霍比特人：奇怪的住所 Queer Lodgings （下）

The wind was on the withered heath,

风儿在荒原之上，

but in the forest stirred no leaf:

但在森林中树叶还未受到扰动：

there shadows lay by night and day,

那里终日都是暗影憧憧，

and dark things silent crept beneath.

黑暗的东西在暗影下爬行。

The wind came down from mountains cold,

风儿自寒冷的山中吹下，

and like a tide it roared and rolled;

如同潮水般咆哮翻滚;

the branches groaned, the forest moaned,

树枝呻吟，森林哀号，

and leaves were laid upon the mould.

树叶被吹落腐土堆中。

The wind went on from West to East;

风儿从西方吹向东方，

all movement in the forest ceased,

森林中一切动静停止，

but shrill and harsh across the marsh

风声凄厉掠过沼地，

its whistling voices were released.

天地间只闻阵阵呼啸。

The grasses hissed, their tassels bent,

草地嘶嘶作响，草穗弯下腰杆，

the reeds were rattling—on it went

杂草簌簌发抖——风儿继续驰骋，

o’er shaken pool under heavens cool

掠过颤动的冰冷湖泊，

where racing clouds were torn and rent.

撕碎奔逃的云朵。

It passed the lonely Mountain bare

它越过孤独的童山，

and swept above the dragon’s lair:

扫过恶龙的巢穴：

there black and dark lay boulders stark

那里又黑又暗，尽是赤裸的巨石，

and flying smoke was in the air.

空气烟雾飘绕。

It left the world and took its flight

它离开世界，继续飞翔

over the wide seas of the night.

越过夜的宽阔海洋。

The moon set sail upon the gale,

月光迎风扬帆，

and stars were fanned to leaping light.

群星环列，发出耀眼光芒。

Bilbo began to nod again. Suddenly up stood Gandalf.

比尔博又开始打起瞌睡来了。突然间，甘道夫站了起来。

“It is time for us to sleep,” he said, “—for us, but not I think for Beorn. In this hall we can rest sound and safe, but I warn you all not to forget what Beorn said before he left us: you must not stray outside until the sun is up, on your peril.”

“该睡觉了。”他说，“——我是说我们，但我想贝奥恩可能还没到睡的时候。我们可以安安心心地在这个大厅里休息，不过，我提醒你们可别忘了贝奥恩临走之前说过的话：太阳升起之前，不要到外面乱跑，否则会有危险。”

Bilbo found that beds had already been laid at the side of the hall, on a sort of raised platform between the pillars and the outer wall. For him there was a little mattress of straw and woollen blankets. He snuggled into them very gladly, summertime though it was. The fire burned low and he fell asleep. Yet in the night he woke: the fire had now sunk to a few embers; the dwarves and Gandalf were all asleep, to judge by their breathing; a splash of white on the floor came from the high moon, which was peering down through the smoke-hole in the roof.

比尔博这才发现大厅的边沿已经铺好了床，在柱子和外墙之间突起的平台上。有一张小小的草垫席子和几条羊毛毯是专门给他准备的，他非常高兴地钻进其中，尽管现在还是夏天。火苗渐渐小了下去，他进入了梦乡。然而到了半夜的时候他醒了过来：火焰现在只剩下几点余烬，从呼吸声来判断，甘道夫和矮人都已经睡着了，地上洒满了银白的月光，高挂中天的月亮正从屋顶上的烟洞往屋里窥探着。

There was a growling sound outside, and a noise as of some great animal scuffling at the door. Bilbo wondered what it was, and whether it could be Beorn in enchanted shape, and if he would come in as a bear and kill them. He dived under the blankets and hid his head, and fell asleep again at last in spite of his fears.

外面传来一声嚎叫，接着门边传来一阵巨大动物拨弄门的声响。比尔博很好奇那会是什么动物，不知道是不是贝奥恩变成中了咒语之后的形态?他又会不会变成大熊进来把大家都杀死?想到这里，他躲进毯子内把头盖住，虽然满心害怕，但最后还是又睡着了。

It was full morning when he awoke. One of the dwarves had fallen over him in the shadows where he lay, and had rolled down with a bump from the platform on to the floor. It was Bofur, and he was grumbling about it, when Bilbo opened his eyes.

当他醒来时，天已经大亮了。有一名矮人在经过他躺着的那片暗影时，不小心被他的身体给绊倒，然后“扑通”一声从平台上滚了下来。那是波弗，当比尔博睁开眼的时候，他正在为此咕哝着。

“Get up lazybones,” he said, “or there will be no breakfast left for you.”

“快起来吧，懒骨头，”他说，“不然就没早餐剩下给你啦!”

Up jumped Bilbo. “Breakfast!” he cried. “Where is breakfast?”

比尔博一跃而起。“早餐!”他大喊道，“早餐在哪儿呢?”

“Mostly inside us,” answered the other dwarves who were moving about the hall; “but what is left is out on the veranda. We have been about looking for Beorn ever since the sun got up; but there is no sign of him anywhere, though we found breakfast laid as soon as we went out.”

