霍比特人：Roast Mutton 烤羊腿

ROAST MUTTON

烤羊腿

Up jumped Bilbo, and putting on his dressing-gown went into the dining-room. There he saw nobody, but all the signs of a large and hurried breakfast. There was a fearful mess in the room, and piles of unwashed crocks in the kitchen. Nearly every pot and pan he possessed seemed to have been used. The washing-up was so dismally real that Bilbo was forced to believe the party of the night before had not been part of his bad dreams, as he had rather hoped. Indeed he was really relieved after all to think that they had all gone without him, and without bothering to wake him up (“but with never a thank-you” he thought); and yet in a way he could not help feeling just a trifle disappointed. The feeling surprised him.

比爾博騰地跳了起來，穿上晨衣，來到飯廳。飯廳里空無一人，但可以看得出來有過一頓豐盛然而卻是匆忙的早餐。屋子里亂得一塌糊涂，廚房里堆著沒有洗的餐具。他所擁有的每個鍋子和罐子似乎都被用過了。接下來的清洗工作凄慘而又真切，讓他終于確信昨晚的派對不是他噩夢的一部分，盡管他心里是如此盼望的。一想到這伙人沒有帶上他就走了，而且一點也沒有想要叫醒他的意思(“可連一聲謝都沒有。”他想道)，他真的感到如釋重負(fù);然而不知怎的，他又忍不住略略感到有點失落。這種感覺讓他大吃一驚。

“Don’t be a fool, Bilbo Baggins!” he said to himself, “thinking of dragons and all that outlandish nonsense at your age!” So he put on an apron, lit fires, boiled water, and washed up. Then he had a nice little breakfast in the kitchen before turning out the dining-room. By that time the sun was shining; and the front door was open, letting in a warm spring breeze. Bilbo began to whistle loudly and to forget about the night before. In fact he was just sitting down to a nice little second breakfast in the dining-room by the open window, when in walked Gandalf.

“別犯傻，比爾博·巴金斯!”他自言自語道，“都這把年紀(jì)了，還去想什么惡龍和那些稀奇古怪的冒險!”于是他穿上圍裙，點上火，燒了開水，把所有的餐具都給洗了。然后，他在廚房里好好用了頓精致的早餐才離開了飯廳。這時，屋外的陽光一片燦爛，前門敞開著，吹進一陣陣溫暖的春風(fēng)。比爾博開始大聲吹起口哨，快要忘記昨晚的事情了。事實上，當(dāng)甘道夫走進來的時候，他剛在飯廳坐下，對著敞開的窗戶，準(zhǔn)備再吃第二頓精致的早餐。

“My dear fellow,” said he, “whenever are you going to come? What about an early start?—and here you are having breakfast, or whatever you call it, at half past ten! They left you the message, because they could not wait.”

“我親愛的朋友，”甘道夫說，“你到底準(zhǔn)備什么時候來啊?你不是還說要‘早點動身’嗎?--可現(xiàn)在，你看看，都已經(jīng)十點半了，你卻還在吃早餐!他們給你留了紙條后走了，因為他們已經(jīng)等不及了。”

“What message?” said poor Mr. Baggins all in a fluster.

“什么紙條?”可憐的巴金斯先生慌張地問道。

“Great Elephants!” said Gandalf, “you are not at all yourself this morning—you have never dusted the mantelpiece!”

“天哪!”甘道夫說，“你今天早上可真是不在狀態(tài)啊你竟然沒有打掃壁爐!”

“What’s that got to do with it? I have had enough to do with washing up for fourteen!”

“這和紙條又有什么關(guān)系?光是清洗十四個人的餐具就夠我忙活的了!”

“If you had dusted the mantelpiece, you would have found this just under the clock,” said Gandalf, handing Bilbo a note (written, of course, on his own note-paper).

“如果你打掃了壁爐，就會在鐘下面發(fā)現(xiàn)這個。”甘道夫遞給比爾博一張紙條(當(dāng)然是用比爾博自己的便條紙寫的)。

This is what he read:

紙上是這樣寫的：

“Thorin and Company to Burglar Bilbo greeting! For your hospitality our sincerest thanks, and for your offer of professional assistance our grateful acceptance. Terms: cash on delivery, up to and not exceeding one fourteenth of total profits (if any); all travelling expenses guaranteed in any event; funeral expenses to be defrayed by us or our representatives, if occasion arises and the matter is not otherwise arranged for.

索林和大伙兒向飛賊比爾博問好!對您的款待我們謹(jǐn)獻上最誠摯的感謝，我們也滿懷謝意地接受您為我們提供的專業(yè)協(xié)助。我們給予您的條件如下：事成即付的酬金，數(shù)額不超過全部獲利(如果有)的十四分之一;全部旅途花費，無論事成與否;如您不幸亡故，喪葬費用會由我們或我們的代表承擔(dān)，若我們亡故，您無須承擔(dān)我們的喪葬費用。

“Thinking it unnecessary to disturb your esteemed repose, we have proceeded in advance to make requisite preparations, and shall await your respected person at the Green Dragon Inn, Bywater, at 11 a.m. sharp. Trusting that you will be punctual, we have the honour to remain

由于我們認(rèn)為沒有必要打攪您寶貴的睡眠，所以我們提前動身以進行必要的準(zhǔn)備，并將在傍水路的綠龍客棧恭候您大駕光臨。請務(wù)必于十一點整抵達(dá)，我們相信您會守時的。

“ Yours deeply,

您最忠誠的朋友

“ Thorin & Co.”

索林和伙伴們敬上

“That leaves you just ten minutes. You will have to run,” said Gandalf.

“只剩十分鐘，你得跑著去了。”甘道夫說。

“But—,” said Bilbo.

“可是”比爾博說。

“No time for it,” said the wizard.

“這個來不及說了。”巫師說。

“But—,” said Bilbo again.

“可是”比爾博又說。

“No time for that either! Off you go!”

“那個也來不及說了!快給我走!”

To the end of his days Bilbo could never remember how he found himself outside, without a hat, a walking-stick or any money, or anything that he usually took when he went out; leaving his second breakfast half-finished and quite unwashed-up, pushing his keys into Gandalf’s hands, and running as fast as his furry feet could carry him down the lane, past the great Mill, across The Water, and then on for a mile or more.

比爾博直到自己生命的盡頭都不記得自己當(dāng)時是怎么做出下面這一切的：他出了門，沒戴帽子、沒帶手杖、沒帶錢，沒帶任何平常出門會帶的東西。第二頓早餐才吃了一半就扔在那里，碗盤也沒洗;他把鑰匙朝甘道夫手里一塞，就用他那雙毛毛腳所能達(dá)到的最快速度飛奔了起來，跑過街道，跑過大磨坊，越過小河，接著又跑了有一哩多。

Very puffed he was, when he got to Bywater just on the stroke of eleven, and found he had come without a pocket-handkerchief!

等他上氣不接下氣，好不容易在鐘敲十一響時趕到傍水路，這才發(fā)現(xiàn)自己竟然連手帕都沒帶上一條!

“Bravo!” said Balin who was standing at the inn door looking out for him.

“真棒!”站在客棧門口觀望他的巴林為他喝彩道。

Just then all the others came round the corner of the road from the village. They were on ponies, and each pony was slung about with all kinds of baggages, packages, parcels, and paraphernalia. There was a very small pony, apparently for Bilbo.

