Ch6-Warhorses

CHAPTER SIX Warhorses Annie sighed. "I agree with you. But what are we going to do?" "I don't know." Jack dropped his head into his hands. His skull was pounding. He felt like he might throw up. "Do you want to leave Macedonia?" asked Annie.

安妮叹了口气。 “我同意你的看法。但我们该怎么办呢？”“我不知道。” 杰克把头埋在双手里。 他的脑袋砰砰直响。他觉得自己要吐了。 “你想离开马其顿吗？”安妮问。

"No," said Jack, shaking his head. "You want to stay?" Annie said. "No," said Jack. "Jack! Annie!" someone shouted. Jack lifted his head. Aristotle was striding toward them. When he reached them, he looked at Jack and said, "You need water. Come with me." Annie helped Jack to his feet. Jack still felt wobbly as they followed Aristotle to a well near the Royal House. He and Annie splashed water from a bucket onto their faces and drank from their cupped hands. The cool, clear water made Jack feel better. "Thank you," he said. "Did the prince make a proper fool of you?" Aristotle asked Jack. "More or less," said Jack. "Ah, you are not the only one," Aristotle said. "It's because he so greatly fears looking like a fool himself. He is desperate to equal his father's power and strength." "Well, someone needs to remind him he's only twelve," said Annie. Aristotle smiled. "I agree. Where is he now?" "He ran to see the horses," said Annie.

“不，”杰克摇着头说。 “你想留下来吗？”安妮说。 “不，”杰克说。“杰克!安妮！”有人喊道。 杰克抬起头。亚里士多德正大步朝他们走来。 当他走到他们身边时，他看着杰克说：“你需要水。 跟我来。”安妮扶着杰克站起来。 当他们跟着亚里士多德来到王宫附近的一口井时，杰克仍然感到浑身发抖。 他和安妮把水桶里的水泼到脸上，然后用手捧着喝水。 凉爽、清澈的水使杰克感觉好多了。 “谢谢你，”他说。“王子把你当傻瓜了吗？”亚里士多德问杰克。 “差不多吧，”杰克说。 “啊，你不是唯一一个，”亚里士多德说。 “那是因为他非常害怕自己看起来像个傻瓜。 他不顾一切地想赶上他父亲的权力和力量。” “嗯，需要有人提醒他，他才12岁，”安妮说。 亚里士多德笑了。“我同意。 他现在在哪儿？”“他跑去看马了，”安妮说。

"Ah, yes," said Aristotle, peering down the hill. "The King's Companions are all eager to see the warhorses a seller has brought from Thessaly. Would you like to see them, too?" "I love horses," said Annie. "But…" She looked at Jack. "You guys go. I'll wait here," he said. He didn't want to be anywhere near Prince Alexander. "I don't want to leave you," said Annie. "Please come with us. Please." Jack stared at her and then sighed. "Okay," he said. As Aristotle, Jack, and Annie started down the hill, the sun was low in the sky. Jack was silent as Annie chatted with Aristotle. "So do warhorses go to war?" she asked. Aristotle nodded. "They carry soldiers to war in lands near and far," he said. "Their speed and strength can help save a man's life or win a battle." "What a hard job," said Annie. "Yes, but they are the most honored horses in the kingdom," said Aristotle.

“啊，是的，”亚里斯多德说，凝视着山下。 “国王的同伴们都迫不及待地想看看一个卖家从色萨利带来的战马。 你也想看看吗？”“我喜欢马，”安妮说。 “但是……”她看着杰克。 “你们去吧。我在这里等着，”他说。 他不想靠近亚历山大王子。 “我不想离开你，”安妮说。 “请跟我们走。请。” 杰克盯着她，叹了口气。 “好吧，”他说。当亚里士多德、杰克和安妮开始下山时，太阳已经很低了。 安妮和亚里士多德聊天时，杰克沉默不语。 “那么，战马会去打仗吗？”她问。 亚里士多德点点头。他说：“它们载着士兵去远近各地打仗。” “它们的速度和力量可以帮助拯救一个人的生命或赢得一场战斗。” “多么辛苦的工作啊，”安妮说。 “是的，但它们是王国里最尊贵的马。”亚里士多德说。

When Jack, Annie, and Aristotle reached the riding ring, the horses were all standing in a row with grooms attending them. As the King's Companions watched from outside the fence, King Philip and the small, wiry horse seller walked together down the line, discussing each animal. Alexander walked behind them, looking in the horses' mouths and feeling their legs. "The prince loves horses, too," Aristotle said. Too bad for the horses, Jack thought. "What are they looking for?" Annie asked. "Thick bones, strong teeth, and a good bend in the knees," said Aristotle, "a broad chest and highset neck, bony head, large nostrils, a thick mane, small ears." "That's a lot," Annie said. The king came to the end of the line and began to haggle with the horse seller. Alexander tried to be part of the conversation, but his father silenced him. Jack almost felt sorry for the prince. King Philip pointed to a couple of horses. The horse seller nodded, and then the grooms led all the horses from the riding ring back into the barn.

