“快点,Tibira! 我想尽快到达那里!” 妮基’s voice echoed through the serene white noise of the forest.
“妮基，你想要。 到处都是 很快!我回答，加快脚步赶上她. “也许吧，但这次不一样! hg888皇冠手机版要去生活! We are going to the place where the world began, 和 we are going to learn how to weave! 你怎么能走得这么慢?我追上她时，她停了下来.
我停了一下，看着她. She had stopped directly in one of the scarce patches of sunlight that penetrated the trees. It was highlighting her perfectly; her dark skin, 她褪色的蓝色工作服因跑步而有点歪斜, 和她的宽, cocked grin that seemed permanently etched on her round face. 突然，我忍不住笑了. “我正在花时间欣赏森林! 这里是如此美丽, it will be good to enjoy the peace before we must face the business of Ife,”我说, 呵呵.
“哦，我认输. 你是对的. 她叹息道. “But if we are appreciating the forest, let us appreciate Iya麻婆豆腐, Mother Earth, as well.他再没说什么, hg888皇冠手机版开始一起唱:“雅麻婆, Iya麻婆豆腐,” our song a sacrifice to the divinity as we walked through the forest. Eventually, the forest began to thin, giving way to farms, 和 we stopped singing. hg888皇冠手机版开始看到越来越多的人, 一些运送货物, 有些人要去种田, 还有偶尔旅行的人, 就像hg888皇冠手机版曾经一样. 突然，hg888皇冠手机版的路走到头了，hg888皇冠手机版停了下来. 就在那时hg888皇冠手机版看到了它. 通往伊夫圣城的大门. When we approached the gate, we were confronted by the guards. hg888皇冠手机版给了他们一些hg888皇冠手机版带来的珍珠贝壳, 向奥巴交税, 和 stated our reason for being there: to ask 妮基’s gr和mother, Tanti, 教hg888皇冠手机版编织. 他们让hg888皇冠手机版通过. 我想知道他们怎么知道该让谁过去, but decided that there would be time later to ask someone about it. As soon as we walked in, we almost immediately began to feel overwhelmed. 太阳在hg888皇冠手机版眼中发出强烈的光芒, 城市太热了, 和 it felt even hotter after having been in the cool forest. 那里的人多得令人眼花缭乱. 街道上相当拥挤, 和, 有这么多东西需要一下子消化, 再加上炎热和刺眼的阳光, hg888皇冠手机版很快就感到累了. hg888皇冠手机版只是勉强注意到了风景. The shrines, the compounds, the murals; they all went by in a blur. However, we managed to remain alert enough to find our way. 这个城市很复杂, 但在hg888皇冠手机版离开hg888皇冠手机版的小村庄之前, we had spent much time committing the route to Tanti’s compound to memory. Finally, after what seemed like forever, we reached our destination: the weaver’s compound. 这是一个很大的化合物, 外面是白色的背景, 用彩色线条装饰, 代表不同的实体. hg888皇冠手机版打开了大门, 然后走进了院子, which was paved in an intricate pattern of spirals 和 waves. hg888皇冠手机版都不确定这代表着什么. 有几只山羊和几只鸡在四处游荡, 和 there were many beautifully carved 和 painted posts that held up the roof. 另一个房间里有一个神龛. Ahead, there was a second doorway leading to another courtyard. As we walked into the second courtyard, we saw a young man who looked to be around fifteen. 他坐在院子中间. 他一听到hg888皇冠手机版的声音就抬起头来.
“妮基! Tibira! 你在这里. 奶奶正等着你呢。”他说. I realized that this must be Eyodun, one of Gr和mother Tanti’s son-in-laws. He walked out of the second courtyard 和 into a separate room. 坦提坐在织布机前织布.
“Excuse me, Mother, 妮基 和 Tibira are here,” Eyodun said respectfully, bowing. Tanti’s smiling face peered out from behind the loom, her dark eyes glittering with happiness.
“妮基! Tibira! 很高兴再次见到你! 自从我访问你们的村庄以来，已经有很长时间了, 但这次hg888皇冠手机版似乎是在我家见面. 到目前为止，你还享受你的生活吗?她问道，脸上依然挂着灿烂的笑容.
“是的，奶奶。”hg888皇冠手机版都深深地鞠了一躬回答.
“好,好. 但是你一定很累了! 伊尤顿，请带这两个人去他们的房间? 然后 they can wash up, 和 we can show them around the compound,” Tanti said.
“是的,妈妈. Come with me, please,” he asked us, bowing once more to Gr和mother before leaving the room. 很久以后, 在hg888皇冠手机版看到化合物之后, 洗, 吃, 和定居, 我坐在我的垫子上, 回顾今天的事情. 我简直不敢相信hg888皇冠手机版真的在生活中! 和我最好的朋友! 就像美梦成真一样. 妮基和我一直想学会编织, but we lived in a small village with no weavers 和 only obtained cloth through trade. Becoming the talented weavers we wished to become was a very unlikely prospect. 然后, 有一天,, 有个信使从艾弗来了, saying that two of Tanti’s apprentices had left the compound to move to another village, 和 we were invited to come to the weaver’s compound in Ife in two months time to learn to weave. 这比hg888皇冠手机版所希望的任何事情都要好. 坦蒂是伊夫最有才华的织工之一, 和 it was almost more than we could bear to wait the two months.
