Ch1-Message from Merlin

New York Times Bestselling Series MAGIC TREE HOUSE #50 Hurry Up Houdini! Mary Pope Osborne

纽约时报畅销系列魔法树屋#50快点胡迪尼！玛丽·波普·奥斯本

CHAPTER ONE Message from Merlin Early one summer evening, Jack lay on the couch, reading a book about the history of horses. "Jack, could you run and get Annie from Jenny's house, please?" their mom called from the kitchen. "We're grilling hot dogs soon."

一个夏天的傍晚，杰克躺在沙发上，读一本关于马的历史的书。 “杰克，你能去珍妮家把安妮叫来吗？”他们的妈妈在厨房里喊道。 “我们很快就要烤热狗了。”

"Sure," said Jack. He closed his book, hopped off the couch, and headed out the front door. As he started down the porch steps, Annie charged into the yard. "It's back!" she said, out of breath. "You're kidding!" said Jack. "No! I'm serious!" said Annie. "On my way home from Jenny's, I checked the woods. I had a funny feeling it was back—and it was!" "Are Merlin and Penny there?" asked Jack. "I don't think so," said Annie. "I shouted hello, but no one answered. I wanted to come get you before I climbed up!" "Thanks," said Jack. "Wait here. I'll tell Mom." He dashed back into the house. "Mom, can Annie and I do something for about twenty minutes?" he called. "Okay, twenty minutes, no more," said their mom. "The grill's almost ready." "Thanks!" said Jack. He looked at his wristwatch. It was 5:42. So they had to be home by two minutes after six. He grabbed his backpack and hurried out of the house. Annie was waiting on the sidewalk.

“当然，”杰克说。他合上书，跳下沙发，走出前门。 当他走下门廊的台阶时，安妮冲进了院子。 “它回来了！”她上气不接下气地说。 “你开玩笑吧！”杰克说。 “不!我是认真的！”安妮说。 “在我从珍妮家回家的路上，我检查了一下树林。 我有一种奇怪的感觉，它回来了——它真的回来了！”“梅林和佩妮在吗？”杰克问。 “我不这么认为，”安妮说。 “我喊你好，但没有人回答。 我想在爬上去之前来接你！”“谢谢，”杰克说。 “在这儿等着。我会告诉妈妈的。” 他冲回屋里。 “妈妈，我和安妮可以做点什么吗？”他喊道。 “好吧，20分钟，不能再多了，”他们的妈妈说。 “烤架差不多好了。” “谢谢！”杰克说。他看了看手表。 现在是5:42。所以他们必须在六点过两分到家。 他抓起背包，匆匆走出了房子。 安妮在人行道上等着。

"Twenty minutes! No more!" Jack called, running toward her. "No problem!" Annie said, and they hurried up the sidewalk together. "I'll bet Merlin wants us to find another secret of greatness," said Jack. "I know," said Annie. "I can't wait!" They crossed the street and headed into the Frog Creek woods. They ran through the shadowy light until they came to the tallest oak. "Merlin? Penny?" Annie called. There was no answer. The woods were still, strangely still. Not a leaf moved. "Let's go up," said Jack. He grabbed the rope ladder and started climbing. Annie followed. When they scrambled into the tree house, there was no sign of Merlin or Penny. "Not here," said Annie. "Nope," said Jack. "But everything else is." He pointed to a piece of paper lying on the floor in the corner. On the paper he'd written the secret of greatness they'd learned on their last mission:

“二十分钟!没有更多的!”杰克喊道，朝她跑去。 “没问题!”安妮说，他们一起匆匆走上人行道。 “我敢打赌梅林想让我们找到另一个伟大的秘密。”杰克说。 “我知道，”安妮说。“我等不及了！”他们穿过街道，向青蛙溪树林走去。 他们穿过昏暗的光线，跑到了最高的一棵橡树前。 “梅林吗?一分钱吗?”安妮叫。 没有人回答。树林里一片寂静，奇怪地寂静。 一片叶子也不动。“我们上去吧，”杰克说。 他抓住绳梯开始往上爬。 安妮。当他们爬进树屋时，梅林和佩妮都不见了。 “不在这里，”安妮说。“不，”杰克说。 “但其他一切都是。”他指着角落里地板上的一张纸。 他在纸上写下了他们在上一次任务中学到的伟大秘诀：

HUMILITY Sitting on top of the paper were two things—a small gold ring and a tiny bottle. Annie picked up the ring and held it out to Jack. "The Ring of Truth," she said. "You get to wear it this time." "Thanks," said Jack. He took the gold ring and slipped it onto his finger. "Just make sure you keep checking to see if it's glowing," said Annie. "Don't worry, I will," said Jack. According to Merlin, the Ring of Truth would glow only when Jack and Annie discovered a true secret of greatness.

纸上有两件东西——一个小金戒指和一个小瓶子。 安妮拿起戒指递给杰克。 “真理之戒，”她说。 “这次你得穿了。” “谢谢，”杰克说。他拿起金戒指戴在手指上。 “只要确保你一直检查它是否在发光，”安妮说。 “别担心，我会的，”杰克说。 根据梅林的说法，只有当杰克和安妮发现了伟大的真正秘密时，真理之戒才会发光。

Annie picked up the tiny bottle. She and Jack stared at its swirling contents. "Wow," she breathed. "Merlin's magic mist." Jack repeated the words of Camelot's magician: "Mist gathered at first light on the first day of the new moon on the Isle of Avalon." "Good memory," said Annie. "Who wouldn't remember that?" said Jack. "If we take a sniff, we can be great at anything we choose for one hour."

安妮拿起小瓶子。 她和杰克盯着里面旋转的东西。 “哇，”她喘着气说。“梅林的魔法迷雾。” 杰克重复了卡梅洛特的魔术师的话：“阿瓦隆岛新月的第一天，晨光初现，薄雾聚集。” “好记性，”安妮说。 “谁会不记得呢？”杰克说。 “如果我们闻一闻，我们可以在一个小时内做任何我们选择的事情。”