07 The Sky Is Falling

Chapter 7. The Sky is Falling The next thing Jack knew, he was lying on the stone patio. The patio stones were trembling. A rumbling sound came from the ground. Jack raised his head. Annie was on the ground too. You okay? said Annie. Jack nodded. Everything was shaking and crashing down around them. Pots, plants, the mermaid.

第七章 天塌下来了 杰克回过神来的时候，正躺在石头露台上。 露台的石头在颤动，地底传来轰隆隆的声响。 杰克抬起头，安妮也躺在地上。 你没事吧？安妮问。杰克点了点头。 周围的一切都在摇晃、坍塌：花盆、植物、还有那个美人鱼雕像。

fountain. Water from the goldfish pond sloshed onto the patio and Jack and Annie. They both jumped up just as roof tiles began falling into the garden. We better get inside, said Jack. He grabbed his leather bag. Then he and Annie stumbled into the scroll library. Giant cracks split the stone floor as Jack and Annie ran to a window and looked out. Glowing rocks were bursting through the sky above Mount Vesuvius. The whole top of the mountain had blown off. What's happening? said Annie. I'll check, said Jack. He pulled out the Roman book. He read aloud from the section about the volcano. When a volcano erupts, hot melted rock called magma is pushed to the surface.

喷泉。金鱼池里的水晃得泼到了露台上，溅到了杰克和安妮身上。他俩 刚跳起来，屋顶的瓦片就开始往花园里掉。 我们最好进屋里去，杰克说。他抓起自己的皮包，接着和安妮踉踉跄跄地 跑进了卷轴藏书室。杰克和安妮跑向一扇窗户的时候，石头地面裂开了巨大的缝隙。 往外望去。维苏威火山上方的天空里，发光的石块正向外喷射。 整座山的山顶都被炸飞了。 发生什么事了？安妮问。我查查，杰克说。他掏出那本讲罗马的书，开始 大声念起关于火山的那部分内容。 火山喷发的时候，被称作岩浆的滚烫熔融岩石会被推到地表。

of the earth. Once it gets outside the volcano, it's called lava. Lava? That's like burning mud, said Jack. It covers everything, cried Annie. Jack kept reading. There was no running lava from Mount Vesuvius. The magma from the volcano cooled so fast that it froze into small grayish -white rocks called pumice. A pumice rock is very light and has holes like a sponge. That doesn't sound too bad, said Annie. Wait, there's more, said Jack. He read on. A great cloud of pumice, ash, and burning rock shot miles into the air. When it rained down on Pompeii, it

之外。一旦它流出火山，就被称作熔岩。 熔岩？就像烧起来的泥对吧，杰克说。它会把所有东西都盖住的，安妮叫起来。杰克接着往下读。 维苏威火山这次没有流动的熔岩。火山喷出来的岩浆冷却得太快了， 凝固成了灰白色的小石头，叫做浮石。浮石非常轻，上面有很多 像海绵一样的小孔。听起来好像不太糟呀，安妮说。等等，还有呢，杰克说。他接着读。 一大团由浮石、火山灰和燃烧的石块组成的云冲到了数英里高的空中。当它们像雨一样落在庞贝城的时候， 它

completely buried the town. Oh, man! said Jack. This is a major disaster. It's getting dark, said Annie. Jack looked out again. A thick black cloud was spreading over the earth like an umbrella. The sun vanished as the sky turned smoky gray. That must be the cloud of pumice and ash, said Jack. Just then the ground trembled again. Chunks of plaster from the ceiling fell on the scrolls. We have to get out of here, said Annie. They ran from the scroll library into the garden. Ash and pumice began to fall. We have to cover our heads, said Jack.

彻底掩埋了这座城市。 我的天呐！杰克喊道。 这可是一场大灾难啊。 天变黑了，安妮说。 杰克又往外望去。 一团厚重的黑云像雨伞一样在地面上方铺开。 太阳消失了，天空变成了灰蒙蒙的烟色。 那肯定就是浮石和火山灰组成的云，杰克说。 就在这时，地面又颤动起来。 天花板上的大块灰泥掉下来，砸在了卷轴上。 我们得离开这儿，安妮说。 他们从卷轴藏书室跑回了花园。 火山灰和浮石开始往下掉了。 我们得护住脑袋，杰克说。

They hurried from the garden into the dining room. Look, pillows, said Annie. Let's put them on our heads. They hurried to the couches beside the table and each grabbed a pillow. Tie it around your head with your belt, said Jack. They both pulled off the belts from around their tunics. Then they tied on the pillows like giant hats. A chunk of ceiling crashed down near them. Let's get out of here, said Jack. They stepped over pieces of fallen roof tiles and ran into the main hall. They pushed open the front door. A blast of heat and dust nearly knocked

