霍比特人：奇怪的住所 Queer Lodgings （上）

QUEER LODGINGS

奇怪的住所

The next morning Bilbo woke up with the early sun in his eyes. He jumped up to look at the time and to go and put his kettle on—and found he was not home at all. So he sat down and wished in vain for a wash and a brush. He did not get either, nor tea nor toast nor bacon for his breakfast, only cold mutton and rabbit. And after that he had to get ready for a fresh start.

第二天，比爾博醒來時，眼前就是一片清晨的陽光。他一躍而起，準備看看時鐘，然后去把水壺燒上——卻發(fā)現(xiàn)自己根本不是在自己家里。所以，他只能沮喪地坐下來，心想，看來洗臉和刷牙是別指望了。他果然兩樣都沒得到，也沒有熱茶加吐司加火腿的早餐，只有冷羊肉和兔肉。吃完這些之后，他就得要為重新出發(fā)作準備了。

This time he was allowed to climb on to an eagle’s back and cling between his wings. The air rushed over him and he shut his eyes. The dwarves were crying farewells and promising to repay the Lord of the Eagles if ever they could, as off rose fifteen great birds from the mountain’s side. The sun was still close to the eastern edge of things. The morning was cool, and mists were in the valleys and hollows and twined here and there about the peaks and pinnacles of the hills. Bilbo opened an eye to peep and saw that the birds were already high up and the world was far away, and the mountains were falling back behind them into the distance. He shut his eyes again and held on tighter.

這次，他獲準爬到一只大鷹的背上，緊緊抓住兩翼之間的羽毛。冷風颼颼地從他身上掠過，他緊緊地閉上了雙眼。當十五只大鷹從山崖邊起飛的時候，矮人們大聲喊著再見，承諾說只要有機會就一定要回報鷹王。太陽依舊處于正東的方向，早晨空氣清涼，霧氣集聚在山谷中，東一片西一片地纏繞著山峰。比爾博睜開一只眼偷偷望了望，發(fā)現(xiàn)大鳥們已經(jīng)飛得十分高，大地已經(jīng)變得十分遙遠了，群山退向他們的身后，漸行漸遠。他閉上眼睛，雙手抓得更緊了。

“Don’t pinch!” said his eagle. “You need not be frightened like a rabbit, even if you look rather like one. It is a fair morning with little wind. What is finer than flying?”

“別掐我!”他座下的大鷹說道，“你不用怕得像個兔子一樣，雖然你看著的確有點像兔子。今早天氣很好，又沒有什么風，還有什么比在天空飛翔更舒服的呢?”

Bilbo would have liked to say: “A warm bath and late breakfast on the lawn afterwards;” but he thought it better to say nothing at all, and to let go his clutch just a tiny bit.

比爾博本想說“好好洗個熱水澡，睡得晚點起來，在草地上吃早餐”，不過他還是覺得什么都不說為好，只是手上稍微松了很小的一點點。

After a good while the eagles must have seen the point they were making for, even from their great height, for they began to go down circling round in great spirals. They did this for a long while, and at last the hobbit opened his eyes again. The earth was much nearer, and below them were trees that looked like oaks and elms, and wide grass lands, and a river running through it all. But cropping out of the ground, right in the path of the stream which looped itself about it, was a great rock, almost a hill of stone, like a last outpost of the distant mountains, or a huge piece cast miles into the plain by some giant among giants.

過了好一陣之后，大鷹們一定是看見了他們的目的地，盡管他們飛得很高很高，因為他們開始畫著很大的圈子緩緩地盤旋下降。他們盤旋了很久，最后霍比特人終于又睜開了眼睛。地面已經(jīng)更靠近了，底下有樹，看著像是橡樹和榆樹，還有寬闊的草地，以及一條穿越其間的河流。不過，在地面上矗立一塊巨巖，大得幾乎像是一座小山，溪流似乎在它身邊繞了個圈。它仿佛是遠方山脈的最后一個哨卡，又像是被巨人中的巨人從大山里丟出來的一塊大石。

Quickly now to the top of this rock the eagles swooped one by one and set down their passengers.

大鷹們很快一個接一個地降落在這巨巖上，放下了身上的乘客。

“Farewell!” they cried, “wherever you fare, till your eyries receive you at the journey’s end!” That is the polite thing to say among eagles.

“再見了!”他們叫道，“無論你們去到哪里，希望你們在旅程結束時都能安全回到巢中!”這是大鷹彼此之間道別時的美好祝愿。

“May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks,” answered Gandalf, who knew the correct reply.

“愿你們翼下的強風，能把你們帶到所有太陽和月亮能照到的地方。”甘道夫知道對大鷹們的祝愿該怎樣得體地回答。

And so they parted. And though the Lord of the Eagles became in after days the King of All Birds and wore a golden crown, and his fifteen chieftains golden collars (made of the gold that the dwarves gave them), Bilbo never saw them again—except high and far off in the battle of Five Armies. But as that comes in at the end of this tale we will say no more about it just now.

他們就這樣分別了。雖然鷹王后來成了萬鳥之王，頭上戴著金色的王冠，他手下十五名首領則戴上了黃金項圈(用矮人們給他們的黃金打造而成)，但比爾博再也沒有見過他們——只除了在五軍之戰(zhàn)時遠遠望見過他們在高空中的身影。不過，這是在故事的尾聲時才會發(fā)生的事情，所以我們現(xiàn)在暫且按下不提。

There was a flat space on the top of the hill of stone and a well worn path with many steps leading down it to the river, across which a ford of huge flat stones led to the grass-land beyond the stream. There was a little cave (a wholesome one with a pebbly floor) at the foot of the steps and near the end of the stony ford. Here the party gathered and discussed what was to be done.

巨巖頂端有一塊平地，有一條許多人走過的、有很多級臺階的路一直往下通到河邊，河對面有一片平坦巨石構成的淺灘，通往后面的草地。臺階到底的地方有個小巖洞(里面挺干凈，地上是鵝卵石)，眾人在洞里聚集，討論接下來該怎么辦。

“I always meant to see you all safe (if possible) over the mountains,” said the wizard, “and now by good management and good luck I have done it. Indeed we are now a good deal further east than I ever meant to come with you, for after all this is not my adventure. I may look in on it again before it is all over, but in the meanwhile I have some other pressing business to attend to.”

