Arrival at Lilliput

                             初到小人国

英国著名作家Jonathan Swift的《格利佛游记》(Gulliver’s Travels) 在中国可以说是家喻户晓。其中的《小人国游记》和《大人国游记》，更是为广大青少年们所喜爱。楼主从《小人国游记》中选出一段，重新翻译，发帖于此，以飨网友。

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My name is Lemuel Gulliver, and I was born in England. When I grew up I had a wish to go round the world, and in the year 1699 I got a post as doctor on board a ship bound for the South Sea. 我叫莱谬尔·格利佛，出生于英国。我长大成人以后，希望自己能够环球旅行。1699年，我找到一份船医工作，登上了一艘驶往南海的船。

One day a great storm drove us far to the south, and it lasted so long that twelve of our men died from the hard work, and the rest were sick. Then came a fog, and the ship ran on a rock and split in two. I lost sight of my poor friends. 有一天，一场大风暴把我们往南刮了个老远。风暴持续得实在太久，以至我们中有12个船员因劳累而死去。其余的人也都生病了。接着，又是一场雾，船触了礁，断为两截。

I swam, swam, and swam, and just when I felt I must give up, I found I could touch the sand. When I came to the shore I lay down on the soft grass, and, worn out, went right off to sleep. 我游啊，游啊，游啊，就在我感到自己不得不放弃的时候， 我发现自己能触沙底。我一到海岸，就躺在松软的草地上，而且因为精疲力竭，立即进入了梦乡。

When I awoke I tried to rise, but found that my legs and arms were fastened to the ground by thin but strong cords, a lot of which were drawn over my chest and tied to pegs on both sides of me. My hair was made fast to pegs in the same way. All around me was a great noise, but as I was on my back I could see nothing but the sky and the sun. 我醒来时，我想起身，欲发现自己的腿和胳膊被纤细但很结实的绳子捆在地上。其中的很多条绳子绕过我的胸部，最后绑在我两侧的木桩上。我的头发被以同样的方式绑在木桩上。我的四周，闹闹嚷嚷，但由于我是仰躺着的，所以，除了天空和太阳外，什么也看不到。

In a short time I felt a small thing creep up my left leg. It came over my chest and stood near my chin. I bent my eyes down as much as I could, and saw a small man, not half a foot high. In his hands he held a bow and arrows. 一会儿，我感到有个小东西爬上我的左腿。它爬到我的胸部上，站在我的下巴附近。我尽力向下看，看见一个不足半英尺高的小人。他手持一张弓和一些箭。

At this time I could feel more of these small men come up. The sight was so strange to me that I gave a great shout, and the small people ran off in great fear. But they soon came back and once more stood on my chest to have a look at me. 这期间，我能感到有更多的小人纷纷爬上来。这种情景对我来说，非常奇怪，于是，我大吼一声，小人们惊恐万状，四处逃窜。但是，他们很快有回来了，再次站在我的胸口上，看着我。

In a short while I broke the cords that bound my left arm, and, by a strong pull, made loose some of the strings by which my hair was held fast. I could turn my head on one side. 一会儿，我挣断了捆绑我左臂的绳子，然后用力一拉，把捆着我头发的一些绳子弄松。现在，我的头可以朝一侧转了。

I had a hope that I should catch some of the men, but when they saw what I had done they ran off. They sent up a great cry, and the next thing I knew was that arrows like needles were shot at me.. Some stuck in my face and left hand. This gave me great pain, and I lay still and thought I would wait till night, when with my left hand free I could no doubt get rid of the rest of my bonds. 我想应该抓一些小人，但他们一看到我的所作所为，就逃开了，他们发出一声大叫，紧接着，我发现，许多针一样的箭向我射来，有些箭刺进了我的脸和左手。这使我非常痛苦，我躺着，一动不动，心里想：我将等到晚上，那时，用我已经挣脱的左手，一定能够除去我身上的其他束缚。

I now knew by the sound of voices around me that a great crowd had come up. In a short time I heard loud knocks close to my ear, and found that men were at work on a stage there. 现在，从我周围的说话声，我知道有一大群人已经聚集在我身边了。很快，我听到耳边有响亮的敲打声，发现一些人正在那儿造一个台子。