此時，其他人也都從村莊大路的拐角冒了出來。他們一個個都騎著小馬，每個小馬背上還馱著各式各樣的行李、包裹和各種隨身用具。其中還有一匹非常矮的小馬，顯然是給比爾博留的。

“Up you two get, and off we go!” said Thorin.

“你們兩個趕快上馬，我們馬上出發(fā)!”索林說。

“I’m awfully sorry,” said Bilbo, “but I have come without my hat, and I have left my pocket-handkerchief behind, and I haven’t got any money. I didn’t get your note until after 10.45 to be precise.”

“我實在很抱歉，”比爾博說，“可我忘了戴帽子，手帕也落在家里了，身上連一毛錢都沒有。準(zhǔn)確地說，我是在十點四十五分才看到你們的留言的。”

“Don’t be precise,” said Dwalin, “and don’t worry! You will have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs, and a good many other things, before you get to the journey’s end. As for a hat, I have got a spare hood and cloak in my luggage.”

“沒必要那么精確，”杜瓦林說，“也沒必要擔(dān)心!這趟旅程你只能不用手帕和許多其他東西了。至于帽子嘛!我的行李里面還有一套多余的斗篷和兜帽。”

That’s how they all came to start, jogging off from the inn one fine morning just before May, on laden ponies; and Bilbo was wearing a dark-green hood (a little weather-stained) and a dark-green cloak borrowed from Dwalin. They were too large for him, and he looked rather comic. What his father Bungo would have thought of him, I daren’t think. His only comfort was he couldn’t be mistaken for a dwarf, as he had no beard.

就這樣，在五月即將到來前的一個晴朗的早晨，他們慢慢騎著裝滿行李的小馬，一齊踏上了旅程。比爾博戴著從杜瓦林那里借來的一頂深綠色的兜帽(有些破舊)和深綠色斗篷。這兩樣?xùn)|西對他來說都太大了些，讓他顯得相當(dāng)滑稽。他老爸邦果見了他這副模樣會作何感想，可是讓人連想都不敢想。惟一讓他感到舒服的地方是，至少人們不會把他誤認(rèn)成矮人，因為他沒有留胡子。

They had not been riding very long, when up came Gandalf very splendid on a white horse. He had brought a lot of pocket-handkerchiefs, and Bilbo’s pipe and tobacco. So after that the party went along very merrily, and they told stories or sang songs as they rode forward all day, except of course when they stopped for meals. These didn’t come quite as often as Bilbo would have liked them, but still he began to feel that adventures were not so bad after all.

他們騎了沒多久，就碰上了甘道夫威風(fēng)凜凜地騎著大白馬而來。他帶來了很多的手帕，還有比爾博的煙斗和煙草。因此在那之后，這一伙人趕起路來就都心情暢快了，一路上都在說著故事，唱著歌，只有停下來用餐的時候才會稍稍中斷一下。雖然停下來用餐的次數(shù)不像比爾博希望的那么頻繁，但他還是開始慢慢覺得，冒險其實并不是那么糟糕的。

At first they had passed through hobbit-lands, a wide respectable country inhabited by decent folk, with good roads, an inn or two, and now and then a dwarf or a farmer ambling by on business. Then they came to lands where people spoke strangely, and sang songs Bilbo had never heard before. Now they had gone on far into the Lone-lands, where there were no people left, no inns, and the roads grew steadily worse. Not far ahead were dreary hills, rising higher and higher, dark with trees. On some of them were old castles with an evil look, as if they had been built by wicked people. Everything seemed gloomy, for the weather that day had taken a nasty turn. Mostly it had been as good as May can be, can be, even in merry tales, but now it was cold and wet. In the Lone-lands they had been obliged to camp when they could, but at least it had been dry.

一開始他們經(jīng)過的是霍比特人的土地，這是一片開闊的、值得受人尊敬的鄉(xiāng)野，居民都是些正直而又體面的人，道路平整，點綴著一兩間客棧，間或會遇到一位從容趕路的矮人或是農(nóng)夫。接著，一行人來到了說陌生語言的區(qū)域，人們唱的歌謠也是比爾博之前從未聽到過的。再接著他們就深入到了野地，這里沒有住戶，沒有客棧，道路的情況也越來越糟。前方不遠(yuǎn)處是陰郁的山丘，因著樹木而呈現(xiàn)出黢黑的顏色，山勢也變得越來越高起來。有些山丘上有古舊的城堡，它們那邪惡的外表讓人覺得仿佛是由邪惡的人們所建造的。那天的天氣突然變得很是糟糕，讓一切看上去都顯得十分陰郁。大多數(shù)時候，這里的天氣都像明媚的五月該有的那樣，美好得簡直像老舊的快樂傳說，但現(xiàn)在卻是又濕又冷的。在野地行路時，他們雖然有時必須要露營，但至少天氣是干燥的。

“To think it will soon be June!” grumbled Bilbo, as he splashed along behind the others in a very muddy track. It was after tea-time; it was pouring with rain, and had been all day; his hood was dripping into his eyes, his cloak was full of water; the pony was tired and stumbled on stones; the others were too grumpy to talk. “And I’m sure the rain has got into the dry clothes and into the food-bags,” thought Bilbo. “Bother burgling and everything to do with it! I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing!” It was not the last time that he wished that!

“這鬼天氣，就像快到六月了一樣。”比爾博一邊跟在其他人身后在一條滿是泥漿的道路上啪嗒啪嗒地走著，一邊嘴里嘟囔道。這會兒已經(jīng)過了下午茶的時間，天上下著滂沱大雨，而且從早上一直下到現(xiàn)在。雨水從兜帽上滴進他的眼睛里，斗篷也濕透了。小馬非常疲倦，在石頭路上蹣跚而行，其他人也都垂頭耷腦地懶得說話。“我敢肯定，這雨水一定已經(jīng)滲進了干衣服里面，還流進了我們裝食物的袋子。”比爾博在心中思忖，“我干嗎要跟人家來趟飛賊什么的渾水!真希望我這會兒是在自己美妙的洞府家中，坐在壁爐旁邊，聽著水壺咕嘟咕嘟開始滾的聲音!”這可不是他最后一次許下這種愿望!

Still the dwarves jogged on, never turning round or taking any notice of the hobbit. Somewhere behind the grey clouds the sun must have gone down, for it began to get dark as they went down into a deep valley with a river at the bottom. Wind got up, and willows along its banks bent and sighed. Fortunately the road went over an ancient stone bridge, for the river, swollen with the rains, came rushing down from the hills and mountains in the north.

矮人們依舊慢慢地朝前走著，沒有誰回過頭來注意一下霍比特人。在滿天烏云的背后，太陽肯定已經(jīng)落下去了，因為天色開始變得昏暗。他們此時正在走向一個深深的山谷，有一條小河在谷底流淌。風(fēng)勢緊了起來，河堤上的柳樹彎下了腰，在風(fēng)中發(fā)出嘆息。綿綿淫雨令小河的水漲了起來，從北方的大山和丘陵間奔流而下，幸虧路上有一座古老的石橋，不然他們還真不知道該怎么過河呢。

It was nearly night when they had crossed over. The wind broke up the grey clouds, and a wandering moon appeared above the hills between the flying rags. Then they stopped, and Thorin muttered something about supper, “and where shall we get a dry patch to sleep on?” Not until then did they notice that Gandalf was missing. So far he had come all the way with them, never saying if he was in the adventure or merely keeping them company for a while. He had eaten most, talked most, and laughed most. But now he simply was not there at all!

