Chapter 5

Chapter Five IN WHICH the Fate of the Missing Cat Is Discovered Jared and Mallory approached the goblin camp cautiously, dodging from trunk to trunk. Broken bits of glass and gnawed bones littered the ground. High in the trees they could see cages woven from thornbushes, plastic bags, and other refuse. Squashed soda cans hung from the branches, clattering together like sinister wind chimes. Ten goblins sat around a fire. The blackened body of something that looked a lot like a cat

第五章失踪猫的命运被发现贾里德和马洛里小心翼翼地走近妖精的营地，从一个树干躲到另一个树干。 碎玻璃和被咬碎的骨头散落在地上。 在高高的树上，他们可以看到用荆棘、塑料袋和其他垃圾编织的笼子。 压扁的汽水罐挂在树枝上，像险恶的风铃一样哗啦作响。 十个半兽人围坐在火堆旁。 黑乎乎的身体看起来很像一只猫

turned on a stick. Every now and then one of the goblins would lean over to lick the charred meat, and the goblin turning the spit would bark loudly. Then they would all start barking. "Skin it raw, skin the fat."

打开一根棍子。每隔一段时间，就会有一只半兽人俯身去舔那块烧焦的肉，而那只转动着吐槽的半兽人就会大声吠叫。 然后它们都会开始叫。 “去皮，去脂。”

Several of the goblins started to sing. Jared shuddered at the words. Fidirol, Fidirat! Catch a dog, catch a cat Skin it raw, skin the fat On the spit, turn like that Fidirol, Fidirat! Cars whizzed by, oblivious. Perhaps even their mother was driving past now, Jared thought. "How many?" Mallory whispered, hefting a heavy branch. "Ten," Jared answered. "I don't see Simon. He must be in one of those cages." "Are you sure?" Mallory squinted in the direction of the goblins. "Give me that thing." "Not now," said Jared. They moved slowly through the trees looking for a cage large enough to contain Simon. Ahead of them, something cried out, shrill and loud. They crept forward to the edge of the forest.

几个半兽人开始唱歌。 听到这话，杰瑞德打了个寒颤。 Fidirol, Fidirat !抓一只狗，抓一只猫，把它剥皮，把脂肪剥皮，像那样转动，菲迪罗尔，菲迪拉特！汽车呼啸而过，浑然不觉。 杰瑞德想，也许连他们的母亲也正在开车经过。 “有多少?”马洛里小声说，举起一根沉重的树枝。 “十个，”贾里德回答。“我没看见西蒙。 他一定在其中一个笼子里。” “你确定吗？”马洛里眯着眼睛朝半兽人的方向望去。 “把那东西给我。”“现在不行。”杰瑞德说。 他们慢慢地穿过树林，寻找一个足够大的笼子来容纳西蒙。 在他们前面，有什么东西在喊叫，声音又尖又响。 他们蹑手蹑脚地向前走到森林的边缘。

An animal was lying alongside the road, beyond the goblin camp. It was the size of a car, but curled up, with a hawk's head and the body of a lion. Its flank was streaked with blood. "What do you see?" "A griffin," said Jared. "It's hurt." "What's a griffin?" "It's kind of a bird, kind of a—never mind, just stay away from it." Mallory sighed, moving deeper into the woods. "There," she said. "What about those?" Jared looked up. Several of the high cages were larger, and he thought he could make out a human shape in one of them. Simon! "I can climb up," Jared said. Mallory nodded. "Be fast." Jared wedged his foot in a hollow of the bark, hefting himself up to the first split in the branches. Then, pulling himself higher, he started crawling along the bough that held the little cages. If he stood up on that limb, he would be looking into the cages that were hung higher.

一只动物躺在路旁，就在半兽人营地的那边。 它有一辆汽车那么大，但蜷曲着，有一个鹰的头和一个狮子的身体。 它的侧面有血迹。 “你看到了什么？”“一只狮鹫。”贾里德说。 “这是受伤。”“狮鹫是什么？”“它是一种鸟，一种——算了，离它远点。” 马洛里叹了口气，向树林深处走去。 “好了，”她说。“那些呢？”杰瑞德抬起头来。 有几个高笼子要大一些，他想他可以在其中一个笼子里辨认出一个人的形状。 西蒙!“我能爬上去，”贾里德说。 马洛里点了点头。“快。” 贾里德把脚塞进树皮的一个洞里，爬到树枝的第一个劈开处。 然后，他爬得更高了，开始沿着挂着小笼子的树枝爬。 如果他站在那根树枝上，他就会看到挂得更高的笼子。

As he edged along, Jared could not help looking down. In the cages below, he could see squirrels, cats, and birds. Some were clawing and biting at the bars, while others were unmoving. A few contained just bones. They were all lined with leaves that looked suspiciously like poison ivy. "Hey, dribble-puss, over here." The voice surprised Jared so much he almost lost his grip on the branch. It had come from one of the large cages. "Who's there?" Jared whispered. "Hogsqueal. Now how about opening that door?" Jared saw the frog face of another goblin, but this one had green cat's eyes. It was wearing clothes, and its teeth weren't glass or metal, but what looked like baby teeth. "I don't think so," said Jared. "You can rot in there. I'm not letting you out." "Don't be a cat-whipper, beetlehead. If I holler, those guys are going to make you into dessert."

杰瑞德一边慢慢往前走，一边忍不住往下看。 在下面的笼子里，他可以看到松鼠、猫和鸟。 一些人在抓咬栅栏，而另一些人则一动不动。 有几个只剩下骨头。 它们都长满了叶子，看起来很像毒葛。 “嘿，运球猫，过来。” 这声音使杰瑞德大吃一惊，他几乎失去了对树枝的控制。 它是从一个大笼子里出来的。 “谁在那里?”杰瑞德低声说。 “Hogsqueal。现在打开那扇门怎么样？”贾里德看到了另一个妖精的青蛙脸，但这个妖精长着绿猫的眼睛。 它穿着衣服，它的牙齿既不是玻璃的也不是金属的，而是看起来像乳牙的东西。 “我不这么认为。”杰瑞德说。 “你不能在里面腐烂。我不会让你出去的。” “别唠唠叨叨了，甲虫头。 如果我喊一声，那些家伙就会把你做成甜点。”

"I bet you yell all the time," Jared said. "I bet they don't believe anything you say." "HEY! LOOK—" Jared grabbed the edge of the cage and pulled it forward. Hogsqueal went quiet. Below, the goblins slapped one other and snatched pieces of cat meat, apparently unaware of the racket in the tree. "Okay, okay," Jared said. "Good. Let me out!" the goblin demanded.

“我敢打赌你总是大喊大叫，”贾里德说。 “我敢打赌他们不会相信你说的任何话。” “嘿!看——”贾里德抓住笼子的边缘，把它往前拉。 霍格squeal安静了。下面，妖精们互相拍打着对方，抢着猫肉，显然没有注意到树上的喧闹声。 “好吧，好吧，”贾里德说。“很好。 放我出去！”妖精要求道。