霍比特人：蒼蠅與蜘蛛 Flies and Spiders （上）

FLIES AND SPIDERS

蒼蠅與蜘蛛

They walked in single file. The entrance to the path was like a sort of arch leading into a gloomy tunnel made by two great trees that leant together, too old and strangled with ivy and hung with lichen to bear more than a few blackened leaves. The path itself was narrow and wound in and out among the trunks. Soon the light at the gate was like a little bright hole far behind, and the quiet was so deep that their feet seemed to thump along while all the trees leaned over them and listened.

他們排成一路縱隊(duì)行進(jìn)著。小徑的入口是兩棵彼此靠向一起的大樹(shù)，看起來(lái)像是通往某個(gè)黑暗隧道的拱門(mén)。兩棵樹(shù)老態(tài)龍鐘，又纏滿了藤蔓，附滿了苔蘚，因此只剩了寥寥幾片黑黢黢的樹(shù)葉。小徑本身十分狹窄，在樹(shù)木之間穿來(lái)繞去。很快，入口的亮光就變成了身后遠(yuǎn)處的一個(gè)小亮洞，四周一片死寂，讓他們的腳步聲成了沉重的鼓聲，似乎所有的樹(shù)木都朝著他們湊了過(guò)來(lái)，凝神傾聽(tīng)。

As their eyes became used to the dimness they could see a little way to either side in a sort of darkened green glimmer. Occasionally a slender beam of sun that had the luck to slip in through some opening in the leaves far above, and still more luck in not being caught in the tangled boughs and matted twigs beneath, stabbed down thin and bright before them. But this was seldom, and it soon ceased altogether.

隨著眼睛漸漸適應(yīng)了昏暗，他們看見(jiàn)所走道路的兩旁各有一條小路，散發(fā)著有點(diǎn)像是墨綠色的暗光。有時(shí)，會(huì)有一縷細(xì)細(xì)的陽(yáng)光通過(guò)最上方濃密樹(shù)葉間的某個(gè)缺口，幸運(yùn)地溜了進(jìn)來(lái)，又憑著更大的幸運(yùn)沒(méi)有被下面交錯(cuò)的樹(shù)枝給攔截，在他們面前刺下一道極細(xì)的光線。但這樣的情況很罕見(jiàn)，而且馬上就完全消失了。

There were black squirrels in the wood. As Bilbo’s sharp inquisitive eyes got used to seeing things he could catch glimpses of them whisking off the path and scuttling behind tree-trunks. There were queer noises too, grunts, scufflings, and hurryings in the undergrowth, and among the leaves that lay piled endlessly thick in places on the forest-floor; but what made the noises he could not see. The nastiest things they saw were the cobwebs: dark dense cobwebs with threads extraordinarily thick, often stretched from tree to tree, or tangled in the lower branches on either side of them. There were none stretched across the path, but whether because some magic kept it clear, or for what other reason they could not guess.

森林中有黑色的松鼠，在比爾博銳利的雙眼經(jīng)過(guò)適應(yīng)能看清東西之后，他可以瞥見(jiàn)它們飛快地掠過(guò)小徑，慌慌張張地躲到了樹(shù)干后面。在矮樹(shù)叢中還有許多奇怪的聲響，悶哼聲、搔抓聲以及快速跑動(dòng)的聲音。這類(lèi)聲響也會(huì)出現(xiàn)在地上堆得厚厚的腐葉堆中，但是究竟是什么生物弄出這些聲響來(lái)的他卻看不見(jiàn)。他們見(jiàn)到的最?lèi)盒牡臇|西就是蜘蛛網(wǎng)了：這些黑暗濃密的網(wǎng)由特別粗的蛛絲織成，往往從一棵樹(shù)延伸到另一棵樹(shù)，或是懸掛在道路兩側(cè)的低矮樹(shù)枝上。沒(méi)有哪張蛛網(wǎng)是攔在道路中央的，但究竟是由于某種魔法還是其他原因才使得道路保持清通的，他們想不出來(lái)。

It was not long before they grew to hate the forest as heartily as they had hated the tunnels of the goblins, and it seemed to offer even less hope of any ending. But they had to go on and on, long after they were sick for a sight of the sun and of the sky, and longed for the feel of wind on their faces. There was no movement of air down under the forest-roof, and it was everlastingly still and dark and stuffy. Even the dwarves felt it, who were used to tunnelling, and lived at times for long whiles without the light of the sun; but the hobbit, who liked holes to make a house in but not to spend summer days in, felt that he was being slowly suffocated.

不久之后，他們就對(duì)這座森林產(chǎn)生了厭惡感，其強(qiáng)烈與真摯，一如他們討厭半獸人的隧道。而且，森林比隧道還更讓人盼不到頭。他們?cè)缇蜆O度渴望能見(jiàn)到陽(yáng)光和天空的景象，向往涼風(fēng)拂過(guò)臉龐的感覺(jué)，但是沒(méi)辦法，他們只能不停地走啊走。在森林的穹蓋之下空氣沒(méi)有任何流動(dòng)，似乎永遠(yuǎn)就是那么靜止、黑暗與窒悶。即使是習(xí)慣了長(zhǎng)期在地底挖隧道，經(jīng)常會(huì)有很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間見(jiàn)不到日光的矮人，也感受到了這種壓迫感。霍比特人雖然喜歡把家安在地底的洞里，但到了夏天也喜歡離家到外面透氣，所以這會(huì)兒他覺(jué)得自己正在慢慢地窒息而死。

The nights were the worst. It then became pitch-dark—not what you call pitch-dark, but really pitch: so black that you really could see nothing. Bilbo tried flapping his hand in front of his nose, but he could not see it at all. Well, perhaps it is not true to say that they could see nothing: they could see eyes. They slept all closely huddled together, and took it in turns to watch; and when it was Bilbo’s turn he would see gleams in the darkness round them, and sometimes pairs of yellow or red or green eyes would stare at him from a little distance, and then slowly fade and disappear and slowly shine out again in another place. And sometimes they would gleam down from the branches just above him; and that was most terrifying. But the eyes that he liked the least were horrible pale bulbous sort of eyes. “Insect eyes,” he thought, “not animal eyes, only they are much too big.”

夜晚是最糟糕的時(shí)段，森林中會(huì)變得漆黑一團(tuán)——這可不是一般人所謂的漆黑，而是真的黑到了極致：黑得你連任何東西都看不見(jiàn)。比爾博試著在鼻子前擺了擺手，根本什么都看不見(jiàn)。不過(guò)，也許說(shuō)什么都看不見(jiàn)不能算是很精確，因?yàn)樗麄兛梢钥匆?jiàn)眼睛。他們睡覺(jué)的時(shí)候全都擠在一起，然后大家輪流守夜。在輪到比爾博值班的時(shí)候，他會(huì)看見(jiàn)四周的黑暗中有許多微光閃爍，有時(shí)候，一雙雙黃色、紅色或是綠色的眼睛，會(huì)從不遠(yuǎn)的地方瞪著他們，然后，那些光芒會(huì)慢慢地黯淡并消失，然后又慢慢地在另一個(gè)地方再度亮起。有時(shí)候，這些光芒會(huì)在他們頭頂?shù)臉?shù)枝間向下閃著光，這是最讓人害怕的景象。不過(guò)，比爾博最討厭的是那種可怕的、蒼白而又突出的眼睛。“那是昆蟲(chóng)的眼睛，”他想，“不是小動(dòng)物的眼睛，只是稍微有點(diǎn)嫌太大了。”

Although it was not yet very cold, they tried lighting watch-fires at night, but they soon gave that up. It seemed to bring hundreds and hundreds of eyes all round them, though the creatures, whatever they were, were careful never to let their bodies show in the little flicker of the flames. Worse still it brought thousands of dark-grey and black moths, some nearly as big as your hand, flapping and whirring round their ears. They could not stand that, nor the huge bats, black as a top-hat, either; so they gave up fires and sat at night and dozed in the enormous uncanny darkness.

