霍比特人：A Short Rest 短暫的休息

A SHORT REST

短暫的休息

They did not sing or tell stories that day, even though the weather improved; nor the next day, nor the day after. They had begun to feel that danger was not far away on either side. They camped under the stars, and their horses had more to eat than they had; for there was plenty of grass, but there was not much in their bags, even with what they had got from the trolls. One morning they forded a river at a wide shallow place full of the noise of stones and foam. The far bank was steep and slippery. When they got to the top of it, leading their ponies, they saw that the great mountains had marched down very near to them. Already they seemed only a day’s easy journey from the feet of the nearest. Dark and drear it looked, though there were patches of sunlight on its brown sides, and behind its shoulders the tips of snow-peaks gleamed.

那天，盡管天氣漸漸轉(zhuǎn)好了，但他們既沒有唱歌，也沒有講故事。第二天也沒有，第三天也沒有。他們開始感覺到危險就在道路兩邊不遠的地方。他們在星光下露營，馬能吃的東西比他們要多，因為到處都是青草，而他們包里的給養(yǎng)，即使把從食人妖那邊得來的算進去，也沒有多少。一天早上，他們在旅途中遇到了一條河，他們找了一處河面開闊、水不深的地方渡河，流水撞到石頭上濺出水沫，滿耳皆是水聲。對面的河岸又陡又滑，在好不容易牽著小馬爬上堤岸后，他們才發(fā)現(xiàn)大山已經(jīng)兀然出現(xiàn)在了眼前。從此處到距離他們最近的山腳，看來已經(jīng)只需要一天的旅程了。雖說在褐色的山坡上稀疏灑落著幾團陽光，可大山還是顯得幽暗而又陰沉。在當面的山坡后面，白雪皚皚的山頂在陽光下閃著刺眼的光芒。

“Is that The Mountain?” asked Bilbo in a solemn voice, looking at it with round eyes. He had never seen a thing that looked so big before.

“那就是我們要去的那座山嗎?”比爾博瞪大眼睛望著山，用嚴肅的口吻問道。他以前從來沒看見過這么大的東西。

“Of course not!” said Balin. “That is only the beginning of the Misty Mountains, and we have got to get through, or over, or under those somehow, before we can come into Wilderland beyond. And it is a deal of a way even from the other side of them to the Lonely Mountain in the East where Smaug lies on our treasure.”

“當然不是!”巴林說，“這只不過是迷霧山脈的邊緣而已，我們得穿過去，或者翻過去，或者從底下鉆過去，只有這樣才能夠進入大山背后的大荒原。即使從荒原的另外一邊，要想到達斯毛格躺在我們寶藏之上的那座東方的孤山，也還要好長的一段路呢。”

“O!” said Bilbo, and just at that moment he felt more tired than he ever remembered feeling before. He was thinking once again of his comfortable chair before the fire in his favourite sitting-room in his hobbit-hole, and of the kettle singing. Not for the last time!

“哦!”比爾博嘆了一聲，與此同時，他感到了這輩子前所未有的疲倦，這讓他又想起了自己的霍比特洞府，洞府中自己最喜愛的客廳，和客廳爐火前那把舒適的椅子，還有水壺燒開時咕嘟咕嘟的聲音。啊!這絕對不會是他最后一次想起這些東西!

Now Gandalf led the way. “We must not miss the road, or we shall be done for,” he said. “We need food, for one thing, and rest in reasonable safety—also it is very necessary to tackle the Misty Mountains by the proper path, or else you will get lost in them, and have to come back and start at the beginning again (if you ever get back at all).”

現(xiàn)在帶路的是甘道夫。“我們絕對不能夠離開大路，不然就完蛋了。”他說，“我們首先需要食物，然后是在確認安全的環(huán)境中休息——還得找到正確的道路越過迷霧山脈，不然很容易就會迷路，迷了路就只能回來(如果能回得來的話)再從頭開始走。”

They asked him where he was making for, and he answered: “You are come to the very edge of the Wild, as some of you may know. Hidden somewhere ahead of us is the fair valley of Rivendell where Elrond lives in the Last Homely House. I sent a message by my friends, and we are expected.”

