Ch2-The Big House

CHAPTER TWO The Big House A cold wind blew rain into the tree house. Jack shivered. He was wearing an old overcoat and ragged trousers. Annie wore a scarf, a shawl, and a long red wool dress. They both wore scuffed, worn boots. "So where are we?" said Jack. He and Annie looked out the window.

第二章大房子一阵冷风把雨吹进了树屋。 杰克颤抖。他穿着一件旧大衣和一条破裤子。 安妮围着一条围巾，披着一条披肩，穿着一件红色羊毛长裙。 他们俩都穿着磨破的靴子。 “我们在哪儿？”杰克问。 他和安妮看着窗外。

The tree house had landed in a tree at the edge of a green meadow dotted with woolly white sheep. Next to the meadow was a narrow lane. It ran uphill between low stone walls. Through the drizzle, Jack could see mist-covered mountains in the distance and a flash of silver sea. "It looks like a scene in a fairy tale," said Annie. "Yeah, a fairy tale with bad weather," said Jack. "I wonder where the Big House is," said Annie. "I don't know, but I'd like to get inside it now," said Jack. "Me too," said Annie, shivering. "Let's go." Jack crammed his cold hands into the pockets of his torn coat. In one pocket, he felt his

树屋建在绿色草地边上的一棵树上，草地上点缀着毛茸茸的白羊。 草地旁边是一条狭窄的小路。 它在低矮的石墙之间上坡。 透过细雨，杰克可以看到远处雾气覆盖的山脉和一闪而过的银色大海。 “这看起来就像童话里的场景，”安妮说。 “是啊，一个有坏天气的童话故事，”杰克说。 “我想知道大房子在哪里，”安妮说。 “我不知道，但我现在想进去看看。”杰克说。 “我也是，”安妮颤抖着说。 “我们走吧。”杰克把冰冷的双手塞进破上衣的口袋里。 在一只口袋里，他摸了摸自己的

notebook and pencil. In the other, he felt the Irish whistle. "I've got the whistle," he said. "Good," said Annie. She held her red skirt and started down the rope ladder. Jack climbed down after her. Annie pulled her shawl tightly around her shoulders. Jack turned up the collar of his coat. As they tramped through the wet meadow, he felt cold water seeping through holes in his boots. Jack and Annie climbed over a stone wall onto the muddy lane. A horse-drawn wagon was rattling toward them down the hill. The wagon was filled with squealing pigs. "Excuse me!" Annie called to the driver. "Can you tell us where the Big House is?"

笔记本和铅笔。在另一边，他感觉到爱尔兰的哨声。 “我有哨子，”他说。 “很好，”安妮说。她拿着红裙子，从绳梯上下来。 杰克跟着她爬了下来。 安妮把披肩紧紧地披在肩上。 杰克把外套的领子竖起来。 当他们走过潮湿的草地时，他感到冰冷的水从他靴子上的洞里渗出来。 杰克和安妮翻过一堵石墙，来到泥泞的小路上。 一辆马车辚辚地从山下向他们驶来。 马车里装满了尖叫的猪。 “对不起!”安妮对司机喊道。 “你能告诉我们大房子在哪儿吗？”

An old man with a tired, rugged face pointed back up the hill. "Thanks!" said Jack. The large wooden wheels of the wagon rumbled past, splashing Jack and Annie with mud. "Yuck!" said Annie.

一位面容疲惫、粗犷的老人指着山上的背影。 “谢谢！”杰克说。马车的大木轮隆隆驶过，溅起杰克和安妮一身泥。 “恶心！”安妮说。

"Now we're cold and wet and dirty," said Jack. "Yeah, we're going to look great when we get to the Big House," said Annie. "So what do we do when we get there?" asked Jack. "When we find Augusta, maybe we tell her that Teddy and Kathleen sent us," said Annie, "like we told Louis Armstrong in New Orleans." Just thinking about their adventure with Louis Armstrong made Jack smile. "I don't know if that will work," he said. "His world seemed so different from this world. There it was so noisy and busy. Here it feels lonely." "Well, we won't know until we find Augusta," said Annie. "Let's go."

“现在我们又冷又湿又脏，”杰克说。 “是啊，我们到大房子的时候会看起来很棒的，”安妮说。 “那我们到了那儿怎么办呢？”杰克问。 “等我们找到奥古斯塔，也许我们可以告诉她是特迪和凯瑟琳让我们来的，”安妮说，“就像我们在新奥尔良告诉路易斯·阿姆斯特朗那样。” 一想到他们和路易斯·阿姆斯特朗的冒险，杰克就笑了。 “我不知道这是否会奏效，”他说。 “他的世界似乎与这个世界如此不同。 那里又吵又忙。 在这里它感到孤独。”“嗯，我们要找到奥古斯塔才能知道，”安妮说。 “我们走吧。”

Jack and Annie lowered their heads. They plodded up the lane, sloshing in and out of giant puddles. When they reached the top of the hill, they stopped. The muddy lane wound down, past more sheep meadows and some cottages, past a long stable and several barns. At the end of the lane was a large open gate that led onto the grounds of a white mansion. Gray smoke rose from the mansion's chimneys. "The Big House!" said Annie. "Maybe the people who live there will invite us inside to get warm and dry by a fire," said Jack. Jack and Annie started down the lane. As they passed the sheep meadows, black-and-white dogs barked at them. When they walked by several

杰克和安妮低下了头。 他们在小路上吃力地走着，在巨大的水坑里荡来荡去。 当他们到达山顶时，他们停下来了。 泥泞的小路蜿蜒而下，经过更多的牧场和一些农舍，经过一个长长的马厩和几个谷仓。 小巷的尽头有一扇敞开的大门，通向一座白色大厦的庭院。 灰色的烟雾从大厦的烟囱里升起。 “大房子！”安妮说。 “也许住在那里的人会邀请我们进去，在火旁取暖。”杰克说。 杰克和安妮沿着小巷往前走。 当他们经过牧场时，黑白相间的狗朝他们狂吠。 当他们走过几个