過完小河后，天已經(jīng)快黑透了。風(fēng)勢強勁，把山岡上空的烏云吹得如破布般飛散，露出一輪仿似在閑庭信步的月亮。這時大伙兒停了下來，索林嘟嚕嘟嚕地說了幾句有關(guān)晚餐的事情，“而且哪里能找到干的地方睡覺呢?” 這時，他們才發(fā)現(xiàn)甘道夫失蹤了。雖說他已經(jīng)和他們走了這一路，可他其實根本沒提過他是要和他們一起冒險呢，還是只是暫時和他們搭伴行路。他吃得最多，說得最多，笑得也最多，可現(xiàn)在卻連影子都不見了!

“Just when a wizard would have been most useful, too,” groaned Dori and Nori (who shared the hobbit’s views about regular meals, plenty and often).

“偏巧就趕在最需要巫師的時候……”多瑞和諾瑞哀嚎道。(他倆在用餐要有規(guī)律這點上和霍比特人有著相同的看法，都主張多食多餐。)

They decided in the end that they would have to camp where they were. They moved to a clump of trees, and though it was drier under them, the wind shook the rain off the leaves, and the drip, drip, was most annoying. Also the mischief seemed to have got into the fire. Dwarves can make a fire almost anywhere out of almost anything, wind or no wind; but they could not do it that night, not even Oin and Gloin, who were specially good at it.

最終大家決定就地宿營。他們來到一叢樹木之間，雖說樹下面稍微要干一點，但風(fēng)會把雨從葉子上刮落，滴滴答答的很是惱人。連火似乎也和他們搗起蛋來，若在平時，矮人們不管有風(fēng)沒風(fēng)，幾乎能用任何東西生出一堆火來，可這天晚上卻怎么也不行，即便是最擅長生火的歐因和格羅因也束手無策。

Then one of the ponies took fright at nothing and bolted. He got into the river before they could catch him; and before they could get him out again, Fili and Kili were nearly drowned, and all the baggage that he carried was washed away off him. Of course it was mostly food, and there was mighty little left for supper, and less for breakfast.

這時，有匹小馬突然無緣無故地受了驚嚇，沖了出去。大家還沒來得及攔住，它就沖進了河里。大伙兒好不容易把它拽出水面，菲力和奇力還差點淹死，小馬背上馱著的行李全都被水沖走了。真是怕什么來什么，那匹小馬馱的主要是食物，這下子，晚餐就吃不到什么東西了，第二天的早餐就更別提了。

There they all sat glum and wet and muttering, while Oin and Gloin went on trying to light the fire, and quarrelling about it. Bilbo was sadly reflecting that adventures are not all pony-rides in May-sunshine, when Balin, who was always their look-out man, said: “There’s a light over there!” There was a hill some way off with trees on it, pretty thick in parts. Out of the dark mass of the trees they could now see a light shining, a reddish comfortable-looking light, as it might be a fire or torches twinkling.

大家一身透濕，無比郁悶地坐在地上，口中罵罵咧咧。歐因和格羅因還在試著生火，一邊還相互斗著嘴。比爾博在傷心懊悔，冒險并不如他想像那樣，盡是在五月陽光下騎著小馬的快樂旅程。這時，總是擔(dān)任警戒與瞭望的巴林突然大喊起來：“那邊有光!”不遠(yuǎn)處有座長著樹木的小山丘，有些地方樹木長得相當(dāng)濃密，從樹木構(gòu)成的大片黑暗之中，他們可以清楚地看見有一點光芒在閃耀，那是一點紅色的、溫暖的光芒，似乎是一團營火，又像是幾支火把在搖曳。

When they had looked at it for some while, they fell to arguing. Some said “no” and some said “yes”. Some said they could but go and see, and anything was better than little supper, less breakfast, and wet clothes all the night.

他們盯著亮光看了一會兒，便開始爭論起來。有些人說“沒有”，有些人說“有”，有些人說只能去看了才知道，反正不管怎樣，都比吃著少得可憐的晚餐、想著明早更少的早餐，而且一整夜穿著濕衣服干坐著要好。

Others said: “These parts are none too well known, and are too near the mountains. Travellers seldom come this way now. The old maps are no use: things have changed for the worse and the road is unguarded. They have seldom even heard of the king round here, and the less inquisitive you are as you go along, the less trouble you are likely to find.” Some said: “After all there are fourteen of us.” Others said: “Where has Gandalf got to?” This remark was repeated by everybody. Then the rain began to pour down worse than ever, and Oin and Gloin began to fight.

有人反對說：“我們對這附近不熟，而且這里也太靠近大山了，現(xiàn)在旅人都很少走這條路。舊地圖根本沒用：一切都變了，變得更糟糕，道路也沒人守護。他們沒見過這里有什么國王，甚至連聽也沒怎么聽說過。在這里行路，你越少問東問西，就越不會惹麻煩。” 又有些人反駁說：“再怎么說我們也有十四個人哪!”還有人問：“甘道夫到底上哪兒去了?”所有人都把這個問題重復(fù)了一遍。這時，雨勢突然比之前更猛了，歐因和格羅因則索性打了起來。

That settled it. “After all we have got a burglar with us,” they said; and so they made off, leading their ponies (with all due and proper caution) in the direction of the light. They came to the hill and were soon in the wood. Up the hill they went; but there was no proper path to be seen, such as might lead to a house or a farm; and do what they could they made a deal of rustling and crackling and creaking (and a good deal of grumbling and dratting), as they went through the trees in the pitch dark.

他們這一打倒讓大家停止了爭論。“別忘了我們身邊還有一個飛賊!”大家說道，于是他們匆匆開拔，牽著小馬，盡可能小心謹(jǐn)慎地往亮光的方向走去。他們來到山腳下，不久就走進了叢林中。他們朝山丘上走去，但卻看不到一條像樣的道路，就是有可能會通向一所房子或一處農(nóng)莊的那種。他們在一片漆黑的樹林中勉力前行，一路上弄出不少窸窸窣窣、噼里啪啦、嘎吱嘎吱的聲響，當(dāng)然也少不了咕咕噥噥和罵罵咧咧。

Suddenly the red light shone out very bright through the tree-trunks not far ahead.

突然，從不遠(yuǎn)處的樹干間閃出了非常耀眼的紅光。

“Now it is the burglar’s turn,” they said, meaning Bilbo. “You must go on and find out all about that light, and what it is for, and if all is perfectly safe and canny,” said Thorin to the hobbit. “Now scuttle off, and come back quick, if all is well. If not, come back if you can! If you can’t, hoot twice like a barn-owl and once like a screech-owl, and we will do what we can.”

