RIDDLES IN THE DARK
黑暗中的谜语
When Bilbo opened his eyes, he wondered if he had; for it was just as dark as with them shut. No one was anywhere near him. Just imagine his fright! He could hear nothing, see nothing, and he could feel nothing except the stone of the floor.
睁开眼睛的时候，比尔博怀疑自己到底有没有睁开眼睛，因为眼前跟闭着眼睛一样漆黑。他的近旁没有任何人。啊！他心中的惶恐可想而知！他什么也听不见，什么也看不到，除了脚下的石头地之外，他什么也感觉不到。
Very slowly he got up and groped about on all fours, till he touched the wall of the tunnel; but neither up nor down it could he find anything: nothing at all, no sign of goblins, no sign of dwarves. His head was swimming, and he was far from certain even of the direction they had been going in when he had his fall. He guessed as well as he could, and crawled along for a good way, till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel. It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it. He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking; certainly it did not seem of any particular use at the moment. He did not go much further, but sat down on the cold floor and gave himself up to complete miserableness, for a long while. He thought of himself frying bacon and eggs in his own kitchen at home-for he could feel inside that it was high time for some meal or other; but that only made him miserabler.
他慢慢地坐起身来，四肢并用地四下摸索着，直到触摸到隧道的墙壁，但他在墙的上面和下面都找不到任何东西：什么也没有，既没有半兽人的迹象，也没有矮人的迹象。他的脑袋晕晕乎乎的，连自己摔倒之前在朝哪个方向走都根本无法确定。他勉强猜了一个方向，然后朝着那个方向爬了很长一段距离，直到他的手突然在地上摸到一个小小的、像是用冰冷金属做成的戒指。这是他生涯上的转折点，但他自己还不知道。他想也不想就把戒指放进口袋，当时这戒指看来似乎并没有什么特别的用场。他没有再往下走，而是坐在了冰冷的地面上，长时间地陷入了自哀自怜之中。他想起了自己在自家屋子的厨房里煎火腿蛋的情景，这其实是因为他的身体告诉他该吃点东西了，可是，这样的想像只能让他越发感到心中悲苦。
After some time he felt for his pipe. It was not broken, and that was something. Then he felt for his pouch, and there was some tobacco in it, and that was something more. Then he felt for matches and he could not find any at all, and that shattered his hopes completely. Just as well for him, as he agreed when he came to his senses. Goodness knows what the striking of matches and the smell of tobacco would have brought on him out of dark holes in that horrible place. Still at the moment he felt very crushed. But in slapping all his pockets and feeling all round himself for matches his hand came on the hilt of his little sword-the little dagger that he got from the trolls, and that he had quite forgotten; nor fortunately had the goblins noticed it, as he wore it inside his breeches.
又过了一会儿之后，他从身上摸出了烟斗。烟斗居然没有折断，这可真是有点了不得。然后他又摸出烟草袋，里面居然还有一些烟草，这也是让他没想到的。然后，他又开始摸火柴——这回什么也没摸到，这下子把他刚升起的希望给整个击碎了。等他恢复理智之后，他又庆幸自己没找到火柴。天知道在这个可怕的地方，一旦他划燃了火柴，烟草散发出了味道，从那些黑咕隆冬的洞洞里，会有什么样的东西被招引来。即便如此，他在当时还是觉得十分沮丧。但就在他翻遍所有的口袋，浑身上下找火柴的过程中，他的手摸到了身上短剑的剑柄——也就是之前他从食人妖洞穴找来的那把小匕首，他简直都快把它给忘了。不过幸运的是半兽人们也没有注意到，因为他把它藏在了马裤里。
He could not think what to do; nor could he think what had happened; or why he had been left behind; or why, if he had been left behind, the goblins had not caught him; or even why his head was so sore. The truth was he had been lying quiet, out of sight and out of mind, in a very dark corner for a long while.
他想不出来该做些什么，也弄不明白到底发生了什么事情，或是自己为什么会被大家撇下，又或者，如果他真的被撇下了，半兽人为什么没有抓住他？为什么他的脑袋会这么痛？事实的真相是：他一直躺在一个非常黑暗的死角里，没有发出一点声音，所以既没被人看见，也没被人想起，就这样一躺就是好久。
But somehow he was comforted. It was rather splendid to be wearing a blade made in Gondolin for the goblin-wars of which so many songs had sung; and also he had noticed that such weapons made a great impression on goblins that came upon them suddenly.
但不管怎样他得到了一些安慰。他此时佩戴的可是刚多林打造的武器，是为那场曾有那么多歌谣加以吟咏的对半兽人的战争而打造的，这让他觉得自己身价陡增。此外，他还注意到，当半兽人突然遭遇到这样的武器时，往往会感到分外惶恐。
“Go back?” he thought. “No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!” So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.
“往回走吗？”他想，“绝对不行！往旁边走？不可能！往前走？这是惟一该做的事情！继续前进！”想到这里，他站起身来，把短剑拿在身前，一只手扶着墙，快步往前走去，一颗心扑通扑通扑通扑通地跳得好响。
Now certainly Bilbo was in what is called a tight place. But you must remember it was not quite so tight for him as it would have been for me or for you. Hobbits are not quite like ordinary people; and after all if their holes are nice cheery places and properly aired, quite different from the tunnels of the goblins, still they are more used to tunnelling than we are, and they do not easily lose their sense of direction underground-not when their heads have recovered from being bumped. Also they can move very quietly, and hide easily, and recover wonderfully from falls and bruises, and they have a fund of wisdom and wise sayings that men have mostly never heard or have forgotten long ago.
现在，比尔博肯定正在紧要关头，不过，大家一定要记住，同样的情况对霍比特人总不会像对你我这样的普通人要命。霍比特人和我们这些普通人不同，尽管他们的洞府是可爱而又欢乐的好地方，通风状况良好，和半兽人的隧道很不一样，但他们还是比我们更能适应这些地底的隧道，也更不容易丧失在地下的方向感——当然，这得是在他们的脑袋挨撞恢复正常之后。此外，他们也能够悄无声息地移动，轻巧地掩藏行迹，磕磕碰碰之后复原的速度也很惊人。他们还拥有许许多多的古老谚语，人类要不是从来没听到过，就是很早便忘记了。
Now he drew it out. It shone pale and dim before his eyes. “So it is an elvish blade, too,” he thought; “and goblins are not very near, and yet not far enough.”
此时，他将匕首拔了出来，匕首在他眼前闪着苍白微弱的光芒。“原来这也是精灵打造的武器，”他想道，“半兽人离得不会太近，可也不会太远。”
I should not have liked to have been in Mr. Baggins’ place, all the same. The tunnel seemed to have no end. All he knew was that it was still going down pretty steadily and keeping in the same direction in spite of a twist and a turn or two. There were passages leading off to the side every now and then, as he knew by the glimmer of his sword, or could feel with his hand on the wall. Of these he took no notice, except to hurry past for fear of goblins or half-imagined dark things coming out of them. On and on he went, and down and down; and still he heard no sound of anything except the occasional whirr of a bat by his ears, which startled him at first, till it became too frequent to bother about. I do not know how long he kept on like this, hating to go on, not daring to stop, on, on, until he was tireder than tired. It seemed like all the way to tomorrow and over it to the days beyond.
不过即使如此，恐怕也还是没人愿意身处巴金斯先生此时的处境中。隧道看上去似乎没有尽头，他惟一能够确定的就是，这条隧道依旧在持续向下，虽然其间会来上一个转弯或出现一两个拐角，但大方向一直没变过。时不时地，比尔博凭借手中宝剑的光芒，或是触摸洞壁的结果，可以确定会有通往两侧的岔路。对于这些岔路他基本没有放在心上，除了通过的时候加快些脚步，以防有半兽人或是一半出自他想像的恐怖东西从那里面蹿出来。他不停地走呀走呀，一直在往下。不过走了这许久，除了偶尔有一只蝙蝠从耳边啪啪飞过外，他什么声音也没有听到。一开始蝙蝠拍翅膀的声音还会让他吓一跳，后来听多了也就见怪不怪了。我不知道他这样坚持了多久，不想再走了，却又不敢停下来，只好走，走，走，从累坏了走到累惨了，又走到累翻了。他感觉自己已经从今天走到了明天，甚至已经走了有好几天了。
Suddenly without any warning he trotted splash into water! Ugh! it was icy cold. That pulled him up sharp and short. He did not know whether it was just a pool in the path, or the edge of an underground stream that crossed the passage, or the brink of a deep dark subterranean lake. The sword was hardly shining at all. He stopped, and he could hear, when he listened hard, drops drip-drip-dripping from an unseen roof into the water below; but there seemed no other sort of sound.
