The goat, Axl could see, was well at home on this mountain terrain. It was eating happily the stubbly grass and heather, not caring about the wind, or that its left legs were poised so much lower than the right. The animal had a fierce tug — as Axl had discovered all too well during their ascent — and it had not been easy to find a way of safely tethering it while he and Beatrice took their rest. But he had spotted a dead tree root protruding from the slope, and had carefully bound the rope to it.
埃克索能看出来，那只山羊在这山里过得悠闲自在。山风很大，而且羊的左边两条腿位置高，右边两条腿位置低，但它统统不理会，正开心地啃着草皮和石楠。这羊力气很大——上山的时候，埃克索已经领教了——他和比特丽丝需要休息，要找个地方把羊拴牢，也很不容易。最后他发现了一个死树根，从山坡的地面上突出来，于是把绳子仔细拴在树根上。
The goat was clearly visible from where they now sat. The two large rocks, leaning one towards the other like an old married couple, had been visible from some way down, but Axl had hoped to come across a shelter from the wind long before they reached them. Yet the bare hillside had offered nothing, and they had had to persevere up the little path, the goat tugging as impulsively as the fierce gusts. But when at last they reached the twin rocks, it was as if God had crafted for them this sanctuary, for while they could still hear the blasts around them, they felt only faint stirrings in the air. Even so, they sat close against one another, as if in imitation of the stones above them.
从他们现在坐的地方，能清楚地看到山羊。那两块大岩石相互依靠着，像一对老夫妻，他们还没爬上来的时候就已经看到了，不过埃克索并不想到岩石那儿休息，他希望能提前找个地方避避风。山坡上光秃秃的，什么也没有，他们只好继续坚持，沿着窄窄的山路往上爬，山风猛烈，那头羊也和山风一样任性。等他们最后来到这两块岩石旁，才发现这似乎是上帝为他们准备好的避难所，周围大风呼号，他们却只感觉到空气微微拂动。不过，两人还是紧紧依偎着，好像是害怕头顶的岩石一样。
“Right enough, princess. I fear that young girl hid from us the true hardship of this task.”
“没错，公主。上山究竟有多难，恐怕那个小姑娘没跟我们说。”
“We were halted before we could get far, princess.”
“没走多远，后来上了岸，公主。”
“To my poor eyes, princess, they seem not to move at all. And even if they’re soldiers, they’re surely too far to bother us. It’s those storm clouds to the west concern me more, for they’ll bring mischief swifter than any soldiers in the distance.”
“我眼睛不好，公主，我看一点儿也没动。就算是士兵，离我们那么远，也不会给我们添麻烦。我更担心西边的风暴云啊，要说添麻烦，那比远处的士兵可要快得多。”
A hand raised to the glare, Axl tried to discern what his wife was indicating, but eventually shook his head. “My eyes aren’t as good as yours, princess. I see valley after valley where the mountains descend, but nothing remarkable.”
埃克索抬起一只手挡住阳光，使劲朝她妻子指的方向看，但最后他还是摇了摇头。“公主，我的眼睛没你好。下面一座座山连着，一个山谷接着一个山谷，但我看不到什么特殊的东西。”
“And now we climb uphill again.”
“现在我们又爬上了山。”
“Here’s all this country still below us, Axl. Didn’t that river carry us down at all?”
“埃克索，这整片旷野还在我们下方啊。我们不是顺着那条河下去的吗？”
“They’re moving, Axl, and might be soldiers, the way they go in a long line.”
“在动啊，埃克索，可能是士兵，走路排着长队。”
“No doubt about it, Axl, she made it sound an easy stroll. But who’ll blame her? Still a child and more cares than one her age should bear. Axl, look there. Down in that valley, do you see them?”
“这是肯定的，埃克索，她说得好像散步一样轻松。但谁又能责怪她呢？还是个孩子，却比同龄人多出那么多操心事。埃克索，你看那边。下面那个山谷里，看见他们了吗？”
“There, Axl, follow my finger. Aren’t those soldiers walking in a line?”
“那边，埃克索，顺着我的指头看。那不是一排士兵吗？”
“I see them now, right enough. But surely they’re not moving.”
“现在我看到了，没错。但他们不在动吧。”
“Then why is it one doesn’t fly into the air as we watch them?”
“那么，我们看的时候，怎么没有一只鸟飞起来呢？”
“I can see them more clearly, princess, now the sun peeks from behind the clouds. They’re not soldiers or men at all, but a row of birds.”
“我看得更清楚了，公主，云后面露出来了一点儿太阳。那不是士兵，也不是人，是一排鸟。”
“You’re right, husband, and I wonder how much further it is we’re to go. That young girl wasn’t honest, insisting it was but a simple stroll. Yet can we blame her? Her parents absent and her younger brothers to worry over. She must have been desperate to have us do her bidding.”
“你说得对，丈夫，不知道我们还要走多远的路。那个小姑娘没说实话，她一直说像散步一样轻松。可我们能责怪她吗？她父母不在，还要操心弟弟们呢。她让我们来做这件事，肯定也是被逼无奈，没别的办法了。”
“One may fly up yet, princess. And I for one won’t blame that young lass, for isn’t she in a black plight? And where would we have been without her help, soaked and shivering as we were when we first saw her? Besides, princess, as I remember it, it wasn’t the girl alone keen to have this goat go up to the giant’s cairn. Is it even an hour gone by you were as anxious?”
“等会儿也许就有鸟飞起来了，公主。至少我呢，是不会责怪那个小姑娘的，她的处境不是也很艰难吗？我们刚看到她的时候，浑身都是湿的，冻得发抖，要不是她帮忙，我们还不知道怎么样呢？而且啊，公主，我记得，急着要把这山羊牵到巨人冢的，可不止她一个人呢。你刚才不也是同样焦急吗？还不到一个小时。”
“What foolishness, Axl. If they’re birds, how would we see them from here at all?”
“真是傻话，埃克索。如果是鸟，我们从这儿怎么能看得见呢？”
“They’re closer than you imagine, princess. Dark birds sat in a line, the way they do in the mountains.”
