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1 Master Librarians
Jack stared out the kitchen window.
The sun was not up yet.But the sky was growing lighter.
Jack had been awake for a long time.He had been thinking about the dream he’d had—the dream about Morgan le Fay.
The tree house is back, Morgan had said. I’m waiting.
Jack wished that dreams were real. He missed Morgan’s magic tree house.
“Jack!” His little sister Annie appeared in the doorway. “We have to go to the woods now!” she said.
“Why?” Jack asked.
“I had a dream about Morgan!” exclaimed Annie. “She said the tree house is back and she’s waiting for us!”
“That was my dream,”said Jack.
“Oh, wow,” said Annie. “She told you, too? So it must be important.”
“But dreams aren’t real,” said Jack.
“Some dreams aren’t. But this one is,” said Annie. “I can just feel it.” She opened the back door. “I’ll see you later!”
“Wait—wait. I’m coming!” said Jack.
He raced up the stairs. Having the same dream must mean something, he thought.
He grabbed his backpack and threw his notebook and pencil into it.
Then he ran downstairs.
“We’ll be back soon, Mom!” Jack called into the living room.
“Where you going so early?” his dad called.
“Just for a quick walk!” said Jack.
“It rained last night,” called his mom. “Don’t get your shoes wet.”
“We won’t!”
Jack slipped out the door. Annie was waiting for him.
“Let’s go!” she said.
The sky was pale gray.The air felt freshly washed.
Jack and Annie ran up their quiet street to the Frog Creek woods.
They headed between the trees.Soon they came to the tallest oak in the woods. There was a wooden house high in the treetop.
“It is back!” whispered Jack.
Someone looked out the window of the tree house—a lovely old woman with long white hair. Morgan le Fay.
“Come up,” called the magical librarian.
Jack and Annie climbed up the rope ladder and into the tree house.
In the dawn light, they stared at Morgan le Fay. She looked beautiful in a red velvet robe.
Jack pushed his glasses into place.He couldn’t stop smiling.
“We both had dreams about you!” said Annie.
“I know,” said Morgan.
“You do?”
“Yes, I sent them to you,” said Morgan, “because I need your help.”
“What kind of help?” said Jack.
“Merlin the Magician has been up to his tricks again,” said Morgan.
“So I haven’t had any time to collect books for Camelot’s library.”
“Can we collet them for you?” asked Annie.
“Yes, but in order to gather books through time you must be Master Librarians,” said Morgan.
“Oh, well,” Annie said sadly.
“But you can become Master Librarians,” said Morgan, “if you pass the test.”
“Really?” said Annie.
“What kind of test?” Jack asked.
“You must show that you know how to do research,” said Morgan, “and show that you can find answers to hard questions.”
“How?” said Annie.
“By solving four riddles,” said Morgan. She reached into the folds
of her robe and pulled out a rolled-up paper.
“The first riddle is written on this ancient scroll,” she said. “This book will help you find the answer.”
She held out a book. On the cover were the words Ocean Guide.
“This is where you have to go,” said Morgan.
“The ocean! Oh, boy!” said Annie. She pointed at the cover. “I wish we—”
“Stop!” Jack grabbed Annie’s hand. “How will we know if we’ve found the right answer to the riddle?” he asked Morgan.
“You will know,” Morgan said mysteriously. “I promise you will know.”
Jack let go of Annie’s hand. She pointed again at the cover and finished her wish: “I wish we could go there.”
The wind started to blow.
“Are you coming with us, Morgan?” Jack said.
Before Morgan could answer, the tree house started to spin.
Jack squeezed his eyes shut.
The tree house spun faster and faster.
Then everything was still.
Absolutely still.
Jack opened his eyes.
Morgan le Fay was gone.
Only the ancient scroll and the ocean book were left in her place.