他们赶紧从花园跑进了餐厅。 快看，枕头！安妮说。 我们把它们顶在头上吧。 他们快步跑到桌子旁边的沙发那儿，一人抓了一个枕头。 用你的腰带把它绑在头上，杰克说。 他俩都把束腰外衣上的腰带解了下来。 接着他们把枕头绑在头上，像顶了个超大的帽子。 一大块天花板在他们旁边轰然掉落。 我们快离开这儿，杰克说。 他们跨过掉落的瓦片碎块，跑进了主厅。 他们推开了前门。 一股热气和沙尘扑面而来，差点把

them over. And when they stepped outside, pumice rained down onto their pillow hats. Run! cried Annie. They ran from the vacation villa into the dark burning streets. Chapter 8. Nightmare at Noon. In the distance, fire burst from Mount Vesuvius. Burning rocks and fiery ash fell from the sky. The hot dusty air smelled like rotten eggs as Jack and Annie rushed down the street. In the forum, everyone—shoppers, soldiers, gladiators, fruit sellers—was running in every direction. Stalls had collapsed. Carts were sliding. Jack froze. He didn't know where to go. That way! shouted Annie. Jack followed her as they ran past the Temple of Jupiter. Its mighty columns had fallen and its walls were crumbling. They ran past the public baths, just as its roof caved in. Which way now? shouted Annie. The treehouse is in the olive grove, Jack said as they kept running. The olive grove and the bridge are near the street with all those open chops, said Annie. Remember the bridge? Jack looked up at the erupting mountain. A red -hot cloud billowed over it. Fires burned on its slopes. Head in the direction of Mount Vesuvius! he said. It was behind us as we came into Pompeii. Right! cried Annie. So while others ran away from Mount Vesuvius, Jack and Annie ran toward it. On the street with the open chops, baskets, and broken jars rolled over the cracked stones. Jack and Annie ran past the bakery and the shoe shop. They ran past the butcher shop and barber shop. All the shops were empty. Their owners had fled. The closer they got to the volcano, the more the ground trembled. The darker and dustier it got. This is just like my nightmare! cried Annie. Jack choked on the rotten fumes. His eyes watered. Look! the olive grove! shouted Annie. The treehouse is just over there! Come on! Jack could hardly see, but he followed Annie. They left the street and ran to the dried -up stream near the olive grove. Where's the bridge? cried Annie. They looked around wildly. The bridge had vanished. Chapter 9. Save Us The bridge must have caved in! cried Annie. They stared at the dried -up stream. Pumice had piled up in huge drifts, like snow. We'll have to get through that stuff to get across! said Jack. He and Annie slid down the bank onto the piles of pumice. As they started to move across it, more and more fell. Jack tried to move through the millions of warm, grayish white pebbles, but he was trapped. I'm stuck! cried Annie. Me too! said Jack. Remember what Morgan said! said Annie. At the moment, Jack couldn't remember anything. He was too tired and dazed. In your darkest hour, only the ancient story can save you! cried Annie. Where's your bag? Jack lifted his bag into the air, above the sea of pumice. Annie grabbed it and pulled out the ancient scroll. She held it up to the dark sky. Save us, story! she shouted. Jack felt himself sink deeper and deeper into the pumice. Suddenly, he heard a deep voice say, Rise, sun! Then someone lifted Jack up into the air. A great flash of fire lit the dusty darkness. In the red light, Jack saw the biggest, strongest man he'd ever seen in his life. The man looked like a gladiator, but even bigger than the ones they had seen earlier. He held Jack with one hand and Annie with the other. He placed them both on the other bank of the stream. Run! the giant gladiator boomed, before it's too late! Jack and Annie didn't stop to ask any questions. Together they charged through the olive grove. They jumped over fallen branches. They leaped over great cracks in the earth. Finally, they came to the tree with the magic treehouse. They grabbed the rope ladder and scrambled up to the treehouse. Where's the Pennsylvania book? Jack shouted. He was too blinded by ash and dust to find the book that always took them home. I've got it! cried Annie. I wish we could go there! Jack felt the treehouse start to spin. It spun faster and faster and faster. Then everything was still. Absolutely, wonderfully, peacefully, still. Chapter 10. A Simple Explanation Jack didn't move. He had never been so tired in all his life. Breathe! said Annie. Jack gulped in cool, clean air. He opened his