“我一直想著，只要可能，就一定要帶你們安全地越過山脈。”巫師說，“現(xiàn)在，憑著得當?shù)闹笓]和不錯的運氣，我做到了?，F(xiàn)在，我們其實已經(jīng)到了比我當初計劃送你們前往的地方還要往東許多的地點了。在你們的冒險結束之前，我或許還會再來看看你們，不過現(xiàn)在，我有其他緊急的事情要去辦。”

The dwarves groaned and looked most distressed, and Bilbo wept. They had begun to think Gandalf was going to come all the way and would always be there to help them out of difficulties. “I am not going to disappear this very instant,” said he. “I can give you a day or two more. Probably I can help you out of your present plight, and I need a little help myself. We have no food, and no baggage, and no ponies to ride; and you don’t know where you are. Now I can tell you that. You are still some miles north of the path which we should have been following, if we had not left the mountain pass in a hurry. Very few people live in these parts, unless they have come here since I was last down this way, which is some years ago. But there is somebody that I know of, who lives not far away. That Somebody made the steps on the great rock—the Carrock I believe he calls it. He does not come here often, certainly not in the daytime, and it is no good waiting for him. In fact it would be very dangerous. We must go and find him; and if all goes well at our meeting, I think I shall be off and wish you like the eagles ‘farewell wherever you fare!’”

矮人們發(fā)出不情愿的聲音，臉上露出很受打擊的表情，比爾博甚至哭了起來。大家起初都以為甘道夫會全程陪同他們一起冒險，總是會幫助他們脫離困境。“我也不是說走就走，”他說，“我會再給你們一兩天，或許我可以協(xié)助你們脫離眼前的困境，我自己也需要一些幫助。我們沒有食物，沒有行李，也沒有小馬可騎，你們也不知道身在何處。不過，關于這點我可以告訴你們。你們現(xiàn)在位于我們該走的道路以北，距離有幾哩遠。如果我們離開大山不是那么倉促的話，本來是可以正好踏上那條路的。這一帶沒有什么人居住，除非在我?guī)啄昵半x開之后有人新遷移到這里來了。不過這兒倒是有我認識的人，就住在不遠的地方，正是此人在巨巖上興建了石階，我記得他把這塊巨巖叫作卡爾巖。他不常到這兒來，至少不會在白天來，所以在這邊等他來也沒什么用。事實上，這樣做反而會很危險，我們得主動去找他，如果一切順利我們能碰上頭的話，我想到時我就可以離開了，并且像大鷹一樣祝你們‘無論到哪兒都一切順利!’”

They begged him not to leave them. They offered him dragon-gold and silver and jewels, but he would not change his mind. “We shall see, we shall see!” he said, “and I think I have earned already some of your dragon-gold—when you have got it.”

大家哀求他不要離開他們，愿意把惡龍的金銀和珠寶與他分享，但這都不能讓他改變心意。“我們會見面的，我們會見面的!”他說，“而且我想我已經(jīng)掙到一些應得的寶藏了——等你們到手之后再給我吧。”

After that they stopped pleading. Then they took off their clothes and bathed in the river, which was shallow and clear and stony at the ford. When they had dried in the sun, which was now strong and warm, they were refreshed, if still sore and a little hungry. Soon they crossed the ford (carrying the hobbit), and then began to march through the long green grass and down the lines of the wide-armed oaks and the tall elms.

他這么一說，大家也就停止了懇求。接著，大家脫下衣服，在河水中好好洗了個澡。河水又淺又清，河灘上都是石頭。等他們在強烈而又溫暖的太陽下把身子曬干之后，雖然身上還有些酸痛，肚子還有一點點餓，但精神都已經(jīng)好多了。不久以后，他們就帶著霍比特人涉過了淺灘，開始穿過草地，順著粗壯橡樹和高大榆樹的邊緣向前進發(fā)。

“And why is it called the Carrock?” asked Bilbo as he went along at the wizard’s side.

“為什么這里要叫卡爾巖?”比爾博跟在巫師身旁邊走邊問道。

“He called it the Carrock, because carrock is his word for it. He calls things like that carrocks, and this one is the Carrock because it is the only one near his home and he knows it well.”

“因為他管這個叫卡爾巖，因為他用這個字來描述這樣的地形。凡是類似的東西他都管它們叫卡爾巖，而你跟他一提卡爾巖他就知道指的是這個，因為這是他家附近惟一的卡爾巖，他對這個再熟悉不過了。”

“Who calls it? Who knows it?”

“你說的他是誰啊?誰替它起的名字?誰熟悉這個東西?”

“The Somebody I spoke of—a very great person. You must all be very polite when I introduce you. I shall introduce you slowly, two by two, I think; and you must be careful not to annoy him, or heaven knows what will happen. He can be appalling when he is angry, though he is kind enough if humoured. Still I warn you he gets angry easily.”

“就是我提到過的那個人——一個非常偉大的人。我向他介紹你們的時候，你們必須十分恭敬才行。我想，我會慢慢地介紹你們的，兩個兩個介紹，你們必須千萬小心不要惹惱他，否則天知道會發(fā)生什么事情。他生氣的時候很嚇人，但脾氣好的時候也很和善。我還是要再警告你們一下，他很容易生氣的。”

The dwarves all gathered round when they heard the wizard talking like this to Bilbo. “Is that the person you are taking us to now?” they asked. “Couldn’t you find someone more easy-tempered? Hadn’t you better explain it all a bit clearer?”—and so on.

矮人們聽見巫師這樣對比爾博說話，全都圍攏了過來。“剛剛說的就是你要帶我們去見的人嗎?”他們問道，“你難道不能找個脾氣更好的人嗎?你可不可以再解釋得更清楚一點?”——全是諸如此類的問題。

“Yes it certainly is! No I could not! And I was explaining very carefully,” answered the wizard crossly. “If you must know more, his name is Beorn. He is very strong, and he is a skin-changer.”

“是的，說的就是他!不，我不能!我就是在非常小心地解釋這一切。”巫師一口氣就同時回答了三個問題。“如果你們堅持想知道得更多，我可以告訴你們，他的名字叫貝奧恩，他非常強壯，而且是個換皮人。”

“What! a furrier, a man that calls rabbits conies, when he doesn’t turn their skins into squirrels?” asked Bilbo.