“大部分在我们肚子里，”其他在大厅中走来走去的矮人说道，“剩下的则在阳台上。太阳出来之后我们就一直在找贝奥恩，可哪儿都不见他的影子。不过，我们一出去，就发现早餐已经摆好了。”

“Where is Gandalf?” asked Bilbo, moving off to find something to eat as quick as he could.

“甘道夫呢?”比尔博用最快的动作朝外面奔去，想要找东西吃。

“O! out and about somewhere,” they told him. But he saw no sign of the wizard all that day until the evening. Just before sunset he walked into the hall, where the hobbit and the dwarves were having supper, waited on by Beorn’s wonderful animals, as they had been all day. Of Beorn they had seen and heard nothing since the night before, and they were getting puzzled.

“哦!大概在外面什么地方吧。”他们告诉他。但他一直到傍晚都没有见到巫师的踪影。太阳快落山的时候，他才走了进来，矮人和霍比特人正在用晚餐，贝奥恩那些聪明能干的动物服侍着他们，白天一整天也都是他们在服侍着。至于贝奥恩，自从昨天晚上之后，就没有他的任何音讯，这让他们越来越有点摸不着头脑了。

“Where is our host, and where have you been all day yourself?” they all cried.

“我们的主人呢?你自己这一整天又跑到哪儿去了?”他们异口同声地问道。

“One question at a time—and none till after supper! I haven’t had a bite since breakfast.”

“一次一个问题——而且得先吃了晚饭再说。我从今天早餐开始还什么也没吃呢。”

At last Gandalf pushed away his plate and jug—he had eaten two whole loaves (with masses of butter and honey and clotted cream) and drunk at least a quart of mead—and he took out his pipe. “I will answer the second question first,” he said, “—but bless me! this is a splendid place for smoke rings!” Indeed for a long time they could get nothing more out of him, he was so busy sending smoke rings dodging round the pillars of the hall, changing them into all sorts of different shapes and colours, and setting them at last chasing one another out of the hole in the roof. They must have looked very queer from outside, popping out into the air one after another, green, blue, red, silver-grey, yellow, white; big ones, little ones; little ones dodging through big ones and joining into figure-eights, and going off like a flock of birds into the distance.

等甘道夫终于推开了他的盘子和酒壶之后——他一口气吃了整整两大条面包(上面涂了厚厚的黄油、蜂蜜和凝结的奶油)，又喝了至少一夸脱的蜂蜜酒——他又悠悠地拿出了他的烟斗。“我先回答第二个问题，”他说，“——但是天哪!这儿可真是个喷烟圈的好地方!”又有好长一段时间大伙儿从他嘴里什么话也抠不出来，他只顾着喷出烟圈，让它们在柱子间绕来躲去，变幻成各种各样的形状和颜色，最后把它们一个追着一个地从屋顶的通风口送了出去。谁要是从外面看的话一定觉得很奇怪，从那个口子里一个接一个地有烟圈冒出来，绿的、蓝的、红的、银灰色的、黄的、白的，有大个儿的，有小个儿的，小烟圈为了闪躲而从大烟圈之间钻过去，构成了数字8的形状，最后又像一群鸟儿那样向着远方飞去。

“I have been picking out bear-tracks,” he said at last. “There must have been a regular bears’ meeting outside here last night. I soon saw that Beorn could not have made them all: there were far too many of them, and they were of various sizes too. I should say there were little bears, large bears, ordinary bears, and gigantic big bears, all dancing outside from dark to nearly dawn. They came from almost every direction, except from the west over the river, from the Mountains. In that direction only one set of footprints led—none coming, only ones going away from here. I followed these as far as the Carrock. There they disappeared into the river, but the water was too deep and strong beyond the rock for me to cross. It is easy enough, as you remember, to get from this bank to the Carrock by the ford, but on the other side is a cliff standing up from a swirling channel. I had to walk miles before I found a place where the river was wide and shallow enough for me to wade and swim, and then miles back again to pick up the tracks again. By that time it was too late for me to follow them far. They went straight off in the direction of the pine-woods on the east side of the Misty Mountains, where we had our pleasant little party with the Wargs the night before last. And now I think I have answered your first question, too,” ended Gandalf, and he sat a long while silent.

“我一直在追踪熊的足迹。”他终于开口说话了，“昨天晚上，这里外面一定有一个大熊的常规聚会。我很快就知道，贝奥恩不可能同时化身成那么多只熊，因为它们的数量太多了，身材大小也各不相同。我应该这么说，那里有小熊，有大熊，有普通的熊，有超级巨大的熊，都从半夜跳舞跳到快天亮。他们几乎是从四面八方赶过来的，惟一的例外是河对岸的西方，也就是迷雾山脉的方向。在那个方向，只有一道离开的足迹，而不是过来。我跟踪那路足迹一直来到卡尔岩。足迹从那之后就消失在了河中。不过巨岩后面的水流太过湍急，我没有办法过河。你们应该还记得从渡口过到卡尔岩其实不算太困难，但在另外一边则是一道矗立在水流湍急的峡谷之上的悬崖。我走了好几哩的路，才找到一个河水又宽又浅可以渡过的地方，然后我还得再走好几哩路回来才能够继续跟踪足迹。那时，天色已晚，我再也不能继续追踪下去了。那路脚印直直通往迷雾山脉东边的松树林中，也就是我们前天晚上和座狼经历过小小聚会的地方。现在，我想我也同时回答了你们的第一个问题。”甘道夫说完了，他坐着，很长一段时间都没有再说话。

Bilbo thought he knew what the wizard meant. “What shall we do,” he cried, “if he leads all the Wargs and the goblins down here? We shall all be caught and killed! I thought you said he was not a friend of theirs.”

