Escape!快逃！

Frederick Marryat

作者簡介：

弗雷德里克·马里亚特（Frederick Marryat），1792年7月10日出生于伦敦，1848年8月9日逝世于英格兰诺福克郡的兰厄姆，英国海军军官，小说家，狄更斯的友人，被誉为“海洋小说的先驱”。

马里亚特在14岁时加入了英国皇家海军，并在世界许多地方服役，以卓越的表现而闻名，直到1830年退役时，他已获得上校军衔。随后，他开始创作一系列冒险小说，这些作品以清晰直接的叙述风格和源源不断的幽默情节著称。他还创作了许多儿童读物，其中《新森林的孩子们》（The Children of the New Forest）讲述了英格兰内战的故事，是儿童文学的经典之作。

作品简介：

1647年，贝弗利家的四个孩子——爱德华、汉弗莱、艾丽斯和小伊迪丝——正藏在新森林里。这时，英国国王正被关在狱中，全国各地都在打仗——克伦威尔的人和国王的人打仗。而如果你是支持国王的，你可就极度危险了。孩子们的父亲为国王作战时牺牲了，他们的母亲也死了，克伦威尔的士兵烧了他们的家，他们没有钱，没有食物，什么都没有了。但是他们有一个真正的朋友——老雅各布·阿米蒂奇。现在，在老雅各布的帮助下，他们必须学会靠土地生活——学习在森林里猎食，学习种菜，学习喂猪、养鸡。但是到处都是克伦威尔的人，孩子们永远不能说出他们姓贝弗利。

本文节选自《新森林的孩子们》第一章节，节选时有删改。

One day in November 1647， JacobArmitage hurried through the New Forestto the house of Arnwood.

“You must leave this house immediately，”he said to Edward Beverley.“Come with me to pack your things. Youmust come to my home and stay there.”

“But why， Jacob？” Edward asked theold man“. Why？”

“The King has escaped from his prison at Hampton Court，” Jacob explained.“Hes riding south through theforest， and Cromwells soldiers are searchingfor him. And Ive just heard a group ofsoldiers in the forest—they were talkingabout Arnwood. They know that your fatherwas the Kings friend， and theyre planningto burn Arnwood tonight， because theythink the King is hiding here.”

“Burn Arnwood！ They cant do that！Its my house， and Im staying here！”Edward said angrily. He was fourteen yearsold， the oldest of the four Beverleychildren.

The Beverley children lived alone atArnwood， with an old woman who did thecooking and all the work of the house.Their father， Colonel Beverley， was killedwhile fighting for King Charles Ⅰ atNaseby in 1645. Before he left home， heasked Jacob， a poor forester who lived nearArnwood， to look after his family. Jacobknew the family well and was happy to dothis. And when the childrens mother dieda few months later， Jacob came every dayto visit the children and to help them.

“My dear boy，” Jacob said，“ rememberyour sisters and brother. The soldierswill shoot them， or burn them in the house.No， no， you must all come with me.”

In the end， Edward agreed. He andhis brother Humphrey， who was twelve，packed their things. Then they put themon Jacobs horse， White Billy， who waswaiting outside.

Jacob told Alice， who was eleven， andEdith， who was eight， that they were goingto visit his home in the forest. He did nottell them about the soldiers.

“Edward， here is my key，” said Jacobquietly.“ Lock the door of the house， andtake my gun from the wall. Don＇t leaveyour brother and sisters. I＇ll help the cookto pack her things， and then I＇ll followyou.”

The four children left the big houseand went into the forest with White Billy. Itwas five o＇clock in the afternoon， andalready dark. Jacob helped the cook， whohurried away to her family in Lymington，and then he hid in the trees near the house，and waited.

After a while， he heard horses， andthe Parliamentary soldiers arrived. Soonthey were in the gardens and all around thehouse. A few minutes later Jacob saw blacksmoke going up into the sky; then he sawflames at the windows. Arnwood wasburning！

“It is done，” thought Jacob， and hehurried away into the forest. In half anhour， he arrived at his cottage. He lookedback and saw the flames of Arnwoodshooting higher and higher above the trees.

When he knocked on his door， Edwardopened it and came out with Smoker，Jacobs big dog.

“My sisters are asleep in bed，” Edwardtold Jacob. Then Edward saw theflames of Arnwood and the angry red lightbetween the trees， and he was silent.

“I told you，” Jacob said. “The soldiersdidnt look for you in the housebefore they burnt it.”

“Arnwood is my house！” said Edwardangrily. “And when Im a man， Ill fightCromwells soldiers for this！”

“Perhaps you will，” Jacob said quietly.“But lets go inside now. Its a cold night.”

Edward slowly followed Jacob into thecottage. He hated Cromwell and the Parliamentarysoldiers. First， they killed his father，and now they burnt his house. He laydown on the bed， but he did not sleep.

Reading Check

1. Why did Jacob Armitage urgeEdward Beverley to leave Arnwoodimmediately？

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2. How are the Beverley children relatedto the King＇s cause， and why are theyin danger？

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3. Who has been taking care of theBeverley children since their parents＇passing？

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4. What was Edward＇s reaction whenhe saw the flames of Arnwood after it wasset fire by the soldiers？

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