霍比特人：來到門口 On the Doorstep

ON THE DOORSTEP

來到門口

In two days going they rowed right up the Long Lake and passed out into the River Running, and now they could all see the Lonely Mountain towering grim and tall before them. The stream was strong and their going slow. At the end of the third day, some miles up the river, they drew in to the left or western bank and disembarked. Here they were joined by the horses with other provisions and necessaries and the ponies for their own use that had been sent to meet them. They packed what they could on the ponies and the rest was made into a store under a tent, but none of the men of the town would stay with them even for the night so near the shadow of the Mountain.

他們沿著長湖朝北劃了兩天之后，就出湖來到了奔流河?，F(xiàn)在，他們可以看見孤山陰沉地高聳在眼前。水流很急，他們走得很慢。第三天快結束的時候，他們在溯河而上幾里之后，在左岸或者說西岸靠邊上岸了。在這里，他們將與載著其他給養(yǎng)和必需品的馬匹以及供他們自己乘用的小馬會合。他們盡可能地將物資打包，讓小馬馱上，剩下的則搭了個帳篷存放了起來，但鎮(zhèn)上來的人類沒有一個愿意和他們待在一起，哪怕只是過一夜，因為這里離恐怖的孤山太近了。

“Not at any rate until the songs have come true!” said they. It was easier to believe in the Dragon and less easy to believe in Thorin in these wild parts. Indeed their stores had no need of any guard, for all the land was desolate and empty. So their escort left them, making off swiftly down the river and the shoreward paths, although the night was already drawing on.

“在歌里唱的成真之前我們絕對不敢!”他們說。在這種荒涼的地方，他們更容易相信惡龍的傳說，也更不容易相信索林。事實上，他們的補給物資根本不需要有人看守，因為周圍毫無人煙。于是他們的隨從就離開了他們，分別從陸路和水路踏上了歸程，雖然此時夜色已經(jīng)開始漸濃了。

They spent a cold and lonely night and their spirits fell. The next day they set out again. Balin and Bilbo rode behind, each leading another pony heavily laden beside him; the others were some way ahead picking out a slow road, for there were no paths. They made north-west, slanting away from the River Running, and drawing ever nearer and nearer to a great spur of the Mountain that was flung out southwards towards them.

他們度過了寒冷而又孤獨的一夜，情緒也隨之低落下來。第二天，他們再度上路了。巴林和比爾博騎馬走在最后面，每人身邊都另外牽了一匹滿滿載著行李的小馬。其他人則在前面走著一條低洼的路，因為這里其實根本無路可走。他們向西北前進，稍稍離開奔流河，越來越靠近孤山朝南對著他們延伸出來的一個支脈。

It was a weary journey, and a quiet and stealthy one. There was no laughter or song or sound of harps, and the pride and hopes which had stirred in their hearts at the singing of old songs by the lake died away to a plodding gloom. They knew that they were drawing near to the end of their journey, and that it might be a very horrible end. The land about them grew bleak and barren, though once, as Thorin told them, it had been green and fair. There was little grass, and before long there was neither bush nor tree, and only broken and blackened stumps to speak of ones long vanished. They were come to the Desolation of the Dragon, and they were come at the waning of the year.

旅程相當令人困乏，他們一路上不敢說話，只敢悄悄前進。沒有了笑語歡歌，沒有了琴聲悠揚，在湖邊時唱著古老的歌曲而在心中激起的驕傲與希望，漸漸地蛻變成了沉重的郁悶。他們知道旅程就要來到終點了，而這可能是非?？植赖慕K點。周圍的大地變得越來越荒涼，盡管索林告訴他們，這里一度是一片充滿綠色的美麗世界。這里幾乎沒有什么草，而且不久也沒了灌木或樹，只有一些斷折焦黑的樹樁，令人想起那久已消逝的林木蔥蘢。他們已經(jīng)來到了惡龍造成的荒廢之地，而他們趕上的又正好是萬物凋落的季節(jié)。

They reached the skirts of the Mountain all the same without meeting any danger or any sign of the Dragon other than the wilderness he had made about his lair. The Mountain lay dark and silent before them and ever higher above them. They made their first camp on the western side of the great southern spur, which ended in a height called Ravenhill. On this there had been an old watch-post; but they dared not climb it yet, it was too exposed.

