01 Special Magic

Stage fright on a summer night.

夏夜的怯场时刻。

Chapter 1 Special Magic Jack and Annie sat on their porch. Lightning bugs blinked in the warm summer twilight. Wow, a shooting star! said Annie pointing at the sky. Jack looked up just in time to see a streak of light flash through the sky. The light hovered above the Frog Creek woods. Then it disappeared into the treetops. Jack caught his breath. He turned to Annie.

第一章 特殊魔法 杰克和安妮坐在门廊上，夏日温暖的暮色里萤火虫一闪一闪的。 “哇，有流星！”安妮指着天空喊道。 杰克连忙抬头，刚好看见一道亮光划过天际。 那道光在青蛙溪树林的上空盘旋了一会儿，接着就消失在了树梢里。 杰克屏住了呼吸，转头看向安妮。

That was no shooting star, he said. Right, she said. They jumped up. Jack grabbed his backpack from inside the front hall. Dad, Mom, can we go out? He called. We'll be back soon. Ten minutes, no more, their mom said. Okay, said Jack. He closed the door. Let's go, hurry. He and Annie ran across their yard. They ran down their street. They ran into the woods. They ran until they came to the tallest oak. They looked up. Yep, said Annie. Jack just smiled. He was too happy for words. That's our shooting star, said Annie, the magic treehouse.

“那才不是流星。”他说。 “对呀。”她说。 他俩一下子跳了起来。 杰克进门厅抓起了自己的背包。 “爸爸，妈妈，我们可以出门玩会儿吗？” 他大声喊道。 “我们很快就回来。” “最多十分钟，不能更久哦。”妈妈说。 “好的。”杰克说。 他关上了门。 “快走，快点儿。” 他和安妮跑过自家的院子。 他们沿着街道往前跑。 他们跑进了树林里。 他们一直跑到那棵最高的橡树前才停下。 他们抬头望去。 “没错。”安妮说。 杰克只是笑了笑。 他开心得都说不出话来了。 “那就是我们的流星呀，”安妮说，“就是那座魔法树屋。”

She grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Jack followed. When they climbed inside the treehouse, they both gasped. A beautiful woman with long white hair stood in the shadowy corner. Hello, Jack and Annie, said Morgan Le Fay. Morgan, Jack and Annie cried. They threw their arms around her. Why are you here? Said Annie. What do you want us to do for you? You have already done many good things for me, said Morgan. And for King Arthur and Camelot, now I want you to do something good for yourselves. You are going to learn magic.

她抓着绳梯就往上爬。 杰克跟在她后面。 等他们爬进树屋，两个人都惊讶得倒抽了口气。 一个留着长长白头发的漂亮女人站在昏暗的角落里。 “你们好呀，杰克，安妮。”摩根·勒·菲说道。 “摩根！”杰克和安妮齐声喊道。 他们冲过去抱住了她。 “你怎么会在这里呀？” 安妮问。 “你想让我们帮你做什么呀？” “你们已经帮我做了好多好多事啦。”摩根说。 也帮亚瑟王和卡米洛特做了很多，现在我想让你们为自己做点有意思的事。 “你们要去学习魔法啦。”

Wow, said Annie. Are we going to become magicians? Will you teach us charms and spells? Morgan laughed. There is magic that does not need charms or spells, she said. You'll find a special magic on each of your next adventures. How, asked Jack. A secret rhyme will guide you on each journey, Morgan said. Here, this is the first. She held up a slip of paper. Annie took the paper from Morgan and read the rhyme aloud. To find a special magic, you must step into the light, and without one spell or charm, turn daytime into night. Turn daytime into night, said Jack. How can we do that? Morgan smiled.

“哇！”安妮惊叹道。 “我们要变成魔法师了吗？” “你会教我们咒语和魔法咒文吗？” 摩根笑了起来。 “有一种魔法是不需要咒语或者咒文的哦。”她说。 “你们接下来的每一次冒险，都会找到一种特殊的魔法。” “怎么找呀？”杰克问。 “每一趟旅程都会有一段秘密童谣指引你们。”摩根说。 “给，这是第一段。” 她举起了一张小纸条。 安妮从摩根手里接过纸条，大声读出了上面的童谣。 要找到特殊的魔法，你得走进光里，还有 不用任何咒语咒文，把白天变成黑夜。 “把白天变成黑夜？”杰克说。 “我们怎么能做到呀？” 摩根笑了笑。

That's what you have to find out," she said. Jack had lots of questions, but before he could ask any of them a flash lit up the treehouse. He closed his eyes against the light. When he opened them, Morgan Le Fay was gone. On the floor where she had stood was a book. Morgan didn't tell us enough, said Jack. But she left this research book, said Annie. She picked up the book. And it'll tell us the first place to go. She held the book up to the gray light at the window. The cover showed a busy river with boats and a bridge. The title was Mary Old England. What's O -L -D -E mean? asked Annie. I think that's the old way of spelling old, said Jack. You say it the same.

“这就得你们自己去找答案啦。”她说。 杰克还有好多问题，可他还没来得及开口，一道亮光照亮了整座树屋。 他被光晃得闭上了眼睛。 等他再睁开眼，摩根·勒·菲已经不见了。 她刚才站的地方的地板上，放着一本书。 “摩根都没跟我们说清楚。”杰克说。 “可她留下了这本调查书呀。”安妮说。 她把书捡了起来。 “它会告诉我们第一站要去哪里的。” 她把书举到窗边，对着灰蒙蒙的光线看。 封面上画着一条热闹的河，河上有船还有一座桥。 书名是《欢乐古英格兰》。 “O-L-D-E是什么意思呀？”安妮问。 “我觉得这是old的旧写法哦。”杰克说。 “读音是一样的。”