《神奇树屋》 第三十一册 Summer of the SeaSerpent 06 The Selkie

　　"W ake up, lazybones! You can't sleep allafternoon!" said a friendly voice.

Jack¹'s eyes shot open. Oh, no! he thought. Whattime is it? He sat up and looked around.

The seals were gone. Standing² over Jack and Anniewas a barefoot boy with a happy, freckled³ face.

"Teddy!" said Jack. For a moment he forgot allabout the time.

"Teddy! Teddy!" cried Annie. She leaped up andhugged the young sorcerer.

56Teddy grinned from ear to ear. He was wearing abrown tunic⁴. His red hair was damp.

"You're finally here!" said Jack, laughing.

"I have been here for some time," said Teddy.

"Merlin sent me early this morning. I was waiting foryou on the beach when Kathleen came along andinvited me to go for a swim with her."57Teddy turned to a girl standing a little farther downthe beach. Like Teddy, she looked to be aboutthirteen. "Kathleen!" he called. "Come meet myfriends!"58The girl smiled and began walking over the rockstoward Jack, Annie, and Teddy. She wore a greendress that looked as if it had been woven from grass.

Her hair fell in black ringlets down to her waist like adark waterfall.

"These are my good friends Jack and Annie," Teddysaid to the girl. "They come from a faraway land.""Hello, Jack and Annie!" the girl said in a bold,friendly voice. "I am very happy to meet you! Myname is Kathleen." As she spoke⁵, Kathleen's largeeyes sparkled with the blue of the sky and water.

Jack couldn't speak. Kathleen was the mostbeautiful girl he'd ever seen.

"I like your dress," said Annie.

Kathleen laughed. "I wove it from sea grass," shesaid. "I am not a very good weaver⁶, I am sad to say.""Do you live here?" asked Annie.

59"I do," said Kathleen, "with my nineteen sisters.""Nineteensisters!" said Annie.

"Yes," said Kathleen, tossing back her long curls. "Iam the youngest of us all. We live in a cave up in thecliffs.""Cool," said Annie. "Is your cave like the Cave ofthe Spider Queen?""No, no," said Kathleen. "It is much more cheerfulthan Morag's cave.""So that's her name," said Annie. "I'm worried thatshe might be lonely.""Ah, do not worry," said Kathleen. "Morag hasmany friends--bats, crabs⁷, starfish. But it is kind ofyou to be concerned about her." She smiled at Annie.

Kathleen's friendly manner finally gave Jack thecourage to speak. He cleared his throat. "The WaterKnight was really cool, too," he said.

"The Water Knight⁸?" said Kathleen.

60"Yeah," he said, "the guy who carried us across thefirst cove⁹."Kathleen looked puzzled.

"His horse had a fish's tail!" said Annie.

"How strange," said Kathleen. "I often swim in thatcove, but I've never seen or heard of such a knight.""Have you lived here a long time?" asked Annie.

"Always," said Kathleen.

"Kathleen is a selkie," said Teddy.

"A selkie?" said Jack and Annie together.

"Yes," said Kathleen, laughing.

"You're in Merlin's rhyme!" said Annie. "It says,Swim with a selkie clothed in green""Merlin's rhyme?" asked Teddy.

"Merlin gave us a rhyme to help us find the Swordof Light," said Jack.

The smile left Kathleen's face. Her beautiful eyesdarkened. "You have come in search of the Sword ofLight?" she said. "Oh, dear...."61"What's wrong?" said Jack.

"Many have passed through here seeking the Swordof Light," said Kathleen. "But as soon as anyoneenters the cove beyond the Jellyfish Cave, terriblewinter storms seem to burst out of nowhere. Even insummer, the storms have icy winds and rain. Noseekers of the sword have ever survived these gales¹⁰.""Have you ever been to the cove beyond theJellyfish Cave?" asked Jack.

Kathleen shook her head. "My older sisters havealways forbidden me to go there," she said. "In fact,no selkie has ever dared swim into the Cove of theStormy Coast.""Cove of the Stormy Coast?" said Annie. "That's thenext line in Merlin's rhyme! Enter the Cove of theStormy Coast!""What isMerlin's rhyme?" asked Teddy.

"Here," said Jack. "Look."He handed the seashell to Teddy.

The boy sorcerer quickly read Merlin's

message and rhyme. Then he looked at the sky.

"The sun moves on," he said. "Let us make haste! Wemust find the sword before nightfall! Or somedayArthur will meet his doom¹¹!""Wait a minute," said Annie. She looked atKathleen. "The rhyme says we're supposed to swimwith you. Will you come with us?"Kathleen looked at them for a long moment. Thenshe stood up and tossed back her curls.

63Her eyes were bright. "I have always wanted toexplore that cove," she said.

"Hurray!" said Teddy. "You will be the first selkie todo so! A grand adventure awaits us all! Onward¹²!""Hold on," said Jack. "What about that JellyfishCave?""You need not worry about the jellyfish," saidKathleen. "They cannot harm us.""They cannot?" said Jack.

"No," said the selkie, "not if we all change intoseals."

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 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 freckled   

adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her face was freckled all over. 她的脸长满雀斑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Her freckled skin glowed with health again. 她长有雀斑的皮肤又泛出了健康的红光。 来自辞典例句

4 tunic   

n.束腰外衣

参考例句：

• The light loose mantle was thrown over his tunic.一件轻质宽大的斗蓬披在上衣外面。
• Your tunic and hose match ill with that jewel,young man.你的外套和裤子跟你那首饰可不相称呢，年轻人。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

7 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

9 cove   

n.小海湾，小峡谷

参考例句：

• The shore line is wooded,olive-green,a pristine cove.岸边一带林木蓊郁，嫩绿一片，好一个山外的小海湾。
• I saw two children were playing in a cove.我看到两个小孩正在一个小海湾里玩耍。

10 gales   

龙猫

参考例句：

• I could hear gales of laughter coming from downstairs. 我能听到来自楼下的阵阵笑声。
• This was greeted with gales of laughter from the audience. 观众对此报以阵阵笑声。

11 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

12 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。