7 Fortunes Told, Futures Improved

7. FORTUNES TOLD, FUTURES IMPROVED The next day, Giant Grim came down with the same mysterious stomach complaint as Mogadon the Meathead. 'Wasn't Giant Grim the one who was sword- fighting Alvin the other day and doing quite well?' said Fishlegs. 'And wasn't it him who visited the witch's fortune-telling hut later on that day?' That was indeed Giant Grim. 'The witch has got him…' hissed Fishlegs. And then two days after that, Hardbottomed HighHat lost his lucky hat, and refused to fight at all unless he found it again. 'The witch has got him…' whispered Fishlegs. Young Aggie Ardache, Longlegs Lardyguts, Rubella the Rude, all wonderful swordfighters, fell victim to the same weird problem that Camicazi had. They put on their boots, only to find a sea urchin nestling in the toe, and were limping around the castle as a result. 'The witch has got them…' hissed Fishlegs.

7. 第二天，巨人格里姆带着和傻瓜摩加迪安一样神秘的胃病病倒了。 “那天不就是巨人格里姆和阿尔文用剑决斗，而且打得很好吗？”鱼腿说。 “那天晚些时候不是他去了女巫的算命屋吗？”那确实是巨人格里姆。 “女巫抓住他了……”鱼腿嘶嘶地说。 两天后，硬底高帽丢了他的幸运帽，除非他能找到它，否则他拒绝战斗。 “女巫抓住他了……”鱼腿小声说。 年轻的阿吉·阿达什，长腿的拉迪guts，粗鲁的鲁贝尔拉，都是出色的剑手，都成了卡米卡齐遇到的奇怪问题的受害者。 他们穿上靴子，却发现一只海胆在脚趾头窝着，结果就在城堡里一瘸一拐地走着。 “女巫抓住他们了……”鱼腿嘶嘶地说。

'Have you ever heard of a whole herd of homing sea urchins nesting in shoes?' Hiccup begged his father to pretend to be worse at swordfighting. 'Please, Father, it's the witch, she's getting rid of anyone who is any good… I've seen her watching you in the Battle Arena… And for Thor's sake, whatever you do, don't visit her horrible fortune- telling hut…' But Stoick would not listen. He was too proud. 'Nonsense!' roared Stoick the Vast. 'I will visit whoever I like, Hiccup! I've spoken to several people who say the witch has already improved their futures,

“你听说过一整群海胆在鞋子里筑巢吗？”小嗝嗝恳求父亲假装自己的剑术更差。 “求求你，父亲，是那个女巫，她在除掉任何好人……我看见她在竞技场里看着你……看在托尔的份上，无论你做什么，都不要去她那可怕的算命小屋……” 他太骄傲了。“胡说八道!巨人斯托伊克吼道。 “我想去谁就去谁，小嗝嗝！”我跟几个人谈过，他们说女巫已经改善了他们的未来，

and I hear that her cookies are delicious!' But when the next lot of brilliant swordfighters went down with weird illnesses and minor accidents involving sea urchins, even the stupidest of the Vikings began to get worried. Wouldn't you? The Battle Arena was awash with spotty, itching swordfighters, limping and clutching their tummies, and poor superstitious people like Hardbottomed HighHat unable to fight at all, just roaming the castle looking for his lucky hat. The Outcasts were the only Tribe that seemed unaffected, practising quietly with each other, on the edge of the arena. No longer were there the merry parties, the practising late into the night. Once again, the castle seemed the haunted place to which they first came. 'Let us leave this cursed spot!' cried Mogadon the Meathead, in the Banqueting Hall that evening. 'Too many bad things are happening. And it is too risky here, anyway. What if the rebel dragons were to attack? They could wipe us all out in one go!' The witch was sitting quietly, poking the fire. 'Oh, but you cannot leave,' said the witch, her

我听说她做的饼干很好吃！”但是，当接下来的一批杰出的剑士因奇怪的疾病和与海胆有关的小事故而倒下时，即使是最愚蠢的维京人也开始担心起来。 难道你?战斗竞技场里到处都是满身斑点、浑身发痒的剑手，他们一瘸一跛地抓着肚子，还有像hardbottom HighHat这样迷信的人根本无法战斗，只是在城堡里闲逛，寻找他的幸运帽。 放逐者是唯一一个看起来不受影响的部落，他们在竞技场的边缘安静地互相练习。 那里不再有欢乐的聚会，不再有练习到深夜的人。 城堡又像他们第一次来的那个闹鬼的地方。 “让我们离开这个被诅咒的地方！”那天晚上，笨蛋摩加迪安在宴会厅里喊道。 “太多不好的事情正在发生。 而且这也太冒险了。 如果反抗的龙来攻击呢？ 他们可以一口气把我们全部消灭！”女巫静静地坐着，拨弄着炉火。 “哦，但是你不能离开，”女巫说

voice as sweet as poison. 'A promise is a promise, if it is made in blood. No, you must stay here a little while, as you pledged, and fight to be the Champion of Champions on the turning of the Year…' The Vikings turned to the Eldest Elder, and anxiously he raked up his white hair until it stood all on end. He took out the piece of paper that the Chiefs had all signed up to, and checked it. Oh dear. 'A promise is a promise,' admitted the Eldest Elder reluctantly, 'if it is made in blood.'