比尔博认为他明白了巫师的意思。“那我们该怎么做呢，”他喊了起来，“如果他把所有的座狼和半兽人都引回来怎么办?我们一定会全都被抓起来杀掉的!我记得你说过他不是他们的朋友。”

“So I did. And don’t be silly! You had better go to bed, your wits are sleepy.”

“我的确是这样说过。别傻了!你最好去睡觉吧，你的智慧都在打瞌睡了。”

The hobbit felt quite crushed, and as there seemed nothing else to do he did go to bed; and while the dwarves were still singing songs he dropped asleep, still puzzling his little head about Beorn, till he dreamed a dream of hundreds of black bears dancing slow heavy dances round and round in the moonlight in the courtyard. Then he woke up when everyone else was asleep, and he heard the same scraping, scuffling, snuffling, and growling as before.

霍比特人觉得挺受打击，可由于似乎也没什么别的事好做了，他只能悻悻地上床去了。当矮人还在唱歌的时候，他已经沉沉睡去，小脑袋里还在为贝奥恩而感到迷惑，直到他做起梦来，梦见几百只黑熊在院子里的月光下缓步跳着缓慢而又笨拙的舞蹈。等其他人都睡觉的时候，他又醒了过来，门外和昨晚一样传来了搔爬、嗅闻和嘶吼的声音。

Next morning they were all wakened by Beorn himself. “So here you all are still!” he said. He picked up the hobbit and laughed: “Not eaten up by Wargs or goblins or wicked bears yet I see”; and he poked Mr. Baggins’ waistcoat most disrespectfully. “Little bunny is getting nice and fat again on bread and honey,” he chuckled. “Come and have some more!”

第二天早上，他们都被贝奥恩亲自叫了起来。“你们都还在啊!”他抱起霍比特人笑着说，“看来还没被座狼、半兽人或是邪恶的大熊给吃掉啊!”他十分无礼地戳了戳巴金斯先生的背心。“咱们的小兔子吃了面包和蜂蜜，又恢复健康，重新变胖了!”他咯咯笑道，“快来再吃点吧!”

So they all went to breakfast with him. Beorn was most jolly for a change; indeed he seemed to be in a splendidly good humour and set them all laughing with his funny stories; nor did they have to wonder long where he had been or why he was so nice to them, for he told them himself. He had been over the river and right back up into the mountains—from which you can guess that he could travel quickly, in bear’s shape at any rate. From the burnt wolf-glade he had soon found out that part of their story was true; but he had found more than that: he had caught a Warg and a goblin wandering in the woods. From these he had got news: the goblin patrols were still hunting with Wargs for the dwarves, and they were fiercely angry because of the death of the Great Goblin, and also because of the burning of the chief wolf’s nose and the death from the wizard’s fire of many of his chief servants. So much they told him when he forced them, but he guessed there was more wickedness than this afoot, and that a great raid of the whole goblin army with their wolf-allies into the lands shadowed by the mountains might soon be made to find the dwarves, or to take vengeance on the men and creatures that lived there, and who they thought must be sheltering them.

因此，他们和他一起吃起了早餐。贝奥恩一改以往的冷淡，心情似乎变得大好，他说了许多有趣的故事，让所有的人都和他一起哈哈大笑。大家也没有花多少时间，就明白了他究竟去了哪儿，以及为什么他对大家这么友善起来，因为他自己亲口道出了真相。在他失踪期间，他渡过了河，到山里面跑了一趟——从中你可以想见，至少当他变身为熊的形体出没时，他可以用多么快的速度奔跑。从那片烧焦的狼群聚集过的林中空地，他很快就确认他们故事中的那部分是真实的，但是，他还发现了更多的真相。他在森林中抓到了一匹座狼和一个半兽人在四处游荡，从这两个家伙的口中他得到消息：半兽人的巡逻队依旧和座狼一起在追捕着这些矮人，由于半兽人首领的死亡，也由于巫师的火焰令座狼首领鼻子烧伤，令它的许多得力部下死亡，他们的怒气难以平息。当他拷问这两个家伙的时候，他们只说出了这些，不过，他认为背后肯定会有更多的邪恶勾当。不久以后，全体半兽人大军可能会和他们的盟友座狼全体出动，对大山周边的地区进行扫荡，搜捕矮人，对居住在这一地区的人类和动物，以及他们认为在庇护着矮人们的人展开疯狂的报复。

“It was a good story, that of yours,” said Beorn, “but I like it still better now I am sure it is true. You must forgive my not taking your word. If you lived near the edge of Mirkwood, you would take the word of no one that you did not know as well as your brother or better. As it is, I can only say that I have hurried home as fast as I could to see that you were safe, and to offer you any help that I can. I shall think more kindly of dwarves after this. Killed the Great Goblin, killed the Great Goblin!” he chuckled fiercely to himself.

