《神奇树屋》 第三十一册 Summer of the SeaSerpent 08 Cloak of the Old GrayGhost

（单词翻译）

　　T he four seals paddled with ease through the sunlitwaters of the Selkie Cove¹ and into the Jellyfish Cave.

The water in the cave was cold and murky². But in hisseal body, Jack³ was warm; and with his seal eyes, hecould see clearly.

As they swam farther and farther into the cave, thejellyfish began to appear. At first there were just afew. Then there were hundreds ... then thousands ...

pink jellyfish, purple jellyfish, orange and chocolate-colored jellyfish ... jellyfish as big as umbrellas and7374as small as pennies ... jellyfish shaped like bells,saucers, parachutes, mushrooms, cannon-balls ...

jellyfish as bright as candle flames and jellyfish asclear as glass.

Some of the jellyfish pulsed in and out as theyswam. Others silently drifted by, their long stingingtentacles trailing behind them. As Jack swam amongthe jellyfish, he wasn't afraid at all. His tough sealskin protected him completely.

Finally Kathleen led Jack, Annie, and Teddythrough a narrow passage of the cave and into themilky-green waters of the third cove.

The four seals poked⁴ their heads above the surfaceof the water and took deep gulps⁵ of air. Jack'swhiskers twitched⁶ as he looked around the Cove ofthe Stormy Coast.

The cove was completely silent. It was lit with ahazy, warm light. The water was flat calm, without asingle ripple⁷. Circling the cove were strange greenhills that shimmered⁸ in the afternoon light.

Snowcapped mountains loomed75above the hills. Jack could see the tree with themagic tree house on a distant sea cliff.

Climb onto those rocks and dry off! Kathleenbarked.

They all swam to a small rocky island in the middleof the cove. Jack hoisted⁹ his blubbery, tear-shapedbody out of the water. He flopped¹⁰ beside the othersand puffed¹¹ and groaned¹². The seal body that had feltso graceful¹³ underwater now felt heavy and awkward.

Jack's skin began to feel tighter and tighter in thesunlight. Almost before he knew it, the skin hadslipped from his body like old wrapping paper. Hewas human again--lying on the rock in his shorts andT-shirt. He sat up and pushed his glasses into place.

"That was great!" said Annie.

Jack looked at her. The same magic had happenedto Annie and the others. They were all human again.

"Yeah, it was," Jack said happily. He looked76around. "And I don't see any signs of a winterstorm here.""No, but still, I do not like the looks of this place,"said Teddy. The boy sorcerer frowned as he peeredaround at the cove. "It gives me the quivers."Jack glanced anxiously at Teddy. If Teddy wasafraid, something mustbe wrong. Teddy never actedas if he were afraid of anything.

"Well, the day wears on," Teddy said, looking up atthe sinking sun. "Let us hurry ashore¹⁴ to find thesword, so we can leave this cove as quickly aspossible.""I fear our search may be difficult," said Kathleen.

"Look."A dense¹⁵ gray fog was rolling down from themountains. As they watched, the fog hid the sea cliffwhere their tree house had landed. Within moments,the fog had completely covered the green hills. Thenit swept over the windless waters of the cove.

77"Oh, dear," said Kathleen. "The Cloak of the OldGray Ghost is upon us.""The Cloak of the Old Gray Ghost?" asked Annie.

"Aye, that's what we selkies call a very thick fog,"said Kathleen.

"And that's a line in Merlin's rhyme!" said Annie.

"Dive 'neath the Cloak of the Old Gray Ghost!"Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "Gray Ghost" wasn't aghost at all! It was just another name for fog. "So Iguess we just go ashore and look for the sword underthe fog somewhere," he said.

"The rhyme says we dive"said Teddy, "So perhapswe do not go ashore at all.""Oh, right," said Jack. "Does that mean we get toturn back into seals?" Shivering in the cold fog, hewas eager to slip back into his warm, protective sealbody.

"I fear we cannot allbe seals," Kathleen78[Image: Under the sea.]

said, "for how could we grasp a heavy sword withour flippers?""You and Teddy be the seals, then, and look for thesword," said Annie. "Jack and I can swim down andgrab it after you show us where it is."Jack was about to say he'd rather be a seal. Butbefore he could speak, Teddy piped up. "Excellentplan!" he said.

"Indeed," said Kathleen. "Your friends are verybrave." She turned and smiled warmly at Jack.

"Uh, sure, no problem," he said.

"Let us make haste," said Teddy. Hidden by the fog,he and Kathleen pulled their seal skins back on. Amoment later, Jack heard Teddy call out, "Farewell,friends!" Then Kathleen spoke¹⁶ her selkie spell. Herwords were followed by two splashes.

80'What do we do now?" Jack asked.

'We wait for them to find the sword," said Annie.

"I hope they hurry," said Jack, shivering.

"Me too," said Annie.

They listened for the barking of the seals. Theylistened and listened....

"I wonder what time it is," said Annie.

"Impossible to tell," said Jack.

"They'd better--""Shh!" said Jack.

He heard a faint seal bark, then another andanother. But in the thick fog, he couldn't tell wherethe barks were coming from. "Where are they?" hesaid.

"I think they're over there!" said Annie.

Splash!Annie had jumped in. Jack couldn't see herin the fog.

"Annie, where are you?" he shouted.

"Here!" Annie yelled through the ghostly mist.

"Come on!"81Jack put his glasses down on the rocks. Then heslowly lowered himself into the water. As he startedafter Annie, his human body felt thin and frailcompared to his powerful seal body. He couldn't swimnearly as fast. He couldn't hold his breath underwaterfor nearly as long. And he was freezing cold.

The seal barks grew louder and louder. Barrh!

Barrh!

Jack didn't see their two friends until he nearlybumped into them. Teddy and Kathleen wereswimming in a tight circle, barking excitedly.

"Did you find the sword?" Annie shouted at them.

"Is it here?"The seals barked and dove under the water. Jackand Annie took deep breaths and followed.

The seals swam quickly to the sandy bottom of thecove. They circled a shimmering¹⁷ object sticking out ofthe sand.

It was the golden handle of a sword.