“現(xiàn)在該輪到我們的飛賊露一手了。”大家說的是比爾博，“你得去弄清楚這光亮是怎么回事，有什么目的，再看看是否一切都很安全。”索林對霍比特人說：“快去!如果沒情況，就快點回來;如果有情況，就拼了命回來!如果回不來，就學(xué)兩聲谷倉貓頭鷹叫，再學(xué)一聲長耳貓頭鷹叫，我們會盡力而為的。”

Off Bilbo had to go, before he could explain that he could not hoot even once like any kind of owl any more than fly like a bat. But at any rate hobbits can move quietly in woods, absolutely quietly. They take a pride in it, and Bilbo had sniffed more than once at what he called “all this dwarvish racket,” as they went along, though I don’t suppose you or I would have noticed anything at all on a windy night, not if the whole cavalcade had passed two feet off. As for Bilbo walking primly towards the red light, I don’t suppose even a weasel would have stirred a whisker at it. So, naturally, he got right up to the fire—for fire it was—without disturbing anyone. And this is what he saw.

比爾博只好邁步前去偵察了，他原本還想說明一下，無論哪種貓頭鷹，他連一聲都不會叫，可想想也就作罷了。好在不管怎樣，霍比特人天生就能夠在森林中悄無聲息地移動，他們對此是相當(dāng)自豪的。在和矮人們一起趕路的時候，比爾博曾經(jīng)不止一次地抱怨過“矮人們就喜歡弄出那么大的響動”，其實像你我這樣的普通人，哪怕有整隊人馬從離我們只有兩呎遠(yuǎn)的地方通過，在刮大風(fēng)的晚上估計也什么都聽不見。比爾博一步步向那點紅光走去，他發(fā)出的響動恐怕連黃鼠狼聽見了都不會抖一下胡須。因此，他一路順利地來到了火光跟前--這光亮果然是火-- 一個人也沒有驚動。以下就是他所見到的。

Three very large persons sitting round a very large fire of beech-logs. They were toasting mutton on long spits of wood, and licking the gravy off their fingers. There was a fine toothsome smell. Also there was a barrel of good drink at hand, and they were drinking out of jugs. But they were trolls. Obviously trolls. Even Bilbo, in spite of his sheltered life, could see that: from the great heavy faces of them, and their size, and the shape of their legs, not to mention their language, which was not drawing-room fashion at all, at all.

三個身形非常高大的人，圍坐在一個櫸木燃起的特大火堆旁，正用長長的木棍叉著羊腿在火上烤，一邊還舔著手指間流下的肉汁?？諝庵酗h散著令人垂涎的香味兒。他們身邊擺著一桶好酒，這些家伙都用酒壺對著嘴在喝?？蛇@些家伙其實是食人妖，一看就知道是食人妖。即使是平時不大出遠(yuǎn)門的比爾博也能夠看出來：從它們肥碩的腦袋、它們的個頭兒、它們腿的形狀，全都能看得出來，更別提它們的語言了，那根本不是人們在客廳里使用的文明語言。

“Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey, if it don’t look like mutton again tomorrer,” said one of the trolls.

“昨天吃羊腿，今天吃羊腿，奶奶的，明天該不會還是吃羊腿吧!”一個食人妖說道。

“Never a blinking bit of manflesh have we had for long enough,” said a second. “What the ’ell William was a-thinkin’ of to bring us into these parts at all, beats me—and the drink runnin’ short, what’s more,” he said jogging the elbow of William, who was taking a pull at his jug.

“已經(jīng)好久連屁大一塊人肉都沒吃過了。”第二個食人妖說，“媽媽的，威廉不知道到底在想什么，把我們帶到這種鬼地方來，真他媽想不通--而且酒也不夠喝了。”他用手肘捅了捅正在大口喝酒的威廉。

William choked. “Shut yer mouth!” he said as soon as he could. “Yer can’t expect folk to stop here for ever just to be et by you and Bert. You’ve et a village and a half between yer, since we come down from the mountains. How much more d’yer want? And time’s been up our way, when yer’d have said ‘thank yer Bill’ for a nice bit o’ fat valley mutton like what this is.” He took a big bite off a sheep’s leg he was roasting, and wiped his lips on his sleeve.

威廉被他捅得嗆了一口酒。“閉上你的鳥嘴!”等他回過氣來之后，他立刻說道：“你個蠢東西，難道你以為會有人留在這里，乖乖等著你和伯特來吃嗎?自打我們從山上下來之后，你們倆已經(jīng)吃掉了一個半村子的人了，難道還嫌不夠嗎?我們的運氣已經(jīng)不錯了，我替你們弄來了這么肥美的羊肉，你個狗東西應(yīng)該說聲‘謝謝你，威爾’才對。”說罷，他狠狠地從在烤的山羊腿上咬了一口肉下來，用袖子抹了抹嘴。

Yes, I am afraid trolls do behave like that, even those with only one head each. After hearing all this Bilbo ought to have done something at once. Either he should have gone back quietly and warned his friends that there were three fair-sized trolls at hand in a nasty mood, quite likely to try roasted dwarf, or even pony, for a change; or else he should have done a bit of good quick burgling. A really first-class and legendary burglar would at this point have picked the trolls’ pockets—it is nearly always worth while, if you can manage it—, pinched the very mutton off the spits, purloined the beer, and walked off without their noticing him. Others more practical but with less professional pride would perhaps have stuck a dagger into each of them before they observed it. Then the night could have been spent cheerily.

是的，食人妖一般來說都是這副德性，即使那些只有一顆頭的家伙也是如此。比爾博在聽完這一切之后，本該立刻有所舉動的。他要么悄悄地跑回去警告朋友，說那里有三只高大的食人妖，心情相當(dāng)不好，可能會想要烤矮人甚至小馬來換換口味;要么他可以身手敏捷地干些飛賊的勾當(dāng)。一個真正一流的、能成為傳奇的飛賊，會在這個時候從食人妖身邊順走點東西--只要能辦得到，這樣做幾乎總是頗有價值的--比如把羊腿從烤肉叉上摘下來，偷走他們的啤酒，再神不知鬼不覺地溜走。如果更實際一點，不那么講究飛賊的職業(yè)聲譽的話，還可以在它們察覺之前，把三個食人妖一人一刀給結(jié)果了，這樣大家就可以開開心心地度過這一晚了。

Bilbo knew it. He had read of a good many things he had never seen or done. He was very much alarmed, as well as disgusted; he wished himself a hundred miles away, and yet—and yet somehow he could not go straight back to Thorin and Company emptyhanded. So he stood and hesitated in the shadows. Of the various burglarious proceedings he had heard of picking the trolls’ pockets seemed the least difficult, so at last he crept behind a tree just behind William.

這些比爾博都知道。有許多事情，他雖然沒有親眼見過，親自做過，但都從書里讀到過。眼前的景象既令他感到驚恐，又令他感到惡心。他真希望自己此時此刻是在幾百哩之外，但是--不管怎樣他不能就這樣空著手就回去見索林和伙伴們。他直起身子，在暗影中躊躇了片刻。在他聽過的形形色色的飛賊故事中，從食人妖的口袋里偷東西似乎是最不費力的，于是他靜悄悄地潛到威廉身后的大樹后面。

Bert and Tom went off to the barrel. William was having another drink. Then Bilbo plucked up courage and put his little hand in William’s enormous pocket. There was a purse in it, as big as a bag to Bilbo. “Ha!” thought he, warming to his new work as he lifted it carefully out, “this is a beginning!”

