Ch7-The Emperor

CHAPTER SEVEN The Emperor. Clutching the wand, Jack lay in the pitch-dark. He pushed up his goggles, but he still couldn't see anything. "You there?" It was Annie's voice. "Yes," said Jack. "You okay?"

第七章皇帝 杰克抓着魔杖躺在黑暗中。 他推高了护目镜，但还是什么也看不见。 “你有?”那是安妮的声音。 “是的，”杰克说。“你没事吧?”

"Yes. But we're really in trouble now," said Jack. "We fell way down into a dark hole, and the wand doesn't work." He struggled to sit up. "Well, maybe we should try again," said Annie. "What's the point?" said Jack. "We'll never get out of here now." Jack and Annie were silent for a moment. "Hey—we're moving!" Annie said. "Moving?" said Jack. They were moving. The ice under them was gliding silently and smoothly through the darkness. "What's happening?" said Jack. "Maybe we're not in a hole," said Annie. "Look, there's light ahead."

“是的。但是我们现在真的有麻烦了。”杰克说。 “我们掉进了一个黑洞里，魔杖坏了。” 他挣扎着坐起来。“好吧，也许我们应该再试一次，”安妮说。 “有什么意义？”杰克说。 “我们再也出不去了。” 杰克和安妮沉默了一会儿。 “嘿,我们正!”安妮说。 “搬家？”杰克说。他们在移动。 他们脚下的冰在黑暗中静静地、平稳地滑行着。 “发生什么事了？”杰克问。 “也许我们不是在一个洞里，”安妮说。 “看，前面有光。”

In the distance they saw a glimmer of light. As they kept moving, the light grew brighter. It grew brighter and brighter, until they slipped out of a dark tunnel into dazzling light. Now Jack could see they were lying on a slab of ice, floating down a narrow river. "We're on an ice raft!" said Annie. "What's happening?" said Jack again. "I don't know," said Annie. "But I think maybe the wand did work." The ice raft floated through light and shadow, past tall frozen cliffs. Then it glided toward an archway in one of the cliff walls. "Where are we going?" asked Jack.

他们看到远处有一线光。 随着他们继续前进，光线越来越亮。 天色越来越亮，直到他们走出黑暗的隧道，进入耀眼的灯光中。 现在杰克看见他们躺在一块冰上，顺着一条狭窄的河流顺流而下。 “我们在冰筏上！”安妮说。 “发生什么事了？”杰克又问。 “我不知道，”安妮说。 “但我想也许魔杖确实起作用了。” 冰筏在光影中漂流，经过高高的冰冻悬崖。 然后它滑向悬崖峭壁上的一个拱门。 “我们要去哪儿？”杰克问。

The raft floated through the archway into a gigantic cavern. The cavern was like a huge icy cathedral. Its walls shone as if they were covered with silver. "Ohhh," whispered Annie. "What is this place?" said Jack. "I don't know. But now I'm sure the wand worked," said Annie. The ice raft kept floating along a thin river inside the cavern, past icy archways and jagged ledges. Jack felt as if they were being watched. He thought he heard whispering and breathing. "Look!" said Annie. She pointed to one of the cave openings. Standing on the ledge outside the cave entrance were two penguins. They looked

木筏漂过拱门，进入一个巨大的洞穴。 这个洞穴就像一个巨大的冰雪大教堂。 它的墙壁闪闪发光，好像镀了一层银。 “哦，”安妮低声说。“这是什么地方？”杰克问。 “我不知道。但现在我确信魔杖起作用了。”安妮说。 冰筏沿着洞穴内一条细细的河流漂流，经过结冰的拱门和参差不齐的壁架。 杰克觉得他们好像被监视着。 他觉得自己听到了耳语和呼吸声。 “看！”安妮说。她指着其中一个洞口。 洞口外的岩架上站着两只企鹅。 他们看起来

just like the emperor penguins Jack and Annie had seen earlier. Jack and Annie stood up so they could see better. As their raft floated toward the ledge, the penguin in front stepped back into the cave. The other didn't move. "Oh, man!" said Jack. The penguin wore a glittering crown. "The ancient crown," Jack whispered. "We found it!" Annie didn't say anything. She just smiled as the ice raft floated straight toward the emperor penguin. It hit the ledge with a gentle bump. "Hi," Annie said simply.

就像杰克和安妮之前看到的帝企鹅一样。 杰克和安妮站了起来，以便看得更清楚。 当他们的木筏向礁石漂去时，前面的企鹅又回到了洞里。 另一个没有动。“哦，天哪！”杰克说。 企鹅戴着一顶闪闪发光的王冠。 “古老的王冠。”杰克低声说。 “我们找到了！”安妮什么也没说。 她只是笑了笑，因为冰筏径直向帝企鹅漂去。 它轻轻地撞在窗台上。 “嗨，”安妮简单地说。

The penguin made deep murmuring sounds. He didn't speak in human speech. But somehow Jack and Annie could understand every word: Welcome to the Cave of the Ancient Crown. Annie bowed. The penguin had such dignity, Jack bowed, too. The emperor spoke again: Come. He beckoned with his wing, then turned. Annie stepped off the ice raft onto the ledge and followed the emperor into the cave. Jack put the Wand of Dianthus into his pack. He hoisted the pack onto his back and tried to balance his weight so he could step from the raft to the ledge. "Hurry!" said Annie, poking her head out of the cave.

企鹅发出低沉的咕咕声。 他不会用人类的语言说话。 但不知怎的，杰克和安妮能听懂每一个字：欢迎来到古王冠洞穴。 安妮鞠躬。企鹅很有尊严，杰克也鞠了一躬。 皇帝又开口了：来吧。 他挥了挥翅膀，然后转过身来。 安妮从冰筏上走到岩架上，跟着皇帝进了山洞。 杰克把Dianthus魔杖放进他的背包里。 他把背包背到背上，试图平衡自己的体重，这样他就可以从木筏上走到窗台上。 “快点！”安妮说着，从洞里探出头来。