“If only that dratted wizard will leave young Frodo alone, perhaps he’ll settle down and grow some hobbit-sense,” they said. And to all appearance the wizard did leave Frodo alone, and he did settle down, but the growth of hobbit-sense was not very noticeable. Indeed, he at once began to carry on Bilbo’s reputation for oddity. He refused to go into mourning; and the next year he gave a party in honour of Bilbo’s hundred-and-twelfth birthday, which he called Hundred-weight Feast. But that was short of the mark, for twenty guests were invited and there were several meals at which it snowed food and rained drink, as hobbits say.
“如果那个讨厌的巫师不要一直缠着佛罗多就好了，或许他还来得及体会哈比人行事的作风，”他们说。从一切蛛丝马迹看来，这巫师的确没有再打搅佛罗多，这年轻人也真的安定了下来。至于哈比人的行事作风嘛，恐怕还是看不太出来。没错，他几乎立刻就继承了比尔博的特异作风。他拒绝哀悼比尔博，第二年还办了个百岁宴会纪念比尔博的一百一十二岁生日。这场宴会邀请了二十名客人，照哈比人的说法，宴会中的餐点可说是“菜山酒海”，丰盛的很。
The talk did not die down in nine or even ninety-nine days. The second disappearance of Mr. Bilbo Baggins was discussed in Hobbiton, and indeed all over the Shire, for a year and a day, and was remembered much longer than that. It became a fireside-story for young hobbits; and eventually Mad Baggins, who used to vanish with a bang and a flash and reappear with bags of jewels and gold, became a favourite character of legend and lived on long after all the true events were forgotten.
有关这事件的讨论不只持续了一周，更超过了三个月。比尔博—巴金斯第二次的神秘失踪让人在哈比屯讨论了一年多，更让人们念念不忘了好长的一段时间。这成了年轻哈比人最爱的饭后话题。到了最后，当一切的真相都已经隐入历史中时，“疯狂巴金斯”这个人物成了民间故事中最著名的角色。在故事中，他会在一声巨响和强光中消失，然后再带着装满珠宝和黄金的袋子出现。
But in the meantime, the general opinion in the neighbourhood was that Bilbo, who had always been rather cracked, had at last gone quite mad, and had run off into the Blue. There he had undoubtedly fallen into a pool or a river and come to a tragic, but hardly an untimely, end. The blame was mostly laid on Gandalf.
但在此同时，邻居们对他的观感则大有不同。他们都认为这个本来就有点疯疯癫癫的老头子这下终于崩溃了，可能跑到荒野里去了。他可能在那里跌进某个池塘或是小河里，就这样结束了一生。大多数的人都把这怪罪到甘道夫身上。
As time went on, people began to notice that Frodo also showed signs of good “preservation”: outwardly he retained the appearance of a robust and energetic hobbit just out of his tweens. “Some folk have all the luck,” they said; but it was not until Frodo approached the usually more sober age of fifty that they began to think it queer.
随着时光的流逝，人们开始注意到佛罗多似乎也继承了“养生有道”的秘诀。他外表看起来依旧像是精力充沛的少年。“有些人就是得天独厚，”他们说；但一直到了佛罗多五十岁的时候，他们才真的觉得这很诡异。
Some people were rather shocked; but Frodo kept up the custom of giving Bilbo’s Birthday Party year after year until they got used to it. He said that he did not think Bilbo was dead. When they asked: “Where is he then?” he shrugged his shoulders.
有些人觉得相当吃惊，但佛罗多还是年复一年的坚持举办宴会，直到大家也见怪不怪为止。他表示自己不认为比尔博已经死了。当众人质问他比尔博的去向时，他也只能耸耸肩。
He lived alone, as Bilbo had done; but he had a good many friends, especially among the younger hobbits (mostly descendants of the Old Took) who had as children been fond of Bilbo and often in and out of Bag End. Folco Boffin and Fredegar Bolger were two of these; but his closest friends were Peregrin Took (usually called Pippin), and Merry Brandybuck (his real name was Meriadoc, but that was seldom remembered). Frodo went tramping all over the Shire with them; but more often he wandered by himself, and to the amazement of sensible folk he was sometimes seen far from home walking in the hills and woods under the starlight. Merry and Pippin suspected that he visited the Elves at times, as Bilbo had done.
他和比尔博一样都一个人住，但他依旧有许多年轻的哈比朋友。（大多数是老图克的子孙）这些人小时候就很喜欢比尔博，经常喜欢找理由往袋底洞跑。法哥—波芬和佛瑞德加—博格就是两个典型的例子。不过，他最亲近的朋友是皮瑞格林—图克（通常匿称他为皮聘），梅里—烈酒鹿（他的真名其实是梅里—雅达克，但大家都记不太起来）。佛罗多经常和他们在夏尔四处探索，但更常自己一个人四处乱逛。让一般人吃惊的是，佛罗多有时竟然会在星光下远离家门，去附近的山丘和森林散步。梅里和皮聘怀疑他和比尔博一样，都会悄悄的去拜访精灵。
Frodo himself, after the first shock, found that being his own master and the Mr. Baggins of Bag End was rather pleasant. For some years he was quite happy and did not worry much about the future. But half unknown to himself the regret that he had not gone with Bilbo was steadily growing. He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen came into his dreams. He began to say to himself: “Perhaps I shall cross the River myself one day.” To which the other half of his mind always replied: “Not yet.”
在一开始的不安之后，佛罗多开始享受继承巴金斯家和袋底洞的生活。他有好几年的时间安逸的过活，丝毫不担心未来。但慢慢的，他开始后悔当初没有跟比尔博一起离开。他有时脑中会浮现一些景象，特别是在暮秋时节，他会开始想起外面的荒野、梦中会出现以往从未见过的高山峻岭。他开始对自己说：“或许有天我该亲身渡河去看看。”他脑中的另外一部份会回答：“时候还没到。”
So it went on, until his forties were running out, and his fiftieth birthday was drawing near: fifty was a number that he felt was somehow significant (or ominous); it was at any rate at that age that adventure had suddenly befallen Bilbo. Frodo began to feel restless, and the old paths seemed too well-trodden. He looked at maps, and wondered what lay beyond their edges: maps made in the Shire showed mostly white spaces beyond its borders. He took to wandering further afield and more often by himself; and Merry and his other friends watched him anxiously. Often he was seen walking and talking with the strange wayfarers that began at this time to appear in the Shire.
日子就这么继续过下去。一眨眼，他的五十岁生日就快到了。五十这个数字让他觉得十分特殊（或有些“太过”特殊了）比尔博就是在这个岁数突然间经历了许多奇遇。佛罗多开始觉得坐立难安，平日散步的小径也变得让人厌烦。他阅读地图时会思索地图的边缘之外是什么：在夏尔地区绘制的地图多半会把边境之外留白。他散步的范围越来越广，也更常单槍匹马的乱跑。梅里和其他的朋友都很担心他。他们常常看见他精力充沛的散步，或是和此时开始出现在夏尔的陌生旅人聊天。
There were rumours of strange things happening in the world outside; and as Gandalf had not at that time appeared or sent any message for several years, Frodo gathered all the news he could. Elves, who seldom walked in the Shire, could now be seen passing westward through the woods in the evening, passing and not returning; but they were leaving Middle-earth and were no longer concerned with its troubles. There were, however, dwarves on the road in unusual numbers. The ancient East-West Road ran through the Shire to its end at the Grey Havens, and dwarves had always used it on their way to their mines in the Blue Mountains.
据说外面的世界有了许多的变化，流言跟着四起，甘道夫那时已经有好多年没有任何消息；佛罗多只好尽可能的靠自己收集一切的情报。极少踏入夏尔的精灵现在也会于傍晚取道此地，沿着森林头也不回的往西走。他们准备离开中土世界，再也不插手凡间的争端。除此之外，路上的矮人也比往常要多。历史悠久的西东路穿越夏尔，通往灰港岸，矮人们一向利用这条路跋涉前往蓝山脉中的矿坑。
They were the hobbits’ chief source of news from distant parts — if they wanted any: as a rule dwarves said little and hobbits asked no more. But now Frodo often met strange dwarves of far countries, seeking refuge in the West. They were troubled, and some spoke in whispers of the Enemy and of the Land of Mordor.
他们是任何有需要的哈比人对外界最可靠的情报来源。一般来说，矮人都不愿多说，而哈比人也不会追问。不过，现在，佛罗多经常会遇到从遥远异乡赶来的矮人，准备往西方避难。他们每个人都心事重重，间或有人提到魔王和魔多之境的消息。
That name the hobbits only knew in legends of the dark past, like a shadow in the background of their memories; but it was ominous and disquieting. It seemed that the evil power in Mirkwood had been driven out by the White Council only to reappear in greater strength in the old strongholds of Mordor. The Dark Tower had been rebuilt, it was said. From there the power was spreading far and wide, and away far east and south there were wars and growing fear. Orcs were multiplying again in the mountains. Trolls were abroad, no longer dull-witted, but cunning and armed with dreadful weapons. And there were murmured hints of creatures more terrible than all these, but they had no name.
这些名字都只出现在过去的黑暗历史中，对哈比人来说就像是记忆中久未得见的一样：但这样不祥的消息的确让人感到不安。看来被圣白议会从幽暗密林中所驱逐的敌人现在又以更强大的形体重生在魔多的要塞中。根据流言，邪黑塔已经被重建。以邪黑塔为中心，邪恶的势力如燎原野火般向外扩展，极东和极南边的战火及恐惧都在不停的蔓延。半兽人又再度肆虐于群山间。食人妖的踪迹再现，这次他们不再是传说中那种愚蠢的食肉兽，反而摇身一变成为诡诈的武装战士。还有更多恐怖的耳语述说着比这些都更恐怖的生物，但它们都没有名字。
Little of all this, of course, reached the ears of ordinary hobbits. But even the deafest and most stay-at-home began to hear queer tales; and those whose business took them to the borders saw strange things. The conversation in The Green Dragon at Bywater, one evening in the spring of Frodo’s fiftieth year, showed that even in the comfortable heart of the Shire rumours had been heard, though most hobbits still laughed at them.
当然，一般正常过活的哈比人根本不可能知道这些谣言。但即使是最深居简出的哈比人也开始听到奇怪的故事，因工作所需而必须前往边境的哈比人更看到许多诡异的迹象。在佛罗多五十岁那年春天的一个傍晚，临水区的“绿龙旅店”里面的对话让人明白，即使是夏尔这与世隔绝的地区也开始流传这些四起的流言；不过大多数的哈比人依旧嗤之以鼻。
Sam Gamgee was sitting in one corner near the fire, and opposite him was Ted Sandyman, the miller’s son; and there were various other rustic hobbits listening to their talk.
山姆—詹吉正坐在炉火旁的位子上，他对面坐的是磨坊主人的儿子泰德—山迪曼。旁边还有许多没事干的哈比人在聆听他们的对话。
“Ah,” said Ted, “you do, if you listen. But I can hear fireside-tales and children’s stories at home, if I want to.”
“啊，”泰德说，“如果你放机灵点，的确会有很多传言。可是，如果我只想要听床边故事和童话，我在家就可以听得到了。”
“No doubt you can,” retorted Sam, “and I daresay there’s more truth in some of them than you reckon. Who invented the stories anyway? Take dragons now.”
“你当然可以回家听，”山姆不屑的说，“我敢打赌，那里面的事实比你所明白的还要多。是谁编出这些故事的？就以龙来做例子好了。”
“Queer things you do hear these days, to be sure,” said Sam.
“如果你注意听，这些日子会听到很多奇怪的事情，”山姆说。
“No thank “ee,” said Ted, “I won’t. I heard tell of them when I was a youngster, but there’s no call to believe in them now. There’s only one Dragon in Bywater, and that’s Green,” he said, getting a general laugh.
“哼，还是免了吧，”泰德说。“这我可不敢恭维。我小时候就听说过龙的故事，现在更没理由相信它们了。临水区只有一只龙，就是这个绿龙旅店，”他的听众都哈哈大笑。
“Who’s they?”
“这个他们是谁？”
“My cousin Hal for one. He works for Mr. Boffin at Overhill and goes up to the Northfarthing for the hunting. He saw one.”
“我的亲戚哈尔就是其中一个。他当时在替波芬先生工作，去北区打猎。他就看到了一个这种生物。”
“Says he did, perhaps. Your Hal’s always saying he’s seen things; and maybe he sees things that ain’t there.”
“他是这样说啦，我们怎么知道是真是假？你们家的哈尔老是说他看到了什么东西，可能根本没这回事。”
“All right,” said Sam, laughing with the rest. “But what about these Tree-men, these giants, as you might call them? They do say that one bigger than a tree was seen up away beyond the North Moors not long back.”
“好吧，”山姆也和其它的人一起开怀大笑。“那这些树人，或是你口中的巨人又怎么说？附近的确有人说他们在北边的荒地那边看到这种比树还要高大的生物。”
“Then Hal can’t have seen one,” said Ted. There was some laughing and clapping: the audience seemed to think that Ted had scored a point.
“那么哈尔也不可能看见榆树，”泰德说。旁观者有些人开始大笑和拍手：他们认为泰德这次占了上风。
“But this one was as big as an elm tree, and walking — walking seven yards to a stride, if it was an inch.”
