17 The Circus on Saturn’s Day Saturday

17. THE CIRCUS ON SATURN'S DAY SATURDAY The next day was Saturn's day Saturday. For the first time in a week the wind dropped and the clouds cleared. It was a glorious day for a celebration, the sky a bright blue with not a breath of rain. From about ten o'clock in the morning Hiccup watched the stadium being prepared for the circus. The stands were hung with Roman flags. Tents and cushions were laid out in the Consul's seating area. Metal nets were set up across the top and insides of the amphitheatre to prevent the performing dragons from escaping or attacking the audience. The stands of the amphitheatre began to fill up with spectators, anxious to get a good view. They were mostly soldiers, cooks and carpenters, given the day off for the national holiday. They could buy food and wine within the amphitheatre to while away the hours, so, by early afternoon, when the performances began, the atmosphere was very lively, everybody singing songs and even dancing on the seats. At two o'clock exactly the trumpeters came out

17. 星期六的马戏团第二天是星期六的土星日。 一个星期以来，风第一次停了，云第一次散开了。 这是一个庆祝的好日子，天空是明亮的蓝色，没有一丝雨。 从早上大约十点钟开始，小嗝嗝就看到体育场正在为马戏表演做准备。 看台上悬挂着罗马旗帜。 领事的座位区摆好了帐篷和靠垫。 圆形剧场的顶部和内部设置了金属网，以防止表演中的龙逃跑或攻击观众。 圆形剧场的看台上开始挤满了观众，他们急于看得更清楚。 他们大多是士兵、厨师和木匠，放假一天是国庆节。 他们可以在圆形剧场内买到食物和酒来消磨时间，所以，到下午早些时候，演出开始时，气氛非常活跃，每个人都在唱歌，甚至在座位上跳舞。 两点整，号手们出来了

on to the Consul's Pavilion, the luxury covered area which was draped with Roman flags and Imperial Standards. They blew an impressive fanfare, and everyone stood up and fell silent as the Consul's party entered the stadium. The Fat Consul came first,

到达执政官馆，这是一个豪华的覆盖区域，上面挂着罗马旗帜和帝国旗帜。 他们吹响了令人印象深刻的号角，当领事一行人走进体育场时，每个人都站起来，沉默下来。 胖领事先来了，

waddling very slowly with a slave at each elbow and one to carry his stomach. He had to stop every couple of steps to catch his breath. He wasn't looking too good. The Fat Consul was covered from head to toe in ugly red rashes and eczema weals. Once the slaves had got him seated, they took it in turns to scratch different parts of his body with an instrument like a large fork, and this seemed to give him some relief, but judging from his restless wriggling and scratching he was still in considerable discomfort. He was eating a light snack of double reptoburger with tomato-and-dormouse relish and popdragons on the side. Alvin the Treacherous sat beside him in the Pavilion. In time to another trumpet fanfare two slaves brought in the Ceremonial Shield of the Legion, gorgeously decorated with a golden eagle carrying a fish. Alvin the Treacherous banged the Ceremonial Shield three times with his hook. 'I officially declare these Saturn's day Saturday Games OPEN,' shouted Alvin the Treacherous. 'Friends and fellow Romans… Watch our Circus and marvel at the glory of the Roman

摇摇摆摆地慢慢走着，两侧肘旁各有一个奴隶，另一个扛着他的肚子。 他每走几步就得停下来喘口气。 他看起来不太好。 胖领事从头到脚长满了难看的红疹子和湿疹。 一旦奴隶们让他坐下，他们轮流用一种像大叉子一样的工具搔他身体的不同部位，这似乎让他放松了一些，但从他不安的扭动和搔抓来看，他仍然很不舒服。 他正在吃一份双层爬行动物汉堡，旁边放着西红柿和睡鼠调味料和爆米花。 在亭子里，背信弃义的阿尔文坐在他旁边。 随着号角声的响起，两个奴隶带来了军团的仪式盾牌，盾牌上华丽地装饰着一只叼着鱼的金鹰。 奸诈的阿尔文用钩子在仪式盾牌上敲了三下。 “我正式宣布土星周六运动会开幕，”叛逆的阿尔文喊道。 “朋友们，罗马同胞们……观看我们的马戏表演，为罗马人的荣耀而惊叹。

Empire! Your entertainment this afternoon is called THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST…' The audience clapped wildly. Three hundred beautiful doves, dyed every colour of the rainbow, were released into the arena. The doves fluttered through the stadium, cooing to each other. Suddenly, the barred gates opened and the coos of the doves turned to cries of alarm. To the cheers and catcalls of the audience, fifty little Sidewinder dragons came slithering through the dust into the arena, their greengage eyes glistening greedily. The Sidewinders were not large but they were vicious pack hunters. They were also chameleons. Every one of them was exactly the colour of the dust they were lying in. The doves desperately threw themselves against the metal nets covering the amphitheatre but there was no escape for them. The Sidewinders crept into the air like an army of cats stalking sparrows. As they rose up they gradually turned as pale blue as the sky above them, and the doves flew desperately hither and thither in confusion, until the leader of the Sidewinders gave the signal to attack.

