A SHORT REST
短暂的休息
They did not sing or tell stories that day, even though the weather improved; nor the next day, nor the day after. They had begun to feel that danger was not far away on either side. They camped under the stars, and their horses had more to eat than they had; for there was plenty of grass, but there was not much in their bags, even with what they had got from the trolls. One morning they forded a river at a wide shallow place full of the noise of stones and foam. The far bank was steep and slippery. When they got to the top of it, leading their ponies, they saw that the great mountains had marched down very near to them. Already they seemed only a day’s easy journey from the feet of the nearest. Dark and drear it looked, though there were patches of sunlight on its brown sides, and behind its shoulders the tips of snow-peaks gleamed.
那天，尽管天气渐渐转好了，但他们既没有唱歌，也没有讲故事。第二天也没有，第三天也没有。他们开始感觉到危险就在道路两边不远的地方。他们在星光下露营，马能吃的东西比他们要多，因为到处都是青草，而他们包里的给养，即使把从食人一妖那边得来的算进去，也没有多少。一天早上，他们在旅途中遇到了一条河，他们找了一处河面开阔、水不深的地方渡河，流水撞到石头上溅出一水沫，满耳皆是水声。对面的河岸又陡又滑，在好不容易牵着小马爬上堤岸后，他们才发现大山已经兀然出现在了眼前。从此处到距离他们最近的山脚，看来已经只需要一天的旅程了。虽说在褐一色一的山坡上稀疏洒落着几一团一陽一光，可大山还是显得幽暗而又一陰一沉。在当面的山坡后面，白雪皑皑的山顶在一陽一光下闪着刺眼的光芒。
“Is that The Mountain?” asked Bilbo in a solemn voice, looking at it with round eyes. He had never seen a thing that looked so big before.
“那就是我们要去的那座山吗?”比尔博瞪大眼睛望着山，用严肃的口吻问道。他以前从来没看见过这么大的东西。
“Of course not!” said Balin. “That is only the beginning of the Misty Mountains, and we ha一ve got to get through, or over, or under those somehow, before we can come into Wilderland beyond. And it is a deal of a way even from the other side of them to the Lonely Mountain in the East where Smaug lies on our treasure.”
“当然不是!”巴林说，“这只不过是迷雾山脉的边缘而已，我们得穿过去，或者翻过去，或者从底下钻过去，只有这样才能够进入大山背后的大荒原。即使从荒原的另外一边，要想到达斯一毛一格躺在我们宝藏之上的那座东方的孤山，也还要好长的一段路呢。”
“O!” said Bilbo, and just at that moment he felt more tired than he ever remembered feeling before. He was thinking once again of his comfortable chair before the fire in his fa一vourite sitting-room in his hobbit-hole, and of the kettle singing. Not for the last time!
“哦!”比尔博叹了一声，与此同时，他感到了这辈子前所未有的疲倦，这让他又想起了自己的霍比特洞府，洞府中自己最喜一爱一的客厅，和客厅炉火前那把舒适的椅子，还有水壶烧开时咕嘟咕嘟的声音。啊!这绝对不会是他最后一次想起这些东西!
Now Gandalf led the way. “We must not miss the road, or we shall be done for,” he said. “We need food, for one thing, and rest in reasonable safety—also it is very necessary to tackle the Misty Mountains by the proper path, or else you will get lost in them, and ha一ve to come back and start at the beginning again (if you ever get back at all).”
现在带路的是甘道夫。“我们绝对不能够离开大路，不然就完蛋了。”他说，“我们首先需要食物，然后是在确认安全的环境中休息——还得找到正确的道路越过迷雾山脉，不然很容易就会迷路，迷了路就只能回来(如果能回得来的话)再从头开始走。”
They asked him where he was making for, and he answered: “You are come to the very edge of the Wild, as some of you may know. Hidden somewhere ahead of us is the fair valley of Rivendell where Elrond lives in the Last Homely House. I sent a message by my friends, and we are expected.”