eyes. He couldn't see a thing. Take off your glasses! said Annie. They're filthy! Jack took off his glasses. The first thing he saw was his backpack. The white tunics and lace -up sandals were gone. So were their pillow hats and the leather bag. Jack let out a long, deep breath. As he cleaned his glasses on his shirt, a voice came from behind him. I'm very glad to see you safe and sound. Morgan Le Fay stood in the corner of the treehouse. She looked as lovely and mysterious as ever. Happy to be home? she asked. Jack nodded. The sound of the erupting volcano still echoed in his ears. It was pretty scary, he said in a hoarse voice. I know, but you were truly brave, said Morgan. You witnessed a famous event in history. Nowadays scientists study the remains of Pompeii to find out more about Roman times. I feel bad for all those people, said Annie. Yes, said Morgan, but most of the people of Pompeii did escape. The city wasn't completely buried by ash until the next day. We were almost trapped, said Annie, but we asked the ancient story to save us. Then a huge gladiator helped us. Jack reached into his pack. He breathed a sigh of relief. The scroll was still there. He took it out. It was covered with dust and ashes. Here's the story, said Jack. He handed it to Morgan. I am deeply grateful, she said softly. You risked everything to bring this to me. I can never thank you enough. Don't worry about it, said Jack. He didn't want Morgan to know how scared he had been. Yeah, no problem, said Annie. Morgan smiled. You are amazing, Master Librarians. She said, Do you think you're up to rescuing another ancient story? Yes, said Annie. Now, said Jack. Actually, he was a little tired now. Morgan laughed. No. Take a nice vacation. Come back two weeks from today. Then you will take a trip to ancient China, she said. Ancient China? Wow, said Annie. Oh man, said Jack. Go home now and rest, said Morgan. She handed Jack his pack. Thanks, he said. Bye. Bye, said Annie. Morgan gave them a little wave. Then Annie and Jack left the treehouse and headed down the rope ladder. When they reached the ground, Jack looked up. Morgan, he called. What is that story about? The one we just rescued? It's called The Strongest Man in the World, said Morgan. It's a lost tale about Hercules. Hercules, said Jack. Yes, he was one of the heroes of the Greeks and the Romans, said Morgan. He was a son of Jupiter. Oh, wow. Now I get it, said Annie. I'm taking it back now to Camelot's library, said Morgan. Everyone will be so excited to read it, thanks to you. She waved to them. Goodbye for now. As she waved, the wind began to whirl. The treehouse began to spin. In a blur of shadow and light, Morgan and the magic treehouse were gone. Jack and Annie started walking through the woods. Get it? Get it? said Annie. Get what? said Jack. We were saved by Hercules, said Annie. We asked the story to save us, and Hercules appeared. That's not possible, said Jack. It was just some gladiator guy. The story of Hercules is a myth. That means he never really lived. They left the woods and started up their street. I know it's a myth, said Annie, but I have a simple explanation. What? said Jack. Hercules is a myth to people in this time, said Annie. But in Roman times, lots of people believed he was real. So since we were in Roman times, he was real to us. I don't know, said Jack. Did you ever hear the saying, said Annie, When in Rome, do as the Romans do? Jack laughed. Yeah, he looked up at the sky. Thanks, Hercules, he said softly. Whatever you are. Jack, Annie, their dad called from their front porch. Time to go. Oh, brother, I forgot, said Jack. Yeah, I hope nothing exciting happens on our vacation, said Annie. Yeah, said Jack. I hope it's really, really boring. Hurry, their dad said. Coming, they called. Then they took off running for home and a restful vacation. We hope you've enjoyed this unabridged production of Magic Treehouse number 13, Vacation Under the Volcano by Mary Pope Osborne, read by the author. This program was produced and directed by Lewis Milgram. Executive producer, Karen DiMattea. Text copyright 1998 by Mary Pope Osborne. Production copyright 2003, Random House Inc. All rights reserved. This audio program is presented by audible .com. Audible, audio that speaks to you wherever you are.

