He could hear the warrior’s voice below him, appealing to him to climb more slowly, but Edwin ignored it. Wistan was too slow, and in general appeared not to appreciate the urgency of their situation. When they were still not halfway up the cliff, he had asked Edwin: “Can that be a hawk just flew past us, young comrade?” What did it matter what it was? His fever had made the warrior soft, both in mind and body.
埃德温听到武士的声音在下面喊，要他爬得慢一些，但他不予理会。维斯坦太慢了，而且似乎不明白当前情况的紧迫性。两人山崖还没爬到一半时，他曾问埃德温：“年轻的战友啊，刚从我们头顶飞过的，是一头鹰吗？”那究竟是什么，有什么关系呢？武士发了烧，所以脆弱了，身体上、意志上都脆弱了。
Only a little further to climb, then he at least would be over the edge and standing on firm ground. He could then run — how he longed to run!– but to where? Their destination had, for the moment, drifted beyond his recall. What was more, there had been something important to tell the warrior: he had been deceiving Wistan about something, and now it was almost time to confess. When they had started their climb, leaving the exhausted mare tied to a shrub beside the mountain path, he had resolved to make a clean breast of it once they reached the top. Yet now he was almost there, his mind held nothing but confused wisps.
再爬一会儿就到了，至少他就翻过了山崖，能站到结实的地面上。那他就能奔跑了——他多么渴望奔跑啊！——可朝哪儿跑呢？这一下子，他们的目的地好像从脑海中飘走了一样。何况，还有更重要的事情要跟维斯坦说：他欺骗过维斯坦，现在差不多是坦白的时候了。他们把那匹筋疲力尽的母马系在山路旁一株小灌木上，然后开始爬山，那时候他就下定了决心，等到了山顶，就把一切和盘托出。可现在他就快到那儿了，脑海中却空空如也，思绪纷乱，像一团团烟雾。
Though out of breath from the climb, Edwin pushed himself forward into a run. For those trees, surely, were where he had to be, and once there he would remember everything. Wistan’s voice was shouting again somewhere behind him — the warrior must finally have arrived at the top — but Edwin, not glancing back, ran all the faster. He would leave his confession until those trees. Within their shelter, he would be able to remember more clearly, and they could talk without the wind’s howl.
埃德温气喘吁吁，但还是发力向前跑去。那片树林，肯定就是他该去的地方，一到那儿，他什么都会记起来。维斯坦的声音又在身后什么地方叫喊——武士肯定也爬上了崖顶——但埃德温不回头，跑得更快了。他要到那树林之中才开始坦白。在大树的遮掩之下，他会记得更清楚，两人谈话时也不会有呼啸的大风。
The ground came up to meet him and knocked the breath from him. It happened so unexpectedly he was obliged to lie there a moment, quite dazed, and when he tried to spring back to his feet something soft but forceful kept him down. He realised then that Wistan’s knee was on his back, and that his hands were being tied behind him.
大地突然立起，迎面而来，撞得他差点儿闭过气去。这来得太突然，他头晕目眩，只能在地上躺一会儿，等他想跳起来的时候，背后却有个柔软而有力的东西摁住了他。这时他意识到，维斯坦用膝盖抵住了自己的后背，正在捆绑自己的双手。
He clambered over the last rocks and pulled himself up over the precipice. The land before him was bare and wind-scarred, rising gradually towards the pale peaks on the horizon. Nearby were patches of heather and mountain grass, but nothing taller than a man’s ankle. Yet strangely, there in the mid-distance, was what appeared to be a wood, its lush trees standing calmly against the battling wind. Had some god, on a whim, picked up in his fingers a section of rich forest and set it down in this inhospitable terrain?