雖然天氣還不是很冷，他們還是試著想在晚上生起警戒用的篝火，不過(guò)他們很快就放棄了?；鹧嫠坪鯐?huì)把成百上千的眼睛吸引到他們的身邊來(lái)，盡管這些神秘的生物，不管它們到底是什么，總是小心翼翼地不讓自己的身軀曝露在微弱火光的照耀之下。更糟糕的是，它會(huì)吸引來(lái)成千上萬(wàn)深灰色和黑色的蛾子，有些幾乎有人的手掌那么大，在他們的耳邊不停飛舞，讓他們難以忍受。同樣讓他們受不了的還有那些漆黑得如同高筒禮帽的巨型蝙蝠。于是他們只好放棄了生火，整晚都坐著，在巨大而又詭異的黑暗中漸漸睡去。

All this went on for what seemed to the hobbit ages upon ages; and he was always hungry, for they were extremely careful with their provisions. Even so, as days followed days, and still the forest seemed just the same, they began to get anxious. The food would not last for ever: it was in fact already beginning to get low. They tried shooting at the squirrels, and they wasted many arrows before they managed to bring one down on the path. But when they roasted it, it proved horrible to taste, and they shot no more squirrels.

對(duì)霍比特人來(lái)說(shuō)，這一切仿佛有好幾年那么久;由于他們一直嚴(yán)格執(zhí)行食物定額制，所以他總是覺(jué)得餓。即便如此，隨著時(shí)間慢慢流逝，而森林依然一成不變，他們開(kāi)始感到緊張起來(lái)。食物不會(huì)永遠(yuǎn)吃不完，實(shí)際上，已經(jīng)開(kāi)始有點(diǎn)不夠了。他們?cè)囍錃⑺墒螅诶速M(fèi)了許多支箭之后好不容易在小徑上射到一只。但等他們烤來(lái)一吃，發(fā)現(xiàn)味道糟糕得簡(jiǎn)直難以入口，于是他們便再也不射松鼠了。

They were thirsty too, for they had none too much water, and in all the time they had seen neither spring nor stream. This was their state when one day they found their path blocked by a running water. It flowed fast and strong but not very wide right across the way, and it was black, or looked it in the gloom. It was well that Beorn had warned them against it, or they would have drunk from it, whatever its colour, and filled some of their emptied skins at its bank. As it was they only thought of how to cross it without wetting themselves in its water. There had been a bridge of wood across, but it had rotted and fallen leaving only the broken posts near the bank.

他們也十分口渴，因?yàn)樗麄儧](méi)有多少水了，而在這一段時(shí)間內(nèi)，他們既沒(méi)見(jiàn)到過(guò)泉水，也沒(méi)見(jiàn)到過(guò)溪流。處在這種境況下的某一天，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)一道流水橫貫小徑。那道河水流得又急又猛，但攔掉的道路卻沒(méi)有多寬，河水的顏色是黑的，至少在晦暗的森林中看起來(lái)如此。幸好貝奧恩之前警告過(guò)他們，否則他們一定會(huì)不管河水是什么顏色趴上去就喝，而且還會(huì)把那些空了的水囊裝滿。現(xiàn)在，他們滿腦子只想到要怎么樣不弄濕手腳而渡過(guò)這條河。河上本來(lái)有座木橋，但已經(jīng)爛掉落入水中了，只留下兩邊岸上斷折的橋柱。

Bilbo kneeling on the brink and peering forward cried: “There is a boat against the far bank! Now why couldn’t it have been this side!”

比爾博跪在河岸邊，朝前方望去，然后叫了起來(lái)：“對(duì)岸有條船!為什么它不是在我們這邊呢!”

“How far away do you think it is?” asked Thorin, for by now they knew Bilbo had the sharpest eyes among them.

“你看看那條船離我們有多遠(yuǎn)?”索林問(wèn)道，因?yàn)楝F(xiàn)在大家都知道比爾博的眼力是他們之中最好的。

“Not at all far. I shouldn’t think above twelve yards.”

“不算太遠(yuǎn)，我估計(jì)不會(huì)超過(guò)十二碼。”

“Twelve yards! I should have thought it was thirty at least, but my eyes don’t see as well as they used a hundred years ago. Still twelve yards is as good as a mile. We can’t jump it, and we daren’t try to wade or swim.”

“十二碼!我覺(jué)得至少有三十碼吧，不過(guò)，我的眼睛已經(jīng)不像一百年前那么管用了。不過(guò)就算只有十二碼也和一哩一樣夠不著。我們跳不過(guò)去，也不敢趟水或是游過(guò)去。”

“Can any of you throw a rope?”

“你們有誰(shuí)能扔繩套過(guò)去嗎?”

“What’s the good of that? The boat is sure to be tied up, even if we could hook it, which I doubt.”

“那又有什么用?船一定是拴住的，就算我們能鉤住也沒(méi)用，更何況鉤不鉤得中還成問(wèn)題呢。”

“I don’t believe it is tied,” said Bilbo, “though of course I can’t be sure in this light; but it looks to me as if it was just drawn up on the bank, which is low just there where the path goes down into the water.”

“我倒不認(rèn)為它是拴住的，”比爾博說(shuō)，“雖然我在這種光線下不能確定，但在我看來(lái)，它似乎只是靠在岸邊。那邊的岸特別低矮，剛好是道路和河流匯合的地方。”

“Dori is the strongest, but Fili is the youngest and still has the best sight,” said Thorin. “Come here Fili, and see if you can see the boat Mr. Baggins is talking about.”

“多瑞是力氣最大的，菲力則是最年輕、視力最好的。”索林說(shuō)，“過(guò)來(lái)，菲力，試試看能不能看見(jiàn)巴金斯先生說(shuō)的那條船。”

Fili thought he could; so when he had stared a long while to get an idea of the direction, the others brought him a rope. They had several with them, and on the end of the longest they fastened one of the large iron hooks they had used for catching their packs to the straps about their shoulders. Fili took this in his hand, balanced it for a moment, and then flung it across the stream.

菲力認(rèn)為他能看得見(jiàn)，因此，當(dāng)他盯著看了很久，在腦子里形成了方向感之后，旁邊的人給他拿來(lái)了一條粗繩。他們帶著好幾條繩子，現(xiàn)在在最長(zhǎng)的一條上綁了一個(gè)原先用來(lái)固定背包的大鐵鉤。菲力握住鐵鉤，在手中稍微平衡了一下重量，然后將它朝著河對(duì)岸拋了過(guò)去。

Splash it fell in the water! “Not far enough!” said Bilbo who was peering forward. “A couple of feet and you would have dropped it on to the boat. Try again. I don’t suppose the magic is strong enough to hurt you, if you just touch a bit of wet rope.”

“撲通——”鉤子掉進(jìn)了水里!“不夠遠(yuǎn)!”比爾博看著對(duì)岸說(shuō)，“再多扔個(gè)兩三呎就能掉進(jìn)小船里去了，再試一次。如果你只是碰到一點(diǎn)濕繩子，我想河水的魔法還沒(méi)強(qiáng)到能傷害你。”

Fili picked up the hook when he had drawn it back, rather doubtfully all the same. This time he threw it with great strength.

