3 Ch3-Cave of the Spider Queen

CHAPTER THREE Cave of the Spider Queen Gentle waves rippled through the cove as Jack and Annie swam to the foot of the cliff. They pulled themselves onto the boulders. Soaking wet, they sat for a moment in the warm sunlight and caught their breath. "That was so cool!" said Annie.

当杰克和安妮游到悬崖脚下时，温柔的波浪在海湾里泛起涟漪。 他们爬上了巨石。 他们浑身湿透，在温暖的阳光下坐了一会儿，喘了口气。 “太酷了!”安妮说。

"Yeah. But why—" Jack gasped, "why did he dump us way out here? What do we do now?" "Check the rhyme," said Annie. "What happens after we call for the help of the Water Knight?" Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out the seashell. He read aloud: Call for the help of the Water Knight. Then pass through the Cave of the Spider Queen. "Oh. Right," said Annie. She took a deep breath. "Spider Queen." "Sorry," Jack said softly. "But don't worry, maybe the Spider Queen is just a person. Maybe 'Spider Queen' is her nickname."

“是的。可是为什么——”杰克喘着气说，“他为什么把我们丢在这儿? 我们现在该怎么办?”“检查押韵，”安妮说。 “我们请求水骑士的帮助后会发生什么?”杰克把手伸进口袋，掏出贝壳。 他大声念道:“请求水骑士的帮助。” 然后穿过蜘蛛女王的洞穴。 “哦。好吧，”安妮说。她深吸了一口气。 “蜘蛛女王。”“对不起，”杰克轻声说。 “但别担心，也许蜘蛛女王只是一个人。 也许‘蜘蛛女王’是她的昵称。”

"But what if she's half a person and half a spider?" said Annie. "Like the Raven King was half a man and half a raven?" Jack shuddered at the memory of the monster on their last Merlin Mission. "Don't think about that," he said. "Time's running out. Let's just find this cave." Annie nodded and smiled bravely. "Okay, you're right," she said. They stood up and started climbing barefoot around the craggy curves at the base of the cliff. As they rounded a corner, they both gasped. In front of them was the mouth of a cave. The mouth was covered with thick, sticky white ropes.

“但是如果她一半是人一半是蜘蛛呢?”安妮说。 “就像乌鸦王是半人半乌鸦一样?”杰克一想起他们最后一次执行梅林任务时那个怪物，就浑身发抖。 “别想这些，”他说。 “时间不多了。我们找到这个山洞吧。” 安妮点点头，勇敢地笑了。 “好吧，你说得对，”她说。 他们站起来，赤着脚沿着悬崖底部陡峭的弯道往上爬。 当他们拐过一个弯时，两人都倒吸了一口气。 在他们面前是一个洞口。 嘴巴上缠着又粗又粘的白绳子。

The ropes were woven tightly together in a crisscross cobweb pattern. "If that's a spiderweb, we're in big trouble," said Annie. Jack tried to sound calm. "Um, the size of the web doesn't actually tell us the size of the spider," he said. "Plus, I once read that no spider on earth is bigger than a dinner plate." "Yeah, and no horse on earth has a giant fish's tail either," said Annie. Good point, thought Jack. "Let's just concentrate on finding the Sword of Light before nightfall," he said. Jack picked up a stone the size of a softball. He hurled it toward the mouth of the cave. The stone

这些绳子被紧紧地编织成纵横交错的蛛网状。 “如果那是蜘蛛网，我们就有大麻烦了，”安妮说。 杰克努力使自己听起来平静下来。“嗯，蜘蛛网的大小并不能告诉我们蜘蛛的大小，”他说。 “另外，我曾经读到过，地球上没有一只蜘蛛比一个餐盘还大。” “是啊，地球上也没有马有这么大的鱼尾巴，”安妮说。 说得好，杰克想。“我们还是集中精力在天黑之前找到光之剑吧。”他说。 杰克捡起一块垒球大小的石头。 他把它扔向洞口。 那块石头

sailed through the giant cobweb and into the cave, pulling the sticky rope-like strands down with it. Jack turned to Annie. "Ready?" he said.

穿过巨大的蜘蛛网，进入洞穴，拖着像绳子一样黏糊糊的绳子。 杰克转向安妮。“准备好了吗?”他说。

She didn't move. Jack took her hand. "Don't worry, I won't let any monster spiders get you," he said. He nodded toward the mouth of the cave. "Onward?" "Onward," Annie repeated in a small voice. Then together she and Jack stepped over the fallen web and entered the Cave of the Spider Queen. Inside the cave, the walls were black and shiny. The ground was wet and slippery under their bare feet. "Yikes!" Annie said, jumping back. A pale pink crab scuttled sideways across the rocky floor. "Don't be afraid," said Jack. "That's not a spider." "I know," said Annie. "Sorry."

她没有动。杰克握住她的手。 “别担心，我不会让任何怪物蜘蛛抓到你的，”他说。 他朝洞口点了点头。 “以后?”“往前走。”安妮低声重复道。 然后，她和杰克一起跨过了落下的网，进入了蜘蛛女王的洞穴。 洞穴里，墙壁乌黑发亮。 他们光着脚，脚下的地面又湿又滑。 “呀! !”安妮说着，跳了回去。 一只淡粉色的蟹横着穿过岩石地板。 “别害怕，”杰克说。 “那不是蜘蛛。”“我知道，”安妮说。 “对不起。”