本篇節(jié)選自《馴龍高手》原著，由譯者：學(xué)有所長(zhǎng)無(wú)償漢化，僅供參考，請(qǐng)酌情引用譯文。未經(jīng)譯者授權(quán)禁止轉(zhuǎn)載譯文。

作者信息

作者：克蕾西達(dá)·考威爾（原著）

譯者：學(xué)有所長(zhǎng)??

譯文：

很抱歉，雖然現(xiàn)在似乎很不是時(shí)候，但是我們只能把那些小寶寶們留在即將被螢火蟲(chóng)吃掉的險(xiǎn)境之中，因?yàn)槲覀兊没剡^(guò)頭來(lái)看看小嗝嗝和其他霍里根人的情況了。

因?yàn)?，你也知道，他們也有麻煩了?/p>

可怕的，要命的大麻煩。

這個(gè)麻煩光是想想都太可怕了，更別提說(shuō)出來(lái)了。

霍里根人們正在船上，而船已經(jīng)駛出港口，去執(zhí)行史圖伊克的機(jī)智策略了。

他們正向著那個(gè)巨大的水下暗影前進(jìn)，高舉著斧頭，準(zhǔn)備趕走這個(gè)可怕的猛獸。

即使是最勇敢的霍里根人，最強(qiáng)大的戰(zhàn)士，有勇無(wú)謀的巨人戈伯，也嚇壞了，臉上甚至連嘴唇都發(fā)白。

他們的全部理智都在喊叫著讓他們“回去！”，逃離波浪下的黑影，而不是去靠近。

“回去！回去！回去！”

但是饑餓已經(jīng)讓他們不顧一切了。

所以，他們強(qiáng)迫著他們顫抖著的長(zhǎng)毛的胳膊劃著槳，靠近那個(gè)可怕的黑影。

他們強(qiáng)迫他們可憐的疲憊的前臂舉起斧頭無(wú)力地敲擊著盾牌，命令他們可憐的顫抖的腿，對(duì)潛伏在水下的那個(gè)強(qiáng)大武器的恐怖存在，踏出人類(lèi)的無(wú)力的警告。

這些霍里根人的行為實(shí)在是太勇敢了。

這行為同時(shí)也是非常愚蠢的。

小嗝嗝和魚(yú)腿在史圖伊克的船，胖企鵝號(hào)上。

魚(yú)腿渾身顫抖著，他的腿無(wú)法控制地?fù)u動(dòng)著，就像得了什么發(fā)燒瘟疫一樣。他閉著眼睛，無(wú)助而無(wú)用地希望要是他看不到正發(fā)生著什么，那他就實(shí)際上不在場(chǎng)。

他也試著用斧頭敲擊著盾牌，一邊抱怨著：“唉，這噪音對(duì)我的頭疼真是沒(méi)一點(diǎn)好處……”

魚(yú)腿開(kāi)始笑，不過(guò)他的笑逐漸失控，變得有些瘋狂?！霸趺礃恿?，小嗝嗝？恐懼龍有沒(méi)有把誰(shuí)的心吸出來(lái)，或者把誰(shuí)的腦袋弄下去？”

“還沒(méi)有?！毙∴绵眯⌒牡鼗卮稹Ｋ裁嫒缢阑?，心跳快得讓他惡心。這樣死的話太難受了……

然后，在小嗝嗝的恐懼的眼前，奇跡發(fā)生了。

“等一下，”小嗝嗝驚喜地喘著氣說(shuō)，“我不敢相信……它掉頭了……它在離開(kāi)！”

似乎確實(shí)如此。

那個(gè)黑影展開(kāi)他纏繞在島周?chē)纳咝猩眢w。它離開(kāi)了，前往名叫沃登澡盆（Woden’s Bathtub）的海域?？吹剿x開(kāi)，餓瘋了的維京人們簡(jiǎn)直不敢相信他們的運(yùn)氣。