“公主，它们没你想的那么远。黑色的鸟，排成一排坐着，山里的鸟是这样。”
The goat had been eating with equal appetite earlier that morning when they had first come upon the little stone cottage. The cottage had been easy to miss, hidden within a pocket of shadow at the foot of a looming cliff, and even when Beatrice had pointed it out to him, Axl had mistaken it for the entrance to a settlement not unlike their own, dug deep into the mountainside. Only as they had come closer had he realised it was an isolated structure, the walls and roof alike built from shards of dark grey rock. Water was falling from high above in a fine thread just in front of the cliffside, to collect in a pool not far from the cottage and trickle away where the land dipped out of view. A little way before the cottage, just now brightly illuminated by the morning sun, was a small fenced paddock, the sole occupant of which was the goat. As usual the animal had been eating busily, but broke off to stare in astonishment at Axl and Beatrice.
之前他们初次看到那个石头小屋的时候，那只山羊也和现在一样，正心满意足地啃着草。小屋隐藏在一道隐隐耸现的山崖脚下的阴暗处，很容易错过，比特丽丝指给埃克索看，埃克索还以为那是个入口，里面是居住区，和家乡的房子差不多，是山腰上挖出来的。他们走近之后，才发现那是个独立的房子，墙和屋顶都是一块块的深灰色岩石。水从高处淌下来，像一条细线，落在崖壁前，聚在离石屋不远的一个池子里，然后顺着坡地流走。石屋前方不远处，有一个很小的牧场，用篱笆围着，被初升的太阳照得明晃晃的，整个牧场里只有一只山羊。它和往常一样正忙着吃草，看到埃克索和比特丽丝，惊讶地瞪大眼睛看着。
“I’m still as anxious for it, Axl. For wouldn’t it be a fine thing if Querig were slain and this mist no more? It’s just when I see that goat chewing the earth that way, it’s hard to believe a foolish creature like that could ever do away with a great she-dragon.”
“我现在还很焦急，埃克索。杀掉魁瑞格，这迷雾就没了，难道不是好事吗？只不过刚才我看着山羊那样悠闲地啃草皮，很难相信这样一个傻家伙，竟然能够对付巨大的母龙。”
She came splashing over the marshy grass towards them, her brothers close behind.
她踩着水汪汪的草地走过来，两个弟弟在后面跟着。
Their guilty countenances supported Beatrice’s notion that they had been up to no good, but the girl — a head taller than the two boys — recovered quickly and smiled.
三人脸上都有内疚的表情，佐证了比特丽丝的想法，他们可能在顽皮。女孩比两个男孩要高出一头，她迅速缓过神来，脸带微笑。
When they had gone past the goat and the children still were unaware of them, Axl called out as gently as he could: “God be with you,” causing all three to spin round in alarm.
他们从山羊旁经过，孩子们还没注意到，埃克索尽量轻柔地喊了一声：“愿上帝与你们同在。”三个孩子都警觉地转过身来。
The children though had remained unaware of their approach. The girl and her two younger brothers were standing at the edge of a ditch, their backs to their visitors, preoccupied with something beneath their feet. Once, one of the small boys crouched down to throw something into the ditch, provoking the girl to pull him back by the arm.
不过，孩子们还没注意到他们。女孩和她两个弟弟站在一条沟的边上，背对着他们，正全神贯注看着脚下什么东西。有一次，其中一个小男孩朝沟里扔了什么东西，女孩一急，拉住他的胳膊往后拽。
“What can they be doing, Axl?” Beatrice said. “Mischief by the look of it, and the youngest of them still small enough to tumble in without meaning to.”
“他们这是在干什么呢，埃克索？”比特丽丝说。“看起来像是调皮捣蛋，可最小的那个太小啦，一不小心会滚下去。”
“Elders! You’re welcome! We prayed to God only last night to send you and here you’ve come to us! Welcome, welcome!”
“老人家！欢迎你们！昨天晚上我们还祈祷呢，请上帝让你们来，看看，你们这就来了！欢迎，欢迎！”
“We’re not mistaken, sir! We prayed to the God Jesus last night and now you’ve come! Please, elders, go inside our house, where a fire’s still burning.”
“我们没弄错，先生！昨晚我们向上帝耶稣祈祷，现在你们就到啦！请吧，老人家，到屋里来，火都生好了。”
“You mistake us, child,” Axl said. “We’re just two lost travellers, cold and weary, our clothes wet from the river where we were attacked only lately by savage pixies. Would you call your mother or father to allow us warmth and the chance to dry ourselves beside a fire?”
“你认错人啦，孩子，”埃克索说。“我们就是两个迷路的行人，又冷又累，刚刚在河里被野精灵攻击，衣服全湿了。能不能喊一声你的母亲或父亲，允许我们取取暖，借个火烤烤衣服？”
“We accept your kindness gratefully, child,” Axl said. “But tell us if the nearest village is far from here.”
“我们感谢你的好意，孩子，”埃克索说。“但请你告诉我们，最近的村庄离这儿远吗？”
A shadow crossed the girl’s face, and she exchanged looks with her brothers, now lined up beside her. Then she smiled again and said: “We’re very high in the mountains here, sir. It’s far to any village, so we’d ask you to stay here with us, and the warm fire and food we offer. You must be very weary, and I see how this wind makes you both shiver. So please, no more talk of going away. Go inside and rest, elders, for we’ve waited for you so long!”
女孩脸上掠过一层阴云，她看了看已经在两旁站好的弟弟。然后，她再次微笑道：“先生，我们这是住在很高的山上。离其他村子都很远，所以请你们留在我们这儿，享受我们提供的火和食物吧。你们肯定很累了，我也能看出来，这风吹得你们发抖。所以呢，离开的话，就不要再说啦。进屋去休息吧，老人家，我们已经等了你们很久啦！”
“It’s just us three now, mistress, so you can call me lady of the house! Please go inside and warm yourselves. You’ll find food in the sack hanging from the beam, and there’s wood beside the fire to add. Go inside, elders, and we’ll not disturb your rest for a while yet, for we must see to the goat.”