菲力小心翼翼地將鉤子拉回來(lái)，當(dāng)他拿起鉤子的時(shí)候，還是有點(diǎn)將信將疑。這次，他用了更大的力氣把鉤子拋了出去。

“Steady!” said Bilbo, “you have thrown it right into the wood on the other side now. Draw it back gently.” Fili hauled the rope back slowly, and after a while Bilbo said: “Carefully! It is lying on the boat; let’s hope the hook will catch.”

“穩(wěn)著點(diǎn)兒!”比爾博說(shuō)，“這次你已經(jīng)把它拋到另一邊的樹(shù)林里了。把它輕輕拉回來(lái)。”菲力慢慢地將繩子往后拉，過(guò)了一兒之后，比爾博說(shuō)：“小心，!鉤子就在船上了，希望能把船鉤住。”

It did. The rope went taut, and Fili pulled in vain. Kili came to his help, and then Oin and Gloin. They tugged and tugged, and suddenly they all fell over on their backs. Bilbo was on the look out, however, caught the rope, and with a piece of stick fended off the little black boat as it came rushing across the stream. “Help!” he shouted, and Balin was just in time to seize the boat before it floated off down the current.

鉤子的確把船鉤住了，菲力使勁一拉，小舟卻紋絲沒(méi)動(dòng)。奇力趕過(guò)來(lái)幫忙，接著是歐因和格羅因。他們拉呀拉呀，突然全都仰天摔倒在地上。比爾博是在旁邊察看的，正好抓住了落下的繩子。對(duì)岸的小船順著眾人用力的余勢(shì)沖了過(guò)來(lái)，比爾博連忙用一根棍子把船擋開(kāi)。“快幫忙!”他大喊著，巴林及時(shí)趕到，一把抓住了小船，不然小小船又要順流漂走了。

“It was tied after all,” said he, looking at the snapped painter that was still dangling from it. “That was a good pull, my lads; and a good job that our rope was the stronger.”

“原來(lái)它還是拴住的!”他看著手中扯斷的船纜說(shuō)道，“大伙兒的力氣可真是大，也幸好我們的繩子比它的更結(jié)實(shí)。”

“Who’ll cross first?” asked Bilbo.

“誰(shuí)先過(guò)?”比爾博問(wèn)道。

“I shall,” said Thorin, “and you will come with me, and Fili and Balin. That’s as many as the boat will hold at a time. After that Kili and Oin and Gloin and Dori; next Ori and Nori, Bifur and Bofur; and last Dwalin and Bombur.”

“我先吧，”索林說(shuō)，“你和我一起過(guò)，還有菲力和巴林。這船一次就只能裝這么些人了。在那之后是奇力、歐因、格羅因和多瑞;再下一批是歐瑞、諾瑞、比弗和波弗;最后是杜瓦林和邦伯。”

“I’m always last and I don’t like it,” said Bombur. “It’s somebody else’s turn today.”

“我討厭每次都殿后，”邦伯說(shuō)，“也該換換人了吧。”

“You should not be so fat. As you are, you must be with the last and lightest boatload. Don’t start grumbling against orders, or something bad will happen to you.”

“誰(shuí)叫你長(zhǎng)這么胖呢。既然你這么胖，你就應(yīng)該最后過(guò)來(lái)，在船載重最少的時(shí)候。不要有對(duì)命令嘀嘀咕咕的苗頭，否則你會(huì)遇上厄運(yùn)的。”

“There aren’t any oars. How are you going to push the boat back to the far bank?” asked the hobbit.

“可是沒(méi)有槳啊，我們要怎樣才能把船送回對(duì)岸呢?”霍比特人問(wèn)道。

“Give me another length of rope and another hook,” said Fili, and when they had got it ready, he cast it into the darkness ahead and as high as he could throw it. Since it did not fall down again, they saw that it must have stuck in the branches. “Get in now,” said Fili, “and one of you haul on the rope that is stuck in a tree on the other side. One of the others must keep hold of the hook we used at first, and when we are safe on the other side he can hook it on, and you can draw the boat back.”

“再給我一段繩子和另一個(gè)鐵鉤，”菲力說(shuō)，等大家都準(zhǔn)備好的時(shí)候，他就將繩子往前方的黑暗中用力朝高處一扔。由于繩子和鉤子沒(méi)有再落下來(lái)，大家認(rèn)為它一定已經(jīng)掛在樹(shù)枝上了。“上船吧!”菲力說(shuō)，“你們要有—個(gè)人用力拉這根卡在對(duì)岸樹(shù)上的繩子，還得有一個(gè)人必須抓住我們先前用過(guò)的鐵鉤，等我們都安全地到達(dá)對(duì)岸時(shí)，就可以把鉤子鉤上，讓這邊的人再把船拉回去。”

In this way they were all soon on the far bank safe across the enchanted stream. Dwalin had just scrambled out with the coiled rope on his arm, and Bombur (still grumbling) was getting ready to follow, when something bad did happen. There was a flying sound of hooves on the path ahead. Out of the gloom came suddenly the shape of a flying deer. It charged into the dwarves and bowled them over, then gathered itself for a leap. High it sprang and cleared the water with a mighty jump. But it did not reach the other side in safety. Thorin was the only one who had kept his feet and his wits. As soon as they had landed he had bent his bow and fitted an arrow in case any hidden guardian of the boat appeared. Now he sent a swift and sure shot into the leaping beast. As it reached the further bank it stumbled. The shadows swallowed it up, but they heard the sound of hooves quickly falter and then go still.

憑借著這個(gè)方法，他們很快就都安全地渡過(guò)了這條被施了魔法的小溪。杜瓦林胳膊上卷著繩子，剛剛爬出小船，邦伯(嘴里依舊在嘟囔著)正準(zhǔn)備要跟上去，就在此時(shí)，糟糕的事情發(fā)生了。前方的路上傳來(lái)一陣飛馳的蹄聲，接著，從黑暗中突然躥出一個(gè)像是飛奔著的野鹿的身影，只見(jiàn)它沖進(jìn)矮人群中，將大家撞開(kāi)，然后奮力躍向?qū)Π?。它蹦得很高，以有力的一躍掠過(guò)水面，然而它卻沒(méi)能安然抵達(dá)對(duì)岸。在野鹿一撞之下，索林是惟一站穩(wěn)了腳步又保持了冷靜頭腦的人。一踏上對(duì)岸，他便立刻彎弓搭箭，以防有任何隱藏著的看守小船的生物出現(xiàn)。這時(shí)，他迅捷而又穩(wěn)準(zhǔn)地向那縱躍的野獸射出了一箭。當(dāng)它跳落到對(duì)岸的時(shí)候，腳步變得蹣跚了。黑暗吞沒(méi)了它的身影，但大家可以聽(tīng)出蹄聲馬上踉蹌起來(lái)，然后就歸于安靜了。

Before they could shout in praise of the shot, however, a dreadful wail from Bilbo put all thoughts of venison out of their minds. “Bombur has fallen in! Bombur is drowning!” he cried. It was only too true. Bombur had only one foot on the land when the hart bore down on him, and sprang over him. He had stumbled, thrusting the boat away from the bank, and then toppled back into the dark water, his hands slipping off the slimy roots at the edge, while the boat span slowly off and disappeared.

