MagicTreeHouse2-TheKnightatDawn

1、The Knight at Dawn(Magic Tree House #2: )1 The Dark WoodsJack couldn t sleep.He put his glasses on. He looked at the clock. 5: 30.Too early to get up.Yesterday so manystrange things had happened. Nowhe was trying to figure them out.He turned on the light. He picked up his notebook. He looked at the

2、list he d made before going to bed.found tree house in woods found lots of books in itpointed to Pteranodon picture in book made a wishwent to time of dinosaurs Pointed to picture of Frog Creek woods made a wish Came home to Frog Creek Jack pushed his glasses into place. Whowas going to believe any

3、of this? Not his mom. Or his dad. Or his third-grade teacher ， Ms. Watkins. Only his seven-year-old sister ， Annie. She d gone with him to the time of the dinosaurs.“ Can t you sleep? ”It was Annie ， standing in his doorway.“ Nope，”said Jack.“ Me neither ，” said Annie. “ What are you doing? ”She wal

4、ked over to Jack and looked at his notebook. She read the list.“ Aren t you going to write about the gold medal?” she asked.“ You mean the gold medallion ， ” said Jack.He picked up his pencil and wrote ： found this in dinosaur time“ Aren t you going to put the letter M on the medal?” said Annie.“ Me

5、dallion ，” said Jack. “ Not medal. ”He added an M ：“ Aren t you going to write about the magic person? ” said Annie.“ We don t know for sure if there is a magic person ，” said Jack.“Well ， someone built the tree house in the woods. Someoneput the books in it. Someone lost a gold medal in dinosaur ti

6、me.”“ Medallion! ” said Jack for the third time.“And I mjust writing thefacts.The stuff we know for sure. ”“ Let s go back to the tree house right now，”said Annie. “And findout if the magic person is a fact.”“Are you nuts? ” said Jack. “The sun s not even up yet. ” “ Come on，” said Annie.“ Maybe we

7、can catch them sleeping. ”“ I don t think we should，” said Jack. He was worried. What if the“ magicperson ” was mean? What if he or she didn t want kids to know about the tree house?“ Well ， I m going ，” said Annie.Jack looked out his window at the dark-gray sky. It was almost dawn.He sighed.“ Okay.

8、 Let s get dressed. I ll meet you at the back door.Be quiet. ”“ Yay! ” whispered Annie. She tiptoed away as quietly as a mouse. Jackput on jeans ， a warm sweatshirt ， and sneakers. He tossed his notebook and pencil in his backpack.He crept downstairs.Annie was waiting by the back door. She shined a

9、flashlight in Jack sface.“ Ta-da! A magic wand! ” she said.“ Shhh! Don t wake up Mom and Dad ，” whispered Jack.“And turn thatflashlight off. We don t want anyone to see us. ”Annie nodded and turned it off. Then she clipped it onto her belt.They slipped out the door into the cool early-morning air. C

10、rickets were chirping. The dog next door barked.“ Quiet ， Henry! ” whispered Annie.Henry stopped barking. Animals always seemed to do what Annie said.“Let s run! ” said Jack.They dashed across the dark ， wet lawn and didn t stop until they reached the woods.“ We need the flashlight now，” said Jack.A

11、nnie took it off her belt and switched it on.Step by step ， she and Jack walked between the trees. Jack held his breath.The dark woods were scary.“ Gotcha! ” said Annie ， shining the flashlight in Jack s face.Jack jumped back. Then he frowned.“ Cut it out! ” he siad.“ I scared you ，” said Annie.Jack

12、 glared at her.“ Stop pretending! ” he whispered. “ This is serious. ”“ Okay， okay. ”Annie shined her flashlight over the tops of the trees.“ Now what are you doing? ” said Jack.“ Looking for the tree house! ”The light stopped moving.There it was. The mysterious tree house. At the top of the tallest

13、 tree in the woods.Annie shined her light at the tree house， and then down the tall ladder.All the way to the ground.“ I mgoing up， ” she said. She gripped the flashlight and began to climb.“ Wait! ” Jack called.What if someone was in the tree house?“ Annie! Come back! ”But she was gone. The light d

14、isappeared. Jack was alone in the dark.2 Leaving Again“ No one s here! ” Annie shouted down.Jack thought about going home. Then he thought about all the books in the tree house.He started up the ladder. When he was nearly to the tree house， he sawlight in the distant sky. Dawn was starting to break.

