牛津書蟲系列 格列佛游記 4 Gulliver escapes from Lilliput

4 Gulliver escapes from Lilliput

4 格列佛逃離利力浦特

I soon discovered that Flimnap，one of the King's highest officials，was my secret enemy.He had always disliked me，although he pretended to like me， but now he began to suspect his wife of visiting me privately，and he became jealous.Of course his wife did visit me， but always with her daughters and other ladies who came for regular afternoon vis-its.When visitors arrived at my house， I used to bring the coaches and horses inside，and put them carefully on my table.There was a high edge round the table，so that nobody would fall off.I sat in my chair with my face close to the table， and while I was talking to one group of visitors， the others used to drive round the table.I spent many hours like this，in very enjoyable conversation.

不久我發(fā)現(xiàn)佛林奈浦，國王的一個(gè)高級(jí)官員，是我的秘密敵人。他早就不喜歡我，雖然他裝出喜歡我的樣子，現(xiàn)在他懷疑他的妻子私下里來看我而變得妒忌起來。當(dāng)然他的妻子是拜訪過我，可是她總是和她的女兒及其他貴婦一起下午來例訪。當(dāng)來訪客人到了家門，我常常把車馬搬進(jìn)去小心地放到我的桌上。桌緣的邊很高，所以不會(huì)有誰掉下去。我坐在椅子上，臉靠近桌子，在我跟一群客人談話時(shí)，別的人常常在桌上驅(qū)馬。我像這樣花了很多時(shí)間，談話也很愉快。

In the end Flimnap realized that his wife was not in love with me，and had not done anything wrong， but he was still angry with me.There were other lords who also disliked me，and together they managed to persuade the King that I was a danger to Lilliput.I knew they were discussing me in private，but I was seriously alarmed when I discovered what they had decided.Luckily，as well as Reldresal，I had another good friend among the King’ s officials.Late one night he visited me secretly，in order to warn me.

最后佛林奈浦意識(shí)到他的妻子并沒有愛上我，也沒有作錯(cuò)什么事，可是他仍然很生我的氣。還有別的王公也不喜歡我，他們共同說服了國王，認(rèn)為我對利力浦特是一大危險(xiǎn)。我知道他們暗地里在議論我，但是當(dāng)我發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的決定時(shí)我感到非常驚恐。幸運(yùn)的是，除了瑞顓沙，在國王的官員中我還有一個(gè)好朋友。為了提前通知我，一天深夜，他偷偷拜訪我。

‘You know，’he began，‘that you've had enemies here for some time.Many of the lords are jealous of your great success against Blefuscu，and Flimnap still hates you.They accuse you of crimes against Lilliput，crimes punishable by death!’

“你知道，”他開始說，“你在這兒結(jié)了仇敵已有一些時(shí)候了。許多王公對你對不來夫斯古的成功有點(diǎn)嫉妒，而佛林奈浦仍然恨你。他們指控你犯了反對利力浦特的罪行，罪可處死!”

‘But…’I cried，‘that's not right!I only want to help Lilliput!’

“可是……”我嚷道，“那不對!我只是想幫利力浦特。”

‘Listen，’he said.‘I must tell you what I've heard，al-though my life is in danger if I do.They've accused you of making water in the King's palace，refusing to take all the en-emy's ships，refusing to destroy all the Big-Endians，seeing the enemy's officials privately，and planning to visit Blefuscu in order to help the enemy against Lilliput.’

“聽著，”他說，“我必須告訴你我所聽到的，盡管這樣做我是冒著生命危險(xiǎn)的。他們指控你在王宮里撒尿，拒絕奪過敵人的所有船只，拒絕摧毀所有的大端派人，私下會(huì)見敵方官員，企圖訪問不來夫斯古以幫助敵人反對利力浦特。”

‘This is unbelievable!’ I cried.

“這真是難以置信!”我叫道。

‘I must say，’continued my friend，‘that our King remind-ed his lords how much you had helped the country.But your enemies wanted to destroy you，and they suggested setting fire to your house at night.Then you would die in the fire!’

“我必須說，”我的朋友接著說，“我們的國王提醒他的王公你曾經(jīng)幫了這個(gè)國家多大的忙。但是你的敵人想消滅你，他們建議晚上給你的房子放火，然后你將在火中燒死。”

‘What!’I shouted angrily.

