牛津书虫系列 格列佛游记 8 More adventures in Brobdingnag

8 More adventures in Brobdingnag

8 在布罗卜丁奈格的其他经历

Because I was so small，I had several dangerous acci-dents during my stay at the palace.One day Glumdal-clitch put me down on the grass in the palace garden，while she went for a walk with some of the Queen's ladies.A small white dog which belonged to one of the gardeners appeared， and seemed very interested in me.He took me in his mouth and carried me to his master，Luckily，he had been well trained，and did not try to bite me，so I was not hurt.

由于我太小，我在王宫逗留期间有好几次危险事故。一天，葛兰达克利赤把我放在王宫花园的草地上，自己和王后的几个贵妇去散步了。一个园丁的小白狗出现了，它似乎对我很感兴趣，它用嘴叼着我，把我叼到了它的主人那儿。幸运的是，它受到了良好的训练，没有试图咬我，所以我没有受伤。

One day the Queen said to me，‘It would be good for your health to do some rowing or sailing.What do you think?Would you like me to arrange it for you?’

一天王后对我说，“划船或扬帆会对你的健康有好处。你觉得怎么样?你愿意让我为你安排吗?”

‘Madam，’I answered，I’d love to row or sail a little every day.But where can we find a boat that's small enough?’

“夫人，”我回答说，“我愿意每天划船或扬帆一会儿，可是哪儿找得到足够小的船呢?”

‘Leave that to me，’she replied，and called for her work-men.She ordered them to make a tiny boat with sails.They also made a wooden container，about a hundred metres long，seventeen metres wide and three metres deep.This container was filled with water，and I was carefully placed in my boat on the water.Every day I used to row or sail there，while the Queen and her ladies watched.There was no wind，of course，but the ladies blew hard to move my boat along.

“交给我吧，”她回答说，然后叫来了她的工匠，命令他们做有帆的小船。他们还做了一个木质容器，大约100米长、17米宽、3米深。这个容器盛上了水，我被小心地放进了水面上我的船里。每天我在那儿划船或者扬帆，王后和她的贵妇在旁边看。当然没有风，不过这些贵妇用力吹，使船移动。

I nearly lost my life again，when a lady picked me up to put me in the boat She was not careful enough，and dropped me.With horror，I felt myself falling through the air.But instead of crashing to the ground，I was caught，by my trousers，on a pin in her clothes.I had to stay there without moving a finger，until Glumdalclitch came running to rescue me.

当一个贵妇抓起我往船里放时，我几乎再次丢了性命。她不够小心，把我弄掉了。我惊恐万状，感觉自己在空中往下落。不过没有摔到地上，我的裤子刮住了她衣服上的一个别针。我不得不呆在那儿，连一个指头都不敢动，直到葛兰达克利赤跑过来救我。

But the greatest danger to me in Brobdingnag came from a monkey.One day Glumdalclitch left me alone in her bedroom while she visited some of the ladies.It was a warm day，and her window was open.I was in the box which I used as my bedroom，with the door open.Suddenly I heard the noise of an animal jumping through the window，and immediately I hid at the back of my box.The monkey，which appeared huge to me，very soon discovered my hiding-place He picked me up，and held me close to him like a baby.When he heard someone opening the bedroom door，he jumped out of the window and ran on to the roof.

但是在布罗卜丁奈格的最大危险来自一只猴子。一天葛兰达克利赤让我独自留在她的房间里，她去拜访一些贵妇。天比较热，窗子是开着的。我正呆在我用做卧室的盒子里，卧室的门是敞开的。突然我听见动物跳过窗子的声音，我立即躲到我的盒子后面去。猴子在我看起来很大，它很快就发现了我的藏身之处。它抓起我，把我紧紧地抱着，像是抱着婴儿。当它听见有人打开卧室门的声音，就立即从窗子跳出去跑上屋顶。

I thought I had never been in such great danger.He was running on three legs and holding me in the fourth.At any moment he could let me fall，and we were at least three hun-dred metres above the ground.I could hear a lot of shouting in the palace The servants had realized what was happening，and brought ladders to climb up on to the roof.Glumdalclitch was crying，and hundreds of people were watching from the garden Meanwhile，the monkey was sitting calmly on top of the roof.He was taking food from his mouth and trying to push it into my mouth.He still seemed to think I was his ba-by.I suppose it was an amusing sight for the crowd below，but I was in terrible fear of falling.

我想我从来没有处于如此大的危险之中。它用三只腿跑一只腿抱着我，随时都可能让我掉下去，而我们至少离地有300米高。我可以听见宫里一片叫嚷声，仆从已经明白发生了什么事，拿来梯子往屋顶上爬。葛兰达克利赤在哭，数百人在花园里看。此时，猴子正平静地坐在屋顶，它正从它的嘴里取出食物往我的嘴里塞。它仍然以为我是它的婴儿。我猜这对于下面围观的人来说是有趣的景观，可是我极为害怕掉下去。

Finally，several servants climbed on the roof，and as they came nearer，the monkey put me down and ran away.I was rescued and brought down to the ground.I had to stay in bed for two weeks after this，before I felt well enough to meet peo-ple again.The monkey was caught and killed.