“可是他看到的东西跟榆树一样高，还会走！每一步可以走七码！”
“Then I bet it wasn’t an inch. What he saw was an elm tree, as like as not.”
“我打赌他看错了。他看到的应该只是棵榆树而已。”
“But this one was walking, I tell you; and there ain’t no elm tree on the North Moors.”
“我刚刚说过了，这棵树会走路，北边的荒地也根本没有什么榆树。”
“All the same,” said Sam, “you can’t deny that others besides our Halfast have seen queer folk crossing the Shire — crossing it, mind you: there are more that are turned back at the borders. The Bounders have never been so busy before.
“随便啦，”山姆说，“你总不能否认除了我们家哈尔之外，还有其他人也看见很多诡异的人物穿越夏尔，注意喔，是穿越。还有更多的人在边境就被挡驾了。边境警卫从来没有这么忙碌过。”
“And I’ve heard tell that Elves are moving west. They do say they are going to the harbours, out away beyond the White Towers.” Sam waved his arm vaguely: neither he nor any of them knew how far it was to the Sea, past the old towers beyond the western borders of the Shire. But it was an old tradition that away over there stood the Grey Havens, from which at times elven-ships set sail, never to return.
“我还听说精灵们开始往西方迁徙。他们说他们准备要去港口，暂时还不准备到白塔之外去。”山姆含糊的挥舞着手臂，他和其他人都不知道离开夏尔西方边境和旧塔之后还离海有多远。他们只知道在那边有个叫做灰港岸的地方，精灵的船只从那边出港之后就再也不会回来了。
“Well, that isn’t anything new, if you believe the old tales. And I don’t see what it matters to me or you. Let them sail! But I warrant you haven’t seen them doing it; nor any one else in the Shire.”
“如果你相信古代的传说，这又不是什么新鲜事。我也看不出来这和你我有什么关系。就让他们开船走啊！我保证你和夏尔的其他人都不会看见这情形的。”
“Well I don’t know,” said Sam thoughtfully. He believed he had once seen an Elf in the woods, and still hoped to see more one day. Of all the legends that he had heard in his early years such fragments of tales and half-remembered stories about the Elves as the hobbits knew, had always moved him most deeply. “There are some, even in these parts, as know the Fair Folk and get news of them,” he said. “There’s Mr. Baggins now, that I work for. He told me that they were sailing and he knows a bit about Elves. And old Mr. Bilbo knew more: many’s the talk I had with him when I was a little lad.”
“我可没那么确定，”山姆若有所思的说。他认为自己以前曾经在森林里面看过一名精灵，很希望以后还有机会可以再看到。在他所有儿时听过的故事中（仅止于哈比人对精灵贫乏的了解），每个精灵的故事都让他大为感动。“即使在我们这边也有人认识那些高贵人种，”他说。“我的老板巴金斯就是一个例子。他告诉我他们远航的故事，他也知道不少关于精灵的事情。比尔博老先生知道的更多：我小时候听他说话的时候就听到不少。”
“They are sailing, sailing, sailing over the Sea, they are going into the West and leaving us,” said Sam, half chanting the words, shaking his head sadly and solemnly. But Ted laughed.
“他们出港之后就扬帆远扬，不停的往西方走，把我们遗弃在这里，”山姆用着梦幻的眼神朗诵着，摇头晃脑露出忧伤的表情。但泰德反而笑了起来。
Sam sat silent and said no more. He had a good deal to think about. For one thing, there was a lot to do up in the Bag End garden, and he would have a busy day tomorrow, if the weather cleared. The grass was growing fast. But Sam had more on his mind than gardening. After a while he sighed, and got up and went out.
山姆沉默的坐着，不再多言。他有很多东西要考虑。举例来说，他在袋底洞的花园里面就还有很多工作，如果明天天气好一点，他可能要忙上一整天。草皮最近长得很快。不过，山姆烦心的不只是种花割草这类的事情。他又继续沉思了片刻，最后还是叹口气，悄悄的走出门外。
It was just at this time that Gandalf reappeared after his long absence. For three years after the Party he had been away. Then he paid Frodo a brief visit, and after taking a good look at him he went off again. During the next year or two he had turned up fairly often, coming unexpectedly after dusk, and going off without warning before sunrise. He would not discuss his own business and journeys, and seemed chiefly interested in small news about Frodo’s health and doings.
同一时刻，销声匿迹已久的甘道夫又再度出现了。他在宴会结束之后消失了三年，然后他短暂的拜访了佛罗多一阵子；在仔细打量过老朋友之后，他又再度远行。接下来的一两年他还经常出现，通常都是在天黑之后突如其来的拜访，在天亮之前无声无息的消失。他对自己的工作和旅程守口如瓶，似乎只在乎有关佛罗多身体状况和行为的一切芝麻小事。
It was early April and the sky was now clearing after heavy rain. The sun was down, and a cool pale evening was quietly fading into night. He walked home under the early stars through Hobbiton and up the Hill, whistling softly and thoughtfully.
今天也才四月初，大雨过后的天空显得格外明澈。太陽正要下山，沁凉的暮色正缓缓的被夜色所取代。他在明亮的星光之下穿越哈比屯，走到小山上，边吹着口哨，想着心事。
“Oh, they’re both cracked,” said Ted. “Leastways old Bilbo was cracked, and Frodo’s cracking. If that’s where you get your news from, you’ll never want for moonshine. Well, friends, I’m off home. Your good health!” He drained his mug and went out noisily.
“喔，这两个家伙脑袋都有问题啦，”泰德说。“至少过世的老比尔博脑袋有问题，佛罗多还在慢慢的崩溃中。如果你的消息来源是这两个家伙，那什么怪事都不稀奇了。好啦，朋友们，我要回家了。祝你们健康！”他一口喝完杯中的饮料，大摇大摆的走出门去。
“Ah well eh?” said Gandalf. “You look the same as ever, Frodo!”
“一切都还好吧？”甘道夫说。“佛罗多，你看起来一点都没变！”
Then suddenly his visits had ceased. It was over nine years since Frodo had seen or heard of him, and he had begun to think that the wizard would never return and had given up all interest in hobbits. But that evening, as Sam was walking home and twilight was fading, there came the once familiar tap on the study window.
毫无征兆的，他突然间音讯全无。佛罗多已经有九年之久没有听说过他的任何消息，他开始以为这巫师对哈比人失去了兴趣，以后也不会再出现了。可是，正当山姆在暮色中散步回家时，佛罗多书房的窗户却传来了熟悉的轻敲声。
Next morning after a late breakfast, the wizard was sitting with Frodo by the open window of the study. A bright fire was on the hearth, but the sun was warm, and the wind was in the South. Everything looked fresh, and the new green of Spring was shimmering in the fields and on the tips of the trees’ fingers.
第二天近午时分，晚起的两人在用了早餐之后，在书房明亮的窗户旁坐了下来。壁炉中点着熊熊的火焰，太陽也十分温暖，外面吹着和煦的南风。一切看起来都那么的完美，春天带来了一股欣欣向荣的绿意，点缀在花草树木上。
Frodo welcomed his old friend with surprise and great delight. They looked hard at one another.
佛罗多有些惊讶，却十分高兴的欢迎老友再度前来拜访。他们彼此打量了许久。
“So do you,” Frodo replied; but secretly he thought that Gandalf looked older and more careworn. He pressed him for news of himself and of the wide world, and soon they were deep in talk, and they stayed up far into the night.
“你也是一样，”佛罗多客套的说；但他内心其实觉得巫师更显老态，似乎比以前更饱经风霜了些。他迫不及待的要求巫师讲述外界的消息，两人很快就旁若无人的聊了起来，直到深夜。
He was smoking now in silence, for Frodo was sitting still, deep in thought. Even in the light of morning he felt the dark shadow of the tidings that Gandalf had brought. At last he broke the silence.
此时他正沉默的吸烟，看着佛罗多动也不动的沉思着。即使在明媚的晨光照耀下，他依旧被甘道夫所带来的诸多噩耗给压得喘不过气来。最后他终于打破了沉默。
Gandalf was thinking of a spring, nearly eighty years before, when Bilbo had run out of Bag End without a handkerchief. His hair was perhaps whiter than it had been then, and his beard and eyebrows were perhaps longer, and his face more lined with care and wisdom; but his eyes were as bright as ever, and he smoked and blew smoke-rings with the same vigour and delight.
甘道夫正回忆着将近八十年前的一个春天，比尔博那时和他一起走出袋底洞，身上还忘了带手帕。比起那时，他的头发可能变得更白些，胡子和眉毛可能都更长了，脸上也多了许多忧心和智慧累积的皱纹。但他的眼神依旧明亮，吐烟圈的技术依旧高超的让人佩服，脸上也同样带着欢欣的表情。
“In many ways,” answered the wizard. It is far more powerful than I ever dared to think at first, so powerful that in the end it would utterly overcome anyone of mortal race who possessed it. It would possess him.
“它在许多面象上都极端的危险，”巫师回答。“我根本没想到这枚戒指有这么大的力量，它的力量强大到足以征服任何拥有它的凡人。它将会占据他的身心。”
“Last night you began to tell me strange things about my ring, Gandalf,” he said. “And then you stopped, because you said that such matters were best left until daylight. Don’t you think you had better finish now? You say the ring is dangerous, far more dangerous than I guess. In what way?”
“昨天晚上你才告诉我有关这戒指独特的地方，甘道夫，”他说。“然后你似乎欲言又止，因为你说最好留到白天再讨论这个话题。你为什么不现在把它说完呢？你昨夜说这枚戒指很危险，比我猜的要更危险。它危险在哪里呢？”
“In Eregion long ago many Elven-rings were made, magic rings as you call them, and they were, of course, of various kinds: some more potent and some less. The lesser rings were only essays in the craft before it was full-grown, and to the Elven-smiths they were but trifles — yet still to my mind dangerous for mortals. But the Great Rings, the Rings of Power, they were perilous.
“很久很久以前，精灵们在伊瑞詹打造了许多枚精灵戒指。也就是你所称呼的魔法戒指，它们有许多不同的种类：有的力量大，有的力量比较小。次级的戒指都是在这门技术尚未成熟时打造出来的，对精灵工匠来说只是微不足道的装饰品。但是，在我看来，它们对凡人来说依旧是无比危险。但更进一步的还有更高级的统御魔戒，又被称做权能之戒、力量之戒，它们的危险是难以用言语描述的。”
“A mortal, Frodo, who keeps one of the Great Rings, does not die, but he does not grow or obtain more life, he merely continues, until at last every minute is a weariness. And if he often uses the Ring to make himself invisible, he fades: he becomes in the end invisible permanently, and walks in the twilight under the eye of the dark power that rules the Rings. Yes, sooner or later — later, if he is strong or well-meaning to begin with, but neither strength nor good purpose will last — sooner or later the dark power will devour him.”
“佛罗多，持有统御魔戒的凡人可以不老不死，但他并不会获得更长的寿命或是继续成长；他只是肉体继续存在，直到每一刻对他来说都成为煎熬，但依旧无法摆脱这命运。如果他经常使用这戒指让自己隐形，他会渐渐的褪化；最后他会永远的隐形，被迫在管辖魔戒的邪恶力量之下行走于幽界之中。没错，迟早，他都会沦落到这个下场。如果他的用意良善、意志坚强，这时间会拖的比较久；但良善和坚强都救不了他。那黑暗的力量迟早会将他吞灭。”
“How terrifying!” said Frodo. There was another long silence. The sound of Sam Gamgee cutting the lawn came in from the garden.
“真是太恐怖了！”佛罗多说。两人又沉默了很长的一段时间。窗外只继续传来山姆割草的声音。
“Very wise,” said Gandalf. “But as for his long life, Bilbo never connected it with the ring at all. He took all the credit for that to himself, and he was very proud of it. Though he was getting restless and uneasy. Thin and stretched he said. A sign that the ring was getting control.”
“你很聪明，”甘道夫说。“至于比尔博的长寿，他自己从未将这两者做出任何的联想。他以为是自己身体硬朗的关系，因此也觉得非常自豪。不过他觉得情绪越来越浮动，越来越不安。他说自己‘有点干枯，快被榨干’。这就是魔戒开始控制他的征兆。”
“How long have you known this?” asked Frodo at length. “And how much did Bilbo know?”
“你知道这件事有多久了？”佛罗多最后终于问。“比尔博又知道多少？”
“Bilbo knew no more than he told you, I am sure,” said Gandalf. “He would certainly never have passed on to you anything that he thought would be a danger, even though I promised to look after you. He thought the ring was very beautiful, and very useful at need; and if anything was wrong or queer, it was himself. He said that it was “growing on his mind”, and he was always worrying about it; but he did not suspect that the ring itself was to blame. Though he had found out that the thing needed looking after; it did not seem always of the same size or weight; it shrank or expanded in an odd way, and might suddenly slip off a finger where it had been tight.”
