《神奇树屋》 第二十九册 Christmas in Camelot 10 The Knights' Gifts

　　The three knights 2 lay in the grass, fighting for breath.



"The dance .. . We must stop . . . stop dancing," gasped 3 theolder knight 1.



"You have stopped! We pulled you away!" said Annie.



The knight looked up at her and Jack 4. He had a rough, craggyface.



"Who.., who are you?" he asked in a hoarse 5 voice.



"Friends!" said Annie. She spoke 6 loudly to be heard over themusic. "We come from King Arthur's castle!""We're on a quest," said Jack, "to get the Water of Memoryand Imagination.""To save Camelot!" said Annie.



"Camelot--" whispered the knight. "We come from Camelot....



I don't recognize you....



"We're just visiting," said Annie. "But we know all about you.



You're Sir Lancelot, aren't you?""Yes," breathed the knight.



"And Sir Percival and Sir Galahad," said Jack.



"Yes.., my son, Galahad ... ," said the knight.



"King Arthur thinks you are lost forever," said Annie.



Sir Lancelot closed his eyes. "The dance . ' he said "it made usforget. . .



"I know," said Jack. "The dancers must be the Keepers of theCauldron. You can't get past them without getting caught up intheir dance.""Father.., we must find. . . the water...



Sir Galahad tried to sit up, but he was too weary. He lay backin the grass.



"That's okay, we're here now," said Annie. "You should allrest."Sir Galahad closed his eyes.



"Yeah, don't worry," said Jack. "Annie and I will find themagic water for Camelot.""But you.., you are just children," said Sir Percival, the thirdknight. "You must wait.., for us...



''There's no time to wait, said Jack.



"Camelot is dying!" said Annie. "We have to hurry!""Then you must . . . take this . . . ," said Sir Galahad. Hereached into a leather pouch 7 that hung around his shoulder. Hetook out a silver cup. With a trembling hand, the young knightgave the cup to Annie.



"A cup!" she said.



"Take.., this, too," said Sir Percival. He pulled a small woodenbox from a bag that hung from his belt. He handed it to Jack.



Jack opened the lid. In the middle of the box was a pointerwith markings all around it.



"A compass!" said Jack.



"And this... ," said Sir Lancelot. He took a silk cord fromaround his neck. A glass key hung from the cord.



"A key!" whispered Annie.



Lancelot handed the key to Annie. She and Jack looked at itclosely. Then Annie hung it around her neck. When she turnedback, all the knights were fast asleep.



"Sweet dreams," Annie said gently. "You guys need a longnap."Jack and Annie stood up.



"I think we have all our gifts now," Jack said. "But I'd bettermake sure."He hurried to get his backpack. It was lying in the grass nearthe knights' swords. He pulled out his notebook and read thesecond rhyme:



"Four gifts you will need-- The first from me.



Then a cup, a compass, And, finally, a key." "Great," saidAnnie. "We got the cloak from the Christmas Knight and theother three gifts from them. This quest is really easy."Jack shook his head.



"It's not over yet," he said. "We still have to find the cauldronwith the Water of Memory and Imagination.""We'll find it," said Annie. "Read the third rhyme."Jack looked in his notebook and read the third rhyme aloud:



"If you survive to complete your quest, The secret door lies tothe west.""No problem!" said Annie. "We survived the guards and thedance. Now the compass can show us how to go west. And thekey will unlock the secret door. And we'll fill the cup with waterfrom the cauldron! See, it's all easy!"Jack still :felt worried. A little too easy, he thought.



"What are we waiting for?" said Annie. ''Let's go.



Jack looked down at the compass. "Okay... he said. "Thepointer's pointing north. So west must be that w Way." Hepointed left, toward a thicket 9 of bushes and small trees.



"Great," said Annie. "Here, carry the cup in your pack."Jack put his notebook and the silver cup into his pack. Then heand Annie started into the thicket.



They ducked under branches and pushed past bushes. Thornsscraped their hands. Twigs 10 snapped against their faces.



Jack kept checking the compass. Could they really besearching in the right place? he wondered. What kind of doorwould they find in a tangled 11 thicket?



"Listen," said Annie. "It's so quiet now."The thicket had grown eerily 12 silent. No birds called from thebushes. No music could be heard in the distance.



Jack checked the compass once more. "It says we're still goingwest," he said. "I just hope this thing works.""It works," Annie said softly. "Look--" Annie was holding backa leafy branch. She pointed 8 to a rocky hillside beyond thethicket. Halfway 13 up the hillside was a ledge 14.



Between two giant boulders 15 on the ledge was a shining glassdoor.