17 Did I Already Mention

17. DID I ALREADY MENTION THAT THE PAST HAS A WAY OF CATCHING UP WITH THE PRESENT? 'It was a gift,' said Hiccup. All three heads of the Deadly Shadow started in surprise, for it is unusual for a human to speak Dragonese. And then the three heads spoke eagerly, again with that unbearable note in their voices, as if they had been longing for something for a very long time, and were thinking that the something they had long past hoped for was about to be snatched from them. 'So you are not the owner of this necklace? Who gave it to you? Where are they? Are they alive?' The questions came from three directions at once, and delivered in those strange confusing voices it made Hiccup's head reel, as if the heads were speaking in some echoing confusing cave. 'He was my friend… He is alive… I hope he is alive… I am looking for him…' pleaded Hiccup. 'That is why I am here.'

17. 我是不是已经说过，过去总有办法赶上现在？ “这是一份礼物，”嗝嗝说。 死亡阴影的三个头都惊讶地跳了起来，因为人类说龙语是很不寻常的。 接着，三个脑袋又急切地说话了，声音里又带着令人难以忍受的腔调，仿佛他们渴望某样东西已经很久了，他们在想，他们渴望已久的东西就要被夺走了。 “那么你不是这条项链的主人了？” 谁给你的？他们在哪里？ 他们还活着吗？”问题同时从三个方向传来，声音奇怪而混乱，弄得小嗝嗝的脑袋晕头转向，仿佛脑袋在某个令人困惑的洞穴里发出回音。 “他是我的朋友……他还活着……我希望他还活着……我正在找他……” “这就是我来这儿的原因。”

Now the voices were stern, with an edge of menace. 'But you did not steal it? You are telling the truth? The boy who owned this necklace is alive?' Hiccup swallowed. 'I really, really hope he is, because he is my best friend,' said Hiccup. At that moment, Hiccup could see Fishlegs so clearly in his head, skinny Fishlegs with his sarcastic sense of humour and his glasses askew. For a moment it was as if he really was standing right there beside them, about to make some remark about the general all-round terrifying-ness of the Deadly Shadow himself. 'Look at us!' hissed the heads of the Deadly Shadow. 'Look at us! Look at us! Look at us!' The hissing was all around him. The three heads were whirring round him, confusing him, sliding back and forth and in and out of visibility… They were like a maze of mirrors… Where had he heard that phrase before? Hiccup had trained himself to hold a dragon's gaze– no easy feat, for a dragon's gaze is hypnotic. If you hold it too long you find your will bending to theirs, or you are sick or pass out. Certain dragons have a gaze that is almost like

现在声音严厉起来，带着威胁的意味。 “但你没有偷？” 你说的是实话？ 拥有这条项链的男孩还活着吗？”打嗝吞下。 “我真的，真的希望他是，因为他是我最好的朋友，”嗝嗝说。 在那一刻，小嗝嗝可以清楚地看到鱼腿在他的脑海里，瘦骨嶙峋的鱼腿，他的讽刺幽默感和他的眼镜歪斜。 有那么一会儿，他仿佛真的就站在他们身边，准备对死亡之影本人的全面恐怖发表一些评论。 “看看我们！”死影的脑袋嘶嘶地说。 “看看我们！”看看我们！看看我们！”四周都是嘶嘶声。 那三个脑袋在他周围旋转，晃来晃去，晃来晃去，把他弄糊涂了……它们就像一个镜子迷宫……他以前在哪儿听到过这句话？ 小嗝嗝训练自己直视龙的目光——这可不是一件容易的事，因为龙的目光具有催眠作用。 如果你拿得太久，你会发现你的意志屈从于他们的意志，或者你会生病或昏倒。 某些龙的凝视几乎就像

