Chapter 4 OF HERBS AND STEWED RABBIT For the few hours of daylight that were left they rested, shifting into the shade as the sun moved, until at last the shadow of the western rim of their dell grew long, and darkness filled all the hollow. Then they ate a little, and drank sparingly. Gollum ate nothing, but he accepted water gladly. ‘Soon get more now,’ he said, licking his lips. ‘Good water runs down in streams to the Great River, nice water in the lands we are going to. Sméagol will get food there too, perhaps. He’s very hungry, yes, gollum|’ He set his two large flat hands on his shrunken belly, and a pale green light came into his eyes. The dusk was deep when at length they set out, creeping over the westward rim of the dell, and fading like ghosts into the broken country on the borders of the road. The moon was now three nights from the full, but it did not climb over the mountains until nearly midnight, and the early night was very dark. A single red light burned high up in the Towers of the Teeth, but otherwise no sign could be seen or heard of the sleepless watch on the Morannon. For many miles the red eye seemed to stare at them as they fled, stumbling through a barren stony country. They did not dare to take the road, but they kept it on their left, following its line as well as they could at a little distance. At last, when night was growing old and they were already weary, for they had taken only one short rest, the eye dwindled to a small fiery point and then vanished: they had turned the dark northern shoulder of the lower mountains and were heading southwards. With hearts strangely lightened they now rested again, but not for long. They were not going quick enough for Gollum. By his reckoning it was nearly thirty leagues from the Morannon to the Cross-roads above Osgiliath, and he hoped to cover that distance in four journeys. So soon they struggled on once more, until the dawn began to spread slowly in the wide grey solitude. They had then walked almost eight leagues, and the hobbits could not have gone any further, even if they had dared.
在僅存的幾個小時白晝裡，他們休息著，隨著太陽移動而躲進陰影中，直到最後，他們所在小山谷的西緣陰影拉長，黑暗填滿了整個窪地。接著他們吃了點東西，並節制地喝了些水。咕嚕什麼也沒吃，但很樂意地接受了水。「很快就有更多了，」他舔著嘴唇說。「好水會匯成溪流，流向大河，我們要去的地方有很棒的水。史麥戈在那裡或許也能找到食物。他好餓，是的，咕嚕。」他把兩隻又大又平的手放在乾癟的肚子上，眼中閃現出一道淡綠色的光芒。暮色已深，他們終於出發，悄悄爬過山谷的西緣，像鬼魂般消失在道路邊緣崎嶇不平的地帶。此時月亮離滿月還有三天，但直到將近午夜才越過山脈，所以前半夜非常黑暗。齒塔高處燃燒著一盞孤單的紅燈，除此之外，看不到也聽不到魔欄農不眠守衛的任何跡象。在他們逃亡的好幾英里路程中，那隻紅眼似乎一直盯著他們，看著他們在貧瘠的石地上蹣跚而行。他們不敢走大路，而是讓路保持在左手邊，盡可能地保持一小段距離跟著它的路線前進。終於，當夜色漸深，他們已疲憊不堪，因為他們只稍作了一次短暫的休息，那隻眼睛縮小成一個小小的火點，然後消失了：他們已經轉過了低矮山脈黑暗的北肩，正朝南前進。他們的心情奇異地輕鬆起來，於是再次休息，但沒有太久。對咕嚕來說，他們走得不夠快。根據他的計算，從魔欄農到奧斯吉力亞斯上方的十字路口將近三十里格，他希望分四趟走完這段距離。於是他們很快又掙扎著繼續前行，直到黎明開始在廣闊灰暗的孤寂中緩緩擴散。那時他們已經走了將近八里格，即使哈比人有膽量繼續，也已經走不動了。
OF HERBS AND STEWED RABBIT 649 The growing light revealed to them a land already less barren and ruinous. The mountains still loomed up ominously on their left, but near at hand they could see the southward road, now bearing away from the black roots of the hills and slanting westwards. Beyond it were slopes covered with sombre trees like dark clouds, but all about them lay a tumbled heathland, grown with ling and broom and cornel, and other shrubs that they did not know. Here and there they saw knots of tall pine-trees. The hearts of the hobbits rose again a little in spite of weariness: the air was fresh and fragrant, and it reminded them of the uplands of the Northfarthing far away. It seemed good to be reprieved, to walk in a land that had only been for a few years under the dominion of the Dark Lord and was not yet fallen wholly into decay. But they did not forget their danger, nor the Black Gate that was still all too near, hidden though it was behind the gloomy heights. They looked about for a hiding-place where they could shelter from evil eyes while the light lasted. The day passed uneasily. They lay deep in the heather and counted out the slow hours, in which there seemed little change; for they were still under the shadows of the Ephel Duath, and the sun was veiled. Frodo slept at times, deeply and peacefully, either trusting Gollum or too tired to trouble about him; but Sam found it difficult to do more than doze, even when Gollum was plainly fast asleep, whiffling and twitching in his secret dreams. Hunger, perhaps, more than mistrust kept him wakeful: he had begun to long for a good homely meal, ‘something hot out of the pot’. As soon as the land faded into a formless grey under coming night, they started out again. In a little while Gollum led them down on to the southward road; and after that they went on more quickly, though the danger was greater. Their ears were strained for the sound of hoof or foot on the road ahead, or following them from behind; but the night passed, and they heard no sound of walker or rider. The road had been made in a long lost time, and for perhaps thirty miles below the Morannon it had been newly repaired, but as it went south the wild encroached upon it. The handiwork of Men of old could still be seen in its straight sure flight and level course: now and again it cut its way through hillside slopes, or leaped over a stream upon a wide shapely arch of enduring masonry; but at last all signs of stonework faded, save for a broken pillar here and there, peering out of bushes at the side, or old paving-stones still lurking amid weeds and moss. Heather and trees and bracken scrambled down and overhung the banks, or sprawled out over the surface. It dwindled at last to a country cart-road little used; but it did not
漸亮的晨光向他們揭示了一片已不那麼貧瘠荒涼的土地。左側的山脈依然不祥地高聳著，但在近處，他們可以看到那條向南的道路，它正逐漸遠離山脈的黑色根基，向西傾斜而去。道路的另一邊是覆蓋著陰鬱樹木的山坡，宛如烏雲；但他們四周則是一片起伏的荒野，長滿了石楠、金雀花、山茱萸，以及其他他們不認識的灌木。他們偶爾還能看到一叢叢高大的松樹。儘管疲憊不堪，哈比人們的心情還是稍微振奮了起來：空氣清新芬芳，讓他們想起了遠方北區的高地。能得到暫時的喘息，走在一片僅被黑魔王統治了幾年、尚未完全腐朽的土地上，感覺真好。但他們沒有忘記危險，也沒忘記那仍舊太近的黑門，儘管它隱藏在陰森的高地之後。他們四處尋找藏身之處，好在白天躲避邪惡的眼睛。這一天在不安中度過。他們深深地躺在石楠叢中，數著緩慢流逝的時光，時間似乎沒什麼變化；因為他們仍在伊菲爾杜斯山脈的陰影下，太陽也被遮蔽了。佛羅多時而睡去，睡得深沉而安詳，或許是信任咕嚕，或許是累得懶得去管他；但山姆卻很難入睡，頂多只能打個盹，即使咕嚕顯然已在酣睡，在他的秘密夢境中發出輕微的鼻息聲並抽搐著。與其說是不信任，或許更是飢餓讓他保持清醒：他開始渴望一頓美味的家常飯，「一鍋熱騰騰的東西」。夜幕降臨，大地一融入無形的灰色之中，他們便再次出發。不一會兒，咕嚕帶他們走上了南向的道路；之後他們走得更快了，儘管危險也更大了。他們繃緊神經，傾聽著前方或後方路上是否有蹄聲或腳步聲；但一夜過去，他們沒有聽到任何行者或騎者的聲音。這條路是在早已失落的時代修建的，從魔欄農往南大約三十英里的路段最近才修復過，但越往南走，荒野便逐漸侵蝕了它。古代人類的工藝仍可見於其筆直穩固的走向與平坦的路面：它時而切穿山坡，時而以寬闊優美的耐久石拱跨越溪流；但最後，所有石造的痕跡都消失了，只剩下路旁偶爾從灌木叢中探頭出來的斷柱，或是仍潛伏在雜草與苔蘚間的古老鋪路石。石楠、樹木和蕨類植物爬下並懸垂在路堤上，或肆意蔓延到路面上。它最終縮減成一條鮮少使用的鄉間小車道；但它並沒有