“现在就我们三个人啦，夫人，所以你可以称呼我为房子的女主人！请进去，取取暖吧。梁上挂的袋子里有食物，火旁边有木柴。进去吧，老人家，我们先不打扰你们休息了，我们要看着山羊。”
“But where are your parents, child?” Beatrice asked. “Weary as we are, we’d not intrude, and so wait for the lady or master of the house to call us through the door.”
“但是，你的父母呢，孩子？”比特丽丝问。“我们虽然很疲惫，但也不愿意闯进人家，要等房子的女主人或男主人召唤才能进门吧。”
“Oh, it’s nothing, mistress! Nothing at all! But here you’re standing in this wind and your clothes wet! Won’t you accept our hospitality, and rest yourselves beside our fire? See how even now its smoke rises from the roof!”
“噢，没什么，夫人！什么也没有！你看你们还站在风里，衣服都是湿的！难道你们不愿意接受我们的招待，不愿意到我们的火边休息吗？你们看，火堆的烟都从屋顶上冒出来了呢！”
“There!” Axl took his weight from the rock and pointed. “A bird flown to the sky. Didn’t I tell you, princess, those are birds standing in a line? Do you see it climbing in the sky?”
“那儿！”埃克索从岩石上起身，用手指着。“一只鸟飞上天啦。我不是跟你说过嘛，公主，那是鸟排成了一排。它在空中越飞越高，看见没？”
“What is it so interests you in that ditch there?” Beatrice asked suddenly.
“那沟里面有什么东西，让你们这么关心啊？”比特丽丝突然问。
Beatrice, who had risen to her feet a few moments before, now took a step beyond the sanctuary of their rocks, and Axl saw the wind immediately pull at her clothes.
比特丽丝刚才也站起来了，这时她往外迈了一步，走出两块岩石形成的避难所，埃克索看到风立即把她的衣服吹了起来。
“Soldiers or not, they move slowly on. The bird was never one of them.”
“无论是不是士兵，他们都在慢慢移动。那只鸟不是从那儿飞起来的。”
“A bird, right enough,” she said. “But it didn’t rise from those figures yonder. It could be you still don’t see what I point to, Axl. I mean there, on the further ridge, those dark shapes almost against the sky.”
“没错，是一只鸟，”她说。“但不是从那一排里面飞出来的。也许你还没看到我手指的东西，埃克索。我说的是那儿，在更远的那道山梁上，那些黑色的东西，几乎都贴着天空。”
“I see them well enough, princess. But come back out of the wind.”
“我能看见，公主。别站在风里，回来吧。”
“Come out of the wind, princess, and sit down. We must gather strength the best we can. Who knows how much further we must pull this goat?”
“别站在风里，公主，坐下来吧。我们要尽量留些力气。谁知道我们还要拉着这只羊走多远呢？”
Beatrice came back to their shelter, holding close to herself the cloak borrowed from the children. “Axl,” she said, as she seated herself again beside him, “do you really believe it? That before the great knights and warriors, it’s a weary old couple like us, forbidden a candle in our own village, who may slay the she-dragon? And with this ill-tempered goat to aid us?”
比特丽丝回到栖身的地方，把从孩子们那儿借来的斗篷裹得紧紧的。她再次挨着丈夫坐下来，说道：“埃克索，你真的相信吗？有那么多了不起的骑士、武士，倒是我们这对没有气力的老夫妻，在自家村子里连蜡烛都不许点，竟然能杀死这条母龙？靠这头脾气倔犟的山羊帮我们就够啦？”
“Who knows it’ll be so, princess. Maybe it’s all just a young girl’s wishing and nothing more. But we were grateful for her hospitality, and so we shouldn’t mind doing as she asks. And who knows she isn’t right, and Querig will be slain this way.”
“谁知道是不是这样呢，公主。也许这都是那个小姑娘的痴心妄想，没有根据。但我们感谢她的热情招待，按她说的做也是应该的。也许她说得对，谁知道呢，说不定这样能杀了魁瑞格呢。”
“Didn’t you say it yourself, princess? Our life together’s like a tale with a happy end, no matter what turns it took on the way.”
“你自己不是说过了吗，公主？我们一起的日子，就像一个结局美好的故事，无论这过程中有什么曲折。”
“Axl, tell me. If the she-dragon’s really slain, and the mist starts to clear, Axl, do you ever fear what will then be revealed to us?”
“埃克索，你跟我说说。如果母龙真被杀死了，这迷雾也散了，我们会记起很多事来。埃克索啊，你有没有害怕过呢？”
“I said so before, Axl. Yet now it may even be we’ll slay Querig with our own hands, there’s a part of me fears the mist’s fading. Can it be so with you, Axl?”
“我之前说过这话，埃克索。可是，现在我们真的可能亲手杀死魁瑞格了，我还是有点儿害怕迷雾会散掉。你也是这样吗，埃克索？”
“What was it I said then, Axl?”
“我那时候说什么啦，埃克索？”
“Perhaps it is, princess. Perhaps it’s always been so. But I fear most what you spoke of earlier. I mean as we rested beside the fire.”
“也许是吧，公主。也许我一直就有些担心。但我最害怕你之前说过的话。就是我们在火堆旁休息的时候说的。”
“You don’t remember, princess?”
“你不记得啦，公主？”
“If you’ve no memory of it, princess, then let it stay forgotten.”
“既然你不记得了，公主，那就这样忘了这事吧。”
“Did we have some foolish quarrel? I’ve no memory of it now, except that I was near my wit’s end from cold and want of rest.”
“我们是不是愚蠢地争吵啦？我现在不记得了，只知道当时又冷又累，大脑都不转了。”
“But I’ve felt something, Axl, ever since we left those children. It’s as if you’re holding yourself away from me as we walk, and not just on account of that tugging goat. Can it be we quarrelled earlier, though I’ve no memory of it?”
“可是，埃克索，自从离开孩子们以后，我就有种感觉。好像你在疏远我，我们一起走路的时候都是这样，可不仅仅是因为那头难拉的山羊。我现在不记得了，会不会是因为我们之前吵架了呢？”
“I’d no intention to hold myself away from you, princess. Forgive me. If it’s not the goat pulling this way and that, then it must be I’m still thinking of some foolishness that was said between us. Trust me, it’s best forgotten.”