大家问他这是往哪儿走，他回答道：“你们之中有些人应该知道，现在我们已经来到了大荒原的边缘。在前面不远的地方有个很隐蔽的美丽山谷，那就是幽谷，埃尔隆德就住在那里，他们称其为最后家园。我已经请朋友捎了个口信过去，他们正等着我们去呢。”
That sounded nice and comforting, but they had not got there yet, and it was not so easy as it sounds to find the Last Homely House west of the Mountains. There seemed to be no trees and no valleys and no hills to break the ground in front of them, only one vast slope going slowly up and up to meet the feet of the nearest mountain, a wide land the colour of heather and crumbling rock, with patches and slashes of grass-green and moss-green showing where water might be.
这话很中听，有人等着让人很感安慰，但眼下他们可还没到呢，而且听甘道夫这话，要在山脉西边找到这最后家园似乎并不那么容易。在他们的面前，并没有树木、山谷或是丘陵之类的东西夹出一条路来，只有一面庞大的斜坡缓缓地上升，一直升到与最近的大山山脚相连。这是一片广袤的土地，石南和剥落的岩石构成了其主要的一色一块，零星点缀着一块块绿一色一的草皮和几线绿一色一的苔藓，昭示着水或许存在的地方。
Morning passed, afternoon came; but in all the silent waste there was no sign of any dwelling. They were growing anxious, for they saw now that the house might be hidden almost anywhere between them and the mountains. They came on unexpected valleys, narrow with steep sides, that opened suddenly at their feet, and they looked down surprised to see trees below them and running water at the bottom. There were gullies that they could almost leap over, but very deep with waterfalls in them. There were dark ra一vines that one could neither jump over nor climb into. There were bogs, some of them green pleasant places to look at, with flowers growing bright and tall; but a pony that walked there with a pack on its back would never ha一ve come out again.
上午过去，下午到来，虽然走了这些时候，但在这一片寂静的荒原中依旧没有见到任何人烟。他们渐渐感到有些不安，因为他们这才发现幽谷可能隐藏在从这里到山脉之间的任何地方。他们一路上和一些山谷不期而遇，这些山谷不但狭窄，而且两边都十分陡峭，总是突然呈现在他们脚下。他们低头一看，会惊讶地发现下一面有树，谷底竟然还有流水。有些溪谷窄得他们几乎可以一跃而过，但却深得居然还有瀑布隐在其间。有些幽暗的山谷既跳不过去，也陡得让人无法攀缘而下。路上还能见到沼泽，有些看上去绿莹莹的，很是怡人，花草长得茂盛艳丽，但如果有哪匹小马驮着行李走过的话，就会陷进去再也出不来了。
It was indeed a much wider land from the ford to the mountains than ever you would ha一ve guessed. Bilbo was astonished. The only path was marked with white stones, some of which were small, and others were half covered with moss or heather. Altogether it was a very slow business following the track, even guided by Gandalf, who seemed to know his way about pretty well.
从之前渡过的浅滩到大山脚下之间的这片土地，的确比大家估计的都要广大得多。比尔博对此感到震惊。惟一的道路铺着白一色一的石头，有些很小，有些则很大，被苔藓或石南半覆着。这些大小不一的石头凑在一起，使得这条路走起来十分艰难，虽然他们有甘道夫带路，他看上去似乎对该怎么走知道得很清楚。
His head and beard wagged this way and that as he looked for the stones, and they followed his lead, but they seemed no nearer to the end of the search when the day began to fail. Tea-time had long gone by, and it seemed supper-time would soon do the same. There were moths fluttering about, and the light became very dim, for the moon had not risen. Bilbo’s pony began to stumble over roots and stones. They came to the edge of a steep fall in the ground so suddenly that Gandalf’s horse nearly slipped down the slope.
甘道夫观察石头的时候，脑袋左右摇动，胡子甩来甩去，大家也就跟着他一直走，可直到天快黑的时候，他们的搜索似乎并没有任何要到头的样子。下午茶的时间早就过了，晚餐时间看来马上也要过了。四处有许多蛾子飞来飞去，因为太一陽一已落而月亮还没升起，所以光线变得相当昏暗。比尔博的小马开始在草根和石头上磕磕绊绊了。这时，他们的脚下突然出现了一个陡峭的下坡，甘道夫的马险些从坡上滚了下去。
“Here it is at last!” he called, and the others gathered round him and looked over the edge. They saw a valley far below. They could hear the voice of hurrying water in a rocky bed at the bottom; the scent of trees was in the air; and there was a light on the valley-side across the water.