雖然郁悶，可他們還是來到了山腳下，一路上既沒有碰到任何危險，也沒有見到任何惡龍的跡象，除了它在自己的巢穴邊造就的一派荒涼。孤山陰沉地矗立著，看著比以往更高大。他們在龐大的南方支脈的西邊第一次扎下了營，支脈的盡頭是個叫做渡鴉嶺的地方，渡鴉嶺上有痤古老的瞭望臺，但眾人現(xiàn)在不敢冒險攀登，因為這個位置太突出太顯眼了。

Before setting out to search the western spurs of the Mountain for the hidden door, on which all their hopes rested, Thorin sent out a scouting expedition to spy out the land to the South where the Front Gate stood. For this purpose he chose Balin and Fili and Kili, and with them went Bilbo. They marched under the grey and silent cliffs to the feet of Ravenhill. There the river, after winding a wide loop over the valley of Dale, turned from the Mountain on its road to the Lake, flowing swift and noisily. Its bank was bare and rocky, tall and steep above the stream; and gazing out from it over the narrow water, foaming and splashing among many boulders, they could see in the wide valley shadowed by the Mountain’s arms the grey ruins of ancient houses, towers, and walls.

在開始去尋找位于孤山西邊支脈那扇凝聚了他們所有希望的密門之前，索林先派了一支偵察小分隊去察看正門所在的南邊。他選了巴林、奇力和菲力來擔任這項使命，比爾博也跟著一起去了。他們沿著灰色沉寂的懸崖一路走到渡鴉嶺腳下，奔流河在那里繞了個大圈，穿過河谷城，繼續(xù)往長湖流去。河水湍急喧鬧，河岸邊光禿禿的都是巖石，高峻陡峭，俯瞰著河流。他們站在巖石上向遠方望去，越過窄窄的、在卵石間白沫四濺的激流，看見在孤山陰影籠罩下的寬闊山谷中，有著古代房屋、高樓和城墻的灰色廢墟。

“There lies all that is left of Dale,” said Balin. “The mountain’s sides were green with woods and all the sheltered valley rich and pleasant in the days when the bells rang in that town.” He looked both sad and grim as he said this: he had been one of Thorin’s companions on the day the Dragon came.

“那兒就是河谷城的遺跡。”巴林說，“在鎮(zhèn)上還有鐘聲響起的時候，山坡上是郁郁蔥蔥的樹木，山谷里的生活富裕而又祥和。”他在說這些的時候表情悲傷而又凝重：在惡龍來襲的那天，他是索林身邊的伙伴之一。

They did not dare to follow the river much further towards the Gate; but they went on beyond the end of the southern spur, until lying hidden behind a rock they could look out and see the dark cavernous opening in a great cliff-wall between the arms of the Mountain. Out of it the waters of the Running River sprang; and out of it too there came a steam and a dark smoke. Nothing moved in the waste, save the vapour and the water, and every now and again a black and ominous crow. The only sound was the sound of the stony water, and every now and again the harsh croak of a bird. Balin shuddered.

他們不敢繼續(xù)沿著河往大山的正門走，但他們走到了南方支脈盡頭的另一邊，直到躲在巖石后面，可以清楚地看見兩座支脈之間一面大懸崖上黑黢黢的洞穴入口。奔流河的河水從洞中流出，同時，還有蒸汽和一縷黑煙朝外飄出。沒有任何東西在移動，除了蒸汽和水流，以及時不時飛過的不祥的烏鴉。能聽到的僅是流水撞擊巖石的聲音，以及烏鴉偶爾的一聲沙啞鳴叫。巴林對此景象不由得打了個寒戰(zhàn)。

“Let us return!” he said. “We can do no good here! And I don’t like these dark birds, they look like spies of evil.”

“我們回頭吧!”他說，“我們在這兒也沒有什么用!我不喜歡這些黑鳥，他們看起來像是邪惡的密探。”

“The dragon is still alive and in the halls under the Mountain then—or I imagine so from the smoke,” said the hobbit.

“惡龍還活著，就在大山底下的洞穴里——我是從黑煙作出的推測。”霍比特人說。

“That does not prove it,” said Balin, “though I don’t doubt you are right. But he might be gone away some time, or he might be lying out on the mountain-side keeping watch, and still I expect smokes and steams would come out of the gates: all the halls within must be filled with his foul reek.”

