帝王湖的秘密

摘要：克里斯蒂和妈妈刚搬到萨默代尔镇的新家，那是一栋老房子。她们整理旧木箱时偶然翻出一张老照片。褪色的照片上，一位长发女孩正对镜头微笑，旁边有一行字：“1910年夏，梅布尔在帝王湖旁。”妈妈猜测梅布尔或许就是此屋的前主人。邻居史蒂文斯太太证实了妈妈的猜测。童年时的史

The Secret of Monarch Lake 帝王湖的秘密By Jennifer Lynn MelnickArt by Irina Avgustinovich

克里斯蒂和妈妈刚搬到萨默代尔镇的新家，那是一栋老房子。她们整理旧木箱时偶然翻出一张老照片。褪色的照片上，一位长发女孩正对镜头微笑，旁边有一行字：“1910年夏，梅布尔在帝王湖旁。”妈妈猜测梅布尔或许就是此屋的前主人。邻居史蒂文斯太太证实了妈妈的猜测。童年时的史蒂文斯太太曾帮年迈的梅布尔打理家务，她记得梅布尔最喜欢这个叫帝王湖的地方。克里斯蒂被这个神秘的湖泊深深吸引，然而她去图书馆查遍地图也没找到。克里斯蒂随后在网上搜索，她惊讶地发现原来梅布尔是一位作家，还写了一本书！回到家中，她又发现照片背景中教堂的尖顶，分明与家里后院树顶露出的尖顶一模一样，帝王湖或许就在附近？之后，妈妈又带着问题走访当地历史学会与档案馆依旧没能找到答案。一个雨后清晨，克里斯蒂在后院邂逅了一幕奇妙景象……这次她能揭开帝王湖的秘密吗？

The girl with long hair smiled up from the faded photograph.

“Look,” said Kristy as she held up the picture. “It says, Mabel beside Monarch Lake, summer 1910.”

“She looks about your age,” said Kristy’s mother. “I read that Mabel and her family used to live in this house, and then her kids and grandkids lived here after that.”

Kristy was helping her mom sort through boxes they’d found in their new home. They had just moved to Summerdale, where Kristy’s mom had started working at the historical society.

“Can I keep Mabel’s picture?” asked Kristy.

“Sure,” said Mom, looking out the window. “Oh, here’s Mrs. Stevens—right on time! She agreed to keep you company while I’m at my appointment.”

Kristy liked Mrs. Stevens, their neighbor, and her interesting stories about the town’s past.

“See you in a couple hours,” said Mom, on her way out.

As Mrs. Stevens sat down, Kristy showed her the photograph of Mabel.

“Ah, Mabel Black,” said Mrs. Stevens.

“Did you know her?” asked Kristy.

“Yes, as a child I used to help Mabel with her housecleaning. She was already an old woman by then. I loved looking at her collection of photos while I dusted them. I never asked where Monarch Lake was, but Mabel said it was her favorite place in the world.”

Now Kristy had a mystery on her hands. Where was Monarch Lake, and why was it so special?

The next morning, Kristy’s mother was weeding in the backyard. It had a pretty garden, with flowers that formed an oval-shaped ring around pebbles.

“Would you take me to the library today to find out more about Monarch Lake?” Kristy asked.

“Sure,” said Mom. “Let’s go after lunch. It’ll be nice to get a break from the heat.”

At the library, Kristy looked through maps of Summerdale. They showed streets, businesses, and homes, but no lakes.

Kristy then searched online and was surprised to find out that Mabel had written a book. “She was an author!” said Kristy.

But she couldn’t find the book in the library.

“I’ll see if another library has a copy,” said a librarian.

At home that afternoon, Kristy was sitting on the back porch, gazing at the yard, when a familiar feeling hit her. Kristy ran to her bedroom and grabbed Mabel’s photograph. She ran back outside.

In the background of the photo, a church steeple rose above a border of short trees. It looked a lot like the steeple that was visible above the line of trees in Kristy’s own backyard.

“Mom!” shouted Kristy. “It’s the same steeple. This picture was taken in our backyard!”

Kristy’s mother hurried outside to look.

“Wow. You’re right. The trees have grown, but it’s the same steeple.”

“But why does it say she’s beside Monarch Lake? Where’s the lake?” asked Kristy.

“Let’s go to the historical society and see what we can find out,” said Mom.

But no one at the society had ever heard of such a lake. And searches in the archives proved useless.

“I don’t get it,” said Kristy.

That night, rain poured and cooled the air.

Early the next morning, Kristy woke up and looked out her window. She gasped.

“Monarch Lake! We solved the mystery!” yelled Kristy.

Running downstairs, Kristy found her mother sitting on the porch.

“Monarch Lake! It’s here!” Kristy said.

“Shh,” said Mom, smiling, as she motioned for Kristy to sit beside her.

The heavy rain during the night had formed a shallow puddle in the middle of the flower garden. A flurry of monarch butterflies fluttered above it. Monarch Lake wasn’t a real lake—it was a butterfly-sized lake!

“I found this last night in a trunk,” said Mom, handing Kristy a small book.

Kristy looked at the cover: Regional Butterflies by Mabel Black.

Opening the book, Kristy found a photograph of Mabel that was almost identical to the one she had, except that Mabel the child was now a young woman. And, this time, Mabel was sitting in a flower garden filled with monarch butterflies. Beneath the photograph was old-fashioned handwriting that read, Mabel beside Monarch Lake.

“Now I know why Mabel loved Monarch Lake. It’s magical!” said Kristy. She paused. “Just one more thing. Mom, would you take a picture of me?”

Later that day, Kristy placed a new photograph on her desk, next to Mabel’s.

In it, Kristy sat beside Monarch Lake, just as young Mabel once had, with a huge smile on her face. Below it, she had written, Kristy discovers Monarch Lake.