6 Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 How King Arthur Became Lost in the Forest and Overcame the Knight- Enchanter, and How Sir Gawaine Finally Became a Noble Knight Some time after this, King Arthur himself craved some adventure. As Queen Guinevere and her court were away in Carleon, it was a

第二章亚瑟王如何在森林中迷路并战胜了附魔骑士，以及高文爵士如何最终成为一名高贵的骑士。过了一段时间，亚瑟王自己也渴望冒险。 王后桂尼维尔和她的朝臣都在卡里昂，这是

good time to go. Taking only a favorite esquire, Boisenard, with him, he set off. After getting lost for a while in a very dark wood, the two came upon a great but grim castle. A light was on inside and when they knocked a porter appeared. "We are a worthy but weary knight and esquire," Arthur said. "May we take shelter here tonight?" "If you know what is good for you," the porter replied, "you will sleep in the woods. No good comes to knights who seek shelter here." This made King Arthur curious and he insisted upon coming inside. The porter led Arthur and Boisenard into a room where a lively party was taking place. An old knight sat at the head of the table. He had a white beard and a broad chest. Around his neck he wore a chain of gold with a locket attached. He invited the men to eat.

是时候走了。他只带着他最喜欢的绅士布瓦泽纳尔出发了。 他们在一片漆黑的树林里迷了一会儿路，来到了一座雄伟而阴森的城堡。 屋里亮着灯，他们敲门时，一个看门人出现了。 “我们是一个有价值但疲惫的骑士和绅士。”阿瑟说。 “我们今晚可以在这里过夜吗？”“如果你知道什么对你有好处，”看门人回答说，“你就可以睡在树林里。 骑士们在这里避难，不会有好下场。” 这让亚瑟王很好奇，他坚持要进去。 看门人把阿瑟和布瓦泽纳德领进一间正在举行热闹晚会的房间。 一位老骑士坐在餐桌的首位。 他留着白胡子，胸脯宽阔。 他脖子上戴着一条金链子，上面挂着一个小吊坠。 他邀请男人们一起吃饭。

For dessert, the old knight invited the men to play a game. In a contest of courage, he explained, each competitor would try to cut off the other's head. "That seems like a strange sport," Arthur said, and everyone in the room burst out laughing, as though in on some shared secret. "Are you afraid?" the old knight asked. Arthur angrily replied that he was afraid of nothing and, against Boisenard's pleas, he agreed to play. As he was the guest, the old knight insisted that Arthur must swing the sword first. Still angry but satisfied to be going first, Arthur drew Excalibur, swung, and, with remarkable ease, lopped off the old knight's head. "Well, that's that," he said, thinking that he had won. But to his surprise, instead of falling, the body of the old knight walked calmly over to

作为甜点，老骑士邀请他们玩一个游戏。 他解释说，在一场勇气的比赛中，每个参赛者都会试图砍掉对方的头。 “这似乎是一种奇怪的运动。”阿瑟说，房间里的每个人都大笑起来，好像在分享什么共同的秘密。 “你害怕吗？”老骑士问。 阿瑟生气地回答说他什么都不怕，不顾布瓦泽纳德的恳求，他同意参加比赛。 因为他是客人，老骑士坚持要亚瑟先挥剑。 阿瑟仍然很生气，但对自己先走感到很满意。他拔出王者之剑，挥了一挥，非常轻松地砍下了老骑士的头。 “好了，就这样，”他说，以为自己赢了。 但令他惊讶的是，老骑士的尸体非但没有倒下，反而平静地走了过来

where his head had landed, picked it up, and placed it right back on top where it was as good as new. "My turn to swing," the old knight said, and everyone watching laughed again. The old knight swung once and then twice, but each time stopped just short of hitting Arthur's head. He moved his sword slowly a few more times, pressing the tip just slightly into the skin of Arthur's neck before stopping. "Cut off my head if you are going to," Arthur said, "but torture me no longer." "I will do something else entirely!" the old knight cried. "I will spare your life for a year and a day, if you promise to come back at that time for your beheading." Arthur promised. "And I will spare your life again at that time," the old knight added, "if you can give me the answer to the following riddle: What

他的头落在那里，他把它捡起来，然后把它放回到上面，就像新的一样。 “轮到我挥杆了。”老骑士说，在场的人又笑了起来。 老骑士挥了一挥，又挥了两挥，但每次都差一点击中阿瑟的头。 他又慢慢地移动了几次剑，剑尖在阿瑟脖子的皮肤上稍微压了一下，然后停了下来。 “如果你想砍下我的头，”阿瑟说，“但不要再折磨我了。” “我要做一件完全不同的事！”老骑士喊道。 “我饶你一年零一天的命，只要你答应那时回来砍头。” 亚瑟承诺。“到那时我就饶你一命，”老骑士补充道，“只要你能告诉我下面这个谜语的答案：什么

is it that a woman desires most in the world?" Arthur sighed. Now the old knight was really torturing him, for who knew what women really wanted? Was it wealth? Beauty? Pretty things? The power to please? Nevertheless, making Boisenard promise that Guinevere was not to be told, he agreed to the challenge. A year passed in which, despite asking almost every woman he had come across during that time, Arthur felt himself no closer to knowing what women wanted. Still, as promised, he set out grimly to return to the old knight's castle and his possible death. Just before he reached the castle, however, Arthur came across an old woman living in a hut built into a mossy oak tree. The poor

这是世界上女人最想要的东西吗？”亚瑟叹了口气。 现在老骑士真的在折磨他，因为谁知道女人真正想要的是什么？ 是财富吗？美丽吗?漂亮的东西吗? 取悦别人的能力？尽管如此，在让布瓦泽纳德保证不告诉吉娜薇之后，他还是同意了这个挑战。 一年过去了，尽管阿瑟问了他在这段时间里遇到的几乎每一个女人，但他还是觉得自己对女人想要什么一点也不了解。 尽管如此，他还是如约出发，阴沉地回到老骑士的城堡，等待他可能的死亡。 然而，就在他到达城堡之前，亚瑟遇到了一位老妇人，她住在一棵长满苔藓的橡树上建造的小屋里。 穷人

thing was horribly wrinkled and ugly, with filmy eyes and ears that flapped and only one tooth left in her mouth. Still, Arthur greeted her politely and made one final attempt at getting the answer to his riddle. "I know the answer," the old woman said, "but I will only tell it to you on one condition. If I guess right, you must promise me that I may choose any knight in your court to become my husband." Arthur hesitated, not sure that he could make that promise for another man. However, realizing that the only other choice was his death and that his noble knights would do anything to prevent that, he agreed. "That which a woman most desires is to have her will," the old woman said. She also told him that the old knight was an evil magician who had played this game with many men and who was able to win every

那东西皱巴巴的，丑得吓人，眼睛像薄膜一样，耳朵扑扇着，嘴里只剩下一颗牙齿。 尽管如此，阿瑟还是礼貌地向她打招呼，并做了最后一次尝试，试图找到他的谜语的答案。 “我知道答案，”老妇人说，“但我只有在一个条件下才告诉你。 如果我猜对了，你必须答应我，我可以在你的宫廷里选择任何一位骑士做我的丈夫。” 阿瑟犹豫了一下，不确定自己是否能为另一个人做出同样的承诺。 然而，他意识到自己只有死路一条，而他的骑士们会不惜一切代价阻止他的死，于是他同意了。 “女人最渴望的就是随心所欲，”老妇人说。 她还告诉他，老骑士是一个邪恶的魔术师，他和很多人玩了这个游戏，他能赢每一个