15、He crawled through a hole in the floor and took off his backpack.It was dark inside the tree house.Annie was shining her flashlight on the books scattered about.“ They re still here ，” she said.She stopped the light on a dinosaur book. It was the book that had taken themto the time of the dinosaurs.

16、“ Remember the Tyrannosaurus? ” asked Annie.Jack shuddered. Of coures he remembered! How could anyone forget seeing areal live Tyrannosaurus rex?The light fell on a book about Pennsylvania. A red silk bookmark stuck out of it.“ Remember the picture of Frog Creek? ” said Annie.“Of course ，” said Jack

17、. That was the picture that had brought them home.“ There s my favorite ，” said Annie.The light was shining on a book about knights and castles. There was a blueleather bookmark in it.Annie turned to the page with the bookmark. There was a picture of a knight on a black horse. Hewas riding toward a

18、castle. “Annie ， close that book， ” saidJack. “ I know what you re thinking. ”Annie pointed at the knight.“ Don t ， Annie! ”“ We wish we could see this guy for real ，” Annie said.“ No， we don t! ” shouted Jack.They heard a strange sound.“ Neeee-hhhh！”It sounded like a horse neighing.They both went t

19、o the window.Annie shined the flashlight down on the ground.“ Oh no，”whispered Jack.“ A knight! ” said Annie.Aknight in shining armor! Riding a black horse! Through the Frog Creek woods!Then the wind began to moan. The leaves began to tremble.It was happening again.“ We re leaving! ” cried Annie. “

20、Get down! ”The wind moaned louder. The leaves shook harder.And the tree house started to spin. It spun faster and faster!Jack squeezed his eyes shut.Then everything was still.Absolutely still.Jack opened his eyes. He shivered. The air was damp and cool.The sound of a horse s whinny came again from b

21、elow.“ Neeee-hhhh！”“ I think we re here ， ” whispered Annie. She wasstill holding the castle book.Jack peeked out the window.A huge castle loomed out of the fog.He looked around. The tree house was in a different oak tree. And down below，the knight on the black horse was riding by.“ Wecan t stay her

22、e ，” said Jack. “Wehave to go homeand makea plan first. ” He picked up the book about Pennsylvania. Heopened it tothe page with thered silk bookmark. He pointed to the photograph of the Frog Creek woods.“ I wish ”“ No!” said Annie. She yanked the book away from him.“Let s stay!I want to visit the ca

23、stle! ”“ You re nuts. We have to examine the situation ，” said Jack. “ From home.”“ Let s examine it here! ” said Annie.“ Come on.” He held out his hand. “ Give it. ”Annie gave Jack the book. “ Okay. You can go home. I m staying ，” she said.She clipped the flashlight to her belt.“ Wait! ” said Jack.

24、“ I m going to take a peek. A teeny peek ，” she said. And she scooted down the ladder.Jack groaned. Okay， she had won. Hecouldn t leave without her. Besides ， he sort of wanted to take a peek himself.He put down the book about Pennsylvania.He dropped the castle book into his pack. He stepped onto th

25、e ladder.And headed down into the cool ， misty air.3 Across the BridgeAnnie was under the tree ， looking across the foggy ground.“ The knight s riding toward that bridge ， I think ，” said Annie.The bridge goes to the castle.“ Wait. I ll look it up ，” said Jack. “ Give me the flashlight! ”He took the

26、 flashlight from her and pulled the castle book out of his pack.He opened it to the page with the leather bookmark.He read the words under the picture of the knight：This is a knight arriving for a castle feast. Knights wore armor when they traveled long and dangerous distances. The armor was very he

27、avy.A helmet alone could weigh up to forty pounds.Wow. Jack had weighted forty pounds when he was five years old. So itd be like riding a horse with a five-year-old on your head.Jakc pulled out his notebook. He wanted to take notes ， as he d done on theirdinosaur trip.He wrote ：heavy headWhat else?H

28、e turned the pages of the castle book.He found a picture that showed the whole castle and the buildings around it.“ The knight s crossing the bridge ，” said Annie.“ He s going throughthe gateHe s gone. ”Jack studied the bridge in the picture.He read ：A drawbridge crossed the moat. The moat was fille