“我确信比尔博知道的不会比你多，”甘道夫说。“他绝对不会把有危险的东西送给你，即使我答应照顾你也一定无法说服他。他只是单纯的以为这戒指很美丽，关键的时候相当有用；就算有什么东西不对劲，也只是他自己的问题而已。他说这东西似乎‘占据了他的思绪’，他越来越担心这东西。但他没有想到罪魁祸首是这枚戒指。他只知道这东西需要特别的照顾；它的尺寸和外型变化不定，会以诡异的方式缩小和变大，甚至可能突然间从手指上掉落下来。”
“Yes, he warned me of that in his last letter,” said Frodo, “so I have always kept it on its chain.”
“没错，他给我的最后一封信里面有警告过我，”佛罗多说，“所以我一直用原来的练子将它绑住。”
“When did I first begin to guess?” he mused, searching back in memory. “Let me see — it was in the year that the White Council drove the dark power from Mirkwood, just before the Battle of Five Armies, that Bilbo found his ring. A shadow fell on my heart then, though I did not know yet what I feared. I wondered often how Gollum came by a Great Ring, as plainly it was — that at least was clear from the first. Then I heard Bilbo’s strange story of how he had “won” it, and I could not believe it. When I at last got the truth out of him, I saw at once that he had been trying to put his claim to the ring beyond doubt. Much like Gollum with his “birthday present”. The lies were too much alike for my comfort. Clearly the ring had an unwholesome power that set to work on its keeper at once. That was the first real warning I had that all was not well. I told Bilbo often that such rings were better left unused; but he resented it, and soon got angry. There was little else that I could do. I could not take it from him without doing greater harm; and I had no right to do so anyway. I could only watch and wait. I might perhaps have consulted Saruman the White, but something always held me back.”
“我是什么时候开始怀疑的呢？”他沉吟着，搜寻着脑中的回忆。“让我想想，是在圣白议会驱逐幽暗密林中邪恶势力的那一年，就正好在五军之战（译注一），比尔博找到这枚戒指之前。我那时就觉得有些不安，却浑然不知自己在畏惧些什么。我经常想到咕鲁怎么可能会这么简单就拥有统御魔戒，至少一开始的时候看起来很简单。然后我又听说了比尔博说他是怎么‘赢得’这戒指的诡异故事，打从一开始我就不相信这个说法。在我终于从他口中逼问出实情后，我立刻明白他想要将这魔戒据为己有。就像咕鲁声称这是他的‘生日礼物’一样。这两个谎言的近似让我的不安日益加深。很明显的，这魔戒拥有某种可以影响它持有者的力量。我警告比尔博最好不要使用这种戒指，但他置之不理，甚至很快就被激怒了。我对此也束手无策。我不可能强行将魔戒从他手中夺走，又让他毫发无伤，而且我也没有立场这样做。我只能够袖手旁观，等待时机的到来。我本来应该去请益白袍萨鲁曼，但我的第六感让我迟疑了。”
“Known?” said Gandalf. “I have known much that only the Wise know, Frodo. But if you mean “known about this ring”, well, I still do not know, one might say. There is a last test to make. But I no longer doubt my guess.
“多久？”甘道夫说。“我所知道的情报很多是只有贤者才会知道的秘辛，佛罗多。但如果你的意思是对这戒指有多透彻的了解，你可以说我知道的其实还不够多。我还必须做最后一个试验才能斩钉截铁的确定。但我现在已经不再怀疑自己的猜测了。”
“How long have you known all this?” asked Frodo again.
“你到底知道这件事有多久了？”佛罗多再度问道。
“Who is he?” asked Frodo. I have never heard of him before.”
“他是谁？”佛罗多问。“我以前从来没听过这个人。”
“Maybe not,” answered Gandalf. “Hobbits are, or were, no concern of his. Yet he is great among the Wise. He is the chief of my order and the head of the Council. His knowledge is deep, but his pride has grown with it, and he takes ill any meddling. The lore of the Elven-rings, great and small, is his province. He has long studied it, seeking the lost secrets of their making; but when the Rings were debated in the Council, all that he would reveal to us of his ring-lore told against my fears. So my doubt slept — but uneasily. Still I watched and I waited.
“可能你真的不知道，”甘道夫回答道。“至少在这之前，他对哈比人毫不关心。但他在众贤者中的地位很高。他是我辈的领袖，也是议会的议长。他拥有渊博的知识，但自傲也随之滋生。他痛恨任何人插手干预他的事务。精灵戒指不论大小都是他专业的领域。他研究这领域已经很久了，希望能够重获铸造它们的知识。但当我们在议会中针对魔戒的力量争辩时，他所愿意透露的魔戒情报正好与我所畏惧的相反。我的疑窦就此深埋，但那不安却未曾消退。我依旧观察着世间的变化，等待着。”
“And all seemed well with Bilbo. And the years passed. Yes, they passed, and they seemed not to touch him. He showed no signs of age. The shadow fell on me again. But I said to myself: “After all he comes of a long-lived family on his mother’s side. There is time yet. Wait!”
“比尔博看来也似乎不受影响。年复一年，他的外貌却丝毫不受岁月的侵蚀。我的内心又再度为陰影所笼罩。但我又对自己说：‘毕竟他母亲那边拥有长寿的血统。还有的是时间。耐心等！’”
“And I waited. Until that night when he left this house. He said and did things then that filled me with a fear that no words of Saruman could allay. I knew at last that something dark and deadly was at work. And I have spent most of the years since then in finding out the truth of it.”
“我就这样继续等待着。直到那夜他离开这座屋子为止。他的所作所为让我心中充满萨鲁曼的任何话语都无法压抑的恐惧。我终于确认有致命的邪恶力量在背后运作。从那之后我就花费大多数的时间在寻求背后的真相。”
“There wasn’t any permanent harm done, was there?” asked Frodo anxiously. “He would get all right in time, wouldn’t he? Be able to rest in peace, I mean?”
“这会不会造成永久的伤害呢？”佛罗多紧张的问。“他会慢慢的恢复吧？我是说他至少可以过着安详的生活吧？”
“He felt better at once,” said Gandalf. “But there is only one Power in this world that knows all about the Rings and their effects; and as far as I know there is no Power in the world that knows all about hobbits. Among the Wise I am the only one that goes in for hobbit-lore: an obscure branch of knowledge, but full of surprises. Soft as butter they can be, and yet sometimes as tough as old tree-roots. I think it likely that some would resist the Rings far longer than most of the Wise would believe. I don’t think you need worry about Bilbo.
“他立刻就感觉好多了，”甘道夫说。“但这世界上只有一个势力知晓所有戒指的情报和它的影响；而就我所知，这世界上没有任何的势力对哈比人有通彻的了解。贤者当中只有我愿意研究哈比人的历史，虽然这被视为枝微末节，却充满了惊奇。有时他们软弱如水，有时却又坚硬胜钢。我想，这个种族或许会大出贤者们的意料，足以抵抗魔戒影响力很长的一段时间。我想你不需要替比尔博担心。”
“Of course, he possessed the ring for many years, and used it, so it might take a long while for the influence to wear off — before it was safe for him to see it again, for instance. Otherwise, he might live on for years, quite happily: just stop as he was when he parted with it. For he gave it up in the end of his own accord: an important point. No, I was not troubled about dear Bilbo any more, once he had let the thing go. It is for you that I feel responsible.
“的确，他持有魔戒很多年，也曾经使用过它；后遗症可能要很长一段时间才会消逝。举例来说，最好先不要让他再见到这枚戒指，避免造成严重的影响。如此，他应该可以快快乐乐的活上很多年，不再像他割舍魔戒时的样子。因为，他是靠着自己的意志力放弃魔戒的，这很重要。在他放手之后，我不再替比尔博担心了。我觉得必须对你负起责任。”
Frodo shuddered. “But why should we be?” he asked. “And why should he want such slaves?”
佛罗多打了个寒颤。“怎么可能呢？”他问。“他又怎么会想要我们这种奴隶？”
“To tell you the truth,” replied Gandalf, “I believe that hitherto — hitherto, mark you — he has entirely overlooked the existence of hobbits. You should be thankful. But your safety has passed. He does not need you — he has many more useful servants — but he won’t forget you again. And hobbits as miserable slaves would please him far more than hobbits happy and free. There is such a thing as malice and revenge.”
“说实话，”甘道夫回答，“我相信迄今为止，记住，是到目前为止，他都忽视了哈比人的存在。你们应该感激这点。但你们祥和过活的日子已经过去了。他的确不需要你们，他拥有有各种各样残暴凶狠的仆人，但他不会忘记你们的存在。痛苦的哈比奴隶会比自由快乐的哈比人更符合他的心意。这世界上的确存在着纯粹的邪心和报复的执念！”
“It has everything to do with it,” said Gandalf. “You do not know the real peril yet; but you shall. I was not sure of it myself when I was last here; but the time has come to speak. Give me the ring for a moment.”
“这一切都是源自于那枚戒指，”甘道夫说。“你还没有遇上真正的危机，但也快了。我上次来这边的时候还不太确定，但局势的演变证明了一切。先把戒指给我。”
“Revenge?” said Frodo. “Revenge for what? I still don’t understand what all this has to do with Bilbo and myself, and our ring.”
“报复？”佛罗多问。“报复什么？我还是不明白这和比尔博和我，以及我们的戒指有什么关系。”
“Ever since Bilbo left I have been deeply concerned about you, and about all these charming, absurd, helpless hobbits. It would be a grievous blow to the world, if the Dark Power overcame the Shire; if all your kind, jolly, stupid Bolgers, Hornblowers, Boffins, Bracegirdles, and the rest, not to mention the ridiculous Bagginses, became enslaved.”
“自从比尔博离开这里之后，我就一直很担心你，我放心不下你们这些乐天、好玩却又无助的哈比人。如果黑暗的势力征服了夏尔；如果你们这些体贴、善解人意、天真的博格家、吹号者家、波芬家、抱腹家，更别提还有那著名的巴金斯家全都遭到邪恶之力奴役怎么办？”
Gandalf held it up. It looked to be made of pure and solid gold. “Can you see any markings on it?” he asked.
甘道夫接下戒指。它看起来像是用纯金打造的东西。“你在上面能够看到任何标记吗？”他问。
Frodo took it from his breeches-pocket, where it was clasped to a chain that hung from his belt. He unfastened it and handed it slowly to the wizard. It felt suddenly very heavy, as if either it or Frodo himself was in some way reluctant for Gandalf to touch it.
佛罗多从他的裤子口袋中掏出了以练子挂在腰间的戒指。他松开练子，慢慢的将它交给巫师。戒指突然间变得十分沉重，彷佛它或佛罗多不愿意让甘道夫碰触它。
“No,” said Frodo. “There are none. It is quite plain, and it never shows a scratch or sign of wear.”
“看不到，”佛罗多说。“上面什么也没有。这戒指设计很简单，而且它永远不会有刮伤或是褪色的痕迹。”
No apparent change came over the ring. After a while Gandalf got up, closed the shutters outside the window, and drew the curtains. The room became dark and silent, though the clack of Sam’s shears, now nearer to the windows, could still be heard faintly from the garden. For a moment the wizard stood looking at the fire; then he stooped and removed the ring to the hearth with the tongs, and at once picked it up. Frodo gasped.
戒指没有什么明显的变化。过了一会儿之后，甘道夫站起来，关上窗户，拉上窗廉。房间瞬时变得黑暗寂静；唯一的声音只有山姆的树剪越来越靠近窗边的工作声。巫师看着炉火，接着用火钳将它拿出。佛罗多倒抽一口冷气。
“Wait!” he said in a commanding voice, giving Frodo a quick look from under his bristling brows.
“等等！”他瞪了佛罗多一眼，用带着无比权威的声音说。
“Well then, look!” To Frodo’s astonishment and distress the wizard threw it suddenly into the middle of a glowing corner of the fire. Frodo gave a cry and groped for the tongs; but Gandalf held him back.
“那你看着吧！”接下来的情况让佛罗多大惊失色，巫师突如其来的将戒指丢进火炉中。佛罗多惊呼一声，急忙想要拿起火钳去捡拾戒指，但甘道夫阻止了他。
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
三戒命归光天精灵王，
As Frodo did so, he now saw fine lines, finer than the finest pen-strokes, running along the ring, outside and inside: lines of fire that seemed to form the letters of a flowing script. They shone piercingly bright, and yet remote, as if out of a great depth.
当佛罗多照做的时候，他看见戒指的内侧和外侧有着极端细微、比任何人笔触都要细致的痕迹；火焰般的笔迹似乎构成了某种龙飞凤舞的文字。它们发出刺眼的光芒，却又遥不可及，彷佛是从地心深处所发出的烈焰一般。
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
九戒交与寿定凡界人，
“Hold it up!” said Gandalf. “And look closely!”
“拿起来！”甘道夫说。“仔细看！”
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
七戒定属地底矮人皇，
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
至尊魔戒唤众戒，众戒归一黑暗中。
It is only two lines of a verse long known in Elven-lore:
这是精灵自古流传的诗歌中摘录的四句，原诗是：
It is quite cool,” said Gandalf. “Take it!” Frodo received it on his shrinking palm: it seemed to have become thicker and heavier than ever.
“这还是一样的冰凉，”甘道夫说。“拿着！”佛罗多的小手接下这枚戒指：戒指似乎变得比以前厚重许多。
I cannot read the fiery letters,” said Frodo in a quavering voice.
