Chapter 6 THE OLD FOREST Frodo woke suddenly. It was still dark in the room. Merry was standing there with a candle in one hand, and banging on the door with the other. ‘All right! What is it?’ said Frodo, still shaken and bewildered. ‘What is it!’ cried Merry. ‘It is time to get up. It is half past four and very foggy. Come on! Sam is already getting breakfast ready. Even Pippin is up. I am just going to saddle the ponies, and fetch the one that is to be the baggage-carrier. Wake that sluggard Fatty! At least he must get up and see us off.’ Soon after six o’clock the five hobbits were ready to start. Fatty Bolger was still yawning. They stole quietly out of the house. Merry went in front leading a laden pony, and took his way along a path that went through a spinney behind the house, and then cut across several fields. The leaves of trees were glistening, and every twig was dripping; the grass was grey with cold dew. Everything was still, and far-away noises seemed near and clear: fowls chattering in a yard, someone closing a door of a distant house. In their shed they found the ponies: sturdy little beasts of the kind loved by hobbits, not speedy, but good for a long day’s work. They mounted, and soon they were riding off into the mist, which seemed to open reluctantly before them and close forbiddingly behind them. After riding for about an hour, slowly and without talking, they saw the Hedge looming suddenly ahead. It was tall and netted over with silver cobwebs. ‘How are you going to get through this?’ asked Fredegar. ‘Follow me!’ said Merry, ‘and you will see.’ He turned to the left along the Hedge, and soon they came to a point where it bent inwards, running along the lip of a hollow. A cutting had been made, at some distance from the Hedge, and went sloping gently down into the ground. It had walls of brick at the sides, which rose steadily, until suddenly they arched over and formed a tunnel that dived deep under the Hedge and came out in the hollow on the other side. Here Fatty Bolger halted. ‘Good-bye, Frodo!’ he said. ‘I wish you were not going into the Forest. I only hope you will not need rescuing before the day is out. But good luck to you — today and every day!’ ‘If there are no worse things ahead than the Old Forest, I shall be lucky,’ said Frodo. “Tell Gandalf to hurry along the East Road: we shall soon be back on it and going as fast as we can.” ‘Good-bye!’
第六章 老林 佛羅多突然醒來。房間裡仍然一片漆黑。梅里站在那裡，一手拿著蠟燭，另一手敲著門。「好了！怎麼了？」佛羅多說，他仍然感到震驚和困惑。「怎麼了！」梅里喊道。「該起床了。現在是四點半，霧很大。快點！山姆已經在準備早餐了。連皮聘都起來了。我正要去給小馬套上鞍，然後去牽那匹要馱行李的馬。叫醒那個懶鬼胖子！至少他得起來送我們一程。」六點剛過，五個哈比人就準備出發了。胖子博爾傑還在打哈欠。他們悄悄地溜出屋子。梅里走在前頭，牽著一匹馱著重物的小馬，沿著一條穿過屋後小樹林的道路前進，然後穿過好幾片田地。樹葉閃閃發光，每根樹枝都在滴水；草地因寒露而呈灰色。萬籟俱寂，遠處的聲音似乎近在耳畔，清晰可聞：院子裡雞群的咯咯聲，遠處房屋關門的聲音。他們在棚屋裡找到了小馬：那是哈比人喜愛的那種結實的小動物，雖然不快，但很適合長時間工作。他們騎上馬，很快就騎進了迷霧中，迷霧似乎不情願地在他們面前散開，又令人望而生畏地在他們身後合攏。騎行了大約一個小時，他們緩慢而沉默地前進，突然看到籬笆在前方隱約出現。它很高，上面佈滿了銀色的蜘蛛網。「你們打算怎麼穿過這裡？」弗雷德加問道。「跟我來！」梅里說，「你就會知道了。」他沿著籬笆向左轉，很快他們來到一個籬笆向內彎曲的地方，沿著一個窪地的邊緣延伸。在離籬笆一段距離的地方，開鑿了一條通道，它緩緩地向下傾斜進入地下。通道兩側有磚牆，磚牆穩步升高，直到突然拱起，形成一個隧道，深入籬笆下方，然後從另一側的窪地出來。胖子博爾傑在這裡停了下來。「再見，佛羅多！」他說。「我真希望你不要進入老林。我只希望你在天黑之前不需要救援。祝你好運——今天和每一天！」佛羅多說：「如果前方沒有比老林更糟糕的事情，那我就算幸運了。」「告訴甘道夫沿著東路快點走：我們很快就會回到那條路上，並盡可能快地前進。」「再見！
IIO THE LORD OF THE RINGS they cried, and rode down the slope and disappeared from Fredegar’s sight into the tunnel. It was dark and damp. At the far end it was closed by a gate of thick-set iron bars. Merry got down and unlocked the gate, and when they had all passed through he pushed it to again. It shut with a clang, and the lock clicked. The sound was ominous. ‘There!’ said Merry. ‘You have left the Shire, and are now outside, and on the edge of the Old Forest.’ ‘Are the stories about it true?’ asked Pippin. ‘I don’t know what stories you mean,’ Merry answered. ‘If you mean the old bogey-stories Fatty’s nurses used to tell him, about goblins and wolves and things of that sort, I should say no. At any rate I don’t believe them. But the Forest zs queer. Everything in it is very much more alive, more aware of what is going on, so to speak, than things are in the Shire. And the trees do not like strangers. They watch you. They are usually content merely to watch you, as long as daylight lasts, and don’t do much. Occasionally the most unfriendly ones may drop a branch, or stick a root out, or grasp at you with a long trailer. But at night things can be most alarming, or so I am told. I have only once or twice been in here after dark, and then only near the hedge. I thought all the trees were whispering to each other, passing news and plots along in an unintelligible language; and the branches swayed and groped without any wind. They do say the trees do actually move, and can surround strangers and hem them in. In fact long ago they attacked the Hedge: they came and planted themselves right by it, and leaned over it. But the hobbits came and cut down hundreds of trees, and made a great bonfire in the Forest, and burned all the ground in a long strip east of the Hedge. After that the trees gave up the attack, but they became very unfriendly. There is still a wide bare space not far inside where the bonfire was made.’ ‘Is it only the trees that are dangerous?’ asked Pippin. “There are various queer things living deep in the Forest, and on the far side,’ said Merry, ‘or at least I have heard so; but I have never seen any of them. But something makes paths. Whenever one comes inside one finds open tracks; but they seem to shift and change from time to time in a queer fashion. Not far from this tunnel there is, or was for a long time, the beginning of quite a broad path leading to the Bonfire Glade, and then on more or less in our direction, east and a little north. That is the path I am going to try and find.’ The hobbits now left the tunnel-gate and rode across the wide hollow. On the far side was a faint path leading up on to the floor of the Forest, a hundred yards and more beyond the Hedge; but it vanished as soon as it brought them under the trees. Looking back they