“我可不是有意要疏远你，公主。请原谅。如果不是因为山羊拽来拽去的话，那肯定是因为我在想我们俩说过的什么傻话。相信我，还是忘记了好。”
He had got the fire blazing again in the centre of the floor, and all else inside the small cottage had fallen into shadow. Axl had been drying his clothes, holding each garment up to the flames, while Beatrice slept peacefully nearby in a nest of rugs. But then quite suddenly, she had sat up and looked around her.
他把房间中央的火烧旺，小屋里的其他地方都暗下来。埃克索把衣服一件一件拿到火堆旁烘干，比特丽丝垫着几块小毯子，在一旁安稳地睡着。可是，突然之间，她坐起身来，四周张望着。
“I was thinking of a night long ago, husband. When you were gone, leaving me in a lonely bed, wondering to myself if you’d ever come back to me.”
“丈夫啊，我是在想很久以前的一个晚上。你走了，留下我一个人在床上，心里不知道你还会不会回来。”
“Is the fire too hot for you, princess?”
“火太热了吗，公主？”
“Won’t you believe me, princess? This is the work of those pixies still working mischief between us.”
“你还不相信我吗，公主？这都是那些精灵，还在我们俩之间捣蛋。”
For a moment she continued to look bewildered, then wearily lowered herself back down onto the rugs. Her eyes though remained open and Axl was about to repeat his question when she had said quietly:
有一下子，她脸上仍然很迷茫，然后她又疲惫地躺在毯子上。不过，她眼睛仍然睁着，埃克索正打算再问一遍，她却低声说道：
“Princess, though we escaped those pixies on the river, I fear some spell still lingers on you to give you such dreams.”
“公主，虽然我们躲开了河上那些精灵，但我担心你身上的咒还没完全解除，所以才会做这些梦。”
“No dream, husband. Just a memory or two returning. The night as dark as any, and there I was, alone in our bed, knowing all the while you were gone to another younger and fairer.”
“不是梦，丈夫。就是记忆中的一两件事情又回想起来了。那个晚上特别黑，我就在那儿，一个人在床上，我心里清楚，你去找更年轻、更漂亮的女人去了。”
“You may be right, Axl. And if they were true memories, they’re of long ago. Even so…” She became silent, so that Axl thought she had dozed off again. But then she said: “Even so, husband, they’re remembrances to make me shrink from you. When we’ve finished resting here, and we’re on our path again, let me walk a little way in front and you behind. Let’s go on our way like that, husband, for I’ll not welcome your step beside me now.”
“也许你说得对，埃克索。就算那真是记忆，也是很久以前了。不过呢…”她没说话了，埃克索以为她又打盹睡着了。可她又接着说道：“不过呢，丈夫，那些回忆让我不敢亲近你。等我们休息好了，再次上路的时候，让我走在前面一点儿，你在后面。我们就这样走吧，丈夫，因为我将不欢迎你在我身旁。”
“It would be the saddest thing to me, princess. To walk separately from you, when the ground will let us go as we always did.”
“那将是最令我伤心的事，公主。当地面够宽时，却和你分开走路——我们以前总是一起走的。”
He said nothing to this at first. Then he lowered the garment away from the fire and turned to look at her. Her eyes were closed again, yet he was sure she had not fallen asleep. When Axl finally found his voice, it had come out as no more than a whisper.
听到这话，一开始他没说什么。然后他把衣服从火边拿开，放下来，转头看着她。她的眼睛又闭上了，但他肯定她没有睡着。过了很久，埃克索终于能说出话来，不过声音很轻。
Beatrice gave no indication of having heard, and within moments her breathing had grown long and even. He had then put on his newly warmed clothes and lain down on a blanket not far from his wife, but without touching her. An overwhelming tiredness swept over him, and yet he saw again the pixies swarming in the water before him, and the hoe he had swung through the air landing in their midst, and he remembered the noise as of children playing in the distance, and how he had fought, almost like a warrior with fury in his voice. And now she had said what she had. A picture came into his mind, clear and vivid, of himself and Beatrice on a mountain road, large grey skies above them, she walking several steps before him, and a great melancholy welled up within him. There they went, an elderly couple, heads bowed, five, six paces apart.
比特丽丝似乎并没有听到，功夫不大，她的呼吸变得悠长均匀。他穿上刚烘好的衣服，在一块毯子上躺下来，离他妻子不远，但没有碰到她。他从骨子里感到疲惫，然而他又一次看到那些精灵在他面前的河水中挤作一团，还有他在空中挥下的锄头，落在它们中间，他想起了那像孩子们在远处玩耍一般的声音，想起了自己如何打斗，简直像个武士一样，声音里充满愤怒。现在呢，她说了这话。他脑海里浮现出一幅画面，清晰、逼真：他和比特丽丝走在山路上，头顶是空阔的灰色天空，她走在前面，离他有几步远，他心里涌起一股深深的凄凉感。他们就那样走着，一对老夫妻，低着头，隔着五六步的距离。
He awoke to find the fire smouldering, and Beatrice on her feet, peering out through one of the small gaps in the stone that constituted the windows of an abode such as this. Thoughts of their last exchange returned to him, but Beatrice turned, her features caught in a triangle of sunlight, and said in a cheerful voice:
醒来的时候，他发现火已经熄了，火堆冒着烟，比特丽丝站在那儿，隔着石头间的一道小缝向外望，这样的屋子，石头间的缝隙也就成了窗户。他又想起了两人最近的谈话，可比特丽丝转过身来，一块三角形的阳光照在她的脸上，她兴高采烈地说道：
“I thought to wake you before, Axl, seeing the morning grow outside. But then I kept thinking of the soaking you got in the river and that you needed more than a brief nod or two.”
“刚才看到外面日头高了，埃克索啊，我打算喊醒你。可我一直想着你在河里泡了那么久，恐怕还要多休息，不是打个盹就行了的。”
“I’m feeling much better, Axl. Rest was all I needed.”