“什么!”我氣憤地大叫起來。

‘Be quiet，nobody must hear us.Anyway，the King decided not to kill you，and that's when your friend Reldresal started speaking He agreed you’d made mistakes，but said that a good King should always be generous，as our King is.And he suggested that a suitable punishment would be for you to lose your sight.You’d still be strong enough to work for us， but you wouldn't be able to help the Big-Endians.’

“小聲點(diǎn)，別讓人聽見。不管怎么說，國王決定不殺你，那是因?yàn)槟愕呐笥讶痤吷抽_始說話。他同意你犯了錯(cuò)誤，但是又說好的國王，像我們的國王，應(yīng)該總是大度些。他建議適合你的懲罰是讓你失去視力，你將仍然強(qiáng)壯，足以為我們干活，但是你將不能幫助大端派人。”

I covered my eyes with my hands.I had wanted to help these people and their King.How could they decide to punish me as cruelly as this?

我雙手蒙在雙眼上，我曾想幫助這些人們和他們的國王，他們怎么能決定如此殘酷地懲罰我呢?

‘Your enemies were most disappointed with Reldresal’ s plan，’my friend went on.‘They said you were a Big—Endi-an in your heart，and reminded the King how much you cost Lilliput in food and drink.Reldresal spoke again，to suggest saving money by giving you a little less food every day.In this way you’d become ill，and in a few months you’d die.And so they all agreed.In three days Reldresal will be sent to explain your punishment to you.He'll inform you that the King has been very kind to you， and that you're lucky to lose only your eyes.You'll be tied dowu，and very sharp arrows will be shot into your eyes.The King's doctors will make sure that you can no longer see.’

“你的敵人對瑞顓沙的計(jì)劃很失望，”我的朋友繼續(xù)說，“他們說你內(nèi)心就是個(gè)大端派人，并且提醒國王你要耗費(fèi)利力浦特多少吃的喝的。瑞顓沙再次發(fā)言，建議每天少給你一點(diǎn)食物來節(jié)約錢，這樣你將病倒，幾個(gè)月后你將死去。這樣他們都同意了。三天內(nèi)瑞顓沙將被派來通知你國王對你很仁慈，而你也很幸運(yùn)只是失去視力，你將被綁住，非常銳利的箭將射進(jìn)你的雙眼，國王的醫(yī)生將確保你再也看不見。”

‘This is terrible news!’ I said，‘but thank you for warning me，my dear friend.’

“這真是可怕的消息!”我說，“非常感謝你來通知我，我的朋友。”

‘You alone must decide what to do，’ he replied，‘and now I must leave you，so that nobody suspects me of warning you.’

“你必須自己決定怎么做，”他回答說，“現(xiàn)在我必須離開你，以免讓人懷疑我來通知了你。”

When I was alone，I thought about the situation for a long time.Perhaps I was wrong，but I could not see that the King was being kind and generous in ordering such an inhuman pun-ishment.What should I do?I could ask for a trial，but I was not confident of the judges’honesty.I could attack the capital and kill all the Lilliputians，but when I remembered the King’ s past kindness to me，I did not want to do that.

當(dāng)剩下我一個(gè)人時(shí)，我考慮了很久我的處境。也許我錯(cuò)了。但是我看不出國王下令做如此不人道的處罰有什么仁慈和大度。我該怎么辦?我可以請求審判，但是我對法官的誠實(shí)沒有信心;我可以襲擊都城殺死所有的利力浦特人;但是當(dāng)我想起國王過去對我的仁慈我就不想這樣做了。

At last I decided to escape.And so，before Reldresal came to tell me of my punishment，I went to the north of Lilliput，where our ships lay.I took my clothes off and put them into one of the largest warships.I also put a blanket into it.Then I stepped into the sea，and swam to Blefuscu.By pulling the Lilliput warship behind me， I kept my clothes and blanket dry.

最后我決定逃走。因此，在瑞顓沙來通知我對我的處罰之前，我到了利力浦特北部，那兒停著我們的船只。我脫下衣服，放在最大的一個(gè)戰(zhàn)船中，還放了一床毯子。然后我走下海，游向不來夫斯古，身后拖著利力浦特的戰(zhàn)船，因而我的衣服和毯子沒有弄濕。

When I arrived，the King of Blefuscu sent two guides to show me the way to the capital.There I met the King，the Queen and the lords and ladies in their coaches.I explained that I had come to visit Blefuscu，as I had been invited.How-ever，I did not say anything about the punishment waiting for me in Lilliput.They welcomed me warmly.That night，as there was no building big enough for me，I slept on the ground，covered by my blanket.It was not as comfortable as my bed in Lilliput，but I did not mind.