還沒(méi)等他們來(lái)得及大聲贊美索林這精準(zhǔn)的一射，比爾博的一聲尖叫就把大家腦子里關(guān)于吃鹿肉的想頭給趕沒(méi)影兒了。“邦伯落水啦!邦伯要淹死啦!”他一點(diǎn)都沒(méi)開(kāi)玩笑，邦伯剛才只有一只腳踏上地面，就被那頭鹿一頭撞倒，還從他身上跳了過(guò)去。他踉蹌倒地的時(shí)候，手一搭船幫，把小船推離了岸邊，于是就跌進(jìn)了黑暗的水中。他的手慌亂地去抓岸邊滑溜溜的草根，結(jié)果怎么也抓不住，而小船又慢慢地打著轉(zhuǎn)消失在了黑暗之中。

They could still see his hood above the water when they ran to the bank. Quickly, they flung a rope with a hook towards him. His hand caught it, and they pulled him to the shore. He was drenched from hair to boots, of course, but that was not the worst. When they laid him on the bank he was already fast asleep, with one hand clutching the rope so tight that they could not get it from his grasp; and fast asleep he remained in spite of all they could do.

大家跑到河邊的時(shí)候，還可以看見(jiàn)他的帽子漂在水面上。他們趕緊朝著那方向扔去了帶著鉤子的粗繩。邦伯伸手抓住了繩子，大伙兒合力把他拉到了岸上。他當(dāng)然從頭到腳都濕透了，但這還不是最糟糕的。大伙兒把他放到岸上時(shí)，他已經(jīng)沉沉地睡了過(guò)去，一只手還死抓著繩子不放，大家怎么拽都拽不下來(lái)。大伙兒使出了各種招數(shù)想把他弄醒，可他還是睡得跟死豬一樣。

They were still standing over him, cursing their ill luck, and Bombur’s clumsiness, and lamenting the loss of the boat which made it impossible for them to go back and look for the hart, when they became aware of the dim blowing of horns in the wood and the sound as of dogs baying far off. Then they all fell silent; and as they sat it seemed they could hear the noise of a great hunt going by to the north of the path, though they saw no sign of it.

大家依舊圍在他身邊，罵罵咧咧地抱怨著他們的霉運(yùn)，怪邦伯笨手笨腳，又為小船漂走了而感到惋惜，因?yàn)檫@下他們沒(méi)辦法回到對(duì)岸去找那只被射中的野鹿了。這時(shí)，他們聽(tīng)見(jiàn)林子里隱約傳來(lái)了號(hào)角之聲，還有似乎是獵犬在遠(yuǎn)處的吠叫。大家全都不作聲了，在地上坐了下來(lái)，他們似乎聽(tīng)見(jiàn)小徑北方傳來(lái)了大規(guī)模狩獵的聲音，但卻看不見(jiàn)任何的跡象。

There they sat for a long while and did not dare to make a move. Bombur slept on with a smile on his fat face, as if he no longer cared for all the troubles that vexed them. Suddenly on the path ahead appeared some white deer, a hind and fawns as snowy white as the hart had been dark. They glimmered in the shadows. Before Thorin could cry out three of the dwarves had leaped to their feet and loosed off arrows from their bows. None seemed to find their mark. The deer turned and vanished in the trees as silently as they had come, and in vain the dwarves shot their arrows after them.

他們?cè)谀莾鹤撕镁?，不敢輕舉妄動(dòng)。邦伯的胖臉上掛著微笑，甜甜地睡著，似乎對(duì)困擾著大家的麻煩再也不在乎了。突然，前方的小徑上出現(xiàn)了幾只白色的野鹿，有一只高大的雌鹿和幾只幼鹿，它們毛皮的純白和之前那只雄鹿的漆黑恰成強(qiáng)烈的對(duì)比。它們?cè)诎涤爸蟹懦鑫⑽⒌墓饷?。還沒(méi)等索林發(fā)聲阻止，就有三個(gè)矮人一躍而起，張弓搭箭向白鹿射去，但似乎無(wú)一命中。群鹿掉過(guò)頭去，就像來(lái)時(shí)一樣無(wú)聲無(wú)息地消失在了森林中，矮人們又追著射出一蓬箭矢，但全都是徒勞。

“Stop! stop!” shouted Thorin; but it was too late, the excited dwarves had wasted their last arrows, and now the bows that Beorn had given them were useless.

“住手!住手!”索林大喊道，但一切都太遲了，興奮的矮人們已經(jīng)浪費(fèi)掉了最后一些箭矢，使得貝奧恩送給他們的弓箭變得毫無(wú)用處了。

They were a gloomy party that night, and the gloom gathered still deeper on them in the following days. They had crossed the enchanted stream; but beyond it the path seemed to straggle on just as before, and in the forest they could see no change. Yet if they had known more about it and considered the meaning of the hunt and the white deer that had appeared upon their path, they would have known that they were at last drawing towards the eastern edge, and would soon have come, if they could have kept up their courage and their hope, to thinner trees and places where the sunlight came again.

那天晚上，大家情緒低落，而在稍后幾天中情緒更是一路走低。他們雖然已經(jīng)越過(guò)了被施了魔法的小溪，但那之后的小徑似乎依然漫無(wú)盡頭，而森林也看不出有任何變化。然而如果對(duì)黑森林能有更多一點(diǎn)的了解，并且思考一下那場(chǎng)狩獵和白鹿出現(xiàn)的意義，他們就會(huì)知道終于靠近了森林的東部邊緣了。要不了多久，只要他們繼續(xù)保有勇氣和希望，就能來(lái)到樹(shù)木越來(lái)越稀疏的地方，重新見(jiàn)到陽(yáng)光。

But they did not know this, and they were burdened with the heavy body of Bombur, which they had to carry along with them as best they could, taking the wearisome task in turns of four each while the others shared their packs. If these had not become all too light in the last few days, they would never have managed it; but a slumbering and smiling Bombur was a poor exchange for packs filled with food however heavy. In a few days a time came when there was practically nothing left to eat or to drink. Nothing wholesome could they see growing in the wood, only funguses and herbs with pale leaves and unpleasant smell.

可惜他們并不知道，而且他們還必須帶著邦伯那沉重的身體一起前進(jìn)。他們?yōu)榇耸钩隽巳?，由四個(gè)人一組輪流承擔(dān)這項(xiàng)累人的工作，其他人則分擔(dān)了那四個(gè)人攜帶的背包。如果不是因?yàn)楸嘲闹亓康搅俗詈髱滋煲呀?jīng)大幅減輕的話，他們根本無(wú)法完成這個(gè)任務(wù)。然而相對(duì)于一個(gè)沉睡中露著傻笑的大胖子邦伯來(lái)說(shuō)，可能人們還寧愿去背裝得滿滿的食物背包呢。又過(guò)了幾天，這樣的一刻終于來(lái)臨了，他們完全陷入了沒(méi)有糧食和飲水的窘境。森林中放眼望去，他們看不到任何可以讓人放心吃的食物，只有蕈類(lèi)和長(zhǎng)著蒼白葉子發(fā)出難聞味道的野草。

About four days from the enchanted stream they came to a part where most of the trees were beeches. They were at first inclined to be cheered by the change, for here there was no undergrowth and the shadow was not so deep. There was a greenish light about them, and in places they could see some distance to either side of the path. Yet the light only showed them endless lines of straight grey trunks like the pillars of some huge twilight hall. There was a breath of air and a noise of wind, but it had a sad sound. A few leaves came rustling down to remind them that outside autumn was coming on. Their feet ruffled among the dead leaves of countless other autumns that drifted over the banks of the path from the deep red carpets of the forest.