他攀过最后几块岩石，起身站在悬崖的边缘。眼前的土地空阔荒凉，缓缓向上与地平线上灰白的山峰相连。附近有一块块的石楠地和野草地，不过成人的脚踝那么高。奇怪的是，在不远不近的某个地方，似乎有一片树林，树木葱翠，在大风中静静地立着。难道是某位神仙一时兴起，从密林中抓出一小撮来，放在这块荒凉的土地上？
“We must hurry, warrior! Why do we need all these things?”
“我们要快点儿，武士！要这些东西有什么用呢？”
Edwin began to remember their exchange down on the path below. Eager to start the climb, he had been annoyed by the way the warrior was carefully transferring items from his saddle into two sacks for them to carry.
埃德温想起了两人在山下路上的谈话。他急着开始上山，看见武士小心翼翼地把东西从马鞍上放进两只口袋，他觉得很不耐烦。
“We may need it yet, young comrade, and we won’t find it growing on branches up there.”
“小战友，我们也许用得上啊，那时候要找，树枝上可长不出绳子来。”
“You asked before why we must carry rope with us,” Wistan said. “Now you see how useful it can be.”
“之前你问我们为什么带绳子，”维斯坦说。“现在你看多有作用。”
Now the rope had been wound around his waist as well as his wrists, so that when finally he rose to his feet, he could move forward only against the pull of his leash.
现在，绳子不仅绑住了他的手，还缠住了他的腰，等他最后站起来，身后已经被绳子拽住，很难再向前走。
“I’m still that and your protector too. From here you must go with less haste.”
“都是，而且还是你的保护人。从现在开始，你可不能走得那么急啦。”
He found he did not mind the rope. The gait it obliged him to adopt was like that of a mule, and he was reminded of a time not long ago when he had had to impersonate just such a beast, going round and round a wagon. Was he the same mule now, stubbornly pushing his way up the slope even as the rope pulled him back?
他发现自己并不在意绳子。受绳子所限，他只能像骡子那样走路，这让他想起了不久之前，他不得不扮演骡子的角色，围着马车不停地转圈。现在他又成了那头骡子吗，虽然被绳子拽着，却仍旧固执地往山坡上走？
“Here, carry this, comrade. The she-dragon’s foe enough without us growing weak with cold and hunger to aid her.”
“来，背着这个，战友。母龙已经够厉害了，我们犯不着又冻又饿，把自己弄垮，帮她的忙。”
“But the scent will be lost! And what need do we have of rope?”
“可气味会消失的！我们要绳子有什么用呢？”
“Warrior, are you no longer my friend and teacher?”
“武士，你不再是我的朋友和老师了吗？”
He pulled and pulled, occasionally managing several steps at a run before the rope jerked him to a halt. A voice was in his ears — a familiar voice — half-singing, half-chanting a children’s rhyme, one he knew well from when he was younger. It was comforting and disturbing in equal measure and he found if he chanted along while tugging on the rope, the voice lost something of its unsettling edge. So he chanted, at first under his breath, then with less inhibition into the wind: “Who knocked over the cup of ale? Who cut off the dragon’s tail? Who left the snake inside the pail? ‘Twas your Cousin Adny.” There were further lines he did not remember, but he was surprised to find that he had but to chant along with the voice and the words would come out correctly.
他走着、走着，偶尔一口气能迈出好几步，然后绳子就把他拉停了。他耳朵里有一个声音——熟悉的声音——半是歌唱，半是吟诵，那是一首童谣，他从小就很熟悉。这声音令人又舒心又担忧，而且他发现，如果一边拽绳子，一边跟着唱，那声音就不再那么令人心烦。于是他就跟着唱，一开始声音很低，然后他嗓子逐渐放开，迎风而歌：“谁打翻了麦酒杯？谁砍断了龙的尾？谁把蛇留在桶内？是你的表兄艾德尼？”还有一些词他记不起来了，但让他惊讶的是，他只要跟着那声音吟唱，正确的歌词就会自动出来。
The trees were near now and the warrior tugged him back again. “Slowly, young comrade. We need more than courage to enter this strange grove. Look there. Pine trees at this height’s no mystery, but aren’t those oaks and elms beside them?”