最后几个仆人爬上了屋顶，当他们走近时，猴子放下我跑开了。我得救了，被送到了地面。此后我不得不在床上躺了两周，直到我感觉好些，才再见人。猴子被抓住杀死了。

When I next saw the King，he asked me about this experi-ence.‘How did you feel，’he said，‘when the monkey was holding you up on the roof?’

当我再次见到国王时，他问我这次的经历。“你的感受是什么，”他问，“当猴子抱着你上屋顶时?”

‘Sir，’I replied bravely，‘I was afraid，that's true.But next time an animal like that attacks me，I shall not hesitate.I'll pull out my sword like this’-and I showed him what I would do-‘and give the creature such a wound that it will never come near me again!’

“先生，”我勇敢地回答说，“我很害怕，那是真的，不过下次像这样的动物来袭击我时，我决不会犹豫。我会像这样拔出我的宝剑”——我向他表演我将做什么——“将这动物伤得再也不敢靠近我!”

But while I waved my tiny sword in the air，the King and his lords laughed loudly.I had wanted to prove my bravery， but I failed，because to them I was only an unimportant little creature.I realized later that this often happens in England，when we laugh at someone of no family，fortune，or intelli-gence，who pretends to be as important as our great leaders.

可是我在空中挥舞我的小剑时，国王和他的王公大声笑了起来，我想证明我的勇敢，可是我失败了，因为对他们来说我是个无足轻重的小动物。我后来想起这在英国也经常发生，当一个没有家庭背景、没有财富或没有智力的人装模作样跟我们伟大的领袖一样重要时我们也会如此嘲笑。

In the next few weeks，I began to have some very interest-ing conversations with the King.He was an intelligent，un-derstanding person.

随后几周，我开始跟国王有几次非常有趣的谈话。他是一个聪明、理解力强的人。

‘Tell me more about your country，’he said to me one day.‘I would like to hear about your laws，your political life，and your customs.Tell me everything.There may be something that we can usefully copy here in Brobdingnag.’

“再告诉我一些关于你们国家的事，”一天他对我说，“我想听听你们的法律、你们的政治生活以及你们的风俗习惯。告诉我这些方面的全部情况，也许有些东西我们可以搬到布罗卜丁奈格来用。”

‘I shall be delighted， sir，’I answered proudly.‘Our king controls our three great countries，Scotland，Ireland and Eng-land.We grow much of our own food，and our weather is nei-ther too hot nor too cold.There are two groups Of men who make our laws.One is called the House of Lords-they are men from the oldest and greatest families in the country.The other is called the House of Commons-these are the most honest，intelligent，and sensible men in the country，and are freely chosen by the people.We have judges to decide punish-ments for criminals，and we have a large army，which cannot be defeated by any other in the world.’

“我很高兴，先生，”我骄傲地回答，“我们的国王控制着三个伟大的国家：苏格兰、爱尔兰和英格兰。我们的食物大部分自己出产，天气既不太冷也不太热。有两组人制定我们的法律，其一叫做上议院，他们来自这个国家最古老最伟大的家族，其二叫做下议院，他们是这个国家最诚实、聪明而通情达理的人，是由人民自由选出来的。我们有法官决定对犯罪分子的惩罚，我们有庞大的军队，无敌于全世界。”

While I was talking，the King was making notes.For sev-eral days I continued my explanation，and I also described British history over the last hundred years.Then the King asked me a large number of questions.These were some of them.

在我讲的时候，国王作着笔记。我连续几天进行解释，我也描述了过去百来年不列颠的历史。然后国王问了我一大堆问题。这是其中几个。

‘How do you teach and train young people of good family?If the last son of an old family dies，how do you make new lords for the House of Lords?Are these lords really the most suitable people to make the country's laws?And in the House of Commons，are these men really so honest and intelligent?Do rich men never buy their way into this House?You say the lawmakers receive no pay，but are you sure that they never ac-cept bribes?’

“你们怎么教育、训练好家族的年青人?如果一个古老家族的最后一个儿子去世了，你们怎么给上议院选定新的议员?这些议员真是最适合给这个国家制定法律的人吗?在下议院中，这些人是真的诚实而聪明吗?富人从来不用钱买路进入议院吗?你说法律制定者不收报酬，但是你敢肯定他们从来不收受贿赂吗?”

Then he asked questions about our lawcourts.‘Why are your trials so long and so expensive?How much do your lawyers and judges really know about the laws?How carefully do they decide between right and wrong?’

然后他问了一些关于我们的法庭的问题。“你们的审判为什么那么耗时而费钱?你们的律师和法官究竟知道多少你们的法律?他们判定正误有多仔细?”

‘And why，’he went on，‘are you so often at war?Either you enjoy fighting，or you have very difficult neighbours!Why do you need an army at all?You would not be afraid of any other country，if you were peaceful people.And in the last hundred years you've done nothing but rob，fight，and mur-der!Your recent history shows the very worst effects of cruel- ty，jealousy，dishonesty，and madness!’

