It took some time to negotiate the muddy slope down to the boathouse, and when they stepped under its low arch, the near-darkness and the proximity of the lapping water seemed only to make Beatrice shiver more. They moved further inside, over damp wooden boards, and saw beyond the roof’s overhang tall grass, rushes, and an expanse of the river. Then a man’s figure rose from the shadows to their left, saying: “Who might you be, friends?”
他们花了不少工夫，才走下那道泥泞的山坡，来到船屋跟前。他们迈步走进低矮的门廊，里面几乎漆黑一片，河水近在咫尺，在脚下拍打着，让比特丽丝颤抖得更厉害。他们踏着潮湿的木板，继续往里走。透过屋顶上挂下来的长草，他们看到了远处的灯芯草丛，还有一大片河水。接着，一个男人的身影从左侧的黑暗中站起来，说道：“朋友们，你们是什么人啊？”
“God be with you, sir,” Axl said. “We’re sorry if we brought you from your sleep. We’re just two weary travellers wishing to go downriver to our son’s village.”
“愿上帝与你同在，先生，”埃克索说。“很抱歉，可能吵醒你了。我们就是两个疲惫的路人，想到下游我们儿子的村庄去。”
A broad, bearded man of middle years, clad in layers of animal skins, emerged into the light and scrutinised them. Eventually he asked, not unkindly:
那人走到亮处，打量着他们。他是个身材魁梧的中年人，留着胡子，身上披着几层兽皮。最后，他开口问话，语气倒也友好。
He longed for a patch of sun to warm Beatrice. But though the opposite bank was often bathed in morning light, their side of the river remained shaded and cold. Axl could feel her leaning on him as they walked, and her shivering had grown steadily worse. He had been about to suggest another rest when at last they spotted the roof behind the willows, jutting out into the water.
他渴望有一块阳光，让比特丽丝暖和起来。可是，虽然对面的河岸沐浴在早晨的阳光之中，他们这边却又暗又冷。他们俩走路的时候，埃克索能感觉到她渐渐朝自己身上靠过来，颤抖得越来越厉害。他正准备提议再休息一次，这时他们看到了柳树后面的屋顶，伸到了水面之上。
“She’s only tired, sir, but unable to walk the remaining way. We hoped you might spare a barge or small boat to carry us. We depend on your kindness, for some misfortune lately took the bundles we carried, and with them the tin to recompense you. I can see, sir, you have but one boat now in the water. I can at least promise you safe passage for any cargo you’d entrust should you allow us to use it.”
“她只是累了，先生，不过剩下的路走不动了。我们在想，不知道你有没有货船或者小筏子，可以载我们一程。我们只能靠你发发善心了，最近遇到了不幸的事情，我们的行囊都没了，本来能用来答谢你的锡块也丢了。先生，我能看出来，你这儿下水的只有一条船。如果你允许我们用这条船的话，所有交予我们看管的货物，我们一定保证安全。”
“Is the lady there unwell?”
“这位女士病了？”
The boatkeeper looked out at the boat rocking gently under the roof, then back at Axl. “It’ll be a while yet, friend, till this boat goes downstream, for I’m waiting for my companion to return with barley to fill it. But I see you’re both weary and lately suffered some misfortune. So let me make this suggestion. Look there, friends. You see those baskets.”
船夫看看那艘在棚顶下轻轻摇晃的船，然后又看看埃克索。“这条船要下河，还要等一等呢，朋友，我在等同伴运麦子过来，装到船上。看来你们两人都很累，最近又遇上了不幸的事情。那么，请你们听听我的主意吧。朋友们，你们看那儿。看到那些筐子了吧。”
“They may look flimsy, but float well and will bear your weight, though you’ll have to go one in each. We’re accustomed to filling them with full sacks of corn, or even at times a slaughtered pig, and tethered behind a boat they’ll travel even a rough river without jeopardy. And today, as you see, the water’s steady, so you’ll travel without worry.”
“它们也许看起来不结实，但在水里浮得好，能承受你们的重量，不过得一人坐一只筐子。我们常常用筐子装整袋整袋的麦子，有时候甚至还装屠宰好的猪，绑在船后面，就是河上风浪大，也很安全。今天，你们看，河上很平静，所以不用担心。”
“Baskets, sir?”
“筐子，先生？”
“You must go one to each basket, friends, or else fear drowning. But I’ll gladly tether two together so you’ll go almost as good as one. When you see the lower boathouse on this same side, your journey will be over, and I’ll ask you to leave the baskets there well tied.”
“你们得一人坐一只，朋友们，否则可能会落水。但我很愿意把两只筐子绑到一起，你们坐进去，和一只筐子差不多。如果看到河这边有一个矮一点儿的船屋，那么你们就到啦，请你们把筐子系好，丢在那儿。”
“You’re kind, sir. But have you no basket large enough for the two of us?”
