Ch6-Jolly Jack and the Amazing Annie

CHAPTER SIX Jolly Jack and the Amazing Annie As the orchestra played, Mr. Wilson guided Jack and Annie through the backstage area. "Watch out, kids," he said. "Like I said before, it's a tough crowd out there tonight." Jack smiled confidently. No crowd is too tough for us, he thought.

当乐队演奏时，威尔逊先生领着杰克和安妮穿过后台。 “小心，孩子们，”他说。 “就像我之前说的，今晚的观众很难对付。” 杰克自信地笑了。对我们来说，没有什么人群是难对付的，他想。

Hank and Butch set the table with Jack and Annie's props center stage behind the closed curtain. The stage was lit with a soft rosy light. "Places!" called Mr. Wilson. Jack and Annie nodded and calmly took their places in front of the table. They heard a long drumroll, then a cymbal crash. They heard Mr. Dewey speaking to the audience from in front of the curtain: "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Great Houdini show! I have a very special and wonderful surprise for you this evening. As you may know, the Bambini Brothers were scheduled to be our opening act. But instead, it will be your great good fortune to welcome a truly remarkable pair of young illusionists. These master magicians have performed in theaters all around the world, and tonight they are here to perform for you! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Jolly Jack and the Amazing Annie!" A trumpet blasted, the curtain rose, and the crowd clapped and whistled as Jack and Annie stepped into a yellow spotlight.

汉克和布奇把桌子放在舞台中央，杰克和安妮的道具放在拉开的幕布后面。 舞台被柔和的玫瑰色灯光照亮了。 “各就各位！”威尔逊先生喊道。 杰克和安妮点点头，平静地在桌子前就座。 他们听到一声长长的鼓声，然后是铙钹的撞击声。 他们听到杜威先生在幕布前对观众说：“女士们，先生们！欢迎来到伟大的胡迪尼表演！今晚我为你们准备了一个特别的惊喜。 你可能知道，班比尼兄弟本来是我们的开场表演。 但相反，你们将有幸欢迎一对真正杰出的年轻魔术师。 这些魔术大师已经在世界各地的剧院表演过，今晚他们就在这里为你们表演！女士们，先生们，我为你们献上Jolly Jack和Amazing Annie!”号角吹响，幕布拉开，杰克和安妮走进黄色的聚光灯下，人群拍手叫好。

Looking out at the audience, Jack chuckled like a seasoned performer. His heart pounded, but not with fear. It pounded with an excitement that made him want to do his best. "Good evening, friends!" Jack shouted over the applause. "They call me Jolly Jack because nothing brings me greater joy than entertaining folks like you! And they call my sister Amazing Annie because—" Jack held his gloved hand out toward Annie. "I love to amaze you with my amazing ability to amaze you!" Annie shouted. The cymbals crashed. The crowd laughed. "Do not let our youthful appearance fool you!" Annie went on. "My brother and I have traveled the globe to discover mysteries both ancient and modern!" Jack took off his top hat and turned it toward the crowd. "I direct your attention to my hat," he said. "As you can see, the inside is quite ordinary. But strange things happen with this hat, especially when I touch it with a wand given to us by an Arabian princess."

杰克望着台下的观众，像一个老练的表演者一样咯咯地笑了起来。 他的心怦怦直跳，但不是害怕。 它激动地轰鸣着，使他想全力以赴。 “晚上好，朋友们！”杰克在掌声中喊道。 “他们叫我乔利杰克，因为没有什么比让你们这样的人开心更能给我带来快乐了！”他们叫我妹妹神奇的安妮，因为——”杰克把戴着手套的手伸向安妮。 “我喜欢用我惊人的能力给你带来惊喜！”安妮喊道。 铙钹轰鸣。人群笑了。 “不要让我们年轻的外表欺骗了你！”安妮接着说。 “我哥哥和我周游世界，去发现古代和现代的奥秘！”杰克摘下他的大礼帽，把它转向人群。 “我请你注意我的帽子，”他说。 “正如你所看到的，里面很普通。 但是这顶帽子发生了奇怪的事情，特别是当我用阿拉伯公主送给我们的魔杖碰它的时候。”

Jack looked around. "Oh, dear, I seem to have forgotten my wand." Annie stepped forward. She swept her right arm in front of her—and presto! A wand appeared in her hand! Jack knew that when she waved her arm, she had simply allowed one of the hidden wands to slip from her sleeve. The cymbals crashed. The crowd cheered. Annie grinned triumphantly and bowed. While Annie was distracting everyone, Jack casually put his hat upside down on the velvet tabletop, over one of the hidden trapdoors. As he set the hat down, he pressed on the trapdoor and it flapped open. "Thank you, Amazing Annie!" Jack called. Annie handed Jack the wand, and he stepped back and waved it around the brim of the top hat. The crowd grew quiet. In a deep, mysterious voice, Jack intoned, "Zoom-bally-win-doo-chee-gone-hay! Which means, Oh, marvelous hat, what do you have for me today?"