大家問他這是往哪兒走，他回答道：“你們之中有些人應該知道，現(xiàn)在我們已經(jīng)來到了大荒原的邊緣。在前面不遠的地方有個很隱蔽的美麗山谷，那就是幽谷，埃爾隆德就住在那里，他們稱其為最后家園。我已經(jīng)請朋友捎了個口信過去，他們正等著我們?nèi)ツ亍?rdquo;

That sounded nice and comforting, but they had not got there yet, and it was not so easy as it sounds to find the Last Homely House west of the Mountains. There seemed to be no trees and no valleys and no hills to break the ground in front of them, only one vast slope going slowly up and up to meet the feet of the nearest mountain, a wide land the colour of heather and crumbling rock, with patches and slashes of grass-green and moss-green showing where water might be.

這話很中聽，有人等著讓人很感安慰，但眼下他們可還沒到呢，而且聽甘道夫這話，要在山脈西邊找到這最后家園似乎并不那么容易。在他們的面前，并沒有樹木、山谷或是丘陵之類的東西夾出一條路來，只有一面龐大的斜坡緩緩地上升，一直升到與最近的大山山腳相連。這是一片廣袤的土地，石南和剝落的巖石構(gòu)成了其主要的色塊，零星點綴著一塊塊綠色的草皮和幾線綠色的苔蘚，昭示著水或許存在的地方。

Morning passed, afternoon came; but in all the silent waste there was no sign of any dwelling. They were growing anxious, for they saw now that the house might be hidden almost anywhere between them and the mountains. They came on unexpected valleys, narrow with steep sides, that opened suddenly at their feet, and they looked down surprised to see trees below them and running water at the bottom. There were gullies that they could almost leap over, but very deep with waterfalls in them. There were dark ravines that one could neither jump over nor climb into. There were bogs, some of them green pleasant places to look at, with flowers growing bright and tall; but a pony that walked there with a pack on its back would never have come out again.

上午過去，下午到來，雖然走了這些時候，但在這一片寂靜的荒原中依舊沒有見到任何人煙。他們漸漸感到有些不安，因為他們這才發(fā)現(xiàn)幽谷可能隱藏在從這里到山脈之間的任何地方。他們一路上和一些山谷不期而遇，這些山谷不但狹窄，而且兩邊都十分陡峭，總是突然呈現(xiàn)在他們腳下。他們低頭一看，會驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)下面有樹，谷底竟然還有流水。有些溪谷窄得他們幾乎可以一躍而過，但卻深得居然還有瀑布隱在其間。有些幽暗的山谷既跳不過去，也陡得讓人無法攀緣而下。路上還能見到沼澤，有些看上去綠瑩瑩的，很是怡人，花草長得茂盛艷麗，但如果有哪匹小馬馱著行李走過的話，就會陷進去再也出不來了。

It was indeed a much wider land from the ford to the mountains than ever you would have guessed. Bilbo was astonished. The only path was marked with white stones, some of which were small, and others were half covered with moss or heather. Altogether it was a very slow business following the track, even guided by Gandalf, who seemed to know his way about pretty well.

從之前渡過的淺灘到大山腳下之間的這片土地，的確比大家估計的都要廣大得多。比爾博對此感到震驚。惟一的道路鋪著白色的石頭，有些很小，有些則很大，被苔蘚或石南半覆著。這些大小不一的石頭湊在一起，使得這條路走起來十分艱難，雖然他們有甘道夫帶路，他看上去似乎對該怎么走知道得很清楚。

His head and beard wagged this way and that as he looked for the stones, and they followed his lead, but they seemed no nearer to the end of the search when the day began to fail. Tea-time had long gone by, and it seemed supper-time would soon do the same. There were moths fluttering about, and the light became very dim, for the moon had not risen. Bilbo’s pony began to stumble over roots and stones. They came to the edge of a steep fall in the ground so suddenly that Gandalf’s horse nearly slipped down the slope.

甘道夫觀察石頭的時候，腦袋左右搖動，胡子甩來甩去，大家也就跟著他一直走，可直到天快黑的時候，他們的搜索似乎并沒有任何要到頭的樣子。下午茶的時間早就過了，晚餐時間看來馬上也要過了。四處有許多蛾子飛來飛去，因為太陽已落而月亮還沒升起，所以光線變得相當昏暗。比爾博的小馬開始在草根和石頭上磕磕絆絆了。這時，他們的腳下突然出現(xiàn)了一個陡峭的下坡，甘道夫的馬險些從坡上滾了下去。

“Here it is at last!” he called, and the others gathered round him and looked over the edge. They saw a valley far below. They could hear the voice of hurrying water in a rocky bed at the bottom; the scent of trees was in the air; and there was a light on the valley-side across the water.