突然间，毫无征兆地，他扑通一声踏进了水中。呃！这水冰冷刺骨，让他猛地一个激灵。他不知道这究竟是道路上的一小潭积水，还是横贯隧道的一条地底河流，又或是某个深邃黑暗的地下湖的边缘。到了这里，宝剑已经几乎没有什么闪光了。他停下脚步，凝神倾听，可以听见从看不见的洞顶“嗒——嗒——嗒”落到下面水潭里的水滴声，除此之外似乎就没有别的声音了。
Deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small slimy creature. I don’t know where he came from, nor who or what he was. He was Gollum-as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his thin face. He had a little boat, and he rowed about quite quietly on the lake; for lake it was, wide and deep and deadly cold. He paddled it with large feet dangling over the side, but never a ripple did he make. Not he. He was looking out of his pale lamp-like eyes for blind fish, which he grabbed with his long fingers as quick as thinking. He liked meat too. Goblin he thought good, when he could get it; but he took care they never found him out. He just throttled them from behind, if they ever came down alone anywhere near the edge of the water, while he was prowling about. They very seldom did, for they had a feeling that something unpleasant was lurking down there, down at the very roots of the mountain. They had come on the lake, when they were tunnelling down long ago, and they found they could go no further; so there their road ended in that direction, and there was no reason to go that way-unless the Great Goblin sent them. Sometimes he took a fancy for fish from the lake, and sometimes neither goblin nor fish came back.
在这地底深处的一池黑水边，住着一个矮小的、滑腻腻的老家伙名叫咕噜。我不知道他来自何方，也不知道他究竟是谁，或是什么生物。他就是咕噜，黑得就像周遭的黑暗，除了瘦脸上那双大而苍白的圆眼。他有一艘小船，他在湖上寂静地划行，这个湖又广又深，死一般地冰冷。他的两只大脚伸出船舷外拍水前进，却连一点水声都不弄出来，绝对是一点也没有。他用那双像油灯一样的苍白大眼搜寻湖中的盲鱼，再用快捷如闪念的细长手指将它们抓起来。他也喜欢吃肉。如果能抓到半兽人的话，他会觉得半兽人吃起来也不错，但他行事小心，从不会让半兽人发现他的行迹。在他四处游走寻找猎物的时候，若是有半兽人孤身来到水边，他就会从背后一下勒住他的脖子。但半兽人很少会孤身到水边来，因为他们也感觉到在这山底的深处，潜伏着某种不祥之物。很久以前，在挖掘隧道的时候，他们曾经到湖上来过，当时他们发现隧道挖不下去了，所以，通往这个方向的路就断在了这里，因此半兽人是没有理由到这里来的——除非他们的大王派他们来。有时候，大王会心血来潮想要吃湖中的鱼，但好多次，不仅鱼没有送来，就连捕鱼的半兽人也一去不回了。
“So it is a pool or a lake, and not an underground river,” he thought. Still he did not dare to wade out into the darkness. He could not swim; and he thought, too, of nasty slimy things, with big bulging blind eyes, wriggling in the water. There are strange things living in the pools and lakes in the hearts of mountains: fish whose fathers swam in, goodness only knows how many years ago, and never swam out again, while their eyes grew bigger and bigger and bigger from trying to see in the blackness; also there are other things more slimy than fish. Even in the tunnels and caves the goblins have made for themselves there are other things living unbeknown to them that have sneaked in from outside to lie up in the dark. Some of these caves, too, go back in their beginnings to ages before the goblins, who only widened them and joined them up with passages, and the original owners are still there in odd corners, slinking and nosing about.
“看来，这应该是个水潭或者湖泊，而不是一条地下河。”他想道。但他还是不敢往那一片黑暗中涉水而去。他不会游泳，而且，在他脑中开始浮现出了水中那些恶心的滑腻腻的东西，它们长着突出的盲眼，在水中蠕动着。在山脉底下的水潭里或是湖泊中的确有奇怪的东西：那是一些鱼，它们的祖先不知多少年代以前游来了此地，之后就再也没游出去过，它们的眼睛因为竭力要在黑暗中看清东西，变得越来越大、越来越大、越来越大。除此之外，这里还有比这种鱼更加滑腻腻的东西。即使是在半兽人为他们自己开凿的隧道与洞穴中，也有一些不为他们所知的生物从外面悄悄溜进来，生活在这一片黑暗之中。这些洞穴中有些是比半兽人更早的存在，他们只是将其拓宽，然后以通道相连而已，而这些洞穴原先的主人则依旧躲在一些零星的角落里悄悄行走着，用鼻子嗅着四周的气息。
“What iss he, my preciouss?” whispered Gollum (who always spoke to himself through never having anyone else to speak to). This is what he had come to find out, for he was not really very hungry at the moment, only curious; otherwise he would have grabbed first and whispered afterwards.
“他嘶嘶谁，我的宝贝？”咕噜低语道（由于从来没有其他人可以对话，他总是喜欢自言自语）。这是他跑到比尔博跟前来的真正原因，因为他这会儿肚子其实并不是很饿，只是感到很好奇，否则他会先出手把他抓了再跟他说话的。
Gollum got into his boat and shot off from the island, while Bilbo was sitting on the brink altogether flummoxed and at the end of his way and his wits. Suddenly up came Gollum and whispered and hissed:
咕噜跳进船中，箭一般地离开了湖心岛，此时比尔博正坐在水边，脑子里一团乱麻，既不知道该往何处去，也想不出下一步该怎么办。突然间，咕噜就从他眼前冒了出来，用带着嘶嘶的声音对他低语道：
Actually Gollum lived on a slimy island of rock in the middle of the lake. He was watching Bilbo now from the distance with his pale eyes like telescopes. Bilbo could not see him, but he was wondering a lot about Bilbo, for he could see that he was no goblin at all.
其实咕噜就居住在湖中央一块潮湿的岩石上。此刻，他正用他那双像望远镜一般的大白眼远远地观察着比尔博。比尔博看不见他，但他却在好奇地琢磨着比尔博，因为，他可以看得出来，眼前的生物不是半兽人。
“Bless us and splash us, my precioussss! I guess it’s a choice feast; at least a tasty morsel it’d make us, gollum!” And when he said gollum he made a horrible swallowing noise in his throat. That is how he got his name, though he always called himself ‘my precious’.
“我的宝贝，祝福我们，为我们洒上圣水吧！我想这是顿精美的大餐，至少可以给我们当一块美味的小点心，咕噜！”当他说“咕噜”的时候，他会从喉咙中发出一种恐怖的吞咽之声。这也是他获得这个名字的原因，尽管他总是称呼自己为“我的宝贝”。
“Who are you?” he said, thrusting his dagger in front of him.
“你是谁？”他将匕首伸到身前问道。
The hobbit jumped nearly out of his skin when the hiss came in his ears, and he suddenly saw the pale eyes sticking out at him.
当这种带着嘶嘶的声音传到耳中时，霍比特人差点被吓得魂飞魄散，接着那双苍白的大眼也突兀地出现在他眼前。
“I am Mr. Bilbo Baggins. I have lost the dwarves and I have lost the wizard, and I don’t know where I am; and I don’t want to know, if only I can get away.”
“我是比尔博·巴金斯先生，我跟矮人走散了，跟巫师也走散了，我也不知道自己这是在哪儿，可我并不想知道这是哪儿，只要我能离开这儿就行了。”
“What’s he got in his handses?” said Gollum, looking at the sword, which he did not quite like.
“他的嘶嘶手上嘶嘶什么？”咕噜盯着比尔博手中的短剑问道，他不是很喜欢这玩意儿。
“A sword, a blade which came out of Gondolin!”
“一把剑，出自刚多林的宝剑！”
“Sssss” said Gollum, and became quite polite. “Praps ye sits here and chats with it a bitsy, my preciousss. It likes riddles, praps it does, does it?” He was anxious to appear friendly, at any rate for the moment, and until he found out more about the sword and the hobbit, whether he was quite alone really, whether he was good to eat, and whether Gollum was really hungry. Riddles were all he could think of. Asking them, and sometimes guessing them, had been the only game he had ever played with other funny creatures sitting in their holes in the long, long ago, before he lost all his friends and was driven away, alone, and crept down, down, into the dark under the mountains.
“嘶嘶，”咕噜变得颇有礼貌起来，“或许你可以坐在这里，和他嘶嘶说说话，我的宝贝。他喜欢猜谜，也许喜欢，嘶不嘶？”他急着要摆出一副友好的样子，至少暂时如此，以了解更多有关这把宝剑和这个霍比特人的事情：他是不是真的只有孤身一人？他吃起来味道好不好？咕噜自己的肚子是不是真的饿了等等。猜谜是他当时惟一能想到的。出谜语给人猜，有时候也猜别人出的谜语，这是他和那些居住在自己洞穴里的其他有趣生物之间惟一玩过的游戏，但那是很久很久以前的事了，后来他失去了所有的朋友，被人赶走，孤身一人，往下钻，往下钻，一直来到这黑暗的大山最深处。
“Very well,” said Bilbo, who was anxious to agree, until he found out more about the creature, whether he was quite alone, whether he was fierce or hungry, and whether he was a friend of the goblins.
“是的，猜吧。”比尔博迫不及待地同意了对方的提议，因为他想更多地了解这个生物：他是不是只有孤单一人，他是否很凶猛，这会儿肚子饿不饿，以及他究竟是不是半兽人的朋友。
“Easy!” said Bilbo. “Mountain, I suppose.”