“你们的故事真不错!”贝奥恩说，“但当我确定它是真的之后，我更喜欢它了。你们必须原谅我不能轻信你们的说法，如果你们长期居住在黑森林的边缘，就会知道除了亲如兄弟的朋友之外，根本不能相信任何人。因此，我只能说我已经尽全力赶了回来，想要确认你们的安全，并且尽可能为你们提供所需要的帮助。从今之后，我对矮人的看法又要变好一点了。杀死了半兽人首领，居然杀死了半兽人首领!”他咧开大嘴咯咯笑个不停。

“What did you do with the goblin and the Warg?” asked Bilbo suddenly.

“你把抓到的那个半兽人和那匹座狼怎么样了?”比尔博突然问道。

“Come and see!” said Beorn, and they followed round the house. A goblin’s head was stuck outside the gate and a warg-skin was nailed to a tree just beyond. Beorn was a fierce enemy. But now he was their friend, and Gandalf thought it wise to tell him their whole story and the reason of their journey, so that they could get the most help he could offer.

“来看看吧!”贝奥悤说，于是他们就跟着走出了屋子。一颗半兽人的脑袋就插在门外，而座狼的毛皮则钉在远处的树上。贝奥恩对付敌人可真是毫不留情。但他现在是他们的朋友，甘道夫认为，把完整的故事和这趟冒险真正的原因告诉他才是明智之举，这样才能够获得他彻底的帮助。

This is what he promised to do for them. He would provide ponies for each of them, and a horse for Gandalf, for their journey to the forest, and he would lade them with food to last them for weeks with care, and packed so as to be as easy as possible to carry—nuts, flour, sealed jars of dried fruits, and red earthenware pots of honey, and twice-baked cakes that would keep good a long time, and on a little of which they could march far. The making of these was one of his secrets; but honey was in them, as in most of his foods, and they were good to eat, though they made one thirsty. Water, he said, they would not need to carry this side of the forest, for there were streams and springs along the road. “But your way through Mirkwood is dark, dangerous and difficult,” he said. “Water is not easy to find there, nor food. The time is not yet come for nuts (though it may be past and gone indeed before you get to the other side), and nuts are about all that grows there fit for food; in there the wild things are dark, queer, and savage. I will provide you with skins for carrying water, and I will give you some bows and arrows. But I doubt very much whether anything you find in Mirkwood will be wholesome to eat or to drink. There is one stream there, I know, black and strong which crosses the path. That you should neither drink of, nor bathe in; for I have heard that it carries enchantment and a great drowsiness and forgetfulness. And in the dim shadows of that place I don’t think you will shoot anything, wholesome or unwholesome, without straying from the path. That you MUST NOT do, for any reason.

贝奥恩答应要给他们如下帮助：他会给每人一四小马，甘道夫则是一匹成年骏马，供他们踏上前往森林的路途，还会帮他们装满充足的食物，如果小心安排的话，这些食物够他们吃上好几个星期的。这些食物经过特殊的包装，携带起来十分的方便——有坚果、面粉、装在密封罐子里的干果、红色陶罐装的蜂蜜，还有经过两次烘烤的蛋糕，它们可以保存很长时间，而且只要吃一小口，就可以走很远的路。这些蛋糕的制作是他的秘密之一，但就和他制作的大多数食品一样，里面都包含蜂蜜，虽然吃了会感觉有点口渴，但味道却是非常好。根据他的说法，在森林的这一边他们不需要携带饮用水，因为一路上都有小溪和泉水。“但是，穿越黑森林的道路黑暗、危险而又困难，”他说，“在那里，食物和饮水都很不好找。坚果成熟的季节还没到来(不过，等他们走到另一边的时候，季节可能又已经过了)，而生长在那里的所有东西中，又只有坚果适合拿来当食物。在那座森林里，野生的动物都是黑暗、诡异而又凶猛的。我会提供你们可以携带饮水的皮囊，以及一些弓箭。不过，我很怀疑你们在黑森林里找到的东西能够安全地吃喝。我知道森林中有一条河流，强劲的黑水拦在你们的路上。那河里的水你们绝对不可以喝，也不可以在里面洗澡，因为，我听说河水带有强大的魔法，会让人昏昏欲睡，并且渐渐忘记一切。在黑森林的暗影中，我认为如果你们想要射到一些东西，不管能吃还是不能吃，都有可能会偏离你们的前进路线。所以，无论出于任何理由，绝对不要去打猎。

“That is all the advice I can give you. Beyond the edge of the forest I cannot help you much; you must depend on your luck and your courage and the food I send with you. At the gate of the forest I must ask you to send back my horse and my ponies. But I wish you all speed, and my house is open to you, if ever you come back this way again.”