1万能图书管理员
杰克从厨房的窗子看出去,太阳还没出来,但天已经开始亮起来了。
杰克已经醒着呆了好一会儿。他在想刚才做的梦——有关摩根·拉菲的梦。在梦里摩根说:“树屋回来了,我在等你。”
杰克真希望梦是真的,他想念摩根的神奇树屋。
“杰克,”他的小妹妹安妮来到门口对他说,“我们现在得马上去树林!”
“为什么?”杰克问。
“我做了个关于摩根的梦!”安妮激动地说,“梦里摩根对我说树屋回来了,而且她在那儿等我们!”
“我也做了个这样的梦。”杰克说。
“真的吗?”安妮问,“她也告诉你了?那么说她一定有什么要紧事。”
“但是梦不是真的,”杰克说。
“有些梦不是真的,但这个是。我感觉它一定是真的,”安妮说。她打开后门,说:“我们一会儿见!”
“等等,我来了!”杰克说。他一边跑上楼梯一边想,做一样的梦一定有其道理。
他抓起背包把他的笔记本和铅笔塞了进去,然后跑下楼梯。
“这么早你们要上哪儿去啊?”爸爸问。
“就去散会儿步!”杰克回答道。
“昨天晚上下了雨,”妈妈大声说,“别把鞋弄湿了。”
“不会的!”杰克答道。
杰克溜出门,安妮已经在那儿等他了。
“我们走吧!”她说。
天空是灰白色的,空气仿佛刚洗过似的。杰克和安妮穿过寂静的街道,朝蛙溪树林跑去。
他们在树木间穿行,很快来到树林中那棵最高的橡树跟前,高高的树顶上果然有个木屋。
“树屋真的回来了!”杰克小声说。
这时,有人从树屋的窗子里往外张望。是一位可爱的,留着白色长发的老妇人——摩根·拉菲。
“上来呀!”这位有魔法的图书管理员喊道。
杰克和安妮攀着绳梯爬进树屋。
在晨曦中他们注视着摩根·拉菲,只见她穿一件红色的天鹅绒长袍,显得十分漂亮。
杰克将眼镜扶正,情不自禁地笑了。
“我们都梦见你了!”安妮说。
“我知道。”摩根回答。
“你知道?”
“是啊,是我托梦给你们的。”摩根说,“因为我需要你们的帮助。”
“怎样的帮助?”杰克问。
“巫师梅林又开始施展巫术了。”摩根说,“所以我没时间为卡米洛特王国的图书馆收集书籍了。”
“我们能帮你收集吗?”安妮问。
“可以。但是为了能在不同时空中穿梭去收集图书,你们必须成为万能图书管理员。”摩根说。
“唉,那就不好办了。”安妮难过地说。
“你们是可以成为万能图书管理员的,只要你们能通过考试。”摩根说。
“真的吗?”安妮问。
“是什么样的考试呢?”杰克也问道。
“你们必须展示你们的探究能力,知道怎样去找到解决难题的答案。”
“我们要怎样做呢?”安妮问。
“只需找到四个谜底就可以了。”摩根说。她将手伸进袍子的褶里,拿出一个纸卷。
“第一个谜语写在这个古纸卷里。”摩根说,“这本书将帮你们找到谜底。”
她取出一本书,书的封面上写着“海洋向导”几个字。
“这就是你们要去的地方。”摩根说。
“海洋!噢,天哪!”安妮指着书的封面说,“我希望我们……”
“停一下!”杰克抓住安妮的手说。“我们怎么知道是不是找到了正确的谜底呢?”他问摩根。
“你们会知道的。”摩根神秘地说,“我保证你们到时候就知道了。”
杰克松开安妮的手,于是她又可以指着封面说完她的希望了:“我希望我们能去那里。”
风吹了起来。
“你会和我们一起去吗,摩根?”杰克问。
摩根还来不及回答,树屋就开始打转。
杰克将眼睛闭紧。
树屋转得越来越快。
然后一切都平静了。
绝对的平静。
杰克睁开双眼,发现摩根已经不见了,只留下那个古纸卷和那本关于海洋的书。