树林很近了，武士又一次把他拉住。“慢点儿啊，小战友。进入这片奇怪的树林，光靠勇气是不够的。你看那边。这么高的山上有松树倒也没什么，但是旁边的难道不是橡树和榆树吗？”
“No matter what trees grow here, warrior, or what birds fly these skies! We have little time left and must hurry!”
“别去管这儿长着什么树啦，武士，也别管天空上飞的是什么鸟！我们剩下的时间很少，要快点！”
They entered the wood and the ground changed beneath them: there was soft moss, nettles, even ferns. The leaves above them were dense enough to form a ceiling, so that for a while they wandered in a grey half-light. Yet this was no forest, for soon they could see before them a clearing with its circle of open sky above it. The thought came to Edwin that if this was indeed the work of a god, the intention must have been to conceal with these trees whatever lay ahead. He pulled angrily at the rope, saying:
他们进了树林，脚下的地变了：有柔软的苔藓、荨麻甚至蕨类。头顶树叶浓密，像屋顶一样，所以他们在半明半暗之中走了一会儿。但是，这却不是真正意义上的森林，因为不久他们就看到一处空地，上方露出圆形的天空来。埃德温想，如果这真是某位神祇的杰作，那么他肯定是想用树来隐藏前方的什么东西。他愤怒地拉着绳子，说道：
“Why dally, warrior? Can it be you’re afraid?”
“磨蹭什么呢，武士？难道你是害怕了吗？”
“I’m the hunter of us two, warrior, and I tell you that clearing holds no dragon. We must hurry past it and beyond, for we’ve further to go!”
“我们两人中，我才是猎人，武士。我告诉你，那空地里没有龙。我们要快点从旁边过去，然后继续向前，还有更多路要走呢！”
“Never mind my wound! I tell you the scent will be lost! Let go the rope, warrior. I’ll run on even if you will not!”
“别管我的伤口啦！我告诉你，这气味会消失的！松开绳子，武士。就算你不跑，我也要继续跑！”
“Your wound, young comrade. Let me see if it remains clean.”
“你的伤口，小战友。让我看看，伤口是不是还那么干净。”
This time Wistan released him, and Edwin pushed past thistles and tangled roots. Several times he lost his balance, for trussed as he was he had no hand to put out to steady himself. But he reached the clearing without injury, and stopped at its edge to take in the sight before him.
这次，维斯坦放开了他，埃德温从蓟草和交错的树根上跑过去。他绊了几跤，因为他被绑着，不能伸出手去保持平衡。不过，到达空地的时候，他并没有受伤。他在空地边缘停下脚步，看着眼前的景象。
“Look at this place, young comrade. Your hunter’s instincts have served us well. This must be the dragon’s lair before us now.”
“看看这个地方，小战友。你猎人的本能看来发挥了作用。我们前方肯定就是龙的巢穴。”
The patch of sky above the pond cast a strange light down on the ogre, and Edwin stared at it for a while, almost expecting it to return to life, bringing up a ghastly and flushed face. Then, with a start, he realised there was a second creature in an identical posture on the far right-hand edge of the pond. And there!– yet a third, not far before him, on the near bank, half-concealed by the ferns.
池塘上方那块天空，将奇怪的光射在那食人兽身上，埃德温盯着它看了一会儿，简直觉得这食人兽会活过来，突然抬起一张可怖、涨红的脸。然后，他吃惊地发现，池塘右手边远处，还有一头野兽，姿势一模一样。那儿还有！——第三只，就在他面前不远，在这边的岸上，身体被蕨类遮住了一部分。
At the centre of the clearing was a pond. It was frozen over, so a man — were he brave or foolish enough — might cross it in twenty or so strides. The smoothness of the ice’s surface was interrupted only near the far side, where the hollowed-out trunk of a dead tree burst up through it. Along the bank, not far from the ruined tree, a large ogre was crouching down on its knees and elbows at the water’s very edge, its head completely submerged. Perhaps the creature had been drinking — or searching for something beneath the surface — and had been overtaken by the sudden freeze. To a careless observer, the ogre might have been a headless corpse, decapitated as it crawled to quench its thirst.