“你真是好心，先生。不过，你没有大一点的筐子，能装下我们两个人吗？”
“Axl,” Beatrice whispered, “let’s not separate. Let’s go together on foot, slow though it may be.”
“埃克索，”比特丽丝低声说，“我们不要分开。我们还是一起步行吧，慢一点也没关系。”
“Please, Axl. I don’t want us to separate.”
“拜托啦，埃克索。我不想分开。”
“But this good man says he’ll truss our two baskets together, and it’ll be as good as we’re arm in arm.” Then turning to the boatkeeper, he said: “I’m grateful to you, sir. We’ll do as you suggest. Please tie the baskets tightly, so there’s no chance a swift tide will move us apart.”
“可这位好心人说，要把两只筐子绑在一起，就像我们手挽着手一样。”接着，他转身对船夫说：“我非常感激，先生。我们就按照你的建议办。请帮忙把筐子绑紧一点，水流再急，也不会把我们分开。”
“Walking’s beyond us now, princess. We both need warmth and food, and this river will carry us swiftly to our son’s welcome.”
“公主啊，我们已经走不了啦。我们两人都需要取暖、吃东西，顺着这条河走，我们很快就能到儿子那儿啦。”
“The danger isn’t the river’s speed, friend, but its slowness. It’s easy to get caught in the weeds near the bank and move no further. Yet I’ll lend you a strong staff to push with, so you’ll have little to fear.”
“朋友，水流得急不危险，流得慢才危险。筐子容易在岸边的野草里缠住，那就走不动了。不过，我会借你一根粗棍子，用来推筐子，所以你们不用害怕。”
“Don’t leave me here alone, Axl.”
“别丢下我一个人，埃克索。”
“We’ll be fine, princess, and soon at our son’s village.”
“我们会没事的，公主，很快就能到儿子的村里。”
Then the boatkeeper was calling them, and they stepped carefully down the little stones to where he was steadying with a long pole two baskets bobbing in the water. “They’re well lined with hide,” he said. “You’ll hardly feel the river’s cold.”
船夫在喊他们，他们小心翼翼踩着几块小石头走下去，两只筐子在水中一上一下，船夫用一根长竿把筐子稳住。“里面铺好了兽皮，”他说，“你们几乎感觉不到河上的冷气。”
“I’m getting in right beside you. Look, this good man’s fastened us tight together.”
“现在就进来，就在你旁边。你看，这位好心人把我们俩紧紧绑在一起啦。”
“Axl, please let’s not be parted.”
“埃克索，不要让我们分开。”
“Won’t you get in yourself, Axl?”
“你自己不进来吗，埃克索？”
But even as she said this, she appeared reassured, and lay down in the basket like a child going to sleep.
但是，她一边说着，一边似乎已经定下心来，在筐子里躺好，像个即将入睡的孩子。
“We’re not to be parted, princess. Look how he makes his knots to keep us together.”
“我们不会分开，公主。你看他绳结打得多牢，我们会一直在一起。”
Though he found it painful to crouch, Axl kept both hands on Beatrice until she had safely lowered herself into the first basket. “Don’t try and rise, princess, or you’ll endanger the vessel.”
埃克索发现蹲下来身上很疼，但他还是一直双手扶着比特丽丝，直到她在第一个筐子里蹲下来，安全地坐好。“不要站起来啊，公主，要不然筐子就危险了。”
“The tide may part us, Axl, never mind what this man tells us.”
“水流会把我们分开，埃克索，别去管这个人跟我们说的话。”
As the boatkeeper went to the edge of his jetty and began to busy himself with rope, Beatrice whispered:
船夫走到小码头的边上，拿着绳子开始忙活起来。比特丽丝低声说：
“Good sir,” Axl said. “See how my wife trembles from the cold. Is there something you might lend to cover her?”
“好心的先生，”埃克索说。“你看，我妻子冷得发抖。你有没有东西，可以借给她盖一盖？”
The boatkeeper too was looking at Beatrice, who had now curled up on her side and closed her eyes. Suddenly he removed one of the furs he was wearing, and bending forward, laid it on top of her. She seemed not to notice — her eyes remained closed — so it was Axl who thanked him.
船夫也在看着比特丽丝，她侧身蜷缩着，闭上了眼睛。突然，船夫脱下身上的一件兽皮衣服，弯下腰，把衣服盖在她身上。她似乎没有注意——眼睛仍然是闭的——于是埃克索代妻子向他表示感谢。
“Welcome, friend. Leave everything at the lower boathouse for me.” The man pushed them into the tide with his pole. “Sit low and keep the staff handy for the weeds.”