我到達(dá)時(shí)，不來夫斯古的國王派了兩個(gè)向?qū)ьI(lǐng)我去都城。我見到了國王、王后及王公和貴婦，他們坐在車?yán)?。我解釋說我是應(yīng)邀來訪問不來夫斯古的，不過我并沒有提到利力浦特等著我的處罰。他們熱情地歡迎我。那天晚上，因?yàn)闆]有夠大的建筑給我住，我只有睡在地上，蓋著我的毯子。這沒有我在利力浦特的床舒適，不過我不介意。

I did not spend long in Blefuscu.Only three days after my arrival，I noticed a boat in the sea，near the beach.It was a real boat，large enough for me.Perhaps it had been driven there by a storm.I swam out to it and tied ropes to it.Then，with the help of twenty of Blefuscu's ships and three thousand sailors，I pulled it on to the beach.It was not badly damaged，and it was exciting to be able to start planning my journey back to England and my home.

我沒有在不來夫斯古呆多久。只是3天之后，我注意到海岸附近有一只船，那是一只真正的船，大得足夠我用。也許是被風(fēng)暴驅(qū)到那兒的。我游向它，并系上繩子，然后在20只不來夫斯古船和3000名水手的幫助下，我把它拖到岸邊。它損壞得還不算嚴(yán)重，能夠計(jì)劃著用它返回英格蘭和我自己的家真是太令人興奮了。

During this time，the King of Lilliput had written to ask the King of Blefuscu to send me back， as a prisoner，so that I could receive my punishment.The King of Blefuscu，however，replied that I was too strong to be taken prisoner，and that I would soon be returning to my country anyway.Secretly he invited me to stay and help him in Blefuscu，but I no longer believed in the promises of kings or their officials， so I politely refused.

這時(shí)候，利力浦特國王向不來夫斯古國王寫信，請求把我作為一個(gè)囚犯送還，以便我接受處罰。但是不來夫斯古國王回信說我太強(qiáng)壯，無法拘捕，而且我不久就要返回自己的國家，暗地里他請求我留下來在不來夫斯古幫他，可是我已經(jīng)不再相信國王或他們的官員的許諾，所以我禮貌地拒絕了。

I was now impatient to start my voyage home，and the King ordered his workmen to repair the boat and prepare everything I needed.I had the meat of one hundred cattle and three hun-dred sheep to eat on the journey，and I also had some live ani-mals to show to my friends in England.

我現(xiàn)在著急啟程回家，國王命令他的工匠修好我的船，準(zhǔn)備我需要的一切。我有100只牛和300只羊的肉供我旅途中食用，還有一些活動(dòng)物以展示給我在英格蘭的朋友們。

About one month later，I left Blefuscu，on September 24th，1701.The King，the Queen and their lords and ladies all came down to the beach to wave goodbye.

大約一個(gè)月后，在1701年9月24日我離開了不來夫斯古。國王、王后及他們的王公和貴婦全都到海岸來向我揮手道別。

After sailing all day，I reached a small island，where I slept that night.On the third day，September 26th，I saw a sail，and was delighted to discover that it was an English ship， on its way home to England.The captain picked me up，and I told him my story.At first he thought I was mad，but when I took the live animals out of my pocket to show him，he be-lieved me.

行駛了一整天，我到了一個(gè)小島，在那兒過了一夜。第3天，9月26曰，我看見了一個(gè)帆船，并且非常欣喜地發(fā)現(xiàn)那是一只英國船，正駛回英格蘭。船長把我拉了上去，我給他講了我的經(jīng)歷。起初他認(rèn)為我瘋了，但當(dāng)我從衣袋里取出活的動(dòng)物給他看時(shí)，他相信了我的話。

We arrived home at last on April 13th，1702，and I saw my dear wife and children again.At first I was delighted to be at home again.I earned quite a lot of money by showing my Lil-liputian animals to people，and in the end I sold them for a high price.But as the days passed，I became restless，and wanted to see more of the world.And so，only two months later，I said goodbye to my family and sailed away again.

我們最后在1702年4月13日到的家，我又看見了我親愛的妻子和兒女。剛開始我對又在家里感到欣喜，我向人們展示利力浦特的動(dòng)物，賺了不少錢，后來我高價(jià)把它們賣了出去?？墒请S著日子一天天過去，我變得煩躁起來，想去見更大的世面。所以，只是在兩個(gè)月后，我又告別了家人出海航行了。