“什么!他是個皮貨商，就是那種把野兔皮冒充松鼠皮，以次充好的家伙嗎?”比爾博問道。

“Good gracious heavens, no, no, NO, NO!” said Gandalf. “Don’t be a fool Mr. Baggins if you can help it; and in the name of all wonder don’t mention the word furrier again as long as you are within a hundred miles of his house, nor rug, cape, tippet, muff, nor any other such unfortunate word! He is a skin-changer. He changes his skin: sometimes he is a huge black bear, sometimes he is a great strong black-haired man with huge arms and a great beard. I cannot tell you much more, though that ought to be enough. Some say that he is a bear descended from the great and ancient bears of the mountains that lived there before the giants came. Others say that he is a man descended from the first men who lived before Smaug or the other dragons came into this part of the world, and before the goblins came into the hills out of the North. I cannot say, though I fancy the last is the true tale. He is not the sort of person to ask questions of.

“我的老天爺啊，不，不是，絕對不是，絕對絕對不是!”甘道夫說，“巴金斯先生，拜托請把你的傻樣子盡量藏起來好不好?請看在老天爺開天辟地的份兒上，只要你們在他屋子的方圓百哩之內，就拜托千萬不要提什么皮貨商，還有皮氈啦、羊皮啦、裘皮披肩啦、皮手籠之類的詞，還有所有這類要命的詞語!他是個換皮人，他會更換外皮：有時候他是只大黑熊，有時候他是個強壯的黑發(fā)男子，胳膊粗粗的，胡子密密的。我只能告訴你們這么多，不過這些也應該夠了。有人說他是巨人到來之前，住在山中的古代大熊的后代;其他人則說，他是在斯毛格或其他惡龍來到此地之前，在半獸人從北方來到這片大山之前，就住在這里的人類先民的后代。究竟怎樣我也說不太準，但我認為最后一種猜測比較靠譜。他可不是那種會耐心回答問題的人。

“At any rate he is under no enchantment but his own. He lives in an oak-wood and has a great wooden house; and as a man he keeps cattle and horses which are nearly as marvellous as himself. They work for him and talk to him. He does not eat them; neither does he hunt or eat wild animals. He keeps hives and hives of great fierce bees, and lives most on cream and honey. As a bear he ranges far and wide. I once saw him sitting all alone on the top of the Carrock at night watching the moon sinking towards the Misty Mountains, and I heard him growl in the tongue of bears: ‘The day will come when they will perish and I shall go back!’ That is why I believe he once came from the mountains himself.”

“他不受任何魔法的影響，除非是他自己的。他住在一片橡木林中，有一棟高大的木屋。在他以人類的外形生活時，他會飼養(yǎng)很多幾乎和他一樣出色的牛和馬。他們?yōu)樗ぷ?，和他說話。他不吃他們，也不獵殺或捕食野生的動物。他養(yǎng)了許許多多兇猛的野蜂，主要靠奶酪和蜂蜜生活。我有一次看見他在晚上獨自一人坐在卡爾巖頂上，看月亮朝著迷霧山脈西沉，然后我聽見他用大熊的語言嚎叫道：‘總有一天他們將會消亡，我將回到那里去!’正因為如此，我才會認為他自己也是從那座大山里來的。”

Bilbo and the dwarves had now plenty to think about, and they asked no more questions. They still had a long way to walk before them. Up slope and down dale they plodded. It grew very hot. Sometimes they rested under the trees, and then Bilbo felt so hungry that he would have eaten acorns, if any had been ripe enough yet to have fallen to the ground.

比爾博和矮人們現(xiàn)在有許多東西要思考，所以他們沒有再問更多的問題。在他們前面還有一段漫漫長路要走。他們時而艱難地爬上斜坡，時而又邁著沉重的步伐走進山谷。天氣變得非常熱，有時他們會在樹下休息，這時比爾博就會感到饑餓難當，如果有什么橡樹子熟透了落到地上，他一定會毫不客氣地給吃下去。

It was the middle of the afternoon before they noticed that great patches of flowers had begun to spring up, all the same kinds growing together as if they had been planted. Especially there was clover, waving patches of cockscomb clover, and purple clover, and wide stretches of short white sweet honey-smelling clover. There was a buzzing and a whirring and a droning in the air. Bees were busy everywhere. And such bees! Bilbo had never seen anything like them.

到下午過了一半的時候，他們才注意到附近出現(xiàn)了大片大片的花朵，都是同一種花朵長在一起，仿佛是人為種植的。尤其是三葉草，有一片片隨風擺拂的雞冠三葉草，還有紫色的三葉草?？罩锌梢月牭疥囮囄宋酥?，那是蜜蜂在四處忙碌。這么多的蜜蜂!比爾博從來沒見過這樣的景象。

“If one was to sting me,” he thought, “I should swell up as big again as I am!”

“要是有哪一只蜇我一口的話，”他想，“我一定會腫得跟我以前一樣胖了!”

They were bigger than hornets. The drones were bigger than your thumb, a good deal, and the bands of yellow on their deep black bodies shone like fiery gold.

這些野蜂比黃蜂還要大。其中的雄蜂比你的大拇指還大出好多，深黑色身體上的黃色條紋帶像金子一樣閃閃發(fā)光。

“We are getting near,” said Gandalf. “We are on the edge of his bee-pastures.”

“我們離他已經(jīng)不遠了，”甘道夫說，“我們已經(jīng)來到他的養(yǎng)蜂場邊上了。”

After a while they came to a belt of tall and very ancient oaks, and beyond these to a high thorn-hedge through which you could neither see nor scramble.

又走了一陣之后，他們走到了一片橡樹林帶，這里的橡樹都是高大而又古老的橡樹。林帶后面有一道高高密密的荊棘籬笆，既看不見后面有什么，也沒辦法爬過去。

“You had better wait here,” said the wizard to the dwarves; “and when I call or whistle begin to come after me—you will see the way I go—but only in pairs, mind, about five minutes between each pair of you. Bombur is fattest and will do for two, he had better come alone and last. Come on Mr. Baggins! There is a gate somewhere round this way.” And with that he went off along the hedge taking the frightened hobbit with him.

