《神奇树屋》 第三十六册 Blizzard of the Blue Moon 10 The Wand of Dianthu

       Jack¹, Annie, Teddy, and Kathleen laughed.

"My," said Kathleen. "I believe I would much rather rideDianthus than go with Merlin!"The white unicorn² knelt in the snow. Kathleen and Teddyclimbed onto his back. Dianthus stoodTeddy smiled down at Jack and Annie. "You know 'tis a verygreat honor to be given the Wand of Dianthus," he said.

"I know," said Jack shyly. "Thanks for getting us to the rightplace at the right time today."106"Hey, were you guys in Venice, looking out for us there, too?"said Annie. "And Baghdad? And Paris?"The two young enchanters looked at one another. Then theynodded their heads.

"We knew it!" said Annie. "Thanks for helping³ us!""And thanks for the book of magic rhymes," said Jack.

"You are most welcome," said Teddy. "And now we must go.

We hope to see you again soon." "Good-bye, Dianthus," saidAnnie. She stroked the unicorn's neck one last time.

Dianthus lowered his head and stared at her with his soft blueeyes. They sparkled in the last bit of daylight. Annie stood onher toes and whispered in the unicorn's ear. Then she steppedback.

Dianthus snorted. He raised his head. Then he leapt forward.

In a flash of silver, the unicorn and his two riders were gone.

107Standing in the cold dusk, Annie stared silently into thedistance.

"What did you say to him?" asked Jack.

"I told him he had to go with Teddy and Kathleen," Anniesaid. She blinked back tears. "I told him they would show himthe way home now.""Oh," said Jack. He put his hand on Annie's back. "Don'tworry. We'll see Dianthus again someday. I just feel it."Annie smiled. "You're starting to sound like me," she said.

"Uh-oh," said Jack. He shivered. Night was falling fast.

"Ready?""Sure, let's go," said Annie. She followed Jack to the tree houseand up the rope ladder. They climbed inside and looked out thewindow.

The lights of New York City were starting to come on. A fullmoon was rising over the snowcovered park.

"Hello, blue moon," said Jack.

108"Good-bye, blue moon," said Annie.

Jack picked up the scroll⁴ from Merlin. He pointed⁵ to the wordsFrog Creekin Merlin's note. "I wish we could go home!" he said.

The wind started to blow.

The tree house started to spin. It spun⁷ faster and faster.

Then everything was still. Absolutely still.

A cold wind blew through the Frog Creek⁶ woods. A few fatsnowflakes drifted into the tree house. Jack and Annie weredressed in their own clothes again. Jack's briefcase⁸ had turnedback into a backpack.

Jack quickly opened the pack and looked inside. "Good," hesaid. "The Wand of Dianthus is still there.""Should we take it home with us?" asked Annie.

"I think so," said Jack. "We can keep it safe109until our next mission." He pulled Teddy and Kathleen's bookof rhymes out of his pack.

"I guess we can keep our book of rhymes as a souvenir," Jacksaid. "We won't be using it anymore since we've used up all therhymes." He stuffed the book back into his backpack.

"We haven't usedallof them," said Annie. "We still have one left, remember?

Find a Treasure You Must Never Lose.""Oh, I already used that one," said Jack. "Come on, let's go."He grabbed his pack and started down the rope ladder.

"What do you mean you already used that one?" Annie said asshe followed him down. "When did you usethatrhyme?"Jack stepped onto the ground. "How do you think I found youwhen you got lost in Central Park?" he said.

"Wait, you thought I was a treasure?" said Annie.

Jack shrugged⁹. "I guess," he said. "At least today I did."110Annie smiled. "Cool," she said. "Thanks for finding me whenyou got lost.""Not me,you,"said Jack. "You're the one who got lost.""No,you,"said Annie.

"You,"said Jack.

"Youyouyouyouyou!" said Annie.

Jack laughed. "Whatever," he said. "Let's go have some ofDad's hot chocolate."The snow began to fall harder. As the cold wind rattled¹⁰ thebare trees of the Frog Creek woods, Jack and Annie hurriedhome.

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 unicorn   

n.(传说中的)独角兽

参考例句：

• The unicorn is an imaginary beast.独角兽是幻想出来的动物。
• I believe unicorn was once living in the world.我相信独角兽曾经生活在这个世界。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 scroll   

n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡

参考例句：

• As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。
• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 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。

7 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。

8 briefcase   

n.手提箱，公事皮包

参考例句：

• He packed a briefcase with what might be required.他把所有可能需要的东西都装进公文包。
• He requested the old man to look after the briefcase.他请求那位老人照看这个公事包。

9 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。