他們高喊著「魔戒！」然後騎下斜坡，從佛瑞德加的視線中消失在隧道裡。隧道裡又黑又濕。盡頭處被一道由粗鐵條組成的閘門封住。梅里下馬解開了閘門，等他們都通過後，他又把門推了回去。閘門「哐」地一聲關上，鎖也「咔噠」一聲扣住。這聲音預示著不祥。「好了！」梅里說。「你們已經離開夏爾，現在身處外面，就在老林邊緣了。」「關於它的故事是真的嗎？」皮聘問。「我不知道你指的是什麼故事，」梅里回答。「如果你指的是胖子佛瑞德加的奶媽們以前常講的那些關於哥布林、狼之類的嚇人故事，那我會說不是。至少我不相信那些。但這片森林很古怪。裡面的一切都比夏爾的東西更有生命力，可以說，對周遭發生的事情更為敏銳。而且樹木不喜歡陌生人。它們會監視你。只要白天還在，它們通常只會滿足於監視你，不會做太多。偶爾，那些最不友善的樹可能會掉下一根樹枝，或者伸出一條樹根，或者用長長的藤蔓抓住你。但到了晚上，事情可能會變得非常嚇人，至少我是這麼聽說的。我只在天黑後進來過一兩次，而且都只在樹籬附近。我以為所有的樹都在互相低語，用一種難以理解的語言傳遞著消息和陰謀；樹枝在沒有風的情況下搖擺和摸索。他們確實說樹木真的會移動，而且能包圍陌生人並將他們困住。事實上，很久以前它們就攻擊過樹籬：它們來到樹籬旁，緊挨著它生長，並傾斜過去。但哈比人來了，砍伐了數百棵樹，在森林裡生了一堆大篝火，並燒毀了樹籬東邊一大片土地。之後，樹木放棄了攻擊，但它們變得非常不友善。在裡面不遠處，篝火曾經燃燒的地方，仍然有一片寬闊的空地。」「只有樹木是危險的嗎？」皮聘問。「森林深處和遠處還有各種奇怪的東西，」梅里說，「至少我是這麼聽說的；但我從未見過它們。但有些東西會開闢道路。每當有人進來，就會發現開闊的小徑；但它們似乎會不時地以一種奇怪的方式移動和改變。離這個隧道不遠的地方，有一條，或者說曾經長期存在一條相當寬闊的小徑，通往篝火林間空地，然後或多或少地朝著我們的方向，向東偏北一點。那是我打算去尋找的路。」哈比人現在離開了隧道閘門，騎過寬闊的窪地。在遠處有一條模糊的小徑，通往森林的地面，在樹籬之外一百碼多一點；但它一將他們帶到樹下就消失了。回頭看，他們
THE OLD FOREST III could see the dark line of the Hedge through the stems of trees that were already thick about them. Looking ahead they could see only tree-trunks of innumerable sizes and shapes: straight or bent, twisted, leaning, squat or slender, smooth or gnarled and branched; and all the stems were green or grey with moss and slimy, shaggy growths. Merry alone seemed fairly cheerful. “You had better lead on and find that path,’ Frodo said to him. ‘Don’t let us lose one another, or forget which way the Hedge lies!’ They picked a way among the trees, and their ponies plodded along, carefully avoiding the many writhing and interlacing roots. There was no undergrowth. The ground was rising steadily, and as they went forward it seemed that the trees became taller, darker, and thicker. There was no sound, except an occasional drip of moisture falling through the still leaves. For the moment there was no whispering or movement among the branches; but they all got an uncomfortable feeling that they were being watched with disapproval, deepening to dislike and even enmity. The feeling steadily grew, until they found themselves looking up quickly, or glancing back over their shoulders, as if they expected a sudden blow. There was not as yet any sign of a path, and the trees seemed constantly to bar their way. Pippin suddenly felt that he could not bear it any longer, and without warning let out a shout. ‘Oi! Oi!’ he cried. ‘I am not going to do anything. Just let me pass through, will you!’ The others halted startled; but the cry fell as if muffled by a heavy curtain. There was no echo or answer though the wood seemed to become more crowded and more watchful than before. ‘I should not shout, if I were you,’ said Merry. ‘It does more harm than good.’ Frodo began to wonder if it were possible to find a way through, and if he had been right to make the others come into this abominable wood. Merry was looking from side to side, and seemed already uncertain which way to go. Pippin noticed it. ‘It has not taken you long to lose us,’ he said. But at that moment Merry gave a whistle of relief and pointed ahead. ‘Well, well!’ he said. “These trees do shift. There is the Bonfire Glade in front of us (or I hope so), but the path to it seems to have moved away!’ The light grew clearer as they went forward. Suddenly they came out of the trees and found themselves in a wide circular space. There was sky above them, blue and clear to their surprise, for down under the Forest-roof they had not been able to see the rising morning and the lifting of the mist. The sun was not, however, high enough yet
老林 第三部 可以看見樹籬的黑色線條穿過周圍已經很茂密的樹幹。往前看，他們只能看到無數大小和形狀的樹幹：直的或彎曲的，扭曲的，傾斜的，矮胖的或纖細的，光滑的或多節多枝的；所有的樹幹都長滿了綠色或灰色的苔蘚，以及濕滑、蓬亂的植物。只有梅里看起來相當愉快。「你最好帶路找到那條小徑，」佛羅多對他說，「別讓我們走散了，也別忘了樹籬在哪個方向！」他們在樹林中選了一條路，他們的小馬緩慢地前行，小心翼翼地避開許多盤繞交錯的樹根。沒有灌木叢。地勢穩步上升，隨著他們前進，樹木似乎變得更高、更暗、更密。沒有任何聲音，除了偶爾有水珠從靜止的樹葉間滴落。暫時沒有樹枝間的低語或晃動；但他們都感到一種不安，覺得自己正被不悅地注視著，這種感覺逐漸加深為厭惡，甚至敵意。這種感覺不斷增強，直到他們發現自己會迅速抬頭，或回頭張望，彷彿預期會突然遭到襲擊。至今仍沒有小徑的跡象，樹木似乎不斷地阻擋著他們的去路。皮聘突然覺得他再也受不了了，毫無預警地大喊一聲。「喂！喂！」他喊道，「我什麼都不會做。就讓我過去，好嗎！」其他人驚訝地停了下來；但那喊聲卻像被厚重的帷幕悶住了一樣。沒有回音或回應，儘管樹林似乎比以前更加擁擠和警惕。「如果我是你，我就不會大喊大叫，」梅里說，「那只會弊大於利。」佛羅多開始懷疑是否有可能找到一條出路，以及他讓其他人進入這片可惡的樹林是否正確。梅里左右張望，似乎已經不確定該往哪裡走。皮聘注意到了。「你沒花多少時間就把我們弄丟了，」他說。但就在那一刻，梅里鬆了一口氣地吹了聲口哨，並指向前方。「哎呀，哎呀！」他說，「這些樹真的會移動。篝火林地就在我們前面（我希望是），但通往那裡的小徑似乎已經移開了！」隨著他們前進，光線變得更清晰。突然，他們走出樹林，來到一片寬闊的圓形空地。他們頭頂上是藍色清澈的天空，這讓他們很驚訝，因為在森林的樹冠下，他們一直無法看到日出和薄霧的消散。然而，太陽還沒有升得足夠高。
II2 THE LORD OF THE RINGS to shine down into the clearing, though its light was on the tree-tops. The leaves were all thicker and greener about the edges of the glade, enclosing it with an almost solid wall. No tree grew there, only rough grass and many tall plants: stalky and faded hemlocks and woodparsley, fire-weed seeding into fluffy ashes, and rampant nettles and thistles. A dreary place: but it seemed a charming and cheerful garden after the close Forest. The hobbits felt encouraged, and looked up hopefully at the broadening daylight in the sky. At the far side of the glade there was a break in the wall of trees, and a clear path beyond it. They could see it running on into the wood, wide in places and open above, though every now and again the trees drew in and overshadowed it with their dark boughs. Up this path they rode. They were still climbing gently, but they now went much quicker, and with better heart; for it seemed to them that the Forest had relented, and was going to let them pass unhindered after all. But after a while the air began to get hot and stuffy. The trees drew close again on either side, and they could no longer see far ahead. Now stronger than ever they felt again the ill will of the wood pressing on them. So silent was it that the fall of their ponies’ hoofs, rustling on dead leaves and occasionally stumbling on hidden roots, seemed to thud in their ears. Frodo tried to sing a song to encourage them, but his voice sank to a murmur. O! Wanderers in the shadowed land despair not! For though dark they stand, all woods there be must end at last, and see the open sun go past: the setting sun, the rising sun, the day’s end, or the day begun. For east or west all woods must fail... Fail — even as he said the word his voice faded into silence. The air seemed heavy and the making of words wearisome. Just behind them a large branch fell from an old overhanging tree with a crash into the path. The trees seemed to close in before them. “They do not like all that about ending and failing,’ said Merry. ‘I should not sing any more at present. Wait till we do get to the edge, and then we’ll turn and give them a rousing chorus!’ He spoke cheerfully, and if he felt any great anxiety, he did not show it. The others did not answer. They were depressed. A heavy weight was settling steadily on Frodo’s heart, and he regretted now with every step forward that he had ever thought of challenging the menace of the trees. He was, indeed, just about to stop and propose