650 THE LORD OF THE RINGS wind: it held on its own sure course and guided them by the swiftest way. So they passed into the northern marches of that land that Men once called Ithilien, a fair country of climbing woods and swift-falling streams. The night became fine under star and round moon, and it seemed to the hobbits that the fragrance of the air grew as they went forward; and from the blowing and muttering of Gollum it seemed that he noticed it too, and did not relish it. At the first signs of day they halted again. They had come to the end of a long cutting, deep, and sheer-sided in the middle, by which the road clove its way through a stony ridge. Now they climbed up the westward bank and looked abroad. Day was opening in the sky, and they saw that the mountains were now much further off, receding eastward in a long curve that was lost in the distance. Before them, as they turned west, gentle slopes ran down into dim hazes far below. All about them were small woods of resinous trees, fir and cedar and cypress, and other kinds unknown in the Shire, with wide glades among them; and everywhere there was a wealth of sweet-smelling herbs and shrubs. The long journey from Rivendell had brought them far south of their own land, but not until now in this more sheltered region had the hobbits felt the change of clime. Here Spring was already busy about them: fronds pierced moss and mould, larches were green-fingered, small flowers were opening in the turf, birds were singing. Ithilien, the garden of Gondor now desolate kept still a dishevelled dryad loveliness. South and west it looked towards the warm lower vales of Anduin, shielded from the east by the Ephel Duath and yet not under the mountain-shadow, protected from the north by the Emyn Muil, open to the southern airs and the moist winds from the Sea far away. Many great trees grew there, planted long ago, falling into untended age amid a riot of careless descendants; and groves and thickets there were of tamarisk and pungent terebinth, of olive and of bay; and there were junipers and myrtles; and thymes that grew in bushes, or with their woody creeping stems mantled in deep tapestries the hidden stones; sages of many kinds putting forth blue flowers, or red, or pale green; and marjorams and new-sprouting parsleys, and many herbs of forms and scents beyond the garden-lore of Sam. The grots and rocky walls were already starred with saxifrages and stonecrops. Primeroles and anemones were awake in the filbert-brakes; and asphodel and many lily-flowers nodded their half-opened heads in the grass: deep green grass beside the pools, where falling streams halted in cool hollows on their journey down to Anduin. The travellers turned their backs on the road and went downhill.
風：它維持著自身穩定的路線，以最快的方式引領著他們。於是，他們進入了那片人類曾稱為伊西力安的土地的北部邊疆，那是一個有著攀升林地與湍急溪流的美麗國度。在星光與圓月下，夜晚變得清朗，哈比人似乎覺得空氣隨著他們前行而愈發芬芳；而從咕嚕的喘息與咕噥聲看來，他似乎也注意到了，卻並不欣賞。天剛破曉時，他們再次停下。他們來到一條長長隘道的盡頭，這條路中央深邃且兩側陡峭，是道路奮力劈開一道石脊所開鑿出來的。此刻，他們爬上西邊的堤岸，向遠方眺望。天色漸明，他們看見群山如今已遠得多，向東退去，形成一道消失在遠方的長長弧線。當他們轉向西方，眼前是緩坡向下延伸，沒入下方朦朧的薄霧中。他們周圍盡是小片林地，長滿了松、杉、柏等樹脂性樹木，以及其他夏爾所沒有的樹種，林間有著寬闊的空地；四處都長滿了氣味芬芳的香草與灌木。從瑞文戴爾出發的長途旅行已將他們帶到遠離自己家鄉的南方，但直到此刻，在這片更受庇護的地區，哈比人才感受到氣候的變化。在這裡，春天已在他們周圍忙碌起來：蕨葉刺穿了苔蘚與腐土，落葉松伸出了綠色的指頭，小花在草地上綻放，鳥兒在歌唱。伊西力安，這座剛鐸的花園，如今雖已荒蕪，卻仍保有一種凌亂而有如樹精般的野性之美。它向南與向西望向安都因河溫暖的下游河谷，東邊有埃菲爾杜阿斯山脈作為屏障，卻又不受山影籠罩，北邊有艾明莫爾保護，並向南方的空氣與遠方海洋吹來的濕潤季風敞開。許多巨樹生長於此，它們是很久以前種下的，在無數隨意生長的後代簇擁下，無人照料地邁入老年；那裡有檉柳和氣味濃烈的篤耨香、橄欖和月桂的樹叢與灌木林；還有杜松和香桃木；百里香或長成灌木叢，或以其木質的匍匐莖如厚厚的地毯般覆蓋著隱藏的石頭；各種鼠尾草綻放出藍色、紅色或淡綠色的花朵；還有墨角蘭和新發芽的歐芹，以及許多形狀與氣味都超出山姆園藝知識的香草。岩穴與石壁上已點綴著虎耳草和景天。櫻草和銀蓮花在榛樹叢中甦醒；阿斯方代爾和許多百合花在草叢中點著半開的頭：深綠色的草地旁是水池，那是奔流的溪水在前往安都因的旅途中，於清涼窪地裡暫歇之處。旅人們轉身背對大路，朝山下走去。
OF HERBS AND STEWED RABBIT 651 As they walked, brushing their way through bush and herb, sweet odours rose about them. Gollum coughed and retched; but the hobbits breathed deep, and suddenly Sam laughed, for heart’s ease not for jest. They followed a stream that went quickly down before them. Presently it brought them to a small clear lake in a shallow dell: it lay in the broken ruins of an ancient stone basin, the carven rim of which was almost wholly covered with mosses and rose-brambles; iris-swords stood in ranks about it, and water-lily leaves floated on its dark gently-rippling surface; but it was deep and fresh, and spilled ever softly out over a stony lip at the far end. Here they washed themselves and drank their fill at the in-falling freshet. Then they sought for a resting-place, and a hiding-place; for this land, fair-seeming still, was nonetheless now territory of the Enemy. They had not come very far from the road, and yet even in so short a space they had seen scars of the old wars, and the newer wounds made by the Orcs and other foul servants of the Dark Lord: a pit of uncovered filth and refuse; trees hewn down wantonly and left to die, with evil runes or the fell sign of the Eye cut in rude strokes on their bark. Sam scrambling below the outfall of the lake, smelling and touching the unfamiliar plants and trees, forgetful for the moment of Mordor, was reminded suddenly of their ever-present peril. He stumbled on a ring still scorched by fire, and in the midst of it he found a pile of charred and broken bones and skulls. The swift growth of the wild with briar and eglantine and trailing clematis was already drawing a veil over this place of dreadful feast and slaughter; but it was not ancient. He hurried back to his companions, but he said nothing: the bones were best left in peace and not pawed and routed by Gollum. ‘Let’s find a place to lie up in,’ he said. ‘Not lower down. Higher up for me.’ A little way back above the lake they found a deep brown bed of last year’s fern. Beyond it was a thicket of dark-leaved bay-trees climbing up a steep bank that was crowned with old cedars. Here they decided to rest and pass the day, which already promised to be bright and warm. A good day for strolling on their way along the groves and glades of Ithilien; but though Orcs may shun the sunlight, there were too many places here where they could lie hid and watch; and other evil eyes were abroad: Sauron had many servants. Gollum, in any case, would not move under the Yellow Face. Soon it would look over the dark ridges of the Ephel Duath, and he would faint and cower in the light and heat. Sam had been giving earnest thought to food as they marched.