“终于到了!”他大喊了一声，其他人纷纷聚拢过来，看着底下。他们看见下一面很深的地方有个山谷，可以听见河水在岩石河床上奔流，空气中充满着树木的芬芳，在河对岸的山谷中有一点亮光。
Bilbo never forgot the way they slithered and slipped in the dusk down the steep zig-zag path into the secret valley of Rivendell. The air grew warmer as they got lower, and the smell of the pine-trees made him drowsy, so that every now and again he nodded and nearly fell off, or bumped his nose on the pony’s neck. Their spirits rose as they went down and down. The trees changed to beech and oak, and there was a comfortable feeling in the twilight. The last green had almost faded out of the grass, when they came at length to an open glade not far above the banks of the stream.
比尔博永远忘不了，他们是怎样在昏黄的暮一色一中，沿着蜿蜒曲折的陡峭山路，磕磕绊绊地下到秘密山谷——幽谷中的。随着他们逐渐下行，空气变得越来越温暖，松树的气味让他昏昏欲睡。比尔博的脑袋时不时地耷一拉下来，有好几次差点从马背上摔下来，或是把鼻子撞到了马脖子上。又往下走了一会儿，他们的一精一神渐渐振作起来，树木换成了榉树和橡树，在暮一色一中给人带来一种舒服的感觉。当他们来到河流边缘、比河岸只略高些的开阔草地时，随着一陽一光的消失，草地上的绿一色一几乎完全褪尽了。
“Hmmm! it smells like elves!” thought Bilbo, and he looked up at the stars. They were burning bright and blue. Just then there came a burst of song like laughter in the trees:
“嗯嗯!闻起来有一精一灵的味道!”比尔博这么想着，就抬起头来，望着天空中的星星，它们正发出耀眼的蓝光。就在此时，树林中传来了一阵夹杂着欢笑的歌声：
O! What are you doing,
噢!你们在做什么呀，
And where are you going?
你们要去哪里?
Your ponies need shoeing!
你们的小马需要钉马掌啦!
The river is flowing!
小河水哗哗流啊!
O! tra-la-la-lally
噢!哗啦啦啦啦，
here down in the valley!
流在山谷里!
O! What are you seeking,
噢!你们在找寻什么呀?
And where are you making?
你们要去向何方?
The faggots are reeking,
柴薪正在冒烟呀，
The bannocks are baking!
燕麦饼正在炉子里烤!
O! tril-lil-lil-lolly
噢!淅沥沥沥沥，
the valley is jolly,
山谷乐逍遥，
ha! ha!
哈!哈!
O! Where are you going
噢!你要去哪里啊?
With beards all a-wagging?
胡子飘呀飘。
No knowing, no knowing
不知道是哪阵风呀，
What brings Mister Baggins
把巴金斯先生，
And Balin and Dwalin
还有巴林和杜瓦林先生，
down into the valley
在六月时节
in June
送来了山谷，
ha! ha!
哈!哈!
O! Will you be staying,
噢!你会留下来吗?
Or will you be flying?
还是到处转悠?
Your ponies are straying!
你的小马已经迷了路!
The daylight is dying!
天一色一也在渐渐暗去!
To fly would be folly,
到处转悠真是傻啊，
To stay would be jolly
留下来才真高兴哇!
And listen and hark
听吧听吧
Till the end of the dark
听到天一色一黑了又亮
to our tune
听我们的欢歌
ha! ha!
哈!哈!
So they laughed and sang in the trees; and pretty fair nonsense I daresay you think it. Not that they would care; they would only laugh all the more if you told them so. They were elves of course. Soon Bilbo caught glimpses of them as the darkness deepened. He loved elves, though he seldom met them; but he was a little frightened of them too. Dwarves don’t get on well with them. Even decent enough dwarves like Thorin and his friends think them foolish (which is a very foolish thing to think), or get annoyed with them. For some elves tease them and laugh at them, and most of all at their beards.