杰克环顾四周。“哦，天哪，我好像忘记带魔杖了。” 安妮走上前去。她把右臂甩到身前——转眼间！她手里出现了一根魔杖！杰克知道，当她挥动手臂时，她只是让一根隐藏的魔杖从袖子里滑了出来。 铙钹轰鸣。人群欢呼起来。 安妮得意地笑了笑，鞠了一躬。 当安妮分散大家的注意力时，杰克随意地把帽子倒放在天鹅绒桌面上，盖在一扇隐藏的活板门上方。 他放下帽子，按了一下活板门，门啪地一声开了。 “谢谢你，了不起的安妮！”杰克叫。 安妮把魔杖递给杰克，他退后一步，在大礼帽的帽檐上挥舞着魔杖。 人群安静了下来。杰克用一种深沉而神秘的声音吟诵着：“zoom -bally- doo- chei -go -hay!”这意味着，哦，奇妙的帽子，你今天有什么给我？”

Jack tapped the hat, stepped back from the table, and turned to Annie. "My dear, may I ask you to check my hat, please?" he said. "I have a feeling it holds a surprise." There was a drumroll as Annie slowly reached into the hat. Jack knew she was pushing down on the top of the hat, which also had a secret flap. A small white rabbit suddenly leapt from the secret compartment, through the hat, and into Annie's arms! The orchestra played triumphant music, and the audience cheered. Two more rabbits jumped out! Each time, Annie caught the rabbits and pretended to be surprised. The cymbals crashed.

杰克敲了敲帽子，从桌边退了回来，转向安妮。 “亲爱的，我可以请你检查一下我的帽子吗？”他说。 “我有一种感觉，它会给你一个惊喜。” 当安妮慢慢把手伸进帽子时，响起了鼓声。 杰克知道她在按帽子的顶部，帽子上也有一个秘密的盖子。 一只小白兔突然从秘密隔间里跳了出来，穿过帽子，跳到安妮的怀里！管弦乐队演奏了胜利的乐曲，观众欢呼起来。 又跳出两只兔子！每次，安妮都抓住兔子，假装很惊讶。 铙钹轰鸣。

The audience laughed and clapped. Annie handed the rabbits to Hank and Butch, who carried them offstage. Then she took off her own hat. "Ladies and gentlemen!" she shouted. "As you can see, my hat is as empty as my brother's was." She showed the inside of the hat to the audience. "But it also holds wonders." Annie set her hat on the table beside Jack's, carefully placing it on top of the second hidden door. "Oh, I'm going to need another wand!" she said. This time, she swept her left arm in front of her, and presto! The second wand appeared in her hand. As the crowd applauded, Annie waved the wand over her hat. In a strange voice, she said, "Zoombally-hula-hula-hi-ho-hay! Which means, Oh, wondrous hat, send new friends our way!" Jack reached into the hat, pushed down on the secret flap, then gently lifted out a dove. As the crowd cheered and clapped, he reached in again and took out the second dove. Jack handed the birds to Annie. They perched on her fingers as she lifted her hands into the air. The birds flapped their wings, bowing to the audience.

观众又笑又鼓掌。 安妮把兔子递给汉克和布奇，汉克和布奇把它们带出了舞台。 然后她脱下了自己的帽子。 “女士们，先生们！”她喊道。 “正如你所看到的，我的帽子和我哥哥的一样空。” 她把帽子的里面展示给观众看。 “但它也有奇迹。” 安妮把她的帽子放在杰克旁边的桌子上，小心地放在第二扇隐蔽的门上。 “哦，我还需要一根魔杖！” 这一次，她把左臂在身前一挥，就这样！第二根魔杖出现在她手里。 在人群的掌声中，安妮在帽子上挥舞着魔杖。 她用一种奇怪的声音说：“Zoombally-hula-hula-hi-ho-hay！意思是，哦，神奇的帽子，送新朋友来吧！”杰克把手伸进帽子里，按下秘密的盖子，然后轻轻地拿出一只鸽子。 在人群的欢呼和鼓掌中，他再次伸手取出第二只鸽子。 杰克把鸟递给安妮。 当她举起双手时，它们停在她的手指上。 鸟儿拍打着翅膀，向观众鞠躬。