《魔戒》的光芒照進林中空地，儘管光線只落在樹梢上。林間空地邊緣的樹葉更為茂密翠綠，幾乎形成一道實心的牆壁將其圍住。那裡沒有樹木生長，只有粗糙的野草和許多高大的植物：莖幹枯萎的毒芹和林地歐芹，火草的種子飄散成蓬鬆的灰燼，以及瘋長著的蕁麻和薊。一個陰沉的地方：但在那密不透風的森林之後，它卻像個迷人而愉快的花園。哈比人感到振奮，滿懷希望地仰望著天空中漸漸擴大的日光。在林間空地的遠端，樹牆出現了一道缺口，後面是一條清晰的小徑。他們看到小徑一直延伸進樹林，有些地方寬闊且上方開敞，但時不時地，樹木又會靠攏過來，用它們黑暗的樹枝遮蔽小徑。他們沿著這條小徑騎行。他們仍在緩緩上坡，但現在速度快了許多，心情也好了起來；因為他們覺得森林似乎已經心軟了，終究會讓他們暢通無阻地通過。但過了一會兒，空氣開始變得又熱又悶。兩旁的樹木再次靠攏，他們再也看不清前方。他們再次感受到森林那比以往更強烈的惡意，壓迫著他們。寂靜得連他們小馬的蹄聲，在枯葉上沙沙作響，偶爾絆到隱藏的樹根，都彷彿在他們耳中發出沉悶的聲響。佛羅多試圖唱首歌來鼓勵他們，但他的聲音卻低沉成了喃喃自語。哦！陰影之地的流浪者們，不要絕望！因為儘管它們黑暗地矗立著，所有的森林終將結束，並看到開闊的陽光經過：無論是落日、旭日、一天的結束，還是一天的開始。無論向東或向西，所有的森林都將消逝……消逝——就在他說出這個詞的時候，他的聲音也漸漸消失在寂靜中。空氣似乎沉重，說話也變得令人疲憊。就在他們身後，一根粗大的樹枝從一棵古老的懸垂樹上，轟然一聲墜落在小徑上。樹木似乎在他們面前合攏。「它們不喜歡那些關於結束和消逝的話。」梅里說。「我現在不該再唱歌了。等到我們真的到了邊緣，我們再轉身給它們來個振奮人心的合唱！」他說話時語氣愉快，如果他感到任何巨大的焦慮，他也沒有表現出來。其他人沒有回答。他們很沮喪。一股沉重的壓力穩穩地壓在佛羅多的心頭，他現在每向前一步，都後悔自己曾經想過挑戰樹木的威脅。他確實正要停下來提議
THE OLD FOREST II3 going back (if that was still possible), when things took a new turn. The path stopped climbing, and became for a while nearly level. The dark trees drew aside, and ahead they could see the path going almost straight forward. Before them, but some distance off, there stood a green hill-top, treeless, rising like a bald head out of the encircling wood. The path seemed to be making directly for it. They now hurried forward again, delighted with the thought of climbing out for a while above the roof of the Forest. The path dipped, and then again began to climb upwards, leading them at last to the foot of the steep hillside. There it left the trees and faded into the turf. The wood stood all round the hill like thick hair that ended sharply in a circle round a shaven crown. The hobbits led their ponies up, winding round and round until they reached the top. There they stood and gazed about them. The air was gleaming and sunlit, but hazy; and they could not see to any great distance. Near at hand the mist was now almost gone; though here and there it lay in hollows of the wood, and to the south of them, out of a deep fold cutting right across the Forest, the fog still rose like steam or wisps of white smoke. ‘That,’ said Merry, pointing with his hand, ‘that is the line of the Withywindle. It comes down out of the Downs and flows south-west through the midst of the Forest to join the Brandywine below Haysend. We don’t want to go that way! The Withywindle valley is said to be the queerest part of the whole wood — the centre from which all the queerness comes, as it were.’ The others looked in the direction that Merry pointed out, but they could see little but mists over the damp and deep-cut valley; and beyond it the southern half of the Forest faded from view. The sun on the hill-top was now getting hot. It must have been about eleven o’clock; but the autumn haze still prevented them from seeing much in other directions. In the west they could not make out either the line of the Hedge or the valley of the Brandywine beyond it. Northward, where they looked most hopefully, they could see nothing that might be the line of the great East Road, for which they were making. They were on an island in a sea of trees, and the horizon was veiled. On the south-eastern side the ground fell very steeply, as if the slopes of the hill were continued far down under the trees, like islandshores that really are the sides of a mountain rising out of deep waters. They sat on the green edge and looked out over the woods below them, while they ate their mid-day meal. As the sun rose and passed noon they glimpsed far off in the east the grey-green lines of the Downs that lay beyond the Old Forest on that side. That cheered
老林 II3 回頭（如果那還可能的話），這時情況有了新的轉變。小徑不再上坡，有一段路變得幾乎平坦。幽暗的樹木向兩旁退開，他們可以看到前方的路幾乎是筆直的。在他們前方，但仍有一段距離，矗立著一座綠色的山頂，光禿禿的，像個禿頭從環繞的樹林中冒出來。小徑似乎是直接通往那裡。他們現在又加快腳步向前，很高興能暫時爬到森林的頂部之上。小徑向下傾斜，然後又開始向上攀爬，最終將他們帶到陡峭山坡的底部。在那裡，它離開了樹林，融入了草地。樹林環繞著山丘，就像濃密的頭髮，在一個剃光的頭頂周圍形成一個清晰的圓圈。哈比人牽著他們的小馬向上走，盤旋而上，直到他們到達山頂。他們站在那裡，環顧四周。空氣閃閃發光，陽光普照，但有些朦朧；他們無法看到很遠的地方。近處的薄霧現在幾乎散盡了；儘管這裡那裡仍有薄霧躺在樹林的窪地裡，而在他們南方，從一道橫貫森林的深谷中，霧氣仍像蒸汽或縷縷白煙般升起。「那裡，」梅里用手指向前方說，「那是柳條河的河道。它從丘陵地帶流下，穿過森林中部向西南流去，在海森德下方匯入白蘭地河。我們不想走那條路！柳條河谷據說是整個森林中最奇特的地方——可以說，所有怪異之事的源頭就在那裡。」其他人朝著梅里指出的方向望去，但除了潮濕而深邃的山谷上方的薄霧外，他們幾乎什麼也看不見；而在那之外，森林的南半部也漸漸消失在視野中。山頂上的陽光現在變得炙熱。當時大概是上午十一點；但秋天的薄霧仍然使他們無法看清其他方向。在西方，他們既無法辨認出籬笆的界線，也無法看清其後的白蘭地河谷。向北望去，那是他們抱最大希望的方向，但他們什麼也看不見，無法辨認出他們正要前往的偉大東路。他們身處一片樹海中的孤島上，地平線被遮蔽了。在東南側，地面非常陡峭，彷彿山坡一直延伸到樹林深處，就像從深水中升起的山脈側面，形成島嶼的海岸線。他們坐在綠色的邊緣上，俯瞰著下方的樹林，同時享用著午餐。隨著太陽升起並過了正午，他們在東方遠處瞥見了丘陵地帶灰綠色的輪廓，那片丘陵位於老林的那一側。這讓他們感到振奮。
