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Mr Scott furrowed his brow, looking down at the note and then up at the man standing opposite him.
斯科特先生皱起眉头，低头看着纸条，然后抬头看着站在他对面的人。
‘You do look very similar to the fellow on there, I have to admit. It’s just all a bit unexpected. I thought you would be… how can I say?
我得承认，你和画上的人长得确实很像。只是这一切都有点出乎意料。我以为你会……我该怎么说呢？
Different. No matter. Your Majesty, I am from the village of Chilly Bottom.
有所不同。不过没关系。陛下，我来自寒谷。
I am one of your loyal subjects, and I am here with an important request to make of you. ’ With this, his voice grew sterner. ‘Release the penguins!’
我是您忠实的臣民之一，我在这里有一个重要的请求。说到这里，他的声音变得更加严厉。“释放企鹅！”
The king looked surprised, and then gave a small laugh. ‘Release the penguins? And which penguins might you be referring to?’
国王看上去很惊讶，然后轻声笑了一下。“释放企鹅？你说的是哪些企鹅？”
‘Your majesty, do you or do you not have a park in the city called Regent’s Park?’
陛下，您在城里有没有一个叫做摄政公园的公园？
‘Well, there is a park called Regent’s Park, but it isn’t exactly mine.’
嗯，有一个公园叫摄政公园，但它不完全是我的。
‘And in this park, are there or are there not penguins being held captive, forced to do tricks for the amusement of the common man?’
那么在这个公园里，有没有企鹅被囚禁，被迫为普通人的娱乐表演把戏？
The king looked puzzled, and turned again to one of the footmen.
国王看上去一脸困惑，又转向一个男仆。
‘Wilkins, didn’t you take your son to the zoo for his birthday a few weeks ago? Do you know if there are any penguins there? ’
威尔金斯，你不是几周前带儿子去动物园过生日了吗？你知道那里有没有企鹅吗？
‘Yes, sir, there are. They feed them twice a day – wonderful show they put on, my son absolutely loved it,’ the footman responded, evidently pleased to be involved in something other than opening and closing doors.
是的，先生，有。他们一天喂它们两次——表演非常精彩，我儿子非常喜欢，”男仆回答道，显然很高兴能参与一些开门关门以外的事情。
‘Well, Mr Scott, there’s your answer. There are penguins, but I think it’s a bit much to say that I am keeping them captive. The zoo really isn’t anything to do with me.
“嗯，斯科特先生，这是你要的答案，有企鹅，但我认为说我把它们囚禁起来有点过分了。动物园真的与我无关。
Why is it that you are so concerned about them, may I ask?
为什么你会如此关心他们，我可以问一下吗？
Have you really come all this way to ask me this question?
你真的大老远跑来就为了问我这个问题吗？
If you have, I am awfully sorry that there is nothing I can do.’
如果是这样的话，我非常抱歉，我无能为力。”
Mr Scott then proceeded to tell the king the same story he had told Fitzwilliam-Patrick the previous evening: how they worshipped the penguins as gods, how they had learned English from a book found in the snow, and how the news of the penguins at London Zoo had made it all the way to Chilly Bottom.
斯科特先生接着给国王讲了前一天晚上他给菲茨威廉 - 帕特里克讲的同一个故事：他们如何把企鹅当作神来崇拜，他们如何从雪地里发现的一本书中学到了英语，以及伦敦动物园的企鹅的消息是如何一路传到寒谷的。
The king was very interested. As he listened, he furrowed his brows and stroked his chin.
国王非常感兴趣。他听着，皱起眉头，抚摸着下巴。
‘You know, my dear Mr Scott,’ he said, smiling, ‘I think there might be something we can do.
“你知道的，我亲爱的斯科特先生，”他微笑着说，“我想也许我们可以做点什么。”
I’m going to have to speak with my legal advisors, naturally, but I just think I might know a way to resolve this problem.
我自然得和我的法律顾问谈谈，不过我觉得我可能知道一个解决这个问题的办法。
Leave it with me, but we must meet again tomorrow, 8am sharp.’
