Chpter 1
Listen here: Long ago, there was a legend of a ghostly black ship that sometimes appeared when the fog grew thick. Aye, its sails were big and black- as though they had been sut from the shadow ans sewn with sin.The timbers had been stained dark with the blood of innocent souls unlucky enough to cross the black ship's path. And its crew, itwas said, were pirates all, cursed to sail forever under a foul wind of murder and mischief.
But of course, a tale like that would ne nothin' but a sailor's old ghost story. And you don't believe in Ghosts...Do you?
The fog was dreadful. Still, the pride of the Royal Navy, the HMS Dauntless, kept its course. Armed with fifty guns and crew tough enough to make any pirate take pause, the Dauntless swept slowly onward through the dark sea.
Standing alone at the ship's bow was its youngest passenger . Elizabeth¤ Swann was her name. Her small hands clutched the rail as she shivered in the cold. Elizabeth¤ was not a bit afraid of what might lie in wait in the fog. She secretly thought it would be exciting to meet a real pirate. She remembered a song from long ago, and slowly, into the gray mist, she began to sing:
" Yoho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me,
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life---"
Suddenly, a hand reached out and cluched her soulder. "Quiet, missy!" snarled a seaman. " Cursed pirates sail these waters! You whant to call 'em down on us?"
Elizabeth¤, then only twelve years old stared wide-eyed into the weather-beaten face.
"Mr. Gibbs!" Cpitan Norrington snapped at the old sailor.
" But she was singin' about pirates," Gibbs protested. "Bad luck to sing about pirates with us mired in this unnatural fog...mark my words."
Elizabeth¤ knew she was expected to behave. She was on her way to Port Royal, Jamaica, where her father was going to be governor. "We must comport ourselves as befits our class," he reminded her as he joinded her on the deck. Elizabeth¤ nodded, but her heart, she still wished to meet a pirate someday.
To be continued...±
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