II4 THE LORD OF THE RINGS them greatly; for it was good to see a sight of anything beyond the wood’s borders, though they did not mean to go that way, if they could help it: the Barrow-downs had as sinister a reputation in hobbitlegend as the Forest itself. At length they made up their minds to go on again. The path that had brought them to the hill reappeared on the northward side; but they had not followed it far before they became aware that it was bending steadily to the right. Soon it began to descend rapidly and they guessed that it must actually be heading towards the Withywindle valley: not at all the direction they wished to take. After some discussion they decided to leave this misleading path and strike northward; for although they had not been able to see it from the hill-top, the Road must lie that way, and it could not be many miles off. Also northward, and to the left of the path, the land seemed to be drier and more open, climbing up to slopes where the trees were thinner, and pines and firs replaced the oaks and ashes and other strange and nameless trees of the denser wood. At first their choice seemed to be good: they got along at a fair speed, though whenever they got a glimpse of the sun in an open glade they seemed unaccountably to have veered eastwards. But after a time the trees began to close in again, just where they had appeared from a distance to be thinner and less tangled. Then deep folds in the ground were discovered unexpectedly, like the ruts of great giant-wheels or wide moats and sunken roads long disused and choked with brambles. These lay usually right across their line of march, and could only be crossed by scrambling down and out again, which was troublesome and difficult with their ponies. Each time they climbed down they found the hollow filled with thick bushes and matted undergrowth, which somehow would not yield to the left, but only gave way when they turned to the right; and they had to go some distance along the bottom before they could find a way up the further bank. Each time they clambered out, the trees seemed deeper and darker; and always to the left and upwards it was most difficult to find a way, and they were forced to the right and downwards. After an hour or two they had lost all clear sense of direction, though they knew well enough that they had long ceased to go northward at all. They were being headed off, and were simply following a course chosen for them — eastwards and southwards, into the heart of the Forest and not out of it. The afternoon was wearing away when they scrambled and stumbled into a fold that was wider and deeper than any they had
《魔戒》第二卷第四章 他們感到非常高興；因為能看到森林邊界以外的任何事物都是好的，儘管如果可以的話，他們並不打算走那條路：因為在哈比人的傳說中，古塚崗的惡名昭彰程度不亞於森林本身。最終他們決定繼續前進。那條將他們帶到山丘的小徑在北邊再次出現；但他們沒走多遠就發現它正穩定地向右彎曲。很快地，小徑開始急劇下降，他們猜測它實際上是通往柳條河谷的方向：這絕不是他們想走的路。經過一番討論，他們決定離開這條誤導人的小徑，轉而向北走；因為儘管他們從山頂上看不到，但大路肯定在那邊，而且離這裡應該不遠。同時，在小徑的北邊和左側，地面似乎更乾燥、更開闊，向上延伸到樹木較稀疏的山坡，松樹和冷杉取代了茂密森林中的橡樹、白蠟樹以及其他奇特而不知名的樹木。起初他們的選擇似乎是明智的：他們以相當快的速度前進，儘管每當他們在開闊的林間空地瞥見陽光時，他們似乎都會莫名其妙地向東偏離。但過了一段時間，樹木又開始合攏，恰好在那些從遠處看來較稀疏、較不糾結的地方。接著，他們意外地發現地面上出現了深深的褶皺，就像巨大車輪的車轍，或是長期廢棄、被荊棘叢生的寬闊護城河和凹陷的道路。這些褶皺通常橫亙在他們的行進路線上，只能透過爬上爬下才能越過，這對帶著小馬的他們來說既麻煩又困難。每當他們爬下去，就會發現凹地裡長滿了濃密的灌木和糾結的灌木叢，這些灌木叢不知為何不讓他們向左走，只有當他們轉向右邊時才讓開；他們必須沿著底部走一段距離，才能找到通往對岸的路。每當他們爬出來，樹木就顯得更深更暗；而且總是向左和向上最難找到路，他們被迫向右和向下走。一兩個小時後，他們完全失去了方向感，儘管他們很清楚自己早已不再向北走了。他們被引離了原路，只是在遵循一條為他們選擇的路線——向東和向南，深入森林的中心，而不是走出森林。當他們跌跌撞撞地進入一個比以往任何一個都更寬更深的凹地時，下午已漸漸消逝。
THE OLD FOREST II5 yet met. It was so steep and overhung that it proved impossible to climb out of it again, either forwards or backwards, without leaving their ponies and their baggage behind. All they could do was to follow the fold — downwards. The ground grew soft, and in places boggy; springs appeared in the banks, and soon they found themselves following a brook that trickled and babbled through a weedy bed. Then the ground began to fall rapidly, and the brook growing strong and noisy, flowed and leaped swiftly downhill. They were in a deep dim-lit gully over-arched by trees high above them. After stumbling along for some way along the stream, they came quite suddenly out of the gloom. As if through a gate they saw the sunlight before them. Coming to the opening they found that they had made their way down through a cleft in a high steep bank, almost a cliff. At its feet was a wide space of grass and reeds; and in the distance could be glimpsed another bank almost as steep. A golden afternoon of late sunshine lay warm and drowsy upon the hidden land between. In the midst of it there wound lazily a dark river of brown water, bordered with ancient willows, arched over with willows, blocked with fallen willows, and flecked with thousands of faded willow-leaves. The air was thick with them, fluttering yellow from the branches; for there was a warm and gentle breeze blowing softly in the valley, and the reeds were rustling, and the willow-boughs were creaking. ‘Well, now I have at least some notion of where we are!’ said Merry. ‘We have come almost in the opposite direction to which we intended. This is the River Withywindle! I will go on and explore.’ He passed out into the sunshine and disappeared into the long grasses. After a while he reappeared, and reported that there was fairly solid ground between the cliff-foot and the river; in some places firm turf went down to the water’s edge. ‘What’s more,’ he said, ‘there seems to be something like a footpath winding along on this side of the river. If we turn left and follow it, we shall be bound to come out on the east side of the Forest eventually.’ ‘I dare say!’ said Pippin. ‘That is, if the track goes on so far, and does not simply lead us into a bog and leave us there. Who made the track, do you suppose, and why? I am sure it was not for our benefit. I am getting very suspicious of this Forest and everything in it, and I begin to believe all the stories about it. And have you any idea how far eastward we should have to go?’ ‘No,’ said Merry, ‘I haven’t. I don’t know in the least how far down the Withywindle we are, or who could possibly come here often enough to make a path along it. But there is no other way out that I can see or think of.’ There being nothing else for it, they filed out, and Merry led them
他們尚未抵達老林II5。它如此陡峭且懸垂，以至於他們發現，若不留下小馬和行李，無論向前或向後，都無法爬出。他們所能做的，只有沿著那道凹陷處——向下走。地面變得鬆軟，有些地方泥濘不堪；河岸邊出現了泉水，很快地，他們發現自己正沿著一條小溪前行，小溪在長滿水草的河床中潺潺流淌，發出汩汩水聲。接著地面開始急劇下降，小溪變得湍急而喧鬧，迅速地向下奔流。他們身處一個幽深昏暗的溝壑中，高大的樹木在他們上方形成拱形。沿著小溪踉蹌前行了一段路後，他們突然間走出了陰暗。彷彿穿過了一道門，他們看見了前方的陽光。來到開闊處，他們發現自己是從一道高聳陡峭的河岸（幾乎是懸崖）的裂縫中下來的。在它的腳下是一片寬闊的草地和蘆葦；遠處隱約可見另一道同樣陡峭的河岸。午後金色的陽光溫暖而慵懶地灑落在其間隱蔽的土地上。在其中，一條深褐色的河流蜿蜒流淌，兩岸是古老的柳樹，柳枝在河面上方形成拱形，河道被倒下的柳樹阻擋，水面上點綴著成千上萬片枯黃的柳葉。空氣中瀰漫著它們，從樹枝上飄落，泛著黃色；因為山谷中吹拂著溫暖而輕柔的微風，蘆葦沙沙作響，柳枝嘎吱作響。「嗯，現在我至少對我們在哪裡有點概念了！」梅里說。「我們幾乎是朝著與原定方向相反的方向前進了。這是柳條河！我要去前面探探路。」他走進陽光下，消失在長長的草叢中。過了一會兒，他重新出現，報告說懸崖腳下和河流之間有相當堅實的地面；有些地方，堅實的草皮一直延伸到水邊。「更重要的是，」他說，「河的這一邊似乎有一條蜿蜒的小徑。如果我們向左轉並沿著它走，最終一定會從老林的東側出來。」「我敢說！」皮聘說。「也就是說，如果這條路能走那麼遠，而不是簡單地把我們帶進泥沼然後把我們丟在那裡。你覺得這條路是誰修的，為什麼？我敢肯定不是為了我們的好處。我對這片老林和裡面的一切都越來越懷疑了，我開始相信所有關於它的故事。你知不知道我們還要往東走多遠？」「不，」梅里說，「我不知道。我一點也不知道我們在柳條河的下游多遠，也不知道誰會經常來這裡修出一條路。但我看不出或想不出還有其他出路了。」別無他法，他們排成一列走了出去，梅里領著他們