“我感觉好多啦，埃克索。休息一下就好了。”
“I’ve been watching these children, Axl. Even now they stand by that same ditch as when we first came upon them. They’ve something down there draws them and it’s some mischief, I’ll wager, for they often glance back the way they think some adult will discover and scold them. Where can their people be, Axl?”
“我一直在看那几个孩子，埃克索。这时候还站在那条沟旁边呢，和我们刚到的时候一样。下面有什么东西把他们吸引住了，我敢打赌，肯定是在顽皮，因为他们经常往后面看，好像担心被大人发现挨批评一样。他们的亲人都上哪儿去了呢，埃克索？”
Only when he did not reply did she ask: “What is it, Axl? Why look at me like that?”
他没有回答，她这才问道：“怎么啦，埃克索？为什么这样看着我？”
“I’m just gazing at you in relief and happiness, princess.”
“我感到欣慰、高兴，才一直盯着你，公主。”
“I see that now. Then let’s soon be on our way, for as you say, the morning’s grown while we slept.”
“这我现在能看出来。那么，我们就快点上路吧，你说的，我们睡觉的时候，日头已经高啦。”
“It’s not our concern, and besides, they seem well enough fed and clothed. Let’s say our farewells and be gone.”
“那不干我们的事，而且他们好像也能吃饱穿暖。我们去告别，然后上路吧。”
“Axl, can it be you and I were quarrelling earlier? I feel something came between us.”
“埃克索，我和你之前争吵了吗？我感觉我们俩之间好像有点事儿。”
“Nothing we can’t put aside, princess. Though we may speak of it before the day’s finished, who knows? But let’s be on our way before hunger and cold overtake us again.”
“没什么不能放下的，公主。不过也许等会儿我们就会谈起来，谁知道呢？我们还是赶紧动身吧，否则等会儿又要又冷又饿啦。”
When they emerged into the chilly sunshine, Axl saw patches of ice on the grass, a large sky and mountains fading into the distance. The goat was eating over in its enclosure, a muddy upturned bucket near its feet.
他们走进清冷的阳光下，埃克索看到草上结着一块块的冰，天空辽阔，重峦叠嶂，绵延到天际。山羊在那边的围栏里吃东西，脚边有一只满是泥浆、倒扣的桶。
“Dear elders!” She started to come quickly away from the ditch, pulling her brothers with her. “I hope you found our home comfortable, humble though it is!”
“亲爱的老人家！”她拉着弟弟，迅速从沟边离开。“我们家很简陋，希望你们休息得还算舒服！”
“We did, child, and we’re most grateful to you. Now we’re well rested and ready to be on our way. But what’s become of your people that they leave you alone?”
“的确很舒服，孩子，我们非常感激。现在我们休息好了，可以动身啦。你们的家人呢，为什么把你们丢下不管？”
The three children were still beside the ditch, looking down into it, their backs to the cottage, and appeared to be quarrelling. The girl was the first to realise Axl and Beatrice were approaching, and even as she spun around her face broke into a bright smile.
三个孩子仍然在沟边，朝沟里望着，背对着小屋，似乎在争吵。女孩最先发觉埃克索和比特丽丝，人还没有完全转过身来，脸上已经绽出灿烂的微笑。
“It’s just our goat, mistress. It was once our best goat, but it died.”
“是我们的山羊，夫人。那是我们最好的羊呢，可是死了。”
“Go look if you will, sir,” the girl said, and letting go of her brothers, she stepped to one side.
“你去看看吧，先生，”说着，女孩放开两个弟弟，迈步让到一边。
The girl exchanged glances with her brothers, who had taken up positions on either side of her. Then she said, a little hesitantly: “We manage by ourselves, sir,” and put an arm around each of the boys.
女孩和站在她两边的弟弟们互相看了看。然后，她有些犹豫地说道：“我们自己过，先生，”说着用两条胳膊分别挽住了两个弟弟。
“And what is it down in that ditch draws you so?” Beatrice asked.
“沟里有什么东西，你们那么关心？”比特丽丝问。
“How did your goat come to die, child?” Axl asked gently. “The other there looks well enough.”
“山羊怎么死了呢，孩子？”埃克索轻声问。“那边那一只看起来很好嘛。”
The children exchanged more glances, and a decision seemed to pass among them.
孩子们又互相看了看，眼神来去之间似乎做好了决定。
Beatrice fell in step beside him as he went towards the ditch. Before they were halfway there, Axl stopped and said in a whisper: “Let me go alone first, princess.”
他朝沟边走去，比特丽丝与他并肩走着。走了一半，埃克索停下来，低声说道：“公主啊，让我一个人先去吧。”
“Do you think I never saw a dead goat before, Axl?”
“难道你以为死山羊我以前都没见过，埃克索？”
“Even so, princess. Wait here a moment.”
“虽然见过，公主啊，你还是在这儿等一下。”
The ditch was as deep as a man’s height. The sun, now shining almost directly into it, should have made it easier to discern what was before him, but instead created confusing shadows, and where there was puddle and ice, a myriad of dazzling surfaces. The goat appeared to have been of monstrous proportions, and now lay in several dismembered pieces. Over there, a hind leg; there the neck and head — the latter wearing a serene expression. It took a little longer to identify the soft upturned belly of the animal, because pressed into it was a giant hand emerging from the dark mud. Only then did he see that much of what initially he had taken to be of the dead goat belonged to a second creature entangled with it. That mound there was a shoulder; that a stiffened knee. Then he saw movement and realised the thing in the ditch was still alive.
沟有一人深。这时候太阳几乎直射进沟里，里面有什么，应该很容易看清楚；但是，阳光却形成了重重晦暗难辨的阴影，有水洼的地方结了冰，冰面上光影交错、令人眩晕。那山羊原来似乎非常大，现在却碎成很多块，散落在各处。那儿一条后腿，这儿是脖子和脑袋——脸上的表情似乎颇为平静。过了一会儿，他才辨认出山羊柔软的腹部，向上袒露着，黑色的泥浆中慢慢显出一只大手来，按在山羊的肚子上。这时候埃克索才意识到，一开始他以为那就是一只死山羊，但实际上大部分属于另外一个东西，与山羊缠在一起。那边突起的部分是它的肩膀；那儿是僵硬的膝盖。接着，他发现有动静，这才意识到沟里那个东西是活的。
“Don’t come forward, princess. It’s no sight to raise your spirits. Some poor ogre, I’d suppose, dying a slow death, and maybe these children have foolishly thrown it a goat, thinking it might recover itself with eating.”
