Chapter 4

Chapter Four IN WHICH the Twins Discover a Tree Unlike Any Other They tumbled down into a net of woven metal. Yelping and kicking, Jared tried to stand, but he couldn't seem to get a foothold. Abruptly he stopped struggling and got elbowed in the ear by his brother. "Simon, stop! Look!" Glowing fungi covered the walls in patches, illuminating the faces of three small men with skin as gray as stone. Their clothes were drab and sewn

第四章双胞胎发现了一棵与众不同的树他们跌进了一个金属编织的网里。 杰瑞德又叫又踢，想站起来，但似乎找不到立足点。 突然，他停止了挣扎，被他哥哥用肘打了一下耳朵。 “西蒙,停止!看!”墙上一片片发光的真菌，照亮了三个皮肤像石头一样灰白的小个子男人的脸。 他们的衣服是灰褐色的，而且是缝好的

from rough fabrics, but their silver bracelets, crafted in the shape of serpents, were so intricate that they seemed to slither around the men's thin arms; their collars were woven with golden threads beaten so fine that they might have been cloth; and their jeweled rings were so lovely that each of their dirty fingers gleamed. "What have we here? Prisoners!" said one with a voice like gravel. "Seldom have we any live prisoners." "Dwarves," Jared whispered to his brother. "They don't seem very 'hi-ho, hi-ho,' "Simon whispered back. The second dwarf rubbed several strands of Jared's hair between his fingers and turned to the one who had spoken. "Not very extraordinary, are they? The black of their tresses is dull and plain. Their skin is neither smooth nor pale as marble. I find them ill made. We could do far better." Jared scowled, not sure what the dwarf meant. Again, he wished for the Guide. He remembered only that dwarves were great craftspeople, and the

他们的手镯是用粗糙的布料做的，但他们的银手镯是用蛇的形状制作的，非常复杂，似乎绕在男人纤细的手臂上；他们的衣领是用金线织成的，丝线打得很细，就像布一样；他们的珠宝戒指是如此可爱，以至于他们肮脏的手指都闪闪发光。 “我们这儿有什么？”俘虏！”一个人用沙砾般的声音说。 “我们很少有活的囚犯。” “小矮人。”杰瑞德低声对哥哥说。 “他们看起来不怎么‘嗨嗬，嗨嗬’，”西蒙小声回答。 第二个矮人用手指揉了揉贾里德的几缕头发，然后转向刚才说话的那个人。 “没什么特别的，是吗？” 她们乌黑的头发单调而朴素。 他们的皮肤既不光滑，也不像大理石那样苍白。 我发现它们做得不好。我们可以做得更好。” 杰瑞德皱起眉头，不明白侏儒是什么意思。 他又一次希望找到《指南》。 他只记得矮人是伟大的工匠

iron that hurt other faeries didn't bother them. His knife would have been useless, even if it hadn't been confiscated. "We're here for our sister," Jared said. "We want to trade." One of them chuckled, but Jared wasn't sure which. With a creak another dwarf positioned a silvery cage beneath the netting. "The Korting said you would come. He is very eager to meet you."

伤害其他仙子的铁不会打扰他们。 即使没有被没收，他的刀也没用。 “我们是来找妹妹的，”贾里德说。 “我们想进行贸易。”其中一个咯咯地笑了，但贾里德不确定是谁。 随着嘎吱一声，另一个矮人在网下放了一个银色的笼子。 “科尔廷说你会来的。 他非常渴望见到你。”

"Is he like the dwarf king or something?" Simon asked. The dwarves did not answer. One pulled on a carved handle and the net opened. Both boys fell heavily into the cage. Jared's hands and knees felt raw all over again. He slammed his fist against the metal floor. Jared and Simon were silent as they were wheeled through caverns with cold air and wet walls. They could hear the sounds of hammers, louder and more distinct now that they were

“他像小矮人国王吗？”西蒙问。 矮人们没有回答。 一个人拉动一个雕花把手，网就打开了。 两个男孩都重重地掉进笼子里。 杰瑞德的手和膝盖又一次感到疼痛。 他用拳头猛击金属地板。 杰瑞德和西蒙沉默不语，他们被推着穿过冰冷的空气和潮湿的墙壁。 他们能听到铁锤的声音，现在更响了，更清晰了

underground, and the roaring of what might have been a great fire. Overhead in the gloom, patches of dim phosphorescence showed the tips of large stalactites, hanging above them like a forest of icicles. They passed through a grotto where bats shrieked from above, and the floor was dark and rank with their droppings. Jared tried to contain a shiver. The deeper they went, the colder the cavern became. Sometimes Jared saw shadows shift in the gloom and heard an erratic tapping. As they moved through a narrow corridor, past dripping columns, Jared breathed in the damp, mineral scent with relief after the stink of the bats. The next chamber seemed to be filled with dusty piles of metal objects. A golden rat with sapphire eyes darted out of a malachite goblet and watched them pass. A silver rabbit lay on its side, a winding key around its neck, while a single bud of a platinum lily opened, then closed, then opened again. Simon looked at the metal rat with longing.

在地下，可能是一场大火的轰鸣声。 在黑暗的头顶上，一块块暗淡的磷光显示出大钟乳石的尖，像冰柱的森林一样悬在他们上面。 他们穿过一个洞穴，上面有蝙蝠在尖叫，地板上漆黑一片，到处都是蝙蝠的粪便。 贾里德试图抑制住颤抖。 他们走得越深，山洞就越冷。 有时，贾里德看到黑暗中有影子在移动，还听到不稳定的敲击声。 他们穿过一条狭窄的走廊，经过滴水的柱子，贾里德在蝙蝠的臭味之后，松了一口气，吸进了潮湿的矿物气味。 下一个房间里似乎堆满了满是灰尘的金属物品。 一只长着蓝宝石眼睛的金老鼠从一只孔雀石高脚杯里窜了出来，看着他们走过。 一只银色的兔子侧身躺着，脖子上挂着一把缠绕的钥匙，一朵白金百合的花蕾开了，闭了，又开了。 西蒙渴望地看着那只金属老鼠。

Then they moved into a large cavern where they saw dwarves carving statues of other dwarves into the granite walls. The sudden brightness of the lantern light stung Jared's eyes, but as he passed the dwarves, he thought he saw one of the carving's arms move. From there they moved into an enormous space where a massive tree grew underground. The thick trunk reached up until it was lost in the shadows, branches forming a canopy over them. The air was filled with a strange metallic birdsong. "That can't be a tree," Simon said. "There's no sun. No sun means no photosynthesis." Jared peered at the trunk. "It's metal," he said, realizing that the leaves were all of beaten silver. High in the tree a copper bird beat its mechanical wings and stared down with cold, jet eyes.

然后他们进入了一个大洞穴，在那里他们看到矮人在花岗岩墙壁上雕刻其他矮人的雕像。 突然明亮的灯光刺痛了贾里德的眼睛，但当他经过矮人们时，他似乎看到了石雕的一只手臂在动。 从那里，他们进入了一个巨大的空间，地下生长着一棵巨大的树。 粗壮的树干向上伸展，直到消失在阴影中，树枝在他们头顶上形成了一个树冠。 空气中充满了奇怪的金属鸟叫声。 “那不可能是一棵树，”西蒙说。 “没有太阳。没有阳光就没有光合作用。” 杰瑞德盯着箱子。 “这是金属的，”他说，意识到叶子都是镀银的。 在高高的树上，一只铜色的鸟拍打着它的机械翅膀，用冰冷的眼睛向下凝视着。