15 Things Go Surprisingly Well in the Swordfighting Competition

15. THINGS GO SUPRISINGLY WELL IN THE SWORDFIGHTING COMPETITION Outside in the Battle Arena, the competition could wait no longer. The Eldest Elder had already read out the competitors for the first heats, and the rules. The winner of each swordfight would go on to fight another winner, and so on, until eventually there were only two competitors left. The aim of the swordfight was to disarm rather than maim or kill the opponent (although accidents do, of course, happen). The Tribes were getting restless, and beginning to sit down cross-legged and sing, 'Why are we wa-a- a-a-iting…' The Eldest Elder was getting jumpy. They were already three minutes late, and although that witch seemed to have disappeared, thank Thor, she might pop out at any moment like a malevolent jack-in-a-box and start complaining. 'I'm afraid,' said the Eldest Elder at last, 'we

15. 击剑比赛进行得出奇的顺利在竞技场外面，比赛已经迫不及待了。 长老已经宣读了第一场预赛的选手名单和比赛规则。 每一场剑术比赛的获胜者将继续与另一名获胜者进行较量，以此类推，直到最后只剩下两名参赛者。 剑斗的目的是解除对方的武装，而不是使对方致残或毙命（当然，偶尔也会发生意外）。 部落里的人开始坐立不安，开始盘腿坐下来，唱着：“我们为什么要——为什么要——为什么要……” 他们已经迟到了三分钟，虽然那个女巫似乎已经消失了，但感谢雷神，她可能随时会像一个恶毒的玩偶一样跳出来，开始抱怨。 “恐怕，”年长的长老最后说，“我们

can wait no longer, we shall have to start the competition. It is a sad day for all of us, and I am sorry for the Hooligans, for they shall have neither their Chief, nor their Stand-in-Chief to fight for them, but rules are rules I'm afraid, and promises are promises… OHEARYE,HEARYE,HEARYE!THESWORDFIGHTING COMPETITION TO FIND THE NEXT KING OF THE WILDERWESTISABOUTTOBEGIN!BUGLER!SOUND THE BUGLE!' The bugler was ju-u-u-ust putting the bugle to his lips to signal the start of the competition, when… BANG! The door of the fortune-telling hut flew open, and out ran a grimy, sticky, Flashburn, running at full tilt through the door. BANG! Closely followed by UG the Uglithug, though at not quite the pace of the Hero-with-a-Healthy-Sense- of-Self-Respect, because he had a belly as big as a battleship, and a considerable cigar habit, but still at an impressive lick for one of his circumference. 'Why bless my soul! Could that be… Flashburn! And UG!' cried the Eldest Elder, in astonishment.

不能再等了，我们得开始比赛了。 对我们所有人来说，这是悲伤的一天，我为那些流氓感到难过，因为他们既没有酋长，也没有总司令为他们而战，但恐怕规则就是规则，承诺就是承诺……哎呀，哎呀，哎呀！寻找下一任荒野之王的剑术比赛即将开始！号手！吹响号角！”号手正把号角放到嘴边示意比赛开始，就在这时……砰！算命小屋的门突然开了，一个又脏又粘的闪电火全速跑了出来。 砰!紧跟在后面的是丑陋的格格，虽然他的步伐不如这位有良好自尊心的英雄，因为他的肚子和战舰一样大，而且还很喜欢抽雪茄，但他的腰围还是让人印象深刻。 “上帝保佑我的灵魂！”会不会是……Flashburn！和UG !大长老惊奇地叫道。

