英语读物《神奇树屋》 第十四册 Day of the Dragon King 6 The Dragon King
The oxcart bumped across the wooden bridge thatcrossed over a moat. Then it passed guards standingby giant wooden gates.
"Are the gates ever closed?" Jack asked.
"Oh, yes, every day at sunset," said the scholar.
"When the gong sounds, the gates close. The bridgecomes up. And the city is sealed shut for the night.""I guess visitors have to leave before that happens,"Annie said. "Or they'll be stuck here for the wholenight. Right?""Yes ," said the scholar.
The cart bumped between the city gates. Rows ofsmall houses were bunched together on either side ofthe street. They were made of mud with straw roofs.
People cooked over outdoor fires. They washed theirclothes in wooden tubs.
As the oxcart bumped along, the houses got larger.
These were made of painted wood and pottery tiles.
They all had curved roofs.
"Why are those roofs like that?" asked Jack.
"To keep away the bad spirits," said the scholar.
"How do they do that?" said Annie.
"The spirits can only travel in straight lines," saidthe scholar.
"Wow," whispered Annie.
The cart went by some open tea shops. Then itpassed a large market square filled with stalls andshoppers. People were buying and selling fish,chickens, firewood, wagon wheels, silk cloth, furs,and jade jewelry.
Some people were lined up at a stall filled with tinycages.
"What's for sale there?" said Annie.
"Crickets," the scholar said. "They make good pets.
You can feed them tea leaves and enjoy their delicatesong."The cart moved on toward the Dragon King'swalled palace. They stopped in front of the palacegates.
"Grain delivery!" the scholar shouted up to theguard at the tower.
The guard waved them through. Inside werebeautiful gardens and huge mounds of earthsurrounded by a low brick wall.
"That is the Imperial Burial Grounds," said thescholar, pointing at the mounds.
"Who is buried there?" asked Jack. "The ancestors ofthe Dragon King," said the scholar.
"What are ancestors?" Annie asked.
"They are the people in your family who livedbefore you," said the scholar. "Someday the DragonKing himself will be buried there. Three hundredthousand workers have been building his burialtomb.""Oh, man," said Jack.
He looked over his shoulder at the burial grounds.
He wondered why it took so many workers to build atomb.
"No!" said the scholar.
Jack whirled around.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
The scholar pointed at the palace court-yard. Adark cloud of smoke was rising into the sky.
"Fire!" said the scholar.
"The books!" said Jack.
"Hurry!" said Annie.
The scholar snapped the reins. The oxen trotted upthe stone path. When the cart rolled into thecourtyard, soldiers were everywhere.
Some threw wood on a huge bonfire. Others werecarrying bamboo strips down the steep stairs that ledfrom the palace.
"Are those books?" asked Jack.
"Yes. The strips are tied together into differentbundles," moaned the scholar. "Each bundle is abook.""Look!" said Annie, pointing to the palace entrance.
Stepping outside was a man in a rich, flowing robeand a tall hat. Jack knew him at once--the DragonKing!
