Ch1-Winter Solstice

Winter of the Ice Wizard,

《冰雪巫师的冬天》

CHAPTER ONE Winter Solstice A cold wind rattled the windowpanes. But inside the house, it was warm and cozy. Jack and Annie were making Christmas cookies with their mom. Jack pressed a star-shaped cookie cutter into the dough. "Hey, it's snowing outside," said Annie.

第一章冬至一阵冷风吹得窗玻璃格格作响。 但在房子里，它是温暖和舒适的。 杰克和安妮在和妈妈一起做圣诞饼干。 杰克把一个星形的饼干切刀压在面团里。 “嘿，外面在下雪，”安妮说。

Jack looked out the window. Huge snow-flakes were falling from the late-afternoon sky. "You want to go out?" asked Annie. "Not really. It'll be dark soon," said Jack. "That's right," said their mom. "Today's the first day of winter. It's the shortest day of the year." Jack's heart skipped a beat. "You mean it's the winter solstice?" he said. "Yes," said their mom. Annie gasped. "The winter solstice?" she said. "Yes…," their mom said, puzzled. Jack and Annie looked at each other. Last summer, Merlin the magician had called for their

杰克向窗外望去。 巨大的雪花从傍晚的天空飘落下来。 “你想出去吗？”安妮问。 “不是真的。天很快就要黑了。”杰克说。 “没错，”他们的妈妈说。 “今天是冬天的第一天。 这是一年中最短的一天。” 杰克的心猛地跳了一下。 “你是说今天是冬至？”他说。 “是的，”他们的妈妈说。安妮气喘吁吁地说。 “冬至？”她说。 “是的……”他们的妈妈困惑地说。 杰克和安妮面面相觑。 去年夏天，魔术师梅林要求他们

help on the summer solstice. Maybe he would need them again today! Jack put down the cookie cutter and wiped his hands on a towel. "Actually, Mom, it might be fun to play in the snow for just a few minutes," he said. "Whatever you want," their mom said. "Just dress warmly. I'll finish up with the cookies and put them in the oven." "Thanks!" said Jack. He and Annie raced to the closet and pulled on their boots. They threw on jackets, scarves, gloves, and caps. "Be home before dark," their mom said. "We will!" called Jack. "Bye, Mom!" Annie shouted.

夏至帮帮我。 也许他今天还会需要它们！杰克放下饼干切割机，用毛巾擦了擦手。 “事实上，妈妈，在雪地里玩几分钟可能会很有趣，”他说。 “你想要什么都行，”他们的妈妈说。 “穿暖和点就行了。我要把饼干做好，然后放进烤箱里。” “谢谢！”杰克说。他和安妮跑到壁橱前，穿上靴子。 他们穿上夹克、围巾、手套和帽子。 “天黑前回家，”他们的妈妈说。 “我们会的！”杰克喊道。“再见,妈妈!”安妮喊道。

Jack and Annie slipped out of their house into the snowy cold. Their boots squeaked as they ran across their white yard and headed toward the Frog Creek woods. At the edge of the woods, Jack stopped. He couldn't believe how beautiful the trees looked. White powder covered the branches of the hemlocks and pines. "Look," said Annie. She pointed to two pairs of footprints that led out to the road and then back into the woods. "Somebody else has been here." "It looks like they were walking out of the woods—but turned back," said Jack. "Let's hurry!" If the magic tree house had come back today, he didn't want anyone else finding it first!

杰克和安妮溜出家门，冒着大雪的寒冷。 他们穿过白色的院子，朝青蛙溪的树林跑去，靴子吱吱作响。 在树林的边缘，杰克停了下来。 他简直不敢相信这些树看起来有多美。 铁杉和松树的树枝上覆盖着白色的粉末。 “看，”安妮说。她指着两对脚印，这两对脚印通向大路，然后又回到树林里。 “有人来过这里。” “看起来他们是从树林里走出来的——但是又转回来了。”杰克说。 “我们快点!”如果魔法树屋今天回来了，他可不想让别人先发现它！

Jack and Annie walked quickly through the woods, following the two sets of footprints. "Stop!" said Annie. She pulled Jack behind a tree. "Over there!" Through the falling snow, Jack saw two people in long, dark cloaks. They were hurrying toward a tall oak—and high in the oak was the magic tree house!

杰克和安妮沿着两组脚印快步穿过树林。 “停下！”安妮说。她把杰克拉到树后。 “在那边!”透过飘落的雪，杰克看到两个穿着黑色长斗篷的人。 他们朝一棵高大的橡树奔去——那棵橡树的高处就是魔法树屋！