交给我吧，但是我们明天早上8点整必须再见一次。
The following morning, the Antarctic traveller rose bright and early, and made his way to the king’s breakfast room through a maze of corridors.
第二天早上，这位南极旅行者早早地起床，精神饱满，穿过迷宫般的走廊，前往国王的早餐室。
When he opened the door, he saw the king wearing the same clothes, unshaven, with a mad look in his eyes.
当他打开门时，他看到国王穿着同样的衣服，胡子拉碴，眼神疯狂。
Papers covered the table, and several old leather-bound books were piled up on chairs nearby. The king spoke quickly. ‘My dear Mr Scott – may I call you Bobby? Bobby, I think we have it.
文件铺满了桌子，几本旧的皮革装订的书堆在旁边的椅子上。国王语速很快。“我亲爱的斯科特先生——我可以叫你博比吗？博比，我想我们找到办法了。”
You may know that the king is the legal owner of all swans in the country, but did you know that he also can grant himself ownership over any bird in the British Empire if there is a valid ecological or theological reason for it?
您可能知道国王是国内所有天鹅的合法所有者，但您知道吗，如果有合理的生态或神学理由，国王也可以授予自己对大英帝国境内任何鸟类所有权。
The law dates back to 1314, but my advisors have told me that it has never been changed. This means, my dear boy, that we have a solution.
该法律可追溯到1314年，但我的顾问告诉我，它从未被修改过。这意味着，我亲爱的孩子，我们有一个解决方案。
You and the residents of Chilly Bottom are my subjects.
你和寒谷的居民都是我的臣民。
I might not have known about you, I mean, nobody knew about you, but Chilly Bottom is British Antarctic Territory, and that makes you one of us.
我可能不了解你，我是说，没人了解你，但寒谷是英属南极领地，这让你成为我们中的一员。
As king, it is my duty to ensure that your religious beliefs are protected, and if your god – gods I should probably say – are being held in a zoo, then this is certainly a valid theological reason to call up Statute 1408, Point A Section 49.
作为国王，我有责任确保你的宗教信仰得到保护，如果你的神——我应该说诸神——被关在动物园里，那么这肯定是一个有效的神学理由来调用第1408号法令，第49节A点。
I’ll have my team write a press release immediately.’
我会让我的团队立即写一份新闻稿。
Throughout this speech, Robert Falcon Scott had been nodding away, mm-ing in agreement with the king’s every word.
在整个演讲过程中，罗伯特·法尔肯·斯科特一直在点头，对国王的每一句话都表示赞同。
When the king finally finished, all the man from Antarctica could manage was a quiet ‘Thank you, Your Majesty’. He could hardly believe his ears.
国王终于讲完后，来自南极洲的这个人只能轻声说一句：“谢谢您，陛下。”他简直不敢相信自己的耳朵。
And so it was that, 48 hours later, all 73 penguins from London Zoo waddled onto a specially-adapted aeroplane and made the long journey back to Chilly Bottom.
就这样，48小时后，伦敦动物园的73只企鹅摇摇摆摆地登上了一架特别改装的飞机，踏上了返回寒谷的漫长旅程。
73 penguins and one man, that is, for right behind them was Robert Falcon Scott, the man who had rescued his gods. Mr Scott kept a diary throughout his trip.
73只企鹅和一个人，也就是说，在它们身后的正是罗伯特·法尔肯·斯科特，那个拯救了他的神的人。斯科特先生在整个旅行中都记日记。
The final entry reads as follows: London, April 2024. Leaving now.
最终的记录如下：伦敦，2024年4月。现在离开。
The people speak with a horrible accent, the weather is worse than a sick seal’s bottom and they’ve never even heard of rotten penguin poo.
那里的人说话口音很重，天气比生病的海豹的屁股还糟糕，而且他们甚至从未听说过腐烂的企鹅粪便。
I enjoyed my time in London, but I’m glad to be waddling home.
我在伦敦过得很愉快，但我也很高兴能摇摇摆摆地回家。