声音甜得像毒药。“如果是用鲜血许下的承诺，那就是承诺。 不，你必须像你承诺的那样，在这里待上一段时间，争取在新年来临之际成为勇士中的勇士……”海盗们转向长老，他焦急地把自己的白发捋了起来，直到头发都竖了起来。 他拿出酋长们都签过名的那张纸，检查了一下。 哦亲爱的。“承诺就是承诺，”长老老大不情愿地承认，“只要是用鲜血许下的承诺。”

That was a quiet feast in the Banqueting Hall that night, with no one talking to his neighbour. No one walked about on their own; they went about in big groups, with weapons drawn. No one ate a piece of food before their own dragons had tasted it. They checked very, very carefully inside their gloves and shoes. The torches stayed burning all through the night in the dormitories. Each Tribe posted sentries that paced the room while the others slept, to watch out for danger sneaking in at the doors and the windows. And then, only one day before the swordfighting competition, all of Hiccup's worries came true… The witch got Stoick the Vast. Not with a nasty tummyache, or even a sea urchin in the shoe. No, it was far worse than that. Stoick the Vast disappeared entirely. Just like Flashburn and his forty Warriors. It happened like this. On New Year's Eve, Hiccup was awoken in the middle of the night. After three weeks of swordfighting practice, morn, noon and night, Hiccup was so exhausted he had to be shaken awake, and when he opened

那天晚上，宴会厅里的宴会很安静，谁也没有和邻居说话。 没有人独自行走；他们成群结队地走来走去，手里拿着武器。 没有人会在自己的龙尝过之前吃东西。 他们非常非常仔细地检查了手套和鞋子的内部。 宿舍里的火把整夜都在燃烧。 每个部落都派了哨兵，在其他人睡觉的时候在房间里巡逻，以防危险从门和窗户偷偷溜进来。 然后，就在剑术比赛的前一天，小嗝嗝所有的担心都成真了……女巫抓住了巨人斯托伊克。 肚子疼得厉害，鞋里也没有海胆。 不，比那更糟。 浩瀚的斯托伊克完全消失了。 就像Flashburn和他的40名勇士一样。 事情是这样发生的。除夕之夜，小嗝嗝半夜被吵醒了。 经过三个星期的从早到晚的剑术练习，小嗝嗝太累了，他不得不被摇醒，当他张开双臂时

his sleepy eyes a very, very sick feeling came to his stomach as he realized that standing all about his bed were seven of Stoick's most important Warriors, flares in their hands, and they were arguing fiercely. 'This is ridiculous!' fumed Baggybum the Beerbelly. 'This is a national emergency! You can't put this boy in charge! He isn't even a proper Warrior yet. He's not ready. He may NEVER be ready. Let's face it, nobody dared tell Stoick, but he's a bit of a little weirdo. Look at his arms, like two pieces of spaghetti! I should be the temporary Chief, as Stoick's younger brother!' 'Hiccup will become a full Warrior tomorrow,' said Gobber the Belch heavily. 'And we must give the boy a chance. By report he fought bravely and cleverly on the Angry Face, leading them all to victory… Perhaps he will do the same for us…' 'LUCK!' roared Baggybum. 'Sheer luck! We can't make this boy the Chief because he was the one who set free the Dragon Furious! We all know that. None of the other Warriors will even speak to him. The other Tribes think he may be cursed….' 'The setting free of the Dragon Furious was an accident. I had plenty of accidents when I was

他睡眼惺忪，一种非常、非常恶心的感觉涌上他的胃，因为他意识到，斯托伊克的七个最重要的战士站在他的床边，手里拿着照明弹，他们正在激烈地争论着。 “这太荒唐了！”啤酒肚Baggybum生气地说。 “这是国家紧急状态！”你不能让这孩子管事！他甚至还不是一个真正的战士。 他还没准备好。他可能永远不会准备好。 面对现实吧，没人敢告诉斯托伊克，但他确实有点怪。 看他的手臂，就像两条意大利面！作为斯托伊克的弟弟，我应该做临时局长！“嗝嗝明天就要成为一名真正的战士了。”嗝伯沉重地说。 “我们必须给这孩子一个机会。 据说他在怒脸战役中英勇而机智地作战，带领他们取得了胜利……也许他也会为我们做同样的事情……”Baggybum吼道。 “纯粹的运气!我们不能让这个男孩当酋长因为是他放了暴龙！我们都知道这一点。 其他勇士都不愿和他说话。 其他部落认为他可能被诅咒....“《龙之怒》的释放是一个意外。” 我小时候出过很多事故