“我看不懂这些发亮的文字，”佛罗多用颤抖的嗓音说。
“No,” said Gandalf, “but I can. The letters are Elvish, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Mordor, which I will not utter here. But this in the Common Tongue is what is said, close enough:
“我知道，”甘道夫说，“但是我看的懂。这些是精灵古文字，但它却是以魔多的方言所写成的，我不愿意在此念出。但翻译成通用语是这样的意思：
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
魔戒全属至尊御，至尊指引诸魔戒，
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
魔多妖境暗影伏。
One Ring to rule them all. One Ring to find them,
魔戒全属至尊御，至尊指引诸魔戒，
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
至尊魔戒唤众戒，众戒归一黑暗中，
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.”
魔多妖境暗影伏。”
He paused, and then said slowly in a deep voice: “This is the Master-ring, the One Ring to rule them all. This is the One Ring that he lost many ages ago, to the great weakening of his power. He greatly desires it — but he must not get it.”
他暂停片刻，接着用极端深沉的声音说：“这就是魔戒之王，统御一切魔戒的至尊魔戒。这就是他在无数纪元以前失落的魔戒，这让他的力量大为减弱。他对魔戒势在必得，但我们绝不能让他得逞。”
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
至尊魔戒属闇王，
“Ah!” said Gandalf. “That is a very long story. The beginnings lie back in the Black Years, which only the lore-masters now remember. If I were to tell you all that tale, we should still be sitting here when Spring had passed into Winter.
“啊！”甘道夫说，“这说来话长。故事是从黑暗年代开始的，现在只有学识最渊博的历史学者记得这段历史。如果要我把所有的来龙去脉都说完，我们可能会在这边从春天一直坐到冬天。”
“But last night I told you of Sauron the Great, the Dark Lord. The rumours that you have heard are true: he has indeed arisen again and left his hold in Mirkwood and returned to his ancient fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor. That name even you hobbits have heard of, like a shadow on the borders of old stories. Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and grows again.”
“不过，昨天晚上我跟你提过了黑暗魔君索伦。你所听说的传言是真的：他的确又再度复生，离开了幽暗密林的居所，回到他古老的魔多要塞邪黑塔。这个名字相信连你们哈比人也有听过，它就像是传说中蕴含一切黑暗的邪恶之地。不管被击败多少次，魔影都会转生成其它的形貌，再度开始茁壮滋长。”
Frodo sat silent and motionless. Fear seemed to stretch out a vast hand, like a dark cloud rising in the East and looming up to engulf him. “This ring!” he stammered. “How, how on earth did it come to me?”
佛罗多一言不发，动也不动的坐着。恐惧似乎用巨大的手掌将他攫住，彷佛是自东方升起的乌云一样将他包围。“这…这枚戒指！”他结巴的说。“怎么，怎么可能会落到我手中？”
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given, us. And already, Frodo, our time is beginning to look black. The Enemy is fast becoming very strong. His plans are far from ripe, I think, but they are ripening. We shall be hard put to it. We should be very hard put to it, even if it were not for this dreadful chance.
“我也希望不会，”甘道夫说，“所有被迫陷入这时代的人也都绝不希望遇到这情形。但，世事的演变不是他们可以决定的。我们能决定的只是如何利用手中宝贵的时间做好准备。佛罗多，陰影已经开始笼罩在历史的长河上。魔王的力量正在不停的增加。我认为，他的陰谋还没有成熟，但也距今不远。我们一定要尽可能的阻止这情形发生。即使没有掌握这恐怖的契机，我们也必须尽一切可能阻止他。”
“The Three, fairest of all, the Elf-lords hid from him, and his hand never touched them or sullied them. Seven the Dwarf-kings possessed, but three he has recovered, and the others the dragons have consumed. Nine he gave to Mortal Men, proud and great, and so ensnared them. Long ago they fell under the dominion of the One, and they became Ringwraiths, shadows under his great Shadow, his most terrible servants. Long ago. It is many a year since the Nine walked abroad. Yet who knows? As the Shadow grows once more, they too may walk again. But come! We will not speak of such things even in the morning of the Shire.
“拥有无比美貌和德性的三名精灵王和三枚统御魔戒不在他的势力范围中，他的邪气和野心从来没有污染到他们。矮人皇族拥有七枚魔戒，他已经找回了三枚，其它的都被巨龙给吞食了。他赐给九名功绩彪炳的人类另外九枚魔戒，藉此禁锢他们。在远古时代，他们就屈服在至尊魔戒的威势之下，成为戒灵，也就是听从魔王命令的魔影，亦为他最恐怖强悍的仆人。九名戒灵已经在这世间消失了很长的一段时间。但谁能确定他们的去向呢？在魔影再度扩张的此时，他们可能跟着再度现世。别再谈这个话题了！即使在夏尔的晨光下也不要轻易提及他们的名号。”
“The Enemy still lacks one thing to give him strength and knowledge to beat down all resistance, break the last defences, and cover all the lands in a second darkness. He lacks the One Ring.
“要摧毁所有的敌手、击垮最后的防线、让黑暗再度降临大地，魔王只欠缺一样可以赐给他知识和力量的宝物。至尊魔戒还不在他的手上。”
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“我希望这辈子都不要遇到这种事情，”佛罗多说。
“And this is the dreadful chance, Frodo. He believed that the One had perished; that the Elves had destroyed it, as should have been done. But he knows now that it has not perished, that it has been found. So he is seeking it, seeking it, and all his thought is bent on it. It is his great hope and our great fear.”
“这就是我们所面临的危机，却也是转机，佛罗多。他相信至尊魔戒已经被精灵摧毁了；我也希望这是真的。但现在，他知道至尊魔戒并没有被毁，而且也再度现世。他费尽心血只为找寻这戒指，所有的心思皆投注其上。这是他最大的契机，也是我们最大的危机。”
“So it is now: the Nine he has gathered to himself; the Seven also, or else they are destroyed. The Three are hidden still. But that no longer troubles him. He only needs the One; for he made that Ring himself, it is his, and he let a great part of his own former power pass into it, so that he could rule all the others. If he recovers it, then he will command them all again, wherever they be, even the Three, and all that has been wrought with them will be laid bare, and he will be stronger than ever.
“现在的状况是这样的：他已经将九戒收归，七戒中残余的也已经被他收服。精灵的三枚依旧不在他的掌控之下。但这问题已经不再困扰他了，他只需要找回他亲手铸造的至尊魔戒，这本来就是属于他的；当初在铸造的时候他就将大部分的魔力注入戒指中，这样才可以统御所有其它的魔戒。如果他找回了至尊魔戒，他将可以再度号令众戒；连精灵王的三枚魔戒都无例外；他们的一切力量、部署都将赤裸裸的呈现在他面前，他将会获得空前绝后的强大力量。”
“Why, why wasn’t it destroyed?” cried Frodo. “And how did the Enemy ever come to lose it, if he was so strong, and it was so precious to him?” He clutched the Ring in his hand, as if he saw already dark fingers stretching out to seize it.
“为什么，为什么他们没有摧毁魔戒？”佛罗多大喊道。“如果魔王的力量这么强大、这又对他那么珍贵，为什么他会弄丢这戒指？”他紧抓着魔戒，彷佛已经看到黑暗的魔爪伸向他。
“But for the moment, since most of all you need to know how this thing came to you, and that will be tale enough, this is all that I will say. It was Gil-galad, Elven-king and Elendil of Westernesse who overthrew Sauron, though they themselves perished in the deed; and Isildur Elendil’s son cut the Ring from Sauron’s hand and took it for his own. Then Sauron was vanquished and his spirit fled and was hidden for long years, until his shadow took shape again in Mirkwood.
“我把你需要知道的都告诉你，这样可以省去很多时间。推翻索伦暴政的是精灵王吉尔加拉德和西方皇族伊兰迪尔，但两人也都在战斗中壮烈牺牲。伊兰迪尔的子嗣埃西铎斩下索伦的戒指，并且将戒指收归己有。索伦的肉身灰飞烟灭，灵魂隐匿了很长的一段时间，最后才在幽暗密林重新转生。”
“It was taken from him,” said Gandalf. “The strength of the Elves to resist him was greater long ago; and not all Men were estranged from them. The Men of Westernesse came to their aid. That is a Chapter of ancient history which it might be good to recall; for there was sorrow then too, and gathering dark, but great valour, and great deeds that were not wholly vain. One day, perhaps, I will tell you all the tale, or you shall hear it told in full by one who knows it best.
“这戒指是从他手中被夺走的，”甘道夫说。“在古代，精灵们对抗他的力量比现在还要强，也并非所有的人类都与精灵疏远。西方皇族的人类前来支援他们对抗魔王。这是段值得回忆的历史，虽然当时黑暗迫在眉睫，战火漫天，但伟大的功绩、壮烈的奋战和事迹亦足以扭转绝境。或许，有一天我会告诉你完整的故事，或者让对这段历史知之甚详的人亲自对你述说。”
“But the Ring was lost. It fell into the Great River, Anduin, and vanished. For Isildur was marching north along the east banks of the River, and near the Gladden Fields he was waylaid by the Orcs of the Mountains, and almost all his folk were slain. He leaped into the waters, but the Ring slipped from his finger as he swam, and then the Orcs saw him and killed him with arrows.”
“但魔戒在此同时却也跟着失落了。它落入大河安都因中，消失的无影无踪。当时埃西铎正沿着河岸行军，当他来到格拉顿平原时遭到半兽人部队的伏击，所有的部下几乎当场战死。他跳入河中，但魔戒在他游泳时突然滑落，发现他的半兽人立刻当场把他射死。”
“Long after, but still very long ago, there lived by the banks of the Great River on the edge of Wilderland a clever-handed and quiet-footed little people. I guess they were of hobbit-kind; akin to the fathers of the fathers of the Stoors, for they loved the River, and often swam in it, or made little boats of reeds. There was among them a family of high repute, for it was large and wealthier than most, and it was ruled by a grandmother of the folk, stern and wise in old lore, such as they had. The most inquisitive and curious-minded of that family was called Smeagol. He was interested in roots and beginnings; he dived into deep pools; he burrowed under trees and growing plants; he tunnelled into green mounds; and he ceased to look up at the hill-tops, or the leaves on trees, or the flowers opening in the air: his head and his eyes were downward.
“很久以后，但距今依旧很长一段时间之前，大河岸、大荒原边住着一群手脚灵活的小家伙。我猜他们应该跟哈比族血缘接近，和史图尔的祖先可能是同一个血缘，因为他们喜爱河流，甚至经常在其中游泳，建造出小船或竹筏在其上航行。在他们之中有个地位很高的家族，这个家族不但人丁兴旺，财力也无与伦比。传说中，这个家族的统治者是一名睿智、严肃的老祖母。这个家族中最富有好奇心的少年名叫史麦戈。他对于一切事物都喜欢追根究底；他会潜入幽深的池子里，他会在树根和植物底下挖洞，他在各种各样的洞穴中探索着。他的眼光不再看向山顶、不再注意树木或是空气中的花香：他的目光和注意力都集中在脚底。”
Gandalf paused. “And there in the dark pools amid the Gladden Fields,” he said, “the Ring passed out of knowledge and legend; and even so much of its history is known now only to a few, and the Council of the Wise could discover no more. But at last I can carry on the story, I think.
甘道夫停了下来。“就这样，魔戒落入格拉顿平原的黑暗河泥中，”他说道，“退下了历史和传说的舞台。连知道它来龙去脉的也仅剩数人，贤者议会亦无法再得知更多的情报。不过至少，我认为我可以把故事继续下去。”
“Give us that, Deagol, my love,” said Smeagol, over his friend’s shoulder.
“德戈老友，把那东西给我’史麦戈对朋友说。”
“Why?” said Deagol.
“为什么？”德戈说。
“Then up he came spluttering, with weeds in his hair and a handful of mud; and he swam to the bank. And behold! when he washed the mud away, there in his hand lay a beautiful golden ring; and it shone and glittered in the sun, so that his heart was glad. But Smeagol had been watching him from behind a tree, and as Deagol gloated over the ring, Smeagol came softly up behind.
“接着，他满头水草和泥巴，狼狈的游上岸来。出人意料的是，当他洗去手中的泥浆时，发现那是枚美丽的金戒指，在陽光下反射着诱人的光芒，让他心动不已。但此时，史麦戈躲在树后面打量着他，当德戈呆看着戒指时，史麦戈无声无息的走到他背后。”
“He had a friend called Deagol, of similar sort, sharper-eyed but not so quick and strong. On a time they took a boat and went down to the Gladden Fields, where there were great beds of iris and flowering reeds. There Smeagol got out and went nosing about the banks but Deagol sat in the boat and fished. Suddenly a great fish took his hook, and before he knew where he was, he was dragged out and down into the water, to the bottom. Then he let go of his line, for he thought he saw something shining in the river-bed; and holding his breath he grabbed at it.