116 THE LORD OF THE RINGS to the path that he had discovered. Everywhere the reeds and grasses were lush and tall, in places far above their heads; but once found, the path was easy to follow, as it turned and twisted, picking out the sounder ground among the bogs and pools. Here and there it passed over other rills, running down gullies into the Withywindle out of the higher forest-lands, and at these points there were tree-trunks or bundles of brushwood laid carefully across. The hobbits began to feel very hot. There were armies of flies of all kinds buzzing round their ears, and the afternoon sun was burning on their backs. At last they came suddenly into a thin shade; great grey branches reached across the path. Each step forward became more reluctant than the last. Sleepiness seemed to be creeping out of the ground and up their legs, and falling softly out of the air upon their heads and eyes. Frodo felt his chin go down and his head nod. Just in front of him Pippin fell forward on to his knees. Frodo halted. ‘It’s no good,’ he heard Merry saying. ‘Can’t go another step without rest. Must have nap. It’s cool under the willows. Less flies!’ Frodo did not like the sound of this. ‘Come on!’ he cried. ‘We can’t have a nap yet. We must get clear of the Forest first.’ But the others were too far gone to care. Beside them Sam stood yawning and blinking stupidly. Suddenly Frodo himself felt sleep overwhelming him. His head swam. There now seemed hardly a sound in the air. The flies had stopped buzzing. Only a gentle noise on the edge of hearing, a soft fluttering as of a song half whispered, seemed to stir in the boughs above. He lifted his heavy eyes and saw leaning over him a huge willow-tree, old and hoary. Enormous it looked, its sprawling branches going up like reaching arms with many long-fingered hands, its knotted and twisted trunk gaping in wide fissures that creaked faintly as the boughs moved. The leaves fluttering against the bright sky dazzled him, and he toppled over, lying where he fell upon the grass. Merry and Pippin dragged themselves forward and lay down with their backs to the willow-trunk. Behind them the great cracks gaped wide to receive them as the tree swayed and creaked. They looked up at the grey and yellow leaves, moving softly against the light, and singing. They shut their eyes, and then it seemed that they could almost hear words, cool words, saying something about water and sleep. They gave themselves up to the spell and fell fast asleep at the foot of the great grey willow. Frodo lay for a while fighting with the sleep that was overpowering him; then with an effort he struggled to his feet again. He felt a
116 《魔戒》 他所發現的小徑。蘆葦和青草到處都鬱鬱蔥蔥，高大茂密，有些地方甚至高過他們的頭頂；但一旦找到，這條小徑就很容易跟隨，它蜿蜒曲折，在沼澤和水池中挑選出較為堅實的地面。小徑時不時會經過其他小溪，這些小溪從高地森林流入柳條河，而在這些地方，都有樹幹或成捆的灌木叢小心地橫放在上面。哈比人開始感到非常熱。各種各樣的蒼蠅大軍在他們耳邊嗡嗡作響，下午的陽光灼燒著他們的背部。最後，他們突然來到一片稀疏的陰影下；巨大的灰色樹枝橫跨小徑。每向前一步都比上一步更加不情願。睡意似乎從地面爬上他們的腿，又輕柔地從空中落在他們的頭上和眼睛上。佛羅多感覺到他的下巴垂下，頭點了起來。就在他前面，皮聘跪倒在地。佛羅多停了下來。「沒用了，」他聽到梅里說。「一步也走不動了，必須休息。得小睡一下。柳樹下很涼快。蒼蠅也少！」佛羅多不喜歡這話。他喊道：「快走！我們現在不能小睡。我們必須先離開森林！」但其他人已經筋疲力盡，顧不上這些了。山姆站在他們旁邊，打著哈欠，傻傻地眨著眼睛。突然，佛羅多自己也感到睡意襲來，難以抵擋。他頭暈目眩。空氣中似乎幾乎沒有聲音了。蒼蠅停止了嗡嗡聲。只有一種輕柔的聲音在聽覺邊緣，一種輕柔的顫動，彷彿半低語的歌聲，似乎在頭頂的樹枝間攪動。他抬起沉重的眼睛，看到一棵巨大、古老而灰白的柳樹正俯身在他上方。它看起來非常巨大，其蔓延的樹枝像伸出的手臂，帶著許多長指的手，其盤根錯節的樹幹裂開了寬闊的裂縫，當樹枝擺動時，裂縫發出輕微的吱呀聲。樹葉在明亮的天空下顫動，使他眼花繚亂，他倒了下去，躺在他跌倒的草地上。梅里和皮聘拖著身子向前，背靠著柳樹幹躺下。在他們身後，當樹搖擺吱呀作響時，巨大的裂縫張開大口，似乎要吞噬他們。他們抬頭看著灰黃色的樹葉，在光線下輕柔地擺動，並唱著歌。他們閉上眼睛，然後似乎幾乎能聽到話語，涼爽的話語，說著關於水和睡眠的事情。他們屈服於魔咒，在巨大的灰色柳樹腳下沉沉睡去。佛羅多掙扎了一會兒，抵抗著那股壓倒性的睡意；然後他費力地重新站了起來。他感到一股
THE OLD FOREST Il? compelling desire for cool water. ‘Wait for me, Sam,’ he stammered. ‘Must bathe feet a minute.’ Half in a dream he wandered forward to the riverward side of the tree, where great winding roots grew out into the stream, like gnarled dragonets straining down to drink. He straddled one of these, and paddled his hot feet in the cool brown water; and there he too suddenly fell asleep with his back against the tree. Sam sat down and scratched his head, and yawned like a cavern. He was worried. The afternoon was getting late, and he thought this sudden sleepiness uncanny. “There’s more behind this than sun and warm air,’ he muttered to himself. ‘I don’t like this great big tree. I don’t trust it. Hark at it singing about sleep now! This won’t do at all!’ He pulled himself to his feet, and staggered off to see what had become of the ponies. He found that two had wandered on a good way along the path; and he had just caught them and brought them back towards the others, when he heard two noises; one loud, and the other soft but very clear. One was the splash of something heavy falling into the water; the other was a noise like the snick of a lock when a door quietly closes fast. He rushed back to the bank. Frodo was in the water close to the edge, and a great tree-root seemed to be over him and holding him down, but he was not struggling. Sam gripped him by the jacket, and dragged him from under the root; and then with difficulty hauled him on to the bank. Almost at once he woke, and coughed and spluttered. ‘Do you know, Sam,” he said at length, ‘the beastly tree threw me in! I felt it. The big root just twisted round and tipped me in!’ “You were dreaming I expect, Mr. Frodo,’ said Sam. ‘You shouldn’t sit in such a place, if you feel sleepy.’ ‘What about the others?’ Frodo asked. ‘I wonder what sort of dreams they are having.’ They went round to the other side of the tree, and then Sam understood the click that he had heard. Pippin had vanished. The crack by which he had laid himself had closed together, so that not a chink could be seen. Merry was trapped: another crack had closed about his waist; his legs lay outside, but the rest of him was inside a dark opening, the edges of which gripped like a pair of pincers. Frodo and Sam beat first upon the tree-trunk where Pippin had lain. They then struggled frantically to pull open the jaws of the crack that held poor Merry. It was quite useless. ‘What a foul thing to happen!’ cried Frodo wildly. ‘Why did we ever come into this dreadful Forest? I wish we were all back at