“終于到了!”他大喊了一聲，其他人紛紛聚攏過來，看著底下。他們看見下面很深的地方有個山谷，可以聽見河水在巖石河床上奔流，空氣中充滿著樹木的芬芳，在河對岸的山谷中有一點亮光。

Bilbo never forgot the way they slithered and slipped in the dusk down the steep zig-zag path into the secret valley of Rivendell. The air grew warmer as they got lower, and the smell of the pine-trees made him drowsy, so that every now and again he nodded and nearly fell off, or bumped his nose on the pony’s neck. Their spirits rose as they went down and down. The trees changed to beech and oak, and there was a comfortable feeling in the twilight. The last green had almost faded out of the grass, when they came at length to an open glade not far above the banks of the stream.

比爾博永遠忘不了，他們是怎樣在昏黃的暮色中，沿著蜿蜒曲折的陡峭山路，磕磕絆絆地下到秘密山谷——幽谷中的。隨著他們逐漸下行，空氣變得越來越溫暖，松樹的氣味讓他昏昏欲睡。比爾博的腦袋時不時地耷拉下來，有好幾次差點從馬背上摔下來，或是把鼻子撞到了馬脖子上。又往下走了一會兒，他們的精神漸漸振作起來，樹木換成了櫸樹和橡樹，在暮色中給人帶來一種舒服的感覺。當他們來到河流邊緣、比河岸只略高些的開闊草地時，隨著陽光的消失，草地上的綠色幾乎完全褪盡了。

“Hmmm! it smells like elves!” thought Bilbo, and he looked up at the stars. They were burning bright and blue. Just then there came a burst of song like laughter in the trees:

“嗯嗯!聞起來有精靈的味道!”比爾博這么想著，就抬起頭來，望著天空中的星星，它們正發(fā)出耀眼的藍光。就在此時，樹林中傳來了一陣夾雜著歡笑的歌聲：

O! What are you doing,

噢!你們在做什么呀，

And where are you going?

你們要去哪里?

Your ponies need shoeing!

你們的小馬需要釘馬掌啦!

The river is flowing!

小河水嘩嘩流啊!

O! tra-la-la-lally

噢!嘩啦啦啦啦，

here down in the valley!

流在山谷里!

O! What are you seeking,

噢!你們在找尋什么呀?

And where are you making?

你們要去向何方?

The faggots are reeking,

柴薪正在冒煙呀，

The bannocks are baking!

燕麥餅正在爐子里烤!

O! tril-lil-lil-lolly

噢!淅瀝瀝瀝瀝，

the valley is jolly,

山谷樂逍遙，

ha! ha!

哈!哈!

O! Where are you going

噢!你要去哪里啊?

With beards all a-wagging?

胡子飄呀飄。

No knowing, no knowing

不知道是哪陣風呀，

What brings Mister Baggins

把巴金斯先生，

And Balin and Dwalin

還有巴林和杜瓦林先生，

down into the valley

在六月時節(jié)

in June

送來了山谷，

ha! ha!

哈!哈!

O! Will you be staying,

噢!你會留下來嗎?

Or will you be flying?

還是到處轉(zhuǎn)悠?

Your ponies are straying!

你的小馬已經(jīng)迷了路!

The daylight is dying!

天色也在漸漸暗去!

To fly would be folly,

到處轉(zhuǎn)悠真是傻啊，

To stay would be jolly

留下來才真高興哇!

And listen and hark

聽吧聽吧

Till the end of the dark

聽到天色黑了又亮

to our tune

聽我們的歡歌

ha! ha!

哈!哈!

So they laughed and sang in the trees; and pretty fair nonsense I daresay you think it. Not that they would care; they would only laugh all the more if you told them so. They were elves of course. Soon Bilbo caught glimpses of them as the darkness deepened. He loved elves, though he seldom met them; but he was a little frightened of them too. Dwarves don’t get on well with them. Even decent enough dwarves like Thorin and his friends think them foolish (which is a very foolish thing to think), or get annoyed with them. For some elves tease them and laugh at them, and most of all at their beards.

