《神奇树屋》 第十八册 Buffalo Before Breakfast 09 Lakota School

　　Jack¹ felt Teddy licking² his cheek.

He opened his eyes. Gray light came through the smoke hole.

The fire was out. The tepee was empty.

Jack jumped up. He grabbed³ his bag and hurried outside withTeddy.

In the cool light before dawn, everyone was taking down theirtepees. They were loading them onto wooden platforms strappedto two poles. The poles were pulled by horses. Grandmother andBlack Hawk⁴ piled tools and clothes onto their platform.

Annie stuffed buffalo⁵ meat into a rawhide⁶ bag.

"What's happening?" Jack asked.

"It is time to follow the buffalo," said Grandmother. "We willcamp somewhere else for a few weeks."Jack pulled out his notebook. He still had many questions. Buthe tried to choose just a few.

"Can you camp anywhere?" he asked. "Even when you don'town the land?"Black Hawk laughed.

"People cannot own land," he said. "The land belongs to theGreat Spirit."Jack wrote in his notebook:

Land owned by Great Spirit, not people"What about school?" said Jack. "Don't you have to go toschool?""What is school?" Black Hawk said.

"It's a place where kids go to learn things," Jack explained.

Black Hawk laughed again.

"There is not only one place to learn," he said. "In camp welearn to make clothes, tools, and tepees. On the plains we learnto ride and hunt. We look at the sky and learn courage from theeagle."Jack wrote:

Lakota school is everywhereGrandmother turned to Jack and Annie.

"Will you walk with us toward the sun-set?" she asked.

Jack shook his head.

"We have to go the other way," he said, "toward the sunrise.""Thank you for the eagle's feather," said Annie.

"Let your thoughts rise as high as that feather," saidGrandmother. "It is good medi-cine.""What does that mean?" Jack asked. "Good medicine?""Good medicine connects you to the world of the spirits," shesaid.

Jack nodded. But he still didn't really understand.

"Good-bye, Buffalo Girl and Rides-Like-Wind," saidGrandmother. "We wish you a safe journey."Jack and Annie waved. Then they started walking back theway they'd come.

Teddy ran ahead of them.

At the top of the rise, they looked back.

Grandmother, Black Hawk, and the rest of the tribe⁷ werewatching.

Jack and Annie both held up two fingers for "friend." Thenthey took off down the slope.

They ran across the prairie.. .through the tall, whisperinggrass.. .all the way back to the tree house.

Annie put Teddy in the leather bag. She and Jack climbed upthe rope ladder.

They looked out the window one last time. The ocean of grasswas golden in the early sunlight.

By now, the Lakota are walking west, Jack thought.

"Soon everything will change," he said sadly. "The buffalo willvanish. The old way of life for the Lakota will vanish, too.""But the Great Spirit won't ever vanish," said Annie. "It willalways take care of Black Hawk's people."Jack smiled. Annie's words made him feel better.

Arf, arf! Teddy barked, as if to say Let's go!

"Okay, okay," said Jack.

He picked up the Pennsylvania book and pointed⁸ at a pictureof Frog Creek⁹.

"I wish we could go home to our people," he said.

The wind started to blow.

The tree house started to spin.

It spun¹⁰ faster and faster.

Then everything was still.

Absolutely still.

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 licking   

n. 殴打，挫败 动词lick的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The steak is so delicious that he's licking his lips. 牛排这么香，使得他垂涎欲滴了。
• The little boy is licking the ice-cream cone. 小男孩在舔着冰淇淋蛋卷。

3 grabbed   

v.抢先，抢占( grab的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指匆忙地）取；攫取；（尤指自私、贪婪地）捞取

参考例句：

• He was grabbed by two men and frogmarched out of the hall. 他被两个男人紧抓双臂押出大厅。
• She grabbed the child's hand and ran. 她抓住孩子的手就跑。

4 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

5 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

6 rawhide   

n.生牛皮

参考例句：

• At his belt he carried a rawhide whip.他腰间别着生牛皮制成的鞭子。
• The drum skin was tightly strapped over the circle rawhide laces.鼓皮的一圈被生牛皮紧紧地勒住了。

7 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

10 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。