《神奇树屋》 第十九册 Tigers at Twilight 05 Night Walk

　　"Uh-oh," said Jack¹. "What is it?""I know how to escape the tiger" said Annie. "Ourbook said tigers don't attack elephants, right?""Yeah," said Jack.

"So we should travel through the forest on the backof an elephant," said Annie.

Jack nodded slowly.

"That is a cool idea," he said. "But-No buts. I'll get on first," said Annie.

She climbed down the tree until she was close tothe elephant's back. She carefully lowered herself offa branch. When her feet rested on the elephant's back,she let go of the branch. Then she slowly sat down.

The elephant let out a low rumbling² sound andshifted her weight.

"Don't worry, it's just me," Annie said softly. Shepatted the huge creature's back. "Thanks, Saba.""Saba?" said Jack.

"That's her name," said Annie. "She just told me.""Yeah, right," said Jack. Arf! Arf! barked Teddy.

"Come on, Jack," said Annie. "It's not scary."Jack sighed and slowly climbed down the tree.

When he was above Saba, he lowered himself off thebranch.

11He put both feet on the elephant. Then he carefullysat down in front of Annie.

Saba rumbled³ again.

"Tell her not to worry," said Annie. "Pat her head.""Don't worry, Saba," Jack said. He patted theelephant's head. Her skin was rough and wrinkled.

The elephant curled her trunk back and rested it onJack's head.

"Hi," he said in a small voice.

Saba flapped her ears.

Kah and Ko swung to the ground in front of Saba.

They chattered⁴ at her. She waved her trunk at them.

The langurs began bounding through the forest.

Saba followed.

The rest of the herd⁵ followed in line. Saba walkedwith a calm, rolling motion. Jack felt as if he wereriding over ocean waves.

A full moon was rising above the trees.

"Where are we going?" Jack asked.

"Just relax," said Annie. "Kah and Ko know whereto go."Arf! Arf! Teddy barked from Jack's back-pack.

"You relax, too," Jack said to the little dog. Firefliesblinked. The moon lit a path between the trees as theelephants marched on.

From a distance came a low growl⁶.

Is that the tiger? Jack wondered.

The elephants paid no attention. They kept walkingthrough the warm woods. They marched slowlyunder hanging vines and through misty⁷ clearings.

Kah and Ko bounded ahead of them, two moonshadows leading the way.

"We're going far from the tree house," said Jack.

"Don't worry," Annie said.

Suddenly, a long roar split the night.

A chill went down Jack's spine⁸.

12The roar came again. It turned into a yowling. Theyowling turned into steady moaning. It sounded as ifthe whole forest were moaning.

"That's a really sad sound," said Annie sleepily.

"Yeah," said Jack.

But the elephants all marched on.

Jack rocked in sleepy rhythm with Saba's walk. Hecould hear Teddy snoring in his backpack.

Soon Jack's head rested on Saba's back. He begandrifting in and out of dreams-- dreams of rocking in aboat under the dark treetops.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

3 rumbled   

发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋）

参考例句：

• The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
• Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了，然而，在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声，持续不断。

4 chattered   

（人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤

参考例句：

• They chattered away happily for a while. 他们高兴地闲扯了一会儿。
• We chattered like two teenagers. 我们聊着天，像两个十多岁的孩子。

5 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

6 growl   

v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣

参考例句：

• The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。
• The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

7 misty   

adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的

参考例句：

• He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
• The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。

8 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。