老林。他對涼水的強烈渴望。「山姆，等我一下，」他結結巴巴地說。「我得泡一下腳。」他半夢半醒地走向樹木靠河的一側，那裡巨大的盤根錯節的樹根伸入溪流，就像扭曲的幼龍伸長脖子飲水一般。他跨坐在一根樹根上，把發燙的雙腳浸入冰涼的棕色水中；然後他也突然靠著樹睡著了。山姆坐下來搔了搔頭，打了一個像洞穴般巨大的哈欠。他很擔心。下午漸漸晚了，他覺得這突如其來的睡意很不尋常。「這背後肯定不只是陽光和暖空氣那麼簡單，」他喃喃自語。「我不喜歡這棵大樹。我不信任它。聽它現在還在唱著關於睡眠的歌！這可不行！」他掙扎著站起來，搖搖晃晃地走開，想看看那些小馬怎麼樣了。他發現有兩匹馬已經沿著小徑走了一大段路；他剛把牠們抓回來，帶到其他馬匹身邊時，就聽到了兩種聲音；一種響亮，另一種輕柔卻非常清晰。一種是重物落水的水花聲；另一種是門悄然快速關上時，鎖舌「咔噠」一聲的聲音。他衝回岸邊。佛羅多在靠近岸邊的水中，一根巨大的樹根似乎壓在他身上，將他按住，但他卻沒有掙扎。山姆抓住他的夾克，把他從樹根下拖出來；然後費力地把他拉上岸。他幾乎立刻就醒了，咳嗽著，口中發出噗噗聲。「你知道嗎，山姆，」他終於開口說，「那棵可惡的樹把我扔進去了！我感覺到了。那根大樹根就是扭過來把我推下去的！」「我想你是在做夢吧，佛羅多先生，」山姆說。「如果你覺得困，就不該坐在這種地方。」「其他人呢？」佛羅多問。「不知道他們在做什麼夢。」他們繞到樹的另一邊，然後山姆才明白他聽到的「咔噠」聲是什麼。皮聘不見了。他躺臥的裂縫已經合攏，連一絲縫隙都看不見了。梅里被困住了：另一道裂縫合攏在他的腰部；他的雙腿露在外面，但身體的其餘部分則在一個黑暗的開口裡，開口的邊緣像鉗子一樣緊緊夾住他。佛羅多和山姆先是敲打皮聘躺過的那段樹幹。然後他們拼命掙扎著，想掰開夾住可憐梅里那道裂縫的「嘴巴」。這完全沒用。「發生這種事真是太糟糕了！」佛羅多狂亂地喊道。「我們為什麼要來到這座可怕的森林？我真希望我們都回到
118 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Crickhollow!’ He kicked the tree with all his strength, heedless of his own feet. A hardly perceptible shiver ran through the stem and up into the branches; the leaves rustled and whispered, but with a sound now of faint and far-off laughter. ‘I suppose we haven’t got an axe among our luggage, Mr. Frodo?’ asked Sam. ‘I brought a little hatchet for chopping firewood,’ said Frodo. “That wouldn’t be much use.’ ‘Wait a minute!’ cried Sam, struck by an idea suggested by firewood. ‘We might do something with fire!’ ‘We might,’ said Frodo doubtfully. ‘We might succeed in roasting Pippin alive inside.’ ‘We might try to hurt or frighten this tree to begin with,’ said Sam fiercely. ‘If it don’t let them go, Ill have it down, if I have to gnaw it.’ He ran to the ponies and before long came back with two tinderboxes and a hatchet. Quickly they gathered dry grass and leaves, and bits of bark; and made a pile of broken twigs and chopped sticks. These they heaped against the trunk on the far side of the tree from the prisoners. As soon as Sam had struck a spark into the tinder, it kindled the dry grass and a flurry of flame and smoke went up. The twigs crackled. Little fingers of fire licked against the dry scored rind of the ancient tree and scorched it. A tremor ran through the whole willow. The leaves seemed to hiss above their heads with a sound of pain and anger. A loud scream came from Merry, and from far inside the tree they heard Pippin give a muffled yell. ‘Put it out! Put it out!’ cried Merry. ‘He’ll squeeze me in two, if you don’t. He says so!’ ‘Who? What?’ shouted Frodo, rushing round to the other side of the tree. ‘Put it out! Put it out!’ begged Merry. The branches of the willow began to sway violently. There was a sound as of a wind rising and spreading outwards to the branches of all the other trees round about, as though they had dropped a stone into the quiet slumber of the river-valley and set up ripples of anger that ran out over the whole Forest. Sam kicked at the little fire and stamped out the sparks. But Frodo, without any clear idea of why he did so, or what he hoped for, ran along the path crying help! help! help! It seemed to him that he could hardly hear the sound of his own shrill voice: it was blown away from him by the willow-wind and drowned in a clamour of leaves, as soon as the words left his mouth. He felt desperate: lost and witless. Suddenly he stopped. There was an answer, or so he thought; but it seemed to come from behind him, away down the path further
THE OLD FOREST II9 back in the Forest. He turned round and listened, and soon there could be no doubt: someone was singing a song; a deep glad voice was singing carelessly and happily, but it was singing nonsense: Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo! Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow! Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo! Half hopeful and half afraid of some new danger, Frodo and Sam now both stood still. Suddenly out of a long string of nonsense-words (or so they seemed) the voice rose up loud and clear and burst into this song: Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! My darling! Light goes the weather-wind and the feathered starling. Down along under Hill, shining in the sunlight, Waiting on the doorstep for the cold starlight, There my pretty lady is, River-woman’s daughter, Slender as the willow-wand, clearer than the water. Old Tom Bombadil water-lilies bringing Comes hopping home again. Can you hear him singing? Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! and merry-o, Goldberry, Goldberry, merry yellow berry-o! Poor old Willow-man, you tuck your roots away! Tom’s in a hurry now. Evening will follow day. Tom’s going home again water-lilies bringing. Hey! Come derry dol! Can you hear me singing? Frodo and Sam stood as if enchanted. The wind puffed out. The leaves hung silently again on stiff branches. There was another burst of song, and then suddenly, hopping and dancing along the path, there appeared above the reeds an old battered hat with a tall crown and a long blue feather stuck in the band. With another hop and a bound there came into view a man, or so it seemed. At any rate he was too large and heavy for a hobbit, if not quite tall enough for one of the Big People, though he made noise enough for one, stumping along with great yellow boots on his thick legs, and charging through grass and rushes like a cow going down to drink. He had a blue coat and a long brown beard; his eyes were blue and bright, and his face was red as a ripe apple, but creased into a hundred wrinkles of laughter. In his hands he carried on a large leaf as on a tray a small pile of white water-lilies. ‘Help!’ cried Frodo and Sam running towards him with their hands stretched out.
