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9 Mouse-walk
The mouse vanished into the tall grass on the other side of the stream.
Jack and Annie stared at the tree branch.
“We have to try to cross it，” said Annie. “We’re supposed to follow nature.”
“Forget it，” said Jack. “It’s too little. It’ll crack in a second.”
“Maybe if we pretend we’re mice， we can do it，” said Annie.
“Oh brother，” said Jack. “Not again.”
“If you could be a rock， you can be a mouse，” said Annie. “Just be teeny and light and fast.”
Jack took a deep breath.
“We have to，” said Annie.
“Okay，” Jack said.
“You’re nuts!” said Jack.
“Just do it，” said Annie. “It’ll help you feel more like a mouse.”
Jack groaned. “Okay，” he said. “Squeak.”
“Squeak，” said Annie.
“Squeak， squeak， squeak，” they said together.
“Let’s go! Hurry!” said Annie.
Jack stepped onto the branch.
I’m teeny. I’m light. I’m fast， he thought. Then he darted across the branch.
Jack moved so quickly， he didn’t think about anything—except getting to the other side.
He forgot the wild， freezing water. He forgot the smallness of the branch.
Suddenly Jack was on the other side. Suddenly Annie was right beside him.
They laughed and fell together into the grass.
“See! See! The branch didn’t break!” said Annie.
“I guess it was big enough，” said Jack. “I guess we just had to think the right way.”
“The Peanut way，” said Annie.
“Yeah，” said Jack， smiling. He felt great.
He was still wet from his fall into the stream. But he didn’t mind anymore.
Jack pushed his glasses into place and stood up. “Okay， now we just have to find the tree house，” he said.
“No， we don’t，” said Annie. She pointed up.
The tree house was outlined against the moonlit sky. High in a tree. Surrounded by white flowers.
In the distance came the sound of voices. Then Jack saw flames.
“The samurai are coming back，” said Jack. “We have to go.”
“Where’s Peanut?” said Annie. “We can’t leave Peanut.”
“We have to，” said Jack.
The voices of the samurai were getting closer. So were their torches.
“Come on，” Jack said. He grabbed Annie’s hand. He pulled her toward the rope ladder.
“Oh Jack—” she said sadly.
“Go! Go!”
Annie started up the rope ladder.
Jack followed. He felt sad， too. He liked that little mouse now. He liked it a lot.
They climbed up and up.
Just before they got to the top， Jack heard it.
Squeak.
“Oh wow!” cried Annie. “Peanut’s inside!”
Annie pulled herself into the tree house. Jack followed.
He gasped.
Someone else was in the tree house， too.
A dark figure was sitting in the corner.
“You have done well，” the figure said.
It was the ninja master.
“You have followed the way of the ninja，” he said.
“Oh man，” breathed Jack.
Squeak.
The master was holding Peanut.
“Take good care of your little helper，” he said， handing the mouse to Annie.
Annie kissed the mouse’s tiny head.
“And take this—” said the master. He held his hand out to Jack.
He gave Jack a small， round stone.
“This moonstone will help you find your missing friend，” the master said.
Jack stared at the stone. Was this one of the four things?
“You must go home now，” said the master. He picked up the Pennsylvania book and handed it to Annie.
“Where did you find it?” asked Jack.
“Here，” said the master. “You did not see it before. Because your heart knew you had a mission to complete first.”
“What about you?” said Annie. “Can you come with us?”
“Yes，” said Jack. “We need help finding Morgan.”
The master smiled. “No， my friends. I must stay here. There will be more help along the way.
But you must find the way on your own.”
Annie opened the book. She found the picture of Frog Creek.
She pointed to it. “I wish we could go there，” she said.
The wind started to blow.
The white flowers started to shake. Clouds covered the moon.
“Remember，” the master said， “keep a kind heart.”
Then he swung silently down the rope ladder. He disappeared into the dark night.
“Wait!” Jack called. There was so much he wanted to ask the master.
About nature. About ninjas. About their mission.
But the tree house started to spin.
It spun faster and faster!
Jack gripped the stone in his hand. he squeezed his eyes shut.
Then everything was still.
Absolutely still.
