Ch4-The Great Mogul

CHAPTER FOUR The Great Mogul Jack and Annie froze. The hall was completely still and silent. The Great Mogul climbed the steps to the Peacock Throne. He wore an orange turban and a silver coat trimmed with diamonds and pearls. He wore ropes of jewels around his neck and sparkling rings on his fingers. The Great Mogul sat cross-legged on a cushion and looked coldly at his audience. He had a

杰克和安妮僵住了。 大厅里一片寂静。 大莫卧儿登上了孔雀王座的台阶。 他头戴橙色头巾，身穿镶有钻石和珍珠的银色外套。 他脖子上戴着一串串珠宝，手指上戴着闪闪发光的戒指。 大蒙兀儿盘腿坐在垫子上，冷冷地看着他的听众。 他有一个

handsome face with a sharp nose and dark, distant eyes. A servant stood near him, waving a large peacock-feather fan. Another waved a broom to shoo away flies. An imperial guard escorted a pair of European ambassadors up the wide steps that led to the throne. Jack and Annie watched carefully as the ambassadors stood before the Great Mogul. The two men bowed from their waists and brushed the back of their right hands over the carpet. They straightened up, raised their right hands into the air, and placed their palms on top of their heads. Then they lowered their hands and stood very still. So that's the way to bow before a Great Mogul, thought Jack. He hoped he and Annie could remember how to do it. One of the ambassadors then opened a bag and pulled out a jewel-studded crown and a golden goblet. He gave them to the Great Mogul. The ruler looked at the glittering gifts. Without smiling, he handed them to a servant who had appeared beside him.

一张英俊的脸，尖鼻子和一双深邃的黑眼睛。 一个仆人站在他身边，挥舞着一把孔雀羽毛大扇子。 另一个人挥舞着扫帚驱赶苍蝇。 一名御卫队护送两位欧洲大使走上通往王座的宽阔台阶。 杰克和安妮仔细地看着大使们站在大莫卧儿面前。 那两个人弯下腰，用右手背在地毯上擦了擦。 他们直起身子，把右手举到空中，把手掌放在头顶上。 然后他们把手放低，一动不动地站着。 杰克想，在伟大的莫卧儿人面前鞠躬就是这样的。 他希望他和安妮能记住怎么做。 其中一位大使打开一个袋子，拿出一顶镶满珠宝的皇冠和一只金色的高脚杯。 他把它们送给了大莫卧儿。 统治者看着闪闪发光的礼物。 他面无笑容地把它们递给了出现在他身边的一个仆人。

Another servant stepped forward with a silver tray. On the tray was a red satin pillow. Spread across the pillow were dozens of glittering jewels. The ambassadors selected several precious gems. Then they turned and walked slowly down the steps of the throne. Annie nudged Jack. He looked at her, and she smiled. He knew just what she was thinking: Those guys got jewels without saying a word! But Jack was still worried. An emerald rose wasn't an ordinary jewel. Plus, his story seemed like such a teeny gift compared to a crown and a gold goblet. The other ambassadors climbed the Peacock Throne in pairs. They all bowed in the same way. They all opened their bags and gave gifts to the Great Mogul—a carved wooden clock, a crystal necklace, a gleaming silver sword. As the ruler received each exquisite gift, he never changed his expression. Jack grew more and more anxious. If the Great Mogul seemed bored with these treasures, what would he think of a kid's story?

另一个仆人端着银托盘走上前来。 托盘上放着一个红色缎子枕头。 枕头上散落着几十颗闪闪发光的珠宝。 大使们挑选了几颗珍贵的宝石。 然后他们转过身，慢慢地走下王座的台阶。 安妮推了推杰克。他看着她，她笑了。 他知道她在想什么：那些家伙一句话也没说就得到了珠宝！但是杰克仍然很担心。 祖母绿玫瑰不是普通的珠宝。 此外，与王冠和金高脚杯相比，他的故事似乎是一个微不足道的礼物。 其他大使成对登上孔雀王座。 他们都以同样的方式鞠躬。 他们都打开了自己的包，把礼物送给了大莫卧儿——一个雕刻的木钟，一条水晶项链，一把闪闪发光的银剑。 当统治者收到每一件精美的礼物时，他的表情从未改变。 杰克越来越焦虑了。 如果伟大的莫卧儿似乎厌倦了这些珍宝，他会怎么想一个孩子的故事呢？

