《神奇树屋》 第三十册 Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve 10 Where Is It?

　　Jack¹ and Annie perched on the ledge² and peeredinto the nursery. Teddy's lantern and hazel twig³ werestill on the floor. But there was no sign of Teddy.

Teddy's not here yet,croaked⁴ Annie.

Let's go aheadand putthe diamond back in its place.

Jack didn't move. He didn't want to give upthe diamond quite yet. It still made him feelincredibly brave.

Jack? croaked Annie.

Let's put it back in its hiding place. I'll move thetapestry.

74Annie flapped to the long tapestry⁵ hanging on thewall. Fluttering in the air, she took its edge in herbeak. She tried to pull it aside, but it was too heavy.

She let go.

can't move it, she croaked, notas long as I'm a raven⁷. I guess we'll have to wait forTeddy to change us back into ourselves.

She flapped to the window ledge and landed besideJack. Jack was relieved. The longer he could hold onto the diamond, the better.

Hey! croaked Annie.

Maybe we could use Teddy's magic hazel twigourselves! Ican comeup with better rhymes than him anyway. It won'thurtto try.

Jack shook his head. But Annie didn't notice.

She hopped⁸ down to the hazel twig under thewindow. She carefully picked it up with her beak⁶.

She fluttered back up to the ledge beside Jack. Thenshe moved her head from side toside, passing the twig over Jack's feathered75head, his body, his wings, and his claws. The twigpassed over her feathery body and wings as well.

With the twig still in her beak, she made a deepcroaking sound.

"HA-HA-REE-REE! JAH-JAH-AWK-NEE!7I0 hazeltwig from hazel tree!

Make him Jack, and make me, me!

There was a mighty⁹ roar and a flash of light and ablast of heat!

Then Jack heard Annie giggle¹⁰. "Yippee! I made themagic work for us. Look."Jack looked down at his arms and legs and feet. "Ohh, man," he breathed.

Awk-nee and Jah were gone. Annie and Jack wereback.

Jack wiggled his fingers and toes. He felt his face:

his mouth, his nose, his ears. He loved having hisown body back!

"Teddy's going to be so surprised," said Annie.

76"He acts like he's the only kid who can do magic."She looked around the nursery. "Hi! We're back!" shecalled to the invisible children.

"Guess what? We've got the diamond!""The diamond! Where is it?" said Jack. "Imust've dropped it when you changed us!"Suddenly they heard a swoosh and a flapping at thewindow.

"Teddy!" cried Annie. She and Jack whirled around.

But Teddy wasn't there.

Instead, perched on the ledge of the nurserywindow was a horrifying¹¹ creature. He was parthuman and part raven. He had silky feathers for hair,a beak for a nose, sharp claws, and a billowingfeathered cape¹² that glistened¹³ in the moonlight likeshiny black armor.

"Good evening," said the Raven King.

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 ledge   

n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁

参考例句：

• They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
• Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上，摔倒了。

3 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

4 croaked   

v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说

参考例句：

• The crow croaked disaster. 乌鸦呱呱叫预报灾难。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• 'she has a fine head for it," croaked Jacques Three. “她有一个漂亮的脑袋跟着去呢，”雅克三号低沉地说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

5 tapestry   

n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面

参考例句：

• How about this artistic tapestry and this cloisonne vase?这件艺术挂毯和这个景泰蓝花瓶怎么样？
• The wall of my living room was hung with a tapestry.我的起居室的墙上挂着一块壁毯。

6 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

7 raven   

n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的

参考例句：

• We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。
• Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

8 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

9 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

10 giggle   

n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说

参考例句：

• Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。
• All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。

11 horrifying   

a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的

参考例句：

• He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。

12 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

13 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》