“這可說明不了問題，”巴林說，“不過，我倒不懷疑你是對的。但它可能暫時離開了，或者有可能躲在山邊偷看著。反正我覺得有煙和蒸汽從門里冒出來是意料之中的，山底下的大廳里一定充滿了它的臭氣。”

With such gloomy thoughts, followed ever by croaking crows above them, they made their weary way back to the camp. Only in June they had been guests in the fair house of Elrond, and though autumn was now crawling towards winter that pleasant time now seemed years ago. They were alone in the perilous waste without hope of further help. They were at the end of their journey, but as far as ever, it seemed, from the end of their quest. None of them had much spirit left.

帶著這種令人沮喪的想法，一路又被頭頂嘎嘎叫的烏鴉跟著，他們拖著疲憊的步伐回到了營地。就在不久前的六月，他們還是埃爾隆德漂亮居所的座上賓;雖說現(xiàn)在秋天是在慢慢向冬天走去，可那段歡樂時光卻仿佛已是多年前的舊事了。他們孤零零地身處在荒野之中，已經(jīng)無望再得到更多的幫助了。這雖然是他們旅程的最后一段，但冒險的終點似乎與以前一樣遙不可及。他們之中已經(jīng)沒有一個人還保持著高昂的斗志了。

Now strange to say Mr. Baggins had more than the others. He would often borrow Thorin’s map and gaze at it, pondering over the runes and the message of the moon-letters Elrond had read. It was he that made the dwarves begin the dangerous search on the western slopes for the secret door. They moved their camp then to a long valley, narrower than the great dale in the South where the Gates of the river stood, and walled with lower spurs of the Mountain. Two of these here thrust forward west from the main mass in long steep-sided ridges that fell ever downwards towards the plain. On this western side there were fewer signs of the dragon’s marauding feet, and there was some grass for their ponies. From this western camp, shadowed all day by cliff and wall until the sun began to sink towards the forest, day by day they toiled in parties searching for paths up the mountain-side. If the map was true, somewhere high above the cliff at the valley’s head must stand the secret door. Day by day they came back to their camp without success.

然而巴金斯先生的精氣神卻比其他人多一點，這說來其實是蠻奇怪的。他經(jīng)常會向索林借來地圖，一看就是半天，思索著關于上面的如尼文和埃爾隆德所說的月亮文字所記載的謎團。正是在他的堅持下，矮人們才開始對西坡進行了十分危險的搜索以找尋那道密門。他們那時把營地搬到了一個狹長的山谷中，這里要比南邊那個奔流河流出的正門所在的河谷要狹窄，被大山較低的一些支脈所包圍。有兩條支脈在這里與主脈分開，以綿長而又陡峭的山脊往西延伸插入平原。惡龍的足跡在西邊更為少見，這里甚至還有一些青草可以供小馬吃。這個營地整天都在懸崖陰影籠罩之下，只有太陽開始朝著森林落下的時候才會被陽光照亮。他們就從這里一次又一次地分成小隊搜尋上山的路。如果地圖正確的話，那么在山谷出口處高高的懸崖上，一定就是那密門的所在。日復一日，他們回到營地時都一無所獲。

But at last unexpectedly they found what they were seeking. Fili and Kili and the hobbit went back one day down the valley and scrambled among the tumbled rocks at its southern corner. About midday, creeping behind a great stone that stood alone like a pillar, Bilbo came on what looked like rough steps going upwards. Following these excitedly he and the dwarves found traces of a narrow track, often lost, often rediscovered, that wandered on to the top of the southern ridge and brought them at last to a still narrower ledge, which turned north across the face of the Mountain. Looking down they saw that they were at the top of the cliff at the valley’s head and were gazing down on to their own camp below. Silently, clinging to the rocky wall on their right, they went in single file along the ledge, till the wall opened and they turned into a little steep-walled bay, grassy-floored, still and quiet. Its entrance which they had found could not be seen from below because of the overhang of the cliff, nor from further off because it was so small that it looked like a dark crack and no more. It was not a cave and was open to the sky above; but at its inner end a flat wall rose up that in the lower part, close to the ground, was as smooth and upright as masons’ work, but without a joint or crevice to be seen. No sign was there of post or lintel or threshold, nor any sign of bar or bolt or key-hole; yet they did not doubt that they had found the door at last.