29、d with water ， to help protectthe castle from enemies.Some people believe crocodiles were kept in the moat.Jack wrote in his notebook ： crocodiles in moat?“ Look! ” said Annie ， peering through the mist. “A windmill! Right over there! ”“Yeah， there s a windmill in here ， too ，”said Jack ， pointing a

30、tthe picture.“ Look at the real one， Jack ，” said Annie. “ Not the one in the book. ” A piercing shriek split the air.“ Yikes ，” said Annie. “ It sounded like it camefrom that little house overthere! ” She pointed through the fog.“ There s a little house here ，” said Jack ， studying the picture.He t

31、urned the page and read ：The hawk house was in the inner ward of the castle. Hawks were trained tohunt other birds and small animals.Jack wrote in his notebook ：hawks in hawk house“ We must be in the inner ward ，” said Jack.“ Listen! ” whispered Annie. “You hear that? Drums! Horns! They re comingfro

32、m the castle. Let s go see. ”“Wait ，” said Jakc. He turned more pages of the book.“ I want to see what s really going on， Jack. Not what s in the book，” said Annie.“ But look at this! ” said Jack.He pointed to a picture of a big party. Men were standing by the door，playingdrums and horns.He read ：Fa

33、nfares were played to announce different dishes in a feast. Feasts were held in the Great Hall.“ You can look at the book. I m going to the real feast ，”said Annie.“Wait ， ” said Jack ， studying the picture. It showedboys his age carryingtrays of food. Whole pigs. Pies. Peacocks with all their feath

34、ers.Peacocks?Jack wrote ：they eat peacocks?He held up the book to show Annie.“ Look， I think they eat ”Where was she? Gone. Again.Jack looked through the fog.He heard the real drums and the real horns. He saw the real hawk house，the real windmill ， the real moat.He saw Annie dashing across the real

35、drawbridge. Then she vanished through the gate leading to the castle.4 Into the Castle“ I m going to kill her ，” muttered Jack.He threw his stuff into his pack and movedtoward the drawbridge. He hoped no one would see him.It was getting darker. It must be night.Whenhe got to the bridge ， he started

36、across. The wooden planks creaked under his feet.He peered over the edge of the bridge. Were there any crocodiles in the moat?He couldn t tell.“ Halt! ” someone shouted. A guard on top of the castle wall was looking down.Jack dashed across the bridge. He ran through the castle gate and into the cour

37、tyard.Frominside the castle camethe sounds of music ， shouting ， and laughter.Jack hurried to a dark corner and crouched down. He shivered as he looked around for Annie.Torches lit the high wall around the courtyard.The courtyard was nearly empty.Two boys led horses that clopped over the gray cobble

38、stones.“ Neeee-hhhh！”Jack turned. It was the knight s black horse!“ Psssst! ”He peered into the darkness.There was Annie.She was hiding behind a well in the center of the courtyard. She waved at him.Jack waved back. He waited till the boys and horses disappeared inside thestable. Then he dashed to t

39、he well.“ I m going to find the music! ” whispered Annie. “Are you coming? ”“ Okay，”Jack said with a sigh.They tiptoed together across the cobblestones. Then they slipped into the entrance of the castle.Noise and music came from a bright room in front of them. They stood on oneside of the doorway an

40、d peeked in.“ The feast in the Great Hall!” whispered Jack. He held his breath ashe stared in awe.A giant fireplace blazed at one end of the noisy room. Antlers and rugs hungon the stone walls. Flowers covered the floor. Boys in short dr esses carried huge trays of food.Dogs were fighting over bones

41、 under the tables.People in bright clothes and funny hats strolled among the crowd. Some playedfunny-shaped guitars. Sometossed balls in the air. Somebalanced swords on their hands.Menand womendressed in capes and furs sat at long ， crowded woodentables.“ I wonder which one is the knight ，” said Jac

42、k.“ I don t know ，” whispered Annie. “ But they re eating with their fingers. ” Suddenly ， someone shouted behind them.Jack whirled around.A man carrying a tray of pies was standing a few feet away.“ Who art thou? ” he asked angrily.“ Jack ，”squeaked Jack.“ Annie ，”squeaked Annie.Then they ran as fa

43、st as they could down a dimly lit hallway.5 Trapped“ Come on!” cried Annie.Jack raced behind her.Were they being followed?“ Here! Quick! ” Annie dashed toward a door off the hallway. She pushed the door open.The two of them stumbled into a dark ， cold room. The door creaked shut behind them.“ Give m