“这是我能给你们的全部忠告了，一旦越过了森林的边缘，我就帮不上什么忙了，你们必须得靠自己的运气和勇气，以及我给你们的食物。到了森林的入口处，我也必须请你们将马匹送回来。我祝你们一切顺利，如果你们还有机会沿这条路回来，我的大门随时为你们敞开。”

They thanked him, of course, with many bows and sweepings of their hoods and with many an “at your service, O master of the wide wooden halls!” But their spirits sank at his grave words, and they all felt that the adventure was far more dangerous than they had thought, while all the time, even if they passed all the perils of the road, the dragon was waiting at the end.

大家当然对他表示了感谢，他们鞠了好多次躬，脱了好多次帽子，说了好多遍“宽阔的木厅主人，愿意听候您差遣!”但大家的情绪却因为他凝重的话语而变得有点低落，他们都觉得即将开始的冒险比之前所想的还要危险，而且就算他们通过了一路上种种危险的考验，恶龙还是在最后等着他们。

All that morning they were busy with preparations. Soon after midday they ate with Beorn for the last time, and after the meal they mounted the steeds he was lending them, and bidding him many farewells they rode off through his gate at a good pace.

整个早上大家都在忙着作出发的准备，中午一过，他们就最后一次和贝奥恩一起吃饭，午餐用完后他们就跨上贝奥恩借给他们的马，和他道了好几次别之后，就策马扬鞭奔出了门外。

As soon as they left his high hedges at the east of his fenced lands they turned north and then bore to the north-west. By his advice they were no longer making for the main forest-road to the south of his land. Had they followed the pass, their path would have led them down a stream from the mountains that joined the great river miles south of the Carrock. At that point there was a deep ford which they might have passed, if they had still had their ponies, and beyond that a track led to the skirts of the wood and to the entrance of the old forest road. But Beorn had warned them that that way was now often used by the goblins, while the forest-road itself, he had heard, was overgrown and disused at the eastern end and led to impassable marshes where the paths had long been lost. Its eastern opening had also always been far to the south of the Lonely Mountain, and would have left them still with a long and difficult northward march when they got to the other side. North of the Carrock the edge of Mirkwood drew closer to the borders of the Great River, and though here the Mountains too drew down nearer, Beorn advised them to take this way; for at a place a few days’ ride due north of the Carrock was the gate of a little-known pathway through Mirkwood that led almost straight towards the Lonely Mountain.

他们从东面离开了贝奥恩那用高高的篱笆围起来的领地，出来之后立刻转向北方，然后就朝着西北方向前进。根据他的建议，他们不再按原先打算的那样，从贝奥恩领地的南面踏上通往森林的大道，因为如果走那条路的话，最后将必须渡过从山脉中流下的一条小河，这条小河会在卡尔岩以南几哩的地方汇入大河。在两条河流的交汇点，会有一片河水相对较深的河滩，如果他们还有小马的话，或许可以渡过。过了河之后，会有一条路通往森林的边缘，来到老林路的入口。但贝奥恩警告他们，半兽人现在经常会踏上这条道路。而且他也听说，老林路本身的东端已经因长久弃置不用而为树木所覆盖，硬走下去的话，便会来到无路可走也无法穿越的沼泽地。再说，就算他们勉强走到了森林的另一边，黑森林东端的出口也一直是离孤山南方距离最远的一个，他们还必须往北经历一段十分漫长而又艰辛的路程，才能够到达孤山。卡尔岩北边的黑森林边缘更靠近大河，虽然这里离迷雾山脉也更近些，但贝奥恩建议他们不妨走这条路，因为从这边往北骑几天，就会来到黑森林一条鲜为人知的道路入口，那条道路穿越森林，几乎直直地通向孤山。

“The goblins,” Beorn had said, “will not dare to cross the Great River for a hundred miles north of the Carrock nor to come near my house—it is well protected at night!—but I should ride fast; for if they make their raid soon they will cross the river to the south and scour all the edge of the forest so as to cut you off, and Wargs run swifter than ponies. Still you are safer going north, even though you seem to be going back nearer to their strongholds; for that is what they will least expect, and they will have the longer ride to catch you. Be off now as quick as you may!”

“那些半兽人，”贝奥恩说，“是不敢越过大河来到卡尔岩以北一百哩的范围内，更不敢靠近我的住所——这里在晚间可是警备森严!——不过，换作是我，我会尽快策马前进，因为如果他们不久就发动攻击的话，那么他们将会渡河南下，扫荡森林所有的边缘地区，将你们截住，而座狼跑得可是比你们的小马快多了。所以其实还是朝北走更安全，虽然看起来好像是离他们的根据地更近了，因为那里是他们最想不到的地方，他们反而要兜更大的圈子才能抓到你们。现在就出发吧，能走多快就走多快!”