'What were you doing in there and where have you—' But neither the Hero nor the Uglithug Chieftain slowed their pace for one second, they just ran straight past the Eldest Elder, across the Battle Arena, past the eyes of a wondering eighteen Tribes and right towards the Great Entrance to the Castle. 'OPEN THE D-D-D-D-O-O-O-O-ORRRR!!!!!' yelled Flashburn the Hero, and the astonished sentries hurriedly opened the Great Doors, and out the Hero ran, without stopping, followed by the Mainland Chieftain. The Tribesmen watched them go, open-mouthed, running down the Easy Way of Angry Mountain as fast as they could run. (And somersault, actually, because you can't run far down the Easy Way without it turning into a somersault.) So that was the end of those two villains' ambitions, all their dreams, roly-polying their way out of the competition, and out of the story entirely. The Tribes had only just got over this surprise, when from out the very same hut, as if it were a magician's hat, hurried Stoick the Vast, Hiccup the Third, Camicazi of the Bog-Burglars, and that weird little boy with the face-that-looked-like-a-haddock,

“你们在里面干什么，你们去哪儿了——”但是英雄和丑格里乌格酋长一秒钟也没有放慢脚步，他们径直从长老身边跑过，穿过竞技场，越过十八个部落的眼睛，直奔城堡的大门。 “打开——打开——打开——打开——打开！！！！！英雄Flashburn喊道，吃惊的哨兵赶紧打开大门，英雄跑了出去，没有停下来，后面跟着大陆酋长。 部落的人看着他们离开，张着嘴，以最快的速度跑下愤怒山的捷径。 （实际上是翻筋斗，因为你不可能在轻松之路上跑远而不变成翻筋斗。）这就是这两个恶棍的野心，他们所有的梦想的结局，他们用诡计摆脱了竞争，完全摆脱了这个故事。 部落里的人刚从这种惊奇中恢复过来，就从同一间茅屋里，好像那是一顶魔法师的帽子一样，跑来了巨人斯托伊克、小嗝嗝三世、沼泽窃贼卡米卡齐，还有那个长着黑线鳕鱼脸的古怪小男孩，

who still had a dragon attached to his head. The Windwalker pranced into the air, and flew joyous circles around them, so relieved and delighted was he. Even gloomy old One Eye managed a couple of happy bounces. 'MY BABY!' roared Big-Boobied Bertha, throwing wide her arms. 'Yes, Mother, another time,' said Camicazi, impatiently turning to the Eldest Elder. 'What are we waiting for? We have to start this competition RIGHT NOW.' 'Well, we've been waiting for you,' said the Eldest Elder, a little flustered. 'What happened to you… and Stoick… and Flashburn… and what was UG doing in there?' Camacazi could be very commanding for one so small, and she could have delivered an entire lecture series on the subject of 'cheek'. 'We'll explain later. Now, we're in a hurry. Rules are rules, promises are promises, after all. This competition was supposed to start at twelve o'clock sharp on the first day of the New Year.' She picked up Hiccup's smashed ticking-thing, hanging from his pocket, and checked it, tutting. 'You're… ooh… eight

他的头上还挂着一条龙。 风行者腾空而起，欢快地绕着他们飞了一圈，他感到如释重负，十分高兴。 就连忧郁的独眼老人也开心地跳了几下。 “我的宝贝!大咪咪伯莎吼道，张开双臂。 “是的，妈妈，下次吧，”卡米卡齐不耐烦地转向长老说。 “我们还在等什么？”我们必须马上开始比赛。“嗯，我们一直在等你。”长老老大有点慌乱地说。 “你……还有斯托克……还有Flashburn……UG在里面干什么？”Camacazi对于一个如此小的女孩来说是非常威严的，她可以就“脸颊”这个主题发表一个完整的系列演讲。 “我们稍后再解释。现在，我们赶时间。 毕竟，规则就是规则，承诺就是承诺。 这场比赛应该在新年的第一天12点整开始。”她拿起小嗝嗝挂在口袋里的那只被砸烂了的打票机，检查了一下，啧啧。 “你……哦……八岁了。

