8 The Otherworld

Chapter 8 The Other World The Other World was completely different from the dark, cold world Jack and Annie had just left behind. They were standing at the edge of a pale green meadow. The meadow was bathed in warm, rosy sunlight. Three horses, one black, one brown, one gray, were grazing nearby. On a hillside beyond the meadow, red and purple flowers sparkled like bright buttons. It's so nice here, said Annie.

第八章 异世界 这个异世界和杰克、安妮刚刚告别 的黑暗寒冷世界截然不同。他们站在一片淡绿色草甸的边缘，草甸正沐浴 在暖融融的玫瑰色阳光下。三匹马，一匹黑、一匹棕、一匹灰，正在附近吃草。 草甸那头的山坡上，红色和紫色的小花像亮晶晶的纽扣一样闪着光。 “这里好舒服呀。”安妮说。

Yeah," said Jack. Maybe we won't need this any more. He pulled the hood of the cloak off their heads. He was relieved to see Annie's face and to see himself. What was the first rhyme again? asked Annie. Jack took out his notebook. He found the first rhyme and read aloud. Beyond the iron gate, the keepers of the cauldron wait. He looked around warily. I wonder where the keepers of the cauldron are? He said, What do you mean? asked Annie. We just sneaked past them, remember? Whoosh! I don't know, said Jack. The rhyme says beyond the iron gate. Those guards were standing in front of the gate. They weren't beyond it. Shhh! said Annie. Listen! From over the hill came the faint sounds of sweet joyful music. Maybe the keepers of the cauldron are playing that music, said Annie.

“是啊。”杰克说。 说不定我们用不着这个东西了。 他把斗篷的兜帽从两人头上扯了下来。 能看到安妮的脸，也能看清自己的样子，他松了口气。 第一句咒语是啥来着？ 安妮问道。 杰克掏出了他的笔记本。 他找到第一句咒语，大声念了出来。 铁门之外，炼釜守护者在等候。 他警惕地四处张望。 不知道炼釜守护者在哪儿呢？ 他说。 你这话是什么意思呀？ 安妮问。 我们刚刚才偷偷从他们身边溜过去呀，你不记得了？ 嗖！ “我不知道。”杰克说。 咒语说的是铁门之外。 刚才那些卫兵是站在大门前面的。 不是在大门外面。 “嘘！”安妮说。 你听！ 小山的那头传来了隐隐约约的甜美欢快的音乐声。 说不定那音乐就是炼釜守护者演奏的呀。 安妮说。

Maybe," said Jack. He listened for a moment and smiled. The music made him feel light and happy. Let's go meet the keepers," said Annie. Not so fast, said Jack. Shouldn't we be invisible again, just in case? I guess so, said Annie, sighing. Jack pulled the hood of the cloak over their heads. Together they started walking invisibly meadow. They passed the three horses and climbed the flower -covered hill. At the top they looked down. Oh, man, said Jack. The hill sloped gently down into a misty green glade. In the middle of the glade a band of musicians played flutes and pipes, drums and violins. Around the band hundreds of dancers danced in a huge circle. The keepers of the cauldron, said Annie. The dancers and musicians were smiling and laughing. They wore blue coats and green coats, white gowns and yellow gowns. They wore sparkling red slippers and hats with colored feathers.

“有可能。”杰克说。他听了一会儿笑了，这音乐让他觉得轻飘飘的 又开心。 “我们去找那些守护者吧。”安妮说。 “别急呀。”杰克说，“我们是不是该重新隐身，以防万一？” “好吧。”安妮叹了口气说。 杰克把斗篷的兜帽拉起来罩住两人的头，他们一起隐身往前 走，穿过草甸，经过那三匹马，爬上开满鲜花的小山，到了山顶他们往下 望去。 “哇哦。”杰克说。小山缓缓向下延伸到一片雾气朦胧的绿色林间空地，空地中央 有一队乐手正在吹奏长笛、风笛，敲鼓、拉小提琴，乐队周围 几百名舞者正围着一个巨大的圆圈跳舞。 “是炼釜守护者。”安妮说。舞者和乐手们都笑容满面，欢声笑语。 他们有的穿蓝色外套、绿色外套，有的穿白色长袍、黄色长袍，脚上蹬着闪闪发亮的 红拖鞋，头上戴着插着彩色羽毛的帽子。