伯特和湯姆起身來到酒桶邊，威廉又倒了一壺酒正在喝著。這時比爾博鼓起勇氣，將小手伸進威廉的超大口袋中。那里面有個錢包，對比爾博來說大得就像個提包。“哈!”他小心翼翼地把錢包往外掏，一邊覺得自己正在對這種新工作漸漸進入狀態(tài)，“這才只是開始呢!”

It was! Trolls’ purses are the mischief, and this was no exception. “’Ere, ’oo are you?” it squeaked, as it left the pocket; and William turned round at once and grabbed Bilbo by the neck, before he could duck behind the tree.

這的確只是開始而已!食人妖的錢包是會禍害人的，這個也不例外。“呃，你是誰啊?”錢包一離開口袋，就用尖尖的聲音叫了起來，威廉馬上轉(zhuǎn)過身來，還不等比爾博躲入樹后，就一把抓住了他的脖子。

“Blimey, Bert, look what I’ve copped!” said William.

“天哪，伯特，來看看我抓到啥了!”威廉說道。

“What is it?” said the others coming up. “Lumme, if I knows! What are yer?”

“這是什么東西?”另兩個食人妖走了過來。“哎呀呀，這我可不認(rèn)識!哎，你是啥玩意兒?”

“Bilbo Baggins, a bur—a hobbit,” said poor Bilbo, shaking all over, and wondering how to make owl-noises before they throttled him.

“比爾博·巴金斯，我是個飛呃--霍比特人。”可憐的比爾博渾身篩糠般地抖著，腦子里拼命在想，怎樣才能在自己被這些食人妖掐死之前發(fā)出貓頭鷹的叫聲來。

“A burrahobbit?” said they a bit startled. Trolls are slow in the uptake, and mighty suspicious about anything new to them.

“飛蛾霍比特人?”他們有些驚訝地說。食人妖的理解力相當(dāng)遲鈍，對任何新事物總是疑神疑鬼的。

“What’s a burrahobbit got to do with my pocket, anyways?” said William.

“可飛蛾霍比特人跟我的口袋又有什么關(guān)系呢?”威廉問道。

“And can yer cook ’em?” said Tom.

“你知道他們怎么個吃法嗎?”湯姆問。

“Yer can try,” said Bert, picking up a skewer.

“試試不就行啦。”伯特說著就拿起了烤肉的釬子。

“He wouldn’t make above a mouthful,” said William, who had already had a fine supper, “not when he was skinned and boned.”

“這么小一個人兒，等剝了皮去了骨，還不夠塞牙縫的呢。”說這話的威廉已經(jīng)酒足飯飽了。

“P’raps there are more like him round about, and we might make a pie,” said Bert. “Here you, are there any more of your sort a-sneakin’ in these here woods, yer nassty little rabbit,” said he looking at the hobbit’s furry feet; and he picked him up by the toes and shook him.

“說不定附近還有像他這樣的，我們可以拿來做派。”伯特說，“嘿，這周圍的林子里還有沒有像你這樣偷偷躲著的，你這只可惡的小兔子?”他邊說邊打量著霍比特人的毛毛腳，接著一把抓住他的腳，把他倒著拎了起來，晃了好幾下。

“Yes, lots,” said Bilbo, before he remembered not to give his friends away. “No none at all, not one,” he said immediately afterwards.

“有，有很多。”說完這話，比爾博才想起不該出賣朋友。“沒，沒有，一個也沒有。”他連忙補了一句。

“What d’yer mean?” said Bert, holding him right way up, by the hair this time.

“你這么說是什么意思?”伯特這次又抓住他的頭發(fā)，把他正過來給拎著。

“What I say,” said Bilbo gasping. “And please don’t cook me, kind sirs! I am a good cook myself, and cook better than I cook, if you see what I mean. I’ll cook beautifully for you, a perfectly beautiful breakfast for you, if only you won’t have me for supper.”

“我說的是，”比爾博呼吸急促地說道，“好心的先生們，請你們千萬別把我給烤了!我自己就是個好廚師，我煮的菜比我自己要好吃多了，如果你們明白我的意思。我會給你們露一手烹飪絕活的，為你們做一頓超棒的早餐，只要你們別把我當(dāng)晚餐吃了就好。”

“Poor little blighter,” said William. He had already had as much supper as he could hold; also he had had lots of beer. “Poor little blighter! Let him go!”

“可憐的小討厭鬼。”威廉說道。他已經(jīng)吃撐了，又喝了很多啤酒：“可憐的小討厭鬼!讓他走吧!”

“Not till he says what he means by lots and none at all,” said Bert. “I don’t want to have me throat cut in me sleep! Hold his toes in the fire, till he talks!”

伯特說：“不行，得先搞清楚他剛才說的‘有很多’又‘一個也沒有’是什么意思，我可不想在睡覺的時候喉嚨被人割開!抓住他的腳趾放到火上烤，看他說不說!”

“I won’t have it,” said William. “I caught him anyway.”

“這我可不答應(yīng)!”威廉說，“他可是我抓到的。”

“You’re a fat fool, William,” said Bert, “as I’ve said afore this evening.”

“你可真是個胖蠢蛋，威廉，”伯特說，“今晚之前我就這樣說過，胖蠢蛋!”

“And you’re a lout!”

“你才是傻瓜呢!”

“And I won’t take that from you, Bill Huggins,” says Bert, and puts his fist in William’s eye.

“你沒資格這樣說我，威爾·哈金斯!”話音未落，伯特一拳就打中了威廉的眼睛。

Then there was a gorgeous row. Bilbo had just enough wits left, when Bert dropped him on the ground, to scramble out of the way of their feet, before they were fighting like dogs, and calling one another all sorts of perfectly true and applicable names in very loud voices. Soon they were locked in one another’s arms, and rolling nearly into the fire kicking and thumping, while Tom whacked at them both with a branch to bring them to their senses—and that of course only made them madder than ever.

接著局面就演變成了一場混戰(zhàn)。比爾博雖然受了驚嚇，但好歹還有點頭腦，所以伯特一把他撂到地上，他還趕在他們倆一邊大聲用各種恰如其分的臟話辱罵對方，一邊像野狗般地廝打到一起之前，趕緊從兩雙大腳會踩到的線路上躲開。沒過多久，兩個食人妖就互相扭作一團，又踢又打的差點滾進火堆中。湯姆則用樹枝朝兩個家伙同時打去，希望他倆能恢復(fù)理智--然而這當(dāng)然只是令他們變得更加暴躁如雷。

That would have been the time for Bilbo to have left. But his poor little feet had been very squashed in Bert’s big paw, and he had no breath in his body, and his head was going round; so there he lay for a while panting, just outside the circle of firelight.

本來比爾博正好可以趁此大好時機離開，但他那雙可憐的小腳被伯特的大爪子差點給捏扁了，胸口的氣還沒搗上來，腦袋也還暈暈乎乎的。因此，他躲在火光照不到的地方，躺在地上喘大氣兒。

Right in the middle of the fight up came Balin. The dwarves had heard noises from a distance, and after waiting for some time for Bilbo to come back, or to hoot like an owl, they started off one by one to creep towards the light as quietly as they could. No sooner did Tom see Balin come into the light than he gave an awful howl. Trolls simply detest the very sight of dwarves (uncooked). Bert and Bill stopped fighting immediately, and “a sack, Tom, quick!” they said. Before Balin, who was wondering where in all this commotion Bilbo was, knew what was happening, a sack was over his head, and he was down.