“简单！”比尔博说，“应该是大山吧。”
So Gollum hissed:
于是咕噜就嘶嘶地开始说了：
Up, up it goes,
它直直地插入天际，
“Does it guess easy? It must have a competition with us, my preciouss! If precious asks, and it doesn’t answer, we eats it, my preciousss. If it asks us, and we doesn’t answer, then we does what it wants, eh? We shows it the way out, yes!”
它那么容易就猜出来了吗？我的宝贝，它跟我们较上劲儿了！如果宝贝出的谜语，它猜不出来，我们就把它吃掉；如果它出的谜语我们猜不出来，我们就满足它的要求，指给它出去的路，就这么着！”
And yet never grows?
却从来不长一分一毫？
“You ask first,” he said, because he had not had time to think of a riddle.
“你，先出谜语。”他说，因为他一时之间想不出什么谜语来。
Is taller than trees,
个子比最高的大树还要高，
“Chestnuts, chestnuts,” he hissed. “Teeth! teeth! my preciousss; but we has only six!” Then he asked his second:
“老掉牙了，老掉牙了。”他嘶嘶地说道，“是牙齿！牙齿！我的宝贝，可我们只剩下六颗了！”然后他又出了第二个谜语：
Voiceless it cries,
无嗓却会叫，
First they champ,
它们先是大声嚼啊嚼，
Then they stamp,
然后用力跺啊跺跺脚，
Wingless flutters,
无翼能飞高，
Then they stand still.
然后它们站定不动了。
That was all he could think of to ask-the idea of eating was rather on his mind. It was rather an old one, too, and Gollum knew the answer as well as you do.
这是他当时惟一想得出来的谜题——因为他满脑子都在想着吃东西。这其实是个相当古老的谜语，咕噜就和各位读者一样熟知答案。
Thirty white horses on a red hill,
三十匹白马在红色山丘上，
“All right!” said Bilbo, not daring to disagree, and nearly bursting his brain to think of riddles that could save him from being eaten.
“好吧！”比尔博不敢不同意，为了不让自己被吃掉，他开始绞尽脑汁思考能难倒对方的谜题。
What has roots as nobody sees,
什么有根却谁也见不到，
An eye in a blue face
蓝色脸上一只眼，
Toothless bites,
无牙却会咬，
Mouthless mutters.
无嘴爱叨叨。
“Half a moment!” cried Bilbo, who was still thinking uncomfortably about eating. Fortunately he had once heard something rather like this before, and getting his wits back he thought of the answer. “Wind, wind of course,” he said, and he was so pleased that he made up one on the spot. “This’ll puzzle the nasty little underground creature,” he thought:
“让我想一会儿！”比尔博喊道，他脑中还在满带懊恼地想着吃东西的事儿呢。所幸的是，他以前曾经听到过类似的谜语，因此心思稍一收回来之后就想出了答案。“是风，当然是风！”他刚一喊出答案，心中就一阵欣喜，因为他顺势想出了自己的第二个谜语。“这下管保叫那个恶心的地底小生物想破头！”他心中暗忖道：
Said the first eye,
第一只眼说，
But these ordinary above ground everyday sort of riddles were tiring for him. Also they reminded him of days when he had been less lonely and sneaky and nasty, and that put him out of temper. What is more they made him hungry; so this time he tried something a bit more difficult and more unpleasant:
可是，这些简简单单的、在地面上实在是家常便饭式的谜语，对他来说却很是头疼，而且这些谜语也让他想起当年他没有这么孤独、这么鬼鬼祟祟、这么条件恶劣时的生活，这让他不由得光火起来。于是这次他想出了一个更难、更让人听了不舒服的谜语来：
“That eye is like to this eye”
“那只眼就像我这只眼，”
Saw an eye in a green face.
看见绿色脸上一只眼。
“But in low place, Not in high place.”
“可是它在地来我在天。”
“Ss, ss, ss,” said Gollum. He had been underground a long long time, and was forgetting this sort of thing. But just as Bilbo was beginning to hope that the wretch would not be able to answer, Gollum brought up memories of ages and ages and ages before, when he lived with his grandmother in a hole in a bank by a river, “Sss, sss, my preciouss,” he said. “Sun on the daisies it means, it does.”
“嘶嘶，嘶撕，嘶嘶。”咕噜只有“嘶撕”却说不上话来。他已在地底住了很长很长的时间了，都已经开始忘记这种事情了。但就在比尔博开始觉得这个坏家伙会猜不出答案时，咕噜却唤醒了很久很久很久以前的记忆，那时，他还和祖母一起住在河边的地洞里，“嘶嘶，撕嘶，我的宝贝，”他说，“这是太阳照在雏菊上啊，肯定是的。”
It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
看不见，也摸不到，
And empty holes it fills.
把空洞填满。
After some while Bilbo became impatient. “Well, what is it?” he said. “The answer’s not a kettle boiling over, as you seem to think from the noise you are making.”
又过了好一阵子，比尔博开始有点不耐烦了：“好啦，答案到底是什么？从你嘴巴里发出的声音来看，你也许在考虑答案是不是煮开了的水壶，那我告诉你吧，不是。”
It comes first and follows after,
它先来一点，再全部赶到，
It lies behind stars and under hills,
躲在星辰后，藏在山丘下，
he asked to gain time, until he could think of a really hard one. This he thought a dreadfully easy chestnut, though he had not asked it in the usual words. But it proved a nasty poser for Gollum. He hissed to himself, and still he did not answer; he whispered and spluttered.
他出这个谜语只是为了争取时间，好想出一个真正难的来。他认为这个谜既老掉了牙，又简单得要命，尽管他对常见的表述稍稍作了些改动。可没想到这竟然把咕噜给难住了。他口中不停发出撕撕声，憋了半天也没有说出答案。接着他又低声细语，嘴巴里发出各种声音。
“Well,” said Bilbo after giving him a long chance, “what about your guess?”
“我说，”比尔博在给了他很长的一个机会之后开口道，“你猜这是什么啊？”
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.
听不见，也闻不着。
Yet golden treasure inside is hid,
但金色宝藏却能安安心心在里面藏起来。
A box without hinges, key, or lid,
一只盒子没有铰链、没有销子也没有盖，
Ends life, kills laughter.
它终止生命，扼杀欢笑。
Unfortunately for Gollum Bilbo had heard that sort of thing before; and the answer was all round him any way. “Dark!” he said without even scratching his head or putting on his thinking cap.
也该着咕噜倒楣，比尔博之前听到过这类的谜语，所以答案早就已经喷薄欲出了。“是黑夜！”他连头都没搔，脑筋也没怎么开动，就喊出了答案。
“Give us a chance; let it give us a chance, my preciouss-ss-ss.”
“给我们一个机会吧，让它给我们一个机会吧，我的宝贝，嘶嘶——嘶撕。”
All in mail never clinking.
身披鳞甲，却无声息。
As cold as death;
冰冷有如死气；
Alive without breath,
活着却没有呼吸，
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
永不口渴，饮水不停；
But suddenly Gollum remembered thieving from nests long ago, and sitting under the river bank teaching his grandmother, teaching his grandmother to suck –“Eggses!” he hissed. “Eggses it is!” Then he asked:
可就在这时，咕噜突然想起了很久以前他从鸟巢里面偷东西的经历，那时他坐在河堤上教自己的祖母，教她如何吸——“蛋！”他嘶撕地喊道：“是蛋！”然后他出了一道谜：
After a while Gollum began to hiss with pleasure to himself: “Is it nice, my preciousss? Is it juicy? Is it scrumptiously crunchable?” He began to peer at Bilbo out of the darkness.
过了一会儿，咕噜开始高兴地撕嘶着对自己说起话来：“它好吃吗，我的宝贝？有很多汁水吗？还是生脆可口？”他开始在黑暗中打量起比尔博来。
He also in his turn thought this was a dreadfully easy one, because he was always thinking of the answer. But he could not remember anything better at the moment, he was so flustered by the egg-question. All the same it was a poser for poor Bilbo, who never had anything to do with the water if he could help it. I imagine you know the answer, of course, or can guess it as easy as winking, since you are sitting comfortably at home and have not the danger of being eaten to disturb your thinking. Bilbo sat and cleared his throat once or twice, but no answer came.
这回轮到他觉得这是个简单得要命的谜语了，因为他平日里满脑子都是这个东西。不过，他因为被那个蛋的谜语弄得乱了阵脚，因此一时间想不出更好的谜语来。但是，对于这辈子尽量避免和水打交道的可怜的比尔博来说，这个谜语倒成了个大难题。我想你们应该是知道答案的，要不然也能像眨一下眼那样很容易就猜出来，因为你们此时正舒舒服服地坐在家里，没有猜错就被吃掉的危险来打扰你们思考。比尔博坐直身子，清了一两声嗓子，还没有说出来答案。
“Ugh!” he said, “it is cold and clammy!” — and so he guessed. “Fish! fish!” he cried. “It is fish!”
“呃！”他说，“真是又冷又黏啊！”——突然他就猜到了。“鱼！是鱼！”他叫了起来，“答案是鱼！”
“It must make haste, haste!” said Gollum, beginning to climb out of his boat on to the shore to get at Bilbo. But when he put his long webby foot in the water, a fish jumped out in a fright and fell on Bilbo’s toes.