轉(zhuǎn)眼間，恐懼變?yōu)榱讼Ｍ?/p>

希望讓他們的手臂更加有力，他們更加用力地敲打著盾牌，費(fèi)力地喊出霍里根式歡呼，因?yàn)樗麄円庾R(shí)到他們過(guò)了這么多個(gè)星期，終于有機(jī)會(huì)捕魚(yú)，終于能有吃的了。

“拿出漁網(wǎng)來(lái)！”必將再次長(zhǎng)成大塊頭的史圖依克喊道。他松下這口氣之后，臉上有了血色。

感謝雷神，感謝雷神。

有可怕的那么一瞬間，他懷疑了一下他的計(jì)劃也許并不是個(gè)好計(jì)劃。他揮了揮劍，然后拍了拍他可憐的空空的肚子。

“你看，小嗝嗝?”史圖伊克紅光滿面，得意地笑著轉(zhuǎn)向他的兒子，“計(jì)劃成功了，孩子。”

他和藹地拍了拍小嗝嗝的頭。“好好看，好好學(xué)，小嗝嗝小伙子，好好看好好學(xué)。我的幾只策略成功了。這就是思考的藝術(shù)，腦袋的力量?！?/p>

史圖伊克鄭重地拍了拍他的毛發(fā)旺盛的頭，然后輕快地對(duì)著維京戰(zhàn)士們大喊：“今晚一定能飽餐的，以雷神的胃液起誓，一定會(huì)的，我的霍里根伙伴們！”

但是是誰(shuí)飽餐誰(shuí)呢？？？

有時(shí)候我們慶祝得太早了，兄弟姐妹們。

有時(shí)候我們慶祝得太早了，我們都忘了我們并不安全，直到我們上了岸，或是到了故事結(jié)尾，這取決于哪一個(gè)來(lái)得更早。

看來(lái)霍里根人們確實(shí)慶祝得太太早了。因?yàn)槟莻€(gè)像一艘水下戰(zhàn)船一樣的在緩慢離開(kāi)的陰影，漸漸停了下來(lái)。

它慢慢地轉(zhuǎn)了個(gè)方向……

它轉(zhuǎn)向了霍里根船隊(duì)。

史圖伊克雖然可能不是你眼中那種思考快速的人，但是他也反應(yīng)過(guò)來(lái)這不是好事。他長(zhǎng)大了嘴?！鞍∨??！?/p>

然后他們饑餓的嘴也喊不下去霍里根式歡呼了，所有船上的維京人也停止了敲擊盾牌。他們無(wú)力的手臂驚恐地呆住了，一切噪音都迷惑地停了下來(lái)。

除了魚(yú)腿，他敲擊的手臂抖得更厲害了。他大叫道：“他們?yōu)槭裁赐Ａ讼聛?lái)，小嗝嗝？為什么他們停了下來(lái)？算了別告訴我……我不想知道?！?/p>

小嗝嗝瞇著眼睛看向那團(tuán)黑暗，使勁咽了一下口水，盡管他口干舌燥，嘴里沒(méi)有一絲水分。

他只說(shuō)道：“不要睜眼，魚(yú)腿。”

那團(tuán)黑影正在移動(dòng)……

以雷神之名，它真大啊……

它移動(dòng)著，然后黑暗的海洋凸了起來(lái)，開(kāi)始朝他們涌動(dòng)，就像一波海浪，但是這并非海浪……

這是恐懼龍。

原文：

I’m sorry, it doesn’t seem a very good moment, but we’ll just have to leave those babies in awful peril, about to be eaten up by Fireworm, while we return to catch up with what was happening with Hiccup and the Hooligans.

Because they were in trouble too, you see.

Dreadful, ghastly trouble. Trouble too nasty to even think about, let alone teU. The Hooligans were aboard their ships, and the ships were already out in the bay . carrying out Stoick's Clever and Intelligent Plan.

They were advancing on that great, grim underwater shadow, banging on their shields with their axes to shoo away this terrible beast .

Even the bravest of the Hooligans , magnificent warriors like that gormless muscly giant, Gobber the Belch , were terrified , and white to the lips.

All of their senses told them to 'Go back!', to run away from that darkness under the waves, and not to go nearer.