“不客气，朋友。把所有东西都留在矮船屋那儿就行了。”他用长竿将他们推到河中心。“坐低点儿，棍子放在手边，防止野草。”
It was bitingly cold on the river. Broken ice drifted here and there in sheets, but their baskets moved past them with ease, sometimes bumping gently one against the other. The baskets were shaped almost like boats, with a bow and stern, but had a tendency to rotate, so that at times Axl found himself gazing back up the river to the boathouse still visible on the bank.
河面上冷得刺骨。破碎的冰块东一片西一片，不过他们的两个筐子能轻松通过，有时候还会轻轻碰一下。筐子的外形和船差不多，有船头船尾，不过容易打转，所以有时候埃克索一抬眼，又能望到上游岸边的船屋。
The dawn was pouring through the waving grass beside them, and as the boatkeeper had promised, the river moved at an easy pace. Even so, Axl found himself glancing continuously over at Beatrice’s basket, which appeared to be filled entirely by the animal skin, with only a small portion of her hair visible to betray her presence. Once he called out: “We’ll be there in no time, princess,” and when there was no response, reached over to tug her basket closer.
他们身边长草摇曳，晨曦从草间漫过来；正如船夫所说，河水平稳地流淌着，无风无浪。不过，埃克索仍旧一直望着比特丽丝的筐子，筐子里似乎全被兽皮衣服塞满了，只能看到一小撮头发，让人知道她还在里面。有一次他喊道：“公主，我们马上就能到啦，”她没有回答，于是他伸出手，把她的筐子拉近一点儿。
“Why would I leave you, princess? And the man’s tied our vessels so carefully together.”
“我为什么要离开你呢，公主？而且那个人把我们俩的筐子紧紧绑在一起啊。”
“Princess, are you sleeping?”
“公主，你在睡觉吗？”
“Axl, are you still there?”
“埃克索，你还在那儿？”
“Axl. I thought maybe you’d left me again.”
“埃克索。我还以为，可能你又离开我了呢。”
“Of course I’m still here.”
“当然啦，我在这儿。”
“I don’t know if it’s a thing dreamt or remembered. But I saw myself just then, standing in our chamber in the dead of night. It was long ago and I had tight around me that cloak of badger hides you made once as a tender gift to me. I was standing like that, and in our former chamber too, not the one we have now, for the wall had branches of beech crossing left to right, and I was watching a caterpillar crawling slowly along it, and asking why a caterpillar wouldn’t be asleep so late at night.”
“我不知道这是做梦还是回忆。可我刚才看到，我自己深夜站在我们的屋子里。那是很久以前，我身上紧紧裹着那件獾皮斗篷，是你好心做的，送给我当礼物。我就那样站着，还在我们以前住的屋子，不是现在那间，因为墙上从左到右编着山毛榉枝条，我看着一只毛毛虫沿着墙慢慢爬，心里想，夜这么深了，这只毛毛虫为什么不睡觉呢。”
“Never mind caterpillars, what were you doing yourself awake and staring at a wall in the pit of the night?”
“别管毛毛虫啦，你自己为什么半夜不睡觉，盯着墙看呢？”
“I think I was standing that way because you’d gone and left me, Axl. Maybe this fur the man’s put over me reminds me of that one then, for I was holding it to myself while I stood there, the one you’d made for me from badger skins, which later we lost in that fire. I was watching the caterpillar and asking why it didn’t sleep and if a creature like that even knew night from day. Yet I believe the reason was that you’d gone away, Axl.”
“我想啊，埃克索，我站在那儿，是因为你走了，离开我了。也许那人给我盖的这件兽皮衣服，让我想起了以前那件，因为站在墙边的时候，我把那件衣服抓得紧紧的，那件你用獾皮给我做的衣服，后来在那场大火里烧掉了。我看着毛毛虫，问它为什么不睡觉，那样一个小动物知道白天和黑夜的分别吗？不过，我相信真正的原因是你走了，埃克索。”
“You’re drifting further away, Axl. I can hardly hear you.”
“你漂远了，埃克索。说话我都快听不见了。”
“You’re right, Axl. It’s cold here, even under this rug.”
“你说的对，埃克索。这儿很冷，盖着兽皮也冷。”
“Are you still there, Axl?”
“你还在那儿吗，埃克索？”
“I’m here beside you, princess.”
“我就在你身边，公主。”
“You’d left me that night, Axl. And our precious son too. He’d left a day or two before, saying he’d no wish to be at home when you returned. So it was just me alone, in our former chamber, the dead of night. But we had a candle in those days, and I was able to see that caterpillar.”
“那天晚上你不在我身边，埃克索。还有我们宝贝的儿子。他一两天前走的，他说等你回来的时候，他不愿意在家里。所以就只有我一个人，在我们原来的屋子里，深更半夜。但那时候我们还有蜡烛，所以我能看见那只毛毛虫。”
“That’s a strange dream you speak of, princess, no doubt brought on by your fever and this cold. I wish the sun would rise with less patience.”