“快点，快点！”咕噜说着就开始爬出小船，准备上岸来捉比尔博了。可就在他把有蹼的长脚放进水中时，一条鱼受惊之下从水里跳了出来，落在比尔博的脚趾头上。
“Half a moment,” said the hobbit shivering. “I gave you a good long chance just now.”
“再等一小会儿。”霍比特人颤抖着说，“我刚才可是给了你很长的一个机会哦。”
Gollum was dreadfully disappointed; but Bilbo asked another riddle as quick as ever he could, so that Gollum had to get back into his boat and think.
咕噜失望极了，但比尔博以最快的速度出了下一个谜语，咕噜只能悻悻地爬回船上去思考。
No-legs lay on one-leg, two-legs sat near on three-legs, four-legs got some.
没有腿的放在一条腿上，旁边是两条腿的坐在三条腿上，四条腿的也分到一点。
It was not really the right time for this riddle, but Bilbo was in a hurry. Gollum might have had some trouble guessing it, if he had asked it at another time. As it was, talking of fish, “no-legs” was not so very difficult, and after that the rest was easy. “Fish on a little table, man at table sitting on a stool, the cat has the bones” that of course is the answer, and Gollum soon gave it. Then he thought the time had come to ask something hard and horrible. This is what he said:
这个谜语出得可谓时机不对，但比尔博匆忙间也顾不得了。如果他在别的时候出这个谜语，咕噜可能要动上一番脑筋才猜得出来，可因为他们刚刚才说过鱼，所以“没有腿的”就不是很难猜了，而确定了这部分之后，其余的就简单了。“鱼放在小圆桌上，人坐在圆桌边的凳子上，猫儿在啃鱼骨头”，这当然就是答案，咕噜很快就猜了出来。然后，他觉得是时候来点恐怖的、超难的谜语了。于是他说：
This thing all things devours:
能把一切都吞下：
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
啃生铁，咬精钢；
And beats high mountain down.
打倒高山成齑粉。
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
飞鸟、走兽、树与花；
Poor Bilbo sat in the dark thinking of all the horrible names of all the giants and ogres he had ever heard told of in tales, but not one of them had done all these things. He had a feeling that the answer was quite different and that he ought to know it, but he could not think of it. He began to get frightened, and that is bad for thinking. Gollum began to get out of his boat. He flapped into the water and paddled to the bank; Bilbo could see his eyes coming towards him. His tongue seemed to stick in his mouth; he wanted to shout out: “Give me more time! Give me time!” But all that came out with a sudden squeal was:
可怜的比尔博坐在黑暗中，把他听过的故事中所有巨人和食人魔的可怕名字都想了一遍，但没有哪个家伙能做下所有这些事来。他有种预感，答案一定和他想的不太一样，他应该知道，但就是想不出来。他开始害怕了，这对于思考是很不利的。咕噜又开始爬出船来，扑通扑通跳进水里，啪嗒啪嗒朝岸上走来。比尔博可以看见他那双眼睛在朝自己靠近，他觉得自己的舌头好像粘在了嘴里。他想要开口大喊：“再给我一点时间，再给我一点时间！”可从他嘴里迸出来的相连的两个词却是：
“Time! Time!”
“时间！时间！”
Slays king, ruins town,
杀国王，毁城镇，
Bilbo was saved by pure luck. For that of course was the answer.
比尔博纯粹是被他的狗屎运给救了，因为这刚好就是答案。
Grinds hard stones to meal;
嚼碎硬石当食粮；
Gollum was disappointed once more; and now he was getting angry, and also tired of the game. It had made him very hungry indeed. This time he did not go back to the boat. He sat down in the dark by Bilbo. That made the hobbit most dreadfully uncomfortable and scattered his wits.
咕哨再次大感失望，现在，他已经越来越生气了，也厌倦了这个游戏。猜来猜去的，肚子倒真的饿了。这次他没有走回船上，而是在比尔博身边的黑暗中坐了下来，这让霍比特人怕得浑身不自在，脑子一点思考能力也没有了。
“Ask us! ask us!” said Gollum.
“快出啊！快出啊！”咕噜催道。
But Bilbo simply could not think of any question with that nasty wet cold thing sitting next to him, and pawing and poking him. He scratched himself, he pinched himself; still he could not think of anything.
可是，身边坐着这样一个冷冰冰湿漉漉的讨厌家伙，对他又抓又戳的，比尔博哪还能想得出什么问题来。他对自己又抓又掐，可还是想不出个谜语来。
“Not fair! not fair!” he hissed. “It isn’t fair, my precious, is it, to ask us what it’s got in its nassty little pocketses?”
“不公平！这不公平！”他嘶嘶地说道，“这不公平，我的宝贝，是吧，怎么可以问我们它的脏口袋里面有嘶嘶什么呢？”
Bilbo pinched himself and slapped himself; he gripped on his little sword; he even felt in his pocket with his other hand. There he found the ring he had picked up in the passage and forgotten about.
比尔博掐了自己几下，又扇了自己几个巴掌；他抓起小剑，甚至用另一只手伸进口袋里一通乱摸，结果摸到了一枚戒指，就是之前在隧道里捡到的那枚，它早就给忘了。
“It’s got to ask uss a quesstion, my preciouss, yes, yess, yesss. Jusst one more question to guess, yes, yess,” said Gollum.
“它还要再问我们一个问题，我的宝贝，嘶的，嘶的，嘶嘶的。只要再猜一个谜语了，是的，嘶嘶的……”咕噜说。
“What have I got in my pocket?” he said aloud. He was talking to himself, but Gollum thought it was a riddle, and he was frightfully upset.
“我的口袋里面有什么？”他大声说了出来，这在他只是自言自语，但咕噜听了以为这是个谜题，一下子有点慌了神。
Bilbo seeing what had happened and having nothing better to ask stuck to his question, “What have I got in my pocket?” he said louder.
比尔博这才明白究竟是怎么回事，但因为他也想不出什么更好的谜语来，只能硬着头皮就把这个当谜语了。“我的口袋里面有什么？”他更大声地问道。
“S-s-s-s-s,” hissed Gollum. “It must give us three guesseses, my preciouss, three guesseses.”
“嘶——嘶——嘶，它得让我们猜三次，我的宝贝，三次！”
“Very well! Guess away!” said Bilbo.
“好啊！那就开始猜吧！”比尔博说。
“Handses!” said Gollum.
“你的手！”咕噜说。
“Knife!” he said at last.
“小刀！”他最后猜道。
“S-s-s-s-s,” said Gollum more upset than ever. He thought of all the things he kept in his own pockets: fish-bones, goblins’ teeth, wet shells, a bit of bat-wing, a sharp stone to sharpen his fangs on, and other nasty things. He tried to think what other people kept in their pockets.
“嘶嘶——嘶嘶——嘶——”咕噜这次前所未有地烦躁起来。他想遍了所有他自己会放在口袋里的东西：鱼骨头、半兽人的牙齿、湿贝壳、一截蝙蝠翅膀、一块用来磨牙的石头，以及其他恶心的东西。他又拼命想别人会在口袋里放些什么。
“Wrong,” said Bilbo, who had luckily just taken his hand out again. “Guess again!”
“错，”幸好比尔博刚刚把手拿了出来，“再猜！”
“Wrong!” said Bilbo, who had lost his some time ago. “Last guess!”
“错！”比尔博不久前把自己的小刀给弄丢了，“最后一次机会！”
Now Gollum was in a much worse state than when Bilbo had asked him the egg-question. He hissed and spluttered and rocked himself backwards and forwards, and slapped his feet on the floor, and wriggled and squirmed; but still he did not dare to waste his last guess.
现在，咕噜的状态比之前猜那个蛋的谜语时更糟糕，他嘴巴里一会儿“嘶嘶”，一会儿“啪啪”，身体时而前后摇晃，时而扭来扭去，双脚跺着地面，但即便如此，他还是不敢浪费掉最后一次机会。
“Come on!” said Bilbo. “I am waiting!” He tried to sound bold and cheerful, but he did not feel at all sure how the game was going to end, whether Gollum guessed right or not.
“快点啦！”比尔博催道“我在等着哪！”他竭力让自己的声音听上去勇敢而又欢快，但心里其实很没底，不知道这场游戏会怎么样收场，无论咕噜猜对还是猜错。
“Time’s up!” he said.
“时间到！”他说。
“String, or nothing!” shrieked Gollum, which was not quite fair-working in two guesses at once.
“线头，或者什么都没有！”咕噜大叫道，他这种做法其实也不太公平，因为他一次猜了两样东西。
But at any rate Gollum did not at once attack him. He could see the sword in Bilbo’s hand. He sat still, shivering and whispering. At last Bilbo could wait no longer.