他们就这样在树林中笑着唱着，我敢说你们一定会觉得这歌唱得有点乱七八糟的，可他们并不在乎，你要是跟他们这么说，他们只会笑得更加厉害。他们当然就是一精一灵。没过多久，随着暮一色一渐沉，比尔博看到了他们的身影，虽然平时很少能见到他们，但他一爱一这些一精一灵们，不过他也稍稍有点怕他们。矮人们和一精一灵处得不太好，即便是像索林和他那些朋友们那样有头有脸的矮人，也觉得他们很愚蠢(其实这样想才叫笨呢)，或是看到他们就头疼。因为某些一精一灵会取笑他们，笑得最多的就是他们的胡子。
“Well, well!” said a voice. “Just look! Bilbo the hobbit on a pony, my dear! Isn’t it delicious!”
“哦!哦!”一个声音叫了起来：“看哪!霍比特人比尔博骑着匹小马，我的乖乖!太可一爱一了!”
“Most astonishing wonderful!”
“真是可一爱一死了!”
Then off they went into another song as ridiculous as the one I ha一ve written down in full. At last one, a tall young fellow, came out from the trees and bowed to Gandalf and to Thorin.
于是他们又唱起了另一首和我刚刚全文抄录下来的那首同样滑稽可笑的歌曲。唱完闹完，一名高大的年轻人才从树林里出来，走到甘道夫和索林面前向他们鞠躬行礼。
“Welcome to the valley!” he said.
“欢迎来到我们山谷!”
“Thank you!” said Thorin a bit gruffly; but Gandalf was already off his horse and among the elves, talking merrily with them.
“谢谢!”索林的话音里带了点粗声粗气，但甘道夫已经下了马，和一精一灵们开开心心地攀谈了起来。
“You are a little out of your way,” said the elf: “that is, if you are making for the only path across the water and to the house beyond. We will set you right, but you had best get on foot, until you are over the bridge. Are you going to stay a bit and sing with us, or will you go straight on? Supper is preparing over there,” he said. “I can smell the wood-fires for the cooking.”
那名一精一灵说：“你们有点走偏了，如果你们是想要找过河的惟一路径，到河对面的房子去的话。我们会带你们踏上正途的，但你们最好都走着去，等过了桥再骑马。你们是准备留下来和我们唱会儿歌呢，还是直接就继续赶路?那儿已经在做晚饭了，我都能闻得到炊烟的味道。”
Tired as he was, Bilbo would ha一ve liked to stay a while. Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars, not if you care for such things. Also he would ha一ve liked to ha一ve a few private words with these people that seemed to know his names and all about him, although he had never seen them before. He thought their opinion of his adventure might be interesting. Elves know a lot and are wondrous folk for news, and know what is going on among the peoples of the land, as quick as water flows, or quicker.
照比尔博这种疲惫的样子，他本来是很想要在此逗留一会儿的。如果你喜欢这类东西的话，那么在六月的星空下听一精一灵们歌唱，可绝对是不容错过的事情。另外，他也想要和这些人私下里聊上几句，虽然他之前好像从来没有见过这些人，但他们似乎不仅知道他的名字，还对他的情况了如指掌。打听一下他们对他此次冒险作何感想或许会很有趣。一精一灵们知道许多东西，还特别善于打探消息，这片土地上的各个民族在发生些什么事情没有他们不知道的，他们传播起消息来快得像流水，甚至比流水还要快些。
But the dwarves were all for supper as soon as possible just then, and would not stay. On they all went, leading their ponies, till they were brought to a good path and so at last to the very brink of the river. It was flowing fast and noisily, as mountain-streams do of a summer evening, when sun has been all day on the snow far up above. There was only a narrow bridge of stone without a parapet, as narrow as a pony could well walk on; and over that they had to go, slow and careful, one by one, each leading his pony by the bridle. The elves had brought bright *s to the shore, and they sang a merry song as the party went across.
可是，矮人们全都想要尽快吃到晚餐，不想留下来。于是他们牵着小马继续赶路，被引到了正途上，终于来到了河边。河水就像夏日夜间的山溪一样喧闹奔腾着。在太一陽一对山顶的积雪照了一整天之后，它们到了晚间是照例会如此的。河上只有一座没有护栏的小桥，窄得刚够小马走过去。所以过桥的时候，他们只能一个接一个小心翼翼地牵着小马的缰绳慢慢走过去。一精一灵们带来了明亮的灯笼，站在岸边为他们照亮，并在队伍通过时唱起了一首欢快的歌曲。
“Don’t dip your beard in the foam, father!” they cried to Thorin, who was bent almost on to his hands and knees. “It is long enough without watering it.”