老林 II9 回到了林中。他轉過身去聆聽，很快便毫無疑問：有人在唱歌；一個深沉而愉快的聲音，無憂無慮地歡唱著，但唱的卻是胡言亂語：嘿，咚！快樂咚！叮噹叮噹咚！叮噹！跳起來！法拉拉柳樹！湯姆邦，快樂湯姆，湯姆·邦巴迪爾！弗羅多和山姆半懷希望、半懼怕著某種新危險，此刻都停下了腳步。突然，在一長串胡言亂語（或者看起來是胡言亂語）中，那聲音響亮而清晰地升起，然後爆發出這首歌：嘿！來吧，快樂咚！德里咚！我的愛人！輕風吹拂，羽毛斑斕的八哥飛翔。山丘下，陽光閃耀，在門口等待著冰冷的星光，那裡有我的美麗淑女，河女的女兒，纖細如柳枝，清澈勝過流水。老湯姆·邦巴迪爾帶著睡蓮，又蹦蹦跳跳地回家了。你聽見他唱歌了嗎？嘿！來吧，快樂咚！德里咚！還有快樂喔，金莓，金莓，快樂的黃莓喔！可憐的老柳樹人，你把根收起來吧！湯姆現在很匆忙。黑夜將隨白晝而來。湯姆又帶著睡蓮回家了。嘿！來吧，德里咚！你聽見我唱歌了嗎？弗羅多和山姆彷彿被施了魔法般站著。風停了。樹葉又靜靜地掛在僵硬的樹枝上。又一陣歌聲爆發出來，然後突然，一個舊的、破舊的帽子，有著高高的帽冠和一根插在帽帶上的長藍色羽毛，在蘆葦叢上方蹦蹦跳跳地沿著小徑出現了。又一跳一躍，一個人影映入眼簾，或者說，看起來像一個人。無論如何，他對於一個哈比人來說太過高大笨重，但對於「大人物」來說又不算太高，儘管他發出的聲響足以媲美一個大人物，他穿著巨大的黃色靴子，邁著粗壯的雙腿，笨重地走著，像一頭下河飲水的牛一樣衝過草叢和蘆葦。他穿著藍色外套，留著長長的棕色鬍鬚；他的眼睛藍而明亮，臉龐紅得像熟透的蘋果，卻又佈滿了上百道因歡笑而生的皺紋。他手上捧著一片大葉子，像托盤一樣，上面放著一小堆白色睡蓮。「救命！」弗羅多和山姆伸出雙手，朝他跑去，大聲喊道。
I20 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ‘Whoa! Whoa! steady there!’ cried the old man, holding up one hand, and they stopped short, as if they had been struck stiff. ‘Now, my little fellows, where be you a-going to, puffing like a bellows? What’s the matter here then? Do you know who I am? ’m Tom Bombadil. Tell me what’s your trouble! Tom’s in a hurry now. Don’t you crush my lilies!’ ‘My friends are caught in the willow-tree,’ cried Frodo breathlessly. ‘Master Merry’s being squeezed in a crack!’ cried Sam. ‘What?’ shouted Tom Bombadil, leaping up in the air. ‘Old Man Willow? Naught worse than that, eh? That can soon be mended. I know the tune for him. Old grey Willow-man! Ill freeze his marrow cold, if he don’t behave himself. I'll sing his roots off. Pll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away. Old Man Willow!’ Setting down his lilies carefully on the grass, he ran to the tree. There he saw Merry’s feet still sticking out — the rest had already been drawn further inside. Tom put his mouth to the crack and began singing into it in a low voice. They could not catch the words, but evidently Merry was aroused. His legs began to kick. Tom sprang away, and breaking off a hanging branch smote the side of the willow with it. “You let them out again, Old Man Willow!’ he said. ‘What be you a-thinking of? You should not be waking. Eat earth! Dig deep! Drink water! Go to sleep! Bombadil is talking!’ He then seized Merry’s feet and drew him out of the suddenly widening crack. There was a tearing creak and the other crack split open, and out of it Pippin sprang, as if he had been kicked. Then with a loud snap both cracks closed fast again. A shudder ran through the tree from root to tip, and complete silence fell. “Thank you!’ said the hobbits, one after the other. Tom Bombadil burst out laughing. ‘Well, my little fellows!’ said he, stooping so that he peered into their faces. “You shall come home with me! The table is all laden with yellow cream, honeycomb, and white bread and butter. Goldberry is waiting. Time enough for questions around the supper table. You follow after me as quick as you are able!’ With that he picked up his lilies, and then with a beckoning wave of his hand went hopping and dancing along the path eastward, still singing loudly and nonsensically. Too surprised and too relieved to talk, the hobbits followed after him as fast as they could. But that was not fast enough. Tom soon disappeared in front of them, and the noise of his singing got fainter and further away. Suddenly his voice came floating back to them in a loud halloo!