他們走著，撥開路上的灌木與藥草，空氣中飄散起甜美的香氣。咕嚕咳嗽作嘔；但哈比人卻深深呼吸，山姆突然笑了起來，是為了寬心，而非取樂。他們沿著一條在他們面前湍急而下的小溪前行。不久，溪水將他們帶到一個淺谷中的清澈小湖：它坐落在一座古老石盆的殘垣斷壁之中，石盆雕刻的邊緣幾乎完全被苔蘚和玫瑰荊棘所覆蓋；鳶尾的葉片如劍般環湖排列，睡蓮的葉子漂浮在它幽暗而微波輕漾的水面上；但湖水深邃而清新，並從遠端一個石質的唇口輕柔地不斷溢出。他們在這裡洗漱，並在流入的清泉處喝足了水。然後他們尋找一個休息和躲藏的地方；因為這片土地，儘管看似美好，如今卻已是敵人的領土。他們離大路並不算太遠，但即便在這麼短的距離內，他們也已看見了舊時戰爭的傷痕，以及由半獸人和其他黑暗魔君的邪惡僕從所造成的新傷：一個未經掩蓋的污穢垃圾坑；被肆意砍倒、任其枯死的樹木，樹皮上用粗劣的筆觸刻著邪惡的盧恩文字或那兇惡的魔眼標記。山姆在湖泊的出水口下方四處攀爬，嗅聞觸摸著不熟悉的植物與樹木，暫時忘卻了魔多，卻又突然被他們無所不在的危險所提醒。他絆到一個仍被火燒焦的圓環，在其中間發現了一堆燒焦破碎的骨頭與頭骨。野生的薔薇、野薔薇和蔓生的鐵線蓮迅速生長，已為這個可怕的盛宴與屠殺之地蒙上了一層面紗；但這並非古老的遺跡。他匆忙回到同伴身邊，但什麼也沒說：那些骨頭最好還是安靜地待著，不要被咕嚕翻弄搜尋。「我們找個地方躲起來吧，」他說。「不要再往下走了。對我來說，高處比較好。」在湖上方不遠處，他們找到了一片去年留下的深褐色蕨類植物鋪成的厚床。其後方是一片深色葉子的月桂樹叢，攀附在一道陡峭的堤岸上，岸頂則長著古老的雪松。他們決定在這裡休息，度過這一天，這天看來將會是晴朗溫暖的一天。這是在伊西利安的林間與空地上悠閒漫步的好日子；但儘管半獸人可能會躲避陽光，這裡有太多地方可以讓他們藏匿和監視；而且還有其他邪惡的眼睛在四處活動：索倫有很多僕人。無論如何，咕嚕在「黃臉」底下是不會移動的。很快，它就會越過埃菲爾杜斯山脈的黑暗山脊，而他將會在光與熱中昏倒和畏縮。行軍時，山姆一直在認真思考食物的問題。
652 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Now that the despair of the impassable Gate was behind him, he did not feel so inclined as his master to take no thought for their livelihood beyond the end of their errand; and anyway it seemed wiser to him to save the waybread of the Elves for worse times ahead. Six days or more had passed since he reckoned that they had only a bare supply for three weeks. ‘If we reach the Fire in that time, we’ll be lucky at this rate!’ he thought. ‘And we might be wanting to get back. We might!’ Besides, at the end of a long night-march, and after bathing and drinking, he felt even more hungry than usual. A supper, or a breakfast, by the fire in the old kitchen at Bagshot Row was what he really wanted. An idea struck him and he turned to Gollum. Gollum had just begun to sneak off on his own, and he was crawling away on all fours through the fern. ‘Hi! Gollum!’ said Sam. ‘Where are you going? Hunting? Well, see here, old noser, you don’t like our food, and I’d not be sorry for a change myself. Your new motto’s always ready to help. Could you find anything fit for a hungry hobbit?’ “Yes, perhaps, yes,’ said Gollum. ‘Sméagol always helps, if they asks — if they asks nicely.’ ‘Right!’ said Sam. ‘I does ask. And if that isn’t nice enough, I begs.’ Gollum disappeared. He was away some time, and Frodo after a few mouthfuls of Jembas settled deep into the brown fern and went to sleep. Sam looked at him. The early daylight was only just creeping down into the shadows under the trees, but he saw his master’s face very clearly, and his hands, too, lying at rest on the ground beside him. He was reminded suddenly of Frodo as he had lain, asleep in the house of Elrond, after his deadly wound. Then as he had kept watch Sam had noticed that at times a light seemed to be shining faintly within; but now the light was even clearer and stronger. Frodo’s face was peaceful, the marks of fear and care had left it; but it looked old, old and beautiful, as if the chiselling of the shaping years was now revealed in many fine lines that had before been hidden, though the identity of the face was not changed. Not that Sam Gamgee put it that way to himself. He shook his head, as if finding words useless, and murmured: ‘I love him. He’s like that, and sometimes it shines through, somehow. But I love him, whether or no.’ Gollum returned quietly and peered over Sam’s shoulder. Looking at Frodo, he shut his eyes and crawled away without a sound. Sam came to him a moment later and found him chewing something and muttering to himself. On the ground beside him lay two small rabbits, which he was beginning to eye greedily.
OF HERBS AND STEWED RABBIT 653 ‘Sméagol always helps,’ he said. ‘He has brought rabbits, nice rabbits. But master has gone to sleep, and perhaps Sam wants to sleep. Doesn’t want rabbits now? Sméagol tries to help, but he can’t catch things all in a minute.’ Sam, however, had no objection to rabbit at all, and said so. At least not to cooked rabbit. All hobbits, of course, can cook, for they begin to learn the art before their letters (which many never reach); but Sam was a good cook, even by hobbit reckoning, and he had done a good deal of the camp-cooking on their travels, when there was a chance. He still hopefully carried some of his gear in his pack: a small tinder-box, two small shallow pans, the smaller fitting into the larger; inside them a wooden spoon, a short two-pronged fork and some skewers were stowed; and hidden at the bottom of the pack in a flat wooden box a dwindling treasure, some salt. But he needed a fire, and other things besides. He thought for a bit, while he took out his knife, cleaned and whetted it, and began to dress the rabbits. He was not going to leave Frodo alone asleep even for a few minutes. ‘Now, Gollum,’ he said, ‘I’ve another job for you. Go and fill these pans with water, and bring ’em back!’ ‘Sméagol will fetch water, yes,’ said Gollum. ‘But what does the hobbit want all that water for? He has drunk, he has washed.’ ‘Never you mind,’ said Sam. ‘If you can’t guess, you’ll soon find out. And the sooner you fetch the water, the sooner you’ll learn. Don’t you damage one of my pans, or I’Il carve you into mincemeat.’ While Gollum was away Sam took another look at Frodo. He was still sleeping quietly, but Sam was now struck most by the leanness of his face and hands. “Too thin and drawn he is,’ he muttered. ‘Not right for a hobbit. If I can get these coneys cooked, I’m going to wake him up.’ Sam gathered a pile of the driest fern, and then scrambled up the bank collecting a bundle of twigs and broken wood; the fallen branch of a cedar at the top gave him a good supply. He cut out some turves at the foot of the bank just outside the fern-brake, and made a shallow hole and laid his fuel in it. Being handy with flint and tinder he soon had a small blaze going. It made little or no smoke but gave off an aromatic scent. He was just stooping over his fire, shielding it and building it up with heavier wood, when Gollum returned, carrying the pans carefully and grumbling to himself. He set the pans down, and then suddenly saw what Sam was doing. He gave a thin hissing shriek, and seemed to be both frightened and angry. ‘Ach! Sss — no!’ he cried. ‘No! Silly hobbits, foolish, yes foolish! They mustn’t do it!’ ‘Mustn’t do what?’ asked Sam in surprise.