“不要上前，公主。这可不是让你开心的东西。我猜是个可怜的食人兽吧，要死了，但一时又死不了，也许这些孩子犯傻，扔了个山羊给它，以为它吃点东西就能好起来。”
“What do you see, Axl?”
“你看见什么啦，埃克索？”
Even as he spoke, a large hairless head revolved slowly in the slime, a gaping eye moving with it. Then the mud sucked greedily and the head vanished.
就在他说话的时候，一个没有毛发的大脑袋在泥浆中慢慢旋转，一只眼睛瞪得大大的，也跟着转动。然后泥浆快速下陷，形成一个漩涡，那个脑袋不见了。
“We didn’t feed the ogre, sir,” the girl’s voice said behind him. “We know never to feed an ogre, but to bar ourselves inside at their coming. And so we did with this one, sir, and we watched from our window while he pulled down our fence and took our best goat. Then he sat down just there, sir, where you are now, his legs dangling over like he’s an infant, and happily eating the goat raw, the way ogres will. We knew not to unbar the door, and the sun getting lower, and the ogre still eating our goat, but we could see he’s getting weaker, sir. Then at last he stands up, holding what’s left of the goat, then he falls down, first to his knees, then onto his side. Next thing he rolls into the ditch, goat and all, and it’s two days he’s been down there and still not dead.”
“我们没有喂食人兽，先生，”女孩在他身后说。“我们知道决不能给食人兽喂食物，它们来了，我们就该躲进屋子关好门。这个食人兽来了，我们就是这么做的，先生，我们从窗户里看着它拉倒篱笆，抓走了我们最好的羊。然后它就坐在那儿，先生，就是你站的地方，两条腿挂在沟边，像小婴儿那样，开心地吃着山羊，生吃的，食人兽都这样。我们知道不能开门，太阳都快下山了，那个食人兽还在吃我们的山羊，但我们能看出来，它越来越虚弱。最后它终于站起身来，手里拿着剩下的山羊，然后它就摔倒了，先是跪着，接着就侧着身子倒下去。再后来呢，它就滚进沟里了，还拿着山羊呢，在沟里待两天了，还没死。”
“Why did you do such a thing, child?”
“你为什么要这么做呢，孩子？”
“Not diseased, sir, poisoned! We’d been feeding it more than a full week just the way Bronwen taught us. Six times each day with the leaves.”
“不是生病了，先生，是有毒！我们按照布朗温教的方法，喂了它整整一个多礼拜。每天喂六次叶子。”
“Let’s come away, child,” Axl said. “This is no sight for you or your brothers. But what is it made this poor ogre so sick? Can it be your goat was diseased?”
“我们走远一点儿吧，孩子，”埃克索说。“你和你弟弟最好别看。可是，这可怜的食人兽怎么会病成这样呢？难道你家的山羊生病了？”
“A moment, child,” Axl said. “Are you saying you fed the goat deliberately to fill it with poison?”
“等一下，孩子，”埃克索说。“你是说你们是有意这么喂羊的，让它身上带毒？”
“Why, sir, to make the goat poisonous for the she-dragon. This poor ogre wasn’t to know that and so he poisoned himself. But it’s not our fault, sir, because he shouldn’t have been marauding the way he was!”
“哎呀，先生，让山羊有毒，给母龙吃啊。这可怜的食人兽又不知道，所以把自己给毒了。但这不是我们的错，先生，因为它本来就不该抢东西！”
“Poison for the she-dragon, sir, but Bronwen said it wouldn’t harm any of us. So how could we know the poison might harm an ogre? We weren’t to blame, sir, and meant no wickedness!”
“为母龙准备的毒，先生，但布朗温说，不会伤害我们。你看，我们怎么知道这毒会伤害食人兽呢？不是我们的错，先生，我们也没有恶意！”
“No one will ever blame you, child. Yet tell me, why were you wishing to prepare poison for Querig, for I take it this is the she-dragon you talk of?”
“孩子啊，谁也不会责怪你们。不过，请你告诉我，你们为什么想要毒死魁瑞格呢？你们说的母龙就是它吧。”
“Oh, sir! We said our prayers morning and night and often in the day too. And when you came this morning, we knew God had sent you. So please say you’ll help us, for we’re just poor children forgotten by our parents! Will you take that goat there, the only one left to us now, and go with it up that path to the giant’s cairn? It’s an easy walk, sir, less than half a day there and back, and I’d do it myself but can’t leave these young ones alone. We’ve fed this goat just the way we did the one eaten by the ogre, and this with three more days’ leaves in it. If only you’d take it to the giant’s cairn and leave it tethered there for the she-dragon, sir, and it’s but an easy stroll. Please say you’ll do it, elders, for we’re fearing nothing else will bring our dear mother and father back to us.”
“哎呀，先生！我们早上晚上都祈祷，有时候白天也祈祷。今天早上你们来的时候，我们就知道，上帝派你们来了。拜托啦，你们就是来帮助我们的，是吧！我们不过是可怜的孩子，被我们的父母遗忘了！我们就只剩下这只羊了，你们能把羊带过去吗，沿着那条路牵上山，到巨人冢去？路很容易走的，先生，来回要不了半天，我不能丢下这两个小的，要不然我就自己去了。我们喂这只羊的方法，和被食人兽吃掉的那只一样，这只还多吃了三天叶子呢。先生，你只要把羊牵到巨人冢，拴好丢在那儿，让母龙来吃就行了，而且路很好走，像散步一样轻松。答应我们吧，老人家，因为除此之外，我们担心再也没有别的办法能让我们亲爱的父母回来了。”
“At last you speak of them,” Beatrice said. “What’s to be done to bring your parents back to you?”