“你們還是等在這兒吧，”巫師對矮人們說，“如果聽到我喊你們或是吹口哨，你們就可以開始朝我走的方向過來——你們會看見我往哪兒走的——不過，請務必一對兒一對兒地進來，注意，每一對之間必須間隔五分鐘。邦伯是最胖的家伙，他一個人可以抵上兩個，所以他最好一個人進來，排在最后。來吧，巴金斯先生!這兒附近有個門。”話音未落，他就帶著戰(zhàn)戰(zhàn)兢兢的霍比特人沿著籬笆找起門來。

They soon came to a wooden gate, high and broad, beyond which they could see gardens and a cluster of low wooden buildings, some thatched and made of unshaped logs: barns, stables, sheds, and a long low wooden house. Inside on the southward side of the great hedge were rows and rows of hives with bell-shaped tops made of straw. The noise of the giant bees flying to and fro and crawling in and out filled all the air.

他們很快來到一座又高又寬的木門前，兩人可以看到門后有一大片花園和許多低矮的木頭建筑，有些用粗糙的原木建成，屋頂鋪了茅草：有谷倉、馬廄、畜棚，以及一長排不高的木屋。在大籬笆內部的南邊放著一排排的蜂巢，上面有鐘形的茅草頂。滿耳聽到的都是巨大的野蜂飛來飛去，鉆進鉆出所發(fā)出的聲音。

The wizard and the hobbit pushed open the heavy creaking gate and went down a wide track towards the house. Some horses, very sleek and well-groomed, trotted up across the grass and looked at them intently with very intelligent faces; then off they galloped to the buildings.

巫師和霍比特人推開沉重的發(fā)出“吱吱呀呀”聲的大門，沿著一條寬闊的道路朝屋子走去。一些養(yǎng)得膘肥體壯，收拾得干凈整潔的馬匹邁著小步跨過草地來到近前，用看上去十分睿智的臉很專注地打量著他們，然后他們就飛快地朝著木屋奔去了。

“They have gone to tell him of the arrival of strangers,” said Gandalf.

“他們是去通知他有陌生人到了。”甘道夫說。

Soon they reached a courtyard, three walls of which were formed by the wooden house and its two long wings. In the middle there was lying a great oak-trunk with many lopped branches beside it. Standing near was a huge man with a thick black beard and hair, and great bare arms and legs with knotted muscles. He was clothed in a tunic of wool down to his knees, and was leaning on a large axe. The horses were standing by him with their noses at his shoulder.

沒走多久，他們就進了一個院子，其中三面由木屋和它兩邊長長的廂房構成，院子中央倒著一棵大橡樹的樹干，旁邊有許多從上面砍下來的樹枝。樹旁站著一名須發(fā)濃密、身形巨大的漢子，露出的手臂和雙腿上肌肉虬結。他穿著一件長到膝蓋的羊毛外衣，手搭在一柄大斧子上。那幾匹馬站在他的身邊，鼻子蹭著他的肩膀。

“Ugh! here they are!” he said to the horses. “They don’t look dangerous. You can be off!” He laughed a great rolling laugh, put down his axe and came forward.

“哦!他們來了!”他對馬兒們說，“他們看上去并不危險，你們可以走了!”他豪爽地哈哈大笑，放下斧子走了過來。

“Who are you and what do you want?” he asked gruffly, standing in front of them and towering tall above Gandalf. As for Bilbo he could easily have trotted through his legs without ducking his head to miss the fringe of the man’s brown tunic.

“你們是誰，想要干什么?”他粗聲問道。等他在他們面前站定時，身材比甘道夫都高了一大截。至于比爾博，他可以頭也不低就很容易地從他兩腿間穿過去，而且連他那件棕色外衣的下擺都不會碰到。

“I am Gandalf,” said the wizard.

“我是甘道夫。”巫師自我介紹道。

“Never heard of him,” growled the man. “And what’s this little fellow?” he said, stooping down to frown at the hobbit with his bushy black eyebrows.

“從來沒聽說過。”那人嘟噥道，“那這個小家伙又是什么人?”他俯下身子，皺著亂蓬蓬的黑色濃眉，打量著霍比特人。

“That is Mr. Baggins, a hobbit of good family and unimpeachable reputation,” said Gandalf. Bilbo bowed. He had no hat to take off, and was painfully conscious of his many missing buttons. “I am a wizard,” continued Gandalf. “I have heard of you, if you have not heard of me; but perhaps you have heard of my good cousin Radagast who lives near the Southern borders of Mirkwood?”

“這位是巴金斯先生，一位家世良好、名聲清白的霍比特人。”甘道夫介紹道。比爾博深深鞠了一躬。他沒有帽子可以脫下來行禮，衣服上少了那么多顆紐扣也讓他感覺很不自在。“我是個巫師，”甘道夫繼續(xù)說道，“雖然你沒聽說過我，但我卻聽說過你。或許你曾經(jīng)聽說過我的好表弟拉達加斯特吧?他就住在黑森林的南部邊界。”

“Yes; not a bad fellow as wizards go, I believe. I used to see him now and again,” said Beorn. “Well, now I know who you are, or who you say you are. What do you want?”

“認識，以巫師來說，我覺得他還算不錯。我以前偶爾會見到他。”貝奧恩說，“好啦，現(xiàn)在我知道你們是誰了，或者說，你們自稱是誰了。你們想要什么?”

“To tell you the truth, we have lost our luggage and nearly lost our way, and are rather in need of help, or at least of advice. I may say we have had rather a bad time with goblins in the mountains.”

“跟你說實話吧，我們弄丟了行李，也差點迷了路，現(xiàn)在很需要幫助，或者至少是忠告。我們之前和前面大山里的半獸人鬧得非常不愉快。”

“Goblins?” said the big man less gruffly. “O ho, so you’ve been having trouble with them have you? What did you go near them for?”

“半獸人?”大漢的語氣變得沒有剛才那么粗魯了，“哦呵，原來你們是惹上他們了呀。你們走到他們的地界上干什么?”

“We did not mean to. They surprised us at night in a pass which we had to cross; we were coming out of the Lands over West into these countries—it is a long tale.”