The dancers looked like people, except they all had glittering gold skin and wings that shimmered in the mist like spun silver. They're beautiful, said Annie. Yeah, they are, said Jack. I don't think we need to be invisible with them, said Annie. I think you're right, said Jack. He and Annie threw off the red cloak. They left it in the dewy grass and ran down the hillside to the wing of dancers. The dancers paid no attention to them. They just kept going around and around in their joyous circle. I feel like dancing with them, said Annie. Me too, said Jack. It was strange. He was usually shy about dancing, but he wanted to join this dance more than anything. Jack pulled off his backpack. As he set it down he saw three swords lying in the grass.

舞者们看起来和人类差不多，只不过他们都有着闪闪发亮的金色皮肤，还有翅膀 在雾气中像纺好的银线一样闪着光。 “他们好漂亮呀。”安妮说。 “是啊，真好看。”杰克说。 “我觉得对着他们不用隐身啦。”安妮说。 “我觉得你说得对。”杰克说。 他和安妮把红色斗篷扯了下来。 他们把斗篷丢在沾着露水的草地上，跑下山坡朝那群带翅膀的舞者奔去。 舞者们根本没注意到他俩。 只是继续欢快地绕着圈子跳个不停。 “我想和他们一起跳舞。”安妮说。 “我也想。”杰克说。 这可太奇怪了。 他平时跳舞总觉得不好意思，但现在他无比想要加入这场舞蹈。 杰克摘下他的背包。 把背包放下的时候，他看见草地上摆着三把剑。

But he didn't stop to wonder about them. The music was calling. The winged dancers broke their circle and welcomed Jack and Annie into their dance. Annie held Jack's right hand as he grasped the slender golden hand of the dancer on his left. The dancers smiled down at him. Like the others, she was as tall as a grown -up, but she didn't have any lines or wrinkles on her face. All the dancers looked very young, yet they seemed ancient at the same time. As Jack danced around in the circle, his heart leaped, his spirit soared, his glasses fell off, but he didn't care. He kept dancing. As he danced, everything in his mind became a blur. He forgot about Morgan and Camelot. He forgot about the quest for the water of memory and imagination. He forgot all his fears and worries. Jack, look! Annie cried. Jack looked at her. Hi! He shouted, laughing.

但他没停下来琢磨这几把剑是怎么回事，音乐正在召唤他。 带翅膀的舞者们散开了圆圈，欢迎杰克和安妮加入他们的舞蹈。 安妮握着杰克的右手，杰克则握住了他左边舞者纤细的金色手掌 。舞者低头朝他笑了笑。和其他舞者一样，她和成年人一样高 但脸上一点纹路和皱纹都没有。 所有舞者看起来都非常年轻，却又好像已经活了很久。杰克跟着圆圈 跳舞的时候，心脏砰砰跳，心情飘得老高，眼镜掉了他也 不在意。他继续跳着。跳着跳着，他脑子里的所有东西都变得模糊起来，他忘了 摩根和卡米洛特，忘了要寻找记忆与想象之水的任务。 他把所有的恐惧和烦恼都忘了。 “杰克，你看！”安妮喊道。杰克看向她，“嗨！”他大笑着喊。

No, don't look at me, she called. Look there, look across the circle. I can't see, he said. Three nights, Annie shouted. Three nights dancing.

“哎呀，别看着我呀。”她喊道。 看那边，看圆圈对面。 “我看不见呀。”他说。 “三个晚上！”安妮大喊。 跳了三个晚上的舞。