「史麥戈總是在幫忙，」他說。「他帶來了兔子，很棒的兔子。但主人睡著了，而且山姆可能也想睡了。現在不想要兔子了嗎？史麥戈努力幫忙，但他沒辦法一下子就把東西抓來。」然而，山姆對兔子完全沒有異議，也這麼說了。至少，對煮熟的兔子沒意見。當然，所有的哈比人都會烹飪，因為他們在學會識字之前就開始學習這門藝術了（很多哈比人一輩子也沒學會識字）；但山姆是個好廚師，即使以哈比人的標準來看也是如此，而且在旅途中，只要有機會，大部分的露營烹飪都是他做的。他背包裡還滿懷希望地帶著一些他的裝備：一個小火絨盒、兩個小淺鍋，小鍋剛好能套進大鍋裡；鍋裡收著一支木湯匙、一把短的雙齒叉和幾根烤肉叉；在背包底部一個扁平的木盒裡，藏著一份漸漸減少的寶藏——一些鹽。但他需要火，還需要其他東西。他想了一下，同時拿出他的刀，把它擦乾淨、磨利，然後開始處理兔子。他可不打算讓佛羅多獨自睡著，哪怕只有幾分鐘。「好了，咕嚕，」他說，「我還有個活兒要給你。去把這兩個鍋裝滿水，然後拿回來！」「史麥戈會去取水，是的，」咕嚕說。「但哈比人要那麼多水做什麼？他喝過了，也洗過了。」「你別管，」山姆說。「要是你猜不到，你很快就會知道了。你越快把水取來，就越快學到。別弄壞我任何一個鍋子，否則我會把你剁成肉醬。」咕嚕離開的時候，山姆又看了佛羅多一眼。他仍然安靜地睡著，但山姆現在最受衝擊的是他臉龐和雙手的消瘦。「他太瘦太憔悴了，」他喃喃自語。「這對哈比人來說不對勁。如果我能把這些兔子煮熟，我就要把他叫醒。」山姆收集了一堆最乾的蕨類植物，然後爬上河岸，撿了一捆樹枝和碎木；頂部一根掉落的雪松樹枝給了他充足的燃料。他在蕨叢外的河岸腳下切了幾塊草皮，挖了一個淺坑，把燃料放進去。他對火石和火絨很熟練，很快就生起了一小撮火焰。火焰幾乎沒有煙，卻散發出一股芳香。他正彎腰護著火，用較粗的木柴把火燒旺時，咕嚕回來了，小心翼翼地端著鍋子，嘴裡咕咕噥噥。他把鍋子放下，然後突然看見山姆在做什麼。他發出一聲尖細的嘶叫，看起來既害怕又憤怒。「啊！嘶——不！」他叫道。「不！愚蠢的哈比人，笨，是啊，真笨！他們不能這麼做！」「不能做什麼？」山姆驚訝地問。
654 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ‘Not make the nassty red tongues,’ hissed Gollum. ‘Fire, fire! It’s dangerous, yes it is. It burns, it kills. And it will bring enemies, yes it will.’ ‘I don’t think so,’ said Sam. ‘Don’t see why it should, if you don’t put wet stuff on it and make a smother. But if it does, it does. I’m going to risk it, anyhow. I’m going to stew these coneys.’ ‘Stew the rabbits!’ squealed Gollum in dismay. ‘Spoil beautiful meat Sméagol saved for you, poor hungry Sméagol! What for? What for, silly hobbit? They are young, they are tender, they are nice. Eat them, eat them!’ He clawed at the nearest rabbit, already skinned and lying by the fire. ‘Now, now!’ said Sam. ‘Each to his own fashion. Our bread chokes you, and raw coney chokes me. If you give me a coney, the coney’s mine, see, to cook, if I have a mind. And I have. You needn’t watch me. Go and catch another and eat it as you fancy — somewhere private and out o’ my sight. Then you won’t see the fire, and I shan’t see you, and we’ll both be the happier. Ill see the fire don’t smoke, if that’s any comfort to you.’ Gollum withdrew grumbling, and crawled into the fern. Sam busied himself with his pans. ‘What a hobbit needs with coney,’ he said to himself, ‘is some herbs and roots, especially taters — not to mention bread. Herbs we can manage, seemingly.’ ‘Gollum!’ he called softly. “Third time pays for all. I want some herbs.’ Gollum’s head peeped out of the fern, but his looks were neither helpful nor friendly. ‘A few bay-leaves, some thyme and sage, will do — before the water boils,’ said Sam. ‘No!’ said Gollum. ‘Sméagol is not pleased. And Sméagol doesn’t like smelly leaves. He doesn’t eat grasses or roots, no precious, not till he’s starving or very sick, poor Sméagol.’ ‘Sméagol’ll get into real true hot water, when this water boils, if he don’t do as he’s asked,’ growled Sam. ‘Sam’ll put his head in it, yes precious. And I’d make him look for turnips and carrots, and taters too, if it was the time o’ the year. Ill bet there’s all sorts of good things running wild in this country. I’d give a lot for half a dozen taters.’ ‘Sméagol won’t go, O no precious, not this time,’ hissed Gollum. ‘He’s frightened, and he’s very tired, and this hobbit’s not nice, not nice at all. Sméagol won’t grub for roots and carrotses and — taters. What’s taters, precious, eh, what’s taters?’ ‘Po — ta — toes,’ said Sam. “The Gaffer’s delight, and rare good ballast for an empty belly. But you won’t find any, so you needn’t look. But be good Sméagol and fetch me the herbs, and I'll think better of you. What’s more, if you turn over a new leaf, and keep it turned, Pll cook you some taters one of these days. I will: fried
「如果咕嚕不照辦，等這鍋水滾了，他就會惹上『真正滾燙的麻煩』。」山姆低吼道。「山姆會把他的頭按進去，是的，寶貝。如果季節對的話，我還會叫他去找蕪菁、胡蘿蔔，還有『洋芋』。我敢打賭這地方到處都長著各種好東西。要是有半打『洋芋』，我願意付出很多代價。」「咕嚕不去，噢不，寶貝，這次不去。」咕嚕嘶嘶地說。「他很害怕，他很累，而且這個哈比人一點都不好，一點都不好。咕嚕不要去挖根莖、胡蘿蔔，還有——洋芋。什麼是『洋芋』啊，寶貝，嗯，什麼是『洋芋』？」「馬——鈴——薯。」山姆說。「老爹的最愛，也是填飽空肚子的絕佳壓艙貨。但你找不到任何一個，所以你不用找了。不過，當個好咕嚕，幫我把香草拿來，我就會對你另眼相看。而且，如果你能改過自新，並且保持下去，改天我會煮些洋芋給你吃。我會的：炸的……」
OF HERBS AND STEWED RABBIT 655 fish and chips served by S. Gamgee. You couldn’t say no to that.’ “Yes, yes we could. Spoiling nice fish, scorching it. Give me fish now, and keep nassty chips!’ ‘Oh you’re hopeless,’ said Sam. ‘Go to sleep!’ In the end he had to find what he wanted for himself; but he did not have to go far, not out of sight of the place where his master lay, still sleeping. For a while Sam sat musing, and tending the fire till the water boiled. The daylight grew and the air became warm; the dew faded off turf and leaf. Soon the rabbits cut up lay simmering in their pans with the bunched herbs. Almost Sam fell asleep as the time went by. He let them stew for close on an hour, testing them now and again with his fork, and tasting the broth. When he thought all was ready he lifted the pans off the fire, and crept along to Frodo. Frodo half opened his eyes as Sam stood over him, and then he wakened from his dreaming: another gentle, unrecoverable dream of peace. ‘Hullo, Sam!’ he said. ‘Not resting? Is anything wrong? What is the time?’ ‘About a couple of hours after daybreak,’ said Sam, ‘and nigh on half past eight by Shire clocks, maybe. But nothing’s wrong. Though it ain’t quite what I’d call right: no stock, no onions, no taters. P’ve got a bit of a stew for you, and some broth, Mr. Frodo. Do you good. You’ll have to sup it in your mug; or straight from the pan, when it’s cooled a bit. I haven’t brought no bowls, nor nothing proper.’ Frodo yawned and stretched. ‘You should have been resting, Sam,’ he said. ‘And lighting a fire was dangerous in these parts. But I do feel hungry. Hmm! Can I smell it from here? What have you stewed?’ ‘A present from Sméagol,’ said Sam: ‘a brace 0’ young coneys; though I fancy Gollum’s regretting them now. But there’s naught to go with them but a few herbs.’ Sam and his master sat just within the fern-brake and ate their stew from the pans, sharing the old fork and spoon. They allowed themselves half a piece of the Elvish waybread each. It seemed a feast. ‘Wheew! Gollum!’ Sam called and whistled softly. ‘Come on! Still time to change your mind. There’s some left, if you want to try stewed coney.’ There was no answer. ‘Oh well, I suppose he’s gone off to find something for himself. We'll finish it,’ said Sam. ‘And then you must take some sleep,’ said Frodo. ‘Don’t you drop off, while ’m nodding, Mr. Frodo. I don’t feel too sure of him. There’s a good deal of Stinker — the bad Gollum,
