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Chapter 8 The Mermaids' Lagoon
第八章 人鱼的礁湖
If you shut your eyes and are a lucky one, you may see at times a shapeless pool of lovely pale colours suspended in the darkness;
如果你闭上双眼，碰上你运气好，你有时会看见黑暗中悬浮着一汪池水，没有一定的形状，颜色淡白，十分可爱。
then if you squeeze your eyes tighter, the pool begins to take shape,
然后，你把眼睛眯一眯，水池就现出了形状，
and the colours become so vivid that with another squeeze they must go on fire.
颜色变得更加鲜明；再眯得紧些，那颜色就变得像着了火似的。
But just before they go on fire you see the lagoon.
但就在它着火燃烧以前，你就瞥见了那礁湖。
This is the nearest you ever get to it on the mainland, just one heavenly moment;
这便是你在大陆上所能看到的礁湖的最逼近的景象，仅仅是美妙的一瞬间，
if there could be two moments you might see the surf and hear the mermaids singing.
要是能有两瞬间，你也许还能看见拍岸的浪花，听见人鱼的歌唱。
The children often spent long summer days on this lagoon,
孩子们时常在礁湖上消磨长长的夏日，
swimming or floating most of the time, playing the mermaid games in the water, and so forth.
多半在水里游泳，或在水上漂浮，玩着人鱼的游戏，等等。
You must not think from this that the mermaids were on friendly terms with them:
你不要因此以为，人鱼们和他们友好相处；
on the contrary, it was among Wendy's lasting regrets that all the time she was on the island she never had a civil word from one of them.
恰恰相反，温迪在岛上的时候，从来没有听到她们对她说过一句客气的话，她感到这永远是她的一个遗憾。
When she stole softly to the edge of the lagoon she might see them by the score, especially on Marooners' Rock,
当她偷偷地走近湖边时，她就看到成群的人鱼；特别是在流囚岩上,
where they loved to bask, combing out their hair in a lazy way that quite irritated her;
她们喜欢在那儿晒太阳，梳理她们的长发，那神态撩得她心里痒痒的。
or she might even swim, on tiptoe as it were, to within a yard of them,
她可以像是踮着脚走路似的，轻轻游到离她们一码远的地方；
but then they saw her and dived, probably splashing her with their tails, not by accident, but intentionally.
可这时她们发现了她，就纷纷纵身潜入水中，或许还故意用尾巴撩水溅她一身。
They treated all the boys in the same way, except of course Peter, who chatted with them on Marooners' Rock by the hour,
人鱼们对待男孩子们也是这样，当然彼得是例外，彼得和她们坐在流囚岩上长时间地谈天，
and sat on their tails when they got cheeky. He gave Wendy one of their combs.
在她们嬉皮笑脸的时候，骑上她们的尾巴。他把她们的一把梳子给了温迪。
The most haunting time at which to see them is at the turn of the moon, when they utter strange wailing cries;
看人鱼最魅人的时间，是在月亮初升时；那时，她们会发出奇异的哭号声。
but the lagoon is dangerous for mortals then, and until the evening of which we have now to tell,
不过，那时候礁湖对于人类是危险的，在我们要谈到的那个夜晚之前，
Wendy had never seen the lagoon by moonlight, less from fear, for of course Peter would have accompanied her,
温迪从来没见过月光下的礁湖。她倒不是害怕，因为，彼得当然会陪伴她的；
than because she had strict rules about every one being in bed by seven. She was often at the lagoon,
而是因为，她有严格的规定，一到七点钟，人人都必须上床睡觉。
however, on sunny days after rain, when the mermaids come up in extraordinary numbers to play with their bubbles.
她时常在雨过天晴的日子来到湖畔，那时，人鱼大批地到水面上来，玩着水泡。