但最后，他們卻于無意中找到了他們要找的目標。菲力、奇力和比爾博有一天從山谷那邊回來，在南邊角上的一堆碎石中磕磕絆絆地走著。大約在中午時分，比爾博在繞過一座像柱子一樣孤零零矗立著的巨巖時，發(fā)現(xiàn)了一道似乎是往上的簡陋階梯。他和兩個矮人同伴興奮地拾級而上，找到了一條狹窄小道的痕跡。痕跡忽隱忽現(xiàn)，一直蜿蜒曲折地來到了南嶺的頂端，終于把他們送上了另一道更狹窄經(jīng)過山的正面朝北轉去的巖架。他們往下看去，發(fā)現(xiàn)自己正在谷口的懸崖頂端，俯瞰著自己的營地。他們靜悄悄地靠著右邊的山壁，排成一路縱隊沿著巖架朝前走，直到山壁消失，他們拐進了一個被懸崖環(huán)抱著的，遍地青草，闃寂無聲的山坳。由于這個山坳的入口四周被懸崖?lián)踝?，因此從下面根本看不見，而從遠處也很難發(fā)現(xiàn)，因為它小得看起來只像是一道黑暗的裂縫。這不是一個洞穴，而是一個露天的空間，但在它的最里端則豎著一面扁平的石壁，其下端靠近地面的地方光滑而又平直，簡直如同經(jīng)過石匠之手，但上面卻見不到一點雕鑿加工的痕跡。那里沒有任何門柱、門樞或是門檻的痕跡，也沒有門欄、門閂或是鑰匙孔的痕跡，然而他們卻毫不懷疑，他們終于找到了進入山洞的密門。

They beat on it, they thrust and pushed at it, they implored it to move, they spoke fragments of broken spells of opening, and nothing stirred. At last tired out they rested on the grass at its feet, and then at evening began their long climb down.

他們對著山壁又拍又打，又推又拉，他們嘮里嘮叨地懇求它動起來，又念誦著支離破碎、七拼八湊的開門咒語，然而一切都沒有發(fā)生。折騰了半天后他們精疲力竭了，便坐倒在石壁跟前的草地上休息，等到了晚上才開始慢慢地朝山下走去。

There was excitement in the camp that night. In the morning they prepared to move once more. Only Bofur and Bombur were left behind to guard the ponies and such stores as they had brought with them from the river. The others went down the valley and up the newly found path, and so to the narrow ledge. Along this they could carry no bundles or packs, so narrow and breathless was it, with a fall of a hundred and fifty feet beside them on to sharp rocks below; but each of them took a good coil of rope wound tight about his waist, and so at last without mishap they reached the little grassy bay.

當天晚上大家都很興奮，到了早上，大家再次整裝待發(fā)，只有波弗和邦伯被留在營區(qū)，看管小馬和從水路帶來的補給物資。其他的人先沿著山谷往下，然后再順著新發(fā)現(xiàn)的小徑來到那道狹窄的山脊。由于小路又窄又險，一邊是一百五十呎的峭壁，所以根本無法攜帶任何的行李或背包，但每個人都帶了一大卷繩索綁在腰際，因此最后都安全地來到了長滿青草的小山坳。

There they made their third camp, hauling up what they needed from below with their ropes. Down the same way they were able occasionally to lower one of the more active dwarves, such as Kili, to exchange such news as there was, or to take a share in the guard below, while Bofur was hauled up to the higher camp. Bombur would not come up either the rope or the path.

他們在這里扎下了第三個營地，用繩子把他們要用到的東西從底下吊了上來。用同樣的方法，他們偶爾也會把身手比較敏捷的矮人，比如奇力，給送下去，與下面互通信息，或者是在波弗被拉到上面的營地時到下面去分擔守衛(wèi)工作。邦伯則不管是利用繩索還是走小徑，都不愿意上來。

“I am too fat for such fly-walks,” he said. “I should turn dizzy and tread on my beard, and then you would be thirteen again. And the knotted ropes are too slender for my weight.” Luckily for him that was not true, as you will see.