『……山姆・詹吉先生做的炸魚薯條。你沒法拒絕的。』『不，不，我們可以。糟蹋好魚，把它烤焦。現在給我魚，拿走那噁心的爛薯條！』『噢，你真是沒救了，』山姆說。『去睡覺吧！』最後，他只好自己去找他想要的東西；但他不必走遠，就在他主人躺著睡覺地方的視線範圍內。山姆坐著沉思了一會兒，照看著火，直到水燒開。天光漸亮，空氣變得溫暖；草皮和葉子上的露水也消散了。很快，切好的兔子和成束的香草就在鍋裡小火慢燉。隨著時間過去，山姆幾乎睡著了。他讓兔子燉了將近一小時，不時用叉子試試軟硬，嚐嚐肉湯。當他覺得一切都準備好了，便把鍋子從火上移開，悄悄走到佛羅多身邊。佛羅多半睜開眼睛，然後從夢中醒來：那又是一個溫柔、無法挽回的和平之夢。『哈囉，山姆！』他說。『沒休息嗎？有什麼不對勁嗎？現在幾點了？』『天亮後大概兩小時吧，』山姆說，『按夏爾的時鐘，也許差不多八點半了。不過沒什麼不對勁。雖然我也不能說完全對勁：沒高湯、沒洋蔥、沒馬鈴薯。我為您弄了點燉肉和一些肉湯，佛羅多先生。對您有好處。您得用馬克杯喝；或者等它涼一點直接就著鍋子喝。我沒帶碗，也沒帶什麼像樣的東西。』佛羅多打了個哈欠，伸了伸懶腰。『你本該休息的，山姆，』他說。『而且在這一帶生火很危險。不過我確實餓了。嗯！我從這裡聞得到嗎？你燉了什麼？』『史麥戈送的禮物，』山姆說：『一對小兔子；不過我猜咕嚕現在後悔了。但除了幾株香草，沒什麼東西可以搭配。』山姆和他的主人就坐在蕨叢邊緣，直接用鍋子吃燉肉，共用那把舊叉子和湯匙。他們還分吃了半塊精靈的蘭巴斯。這簡直像一場盛宴。『喂！咕嚕！』山姆輕聲呼喚並吹了口哨。『來吧！還來得及改變心意。還剩一些，如果你想嚐嚐燉兔子。』沒有回應。『噢，好吧，我想他自己找東西去了。我們把它吃完吧，』山姆說。『然後你必須睡一會兒，』佛羅多說。『在我打瞌睡的時候，你可別睡著了，佛羅多先生。我對他不太放心。他身上有很多「臭東西」的成分——也就是那個壞咕嚕，』
656 THE LORD OF THE RINGS if you understand me — in him still, and it’s getting stronger again. Not but what I think he’d try to throttle me first now. We don’t see eye to eye, and he’s not pleased with Sam, O no precious, not pleased at all.’ They finished, and Sam went off to the stream to rinse his gear. As he stood up to return, he looked back up the slope. At that moment he saw the sun rise out of the reek, or haze, or dark shadow, or whatever it was, that lay ever to the east, and it sent its golden beams down upon the trees and glades about him. Then he noticed a thin spiral of blue-grey smoke, plain to see as it caught the sunlight, rising from a thicket above him. With a shock he realized that this was the smoke from his little cooking-fire, which he had neglected to put out. “That won’t do! Never thought it would show like that!’ he muttered, and he started to hurry back. Suddenly he halted and listened. Had he heard a whistle or not? Or was it the call of some strange bird? If it was a whistle, it did not come from Frodo’s direction. There it went again from another place! Sam began to run as well as he could uphill. He found that a small brand, burning away to its outer end, had kindled some fern at the edge of the fire, and the fern blazing up had set the turves smouldering. Hastily he stamped out what was left of the fire, scattered the ashes, and laid the turves on the hole. Then he crept back to Frodo. ‘Did you hear a whistle, and what sounded like an answer?’ he asked. ‘A few minutes back. I hope it was only a bird, but it didn’t sound quite like that: more like somebody mimicking a bird-call, I thought. And I’m afraid my bit of fire’s been smoking. Now if I’ve gone and brought trouble, I’ll never forgive myself. Nor won’t have a chance, maybe!’ ‘Hush!’ whispered Frodo. ‘I thought I heard voices.’ The two hobbits trussed their small packs, put them on ready for flight, and then crawled deeper into the fern. There they crouched listening. There was no doubt of the voices. They were speaking low and furtively, but they were near, and coming nearer. Then quite suddenly one spoke clearly close at hand. ‘Here! Here is where the smoke came from!’ it said. ‘’ Twill be nigh at hand. In the fern, no doubt. We shall have it like a coney in a trap. Then we shall learn what kind of thing it is.’ ‘Aye, and what it knows!’ said a second voice. At once four men came striding through the fern from different directions. Since flight and hiding were no longer possible, Frodo
「如果你懂我的意思——還在他身上，而且又變強了。不過我想他現在會先試著掐死我。我們意見不合，而且他對山姆不滿意，噢不，寶貝，一點都不滿意。」他們吃完後，山姆走到溪邊去清洗他的器具。當他起身準備回去時，他回頭望向山坡。就在那時，他看見太陽從東方那片不知是瘴氣、薄霧還是黑影的東西中升起，金色的光束灑落在他周圍的樹木和林間空地上。接著他注意到一縷細細的藍灰色炊煙，在陽光下清晰可見，正從他上方的一片灌木叢中升起。他猛然一驚，意識到那是他忘了撲滅的小小營火冒出的煙。「這可不行！從沒想過會這麼明顯！」他喃喃自語，開始匆忙往回趕。突然，他停下腳步，側耳傾聽。他剛才是不是聽到了口哨聲？或者只是某種怪鳥的叫聲？如果是口哨聲，那並不是從佛羅多的方向傳來的。聲音又從另一個地方響起了！山姆開始盡其所能地往山上跑。他發現一根快要燒盡的小木柴點燃了火堆邊緣的一些蕨草，蕨草燃燒起來，又引得草皮悶燒起來。他急忙踩熄了殘火，把灰燼撥散，再用草皮蓋住那個坑。然後他悄悄地回到佛羅多身邊。「你聽到口哨聲了嗎？還有聽起來像回應的聲音？」他問。「幾分鐘前的事。我希望那只是鳥叫，但聽起來不太像：我覺得更像是有人在模仿鳥叫。而且，恐怕我那點小火冒煙了。要是我惹來了麻煩，我永遠不會原諒自己。或許也沒機會原諒了！」「噓！」佛羅多輕聲說。「我好像聽到人聲了。」兩個哈比人捆好他們的小背包，背上準備逃跑，然後爬進更深的蕨草叢裡。他們蹲在那裡，側耳傾聽。毫無疑問是人聲。他們說話的聲音低沉而鬼祟，但他們就在附近，而且越來越近。然後，突然間，一個聲音在近處清晰地說道。「這裡！煙就是從這裡來的！」「牠肯定就在附近。毫無疑問，在蕨草裡。我們要像抓陷阱裡的兔子一樣抓住牠。到時候我們就知道牠是什麼東西了。」「沒錯，還要看看牠知道些什麼！」第二個聲音說。話音剛落，四個男人便從不同方向大步穿過蕨草叢走來。既然逃跑和躲藏都已不可能，佛羅多
OF HERBS AND STEWED RABBIT 657 and Sam sprang to their feet, putting back to back and whipping out their small swords. If they were astonished at what they saw, their captors were even more astonished. Four tall Men stood there. Two had spears in their hands with broad bright heads. Two had great bows, almost of their own height, and great quivers of long green-feathered arrows. All had swords at their sides, and were clad in green and brown of varied hues, as if the better to walk unseen in the glades of Ithilien. Green gauntlets covered their hands, and their faces were hooded and masked with green, except for their eyes, which were very keen and bright. At once Frodo thought of Boromir, for these Men were like him in stature and bearing, and in their manner of speech. ‘We have not found what we sought,’ said one. ‘But what have we found?’ ‘Not Orcs,’ said another, releasing the hilt of his sword, which he had seized when he saw the glitter of Sting in Frodo’s hand. ‘Elves?’ said a third, doubtfully. ‘Nay! Not Elves,’ said the fourth, the tallest, and as it appeared the chief among them. ‘Elves do not walk in Ithilien in these days. And Elves are wondrous fair to look upon, or so ’tis said.’ ‘Meaning we’re not, I take you,’ said Sam. ‘Thank you kindly. And when you’ve finished discussing us, perhaps you’ll say who you are, and why you can’t let two tired travellers rest.’ The tall green man laughed grimly. ‘I am Faramir, Captain of Gondor,’ he said. ‘But there are no travellers in this land: only the servants of the Dark Tower, or of the White.’ ‘But we are neither,’ said Frodo. ‘And travellers we are, whatever Captain Faramir may say.’ “Then make haste to declare yourselves and your errand,’ said Faramir. ‘We have a work to do, and this is no time or place for riddling or parleying. Come! Where is the third of your company?’ “The third?’ “Yes, the skulking fellow that we saw with his nose in the pool down yonder. He had an ill-favoured look. Some spying breed of Orc, I guess, or a creature of theirs. But he gave us the slip by some fox-trick.’ ‘I do not know where he is,’ said Frodo. ‘He is only a chance companion met upon our road, and I am not answerable for him. If you come on him, spare him. Bring him or send him to us. He is only a wretched gangrel creature, but I have him under my care for a while. But as for us, we are Hobbits of the Shire, far to the North and West, beyond many rivers. Frodo son of Drogo is my name, and with me is Samwise son of Hamfast, a worthy hobbit in my service. We have come by long ways — out of Rivendell, or Imladris as some
《香草與燉兔肉》657頁，山姆和佛羅多一躍而起，背對背站著，迅速拔出他們的小劍。如果說他們對眼前所見感到驚訝，那麼抓住他們的人則更加驚訝。四個高大的男人站在那裡。兩人手持長矛，矛頭寬闊而光亮。兩人手持巨弓，幾乎與他們同高，背著裝滿綠色長羽箭的巨大箭袋。所有人都腰間佩劍，身穿深淺不一的綠色和棕色衣服，彷彿是為了更便於在伊西力安的林間空地中潛行而不被發現。綠色的護手套住了他們的手，他們的臉被兜帽和綠色面罩遮住，只露出一雙非常銳利明亮的眼睛。佛羅多立刻想起了波羅莫，因為這些人在身高、舉止和說話方式上都像他。「我們沒有找到我們所尋找的，」其中一人說。「但我們找到了什麼？」「不是半獸人，」另一人說，他鬆開了劍柄，剛才看到佛羅多手中刺針的閃光時他抓住了劍柄。「是精靈？」第三個人懷疑地說。「不！不是精靈，」第四個人說，他是最高大的，看來是他們的首領。「如今精靈不會在伊西力安行走。而且據說精靈美得不可思議。」「我聽懂了，你的意思就是我們長得不美，」山姆說。「真是多謝了。等你們討論完我們，或許可以說說你們是誰，為什麼不讓兩個疲憊的旅人休息。」那個高大的綠衣人冷峻地笑了。「我是法拉墨，剛鐸的將領，」他說。「但這片土地上沒有旅人：只有黑暗塔或純白塔的僕人。」「但我們兩者都不是，」佛羅多說。「而且不管法拉墨將領怎麼說，我們就是旅人。」「那就趕快表明你們的身份和任務，」法拉墨說。「我們有工作要做，現在不是打啞謎或談判的時候。來吧！你們的第三個同伴在哪裡？」「第三個？」「是的，那個鬼鬼祟祟的傢伙，我們看到他在那邊的水池裡探頭探腦。他長得一臉兇相。我猜是某種半獸人間諜，或是他們的生物。但他用了一些狐狸般的詭計從我們手中溜走了。」「我不知道他在哪裡，」佛羅多說。「他只是我們路上偶然遇到的一個同伴，我對他並不負責。如果你們遇到他，請饒他一命。把他帶來或送來給我們。他只是一個可憐的流浪生物，但我暫時要照顧他。至於我們，我們是夏爾的哈比人，來自遙遠的西北方，越過許多河流。我的名字是德羅哥之子佛羅多，和我在一起的是漢姆法斯特之子山姆衛斯，是我忠實的僕人。我們走了很長的路——從瑞文戴爾，或者有些人稱之為伊姆拉崔……
658 THE LORD OF THE RINGS call it.” Here Faramir started and grew intent. ‘Seven companions we had: one we lost at Moria, the others we left at Parth Galen above Rauros: two of my kin; a Dwarf there was also, and an Elf, and two Men. They were Aragorn; and Boromir, who said that he came out of Minas Tirith, a city in the South.’ ‘Boromir!’ all the four men exclaimed. ‘Boromir son of the Lord Denethor?’ said Faramir, and a strange stern look came into his face. ‘You came with him? That is news indeed, if it be true. Know, little strangers, that Boromir son of Denethor was High Warden of the White Tower, and our CaptainGeneral: sorely do we miss him. Who are you then, and what had you to do with him? Be swift, for the Sun is climbing!’ ‘Are the riddling words known to you that Boromir brought to Rivendell?’ Frodo replied. Seek for the Sword that was Broken. In Imladris it dwells. “The words are known indeed,’ said Faramir in astonishment. ‘It is some token of your truth that you also know them.’ ‘Aragorn whom I named is the bearer of the Sword that was Broken,’ said Frodo. ‘And we are the Halflings that the rhyme spoke of.’ “That I see,’ said Faramir thoughtfully. ‘Or I see that it might be so. And what is Isildur’s Bane?’ “That is hidden,’ answered Frodo. ‘Doubtless it will be made clear in time.’ ‘We must learn more of this,’ said Faramir, ‘and know what brings you so far east under the shadow of yonder > he pointed and said no name. ‘But not now. We have business in hand. You are in peril, and you would not have gone far by field or road this day. There will be hard handstrokes nigh at hand ere the day is full. Then death, or swift flight back to Anduin. I will leave two to guard you, for your good and for mine. Wise man trusts not to chance-meeting on the road in this land. If I return, I will speak more with you.’ ‘Farewell!’ said Frodo, bowing low. ‘Think what you will, I am a friend of all enemies of the One Enemy. We would go with you, if we halfling folk could hope to serve you, such doughty men and strong as you seem, and if my errand permitted it. May the light shine on your swords!’ “The Halflings are courteous folk, whatever else they be,’ said Faramir. ‘Farewell!’ The hobbits sat down again, but they said nothing to one another of their thoughts and doubts. Close by, just under the dappling
「我們有七位同伴：一位在摩瑞亞失蹤，其他的我們留在拉洛斯瀑布上方的帕斯加蘭：其中有兩位我的親族；還有一位矮人、一位精靈和兩位人類。他們是亞拉岡；還有波羅莫，他說他來自南方的城市米那斯提力斯。」「波羅莫！」四個人都驚呼起來。「迪耐瑟大人之子波羅莫？」法拉墨說，臉上浮現一種奇特而嚴肅的神情。「你跟他一起來的？如果這是真的，那可真是個大消息。要知道，小陌生人，迪耐瑟之子波羅莫是白塔的最高守衛，也是我們的總元帥：我們極度地想念他。那麼你們是誰，跟他有什麼關係？快說，因為太陽已經升起了！」「波羅莫帶到瑞文戴爾的那些謎語，你可知道？」佛羅多回答。「尋找那把曾斷裂的劍。它就在伊姆拉崔居住。」「這些話我確實知道，」法拉墨驚訝地說。「你竟然也知道這些話，這多少證明了你的誠實。」「我提到的亞拉岡，就是那把斷劍的持有者，」佛羅多說。「而我們就是那首詩謠裡提到的半身人。」「我明白了，」法拉墨若有所思地說。「或者說，我看出事情可能是這樣。那伊西鐸的剋星是什麼？」「那是個秘密，」佛羅多回答。「毫無疑問，時候到了自然會揭曉。」「我們必須了解更多情況，」法拉墨說，「要知道是什麼把你們帶到這麼東邊，來到那邊的陰影下——」他指著某處，但沒有說出名字。「但不是現在。我們手頭有要事。你們身處險境，今天無論走田野還是大路都走不了多遠。天亮之前，附近將有激烈的交鋒。然後不是死亡，就是迅速逃回安都因河。我會留下兩個人看守你們，這對你我都好。在這片土地上，聰明人不會相信路上的偶然相遇。如果我回來，我會再跟你們詳談。」「再會！」佛羅多深深鞠躬說。「無論您怎麼想，我是『獨一魔王』所有敵人的朋友。如果我們半身人一族能為您這樣英勇強壯的人效勞，而且我的任務也允許的話，我們很願意跟您一起去。願光明照耀您的劍！」「半身人無論如何都是有禮貌的民族，」法拉墨說。「再會！」哈比人再度坐下，但他們沒有對彼此說出心中的想法和疑慮。在附近，就在那斑駁的
OF HERBS AND STEWED RABBIT 659 shadow of the dark bay-trees, two men remained on guard. They took off their masks now and again to cool them, as the day-heat grew, and Frodo saw that they were goodly men, pale-skinned, dark of hair, with grey eyes and faces sad and proud. They spoke together in soft voices, at first using the Common Speech, but after the manner of older days, and then changing to another language of their own. To his amazement, as he listened Frodo became aware that it was the elven-tongue that they spoke, or one but little different; and he looked at them with wonder, for he knew then that they must be Dunedain of the South, men of the line of the Lords of Westernesse. After a while he spoke to them; but they were slow and cautious in answering. They named themselves Mablung and Damrod, soldiers of Gondor, and they were Rangers of Ithilien; for they were descended from folk who lived in Ithilien at one time, before it was overrun. From such men the Lord Denethor chose his forayers, who crossed the Anduin secretly (how or where, they would not say) to harry the Orcs and other enemies that roamed between the Ephel Duath and the River. ‘It is close on ten leagues hence to the east-shore of Anduin,’ said Mablung, ‘and we seldom come so far afield. But we have a new errand on this journey: we come to ambush the Men of Harad. Curse them!’ ‘Aye, curse the Southrons!’ said Damrod. ‘’Tis said that there were dealings of old between Gondor and the kingdoms of the Harad in the Far South; though there was never friendship. In those days our bounds were away south beyond the mouths of Anduin, and Umbar, the nearest of their realms, acknowledged our sway. But that is long since. ’Tis many lives of Men since any passed to or fro between us. Now of late we have learned that the Enemy has been among them, and they are gone over to Him, or back to Him — they were ever ready to His will — as have so many also in the East. I doubt not that the days of Gondor are numbered, and the walls of Minas Tirith are doomed, so great is His strength and malice.’ ‘But still we will not sit idle and let Him do all as He would,’ said Mablung. “These cursed Southrons come now marching up the ancient roads to swell the hosts of the Dark Tower. Yea, up the very roads that craft of Gondor made. And they go ever more heedlessly, we learn, thinking that the power of their new master is great enough, so that the mere shadow of His hills will protect them. We come to teach them another lesson. Great strength of them was reported to us some days ago, marching north. One of their regiments is due by our reckoning to pass by, some time ere noon — up on the road above, where it passes through the cloven way. The road may pass, but they shall not! Not while Faramir is Captain. He leads now in all perilous
香草與燉兔肉 659 在深色月桂樹的陰影下，兩名男子仍在守衛。隨著白天的熱氣漸增，他們不時取下面具來降溫。佛羅多看見他們是儀表堂堂的男子，皮膚白皙，黑髮灰眼，面容悲傷而驕傲。他們輕聲交談，起初使用通用語，但帶著古風，然後換成了他們自己的另一種語言。佛羅多驚訝地發現，他們說的竟是精靈語，或與之相差無幾的語言；他驚奇地看著他們，因為他知道他們必定是南方的登丹人，西方皇族的後裔。過了一會兒，他對他們說話；但他們回答得緩慢而謹慎。他們自稱馬伯龍和丹羅，是剛鐸的士兵，也是伊西力安的遊俠；因為他們的祖先曾一度居住在伊西力安，在它淪陷之前。迪耐瑟王就是從這樣的人中挑選他的突擊隊員，他們秘密地渡過安都因河（如何或在何處，他們不肯說）去騷擾在黯影山脈與大河之間遊蕩的半獸人及其他敵人。「從這裡到安都因河東岸將近十里格，」馬伯龍說，「我們很少來到這麼遠的野外。但這次旅程我們有新的任務：我們來此伏擊哈拉德人。詛咒他們！」「是啊，詛咒那些南方人！」丹羅說。「據說古時候剛鐸和遙遠南方的哈拉德諸王國之間曾有往來；雖然從未有過友誼。在那些日子裡，我們的疆界遠在安都因河口以南，而他們國度中最近的昂巴也承認我們的統治。但那已是許久以前的事了。自從我們之間有人往來，已經過了許多代人的時間了。如今我們得知，大敵已在他們之中，他們已投靠了祂，或說重回祂的懷抱——他們向來樂於遵從祂的旨意——就像東方許多人一樣。我毫不懷疑剛鐸的日子已屈指可數，米那斯提力斯的城牆也注定要毀滅，祂的力量與惡意是如此強大。」「但我們仍不會坐視不管，任由祂為所欲為，」馬伯龍說。「這些該死的南方人正沿著古道行軍而來，以壯大黑暗魔君的軍隊。是啊，正是沿著剛鐸工藝所造的那些道路。我們得知，他們越來越毫無戒心，以為他們新主人的力量已足夠強大，僅憑祂山脈的陰影就能保護他們。我們來給他們另一個教訓。幾天前我們接到報告，說有大批敵軍正向北行進。根據我們的推算，他們的一個軍團應在中午前經過——就在上方那條穿過裂谷的路上。大路可以過，但他們休想！只要法拉墨還是隊長，他們就過不去。他現在領導著所有危險的……」
660 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ventures. But his life is charmed, or fate spares him for some other end.’ Their talk died down into a listening silence. All seemed still and watchful. Sam, crouched by the edge of the fern-brake, peered out. With his keen hobbit-eyes he saw that many more Men were about. He could see them stealing up the slopes, singly or in long files, keeping always to the shade of grove or thicket, or crawling, hardly visible in their brown and green raiment, through grass and brake. All were hooded and masked, and had gauntlets on their hands, and were armed like Faramir and his companions. Before long they had all passed and vanished. The sun rose till it neared the South. The shadows shrank. ‘I wonder where that dratted Gollum is?’ thought Sam, as he crawled back into deeper shade. ‘He stands a fair chance of being spitted for an Orc, or of being roasted by the Yellow Face. But I fancy he’ll look after himself.’ He lay down beside Frodo and began to doze. He woke, thinking that he had heard horns blowing. He sat up. It was now high noon. The guards stood alert and tense in the shadow of the trees. Suddenly the horns rang out louder and beyond mistake from above, over the top of the slope. Sam thought that he heard cries and wild shouting also, but the sound was faint, as if it came out of some distant cave. Then presently the noise of fighting broke out near at hand, just above their hiding-place. He could hear plainly the ringing grate of steel on steel, the clang of sword on iron cap, the dull beat of blade on shield; men were yelling and screaming, and one clear loud voice was calling Gondor! Gondor! ‘It sounds like a hundred blacksmiths all smithying together,’ said Sam to Frodo. “They’re as near as I want them now.’ But the noise grew closer. “They are coming!’ cried Damrod. ‘See! Some of the Southrons have broken from the trap and are flying from the road. There they go! Our men after them, and the Captain leading.’ Sam, eager to see more, went now and joined the guards. He scrambled a little way up into one of the larger of the bay-trees. For a moment he caught a glimpse of swarthy men in red running down the slope some way off with green-clad warriors leaping after them, hewing them down as they fled. Arrows were thick in the air. Then suddenly straight over the rim of their sheltering bank, a man fell, crashing through the slender trees, nearly on top of them. He came to rest in the fern a few feet away, face downward, green arrow-feathers sticking from his neck below a golden collar. His scarlet robes were
冒險。但他的命彷彿有神助，或是命運為了別的結局而饒了他一命。」他們的談話漸漸平息，轉為靜靜的聆聽。四周似乎一片寂靜，充滿戒備。山姆蹲伏在蕨叢邊緣，向外窺探。憑藉他敏銳的哈比人視力，他看到周遭有更多人。他看見他們悄悄地爬上山坡，有的獨自一人，有的排成長列，總是躲在樹林或灌木叢的陰影下，或穿著幾乎看不見的棕綠色衣服，在草地和蕨叢中匍匐前進。他們全都戴著兜帽、蒙著面，手上戴著鐵手套，武裝得跟法拉墨和他的同伴一樣。不久後，他們全都通過並消失了。太陽升起，直到接近正南方。影子縮短了。「那個該死的咕嚕在哪裡？」山姆邊想邊爬回更深的陰影裡。「他很有可能被當成半獸人給串起來烤了，或是被那張黃臉給烤熟。但我猜他會照顧好自己的。」他躺在佛羅多身邊，開始打瞌睡。他醒來時，以為自己聽到了號角聲。他坐了起來。現在已是正午時分。衛兵們在樹蔭下警惕而緊張地站著。突然間，號角聲從上方、從山坡頂端更響亮、更清晰地傳來，絕不會錯。山姆覺得自己也聽到了哭喊和狂野的叫囂聲，但聲音很微弱，彷彿來自某個遙遠的洞穴。接著，戰鬥的聲響就在近處爆發，就在他們藏身處的正上方。他可以清楚地聽到鋼鐵交擊的刺耳聲、劍砍在鐵盔上的鏗鏘聲、刀刃擊打盾牌的沉悶聲；人們在吼叫和尖叫，還有一個清晰響亮的聲音在高喊著「剛鐸！剛鐸！」「聽起來像一百個鐵匠在同時打鐵，」山姆對佛羅多說。「他們現在離我想要的距離剛剛好。」但噪音越來越近。「他們來了！」丹龍喊道。「看！有些南方人衝出了陷阱，正從路上逃跑。他們在那裡！我們的人在追他們，隊長帶頭。」山姆渴望看到更多，便走過去加入衛兵。他費力地爬上了一棵較大的月桂樹。有一瞬間，他瞥見遠處山坡上，一些膚色黝黑、身穿紅衣的男子正往下跑，身後跟著綠衣戰士，在他們逃跑時將他們砍倒。空中箭如雨下。然後突然間，就在他們藏身的土堤邊緣上方，一個人掉了下來，撞斷了細長的樹木，幾乎就落在他們頭上。他臉朝下停在幾英尺外的蕨叢中，一支綠色羽箭從他金色領圈下的脖子裡伸出來。他那鮮紅色的長袍...