a truth drug, it seems to drag the truth out of you, whether you want it to or not. And of course, triple the eyes, triple the strength. Hiccup forced himself to look into the dragon's six great glistening eyes, which were now flecked with the reflection of the sky and it was like they were boring right into his head, into his very mind, and wandering around in the mazy passages in there. And then there was a sucking sensation, as if they were dragging the thoughts out of him. Not surprisingly, within seconds Hiccup felt dizzy, then sick– as you would if you had somebody wandering around inside your own brain– until he had to close his eyes before he passed out. The dragon unclosed its fist of sky from around Hiccup's limp body, and from that of Camicazi. And the hand that was only minutes before squeezing the life out of them, and preparing to kill them, laid them gently, protectively on the sandy grass. 'What in the name of Thor and Woden and Freya's ickle pretty plaits is going on?' wondered Camicazi, trying to get her breath, holding her head and gazing at the Deadly Shadow in awe. 'I have abso-lutely no idea,' gasped Hiccup. 'But it's something to do with Fishlegs and this lobster

真相药，不管你愿不愿意，它都能让你说出真相。 当然，眼睛和力气都是原来的三倍。 小嗝嗝强迫自己盯着巨龙的六只闪闪发光的大眼睛，现在它的眼睛里闪烁着天空的倒影，就好像它们钻进了他的脑袋，钻进了他的思想，在迷宫般的通道里徘徊。 然后有一种吮吸的感觉，好像他们正在把他的思想从他身上拖出来。 不出所料，几秒钟后嗝嗝就感到头晕，然后恶心——就像有人在你的大脑里游荡一样——直到他不得不闭上眼睛才昏倒。 龙从Hiccup和Camicazi软弱无力的身体周围张开了它的拳头。 而那只几分钟前还在掐死他们、准备杀死他们的手，温柔地、保护地把他们放在沙质草地上。 “看在托尔、沃登和弗雷娅美丽的小辫子的份上，这是怎么回事？”卡米卡齐想，努力喘着气，抱着头，敬畏地凝视着死亡之影。 “我完全不知道，”小嗝嗝喘着气说。 但这和鱼腿和龙虾有关

necklace he gave me. 'But we're not safe yet…' he whispered. Hiccup knew this instinctively. 'The Deadly Shadow has not yet decided what to do with us.' The Deadly Shadow strode around them, circling like an invisible tiger. Deep in its throats was a noise that in a less magnificent, noble, wild creature, might have been purring. But that was not a happy purring, it was a purring that Hiccup knew well. That was a 'considering' purring. Toothless did exactly the same thing when he was trying to decide whether or not to do something. Hiccup and Camicazi sat absolutely still in the sandy grass. Even Camicazi knew not to speak, and that their lives were in the balance. Round and round them the creature paced, the three heads arguing with one another. You couldn't see it, but you could hear it, feel it– the moving air, the great dragon footsteps all around them in the grass. There were fifteen circles of great dragon footprints around them before the Deadly Shadow stopped circling and brought its three heads very close to Hiccup, the heads now visible and waving like snakes in front of a snake-charmer.

他给我的项链。“但我们还不安全……”他小声说。 小嗝嗝本能地知道这一点。 “死亡之影还没有决定如何处置我们。”死亡之影大步绕过他们，像一只看不见的老虎。 在它的喉咙深处有一种声音，这种声音在一个不那么华丽、高贵、野生的动物身上可能是咕噜声。 但这不是快乐的咕噜声，这是小嗝嗝熟悉的咕噜声。 那是一种“考虑”的咕噜声。 无牙在决定要不要做某件事的时候也会做同样的事情。 小嗝嗝和卡米卡齐一动不动地坐在沙地上。 即使是卡米卡齐也知道不能说话，因为他们的生命危在旦夕。 那怪物绕着他们转了一圈又一圈，三个脑袋在互相争论。 你看不见它，但你能听到它，感觉到它——流动的空气，在他们周围的草地上巨龙的脚步声。 在他们周围出现了十五圈巨龙的脚印之后，死影停止了盘旋，把它的三个脑袋凑到小嗝嗝身边，现在可以看见它们的脑袋了，它们在耍蛇人面前像蛇一样挥舞着。

