牛津书虫系列 格列佛游记 9 Gulliver escapes from Brobdingnag

9 Gulliver escapes from Brobdingnag

9 格列佛逃离布罗卜丁奈格

I was still hoping to return to England one day.But the ship in which I had arrived in Brobdingnag was the first that had ever come near the coast.So I could not see how I could get away.I began to think more and more about my family and my home.

我仍然希望有朝一日回到英国。可是我到达布罗卜丁奈格时乘坐的轮船是第一只曾经靠近此处海岸的。所以我不知道怎样才能逃离。我开始越来越想念我的家人和自己的家了。

By now I had been in Brobdingnag for about two years.When the King and Queen travelled to the south coast，Glum-dalclitch and I went with them.I really wanted to be close to the sea again，which I had not seen or even smelt for so long.As Glumdalclitch was ill，I asked a young servant to take me down to the beach for some fresh air.The boy carried me in my travelling box，and put me down on the beach，while he looked for birds’eggs among the rocks.I looked sadly at the sea，but stayed in my box，and after a while I fell asleep.

这时我到布罗卜丁奈格已经有大约两年了。国王和王后到南部海岸去旅行时，葛兰达克利赤和我也一同前往。我真是想再度靠近大海，这么长时间我既没有看见也没有闻见它了。由于葛兰达克利赤生病了，我叫一个年轻仆人把我带到海滩上呼吸新鲜空气。这个男孩用我的旅行盒提着我，在海滩上把我放下来，他自己去石头中找鸟蛋去了。我忧伤地看着大海，不过还是呆在我的盒子里，过了一会儿我就睡着了。

I was woken suddenly when my box was lifted high in the air.I can only suppose that a large bird took hold of the ring on top of the box with his talons，and flew away with it.Through the windows I could see the sky and clouds passing by，and I could hear the noise of the bird's wings.Then I was falling，so fast that I felt quite breathless.There was a loud crash，as the box fell into the sea.Perhaps the bird had been attacked by others，and so had to drop what he was carrying.

我的盒子被提到高空中，把我突然惊醒了。我只能猜测一只大鸟的爪子抓住了我盒子顶部的环，带着它飞走了。透过窗户我可以看见天空和云彩飞逝，我还可以听见鸟翅膀的声音。然后我往下跌，快得我觉得几乎透不过气。盒子掉进海水里，溅起很响的水声。也许这鸟儿受到什么袭击，所以不得不丢下它抓的东西。

Luckily，the box had been well made，and not much sea water came in.But I do not think any traveller has ever been in a worse situation than I was then.I wondered讪how long I would survive，with no food or drink in the middle of the ocean.I felt sure I would never see poor Glumdalclitch again，and I knew how sad she would be to lose me.

幸亏盒子做得很好，没有多少海水流进来，不过我想没有多少旅行者比我此时的处境更糟糕。我思忖着，在大洋之中，没有食物，没有饮水，我能生存多久。我确切地感到再也见不着可怜的葛兰达克利赤了，我知道失去我她将多么悲伤。

Several hours passed，and then I suddenly heard a strange noise above my head People were fastening a rope to the ring.Then my box was pulled through the water.Was it a ship that was pulling me along?

几个小时之后，我忽然听见头上有个奇怪的声音，有人正在环上系绳子，然后我的盒子在水中被拖动。是一个轮船在拖着我走吗?

‘Help!Help!’I shouted as loudly as I could.

“救命!救命!”我竭力大声喊叫。

I was delighted to hear English voices reply.

我很高兴地听到说英语的声音在回答。

‘Who's there?’they cried.

“谁在那儿?”他们喊道。

‘I'm English!’I shouted back desperately.‘Please help me to get out of here!Just put your finger into the ring on top of the box and lift it out of the water!Quickly!’

“我是英国人!”我拼命地嚷，“请帮我从这儿出去!把你的手指放到盒子顶上的环上把它从水里提出来!快一点!”

There were great shouts of laughter.

一片轰然大笑。

‘He's mad!’I heard one man say.

“他疯啦!”我听见一个人说。

‘Ten men couldn't lift that huge box!’said another.There was more laughter.

“10个人也提不起那个大盒子!”另一个说。笑声更响了。

Indeed，because I had been with giants for so long，I had forgotten that my countrymen were as small as me.The only thing the sailors could do was to cut a hole in the top of my box，and help me to climb out.I was exhausted and unable to walk far.

确实，因为我和巨人在一起太久了，我忘了我的国人是和我一样小的。这些水手唯一能做的是在我的盒子顶部挖一个洞、帮我爬出来。我累坏了，不能走远。

They took me to their captain.

他们把我带到他们的船长那儿。

‘Welcome to my ship，’he said kindly.‘You're lucky we found you.My men saw that huge box on the water，and we decided to pull it along behind the ship.Then we realized there was a man inside!Why were you locked up in there?Was it a punishment for some terrible crime?But tell me all about it later.Now you need to sleep，and then eat.’

“欢迎到我们船上来，”他和善地说，“你很幸运我们发现了你。我的人发现水里有一个大盒子，我们决定将它挂在轮船后面拖着走。然后我们意识到里面有一个人!你为什么被锁在里面?这是一种对什么可怕的罪过的惩罚吗?不过以后再告诉我这些，你现在需要休息，然后吃点东西。”

When I told him my story，a few hours later，he found it difficult to believe.But after a while he began to accept that what I told him must be true.

几个小时之后，我告诉他我的经历，他觉得难以置信。不过过了一会儿他开始接受我所告诉他的是真的。

‘But why do you shout so loudly?’he asked.‘We can hear you perfectly well if you speak normally.’

“可是你为什么叫喊那么大声音?”他问，“如果你正常地说话我们也能听得很清楚。”

‘You see，’I explained，‘for two years I've had to shout to make myself understood by the giants.I was like a man in the street who was trying to talk to another man at the top of a very tall building.And another thing-your sailors all seem very small to me，because I've been used to looking up at peo-ple twenty metres tall.’

“你看，”我解释说，“两年来我不得不大声喊叫以便让我能被巨人听清楚。我就像一个走在大街上的人，要跟在一座非常高的建筑物顶上的另一个人说话。还有一件事，你的水手在我看起来都非常小，因为我以经习惯了仰着头看20米高的人。”

He shook his head.‘Well，what a story!I think you should write a book about it when you get home.’

他摇着头。“嗯，多么好的故事啊!我觉得你回家后应该把它写成一本书。”

I stayed on the ship for several months，as we sailed slowly home to England.Finally，we arrived in Bristol on June 3rd，1706.When I reached home，my wife made me promise never to go to sea again，and I thought my adventures had come to an end.

我们慢慢地航行回英国，我在这船上呆了几个月。最后我们于1706年6月3日到达布里斯托尔。我回到家时，我妻子要我许愿再也不出海，我想我的历险到此为止了。