Chapter Six The Wild Waste Lands of the North
第六章 北部荒野
At about nine o'clock next morning three lonely figures might have been seen picking their way across the Shribble by the shoals and stepping-stones.
第二天早晨九点钟左右,三个人就踏上征程,踩着浅滩和踏脚石蹚过了雪利波河。
It was a shallow, noisy stream, and even Jill was not wet above her knees when they reached the northern bank.
小溪很浅,流水潺潺,吉尔蹚过去到达北岸时只打湿了膝盖。
About fifty yards ahead, the land rose up to the beginning of the moor, everywhere steeply, and often in cliffs.
大约50码开外,地形渐渐上升,最终和沼泽连为一体,愈发陡峭,悬崖峭壁随处可见。
"I suppose that's our way!" said Scrubb, pointing left and west to where a stream flowed down from the moor through a shallow gorge. But the Marsh-wiggle shook his head.
“那就是我们要找的地方!”斯库波边说边指了指左边靠西的位置,那里的溪水从沼泽流入浅谷。但沼泽人摇了摇头。
"The giants mainly live along the side of that gorge," he said. "You might say the gorge was like a street to them. We'll do better straight ahead, even though it's a bit steep."
“巨人们大部分沿着那条峡谷居住。”他说,“你可以把峡谷说成他们的街道。我们最好一直走,虽然这条道有点陡。”
They found a place where they could scramble up, and in about ten minutes stood panting at the top.
他们开始沿着山坡攀爬,大约十分钟后到达了山顶,三人都气喘吁吁。
They cast a longing look back at the valley-land of Narnia and then turned their faces to the North. The vast, lonely moor stretched on and up as far as they could see.
他们回头望了望纳尼亚境内的谷地,然后把脸转向北边。无边无际的沼泽静静地延伸开来,上上下下起伏不定。
On their left was rockier ground. Jill thought that must be the edge of the giants' gorge and did not much care about looking in that direction. They set out.
他们左边是一片多岩石的区域。吉尔认为那一定是巨人峡谷的边缘,她不大想往那个方向看。三人继续前行。
It was good, springy ground for walking, and a day of pale winter sunlight. As they got deeper into the moor, the loneliness increased: one could hear peewits and see an occasional hawk.
地面踩起来既舒服又有弹性,非常适合步行。冬日的阳光逐渐暗淡。随着他们在沼泽地带越走越深,周围也越来越静谧:你能听见田凫的叫声,偶尔还能看见一只鹰。
When they halted in the middle of the morning for a rest and a drink in a little hollow by a stream, Jill was beginning to feel that she might enjoy adventures after all, and said so.
早晨过半,他们停下来休息,在河边的小洞穴里找了点水喝。吉尔发现自己已经开始喜欢冒险了,她把自己的想法说了出来。
"We haven't had any yet," said the Marsh-wiggle. Walks after the first halt—like school mornings after break or railway journeys after changing trains—never go on as they were before.
“冒险还没怎么开始呢。”沼泽人说。正如上午的课间休息和铁路运输的中途停靠,远足一旦停下来,节奏就变了。
When they set out again, Jill noticed that the rocky edge of the gorge had drawn nearer. And the rocks were less flat, more upright, than they had been.
当他们再次起程时,吉尔发现那布满石头的峡谷边缘离自己更近了,岩石变得更加高耸。
In fact they were like little towers of rock. And what funny shapes they were!
实际上,这些崖石更像宝塔,形状真是有趣!
"I do believe," thought Jill, "that all the stories about giants might have come from those funny rocks. If you were coming along here when it was half dark, you could easily think those piles of rock were giants. Look at that one, now!
吉尔想,所有那些关于巨人的故事一定取材于这些有趣的崖石。想象一下,天色暗淡时,你看到这些奇形怪状的石头,很容易将它们联想为巨人。快瞧瞧那!
You could almost imagine that the lump on top was a head. It would be rather too big for the body, but it would do well enough for an ugly giant.
顶端那个大家伙是不是很像巨人的脑袋。虽然身子根本无法支撑那么大的头,但对一个长相奇丑的巨人来说这根本不算什么。
And all that bushy stuff—I suppose it's heather and birds' nests, really—would do quite well for hair and beard. And the things sticking out on each side are quite like ears. They'd be horribly big, but then I dare say giants would have big ears, like elephants. And—o-o-o-h!—"
再瞧那些灌木丛似的东西(貌似是石楠或鸟巢之类的),正好做巨人的头发和胡子。那些向两边龇出来的多像两只耳朵。它们太大了,但我敢说巨人的耳朵一定很大,和大象耳朵有一拼。还有……“哦,天啊……”
Her blood froze. The thing moved. It was a real giant. There was no mistaking it; she had seen it turn its head.
吉尔觉得自己浑身的血液都凝固了。那东西居然会动,他真是巨人。绝对没错!刚才还瞧见他扭头了呢。
She had caught a glimpse of the great, stupid, puffcheeked face. All the things were giants, not rocks.
吉尔瞥了他一眼,那张脸真大,显得又愚蠢又肿胀。那堆东西根本不是石头,而是巨人。
There were forty or fifty of them, all in a row; obviously standing with their feet on the bottom of the gorge and their elbows resting on the edge of the gorge, just as men might stand leaning on a wall-lazy men, on a fine morning after breakfast.
他们有四五十个,站成一排,脚踩在峡谷底部,胳膊肘靠在峡谷边缘,那姿势就像人倚着墙一样(懒人就喜欢这么待着,尤其是在天气好的早晨吃过早餐之后)。
"Keep straight on," whispered Puddleglum, who had noticed them too. "Don't look at them. And whatever you do, don't run. They'd be after us in a moment."
“一直朝前走。”帕德格莱姆小声说,他也看见巨人了,“别看他们,千万别跑!否则他们就会追咱们。”
So they kept on, pretending not to have seen the giants. It was like walking past the gate of a house where there is a fierce dog, only far worse. There were dozens and dozens of these giants.
他们三个继续前进,装作没看见巨人一样。这情形就像走过一扇门,门前蹲着只恶狗,不,简直比那还糟。巨人一拨拨出现,共有好几十个。
They didn't look angry—or kind—or interested at all. There was no sign that they had seen the travellers.
他们并没发怒,也没有表示友好,他们好像并没注意到这三名外来者。
Then—whizz-whizz-whizz—some heavy object came hurtling through the air, and with a crash a big boulder fell about twenty paces ahead of them.
突然,后面传来“嗖嗖”声,几个庞然大物飞到空中,随着一声巨响,一块巨型卵石在离他们大约二十步远的地方砰的落地。