3 Out of the Cooking Pot

3. OUT OF THE COOKING POT AND INTO THE BARBECUE 'Uh-oh…' said Fishlegs. This was most definitely NOT a Peaceable fishing boat. It was, in fact, a sizeable Roman ship, seventy metres long from stern to prow. The sails were pure white, and high above, when Hiccup craned his neck, he could see the Roman flag of the Imperial Eagle flapping cheerily in the wind. The boat was crammed with what looked like an entire legion of Roman soldiers, who were now looking at Fishlegs with astonishment and fury. There was a gigantic iron cage set near the mast of the boat. An enormous number and variety of dragon species were being held prisoner behind the bars of this cage. Deadly Nadders, Flying 'Gators, Big Spotted Gormlesses, Yellow Vampires, Common-or-Gardens – you name it, they were all there, trapped together in a furious tangle of talons and wings and fangs, ready to be sent back to the restaurants and

3. “哦哦……”鱼腿说。 这绝对不是一艘和平的渔船。 事实上，这是一艘相当大的罗马船，从船尾到船头有70米长。 船帆是纯白色的，当小嗝嗝伸长脖子时，他可以看到高高在上的帝国鹰的罗马旗帜在风中欢快地飘扬。 船上挤满了看起来像一整个军团的罗马士兵，他们现在正惊讶而愤怒地看着鱼腿。 船的桅杆附近放着一个巨大的铁笼子。 数目庞大、种类繁多的龙被囚禁在这个笼子的铁栏后面。 致命的蝰蛇、飞天鳄、大斑点的瞎眼睛、黄色的吸血鬼、普通的或花园的——凡是你能想到的，它们都在那里，被困在一起，被爪子、翅膀和尖牙纠缠在一起，随时准备被送回餐馆和

shoemakers in Rome. 'Oh, for Thor's sake,' whispered Hiccup. 'Roman Dragonrustlers. I do not believe this…' 'Ah…' said Fishlegs with a nervous smile, backing towards the edge of the boat, 'I seem to have made some sort of mistake. This is the wrong boat, you see…' He tried to laugh in an airy fashion. 'So sorry to disturb… carry on with what you were doing why don't you…' The nearest soldier, who was a six feet five centurion with legs like tree trunks, drew his sword with a nasty flourish. 'And where do you think you're going?' he asked Fishlegs in Latin*. Latin was the language spoken by the Ancient Romans. Most Vikings did not understand this language, but Hiccup had been secretly taught a little Latin by his grandfather, Old Wrinkly. 'Might come in useful,' Old Wrinkly had said, (As indeed it did, on occasions too numerous to mention.) He put out a big hand to grab Fishlegs and Fishlegs ducked under his arm in the nick of time. GET HIM! yelled the big centurion and six or seven more soldiers made a leap towards Fishlegs. Now, if Hiccup had been a traditional Hooligan Hero, he would have drawn his sword, Endeavour, and launched himself over the side to the aid of his

罗马的鞋匠。“哦，看在上帝的份上，”嗝嗝低声说。 “罗马Dragonrustlers。“啊……”鱼腿带着紧张的微笑说，一面退回到船边，“我好像犯了什么错误。 你瞧，我们坐错船了……”他竭力装出一副漫不经心的样子笑起来。 离他最近的一个百夫长，身高六英尺五英寸，腿像树干，恶狠狠地抽出剑来。 “你想去哪儿？”他用拉丁语问鱼腿。 拉丁语是古罗马人说的语言。 大多数维京人都不懂这种语言，但嗝嗝的祖父老皱纹偷偷教了他一点拉丁语。 “可能会有用的，”老皱纹说，（它确实有用，次数多得无法一一列举。）他伸出一只大手去抓住鱼腿，鱼腿在关键时刻钻到他的腋下。 得到他!高大的百夫长喊道，另外六七个士兵向鱼腿跳去。 现在，如果小嗝嗝是一个传统的流氓英雄，他会抽出他的剑，奋进，跳下去帮助他

friend, shouting the Hooligan War Cry at the top of his voice. But then if Hiccup had been a traditional Hooligan Hero, he would have been dead as a kipper several books ago. A noble kipper, perhaps, a gloriously brave kipper; but, nonetheless, a very, very dead kipper.

