《神奇树屋》 第三十九册 Dark Day In the Deep Sea 10 the heart of the ocean

　　Jack¹ put his wand back to his pack, then he and Anne chargedback to lab with Henry behind them. The three of them came backupstairs, when they stepped out to the top deck, they heard thesailors still shouting and yelling. Jack and Anne raised across thedeck,they pushed through the crowd until they got to the railing.

The octopods were still in the net. Bright red and hiding his head infear. The sailors gathered with weapons some were aiming him andpumps . others stood by with swords and knives, some pointedpistols.

Stop! Cried Anne.

Stand back. the captain yelled at her.

You must brilliant up your life. Begged the professor. I beg you to letme exam it before you slay² it, captain. But before the captain couldanswer, someone held hard plume³ on the creature, it missed andlanded on the water with a splash .

No! yelled Anne.

Listen to us. Jack yelled and slowed forward.

You have to yell the truth.

He stood up on the bottom of the round ship’s railing, so everyonecould hear him.

Don’t touch him. He shouted. He’s not going to hurt you, hedeserves to live peacefully in the sea. He’s a miracle of nature. Butno one was listening to Jack. No one even turned to look at him.

Stop. Hear us1 said Anne. We speak the truth. Leave him alone.

Remove the children. The captain roared again. Now!

Tommy and Joe grabbed Jack and Anne.

Let him go ! we have to talk to them. Yelled Anne kicking andflailing.

She and Jack broke loose form the sailors,She is right. We have to hear the truth. Yelled Jack running towardthe railing.

He is ok, where we is, he is different from people. But it’s a miracle.

Again, no one seemed to hear them.

The magic is no working. Anne cried to Jack.

I know. Said Jack.

He was desperate, no one was hearing the truth,What was wrong.

?

He and Anne had followed the rules, they had tried to help others,not themselves, they had tried their hardest first and Jack had usedonly five words.

Look! A sailor shred⁴. Look at the monster.

Jack and anew looked back at the water, the giant octopods haduncovered its head and raised out of the water,Le..rrrr.....the sound was breathy. And whispery and as if camefrom the wind. The member of the crew lowed their weapons andstepped back and all.

It, it speaks. Shouted the sailor.

Me....e....

The soundwas wild and shrill⁵. As if came from the deep forest.

Go......

The sound was hollow and haunted. As if came from the ancientgun, or bell, or dorm.

Ho.....me....

The sound was bearably and sad. As if came from the heart of theocean.

I ....am...no.. monster....

Theoctopods fell back to the water, all the seamen⁶ and scientistsstared and wondered with terror, then Anne’s voice shred thesilence.

Did you hear him? He said: let me go home. I am no monster.

The crew looked at each other and shock,That what he said,I heard it. One man said. heard it with my ownears.

I heard it too. Said the other.

Me too. Said the other.

It’s a sign. Said the sailor. We can't hurt him, or other like him. Saidthe other.

All eyes turned to the captain, he stood still for a moment, staringdown on the giant octopods and the net, the captain looked at theprofessor, the professor seemed stunt⁷, he opened his mouth, butno words came out . the captain looked at Jack and Anne,Please hear him. Anne said. he told you the truth.

The captain stared at the octopods, for a long moment, then heraised his hand,Free him. He said softly.

The sailors slowly pulled down their hard plums, access pistols andrifles, and ropes.

Sir, I request permission to cut the creature from the net. Henrysaid to captain.

The captain nodded.

Permission granted, Mr. Moseley. Said the captain.

Help me, Henry said to Jack and Anne.

Sure. Said Jack,We will come to mate. Said Joe.

Joe and Tommy hurried after Jack and Anne, to roll the small boatsfrom the deck. The sailors lowed one of the boats down on thesurface of the water. Then Jack, Anne, Joe , Tommy and Henry allclimbed down the ladder side by side. Everyone watched from thedeck, Joe and Tommy rowed along the side of the ship until theycame tothe spot to the giant octopods trapped. The two sailorsheld the bows steady with their oars⁸.

Grab the net. Henry said to Jack and Anne.

Jack reached out and grabbed the corner of the net, Anne helpthem pull it out of the water. Henry used big knife, to slash⁹ throughthe thick rope strings¹⁰ . even though the rowboat rowed violently,Jack didn’t feel sick at all.

Jack Anne and Henry pulled the ton night into the small boat. Jackkept staring at the octopods, he looked back at all of them with hisgreat eyes. His tentacles¹¹ spread about him like a giant flower. Hisfat shrill color changed back to grey.

Goodbye, you. Anne said softly . and go home now.

The octopods left two of the tentacles as if to wave goodbye. Thenit slip under the surface of the water and vanished.

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 slay   

v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮

参考例句：

• He intended to slay his father's murderer.他意图杀死杀父仇人。
• She has ordered me to slay you.她命令我把你杀了。

3 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

4 shred   

v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少

参考例句：

• There is not a shred of truth in what he says.他说的全是骗人的鬼话。
• The food processor can shred all kinds of vegetables.这架食品加工机可将各种蔬菜切丝切条。

5 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

6 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

7 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

8 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

10 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

11 tentacles   

n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 )；触角；触须；触毛

参考例句：

• Tentacles of fear closed around her body. 恐惧的阴影笼罩着她。
• Many molluscs have tentacles. 很多软体动物有触角。 来自《简明英汉词典》