The middle head spoke. 'We have been at war with ourselves,' said the middle head in that doomy-echoey miasma of a voice. Hiccup nodded his head respectfully. 'For there are two reasons why you are here. Two Quests. The first is as you say, you are looking for your friend, who you really believe is alive.' The first head gave what might have been a snarl, or a snort of appreciation, and sent a bolt of flame down into the sandy grass that made Hiccup and Camicazi jump. 'You spoke the truth,' said the middle head. 'But the Dragon Furious spoke the truth too. There is a second Quest...' said the middle head. 'You seek the Dragon Jewel. This is a dangerous Quest, and one that could have dreadful implications for the entire dragon race… 'For the Dragon Jewel is no ordinary Jewel. If it is found, it has a secret. And if a human knew that secret, he could use the power of the Jewel to kill not just one dragon, but all dragons. He could make us extinct, obliterate us for ever. 'But you seek it nonetheless…' This time, the third head gave what was definitely a snarl– more than a snarl, a roar– and the

中间的头说话了。“我们一直在同我们自己作战，”中间的那个人用一种末日似的、浑浊的声音说。 小嗝嗝恭敬地点了点头。 “你来这儿有两个原因。 两个任务。第一，正如你所说的，你在寻找你的朋友，你相信他还活着。”第一个脑袋发出了一声可能是咆哮的声音，或者是一声赞赏的鼻息，然后把一道火焰射向沙草，把小嗝嗝和卡米卡齐吓了一跳。 “你说的是实话，”中间的那个说。 但愤怒的龙也说了实话。 还有第二个任务……中间的那个说。 “你在找龙珠。 这是一个危险的任务，可能会对整个龙族产生可怕的影响……因为龙珠不是普通的宝石。 如果它被发现了，它有一个秘密。 如果一个人类知道了这个秘密，他就可以利用宝石的力量杀死不止一条龙，而是所有的龙。 他可以让我们灭绝，永远消灭我们。 “但你还是要找……”这一次，第三个脑袋发出了明显的咆哮——不只是咆哮，而是咆哮——然后

bolt of flame that it sent out missed Hiccup by inches, and only because the middle head anticipated it and gave it a knock to the left. 'We have a dilemma ourselves,' said the middle head. 'For we have made two promises. One to the Dragon Furious, which was to kill you. The other to someone else, a long time ago. Innocence here, on my left,' (the left head bowed) 'would help you find this friend of yours, who means a great deal to us. 'On the other hand, Arrogance here' (the right head bowed and snarled) 'would kill you. 'I have the casting vote,' said the middle head. It paused, and then continued slowly. 'Because the first promise that we made has a prior claim, we will help you.' Hiccup gave a sigh of relief. The result really did seem to have been in the balance. 'Thank you,' said Hiccup, bowing his head. 'All I would say, is that there are others who seek the Jewel, and they would use it to destroy.' 'Ah,' said the middle head sadly, 'but they would never find it without your help.' The Deadly Shadow knelt down beside them, inviting them to climb on its back. 'Come,' said the middle head compellingly. 'Take

它发出的一道火焰，只差几英寸就击中了小嗝嗝，这只是因为中间的脑袋先发制人，把它撞向了左边。 “我们自己也进退两难，”中间那个人说。 “因为我们做出了两个承诺。 一封是给龙怒的，就是要杀了你。 另一个给了别人，很久以前了。 天真在这里，在我的左边，”（左低头）会帮你找到你的这位朋友，他对我们很重要。 “另一方面，这里傲慢无礼。”（右脑袋低下，咆哮着）会杀了你的。 “我有决定性的一票，”中间那个人说。 它停顿了一下，然后慢慢地继续。 “因为我们做出的第一个承诺有优先权，所以我们会帮助你。”嗝嗝松了一口气。 结果似乎确实是不确定的。 “谢谢你，”小嗝嗝低下头说。 “我要说的是，还有其他人在寻找珍宝，他们会用它来毁灭。“啊，”中间的头伤心地说，“但是没有你的帮助，他们永远也找不到。”死亡阴影跪在他们身边，邀请他们爬到它的背上。 “来吧，”中间的那个人坚决地说。 “带