Chapter 3-1

What terror there is in the Seven Kingdoms! A giant has arrived. A giant bigger than any giant that anyone has ever seen before. A super-giant. A mega-giant. An absolutely giant giant for which there is only one suitable word:

七大王国可出了件超吓人的事！ 来了个巨人。 这个巨人比所有人以前见过的任何巨人都要大。 超级大巨人。 无敌大巨人。 要形容这个顶顶大的巨人，只有一个词最合适：

Mountainous. So say the people of the Plain Green Plains in the south of the Seven Kingdoms and they should know because it is their flat, plain green fields that the giant tramples every day, and their crops that are squashed every time he sits down to take a nap, and their houses that are shaken to pieces every time he does a little jog or a little jig or a little wriggle, or whatever it is that he is doing up there. For no one can see what it is that he is doing up there. No one can see whether he is red-faced and running, or smiling and dancing, or yawning and stretching. All that anyone has ever seen of him are his huge (super-huge) trampling (trampling everything) boots. No one has even seen his head it is too high up.

如山似岳。 七大王国南边翠绿平原上的居民们都这么说，他们可太有发言权了，因为巨人每天踩的就是他们平平整整的翠绿农田，他每次坐下打个盹，压烂的就是他们的庄稼，他每次小小慢跑一下、跳个小步舞、扭一扭身子，或是不管在上面搞什么小动作，他们的房子都会被震得散架。 因为没人能看见他在上面到底在做什么。 没人能看清他是涨红了脸在奔跑，还是笑着在跳舞，或是打着哈欠伸懒腰。 大家见过的只有他那双巨大（超级巨大）、踩什么碎什么的靴子。 甚至没人见过他的脑袋，因为实在太高了。

"Hidden by clouds," the messenger says. "Well, I don't believe one word of it," Princess Florizella said to her particular friend, Prince Bennett. They were sitting behind her parents" thrones, listening to the messenger from the Plain Green Plains gasping for breath and shaking with fright as he told the king and the queen of the Seven Kingdoms about the giant, and the people of the Plain Green Plains and the footprints that are as big as lakes. "Something must be done!" the messenger finished. "Like what?" Florizella muttered to Bennett. "At once!" the messenger started up again. "By who?" Bennett whispered back. The king looked very worried. "When was the last time we had a giant?" he asked the court herald. She consulted the scroll. "Ages ago, Your Majesty," she said. "In your father's father's father's father's time. The king (your father's

“被云挡住啦。”信使说道。 “哼，我一个字都不信。”弗洛里泽拉公主对她的好朋友贝内特王子说。 他俩正坐在父母的王座后面，听着翠绿平原来的信使上气不接下气、吓得浑身发抖，向七大王国的国王和王后禀报巨人的事，还有翠绿平原的居民，以及大得像湖泊的脚印。 “必须得想想办法啊！” 信使说完了。 “比如什么办法？” 弗洛里泽拉对着贝内特小声嘀咕。 “得马上办！” 信使又急切地开口。 “谁去办啊？” 贝内特低声回她。 国王看起来忧心忡忡。 “我们上次遇上巨人是什么时候？”他问宫廷传令官。 传令官查了查卷轴。 “好久好久以前啦，陛下，”她说， “还是您曾曾曾祖父在位的时候。 那位国王（您的曾曾曾祖父）当时前去向巨人单挑，血战三天之后才杀死了巨人，那一战里他足足有三次差点送了命！”

father's father's father) went out and challenged the giant to single combat and slew him after three days of bloody battle, in which he was nearly killed three times over!" "Well, we don't want any of that, I'm sure," the king said hastily. "Why don't we just ask him to move on?" There was a muffled giggle from Bennett, still hidden by the big gold throne. "Not into my kingdom, thank you very much," he said to Florizella. "We don't want a giant any more than you do!" The messenger from the Plain Green Plains shook his head. "We have tried asking the giant to move," he said. "He responds to nothing. We have shouted at him and written letters to him. We sent him a petition. We had a demonstration. We had a protest march and a pop festival. He just keeps trampling on our crops and scooping up whole barnfuls of wheat and taking them off. He gathers forests of saplings like a child might pick daisies. He scoops up fish ponds in his hand and drinks them dry. Your Majesty must save us!"

（祖父的祖父）挺身而出，向巨人提出单挑。经过三天浴血奋战，他斩杀了巨人；这场战斗中，他三度险些丧命！ “哦，我们可不想来这套，这点我敢肯定。”国王连忙说道。 “我们就不能请他挪个地方吗？” 躲在金色大王座后面的贝内特忍不住闷笑了一声。 “可别挪到我的王国来，多谢了啊。”他对弗洛里泽拉说。 “我们和你们一样，也不想要巨人！” 翠绿平原来的信使摇了摇头。 “我们已经试过请巨人搬走了，”他说， “他一点反应都没有。 我们对着他大喊，还给他写了信。 我们给他送了请愿书。 我们办了示威游行。 我们组织了抗议游行，还办了场流行音乐节。 可他还是照样踩我们的庄稼，把一整个谷仓的小麦都捞走。 他采起成片的小树苗，就像小孩子摘雏菊一样轻松。 他把鱼塘捧在手里，一口就喝得干干的。 陛下您可一定要救救我们啊！

"Yes," said the king thoughtfully. "I can see you might think it should be me." He turned to the queen. "Any ideas, my love?" he asked. "Anyone you think might be more suitable as a challenger? Than, for example… ME?" The queen nodded briskly. "Send the royal surveyor," she said. "He's good at measuring things. He's just come back from mapping the Red Mountains. He can measure the giant for us and estimate how we can move him, and where he should be placed. We need to know a lot more about him before we take any action." "And send the royal zookeeper too," the king said. "She might have some idea about capturing him and feeding him." "And an enchanter to be on the safe side," the queen said. "I'd never trust a surveyor without an enchanter to keep an eye on him." "An expedition!" the king said cheerfully. "We'll all go." The messenger from the Plain Green Plains dropped to his knees. "I thank Your Majesties!" he said. "I'll ride straight home and tell my people

“是啊，”国王若有所思地说。 “我知道你们肯定觉得该我出面。” 他转向王后。 “有什么主意吗，亲爱的？”他问。 “你觉得有没有谁更适合去当说客？ 比方说，比……我更合适的？” 王后干脆地点了点头。 “派皇家测量员去，”她说， “他最擅长量东西了。 他刚测绘完红山回来。 他可以帮我们量量巨人的尺寸，估算一下我们该怎么挪走他，该把他安置到哪里。 我们采取行动之前，得先多了解他的情况。” “再把皇家动物园管理员也派去，”国王说。 “她说不定知道怎么抓住他，怎么喂他。” “为了保险起见，再带个魔法师，”王后说， “要是没魔法师盯着，我可不敢放心让测量员单独去。” “就组成一支探险队！” 国王高高兴兴地说。 “我们一起去。” 翠绿平原来的信使“扑通”一声跪了下来。 “多谢二位陛下！” 他说。 “我这就骑马回家，告诉我的子民们