就在打斗進行得如火如荼的時候，巴林趕來了。矮人們隔了一段距離就聽見了這里的吵鬧聲，在等了一段時間，既沒等到比爾博回來，也沒聽到像貓頭鷹的叫聲之后，他們便一個接一個地悄悄朝火光摸了過來。湯姆一看見巴林出現(xiàn)在光亮中，立刻發(fā)出一聲可怕的咆哮。食人妖一看到矮人的樣子就討厭(特別是沒煮熟的)。伯特和威爾馬上停止了打斗，大喊著：“拿袋子，湯姆，快!”巴林正在這一團騷亂中尋找著比爾博，還沒等他弄清楚到底是怎么一回事，一個袋子便從天而降，接著他就給撂倒在了地上。

“There’s more to come yet,” said Tom, “or I’m mighty mistook. Lots and none at all, it is,” said he. “No burrahobbits, but lots of these here dwarves. That’s about the shape of it!”

“如果我沒猜錯的話，還會有更多要來呢。”湯姆說，“很多又一個也沒有，肯定就是這個意思。飛蛾霍比特人‘沒有’，矮人‘有很多’。應(yīng)該就是這么回事。”

“I reckon you’re right,” said Bert, “and we’d best get out of the light.”

“我想你是對的。”伯特說，“我們最好躲到火光照不到的地方去。”

And so they did. With sacks in their hands, that they used for carrying off mutton and other plunder, they waited in the shadows. As each dwarf came up and looked at the fire, and the spilled jugs, and the gnawed mutton, in surprise, pop! went a nasty smelly sack over his head, and he was down. Soon Dwalin lay by Balin, and Fili and Kili together, and Dori and Nori and Ori all in a heap, and Oin and Gloin and Bifur and Bofur and Bombur piled uncomfortably near the fire.

于是他們就這樣做了。三個食人妖手中拿著原先用來裝羊肉和其他搶來東西的袋子，在暗影中守候著。每當(dāng)有哪個矮人走過來看火堆，看地上翻倒的酒壺，看啃過的羊腿時，突然便會有一個臭烘烘的袋子“噗--”地罩住他的頭，把他撂倒在地。很快，杜瓦林就躺到了巴林身邊，菲力和奇力裝在同一個袋子里，多瑞、諾瑞和歐瑞則疊成一堆，歐因、格羅因、比弗、波弗和邦伯最不舒服，因為他們被堆在火堆旁。

“That’ll teach ’em,” said Tom; for Bifur and Bombur had given a lot of trouble, and fought like mad, as dwarves will when cornered.

“這是給他們一個教訓(xùn)!”湯姆說，因為比弗和邦伯像矮人陷入絕境時都會做的那樣拼死抵抗，給他們?nèi)橇瞬簧俾闊?/p>

Thorin came last—and he was not caught unawares. He came expecting mischief, and didn’t need to see his friends’ legs sticking out of sacks to tell him that things were not all well. He stood outside in the shadows some way off, and said: “What’s all this trouble? Who has been knocking my people about?”

索林是最后一個，而他沒有像其他矮人那樣毫無察覺就著了道。他來的時候就預(yù)料到會有危險，不需要看見朋友的腳從袋子里面伸出來，就知道事情有點不對勁。他站在有一段距離的陰影中說：“這是怎么回事?是誰把我的人都給打倒了?”

“It’s trolls!” said Bilbo from behind a tree. They had forgotten all about him. “They’re hiding in the bushes with sacks,” said he.

“是食人妖!”比爾博躲在樹后面喊道。大家都已經(jīng)忘記了他的存在。“他們正拿著袋子躲在灌木叢里呢!”他說。

“O! are they?” said Thorin, and he jumped forward to the fire, before they could leap on him. He caught up a big branch all on fire at one end; and Bert got that end in his eye before he could step aside. That put him out of the battle for a bit. Bilbo did his best. He caught hold of Tom’s leg—as well as he could, it was thick as a young tree-trunk—but he was sent spinning up into the top of some bushes, when Tom kicked the sparks up in Thorin’s face.

“哦，是嗎?”索林說完，不等食人妖來得及向他撲來，便一個箭步跳到火堆跟前，抓起一根燃著火的大樹枝揮舞起來。伯特來不及跳開，被樹枝戳中了眼睛，暫時退出了戰(zhàn)斗。比爾博盡了全力來幫忙，他拼命抓住湯姆樹樁般的大粗腿，但湯姆掄起一腳把火燼朝索林臉上踢去，這一踢就把比爾博甩上了灌木的枝梢。

Tom got the branch in his teeth for that, and lost one of the front ones. It made him howl, I can tell you. But just at that moment William came up behind and popped a sack right over Thorin’s head and down to his toes. And so the fight ended. A nice pickle they were all in now: all neatly tied up in sacks, with three angry trolls (and two with burns and bashes to remember) sitting by them, arguing whether they should roast them slowly, or mince them fine and boil them, or just sit on them one by one and squash them into jelly; and Bilbo up in a bush, with his clothes and his skin torn, not daring to move for fear they should hear him.

湯姆只顧了踢，卻不料牙齒挨了索林一樹枝，被打掉了一顆大門牙。這家伙發(fā)出一聲驚天動地的怒號?？删驮诖藭r，威廉從后面撲了過來，用袋子套住了索林的頭，把他撂倒，戰(zhàn)斗于是就結(jié)束了?，F(xiàn)在，矮人們的處境可是都很不妙了：他們?nèi)冀o結(jié)結(jié)實實地捆在了袋子里，身邊坐著三名憤怒的食人妖(其中兩個家伙身上有燒傷或挨打的傷口，讓他們難以忘記)，爭論著是該把他們慢慢烤來吃，還是把他們剁得細(xì)細(xì)的煮來吃，或者是坐到他們身上，把他們挨個兒壓成肉餅?比爾博棲身在一叢灌木的頂梢，衣服被撕破，身上也破了好些口子。他嚇得不敢動，惟恐被食人妖聽見。

It was just then that Gandalf came back. But no one saw him. The trolls had just decided to roast the dwarves now and eat them later—that was Bert’s idea, and after a lot of argument they had all agreed to it.

直到這時甘道夫才趕了回來，不過沒有人看見他。食人妖剛剛作出決定，先把矮人們烤熟，待會兒再來吃他們--這是伯特的點子，經(jīng)過了好一番爭論之后，三個家伙終于達(dá)成了一致。

“No good roasting ’em now, it’d take all night,” said a voice. Bert thought it was William’s.

“現(xiàn)在烤不好，要花一整夜呢。”有個聲音說。伯特以為那是威廉的聲音。

“Don’t start the argument all over again, Bill,” he said, “or it will take all night.”

“威爾，不要再吵了，”他說，“不然又要耗上一整夜。”

“Who’s a-arguing?” said William, who thought it was Bert that had spoken.

“誰--誰要跟你吵?”威廉以為剛剛說話的是伯特。

“You are,” said Bert.