空地中央有个池塘。水面冻住了，如果有人很勇敢或很愚蠢的话，可以在上面走，二十来步就能到对岸。冰面平滑如镜，只在靠近对岸的地方，一棵死树树干中空，从上面冒出来。岸上，离枯树不远的地方，有一只巨大的食人兽，手肘和膝盖着地，蹲在水边，脑袋全部没在水中。也许这野兽正在喝水——或者在找水面下方的什么东西——后来水突然结冰，把他冻在里面了。如果不注意看，那食人兽像具无头尸体，爬到池塘边喝水的时候被人砍掉了脑袋。
“I say it’s cursed, warrior, and no place to do battle with her. We’ll have only ill luck here. Look at those poor ogres. And they almost as large as the fiends you killed the other night.”
“我看这个地方受到了诅咒，武士，不该在这儿跟她战斗。在这儿我们只会遭到厄运。你看看那些可怜的食人兽。简直和你那天晚上杀死的魔鬼一样大。”
“Do you still deny this is a dragon’s lair, comrade?”
“战友，你仍然不承认这是龙的巢穴吗？”
Ogres usually aroused only revulsion in him, but these creatures, and the eerie melancholy of their postures, made Edwin feel a tug of pity. What had brought them to such a fate? He began to move toward them, but the rope was taut again, and he heard Wistan say close behind him:
一般情况下，食人兽只会让他感到厌恶，但这些食人兽，以及那令人伤心的离奇姿势，让埃德温感到有些同情。是什么让它们遭遇了这种命运呢？他迈步朝它们走去，可身上的绳子又拉紧了，维斯坦的声音就在身后：
“What do you speak of, boy?”
“你在说什么呢，孩子？”
“Not here, warrior. We must go further.”
“不是这儿，武士。我们要继续往前走。”
“Don’t you see them? Look, there! And there!”
“你没看到吗？你看，那儿！还有那儿！”
“How can you talk of rest, warrior? And isn’t that how those poor creatures met their fate, loitering in this bewitched place too long? Heed their warning, warrior!”
“你怎么能想到休息呢，武士？这些可怜的家伙不就是这么倒霉的吗，在这中了魔咒的地方待得太久了？它们这可是在发出危险信号啊，武士，你要留意！”
“Yet this spot whispers to me. Even if not her lair, isn’t this a place she comes to drink and bathe?”
“可这地方在跟我说话呢。就算不是巢穴，难道不是她来喝水洗澡的地方吗？”
“Master Edwin, you’ve become exhausted, as I feared. Let’s rest a while. Even if this is a gloomy spot, it gives us respite from the wind.”
“埃德温阁下，你太疲惫了，我之前就担心这事。我们休息一会儿吧。就算这个地方阴森森的，至少可以避避风。”
“This good tree means you no harm, young comrade.” The warrior placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Why waste strength this way to uproot it? Calm yourself and rest, I say, while I study more closely this place.”
“这棵树可没害你，小战友。”武士一只手轻轻地搭在他肩膀上。“干吗要这样浪费力气，把树拔起来呢？依我看，你还是安静下来休息休息吧，让我来仔细看看这地方。”
“The only warning I heed tells me to make you rest before you drive your own heart to burst.”
“我只需要留意一个危险信号，那就是让你休息，可不能让你把自己的心脏给跑炸了。”
He felt himself tugged, and his back struck against the bark of a tree. Then the warrior was trudging around him, circling rope about his chest and shoulders till he could hardly move.