“他有一个和他气味相投的朋友德戈，他的目光锐利，但速度和力气都比不上史麦戈。有一天他们扛着小舟去格拉顿平原上泛舟。史麦戈到岸边去到处探索，而德戈则坐在船上钓鱼。突然间有一条大鱼吞下了德戈的钓钩，在他来得及反应之前，那条大鱼就把他拖到了河底去。他彷佛在河床上看到了什么发亮的东西，因此他松开钓线，屏住呼吸想要捞起这东西。”
“Because it’s my birthday, my love, and I wants it,” said Smeagol.
“因为是今天是我的生日，我想要礼物，’史麦戈说。”
“I don’t care,” said Deagol. “I have given you a present already, more than I could afford. I found this, and I’m going to keep it.”
“我才不管你，”德戈说。“我已经花了大钱买礼物给你。这是我找到的，就该归我。”
“Oh, are you indeed, my love,” said Smeagol; and he caught Deagol by the throat and strangled him, because the gold looked so bright and beautiful. Then he put the ring on his finger.
“喔，真的吗，老友，’史麦戈抓住德戈，就这么活生生的把他给勒死了。最后，他把戒指套在自己手上。”
“No one ever found out what had become of Deagol; he was murdered far from home, and his body was cunningly hidden. But Smeagol returned alone; and he found that none of his family could see him, when he was wearing the ring. He was very pleased with his discovery and he concealed it; and he used it to find out secrets, and he put his knowledge to crooked and malicious uses. He became sharp-eyed and keen-eared for all that was hurtful. The ring had given him power according to his stature. It is not to be wondered at that he became very unpopular and was shunned (when visible) by all his relations. They kicked him, and he bit their feet. He took to thieving, and going about muttering to himself, and gurgling in his throat. So they called him Gollum, and cursed him, and told him to go far away; and his grandmother, desiring peace, expelled him from the family and turned him out of her hole.
“后来再也没有人知道德戈的下场；他在离家很远的地方被杀，尸体又被藏的好好的。史麦戈一人独自回家，发现当他带着戒指时，没有人看得见他。这让他十分高兴，因此没有对任何人透露这件事。他利用这能力来打听一切可以让他获利的秘密和消息。他的眼睛和耳朵开始对其他人的把柄无比灵敏。魔戒按照他的天性赐给他对等的力量。难怪，不久之后他就变得极不受欢迎，被所有亲戚排挤（当他没有隐形的时候）。他们会用脚踢他，而他则会咬他们。他开始偷窃，自言自语，在喉中发出怪声。他们叫他咕鲁，恶狠狠的诅咒他，斥责他滚远一点。他的祖母为了避免冲突，于是将他赶出了家族居住的地方。”
“So he journeyed by night up into the highlands, and he found a little cave out of which the dark stream ran; and he wormed his way like a maggot into the heart of the hills, and vanished out of all knowledge. The Ring went into the shadows with him, and even the maker, when his power had begun to grow again, could learn nothing of it.”
“就这样，他昼伏夜出的赶往高地，发现了溪水流出的山洞。他像是蛆虫一样的钻进山中，消失在历史的记载中。魔戒也跟着一起隐入黑暗。即使他的铸造者此时已经重生，也无法感应到它的存在。”
“He wandered in loneliness, weeping a little for the hardness of the world, and he journeyed up the River, till he came to a stream that flowed down from the mountains, and he went that way. He caught fish in deep pools with invisible fingers and ate them raw. One day it was very hot, and as he was bending over a pool, he felt a burning on the back of his head) and a dazzling light from the water pained his wet eyes. He wondered at it, for he had almost forgotten about the Sun. Then for the last time he looked up and shook his fist at her.
“他孤单的流浪着，偶尔为了这世间的残酷而啜泣。他沿着大河漫步，最后来到一条从山上流下的小溪边，继续沿着小溪前进。他利用隐形的手指在池子中捕捉鲜鱼，生吃它们来充饥。有一天，天气很热，他正在池中捕鱼；热辣辣的陽光照在他背上，池中的反光让他眼泪直流。由于长期在黑暗中生活，他几乎忘记了陽光这档子事。他举起拳头，最后一次咒骂着太陽。”
But as he lowered his eyes, he saw far above the tops of the Misty Mountains, out of which the stream came. And he thought suddenly: “It would be cool and shady under those mountains. The Sun could not watch me there. The roots of those mountains must be roots indeed; there must be great secrets buried there which have not been discovered since the beginning.”
当他低下头时，他发现眼前就是溪流发源的迷雾山脉。他突然间想到：“在山底下一定很陰凉。太陽就不会再照到我了。山底下一定有很多从来没有被人发现的秘密。”
“It is true all the same,” replied Gandalf. “About their origins, at any rate, I know more than hobbits do themselves. And even Bilbo’s story suggests the kinship. There was a great deal in the background of their minds and memories that was very similar. They understood one another remarkably well, very much better than a hobbit would understand, say, a Dwarf, or an Orc, or even an Elf. Think of the riddles they both knew, for one thing.”
“真相就是真相，”甘道夫回答。“我比哈比人还要了解他们自己的历史。连比尔博自己的故事都提到了这种可能性。他们的心思和记忆中有很大部分的相同。他们对彼此相当了解，和哈比人与矮人、半兽人或是精灵之间的关系完全不同。你还记得吧，他们竟然听过同样的谜语。”
“I think it is a sad story,” said the wizard, “and it might have happened to others, even to some hobbits that I have known.”
“我觉得这是个哀伤的故事，”巫师说，“这故事可能发生在其他人身上，甚至是我所认识的哈比人身上。”
“Gollum!” cried Frodo. “Gollum? Do you mean that this is the very Gollum-creature that Bilbo met? How loathsome!”
“咕鲁！”佛罗多大喊道。“是咕鲁？你说的该不会就是比尔博遇到的那个咕鲁吧？这太邪恶了！”
“Yes,” said Frodo. “Though other folks besides hobbits ask riddles, and of much the same sort. And hobbits don’t cheat. Gollum meant to cheat all the time. He was just trying to put poor Bilbo off his guard. And I daresay it amused his wickedness to start a game which might end in providing him with an easy victim, but if he lost would not hurt him.”
“我记得，”佛罗多说。“但其他的人种也会猜谜，谜题也多半大同小异。而且哈比人不会作弊。咕鲁满脑子都是作弊的念头。他一心只想要攻个比尔博措手不及。我敢打赌，这种输亦无伤，赢却有利的消遣一定让咕鲁高兴的不得了。”
“I can’t believe that Gollum was connected with hobbits, however distantly,” said Frodo with some heat. “What an abominable notion!”
“不管血缘关系有多远，我都不相信咕鲁和哈比人有关连，”佛罗多有些激动的说。“这太污辱人了！”
“But that, of course, would only make the evil part of him angrier in the end — unless it could be conquered. Unless it could be cured.” Gandalf sighed. “Alas! there is little hope of that for him. Yet not no hope. No, not though he possessed the Ring so long, almost as far back as he can remember. For it was long since he had worn it much: in the black darkness it was seldom needed. Certainly he had never “faded”. He is thin and tough still. But the thing was eating up his mind, of course, and the torment had become almost unbearable.
“不过，当然，这只让他心中邪恶的部分变得更愤怒。除非，我们能压抑这种邪恶，能够治好这种邪恶。”甘道夫叹了一口气。“可惜！他已经没有多少希望了。但还不是完全绝望。如果他从过去到现在都一直戴着魔戒的话，那就真的毫无希望了。幸好在陰暗的地底不太需要魔戒，他也不常配戴它。他还没有达到跨入幽界的地步，只是变得十分扭曲。但那东西还是继续在吞蚀他的心智，这对他来说是无比痛苦的折磨。”
“Only too true, I fear,” said Gandalf. “But there was something else in it, I think, which you don’t see yet. Even Gollum was not wholly ruined. He had proved tougher than even one of the Wise would have guessed — as a hobbit might. There was a little corner of his mind that was still his own, and light came through it, as through a chink in the dark: light out of the past. It was actually pleasant, I think, to hear a kindly voice again, bringing up memories of wind, and trees, and sun on the grass, and such forgotten things.
“我想你说的很对，”甘道夫说。“但还有一些事情是你没有注意到的。即使是咕鲁也没有完全失去本性。他的意志力比贤者们的推断还要坚强；这又是一个哈比人的特性。他的心智中依旧有一个角落是属于他自己的，微弱的光明依旧可以穿越这黑暗。那是来自过去的微光。事实上，我认为，比尔博友善的声音让他回忆起了花草树木、陽光和微风的甜美过去。”
“All the ‘great secrets’ under the mountains had turned out to be just empty night: there was nothing more to find out, nothing worth doing, only nasty furtive eating and resentful remembering. He was altogether wretched. He hated the dark, and he hated light more: he hated everything, and the Ring most of all.”
“他之前期待的‘山中秘密’其实只是空虚和荒芜。再也没有什么好发现的，没有什么可做的。只有残酷的猎食和悔恨的记忆。他在这里受尽折磨。他痛恨黑暗，但更害怕光亮。他痛恨魔戒更甚于一切。”
“What do you mean?” said Frodo. “Surely the Ring was his precious and the only thing he cared for? But if he hated it, why didn’t he get rid of it, or go away and leave it?”
“你这是什么意思？”佛罗多问。“魔戒应该是他的宝贝，也是他唯一在意的东西吧？但如果他恨这戒指，为什么不把它丢掉就好，或者是单纯逃开呢？”
“A Ring of Power looks after itself, Frodo. It may slip off treacherously, but its keeper never abandons it. At most he plays with the idea of handing it on to someone else’s care — and that only at an early stage, when it first begins to grip. But as far as I know Bilbo alone in history has ever gone beyond playing, and really done it. He needed all my help, too. And even so he would never have just forsaken it, or cast it aside. It was not Gollum, Frodo, but the Ring itself that decided things. The Ring left him.”
“统御魔戒会照顾自己，佛罗多。它可能会自己滑下主人的手指，但持有者绝不可能丢弃它。至多，他只能考虑将它交给别人保管。而这还必须在被魔戒控制的最初期才行。就我所知，比尔博是史上唯一将其付诸行动的人。当然，他也需要我的帮助才办的到。即使是这样，他也不可能就这样把魔戒丢到一旁。佛罗多，决定一切的不是咕鲁，而是魔戒。是魔戒决定离开他。”
“You ought to begin to understand, Frodo, after all you have heard,” said Gandalf. “He hated it and loved it, as he hated and loved himself. He could not get rid of it. He had no will left in the matter.
“佛罗多，在你听了那么多历史之后，你应该可以明白才是，”甘道夫说。“他对它又恨又爱，就如同他对待自己的看法一样。在这件事情上他的自由意志已经被消磨殆尽。”
“There was more than one power at work, Frodo. The Ring was trying to get back to its master. It had slipped from Isildur’s hand and betrayed him; then when a chance came it caught poor Deagol, and he was murdered; and after that Gollum, and it had devoured him. It could make no further use of him: he was too small and mean; and as long as it stayed with him he would never leave his deep pool again. So now, when its master was awake once more and sending out his dark thought from Mirkwood, it abandoned Gollum. Only to be picked up by the most unlikely person imaginable: Bilbo from the Shire!
“佛罗多，在历史幕后运作的不只一方的力量。魔戒试图要回到主人身边。它挣脱埃西铎的掌握，出卖了他。然后当机会来临时，它又抓住了可怜的德戈，害得他惨遭杀害。在那之后是咕鲁，魔戒将他彻底的吞蚀。但他对魔戒失去了进一步的利用价值：他太微不足道、太狡诈了。只要魔戒一直在他身边，他就永不可能离开那座地底湖。因此，当魔戒之主再度苏醒，并且将邪气射出幽暗密林时，它决定舍弃咕鲁。却被最不恰当的人选，来自夏尔的比尔博给拾得了！”
“What, just in time to meet Bilbo?” said Frodo. “Wouldn’t an Orc have suited it better?”
“难道是为了迎接比尔博吗？”佛罗多问。“难道半兽人不会是更好的对象吗？”
“It is no laughing matter,” said Gandalf. “Not for you. It was the strangest event in the whole history of the Ring so far: Bilbo’s arrival just at that time, and putting his hand on it, blindly, in the dark.
“这可不是开玩笑的，”甘道夫说。“特别是对你来说。这是魔戒悠久历史中最诡异的一次变化：比尔博正好出现，在黑暗中盲目戴上了它！”
“Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker. In which case you also were meant to have it. And that maybe an encouraging thought.”
“这背后有一股超越魔戒铸造者的力量在运作着。我只能说，比尔博注定要接收魔戒，而这不是铸戒者所能掌控的。同样的，你也是注定要拥有魔戒。从这角度想应该会让人安心些。”
‘It is not,” said Frodo. “Though I am not sure that I understand you. But how have you learned all this about the Ring, and about Gollum? Do you really know it all, or are you just guessing still?”
“我一点都不觉得安心，”佛罗多说。“我甚至不确定自己是否明白你所说的。但你又是怎么知道这有关魔戒和咕鲁的过去？你真的确定这些事情吗？或者你只是在瞎猜？”
Gandalf looked at Frodo, and his eyes glinted. I knew much and I have learned much,” he answered. “But I am not going to give an account of all my doings to you. The history of Elendil and Isildur and the One Ring is known to all the Wise. Your ring is shown to be that One Ring by the fire-writing alone, apart from any other evidence.”