他們就這樣在樹林中笑著唱著，我敢說你們一定會覺得這歌唱得有點亂七八糟的，可他們并不在乎，你要是跟他們這么說，他們只會笑得更加厲害。他們當然就是精靈。沒過多久，隨著暮色漸沉，比爾博看到了他們的身影，雖然平時很少能見到他們，但他愛這些精靈們，不過他也稍稍有點怕他們。矮人們和精靈處得不太好，即便是像索林和他那些朋友們那樣有頭有臉的矮人，也覺得他們很愚蠢(其實這樣想才叫笨呢)，或是看到他們就頭疼。因為某些精靈會取笑他們，笑得最多的就是他們的胡子。

“Well, well!” said a voice. “Just look! Bilbo the hobbit on a pony, my dear! Isn’t it delicious!”

“哦!哦!”一個聲音叫了起來：“看哪!霍比特人比爾博騎著匹小馬，我的乖乖!太可愛了!”

“Most astonishing wonderful!”

“真是可愛死了!”

Then off they went into another song as ridiculous as the one I have written down in full. At last one, a tall young fellow, came out from the trees and bowed to Gandalf and to Thorin.

于是他們又唱起了另一首和我剛剛?cè)某浵聛淼哪鞘淄瑯踊尚Φ母枨?。唱完鬧完，一名高大的年輕人才從樹林里出來，走到甘道夫和索林面前向他們鞠躬行禮。

“Welcome to the valley!” he said.

“歡迎來到我們山谷!”

“Thank you!” said Thorin a bit gruffly; but Gandalf was already off his horse and among the elves, talking merrily with them.

“謝謝!”索林的話音里帶了點粗聲粗氣，但甘道夫已經(jīng)下了馬，和精靈們開開心心地攀談了起來。

“You are a little out of your way,” said the elf: “that is, if you are making for the only path across the water and to the house beyond. We will set you right, but you had best get on foot, until you are over the bridge. Are you going to stay a bit and sing with us, or will you go straight on? Supper is preparing over there,” he said. “I can smell the wood-fires for the cooking.”

那名精靈說：“你們有點走偏了，如果你們是想要找過河的惟一路徑，到河對面的房子去的話。我們會帶你們踏上正途的，但你們最好都走著去，等過了橋再騎馬。你們是準備留下來和我們唱會兒歌呢，還是直接就繼續(xù)趕路?那兒已經(jīng)在做晚飯了，我都能聞得到炊煙的味道。”

Tired as he was, Bilbo would have liked to stay a while. Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars, not if you care for such things. Also he would have liked to have a few private words with these people that seemed to know his names and all about him, although he had never seen them before. He thought their opinion of his adventure might be interesting. Elves know a lot and are wondrous folk for news, and know what is going on among the peoples of the land, as quick as water flows, or quicker.

照比爾博這種疲憊的樣子，他本來是很想要在此逗留一會兒的。如果你喜歡這類東西的話，那么在六月的星空下聽精靈們歌唱，可絕對是不容錯過的事情。另外，他也想要和這些人私下里聊上幾句，雖然他之前好像從來沒有見過這些人，但他們似乎不僅知道他的名字，還對他的情況了如指掌。打聽一下他們對他此次冒險作何感想或許會很有趣。精靈們知道許多東西，還特別善于打探消息，這片土地上的各個民族在發(fā)生些什么事情沒有他們不知道的，他們傳播起消息來快得像流水，甚至比流水還要快些。

But the dwarves were all for supper as soon as possible just then, and would not stay. On they all went, leading their ponies, till they were brought to a good path and so at last to the very brink of the river. It was flowing fast and noisily, as mountain-streams do of a summer evening, when sun has been all day on the snow far up above. There was only a narrow bridge of stone without a parapet, as narrow as a pony could well walk on; and over that they had to go, slow and careful, one by one, each leading his pony by the bridle. The elves had brought bright lanterns to the shore, and they sang a merry song as the party went across.

可是，矮人們?nèi)枷胍M快吃到晚餐，不想留下來。于是他們牽著小馬繼續(xù)趕路，被引到了正途上，終于來到了河邊。河水就像夏日夜間的山溪一樣喧鬧奔騰著。在太陽對山頂?shù)姆e雪照了一整天之后，它們到了晚間是照例會如此的。河上只有一座沒有護欄的小橋，窄得剛夠小馬走過去。所以過橋的時候，他們只能一個接一個小心翼翼地牽著小馬的韁繩慢慢走過去。精靈們帶來了明亮的燈籠，站在岸邊為他們照亮，并在隊伍通過時唱起了一首歡快的歌曲。

“Don’t dip your beard in the foam, father!” they cried to Thorin, who was bent almost on to his hands and knees. “It is long enough without watering it.”