All the ambassadors from Europe were offered jewels from the silver tray. Then they resumed their place in line. Finally an imperial guard beckoned to Jack and Annie. It was their turn! Jack's legs felt wobbly as he walked with Annie up the steps of the throne. The Great Mogul looked at them with his distant, cold stare. Together, Jack and Annie bowed from their waists. They brushed the back of their right hands over the carpet. They stood up and raised their right hands into the air. They placed their palms on top of their heads. Jack held his breath the whole time. A fly landed on his nose, but he didn't flinch. Jack and Annie lowered their arms. Jack's hands were shaky as he unbuckled his bag and pulled out his story. Without a word, he handed it to the Great Mogul. The ruler stared at the first page. Slowly he ran his fingers over the fancy type. He turned the page and stared at Annie's sparkly drawing of the tree house in the Frog Creek woods. Again he touched the page.

所有来自欧洲的大使都得到了银盘里的珠宝。 然后他们又回到了自己的位置上。 最后，一名皇家侍卫向杰克和安妮示意。 轮到他们了！当杰克和安妮一起走上王座的台阶时，他感到双腿摇摇晃晃。 大蒙兀儿用他那冷淡的目光望着他们。 杰克和安妮一起弯下腰来。 他们用右手背在地毯上擦了擦。 他们站起来，把右手举到空中。 他们把手掌放在头顶上。 杰克一直屏住呼吸。 一只苍蝇落在他的鼻子上，但他没有退缩。 杰克和安妮放下了手臂。 杰克解开书包，拿出他的故事，双手颤抖着。 他二话没说，把它交给了大莫卧儿。 尺子盯着第一页。 他慢慢地用手指抚摸着花式字体。 他翻了一页，盯着安妮在青蛙溪树林里画的闪闪发光的树屋。 他又摸了摸那一页。

Then the Great Mogul raised his eyes and looked straight at Jack and Annie. The next thing Jack knew, the servant was standing in front of them with the tray of jewels. In a panic, Jack stared at the pile of diamonds, pearls, and red, green, and yellow gems. The jewels were all cut in different shapes. Emerald rose! Jack thought wildly. He tried to focus, but the glittering gems swirled in front of his eyes—flowers, fish, stars, birds, butterflies, pears, and apples. But no emerald rose!

然后，伟大的莫卧儿抬起眼睛，直视着杰克和安妮。 杰克知道的下一件事是，仆人端着一盘珠宝站在他们面前。 杰克惊恐地盯着那堆钻石、珍珠和红色、绿色和黄色的宝石。 这些珠宝都被切割成不同的形状。 翡翠玫瑰!杰克疯狂地想。 他试图集中注意力，但那些闪闪发光的宝石在他眼前旋转——花、鱼、星星、鸟、蝴蝶、梨和苹果。 但是没有翡翠玫瑰！

When Jack glanced up, he saw the Great Mogul watching him. Jack was ready to grab anything! Annie reached forward and carefully picked up a green stone. She solemnly showed it to Jack. It was a small emerald shaped like a rose! Jack nodded, trying to appear calm. His heart was pounding. He glanced at the Great Mogul. The ruler was looking at them with interest. He seemed about to say something. But then a guard beckoned for Jack and Annie to leave the throne platform. Jack and Annie climbed down the steps and returned to their places behind the other ambassadors. Wow, wow, wow! Jack thought. We did it! The Great Mogul stood up from his cushion. Quickly and quietly, he walked down the steps of the Peacock Throne. No one moved as the allpowerful ruler slipped out of the hall. The whole audience seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Everyone began talking and moving about. The guards stepped forward to escort the ambassadors through the door at the back of the hall.

杰克抬起头来，看见大蒙兀儿正在看着他。 杰克准备抓住任何东西！安妮伸出手，小心地捡起一块绿色的石头。 她严肃地把它拿给杰克看。 那是一颗小翡翠，形状像一朵玫瑰！杰克点了点头，努力装出镇静的样子。 他的心怦怦直跳。他瞥了大莫卧儿一眼。 统治者饶有兴趣地看着他们。 他似乎要说些什么。 这时，一名警卫示意杰克和安妮离开站台。 杰克和安妮走下台阶，回到其他大使身后的位置。 哇，哇，哇！杰克的想法。 我们成功了！大莫卧儿从坐垫上站了起来。 他迅速而安静地走下孔雀王座的台阶。 当全能的统治者溜出大厅时，没有人动。 所有的观众似乎都松了一口气。 每个人都开始说话，走来走去。 卫兵们走上前去，护送大使们穿过大厅后面的门。