《神奇树屋》 第二十九册 Christmas in Camelot 14 Return

　　The three knights¹ gazed in wonder at the white stag.

"Here, take this!" Annie said to Jack². She handed him thesilver cup. Then she slipped off the back of Lancelot's horse andran to the stag.

"Thanks for coming for us!" she cried, throwing her armsaround his neck.

The three knights looked at Jack.

"That's the white stag," said Jack. "He brought us here.

"Are you wizards?" Sir Percival asked in a hushed voice.

"No, just ordinary kids," said Jack. "But I know he' s magic.

We got here from Camelot in no time at all. I guess he's come totake us back.""Then you must go with him," said Sir Lancelot. "You willhave a much faster journey, I can assure you."Sir Lancelot held the silver cup as Jack slipped down from theblack horse. Then Jack took the cup and carefully climbed ontothe back of the stag behind Annie. He held the cup with bothhands as the stag stood up.

"Tell King Arthur we will return to Camelot before the firstnight of the New Year," said Sir Lancelot.

"Farewell, Jack and Annie!" said Sir Galahad. "Godspeed!" saidSir Percival.

"Same to you!" said Annie.

"Have a safe trip!" said Jack.

The knights solemnly bowed.

The white stag blew out a puff³ of frosty air. Then he starteddown the mountainside.

When the stag came to the base of the mountain, he took offagain like a white comet. The red cloak billowed around Jackand Annie, keeping them warm and safe.

The stag dashed across the wintry fields. He ran past quietstables and thatched huts. He ran past flocks of sheep and herdsof goats asleep in meadows. He leaped over frozen streams andstone walls and hedgerows.

The stag ran on and on through the starry⁴ night, until hebrought Jack and Annie back to the dark castle grounds ofCamelot.

He walked over the frozen grass of the outer courtyard. Hecame to a halt near the grove⁵ below the tree house. He knelt inthe grass, and Jack and Annie climbed off his back.

Miraculously⁶, the silver cup still brimmed with water from thecauldron. Not a drop had spilled out.

"We'd better leave the cloak here " said Jack, "so I don't trip onit."Jack carefully set the cup on the ground. Annie helped himunbutton the red velvet⁷ cloak from around his neck. hen shedraped it over the stag's back.

"To keep you warm a safe," she whispered to him. "Andthanks for everything.""Yeah, thanks," said Jack. "Good-bye."The white stag stared at them with his mysterious ambereyes. He nodded once. Then he turned and headed into thedarkness.

Jack picked up the cup. "Come on!" he said. He startedwalking quickly through the outer courtyard.

"Careful, careful!" said Annie.

"I got it, I got it," said Jack.

They crossed the drawbridge to the inner courtyard of thecastle. Then they pushed open the giant arched doors.

The great hall was just as they had left it-- dimly lit andfreezing cold· King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, the Knights Of'

the Round Table, and Morgan le Fay were all still frozen andsilent.

"What do we do now?' said Jack.

"Let's try putting a drop of water on each of them! Morganfirst!" said Annie.

"Okay," said Jack. "Come on."Holding his breath and keeping his eyes on the cup, Jackwalked carefully toward the Round Table. Suddenly, his left footstepped on the shoelace of his right sneaker--and he stumbled.

"Jack!" yelled Annie.

Jack tried to regain⁸ his balance, but it was too late! As he fellto the floor, the silver cup slipped from his hands.

1 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。

2 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。

3 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

4 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。

5 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

6 miraculously   

ad.奇迹般地

参考例句：

• He had been miraculously saved from almost certain death. 他奇迹般地从死亡线上获救。
• A schoolboy miraculously survived a 25 000-volt electric shock. 一名男学生在遭受2.5 万伏的电击后奇迹般地活了下来。

7 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。

8 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。