《神奇树屋》 第三十册 Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve 13 Jack and Annie's Magic

　　Jack¹, Annie, and Teddy crunched² through fallenleaves until they came to Merlin's oak. They foundthe hidden door near the rope ladder. Teddy pushedon the bark.

The door opened. One by one, they slipped into thecandlelit hollow of the tree trunk.

Merlin was sitting in his tall wooden chair. "So yourestored order to the castle?" he said calmly.

"Yes, sir," said Teddy. "Had to use a bit of magic,but now all is well."96"Your rhyming must have improved," Merlin said toTeddy.

Teddy grinned sheepishly. "Well, to be truthful³, thereal magic was not in my rhymes. 'Twas the magic ofJack and Annie's courage and kindness that saved theday-and saved me, too.""Indeed?" said Merlin.

"Aye," said Teddy. "They have a magic as powerfulas any sorcerer's rhymes or enchanted⁴ hazel twig⁵."Merlin raised a bushy eyebrow⁶. "Enchanted hazeltwig?" he said.

"'Tis only a figure of speech," Teddy said quickly.

Merlin turned to Jack and Annie. "I thankyou for your help," he said. "All the realm ofCamelot thanks you.""You're welcome," they said.

Merlin stood up. "Come along, my boy," he said toTeddy. "I will help speed you back to97Morgan now. My research is done. We must returnthese rare books to her library."He reached down and picked up a stack of ancientlooking books from the floor. He piled them intoTeddy's arms.

98Teddy turned awkwardly with his books. Then heand Jack and Annie followed Merlin out of the heartof the oak.

The sun had risen higher in the sky. The woodswere still.

Teddy peered over the tops of the books. "I supposewe must say good-bye now," he said to Jack andAnnie.

"When willwe seeyou again?" asked Annie. "When duty calls, Isuppose," said Teddy. He looked at Merlin.

The magician smiled.

"Will you be able to find your way home all right?"Teddy asked them.

"Oh, sure, " said Jack. "The tree house will take usback."He and Annie looked up at the magic tree house atthe top of the oak. A sudden gust⁷ of wind rustled⁸ theleaves.

Jack and Annie turned back to Merlin andTeddy.

But they were gone. Bright yellow99leaves swirled⁹ and danced in the spot where they'dbeen standing¹⁰.

WOW ... " said Annie.

"Yeah ... said Jack.

"Well, " said Annie, sighing. "Onward¹¹?""Homeward!" said Jack.

Annie started up the rope ladder. Jack followed.

When they climbed inside the tree house, Merlin'sleaf invitation was fluttering off the floor. Before itcould blow out the window, Annie grabbed it. Shepointed to the wordsFrog Creek¹².

"I wish we could go there!" she said. The windstarted to blow.

The tree house started to spin. It spun¹³ faster andfaster! Then everything was still. Absolutely still.

Jack opened his eyes. He and Annie sat quietly onthe floor of the tree house for a moment. Jack100looked out the window. High overhead, a bird wassoaring through the dusky sky.

Jack could hardly believe that just a little while ago,he had been a bird himself.

"Ready to go home?" said Annie.

Jack nodded. There was no way to explain whathad just happened to them, he thought. There was noway to even talk about it.

Annie carefully placed Merlin's autumn leaf in thecorner of the tree house, next to their RoyalChristmas Invitation. Then she and Jack climbeddown the ladder and started through the woods.

In the gathering¹⁴ dark of Halloween night, nothingseemed very spooky. Jack knew all the trees. He knewthe familiar path out to their street.

As he and Annie headed toward home, threecreatures stepped onto the sidewalk in front of them-ahideous witch, a grinning skeleton, and a huge, hairyeyeball.

101The creatures cackled and rattled¹⁵ and hissed¹⁶.

Jack and Annie laughed.

"Oh, brother," said Jack. "Good costumes, 11 saidAnnie.

Jack and Annie crossed their yard and climbed theirfront steps. "Are you ready for trick-or-treating?" saidAnnie.

Jack pushed his glasses into place. "You know, Ithink maybe I'll stay home this year," he said, 44 andhelp Mom and Dad give out the treats.""Yeah, maybe I will, too," said Annie. "But I thinkI'll wear my vampire-princess costume anyway."Jack smiled. "Cool," he said.

Then he and Annie slipped inside their warm, cozyhouse-and closed the door against the dark of AllHallows Eve.

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 crunched   

v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的过去式和过去分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• Our feet crunched on the frozen snow. 我们的脚嘎吱嘎吱地踩在冻雪上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He closed his jaws on the bones and crunched. 他咬紧骨头，使劲地嚼。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命

3 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

4 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

5 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

6 eyebrow   

n.眉毛，眉

参考例句：

• Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
• With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬，似乎既感到吃惊，又觉有趣。

7 gust   

n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发

参考例句：

• A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来，把前门关上了。
• A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。

8 rustled   

v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He rustled his papers. 他把试卷弄得沙沙地响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Leaves rustled gently in the breeze. 树叶迎着微风沙沙作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 swirled   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The waves swirled and eddied around the rocks. 波浪翻滚着在岩石周围打旋。
• The water swirled down the drain. 水打着旋流进了下水道。

10 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。

11 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

12 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

13 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

14 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

15 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

16 hissed   

发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对

参考例句：

• Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过？
• The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。