《神奇树屋》 第三十一册 Summer of the SeaSerpent 12 the Isle of Avalon

　　"N ow what?" Jack 1 asked.



"Now I thank you," said a deep voice.



"Merlin!" cried Annie.



Merlin stepped out of the shadows. He wore his redmagician's cloak. His long white beard shined in theradiant glow of the sword.



"You brought the Sword of Light out of the gloomjust in time," he said, "before nightfall on the summersolstice.""Why did we have to get it on the summersolstice?" said Jack.



108"That is the day when the powers of the Ice Wizardof Winter are weakest," said Merlin.



"The Ice Wizard of Winter?" said Annie. "Does thesword belong to him? Did we just steal it from him?""No," said Merlin. "Long ago, the Ice Wizard stolethe sword from the Lady of the Lake and brought it tohis kingdom high above the North Sea." Merlinpointed to the snowcapped mountains beyond therocky coast.



"The wizard soon discovered that the Sword ofLight was useless to him, for the Lady of the Lake hadplaced a spell upon it that made it powerful only inthe hands of worthy 4 mortals. Still, the wizard refusedto part with it. He buried it at the bottom of the cove 3.""The Cove of the Stormy Coast," said Jack.



"Yes," said Merlin. "Only recently did the seabirdstell me of the sword's whereabouts. I knew I neededworthy mortals to retrieve 5 it. So I sent for you on thesummer solstice, when the109Ice Wizard could send no mighty 6 storms to keepyou from finding it. He could only throw the 'Cloakof the Old Gray Ghost' over you.""So the Ice Wizard sent the fog," said Annie.



"And did he put the sea monster in the cove, too?"asked Jack.



Merlin smiled. "No. The serpent serves the Lady ofthe Lake. Long ago, he secretly took it upon himselfto find the sword and guard it. Should any mortalssurvive the wizard's storms and gales 7, they still had toprove themselves worthy by answering the serpent'squestion. I believed you two would be able to answerthe question wisely. And I was right.""Your rhyme helped," said Jack.



He and Annie carefully handed the Sword of Lightto Merlin.



"Will you put this sword in a stone now?" askedAnnie. "So Arthur can pull it out someday andbecome king?""No, thissword is even more powerful than110the sword in the stone," said Merlin. "This swordhas a name--Excalibur.""Excalibur!"said Jack and Annie.



"I will take it back to the Isle 8 of Avalon now," saidMerlin, "and return it to the Lady of the Lake.



Someday after Arthur is king, she will give it to him.



The sword will help him face many challengesbravely and wisely. He will--"Merlin was interrupted by a strange sound from thewater below. It sounded like the deep bellow 9 of afoghorn.



"What was that?" said Jack.



"Ah, yes, there is one last thing to do," said Merlin.



He raised the sword and pointed 2 it toward the Coveof the Stormy Coast. Like the beam of a giantsearchlight, the sword's light streamed over the blackwaters.



Merlin moved the beam back and forth 10, as if hewere looking for something. "Ah," he said. "There heis."111[Image: An old man and the boys.]



112The light revealed the gigantic head of the seaserpent. Its yellow lamp-like eyes shined back atthem,"He mourns now," said Merlin, "for he has lost hispurpose for being here. 'Tis time we help him home tothe waters of Avalon."The magician lifted the sword slightly. The beammade a path to show the monster the passage out ofthe cove. The giant serpent slid through the waterand soon disappeared beneath the waves of the darksummer sea.



"His mission is done now," said Annie.



"Yes, and so is yours,my friends," said Merlin. "Youmust climb the ladder to your tree house and gohome."By the light of the sword, Jack and Annie foundtheir way to the rope ladder and climbed up into thetree house. When they looked out the window, theysaw Merlin standing 11 in the glow of the Sword ofLight.



"Bye!" Jack and Annie called.



The magician raised his arm and spread his fingersin a wave of farewell. Merlin's gesture stirredsomething in Jack's memory, but he wasn't sure whatit was.



"Let's go now," Annie said.



Jack took the seashell out of his pocket. He pointedto the words Frog Creek 12."I wish we could go home!"he said.



114"Wait!" said Annie. "Our shoes! We left them on thebeach!" Too late.



The wind started to blow. The tree house started tospin. It spun 13 faster and faster. Then everything wasstill. Absolutely still.



Jack opened his eyes. A warm summer breezewafted into the tree house. The noon sun shinedbetween the tree leaves. No time at all had passed inFrog Creek.



"Merlin was the Water Knight 14," Jack said.



"What?" said Annie.



115'When he said good-bye, Merlin gave us the samewave the Water Knight gave us," said Jack.



"Remember?" Jack raised his hand and imitatedMerlin's gesture.



"You're right!" Annie laughed. "Why didn't I thinkof that? He always helps us get started on ourmissions.""And now we have three things from him," saidJack. He put the pale blue shell on the floor next tothe Royal Invitation and the yellow autumn leaf.



Then he looked at Annie.



"Home?" he said.



She nodded.



They climbed down the rope ladder and startedwalking barefoot through the damp, leafy woods.



"I guess we'll just have to tell Mom we lost ourshoes in a time before Camelot," said Jack.



"Yeah," said Annie, "on our way to get the Sword ofLight that was stolen by the Ice Wizard116of Winter and guarded by a giant sea serpent whoserved the Lady of the Lake.""Right," said Jack. "A simple explanation.""You ready to go swimming at the lake now?" askedAnnie.



Jack remembered the thrill of being a seal andzooming through the deep waters. "It won't be thesame without Kathleen and Teddy," he said. "Wewon't be seals.""We can pretend," said Annie. "Let's hurry beforeMom decides it's too late to go."They took off running. They ran barefoot throughthe woods, over sticks and leaves, through thedappled noon light. Then they ran down their street.



They were out of breath by the time they reachedtheir yard.



"Oh, wow!" said Annie. "Look!" She pointed at theirporch.



Sitting in front of the door were their sneakers.



Jack and Annie climbed the porch and picked uptheir shoes. As Jack turned his over, fine white sandfell out--and a couple of tiny silver pebbles 15.



"Who--how?" he said.



A seagull screeched 16 overhead. They looked up. Thegull screeched again, then flew away and disappearedinto the soft summer light.



Annie shrugged 17. "A little leftover 18 magic," she said.



Then she called through the screen door, "Mom!



We're ready!"