但至少咕噜没有立刻向他发起进攻。他可以看见比尔博手中的宝剑，所以他静静地坐着，浑身抖动着，口中不停低声说着什么。最后，比尔博终于不耐烦了。
“Both wrong,” cried Bilbo very much relieved; and he jumped at once to his feet, put his back to the nearest wall, and held out his little sword. He knew, of course, that the riddle-game was sacred and of immense antiquity, and even wicked creatures were afraid to cheat when they played at it. But he felt he could not trust this slimy thing to keep any promise at a pinch. Any excuse would do for him to slide out of it. And after all that last question had not been a genuine riddle according to the ancient laws.
“两个都错。”比尔博如释重负地喊道。接着他立刻跳了起来，背靠着离他最近的洞壁，把短剑伸在身前。他当然知道，猜谜是件很神圣的事情，而且有着悠久的传统，即使是心地险恶的坏东西，也不敢在猜谜的时候作弊。但他不相信这个滑腻腻的讨厌家伙会觉得有必要守信。只要能找到一点借口，这家伙便会赖账。再说，根据古老的规定，他的最后一个问题其实并不能算是一条真正的谜语。
“Well?” he said. “What about your promise? I want to go. You must show me the way.”
“怎样？”他说，“你答应我的事情呢？我想离开这儿，你得给我指路。”
“Did we say so, precious? Show the nassty little Baggins the way out, yes, yes. But what has it got in its pocketses, eh? Not string, precious, but not nothing. Oh no! gollum!”
“我们有这么说过吗，宝贝？带那个可恶的小巴金斯出去，是的，是的，有这么回事儿。可是它的口袋里到底有什么呢？不是线头，宝贝儿，可也不是什么都没有。噢，不！咕噜！”
“Never you mind,” said Bilbo. “A promise is a promise.”
“你别管那么多，”比尔博说，“说话就得算话！”
“Cross it is, impatient, precious,” hissed Gollum. “But it must wait, yes it must. We can’t go up the tunnels so hasty. We must go and get some things first, yes, things to help us.”
“它生气了，可真没耐性，宝贝，”咕噜嘶撕地说道，“但它必须得等，是的，必须得等，我们可不能这么急着出去。我们得先去拿点东西，是的，拿一些可以帮上忙的东西。”
“My birthday-present!” he whispered to himself, as he had often done in the endless dark days. “That’s what we wants now, yes; we wants it!”
“我的生日礼物！”在无尽的黑暗岁月中，他常常会这样自言自语道，“那是我们现在所需要的，对，我们需要它！”
“Well, hurry up!” said Bilbo, relieved to think of Gollum going away. He thought he was just making an excuse and did not mean to come back. What was Gollum talking about? What useful thing could he keep out on the dark lake? But he was wrong. Gollum did mean to come back. He was angry now and hungry. And he was a miserable wicked creature, and already he had a plan.
“好，那就快点吧！”比尔博一想到咕噜会暂时离开，心里稍稍松了口气。可他转念又想，这家伙可能只是找个借口，一去就再也不回了。瞧他刚才说了些什么，在漆黑的湖面上他能存放什么有用的东西呢？但他错了，咕噜的确是想回来的。他现在又气又饿，作为一个心地险恶的家伙，他已经想出了一个诡计。
Not far away was his island, of which Bilbo knew nothing, and there in his hiding-place he kept a few wretched oddments, and one very beautiful thing, very beautiful, very wonderful. He had a ring, a golden ring, a precious ring.
不远处就是他的小岛，比尔博对此一无所知，在这个藏身之处，他放了几样零零碎碎的恶心玩意儿，以及一件非常美丽的宝物，非常美、非常棒。那是一枚戒指——一枚黄金戒指，一枚珍贵的戒指。
He wanted it because it was a ring of power, and if you slipped that ring on your finger, you were invisible; only in the full sunlight could you be seen, and then only by your shadow, and that would be shaky and faint.
他需要这戒指是因为它拥有魔力，只要把戒指戴上手指，人就会隐形，只有在明亮的阳光下才会被发现，而且还只是通过摇晃而又模糊的影子来发现的。
“My birthday-present! It came to me on my birthday, my precious.” So he had always said to himself. But who knows how Gollum came by that present, ages ago in the old days when such rings were still at large in the world? Perhaps even the Master who ruled them could not have said. Gollum used to wear it at first, till it tired him; and then he kept it in a pouch next his skin, till it galled him; and now usually he hid it in a hole in the rock on his island, and was always going back to look at it. And still sometimes he put it on, when he could not bear to be parted from it any longer, or when he was very, very, hungry, and tired of fish. Then he would creep along dark passages looking for stray goblins. He might even venture into places where the torches were lit and made his eyes blink and smart; for he would be safe. Oh yes, quite safe. No one would see him, no one would notice him, till he had his fingers on their throat. Only a few hours ago he had worn it, and caught a small goblin-imp. How it squeaked! He still had a bone or two left to gnaw, but he wanted something softer.
“我的生日礼物！那是在我生日那天得来的，宝贝。”他一直这样对自己说。不过，谁又知道咕噜是怎么得来这个戒指的呢。在很多年以前的那个古老年代，这样的戒指在世界上还有许多。他怎么得来的或许连统御这些戒指的主人都说不上来。咕噜刚开始的时候把它戴在手上，后来他戴腻了，然后他把它放在了一个贴身的小口袋中，不料戒指却擦破了他的皮。
“What’s the matter?” Bilbo called. “What have you lost?”
“它在哪儿？它在哪儿？”比尔博听见他大喊道，“不见了，我的宝贝，不见了，没有了！诅咒我们吧，碾死我们吧，我们该死，我的宝贝不见啦！”
That is what was in his wicked little mind, as he slipped suddenly from Bilbo’s side, and flapped back to his boat, and went off into the dark. Bilbo thought he had heard the last of him. Still he waited a while; for he had no idea how to find his way out alone.
“相当安全，是的，”他自言自语道，“它看不见我们的，宝贝，对吧？是的，它看不见我们，它那把臭短剑也派不上用场，是的。”
“Quite safe, yes,” he whispered to himself. “It won’t see us, will it, my precious? No. It won’t see us, and its nassty little sword will be useless, yes quite.”
现在，他通常会把戒指藏在小岛上的一个石头小洞里，时不时地就跑回去端详一番。有时，当他再也无法忍受和它分离时，他就戴上它；又或者当他饿得实在受不了却又吃腻了鱼的时候，他也会戴上它，戴上之后，他会蹑手蹑脚地沿着黑暗的隧道去搜寻走岔了路的半兽人。有时他甚至敢大胆地混入点着火把的燧道，虽然火光会让他的眼睛眨个不停，感到疼痛，但他知道自己是安全的。没错儿，相当安全！没有人能看见他，没有人会注意到他，直到他的手指掐上他们的喉咙才能发现，却已经晚了。几个小时之前他才戴过这枚戒指，抓到了一个小半兽人。那小家伙叫得可真凄惨哪！他还剩了一两根骨头没啃，不过，他现在想要吃点更软的东西。
“Where iss it? Where iss it?” Bilbo heard him crying. “Losst it is, my precious, lost, lost! Curse us and crush us, my precious is lost!”
突然，他听见了一声尖叫，让他不由得背脊发凉。咕噜在混沌的黑暗中不停地咒骂哭嚎，听声音好像并不太远。他在自己的小岛上到处翻找着，搜寻着，却都徒劳无功。
“It mustn’t ask us,” shrieked Gollum. “Not its business, no, gollum! It’s losst, gollum, gollum, gollum.”
“怎么回事儿啊？”比尔博喊道，“你丢什么了？”
Suddenly he heard a screech. It sent a shiver down his back. Gollum was cursing and wailing away in the gloom, not very far off by the sound of it. He was on his island, scrabbling here and there, searching and seeking in vain.
这就是他从比尔博身边悄悄溜走，跳回船上朝黑暗中划去时，他那邪恶的小脑瓜里在想的东西。比尔博觉得自己再也不会见到他了。但他还是又等了一会儿，因为他也不知道凭自己怎样才能找到路出去。
“Well, so am I,” cried Bilbo, “and I want to get unlost. And I won the game, and you promised. So come along! Come and let me out, and then go on with your looking!” Utterly miserable as Gollum sounded, Bilbo could not find much pity in his heart, and he had a feeling that anything Gollum wanted so much could hardly be something good. “Come along!” he shouted.
“轮不到它来问我们，”咕噜尖叫道，“没它什么事儿！完了，咕噜！它不见了，咕噜，咕噜，咕噜！”
As far as Bilbo knew, there was no particular reason why he should not tell. Gollum’s mind had jumped to a guess quicker than his; naturally, for Gollum had brooded for ages on this one thing, and he was always afraid of its being stolen. But Bilbo was annoyed at the delay. After all, he had won the game, pretty fairly, at a horrible risk. “Answers were to be guessed not given,” he said.
“一直没猜对！”咕噜愤愤地重复道。然后，突然间，黑暗中传来很锐利的一声嘶嘶：“它的口袋里面到底有什么？告诉我们，它一定得先说出来。”
“No, not yet, precious!” Gollum answered. “We must search for it, it’s lost, gollum.”