“老爹，別把胡子泡到水里啊!”他們對腰彎得差點手膝著地的索林大喊道：“它不用泡水就夠長啦!”

“Mind Bilbo doesn’t eat all the cakes!” they called. “He is too fat to get through key-holes yet!”

“小心別讓比爾博把所有的蛋糕都給吃了!”他們大喊著，“他已經(jīng)胖得沒法鉆過鑰匙孔啦!”

“Hush, hush! Good People! and good night!” said Gandalf, who came last. “Valleys have ears, and some elves have over merry tongues. Good night!”

“噓，噓!各位好人哪!祝你們晚安!”甘道夫走在最后一個，“山谷里也會有耳朵在聽著啊，有些精靈高興起來話也太多了些。各位晚安!”

And so at last they all came to the Last Homely House, and found its doors flung wide.

他們終于來到了最后家園，發(fā)現(xiàn)那地方所有的門都大敞著。

Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway. They stayed long in that good house, fourteen days at least, and they found it hard to leave. Bilbo would gladly have stopped there for ever and ever—even supposing a wish would have taken him right back to his hobbit-hole without trouble. Yet there is little to tell about their stay.

這可真是一件奇怪的事情，不過說故事嘛，自然是奇怪的事情居多，好事情和好日子沒幾句話就講完了，而且聽起來也沒多大意思;但那些讓人不舒服的、聽了要心跳加速的，甚至是讓人毛骨悚然的事情，卻可以成為一個好故事，夠人講上好一陣子的。他們在那個地方待了很久，至少有兩個禮拜，最后發(fā)現(xiàn)簡直都走不了了。比爾博很愿意一輩子都待在那里，甚至哪怕只要許個愿就能讓他毫不費力地回到他的霍比特洞府他也懶得回去了。然而關(guān)于他們在此居住的情形卻實在是乏善可陳。

The master of the house was an elf-friend—one of those people whose fathers came into the strange stories before the beginning of History, the wars of the evil goblins and the elves and the first men in the North. In those days of our tale there were still some people who had both elves and heroes of the North for ancestors, and Elrond the master of the house was their chief.

這所房子的主人是一個精靈之友——所謂精靈之友就是那些其先祖早在歷史開始之前就已經(jīng)進入奇怪故事的人，那時候邪惡的半獸人與精靈和北方的人類先祖展開連場大戰(zhàn)。在我們故事所講的那一段日子里，世上仍有些人是精靈和北方人類英雄共同的后代，房子的主人埃爾隆德就是這群人的首領(lǐng)。

He was as noble and as fair in face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer. He comes into many tales, but his part in the story of Bilbo’s great adventure is only a small one, though important, as you will see, if we ever get to the end of it. His house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Evil things did not come into that valley.

他的面容高貴俊美如精靈貴族，體格強健如戰(zhàn)士，足智多謀如巫師，德高望重如一位矮人的國王，性情和善又如同夏天。他曾出現(xiàn)在許多故事中，但在我們這個關(guān)于比爾博偉大冒險的故事中，他卻只是一個小角色。不過角色雖小，但如果各位一路看到最后，便會發(fā)現(xiàn)他起的作用可是相當重要。無論你是想要吃東西、睡覺、工作，還是講故事、唱歌或者只是坐著發(fā)呆，或是把所有提到的這些事情全都混在一起做，他的房子都是一個完美的所在，因為邪惡的事物無法進入這座山谷。

I wish I had time to tell you even a few of the tales or one or two of the songs that they heard in that house. All of them, the ponies as well, grew refreshed and strong in a few days there. Their clothes were mended as well as their bruises, their tempers and their hopes. Their bags were filled with food and provisions light to carry but strong to bring them over the mountain passes. Their plans were improved with the best advice. So the time came to midsummer eve, and they were to go on again with the early sun on midsummer morning.