“你。”伯特說。

“You’re a liar,” said William; and so the argument began all over again. In the end they decided to mince them fine and boil them. So they got a great black pot, and they took out their knives.

“你瞎說。”威廉頂了回去。這樣一來，之前的爭論又重新開始了。最后，他們決定把這些矮人剁得細(xì)細(xì)的煮來吃。于是他們找來了一個大黑鍋，接著就掏出了刀子。

“No good boiling ’em! We ain’t got no water, and it’s a long way to the well and all,” said a voice. Bert and William thought it was Tom’s.

“煮著吃不好!我們又沒水，要想找到水井什么的得走好遠(yuǎn)。”一個聲音說。伯特和威廉以為這是湯姆的聲音。

“Shut up!” said they, “or we’ll never have done. And yer can fetch the water yerself, if yer say any more.”

“閉嘴!”他們說，“不然這事兒就永遠(yuǎn)干不成了。你要是再說一句，就自己去拿水。”

“Shut up yerself!” said Tom, who thought it was William’s voice. “Who’s arguing but you, I’d like to know.”

“你們才閉嘴哩!”湯姆覺得那是威廉的聲音，“我倒想知道，除了你之外還有誰在吵架?”

“You’re a booby,” said William.

“你個呆子!”威廉開口罵道。

“Booby yerself!” said Tom.

“你自己才呆呢!”湯姆回了一句。

And so the argument began all over again, and went on hotter than ever, until at last they decided to sit on the sacks one by one and squash them, and boil them next time.

于是爭吵又從頭開始，而且比之前還要激烈，最后好不容易，他們才都同意坐到袋子上，把他們挨個兒壓成肉餅，下次再來煮他們。

“Who shall we sit on first?” said the voice.

“先坐哪一個呢?”那個聲音說。

“Better sit on the last fellow first,” said Bert, whose eye had been damaged by Thorin. He thought Tom was talking.

“最好先坐最后那個家伙。”伯特說，他的眼睛剛剛才被索林弄傷。他以為說話的是湯姆。

“Don’t talk to yerself!” said Tom. “But if you wants to sit on the last one, sit on him. Which is he?”

“不要自言自語!”湯姆說，“不過你要是想坐最后那個家伙，就去吧。到底是哪個呢?”

“The one with the yellow stockings,” said Bert.

“就是那個穿黃襪子的家伙。”伯特說。

“Nonsense, the one with the grey stockings,” said a voice like William’s.

“胡說，是那個穿灰襪子的。”一個有點像是威廉的聲音說道。

“I made sure it was yellow,” said Bert.

“我敢肯定是黃的。”伯特說。

“Yellow it was,” said William.

“的確是黃的。”威廉說。

“Then what did yer say it was grey for?” said Bert.

“那你為什么說是灰的呢?”伯特不滿地問道。

“I never did. Tom said it.”

“我從來沒說過，是湯姆說的。”

“That I never did!” said Tom. “It was you.”

“我才沒說過呢!”湯姆急道，“是你!”

“Two to one, so shut yer mouth!” said Bert.

“兩票對一票，閉上你的臭嘴!”伯特說。

“Who are you a-talkin’ to?” said William.

“你在跟誰說話呢?”威廉問。

“Now stop it!” said Tom and Bert together. “The night’s gettin’ on, and dawn comes early. Let’s get on with it!”

“住嘴!”湯姆和伯特齊聲說道。“夜晚都快到頭了，再一會兒天就要亮啦，咱們還是繼續(xù)干活兒吧!”

“Dawn take you all, and be stone to you!” said a voice that sounded like William’s. But it wasn’t. For just at that moment the light came over the hill, and there was a mighty twitter in the branches. William never spoke for he stood turned to stone as he stooped; and Bert and Tom were stuck like rocks as they looked at him. And there they stand to this day, all alone, unless the birds perch on them; for trolls, as you probably know, must be underground before dawn, or they go back to the stuff of the mountains they are made of, and never move again. That is what had happened to Bert and Tom and William.

“曙光會照到你們所有人，將你們化作巖石!”一個有點像威廉的聲音說道。但那不是威廉的聲音，因為就在那一刻，晨光越過山丘，樹梢間傳來大聲的嘰嘰喳喳的鳥鳴。威廉再也沒有機會開口說話，因為他就站在那里變成了石頭，保持著被晨光照到時的姿勢。而湯姆和伯特則變成石頭定在那里，眼睛還在看著威廉。直到今日，這三個食人妖還是孤孤單單地矗立在那邊，只有鳥兒偶爾在它們頭上停留。因為你們或許知道，對于食人妖來說，必須在天亮前遁入地下，否則它們就會變回成制造它們所用的原料巖石。這就是伯特、湯姆和威廉的下場。

“Excellent!” said Gandalf, as he stepped from behind a tree, and helped Bilbo to climb down out of a thorn-bush. Then Bilbo understood. It was the wizard’s voice that had kept the trolls bickering and quarrelling, until the light came and made an end of them.

“好極了!”甘道夫從樹后面走了出來，又幫著比爾博從一株長滿荊刺的灌木上爬了下來。這時，比爾博才明白，原來是巫師用自己的聲音讓食人妖們彼此吵鬧不休，直到天光降臨，給了它們一個了斷。

The next thing was to untie the sacks and let out the dwarves. They were nearly suffocated, and very annoyed: they had not at all enjoyed lying there listening to the trolls making plans for roasting them and squashing them and mincing them. They had to hear Bilbo’s account of what had happened to him twice over, before they were satisfied.

接下來要做的事就是解開袋子，把矮人們放出來。他們都給憋壞了，心情也給弄得糟糕透頂：他們一點也不喜歡躺在那里聽食人妖討論是要煮他們、壓扁他們還是把他們剁碎。他們逼著比爾博把發(fā)生在他身上的事情解釋了兩遍，氣才稍稍有點平。

“Silly time to go practising pinching and pocket-picking,” said Bombur, “when what we wanted was fire and food!”

“想練偷東西也不挑個好時候，”邦伯說，“我們當(dāng)時想要的只是火和食物而已!”

“And that’s just what you wouldn’t have got of those fellows without a struggle, in any case,” said Gandalf. “Anyhow you are wasting time now. Don’t you realize that the trolls must have a cave or a hole dug somewhere near to hide from the sun in? We must look into it!”

“就算換了這兩樣?xùn)|西，他們也不會太太平平地奉上。”甘道夫說，“你們現(xiàn)在可是在浪費時間了。食人妖總想著要躲避陽光，所以在它們出沒之處的附近一定會有洞穴或是挖出來的地洞，你們難道沒想到嗎?我們一定得仔細(xì)找找!”

They searched about, and soon found the marks of trolls’ stony boots going away through the trees. They followed the tracks up the hill, until hidden by bushes they came on a big door of stone leading to a cave. But they could not open it, not though they all pushed while Gandalf tried various incantations.

他們在四周搜索著，很快發(fā)現(xiàn)了這些食人妖通往樹叢的石頭腳印。他們沿著腳印往山上爬，最后發(fā)現(xiàn)掩藏在灌木叢中的一扇通往巖洞的石門。但即使他們?nèi)w都用盡吃奶的力氣推，甘道夫也嘗試了各種各樣的咒語，卻就是打不開這道石門。

“Would this be any good?” asked Bilbo, when they were getting tired and angry. “I found it on the ground where the trolls had their fight.” He held out a largish key, though no doubt William had thought it very small and secret. It must have fallen out of his pocket, very luckily, before he was turned to stone.