甘道夫看着佛罗多，眼中露出光芒。“很多事我本来就知道，也有不少是调查来的，”他回答。“但我不准备对你解释这一切。人皇伊兰迪尔和埃西铎以及至尊魔戒的历史是每个贤者都知道的事情。光是靠着那火焰文字就可以证明你所拥有的是至尊魔戒，不需要任何其它的证据。”
“And when did you discover that?” asked Frodo, interrupting.
“你是什么时候发现这一切的？”佛罗多插嘴道。
“Just now in this room, of course,” answered the wizard sharply. “But I expected to find it. I have come back from dark journeys and long search to make that final test. It is the last proof, and all is now only too clear. Making out Gollum’s part, and fitting it into the gap in the history, required some thought. I may have started with guesses about Gollum, but I am not guessing now. I know. I have seen him.”
“当然是刚刚才在这里发现的，”巫师毫不客气的回答。“但这在我的预料之中。我经历了漫长黑暗的旅程，就是为了要执行这最后的试炼。这是最后的铁证，一切都已真相大白了。不过，要构思出咕鲁的过去，填补进历史的空白中需要一些气力。或许一开始我只是推测咕鲁的过去。但现在不一样了。我见过他了，我知道我所说的是事实。”
“You have seen Gollum?” exclaimed Frodo in amazement.
“你见过咕鲁了？”佛罗多吃惊的问。
“Then what happened after Bilbo escaped from him? Do you know that?”
“那在比尔博逃出他的巢穴之后发生了什么事情吗？你打听出来了吗？”
“The murder of Deagol haunted Gollum, and he had made up a defence, repeating it to his ‘precious’ over and over again, as he gnawed bones in the dark, until he almost believed it. It was his birthday. Deagol ought to have given the ring to him. It had previously turned up just so as to be a present. It was his birthday present, and so on, and on.
“杀害德戈的罪行一直让咕鲁感到不安。他编出了一个理由，在黑暗中一遍又一遍的对他的‘宝贝’覆诵，直到他自己也几乎相信为止。那的确是他的生日，德戈本来就该把戒指给他。戒指这么突然的出现，本来就是要给他的礼物。戒指就是他的生日礼物等等，等等。他不停的这么说着。”
“Not so clearly. What I have told you is what Gollum was willing to tell — though not, of course, in the way I have reported it. Gollum is a liar, and you have to sift his words. For instance, he called the Ring his “birthday present”, and he stuck to that. He said it came from his grandmother, who had lots of beautiful things of that kind. A ridiculous story. I have no doubt that Smeagol’s grandmother was a matriarch, a great person in her way, but to talk of her possessing many Elven-rings was absurd, and as for giving them away, it was a lie. But a lie with a grain of truth.
“不是很清楚。我刚刚告诉你的是咕鲁愿意说的部分。不过，当然不是像我描述的那么有条理。咕鲁是个天生的说谎家，你得要仔细推敲他的一言一语。举例来说，他坚持魔戒是他的生日礼物。他说这是他祖母给他的礼物，而他的祖母拥有很多这样的宝物。这太可笑了。我可以确信史麦戈的祖母是个有权有势的女性；但若说她拥有很多精灵戒指？这实在让人难以置信。还可以把戒指送给别人？这就绝对是个谎言。但谎言之中依旧有真实的蛛丝马迹。”
“Yes. The obvious thing to do, of course, if one could. I tried long ago; but I have managed it at last.”
“是的。我想只要有可能，这是每个人会采取的作法吧。我很久以前就开始尝试，最后才终于找到他。”
“I endured him as long as I could, but the truth was desperately important, and in the end I had to be harsh. I put the fear of fire on him, and wrung the true story out of him, bit by bit, together with much snivelling and snarling. He thought he was misunderstood and ill-used. But when he had at last told me his history, as far as the end of the Riddle-game and Bilbo’s escape, he would not say any more, except in dark hints. Some other fear was on him greater than mine. He muttered that he was going to gel his own back. People would see if he would stand being kicked, and driven into a hole and then robbed. Gollum had good friends now, good friends and very strong. They would help him. Baggins would pay for it. That was his chief thought. He hated Bilbo and cursed his name. What is more, he knew where he came from.”
“我尽可能的容忍他，但真相的重要性让我不得不动用非常手段。我让他陷入恐惧中，一点一滴的在他的挣扎下榨出真相。他认为自己受到虐待和误解。但是，当他最后终于透露出真相时，也只到比尔博逃跑为止。在那之后他就不愿意多说了。有其它、比我所煽起更炙烈的恐惧之火在威胁着他。他嘀咕着要取回过去的一切。他会让人们知道这次他绝不平白受辱，他会让其它人付出代价。咕鲁现在有了好朋友，很厉害的好朋友。他们会帮助他的。巴金斯会付出代价的。他脑中只想着这些东西。他痛恨比尔博，不停的诅咒他。更糟糕的是，他知道比尔博来自何处。”
“But how did he find that out?” asked Frodo.
“但他怎么会知道的呢？”佛罗多问。
“Well, as for the name, Bilbo very foolishly told Gollum himself; and after that it would not be difficult to discover his country, once Gollum came out. Oh yes, he came out. His longing for the Ring proved stronger than his fear of the Orcs, or even of the light. After a year or two he left the mountains. You see, though still bound by desire of it, the Ring was no longer devouring him; he began to revive a little. He felt old, terribly old, yet less timid, and he was mortally hungry.
“都是名字惹的祸。比尔博非常不智的告诉了对方自己的名字。一旦咕鲁来到地面，要找到比尔博的家乡就不算是件难事。喔，没错，他已经离开了地底。他对于魔戒的执念胜过了对半兽人甚至是对光明的恐惧。在事件发生之后一两年，他就离开了山底的洞穴。你仔细分析之后就会明白了，虽然他依旧抵抗不了魔戒的吸引力，但魔戒已经不再吞蚀他的心智，让他又恢复了部分的理智。他觉得自己无比的衰老，却不再畏惧外界。而且开始觉得极度的饥渴。”
“Is that where you found him?” asked Frodo.
“你就是在那里找到他的吗？”佛罗多问。
“I saw him there,” answered Gandalf, “but before that he had wandered far, following Bilbo’s trail. It was difficult to learn anything from him for certain, for his talk was constantly interrupted by curses and threats. “What had it got in its pocketses?” he said. “It wouldn’t say, no precious. Little cheat. Not a fair question. It cheated first, it did. It broke the rules. We ought to have squeezed it, yes precious. And we will, precious!”
“我的确在那边看到他的踪迹，”甘道夫回答。“但在那之前他已经追着比尔博的足迹漫游了很长一段时间。他所说的话经常被咒骂给打断，我很难从他口中问清楚确实的情形。他会说：“它口袋里有什么？不，宝贝，我猜不出来。作弊。这不公平。是它先作弊的，没错。是它破坏规则的。我们应该把它捏死的，对吧，宝贝。我们一定会报仇的，宝贝！”
“Light, light of Sun and Moon, he still feared and hated, and he always will, I think; but he was cunning. He found he could hide from daylight and moonshine, and make his way swiftly and softly by dead of night with his pale cold eyes, and catch small frightened or unwary things. He grew stronger and bolder with new food and new air. He found his way into Mirkwood, as one would expect.”
“他依旧痛恨和恐惧由太陽和月亮制造出来的光明，我想这点是永远无法改变的。但他相当的聪明。他发现自己可以昼伏夜出，躲过月光和陽光，藉着那双习于黑暗的大眼在深夜中行动，甚至可以藉机捕捉那些倒楣的食物。在获得了新的食物和新鲜空气之后，他变得更强壮、更大胆。果不其然，他接着就进入了幽暗密林。”
“That is a sample of his talk. I don’t suppose you want any more. I had weary days of it. But from hints dropped among the snarls I even gathered that his padding feet had taken him at last to Esgaroth, and even to the streets of Dale, listening secretly and peering. Well, the news of the great events went far and wide in Wilderland, and many had heard Bilbo’s name and knew where he came from. We had made no secret of our return journey to his home in the West. Gollum’s sharp ears would soon learn what he wanted.”
“他三不五时就会冒出这样的话语。我猜你也不想继续听下去。我为了获得情报，可是忍受了很长的一段时间。不过，从他那言不及义，断断续续的诅咒中，我还是挤出了足够的情报。我推断，他那双带蹼的小脚至少曾经让他进入长湖上的伊斯加，甚至让他混入河谷镇的街道上，让他偷偷摸摸的聆听人们的对话。当时发生的事件在大荒原上可是传颂一时，或许他就是在那边打听到比尔博的家乡。我们当时并没有对于比尔博的去向特别保密。咕鲁那双灵敏的耳朵应该很快就可以听到他想要的消息。”
“The Wood-elves tracked him first, an easy task for them, for his trail was still fresh then. Through Mirkwood and back again it led them, though they never caught him. The wood was full of the rumour of him, dreadful tales even among beasts and birds. The Woodmen said that there was some new terror abroad, a ghost that drank blood. It climbed trees to find nests; it crept into holes to find the young; it slipped through windows to find cradles.
“是木精灵先找到他的；由于他的足迹很明显，所以对精灵们来说不是难事。他的足迹带领精灵们进出幽暗密林，精灵们一时却无法抓住他。森林中充满了有关他的谣言，甚至连飞禽和走兽都听说过关于他的恐怖传闻。那里的居民认为森林中出现了一名生饮鲜血的鬼魅。它会爬上高树，找寻鸟巢，深入洞穴，补食幼兽。它甚至更会爬进窗户，找寻摇篮的位置。”
“Then why didn’t he track Bilbo further?” asked Frodo. “Why didn’t he come to the Shire?”
“那为什么他不继续追踪比尔博呢？”佛罗多说。“为什么他没有来夏尔呢？”
“But at the western edge of Mirkwood the trail turned away. It wandered off southwards and passed out of the Wood-elves’ ken, and was lost. And then I made a great mistake. Yes, Frodo, and not the first; though I fear it may prove the worst. I let the matter be. I let him go; for I had much else to think of at that time, and I still trusted the lore of Saruman.
“接着，他的足迹在幽暗密林的西边转向了。他似乎往南走，摆脱了木精灵的跟踪。那时，我犯了个大错。是的，佛罗多，那不是我犯的第一个错误，却可能是最要命的错误。我没有继续追踪。我让他就这么走了。因为当时我还有许多其它的任务要完成，我也依旧相信萨鲁曼的解释。”
“Ah,” said Gandalf, “now we come to it. I think Gollum tried to. He set out and came back westward, as far as the Great River. But then he turned aside. He was not daunted by the distance, I am sure. No, something else drew him away. So my friends think, those that hunted him for me.
“啊，”甘道夫说，“这才是重点。我认为咕鲁的确想要这样做。他离开河谷镇之后往西走，至少到了大河边。但那时他突然间转了方向。我很确定，他不是因为距离遥远才这样做的。不，有什么东西吸引了他的注意力。那些替我追捕他的朋友也是这样认为的。”
A heavy silence fell in the room. Frodo could hear his heart beating. Even outside everything seemed still. No sound of Sam’s shears could now be heard.
室内沉寂的彷佛空气为之凝结。静的让佛罗多可以听见自己的心跳。似乎连屋外的一切也跟着冻结了，山姆剪草的声音也跟着消失了。
“Well, that was years ago. I have paid for it since with many dark and dangerous days. The trail was long cold when I took it up again, after Bilbo left here. And my search would have been in vain, but for the help that I had from a friend: Aragorn, the greatest traveller and huntsman of this age of the world. Together we sought for Gollum down the whole length of Wilderland, without hope, and without success. But at last, when I had given up the chase and turned to other parts, Gollum was found. My friend returned out of the great perils bringing the miserable creature with him.
“那是好多年以前的事了。从那以后，我为了弥补这错误，进行了多次危险的探索。在比尔博离开此地之后，我再度开始追踪咕鲁；但他所留下的痕迹早已被破坏。如果不是有吾友阿拉贡的帮助，这次可能就前功尽弃了。他是目前这世界上狩猎和追踪的第一好手。我们两人在大荒原上漫无目的的追踪咕鲁，心中不抱太大的希望。但最后，在我已经放弃这道路，转而思索其它的解决方案时，吾友终于找到了咕鲁。我朋友历经艰难，才将这可怜的家伙带回来。”
“What he had been doing he would not say. He only wept and called us cruel, with many a gollum in his throat; and when we pressed him he whined and cringed, and rubbed his long hands, licking his fingers as if they pained him, as if he remembered some old torture. But I am afraid there is no possible doubt: he had made his slow, sneaking way, step by step, mile by mile, south, down at last to the Land of Mordor.”
“他不愿意透露自己之前经历了什么。他只是不停的哭泣，指责我们残酷，喉中还发出咕鲁咕鲁的声音。当我们追问时，他会不停的哀嚎和扭动，甚至揉搓着自己的双手，舔着细长的手指，彷佛它们承受了极大的痛苦一般。这似乎就是他对过去某些酷刑的回忆。虽然我很不想要这样说，但一切的线索都指出：他慢慢的、悄悄的往南走，最后终于进入了魔王的根据地。”
“Yes, to Mordor,” said Gandalf. “Alas! Mordor draws all wicked things, and the Dark Power was bending all its will to gather them there. The Ring of the Enemy would leave its mark, too, leave him open to the summons. And all folk were whispering then of the new Shadow in the South, and its hatred of the West. There were his fine new friends, who would help him in his revenge!
