"I shall be glad to have your company," said Dorothy.
“我很高兴有你这样的一个同伴，”多萝茜说。
"Thank you," he answered. "Now, if you will help me sew the silk together, we will begin to work on our balloon."
“谢谢你，”他回答说。“现在，如果你能帮我先把绸缝起来，我们就可以开始做我们的气球了。”
So Dorothy took a needle and thread, and as fast as Oz cut the strips of silk into proper shape the girl sewed them neatly together.
多萝茜便取出一枚针和线来，这个女孩子把绸片剪成很多的小块，像奥芝做的一样地快，并把它们整齐地缝在一起。
First there was a strip of light green silk, then a strip of dark green and then a strip of emerald green;
第一片是淡绿色的，第二片是深绿色的，第三片是翡翠绿的；
for Oz had a fancy to make the balloon in different shades of the color about them.
因为奥芝有一个有趣的想法，他要用不同颜色的绸片来缝制这个轻气球。
It took three days to sew all the strips together,
三天以后，他们把所有的绸片缝合在一起了，

but when it was finished they had a big bag of green silk more than twenty feet long.
这个轻气球终于缝好了，他们面前一个比二十尺还长的一个巨大的绿绸袋。
Then Oz painted it on the inside with a coat of thin glue, to make it airtight, after which he announced that the balloon was ready.
接着奥芝用一层薄胶，涂在里面，使它不透气，忙完这个，他就微笑着宣布那轻气球已经制作完成了。
"But we must have a basket to ride in," he said.
他说：“但是我们还得找一口篮子，好让我们坐在下面。”
So he sent the soldier with the green whiskers for a big clothes basket, which he fastened with many ropes to the bottom of the balloon.
因此，他差遣那绿胡须的兵士，找来一块巨大的布做的篮子，用绳子把它紧缚在轻气球的底下。
When it was all ready, Oz sent word to his people that he was going to make a visit to a great brother Wizard who lived in the clouds.
当一切准备就绪的时候，奥芝对他的百姓宣称，他要拜访云瑞里的一个大魔术家。
The news spread rapidly throughout the city and everyone came to see the wonderful sight.
这个消息很快地传遍了全城，所有人都想来看看这个奇异的现象。
Oz ordered the balloon carried out in front of the Palace,
奥芝命令把轻气球放到宫殿的前面去，
and the people gazed upon it with much curiosity.
百姓们非常感兴趣地抬头望着它。
The Tin Woodman had chopped a big pile of wood, and now he made a fire of it,
铁皮人已经砍好一大堆的木柴，并把它们烧了起来，
and Oz held the bottom of the balloon over the fire so that the hot air that arose from it would be caught in the silken bag.
奥芝把轻气球张在火上面，使得热气上升，进入绸袋里面。
Gradually the balloon swelled out and rose into the air, until finally the basket just touched the ground.
慢慢地，那轻气球膨胀起来，同时在空中升起，一直升到那只篮子完全离开地面为止。