他感到被人向后拽，后背撞上了一棵树。然后武士围着他转圈，他胸部和肩部被绳子捆住，几乎一点儿也动不了。
Wistan made a movement and suddenly the sword was in his hand, the arm poised and unmoving in the air. Then the weapon was returned to its scabbard and the warrior, turning from the water, came walking back towards him.
维斯坦身体一动，突然之间手里已经多了把剑，拿剑的胳膊伸着，在空气中纹丝不动。然后剑又回到了鞘中，武士转过身来，迈步往回走。
He watched Wistan picking his way through the nettles down to the pond. Reaching the water’s edge, the warrior spent several moments walking slowly back and forth, staring closely at the ground, sometimes crouching down to examine whatever caught his eye. Then he straightened, and for a long time seemed to fall into a reverie, gazing over at the trees on the far side of the pond. For Edwin, the warrior was now a near-silhouette against the frozen water. Why did he not even glance towards the ogres?
他看着维斯坦小心地穿过荨麻丛，朝池塘走去。到了水边，武士先来来回回慢慢走了几趟，眼睛盯着地面，有时候如果发现了特别的东西，还会蹲下来查看。然后他直起身子，似乎陷入了长时间的冥想之中，目光越过树梢，落在池塘的对岸。在埃德温看来，武士现在近乎成了一个剪影，背景是冰封的水面。他为什么都不去看那些食人兽呢？
“Go on, comrade.”
“接着说，战友。”
“I can’t, warrior. When we began to climb, I knew just what to tell you. Yet now… I’m uncertain what it is I’ve kept hidden from you.”
“我说不了，武士。我们俩刚开始爬山的时候，我知道该怎么跟你说。可是现在…我究竟对你隐瞒了什么，我都不太确定了。”
“You’ve more to fear from your silence than my anger. Speak.”
“你应该更加害怕自己的沉默，而不是我的愤怒。说！”
Wistan came closer till he was standing right before him.
维斯坦走过来，站到他跟前。
“I fear it’s this cursed pool bewitches me, warrior, and maybe bewitches you too, making you content to dally this way and hardly glancing at those drowned ogres. Yet I know there’s a confession I have to make and only wish I could find it.”
“我担心，这个受诅咒的池塘让我着了魔，武士，可能也让你着了魔，让你心满意足地晃来晃去，都懒得看那些被淹死的食人兽。不过，我知道我有事情该向你坦白，就是想不起来是什么事，要是能想起来就好了。”
“Warrior, I’ve a confession to make. One that may make you slay me even as I stand trussed to this tree.”
“武士，我有事情要向你坦白。一说出来，你也许当场就要把我杀掉，哪怕我现在绑在这棵树上。”
“I can’t go on, warrior.”
“我没法接着说，武士。”
“It’s the she-dragon’s breath, nothing more. It’s had little sway over you before, but now overpowers you. A sure sign we’re close to her.”
“是那条母龙的气息，没别的了。它以前对你没什么影响，可现在已经控制你了。我们离它很近了，这是个明确的信号。”
“We’re hardly the first visitors here,” he said. “Even this past hour, some party’s come this way, and it’s no she-dragon. Master Edwin, I’m glad to see you calmer.”
“我们可不是最早到这儿来的，”他说。“过去一小时内，有其他人来过这儿，而且不是那条母龙。埃德温阁下，你平静了一些，我很高兴。”
“Warrior, you claimed for me the hunter’s gift, and even as you spoke of it I felt a strong pull, so let you believe I had Querig in my nostrils. But I was always deceiving you.”
“武士，你说我有猎人的天赋，在你说那话的时候，我感觉到一股强烈的力量吸引着我，于是就让你相信，我鼻子里闻到了魁瑞格的气息。但是，我一直在骗你。”
“Speak, boy, and don’t fear me.”
“说吧，孩子，不要害怕我。”
“Your mother. You say she’s near us now?”
“你母亲。你是说她在这附近？”
“But that’s just it, warrior. We rode the mare till her heart nearly burst, then climbed this steep mountainside, yet I’m not leading you at all to the she-dragon.”