“你说的可真是个离奇的梦，公主，肯定是发烧受凉引起的。我真希望太阳别这么慢悠悠的，早点出来才好。”
“I’d warm you in my arms but the river won’t allow it.”
“我愿意把你抱在怀里暖和一下，可在这河上没办法。”
“A wild dream, princess, and maybe a fever coming too. But we’ll be beside a warm fire before long.”
“一个离奇的梦，公主，可能还要发烧呢。但我们很快就能烤上暖和的火啦。”
“Axl. Can it be our own son left us in anger one day and we closed our door to him, telling him never to return?”
“埃克索。我们自己的儿子是不是某一天生气离开了我们，我们关上门，让他永远都不要回来？”
“Of course I’m here, and the boathouse long out of sight now.”
“当然啦，我在这儿，船屋已经早就看不见啦。”
“Princess, I see something before us in the water, maybe a boat stuck in the reeds.”
“公主，我看到前面水里有什么东西，也许是艘船，卡在芦苇丛里了。”
He had been sitting low in his basket, his legs spread before him, but now shifted carefully into a crouching posture, holding the rim to either side.
他矮着身子坐在筐子里，双腿朝前伸着，这时候他两手扶着筐子的边缘，小心翼翼换成了蹲的姿势。
“I see it better now. A small rowing boat, stuck in the reeds where the bank turns ahead. It’s in our path and we’ll have to take care or we’ll be stuck the same way.”
“现在看得更清楚了。是艘小船，卡在芦苇丛里了，在前面河岸拐弯的地方。正好在我们的路上，我们要小心，要不然也会卡住。”
“Axl, don’t go away from me.”
“埃克索，不要离开我。”
“I’m here beside you, princess. But let me take this staff and keep us clear of the rushes.”
“我就在你身边，公主。不过，我得抓住这根棍子，要避开这草丛。”
The baskets were moving ever more slowly now, pulling inwards towards the sludge-like water where the bank made its turn. Thrusting the staff into the water, Axl found he could touch the bottom easily, but when he tried to push off back into the tide, the river floor sucked at the stick, allowing him no purchase. He could see too, in the morning light breaking over the long-grassed fields, how weeds had woven thickly around both baskets, as though to bind them further to this stagnant spot. The boat was almost before them, and as they drifted lethargically towards it, Axl held out the staff to touch against its stern and brought them to a halt.
现在筐子越来越慢，朝河岸拐弯处那泥浆一样的河水里漂去。埃克索把棍子伸进河水，发现一下子就碰到了河底，他想把筐子往河中心推，但是棍子似乎被河底吸住了，没法用力气。这时，长满深草的田野上，天已经亮了，他看清楚了两只筐子四周都缠着厚厚的水草，好像要把他们牢牢绑在这片静止的泥水中一样。那艘船就在他们跟前，他们极其缓慢地漂过去，埃克索伸出棍子抵住船尾，两人的筐子停了下来。
“Not yet.” Axl glanced over to that part of the river still gliding downstream. “I’m sorry, princess. We’re caught in the reeds. But here’s a rowing boat before us, and if it’s worthy, we’ll use it ourselves to complete the journey.” Pushing the staff once more into the water, Axl manoeuvred them slowly to a position alongside the vessel.
“还没到。”埃克索抬眼望望另一边正在流动的河水。“很抱歉，公主。我们卡在芦苇丛里了。不过我们前面有艘桨划的小船，如果还没坏的话，后面的路我们可以自己划船。”埃克索再次将棍子伸进水里，慢慢把筐子撑到小船附近。
“Is it the other boathouse, husband?”
“丈夫，这是另外那个船屋吗？”
From their low vantage point, the boat loomed large, and Axl could see in fine detail the damaged, coarsened wood, and the underside of the gunwale, where a row of tiny icicles hung like candlewax. Planting the staff in the water, he now rose carefully to his full height within his basket and peered into the boat.
他们位置较低，抬头仰望，船显得很高大，埃克索能清楚地看到粗糙、破旧的木板，以及船舷上缘的底部，那上面挂着一排细小的冰柱，像蜡烛油一样。他把棍子插在水中，在筐子里小心翼翼站起身来，朝小船中望去。
The bow end was bathed in an orange light and it took him a moment to see that the pile of rags heaped there on the boards was in fact an elderly woman. The unusual nature of her garment — a patchwork of numerous small dark rags — and the sooty grime smeared over her face had momentarily deceived him. Moreover, she was seated in a peculiar posture, her head tilted heavily to one side, so that it was almost touching the boat’s floor. Something about the old woman’s clothes tugged at his memory, but now she opened her eyes and stared at him.
船首有一片橘色的光，他仔细一看，才发现堆在船板上的那一堆破旧衣服，原来是位上了年纪的女人。她衣服比较特殊——是由很多黑色的小布片拼缀而成的，而且脸上满是污垢，让埃克索一时没认出来。她坐的姿势也很奇怪，脑袋朝一边歪着，几乎碰到了船舱的地板。这个女人的衣服似乎让他想起了什么，这时她睁开了眼睛，看着他。
“My arm won’t obey me, or I’d by now be up and taken the oar. Help me, stranger.”
