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"What is your trouble?" asked the Lion quietly.
狮子镇静地问道：“你们遇到什么麻烦？”
"We are all threatened," answered the tiger, "by a fierce enemy which has lately come into this forest.
“我们都被新来到这森林中的一只可怕的敌人威胁着，”老虎回答说，
It is a most tremendous monster, like a great spider, with a body as big as an elephant and legs as long as a tree trunk.
“它是一个巨大的可怕的怪物，像一个大蜘蛛，身体却有大象那么大，脚有一棵树干那么长。
It has eight of these long legs, and as the monster crawls through the forest he seizes an animal with a leg and drags it to his mouth, where he eats it as a spider does a fly.
这样长的脚有八只，当这个怪物爬过这森林时，随意地用一只脚捉住一只野兽，塞到嘴里去，像一只蜘蛛吃着苍蝇般那么容易。
Not one of us is safe while this fierce creature is alive, and we had called a meeting to decide how to take care of ourselves when you came among us."
只要这个凶猛的怪物活着，我们的安全都无法保证，所以当你来到这里时，我们正在召开一个会议，决定对付那个可怕的家伙。”
The Lion thought for a moment.
狮子想了一会儿，
"Are there any other lions in this forest?" he asked.
它问道：“在这个森林里，还有狮子吗？”
"No; there were some, but the monster has eaten them all. And, besides, they were none of them nearly so large and brave as you."
“没有，曾经有过几只，但是全被怪物吃掉了。而且，它们中没有一个像你样强壮而勇敢的。”
"If I put an end to your enemy, will you bow down to me and obey me as King of the Forest?" inquired the Lion.
狮子问道：“如果我杀死了怪物，你们会不会佩服我，并且像对一个森林之王一般地听从我？”
"We will do that gladly," returned the tiger; and all the other beasts roared with a mighty roar: "We will!"
老虎回答说：“我们都愿意听从你。”空旷地上响起了所有野兽们一阵有力的吼声：“我们愿意！”
"Where is this great spider of yours now?" asked the Lion.
狮子问：“现在那个大蜘蛛在哪里？”
"Yonder, among the oak trees," said the tiger, pointing with his forefoot.
“在那边栎树林中，”老虎说着，并用它的前脚指引着。
"Take good care of these friends of mine," said the Lion, "and I will go at once to fight the monster."
狮子说：“你照顾好我的朋友们，我立刻去找那个怪物决斗。”
He bade his comrades good-bye, "don't worry, good-bye", and marched proudly away to do battle with the enemy.
它向朋友们说声再会，昂首朝栎树林里走去，去向那个怪物挑战。
The great spider was lying asleep when the Lion found him, and it looked so ugly that its foe turned up his nose in disgust.
当狮子发现它时，这个大蜘蛛正在酣睡中，那样子是凶恶而丑陋，使得狮子因为厌恶而掩着自己的鼻子。
Its legs were quite as long as the tiger had said, and its body covered with coarse black hair.
它的几只脚，就像老虎所描述的，身上覆盖着粗糙的黑色的毛发。
It had a great mouth, with a row of sharp teeth a foot long; but its head was joined to the pudgy body by a neck as slender as a wasp's waist.
它的嘴很大，有一排一尺长的尖利的牙齿；但是它的头，却和一条像一只黄蜂的腰似的细弱颈项连接着。
This gave the Lion a hint of the best way to attack the creature, and as he knew it was easier to fight it asleep than awake, he gave a great spring and landed directly upon the monster's back.
这就让狮子有了攻击它的办法，知道在它睡着时攻击它，比它醒来时更出其不意。于是狮子对准那个怪物的背，跳了一下，就扑了上去。
Then, with one blow of his heavy paw, all armed with sharp claws, he knocked the spider's head from its body.
随后，用沉重的脚掌一击，使出了所有的利爪，打击着蜘蛛的头，使它身体和头都分离开来。
Jumping down, he watched it until the long legs stopped wiggling, when he knew it was quite dead.
最后它所有的长脚都不动了，狮子知道它已经死去了，才跳了下来。
The Lion went back to the opening where the beasts of the forest were waiting for him and said proudly: "You need fear your enemy no longer."
狮子又回到空旷的地方来，在森林中的野兽们正等着它，它骄傲地说道：“你们再也不用怕那怪物了。”
Then the beasts bowed down to the Lion as their King,
于是野兽们像向着它们的王一样地拜倒在狮子脚下；
and he promised to come back and rule over them as soon as Dorothy was safely on her way to Kansas.
狮子便答应在多萝茜平安地走上了到堪萨斯州去的道路后，一定回来管理它们。