“可问题就在这里啊，武士。我们拼命赶路，马累得心脏都差点炸了，然后又爬上了这座陡峭的山，可我压根儿就没带你去找母龙。”
“It’s my mother, warrior, I remember it now. My aunt’s not my mother. My real mother was taken, and even though I was a small boy then, I was watching. And I promised her I’d one day bring her back. Now I’m nearly grown, and have you beside me, even those men would tremble to face us. I deceived you, warrior, but understand my feelings and help me now we’re so near her.”
“是我母亲，武士，现在我想起来了。我阿姨不是我母亲。我真正的母亲被抓走了，那时候我还是个小孩，但我看在眼里。我答应过她，总有一天我会带她回来。现在我快成人了，还有你在身边，就是那些人看到我们也会颤抖的。我骗了你，武士，但是请你理解我的感受，既然我们离她这么近了，就帮帮我吧。”
“Show me the way to the she-dragon’s lair and I’ll forgive whatever small lies you’ve told me.”
“只要带我找到母龙的巢穴，无论你跟我撒过什么小谎，我都可以原谅。”
“Where could it be then, Master Edwin, you lead me?”
“那你带着我，埃德温阁下，是要上哪儿呢？”
Wistan had come so close Edwin could feel the warrior’s breath.
维斯坦靠得那么近，埃德温都能感觉到他的呼吸。
“They looked fierce, warrior, and well used to killing. Not a man in the village dared come out to face them that day.”
“他们样子很凶恶，武士，而且好像是杀人的老手。那天，村里谁也不敢站出来。”
“Yes, warrior. But not here. Not this cursed place.”
“是的，武士。但不在这儿。不是这个受诅咒的地方。”
“What do you remember of the men who took her?”
“抓走她的那些人，你还有印象吗？”
“Saxons or Britons?”
“撒克逊人还是不列颠人？”
“My own mother was taken, young comrade, so I understand your thoughts well. And I too was a child and weak when she was taken. These were times of war, and in my foolishness, seeing how the men slaughtered and hanged so many, I rejoiced to see the way they smiled at her, believing they meant to treat her with gentleness and favour. Perhaps it was this way for you too, Master Edwin, when you were young and still to know of men’s ways.”
“我自己的母亲也是被抓走的，小战友，所以我很理解你的想法。而且，她被抓的时候，我也是个没有力量的孩子。那是战争年月，我很傻，我看过那些家伙杀死、绞死了很多人，所以看到他们对我母亲笑，我还以为他们会善待她，对她好。也许你也是这样吧，埃德温阁下，你那时候还小，还不了解男人。”
“They were Britons, warrior. Three men, and Steffa said they must not long before have been soldiers, for he recognised their soldiers’ ways. I wasn’t yet five years old, or else I’d have fought for her.”
“是不列颠人，武士。三个人，斯特法说他们不久之前肯定当过兵，因为他能看出来，他们身上有士兵的样子。我还不到五岁，否则我就要为她战斗。”
“My mother was taken in peaceful times, warrior, so no great harm has met her. She’s been travelling country to country, and it may not be such a bad life. Yet she longs to return to me, and it’s true, the men who travel with her are sometimes cruel. Warrior, accept this confession, punish me later, but help me now face her captors, for it’s long years she’s waited for me.”
“我母亲是和平时期被抓走的，武士，所以没有遭遇大的伤害。她一直在各个国家之间到处游荡，这种日子也许不算差。可她一直想回到我身边，而且和她一起游荡的那些人，有时候很残酷。武士，接受我的坦白吧，回头再来惩罚我，现在请你帮助我面对抓我母亲的人，她已经等了我很多年了。”
“I’ll readily forgive you this deception, Master Edwin,” Wistan said eventually, turning back to face him. “And any other small lies you may have told. And soon I’ll release you from this tree and we’ll go to face whatever foe you may lead us to. But in return I ask you to make a promise.”