“不知道這個有沒有用?”比爾博提出這個問題的時候，矮人們已經(jīng)又累又氣了，“我是在食人妖打架那里的地上找到這東西的。”說著他拿出一把大鑰匙，盡管威廉一定覺得這是一把很小、很不容易發(fā)現(xiàn)的鑰匙。很幸運的是，這把鑰匙在他變成石頭之前從他口袋中掉了出來。

“Why on earth didn’t you mention it before?” they cried. Gandalf grabbed it and fitted it into the keyhole. Then the stone door swung back with one big push, and they all went inside. There were bones on the floor and a nasty smell was in the air; but there was a good deal of food jumbled carelessly on shelves and on the ground, among an untidy litter of plunder, of all sorts from brass buttons to pots full of gold coins standing in a corner. There were lots of clothes, too, hanging on the walls—too small for trolls, I am afraid they belonged to victims—and among them were several swords of various makes, shapes, and sizes. Two caught their eyes particularly, because of their beautiful scabbards and jewelled hilts.

“你干嗎不早說?”大家齊聲喊道。甘道夫抓過鑰匙，插進鑰匙孔中，再用力一推，石門便向后打開了，大家一起進了石洞。石洞的地上有很多的白骨，空氣中飄著一股難聞的味道。不過架子上、地上倒是胡亂堆放著許多食物。石洞中到處散亂著掠奪來的財物，從黃銅扣子到堆在一個角落里的裝滿金幣的壇子，形形色色，應(yīng)有盡有。墻壁上還掛著很多衣服--對食人妖來說明顯太小，多半是從那些被害人身上扒下來的--在這些衣物之間，還有各種款式、形狀和尺寸的劍，其中兩把特別吸引他們的目光，因為它們擁有美麗的劍鞘和鑲嵌著寶石的劍柄。

Gandalf and Thorin each took one of these; and Bilbo took a knife in a leather sheath. It would have made only a tiny pocket-knife for a troll, but it was as good as a short sword for the hobbit.

甘道夫和索林各自拿了一把，比爾博則拿了一把帶鞘的刀子。這對食人妖來說大概只能算是裝在口袋里的小刀，但對霍比特人來說卻已經(jīng)可以算得上是短劍了。

“These look like good blades,” said the wizard, half drawing them and looking at them curiously. “They were not made by any troll, nor by any smith among men in these parts and days; but when we can read the runes on them, we shall know more about them.”

“像是好劍哪。”巫師將劍從鞘中拔出一半，好奇地打量著，“這不是食人妖自己做的，也不是這一帶的人類工匠現(xiàn)在能夠制作出的。等我們把上面的如尼文解讀出來，應(yīng)該可以知道更多它們的來歷。”

“Let’s get out of this horrible smell!” said Fili. So they carried out the pots of coins, and such food as was untouched and looked fit to eat, also one barrel of ale which was still full. By that time they felt like breakfast, and being very hungry they did not turn their noses up at what they had got from the trolls’ larder. Their own provisions were very scanty. Now they had bread and cheese, and plenty of ale, and bacon to toast in the embers of the fire.

“快走吧，我可不想再聞這股臭味兒了!”菲力說。于是大家把一壇壇金幣搬了出去，接著是那些沒被食人妖碰過，看著還能吃的食物，還有一桶依然是滿滿的麥芽酒。這時他們才覺得該吃早餐了，由于每個人都已經(jīng)餓得前胸貼了后背，所以大家抓過從食人妖洞里得來的食物就狼吞虎咽地吃了起來，連頭都不曾抬過一下。他們自己原先準(zhǔn)備下的糧食已經(jīng)所剩無幾了，現(xiàn)在一下子又有了面包和奶酪、一大桶麥芽酒，還有可以放在營火的余燼里烤的火腿。

After that they slept, for their night had been disturbed; and they did nothing more till the afternoon. Then they brought up their ponies, and carried away the pots of gold, and buried them very secretly not far from the track by the river, putting a great many spells over them, just in case they ever had the chance to come back and recover them. When that was done, they all mounted once more, and jogged along again on the path towards the East.

吃完以后大伙兒便睡下了，因為剛剛過去的一晚上一直都在折騰。這一覺一睡就睡到了下午。醒過來之后，他們牽過小馬，裝上一壇壇金幣，將它們運到離小道不遠(yuǎn)的河邊，非常隱密地埋了起來，還對這批財寶施了很多的魔法，為的是萬一將來他們還有命回來時，能重新找到這些財寶。忙活完之后，他們又全都再次上馬，繼續(xù)沿著山路向東方慢慢行去。

“Where did you go to, if I may ask?” said Thorin to Gandalf as they rode along.

“我能否問一下你之前去了哪兒?”索林在和甘道夫策馬并行時問道。

“To look ahead,” said he.

“去前面探了探。”甘道夫回答。

“And what brought you back in the nick of time?”

“是什么讓你在千鈞一發(fā)的時候趕回來了呢?”

“Looking behind,” said he.

“又回頭探了探。”他不緊不慢地說。

“Exactly!” said Thorin; “but could you be more plain?”

“你說得倒輕巧!”索林道，“但你可以說得更清楚一點嗎?”

“I went on to spy out our road. It will soon become dangerous and difficult. Also I was anxious about replenishing our small stock of provisions. I had not gone very far, however, when I met a couple of friends of mine from Rivendell.”

“我去前面探路，因為不用多久前方的道路就將變得危險而又艱難了。此外，我還操心著要補充一下我們帶的那一點點給養(yǎng)。不過我沒走出多遠(yuǎn)，就遇上了幾個從幽谷來的朋友。”

“Where’s that?” asked Bilbo.

“那是什么地方?”比爾博問道。

“Don’t interrupt!” said Gandalf. “You will get there in a few days now, if we’re lucky, and find out all about it. As I was saying I met two of Elrond’s people. They were hurrying along for fear of the trolls. It was they who told me that three of them had come down from the mountains and settled in the woods not far from the road: they had frightened everyone away from the district, and they waylaid strangers.

“別插嘴!”甘道夫說，“如果我們運氣好的話，再走幾天就能到那兒了，到了你就自然會知道那是什么地方。我剛才說到，我碰到了兩個埃爾隆德的人，他們因為害怕食人妖，所以正在匆忙趕路。就是他們告訴我說，有三個食人妖從山上跑了下來，在離大路不遠(yuǎn)的森林里面住了下來，它們不僅把這附近的人都給嚇跑了，還攻擊過路的旅人。

“I immediately had a feeling that I was wanted back. Looking behind I saw a fire in the distance and made for it. So now you know. Please be more careful, next time, or we shall never get anywhere!”

“我立刻就感到我必須回來。我朝后一看，看見遠(yuǎn)處有火光，就向著火光趕了回來。現(xiàn)在知道怎么回事了吧。拜托你們下次務(wù)必小心一點，不然我們哪兒都到不了!”

“Thank you!” said Thorin.

“謝謝你!”索林由衷地說道。