15.3 Brother Patrick

MT英语（ID:mtkouyu）
专辑：【英文原版童话故事】
文本整理：Doris

Jack's glasses were wet with mist. He quickly wiped them, then looked up.

杰克的眼镜被雾弄湿了。他迅速擦干眼泪，然后抬起头来。

A man in a brown robe stood before him. The man had a round red face. He was bald, except for a fringe of hair around his head.

一个穿着棕色长袍的人站在他面前。那个人有一张圆圆的红脸。他秃顶了，只在头上留了一绺刘海。

Nearby the rope was tied around a tree.

绳子被绑在附近的一棵树上。

"I--I'm not an invader," said Jack.

“我——我不是入侵者。”杰克说。

"He's Jack!" said Annie. She was standing behind the man. "I'm Annie. We're from Frog Creek, Pennsylvania.""We--we come in peace," stammered Jack.

“他是杰克!”安妮说。她站在那个男人的后面。“我是安妮。我们来自宾夕法尼亚州的弗拉格克里克。”“我们——我们是为了和平来的。”杰克结结巴巴地说。

The man's blue eyes twinkled.

那人的蓝眼睛闪闪发亮。

"Oh, do you now?" he said. "I wondered what was going on. I had dropped the rope so I could climbdown the steps. But you two grabbed it instead. How in the world did you get on this island?"Jack stared at the man. He didn't know how to explain the magic tree house.

“哦，现在是吗?”他说。我想知道发生了什么。我放下了绳子，这样我就可以从台阶上下来。但你们两个抓住了它。你到底是怎么到这个岛上来的?杰克盯着那人。他不知道如何解释魔法树屋。

"In our boat," Annie said quickly.

“在我们的船上。”安妮很快地说。

The man looked puzzled. "Not many boats can come ashore at this dark, early hour."

那人看起来很困惑。“这么黑，这么早，能靠岸的船不多。”

"Well, we're very good sailors," said Annie.

“嗯，我们是很好的水手，”安妮说。

Oh, brother, thought Jack. He hoped their sailing skills wouldn't be tested.

噢，兄弟，杰克想。他希望他们的航海技能不会受到测试。

"Where exactly are we?" asked Annie. "And who exactly are you?"

“我们到底在哪儿?”安妮问。“你到底是谁?”

"You're on an island off the coast of Ireland," the man said. "And I am Brother Patrick."“你在离爱尔兰海岸不远的一个岛上，”那人说。“我是帕特里克兄弟。”

"Whose brother are you?" said Annie.

“你是谁的哥哥?”安妮说。

The monk smiled. "The 'brother' means I'm a Christian monk."

修道士笑了。“‘兄弟’的意思是我是一个基督教修士。”

"Oh, you're one of the monks who saved civilization!" said Annie.

“哦，你是拯救文明的修道士之一!”安妮说。

The man smiled again.

那人又笑了。

Annie turned to Jack and whispered, "Let's show him our cards. I trust him."

安妮转向杰克，小声说:“让他看看我们的牌。”我信任他。”

"Okay," said Jack. He trusted the monk, too.

“好吧,”杰克说。他也相信那个修道士。

They both pulled out their secret library cards and showed them to Brother Patrick.

两人都掏出了自己的秘密借书证，给帕特里克看了看。

The M's and L's for Master Librarian shined in the gray light.

字母“M”和“L”在灰色的灯光下闪闪发光。

The monk looked at them and bowed his head.

修道士看了看他们，低下了头。

"Welcome, my friends," he said.

“欢迎，我的朋友们，”他说。

"Thank you," said Jack and Annie.

“谢谢，”杰克和安妮说。

"I did not truly think you were invaders," Brother Patrick. "But on our small island, we are careful of strangers."

“我真的不认为你们是入侵者，”帕特里克说。“但是在我们这个小岛上，我们对陌生人很小心。”

"Why?" said Annie.

“为什么？”安妮说。

"There are terrible stories about Viking raiders," he said. "When we see their serpent ships, we must hide or be taken as slaves."

“有很多关于海盗的可怕故事，”他说。“当我们看到他们的毒蛇船时，我们必须藏起来，否则就会被当成奴隶。”

"Serpent ships?" said Jack.

“毒蛇船?”杰克说。

"The prows of their ships are often carved in the shape of a serpent's head," said Brother Patrick. "I am afraid it stands for their fierce, cold-blooded ways."Jack looked at the misty gray sea. "Do not worry,"said Brother Patrick.

“他们的船首通常雕刻成蛇头的形状，”帕特里克说。“我担心这代表着它们凶猛、冷血的方式。”杰克望着灰蒙蒙的大海。“别担心，”帕特里克兄弟说。

"They cannot land safely on this island before daylight. They're not as good sailors as some people."He winked at Annie.

“天亮之前，他们是不可能在这个岛上安全上岸的。他们不像有些人那样善于航海。他向安妮眨了眨眼睛。

"Too bad for them," she said cheerfully.

“对他们来说太糟糕了，”她高兴地说。

"But tell me, why have you come here?" asked Brother Patrick.

“告诉我，你为什么来这里?”帕特里克问。

"Oh," said Jack. "I almost forgot."He pulled Morgan's paper from his leather bag. He showed the Latin words to the monk.

“哦,”杰克说。“我差点忘了。”他从他的皮包里拿出摩根的文件。他把那几个拉丁字给修道士看。

Serpens Magna"This is the title of a story that we have to take back to our friend and teacher, Morgan le Fay," said Annie.

安妮说:“这是一个故事的标题，我们必须把它带回给我们的朋友和老师摩根。”

"I see..." said Brother Patrick. He gave Jack and Annie a mysterious look.

“我明白了……”帕特里克说。他神秘地看了杰克和安妮一眼。

What is he thinking? Jack wondered.

他想什么?杰克想知道。

But the monk changed the subject.

但是修道士改变了话题。

"I think you would like to visit our monastery," he said.

“我想你会愿意参观我们的修道院，”他说。

"What's that?" said Annie.

“那是什么?”安妮说。

"The place where we monks live and work," said Brother Patrick. "Come."

“我们修道士生活和工作的地方，”帕特里克说。“来吧。”

"But the sun's not up yet," said Jack. "Won't the others be asleep?"

“但是太阳还没有升起来。”杰克说。“别人都睡着了吗?”

"Oh, no" said Brother Patrick. "in the summer, we rise long before daylights We have much to do. You'll see."

“哦，不，”帕特里克说。“在夏天，我们在天亮之前就起床了，我们有很多事情要做。你会看到。

The monk led them up a dirt path. Jack hoped their book was at the monastery. He wanted to leave the gloomy island with its threat of Viking invaders as soon as Possible.

修道士领着他们走上一条土路。杰克希望他们的书还在修道院。他想尽快离开这个阴郁的小岛，维京人的入侵威胁着他。

A low bell started to ring. Jack saw a lonely church steeple against the gray sky ahead.

低沉的钟声响起。杰克看到前面灰色的天空衬托着一座孤寂的教堂尖塔。