶇,卻有一個(gè)平整的山頂。她把她的俱樂部畫在了特普伊山的山頂,緊挨著瀑布。“這是我從圖書館的書上撕下來的。我要把我的俱樂部搬到那兒去,就搬到瀑布旁邊。天知道上面還住著些什么!我一搬過去……”她翻了翻這本書,在標(biāo)有“心愿單”的那一頁停了下來。在這后面,所有的頁面都是空白的。“好吧,我要為以后的探險(xiǎn)經(jīng)歷留些位置,”艾莉解釋道,“只是我不知道要怎樣去天堂瀑布。”
卡爾抬頭望向斜上方的架子:上面放著他收集的玩具飛船,而他的藍(lán)色氣球飄浮在那些飛船旁邊。艾莉順著他的目光看了看。
“就是它了!”她喊道。“你可以用這種小型飛船帶我們?nèi)ツ莾?!發(fā)誓你會帶我們?nèi)ァ0l(fā)誓!發(fā)?。】禳c(diǎn)兒發(fā)誓。”
卡爾在胸前畫了十字,許下誓言。
艾莉松了口氣,說道:“好了。你發(fā)過誓的哦。不準(zhǔn)反悔。”
卡爾搖了搖頭。他決不會反悔。這個(gè)女孩是個(gè)真正的探險(xiǎn)家。瞧瞧今天都發(fā)生了什么!卡爾只和她在一塊兒待了十分鐘,卻已經(jīng)度過了他一生中最大的探險(xiǎn)。如果她說要去南美洲,卡爾一定會跟著去。
“好了,明天見,小家伙!”艾莉一邊開心地說著,一邊走向窗戶,慢慢爬了出去。“再見。探險(xiǎn)就要開始了!”忽然,她又把頭伸了進(jìn)來,對卡爾說:“知道嗎,雖然你話不多,但我喜歡你!”說完這些,艾莉就消失在了夜色中。
卡爾盯著空蕩蕩的窗戶看了一會兒,然后把臉擱在氣球頂部,發(fā)出了一聲感嘆:“哇哦!”
“砰”的一聲,氣球爆了,仿佛是對卡爾心中所想表示完全 贊成。