“我們不是故意的。是他們半夜里在我們的必經(jīng)之路上偷襲了我們。我們是從西方大地來到這個地方的——真要說起來那話可就長了。”

“Then you had better come inside and tell me some of it, if it won’t take all day,” said the man leading the way through a dark door that opened out of the courtyard into the house.

“那你們最好進屋來跟我說說，如果這不會花上一整天的話。”大漢領著他們從院子一扇深色的大門走進了木屋。

Following him they found themselves in a wide hall with a fire-place in the middle. Though it was summer there was a wood-fire burning and the smoke was rising to the blackened rafters in search of the way out through an opening in the roof. They passed through this dim hall, lit only by the fire and the hole above it, and came through another smaller door into a sort of veranda propped on wooden posts made of single tree-trunks. It faced south and was still warm and filled with the light of the westering sun which slanted into it, and fell golden on the garden full of flowers that came right up to the steps.

他們跟著他走，發(fā)現(xiàn)進入了一個寬敞的大廳，中間還有一座火爐。雖然現(xiàn)在正值夏天，但火爐中還是有木柴在燒，黑煙則裊裊向上，來到被熏黑的椽子邊，然后慢慢找到屋頂一個開口處溜了出去。他們經(jīng)過了這個只有爐火和屋頂那個開口射進的光線照明的昏暗大廳，穿過一扇小一點的門，來到了一個由幾根單棵樹干作基柱的類似陽臺的地方。這座陽臺面朝南方，依舊還很溫暖，灑滿了斜照進來的西曬陽光，園子里的花一直長到陽臺的階梯邊，和陽臺一起沐浴在了金色的陽光中。

Here they sat on wooden benches while Gandalf began his tale, and Bilbo swung his dangling legs and looked at the flowers in the garden, wondering what their names could be, as he had never seen half of them before.

他們在陽臺的木頭長椅上坐下，甘道夫開始了他的故事，比爾博則晃蕩著兩條腿看著園子里的鮮花，想著它們的名字，因為這些花里他有一半以前見都沒見過。

“I was coming over the mountains with a friend or two...” said the wizard.

“我那時正和一兩個朋友一起過山……”巫師說。

“Or two? I can only see one, and a little one at that,” said Beorn.

“兩個?我只看見這一個，而且還是個小號的。”貝奧恩不解地說。“好吧，說實話，在我確定您是否十分忙碌之前，我可不想讓好多人來打攪您。如果您容許的話，我可以把他們叫進來。”

“Well to tell you the truth, I did not like to bother you with a lot of us, until I found out if you were busy. I will give a call, if I may.”

“當然，把他們叫進來吧!”

“Go on, call away!” So Gandalf gave a long shrill whistle, and presently Thorin and Dori came round the house by the garden path and stood bowing low before them.

于是，甘道夫吹了聲悠長激越的口哨，不久，梭林和多瑞就沿著花園的小徑走了進來，向他們深深鞠了一躬。

“One or three you meant, I see!” said Beorn. “But these aren’t hobbits, they are dwarves!”

“你剛才說的應該不是一兩個，而是兩三個朋友吧，我明白了!”貝奧恩說，“不過，這些不是霍比特人，他們是矮人啊!”

“Thorin Oakenshield, at your service! Dori at your service!” said the two dwarves bowing again.

“梭林·橡木盾愿意為您效勞!多瑞愿意為您效分!”兩名矮人一邊說著一邊又鞠了一躬。

“I don’t need your service, thank you,” said Beorn, “but I expect you need mine. I am not over fond of dwarves; but if it is true you are Thorin (son of Thrain, son of Thror, I believe), and that your companion is respectable, and that you are enemies of goblins and are not up to any mischief in my lands—what are you up to, by the way?”

“我不需要你們效勞，謝謝啦。”貝奧恩說，“可我想你們大概需要我為你們效勞吧。我不是很喜歡矮人，不過，如果你真的是梭林(我相信應該是瑟羅爾的孫子和瑟萊因的兒子吧)，那么你的伙伴就相當值得尊敬。你們是半獸人的死敵，不是到我的土地上來搗亂的——順便問一下，你們究竟是來干什么的呢?”

“They are on their way to visit the land of their fathers, away east beyond Mirkwood,” put in Gandalf, “and it is entirely an accident that we are in your lands at all. We were crossing by the High Pass that should have brought us to the road that lies to the south of your country, when we were attacked by the evil goblins—as I was about to tell you.”

“他們正準備去拜訪祖先的土地，就在黑森林東邊的地方。”甘道夫插嘴道，“我們會來到您的領土完全是個意外。我們那時正準備通過高隘口，照理說應該可以踏上在您領土南邊的道路，不料卻遭到邪惡的半獸人攻擊——我之前正跟您說到那里。”

“Go on telling, then!” said Beorn, who was never very polite.

“那就說下去吧!”貝奧恩從來就不大喜歡客套。

“There was a terrible storm; the stone-giants were out hurling rocks, and at the head of the pass we took refuge in a cave, the hobbit and I and several of our companions...”

“我們遇到了一場可怕的暴風雨，巖石巨人跑出來亂丟石頭，我們在隘口上找了個洞穴躲進去，霍比特人和我，還有其他一些伙伴……”

“Do you call two several?”

“兩個人你就叫作一些?”

“Well, no. As a matter of fact there were more than two.”

“呃，不是，其實我們的伙伴不止兩個。”

“Where are they? Killed, eaten, gone home?”

“那他們人呢?被殺了，被吃了，還是回家了?”

“Well, no. They don’t seem all to have come when I whistled. Shy, I expect. You see, we are very much afraid that we are rather a lot for you to entertain.”

“都不是，我剛剛吹口哨的時候他們好像沒有一起過來，我想大概是害羞吧。您知道的，我們其實很怕人多了您招待不過來。”

“Go on, whistle again! I am in for a party, it seems, and one or two more won’t make much difference,” growled Beorn.

“那就再吹口哨吧!看來我這次可以辦個大派對了，再多一兩個也沒什么分別。”貝奧恩低吼道。

Gandalf whistled again; but Nori and Ori were there almost before he had stopped, for, if you remember, Gandalf had told them to come in pairs every five minutes.

甘道夫又吹起口哨，但諾瑞和歐瑞幾乎沒等他的哨聲結束就出現(xiàn)了，因為，如果各位還記得的話，甘道夫告訴他們每五分鐘就過來一對。

“Hullo!” said Beorn. “You came pretty quick—where were you hiding? Come on my jack-in-the-boxes!”