在越過(guò)魔法小溪四天之后，他們來(lái)到了森林中一片大都是山毛櫸的區(qū)域。一開(kāi)始，他們對(duì)于這改變有點(diǎn)感到高興，因?yàn)槟_底下不再有灌木叢，陰影也變得不那么濃了。他們四周有了些綠瑩瑩的光，在某些地方，甚至可以看見(jiàn)小徑兩邊一定距離內(nèi)的東西。但是，借著這種綠光他們能看見(jiàn)的還是一排排永無(wú)止盡的樹(shù)木，它們灰色的樹(shù)干全都筆直，宛如熹微晨光中某個(gè)巨型大廳里的柱子。這里有了空氣的流動(dòng)和風(fēng)的聲響，但這聲響聽(tīng)在耳朵里卻給人帶來(lái)憂傷的感覺(jué)。一些樹(shù)葉簌簌地掉落下來(lái)，提醒他們外面已是秋意漸濃了。他們的腳踩踏著無(wú)數(shù)個(gè)過(guò)往的秋天累積下的落葉，這些枯葉已經(jīng)為森林鋪上了一層深紅色的地毯，還越過(guò)小徑的邊緣，漂泊到了小徑之上。

Still Bombur slept and they grew very weary. At times they heard disquieting laughter. Sometimes there was singing in the distance too. The laughter was the laughter of fair voices not of goblins, and the singing was beautiful, but it sounded eerie and strange, and they were not comforted, rather they hurried on from those parts with what strength they had left.

邦伯依舊沉睡著，而大伙兒已經(jīng)無(wú)比疲憊了。有時(shí)，他們會(huì)聽(tīng)見(jiàn)讓人不安的笑聲，有時(shí)還能聽(tīng)到遠(yuǎn)方傳來(lái)唱歌的聲音。那笑聲是由相當(dāng)悅耳的聲音發(fā)出的，絕不是半獸人;那唱歌聲很優(yōu)美，但聽(tīng)起來(lái)卻有些詭異陌生，一點(diǎn)也不讓他們覺(jué)得安心。他們積聚起所剩的最后一點(diǎn)力氣，只想盡快遠(yuǎn)離這個(gè)地方。

Two days later they found their path going downwards, and before long they were in a valley filled almost entirely with a mighty growth of oaks.

兩天之后，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)小徑開(kāi)始往下傾斜，不久之后，他們就來(lái)到了一座長(zhǎng)滿了橡樹(shù)的山谷。

“Is there no end to this accursed forest?” said Thorin. “Somebody must climb a tree and see if he can get his head above the roof and have a look round. The only way is to choose the tallest tree that overhangs the path.”

“這該死的森林難道永遠(yuǎn)都沒(méi)有盡頭嗎?”索林說(shuō)，“得找某個(gè)人爬到樹(shù)上，看看能不能把腦袋從樹(shù)頂伸出去，看看周?chē)那闆r。惟一的辦法是挑一棵長(zhǎng)在小徑邊的最高的樹(shù)。”

Of course “somebody” meant Bilbo. They chose him, because to be of any use the climber must get his head above the topmost leaves, and so he must be light enough for the highest and slenderest branches to bear him. Poor Mr. Baggins had never had much practice in climbing trees, but they hoisted him up into the lowest branches of an enormous oak that grew right out into the path, and up he had to go as best he could. He pushed his way through the tangled twigs with many a slap in the eye; he was greened and grimed from the old bark of the greater boughs; more than once he slipped and caught himself just in time; and at last, after a dreadful struggle in a difficult place where there seemed to be no convenient branches at all, he got near the top. All the time he was wondering whether there were spiders in the tree, and how he was going to get down again (except by falling).

這“某個(gè)人”當(dāng)然指的就是比爾博了。他們之所以選擇他，是因?yàn)槿绻_(dá)到偵察的目的，爬樹(shù)的人一定得把頭伸出最高處的樹(shù)葉才行，所以他必須要足夠輕，能讓最高處的最細(xì)的樹(shù)枝承受得起他的重量。可憐的巴金斯先生以前根本沒(méi)怎么爬過(guò)樹(shù)，但大家不由分說(shuō)地將他托上了路邊一棵大橡樹(shù)最下面的樹(shù)枝，接下來(lái)他只能好自為之了。他在撥開(kāi)交錯(cuò)的樹(shù)枝奮力上行的過(guò)程中，眼睛周?chē)脦状味急粯?shù)枝彈到;老橡樹(shù)上那些大一點(diǎn)的樹(shù)枝很快就把他搞得渾身又黑又綠;他還不止一次從樹(shù)上滑落，于千鈞一發(fā)之際才抓住了下面的樹(shù)枝;最后，在一個(gè)似乎沒(méi)有合適的樹(shù)枝可供踩踏的不上不下的地方，他經(jīng)過(guò)了一番令人心驚膽寒的拼搏，終于接近了樹(shù)頂。在這一路上，他不停地在擔(dān)心樹(shù)上會(huì)不會(huì)有蝴蛛，以及過(guò)會(huì)兒他該怎么原路下去(除了掉下去)。

In the end he poked his head above the roof of leaves, and then he found spiders all right. But they were only small ones of ordinary size, and they were after the butterflies. Bilbo’s eyes were nearly blinded by the light. He could hear the dwarves shouting up at him from far below, but he could not answer, only hold on and blink. The sun was shining brilliantly, and it was a long while before he could bear it. When he could, he saw all round him a sea of dark green, ruffled here and there by the breeze; and there were everywhere hundreds of butterflies. I expect they were a kind of “purple emperor”, a butterfly that loves the tops of oak-woods, but these were not purple at all, they were a dark dark velvety black without any markings to be seen.

最后，他終于把頭伸出了樹(shù)葉的冠頂，也的確發(fā)現(xiàn)了蜘蛛。不過(guò)這些都是普通大小的蜘蛛，它們想抓的也只是蝴蝶而已。比爾博的眼睛差點(diǎn)被陽(yáng)光給炫盲了，他可以聽(tīng)見(jiàn)矮人在底下性急地叫喊，但他沒(méi)辦法回答，只能拼命眨眼睛，把這段適應(yīng)期給熬過(guò)去。陽(yáng)光異常明亮，他過(guò)了好一陣子才能夠漸漸忍受。等他能睜開(kāi)眼之后，他發(fā)現(xiàn)四周是一片深綠色的樹(shù)海，微風(fēng)過(guò)處，在“海面”上弄出星星點(diǎn)點(diǎn)的褶皺。滿天都是飛舞的蝴蝶。我想，它們多半是一種叫作“紫色帝王蝶”的蝴蝶，那是種喜歡在橡樹(shù)頂端棲息的蝴蝶，不過(guò)，這些可不是紫色的，它們身上是一種極深極深的紫黑色，看不到任何的斑紋。

He looked at the “black emperors” for a long time, and enjoyed the feel of the breeze in his hair and on his face; but at length the cries of the dwarves, who were now simply stamping with impatience down below, reminded him of his real business. It was no good. Gaze as much as he might, he could see no end to the trees and the leaves in any direction. His heart, that had been lightened by the sight of the sun and the feel of the wind, sank back into his toes: there was no food to go back to down below.

他盯著這些“黑色帝王蝶”看了很久，同時(shí)享受著微風(fēng)吹過(guò)發(fā)梢和臉龐的怡人感覺(jué)。不過(guò)到頭來(lái)，還是底下開(kāi)始跺腳咆哮的矮人，才讓他想起了自己還有正事要辦。情況不妙。他向四周極目望去，都看不到樹(shù)與葉的盡頭。他因?yàn)殛?yáng)光與微風(fēng)的怡人感覺(jué)而變得輕快起來(lái)的心情，重新又往下沉到了腳趾頭：沒(méi)有什么喜訊可以回去報(bào)給下面的人聽(tīng)。

Actually, as I have told you, they were not far off the edge of the forest; and if Bilbo had had the sense to see it, the tree that he had climbed, though it was tall in itself, was standing near the bottom of a wide valley, so that from its top the trees seemed to swell up all round like the edges of a great bowl, and he could not expect to see how far the forest lasted. Still he did not see this, and he climbed down full of despair. He got to the bottom again at last, scratched, hot, and miserable, and he could not see anything in the gloom below when he got there. His report soon made the others as miserable as he was.

