《神奇树屋》 第三十二册 Winter of the Ice Wizard 06 In the Hollow Hill

　　Standing¹ in the cold, Jack² felt afraid again. Therewere big paw prints in the moonlit snow all aroundthe house.

"The wolves were here," said Kathleen.

"Perhaps we should go back inside," said Teddy.

"No," said Kathleen. "We must walk with Jack andAnnie back to the sleigh and send them on theirjourney to the Hollow Hill.""Yes, of course," said Teddy, nodding.

As they all headed cautiously toward the68rocks, Jack glanced back at the House of the Norns.

He wished they could return to its cozy³ warmth.

Kathleen put her hand on his shoulder. "Come," shesaid. "You must hurry."Jack trudged⁴ with the others through the passage inthe rocks. When they got to the other side, there wasno sign of the two white wolves. The silver sleighwas waiting in the moonlight. Jack and Annieclimbed inside it.

"Can't you come with us?" Jack asked Teddy andKathleen. "Remember you said if we all worktogether, we can do anything?""Aye," said Teddy. "But what the Ice Wizard said istrue. Only mortals can undo⁵ a bargain with theFates.""Do not fear," said Kathleen. "We will be with youin spirit. And we will meet you back at the wizard'spalace at dawn.""How will you get there?" asked Annie.

"I have a few rhymes I can try," said Teddy,smiling.

69"And I have a bit of selkie magic," said Kathleen.

"And we have our wind-string!" said Annie.

"Hasten, then, to the Hollow Hill," said Kathleen.

"And remember what the Norns told you," saidTeddy. "Never look at the Frost Giant.""I know," said Jack. He pulled out the wind-string.

He took off his gloves and untied⁶ a knot. A breezebegan to blow.

Jack untied a second knot. The breeze grewstronger, the sail unfurled, and the runners slidforward.

Jack untied a third knot. The wind blew hard. Thewhite sail snapped, and the sleigh took off throughthe night.

"Stand fast!" Teddy called after them.

Jack and Annie waved good-bye to Teddy andKathleen as the sleigh slid swiftly over the sea ice.

Soon the sleigh bumped onto the snow-covered plainand veered⁷ off sharply to the right.

70"No, toward the North Star!" Jack called to Annie.

Annie turned the rudder, steering⁸ the sleigh backon course. They sailed toward the bright star in thedistance.

As the silver runners swished across the windsweptsnow, Jack braced⁹ himself against the cold. He kept alookout for the white wolves, but he didn't see anysign of them as the sleigh sped across the moonlitplain.

Soon he could see a row of snow-covered hills inthe distance. "Look!" he said. "There it is!" He pointedto one of the hills--the only one without a peak.

"Tie her down!" Annie shouted.

Jack tied a knot in the string, and the sleigh beganto slow down. He tied a second, then a third. Thewind died down completely, and the sleigh coasted toa stop at the foot of the Hollow Hill. Jack and Annieclimbed out.

Jack looked up at the steep white slope. "How dowe get inside?" he said.

71"I don't know," said Annie. "How do you think theFrost Giant gets inside?""Oh... the Frost Giant," said Jack. He really wishedTeddy and Kathleen were with them. He felt as if partof their team was missing.

Annie seemed to read his thoughts. "We can do it,"she said. "We have to--for Morgan and Merlin."Jack nodded. "You're right," he said. They studiedthe hill in the moonlight.

"Up there--is that an opening?" said Annie.

"Maybe," said Jack. "Let's climb up and check itout." When they climbed a little way up the hill, Jackcould clearly see a break in the snow-covered slope.

"Let's see if it leads inside!" said Annie.

"Wait, what about the Frost Giant?" said Jack.

"I have a feeling he's not here right now," saidAnnie. "We'd better go in and find the wizard's eyebefore he comes back."72"Okay," said Jack. "But be careful!"They scurried¹⁰ farther up the slope. When they cameto the opening, they stepped through the huge crackinto the hill.

Jack and Annie found themselves on a ledge¹¹ abovea deep, rounded hollow. Moonlight flooded downthrough the open hilltop. At the bottom of the hollowwas a flat spot where it looked as if the snow hadbeen blown in circles.

73"That must be where the giant sleeps!" said Annie.

74"Yeah, and it's probably where he hides the eye,"said Jack. "We just have to find a hole. Remember?"He repeated what the Norns had said:

In the Hollow Hill is a hole.

In the hole is a hailstone.

In the heart of the hailstoneHides the wizard's eye.

"Right," said Annie.

Jack looked down at the snowy swirl¹². He lookedback at Annie. "Onward¹³?""Onward," she whispered.

Jack and Annie scrambled¹⁴ down into the hollow.

Stepping carefully through the silver moonlight, theystudied the ground, looking for the hole.

Annie stumbled and fell. "Whoa!" she said. "I think Ijust found the hole! I stepped in it!""Really?" said Jack. He knelt down beside her.

Annie reached down into a small hole in the floorof the hollow. "There's something in here!"75she said. She pulled out a chunk¹⁵ of ice the size of anegg. "The hailstone!"In the dim light, it was impossible to see if anythingwas inside the ice chunk. "We don't know if this is theright hailstone," said Jack. "We'll have to wait tilldaylight to see if the eye's in there.""It has to be the right one," said Annie. "How manyhailstones are hidden in a hole in a hollow hill?""Good point," said Jack.

Annie turned the hailstone over in her hand.

"Maybe the eye is looking at us now," she said.

"That's scientifically impossible," said Jack. "An eyecan't see unless it's connected to a brain.""Yeah, and a string can't make the wind blow,either," said Annie. "Forget science in this place.

Wait--" She caught her breath. "Did you feel that?""Feel what?" said Jack.

"The ground's shaking," said Annie.

Jack did feel the ground trembling. He heard76a strange sound, too--a loud huffing sound comingfrom outside the m--HUFFFF, HUFFFF, HUFFFF.... Itsounded like breathing!

"The giant's back!" said Annie.

"Oh, no!" cried Jack.

The ground kept rumbling¹⁶. The breathing soundsgot louder.

"Hide the hailstone!" said Jack.

Annie shoved the ice chunk into her pocket.

HUFFFF, HUFFFF, HUFFFF.... It sounded like thegiant was entering the hollow!

"He's coming!" said Annie.

"Hide!" whispered Jack.

Jack pulled Annie into the shadows. Heremembered the gray Norn's warning: Anyone wholooks directly at the Frost Giant will freeze to death atonce.

"Whatever you do, don't look at him!" he whisperedto Annie.

Crouching¹⁷ in the dark, they buried their faces intheir hands and waited....

1 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。

2 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。

3 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

4 trudged   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
• He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

6 untied   

松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决

参考例句：

• Once untied, we common people are able to conquer nature, too. 只要团结起来，我们老百姓也能移山倒海。
• He untied the ropes. 他解开了绳子。

7 veered   

v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转

参考例句：

• The bus veered onto the wrong side of the road. 公共汽车突然驶入了逆行道。
• The truck veered off the road and crashed into a tree. 卡车突然驶离公路撞上了一棵树。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

9 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 scurried   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见，然后扭头跑回去干活了。
• It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来，我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 swirl   

v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形

参考例句：

• The car raced roughly along in a swirl of pink dust.汽车在一股粉红色尘土的漩涡中颠簸着快速前进。
• You could lie up there,watching the flakes swirl past.你可以躺在那儿，看着雪花飘飘。

13 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。

14 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

16 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。

17 crouching   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
• A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译