“我太胖了，這種半空中的行走我應付不了。”他說，“我會頭暈，然后就會絆到自己的胡子，這樣你們就又會變成只有十三個人了。這些打了結的繩子也太細，不能承載我的體重。”他運氣不錯，這話說得并不對，等下你們就會知道了。

In the meanwhile some of them explored the ledge beyond the opening and found a path that led higher and higher on to the mountain; but they did not dare to venture very far that way, nor was there much use in it. Out up there a silence reigned, broken by no bird or sound except that of the wind in the crannies of stone. They spoke low and never called or sang, for danger brooded in every rock. The others who were busy with the secret of the door had no more success. They were too eager to trouble about the runes or the moon-letters, but tried without resting to discover where exactly in the smooth face of the rock the door was hidden. They had brought picks and tools of many sorts from Lake-town, and at first they tried to use these. But when they struck the stone the handles splintered and jarred their arms cruelly, and the steel heads broke or bent like lead. Mining work, they saw clearly, was no good against the magic that had shut this door; and they grew terrified, too, of the echoing noise.

與此同時，有些人已經(jīng)開始探索入口后面的山脊，發(fā)現(xiàn)有條小徑通往大山的更高處。但他們不敢沿著這條路往前探得太遠，而且就算去了那邊也沒有多大用處。在那片高地上萬籟俱寂，連鳥叫也聽不到，只有風吹過巖石縫隙的聲音。他們壓低聲音說話，不敢大聲喊叫或是唱歌，因為每一塊巖石中都孕育著危險。其他忙著探索門的秘密的人也沒有絲毫的進展。他們太過心急，根本懶得去推敲如尼文或是月亮文字的記載，只是一個勁兒地想在那塊平滑的山壁上找到隱藏的門。他們從長湖鎮(zhèn)帶來了鋼釬等各種各樣的工具，一開始他們先試著利用這些工具，但鋼釬往石頭上一敲，不是把手斷裂，就是把他們的胳膊震得生疼，鋼鐵的尖端要么斷裂，要么彎曲，簡直就像是鉛一樣。很明顯，用采礦那套手法來對付封印密門的魔法是行不通的，而且，對于敲擊鋼釬引起的陣陣回聲也令他們心里越來越發(fā)慌。

Bilbo found sitting on the doorstep lonesome and wearisome—there was not a doorstep, of course, really, but they used to call the little grassy space between the wall and the opening the “doorstep” in fun, remembering Bilbo’s words long ago at the unexpected party in his hobbit-hole, when he said they could sit on the doorstep till they thought of something. And sit and think they did, or wandered aimlessly about, and glummer and glummer they became.

比爾博坐在門階上，覺得孤單而又疲憊——當然，這里并沒有真的臺階或是門檻之類的東西，只是他們都習慣把山壁和山坳入口之間的草地叫做“門階”。這樣叫是出于打趣，因為他們都還記得，在他們第一次拜訪比爾博的時候，他叫他們在想到好點子之前可以先坐在門口的臺階上。他們的確坐在這邊沉思了很久，或是漫無目的地轉來轉去，大伙兒變得越來越悶悶不樂了。

Their spirits had risen a little at the discovery of the path, but now they sank into their boots; and yet they would not give it up and go away. The hobbit was no longer much brighter than the dwarves. He would do nothing but sit with his back to the rock-face and stare away west through the opening, over the cliff, over the wide lands to the black wall of Mirkwood, and to the distances beyond, in which he sometimes thought he could catch glimpses of the Misty Mountains small and far. If the dwarves asked him what he was doing he answered:

發(fā)現(xiàn)小徑的時候，他們的士氣的確有所提升，但現(xiàn)在又跌落到谷底了。不過，他們并不肯放棄。霍比特人也不再比別人興致高出許多了，他經(jīng)常會什么事也不干，定定地背靠山壁坐著，目光穿過山坳的開口，向著遙遠的西面，越過懸崖，越過廣闊的土地，落到黑墻般的黑森林上。他繼續(xù)朝前望去，覺得自己有時甚至能瞥見一眼迷霧山脈那遙遠而渺小的影子。如果矮人們問他在干什么，他會回答：

“You said sitting on the doorstep and thinking would be my job, not to mention getting inside, so I am sitting and thinking.” But I am afraid he was not thinking much of the job, but of what lay beyond the blue distance, the quiet Western Land and the Hill and his hobbit-hole under it.

“你們不是說坐在門口想辦法是我的工作嗎，更不用說還要進去呢，所以我正坐在這里想辦法呀。”不過，恐怕他腦子里在想的并非是眼前的工作，而是在想著遙遠的那片西部陸地，那座小丘，以及小丘下屬于他的洞府。

A large grey stone lay in the centre of the grass and he stared moodily at it or watched the great snails. They seemed to love the little shut-in bay with its walls of cool rock, and there were many of them of huge size crawling slowly and stickily along its sides.