minutes late, naughty you. SOUND THE BUGLE!' PA-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-AARPPP! The bugle finally sounded for the start of the swordfighting competititon to find the next King of the Wilderwest. 'Good to see you, Stoick!' bellowed Baggybum the Beerbelly, bashing his brother on the back in a relieved fashion and he really meant it, for he loved his brother, despite all the arguing. But immediately after that touching moment he turned to the Eldest Elder, and said, 'But they're too late for the competition, aren't they, Eldest Elder?' Younger brothers have not changed much, even since the Dark Ages. Luckily the Eldest Elder was a good sport, and he had had a soft spot for Hiccup and Camicazi and Fishlegs ever since he was Chief Judge in the Swimming Race a year or so ago.* *How to Ride a Dragon's Storm– you must read these memoirs, otherwise you're missing out. 'Good to see you, Stoick, we were worried about you there. You four are just in time for the competition. Hiccup, you can fight Masher here. Fish-boy, you're against Doolally. And Cami-whatsit can take Helly Thickarm. As for you, Stoick, well, I'm giving you a toughie for your first match. It's the

迟到了几分钟，你真淘气。 吹响号角！”pa -一百一十一亿一千一百一十一万一千一百一十一- aarppp !为选出下一任西部蛮荒之王而进行的剑斗比赛终于吹响了号角。 “很高兴见到你，斯托伊克！”啤酒肚Baggybum吼道，用一种如释重负的方式拍了拍他哥哥的背。他是认真的，因为他爱他的哥哥，尽管争吵不断。 但在那令人感动的一刻之后，他立刻转向长老说：“但他们已经太迟了，不能参加比赛了，不是吗，长老？”即使从黑暗时代开始，弟弟们也没有太大变化。 幸运的是，老大是个很有风度的人，自从大约一年前他在游泳比赛中担任首席裁判以来，他就对小嗝嗝、卡米卡齐和鱼腿情有独钟。* *如何驾驭龙的风暴-你必须读这些回忆录，否则你就错过了。 “很高兴见到你，斯托伊克，我们都很担心你。 你们四个正好赶上比赛。 小嗝嗝，你可以在这里和捣蛋鬼战斗。 鱼仔，你反对杜利。 还有卡米什么的能打败海莉·辛克姆。 至于你，斯托伊克，我要在你的第一场比赛中给你点苦头吃。 这是

Goggler Twins for you I'm afraid.' (Identical twins in the Barbaric Archipelago only counted as one person, so they had a massive advantage in swordfighting competitions.) It says a lot for Stoick that he hadn't let his own encounter with the witch depress him too much. I suppose he had only been trapped for a day or so, whereas UG the Uglithug and Flashburn had had much longer imprisonments. All Stoick had was a slight cramp in his swordfighting arm, which he gave a hopeful stretch with right now, and a slight hole in his belly from when he'd missed a meal or two. And there was nothing Stoick loved more than a good FIGHT. Stoick turned to his son, and laid an arm on his shoulder. 'Son,' he said proudly, 'Thank you.' And then… 'Ah,' breathed Stoick the Vast, his chest puffed out, slapping his great hands together, 'BRING ON THOSE GIRLY GOGGLER TWINS AND WATCH ME TEAR THEIR HORNS OFF! BULLHEART!' Stoick gave a whistle through his usefully-broken

恐怕是给你的。（在野蛮群岛，同卵双胞胎只算作一个人，所以他们在剑术比赛中有很大的优势。）对斯托伊克来说，这说明了很多，他没有让自己与女巫的遭遇太过沮丧。 我猜想他只被困了一天左右，而乌格里乌格和弗拉什本被囚禁的时间要长得多。 斯托伊克的剑臂有点抽筋，他现在充满希望地伸了伸胳膊，他的肚子上有一个小洞，这是他错过一两顿饭时留下的。 斯托伊克最喜欢的就是好好打一架。 斯托伊克转向他的儿子，把一只胳膊搭在他的肩上。 “儿子，”他骄傲地说，“谢谢你。”然后……“啊，”巨人斯托伊克喘着气说，挺起胸膛，拍打着两只大手，“把那对娘娘腔的戴护目镜的双胞胎带来，看我把她们的角扯下来！BULLHEART !”斯托伊克吹了一声口哨