1 Lone Star State

1 LONE STAR STATE Jack and Annie sat on their front porch. They were waiting for their mom to take them to baseball practice. Tap, tap, tap. Raindrops spattered on the porch steps. A strong breeze shook the tree leaves. "Uh-oh," said Annie. "Do you think a storm is coming?" "I can't tell," said Jack, looking up at the clouds. "Sorry, kids," their mom called from inside. "Coach Dave just emailed—no practice today." "Darn," said Jack. "That's okay," said Annie. "Now we can

杰克和安妮坐在他们家的前廊上。 他们在等妈妈带他们去练棒球。 拍，拍，拍。雨滴溅落在门廊的台阶上。 一阵强风摇动着树叶。 “哦哦，”安妮说。“你认为暴风雨要来了吗？”“我不知道，”杰克说，抬头看着云层。 “对不起，孩子们，”他们的妈妈在里面喊道。 “戴夫教练刚刚发邮件说，今天不训练了。” “该死，”杰克说。“没关系，”安妮说。 “现在我们可以

go to the woods." "The woods?" said Jack. "Why?" "I woke up with a feeling," Annie said in a hushed voice. "Something really important is going to happen today. I thought it was baseball practice, like maybe I'd hit a home run or something. But now…" She smiled at Jack. "Really? You think…?" he said. "Yes! Hold on! I'll get our stuff." Annie hurried inside. A moment later, she returned with two small umbrellas and Jack's backpack. She handed over the pack and one of the umbrellas. "Mom says as long as there's no thunder and lightning, we can take a walk." "Great," said Jack. He pulled on his pack. "To the woods!" "To the tree house!" said Annie. Jack and Annie opened their umbrellas and headed out into the rain. They ran down the sidewalk, across the street, and

到树林里去吧。”“树林？”杰克说。 “为什么?”“我被一种感觉惊醒了，”安妮压低声音说。 “今天将会发生一些非常重要的事情。 我以为那是棒球练习，就像我可能会打出全垒打之类的。 但现在……”她对杰克笑了笑。 “真的吗?你认为……”他说。 “是啊!坚持下去!我去拿我们的东西。” 安妮急忙走了进去。过了一会儿，她拿着两把小伞和杰克的背包回来了。 她把包和一把伞递给她。 “妈妈说只要没有打雷和闪电，我们就可以出去散步。” “太好了，”杰克说。他背上背包。 “到树林里去！”“去树屋！”安妮说。 杰克和安妮打开伞，冒着雨出去了。 他们跑过人行道，穿过街道，然后

into the misty Frog Creek woods. Raindrops fell softly as they hurried between the trees. The air smelled of wet leaves and damp earth. Finally, Jack and Annie came to the tallest oak in the woods. "Yay," Jack whispered. Annie laughed. "Glad it rained today?" "Totally," said Jack. He and Annie folded their umbrellas and climbed up the rope ladder. The magic tree house was dry and shadowy inside. A book was lying on the floor. A purple leather bookmark was sticking out from between the pages. Lying on top of the book was a necklace. It had a thin gold chain and a glass star. The star was no bigger than a penny. It gave off a soft yellow glow. "Wow, a little star!" said Annie, picking up the necklace. "I wonder what it's for."

进入雾蒙蒙的青蛙溪森林。 雨点轻轻地落在树间。 空气中有潮湿树叶和泥土的味道。 最后，杰克和安妮来到了树林里最高的橡树前。 “耶，”杰克低声说。安妮笑了。 “很高兴今天下雨了？”“当然，”杰克说。 他和安妮收起伞，爬上绳梯。 魔法树屋里面又干又阴。 一本书躺在地板上。 一个紫色的皮革书签从书页之间伸出来。 书上面放着一条项链。 上面有一条细细的金链子和一颗玻璃星星。 那颗星星还没有一便士大。 它发出柔和的黄光。 “哇，一颗小星星！”安妮说着，拿起项链。 “我想知道这是干什么用的。”