在草地中央有一塊很大的灰色石頭，他會悶悶不樂地一直盯著那塊石頭，或是看大蝸牛爬。這些大蝸牛似乎很喜歡這個封閉在大山深處的山坳和冰涼的巖石，許多體型巨大的蝸牛聚集在此，沿著山坳的邊沿慢騰騰、黏乎豐地爬來爬去。

“Tomorrow begins the last week of autumn,” said Thorin one day.

“明天就是秋天的最后一周了，”有一天索林如此說道。

“And winter comes after autumn,” said Bifur.

“秋天之后就是冬天了。”比弗接口道。

“And next year after that,” said Dwalin, “and our beards will grow till they hang down the cliff to the valley before anything happens here. What is our burglar doing for us? Since he has got an invisible ring, and ought to be a specially excellent performer now, I am beginning to think he might go through the Front Gate and spy things out a bit!”

“然后就是明年了。”杜瓦林說，“我們的胡子會越來越長，還不等這里有任何事情發(fā)生，我們的胡子就能沿著懸崖一直長到山谷里去了。我們的飛賊幫上我們什么忙了嗎?既然他手上有那么一個隱形戒指，現(xiàn)在正應該大顯身手才對。我都有點覺得他應該從正門進去，替我們打探一下狀況了!”

Bilbo heard this—the dwarves were on the rocks just above the enclosure where he was sitting—and “Good Gracious!” he thought, “so that is what they are beginning to think, is it? It is always poor me that has to get them out of their difficulties, at least since the wizard left. Whatever am I going to do? I might have known that something dreadful would happen to me in the end. I don’t think I could bear to see the unhappy valley of Dale again, and as for that steaming gate! ! !”

比爾博聽見了——矮人們所在的那片巖石正好就在他坐的地方的頭上——“天哪!”他想道，“原來他們開始有了這樣的念頭啊!每回有了麻煩，總是指望我來替他們脫離困境，至少在巫師離開之后一直是這樣。我究竟該怎么辦呢?我看到頭來別會有什么可怕的事情落到我頭上呢。我覺得，我可忍受不了再看到那個悲慘的河谷城，也再不想見到那個冒著蒸汽的大門了!!!”

That night he was very miserable and hardly slept. Next day the dwarves all went wandering off in various directions; some were exercising the ponies down below, some were roving about the mountain-side. All day Bilbo sat gloomily in the grassy bay gazing at the stone, or out west through the narrow opening. He had a queer feeling that he was waiting for something. “Perhaps the wizard will suddenly come back today,” he thought.

那天晚上，他越想心里越不是滋味，翻來覆去地怎么也睡不著。第二天，矮人們散到四面八方去閑逛了，有的到下面去遛小馬，有的則沿著山坡瞎轉悠。比爾博整天都坐在長著青草的山坳里看石頭，或是通過山坳的入口朝西方遠眺。他有一種奇怪的感覺，覺得自己正在等待著什么東西。“或許巫師會在今天突然回來吧。”他想。

If he lifted his head he could see a glimpse of the distant forest. As the sun turned west there was a gleam of yellow upon its far roof, as if the light caught the last pale leaves. Soon he saw the orange ball of the sun sinking towards the level of his eyes. He went to the opening and there pale and faint was a thin new moon above the rim of Earth.

如果他抬起頭來，就會瞥見遠方的森林。太陽西墜的時候，森林的頂端會泛起一片金光，如同太陽光照射在最后一些淺色的樹葉上。很快他就可以看見橘色的火球落到了與他視線齊平的高度。他走到山坳的入口，看見一輪淡淡的新月出現(xiàn)在地平面上。

At that very moment he heard a sharp crack behind him. There on the grey stone in the grass was an enormous thrush, nearly coal black, its pale yellow breast freckled with dark spots. Crack! It had caught a snail and was knocking it on the stone. Crack! Crack!

就在這一刻，他聽見身后傳來一記尖利的咔嗒聲，一只巨大的畫眉鳥落在草地上的灰色巖石上，它幾乎是全黑的，就連淺黃色的胸脯上都布滿黑點。咔嗒!它抓到了一只蝸牛，正在巖石上試圖敲破它的殼。咔嗒!咔嗒!