他的朋友，大声喊着流氓的战争口号。 但是，如果Hiccup是传统的流氓英雄，那么他在几本书之前就已经死了。 一条高贵的鲱鱼，也许，一条光荣勇敢的鲱鱼；但是，不管怎样，这是一条死得很惨的鲱鱼。

Instead, Hiccup sneaked over the edge of the boat as quietly as he could. As soft as a ghost, he hid behind a couple of jars of olive oil beside a bit of the deck that was covered by a large tent. In the meantime, Fishlegs was being chased by the Roman soldiers. The chase didn't last long. Fishlegs ducked and dodged as best he could but finally ran into the stomach of a gigantic centurion who picked him clear off the ground. 'Look who we have here…' bellowed the centurion, as Fishlegs kicked his legs like a stranded beetle. 'A scary little Viking trying to attack us all on his own…' 'Har har har!' The other three hundred and forty- nine soldiers thought this was very funny. 'This is all a big mistake,' wailed Fishlegs, scratching himself violently as his eczema started coming out with the anxiety of the moment. 'Please let me go…' 'Let's take you to the Boss, little barbarian,' said the centurion. He carried Fishlegs over to the tent where Hiccup was hiding. Hiccup peered out from behind his jar. Gently, he drew back the curtain so he could see what was happening.

相反，小嗝嗝尽可能悄悄地溜过船边。 他像幽灵一样软弱，躲在甲板上一小块地方的几罐橄榄油后面，甲板上盖着一顶大帐篷。 与此同时，鱼腿被罗马士兵追赶。 追捕没持续多久。 鱼腿拼命地躲闪，但最后还是撞上了一个巨大的百夫长的肚子，他把鱼腿从地上捡了起来。 “看看谁来了……”百夫长吼道，鱼腿像一只搁浅的甲虫一样踢着他的腿。 “一个可怕的小维京人想独自攻击我们大家……”其他三百四十九名士兵认为这很有趣。 “这是一个很大的错误，”鱼腿哀号着，在焦虑的时刻，他的湿疹开始发作，他猛烈地抓着自己。 “我们带你去见首领吧，小野蛮人，”百夫长说。 他把鱼腿带到小嗝嗝藏身的帐篷里。 嗝嗝从罐子后面往外看。 他轻轻地拉开窗帘，以便看清正在发生的事情。

Bright red in the face and trembling and itching, Fishlegs was brought before two richly dressed men reclining under the tent just a metre away from where Hiccup was crouching. One of these men was very, very fat. So fat, that parts of his stomach were dripping over the edge of his couch and were being held up by a small slave. The other man was thin and wearing a fancy helmet with a gigantic plume and a face guard that covered his eyes. The Fat Roman was eating nanodragons in honey from a plate on a low table in front of him. Nanodragons were a tiny species of dragon as

鱼腿脸通红，浑身发抖，浑身发痒，被带到两个衣冠楚楚的男人面前，他们斜倚在帐篷里，离嗝嗝蹲着的地方只有一米远。 其中一个非常非常胖。 他太胖了，肚子的一部分都垂到了沙发边上，由一个小奴隶托着。 另一个人很瘦，戴着一顶很花哨的头盔，头盔上有一根巨大的羽毛，面罩遮住了他的眼睛。 胖罗马人正在他面前一张矮桌子上的盘子里吃蜂蜜纳米龙。 纳米龙是一种很小的龙

numerous as insects. They were about the size of locusts. The poor creatures were still alive and were wriggling but unable to escape from the honey that gummed up their wings. Hiccup could hear their pathetic cries for help as the fat fingers picked them up and gobbled them down. The Fat Roman was difficult to understand because he was talking with his mouth full. 'By Jupiter, Prefect,' drawled the Fat Roman through a big helping of nanodragon. 'I do believe we have been attacked by a teeny-weeny little barbarian…' 'So we have, Consul,' replied the Thin Prefect. 'I

象昆虫一样多。它们有蝗虫那么大。 这些可怜的生物还活着，正在扭动，但无法逃脱粘在翅膀上的蜂蜜。 小嗝嗝可以听到他们可怜的呼救声，因为胖手指把它们捡起来，狼吞虎咽地吃掉了。 胖罗马人很难听懂，因为他嘴里塞满了东西。 “天哪，长官。”胖罗马人吞吞吐吐地说。 “是的，执政官，”瘦削的级长回答道。 “我