Ch2-The Red Fort

CHAPTER TWO The Red Fort Kathleen and Teddy were gone. The air was hot. Flies buzzed around Jack's head. "These are ambassador clothes?" said Annie. Jack and Annie were dressed alike. They both wore wide-brimmed felt hats, stockings, buckled shoes, short jackets, and puffy short pants. Jack's backpack had turned into a leather bag.

第二章红堡凯瑟琳和特迪走了。 空气很热。苍蝇在杰克的头上嗡嗡地飞。 “这些是大使的衣服？”安妮说。 杰克和安妮穿得一样。 他们都戴着宽边毡帽，穿着长筒袜，穿着带扣的鞋子，穿着短夹克和蓬松的短裤。 杰克的背包变成了一个皮包。

"I guess," said Jack. "This must be how we would've dressed almost four hundred years ago in Frog Creek." "If we'd both been boys," said Annie. "So, where are we?" Jack and Annie looked out the window. The tree house had landed in a row of tall dark trees. The trees stood next to a red fort with a moat, a drawbridge, and massive red battlements. "Cool fort," said Jack.

“我想是的，”杰克说。“差不多四百年前，在青蛙溪，我们一定是这样穿的。” “如果我们都是男孩，”安妮说。 “那么，我们在哪儿？”杰克和安妮向窗外望去。 树屋落在一排又高又黑的树中间。 树木旁边矗立着一座红色的堡垒，堡垒上有护城河、吊桥和巨大的红色城垛。 “好酷的堡垒，”杰克说。

"Yeah, and look—elephants," said Annie. "I love elephants!" Leading away from the fort were two streets. One was filled with oxen pulling carts and people riding horses and elephants. Veiled women sat in carriages on the elephants' backs. "Yeah, and there's a bazaar like the one we saw in Baghdad," said Jack. He pointed to the other street, which was lined with tents and stalls. "So where do you think we find an emerald stone in the shape of a rose?" said Annie. Jack picked up their research book and opened to the first page. He read aloud: In the 1600s, India was a vast land of crowded cities and countless villages. A great deal of India, though, was still covered by wilderness. Wild creatures such as cheetahs, elephants, and Bengal tigers lived in its forests. India's wilderness was also home for many snakes, including the king cobra, one of the deadliest snakes on earth.

“是啊，看大象，”安妮说。 “我爱大象！”离开堡垒的是两条街道。 其中一幅画满了拉车的牛和骑着马和大象的人。 戴着面纱的妇女坐在大象背上的车厢里。 “是的，那里有一个集市，就像我们在巴格达看到的那样。”杰克说。 他指了指另一条街，那是一排帐篷和小摊。 “那么你认为我们在哪里可以找到一朵玫瑰形状的祖母绿呢？”安妮说。 杰克拿起他们的研究书，翻到第一页。 他大声读道：17世纪，印度是一片广阔的土地，有拥挤的城市和无数的村庄。 然而，印度的大部分地区仍被荒野所覆盖。 猎豹、大象和孟加拉虎等野生动物生活在这里的森林里。 印度的荒野也是许多蛇的家园，包括眼镜王蛇，这是地球上最致命的蛇之一。

"Yikes," said Annie. She and Jack looked at pictures of a Bengal tiger and a king cobra. The growling tiger had a huge head and enormous teeth. The cobra had speckled yellow bands around its long body. Its open jaws revealed two deadly fangs. "Don't worry," said Jack with a shiver. "We definitely didn't land in the wilderness." He turned the pages until he found a drawing of the red fort. "Yes! Here's exactly where we landed." He read: For several centuries, mighty rulers, known as Great Moguls, ruled over much of India. The wealthiest of the Great Moguls was named Shah Jah.n. He lived inside the Red Fort, where he was protected night and day by imperial guards. "So the Great Mogul lives right here!" said Annie. "How lucky is that?" She and Jack looked at the fort again. "I guess those guys must be imperial guards," Jack said.

