09 The Silk Path

Chapter 9, The Silk Path. What's going on? said Jack. I don't know, said Annie, but we better follow it. She hurried after the ball of silk thread. Jack put the bamboo book into a sack and took off after her. They followed the trail of thread down the row where it turned down another row. Hey, that's impossible, said Jack. That's scientifically impossible. I told you it's magic, cried Annie.

第九章 丝绸之路 “发生什么事了？”杰克问。 “我不知道呀，”安妮说，“不过我们最好跟着它走。” 她急匆匆地追着那团丝线跑。 杰克把竹简书塞进布袋子，也跟在她身后跑了起来。 他们跟着丝线的痕迹走下一排，丝线又拐到了另一排去。 “嘿，这不可能啊。”杰克说。 这从科学上说根本说不通。 “我早说过这是魔法呀。”安妮大声叫道。

Jack couldn't believe it, but he kept following the thread. Suddenly the trail of thread was gone. The ball had completely unrolled. Jack and Annie stood still for a moment and caught their breath. What, what now? said Jack. I guess we go up those stairs, Annie said. What stairs? said Jack. There!

杰克虽然不敢相信，可还是一直跟着丝线走。 忽然，丝线的痕迹消失了。 那团丝线已经完全散开了。 杰克和安妮站在原地歇了会儿，喘匀了气。 “什、什么，现在怎么办？”杰克问。 “我觉得我们应该爬上那些楼梯。”安妮说。 “什么楼梯？”杰克问。 在那儿！

Jack looked through the dim light and saw the entrance to a stairway only a few feet away Let's get out of here He said they ran up the stairs at the top they saw that they were in the hall that led to the entrance of the mound They walked and walked and walked down the lamp lit passage Finally Jack stopped. I don't remember this hall being so long. He said me neither Said Annie I guess those weren't the same stairs that we went down What should we do now said Jack? We better keep going said Annie Yeah, we don't have much choice Said Jack

杰克借着昏暗的光线看去，发现几英尺外就是一个楼梯的入口。 “我们快离开这儿吧。” 他说完，两人就跑上了楼梯，到了顶层才发现他们站在通往土丘入口的大厅里。 他们沿着点着灯的走廊走啊走，走了好久。 最后杰克停了下来。“我不记得这个走廊有这么长啊。”他说。“我也不记得。” 安妮说：“我觉得我们刚才爬的楼梯，和之前下来的不是同一个。” “我们现在该怎么办呀？”杰克问。“我们最好继续往前走。”安妮说。 “是啊，我们也没别的选择了。” 杰克说。

They started walking again. They rounded a corner and came to a door. Oh Great said Annie wait. We don't know what's on the other side said Jack go slow be careful Okay, said Annie Slowly and carefully she opened the door then she peeked out Yippee she said softly Annie stepped into the fading daylight Jack stepped out after her the Sun had gone down They were standing outside the gate of the Dragon Kings Palace They could see the market not far away the stalls were closing for the day We're safe said Annie Jack breathed a huge sigh of relief Just then a gong sounded it was coming

他们又开始往前走，转过一个拐角就看到了一扇门。“哦！” “太棒了！”安妮说。“等一下，我们不知道门另一边是什么。”杰克说，“慢点儿，小心点。” “好呀。”安妮说。 她慢腾腾地、小心翼翼地打开门，往外瞅了瞅。 “耶！”她小声欢呼，迈步走进了渐渐暗下去的日光里。 杰克跟在她身后走了出去，太阳已经落山了。 他们正站在龙王宫的大门外面。 不远处就是集市，摊贩们正准备收摊结束一天的生意。 “我们安全啦！”安妮说。杰克长长地松了一口气。 就在这时，传来了一阵锣声。

from the tower of the city walls. Oh man, they're going to close the gates, said Jack. He clutched his sack as they took off. They charged up the street. They ran past the market. They ran past the rich houses, past the poor houses. Their straw shoes fell off, but Jack and Annie kept running barefoot. Just as the giant wooden gates started to close, they tore through them.

是从城墙的塔楼上传来的。 “哎呀，他们要关城门了！”杰克叫道。 他紧紧攥住自己的布袋子，两人拔腿就跑。 他们沿着大街往前冲。 他们跑过了集市。 他们跑过了富人的宅邸，又跑过了穷人的屋子。 他们的草鞋掉了，可杰克和安妮还是光着脚继续跑。 就在巨大的木门即将关上的瞬间，他们冲了出去。

They charged across the bridge and kept running up the dirt road, past the farmhouse and through the field. By the time they reached their tree, Jack's lungs ached, his heart pounded, his feet burned. He followed Annie up the rope ladder. When they got inside the treehouse, Jack collapsed. Let's go home, he said out of breath. He reached for the Pennsylvania book. Wait! Said Annie, looking out the window. They found each other. Who? Found who? Said Jack panting. He dragged himself to the window and looked out. Two figures embraced at the edge of the field.

他们冲过了桥，顺着土路继续往前跑，路过了农舍，穿过了 田野。 等他们跑到那棵树跟前时，杰克肺疼得厉害，心脏咚咚跳，脚也火辣辣的疼。 他跟着安妮爬上了绳梯。 他们爬进树屋后，杰克直接瘫倒了。 “我们回家吧。”他上气不接下气地说。 他伸手去拿那本宾夕法尼亚的书。 “等一下！” 安妮望着窗外说道。 他们找到彼此啦。 “谁？” “找到谁了？” 杰克喘着气问。 他拖着身子挪到窗边往外看。 田野边上，两个人影正抱在一起。