“你們好啊!”貝奧恩招呼道，“來得可夠快的——剛才躲哪兒了?怎么一下子就蹦出來了?”

“Nori at your service, Ori at...” they began; but Beorn interrupted them.

“諾瑞愿意為您效勞，歐瑞愿……”他們剛開口就被貝奧恩打斷了。

“Thank you! When I want your help I will ask for it. Sit down, and let’s get on with this tale, or it will be supper-time before it is ended.”

“謝謝啦!如果我需要你們幫忙我會跟你們說的。坐下吧，我們接著說故事吧，不然故事還沒講完就該要吃晚飯了。”

“As soon as we were asleep,” went on Gandalf, “a crack at the back of the cave opened; goblins came out and grabbed the hobbit and the dwarves and our troop of ponies—”

“我們剛一睡著，”甘道夫接著講下去，“洞穴的后面就裂開了一條縫，半獸人們沖了出來，把霍比特人、矮人和我們那群小馬都給抓——”

“Troop of ponies? What were you—a travelling circus? Or were you carrying lots of goods? Or do you always call six a troop?”

“那群小馬?你們到底是什么，巡回馬戲團嗎?你們是不是還帶了很多貨物?難道你們一直都把六只叫一群嗎?”

“O no! As a matter of fact there were more than six ponies, for there were more than six of us—and well, here are two more!” Just at that moment Balin and Dwalin appeared and bowed so low that their beards swept the stone floor. The big man was frowning at first, but they did their best to be frightfully polite, and kept on nodding and bending and bowing and waving their hoods before their knees (in proper dwarf-fashion), till he stopped frowning and burst into a chuckling laugh: they looked so comical.

“哦!不是!事實上，我們有超過六匹的小馬，因為我們的伙伴其實不止六個人——啊，你看，這就又來了兩個!”話音落處，巴林和杜瓦林出現(xiàn)在門口，他們鞠躬致禮，腰彎得連胡子都掃到了石頭地面。大漢起先皺起了眉頭，但他們使盡渾身解數(shù)，搬出各種禮數(shù)，又是點頭又是哈腰，又是鞠躬，又是脫下帽來在膝蓋前瀟灑劃過(以最得體的矮人禮儀)，最后，大漢皺著的眉頭終于松開了，爆發(fā)出一陣咯咯的大笑：都怪他們的樣子實在太滑稽了。

“Troop, was right,” he said. “A fine comic one. Come in my merry men, and what are your names? I don’t want your service just now, only your names; and then sit down and stop wagging!”

“一群，沒錯，”他說，“而且是很搞笑的一群。來吧，搞笑小子，你們的名字是什么?我現(xiàn)在不需要你們效勞，只想要知道你們的名字，然后你們就可以坐下來，不用再耍寶了!”

“Balin and Dwalin,” they said not daring to be offended, and sat flop on the floor looking rather surprised.

“巴林和杜瓦林。”他們乖乖答道，不敢露出一點生氣的樣子，然后一屁股坐在地上，看他們的表情頗有些感到意外。

“Now go on again!” said Beorn to the wizard.

“繼續(xù)講吧!”貝奧恩對巫師說。

“Where was I? O yes—I was not grabbed. I killed a goblin or two with a flash—”

“我剛剛說到哪兒啦?哦，對了，我沒有被抓住，我用閃光殺死了一兩個半獸人——”

“Good!” growled Beorn. “It is some good being a wizard, then.”

“好!”貝奧恩拍桌大吼道，“看來巫師還是管點用的。”

“—and slipped inside the crack before it closed. I followed down into the main hall, which was crowded with goblins. The Great Goblin was there with thirty or forty armed guards. I thought to myself ‘even if they were not all chained together, what can a dozen do against so many?”’

“——然后我在裂縫關上之前溜了進去，這條路一直通到大廳，里面擠滿了半獸人，半獸人首領也在，身邊圍著三四十個全副武裝的衛(wèi)兵。我那時就想，‘就算他們沒有被鐵鏈拴在一起，就這么一打戰(zhàn)士又怎么敵得過這么多敵人?’”

“A dozen! That’s the first time I’ve heard eight called a dozen. Or have you still got some more jacks that haven’t yet come out of their boxes?”

“一打!我這還是頭回聽說管八個人就叫一打的，你是不是還有什么人藏著掖著沒有亮相的?”

“Well, yes, there seem to be a couple more here now—Fili and Kili, I believe,” said Gandalf, as these two now appeared and stood smiling and bowing.

“是啊，那邊好像又來了兩個——我想應該是菲力和奇力吧。”甘道夫說。兩人來到了跟前，面帶微笑，鞠躬行禮。

“That’s enough!” said Beorn. “Sit down and be quiet! Now go on, Gandalf!”

“夠了!”貝奧恩說，“坐下，別出聲!甘道夫，你接著講!”

So Gandalf went on with the tale, until he came to the fight in the dark, the discovery of the lower gate, and their horror when they found that Mr. Baggins had been mislaid. “We counted ourselves and found that there was no hobbit. There were only fourteen of us left!”

于是甘道夫又繼續(xù)講他的故事，終于講到了黑暗中的戰(zhàn)斗，發(fā)現(xiàn)下層門，以及發(fā)現(xiàn)巴金斯先生不見時的恐懼。“我們點了人數(shù)，發(fā)現(xiàn)霍比特人不見了——我們只剩下十四個人了!”

“Fourteen! That’s the first time I’ve heard one from ten leave fourteen. You mean nine, or else you haven’t told me yet all the names of your party.”

“十四個!我頭回聽說十個人少了一個之后只剩下十四個了。你是說九個人吧，再不然你就是還沒把所有伙伴的名字告訴我。”

“Well, of course you haven’t seen Oin and Gloin yet. And, bless me! here they are. I hope you will forgive them for bothering you.”

