《神奇树屋》 第三十六册 Blizzard of the Blue Moon 02 Who Are They?

　　Snow blew into the tree house.



Jack 1 and Annie wore wool coats, hats, and mittens 2. Jack'scanvas backpack had turned into a leather briefcase 3 with bucklesand a shoulder strap 4. Jack and Annie looked out the window.



Below the tree house was a wide, snowcovered field thatended in a wall of evergreen 5 trees. Beyond the trees was a cityskyline.



"This is definitely New York," said Annie. "See the EmpireState Building? Remember our visit to the top?" She pointed 6 to afaraway building23that rose above the others. "This must be Central Park. Iremember that big field.""Yeah, I do, too," said Jack. "But we've landed in New York in1938. It was different back then." He opened their research bookand read from the introduction:



The city of New York is the largest city in the WesternHemisphere. It covers an area of 322 square miles.



Jack closed the book. "Whoa. Even in 1938, New York was ahuge city," he said. "This is going to be like looking for a needlein a haystack."24"I'll read our mission poem again," said Annie. She read thefirst verse aloud:



The verylast unicornIs now hidden wellBy those who have put himUnder a spell.



"Okay, so this unicorn 7 was put under a spell," said Jack, "andhe must be hidden somewhere in New York, or Merlin wouldn'thave sent us here.""Right," said Annie. She read the next verse:



Fourcenturies, four decadesFrom that afternoon,At the end of November,Before theblue moon,"What's a blue moon?" asked Annie, looking up. "I've heardthat expression before.""It's when you have two full moons in the same month," saidJack. "It doesn't happen very often.""Oh," said Annie. She read on:



25He willwake once moreAnd be freeto go homeIf you callout his name:



Divine Flower of Rome.



"Wait, does that mean the unicorn's name is Divine Flower ofRome?" asked Jack.



"I guess," said Annie. She read on:



You must coax 8 him to standOnce hisname is spoken.



His chain will breakAnd the spell too, be broken.



Then a young girl must love himAnd show him the way,Lest he be trapped foreverOn public display.



If he loses this chanceTo rise and depart,All magic will fadeFrom his horn and his heart.



"SoI'mthe young girl!" said Annie. "And I26have to help him get home, or his magic will fade awayforever!""Right," said Jack. "Okay. Let's review: There's a unicorn onpublic display somewhere in New York City. He's under a spell.



The spell runs out in late November before a blue moon. Buthe'll only wake up when someone calls his name, which isDivine Flower of Rome.



Then a young girl-you-must love him and show him the way home.""Great," said Annie. "Let's get started.""Get started?



How?"said Jack.



"Maybe we should talk to some New Yorkers," said Annie.



"We can ask them if they know anything about a unicorn inNew York City." She looked out the window. "There're somepeople in the park right now."Jack looked out. Through the falling snow, he saw girlscrossing the field carrying skates. He saw two people standingon top of a small hill. One wore a cape 9, and the other a longraincoat.



"If we start asking people about unicorns 10, they'll think we'recrazy," said Jack.



27"Who cares?" said Annie. "Maybesomeonewill at least knowsomethingthat can help us. Let's go down." She started down the ladder.



Jack quickly packed up their books. He buckled 11 his bag andfollowed her. When they stepped onto the ground, Jack andAnnie looked around. The skaters were gone. The two people onthe hill were gone, too.



"Where'd everybody go?" said Jack.



"I don't know. But we'll find someone else. Come on," saidAnnie.



Jack and Annie started across the wide field. The snow wasfalling fast and furiously. The wind blew harder.



"Look, a frozen pond," said Annie, pointing. "That must bewhere the skaters were coming from."Wet snow stuck to Jack's glasses. He wiped them off so hecould see. No one was skating on the pond now. Whirlwinds ofpowdery snow swirled 12 over the ice.



"Keep going," said Jack.



28They kept trudging 13 through the snow.



"Hey, look! Remember that?" said Annie.



"What?" said Jack. He wiped the snow off his glasses again.



He saw a merry-go-round. "Oh, yeah." On their trip to New Yorkwith their aunt Mallory, they'd taken a ride on it. But now theriderless painted horses looked sad and lonely.



29"I feel like we're the last living creatures in Central Park," saidJack.



"Which way do we go now?" asked Annie. "Which way didwe come from?"It was hard to see anything in the white haze 14 of the fallingsnow. The buildings bordering the park and the skyscrapers 15 inthe distance had disappeared.



30"Let's see what our book says," said Jack. He unbuckled hisleather briefcase and pulled out their research book. He found apicture of Central Park and read:



Central Park is a vast natural area in the middle of New YorkCity. The park has thirty-two miles of winding 16 footpaths 17 andcovers 840 acres of land. It has rock formations, woods, andmany bodies of water. It also has"Okay, okay, got it," said Annie. "It'sa bigpark. Is there a map that shows where we are?"Jack tried to read from the index, but the wind and snowmade it impossible. He stuffed the book back into his briefcase.



"Forget it," he said. "Let's just try to get out of the park."Jack and Annie turned away from the lonely merry-go-roundand walked across the snow. A gust 18 of wind blew Jack's cap off.



As he turned around to grab it, he saw a couple walking a shortdistance behind them.



31The two people looked like teenagers. They were walkingwith their heads bowed against the wind. The girl wore a darkcape with a hood 19. The boy wore a hat and a tan raincoat with abelt.



"Hey, look-" Jack said to Annie. But at that moment, the windshook the trees, and big clumps 20 of snow fell from the branches.



Jack and Annie ducked and covered their heads. When the winddied down, Jack looked around for the couple.



"They're gone now," he said.



"Who'sgone?" said Annie. "Who did you see?""Two teenagers, I think," said Jack. "A boy and a girl. We sawthem earlier from the tree house. I think they might be followingus.""Wait a second," said Annie. "Two teenagers? A boy and agirl? Following us? Who does that remind you of?"A big smile crossed Jack's face. "Teddy and Kathleen?" he said.



"Think about it," said Annie. "On our last three missions, itseemed like Teddy and32Kathleen were always nearby, wearing disguises, ready tohelp us when we needed it.""Right," said Jack. "We could sure use their help now." Heturned around. "Hello!" he shouted.



"Hello!" Annie yelled.



But the wind answered them with a howl. More clumps ofsnow blew down on Jack and Annie.



"Let's get going," said Annie. "They'll find us sooner or later. They always do."