其實(shí)，如我之前告訴過(guò)你們的，他們離森林的邊緣并不遠(yuǎn)。如果比爾博有眼光的話，他會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己所在的樹(shù)木雖然本身很高，其實(shí)是位于一個(gè)寬闊山谷的底部，因此，從這棵樹(shù)的樹(shù)頂看去，周?chē)臉?shù)都像一只大碗的碗邊一樣在向外延伸，所以他根本就看不見(jiàn)森林的盡頭究竟在哪里。但他并不明白這一點(diǎn)，所以他滿懷失望地爬下樹(shù)來(lái)。等他好不容易回到地面上時(shí)，身上多處擦傷，熱得一頭是汗，一副慘兮兮的模樣，而且乍一回到底下幽暗的環(huán)境中，他又什么都看不見(jiàn)了。等他把所見(jiàn)報(bào)告完，大伙兒也都變得跟他同樣沮喪起來(lái)。

“The forest goes on for ever and ever and ever in all directions! Whatever shall we do? And what is the use of sending a hobbit!” they cried, as if it was his fault. They did not care tuppence about the butterflies, and were only made more angry when he told them of the beautiful breeze, which they were too heavy to climb up and feel.

“這座森林往所有的方向都沒(méi)有盡頭!我們到底該怎么辦啊?派個(gè)霍比特人來(lái)又有什么用!”他們?nèi)氯轮路疬@是他的錯(cuò)。他們根本不在乎蝴蝶這種無(wú)關(guān)緊要的小東西，而當(dāng)比爾博跟他們描述怡人的輕風(fēng)時(shí)，他們就更來(lái)氣了，因?yàn)榘藗兩眢w都太笨重，根本沒(méi)辦法爬到那么高去感受輕風(fēng)。

That night they ate their very last scraps and crumbs of food; and next morning when they woke the first thing they noticed was that they were still gnawingly hungry, and the next thing was that it was raining and that here and there the drip of it was dropping heavily on the forest floor. That only reminded them that they were also parchingly thirsty, without doing anything to relieve them: you cannot quench a terrible thirst by standing under giant oaks and waiting for a chance drip to fall on your tongue. The only scrap of comfort there was came unexpectedly from Bombur.

那天晚上，他們吃完了最后一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)食物的碎屑，第二天早晨一醒來(lái)，他們注意到的第一件事就是他們依舊饑餓難耐。他們接下來(lái)注意到的是天上正在下著大雨，雨滴這里那里地密密地滴落到地面上來(lái)。然而這除了提醒他們不僅腹中空空，連口唇也是干得要命之外，卻并不能幫他們解渴：要想澆滅他們?nèi)缁馃愕母煽?，可不能站在橡?shù)下，呆呆地等著有哪滴水碰巧滴落到舌頭上。結(jié)果惟一的一小點(diǎn)安慰竟然出人意料地來(lái)自于邦伯。

He woke up suddenly and sat up scratching his head. He could not make out where he was at all, nor why he felt so hungry; for he had forgotten everything that had happened since they started their journey that May morning long ago. The last thing that he remembered was the party at the hobbit’s house, and they had great difficulty in making him believe their tale of all the many adventures they had had since.

他突然間醒了過(guò)來(lái)，坐起身子，用手搔著腦袋。他不知道自己身在何處，或是為什么會(huì)覺(jué)得這么饑餓，因?yàn)樗呀?jīng)把從許久以前那個(gè)五月早晨出發(fā)以來(lái)的所有事情都給忘記了。他記得的最后一件事情，就是在霍比特人家中所舉行的派對(duì)。大伙兒費(fèi)了好一番口舌，才讓他相信了他們自那以后的種種冒險(xiǎn)經(jīng)歷。

When he heard that there was nothing to eat, he sat down and wept, for he felt very weak and wobbly in the legs. “Why ever did I wake up!” he cried. “I was having such beautiful dreams. I dreamed I was walking in a forest rather like this one, only lit with torches on the trees and lamps swinging from the branches and fires burning on the ground; and there was a great feast going on, going on for ever. A woodland king was there with a crown of leaves, and there was a merry singing, and I could not count or describe the things there were to eat and drink.”

當(dāng)他聽(tīng)說(shuō)已經(jīng)沒(méi)東西可吃了之后，不禁坐在地上哭了起來(lái)，因?yàn)樗X(jué)得自己非常虛弱，雙腿軟得直打顫。“我干嗎要醒過(guò)來(lái)啊!”他嚎道，“我剛剛正在做著美夢(mèng)呢。我夢(mèng)到我走在一個(gè)和這里挺像的森林里，不過(guò)那兒可亮堂啦，樹(shù)上有火把，樹(shù)枝上掛著油燈，地上還點(diǎn)著篝火。那兒正在辦一場(chǎng)大宴會(huì)，永遠(yuǎn)不停的盛大宴會(huì)。一個(gè)森林之王戴著樹(shù)葉綴成的皇冠，大家都在快樂(lè)地唱著歌，那兒吃喝的東西多得我數(shù)不過(guò)來(lái)，好吃得我都說(shuō)不明白!”

“You need not try,” said Thorin. “In fact if you can’t talk about something else, you had better be silent. We are quite annoyed enough with you as it is. If you hadn’t waked up, we should have left you to your idiotic dreams in the forest; you are no joke to carry even after weeks of short commons.”

“說(shuō)不明白就別說(shuō)!”索林沒(méi)好氣兒地說(shuō)道，“如果你沒(méi)別的好說(shuō)的話，干脆就給我閉嘴。我們之前就已經(jīng)受夠你了，你要是再不醒過(guò)來(lái)，我們就準(zhǔn)備把你扔在森林里發(fā)你的白癡夢(mèng)去了。你這家伙，就算好幾個(gè)禮拜不吃不喝，扛起來(lái)也重得要命。”

There was nothing now to be done but to tighten the belts round their empty stomachs, and hoist their empty sacks and packs, and trudge along the track without any great hope of ever getting to the end before they lay down and died of starvation. This they did all that day, going very slowly and wearily; while Bombur kept on wailing that his legs would not carry him and that he wanted to lie down and sleep.

除了勒緊褲帶之外，大伙兒也別無(wú)對(duì)策。他們扛著空蕩蕩的背包和袋子，邁著沉重的腳步在小徑上走著，心中甚是絕望，覺(jué)得自己不等走到頭就會(huì)先倒下餓死了。他們就這樣走了一整天，走得又慢又累，邦伯還一個(gè)勁兒地哭鬧，說(shuō)他的兩條腿再也撐不住了，他想要躺倒睡覺(jué)。

“No you don’t!” they said. “Let your legs take their share, we have carried you far enough.”

“不行，不可以!”大家都說(shuō)，“你的腿也該走它們那份路了，我們抬你抬得夠遠(yuǎn)了。”

All the same he suddenly refused to go a step further and flung himself on the ground. “Go on, if you must,” he said. “I’m just going to lie here and sleep and dream of food, if I can’t get it any other way. I hope I never wake up again.”