“你总算谈到父母了，”比特丽丝说。“要怎么做，才能让父母回到你们身边呢？”
“Didn’t we just tell you, mistress? If you’d only take the goat up to the giant’s cairn, where it’s well known food’s regularly left for the she-dragon. Then who knows, she’ll perish the same way that poor ogre has, and he was a strong-looking one before his meal! We’d always been afraid before of Bronwen because of her wise arts, but when she saw we were here alone, forgotten by our own parents, she took pity on us. So please help us, elders, for who knows when anyone else will come this way? We’re afraid to show ourselves to soldiers or strange men who pass, but you’re the ones we prayed for to the God Jesus.”
“我们刚才不是说过了吗，夫人？你们只要把山羊带上山，丢在巨人冢就行了，大家都知道经常有人留食物在那儿给母龙。然后呢，谁知道，她会消失吧，就像那可怜的食人兽一样，吃山羊之前，那食人兽看起来可是很强壮的！以前我们一直害怕布朗温，因为她会巫术，但是她看到就我们住在这儿，父母把我们给忘记了，就同情我们。所以，老人家，请你们帮助我们，谁知道以后什么时候有人会来这儿呢？就算有士兵或者陌生人经过，我们也害怕露面，但你们就是我们求上帝耶稣派来的人。”
“But what is it young children like you can know of this world,” asked Axl, “that you believe a poisonous goat will bring your parents back to you?”
“可是，这个世界，你们这样的小孩子知道什么呢，”埃克索问，“竟会相信一只有毒的山羊就能把你们的父母带回到身边？”
“It’s what Bronwen told us, sir, and though she’s a terrible old woman, she never lies. She said it’s the she-dragon lives over us here made our parents forget us. And even though we often make our mother angry with our mischief, Bronwen says the day she remembers us again, she’ll hurry back and hold us one by one like this.” The girl suddenly clutched an invisible child to her breast, her eyes closing, and rocked gently for a moment. Then opening her eyes again, she went on: “But for now the she-dragon’s cast some spell to make our parents forget us, so they’ll not come home. Bronwen says the she-dragon’s a curse not just to us but to everyone and the sooner she perishes the better. So we worked hard, sir, feeding both goats exactly as she said, six times each day. Please do as we ask, or we won’t ever see our mother and father again. All we ask is you tether the goat at the giant’s cairn then go your way.”
“这是布朗温跟我们说的，先生，虽然她是个可怕的老太太，但是她从不撒谎。她说，我们的父母把我们忘了，是因为那条母龙住在这里。我们经常调皮，让母亲生气，但是布朗温说，她只要一记起我们，就会急忙赶来，一个一个抱住我们，就像这样。”女孩突然做出把小孩抱在胸前的样子，眼睛闭着，轻轻摇晃了一会儿。然后，她睁开眼睛，继续说道：“但是，现在母龙下了咒，让我们的父母把我们忘了，所以他们不会回家。布朗温说，受母龙诅咒的不仅仅是我们，而是所有人，它消失得越早越好。所以呢，先生啊，我们就卖力干活，两只羊都完全按她说的那样喂，一天喂六次。拜托答应我们的请求吧，否则我们就永远也见不到母亲和父亲啦。我们只请求你们，把山羊带到巨人冢拴好就行了，然后你们想去哪儿就去哪儿。”
“But, sir, it was God himself sent you to us! And it’s but a short stroll, and not even a steep path from here.”
“可是，先生啊，是上帝亲自把你们送到我们面前的！而且路很短，很轻松，从这儿开始没有一个陡坡。”
Beatrice started to speak, but Axl said over her quickly: “I’m sorry, child. We wish we could help you, but to climb higher into these hills is now beyond us. We’re elderly, and as you see, weary from days of hard travel. We’ve no choice but to hurry on our way before further misfortune takes us.”
比特丽丝正准备讲话，但埃克索抢先说道：“对不起啊，孩子。我们也希望能帮忙，但爬那么高，到山里去，我们已经不行啦。我们老啦，你也看得出来，又在路上走了好多天，没力气啦。我们也没办法，只好快点上路，以免又遇到不幸的事情。”
Taking his wife’s arm, Axl led her away from the children. He did not look back until they had passed the goat’s pen, and then he saw the children still standing there, three abreast, watching silently, the towering cliffs behind them. Axl waved encouragingly, but something like shame — and perhaps the trace of some distant memory, a memory of another such departure — made him increase his pace.
埃克索拉着妻子的胳膊，转身离开孩子们。两人经过山羊圈的时候，他才回头看，孩子们仍旧站在那儿，三人排成一排，默默地看着，身后就是直插云霄的崖壁。埃克索挥挥手表示鼓励，但他心里感到有些羞愧——也许还有遥远记忆的痕迹，一次类似的告别——于是加快了脚步。
“Don’t go, elders! It wasn’t our fault the ogre was poisoned.”
“不要走，老人家！食人兽中了毒，不是我们的错。”
“Dear child,” Axl said, “our hearts go out to you, and we’ll raise help at the next village. But we’re too weak to do what you ask, and surely others will pass this way soon, happy to take the goat for you. It’s beyond us old ones, but we’ll pray for your parents’ return and that God will keep you safe always.”
“亲爱的孩子啊，”埃克索说，“我们心里都向着你，到下一个村庄，我们就请人帮忙。但是我们太虚弱了，你让我们做的事情，我们做不了，肯定还会有人从这儿经过，愿意帮你把羊牵过去。我们这些老人可不行，但我们会祈祷你们父母归来，祈祷上帝保佑，让你们永远平安无事。”
“Don’t look back to them, princess, for you only taunt their hopes. We’ll not go back to their goat, but down into this valley, a fire and what food kind strangers may give us.”
“不要回头看他们，公主，那样只会勾起他们的希望。我们不能回去，也不去牵羊，我们要往下走，到这个山谷里，烤烤火，吃点好心的陌生人给的食物。”
But before they had gone far — the marshy ground had started to descend and the valleys to open before them — Beatrice tugged his arm to slow them.