“我一只胳膊不能动了，否则我就站起来划桨了。救救我，陌生人。”
“Help me, stranger,” she said quietly, not altering her posture.
“陌生人啊，救救我，”她人没动，嘴里低声说道。
“Axl, don’t leave me here. Don’t forget me.”
“埃克索，不要把我丢在这儿。不要忘了我。”
“Who do you speak to, Axl?” Beatrice’s voice came from behind him. “Take care it’s not some demon.”
“你在跟谁说话呢，埃克索？”比特丽丝的声音从身后传来。“小心啊，会不会是魔鬼？”
The cold had stiffened his limbs, and he almost lost his balance as he climbed into the larger vessel. But he steadied himself, then looked around him.
冷气让他四肢僵硬，爬上船的时候，他差点跌倒，不过他及时稳住了身子，四下里看看。
“Are you sick, mistress?”
“你生病了吗，夫人？”
“It’s just a poor woman of our years or more, injured in her boat.”
“就是个可怜的女人而已，可能比我们年纪还大，在船里受了伤。”
“Such a thing can’t ever happen, princess. Now I must help this poor woman, and perhaps with luck we’ll all three use her boat to journey downstream.”
“那种事永远不会发生，公主。现在，我要帮这个可怜的女人啦，如果运气好的话，也许我们三个人都能坐她的船到下游去。”
“This mist makes us forget so much. Why should it not make us forget each other?”
“这迷雾让我们忘记了很多东西。为什么不会让我们忘记对方呢？”
“Don’t forget me, Axl.”
“不要忘了我，埃克索。”
“Stranger, I hear what you say. You’ll be most welcome to share my boat. But help me now for I’m fallen and hurt.”
“陌生人，我听见你说的话了。非常欢迎你们乘我的船。不过先帮帮我吧，我摔了跤，受伤了。”
“I’m just stepping onto this boat beside us, princess. I must attend to this poor stranger.”
“我就是到我们身边这艘船上去一下，公主。我要帮一帮这位可怜的陌生人。”
“Forget you? Why would I ever forget you, princess?”
“忘了你？我怎么会忘了你呢，公主？”
The boat seemed simple and sturdy, with no obvious signs of leakage. There was cargo piled near the stern, but Axl paid this little attention, for the woman was saying something again. The morning sun was still fully upon her, and he could see how her gaze was fixed with some intensity on his feet — so much so that he could not help looking down at them himself. Noticing nothing remarkable, he continued towards her, stepping carefully over the boat’s bracing.
船看上去简单结实，没有明显的漏水痕迹。靠近船尾的地方堆着货物，但埃克索没怎么注意，因为那个女人又说话了。早晨的阳光仍旧照在她身上，他能看出来，她的眼睛盯着自己脚下，目光非常专注——以至于他自己也忍不住低头看看。他没注意到什么特别的东西，于是小心跨过船的龙骨，继续朝她走去。
“Stranger. I see you’re not young, but you’ve strength left. Show them a fierce face. A fierce face to make them flee.”
“陌生人。我看得出来，你年纪不小了，但你还有力气。摆一副凶狠的模样给它们看。摆一副凶狠的模样，把它们吓走。”
“Come, mistress. Are you able to sit up?” He had said this for he was troubled by her strange posture — her loose grey hair was hanging down and touching the damp boards. “Here, I’ll help you. Try to sit higher.”
“来吧，夫人。你能坐起来吗？”他这样问，是因为她奇怪的姿势让他担心，她松散的灰白头发披下来，都碰到了潮湿的地板。“来，我来帮你。尽量坐起来一点儿。”
“Do the rats bother you, mistress?”
“那些老鼠给你添麻烦了吗，夫人？”
As he leant forward and touched her, a rusted knife she had been holding fell from her grasp onto the boards. In the same instant, some small creature scampered out from her rags and away into the shadows.
他弯下身子，手碰到了她，这时一把上锈的刀从她手里掉下来，落在地板上。与此同时，什么小动物从她那堆衣服里窜出来，匆匆忙忙跑进了黑暗中。
“Are they rats, mistress?”
“是老鼠吗，夫人？”
It now occurred to him she had not been staring at his feet, but beyond him, to something at the back of the boat. He turned, but the low sun dazzled him and he could not discern clearly whatever was moving there.
这时候他才想起来，刚才她不是看他的脚，而是看他脚后面的什么东西，在船的尾部。他转过身，阳光斜射过来，照得他眼花，无法看清楚那儿有什么东西在动。
“They’re over there, stranger. Show them a fierce face, I say.”