可他把大伙兒的話當(dāng)做了耳旁風(fēng)，突然一步也不肯走了，一屁股坐到了地上。“你們要走你們走，”他說(shuō)，“反正也沒(méi)辦法弄到吃的，我寧愿躺在這里睡一覺(jué)，在夢(mèng)里多吃點(diǎn)兒。我真希望自己永遠(yuǎn)也不要再醒來(lái)了。”

At that very moment Balin, who was a little way ahead, called out: “What was that? I thought I saw a twinkle of light in the forest.”

就在這時(shí)，走在稍微前面一點(diǎn)的巴林喊了起來(lái)：“那是什么?我想我看見(jiàn)森林里面有火光在閃。”

They all looked, and a longish way off, it seemed, they saw a red twinkle in the dark; then another and another sprang out beside it. Even Bombur got up, and they hurried along then, not caring if it was trolls or goblins. The light was in front of them and to the left of the path, and when at last they had drawn level with it, it seemed plain that torches and fires were burning under the trees, but a good way off their track.

大家全都朝前看去，在挺遠(yuǎn)的地方，好像能看見(jiàn)黑暗中有一點(diǎn)紅光在閃動(dòng)，接著，在它旁邊又冒出了另一點(diǎn)火花，然后是另一點(diǎn)。連邦伯都爬了起來(lái)，大家全都快步往前飛奔，根本不在乎那是食人妖或是半獸人。那點(diǎn)光亮在他們前方，位于小徑的左邊，當(dāng)他們終于與那點(diǎn)火光齊平的時(shí)候，可以很明顯地看到那是在樹(shù)下燃燒著的火把和篝火，只是離他們的小徑還頗有一段距離。

“It looks as if my dreams were coming true,” gasped Bombur puffing up behind. He wanted to rush straight off into the wood after the lights. But the others remembered only too well the warnings of the wizard and of Beorn.

“看來(lái)我的夢(mèng)想要成真了!”邦伯呼哧呼哧地從后面趕了上來(lái)，一邊上氣不接下氣地說(shuō)道。他直接就想要沖到林子里去追逐那些火光，但其他人對(duì)于巫師和貝奧恩的警告卻謹(jǐn)記在心。

“A feast would be no good, if we never got back alive from it,” said Thorin.

“如果得把命搭上的話，宴席再好吃都沒(méi)用。”索林說(shuō)。

“But without a feast we shan’t remain alive much longer anyway,” said Bombur, and Bilbo heartily agreed with him. They argued about it backwards and forwards for a long while, until they agreed at length to send out a couple of spies, to creep near the lights and find out more about them. But then they could not agree on who was to be sent: no one seemed anxious to run the chance of being lost and never finding his friends again. In the end, in spite of warnings, hunger decided them, because Bombur kept on describing all the good things that were being eaten, according to his dream, in the woodland feast; so they all left the path and plunged into the forest together.

“可如果沒(méi)東西吃，我們不也快沒(méi)命了嗎!”邦伯說(shuō)，這話可說(shuō)到比爾博的心坎兒里去了。他們翻來(lái)覆去地爭(zhēng)了半天，最后同意派出幾名探子，悄悄地靠近那些光亮，把那里的情況給摸清楚。但接下來(lái)大家又為該派誰(shuí)去而爭(zhēng)執(zhí)不休了，因?yàn)樗坪鯖](méi)誰(shuí)熱衷于去冒迷失方向，再也見(jiàn)不到朋友們的危險(xiǎn)。最后，饑餓壓倒了警告，由于邦伯一直不停地描述他在夢(mèng)里的林中宴會(huì)上吃到的種種美食，矮人們?nèi)侩x開(kāi)小徑，沖向了森林深處。

After a good deal of creeping and crawling they peered round the trunks and looked into a clearing where some trees had been felled and the ground levelled. There were many people there, elvish-looking folk, all dressed in green and brown and sitting on sawn rings of the felled trees in a great circle. There was a fire in their midst and there were torches fastened to some of the trees round about; but most splendid sight of all: they were eating and drinking and laughing merrily.

在經(jīng)過(guò)了好一番的匍匐前進(jìn)之后，他們終于摸到了火光附近。從樹(shù)干后面探出腦袋望去，他們看見(jiàn)一塊樹(shù)木被砍倒、土地被鏟平后清理出來(lái)的空地?？盏厣嫌性S多人，看起來(lái)像是精靈，全都穿著綠色和褐色的衣物，坐在鋸倒的圓木墩子上，圍成了一個(gè)大圈。圈子正中有一團(tuán)營(yíng)火，四周的樹(shù)上則插著許多火把，但最令人心動(dòng)不已的景象卻是，他們正在大吃大喝，一邊發(fā)出歡快的笑聲。

The smell of the roast meats was so enchanting that, without waiting to consult one another, every one of them got up and scrambled forwards into the ring with the one idea of begging for some food. No sooner had the first stepped into the clearing than all the lights went out as if by magic. Somebody kicked the fire and it went up in rockets of glittering sparks and vanished. They were lost in a completely lightless dark and they could not even find one another, not for a long time at any rate. After blundering frantically in the gloom, falling over logs, bumping crash into trees, and shouting and calling till they must have waked everything in the forest for miles, at last they managed to gather themselves in a bundle and count themselves by touch. By that time they had, of course, quite forgotten in what direction the path lay, and they were all hopelessly lost, at least till morning.

烤肉的香氣是如此誘人，眾人等不及相互商量一下便從樹(shù)后走了出來(lái)，爭(zhēng)先恐后地朝圈子里跑去，一心想著問(wèn)人討點(diǎn)酒肉吃。然而第一個(gè)人的腳剛一踏上空地，所有的火光就仿佛被施了魔法一樣同時(shí)熄滅。有人對(duì)著篝火踢了一腳，它就炸成無(wú)數(shù)個(gè)火花，然后便消失無(wú)蹤了。他們陷入徹底的黑暗中，連彼此都找不見(jiàn)，好在時(shí)間還不算太長(zhǎng)。他們?cè)诤诎抵械沧?，被圓木絆倒，迎頭撞上樹(shù)干，又是吼又是叫的，幾乎吵醒了森林中方圓幾哩內(nèi)所有的生物，最后大家終于又聚攏在一起，通過(guò)觸摸清點(diǎn)了人數(shù)。到這時(shí)，他們當(dāng)然早就已經(jīng)忘記了小徑的方向，徹徹底底地迷了路，至少到天亮前是如此。

There was nothing for it but to settle down for the night where they were; they did not even dare to search on the ground for scraps of food for fear of becoming separated again. But they had not been lying long, and Bilbo was only just getting drowsy, when Dori, whose turn it was to watch first, said in a loud whisper:

他們?cè)诤诎抵袩o(wú)事可做，只能就地坐下。他們甚至不敢到地上去摸索食物的碎屑，惟恐互相間又走散了。但他們沒(méi)躺多久，比爾博剛開(kāi)始覺(jué)得瞌睡上來(lái)的時(shí)候，排第一個(gè)值夜的多瑞就用大家都能聽(tīng)見(jiàn)的聲音低聲道：

“The lights are coming out again over there, and there are more than ever of them.”

“火光又在那邊出現(xiàn)了，這次數(shù)量比剛才還多!”

Up they all jumped. There, sure enough, not far away were scores of twinkling lights, and they heard the voices and the laughter quite plainly. They crept slowly towards them, in a single line, each touching the back of the one in front. When they got near Thorin said: “No rushing forward this time! No one is to stir from hiding till I say. I shall send Mr. Baggins alone first to talk to them. They won’t be frightened of him—(‘What about me of them?’ thought Bilbo)—and any way I hope they won’t do anything nasty to him.”