9.鼠步
小老鼠消失在了河对面的高草丛里。
杰克和安妮凝望着树枝。
“我们必须‘试着’过去。”安妮说，“我们得跟着自然！”
“算了吧。”杰克说，“树枝太小，不一会儿就会断的。”
“或许我们就当我们是老鼠，我们就能过去了。”安妮说。
“我的老天。”杰克说，“你又来了。”
“如果你可以变成一个岩石，你也可以变成一只老鼠。”安妮说，“只要变得小小的，轻轻的，然后跑得快快的。”
杰克深呼吸了一下。
“我们必须这么做。”安妮说。
“好吧。”杰克说。
“说‘吱吱’。”安妮说。
“你疯了！”杰克说。
“说吧。”安妮说，“这样可以帮助你更觉得自己像一只老鼠。”
杰克呻吟了一声，“好吧。”他说，“吱吱。”
“吱吱。”安妮说。
“吱吱，吱吱，吱吱。”他们一起说。
“我们走吧！赶快！”安妮说。
杰克踏上了树枝。
我很小，我很轻，我很快，他想。接着他开始飞快地越过树枝。
杰克移动得很快，他根本没想任何其他的事情——除了想着要到达对岸。
他忘记了奔流的、冰冷的溪水，也忘记了树枝有多小。
一下子杰克就到达了对岸，马上，安妮也站在他身旁了。
他们笑着一起倒在了草地上。
“你看！你看！树枝没有断！”安妮说。
“我觉得它已经足够大了。”杰克说，“只要我们用正确的角度去看待它。”
“从花生的角度。”安妮说。
“没错！”杰克笑着说，他感觉棒极了。
因为刚才掉进水里，他现在全身仍然还是湿的，不过他一点也不介意了。
杰克把他的眼镜推了推然后站了起来，“好了，我们现在必须去找树屋了。”他说。
“不，我们不用了。”安妮指着上面说。
树屋的轮廓在月光照耀的天空下显现出轮廓来，它在一棵高高的树上，周围开满了白色的花朵。
远处传来一些嘈杂的人声，杰克看见一些火把。
“武士又回来了。”杰克说，“我们必须走了。”
“花生在哪儿呢？”安妮说，“我们不能把花生落下。”
“我们不得不这样。”杰克说。
那些日本武士的声音越来越近了，他们的火把也越来越近了。
“快来。”杰克说。他抓住了安妮的手，把她推上了绳梯。
“别这样杰克——”她伤心地说。
“走啊！快走！”
安妮开始顺着绳梯向上爬。
杰克跟在后面，他也觉得很难过，他现在喜欢上了那只小老鼠，很喜欢。
他们越爬越高，就在他们要爬到顶上的时候，杰克听到一声叫声。
吱吱。吱吱。
“哇哈哈！”安妮喊道，“花生在里面！”
安妮爬进了树屋，杰克也跟着进去了。
他倒吸一口气。
树屋里还有另外一个人。
一个黑色的身影正坐在角落里。
“你们做得不错。”那个人说。
是忍者头头！
“你们确实照忍者的方式去做了。”他说。
“我的老天啊。”杰克深吸一口气。
吱吱。吱吱。
那个头目正抓着花生呢。
“好好照顾你们的小帮手吧。”他边说边把花生递给了安妮。
安妮亲了亲那老鼠的小脑袋。
“并且把这个拿去——”头目说，他朝杰克伸出他的手。
他给了杰克一个小小的圆形石头。
“这个月亮石可以帮助你们找到你们失踪的朋友。”忍者头头说。
杰克凝视着那个石头，这就是那四样东西中的一样？
“你们现在必须回家了。”头头说，他捡起那本宾夕法尼亚的书然后递给了安妮。
“你在哪儿找到它的？”杰克问道。
“这儿。”他说，“你们之前之所以没有看见它，是因为你们的内心知道你们还有一个任务没有完成。”
“那你呢？”安妮说，“你能和我们一起走吗？”
“是啊。”杰克说，“我们需要一些帮助才能找到摩根。”
忍者头头笑了笑，“不行，我的朋友。我必须留在这里，你们在旅程中还会得到很多帮助，但是你们必须找到属于你们自己的解决办法。”
安妮打开了书，她找到蛙溪镇的那张图片。
她指着它说，“我希望我们能去那儿。”
风刮了起来。
那些白色的花朵开始颤动，云掩盖住了月亮。
“记住。”头头说，“保持一颗善良的心。”
然后他就悄无声息地从绳梯上荡了下去，消失在黑夜里。
“等等！”杰克叫道，他还有好多问题想问忍者头头，关于大自然，关于忍者，关于他们的行动。
可是树屋开始打转。
转得越来越快。
杰克紧紧地把月亮石攥在手里，闭上了眼睛。
然后一切都平静了。
绝对的平静。
收听单词发音 |
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squeak
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| n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密 | |
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