“是的，正是魔多这个地方，”甘道夫说。“唉！魔多会吸引一切拥有邪心的生物，黑暗的势力更不计一切代价召唤它们在该处会师。魔戒会在持有者身上留下烙印，让他无法抵抗对方的召唤。各地的人们那时就开始流传南方崛起的新威胁，以及它对西方势力的痛恨。原来这就是他的好朋友，就是会协助他复仇的新朋友！”
“Wretched fool! In that land he would learn much, too much for his comfort. And sooner or later as he lurked and pried on the borders he would be caught, and taken — for examination. That was the way of it, I fear. When he was found he had already been there long, and was on his way back. On some errand of mischief. But that does not matter much now. His worst mischief was done.
“愚蠢的家伙！在那里他学到了教训，让他后悔不已。迟早，当他在魔多的边境鬼祟行动时，他会被捕，并且接受盘查。恐怕这就是它们的作法。当他被我们找到的时候，他已经在魔多待了很长的一段时间，正准备离开。或者是去执行某项邪恶的任务。不过，这一切都已经不重要了。他对这世界最大的破坏已经造成了。”
“Yes, alas! through him the Enemy has learned that the One has been found again. He knows where Isildur fell. He knows where Gollum found his ring. He knows that it is a Great Ring, for it gave long life. He knows that it is not one of the Three, for they have never been lost, and they endure no evil. He knows that it is not one of the Seven, or the Nine, for they are accounted for. He knows that it is the One. And he has at last heard, I think, of hobbits and the Shire.
“是的，唉！魔王透过他知道了魔戒已经再度现身。他知道埃西铎战死的位置。他更知道咕鲁找到戒指的位置。由于它拥有让人长生不死的能力，他确定这是一枚统御魔戒。他又推断出这不可能是精灵王的三枚魔戒，因为魔戒尚在他们手中；而他们的魔戒绝不可能容忍任何形式的邪恶。他也确信那不是矮人七戒和人类九戒之一，因为这些魔戒的踪迹都在他的掌握之中。最后，他明白这就是至尊魔戒。我想，那时他才终于听说了‘夏尔的哈比人’。”
“The Shire — he may be seeking for it now, if he has not already found out where it lies. Indeed, Frodo, I fear that he may even think that the long-unnoticed name of Baggins has become important.”
“即使魔王还没有确认夏尔的位置，他现在也可能正在寻找此地。是的，佛罗多，恐怕他已经开始注意到巴金斯这个姓氏了。”
“But this is terrible!” cried Frodo. “Far worse than the worst that I imagined from your hints and warnings. O Gandalf, best of friends, what am I to do? For now I am really afraid. What am I to do? What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature, when he had a chance!”
“这太恐怖了！”佛罗多大喊。“比我之前从你的暗示和警告中所猜测的要糟糕太多了。喔，甘道夫，我最好的朋友！我该怎么办？我现在真的觉得害怕了。我能怎么办？比尔博当时没有趁机杀死这家伙真是太可惜了！”
“You have not seen him,” Gandalf broke in.
“你并没有见过他，”甘道夫插嘴道。
“Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity.”
“可惜？就正是对人命的怜惜阻止他下手。怜惜和同情：不要妄动杀机。佛罗多，而这也给他带来了善报。他能够在邪恶的影响下未受大害，最后还得以侥幸逃离，这都是因为他拥有魔戒的动念起自于此：怜悯。”
“No, and I don’t want to,” said Frodo. I can’t understand you. Do you mean to say that you, and the Elves, have let him live on after all those horrible deeds? Now at any rate he is as bad as an Orc, and just an enemy. He deserves death.”
“没错，但我也不想见他，”佛罗多说。“我实在不懂你。难道你刚刚的意思是咕鲁在作了这么多恶行之后，你和精灵竟然还让他活着离开？不管从什么角度来看他都和半兽人一样邪恶，都是我们的敌人。他被杀是罪有应得。”
“I am sorry,” said Frodo. “But I am frightened; and I do not feel any pity for Gollum.”
“对不起，”佛罗多说。“可是我真的很害怕，我实在没办法怜悯咕鲁。”
“All the same,” said Frodo, “even if Bilbo could not kill Gollum, I wish he had not kept the Ring. I wish he had never found it, and that I had not got it! Why did you let me keep it? Why didn’t you make me throw it away, or, or destroy it?”
“不管怎么说，”佛罗多道，“即使比尔博不该动手杀死咕鲁，我也希望他当时没有藏起魔戒。喔，但愿他当时没有找到魔戒，我也没继承这诅咒！你为什么要让我收下它？你为什么不叫我丢掉它，或者，或者是摧毁它？”
“Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance of it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many — yours not least. In any case we did not kill him: he is very old and very wretched. The Wood-elves have him in prison, but they treat him with such kindness as they can find in their wise hearts.”
“罪有应得！我可不这么认为。许多苟活世上的人其实早该一死；许多命不当绝的人却已逝于人世。你能够让他们起死回生吗？如果不行，就不要这么轻易论断他人的生死。即使是最睿智的人也无法考虑周详。我并不认为咕鲁在死前可以被治好，但这机会依旧是存在的。而且，他的命运早已和魔戒紧紧相系。我的第六感告诉我，他在一切终局之前还有戏份，只是不能确定是邪恶或是正义的一方。当那时刻到来时，比尔博的恻隐之心可能决定许多人的命运，你绝对是其中之一。总之，我们并没有杀死他：他已经十分的苍老，内心也无比的扭曲。木精灵们将他关在监狱中，尽可能的厚待他。”
“Let you? Make you?” said the wizard. “Haven’t you been listening to all that I have said? You are not thinking of what you are saying. But as for throwing it away, that was obviously wrong. These Rings have a way of being found. In evil hands it might have done great evil. Worst of all, it might have fallen into the hands of the Enemy. Indeed it certainly would; for this is the One, and he is exerting all his power to find it or draw it to himself.
“叫你？让你？”法师说。“难道你刚刚都没有在听吗？你这些话都未及深思就脱口而出。如果要把魔戒丢掉，这绝对是不智的行为。这些魔戒能够让自己在特殊的时机为人寻获。在邪恶势力的手中它可能会造成更大的破坏。更糟糕的是，它甚至可能落入魔王的手中。这是无法避免的，因为它是至尊魔戒，是魔王费尽心思，势在必得的决战关键。”
“But why not destroy it, as you say should have been done long ago?” cried Frodo again. If you had warned me, or even sent me a message, I would have done away with it.”
“但为什么不摧毁魔戒呢？你说许多年前早就该这样做了！”佛罗多又再度大声说。“如果你预先警告我，甚至送个口信过来，我就可以自己处理掉它。”
“Of course, my dear Frodo, it was dangerous for you; and that has troubled me deeply. But there was so much at stake that I had to take some risk — though even when I was far away there has never been a day when the Shire has not been guarded by watchful eyes. As long as you never used it, I did not think that the Ring would have any lasting effect on you, not for evil, not at any rate for a very long time. And you must remember that nine years ago, when I last saw you, I still knew little for certain.”
“当然了，亲爱的佛罗多，这对你来说很危险；我也为此感到极端困扰。但在面临这绝大危机的状况下，我必须冒点险；每当我远离夏尔的时候，必定有人接手看管这地方。只要你不使用魔戒，我不认为它会对你产生任何后遗症，即使有也不会影响你太久。你也不要忘记，当我九年前和你分别时，我对魔戒的所知少之又少。”
“Would you? How would you do that? Have you ever tried?”
“是吗？你要怎么做？你试过吗？”
“No. But I suppose one could hammer it or melt it.”
“我没试过。但我猜应该可以把它捶烂或是烧融掉。”
Frodo drew the Ring out of his pocket again and looked at it. It now appeared plain and smooth, without mark or device that he could see. The gold looked very fair and pure, and Frodo thought how rich and beautiful was its colour, how perfect was its roundness. It was an admirable thing and altogether precious. When he took it out he had intended to fling it from him into the very hottest part of the fire. But he found now that he could not do so, not without a great struggle. He weighed the Ring in his hand, hesitating, and forcing himself to remember all that Gandalf had told him; and then with an effort of will he made a movement, as if to cast it away — but he found that he had put it back in his pocket.
佛罗多从口袋中掏出魔戒，打量着它。它现在看来十分的朴实光滑，上面没有任何肉眼可见的痕迹。金质的戒指看来非常纯净美丽，佛罗多觉得它的颜色好美、好华丽；这枚戒指的外型圆滑的近乎完美。这是个应该让人欣赏的宝物。当他刚把戒指掏出时，他本来准备一把将它丢进烈焰中。但他发现除非自己咬紧牙关，否则根本做不到。他玩弄着戒指，迟疑着，强迫自己回忆甘道夫刚刚说的一切。然后他下定决心，手一动，本来准备要将它丢开，却发现自己不由自主的将戒指放回了口袋。
“Try!” said Gandalf. Try now!”
“去啊！”甘道夫说。“去试试看啊！”
Gandalf laughed grimly. “You see? Already you too, Frodo, cannot easily let it go, nor will to damage it. And I could not “make” you — except by force, which would break your mind. But as for breaking the Ring, force is useless. Even if you took it and struck it with a heavy sledge-hammer, it would make no dint in it. It cannot be unmade by your hands, or by mine.
甘道夫露出凝重的笑容。“你明白了吧？佛罗多，你也同样的无法舍弃它或是破坏它。我也无法‘强迫’你这样做，除非我用强，而这将会摧毁你的意志。就算你能够鼓起勇气破坏它，凡人之力也无法对它造成任何损伤。你尽管可以用大锤拼命敲打它，上面绝不会留下任何痕迹。不管是你或我，都无法毁灭这枚魔戒。”
“Your small fire, of course, would not melt even ordinary gold. This Ring has already passed through it unscathed, and even unheated. But there is no smith’s forge in this Shire that could change it at all. Not even the anvils and furnaces of the Dwarves could do that. It has been said that dragon-fire could melt and consume the Rings of Power, but there is not now any dragon left on earth in which the old fire is hot enough; nor was there ever any dragon, not even Ancalagon the Black, who could have harmed the One Ring, the Ruling Ring, for that was made by Sauron himself. There is only one way: to find the Cracks of Doom in the depths of Orodruin, the Fire-mountain, and cast the Ring in there, if you really wish to destroy it, to put it beyond the grasp of the Enemy for ever.”
“当然，你这个炉火的确无法融熔一般的黄金。这枚魔戒已经毫发无伤的通过火焰的试炼，甚至连表面温度都没有提高。不过，就算你找遍全夏尔，也不可能有任何铁匠的鼓风炉能够损及它分毫。连矮人的熔炉和铁砧都对它束手无策。据说巨龙的火焰可以融化统御魔戒，但现在这世界上已经没有任何拥有够热真火的巨龙，历史上也从来没有任何巨龙可以摧毁统御天下的至尊魔戒，包括黑龙安卡拉钢也不例外。因为，这是由黑暗魔君索伦亲手铸造的至宝。如果你真心想要摧毁魔戒，让魔王再也无法染指；那只有一个方法：深入欧洛都因，找到末日裂隙火山，将魔戒丢入其中。”
“No!” cried Gandalf, springing to his feet. “With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly.” His eyes flashed and his face was lit as by a fire within. “Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good. Do not tempt me! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused. The wish to wield it would be too great, for my strength. I shall have such need of it. Great perils lie before me.”
“不行！”甘道夫猛地跳了起来。“如果我拥有了魔戒，我的力量将会大的超乎想像。魔戒更会从我身上得到更恐怖、更惊人的力量。”他眼中精光闪烁，彷佛被发自体内的火焰所照亮。“别诱惑我！我不想要成为黑暗魔君再世。魔戒渗透我心的方式是透过怜悯，怜悯弱者的心意和想要获得改善世界的力量。不要诱惑我！我不敢收下它，即使只是保管它，不使用它，我都不敢。想要持有它的诱惑将会瓦解我的力量。我还需要力量，在我面前还有重重的难关与险阻。”
“Such questions cannot be answered,” said Gandalf. “You may be sure that it was not for any merit that others do not possess: not for power or wisdom, at any rate. But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.”
“这样的问题是无法回答的，”甘道夫说。“你应该也明白，这不是因为你拥有其他人没有的德行：既不是力量也不是智慧。但你既然已经中选，你就必须善用你的一切优点和力量。”
“I do really wish to destroy it!” cried Frodo. “Or, well, to have it destroyed. I am not made for perilous quests. I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?”
“我是真心想要摧毁魔戒的！”佛罗多大喊。“喔，说精确一点，我是真心想要让它被摧毁的。可是我又不是那种为民除害的料。我真希望我从来没见过魔戒！它为什么要找我？为什么选上我？”
“But I have so little of any of these things! You are wise and powerful. Will you not take the Ring?”