OF HERBS AND STEWED RABBIT 661 tattered, his corslet of overlapping brazen plates was rent and hewn, his black plaits of hair braided with gold were drenched with blood. His brown hand still clutched the hilt of a broken sword. It was Sam’s first view of a battle of Men against Men, and he did not like it much. He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man’s name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace — all in a flash of thought which was quickly driven from his mind. For just as Mablung stepped towards the fallen body, there was a new noise. Great crying and shouting. Amidst it Sam heard a shrill bellowing or trumpeting. And then a great thudding and bumping, like huge rams dinning on the ground. ‘Ware! Ware!’ cried Damrod to his companion. ‘May the Valar turn him aside! Mimak! Mtmak!’ To his astonishment and terror, and lasting delight, Sam saw a vast shape crash out of the trees and come careering down the slope. Big as a house, much bigger than a house, it looked to him, a grey-clad moving hill. Fear and wonder, maybe, enlarged him in the hobbit’s eyes, but the MGmak of Harad was indeed a beast of vast bulk, and the like of him does not walk now in Middle-earth; his kin that live still in latter days are but memories of his girth and majesty. On he came, straight towards the watchers, and then swerved aside in the nick of time, passing only a few yards away, rocking the ground beneath their feet: his great legs like trees, enormous sail-like ears spread out, long snout upraised like a huge serpent about to strike, his small red eyes raging. His upturned hornlike tusks were bound with bands of gold and dripped with blood. His trappings of scarlet and gold flapped about him in wild tatters. The ruins of what seemed a very war-tower lay upon his heaving back, smashed in his furious passage through the woods; and high upon his neck still desperately clung a tiny figure — the body of a mighty warrior, a giant among the Swertings. On the great beast thundered, blundering in blind wrath through pool and thicket. Arrows skipped and snapped harmlessly about the triple hide of his flanks. Men of both sides fled before him, but many he overtook and crushed to the ground. Soon he was lost to view, still trumpeting and stamping far away. What became of him Sam never heard: whether he escaped to roam the wild for a time, until he perished far from his home or was trapped in some deep pit; or whether he raged on until he plunged in the Great River and was swallowed up.
他衣衫襤褸，那件由重疊銅片組成的胸甲被撕裂砍壞，他用金線編織的黑色髮辮浸透了鮮血。他褐色的手仍緊握著一把斷劍的劍柄。這是山姆第一次見到人類之間的戰爭，他一點也不喜歡。他慶幸自己看不見那張死去的臉。他想知道這個人叫什麼名字，來自哪裡；他的心地是否真的邪惡，或者是什麼謊言或威脅讓他踏上遠離家鄉的漫長征途；他是否其實更願意安寧地待在家裡——這一切念頭一閃而過，很快就被驅散了。因為就在馬伯龍走向那倒下的屍體時，傳來了新的聲響。巨大的哭喊與叫囂。在其中，山姆聽到一陣尖銳的吼叫或喇叭般的聲音。接著是巨大的咚咚聲和碰撞聲，像是巨大的攻城槌在地上猛擊。「小心！小心！」丹羅德對他的同伴喊道。「願維拉使牠轉向！猛獁！猛獁！」令他驚訝、恐懼又持久欣喜的是，山姆看到一個巨大的身影從樹林中衝撞出來，橫衝直撞地奔下山坡。在他看來，那東西像房子一樣大，比房子大得多，是一座身披灰色的移動小山。或許是恐懼與驚奇放大了牠在哈比人眼中的形象，但哈拉德的猛獁確實是體型龐大的巨獸，像牠這樣的生物如今已不在中土世界行走；牠們存活至後世的親族，不過是牠龐大身軀與雄偉氣勢的殘影罷了。牠直衝著觀察者們而來，然後在千鈞一髮之際轉向，僅在幾碼之外經過，震動了他們腳下的大地：牠巨大的腿像樹木，巨大的帆狀耳朵張開，長鼻高舉如準備攻擊的巨蛇，小小的紅眼睛充滿狂怒。牠向上彎曲的角狀長牙用金環束著，滴著鮮血。牠猩紅色與金色的飾具在狂野的碎布中拍打著。一座看似戰塔的廢墟躺在牠起伏的背上，在牠狂怒地穿過樹林時被撞毀了；而在牠的脖子上，還有一個小小的身影絕望地緊抓著——那是一個強大戰士的身體，一個黑暗人類中的巨人。那巨獸繼續雷鳴般地前進，在盲目的憤怒中胡亂衝撞，穿過水池和灌木叢。箭矢在牠側腹的三層厚皮上無害地彈開或折斷。雙方的人都在牠面前逃竄，但許多人被牠追上並碾壓在地。很快，牠就消失在視野之外，仍在遠處發出喇叭般的叫聲並踐踏著。山姆從未聽說牠後來怎麼樣了：牠是逃脫後在野外遊蕩了一段時間，直到客死異鄉或被困在某個深坑中；還是牠一直狂暴下去，直到衝進大河被吞噬。
662 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Sam drew a deep breath. ‘An Oliphaunt it was!’ he said. ‘So there are Oliphaunts, and I have seen one. What a life! But no one at home will ever believe me. Well, if that’s over, Ill have a bit of sleep.’ ‘Sleep while you may,’ said Mablung. ‘But the Captain will return, if he is unhurt; and when he comes we shall depart swiftly. We shall be pursued as soon as news of our deed reaches the Enemy, and that will not be long.’ ‘Go quietly when you must!’ said Sam. ‘No need to disturb my sleep. I was walking all night.’ Mablung laughed. ‘I do not think the Captain will leave you here, Master Samwise,’ he said. ‘But you shall see.’
山姆深吸了一口氣。「那是一頭猛獁！」他說。「所以猛獁是真的存在，而且我還親眼見到了一頭。這輩子真沒白活！但家鄉沒人會相信我的。好吧，如果這事告一段落了，我要睡一會兒。」「趁能睡就睡吧，」馬伯龍說。「但如果隊長沒受傷，他會回來的；他一回來，我們就得趕快出發。我們行動的消息一傳到敵人那裡，他們就會立刻追來，而這不會等太久。」「你們要走的時候就悄悄地走吧！」山姆說。「不用吵醒我。我走了一整晚了。」馬伯龍笑了。「我想隊長不會把你丟在這裡的，山姆衛斯大師，」他說。「但到時候你就知道了。」