“到处都是，陌生人。听我的，摆副凶狠的模样给它们看。”
“They fear you, stranger. They feared me too for a little while, but they sapped me little by little as they will. Had you not come they’d be covering me even now.”
“它们怕你，陌生人。有一下子也怕我，但最后一点一点耗尽了我的气力。要不是你来，这时候它们肯定全在我身上了。”
He stepped towards the stern, a hand raised against the low sun, and gazed down at the objects piled in the shadows. He could make out tangled nets, a soaked-through blanket left in a heap, a long-handled tool, like a hoe, lying across it. And there was a wooden, lidless box — the sort fishermen used to keep fresh the dying fish they had caught. But when he peered into it, he saw not fish but skinned rabbits — a considerable number of them, pressed so closely one against the other their tiny limbs appeared to be locked together. Then, as he watched, the whole mass of sinews, elbows and ankles began to shift. Axl took a step back even as he saw an eye open, and then another. A sound made him turn, and he saw at the other end of the boat, still bathed in orange light, the old woman slumped against the bow with pixies — too many to count — swarming over her. At first glance she looked contented, as if being smothered in affection, while the small, scrawny creatures ran through her rags and over her face and shoulders. And now there came more and more out of the river, climbing over the rim of the boat.
他举起一只手遮着太阳，迈步朝船尾走去，眼睛盯着黑暗中那一堆东西。缠在一起的网，一条堆成一团的水淋淋的毯子，一件类似于锄头的长柄工具横放在湿毯子上。还有一个没有盖子的木箱——渔夫用这种箱子来装抓到的鱼，以保持新鲜。他朝里面一看，却发现箱子里装的不是鱼，而是剥了皮的兔子，数量不少，密密匝匝堆着，细小的腿好像都缠在一起一样。就在他看着的时候，那一大堆肌肉、手肘、脚踝突然动了起来。埃克索往后退了一步，同时看到一只眼睛睁开了，接着又一只也睁开了。后面有声响，他转过身去，船的另一边仍然沐浴在橘色光亮之中，老太太缩在船头，浑身上下爬满了小妖精，多得数不清。初看之下，她似乎颇为享受，那些又瘦又小的家伙在她的破衣服里、脸上、肩膀上跑来跑去，好像都急着表达对她的喜爱。这时候越来越多的小精灵从河里冒出来，纷纷往船上爬。
“Wait a moment, mistress.”
“等一等，夫人。”
Axl reached down for the long-handled tool before him, but he too had become enveloped by a sense of tranquillity, and he found himself extracting the pole from the tangled netting in a strangely leisurely manner. He knew more and more creatures were rising from the water — how many might have boarded now? Thirty? Sixty?– and their collective voices seemed to him to resemble the sound of children playing in the distance. He had the presence of mind to raise the long tool — a hoe, surely, for was that not a rusted blade on the end rising into the sky, or yet another creature clinging to it?– and bring it crashing down onto the tiny knuckles and knees mounting the side of the boat. Then a second swing, this time towards the box with the skinned rabbits from which more pixies were running out. But then he had never been much of a swordsman, his skill being for diplomacy and, when required, intrigue, though who could claim he had ever betrayed the trust his skills had won? On the contrary, it was he who had been betrayed, but he could still wield a weapon in some fashion, and now he would bring it down this way and that, for had he not to defend Beatrice from these swarming creatures? But here they came, more and more — were they still coming from that box, or from the shallow waters? Were they even now gathering around Beatrice asleep in her basket? The last blow of the hoe had had some effect, for several creatures had fallen back into the water, and then another blow had sent two, even three, flying through the air, and the old woman was a stranger, what obligation did he have to her before his own wife? But there she was, the strange woman, hardly visible now beneath the writhing creatures, and Axl crossed the length of the boat, hoe raised, and made another arc in the air to sweep off as many as possible without injury to the stranger. Yet how they clung on! And now they even dared to speak to him — or was that the old woman herself from beneath them?