他们翻过身。等走到屋外时，浮石像雨点似的砸在他们的枕头帽上。 “快跑！”安妮大叫。他们冲出度假别墅，跑进了火光冲天的昏暗街道。 第八章 正午的噩梦 远处，维苏威火山猛地喷出了火焰。 燃烧的石块和滚烫的火山灰从天上砸下来。杰克和安妮在街上狂奔，闷热的满是灰尘的空气闻着像臭鸡蛋的味道。 广场上所有人——买东西的人、士兵、角斗士、卖水果的小贩——都在四散奔逃。 货摊都塌了，马车滑来滑去。杰克僵住了，他不知道该往哪走。 “往那边！”安妮大喊。杰克跟着她跑过朱庇特神庙。 神庙坚固的石柱已经倒了，墙也在不断坍塌。他们跑过公共浴场的时候，浴场的屋顶刚好塌了下来。 “现在往哪走？”安妮大喊。“树屋在橄榄园里。”杰克边跑边说。 “橄榄园和桥就在开满店铺的那条街附近，”安妮说，“还记得那座桥吗？” 杰克抬头看了看正在喷发的火山，一团炽热的红云从山顶翻腾而出，山坡上到处都是燃烧的火焰。 “往维苏威火山的方向走！”他说，“我们进庞贝城的时候它就在我们身后。” “对呀！”安妮大喊。所以当其他人都往远离维苏威火山的方向跑时，杰克和安妮却朝着火山跑了过去。 在开满店铺的那条街上，篮子和碎罐子在开裂的石板路上滚来滚去。 杰克和安妮跑过面包店和鞋店，又跑过肉店和理发店。 所有店铺都空了，店主们早就跑了。他们离火山越近，地面晃得就越厉害。 天也越来越黑，灰尘越来越重。“这和我做的噩梦一模一样！”安妮大叫。 难闻的臭气呛得杰克直咳嗽，他的眼睛都被熏出了眼泪。“看！橄榄园！”安妮大喊。 “树屋就在那边！快啊！”杰克几乎什么都看不见了，但还是紧紧跟着安妮。 他们离开街道，跑向橄榄园附近那条干涸的小溪。 “桥在哪？”安妮大喊。他们疯狂地四处张望，桥已经不见了。 第九章 救救我们 “桥肯定是塌了！”安妮大叫。他们盯着干涸的小溪。 浮石像雪一样堆得厚厚的，到处都是。 “我们得穿过这堆东西才能到对岸！”杰克说。 他和安妮滑下岸，踩到浮石堆上。他们刚开始往对岸走，更多的浮石就掉了下来。 杰克努力想从这无数暖乎乎的灰白色小石子里挪出去，可他被困住了。 “我动不了了！”安妮大叫。“我也是！”杰克说。 “还记得摩根说过什么吗！”安妮说。 这时候杰克什么都想不起来了，他又累又晕。 “在你最黑暗的时刻，只有古老的故事能救你！”安妮大喊。 “你的包在哪？”杰克把包举到空中，举过浮石堆的“海面”。 安妮一把抓过包，掏出了那卷古老的卷轴。 她把卷轴举向昏暗的天空。 “救救我们吧，故事！”她大喊。 杰克感觉自己在浮石里越陷越深。 突然，他听到一个低沉的声音说道：“起来，孩子！” 接着有人把杰克举到了空中。 一道巨大的火光点亮了满是灰尘的黑暗。 在红色的火光里，杰克看到了他这辈子见过的最高大、最强壮的男人。 那个男人看起来像个角斗士，但比他们之前见过的所有角斗士都要高大。 他一只手抱着杰克，另一只手抱着安妮。 他把他们俩都放到了小溪的对岸。 “快跑！”这个巨人角斗士轰隆隆地说道，“不然就来不及了！” 杰克和安妮根本没停下来问问题。 他们一起冲进了橄榄园。 他们跳过倒下的树枝，跃过地面上的大裂缝。 最后，他们终于来到了那棵挂着魔法树屋的树前。 他们抓住绳梯，爬进了树屋。 “宾夕法尼亚的书在哪？”杰克大喊。 火山灰和灰尘迷了他的眼睛，他找不到那本总能带他们回家的书了。 “我拿到了！”安妮大喊，“我希望我们能回家！” 杰克感觉到树屋开始旋转了。 它转得越来越快，越来越快。 然后一切都静止了。 完完全全、美妙极了、安安静静地静止了。 第十章 一个简单的解释 杰克一动不动，他这辈子从来没有这么累过。 “呼吸呀！”安妮说。 杰克大口吸着清凉干净的空气。 他睁开眼睛，却什么都看不见。 “把你的眼镜摘下来！”安妮说，“它们脏透了！” 杰克摘下眼镜，他第一眼看到的就是自己的背包。 白色的束腰外衣和系带凉鞋都不见了。 他们的枕头帽和皮包也不见了。 杰克长长地舒了一口气。 他正用衬衫擦眼镜的时候，身后传来了一个声音。 “看到你们平安无事，我太高兴了。” 摩根·勒·菲站在树屋的角落里。 她看起来还是和往常一样可爱又神秘。 “回家开心吗？”她问。 杰克点了点头，火山喷发的声音还在他耳边回响。 “太吓人了。”他声音沙哑地说。 “我知道，但你们真的很勇敢。”摩根说。 你们见证了历史上的一个著名事件。 现在科学家们研究庞贝的遗迹，想要了解更多关于古罗马时代的信息。 “我为那些人感到难过。”安妮说。 “是啊，”摩根说，“不过庞贝的大部分人都逃出来了。” 这座城市直到第二天才完全被火山灰掩埋。 “我们差点就被困住了，”安妮说，“不过我们请那个古老的故事救了我们。” 然后一个超大的角斗士帮了我们。 杰克把手伸进背包，松了一大口气。 卷轴还在里面。他把卷轴拿了出来，上面沾满了灰尘和火山灰。 “这是那个故事。”杰克说，把它递给了摩根。 “我太感激你们了。”她轻声说。 “你们冒着生命危险把它带给我，我怎么感谢你们都不够。” “别担心，小事一桩。”杰克说。 他不想让摩根知道他刚才有多害怕。 “对呀，没问题的。”安妮说。 摩根笑了，“你们太棒了，图书馆管理员大师。” 她说：“你们觉得你们还能再去救另一个古老的故事吗？” “能啊！”安妮说。 “现在吗？”杰克说，其实他现在有点累了。 摩根笑了，“不是，好好度个假吧，两周后再回来。” “到时候你们要去古代中国旅行。”她说。 “古代中国？哇！”安妮说。 “哦天呐。”杰克说。 “现在回家休息吧。”摩根说，她把背包递给了杰克。 “谢谢。”他说，“再见。” “再见。”安妮说。 摩根冲他们轻轻挥了挥手，然后安妮和杰克离开树屋，顺着绳梯爬了下去。 他们到地面的时候，杰克抬头看了看。 “摩根，”他喊道，“我们刚救的那个故事是讲什么的呀？” “它叫《世界上最强壮的男人》，”摩根说，“是一个已经遗失的关于赫拉克勒斯的故事。” “赫拉克勒斯。”杰克念叨着。 “对呀，他是古希腊和古罗马的英雄之一，”摩根说，“他是朱庇特的儿子。” “哦，哇！我现在懂了！”安妮说。 “我现在要把它带回卡米洛特的图书馆了。”摩根说。 大家读到它都会特别开心的，这都要谢谢你们。 她冲他们挥了挥手，“现在再见啦。” 她挥手的时候，风开始旋转起来，树屋也开始转了。 在光影的模糊交错中，摩根和魔法树屋都消失了。 杰克和安妮开始穿过树林往回走。 “懂了吗？懂了吗？”安妮说。 “懂什么？”杰克说。 “我们是被赫拉克勒斯救了呀，”安妮说，“我们请那个故事救我们，然后赫拉克勒斯就出现了。” “那不可能，”杰克说，“那只是某个角斗士而已。” 赫拉克勒斯的故事是神话，意思就是他从来没有真的存在过。 他们走出树林，踏上了回家的街道。 “我知道是神话呀，”安妮说，“不过我有个简单的解释。” “什么解释？”杰克说。 “对现在的人来说赫拉克勒斯是神话，”安妮说。 但是在古罗马时代，很多人都相信他是真的存在的。 所以我们在古罗马的时候，他对我们来说就是真的呀。 “我不知道哦。”杰克说。 “你有没有听过这句话呀，”安妮说， “入乡随俗？” 杰克笑了，“是啊。”他抬头看向天空。 “谢谢你，赫拉克勒斯。”他轻声说。 “不管你是什么。” “杰克，安妮！”他们的爸爸在前门廊喊他们。 “该走啦。” “哦天呐，我都忘了。”杰克说。 “是啊，我希望我们的假期不要发生什么刺激的事了。”安妮说。 “对呀，”杰克说，“我希望假期特别特别无聊才好。” “快点呀。”他们的爸爸说。 “来了！”他们大喊。 然后他们就朝着家跑过去，去度过一个安安静静的假期。 希望您喜欢本次未删减版的《魔法树屋第13部：火山下的假期》， 作者玛丽·波·奥斯本，朗读者也是作者本人。 本节目由刘易斯·米尔格拉姆制作并执导。 执行制片人：凯伦·迪马蒂亚。 文本版权1998年归玛丽·波·奥斯本所有。 制作版权2003年归兰登书屋所有。 保留所有权利。 本有声节目由audible.com出品。 Audible，随时随地，好声相伴。