“哦，你肯定是還沒看到歐因和格羅因!謝天謝地，他們來了，希望你能夠原諒他們打攪你。”

“O let ’em all come! Hurry up! Come along, you two, and sit down! But look here, Gandalf, even now we have only got yourself and ten dwarves and the hobbit that was lost. That only makes eleven (plus one mislaid) and not fourteen, unless wizards count differently to other people. But now please get on with the tale.” Beorn did not show it more than he could help, but really he had begun to get very interested. You see, in the old days he had known the very part of the mountains that Gandalf was describing. He nodded and he growled, when he heard of the hobbit’s reappearance and of their scramble down the stone-slide and of the wolf-ring in the woods.

“哦，讓他們都進來吧!快點!過來，你們兩個，坐下!不過，甘道夫，聽著，即使是現(xiàn)在，這里也還是只有你和十個矮人以及曾經(jīng)不見了的霍比特人。加到一塊兒才十一個(再加一個不見了的家伙)，不是十四個，除非巫師點起數(shù)來和普通人不一樣。不過還是先繼續(xù)講故事吧。”貝奧恩并沒有顯出很感興趣的樣子，但實際上，他已經(jīng)對這個故事感到入迷了。要知道，事實上在很久很久以前，他曾經(jīng)對甘道夫所描述的那塊區(qū)域十分熟悉。當他聽到霍比特人重新露面，他們從石頭崩落的山坡上翻滾而下，接著又陷入林中的狼圈時，他都會興奮地點點頭，并且發(fā)出低吼。

When Gandalf came to their climbing into trees with the wolves all underneath, he got up and strode about and muttered: “I wish I had been there! I would have given them more than fireworks!”

甘道夫講到眾人爬上樹，底下群狼環(huán)伺的時候，他激動地站了起來，來回踱著大步：“真希望我能在那兒!我要給它們的可不止煙火了!”

“Well,” said Gandalf very glad to see that his tale was making a good impression, “I did the best I could. There we were with the wolves going mad underneath us and the forest beginning to blaze in places, when the goblins came down from the hills and discovered us. They yelled with delight and sang songs making fun of us. Fifteen birds in five fir-trees ...”

甘道夫看見自己的故事讓對方有了好印象非常髙興：“嗯，我已經(jīng)盡全力了。當時群狼在我們下面氣得發(fā)狂，森林有好幾處開始燒來，這時，半獸人從山上下來，發(fā)現(xiàn)了我們。他們高興得大喊，還唱歌取笑我們，什么‘五棵冷杉樹上有十五只鳥’之類的。”

“Good heavens!” growled Beorn. “Don’t pretend that goblins can’t count. They can. Twelve isn’t fifteen and they know it.”

“天哪!”貝奧恩大吼道，“別跟我說半獸人不會數(shù)數(shù)，他們不傻，十二不等于十五，這個他們知道。”

“And so do I. There were Bifur and Bofur as well. I haven’t ventured to introduce them before, but here they are.”

“我也知道啊，因為還有比弗和波弗。我之前不敢貿(mào)然介紹他們，可他們現(xiàn)在來了。”

In came Bifur and Bofur. “And me!” gasped Bombur puffing up behind. He was fat, and also angry at being left till last. He refused to wait five minutes, and followed immediately after the other two.

比弗和波弗走了進來。“還有我呢!”邦伯呼哧呼哧地喘著粗氣也跟在后面跑了進來。他很胖，又很生氣被留在最后，因此他拒絕等上五分鐘，直接就跟著前面那兩個來了。

“Well, now there are fifteen of you; and since goblins can count, I suppose that is all that there were up the trees. Now perhaps we can finish this story without any more interruptions.” Mr. Baggins saw then how clever Gandalf had been. The interruptions had really made Beorn more interested in the story, and the story had kept him from sending the dwarves off at once like suspicious beggars. He never invited people into his house, if he could help it. He had very few friends and they lived a good way away; and he never invited more than a couple of these to his house at a time. Now he had got fifteen strangers sitting in his porch!

“好啦，現(xiàn)在你們總共有十五個人了，既然半獸人也會數(shù)數(shù)，我想躲在樹上的應該就是這個數(shù)了吧?，F(xiàn)在，我們也許可以不受打攪地把故事講完了吧!”巴金斯先生這才明白甘道夫有多聰明，中間的打岔，其實是讓貝奧恩對故事更有興趣，而把故事那樣講法又讓他無法把矮人像不明不白的乞丐一樣馬上給打發(fā)掉。只要能夠避免的話，他從來不會邀請外人進屋子。他的朋友很少，他們都住在很遠的地方，而且他從來不一次邀請超過兩三個人進屋。而現(xiàn)在，他家的陽臺上居然一下子坐了十五個陌生人!

By the time the wizard had finished his tale and had told of the eagles’ rescue and of how they had all been brought to the Carrock, the sun had fallen behind the peaks of the Misty Mountains and the shadows were long in Beorn’s garden.

等到巫師把大鷹如何將他們救出險境，又如何把他們送來卡爾巖的過程講完之后，太陽已經(jīng)西沉到迷霧山脈的山巔背后，貝奧恩花園里的陰影也已經(jīng)拖得很長了。

“A very good tale!” said he. “The best I have heard for a long while. If all beggars could tell such a good one, they might find me kinder. You may be making it all up, of course, but you deserve a supper for the story all the same. Let’s have something to eat!”

“非常棒的故事!”貝奧恩贊嘆道，“好久沒聽過這么好聽的故事了，如果所有的乞丐都會講這么好聽的故事，我說不定會變成一個更慷慨的人。當然，這故事也可能都是你編出來的，但這樣的故事也值得上一頓晚餐。我們來吃東西吧!”

“Yes please!” they all said together. “Thank you very much!”

“好嘞!”大家齊聲歡呼道，“非常感謝!”

Inside the hall it was now quite dark. Beorn clapped his hands, and in trotted four beautiful white ponies and several large long-bodied grey dogs. Beorn said something to them in a queer language like animal noises turned into talk. They went out again and soon came back carrying torches in their mouths, which they lit at the fire and stuck in low brackets on the pillars of the hall about the central hearth. The dogs could stand on their hind-legs when they wished, and carry things with their fore-feet. Quickly they got out boards and trestles from the side walls and set them up near the fire.

