Ch3-Her Imperial Majesty

CHAPTER THREE Her Imperial Majesty "Thanks for your help, Josef," said Annie. "Yeah, thanks a lot," said Jack. "You're very welcome," said Josef. "I hope you will enjoy yourselves at the party." "We will," said Annie. "Bye."

“谢谢你的帮助，约瑟夫，”安妮说。 “是的，非常感谢，”杰克说。 “不用谢，”约瑟夫说。 “我希望你们在晚会上玩得愉快。” “我们会的，”安妮说。“再见。”

As the coachman climbed back into his carriage, Annie turned to Jack. "This is so cool!" she said. Not really, thought Jack. He didn't know how he was supposed to act with Her Imperial Majesty whatever-the-rest-of-her-name-was! His hands felt clammy. "What do we do when we meet her? What do we say?" he asked. "We just watch what other people do," said Annie, "and we copy them. Come on." Jack and Annie walked over to the sweeping stairway. They started up the steps, following the other party guests. The women all wore glittering jewels and gowns with giant hoopskirts. The men wore wigs with white curls flowing down over the

当车夫爬回马车时，安妮转向杰克。 “这太酷了！”她说。 不完全是，杰克想。他不知道在皇上——不管她叫什么——面前该怎么做！他的手觉得湿乎乎的。 “我们见到她时该怎么办？” 我们说什么呢？”他问。 “我们只是看别人怎么做，”安妮说，“然后我们模仿他们。 来吧。”杰克和安妮走向扫地的楼梯。 他们开始走上台阶，跟着其他客人。 女人们都戴着闪闪发光的珠宝，穿着带有巨大箍裙的长袍。 男人们戴着白色卷发的假发

collars of their long coats. All the clothes were made of silk and satin and velvet in rich colors and patterns. "Oh, brother," said Jack. "What?" said Annie. "There's that kid who yelled at me," Jack said. The small boy from the blue coach was standing at the top of the stairs. He wore a lilaccolored coat with gold braid. A tiny sword hung from his side. "A sword?" said Jack. "That's ridiculous. He can't be more than four or five years old." The boy turned and caught sight of Jack and Annie. A big smile crossed his round face. He waved at them.

长外套的领子。 所有的衣服都是用丝绸、缎子和天鹅绒做成的，颜色和图案都很丰富。 “哦，兄弟，”杰克说。“什么？”安妮说。 “有个孩子对我大吼大叫，”杰克说。 蓝色马车上的小男孩正站在楼梯顶上。 他穿着一件淡紫色的外套，上面系着金色的辫子。 他的腰间挂着一把小剑。 “一把剑？”杰克说。“这是荒谬的。 他不可能超过四五岁。” 男孩转过身，看见了杰克和安妮。 他圆圆的脸上掠过灿烂的笑容。 他向他们挥手。

"He's cute," said Annie. She waved back. "Not really," said Jack. A man grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him into the palace. "And he thought I looked funny," said Jack. "How's my wig now?" Annie giggled. "It's crooked again," she said. "And your ears are poking out. Hold on." Jack and Annie stopped on the stairs. Annie grabbed both sides of Jack's wig and gave it a good yank. "Move along, children. You're holding up the line!" a woman behind them said.

“他很可爱，”安妮说。她也挥了挥手。 “不完全是，”杰克说。一个男人抓住男孩的手，把他拉进了宫殿。 “他觉得我看起来很滑稽，”杰克说。 “我的假发怎么样了？”安妮咯咯笑了。 “它又歪了，”她说。 “你的耳朵都凸出来了。 等一等。”杰克和安妮在楼梯上停下来。 安妮抓住杰克假发的两边，狠狠地拽了一下。 “走吧，孩子们。你们挡住队伍了！”他们后面的一个女人说。

Annie picked up her hoopskirt, and she and Jack hurried up the stairs. At the top, Jack pulled their invitation out of his pocket again. He led Annie into the palace and showed the invitation to a guard in a red uniform. "Follow the line through the lantern room and into the Great Rosa Room," the guard said. Jack saw a line of party guests walking slowly through a candlelit room. He and Annie quickly joined the line. The room was filled with sounds of whispering and the rustling of silk. A young girl in a white dress with red roses was standing near Jack and Annie. When the line moved, Jack waited for the girl to go ahead.

安妮拾起她的箍裙，和杰克匆匆上了楼。 到了山顶，杰克又从口袋里掏出他们的请柬。 他把安妮领进宫殿，把请柬给一个穿红色制服的卫兵看。 “顺着这条线穿过灯笼室，进入大罗莎厅。”卫兵说。 杰克看到一排参加派对的客人慢慢地穿过一间烛光房。 他和安妮很快加入了队伍。 房间里充满了窃窃私语的声音和丝绸的沙沙声。 一个穿着白裙子、插着红玫瑰的年轻女孩站在杰克和安妮的旁边。 当队伍移动时，杰克等着那个女孩走在前面。

The girl smiled. "I'm not in line," she said in a soft voice. "I'm waiting for my brother." Jack nodded, and he and Annie stepped forward. Jack craned his neck to get a better view inside the Great Rosa Room. He couldn't see Her Imperial Majesty yet, but he could see part of the fancy room with its red velvet chairs and gold-trimmed, glossy white walls. Another guest entered the Great Rosa Room, and Jack and Annie took a step closer to the door. Now Jack could see Her Imperial Majesty. She was a tall, plump woman dressed in a blue silk gown with ruffles. To Jack's surprise, the little kid with the sword was sitting on her lap! A long row of older children stood behind her.

女孩笑了。“我没在排队，”她轻声说。 “我在等我弟弟。” 杰克点点头，他和安妮走上前去。 杰克伸长脖子，想在大罗莎房间里看得更清楚一些。 他还看不见女王陛下，但他能看到那间华丽的房间的一部分，里面有红色天鹅绒的椅子和镶金边的白墙。 另一位客人走进了大罗莎房间，杰克和安妮向门口走近了一步。 现在杰克可以看到女王陛下了。 她是一个身材高挑、丰满的女人，穿着一件带褶边的蓝色丝绸长袍。 令杰克吃惊的是，那个拿着剑的小孩正坐在她的腿上！她身后站着一长排大孩子。