Suddenly Bilbo understood. Forgetting all danger he stood on the ledge and hailed the dwarves, shouting and waving. Those that were nearest came tumbling over the rocks and as fast as they could along the ledge to him, wondering what on earth was the matter; the others shouted to be hauled up the ropes (except Bombur, of course: he was asleep).

比爾博突然間明白了。他忘記了所有的危險，站在山脊上招呼矮人們，對著他們又是喊叫，又是揮手。離他最近的人立刻用最快的速度攀著巖石沿著山脊向他趕來，心中納悶究竟會是什么重要的事情;其他人則高聲喊著叫上面放繩子把他們吊上來(只有邦伯例外：他睡著了)。

Quickly Bilbo explained. They all fell silent: the hobbit standing by the grey stone, and the dwarves with wagging beards watching impatiently. The sun sank lower and lower, and their hopes fell. It sank into a belt of reddened cloud and disappeared. The dwarves groaned, but still Bilbo stood almost without moving. The little moon was dipping to the horizon. Evening was coming on. Then suddenly when their hope was lowest a red ray of the sun escaped like a finger through a rent in the cloud. A gleam of light came straight through the opening into the bay and fell on the smooth rock-face. The old thrush, who had been watching from a high perch with beady eyes and head cocked on one side, gave a sudden trill. There was a loud crack. A flake of rock split from the wall and fell. A hole appeared suddenly about three feet from the ground.

比爾博很快對眾人作了解釋，他們?nèi)家宦暡豢缘芈犞?。霍比特人靜靜地站在灰?guī)r旁，矮人們的胡子飄來飄去，不耐煩地看著他。太陽越落越低，他們的希望也在跌落。最后，它沉入一圈火紅的晚霞，消失了。矮人們發(fā)著牢騷，但比爾博依舊幾乎是紋絲不動地站著。新月與地平線還有一絲粘連，夜色正在降臨。突然，就在他們最灰心的時候，一縷紅色的陽光像一根手指捅破帳篷一樣，從云層中逃了出來，一道光線直直地穿過山坳的入口，落在了光滑的巖壁上。那只老畫眉鳥之前一直瞪著亮晶晶的小眼睛，腦袋高高翹起側向一邊，停在高處觀察著，此時只聽它猛地叫了一聲!接著是很響的一聲“咔嗒!”一片薄薄的巖石從巖壁上裂開又落下，離地三呎的地方突然出現(xiàn)了一個小洞。

Quickly, trembling lest the chance should fade, the dwarves rushed to the rock and pushed—in vain.

矮人們反應倒是很快，擔心機會稍縱即逝，紛紛沖到巖石跟前，想把小洞推開——然而卻只是徒勞。

“The key! The key!” cried Bilbo. “Where is Thorin?”

“鑰匙!鑰匙!”比爾博大喊，“索林在哪兒?”

Thorin hurried up.

索林急忙跑了過來。

“The key!” shouted Bilbo. “The key that went with the map! Try it now while there is still time!”

“鑰匙!”比爾博吼道，“和那張地圖一起的鑰匙!趁還有時間趕緊試試!”

Then Thorin stepped up and drew the key on its chain from round his neck. He put it to the hole. It fitted and it turned! Snap! The gleam went out, the sun sank, the moon was gone, and evening sprang into the sky.

索林走上前，把連在鏈子上的鑰匙從脖子上摘了下來，插到了洞里。洞孔與鑰匙很吻合，跟著鑰匙轉動了起來!嗒!光線消失，太陽落下，月亮也不見了，夜色布滿了天空。

Now they all pushed together, and slowly a part of the rock-wall gave way. Long straight cracks appeared and widened. A door five feet high and three broad was outlined, and slowly without a sound swung inwards. It seemed as if darkness flowed out like a vapour from the hole in the mountain-side, and deep darkness in which nothing could be seen lay before their eyes, a yawning mouth leading in and down.

這時，眾人一起發(fā)力推動大門，慢慢地，巖壁的一部分向后退去，狹長的縫隙出現(xiàn)了，并且越來越大，漸漸現(xiàn)出一道五呎高，三呎寬的大門，緩慢而又無聲地向內(nèi)轉去。黑暗如同蒸汽一般從山壁上的黑洞往外流出來，在他們的眼前是一個伸手不見五指的漆黑洞穴，如同一張張開的大嘴，直通入孤山的深腹。