埃克索弯腰去拿那件长柄工具，但他也被一种静谧感包裹住了，发现自己从乱糟糟的渔网中抽出工具时，悠闲自在得出奇。他知道越来越多的精灵从水里冒出来——多少已经上船了呢？三十？四十？——它们的声音合在一起，在他听来，好像是孩子们在远处玩耍。他并非完全心不在焉，还知道把那个长柄工具举起来——是把锄头，肯定没错，朝上的那一端不是有上了锈的刃口吗？抑或是又一个精灵趴在上面？——然后挥下来，砸在正朝船边上爬的那些小手指、小膝盖上。接着，又挥了第二下，这次砸向有剥皮兔子的那只箱子，更多精灵正从里面往外跑。不过，他一直算不得什么剑客，他所擅长的是外交，如果有必要的话，还有阴谋。但是，外交为他赢来的信任，他又何曾背叛过？恰恰相反，是他自己被人背叛了，可他总还能挥动两下武器吧，现在他就要挥起锄头，东打西砸——他不是该保护比特丽丝，不让这群东西侵犯她吗？可是它们不停地拥过来，越来越多——还是从那个箱子里出来的吗？或者是从浅水里爬上来的？现在它们是不是已经围住了在筐子里睡觉的比特丽丝？锄头最后那一下子起了点效果，有几只掉进了水里，接着又是一下子，有两只甚至三只飞了出去，那位老太太只是个陌生人，与自己妻子相比，他对她能有什么义务呢？但她就在那儿，这个陌生女人，被一堆蠕动的精灵覆盖着，几乎看不见。埃克索走到船的另一头，举起锄头，在空中抡了一圈，在不伤害陌生人的情况下，尽可能扫开一些。可它们却不肯轻易放手！现在呢，它们竟然胆敢对他说话了——抑或说话的是被它们覆盖着的老太太本人？
“Leave her, stranger. Leave her to us. Leave her, stranger.”
“别管她，陌生人。把她交给我们。别管她，陌生人。”
“Leave her to us, stranger,” the old woman said again, and only this time did it occur to him, with a stab of fear that seemed bottomless, that the speaker was talking not of the dying stranger before him but of Beatrice. And turning to his wife’s basket in the reeds, he saw the waters around it alive with limbs and shoulders. His own basket was nearly capsizing from the pull of the creatures trying to climb in, preserved only by the ballast of those already inside. But they were boarding his basket only to gain access to its neighbour. He could see other creatures massing over the animal skin covering Beatrice, and uttering a cry, he climbed the side of the boat and let himself fall into the water. It was deeper than he had anticipated, coming above his waist, but the shock of it took his breath only for an instant, before he let out a warrior’s bellow that came to him as if from a distant memory, and he lurched towards the baskets, the hoe held high above him. There was tugging at his clothes, and the water felt honey-like, but when he brought the hoe down onto his own basket, even though his weapon travelled with frustrating slowness through the air, once it landed more creatures than he could have suspected tumbled out into the water. The next swing caused even greater destruction — he must this time have swung with the blade outwards, for was that not bloodied flesh he saw flying up into the sunlight? And yet Beatrice remained an age away, floating complacently even as the creatures rose about her, and now they came from the land too, pouring through the grass on the riverbank. Creatures were now even hanging from his hoe and he let it fall into the water, suddenly wishing only to be at Beatrice’s side.
“把她交给我们，陌生人，”老太太又说道。这次埃克索突然想到，说话的人指的不是生命垂危的陌生人，而是比特丽丝。恐惧感扎进他心里，像深不见底的洞，他转头去看芦苇丛中妻子乘坐的那只筐子，发现筐子周围的水中纷纷扰扰，尽是手臂和肩膀。同时，一大群精灵从一侧往他自己乘坐的筐子上爬，差点把筐子掀翻，幸好筐子里已经有很多精灵，起到了压舱的作用。但是，它们爬上来，只是为了由此进入旁边的筐子。埃克索看见其他精灵正聚集到比特丽丝盖的兽皮上，他喊了一声，从船舷爬出去，落在水里。水比他想象的更深，直到腰部，但他只是打了个冷颤，便立即发出一声武士的吼叫，那声音似乎来自遥远的记忆。他把锄头高高举在头顶，摇摇晃晃朝筐子走去。精灵在拉他的衣服，而且水感觉像蜜一样稠，他一锄头砸在自己的筐子上，武器在空中划过的速度慢得让人心急，但一旦落下，精灵纷纷落水，比他想象的还多。接下来的一锄头，产生了更大的破坏——这次锄头的刃口肯定是朝外的，那被他砸飞到阳光之中的，难道不是带血的肉吗？然而，比特丽丝仍然遥不可及。她怡然自得地在水上漂着，精灵在她周围越积越多，有的来自陆地，从河岸的草丛中拥出来。有些甚至黏附在他的锄头上，他手一松，让锄头落在水里。突然之间，他只希望能赶到比特丽丝身边。
Axl swung the hoe again, and it moved as though the air were thick water, but found its mark, scattering several creatures even as more arrived.
埃克索再次挥动锄头，锄头在空气中划过，好像划过浓稠的水，不过还是命中了目标，有几只被打散了，但更多的又赶了过来。
“Leave her, stranger. Leave her to us.”
“别管她，陌生人。把她交给我们。”
He waded through the weeds, the broken bulrushes, the mud tugging at his feet, but Beatrice remained further away than ever. Then came the stranger’s voice again, and even though now, down in the water, he could no longer see her, Axl could picture the old woman with startling clarity in his mind’s eye, slumped on the floor of her boat in the morning sun, the pixies moving freely over her as she uttered the words he could hear:
他踩着泥巴涉水而行，穿过野草，穿过折断的香蒲丛，但比特丽丝显得更加遥远。接着又传来了陌生人的声音。这时埃克索在水里，位置较低，看不见她，但他能想象出老太太的样子，清清楚楚印在脑海里，令人惊讶：她瘫倒在自己的船上，早晨的阳光照着，精灵们在她身上自由自在、到处乱跑，这时她的话传入他耳中：
“Curse you,” Axl muttered under his breath, as he pushed himself forward. “I’ll never, never give her up.”