When this was made, four men got on it, and one of them, who had a page to hold up his train, spoke to the men on the ground. At once a lot of them ran up and cut the rest of the cords that held my head down; and then the man made a long speech. 台子造好后，4个人登上台。其中一人，后面有仆童为他牵长衫后摆，他对着地面上的人讲话。立刻，许多人跑上前了，砍断了把我的头固定在地上的绳子。然后，那人又讲了一大通。

Then he got down from the stage and a crowd of the small people came up and brought me all kinds of meat and bread and drink. All the joints were small , and I had to put a lot in my mouth to get a good bite. 后来，他从台上走下去，一群小人聚了过来，带给我各种各样的肉、面包和饮料。所有的肉块都很小，我的放一大堆在嘴里，才能抵得上一大口。

As for drink they brought me two casks of wine each of which held half a pint, and when I had drunk this there was more to be had. It was a great joy for them to see me eat and drink such a lot. 至于饮料，他们给我两桶葡萄酒，每桶有半品脱。喝完后，就再也没有了。看着我吃喝那么多东西，他们很高兴。

Soon there came to me a man, whom from his pretty uniform I took to be an officer of high rank. He made a speech, and by signs let me know that I was to go to the chief town of the land – half a mile off. 很快，有人朝我走来，看他那漂亮的制服，我认为他是个高级官员。他讲了一通，并用手势让我知道，我将去这个国家的首都 – 离此有半英里。

I then made signs that I should like to be set free. The officer shook his head, though my cords were made a bit loose, so that I was more at ease. Then they put some cool stuff on my face and hands where the arrows had hurt me. They also gave me a drink, in which they had put a drug, and I went off to sleep. 然后，我作手势告诉他，我想获得自由。那官员摇摇头，但是把捆我的绳子放松了一些，好让我比较自在一点。接着，他们把一些凉飕飕的东西洒在我的脸上和手上的箭伤处。他们还给我喝一种掺了药的饮料，然后，我睡过去了。

I woke up with a loud sneeze, which made a lot of small men run off my chest in fear. I now found I was on a cart drawn by a long line of horses. 我醒来时，大了个响亮的喷嚏，吓得许多小人从我的胸口上逃下去。我现在发现，我自己在一辆马车上，由一长队的马拉着。

The land I was in was known as Lilliput, and when the King heard I was there he had had me bound in the way I have told you. Then, as they had no cart which would take me to the King’s Court, they had made one while I slept. It was seven feet long, four feet wide, and three inches from the ground. 我所在的国度叫小人国，当国王听说我到了那里，就命令人把我绑起来，就像我已经告诉你的那样。然后，因为他们找不到能把载到王宫去的马车，于是，趁我熟睡的时候造了一辆。马车有7英尺长，4英尺宽，离地面3英尺。

When this was done, the next task was to get me on it. To do this a lot of poles, each a foot high, with wheels on top, were stuck in the ground, and cords were fastened to me, and then run through the wheels. Then a great crowd of men were set to pull the cords, and so lift me up on the cart. It took three hors to do this, and when I was bound to the cart, fifteen hundred of the King’s best horses were put to draw me to the chief town. 马车造好后，接下来的工作就是把我弄上马车。为此，在地上插了许多木桩，桩长一英尺，桩的顶端有滑轮，用绳子把我捆住，然后将绳子穿过滑轮，接着，一大群人被叫来拉绳子，把我吊起来弄上马车。做这事花了3个小时，把我捆在马车上后，用国王最好的1500匹马把我拉向首都。

A strong guard of men came with me, and for four hours we went along the road. I had slept all this time, but some young men who had a wish to see me, came up, and one of them ran a pike up my nose! This was the cause of the sneeze which had sent them all off in fear. 一支身强力壮的警卫队护送着我。我们在路上走了4个小时。我一直都在睡觉，但是，一些年轻人想看我，便聚了个来，其中一人用一根长矛网我的鼻孔里面捅！因此，我大了个喷嚏，把他们都吓跑了。

We once more set out on our way, and for the rest of that day, and half the next, we kept on. When we were near the town, the King and his Court came to meet us. 我们又上路了， 那天和第二天上午，我们继续赶路。当我们到首都附近时，国王和他的大臣们前来迎接我们。

I was put in the one large house in the land. In this I was fastened by chains, but in such a way that I could walk up and down in front of the house. Great crowds were there all day to see me. 我被安顿在这个国家的唯一的大房子里。我被铁链锁住，但是，我还是可以在房前走来走去。来看我的人整天都人山人海。