Ch6-Trust the Magic

CHAPTER SIX Trust the Magic Clouds hid the sun. Jack and Annie sat in a clump of dead weeds beside a dirt road in the countryside. A chilly wind blew the creaky limbs of bare trees. "You okay?" asked Annie. "I think so," said Jack. "Where are we?"

第六章相信魔云遮住了太阳。 杰克和安妮坐在乡间一条土路旁的一丛枯草上。 寒风吹着光秃秃的树的吱吱作响的树枝。 “你还好吗？”安妮问。“我想是的，”杰克说。 “我们在哪儿？”

"Looks like we're somewhere in the country," said Annie. "No kidding, but where? Why?" said Jack. "Wait, wait," said Annie. "Mr. Nicolay said if the president had a free moment, he'd take a ride in the country. I'll bet we've come to a spot where we can catch Abraham Lincoln on his ride! Alone!" "Oh, wow… cool," said Jack. "Look!" said Annie. "Someone's coming this way now! On a horse!" A slim figure on a horse was coming down the dirt road. Jack and Annie jumped to their feet. When the rider on the bony white horse got closer, Jack sighed. "It's not the president," he said. "It's just some kid on an old horse." "Maybe this kid is supposed to help us somehow," said Annie. "Remember, trust the magic." Jack nodded, but he couldn't imagine the boy would be much help. He looked to be ten or maybe eleven years old. His matted black hair stuck out from under a coonskin cap. His thin face was dirty, and his buckskin pants and moccasins

“看来我们是在乡下的某个地方，”安妮说。 “不是开玩笑，但是在哪儿呢？”为什么？”杰克问。 “等等，等等，”安妮说。“先生。 尼古拉说，如果总统有空的话，他会去乡下兜兜风。 我敢打赌我们到了一个可以赶上亚伯拉罕·林肯的地方！一个人!”“哦，哇……真酷，”杰克说。 “看！”安妮说。“现在有人朝这边来了！”骑在马上！”一个瘦削的身影骑着马沿着土路走来。 杰克和安妮跳了起来。 当骑着那匹瘦骨嶙峋的白马的骑手走近时，杰克叹了口气。 “不是总统，”他说。 “只是一个骑着老马的孩子。” “也许这个孩子应该以某种方式帮助我们，”安妮说。 “记住，相信魔法。” 杰克点了点头，但他无法想象这个男孩会帮上多大的忙。 他看起来像十岁或十一岁。 他那乱蓬蓬的黑发从一顶浣熊皮帽下伸出来。 他瘦削的脸脏兮兮的，穿着鹿皮裤子和鹿皮鞋

were stained and torn. A frayed burlap sack hung from his shoulder. Annie stepped into the road and waved. "Hello!" she called. The boy pulled the old horse to a halt. He took off his cap and bowed his head. Then he put his cap back on and looked at them with tired gray eyes. "How do?" he said without a smile.

又脏又破。他肩上挂着一个磨损的粗麻袋。 安妮走到路上挥了挥手。 “你好！”她喊道。男孩把那匹老马拉住。 他脱下帽子，低下了头。 然后他戴上帽子，用疲惫的灰色眼睛看着他们。 “你好？”他面无笑容地说。

"We do good," said Annie. "We're wondering if you can help us. We're looking for Abraham Lincoln. Does he ride his horse around here? Have you ever seen him?" The boy's eyes brightened. "You're looking for Abraham Lincoln?" he asked.

“我们做得很好，”安妮说。“我们想知道你是否能帮助我们。 我们在找亚伯拉罕·林肯。 他在这附近骑马吗？ 你见过他吗？”男孩的眼睛亮了起来。 “你在找亚伯拉罕·林肯吗？”他问。

"Yes, we are," said Jack. "Why?" the boy asked. "Um… well, we just want to say hi to him," said Jack. "Do you know if he goes riding in this area?" The boy nodded. "He does," he said. "In fact, he is in this area as we speak." "Really?" said Annie. She smiled at Jack, as if to say, See! The magic's working! Jack couldn't help smiling back. "So, can you tell us where we can find him?" he asked the boy. "Yes," said the boy, nodding. "But I think it's better if I take you to him myself. I just have to grind some corn at the mill first." How long will that take? Jack wondered. How long will the president be riding in the countryside? "Maybe you could just tell us where we could find him," said Jack. "We don't have much time." "Wait," said Annie. She whispered to Jack, "We have to trust the magic." Jack sighed. He looked back at the boy. "Okay, we'll go to the mill with you," he said, "but it

“是的，我们是。”杰克说。“为什么？”男孩问。 “嗯……嗯，我们只是想跟他打个招呼，”杰克说。 “你知道他在这一带骑马吗？”男孩点点头。 “是的，”他说。“事实上，就在我们说话的时候，他就在这个地区。” “真的吗？”安妮说。她对杰克笑了笑，好像在说：看！魔法起作用了！杰克也忍不住笑了。 “那么，你能告诉我们在哪里可以找到他吗？”他问男孩。 “是的，”男孩点头说。 “不过我想我还是亲自带你去见他比较好。 我得先去磨坊磨点玉米。” 那要花多长时间？杰克想知道。 总统要在乡下骑马多久？ “也许你能告诉我们在哪里能找到他，”杰克说。 “我们的时间不多了。” “等等，”安妮说。她低声对杰克说：“我们必须相信魔法。” 杰克叹了口气。他回头看了看男孩。 “好吧，我们和你一起去磨坊，”他说，“但是

would be good if we could hurry, so we don't miss finding Abraham Lincoln." "You won't miss him. I give you my word," said the boy. "Come along. The grinder's around the bend. Giddyup, girl." He shook his reins, and the old horse started plodding down the road again. Jack and Annie walked after the slow-moving horse. "Our names are Jack and Annie," Annie called. "What's yours?" "You can call me Sam," the boy said over his shoulder. "Okay, Sam," said Annie. "Thanks for helping us." A gust of wind stirred the branches of the trees. The old horse neighed and stopped. "Keep going, girl," said Sam. But the horse wouldn't budge. "She doesn't hear well. She gets spooked by the wind," Sam explained to Jack and Annie. The lonely sound of the wind spooked Jack, too. Something felt wrong. This weather was different from the weather at the White House. "Giddyup, girl!" said Sam.

如果我们能快点就好了，这样我们就不会错过亚伯拉罕·林肯了。” “你不会想念他的。我向你保证，”男孩说。 ”出现。磨床在转弯处。 Giddyup,姑娘。”他抖了抖缰绳，那匹老马又开始在路上蹒跚而行。 杰克和安妮跟在那匹缓慢移动的马后面。 “我们的名字是杰克和安妮，”安妮喊道。 “你呢?”“你可以叫我山姆，”男孩回过头说。 “好的，萨姆，”安妮说。“谢谢你帮助我们。” 一阵风吹动了树枝。 那匹老马嘶鸣着停了下来。 “继续，姑娘，”萨姆说。 但是马就是不动。 “她听力不太好。她被风吓到了，”萨姆向杰克和安妮解释道。 寂寞的风声也把杰克吓坏了。 感觉有些不对劲。这里的天气与白宫的天气不同。 “快起来，姑娘！”萨姆说。