《神奇树屋》 第三十八册 Monday with a Mad Genius 04 Battle scene

　　Jack 1 and Annie hurried to keep up with Leonardo.



"So where are we going?" Annie asked.



"To the palace of the great council," said Leonardo.



"I was hired to paint a fresco 2 in the council hall. Ihave been working on it for months.""What's a fresco?" asked Jack.



"It is a work of art painted onto a wall," saidLeonardo. "One must spread plaster on the wall andthen paint very quickly before it dries."51"Sounds like fun," said Annie.



"Not for me," said Leonardo. "I believe great artrequires much thought. I like to paint slowly, and Ichange things as I go along. So for this fresco, I haveinvented a special oil paint that dries very slowly.""Does it work?" said Jack.



"Too well," said Leonardo. "Now I have a newproblem: Neither the plaster nor my oil paints havedried at all.""Oh, no," said Annie.



"But today all will be well!" Leonardo saidcheerfully. "I have a plan to speed up the dryingprocess. This morning I will fix everything!"Leonardo led Jack and Annie into a square with alarge building. "There it is," he said. "The palace of thegreat council."The palace looked like a fortress 3. It had rough-looking stone walls and a tower that rose high intothe air.



"The palace is a very important place," said52Leonardo. "It is where the governing council ofFlorence meets. Come along." He opened one of thegrand doors and guided Jack and Annie into acourtyard with a fountain. "This way to the councilhall," he said, "and the latest work of Leonardo daVinci."Leonardo bounded up some steps and down acorridor. Jack and Annie hurried after him until hepassed another grand doorway 4 and stopped.



Leonardo put down his basket and raised his hands.



"My fresco," he said.



"Oh, man," breathed Jack.



53[picture]



54They were in an enormous room with tall, archedwindows and vast white walls. Several young menstood on a wooden platform on the far side of theroom. On the wall above them was a giant painting ofa battle scene. It showed a tangle 5 of men onhorseback, fighting over a flag.



The men in the painting seemed to be in a fury asthey slashed 6 at each other with their swords. Theirfaces were twisted, their mouths snarling 7. Even theirhorses looked wild and angry.



"The city has paid me to paint a scene from a battleonce fought to defend Florence," said Leonardo. "Theywanted me to paint a scene of glory. But I believe waris a beastly madness. I hope my painting shows that.""Oh, it does," said Annie.



Jack nodded. It was the scariest painting he'd everseen.



"Zorro!" called Leonardo.



One of the young men on the platform climbed55down a ladder and jumped to the floor. He was asturdy-looking teenager with a red face and wavyblack hair.



"Are things any better this morning?" askedLeonardo.



"No, the paint is still very damp to the touch," saidZorro.



"Then let us proceed with our plan," said Leonardo.



"Did the pots arrive from the blacksmith?""Yes, over there," said Zorro. He pointed 8 at twolarge iron pots beneath the platform.



"And you brought the wood?" said Leonardo.



"Yes," said Zorro. He pointed to a pile of woodstacked against a wall.



Leonardo set down his basket and headed over tothe platform.



"What's the plan, Leonardo?" asked Annie as sheand Jack followed him.



"My apprentices 9 and I will fill the pots with woodand lift them onto the platform," said56Leonardo. "Then we will light fires in them. Theheat of the fires will quickly dry the fresco.""How can we help?" asked Jack.



"Bring us some kindling 10," said Leonardo.



"No problem!" said Jack. He put down his bag, andhe and Annie hurried to the wood stack.



"Kindling?" she said.



"Small pieces of wood," said Jack. "They catch firefirst and help get the big pieces started." Jack andAnnie picked sticks and twigs 11 from the wood stack.



They carried the kindling back to Leonardo, and hedumped it into the iron pots. Zorro brought over somelogs. Then he and Leonardo hooked the handles of thepots to a system of ropes and pulleys.



"Pull!" Leonardo shouted.



The apprentices on the platform pulled on the ropes.



The heavy pots swung into the air.



"Steady! Steady!" Leonardo shouted.



The apprentices slowly hauled up the pots. Thenthey pulled them onto the platform and placed themin front of the fresco.



57"Light the fires!" shouted Leonardo.



Zorro lit a candle from a torch burning at theentrance of the hall. He carried the candle up theladder and used its fire to light the kindling. Soon thewood in the pots began to blaze.



"Bring more wood!" Leonardo shouted. "Bring morewood!"Jack and Annie hurried back to the woodpile. Theygathered bigger pieces of wood and rushed back tothe ladder. Apprentices lifted the wood up to theplatform and added it to the fires in the pots.



Soon flames were shooting high into the air,warming the fresco. Standing 12 with Leonardo belowthe platform, Jack and Annie stared up at the battlescene. The room grew hotter and hotter.



With the fires blazing above and smoke curlingthrough the air, Jack felt like he was in the middle ofthe battle himself. He could hear the clanging swords,neighing horses, and shouting men. He could feel the"beastly madness" of war that Leonardo had talkedabout.



58Suddenly Jack heard real shrieks-Leonardo'sapprentices were all yelling.



"It isdripping, Master!" one cried.



"The paint is running!" shouted another.



Jack looked back at the fresco. The helmets of thewarriors were melting down over their furious faces.



"AHHH!" cried Leonardo with a look of horror. "Killthe fires! Kill the fires!"