“哎呀，”安妮说。她和杰克看着孟加拉虎和眼镜王蛇的照片。 咆哮的老虎有一个巨大的头和巨大的牙齿。 眼镜蛇长长的身体周围有黄色斑纹。 它张开的下颚露出两颗致命的毒牙。 “别担心，”杰克说着打了个寒颤。 “我们肯定没有在荒野着陆。” 他翻动书页，找到了一幅红色堡垒的图画。 “是啊!这就是我们着陆的地方。” 他读到：几个世纪以来，强大的统治者，被称为大莫卧儿，统治了印度的大部分地区。 大莫卧儿中最富有的是沙贾。 他住在红堡里，在那里他日夜受到帝国卫兵的保护。 “这么说，大莫卧儿就住在这里！”安妮说。 “这有多幸运啊？”她和杰克又看了看堡垒。 “我猜那些家伙一定是皇家卫队。”杰克说。

He pointed to men in white coats and leggings guarding the drawbridge. Some carried spears; others had bows and arrows. "Right. But who do you think those guys are?" Annie asked, pointing. Two carts pulled by pairs of white oxen had stopped at the entrance to the bridge. Eight men were climbing out of the carts. They wore outfits like Jack's and Annie's—puffy pants, short jackets, and wide hats. Two of the guards greeted them with deep bows. "They're dressed like us," said Jack. "So I guess they must be ambassadors, too." "If they're visiting the Great Mogul, we should join them!" said Annie. "Hold on," said Jack. He opened his bag. As he put their book inside, he noticed that everything that had been in his backpack was still there: his story from school, the note about the emerald rose, and the blue bottle with the potion to make them small. "Okay, we've got everything," he said. "Come on, before we miss our chance!" Annie called, starting down the rope ladder. "Wait!" said Jack. He put his bag over his shoulder and hurried after Annie. By the time he

他指着看守吊桥的穿着白大褂和打底裤的人。 有些人拿着长矛；其他人有弓和箭。 “正确。但你认为那些人是谁？”安妮指着我问。 两辆由一对白牛拉着的大车停在桥的入口处。 八个人正从大车里爬出来。 他们穿着像杰克和安妮那样的衣服——蓬松的裤子，短夹克，戴着宽帽子。 两个卫兵向他们深深鞠躬致意。 “他们穿得和我们一样。”杰克说。 “所以我猜他们一定也是大使。” “如果他们去拜访大莫卧儿，我们应该加入他们！”安妮说。 “等等，”杰克说。他打开包。 当他把书放进去的时候，他注意到背包里的东西都还在：他在学校的故事，那张关于翡翠玫瑰的纸条，还有那个装着让他们变小的药剂的蓝瓶子。 “好了，我们什么都有了，”他说。 “快点，免得我们错过机会！”安妮喊道，从绳梯上下来。 “等等！”杰克说。他把书包扛在肩上，急忙跟在安妮后面。 等他

stepped off the ladder, Annie was already heading toward the drawbridge of the fort. "Annie, hold on! We have to talk about something important!" said Jack. He didn't want her to say anything crazy to the guards or the ambassadors. "What?" said Annie, waiting for him. "If they're real ambassadors, we shouldn't get too close to them," Jack said. "They'll figure out we're fakes." "Oh. Good point," said Annie. "So let's wait until they start across the bridge," said Jack. "Then we'll run to the gate and tell the guards that we're supposed to be with them. And don't forget, if anyone asks, you're my brother. Oh, you should stick your braids under your hat." "Right," said Annie. She tucked her pigtails under her hat. "How's that?" "Fine, I guess," said Jack. He was still worried about the fact that he and Annie looked too young. "We have to try to act like ambassadors. So stand up straight and speak in a low voice." "Okay, don't worry," said Annie.

走下梯子，安妮已经朝堡垒的吊桥走去了。 “安妮，坚持住！”我们得谈点重要的事！”杰克说。 他不想让她对警卫或大使说什么疯狂的话。 “什么？”安妮等着他说。 “如果他们是真正的大使，我们就不应该跟他们走得太近，”杰克说。 “他们会发现我们是假货。” “哦。说得好，”安妮说。 “那我们就等他们开始过桥吧。”杰克说。 “然后我们跑到大门口，告诉警卫我们应该和他们在一起。 别忘了，如果有人问起，你是我弟弟。 哦，你应该把你的辫子插在帽子下面。” “好的，”安妮说。她把辫子塞进帽子里。 “这是怎么回事?”“好吧，我想。”杰克说。 他仍然担心他和安妮看起来太年轻。 “我们必须努力扮演大使的角色。 所以站直了，小声说话。” “好吧，别担心，”安妮说。