“老爹，别把胡子泡到水里啊!”他们对腰弯得差点手膝着地的索林大喊道：“它不用泡水就够长啦!”
“Mind Bilbo doesn’t eat all the cakes!” they called. “He is too fat to get through key-holes yet!”
“小心别让比尔博把所有的蛋糕都给吃了!”他们大喊着，“他已经胖得没法钻过钥匙孔啦!”
“Hush, hush! Good People! and good night!” said Gandalf, who came last. “Valleys ha一ve ears, and some elves ha一ve over merry tongues. Good night!”
“嘘，嘘!各位好人哪!祝你们晚安!”甘道夫走在最后一个，“山谷里也会有耳朵在听着啊，有些一精一灵高兴起来话也太多了些。各位晚安!”
And so at last they all came to the Last Homely House, and found its doors flung wide.
他们终于来到了最后家园，发现那地方所有的门都大敞着。
Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to ha一ve and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway. They stayed long in that good house, fourteen days at least, and they found it hard to lea一ve. Bilbo would gladly ha一ve stopped there for ever and ever—even supposing a wish would ha一ve taken him right back to his hobbit-hole without trouble. Yet there is little to tell about their stay.
这可真是一件奇怪的事情，不过说故事嘛，自然是奇怪的事情居多，好事情和好日子没几句话就讲完了，而且听起来也没多大意思;但那些让人不舒服的、听了要心跳加速的，甚至是让人一毛一骨悚然的事情，却可以成为一个好故事，够人讲上好一阵子的。他们在那个地方待了很久，至少有两个礼拜，最后发现简直都走不了了。比尔博很愿意一辈子都待在那里，甚至哪怕只要许个愿就能让他毫不费力地回到他的霍比特洞府他也懒得回去了。然而关于他们在此居住的情形却实在是乏善可陈。
The master of the house was an elf-friend—one of those people whose fathers came into the strange stories before the beginning of History, the wars of the evil goblins and the elves and the first men in the North. In those days of our tale there were still some people who had both elves and heroes of the North for ancestors, and Elrond the master of the house was their chief.
这所房子的主人是一个一精一灵之友——所谓一精一灵之友就是那些其先祖早在历史开始之前就已经进入奇怪故事的人，那时候邪恶的半兽人与一精一灵和北方的人类先祖展开连场大战。在我们故事所讲的那一段日子里，世上仍有些人是一精一灵和北方人类英雄一共一同的后代，房子的主人埃尔隆德就是这一群一人的首领。
He was as noble and as fair in face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer. He comes into many tales, but his part in the story of Bilbo’s great adventure is only a small one, though important, as you will see, if we ever get to the end of it. His house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Evil things did not come into that valley.
他的面容高贵俊美如一精一灵贵族，体格强健如战士，足智多谋如巫师，德高望重如一位矮人的国王，一性一情和善又如同夏天。他曾出现在许多故事中，但在我们这个关于比尔博伟大冒险的故事中，他却只是一个小角一色一。不过角一色一虽小，但如果各位一路看到最后，便会发现他起的作用可是相当重要。无论你是想要吃东西、睡觉、工作，还是讲故事、唱歌或者只是坐着发呆，或是把所有提到的这些事情全都混在一起做，他的房子都是一个完美的所在，因为邪恶的事物无法进入这座山谷。
I wish I had time to tell you even a few of the tales or one or two of the songs that they heard in that house. All of them, the ponies as well, grew refreshed and strong in a few days there. Their clothes were mended as well as their bruises, their tempers and their hopes. Their bags were filled with food and provisions light to carry but strong to bring them over the mountain passes. Their plans were improved with the best advice. So the time came to midsummer eve, and they were to go on again with the early sun on midsummer morning.