“诅咒你，”埃克索一边咬牙骂着，一边艰难地往前走。“我绝不会丢开她，绝不会。”
“A wise man like you, stranger. You’ve known a long time now there’s no cure to save her. How will you bear it, what now lies in wait for her? Do you long for that day you watch your dearest love twist in agony and with nothing to offer but kind words for her ear? Give her to us and we’ll ease her suffering, as we’ve done for all these others before her.”
“你可是个明智的人啊，陌生人。你很早就知道，她的病已经没救啦。你到时候怎么能承受呢，那即将发生在她身上的事情？你希望这一天快快到来吗？好让你看着最爱的人痛苦地抽搐，而你除了在她耳边说几句好话，毫无其他办法？把她交给我们吧，我们会减轻她的痛苦，和之前我们为很多人做的一样。”
“Give her to us and we’ll see she suffers no pain. We’ll wash her in the river’s waters, the years will fall from her, and she’ll be as in a pleasant dream. Why keep her, sir? What can you give her but the agony of an animal in slaughter?”
“把她交给我们，我们保证，她将不再感到疼痛。我们将在河水中把她洗净，岁月的痕迹会从她身上消退，她就像在一场愉快的梦里。要留着她干什么呢，先生？除了动物被杀那样的痛苦，你还能给她什么呢？”
“Curse you! I’ll not give her to you!”
“诅咒你！我不会把她交给你们！”
Locking his hands together to make a club, he swung one way then the other, clearing a path in the water as he waded on, till at last he was before Beatrice, still fast asleep in her basket. The pixies were swarming over the animal skin that covered her, and he began to pull them off one by one, hurling them away.
他把双手紧紧握在一起，两条胳膊伸直形成一根棍棒，摆过来，又摆过去，在水中开出一条路，最后终于来到比特丽丝跟前，她还在筐子里沉沉地睡着。精灵在她盖的兽皮上聚集，他用手一个个把它们拉下来、甩开。
“Princess, how are you feeling now? We must get away from this spot. I’ll carry you on my back.”
“公主，你感觉怎么样？我们必须离开这个地方。我来背着你。”
He pushed the basket through the water until the ground rose up and the basket was sitting on wet mud amidst grass and bulrushes. He leant forward then and gathered his wife in his arms, lifting her out. Thankfully she came back to wakefulness enough to cling to his neck, and they made faltering steps together, first onto the bank, then further, into the fields. Only when the land felt hard and dry beneath them did Axl lower her, and they sat in the grass together, he recovering his breath, she becoming steadily more awake.
他在水里推着筐子往岸上走，河底渐高，筐子搁浅在湿泥上，周围是野草和香蒲。他弯下腰，双手把妻子从筐子里抱出来。幸好，她多少苏醒了一些，知道抱住他的脖子。两人踉踉跄跄往前走，先上了岸，然后又走了一会儿，来到田野上。埃克索感觉脚下的地面又干又硬，这才把妻子放下来，两人坐在草丛里，他喘着气，她则慢慢清醒过来。
“Why will you not give her to us? This is no kindness you show her.”
“你为什么不把她留给我们？你这样可不是对她好。”
“I’ll be rid of you. Get off. Get off her.”
“我不会理你的。走开。离她远点。”
“Axl, what is this place we’ve come to?”
“埃克索，我们这是到了什么地方？”
“This is an evil spot, princess, and we must leave quickly. I’ll gladly carry you on my back, the way I used to do when we were young and foolish and enjoying a warm spring’s day.”
“这是个邪恶的地方，公主，我们必须马上离开。我很愿意背着你，年轻的时候我们俩傻兮兮的，春天暖和的日子里，我就是这样背着你玩儿的。”
“Axl, you’re soaked through! Did you fall in the river?”
“埃克索，你身上都湿透啦！你掉进水里了吗？”
“Must we leave the river behind us? Sir Gawain’s right surely that it will carry us all the more swiftly where we’ll go. The land here looks as high in the mountains as we ever were before.”
“我们要离开这条河吗？高文爵士说得对啊，我们顺着河走，要快一些。这地方看起来很高，我们可没爬过这么高的山呢。”
“We’ve no choice, princess. We must get far from here. Come, I’ll have you on my back. Come, princess, reach for my shoulders.”
“我们没别的办法，公主。我们必须离这儿远远的。来吧，我来背着你。来吧，公主，扶住我的肩膀。”
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