The Mysterious School
It was her first day at Cedars International School. Sheila was in the 2nd grade. She missed her old school and was quite sure that she was going to hate this new place.
At lunch break, Junie and Pam, two girls from her class introduced themselves to her. They took her to a tree that stood at the corner of the playground.
“Would you like to come to the Hole of Mysteries with us?" Pam asked her.
“Hole of Mysteries! Where’s that?" Sheila asked astonished.
Near the tree was a hole, covered with hay and sticks. “This is the Hole of Mysteries," said Junie.
“Come on, let’s jump into the hole," said Pam.
Holding each other’s hands, Pam, Sheila and Junie jumped inside. The hole became darker as they went deeper and deeper.
Then all of a sudden it became bright. Lighted candles were everywhere. Sheila was frightened. Seeing her, Pam laughed. Junie pointed out to a rabbit lighting a candle.
The Mysterious School
"That is Binkie the rabbit," said Pam. “She plans all our adventures."
“Hi Binkie!" said Junie. “This is Sheila, our new friend. Do you have a mysterious adventure for us today in the mysterious school?"
Binkie smiled and said, “Hi Sheila, welcome to the Hole of Mysteries. Sorry girls, I only have a tiny adventure for you. It’s not easy, mind you. You have to be very alert as it’s to do with sounds. Be aware of he who can talk. Now follow me. You have to find your way out." Binkie went ahead.
The girls followed her. They came to a small room. Binkie had vanished. Once they got inside, the doors locked automatically. There were three animals in the room: a cat, a dog and a fish (inside a bowl). They could hear loud grunts from outside.
“I think there’s a monster nearby," said Sheila, frightened.
“We have to take the help of these animals to get out!" whispered Junie.
“Or else we will have to stay here for ever," said Pam.
“How do we find our way out?" asked Sheila, feeling quite nervous.
“Let’s think hard!" said Junie.
“I think I know!" said Pam. “Remember Binkie told us to be aware of ‘he who can talk’. I think one of these animals can talk."
“But which one?" asked Sheila.
“Let’s find out," said Junie.
“Did you notice what the animals were doing when we got here? The cat was shaking its head and scratching itself. The fish was waving its tail and the dog was thumping its tail. I feel it must be either the dog or the fish. Let’s find out."
Pam went up to the fish and said, “Can you help us?" The fish did not seem to have heard her and continued to wave its tail in the water.
Then Sheila went up to the dog and said, “What’s your name?"
“Spike," replied the dog. “If you are looking for the exit, I can help you."
“Can you really talk?" the girls asked the dog.
“Yes I can," said the dog. “Now press hard against the door and chant ‘Ashanti’ three times. When the door opens run fast until you reach the top. Don’t look back ever!"
The three thanked the dog and as soon as they chanted ‘Ashanti’ thrice, the door opened.
But, the grunting sounds grew louder, frightening the girls.
They ran up the dark path, stopping only when they reached up, at the beginning of the tunnel.
“Hey, we made it!" shouted Pam in excitement as they found back themselves in the mysterious school playground.
“But what about the animals?" asked Sheila.
“They are in there, perhaps helping Binkie plan our next adventure!"
“Wow!" said Sheila. “I think I’m going to have a great time at Cedars!"
The bell rang just then and the trio returned to their class in the mysterious school.
神秘學校
這是她在雪松國際學校的第一天。希拉上二年級。她很懷念她的舊學校，很肯定她會討厭這個新地方。
午休時，朱妮和帕姆，班上的兩個女孩向她自我介紹。他們把她帶到操場角落裡的一棵樹前。
“你願意和我們一起去神秘之洞嗎？”Pam問她。
“神秘之洞！那是哪裡？”希拉驚訝地問。
樹旁邊有一個洞，上面蓋著乾草和樹枝。朱尼說：“這是一個神秘的洞穴。”
“來吧，我們跳進洞裡去吧，”帕姆說。
帕姆、希拉和朱尼握著對方的手跳了進去。洞越挖越深，洞就越黑。
突然間，它變亮了。到處都是點燃的蠟燭。希拉很害怕。看到她，帕姆笑了。朱尼指著一隻點燃蠟燭的兔子。
“那是兔子賓基，”帕姆說。“她計劃了我們所有的冒險活動。”
“嗨，賓基！”Junie說。“這是希拉，我們的新朋友。你今天在神秘學校有神秘的冒險經歷嗎？”
賓基笑著說：“嗨，希拉，歡迎來到神秘之洞。對不起，姑娘們，我只為你們做一次小小的冒險。這不容易，當心你。你必須非常警惕，因為這與聲音有關。注意能說話的人。跟我來。你必須找到出路。”賓基繼續說。
女孩們跟著她。他們來到一個小房間。賓基消失了。他們一進去，門就自動鎖上了。房間裡有三種動物：貓、狗和魚（在碗裡）。他們能聽到外面響亮的咕嚕聲。
“我想附近有個怪物，”希拉害怕地說。
“我們得靠這些動物的幫助才能出去！”朱妮低聲說。
帕姆說：“否則我們就得永遠呆在這裡。”
“我們如何找到出路？”希拉問，覺得很緊張。
“我們好好想想！”Junie說。
“我想我知道！”Pam說。記住，賓基告訴我們要注意“誰能說話”。我想這些動物中的一隻會說話。”
“但是哪一個？”希拉問。
朱尼說：“讓我們看看。”
“我們到這兒的時候，你注意到動物在做什麼嗎？貓搖著頭，抓著自己。魚在擺動尾巴，狗在拍打尾巴。我覺得肯定是狗還是魚。我們來看看。”
帕姆走到魚跟前說：“你能幫我們嗎？”那條魚似乎沒有聽見她的聲音，繼續在水中擺動尾巴。
希拉走到狗跟前說：“你叫什麼名字？”
“斯派克，”狗回答。“如果你在找出口，我可以幫你。”
“你真的能說話嗎？”女孩們問狗。
“是的，我可以，”狗說。“現在用力推門，喊三聲‘阿散蒂’。當門打開時，快跑直到你到達頂端。別回頭看！”
三個人感謝狗，他們一喊三聲“阿散蒂”，門就開了。
但是，咕嚕聲越來越大，嚇壞了女孩們。
他們沿著黑暗的小路奔跑，直到到達隧道的起點時才停下來。
“嘿，我們成功了！”帕姆興奮地喊道，因為他們發現自己回到了神秘的學校操場上。
“但是動物呢？”希拉問。
“他們在那裡，也許幫助賓基計劃我們的下一次冒險！”
“哇！”希拉說。“我想我在雪松會玩得很開心的！”
這時鈴響了，三個人回到神秘學校上課。
關鍵字: Sheila Mysterious 神秘