帝国!你们今天下午的娱乐节目叫《适者生存》……”观众们疯狂地鼓掌。 300只美丽的鸽子，染成了彩虹的每一种颜色，被放飞到舞台上。 鸽子在体育场里飞来飞去，互相咕咕地叫着。 突然，铁门打开了，鸽子的咕咕声变成了惊恐的叫声。 在观众的欢呼声和嘘声中，五十只响尾蛇小龙穿过尘土滑进了竞技场，它们绿色的眼睛贪婪地闪烁着光芒。 响尾蛇体型不大，但它们是恶毒的群体猎手。 它们也是变色龙。 他们每一个人的颜色都和他们躺在里面的尘土一模一样。 鸽子拼命地扑向覆盖圆形剧场的金属网，但它们无处可逃。 响尾蛇爬到空中，就像一群猫在跟踪麻雀。 鸽子们飞得越来越高，渐渐地变成了和头顶的天空一样的淡蓝色，鸽子们绝望地飞来飞去，不知所措，直到响尾蛇的首领发出进攻的信号。

Less than sixty seconds later the air was filled with blood and multi-coloured feathers and there was not a dove left alive in that stadium. The Sidewinders celebrated by turning the colour of the dove they had just eaten. They made a glorious multi-coloured sight, swooping and shrieking through the air in victory rolls, singing a song of praise and thanks for the meal they had been given. And then the barred gates opened again, the Song of the Sidewinders stopped abruptly and they instantly turned the colour of the sky again. Now it was they who were throwing themselves at the metal nets above them and finding they were trapped. For creeping into the arena came twenty heavily armoured black Flashfangs, their razor-sharp teeth glistening in the sunshine, their talons making slashing patterns in the dust. The audience laughed cruelly at the fear of the Sidewinders, who seconds ago were the hunters and had now become the prey. From his barred window high up in the Tower, Hiccup could watch no longer. He knew that a Sidewinder was no match for a Flashfang. He stepped away from the window with a heavy sigh. Toothless had taken one look at the Flashfangs

不到60秒，空气中就充满了鲜血和五颜六色的羽毛，体育场里没有一只活着的鸽子。 响尾蛇把刚刚吃掉的鸽子变成了颜色，以此来庆祝。 它们组成了五彩缤纷的壮观景象，在空中盘旋着，尖叫着，唱着赞美和感谢这顿饭的歌。 接着，铁门又打开了，响尾蛇的歌声突然停止了，天空的颜色立刻又变了。 现在是他们扑向上面的金属网，发现自己被困住了。 潜入竞技场的是二十只全副武装的黑色闪光毒牙，它们剃刀般锋利的牙齿在阳光下闪闪发光，爪子在尘土中划出划痕。 观众残忍地嘲笑响尾蛇的恐惧，它们几秒钟前还是猎人，现在却成了猎物。 小嗝嗝站在高塔上的铁栏窗外，再也看不下去了。 他知道响尾蛇不是闪光牙的对手。 他重重地叹了口气，从窗口走开了。 无牙看了一眼闪牙

and was now hiding in Hiccup's shirt. The door of their prison cell opened with a crash. The First Kidnapper stepped in, followed by twenty heavily armed soldiers. 'Is the timings for your big day in the Circus,' beamed the First Kidnapper. 'Here goes…' said Camicazi grimly. 'Let us face certain death like HEROES.' 'It isn't certain death,' protested Hiccup. 'Don't forget my plan…' 'Would that be the plan where we get rescued at the last minute by a dragon the size of an amoeba?' asked Fishlegs. The soldiers led the boys down from the Tower, across several courtyards and then down many long flights of steps so slippery Hiccup fell and grazed his calf. The steps ended in an underground chamber, where a Viking boat was tethered on the ground. On one side of the boat was painted its name: The Valhalla Express. The chamber was beginning to fill with water– a dam in one of the chamber walls was open, and seawater was flooding in. 'Please to jump in,' grinned the First Kidnapper.

现在正躲在小嗝嗝的衬衫里。 他们牢房的门砰的一声打开了。 第一个绑匪走了进来，后面跟着二十名全副武装的士兵。 “这是你在马戏团的大日子，”第一个绑架者微笑着说。 “来了……”卡米卡齐冷酷地说。 让我们像英雄一样面对死亡。“不见得一定会死，”小嗝嗝抗议道。 “别忘了我的计划……”“那是不是就是我们在最后一刻被一条阿米巴虫那么大的龙救出来的计划？”鱼腿问。 士兵们领着孩子们下了塔楼，穿过几个院子，然后走下许多长长的台阶，小嗝嗝滑倒在地，擦伤了小腿。 台阶的尽头是一个地下房间，在那里，一艘维京船被拴在地上。 船的一侧写着它的名字：瓦尔哈拉快车。 舱室开始充满水——舱室墙壁上的一个大坝打开了，海水涌了进来。 “请跳进去吧。”第一个绑匪咧嘴笑着说。