“嗯，我也完了，”比尔博大喊着，“我可不想被困在这里，我赢了猜谜比赛，你答应过给我带路的。咱们走吧，你先带我走出去，然后你再回头慢慢找！”虽然咕噜听起来绝对可怜，可比尔博却挤不出多少同情心给他，而且他有一种感觉，凡事咕噜这家伙这么想要的东西，都不会好到哪里去。“快来吧！”他大声催促道。
“Oh well, if it’s a matter of ordinary questions,” Bilbo replied, “then I asked one first. What have you lost? Tell me that!”
“可这不是一个公平的问题。”咕噜说，“这不是个谜语，宝贝，不是。”
“Never guessed!” said Gollum. Then suddenly out of the gloom came a sharp hiss. “What has it got in its pocketses? Tell us that. It must tell first.”
“可你一直也没猜对我的最后一个问题，你答应过要带我出去的。”比尔博说。
“But it wasn’t a fair question,” said Gollum. “Not a riddle, precious, no.”
在比尔博看来，他没什么理由不告诉对方答案。但还没等他说出口，咕噜的脑子里已经迸出了一个猜测。他会想到这个是很自然的。因为这么多年来他心心念念的只有这一样东西，整天就怕它被人偷走。但此时，比尔博只是对咕噜的拖延感到不满，毕竟，他可是冒了极大的危险，凭了挺公平的手段才赢下这场猜谜比赛的。“答案是要猜的，可不能让人告诉。”他说。
“What has it got in its pocketses?” The sound came hissing louder and sharper, and as he looked towards it, to his alarm Bilbo now saw two small points of light peering at him. As suspicion grew in Gollum’s mind, the light of his eyes burned with a pale flame.
“哦，好吧，如果你只是在问普通问题，那我可以告诉你。”比尔博回答道，“不过你先回答我的。你丢了什么东西？告诉我！”
“But you never guessed my last question, and you promised,” said Bilbo.
“不，现在不行，宝贝儿！”咕噜回答道，“我们得找到它才行，它不见了，咕噜！”
But now the light in Gollum’s eyes had become a green fire, and it was coming swiftly nearer. Gollum was in his boat again, paddling wildly back to the dark shore; and such a rage of loss and suspicion was in his heart that no sword had any more terror for him.
“你丢什么了？”比尔博坚持问道。
“What have you lost?” Bilbo persisted.
“它的口袋里有什么呢？”嘶嘶的声音变得越来越响，越来越锐利了。比尔博循声望去，不由得一惊，他发现了有两点小小的光亮正在瞪着他。随着咕噜的疑心越来越盛，他的眼中燃起一团苍白的火焰来。
“What has it got in its pocketses?” he heard the hiss loud behind him, and the splash as Gollum leapt from his boat. “What have I, I wonder?” he said to himself, as he panted and stumbled along. He put his left hand in his pocket. The ring felt very cold as it quietly slipped on to his groping forefinger.
比尔博实在猜不出来，到底是什么让这个家伙这么生气。但他知道一切都完了。咕噜看来怎么都要杀了他了。他及时转过身去，朝着来时那条漆黑的隧道跑去，他紧贴着墙，边跑边用左手感受着墙壁。
The hiss was close behind him. He turned now and saw Gollum’s eyes like small green lamps coming up the slope. Terrified he tried to run faster, but suddenly he struck his toes on a snag in the floor, and fell flat with his little sword under him.
“它的口袋里有什么呢？”他听见身后传来很响的带嘶嘶的说话声，接着是咕噜从船上跳下时的水花声。“我有的这个到底是什么呢？”他一边气喘吁吁、踉踉跄跄地跑着，一边对自己说。他把左手伸进口袋里，戒指无声无息地滑上了他正在摸索的食指上，感到非常冷。
Bilbo could not guess what had maddened the wretched creature, but he saw that all was up, and that Gollum meant to murder him at any rate. Just in time he turned and ran blindly back up the dark passage down which he had come, keeping close to the wall and feeling it with his left hand.
此时，咕噜眼中的光芒已经变成了一团绿色的火焰，而且正飞快地向比尔博靠近。咕噜又跳上了船，疯狂地往黑暗的岸边划来。他的心中充满了丢失东西的愤怒和对比尔博的怀疑，所以什么样的刀剑都不令他感到可怕了。
“Curse it! curse it! curse it!” hissed Gollum. “Curse the Baggins! It’s gone! What has it got in its pocketses? Oh we guess, we guess, my precious. He’s found it, yes he must have. My birthday-present.”
这是怎么回事？咕噜在黑暗中也能看见东西，比尔博从后面都可以看见他的眼睛发出淡淡的光芒。他痛苦地站起身来，将重新放出微光的宝剑装入鞘内，然后小心翼翼地跟在咕噜后面。现在如果掉头往下，爬回到咕噜的湖边是不会有任何好处的。如果跟在咕噜后面，他或许倒会在无意中带比尔博找到出口。
What could it mean? Gollum could see in the dark. Bilbo could see the light of his eyes palely shining even from behind. Painfully he got up, and sheathed his sword, which was now glowing faintly again, then very cautiously he followed. There seemed nothing else to do. It was no good crawling back down to Gollum’s water. Perhaps if he followed him, Gollum might lead him to some way of escape without meaning to.
转眼间咕噜就赶上了他。可还没等比尔博来得及做任何事，比如调整呼吸，站起身来，或是挥舞宝剑，咕噜已经从他身边过去了，一点都没有注意到他，只顾自己一边跑，一边骂骂咧咧，自言自语。
In a moment Gollum was on him. But before Bilbo could do anything, recover his breath, pick himself up, or wave his sword, Gollum passed by, taking no notice of him, cursing and whispering as he ran.
嘶嘶声越来越近了。他转过身，看见咕噜的眼睛像两盏绿色的小灯一样沿着斜坡向他靠近。惊恐之下他不禁加快了步伐，却不小心踢到了地面上的一个突起，摔了一个嘴啃泥，把宝剑压在了身下。
Bilbo pricked up his ears. He was at last beginning to guess himself. He hurried a little, getting as close as he dared behind Gollum, who was still going quickly, not looking back, but turning his head from side to side, as Bilbo could see from the faint glimmer on the walls.
“诅咒它！诅咒它！诅咒它！”咕噜嘶嘶地吼道，“诅咒巴金斯！它不见了！它口袋里到底有什么？噢，我们猜到了，我们猜到了，我的宝贝——被他捡去了，对肯定被他捡去了，我的生日礼物啊！”
Suddenly Gollum sat down and began to weep, a whistling and gurgling sound horrible to listen to. Bilbo halted and flattened himself against the tunnel-wall. After a while Gollum stopped weeping and began to talk. He seemed to be having an argument with himself.
“我的生日礼物！诅咒它！我们怎么把它给弄丢了呢，宝贝？是的，就是这么回事儿！诅咒它！它从我们手上滑走了，肯定已经丢了很久了！它不见了，咕噜。”
“My birthday-present! Curse it! How did we lose it, my precious? Yes, that’s it. When we came this way last, when we twisted that nassty young squeaker. That’s it. Curse it! It slipped from us, after all these ages and ages! It’s gone, gollum.”
波尔博竖起耳朵听着，终于，他也开始怀疑起自己来。他稍稍加快了一点步伐，在他胆量许可的范围内尽可能靠近咕噜。咕噜依然在快步走着，无暇回头朝后看，但却左右张望着，比尔博是就着墙壁上的微光看到的。
“It’s no good going back there to search, no. We doesn’t remember all the places we’ve visited. And it’s no use. The Baggins has got it in its pocketses; the nassty noser has found it, we says.”
突然间，咕噜坐了下来，开始哭了起来，那声音既像吹口哨，又像在咯咯笑，让人听了感觉很可怕。比尔博停下脚步，背紧靠着洞壁。过了一阵子之后，咕噜止住了哭泣，开始说起话来，似乎在和自己吵架。
“We guesses, precious, only guesses. We can’t know till we find the nassty creature and squeezes it. But it doesn’t know what the present can do, does it? It’ll just keep it in its pocketses. It doesn’t know, and it can’t go far. It’s lost itself, the nassty nosey thing. It doesn’t know the way out. It said so.”
“再回去找也没用，没用，我们去过哪些地方根本记不得了，不会有用的。巴金斯把它放在口袋里了，那个讨厌的爱管闲事的家伙找到了它。
“It said so, yes; but it’s tricksy. It doesn’t say what it means. It won’t say what it’s got in its pocketses. It knows. It knows a way in, it must know a way out, yes. It’s off to the back-door. To the back-door, that’s it.”
“这是我们的猜测，宝贝，只是猜测。只有找到那个讨厌东西，好好逼问一下才能确定。不过它还不知道这礼物的用处呢，是吧？它只是把它放进了口袋。它不知道的，它也走不远。它迷路了，这个讨厌的家伙。它不知道出去的路，它是这么说的。
“The goblinses will catch it then. It can’t get out that way, precious.”