但现在hg888皇冠手机版到了这里, 然后hg888皇冠手机版就安定下来了, hg888皇冠手机版都已经准备好了, 和明天, hg888皇冠手机版要开始学习如何编织. 我躺在垫子上，微笑着. 这真是多事的一天. 第二天早上, I woke up to the shrill voice of 妮基’s seven-year-old cousin, Duni, 萦绕在我耳边.
“长老! 妮基! Tibira! 醒来! 奶奶要见你!” she yelled as she ran back 和 forth, alternately shaking us. 呼噜的懒散地, 我睁开眼睛 和 groggily rolled over to see her shaking 妮基, who was covering her head 和 whining in irritation at the rude awakening. 杜尼转过身来面对着我, leaving 妮基 to continue to hide from the 明亮的 sun streaming through the windows. “Ah! 老! 你醒了，”杜尼说，仿佛这是一个惊喜. I stared dumbly at her for a moment, collecting my thoughts. She was big for a girl of seven, almost the size of a ten year old, 和 very smart as well. Her blue work wrapper hung loosely around her small form, thin but strong. 她的不寻常的, 明亮的, copper-colored eyes stared at me eagerly as she tilted her head, 等待回复. 总有一天她会成为一个好妻子的。 我想，我的思绪游离了.
“是的,Duni. 我醒了。”我停了好一会儿才说.
“奶奶要见你 和 妮基,” she said in her bouncy, cheery way.
“好吧. 妮基,醒醒!我朝她的睡姿喊道.
“求你了，再给我五分钟…….
“不,老! 奶奶现在必须见你!“Duni报复性.
“是的,”我开玩笑说. “你必须照奥巴·杜尼说的做!这句话惊醒了妮基.
“Tibira! 别开这种玩笑，太无礼了!”她哭了.
“你说得对，我很抱歉，”我回答道. 几分钟后, 妮基和我起床洗了澡, 站在祖母的房间外面.
“祖母? 你想见hg888皇冠手机版?妮基喊道.
“是的,是的. 请坐吧。”里面传来坦蒂的声音. hg888皇冠手机版走进去，鞠躬，然后坐下.
“你想跟hg888皇冠手机版谈什么呢，奶奶??”我问.
“嗯,你看. 我一直在想你编织的事. You both look very talented, 和 I think you would make excellent weavers, but…” I held my breath. “…I think we should speak with the Babalawo first, to see if this is the right path for you two.我心里宽慰地叹了口气. “这是个好主意，奶奶。”妮基平静地说.
“谢谢你. So then, you two get ready, 和 we will head off as soon as you are done,” Tanti said. 在一些简单的准备之后, hg888皇冠手机版又一次走在艾夫的街道上, 但这一次hg888皇冠手机版的目的地是先知的院子. I felt so worried, 和 even in the warm morning sun, I was shivering. 这只是一个是或不是的问题, 一个简单的投掷可乐果, 但如果他们着陆时面朝上呢? 如果答案是否定的呢? hg888皇冠手机版会崩溃的. 妮基 和 I had wanted to learn to weave since we were both very small, 和 now we had come so close. 但如果这一切都是徒劳呢? 我不知道. The fear of the worst happening wrapped itself around my heart like a cold h和.
hg888皇冠手机版终于到了. hg888皇冠手机版走进去，坐在地板上. The Diviner sat in front of us, on a 明亮的ly colored mat. He was wearing all white, symbolizing the bloodless sacrifice. 我瞥了尼基一眼, 和, 从她的表情来看, 她和我一样对hg888皇冠手机版的命运感到紧张. 我只看到祖母把宝贝送给巴巴拉沃, 和 I watched her lips move as she explained our situation, 但我什么也没听到. I just kept repeating a little prayer over 和 over in my head, “请让答案是肯定的, 请让答案是肯定的.” I shut my eyes tight as the Diviner began the brief ceremony, as if my not seeing it would prevent the bad result I feared was coming. 我的手揉成一团贴在膝盖上, 我把眼睛闭得越来越紧, 害怕会有什么样的答案, 直到突然……
“是的.”
我睁开眼睛.
答案是肯定的. This is the correct path for you,” the Diviner said solemnly. 我本可以跳起来拥抱妮基的, 但我还是控制住了自己, silently thanking every divinity I could think of for their kindness. 祖母Tanti点点头.
“这对你们女孩子来说是个好消息，”她笑着说. 在hg888皇冠手机版离开占卜者的小屋之后, 然后走回Ife, 妮基和我尽力表现得镇定自若, but we would give each other overjoyed looks as soon as Gr和mother Tanti wasn’t looking. 突然,Tanti停止了.
“恭喜你,女孩. It will be hard work, but I will teach you all I know, to the best of my ability. When we get back to the compound, we will begin your lessons on how to weave,” she said. 妮基和我又相视一笑. 这是美好一天的开始，也是更好的职业生涯的开始.
艾斯林·沃特斯12岁, 在六年级, 并且喜欢写描述性的故事, 诗歌, 和歌词. She also loves reading 和 drawing, 和 lives with her mother, younger brother, 和 her two cats. 她读过许多丛书, 包括《hg888皇冠》, 一系列不幸事件, 哈利波特, 隧道, 以及所有21本“红墙”图书.