雙語讀電影 《沉睡魔咒》第09章 :讓那三個養(yǎng)一個嬰兒？

CHAPTER  9
While it would have been nice to keep Diaval as a raven for a long period of time, Maleficent knew she needed him to inform her of goings-on in the kingdom. In the wake of her christening present to Aurora, Maleficent was eager to hear what Stefan would do to protect his infant daughter. So she continued to send Diaval on his reconnaissance missions and transform him when he returned.　
She didn’t have to wait long for news.　
A few days after Aurora’s celebration, Diaval flew back to the Faerie Mound. He landed in front of Maleficent’s throne and hopped around, flapping his wings furiously until she transformed him. When he was human once more, he quickly filled in his mistress on what he had witnessed.
Stefan, it seemed, was not taking Maleficent’s “gift” lightly. He’d ordered his men to gather all the spinning wheels in the kingdom and lock them in the dungeons. While the queen was not pleased, the king also had ordered the three pixies to whisk Aurora away from the kingdom. His hope was to keep her hidden and safe, protected by faerie magic and a lack of spinning wheels. Stefan thought no one but his closest advisors knew his plan. But of course, he was wrong. For Diaval had seen Knotgrass, Thistlewit, and Flittle on their way out of the kingdom. He had seen them use their magic to make themselves grow to the size of regular humans, and he had followed them while they made their way to a small cottage in the middle of the woods that surrounded the castle. Then, he told Maleficent.
When Diaval finally stopped talking, Maleficent shook her head. “Idiots,” she said. Diaval nodded in agreement and then paused. He wasn’t sure who she meant—the king and queen or the pixies themselves.“Those three raising a baby? What a disaster! I must see this for myself.”　
Maleficent stood, grabbing her staff, and began walking. Raising a hand, She turned Diaval back into a raven so he could keep up, and quickly made her way to the Thorn Wall at the edge of the Moors.Maleficent was capable of parting the thorny branches to allow herself passage between the human and faerie worlds. While she didn’t like to leave the Moors, she had found herself beyond their borders too often of late. I don’t want to make a habit of this, she thought as she walked through the Wall and let it close behind her. I’ll just take a quick look at the baby and that will be all. Then I will be done. I’ll let the curse play out and that will be that.
Following Diaval, who flew above and ahead of Maleficent, she made her way deeper and deeper into the human forest. After a while, the pair arrived at a clearing. In the middle stood a small cottage with a thatched roof and white sides crisscrossed with brown beams. It was clear that the cottage had been abandoned for quite some time. Upon closer inspection Maleficent could make out holes in the thatch, and weeds grew tall among what once had been an herb garden. Hidden in the shadows of the trees that surrounded the clearing, Maleficent watched as the pixies, now big and awkward in their new bodies, stumbled about, trying to spruce upthe place and quickly make it homey and inviting.
Maleficent peered through the window and saw baby Aurora tucked in her bassinet, sleeping peacefully. Her lip curled back as she gazed at the baby’s soft, rosy cheeks. She looked a bit bigger than when she’d last seen her, a bit plumper, maybe, but just as beautiful. “I could almost feel sorry for it.” Beside her, Diaval nodded his raven head.
Suddenly, Aurora opened her eyes and looked directly at Maleficent. In response, Maleficent made a mean face at the baby. Aurora smiled. Maleficent made an even meaner face. Aurora laughed and began to clap her hands.
“I hate you,” Maleficent said.
She was about to try to make the scariest face she could when she heard the loud bustle of the three pixies approaching. Quickly, she backed away from the window.
The three pixies entered Aurora’s room and made their way to the bassinet. Immediately, the baby began to cry. Maleficent listened as the pixies argued among themselves about what they should do before finally deciding Aurora was hungry. They then proceeded to plop a whole banana, apple, and orange in with the baby before walking out of the room. Aurora’s screams grew louder.
“It’s going to starve with those three looking after it,” Maleficent muttered. But that’s not my problem, she added silently. She turned and walked away, her shoulders tense until the sound of Aurora’s cries finally faded.
For the next few weeks, Aurora was the least of Maleficent’s concerns, though she knew Diaval visited the baby every day. What he did while he was there, she didn’t know. But it felt a bit like a betrayal, in any event.　
Nevertheless, Maleficent’s focus was on King Stefan and his castle. On a daily basis she heard reports from Diaval that Stefan was said to be going mad in the wake of her curse. He was paranoid. Convinced that Maleficent would come back any day to wreak further damage and destruction, he had all his soldiers at the ready. He sent them to the Thorn Wall over and over again, hoping they could chop it down. Once, the soldiers had even catapulted large fireballs, trying to burn it down. But the Wall remained impenetrable, just as Maleficent had planned, and the thorny vines stopped the greedy humans in their tracks.
One morning, as Maleficent sat on her throne, contemplating how much things had changed since that long-ago day when she had met Stefan at the jewel pool, Diaval landed on the Mound. Transforming him back into a man, Maleficent waited for his daily report.
“You saw nothing?” she asked when he finished his report.
Diaval shook his head. “No, mistress,” he said softly, aware that this would not make Maleficent happy. “The castle is locked up tight. I couldn’t see inside.” He went on to explain that in fear of another visit from Maleficent, Stefan had ordered windows to be boarded up, the drawbridge to be raised, and all entrances to be guarded by double the men. He was not taking any chances.
Maleficent’s fist clenched tightly around the top of her staff. She despised Stefan. Pure and simple. “He’s hiding from me,” she said, sneering. “He always was a coward. Fine. Let him rot in there. His child is doomed and there’s nothing he can do about it.”
Standing beside her, Diaval kept quiet, waiting for Maleficent to do what she always inevitably did—turn him into a raven so he wouldn’t ask questions or bother her. Maleficent felt his gaze on her but ignored it. Lately, she hadn’t wanted to transform him. She knew that he would go and visit Aurora as soon as he had wings. And for some reason, that irked Maleficent.　
Growing impatient, Diaval tapped Maleficent on the shoulder to get her attention. Turning, she looked down at the spot where his fingers had brushed her shoulder, an unreadable expression on her face. “What is it?” she asked.　
“Aren’t you going to change me?” he retorted.
“Why?” Maleficent queried, curious if he would tell her the real reason.　
But instead of saying he wanted to see Aurora, he replied, “I prefer my own form.”　
Shrugging, Maleficent waved her hand and transformed Diaval back into a raven. With a caw, he rose into the air and began to fly away. But Maleficent’s voice stopped him. “Diaval,” she called. Veering, he flew back. When he was once more in front of her, she added, “Are you going to stay close or do I have to put you in a cage?”　
His feathers ruffled, Diaval flew over and landed on top of Maleficent’s staff. It seemed his trip to the cottage would have to wait.