我真希望能有時間可以告訴你們哪怕只是幾個他們在那所房子里聽到的故事，或是一兩首他們在那里聽到的歌。在那里沒待幾天，所有的人，包括小馬，便都變得神清氣爽、身強體健了。他們的衣服得到了縫補，身上的傷口得到了治愈，脾氣平息下去了，而心中的希望則得到了加強。他們的袋子里面裝滿了糧食給養(yǎng)，雖然分量不重，卻足夠讓他們能越過高山中的道道關(guān)隘。在這里，他們聽到了最好的建議，令他們的計劃得到了改進。時間一眨眼來到了夏至的前夜，待夏至日的太陽一升起，他們便要重新踏上旅程了。

Elrond knew all about runes of every kind. That day he looked at the swords they had brought from the trolls’ lair, and he said: “These are not troll-make. They are old swords, very old swords of the High Elves of the West, my kin. They were made in Gondolin for the Goblin-wars. They must have come from a dragon’s hoard or goblin plunder, for dragons and goblins destroyed that city many ages ago. This, Thorin, the runes name Orcrist, the Goblin-cleaver in the ancient tongue of Gondolin; it was a famous blade. This, Gandalf, was Glamdring, Foe-hammer that the king of Gondolin once wore. Keep them well!”

埃爾隆德認得各種各樣的如尼文。那天，他看了那些從食人妖洞窟里拿來的刀劍后說：“這些不是食人妖打造的，它們是古代的武器，年代非常久遠，屬于我的同胞──西方的高等精靈，是在剛多林，為了對抗半獸人的戰(zhàn)爭而打造的。它一定來自于惡龍的巢穴或是半獸人的寶庫，因為那個城市早在許多年前就已經(jīng)被他們給摧毀了。索林，這上面的如尼文是這把劍的名字，叫奧克銳斯特在剛多林的古代語言中是‘斬殺半獸人之劍’的意思，這可是一把名劍啊。甘道夫，你的這把名叫格拉姆德凜，‘擊敵錘’的意思，曾經(jīng)是剛多林的國王的佩劍。這兩把劍可一定得好好保管哪!”

“Whence did the trolls get them, I wonder?” said Thorin looking at his sword with new interest.

“那幾個食人妖不知道是怎么弄到這些寶劍的?”索林聽埃爾隆德這么一說，饒有興趣地看著自己手中的劍。

“I could not say,” said Elrond, “but one may guess that your trolls had plundered other plunderers, or come on the remnants of old robberies in some hold in the mountains. I have heard that there are still forgotten treasures of old to be found in the deserted caverns of the mines of Moria, since the dwarf and goblin war.”

“這我也說不上來，”埃爾隆德說，“不過，或許可以猜測是你們所打敗的食人妖從別的強盜那里搶來的，又或許是古老大山的某個洞中遺留下的舊日贓物。我曾經(jīng)聽說，在矮人與半獸人的戰(zhàn)爭之后，在墨瑞亞的廢棄礦坑中，至今還有被人遺忘的寶藏在等著人們?nèi)ふ摇?rdquo;

Thorin pondered these words. “I will keep this sword in honour,” he said. “May it soon cleave goblins once again!”

索林聽了這些話，稍稍在腦子里思忖了一下。“我將很榮幸地保管這把寶劍，”他說，“希望不久以后它可以再度斬殺半獸人!”

“A wish that is likely to be granted soon enough in the mountains!” said Elrond. “But show me now your map!”

“這個愿望，恐怕進山以后要不了多久就有機會實現(xiàn)了!”埃爾隆德說，“不過先讓我看看你們的地圖吧!”

He took it and gazed long at it, and he shook his head; for if he did not altogether approve of dwarves and their love of gold, he hated dragons and their cruel wickedness, and he grieved to remember the ruin of the town of Dale and its merry bells, and the burned banks of the bright River Running. The moon was shining in a broad silver crescent. He held up the map and the white light shone through it. “What is this?” he said. “There are moon-letters here, beside the plain runes which say ‘five feet high the door and three may walk abreast.’”

他接過地圖，盯著看了許久，然后搖了搖頭。即使他并不完全認同矮人們冒險的行為和他們對黃金的熱愛，但他更痛恨惡龍和它們邪惡的暴行。一想到河谷城的廢墟，那曾經(jīng)在鎮(zhèn)上響過的歡樂鐘聲，以及奔流河被燒焦的河岸，他的心中就難過萬分。此時，一輪大大的銀色新月正高掛天際。他舉起地圖來，白白的月光從地圖背后透了過來。“咦，這是什么?”他驚奇地說道，“在普通的如尼文旁邊，還有月亮文字，說的是‘大門五呎高，三人并肩行’。”

“What are moon-letters?” asked the hobbit full of excitement. He loved maps, as I have told you before; and he also liked runes and letters and cunning handwriting, though when he wrote himself it was a bit thin and spidery.