我真希望能有时间可以告诉你们哪怕只是几个他们在那所房子里听到的故事，或是一两首他们在那里听到的歌。在那里没待几天，所有的人，包括小马，便都变得神清气爽、身强体健了。他们的衣服得到了缝补，身上的伤口得到了治愈，脾气平息下去了，而心中的希望则得到了加强。他们的袋子里面装满了粮食给养，虽然分量不重，却足够让他们能越过高山中的道道关隘。在这里，他们听到了最好的建议，令他们的计划得到了改进。时间一眨眼来到了夏至的前夜，待夏至日的太一陽一一升起，他们便要重新踏上旅程了。
Elrond knew all about runes of every kind. That day he looked at the swords they had brought from the trolls’ lair, and he said: “These are not troll-make. They are old swords, very old swords of the High Elves of the West, my kin. They were made in Gondolin for the Goblin-wars. They must ha一ve come from a dragon’s hoard or goblin plunder, for dragons and goblins destroyed that city many ages ago. This, Thorin, the runes name Orcrist, the Goblin-clea一ver in the ancient tongue of Gondolin; it was a famous blade. This, Gandalf, was Glamdring, Foe-hammer that the king of Gondolin once wore. Keep them well!”
埃尔隆德认得各种各样的如尼文。那天，他看了那些从食人一妖洞窟里拿来的刀剑后说：“这些不是食人一妖打造的，它们是古代的武器，年代非常久远，属于我的同胞──西方的高等一精一灵，是在刚多林，为了对抗半兽人的战争而打造的。它一定来自于恶龙的巢一穴一或是半兽人的宝库，因为那个城市早在许多年前就已经被他们给摧毁了。索林，这上面的如尼文是这把剑的名字，叫奥克锐斯特在刚多林的古代语言中是‘斩杀半兽人之剑’的意思，这可是一把名剑啊。甘道夫，你的这把名叫格拉姆德凛，‘击敌锤’的意思，曾经是刚多林的国王的佩剑。这两把剑可一定得好好保管哪!”
“Whence did the trolls get them, I wonder?” said Thorin looking at his sword with new interest.
“那几个食人一妖不知道是怎么弄到这些宝剑的?”索林听埃尔隆德这么一说，饶有兴趣地看着自己手中的剑。
“I could not say,” said Elrond, “but one may guess that your trolls had plundered other plunderers, or come on the remnants of old robberies in some hold in the mountains. I ha一ve heard that there are still forgotten treasures of old to be found in the deserted ca一verns of the mines of Moria, since the dwarf and goblin war.”
“这我也说不上来，”埃尔隆德说，“不过，或许可以猜测是你们所打败的食人一妖从别的强盗那里抢来的，又或许是古老大山的某个洞中遗留下的旧日赃物。我曾经听说，在矮人与半兽人的战争之后，在墨瑞亚的废弃矿坑中，至今还有被人遗忘的宝藏在等着人们去寻找。”
Thorin pondered these words. “I will keep this sword in honour,” he said. “May it soon clea一ve goblins once again!”
索林听了这些话，稍稍在脑子里思忖了一下。“我将很荣幸地保管这把宝剑，”他说，“希望不久以后它可以再度斩杀半兽人!”
“A wish that is likely to be granted soon enough in the mountains!” said Elrond. “But show me now your map!”
“这个愿望，恐怕进山以后要不了多久就有机会实现了!”埃尔隆德说，“不过先让我看看你们的地图吧!”
He took it and gazed long at it, and he shook his head; for if he did not altogether approve of dwarves and their love of gold, he hated dragons and their cruel wickedness, and he grieved to remember the ruin of the town of Dale and its merry bells, and the burned banks of the bright River Running. The moon was shining in a broad silver crescent. He held up the map and the white light shone through it. “What is this?” he said. “There are moon-letters here, beside the plain runes which say ‘five feet high the door and three may walk abreast.’”
他接过地图，盯着看了许久，然后摇了摇头。即使他并不完全认同矮人们冒险的行为和他们对黄金的热一爱一，但他更痛恨恶龙和它们邪恶的暴行。一想到河谷城的废墟，那曾经在镇上响过的欢乐钟声，以及奔流河被烧焦的河岸，他的心中就难过万分。此时，一轮大大的银一色一新月正高挂天际。他举起地图来，白白的月光从地图背后透了过来。“咦，这是什么?”他惊奇地说道，“在普通的如尼文旁边，还有月亮文字，说的是‘大门五呎高，三人并肩行’。”
“What are moon-letters?” asked the hobbit full of excitement. He loved maps, as I ha一ve told you before; and he also liked runes and letters and cunning handwriting, though when he wrote himself it was a bit thin and spidery.