当杰克、安妮和亚里士多德到达赛马场时，所有的马都站成一排，有马夫伺候。 当国王的同伴们在栅栏外注视着的时候，菲利普国王和卖马的矮小结实的小贩一起走过队伍，讨论着每匹马。 亚历山大走在他们后面，看着马的嘴，摸着它们的腿。 “王子也喜欢马，”亚里士多德说。 这对马来说太糟糕了，杰克想。 “他们在找什么？”安妮问。 “骨头厚实，牙齿结实，膝盖弯曲得很好，”亚里士多德说，“宽阔的胸膛，高高的脖子，瘦骨嶙峋的头，大大的鼻孔，浓密的鬃毛，小耳朵。” “好多了，”安妮说。 国王走到队伍的最后，开始和卖马的讨价还价。 亚历山大试图加入谈话，但他的父亲让他闭嘴。 杰克几乎为王子感到难过。 菲利普国王指着两匹马。 卖马的点点头，然后马夫们把所有的马从马场牵回了谷仓。

The setting sun flashed over the hillside. "The horse trading is over for today," said Aristotle. "It will resume at daylight tomorrow." Suddenly a black stallion bolted from the barn. Several grooms ran after him. The stallion was stunningly beautiful. As he trotted around the ring, the light of the setting sun seemed to set his dark coat and mane on fire. He held his head high and arched his neck. He had small ears and wide eyes. "That must be the magnificent horse I have heard so much about," said Aristotle. "Who is he?" asked Annie. "His name is Bucephalus," said Aristotle. "He once belonged to the Royal Horse Master of Thessaly." When the stallion slowed to a walk, a groom approached him and tried to grab his bridle. But as the man's shadow fell over Bucephalus, the stallion neighed and bucked. He broke away from the man and backed against the fence. His ears were flat against his head. His eyes were wild. "What's going on?" said Annie. "He was once a noble warhorse," said Aristotle. "But ever since he was captured in battle, he has

夕阳在山坡上闪烁。 “今天的交易结束了，”亚里士多德说。 “明天天亮就会恢复。” 突然，一匹黑马从谷仓里窜了出来。 几个马夫跟在他后面。 这匹公马美得惊人。 当他绕着赛场小跑时，夕阳的余晖似乎把他的深色外套和鬃毛烧了起来。 他昂着头，拱起脖子。 他的耳朵很小，眼睛很大。 “那一定就是我听说过很多的那匹骏马，”亚里士多德说。 “他是谁？”安妮问。“他的名字叫比塞弗勒斯，”亚里士多德说。 “他曾经属于色萨利的皇家马师。” 当这匹种马放慢速度开始散步时，一个马夫走近它，试图抓住它的缰绳。 但当这个人的影子落在比塞弗勒斯身上时，那匹马嘶鸣着跃起。 他挣脱了那人，背靠着篱笆。 他的耳朵贴在头上。 他的眼神狂野。“发生什么事了？”安妮说。 “他曾经是一匹高贵的战马，”亚里士多德说。 “但自从他在战斗中被俘后，他就一直在

not let any rider mount him." "Why?" asked Annie. "No one knows," said Aristotle. "But the seller insists he can be tamed again and wants a bag of gold for him." A groom threw a rope around the horse's neck. Another brought out a whip. "What's that for?" asked Annie. The groom cracked the whip on the ground. "No!" shouted Prince Alexander. "Put the whip down!" The groom cracked the whip again. The horse reared up. Arching his neck, he kicked his hooves, almost trampling the man who held the whip. The grooms jumped back to avoid being crushed.

不要让骑马的骑上它。” “为什么?”安妮问。“没有人知道，”亚里士多德说。 “但卖家坚持说它还可以被驯服，并想要一袋金子给它。” 马夫把绳子套在马脖子上。 另一个拿出了鞭子。 “那是干什么用的？”安妮问。 马夫用鞭子抽打地面。 “不！”亚历山大公爵喊道。 “把鞭子放下！”马夫又啪的一声抽了鞭子。 马直立起来。他拱起脖子，踢着蹄子，几乎把拿鞭子的人踩在脚下。 新郎们跳了回去，以免被压死。