“什么是月亮文字?”霍比特人興奮不已地問道。我以前告訴過你們，他非常喜歡地圖，也喜愛如尼文、各種文字和巧妙的寫法，不過他自己寫來則總是稍微顯得有些單薄纖細。

“Moon-letters are rune-letters, but you cannot see them,” said Elrond, “not when you look straight at them. They can only be seen when the moon shines behind them, and what is more, with the more cunning sort it must be a moon of the same shape and season as the day when they were written. The dwarves invented them and wrote them with silver pens, as your friends could tell you. These must have been written on a midsummer’s eve in a crescent moon, a long while ago.”

埃爾隆德解釋說：“月亮文字也是如尼文，但是你直直地盯著它看是看不見的。只有當月光從后面照過來的時候才能看見。它還有更精妙的設(shè)計，那就是只有在和這些字寫下的那一天處于同一個季節(jié)、同一種月形的時候，這些字才會顯示出來。是矮人們發(fā)明了這種文字，用銀色的筆來書寫，這只要問問你的朋友就知道了。這些字一定是在很久以前的夏至前夜，在新月底下書寫的。”

“What do they say?” asked Gandalf and Thorin together, a bit vexed perhaps that even Elrond should have found this out first, though really there had not been a chance before, and there would not have been another until goodness knows when.

“上面寫些什么?”甘道夫和索林齊聲問道。盡管之前并沒有出現(xiàn)過能讀出這些文字的機會，以后也不知道要等到猴年馬月才能等來第二次機會，但這件事居然是由埃爾隆德先發(fā)現(xiàn)了，這讓他們的面子多少有點掛不住。

“Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks,” read Elrond, “and the setting sun with the last light of Durin’s Day will shine upon the key-hole.”

“當畫眉鳥敲打的時候，站在灰色的巖石旁邊，”埃爾隆德念道，“漸漸落下的太陽帶著都林之日的余暉，將照到鑰匙孔上。”

“Durin, Durin!” said Thorin. “He was the father of the fathers of the eldest race of Dwarves, the Longbeards, and my first ancestor: I am his heir.”

“都林，都林!”索林說，“他是矮人最古老一族的祖先的祖先，人稱長須，也是我家的始祖，我是他的后人。”

“Then what is Durin’s Day?” asked Elrond.

“那都林之日是哪一天?”埃爾隆德問道。

“The first day of the dwarves’ New Year,” said Thorin, “is as all should know the first day of the last moon of Autumn on the threshold of Winter. We still call it Durin’s Day when the last moon of Autumn and the sun are in the sky together. But this will not help us much, I fear, for it passes our skill in these days to guess when such a time will come again.”

“是矮人新年的元旦，”索林說，“大家都知道，那是秋冬之交時秋天最后一個月的第一天。我們現(xiàn)在仍然把當秋天的最后一輪月亮和太陽一起在天空中出現(xiàn)的日子叫都林之日。不過，這恐怕幫不了我們什么，因為這些年來，我們預測這個日子來臨的技術(shù)已經(jīng)慢慢失傳了。

“That remains to be seen,” said Gandalf. “Is there any more writing?”

“失不失傳得到時候才能知道，”甘道夫說，“那上面還有什么別的嗎?”

“None to be seen by this moon,” said Elrond, and he gave the map back to Thorin; and then they went down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer’s eve.

“現(xiàn)在這樣的月色之下看不出別的了，”埃爾隆德邊說邊把地圖遞還給索林。然后，他們一起走到水邊，去看精靈們在夏至前夕的月光下舞蹈和歌唱。

The next morning was a midsummer’s morning as fair and fresh as could be dreamed: blue sky and never a cloud, and the sun dancing on the water. Now they rode away amid songs of farewell and good speed, with their hearts ready for more adventure, and with a knowledge of the road they must follow over the Misty Mountains to the land beyond.

第二天一早就是夏至的早晨，美好而又清新，是人們所能夢想得到的最好的天氣：湛藍的天空中沒有一絲云彩，太陽在水中跳著舞。大伙兒在告別的歌聲中策馬啟程，心中早已經(jīng)為更大的冒險作好了準備，對穿越迷霧山脈進入山后大地的路徑已經(jīng)諳熟于胸。