大廳里此時相當昏暗了，貝奧恩拍了拍手，四匹漂亮的白色小馬和幾條身體細長的灰狗就走了進來。貝奧恩用聽起來像是動物吼聲的奇怪語言對他們說了幾句，他們走了出去，很快地又用嘴叼著火把回來了。他們用火爐中的火點燃了火把，并且將它們插在四周柱子的低矮支架上。那些狗如果想的話可以用后腿站立，用兩條前腿來拿東西。很快，他們就從旁邊的墻內拿出了板子和支架，在火爐旁擺好了桌子。

Then baa—baa—baa! was heard, and in came some snow-white sheep led by a large coal-black ram. One bore a white cloth embroidered at the edges with figures of animals; others bore on their broad backs trays with bowls and platters and knives and wooden spoons, which the dogs took and quickly laid on the trestle-tables. These were very low, low enough even for Bilbo to sit at comfortably. Beside them a pony pushed two low-seated benches with wide rush-bottoms and little short thick legs for Gandalf and Thorin, while at the far end he put Beorn’s big black chair of the same sort (in which he sat with his great legs stuck far out under the table). These were all the chairs he had in his hall, and he probably had them low like the tables for the convenience of the wonderful animals that waited on him. What did the rest sit on? They were not forgotten. The other ponies came in rolling round drum-shaped sections of logs, smoothed and polished, and low enough even for Bilbo; so soon they were all seated at Beorn’s table, and the hall had not seen such a gathering for many a year.

這時，他們聽見了“咩——咩——咩!”的聲音，一只炭黑色的大個兒公羊領著幾只雪白的綿羊走了進來。一只背著邊緣繡有動物圖案的白布，另幾只則在寬闊的背上扛著托盤、碗、淺盤、餐刀和木制的湯匙。大狗們拿下這些東西，立刻將它們擺放在剛搭好的小桌板上。這些桌板都十分低矮，連比爾博坐下吃飯都覺得很舒服。在他們旁邊，一匹小馬將兩條低矮的長凳推了過來，長凳凳面寬闊，発腳粗短，是專門給甘道夫和梭林坐的。在他們對面的主位上則放上了貝奧恩那把樣式類似的大黑椅(他坐上去的時候，必須把兩條大長腿遠遠地伸到桌子底下去)。這些是他收在大廳內的全部椅子了，他刻意將這些椅子跟桌子一樣弄矮，多半是為了方便服侍他的聰明的動物。那其他人坐哪里呢?他們并沒有被忘記。其他的小馬滾著圓鼓形的木樁走了進來，這些木樁都經(jīng)過特別的打磨和拋光，比爾博也可以舒舒服服地坐在上面。于是沒多久，眾人就在貝奧恩的桌旁坐了下來，這座大廳已經(jīng)很多年沒有見識過這么人頭濟濟的場面了。

There they had a supper, or a dinner, such as they had not had since they left the Last Homely House in the West and said good-bye to Elrond. The light of the torches and the fire flickered about them, and on the table were two tall red beeswax candles. All the time they ate, Beorn in his deep rolling voice told tales of the wild lands on this side of the mountains, and especially of the dark and dangerous wood, that lay outstretched far to North and South a day’s ride before them, barring their way to the East, the terrible forest of Mirkwood.

接下來就開始了他們自從與埃爾隆德道別，離開他那最后家園之后的第一頓晚餐，或者更確切地說是第一頓正餐?；鸢雅c爐火的光芒在他們四周躍動，桌面上還放著兩根由蜂蠟制成的紅色大蠟燭。他們一邊吃，貝奧恩一邊用他那低沉的聲音，述說著山脈這邊野地上的故事，特別是他們即將面對的那座黑暗而又危險的森林。它往南北兩方延伸各有大概騎馬一天的距離那么寬，橫亙在他們前往東方的道路之上，耶便赫赫有名的恐怖的黑森林。

The dwarves listened and shook their beards, for they knew that they must soon venture into that forest and that after the mountains it was the worst of the perils they had to pass before they came to the dragon’s stronghold. When dinner was over they began to tell tales of their own, but Beorn seemed to be growing drowsy and paid little heed to them. They spoke most of gold and silver and jewels and the making of things by smith-craft, and Beorn did not appear to care for such things: there were no things of gold or silver in his hall, and few save the knives were made of metal at all.

矮人們一邊聽一邊搖著胡子，因為他們知道那是他們不久之后就將踏入的地方。在越過了大山之后，這是他們直搗龍穴之前必須經(jīng)歷的最大危險了。晚餐結束后，他們開始講起了自己的故事，但貝奧恩似乎越來越昏昏欲睡，不太注意他們的故事。他們講的主要都是黃金、白銀、珠寶，以及怎樣用精妙的技藝打造出美麗的東西，貝奧恩似乎對這些東西沒有多大興趣，他的大廳中根本沒有金銀飾品，除了刀子之外，連用金屬打造的東西也很少。

They sat long at the table with their wooden drinking-bowls filled with mead. The dark night came on outside. The fires in the middle of the hall were built with fresh logs and the torches were put out, and still they sat in the light of the dancing flames with the pillars of the house standing tall behind them, and dark at the top like trees of the forest. Whether it was magic or not, it seemed to Bilbo that he heard a sound like wind in the branches stirring in the rafters, and the hoot of owls. Soon he began to nod with sleep and the voices seemed to grow far away, until he woke with a start.

他們久久地坐在桌邊，用木碗不停地喝著蜂蜜酒。屋外暮色漸深，大廳正中的爐火加入了新的木柴，火把的火焰都熄滅了。眾人依舊圍坐在爐火邊，舞動的火焰映紅了他們的臉龐，他們身后是木屋高高的柱子，頂端黑黑的，看著像樹林里的大樹。不知是不是魔法，比爾博覺得自己在梁椽間聽見了風兒吹過樹枝的聲音，好像還有貓頭鷹的鳴叫。沒多久，他開始耷拉下腦袋打起瞌睡來，那聲音似乎漸漸遠去了，可突然間，他又猛然驚醒了過來。

The great door had creaked and slammed. Beorn was gone. The dwarves were sitting cross-legged on the floor round the fire, and presently they began to sing. Some of the verses were like this, but there were many more, and their singing went on for a long while:

大門吱吱呀呀地開啟，又嘭的一聲關上，貝奧恩離開了。矮人們圍著爐火盤腿坐在地板上，不久就開始唱起歌來。有些歌詞是這樣的，但這只是其中很小的一部分，他們唱啊唱的，一直唱了很久：