8 Ch8-The Otherworld

CHAPTER EIGHT The Otherworld The Otherworld was completely different from the dark, cold world Jack and Annie had just left behind. They were standing at the edge of a pale green meadow. The meadow was bathed in warm, rosy sunlight. Three horses—one black, one brown, one gray—were grazing nearby. On a hillside

另一个世界与杰克和安妮刚刚离开的那个黑暗、寒冷的世界完全不同。 他们站在一片浅绿色草地的边上。 草地沐浴在温暖的玫瑰色阳光下。 三匹马——一匹黑马，一匹棕马，一匹灰马——正在附近吃草。 在山坡上

beyond the meadow, red and purple flowers sparkled like bright buttons. "It's so nice here," said Annie. "Yeah," said Jack. "Maybe we won't need this anymore." He pulled the hood of the cloak off their heads. He was relieved to see Annie's face— and to see himself! "What was the first rhyme again?" asked Annie. Jack took out his notebook. He found the first rhyme and read aloud: "Beyond the iron gate The Keepers of the Cauldron wait." He looked around warily. "I wonder where the Keepers of the Cauldron are?" he said.

草地那边，红色和紫色的花朵像明亮的纽扣一样闪闪发光。 “这里太好了，”安妮说。 “是的，”杰克说。“也许我们不再需要这个了。” 他把斗篷的兜帽从他们头上扯下来。 看到安妮的脸，看到他自己，他松了一口气!“第一个押韵是什么来着?”安妮问。 杰克拿出他的笔记本。 他找到了第一首诗，大声念了起来:“铁门后面，守坩埚的人在等着。” 他警惕地环顾四周。“不知道坩埚守护者在哪里?”他说。

"What do you mean?" asked Annie. "We just sneaked past them. Remember? WHOOOSH?" "I don't know," said Jack. "The rhyme says 'beyond the iron gate.' Those guards were standing in front of the gate. They weren't beyond it." "Shh," said Annie. "Listen.…" From over the hill came the faint sounds of sweet, joyful music. "Maybe the Keepers of the Cauldron are playing that music," said Annie. "Maybe…," said Jack. He listened for a moment and smiled. The music made him feel light and happy. "Let's go meet the Keepers!" said Annie.

“你是什么意思?”安妮问。 “我们只是偷偷地从他们身边走过。 还记得吗?哈! ?”“我不知道，”杰克说。 “有首诗说‘铁门之外’。那些卫兵站在大门前。 他们并没有超越它。”“嘘，”安妮说。 “听着。从小山那边传来了微弱的甜美、欢快的音乐声。 “也许是坩埚守护者在演奏那首曲子。”安妮说。 “也许……”杰克说。他听了一会儿，笑了。 音乐使他感到轻松愉快。 “我们去见见守护者吧!”安妮说。

"Not so fast," said Jack. "Shouldn't we be invisible again? Just in case?" "I guess so," said Annie, sighing. Jack pulled the hood of the cloak over their heads. Together, they started walking invisibly across the soft meadow. They passed the three horses and climbed the flower-covered hill. At the top, they looked down. "Oh, man," said Jack. The hill sloped gently down into a misty green glade. In the middle of the glade, a band of musicians played flutes and pipes, drums and violins. Around the band, hundreds of dancers danced in a huge circle. "The Keepers of the Cauldron!" said Annie.

“别那么快，”杰克说。“我们不是又要隐形了吗?” 以防万一?”“我想是的，”安妮叹了口气说。 杰克把斗篷的兜帽拉到他们头上。 他们一起开始在柔软的草地上隐形地行走。 他们越过三匹马，爬上了那座开满鲜花的小山。 到了山顶，他们往下看。 “哦，天哪，”杰克说。山坡缓缓倾斜，进入一片雾蒙蒙的绿色林间空地。 在空地中央，一队乐手吹着笛子、风笛、鼓和小提琴。 在乐队周围，数百名舞者围成一个大圈跳舞。 “坩埚守护者!”安妮说。

The dancers and musicians were smiling and laughing. They wore blue coats and green coats, white gowns and yellow gowns. They wore sparkling red slippers and hats with colored feathers. The dancers looked like people—except they all had glittering gold skin and wings that shimmered in the mist like spun silver. "They're beautiful!" said Annie. "Yeah, they are," said Jack. "I don't think we need to be invisible with them," said Annie. "I think you're right," said Jack. He and Annie threw off the red cloak. They left it in the dewy grass and ran down the hillside to

舞蹈演员和音乐家们笑着说。 他们穿着蓝色外套和绿色外套，白色长袍和黄色长袍。 他们穿着闪闪发光的红色拖鞋，戴着饰有彩色羽毛的帽子。 跳舞的人看起来和人没什么两样，只不过他们都有闪闪发光的金色皮肤和翅膀，翅膀在雾中闪闪发光，就像纺成的银一样。 “它们真漂亮!”安妮说。 “是的，他们是，”杰克说。 “我不认为我们需要在他们面前隐形，”安妮说。 “我想你是对的，”杰克说。 他和安妮脱下了红斗篷。 他们把它留在带露水的草地上，跑下山坡去

the winged dancers. The dancers paid no attention to them. They just kept going around and around in their joyous circle. "I feel like dancing with them!" said Annie. "Me too!" said Jack. It was strange—he was usually shy about dancing. But he wanted to join this dance more than anything. Jack pulled off his backpack. As he set it down, he saw three swords lying in the grass. But he didn't stop to wonder about them. The music was calling. The winged dancers broke their circle and welcomed Jack and Annie into their dance. Annie held Jack's right hand as he grasped the slender golden hand of the dancer on his left.

带翅膀的舞者。跳舞的人没有注意到他们。 他们在欢乐的圈子里不停地转啊转。 “我想和他们跳舞!”安妮说。 “我也是!”杰克说。这很奇怪——他通常对跳舞很害羞。 但他非常想加入这场舞会。 杰克卸下背包。 当他放下它时，他看到草地上有三把剑。 但他并没有停下来思考这些问题。 音乐在召唤。带翅膀的舞者打破了他们的圆圈，欢迎杰克和安妮加入他们的舞蹈。 安妮握着杰克的右手，杰克则握着他左手上舞蹈演员纤细的金色的手。