“它是这么说没错，但也可能有诈。它没说这是什么意思，它也不肯说口袋里装的是什么东西。它知道。它知道进来的路，就一定知道出去的路，肯定如此。它去后门了，对，去后门，就这么办！
With a spring Gollum got up and started shambling off at a great pace. Bilbo hurried after him, still cautiously, though his chief fear now was of tripping on another snag and falling with a noise. His head was in a whirl of hope and wonder. It seemed that the ring he had was a magic ring: it made you invisible! He had heard of such things, of course, in old old tales; but it was hard to believe that he really had found one, by accident. Still there it was: Gollum with his bright eyes had passed him by, only a yard to one side.
咕噜一跃而起，立刻开始迈着大步摇摇晃晃地走了起来。比尔博依旧小心翼翼地紧跟在他身后，只不过，这回他担心的是别又像刚才那样賜到地上的突起，在摔倒时发出声响。他的小脑袋中被希望和惊奇冲击得有点晕晕乎乎。看来他捡到的是个魔法戒指：它可以让人隐身！当然，他曾经在非常非常古老的传说中听过这种事，但自己竟然真的在无意中找到了一件这样的宝物，实在令他难以置信。不过眼前的证据由不得他不信：拥有锐利双眼的咕噜从他身旁只有一码的地方走了过去，却对他视而不见。
“Ssss, sss, gollum! Goblinses! Yes, but if it’s got the present, our precious present, then goblinses will get it, gollum! They’ll find it, they’ll find out what it does. We shan’t ever be safe again, never, gollum! One of the goblinses will put it on, and then no one will see him. He’ll be there but not seen. Not even our clever eyeses will notice him; and he’ll come creepsy and tricksy and catch us, gollum, gollum!”
“它要是走后门，半兽人会抓住它的。它不可能从那边出去，宝贝儿。“嘶噺，嘶嘶，咕噜！半兽人！是的，但是如果它拿到了我们的礼物，我们珍贵的礼物，那半兽人就会得到，咕噜！他们会发现的，会发现它有什么用处。我们就再也不安全了，永远不安全了，咕噜！会有半兽人把它戴上，然后没人会看见他。他会隐形，连我们聪明的眼睛也看不见他，他会悄悄地跑来把我们抓住，咕噜，咕噜！
“Then let’s stop talking, precious, and make haste. If the Baggins has gone that way, we must go quick and see. Go! Not far now. Make haste!”
“那我们还是别再聊天了吧，宝贝，得赶紧行动了。如果巴金斯往这个方向走了，我们必须要赶快过去看。走吧！不远了，赶快！”
As the count grew he slowed down, and he began to get shaky and weepy; for he was leaving the water further and further behind, and he was getting afraid. Goblins might be about, and he had lost his ring. At last he stopped by a low opening, on their left as they went up.
他越数越多，渐渐地就慢了下来，接着他的身体开始抖了起来，发出了啜泣声，因为他已经离开地底湖越来越远，心中开始感到害怕了。半兽人可能就在周围，而他又弄丢了戒指。最后，他在左边一个低矮的隧道口停了下来。
“One left, yes. One right, yes. Two right, yes, yes. Two left, yes, yes.” And so on and on.
“左边一条，对；右边一条，对。右边两条，对，对。左边两条，对，对。”他就这样一直叨叨个不停。
On they went, Gollum flip-flapping ahead, hissing and cursing; Bilbo behind going as softly as a hobbit can. Soon they came to places where, as Bilbo had noticed on the way down, side-passages opened, this way and that. Gollum began at once to count them.
他们继续往前走，咕噜啪嗒啪嗒地走在前面，一边发出嘶嘶的声音一边骂骂咧咧；比尔博跟在后面，以霍比特人最轻柔无声的步伐走着。不久，他们就来到了比尔博下来之时曾注意到的有许多岔路的地方，咕噜马上开始数起岔路来。
So they came to a dead stop. Gollum had brought Bilbo to the way out after all, but Bilbo could not get in! There was Gollum sitting humped up right in the opening, and his eyes gleamed cold in his head, as he swayed it from side to side between his knees.
比尔博用比老鼠更小的声音离开洞壁，但咕噜立刻浑身一紧，开始用鼻子嗅了起来，眼睛变绿了。他轻轻地发出嘶噺声，却充满着威胁的意味。他看不见霍比特人，却已经提高了警觉；而且，他还有其他在黑暗中变得更敏锐的知觉——听觉和嗅觉。他趴到了地面上，双手张开，头伸了出来，鼻子几乎凑到了石头上。
He peered in, and shrank back. “But we dursn’t go in, precious, no we dursn’t. Goblinses down there. Lots of goblinses. We smells them. Ssss!”
他往里窥探着，又缩了回来。“可是我们不想要进去，宝贝，不，我们不想，前面有半兽人，很多半兽人，我们可以闻到他们的味道。嘶嘶！“我们该怎么办？诅咒他们，碾死他们！我们得等在这里，宝贝儿，再等一会儿看看。”
“Seven right, yes. Six left, yes!” he whispered. “This is it. This is the way to the back-door, yes. Here’s the passage!”
“右边七条，对，左边六条，对！”他低声道，“就是这个了，这就是通往后门的路，就是这条路！”
“What shall we do? Curse them and crush them! We must wait here, precious, wait a bit and see.”
于是他们就完全停了下来。咕噜毕竟还是把比尔博带到了出口，但比尔博却不能进去！因为咕噜驼着背坐在人口那里，双眼发出冷冷的光，头则在双膝之间左右扫视着。
Bilbo almost stopped breathing, and went stiff himself. He was desperate. He must get away, out of this horrible darkness, while he had any strength left. He must fight. He must stab the foul thing, put its eyes out, kill it. It meant to kill him. No, not a fair fight. He was invisible now. Gollum had no sword. Gollum had not actually threatened to kill him, or tried to yet. And he was miserable, alone, lost. A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror, welled up in Bilbo’s heart: a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering. All these thoughts passed in a flash of a second. He trembled. And then quite suddenly in another flash, as if lifted by a new strength and resolve, he leaped.
比尔博害怕得几乎停止了呼吸，自己的身体也变得僵硬起来，几乎陷入了绝望。他必须要趁着自己还有力气，走出这片恐怖的黑暗，去奋力一搏。他一定要刺死这个邪恶的家伙，让他的眼睛失去光芒。这意味着他必须要杀死咕噜。不，这不是一场公平的战斗。自己不仅已经隐形，而且咕噜还手无寸铁。细想一下，咕噜其实并没有威胁过要杀他，至少还没有付诸行动。他处境悲惨，孤身一人，不知如何是好。突然间，比尔博的心中对咕噜生出些理解来，一种混杂着恐惧的同情：他所能见到的只有茫茫没有尽头的黑暗岁月，生活没有任何改善的希望，坚硬的岩石，冰冷的鱼，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地自言自语。这些念头都在一瞬间掠过他的脑海。比尔博打了个寒战，接着，又是在转瞬之间，似乎是被一股崭新的力量与决心托举起一样，他纵身一跃。
Bilbo crept away from the wall more quietly than a mouse; but Gollum stiffened at once, and sniffed, and his eyes went green. He hissed softly but menacingly. He could not see the hobbit, but now he was on the alert, and he had other senses that the darkness had sharpened: hearing and smell. He seemed to be crouched right down with his flat hands splayed on the floor, and his head thrust out, nose almost to the stone. Though he was only a black shadow in the gleam of his own eyes, Bilbo could see or feel that he was tense as a bowstring, gathered for a spring.
虽然他只是自己双眼放出的微光中的一团暗影，但比尔博却可以看见或者说感觉到：他已经像弓弦一样紧绷，蓄积着力量，随时准备一跃而起。
Then there was a silence. But that too seemed menacing to Bilbo. “If goblins are so near that he smelt them,” he thought, “then they’ll have heard his shrieking and cursing. Careful now, or this way will lead you to worse things.”
然后是一片死寂，但这对于比尔博来说，依旧充满着危险。“如果半兽人近到可以被咕噜闻到气味，那么他们也会听见他的尖叫和咒骂。从现在起得打起十二万分的精神了，不然这一路还不知道会遇到怎样可怕的事情呢。”
Gollum threw himself backwards, and grabbed as the hobbit flew over him, but too late: his hands snapped on thin air, and Bilbo, falling fair on his sturdy feet, sped off down the new tunnel. He did not turn to see what Gollum was doing. There was a hissing and cursing almost at his heels at first, then it stopped. All at once there came a blood-curdling shriek, filled with hatred and despair. Gollum was defeated. He dared go no further. He had lost: lost his prey, and lost, too, the only thing he had ever cared for, his precious. The cry brought Bilbo’s heart to his mouth, but still he held on. Now faint as an echo, but menacing, the voice came behind:
咕噜立刻转过身去，在霍比特人跃过头顶时朝空中抓去，但还是慢了一拍：他的双手只抓到了薄薄的空气，比尔博则凭了他那健壮的双脚稳稳落地，朝着这条新的隧道飞奔而去。他没有回头去看咕噜在干些什么。刚开始，他可以听见嘶嘶声和咒骂声就追着他的脚后跟，后来那声音停了下来，几乎与此同时，后方传来一声让人血液为之冻结的尖叫，叫声中充满了仇恨与绝望。咕噜被打败了，他不敢再往前走了，他已经输了：他不仅追丢了猎物，更弄丢了他这辈子惟一在乎的东西，他的宝贝。这声尖叫让比尔博的心悬到了嗓子眼儿，但他继续不停步地往前跑着。那微弱得如同回声，但充满威胁的喊声从背后传来：
No great leap for a man, but a leap in the dark. Straight over Gollum’s head he jumped, seven feet forward and three in the air; indeed, had he known it, he only just missed cracking his skull on the low arch of the passage.