“什么是月亮文字?”霍比特人兴奋不已地问道。我以前告诉过你们，他非常喜欢地图，也喜一爱一如尼文、各种文字和巧妙的写法，不过他自己写来则总是稍微显得有些单薄纤细。
“Moon-letters are rune-letters, but you cannot see them,” said Elrond, “not when you look straight at them. They can only be seen when the moon shines behind them, and what is more, with the more cunning sort it must be a moon of the same shape and season as the day when they were written. The dwarves invented them and wrote them with silver pens, as your friends could tell you. These must ha一ve been written on a midsummer’s eve in a crescent moon, a long while ago.”
埃尔隆德解释说：“月亮文字也是如尼文，但是你直直地盯着它看是看不见的。只有当月光从后面照过来的时候才能看见。它还有更一精一妙的设计，那就是只有在和这些字写下的那一天处于同一个季节、同一种月形的时候，这些字才会显示出来。是矮人们发明了这种文字，用银一色一的笔来书写，这只要问问你的朋友就知道了。这些字一定是在很久以前的夏至前夜，在新月底下书写的。”
“What do they say?” asked Gandalf and Thorin together, a bit vexed perhaps that even Elrond should ha一ve found this out first, though really there had not been a chance before, and there would not ha一ve been another until goodness knows when.
“上面写些什么?”甘道夫和索林齐声问道。尽管之前并没有出现过能读出这些文字的机会，以后也不知道要等到猴年马月才能等来第二次机会，但这件事居然是由埃尔隆德先发现了，这让他们的面子多少有点挂不住。
“Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks,” read Elrond, “and the setting sun with the last light of Durin’s Day will shine upon the key-hole.”
“当画眉鸟敲打的时候，站在灰一色一的岩石旁边，”埃尔隆德念道，“渐渐落下的太一陽一带着都林之日的余晖，将照到钥匙孔上。”
“Durin, Durin!” said Thorin. “He was the father of the fathers of the eldest race of Dwarves, the Longbeards, and my first ancestor: I am his heir.”
“都林，都林!”索林说，“他是矮人最古老一族的祖先的祖先，人称长须，也是我家的始祖，我是他的后人。”
“Then what is Durin’s Day?” asked Elrond.
“那都林之日是哪一天?”埃尔隆德问道。
“The first day of the dwarves’ New Year,” said Thorin, “is as all should know the first day of the last moon of Autumn on the threshold of Winter. We still call it Durin’s Day when the last moon of Autumn and the sun are in the sky together. But this will not help us much, I fear, for it passes our skill in these days to guess when such a time will come again.”
“是矮人新年的元旦，”索林说，“大家都知道，那是秋冬之交时秋天最后一个月的第一天。我们现在仍然把当秋天的最后一轮月亮和太一陽一一起在天空中出现的日子叫都林之日。不过，这恐怕帮不了我们什么，因为这些年来，我们预测这个日子来临的技术已经慢慢失传了。
“That remains to be seen,” said Gandalf. “Is there any more writing?”
“失不失传得到时候才能知道，”甘道夫说，“那上面还有什么别的吗?”
“None to be seen by this moon,” said Elrond, and he ga一ve the map back to Thorin; and then they went down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer’s eve.
“现在这样的月一色一之下看不出别的了，”埃尔隆德边说边把地图递还给索林。然后，他们一起走到水边，去看一精一灵们在夏至前夕的月光下舞蹈和歌唱。
The next morning was a midsummer’s morning as fair and fresh as could be dreamed: blue sky and never a cloud, and the sun dancing on the water. Now they rode away amid songs of farewell and good speed, with their hearts ready for more adventure, and with a knowledge of the road they must follow over the Misty Mountains to the land beyond.
第二天一早就是夏至的早晨，美好而又清新，是人们所能梦想得到的最好的天气：湛蓝的天空中没有一丝云彩，太一陽一在水中跳着舞。大伙儿在告别的歌声中策马启程，心中早已经为更大的冒险作好了准备，对穿越迷雾山脉进入山后大地的路径已经谙熟于一胸一。