I20 魔戒 「哇！哇！穩住！」老人舉起一隻手喊道，他們立刻停了下來，彷彿被擊僵了一般。「好了，我的小傢伙們，你們要去哪裡，喘得像個風箱？這裡發生了什麼事？你們知道我是誰嗎？我是湯姆·邦巴迪爾。告訴我你們有什麼麻煩！湯姆現在很趕時間。別壓壞我的百合花！」 「我的朋友們被困在柳樹裡了，」佛羅多氣喘吁吁地喊道。「梅利老爺被擠在裂縫裡了！」山姆喊道。 「什麼？」湯姆·邦巴迪爾跳起來喊道。「老柳樹精？沒什麼比那更糟的了，是吧？那很快就能修好。我知道對付他的辦法。老灰柳樹精！如果他不乖乖聽話，我就凍僵他的骨髓。我要把他的根唱掉。我要唱起一陣風，把樹葉和樹枝都吹走。老柳樹精！」 他小心翼翼地把百合花放在草地上，然後跑到樹邊。他看到梅利的腳還露在外面——其餘部分已經被拉得更深了。湯姆把嘴湊到裂縫邊，低聲唱了起來。他們聽不清歌詞，但顯然梅利被喚醒了。他的腿開始踢動。湯姆跳開，折斷一根垂下的樹枝，用它猛擊柳樹的側面。「你把他們放出來，老柳樹精！」他說。「你在想什麼？你不該醒著。吃土！深挖！喝水！去睡覺！邦巴迪爾在說話！」 他隨後抓住梅利的腳，把他從突然擴大的裂縫中拉了出來。一聲撕裂般的吱嘎聲響起，另一個裂縫也裂開了，皮聘從中跳了出來，彷彿被踢了一腳。接著，隨著一聲響亮的啪嗒聲，兩個裂縫又迅速合攏了。一陣顫抖從樹根傳遍樹梢，隨後一片寂靜。 「謝謝！」哈比人一個接一個地說。湯姆·邦巴迪爾哈哈大笑起來。「好了，我的小傢伙們！」他說，彎下腰，仔細端詳著他們的臉。「你們要跟我回家！桌上擺滿了黃奶油、蜂巢、白麵包和奶油。金莓正在等著。有足夠的時間在晚餐桌旁提問。你們盡可能快地跟在我後面！」 說罷，他拿起他的百合花，然後招手示意，一邊跳躍一邊沿著小徑向東方走去，仍然大聲地、胡亂地唱著歌。哈比人又驚又喜，說不出話來，盡可能快地跟在他後面。但那還不夠快。湯姆很快就在他們面前消失了，他的歌聲也越來越微弱，越來越遠。突然，他的聲音又以一聲響亮的「哈囉！」飄了回來！
THE OLD FOREST I2I Hop along, my little friends, up the Withywindle! Tom’s going on ahead candles for to kindle. Down west sinks the Sun: soon you will be groping. When the nght-shadows fall, then the door will open, Out of the window-panes light will twinkle yellow. Fear no alder black! Heed no hoary willow! Fear neither root nor bough! Tom goes on before you. Hey now! merry dol! We'll be waiting for you! After that the hobbits heard no more. Almost at once the sun seemed to sink into the trees behind them. They thought of the slanting light of evening glittering on the Brandywine River, and the windows of Bucklebury beginning to gleam with hundreds of lights. Great shadows fell across them; trunks and branches of trees hung dark and threatening over the path. White mists began to rise and curl on the surface of the river and stray about the roots of the trees upon its borders. Out of the very ground at their feet a shadowy steam arose and mingled with the swiftly falling dusk. It became difficult to follow the path, and they were very tired. Their legs seemed leaden. Strange furtive noises ran among the bushes and reeds on either side of them; and if they looked up to the pale sky, they caught sight of queer gnarled and knobbly faces that gloomed dark against the twilight, and leered down at them from the high bank and the edges of the wood. They began to feel that all this country was unreal, and that they were stumbling through an ominous dream that led to no awakening. Just as they felt their feet slowing down to a standstill, they noticed that the ground was gently rising. The water began to murmur. In the darkness they caught the white glimmer of foam, where the river flowed over a short fall. Then suddenly the trees came to an end and the mists were left behind. They stepped out from the Forest, and found a wide sweep of grass welling up before them. The river, now small and swift, was leaping merrily down to meet them, glinting here and there in the light of the stars, which were already shining in the sky. The grass under their feet was smooth and short, as if it had been mown or shaven. The eaves of the Forest behind were clipped, and trim as a hedge. The path was now plain before them, well-tended and bordered with stone. It wound up on to the top of a grassy knoll, now grey under the pale starry night; and there, still high above them on a further slope, they saw the twinkling lights of a house. Down again the path went, and then up again, up a long smooth hillside of turf, towards the light. Suddenly a wide yellow beam flowed out brightly from a door that was opened. There was Tom Bombadil’s
老林 I2I 快跳吧，我的小朋友們，沿著柳條河往上！湯姆走在前頭去點蠟燭。太陽西沉：你們很快就會摸黑前行。當夜影降臨，門就會打開，窗戶裡會閃爍著黃色的燈光。別怕黑榿木！別理會灰白的柳樹！根和枝條都別怕！湯姆走在你們前面。嘿！快樂的嘟！我們等著你！之後，哈比人再也沒聽到任何聲音。太陽幾乎立刻就沉入了他們身後的樹林中。他們想起傍晚的斜陽在白蘭地河上閃爍，以及巴克蘭的窗戶開始閃耀著數百盞燈光。巨大的陰影籠罩著他們；樹木的樹幹和枝條黑暗而威脅地懸掛在小徑上方。白色的薄霧開始在河面上升騰捲曲，並飄散在河岸樹木的根部。從他們腳下的地面，升起了一股朦朧的蒸汽，與迅速降臨的暮色融為一體。小徑變得難以辨認，他們非常疲憊。他們的雙腿像灌了鉛一樣沉重。奇怪而鬼祟的聲音在他們兩旁的灌木叢和蘆葦中穿梭；如果他們抬頭望向蒼白的天空，會看到奇形怪狀、扭曲多節的臉孔，在暮色中顯得陰森，從高高的河岸和樹林邊緣向下凝視著他們。他們開始覺得這整個地方都不真實，彷彿他們正跌跌撞撞地走進一個不祥的夢境，卻無法醒來。就在他們感覺腳步慢下來，幾乎停滯不前時，他們注意到地面正在緩緩上升。水開始潺潺作響。在黑暗中，他們看到了河水流過一處小瀑布時，白色泡沫的微光。然後，樹林突然到了盡頭，薄霧也被拋在腦後。他們走出森林，發現眼前是一片廣闊的草地，綿延不絕。河流，此刻變得細小而湍急，歡快地奔騰而下與他們相遇，在星光下閃爍著點點光芒，星星已經在天空中閃耀。他們腳下的草地平坦而短促，彷彿被修剪過。身後森林的邊緣被修剪得整齊，像一道籬笆。小徑現在清晰地呈現在他們面前，維護良好，兩旁鑲嵌著石頭。它蜿蜒而上，到達一個長滿草的小山丘頂部，此刻在蒼白的星夜下呈現灰色；在那裡，在更高處的另一個斜坡上，他們看到了房子的閃爍燈光。小徑再次向下，然後又向上，沿著一個長而平緩的草坡，朝著燈光前進。突然，一道寬闊的黃色光束從一扇打開的門中明亮地流瀉而出。那是湯姆·邦巴迪爾的家。
I22 THE LORD OF THE RINGS house before them, up, down, under hill. Behind it a steep shoulder of the land lay grey and bare, and beyond that the dark shapes of the Barrow-downs stalked away into the eastern night. They all hurried forward, hobbits and ponies. Already half their weariness and all their fears had fallen from them. Hey! Come merry dol! rolled out the song to greet them. Hey! Come derry dol! Hop along, my hearties! Hobbits! Ponies all! We are fond of parties. Now let the fun begin! Let us sing together! Then another clear voice, as young and as ancient as Spring, like the song of a glad water flowing down into the night from a bright morning in the hills, came falling like silver to meet them: Now let the song begin! Let us sing together Of sun, stars, moon and mist, rain and cloudy weather, Light on the budding leaf, dew on the feather, Wind on the open hill, bells on the heather, Reeds by the shady pool, lilies on the water: Old Tom Bombadil and the River-daughter! And with that song the hobbits stood upon the threshold, and a golden light was all about them.
第二十二章 魔戒之王 屋子就在他們前方，上坡、下坡，在山丘下。屋後是一片陡峭的山脊，灰濛濛地光禿禿的，再過去，塚丘的黑色身影延伸入東方的夜色中。他們都加快了腳步，哈比人與小馬。他們一半的疲憊和所有的恐懼都已消散。嘿！來吧，merry dol！歌聲響起迎接他們。嘿！來吧，derry dol！快走吧，我的夥計們！哈比人！所有的小馬！我們喜歡派對。現在讓樂趣開始吧！讓我們一起唱歌！接著，另一個清澈的聲音，像春天般年輕又古老，如同歡快的水流從山間明亮的早晨，流淌入夜色中的歌聲，如銀光般落下，迎接他們：現在讓歌聲開始吧！讓我們一起歌唱，關於太陽、星星、月亮和薄霧，雨水和陰天，嫩葉上的光芒，羽毛上的露珠，開闊山丘上的風，石楠花上的鈴鐺，陰涼水池旁的蘆葦，水面上的百合：老湯姆·邦巴迪爾和河谷女兒！隨著那首歌，哈比人們站在門檻上，金色的光芒環繞著他們。