“但我的优点和力量都那么微不足道！你既睿智又有力量。你为什么不接收魔戒呢？”
There was a long silence. Gandalf sat down again and puffed at his pipe, as if lost in thought. His eyes seemed closed, but under the lids he was watching Frodo intently. Frodo gazed fixedly at the red embers on the hearth, until they filled all his vision, and he seemed to be looking down into profound wells of fire. He was thinking of the fabled Cracks of Doom and the terror of the Fiery Mountain.
众人沉默了很长的一段时间。甘道夫再度坐下来，抽着烟斗，彷佛迷失在思绪当中。他似乎闭上了眼，但眼角的余光依旧灼灼的注视着佛罗多。佛罗多看着壁炉内的余烬，直到他全部的视线都被遮档，彷佛陷入一片火墙中为止。他正思索着传说中的末日裂隙和那火山的恐怖情景。
“No!” answered Frodo, coming back to himself out of darkness, and finding to his surprise that it was not dark, and that out of the window he could see the sunlit garden. “Or perhaps, yes. As far as I understand what you have said, I suppose I must keep the Ring and guard it, at least for the present, whatever it may do to me.”
“还没有！”佛罗多这才从黑暗中回过神，惊讶的发现现在还没天黑，窗外依旧是陽光普照的花园。“再想一想，也许我已经决定了吧。就我对你的理解，我想至少目前，不管它会对我造成什么样的影响，我都必须要保有魔戒，并且守护它。”
He went to the window and drew aside the curtains and the shutters. Sunlight streamed back again into the room. Sam passed along the path outside whistling. “And now,” said the wizard, turning back to Frodo, “the decision lies with you. But I will always help you.” He laid his hand on Frodo’s shoulder. “I will help you bear this burden, as long as It is yours to bear. But we must do something, soon. The Enemy is moving.”
他走到窗边，拉开窗廉，推开遮板。陽光再度流泄进屋内。山姆吹着口哨走过窗外。“现在，”巫师转身面对佛罗多，“选择权在你。不论如何，我都会支持你。”他将手放在佛罗多的肩膀上。“只要这重担属于你一天，我就会和你一同扛起这责任。但我们必须尽快作出决定。魔王绝不会甘于按兵不动。”
“Well!” said Gandalf at last. “What are you thinking about? Have you decided what to do?”
“好吧！”甘道夫最后终于说。“你刚刚在想些什么？你决定该怎么作了吗？”
“I should like to save the Shire, if I could — though there have been times when I thought the inhabitants too stupid and dull for words, and have felt that an earthquake or an invasion of dragons might be good for them. But I don’t feel like that now. I feel that as long as the Shire lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable: I shall know that somewhere there is a firm foothold, even if my feet cannot stand there again.
“如果可能的话，我还是希望能够让夏尔免于劫难。虽然有时我觉得此地的居民冥顽不灵，蒙眛无知，只有当世局的变动或是恶龙的威胁真正临头时，才会让他们清醒过来。但我现在不这样想了。我觉得只要夏尔祥和的继续存在着，我的历险就不会那么难以忍受：即使我可能再也无法踏入夏尔，但知道有个地方是不随时局改变的总是让我安心。”
“Of course, I have sometimes thought of going away, but I imagined that as a kind of holiday, a series of adventures like Bilbo’s or better, ending in peace. But this would mean exile, a flight from danger into danger, drawing it after me. And I suppose I must go alone, if I am to do that and save the Shire. But I feel very small, and very uprooted, and well — desperate. The Enemy is so strong and terrible.”
“当然，我以前也曾经想过要离开，但在我的想像中那不过只是个假日，就像比尔博精彩的冒险一样，可以安详的结束。但这次是流放，我必须远离危险，却又诱引着它紧追在后。如果要挽救夏尔，这次我必须孤身一人离开。但我觉得好渺小、好不安，甚至可以说是绝望。魔王太强、太恐怖了。”
“I hope so,” said Frodo. “But I hope that you may find some other better keeper soon. But in the meanwhile it seems that I am a danger, a danger to all that live near me. I cannot keep the Ring and stay here. I ought to leave Bag End, leave the Shire, leave everything and go away.” He sighed.
“但愿如此，”佛罗多说。“但我也希望您可以尽快找到一个更称职的守护者。不过，此时我对周遭的一切人事物似乎都带有极大的危险。如果我要持有魔戒，就不能继续待在这里。我一定得离开袋底洞，离开夏尔，舍弃现有的一切远走高飞。”他叹气道。
“Whatever it may do, it will be slow, slow to evil, if you keep it with that purpose,” said Gandalf.
“不管它会造成什么样的影响，如果你以这样的意念持有它，它将只能缓慢的步向邪恶。”
“My dear Frodo!” exclaimed Gandalf. “Hobbits really are amazing creatures, as I have said before. You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you at a pinch. I hardly expected to get such an answer, not even from you. But Bilbo made no mistake in choosing his heir, though he little thought how important it would prove. I am afraid you are right. The Ring will not be able to stay hidden in the Shire much longer; and for your own sake, as well as for others, you will have to go, and leave the name of Baggins behind you. That name will not be safe to have, outside the Shire or in the Wild. I will give you a travelling name now. When you go, go as Mr. Underhill.
“亲爱的佛罗多！”甘道夫如释重负的说。“就像我之前说的一样，哈比人真是充满惊奇的生物。只要一个月，你就可以自认为透彻的了解它们，但即使再过一百年，他们还是会让人大吃一惊。即使是你，我本来也不期望会有这样的答案。比尔博挑选继承人的眼光果然不错，只是当初恐怕他没有想到会有这么大的责任。我想你是对的。魔戒不可能继续没没无闻的隐身在夏尔中，为了你自己和别人好，你最好离开这里，不要再用巴金斯这个名字。不管是在夏尔或是在荒野中，这名字都不再安全。我现在就帮你取个化名。从现在开始，你就叫做山下先生。”
He did not tell Gandalf, but as he was speaking a great desire to follow Bilbo flamed up in his heart — to follow Bilbo, and even perhaps to find him again. It was so strong that it overcame his fear: he could almost have run out there and then down the road without his hat, as Bilbo had done on a similar morning long ago.
虽然佛罗多没有告诉甘道夫，但当他慷慨激昂的表白时，他心中跟随比尔博脚步的热情突然间燃烧起来：效法比尔博，甚至是再度和他相见！这念头强烈到克服了他的恐惧：他几乎想要连帽子也不带就冲出门外，就像比尔博多年以前的行径一样。
“But I don’t think you need go alone. Not if you know of anyone you can trust, and who would be willing to go by your side — and that you would be willing to take into unknown perils. But if you look for a companion, be careful in choosing! And be careful of what you say, even to your closest friends! The enemy has many spies and many ways of hearing.”
“但我不认为你一定要独自前往。如果你可以找到你能够信赖、愿意和你一起出生入死、冒险犯难的伙伴，你没有理由要单槍匹马的冒险。但你必须千万小心！即使是面对最亲密的朋友，也不可以掉以轻心！我们的敌人爪牙遍布，无孔不入。”
“Well, well, bless my beard!” said Gandalf. “Sam Gamgee is it? Now what may you be doing?”
“哼哼，运气真不错！”甘道夫说，“是山姆—詹吉吧？你在这里到底干什么？”
“Lor bless you, Mr. Gandalf, sir!” said Sam. “Nothing! Leastways I was just trimming the grass-border under the window, if you follow me.” He picked up his shears and exhibited them as evidence.
“老天保佑你啊，甘道夫大人！”山姆说。“什么事都没有！如果你了解我的工作，我刚刚只是在窗外面剪草而已。”他拿起花草剪证明自己的无辜。
“I don’t,” said Gandalf grimly. It is some time since I last heard the sound of your shears. How long have you been eavesdropping?”
“我不了解，”甘道夫面色凝重的说。“我已经有一段时间没有听过你动剪的声音了。你倒底偷听了多长的一段时间？”
Suddenly he stopped as if listening. Frodo became aware that all was very quiet, inside and outside. Gandalf crept to one side of the window. Then with a dart he sprang to the sill, and thrust a long arm out and downwards. There was a squawk, and up came Sam Gamgee’s curly head hauled by one ear.
他突然间停了下来，似乎在侧耳倾听着什么。佛罗多这才意识到室内和室外忽然一片沉寂。甘道夫蹑手蹑脚的走到窗边。接着，他一个箭步冲向前，伸出手往窗外一抓。外面发出一声惊叫，倒楣的山姆被抓着耳朵拎了起来。
“Eavesdropping, sir? I don’t follow you, begging your pardon. There ain’t no eaves at Bag End, and that’s a fact.”
“大人，你说我偷听？我不懂耶。我们夏尔这里不偷东西的。”
“Don’t be a fool! What have you heard, and why did you listen?” Gandalf’s eyes flashed and his brows stuck out like bristles.
“别装傻了！你倒底听到些什么，又为什么要这样做？”甘道夫眼中异光暴射，伸出的眉毛开始微微颤动。
“Mr. Frodo, sir!” cried Sam quaking. “Don’t let him hurt me, sir! Don’t let him turn me into anything unnatural! My old dad would take on so. I meant no harm, on my honour, sir!”
“佛罗多先生！”山姆一脸无辜的大喊。“不要让他伤害我！不要让他把我变成怪物！我老爹会受不了打击的。我发誓，我没有恶意，大人！”
“Well, sir,” said Sam dithering a little. “I heard a deal that I didn’t rightly understand, about an enemy, and rings, and Mr. Bilbo, sir, and dragons, and a fiery mountain, and — and Elves, sir. I listened because I couldn’t help myself, if you know what I mean. Lor bless me, sir, but I do love tales of that sort. And I believe them too, whatever Ted may say. Elves, sir! I would dearly love to see them. Couldn’t you take me to see Elves, sir, when you go?”
“好吧，大人，”山姆终于比较镇定一些。“我听到了一大堆不了解的东西，有关什么王和戒指的，还有比尔博先生，还有龙，还有什么火山，而且，大人，我还听到了精灵！如果大人知道我的嗜好的话，你应该知道我实在忍不住要偷听。天哪，大人，可是我真的好喜欢这种故事。大人，不管泰德那家伙怎么说，我都真心相信它们！我好想要见见他们。大人，你走的时候愿不愿意带我一起去看精灵？”
“He won’t hurt you,” said Frodo, hardly able to keep from laughing, although he was himself startled and rather puzzled. “He knows, as well as I do, that you mean no harm. But just you up and answer his questions straight away!”
“他不会伤害你的，”虽然佛罗多有些惊讶和困惑，但还是强忍住笑说。“他和我一样都知道你没有恶意。但你最好赶快老老实实回答人家的问题！”
Suddenly Gandalf laughed. “Come inside!” he shouted, and putting out both his arms he lifted the astonished Sam, shears, grass-clippings and all, right through the window and stood him on the floor. “Take you to see Elves, eh?” he said, eyeing Sam closely, but with a smile flickering on his face. “So you heard that Mr. Frodo is going away?”
甘道夫突然哈哈大笑。“快进来！”他大喊一声，接着双手一使劲，把吃惊的山姆和他的草剪花剪一起抱了进来。“带你去看精灵吗？”他仔细的打量着山姆，但脸上有着慈祥的笑意。“那你听到了佛罗多先生要离开的消息罗？”
“It can’t be helped, Sam,” said Frodo sadly. He had suddenly realized that flying from the Shire would mean more painful partings than merely saying farewell to the familiar comforts of Bag End. “I shall have to go. But” — and here he looked hard at Sam — “if you really care about me, you will keep that dead secret. See? If you don’t, if you even breathe a word of what you’ve heard here, then I hope Gandalf will turn you into a spotted toad and fill the garden full of grass-snakes.”
“山姆，我别无选择，”佛罗多伤心的说。他突然间明白要远离夏尔不只是告别舒适的袋底洞而已，还有更多让人不舍的别离是他必须面对的。“我一定得走。但是，”此时他专注的看着山姆，“如果你真的关心我，你绝对不可以把这件事情对任何人透露。你明白吗？如果你口风不紧，如果你对任何人透露一个字，我希望甘道夫会把你变成一只蟾蜍，把花园里面放满草蛇！”
“I did, sir. And that’s why I choked: which you heard seemingly. I tried not to, sir, but it burst out of me: I was so upset.”
“是的，大人。我就是因为这样才猛吸一口气，大人您应该就是听到了那声音吧。我本来想要忍住的，但它就是忍不住，因为我太难过了。”
“Me, sir!” cried Sam, springing up like a dog invited for a walk. “Me go and see Elves and all! Hooray!” he shouted, and then burst into tears.
“大人，我可以吗？”山姆大喊着跳了起来，彷佛是等待主人带他散步的欢乐小狗。“我可以一起去，又可以看精灵！万岁！”他大呼小叫，最后激动的哭了起来。
Sam fell on his knees, trembling. “Get up, Sam!” said Gandalf. I have thought of something better than that. Something to shut your mouth, and punish you properly for listening. You shall go away with Mr. Frodo!”
山姆跪了下来，浑身发抖。“山姆，站起来！”甘道夫说。“我想到比这个更好的点子了。既可以让你守口如瓶，又可以惩罚你偷听我们谈话。你必须和佛罗多先生一起走！”
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