《神奇树屋》 第二十九册 Christmas in Camelot 07 A Good Trick

　　As the wind blew away more fog, Jack¹ and Annie saw abridge². It was made of thick wooden planks³ held together withiron bands. It stretched all the way from the edge of the cliffwhere they were standing⁴ to the iron gate.

"Come on, let's go!" said Annie.

"Wait!" said Jack. "What about the guards?" The two guards ingold armor stood perfectly⁵ still. Their huge spears gleamed in thetorchlight.

"I don't know," said Annie. "Read the second rhyme.

Jack looked in his notebook and read aloud. "Four gifts youwill need-- The first from me.

Then a cup, a compass, And, finally, a key.""The first gift is the Christmas Knight's cloak," said Annie.

"Yeah, I guess it's supposed to help us some-how," said Jack.

He unbuttoned the cloak from around his neck. Then he heldit out to get a good look at it.

"Maybe it can make us invisible," said Annie. "That's nuts,"said Jack.

"Seriously," she said, "cloaks sometimes do that in stories.""Well, it didn't make me invisible, did it?" said Jack.

"Maybe you were wearing it wrong," said Annie. "Give it tome.""Oh, brother," said Jack. But he handed the cloak to Annie. Itflapped in the wind as she pulled it around her shoulders.

"Can you see me?" she said.

"Yes, Annie," said Jack, rolling his eyes. "I can see you."Jack looked back at the gate. Even if we get past the guards,what then? he wondered. The Otherworld swallowed upCamelot' s best knights⁶. King Arthur said it was filled withmagic and monsters.

"Jack! Look at me now."Jack turned to Annie. She wasn't there.

"Where are you?" he said, staring at the darkness.

"Cool, it works!""Where are you?" Jack said again, turning around.

"Here."Jack felt a hand touch his face.

"Ahh!" he said, jumping back.

"It's me! I'm invisible! I pulled the hood⁷ over my head. That'sthe trick."Jack felt a chill run down his spine⁸.

"Oh, man," he whispered.

"Watch. I'm going to take the hood off." In a flash, Annie wasback. "It feels creepy to be invisible," she said.

Jack was speechless.

"The magic only happens when you wear the hood," saidAnnie. "Good trick, huh?""Uh--yeah," said Jack. He shook his head. "This is just tooweird.""Don't worry about it being weird⁹. It's a great way to get pastthe guards," said Annie. "Plus it's a way to hide in theOtherworld. We don't know what we'll find there, right?""Yeah, right," said Jack. "Okay.""Good," said Annie. "Now, stand beside me and don't move."Jack put away his notebook. Annie threw the velvet¹⁰ cloakover his shoulders and backpack.

"Great. It's big enough for both of us," she said. She carefullyarranged the folds around them. Then she pulled the huge hoodover both their heads.

Jack looked down. He couldn't see his body at all! He felt likehe couldn't breathe. In a panic, he threw off the hood.

"I hate that!" he said.

"I told you it's creepy," said Annie. "But if we don't wear it,we won't get past the guards.""Yeah, I know, and we won't have protection in theOtherworld," said Jack. He took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's doit."Annie pulled the hood up again.

"I'll hold on to the hood so it won't blow off," she said. "Youjust think about getting across that bridge. Nothing else.""But I can't see my feet," said Jack.

"You don't need to see your feet to walk!" said Annie. "Comeon. Do it for Morgan!""Right," said Jack.

He and Annie stepped onto the bridge.

"Whatever you do, don't look down," said Annie.

As they started over the bridge, the wind whistled aroundthem. Jack couldn't help it--he looked down.

Not only was his body missing, but the fog beneath the bridgewas moving in a wild, spin-ning whirl. Jack felt dizzy and faint.

He stopped.

"Keep going," whispered Annie.

Jack took a deep breath and looked straight ahead. Then hestarted walking again. He went slowly--step by step--toward thepale light beyond the bars of the gate.

In the flickering¹¹ torchlight, the guards looked like giants. AsJack and Annie slipped invisibly by them, Jack held his breath.

How will we open the gate? he wondered.

"WHOOOSSSHHH!" said Annie loudly.

Jack's heart nearly stopped. Had Annie lost her mind?

"What are you doing?" he whispered.

"I'm the wind!" Annie whispered back. "WHOOOSSSHHH!"Annie gave the gate a shove. It swung open, as if pushed bythe wind.

Jack looked back and saw that the guards had turned in theirdirection.

"Quick!" whispered Annie.

She and Jack moved silently through the gateway¹².

"WHOOOSSSHHH!" said Annie.

She pushed the gate back. It shut with a clang. Through thebars, Jack saw the guards face the bridge again.

"Good work," he said to Annie. "Thanks," she said. Jack andAnnie then turned away from the gate.

"Ohh!" whispered Annie.

"The Otherworld," whispered Jack.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 abridge   

v.删减，删节，节略，缩短

参考例句：

• They are going to abridge that dictionary.他们将要精简那本字典。
• He decided to abridge his stay here after he received a letter from home.他接到家信后决定缩短在这里的逗留时间。

3 planks   

（厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点

参考例句：

• The house was built solidly of rough wooden planks. 这房子是用粗木板牢固地建造的。
• We sawed the log into planks. 我们把木头锯成了木板。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 knights   

骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

7 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

8 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

9 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

10 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

11 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

12 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。