大家全都跳了起來(lái)。沒(méi)錨兒，在不遠(yuǎn)的地方有幾十點(diǎn)閃爍的火光，他們清楚地聽(tīng)見(jiàn)了笑語(yǔ)聲。大家又悄悄地朝火光摸過(guò)去，這次大家學(xué)乖了，排成了一路縱隊(duì)，每個(gè)人都摸著前面人的背。等他們走近的時(shí)候，索林說(shuō)：“這次別再急著沖過(guò)去了!我沒(méi)說(shuō)話，誰(shuí)也別從隱蔽的地方跳出來(lái)。我先派巴金斯先生一個(gè)人過(guò)去和他們談?wù)?，他們不?huì)被他嚇到的——(“那我被他們嚇到了怎么辦?”比爾博心想)——我希望他們不會(huì)對(duì)他怎么樣。”

When they got to the edge of the circle of lights they pushed Bilbo suddenly from behind. Before he had time to slip on his ring, he stumbled forward into the full blaze of the fire and torches. It was no good. Out went all the lights again and complete darkness fell.

當(dāng)他們來(lái)到火光構(gòu)成的圓圈邊緣時(shí)，眾人猛然從背后推了比爾博一把。他還沒(méi)來(lái)得及戴上戒指，就跌跌撞撞地沖進(jìn)了明晃晃的火光之中。結(jié)果還是沒(méi)用——所有的光亮全都熄滅，四周重又變得一團(tuán)漆黑。

If it had been difficult collecting themselves before, it was far worse this time. And they simply could not find the hobbit. Every time they counted themselves it only made thirteen. They shouted and called: “Bilbo Baggins! Hobbit! You dratted hobbit! Hi! hobbit, confusticate you, where are you?” and other things of that sort, but there was no answer.

如果說(shuō)之前在黑暗中集合已經(jīng)算得上困難了，那么這次的情況還要糟糕得多。他們?cè)趺凑乙舱也坏交舯忍厝耍看吸c(diǎn)數(shù)都只有十三個(gè)。他們大聲喊著：“比爾博·巴金斯!霍比特人!你這個(gè)該死的霍比特人!喂!霍比特人，你這個(gè)該挨棍子的家伙，你在哪里啊?”以及諸如此類(lèi)的東西，只是得不到一點(diǎn)回音。

They were just giving up hope, when Dori stumbled across him by sheer luck. In the dark he fell over what he thought was a log, and he found it was the hobbit curled up fast asleep. It took a deal of shaking to wake him, and when he was awake he was not pleased at all.

就在他們快要放棄希望時(shí)，多瑞卻意外地絆到了他。他在黑暗中摔了一跤，還以為自己絆到了一根木頭，結(jié)果卻發(fā)現(xiàn)那是蜷成一團(tuán)、陷入熟睡的霍比特人。他們一通猛搖才把他搖醒，而他在醒來(lái)之后還滿心的不高興。

“I was having such a lovely dream,” he grumbled, “all about having a most gorgeous dinner.”

“我正在做一個(gè)好夢(mèng)，”他嘟囔道，“夢(mèng)見(jiàn)我在吃一頓超級(jí)豐盛的大餐。”

“Good heavens! he has gone like Bombur,” they said. “Don’t tell us about dreams. Dream-dinners aren’t any good, and we can’t share them.”

“老天爺啊!他變得和邦伯一樣了，”他們說(shuō)，“不用跟我們說(shuō)你夢(mèng)見(jiàn)什么了，夢(mèng)里邊吃得再好也沒(méi)用，我們又分享不到。”

“They are the best I am likely to get in this beastly place,” he muttered, as he lay down beside the dwarves and tried to go back to sleep and find his dream again. But that was not the last of the lights in the forest. Later when the night must have been getting old, Kili who was watching then, came and roused them all again, saying:

“在這種鬼地方，我恐怕只有靠做夢(mèng)來(lái)填肚子了。”他咕噥著在矮人身邊躺下，想把剛才的美夢(mèng)再續(xù)下去。但是，森林中的怪光還沒(méi)完呢。又過(guò)了一陣，夜半的天氣轉(zhuǎn)冷之后，當(dāng)值的奇力又把所有的人給叫醒了：

“There’s a regular blaze of light begun not far away—hundreds of torches and many fires must have been lit suddenly and by magic. And hark to the singing and the harps!”

“跟剛才一樣的亮光又在不遠(yuǎn)的地方亮起來(lái)了，有幾百支火把和好多堆營(yíng)火，肯定是被魔法突然點(diǎn)著的。聽(tīng)，那是他們唱歌和彈豎琴的聲音!”

After lying and listening for a while, they found they could not resist the desire to go nearer and try once more to get help. Up they got again; and this time the result was disastrous. The feast that they now saw was greater and more magnificent than before; and at the head of a long line of feasters sat a woodland king with a crown of leaves upon his golden hair, very much as Bombur had described the figure in his dream. The elvish folk were passing bowls from hand to hand and across the fires, and some were harping and many were singing. Their gleaming hair was twined with flowers; green and white gems glinted on their collars and their belts; and their faces and their songs were filled with mirth. Loud and clear and fair were those songs, and out stepped Thorin in to their midst.

在躺下去仔細(xì)聆聽(tīng)了一會(huì)兒之后，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)自己無(wú)法抵御走近去再作一次求救嘗試的誘惑。于是他們又爬了起來(lái)，沒(méi)想到這次的結(jié)果更加災(zāi)難性。這次他們看到的宴會(huì)比之前的更盛大、更誘人，在一長(zhǎng)列宴飲者的上首坐著一名森林之王，金黃的頭發(fā)上戴著樹(shù)葉綴成的皇冠，活脫脫就是邦伯描述過(guò)的夢(mèng)中人物。這些像是精靈的生物彼此遞著大碗，有些彈著豎琴，許多人都在唱著歌。他們閃亮的頭發(fā)中都點(diǎn)綴著鮮花，領(lǐng)口和腰帶上閃耀著綠色和白色寶石的光華，他們的表情和歌聲都充滿了歡樂(lè)。他們唱的歌響亮、清晰而又悅耳，聽(tīng)得索林不由得又踏人他們之中。

Dead silence fell in the middle of a word. Out went all light. The fires leaped up in black smokes. Ashes and cinders were in the eyes of the dwarves, and the wood was filled again with their clamour and their cries.

一瞬間，森林又陷入死寂，所有的光芒全都消失，火焰化成黑煙，矮人的眼中只能看見(jiàn)余燼和灰屑，森林中再度充斥著他們的喧嘩與喊叫。

Bilbo found himself running round and round (as he thought) and calling and calling: “Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Fili, Kili, Bombur, Bifur, Bofur, Dwalin, Balin, Thorin Oakenshield,” while people he could not see or feel were doing the same all round him (with an occasional “Bilbo!” thrown in). But the cries of the others got steadily further and fainter, and though after a while it seemed to him they changed to yells and cries for help in the far distance, all noise at last died right away, and he was left alone in complete silence and darkness.

比爾博發(fā)現(xiàn)自己是在繞著圈子跑(他這樣以為)，口中不停地喊著：“多瑞、諾瑞、歐瑞、歐因、格羅因、菲力、奇力、邦伯、比弗、波弗、杜瓦林、巴林，索林·橡木盾。”而他看不見(jiàn)也摸不著的人，也在他身邊做著同樣的事情(冷不丁會(huì)有人喊上一聲“比爾博!”)。但其他人的叫喊聲變得越來(lái)越遠(yuǎn)，雖然過(guò)了一陣之后，他覺(jué)得那些聲音變成了遙遠(yuǎn)的呼救聲，所有的聲音最終都?xì)w于了沉寂，只留下他一個(gè)人孤單地處在一片寂靜與黑暗中。