That is why they were now riding in silence, galloping wherever the ground was grassy and smooth, with the mountains dark on their left, and in the distance the line of the river with its trees drawing ever closer. The sun had only just turned west when they started, and till evening it lay golden on the land about them. It was difficult to think of pursuing goblins behind, and when they had put many miles between them and Beorn’s house they began to talk and to sing again and to forget the dark forest-path that lay in front. But in the evening when the dusk came on and the peaks of the mountains glowered against the sunset they made a camp and set a guard, and most of them slept uneasily with dreams in which there came the howl of hunting wolves and the cries of goblins.

正因为如此，他们这会儿才在不出声地策马疾行。只要地面上有了草，道路变得平坦，他们就会纵马飞奔。黑黢黢的大山矗立在他们的左侧，远处，细细的一线河流挟带着两岸的树木正在不断逼近。他们出发的时候，太阳才刚刚往西方移去，到晚上之前太阳都将在他们身边的土地上洒下万道金光。此情此景实在让人很难想像身后会有半兽人的追兵。当他们离开贝奥恩的居所许多哩之后，大伙儿又开始有说有笑起来，并且有点忘记了前面还有森林中黑暗的道路在等着他们。但等到夜幕降临，大山的座座山峰在落日的映衬下露出狰狞的面目时，他们扎下营来，并且安排了轮班守夜。即便如此，大多数人还是睡得很不踏实，梦中出现了座狼的狂嗥与半兽人的怪叫。

Still the next morning dawned bright and fair again. There was an autumn-like mist white upon the ground and the air was chill, but soon the sun rose red in the East and the mists vanished, and while the shadows were still long they were off again. So they rode now for two more days, and all the while they saw nothing save grass and flowers and birds and scattered trees, and occasionally small herds of red deer browsing or sitting at noon in the shade. Sometimes Bilbo saw the horns of the harts sticking up out of the long grass, and at first he thought they were the dead branches of trees. That third evening they were so eager to press on, for Beorn had said that they should reach the forest-gate early on the fourth-day, that they rode still forward after dusk and into the night beneath the moon. As the light faded Bilbo thought he saw away to the right, or to the left, the shadowy form of a great bear prowling along in the same direction. But if he dared to mention it to Gandalf, the wizard only said: “Hush! Take no notice!”

第二天天亮后，依旧是一派风和日丽的景象。一层仿佛秋日的白雾淡淡地笼罩着地面，空气微微有些凉意，不过没多久，火红的太阳从东方升起，薄雾随即消散，地上的影子还很长时他们便动身了。他们又这样骑了整整两天，一路上什么都没有看到，除了草地、花朵、飞鸟和稀疏的树木，偶尔会有一小群一小群的马鹿在午后的树荫下吃草或坐着休憩。有时，比尔博可以看见公鹿的鹿角从草丛中伸出来，刚开始的时候，他还以为这是干枯的树枝呢。到了第三天的晚上，因为贝奥恩曾经说过他们第四天一早应该就可以到达森林的入口处，所以他们急着赶路，夜幕降临以后也不停马蹄，一走就走到了月光照耀下的黑夜。当月光褪去的时候，比尔博觉得在四周的树林中，忽而好像在右边，忽而又好像在左边，自己看见了一头大熊沿着与他们相同的方向在潜行。但如果他鼓起勇气跟甘道夫提起这事儿，巫师却只是说：“嘘!别管那么多!”

Next day they started before dawn, though their night had been short. As soon as it was light they could see the forest coming as it were to meet them, or waiting for them like a black and frowning wall before them. The land began to slope up and up, and it seemed to the hobbit that a silence began to draw in upon them. Birds began to sing less. There were no more deer; not even rabbits were to be seen. By the afternoon they had reached the eaves of Mirkwood, and were resting almost beneath the great overhanging boughs of its outer trees. Their trunks were huge and gnarled, their branches twisted, their leaves were dark and long. Ivy grew on them and trailed along the ground.

虽然晚上没休息多少时间，但第二天他们还是天没亮就出发了。等到天刚亮的时候，他们就看见森林向着他们迎了过来，或者说是像一座皱着眉头的黑色高墙一样等待着他们。地势渐渐变得陡了起来，霍比特人觉得有一种沉默之势在向他们逼来。鸟儿的歌唱越来越听不到了，野鹿不再出现了，连兔子都看不见了。到了下午的时候，他们已经抵达了黑森林的边缘，几乎就在它最外端树木伸出的巨大枝条下方歇脚。这些树的树干十分粗大，上面长满了树瘤，树枝扭曲着，树叶狭长而深色。藤蔓攀附在它们身上，又一路顺着地面延伸。

“Well, here is Mirkwood!” said Gandalf. “The greatest of the forests of the Northern world. I hope you like the look of it. Now you must send back these excellent ponies you have borrowed.”

“好啦，这就是黑森林了!”甘道夫说，“北方世界中最广大的森林。我希望你们喜欢它的样子。现在，你们得把借来的这些出色的小马给送回去了

The dwarves were inclined to grumble at this, but the wizard told them they were fools. “Beorn is not as far off as you seem to think, and you had better keep your promises anyway, for he is a bad enemy. Mr. Baggins’ eyes are sharper than yours, if you have not seen each night after dark a great bear going along with us or sitting far off in the moon watching our camps. Not only to guard you and guide you, but to keep an eye on the ponies too. Beorn may be your friend, but he loves his animals as his children. You do not guess what kindness he has shown you in letting dwarves ride them so far and so fast, nor what would happen to you, if you tried to take them into the forest.”