他们没走多远——泥泞的地面刚开始下降，眼前出现了宽阔的谷地——比特丽丝拉拉他的胳膊，让他慢下来。
“I didn’t wish to talk across you before those children, husband,” she said. “But is it really beyond us to do as they ask?”
“丈夫啊，刚才孩子们在场，我不想绕开你跟他们说话，”她说。“可是，我们真的没能力帮他们做这件事吗？”
“They’re in no immediate peril, princess, and we have our own worries. How goes your pain now?”
“他们目前没有危险，公主，我们有我们的事情。你身上的痛怎么样啦？”
“But think on what it is they ask, Axl.” Beatrice had now brought them to a halt. “Will a chance like this ever come our way again? Think on it! We stumble to this spot so near Querig’s lair. And these children offer a poisonous goat by which even the two of us, old and weak though we are, might bring down the she-dragon! Think on it, Axl! If Querig falls, the mist will fast begin to clear. Who’s to say those children aren’t right and God himself didn’t bring us this way?”
“可是，埃克索，想想他们的请求吧。”比特丽丝这时让两人停下了脚步。“我们还有可能碰上这样的机会吗？想一想！我们碰巧到了这个地方，离魁瑞格的巢穴这么近。那些孩子又有一头有毒的山羊，虽然我们又老又弱，但有了山羊，说不定我们两个人就能杀死母龙呢！想一想吧，埃克索！如果魁瑞格死了，迷雾很快就会散掉。也许那些孩子说得对，也许真的是上帝把我们领到了这儿，谁知道呢？”
“My pain’s no worse. Axl, look how those children stand as we left them, watching as we grow ever smaller in their sight. Can’t we at least pause beside this stone and talk further on it? Let’s not hasten away carelessly.”
“我身上的痛没有加重。埃克索，看看那些孩子，我们走了，他们还一直看着，我们在他们眼里都变成小点了吧。我们至少可以在这块石头这儿歇一下，再谈谈这件事吧？我们不要不加考虑就急忙离开。”
“We’re not to face her, Axl, only to tether the goat and flee. It may be days before Querig comes to the spot, and we’ll by then be safe at our son’s village. Axl, don’t we want returned to us our memories of this long life lived together? Or will we become like strangers met one night in a shelter? Come, husband, say we’ll turn back and do as those children bid us.”
“我们不用去面对她，埃克索，只要拴好山羊，然后快点走。魁瑞格可能要过好几天才会到那个地方，到那时候，我们已经安全地到了儿子的村庄啦。埃克索，我俩在一起这么久的记忆，难道我们都不想要回来吗？难道我们要变得像某个晚上一起遮风避雨的陌生人？来吧，丈夫，你点个头吧，我们回去，照孩子们的请求做。”
Axl remained silent for a moment, fighting the urge to look back towards the stone cottage. “There’s no telling that goat will bring any harm at all to Querig,” he said eventually. “A hapless ogre’s one thing. This she-dragon’s a creature to scatter an army. And can it be wise for two elderly fools like us to wander so near her lair?”
埃克索又沉默了一会儿，努力克制回头看那座石屋的冲动。“山羊能不能伤害到魁瑞格，还很难说呢，”他开口说道。“一头倒霉的食人兽是一回事。这头母龙，可是个连军队都能打散的家伙。我们这样一对老傻瓜，晃到离她巢穴那么近的地方，恐怕不明智吧？”
So here they were, climbing still higher, the winds growing stronger. For the moment, the twin rocks provided good shelter, but they could not stay like this for ever. Axl wondered yet again if he had been foolish to give in.
就这样，他们到了这儿，越爬越高，山风也越来越大。两块岩石能临时遮挡一下，可他们不能一直待在这儿。埃克索又开始怀疑，自己让了步，答应做这件事，也许是个愚蠢的决定。
“Princess,” he said eventually. “Suppose we really do this thing. Suppose God allows us to succeed, and we bring down the she-dragon. I’d like you then to promise me something.”
“公主啊，”最后他说道，“假如我们真的做了这件事。假如上帝眷顾，我们成功了，杀死了母龙。那我希望你能答应我一件事。”
She was sitting close beside him now, though her eyes were still on the distance and the line of tiny figures.
现在她挨在他身边坐着，不过眼睛仍旧望着远方那一排细小的身影。
“What is it you ask, Axl?”
“答应什么呢，埃克索？”
“A queer mood you’re in, Axl. But who knows how much further it is till the giant’s cairn? Let’s not spend any more time sitting between these great stones. Those children were anxious when we left, and they’ll be awaiting our return.”
“你的情绪很奇怪啊，埃克索。但是，谁知道巨人冢还有多远呢？我们不要再坐在这两块石头下面耽误时间啦。我们离开的时候，那些孩子很焦虑，他们还等着我们回去呢。”
“It’s simply this, princess. Should Querig really die and the mist begin to clear. Should memories return, and among them of times I disappointed you. Or yet of dark deeds I may once have done to make you look at me and see no longer the man you do now. Promise me this at least. Promise, princess, you’ll not forget what you feel in your heart for me at this moment. For what good’s a memory’s returning from the mist if it’s only to push away another? Will you promise me, princess? Promise to keep what you feel for me this moment always in your heart, no matter what you see once the mist’s gone.”
“是这样的，公主。如果魁瑞格真的死了，迷雾开始消散。如果记忆恢复，你发现我曾经让你多次失望。或者你想起我做过不好的事情，再来看我，看到的已经不是现在你眼中的这同一个人了。那么，请你至少答应我。请你答应我，公主，你不会忘记这一刻你心里对我的感情。如果迷雾消退，只会将我们两人分开，那记忆恢复又有什么好处呢？这你能答应我吗，公主？答应我，无论迷雾消散之后你看到的是个什么样的人，你要永远记着这一刻你心里对我的感情。”
“I’ll promise it, Axl, and no hardship to do so.”
“我答应你，埃克索，要做到也不难。”
“Words can’t tell how it comforts me to hear you say it, princess.”
“公主啊，听你这么说，我感到无比宽慰，都无法用语言表达了。”
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