诗翁彼豆故事集 第7期:好运泉(2)

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　　'Only one can bathe in the Fountain! It will be hard enough to decide which of us it will be, without adding another!' “只有一个人能在好运泉里洗浴！要在我们中间挑一个人已经够难的了，现在又加了一个！”

　　Now, Sir Luckless, as the knight was known in the land outside the walls, observed that these were witches, and, having no magic, nor any great skill at jousting² or dueling³ with swords, nor anything that distinguished⁴ the non-magical man, was sure that he had no hope of beating the three women to the Fountain. 这个时候，倒霉爵士——其实在围墙外的世界就叫这个名字——发现这三个女人是女巫，而他不会魔法，也没有格斗和舞剑的高超技艺，不具备任何能使非魔法者出类拔萃的才能，他认为自己肯定比不过三个女人，到不了好运泉。

　　He therefore declared his intention of withdrawing outside the walls again. 于是他宣称自己打算退出，回到围墙外面去。

　　At this, Amata became angry too. 听了这话，阿玛塔也非常生气。

　　'Faint heart!' she chided him. 'Draw your sword, Knight, and help us reach our goal!' “懦夫！”她责骂他，“拔出你的剑来，骑士，来帮我们到达目的！”

　　And so the three witches and the forlorn knight ventured forth⁵ into the enchanted⁶ garden, where rare herbs, fruit and flowers grew in abundance on either side of the sunlit paths. 于是，三个女巫和愁苦的骑士冒险走进了魔法园林。在阳光照耀的小路两边，生长着茂密的奇花异草和珍稀果树。

　　They met no obstacle until they reached the foot of the hill on which the Fountain stood. 他们一路畅通无阻，直到抵达好运泉所在的山脚下。

　　There, however, wrapped around the base of the hill, was a monstrous⁷ white Worm, bloated and blind. 然而，在那里，一条巨大的白色蠕虫盘绕在山底下，它双目失明，身体臃肿。

　　At their approach, it turned a foul⁸ face upon them, and uttered the following words: 'Pay me the proof of your pain.' 当他们走近时，它把一张污秽的脸转向他们，说出了下面这句话：“向我证明你的痛苦。”

　　Sir Luckless drew his sword and attempted to kill the beast, but his blade snapped. 倒霉爵士拔出宝剑想杀死这个妖怪，但是他的剑刃折断了。

　　Then Altheda cast rocks at the Worm, while Asha and Amata essayed every spell that might subdue⁹ or entrance it, but the power of their wands was no more effective than their friend's stone, or the knight's steel: the Worm would not let them pass. 于是艾尔蒂达朝蠕虫丢石头，阿莎和阿玛塔念了各种可能制服或迷惑它的咒语，可是她们魔杖的力量就像她们朋友的石头和骑士的剑一样毫无作用：蠕虫就是不肯让他们通过。

　　The sun rose higher and higher in the sky, and Asha, despairing, began to weep. 太阳在天空中越升越高，阿莎绝望地哭了起来。

　　Then the great Worm placed its face upon hers and drank the tears from her cheeks. 于是，大蠕虫把脸贴在阿莎的脸上，啜饮着她面颊上的泪水。

　　Its thirst assuaged¹⁰, the Worm slithered aside, and vanished into a hole in the ground. 蚯蚓的焦渴得到了缓解，慢慢地爬动到一旁，钻进一个地洞不见了。

　　Rejoicing at the Worm's disappearance¹¹, the three witches and the knight began to climb the hill, sure that they would reach the Fountain before noon. 看到蠕虫消失后，三个女巫和骑士开始往山上爬去，他们认为中午之前肯定能赶到好运泉。

　　Halfway¹² up the steep slope, however, they came across words cut into the ground before them: Pay me the fruit of your labors¹³. 然而，待爬到陡崖的半山腰时，他们看到前面的地上刻着一行字：把你的劳动果实给我。

　　Sir Luckless took out his only coin, and placed it upon the grassy¹⁴ hillside, but it rolled away and was lost. 倒霉爵士拿出他唯一的一枚硬币，放在山坡的草地上，可是钱币滚落开去，不见了。

　　The three witches and the knight continued to climb, but though they walked for hours more, they advanced not a step; the summit came no nearer, and still the inscription¹⁵ lay in the earth before them. 三个女巫和骑士继续往上爬，但尽管他们又走了好几个小时，却一步也没有前进，山顶还是那样遥远，他们面前的地上仍然刻着那一行字。

　　All were discouraged as the sun rose over their heads and began to sink towards the far horizon, but Altheda walked faster and harder than any of them, and exhorted¹⁶ the others to follow her example, though she moved no further up the enchanted hill. 太阳掠过他们的头顶，开始向远处的地平线下落，他们都感到灰心丧气，但是艾尔蒂达走得比其他人更快、更加卖力，她还催促其他人像她一样做，尽管她在魔法山上一步也没有前进。

　　'Courage, friends, and do not yield!' she cried, wiping the sweat from her brow. “勇气，朋友们，不要屈服！”她喊道，一边擦去额头上的汗水。

　　As the drops fell glittering on to the earth, the inscription blocking their path vanished, and they found that they were able to move upwards¹⁷ once more. 亮晶晶的汗水落在地上，挡住他们道路的那一行字消失了，他们发现自己又能继续上山了。

　　Delighted by the removal of this second obstacle, they hurried towards the summit as fast as they could, until at last they glimpsed the Fountain, glittering like crystal in a bower¹⁸ of flowers and trees. 清除了第二个障碍，他们高兴极了，以最快的速度往山顶赶去，最后终于看见了好运泉，它像水晶一样在树木花草之间闪闪烁烁。

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