矮人们看样子想要对此发一点牢骚，但巫师告诉他们这样的想法是愚蠢的。“贝奥恩离你们的距离比你们想像的要近，你们最好不要失信，他可是一个惹不起的对手。巴金斯先生的眼力比你们要好很多，因为你们没看见，每天晚上夜幕降临之后都有一头大熊跟着我们，或是在月光下远远地守护着我们的营地。他不只是为了保护你们、指引你们，也是为了看着他的小马。贝奥恩把你们当朋友，可他把动物当成是自己的孩子。你们想像不到，贝奥恩肯让矮人们把马骑得这么远这么快，这其中蕴含着多么大的善意;你们也想像不到，如是你们把小马带进森林里，会有什么样的后果发生。”

“What about the horse, then?” said Thorin. “You don’t mention sending that back.”

“那你骑的马呢?”梭林说，“你怎么没提到要把它送回去?”

“I don’t, because I am not sending it.”

“我是没提，因为我不准备把它送回去。”

“What about your promise then?”

“那你的承诺又该怎么办呢?”

“I will look after that. I am not sending the horse back, I am riding it!”

“这我自然会处理，我不把马送回去的原因是我还要骑!”

Then they knew that Gandalf was going to leave them at the very edge of Mirkwood, and they were in despair. But nothing they could say would change his mind.

这时，他们才知道甘道夫准备在黑森林边和他们分手，大家的情绪一下子陷入了低谷。不过，无论他们好说歹说，就是无法改变他的心意。

“Now we had this all out before, when we landed on the Carrock,” he said. “It is no use arguing. I have, as I told you, some pressing business away south; and I am already late through bothering with you people. We may meet again before all is over, and then again of course we may not. That depends on your luck and on your courage and sense; and I am sending Mr. Baggins with you. I have told you before that he has more about him than you guess, and you will find that out before long. So cheer up Bilbo and don’t look so glum. Cheer up Thorin and Company! This is your expedition after all. Think of the treasure at the end, and forget the forest and the dragon, at any rate until tomorrow morning!”

“关于这一点，我们之前到达卡尔岩的时候就已经说好了的，”他说，“再吵也没有意义。我之前跟你们说过，我在南方有些更急迫的事情要去办。我为了照顾你们，事实上已经迟到了。在一切都结束以前，我们或许还会见面，也有可能就此无缘再见。这要取决于你们的运气、勇气和判断力。而且，我还派了巴金斯先生和你们一起去。我早就跟你们说过，人不可貌相，你们要不了多久就会明白这一点的。比尔博，高兴起来，不要苦着一张脸。高兴起来，梭林和大家伙儿!毕竟这是你们的冒险。想想最终可以获得的财宝吧，至少在明天早上之前，先忘记这森林和恶龙吧。”

When tomorrow morning came he still said the same. So now there was nothing left to do but to fill their water-skins at a clear spring they found close to the forest-gate, and unpack the ponies. They distributed the packages as fairly as they could, though Bilbo thought his lot was wearisomely heavy, and did not at all like the idea of trudging for miles and miles with all that on his back.

等第二天早上来了，他依然这么说。因此，大家别无选择，只能在森林入口前一条清澈的小溪里把他们的皮囊都装满水，把小马背上的行李都卸下来。他们将行李尽可能地平均分摊，不过比尔博还是觉得他那份重得要命。想到要背着这么多东西在森林里长途跋涉，他就不免忧心忡忡。

“Don’t you worry!” said Thorin. “It will get lighter all too soon. Before long I expect we shall all wish our packs heavier, when the food begins to run short.”

“别担心!”梭林说，“不用多久它就会变轻的。我估计等食物开始短缺的时候，我们很快就会巴不得当初的包揪能更重一些才好了。”

Then at last they said good-bye to their ponies and turned their heads for home. Off they trotted gaily, seeming very glad to put their tails towards the shadow of Mirkwood. As they went away Bilbo could have sworn that a thing like a bear left the shadow of the trees and shambled off quickly after them.

最后，他们向小马道了别，让它们掉头回家。它们高兴地小跑起来，看来似乎对于能够把黑森林抛在身后感到非常高兴。在它们离开的时候，比尔博可以发誓他看见了一只像大熊的东西离开了林中的暗影，跟着它们—跃一跃地奔回去了。

Now Gandalf too said farewell. Bilbo sat on the ground feeling very unhappy and wishing he was beside the wizard on his tall horse. He had gone just inside the forest after breakfast (a very poor one), and it had seemed as dark in there in the morning as at night, and very secret: “a sort of watching and waiting feeling,” he said to himself.