'Go back!Go back!Go back!'

But hunger had made them desperate.

So they forced their quaking hairy arms to row towards the dreadful shadow.

They made their poor exhausted limbs bash those axes weakly on those shields, and ordered their poor shaking feet to drum out a pathetic human warning to the mighty , pitiless horror that was lurking under the water.

It was very, very brave of those Hooligans.

It was also extremly stupid.

Hiccup and Fishlegs were aboard Stoick's ship ,The Fat Penguin.

Fishlegs was trembling all over, his legs shivering uncontrollably, as if he had caught some feverish plague. He had his eyes closed , in the useless and pathetic hope that if he couldn't see what was happening, maybe he wasn't really there.

He tried to bash his axe on his shaking shield, moaning, 'Oh This noise really isn't helping my headache one bit...'

Fishlegs laughed, but the laugh grew out of control, and became a bit hysterical.

'What's going on, Hiccup? Has the Dreader sucked out anybody's heart or removed their head yet? ’

‘Not yet, replied Hiccup cautiously.

He too, was pale as death, heart beating so quick he felt sick with the pulse of it. This was going to be a really unpleasant way to die…

And then, in front of Hiccup’s terrified eyes, a miracle happened.

‘Hang on a second,’ panted Hiccup,

in joyous astonishment. ‘I don’t believe it… It’s turning… It’s moving away!’

And so it seemed. The dark shape uncurled its serpentine coils from around the island. It moved away, out into the sea that was Woden’s Bathtub, and as it moved, the famished Vikings could hardly believe

their luck. Terror turned to hope in an instant. The hope gave strength to their arms, and they increased their banging on the shields and let out a ragged Hooligan Hoorah, as they saw themselves being able

to fish for food for the first time in many, many weeks. ‘Bring out the nets!’ bellowed Stoick

the Keen-to-be-Vast-Again, red with relief. Thank Thor, thank Thor.

And so it seemed.

For one horrible moment, he had thought perhaps his Plan hadn’t been such a good one after all. He shook his sword, and patted his poor empty belly. ‘You see. Hiccup?’ Flushed and beaming with triumph, Stoick turned to his son. ‘The Plan is working, my boy’ He patted Hiccup kindly on the

head. ‘Watch and learn. Hiccup laddie, watch and learn. My Clever and Intelligent Plan is working. Thinking skills, you see. Brain power.’Stoick tapped his hairy head importantly, and then roared to the Viking warriors in relieved joy: ‘THERE WILL BE FEASTING TONIGHT, BY THE STOMACH-JUICES OF THOR, THERE WILL, MY FELLOW HOOLIGANS!’

But WHO would befeasting on WHOM???

Sometimes we rejoice too soon,

brothers and sisters.

Sometimes we rejoice too soon, and we forget we are not safe until we reach the shore, or the end of the story, whichever is nearer. It seemed that the Hooligans had rejoiced too soon, for slowly, slowly the

shadow that had been moving away, like a departing underwater battleship, slowly, slowly, came to a halt.

Slowly, slowly, the shadow turned again…

It turned to face the Hooligan fleet. Stoick was not what you might call a lightning thinker, but even he reaHsed that this was not good news. His mouth dropped open. ‘Uh-oh.’

And the Hooligan Hurrah died on famished lips, and all around the ships the HooHgans stopped banging on their shields, and the noise came to a confused halt as their poor weakened arms were

frozen in terror.

AH except for Fishlegs, who banged away more shakily than ever, squeaking,

‘Why are they stopping. Hiccup? Why are they stopping? Actually don’t teU me… I

don’t want to know.’ Hiccup, peering out into that darkness, swallowed hard, though his

mouth had no moisture, for it was dry as dust.

‘Don’t open your eyes yet, Fishlegs,’ was all he said.

The shadow was moving...

Oh for Thor’s sake, it was huge…

It was moving, moving, and the darkened sea swelled up and began to

surge towards them like a tidal wave but wasn’t a tidal wave at all..,

It was the Dreader...