“为什么，”他接着说，“你们经常打仗?或者是你们喜欢战争，或者是你们的邻居很难处!究竟为什么你们需要军队?如果你们是热爱和平的人民，你们不应该害怕别的国家。而在过去的百年里，你们除了掠夺、打仗和谋杀没有干别的!你们最近的历史显示了残酷、嫉妒、欺诈和疯狂的最糟糕的结果!”

I tried to answer the King as well as I could，but he did not think our system was a good one.

我力图尽可能满意地回答国王，可是他并不认为我们的制度好。

‘No，my little friend’he said kindly but seriously，‘I'm sorry for you.You've proved to me that your country has nothing valuable to offer us.Perhaps once，in the past，your political life was adequately organized，but now it is clear that there is laziness and selfishness in every part of the system.Your politicians can be bribed，your soldiers aren't really brave，your judges and lawyers are neither reasonable nor hon-est，and your lawmakers themselves know little and do less.I sincerely hope that you，who have spent most of your life trav-elling，have a better character than most Englishmen.But from what you've told me，I'm afraid that your countrymen are foe worst little nation of insects that has ever crawled upon the ground.’

“不，我的小朋友，”他和善而认真地说，“我为你感到遗憾。你向我证明了你们没有什么有价值的东西提供给我们。也许在过去，你们的政治生活曾经组织得恰当，可是现在很明显，这个制度的每一部分都充满了惰性和自私。你们的政客可以受贿赂，你们的战士并不真的勇敢，你们的法官和律师既不通情理也不诚实，而你们的法律制定者自己知道得很少，做得更少。你一生的大多数时光都用于旅行了，我真诚地希望你比大多数英国人品行要好，不过据你所告诉我的，我担心你的国人是地上曾经爬行过的昆虫中最糟糕的小国民。”

I am very sorry to have to report these words of the King’ s，and I only do so because of my love of the truth.I must tell you exactly what happened，even if I do not agree with it.I had to listen patiently，while he was giving his extraordinary opinions of my dear country.We must remember，however，that this King lives in a country almost completely separate from the rest of the world.Because he does not know other countries systems or customs，he has a certain narrowness of thinking，which we Europeans do not have，of course.

我非常遗憾不得不转述国王的这些话，我这样做只是因为我对真相的热爱。我必须原原本本地告诉你们发生的事，即使我并不赞同。在他发表关于我亲爱的祖国的不同寻常的看法时，我不得不耐心地听着。不过我们必须记住，这个国王生活在几乎完全与世隔绝的国度里，因为他不知道别的国家的制度或习俗，他的想法中有一定的狭隘性，这当然是我们欧洲人所没有的。

You will find it difficult to believe what happened next.

你将觉得接下来发生的事很难置信。

‘Sir，’I said，‘I’d like to give you something to thank you for your kindness to me since I arrived at the palace.Three or four hundred years ago，we Europeans discovered how to make a special powder.When you set fire to it，it burns and ex-plodes immediately，with a noise louder than thunder.You can use it to shoot heavy balls of metal from large guns.It can destroy the largest ships，it can kill a whole army，it can cut men's bodies in half，it can destroy the strongest walls.It's called gunpowder，and it's easy and cheap to make.To show you how grateful I am to you，I'm offering to explain how to make it-then you will be able to destroy all your enemies!’

“先生，”我说，“我想送给你一样东西以表示感谢自我从来到宫里后你对我的厚爱。三四百年前，我们欧洲人发明了怎样制造一种特别的粉末。当你点燃它时，它立即燃烧爆炸，声音比打雷还响，你可以用它来把很沉的金属弹丸从很大的枪中射出，它可以摧毁最大的轮船，消灭整个军队，把人的身躯切成两半，摧毁最坚固的墙壁。它叫火药，制作起来简单廉价。为了表达我是多么的感激你，我自愿给你解释怎么制造它——然后你就有能力消灭你的所有敌人!”

I was very surprised by the King's reply.

我对国王的回答感到非常吃惊。

‘No!’he cried in horror.‘Don't tell me!I don't want to know how to murder people like that.I would rather give half my country away than know the secret of this powder.How can a tiny creature like you have such inhuman，cruel ideas?Never speak to me of this again!’

“不!”他惊恐地叫道，“不要告诉我!我不想知道怎样去谋杀人。我宁愿割出一半国土也不想知道这种粉末的秘密。你们这样渺小的生物怎么可以有如此不人道、残酷的想法?决不要再跟我提这事!”

How strange that such an excellent king should not take the chance I was offering him!No European king would hesitate for a moment But he had other strange ideas.He believed，very simply，that every problem can be solved by honest，sen-sible people，and that the political life of a country must have no secrets and must be open for all to see and understand.Of course，we know that this is impossible，so perhaps his opinion of us is not worth considering.

多么奇怪!如此优秀的国王，竟然不抓住我提供给他的机会!任何一个欧洲国王绝不会有一丝犹豫。可是他还有其他怪念头。他相信，每个问题都可以被诚实、通情理的人解决，一个国家的政治生活必须没有秘密，必须公开给世人看和理解。当然，我们知道这是不可能的，所以他的看法也许对我们来说不值得考虑。