Jack opened his eyes.
Annie was already looking out the window. The mouse peeked out of her pouch.
Jack looked out the window, too. The air was fresh and cool.
The tree house was in a tree with white flowers. The tree was in a grove of trees on the side of a mountain. Nearby a wild stream rushed downhill.
Two ninjas were standing on rocks near the water. They were staring at the valley below.
One ninja was tall. The other was short. They wore black pants and shirts. They had black scarves around their heads. And swords strapped to their backs.
It was exactly like the picture in the book.
Jack crouched below the window.
“Be careful,” he whispered. “Don’t let them see you.”
“Why not?” Annie whispered back.
“They might think we’re some kind of enemy,” said Jack quietly.
Annie crouched beside him.
Jack pushed his glasses into place. Now he was going to look at the ninja book.
He picked up the book. He turned to the beginning. He read:
Very little is known about the shadowy warriors called ninjas. Historians believe that ninjas lived in Japan between the 14th and 17th centuries. Both men and women were ninjas. Sometimes they fought to protect their families. Sometimes warlords hired them to be spies.
“Wow,” whispered Jack. “We’re in Japan, hundreds of years ago.”
Jack opened his backpack. He pulled out his notebook and pencil. He liked to take notes. He wrote:ninjas were warriors in old Japan
“Jack,” whispered Annie. “They’re looking up. I think they know we’re here.”
Jack peeked over the windowsill. His eyes met the dark eyes of the tall ninja.
“E-hy” the ninja cried. He dashed toward the tree. The other ninja followed.
“Oh no!” said Annie.
“We’ve got to go!” Jack said. “Where’s the Pennsylvania book?”
He and Annie looked around wildly.
But where was the book about Pennsylvania? It had the picture of the Frog Creek woods in it.
Jack and Annie couldn’t get home without it.
“It’s not anywhere!” cried Annie.
“We’ve got to do something. Fast!” said Jack. “Pull up the ladder!”
He and Annie grabbed the top of the rope ladder. They pulled the ladder into the tree house.
But the tall ninja leaped at the tree trunk. Then he started climbing up the tree! The short ninja followed. They climbed just like cats!
Jack and Annie huddled in a corner.
The ninjas climbed into the tree house. Neither one made a sound.
3哎嘿!
杰克睜開眼睛。
安妮已經(jīng)在朝窗戶外面東張西望了,小老鼠也從她的口袋里向外偷偷地看著。
杰克也向窗外望了望,空氣既清新又涼爽。
樹屋落在一棵開滿白色花朵的樹上,這棵樹在靠近一座山的一個(gè)小樹林里,旁邊有一條奔流的小溪從山上滾滾而下。
兩個(gè)忍者站在小溪旁邊的巖石上,凝視著下面的山谷。
其中一個(gè)忍者很高,另一個(gè)比較矮。他們穿著黑色的褲子和短衫,頭上包著黑色的頭巾,背上綁著利劍。
和書上畫的圖片一模一樣。
杰克蹲在窗戶旁邊。
“小心。”他小聲說,“別讓他們看見你。”
“為什么不行?”安妮也小聲地回答道。
“他們可能認(rèn)為我們是什么敵人。”杰克悄悄地說。
安妮蹲到了杰克旁邊。
杰克推了推他的眼鏡,現(xiàn)在他準(zhǔn)備看看那本關(guān)于忍者的書了。
他拿起書,翻到最開始的地方。讀道:
人們對(duì)于那種叫忍者的神出鬼沒的武士知之甚少。歷史學(xué)家認(rèn)為忍者生活在14~17世紀(jì)的日本。忍者可以是男的也可以是女的,有時(shí)候他們?yōu)榱吮Wo(hù)他們的組織而
戰(zhàn)斗,有時(shí)候他們被軍閥雇傭做間諜。
“哇塞。”杰克低聲說,“我們?cè)谌毡荆脦装倌昵澳?”
杰克打開他的背包,拿出筆記本和鉛筆,他很喜歡做筆記。他寫道:
忍者是古代日本的武士。
“杰克。”安妮小聲說,“他們?cè)诔峡?,我覺得他們知道我們?cè)谶@兒。”
杰克從窗沿上偷偷向外瞄去,他的眼睛和那個(gè)高個(gè)子忍者的黑眼睛碰到一塊兒了。
“哎嘿!”那個(gè)忍者叫道。他朝著這棵樹沖了下來,另一個(gè)忍者也跟著下來了。
“噢!不會(huì)吧。”安妮說。
“我們得離開!”杰克說,“那本賓夕法尼亞的書在哪兒?”
他和安妮發(fā)瘋似地四處看著,可是那本賓夕法尼亞的書在哪兒呢?它上面畫著蛙溪樹林,杰克和安妮沒有它可回不了家了。
“哪兒都沒有!”安妮哭喊道。
“我們得想個(gè)辦法,趕快!”杰克說,“把梯子拉上來!”
他和安妮抓住繩梯的頂端,把梯子拉進(jìn)了樹屋。
可是那個(gè)高個(gè)子忍者抓住樹干就向上爬!那個(gè)矮個(gè)子忍者也跟著上來了,他們爬樹像貓一樣的!
杰克和安妮蜷縮在一個(gè)角落里。
兩個(gè)忍者爬進(jìn)了樹屋里,一點(diǎn)聲音都沒有發(fā)出。