“我可以原谅你这次的欺骗，埃德温阁下，”维斯坦终于转过脸来，开口说道。“也原谅你可能说过的其他小谎话。而且，我很快就会把你从树上解开，无论你带我去见什么敌人，我们两人都一起去。但是，作为条件，我要你答应我一件事。”
Wistan stared at him strangely. He seemed on the brink of saying something, but then shook his head and walked a few steps away from the tree, almost like one ashamed. Edwin had never seen the warrior wear such an air, and watched him with surprise.
维斯坦用奇怪的目光瞪着他。他似乎张口要说什么，却摇了摇头，往旁边走开几步，简直像做错了事一样。埃德温从没见过武士这副模样，很吃惊地看着。
“Should I fall and you survive, promise me this. That you’ll carry in your heart a hatred of Britons.”
“如果我死了，你还活着，那么你要答应我这件事。答应我，你要在心里仇恨不列颠人。”
“What do you mean, warrior? Which Britons?”
“这是什么意思呢，武士？哪些不列颠人？”
“All Britons, young comrade. Even those who show you kindness.”
“小战友，是所有的不列颠人。包括对你友好的那些人。”
“Tell me, warrior.”
“说吧，武士。”
“There are Britons who tempt our respect, even our love, I know this only too well. But there are now greater things press on us than what each may feel for another. It was Britons under Arthur slaughtered our kind. It was Britons took your mother and mine. We’ve a duty to hate every man, woman and child of their blood. So promise me this. Should I fall before I pass to you my skills, promise me you’ll tend well this hatred in your heart. And should it ever flicker or threaten to die, shield it with care till the flame takes hold again. Will you promise me this, Master Edwin?”
“有些不列颠人似乎值得我们尊敬甚至爱戴，这一点我最了解。但是，与个人的感受相比，现在有更大的事情要我们承担。屠杀我们族人的，是亚瑟领导的不列颠人。抓走你母亲和我母亲的，是不列颠人。我们有义务去仇恨每一个不列颠男人、女人和孩子。所以你要答应我。如果我在传授你本领之前就倒下去，你答应我，要保护好你心中的仇恨。如果这火变弱或者可能熄灭，那你要小心照料，让火焰再燃烧起来。这你能答应吗，埃德温阁下？”
“I don’t understand, warrior. Must I hate a Briton who shares with me his bread? Or saves me from a foe as lately did the good Sir Gawain?”
“我不明白，武士。与我分享面包的不列颠人，我也要仇恨吗？如果有人救了我的命呢，比如最近救了我的高文爵士？”
“Let’s go to her then. But be prepared in case we come too late for her rescue.”
“那么，我们去找她吧。但你要有心理准备，也许我们太迟了，不一定救得了她。”
“What can you mean, warrior? How can that ever be, for I hear her call even now.”
“这是什么意思呢，武士？那怎么可能呢，她现在还在召唤我呢。”
“Very well, warrior, I promise it. But now I hear my mother calling, and surely we’ve stayed in this gloomy place too long.”
“很好，武士，我答应。可是现在我听见了母亲的召唤，我们在这个阴暗的地方也待了很久了。”
“Then let’s hasten to her call. Just know one thing, young comrade. When the hour’s too late for rescue, it’s still early enough for revenge. So let me hear your promise again. Promise me you’ll hate the Briton till the day you fall from your wounds or the heaviness of your years.”
“那我们就抓紧时间去吧。记住一件事情就行了，小战友。救援未必来得及，但报仇的机会多得是。让我再听一遍你的承诺。答应我，你要一直仇恨不列颠人，直到你受伤倒下，或者年老死去。”
“I gladly promise it again, warrior. But release me from this tree, for I now feel clearly which way we must go.”
“我很高兴地再次承诺，武士。把我从树上解下来吧，现在我能清楚地感觉到我们该走哪条路了。”
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