Ch12-The Isle of Avalon

CHAPTER TWELVE The Isle of Avalon "Now what?" Jack asked. "Now I thank you," said a deep voice. "Merlin!" cried Annie. Merlin stepped out of the shadows. He wore his red magician's cloak. His long white beard shined in the radiant glow of the sword.

第十二章阿瓦隆岛“现在怎么办？”杰克问。 “现在我感谢你，”一个低沉的声音说。 “梅林！”安妮叫道。梅林从阴影中走了出来。 他穿着他的红色魔术师斗篷。 他长长的白胡子在剑的光芒下闪闪发光。

"You brought the Sword of Light out of the gloom just in time," he said, "before nightfall on the summer solstice." "Why did we have to get it on the summer solstice?" said Jack. "That is the day when the powers of the Ice Wizard of Winter are weakest," said Merlin. "The Ice Wizard of Winter?" said Annie. "Does the sword belong to him? Did we just steal it from him?" "No," said Merlin. "Long ago, the Ice Wizard stole the sword from the Lady of the Lake and brought it to his kingdom high above the North Sea." Merlin pointed to the snowcapped mountains beyond the rocky coast.

“你及时地把光之剑从黑暗中带来了，”他说，“在夏至的夜幕降临之前。” “我们为什么要在夏至那天买呢？”杰克说。 “那是冬季冰雪巫师力量最弱的一天。”梅林说。 “冬天的冰法师？”安妮说。 “剑是他的吗？” 我们刚才是从他那里偷来的吗？”“不，”梅林说。 “很久以前，冰法师从湖女那里偷走了这把剑，并把它带回了他在北海之上的王国。” 梅林指了指岩石海岸那边白雪皑皑的山脉。

"The wizard soon discovered that the Sword of Light was useless to him, for the Lady of the Lake had placed a spell upon it that made it powerful only in the hands of worthy mortals. Still, the wizard refused to part with it. He buried it at the bottom of the cove." "The Cove of the Stormy Coast," said Jack. "Yes," said Merlin. "Only recently did the seabirds tell me of the sword's whereabouts. I knew I needed worthy mortals to retrieve it. So I sent for you on the summer solstice, when the Ice Wizard could send no mighty storms to keep you from finding it. He could only throw the 'Cloak of the Old Gray Ghost' over you." "So the Ice Wizard sent the fog," said Annie.

“巫师很快就发现光之剑对他毫无用处，因为湖女对它施了一个咒语，只有在有价值的凡人手中，它才会变得强大。 尽管如此，巫师还是不肯交出它。 他把它埋在了海湾的底部。” “暴风雨海岸的海湾，”杰克说。 “是的。”梅林说。“直到最近，海鸟才告诉我剑的下落。 我知道我需要有价值的凡人来找回它。 所以我在夏至的时候派人去找你，那时候冰雪巫师无法用强大的风暴阻止你找到它。 他只能把‘老灰鬼斗篷’披在你身上。” “这么说，冰雪巫师把雾送来了。”安妮说。

"And did he put the sea monster in the cove, too?" asked Jack. Merlin smiled. "No. The serpent serves the Lady of the Lake. Long ago, he secretly took it upon himself to find the sword and guard it. Should any mortals survive the wizard's storms and gales, they still had to prove themselves worthy by answering the serpent's question. I believed you two would be able to answer the question wisely. And I was right." "Your rhyme helped," said Jack. He and Annie carefully handed the Sword of Light to Merlin. "Will you put this sword in a stone now?" asked Annie. "So Arthur can pull it out someday and

“他也把海怪放在海湾里了吗？”杰克问。 梅林笑了。“没有。这条蛇侍奉湖女。 很久以前，他秘密地承担起寻找宝剑并守护它的责任。 如果任何凡人在巫师的风暴和大风中幸存下来，他们仍然必须通过回答蛇的问题来证明自己的价值。 我相信你们俩能明智地回答这个问题。 我是对的。”“你的押韵起了作用，”杰克说。 他和安妮小心翼翼地把光之剑交给梅林。 “你现在能把这把剑插进石头里吗？”安妮问。 “这样亚瑟哪天就能把它拔出来

become king?" "No, this sword is even more powerful than the sword in the stone," said Merlin. "This sword has a name—Excalibur." "Excalibur!" said Jack and Annie. "I will take it back to the Isle of Avalon now," said Merlin, "and return it to the Lady of the Lake. Someday after Arthur is king, she will give it to him. The sword will help him face many challenges bravely and wisely. He will—" Merlin was interrupted by a strange sound from the water below. It sounded like the deep bellow of a foghorn. "What was that?" said Jack.

成为国王吗?”“不，这把剑比石头里的那把剑更强大。”梅林说。 “这把剑有个名字——王者之剑。” “王者之剑！”杰克和安妮说。 “我现在要把它带回阿瓦隆岛，”梅林说，“还给湖女。 亚瑟当上国王后，她会把它给他。 这把剑将帮助他勇敢而明智地面对许多挑战。 他会——”梅林被下面水面传来的奇怪声音打断了。 这声音听起来就像雾角发出的低沉吼声。 “那是什么？”杰克问。

"Ah, yes, there is one last thing to do," said Merlin. He raised the sword and pointed it toward the Cove of the Stormy Coast. Like the beam of a giant searchlight, the sword's light streamed over the black waters. Merlin moved the beam back and forth, as if he were looking for something. "Ah," he said. "There he is."

“啊，是的，还有最后一件事要做。”梅林说。 他举起剑，指着暴风海岸的海湾。 剑的光芒像一束巨大的探照灯，在黑色的水面上闪耀。 梅林前后移动着光束，好像在寻找什么东西。 “啊，”他说。“他在那儿。”