这一跃对人类来说算不了什么，但这却是在黑暗中的奋力一跃。他直直地跃过了咕噜的头顶，往前飞了七呎，跃起空中有三呎。幸亏他不知道，他的脑袋差一点就砸在了通道那低矮的拱门上。
“Thief, thief, thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it for ever!”
“小偷，小偷，小偷！巴金斯！我们恨它，我们恨它，我们永远都恨它！”
Scuttling as fast as his legs would carry him he turned the last corner and came suddenly right into an open space, where the light, after all that time in the dark, seemed dazzlingly bright. Really it was only a leak of sunshine in through a doorway, where a great door, a stone door, was left standing open.
他让双腿带着自己尽力飞奔，绕过最后的弯角，终于跑进一片开阔的空间。他在黑暗中待了那么久之后，这里的光线让他觉得十分刺眼。其实，这还只是从门缝中漏进来洒在门道内的一点阳光，门道尽头的一扇石门居然是开着的。
The passage was low and roughly made. It was not too difficult for the hobbit, except when, in spite of all care, he stubbed his poor toes again, several times, on nasty jagged stones in the floor. “A bit low for goblins, at least for the big ones,” thought Bilbo, not knowing that even the big ones, the orcs of the mountains, go along at a great speed stooping low with their hands almost on the ground.
这条隧道不仅低矮，造得也十分简陋。这对于霍比特人来说，并不算太难走，除了有几次，尽管他已经十分当心了，他那可怜的脚趾头还是踢到了地上那些讨厌的坑坑洼洼的碎石。“对半兽人来说有点矮，至少对那些大个子是这样。”比尔博想。其实他不知道，即使是大个子的半兽人，由于习惯了山里的生活，也可以弯着身子，双手几乎垂地，飞快地行走。
Soon the passage that had been sloping down began to go up again, and after a while it climbed steeply. That slowed Bilbo down. But at last the slope stopped, the passage turned a corner and dipped down again, and there, at the bottom of a short incline, he saw, filtering round another corner-a glimpse of light. Not red light, as of fire or lantern, but a pale out-of-doors sort of light. Then Bilbo began to run.
很快，一直在往下的隧道开始往上走了，又过了一阵之后，它更是变得陡峭起来。这让比尔博的速度慢了下来。但到了最后，向上的斜坡到头了，隧道转过一个弯，又开始往下走。远方，在一小段下坡的尽头，从又一个拐角的后面，透过来一缕亮光。那不是营火或灯笼之类放出的红光，而是一缕白色的天光。比尔博开始跑了起来。
Bilbo blinked, and then suddenly he saw the goblins: goblins in full armour with drawn swords sitting just inside the door, and watching it with wide eyes, and watching the passage that led to it. They were aroused, alert, ready for anything.
比尔博眨眨眼，这时他突然看见了半兽人：几个半兽人全副武装，手拿刀剑，就坐在门里边，眼睛睁得大大的盯着门，也盯着通往大门的门道。他们已经严阵以待，为即将到来的一切作好了准备。
They saw him sooner than he saw them. Yes, they saw him. Whether it was an accident, or a last trick of the ring before it took a new master, it was not on his finger. With yells of delight the goblins rushed upon him.
比尔博还没看见他们的时候他们就已经看见比尔博了。对，他们看见他了。不知这是个意外，还是戒指在认自己的新主人之前开的最后一个玩笑，反正这会儿它没有在比尔博的手指上。半兽人欢呼着朝他冲了过来。
A pang of fear and loss, like an echo of Gollum’s misery, smote Bilbo, and forgetting even to draw his sword he struck his hands into his pockets. And there was the ring still, in his left pocket, and it slipped on his finger. The goblins stopped short. They could not see a sign of him. He had vanished. They yelled twice as loud as before, but not so delightedly.
一阵恐惧和茫然向比尔博袭来，那简直像是咕噜的痛苦所激起的回声。他甚至忘记了去拔剑，而是将手伸进了口袋。戒指依然还在，就在他左边的口袋中，手刚一伸进去，戒指就滑了上去。半兽人们戛然止住了脚步——他们一点都看不见他了，他就这么凭空消失了。他们发出比之前高过一倍的吼叫声，但不是刚才的那种欢呼了。
“Go back up the passage!” some shouted.
“回到隧道里去了！”有人喊。
“Where is it?” they cried.
“他到哪儿去了？”大家喊道。
“This way!” some yelled. “That way!” others yelled.
“往这儿走了！”有些人叫道。“往那儿跑了！”其他人叫道。
“Look out for the door,” bellowed the captain.
“盯紧大门。”他们的队长咆哮道。
Whistles blew, armour clashed, swords rattled, goblins cursed and swore and ran hither and thither, falling over one another and getting very angry. There was a terrible outcry, to-do, and disturbance.
哨声响起，盔甲撞击，刀剑铮铮作响，半兽人咒骂着像没头苍蝇般四处瞎跑，相互绊倒，彼此发起火来。那真是好一场可怕的骚乱哪！
It was still ajar, but a goblin had pushed it nearly to. Bilbo struggled but he could not move it. He tried to squeeze through the crack. He squeezed and squeezed, and he stuck! It was awful. His buttons had got wedged on the edge of the door and the door-post. He could see outside into the open air: there were a few steps running down into a narrow valley between tall mountains; the sun came out from behind a cloud and shone bright on the outside of the door-but he could not get through.
大门依旧半开着，但有个半兽人将它推得只剩下一条缝。比尔博使出了吃奶的力气去推，结果大石门岿然不动。他想从那条缝里挤过去，挤来挤去的，竟然卡在了缝里。他的纽扣卡在了门与门柱之间。他可以看见露天中的景象：再跑几步就能进入高山夹着的一条狭窄山谷，太阳从云后探出头来，照得门外阳光明媚——可他就是挤不过去。
“I must get to the door, I must get to the door!” he kept on saying to himself, but it was a long time before he ventured to try. Then it was like a horrible game of blind-man’s-buff. The place was full of goblins running about, and the poor little hobbit dodged this way and that, was knocked over by a goblin who could not make out what he had bumped into, scrambled away on all fours, slipped between the legs of the captain just in time, got up, and ran for the door.
“我一定得到门口去，我一定得到门口去！”他不停地对自己说道，但直到过了很久他才敢冒险尝试。接下来就像是一场可怕的捉迷藏游戏，到处都是四处瞎跑的半兽人，可怜的小霍比特人左躲右闪，还是被一个半兽人给撞倒了，那个半兽人则根本不知道自己究竟撞上了什么。比尔博手足并用在地上爬着，并及时爬过了队长的胯下，站起身来，朝着门口奔去。
Bilbo was dreadfully frightened, but he had the sense to understand what had happened and to sneak behind a big barrel which held drink for the goblin-guards, and so get out of the way and avoid being bumped into, trampled to death, or caught by feel.
比尔博怕得要命，但他总算还能弄清楚状况，知道偷偷溜到半兽人守卫装酒的大桶后面躲了起来，因此没有挡到任何人的路，也避免了被人撞倒，踩踏而死，或是因为被人摸到而抓住。
Suddenly one of the goblins inside shouted: “There is a shadow by the door. Something is outside!”
突然间，门里边的一个半兽人大喊道：“门旁边有个影子，外面有东西！”
Of course they soon came down after him, hooting and hallooing, and hunting among the trees. But they don’t like the sun: it makes their legs wobble and their heads giddy. They could not find Bilbo with the ring on, slipping in and out of the shadow of the trees, running quick and quiet, and keeping out of the sun; so soon they went back grumbling and cursing to guard the door. Bilbo had escaped.
当然，他们没过多久就呜里哇啦狂喊着追了下来，在林子里展开搜索。但他们不喜欢阳光，因为阳光会让他们两腿发软，头脑发晕。比尔博戴着戒指，他们当然找不到。此时他正在树林的阴影中穿梭，迅捷而又悄无声息地奔跑着，尽量不让自己被阳光照到。因此，那些半兽人很快就抱怨着、咒骂着回去守大门去了。比尔博终于逃离了险境。
Bilbo’s heart jumped into his mouth. He gave a terrific squirm. Buttons burst off in all directions. He was through, with a torn coat and waistcoat, leaping down the steps like a goat, while bewildered goblins were still picking up his nice brass buttons on the doorstep.
比尔博的心又跳到了嗓子眼儿。他奋力一挣，纽扣往四面八方爆开，人终于挤了出去，外套和背心都扯破了。但他顾不得这些了，只见他像只山羊一样一蹦一跳地冲下阶梯，而那帮不明就里的半兽人则还在门口捡着他散落在台阶上的漂亮的铜纽扣。
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