现在轮到甘道夫跟大家说再见了。比尔博坐在地上，心中非常难过，真希望自己和巫师一起坐在那匹高大的骏马上。他在刚吃完早餐(相当寒酸)后，曾经往森林中进去了一点点稍稍探了探，发现那森林在白天也似乎和晚上没什么两样，而且给人一种极为隐秘的感觉——“好像有什么东西在暗中观察着你，等待着你!”他自言自语道。

“Good-bye!” said Gandalf to Thorin. “And goodbye to you all, good-bye! Straight through the forest is your way now. Don’t stray off the track!—if you do, it is a thousand to one you will never find it again and never get out of Mirkwood; and then I don’t suppose I, or any one else, will ever see you again.”

“再见啦!”甘道夫对梭林说，“也和你们大家道别了，再会!你们应该直直地穿过森林，千万别走岔了路!——一旦迷了路的话，那你们重新找到路并且走出黑森林的机会只有千分之一。那样的话，我，或者是别的任何人，恐怕都再也看不到你们了!”

“Do we really have to go through?” groaned the hobbit.

“我们真的一定要过去吗?”霍比特人抱怨道。

“Yes, you do!” said the wizard, “if you want to get to the other side. You must either go through or give up your quest. And I am not going to allow you to back out now, Mr. Baggins. I am ashamed of you for thinking of it. You have got to look after all these dwarves for me,” he laughed.

“是的，一定要!”巫师说，“如果你们想要到森林的另一边去的话。要么穿过去，要么就放弃。巴金斯先生，我可不想让你临阵退缩，光是想到这点就让我替你觉得丢脸，你得要替我照顾这些矮人啊!”他笑着说。

“No! no!” said Bilbo. “I didn’t mean that. I meant, is there no way round?”

“不是!不是!”比尔博说，“我不是那个意思，我是想说，难道没有别的路可以绕过去吗?”

“There is, if you care to go two hundred miles or so out of your way north, and twice that south. But you wouldn’t get a safe path even then. There are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are over the Edge of the Wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go. Before you could get round Mirkwood in the North you would be right among the slopes of the Grey Mountains, and they are simply stiff with goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs of the worst description. Before you could get round it in the South, you would get into the land of the Necromancer; and even you, Bilbo, won’t need me to tell you tales of that black sorcerer. I don’t advise you to go anywhere near the places overlooked by his dark tower! Stick to the forest-track, keep your spirits up, hope for the best, and with a tremendous slice of luck you may come out one day and see the Long Marshes lying below you, and beyond them, high in the East, the Lonely Mountain where dear old Smaug lives, though I hope he is not expecting you.”

“有，如果你想要往北走上两百哩，然后再往南走上两倍距离的话。可即便那样，道路也不见得安全，这一带根本就没有什么安全的道路。记得，你们已经越过了野地的边缘，所以不管你去到哪里，都不会缺少?‘乐子’的。在你能够从北边绕过黑森林之前，你会一头撞进灰色山脉的各种山坡，那里到处都是半兽人、大半兽人，还有其他让人难以形容的可怕奥克。在你从南边绕过黑森林之前，你们将会踏入死灵法师的领土。比尔博，即使是你，也不需要我来告诉你这位黑色死灵法师的故事了吧。我建议你们最好不要靠近任何属于他那黑色势力范围内的地方!还是铁了心走森林这条路吧，抖擞精神，抱着最好的期望，只要再加上一份大大的运气，定会有一天能走出森林，看见长沼泽在你们的脚下。越过这片沼泽，兀然矗立在东边的，就是老斯毛格所住的孤山了，希望他不会预料到你们的出现。”

“Very comforting you are to be sure,” growled Thorin. “Good-bye! If you won’t come with us, you had better get off without any more talk!”

“你可真会安慰人哪，”梭林低吼道，“再会了!既然你不跟我们来，那就别再多废话了，快上路吧!”

“Good-bye then, and really good-bye!” said Gandalf, and he turned his horse and rode down into the West. But he could not resist the temptation to have the last word. Before he had passed quite out of hearing he turned and put his hands to his mouth and called to them. They heard his voice come faintly: “Good-bye! Be good, take care of yourselves—and DON’T LEAVE THE PATH!”

“那就再会啦，真的告别了!”甘道夫拨转马头，朝着西方奔驰而去。但他实在忍不住还要最后叮咛几句。于是在他奔出众人的视野之前，他又转过头来，双手拢在嘴前对他们喊了起来。他们听见他的声音依稀传来：“再会!多保重——千万不要离开正路!”

Then he galloped away and was soon lost to sight. “O good-bye and go away!” grunted the dwarves, all the more angry because they were really filled with dismay at losing him. Now began the most dangerous part of all the journey. They each shouldered the heavy pack and the water-skin which was their share, and turned from the light that lay on the lands outside and plunged into the forest.

然后他就策马疾驰，很快消失在众人的视野外了。“哦，再见啦，快走吧!”矮人们咕哝道，心中更加生气了，因为他们真的为失去了他而感到郁闷。现在，全部旅程中最危险的部分开始了。每个人都背起了属于自己的那份沉重背包和水囊，离开了播洒在外面世界的光明，一头钻进了黑森林。