44、ethe flashlight ，” said Annie. Jack handed it to her ， and she switched it on.Yikes! A row of knights right in front of them!Annie flicked off the light.Silence.“ They aren t moving ，” Jack whispered.Annie turned the light back on.“ They re just suits ，” Jack said.“ Without heads ，” said Annie.“ Let

45、 me have the flashlight a second ，” said Jack. “ So I can look in the book. ”Annie handed him the flashlight. Hepulled out the castle book. He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for.Jack put the book away.“ It s called the armory ，” he said. “ It swherearmor and weapons are

46、 stored. ”He shined the flashlight around the room.“ Oh， man，”whispered Jack.The light fell on shiny breastplates ， leg plates ， arm plates. Onshelves filled with helmets and weapons. On shields ， spears ， swords ， c rossbows ， clubs ， battle-axes.There was a noise in the hall. Voices!“ Let s hide!

47、” said Annie.“ Wait ，”said Jack. “ I got to check on something first. ”“ Hurry ，” said Annie.“ It ll take just a second，”said Jack. “ Hold this. ” He handed Annietheflashlight. He tried to lift a helmet from a shelf. It was too heavy.He bent over and dragged the helmet over his head. The visor slamm

48、edshut.Oh， forget it. It was worse than having a five-year-old on your head.More like having a ten-year-old on your head.Not only could Jack not lift his head， he couldn t see anything ， either.“ Jack! ” Annie s voice sounded far away“. The voices are getting closer! ” “ Turn off the flashlight! ” J

49、ack s voice echoed inside the metal chamber.He struggled to get the helmet off.Suddenly he lost his balance and went crashing into other pieces of armor.The metal plates and weapons clattered to the floor.Jack lay on the floor in the dark.He tried to get up. But his head was too heavy.He heard deep

50、voices.Someone grabbed him by the arm. The next thing he knew ， his helmet was yankedoff. He was staring into the blazing light of a fiery torch.6 Ta-da!In the torchlight ， Jack saw three huge men standing over him.One with very squinty-eyes held the torch. One with a very red face heldJack.And one

51、with a very long mustache held on to Annie.Annie was kicking and yelling.“ Stop! ” said the one with the very long mustache.“ Who art thou? ” said the one with the very red face.“ Spies? Foreigners? Egyptians? Romans?Persians? ” said the squinty-eyed one.“ No， you dummies! ” said Annie.“ Oh， brother

52、 ，” Jack muttered.“ Arrest them! ” said Red-face.“ The dungeon! ” said Squinty-eyes.The guards marched Jack and Annie out of the armory. Jack looked back frantically. Where was his backpack?“ Go!” said a guard ， giving him a push.Jack went.Down they marched ， down the long ， dark hallway. Squinty ，

53、Annie ， Mustache，Jack ， and Red.Down a narrow ， winding staircase.Jack heard Annie shouting at the guards. “ Dummies! Meanies! Wedidn't do anything! ”The guards laughed.They didn t take her seriously at all.At the bottom of the stairs was a big iron door with a bar across it.Squinty pushed the b

54、ar off the door. Then he shoved at the door. It creaked open.Jack and Annie were pushed into a cold ， clammy room.The fiery torch lit the dungeon. There were chains hanging from the filthy walls. Water dripped from the ceiling ， making puddles on the stone floor. It was the creepiest place Jack had

55、ever seen.“ We ll keep them here till the feast is done. Then turn them over to theDuke，”said Squinty.He knows how to take care of thieves.said Mustache.said Red.There will be a hanging tomorrow If the rats don t get them first They all laughed.Jack saw that Annie had his backpack. She was quietly u

56、nzipping it.“ Come on， let s chain the two of em，”said Squinty.The guards started toward them.Annie whipped her flashlight out of the pack.“ Ta-da! ” she yelled.The guards froze. They stared at the shiny flashlight in her hand.Annie switched the light on. The guards gasped in fear.They jumped back a

57、gainst the wall.Squinty dropped the torch. It fell into a dirty puddle on the floor，sputtered ， and went out.“ Mymagic wand!” Annie said ， waving the flashlight. “ Get down. Or I llwipe you out! ” Jack s mouth dropped open.Annie fiercely pointed her light at one， then the other. Each howled and covered his face.“ Down! All of you! Get down! ” shouted Annie.One by one ， the guards lay dow