Chapter 3-2

Chapter two, Bennett has a genius plan that does not fully succeed. It is rather an extraordinary experience, hunting a giant. You don't need dogs to smell him out, as you would if you were hunting pheasant or duck. The smell of a giant, even an extremely clean giant, wafts all around him for about ten kilometres in any direction. This particular giant had found a store of onions on the very morning

第二章 班纳特有个绝妙计划，可惜没能完全成功。 猎杀巨人可是相当不一般的体验哦。 要是猎野鸡或者野鸭子，你得用狗把它们嗅出来，可找巨人不用。 就算是个特别爱干净的巨人，他身上的味道往四面八方飘，十公里开外都能闻得到。 就在弗洛里泽拉和班纳特到达青葱平原的当天早上，这个巨人正好找到了一堆洋葱。

that Florizella and Bennett arrived at the Plain Green Plains, and the smell of his breath was enough to knock them off horseback. "Yuck," said Florizella, clinging to the mane of her brilliant bay pony, Jellybean, while warm gales of onion-scented wind buffeted them. Samson let out a short, yappy howl. "Ki-yi-yi yi-yi!" His nose was burning with too much scent and his eyes were watering. When hunting a giant, you don't need sharp eyesight to spot him. He's not like deer that can disappear into a forest, or sleek hares that lie low and blend into the ground– this giant blocked the sunlight. His feet and legs, thicker and bigger than tree trunks, towered above the flat, fertile lands of the Plain Green Plains. Jellybean stopped dead a good kilometre from the giant boots. So did Bennett's pony, Thunderer, and they both kept a close watch on a giant bootlace as big as a rope from a sailing ship, which was undone and snaking across the road. Samson blinked miserably and growled under his breath.

他呼出来的气味道大得都能把他俩从马背上掀下来。 “哎呀好臭！”弗洛里泽拉紧紧攥着她那匹漂亮枣红小马“软糖豆”的鬃毛，暖烘烘的洋葱味大风正一阵阵往他们身上吹。 萨姆森短促地嗷呜叫了一声。 “咿呀咿呀咿！” 浓烈的气味熏得他鼻子发疼，眼睛都淌眼泪了。 猎杀巨人的时候，你也不用靠好眼力去找他。 他可不像鹿能躲进森林里，也不像滑溜溜的野兔能趴在地上和环境融为一体——这个巨人把太阳光都挡住了。 他的腿脚比树干还要粗还要大，高耸在青葱平原平坦肥沃的土地上。 软糖豆在离巨人的靴子还有整整一公里的地方猛地停住了。 班纳特的小马“雷轰”也停了下来，他俩都死死盯着那根跟海船缆绳一样粗的巨人鞋带，那鞋带没系好，像蛇一样横在路面上。 萨姆森难受地眨了眨眼，小声地呜呜低吼着。

This really was a very big giant indeed. Florizella and Bennett had been privately certain that the messenger from the Plain Green Plains had been exaggerating about the size of the giant. Their high spirits on the day-long ride had been because they thought they were on their way to a giant perhaps three metres tall. But now they were close to him they could see why the messenger had been so determined that the king himself should come and sort out the problem. The adventure suddenly seemed very serious. Even sitting on their horses, Bennett and Florizella were only just level with the giant's ankles in his thick knitted socks. Standing on the ground, they only came up to his big polished toecaps. They couldn't even see his head. His broad legs, dressed in socks and big baggy breeches, and his tummy, straining against a green jerkin and belt, blocked the view upwards like an overhanging balcony on a house. Florizella and Bennett got off their horses and turned them loose in a nearby field. The horses kicked up their heels, rushed over to the far side

这巨人真的实在是太大了。 之前弗洛里泽拉和班纳特还暗自觉得，青葱平原派来的信使肯定把巨人的个头说夸张了。 他们骑了一整天马都兴致高昂，是因为他们本来以为要对付的巨人可能也就三米高。 可现在凑到跟前，他们才明白为什么信使那么坚决，非要国王亲自来解决这个麻烦。 这场冒险一下子变得严肃起来了。 就算坐在马背上，班纳特和弗洛里泽拉的高度才刚到巨人穿厚针织袜子的脚踝那儿。 要是站在地上，他们才只够到巨人擦得亮堂堂的大鞋尖。 他们连巨人的脑袋都看不到。 他粗壮的腿套着袜子和宽松的大裤子，鼓鼓的肚子把绿色短上衣和腰带撑得紧紧的，就像房子伸出来的阳台一样，挡住了往上看的视线。 弗洛里泽拉和班纳特翻身下马，把马牵到附近的田里放开了。 两匹马尥了个蹶子，飞快地跑到田的另一头。

and tried, very foolishly, to hide behind a tree. Horses hate giants and Jellybean especially disliked Florizella's more dangerous adventures. "I have a plan," said Bennett. "We will summonhim to a parley. And then we will issue our challenge to him." "Challenging him to what?" Florizella asked. "Single combat with sword and lance," Bennett said promptly. "You'll have to fight him, Florizella. It's your kingdom, after all." "Not me," Florizella said equally promptly. "You must be crazy, Bennett. It would be like a mouse challenging one of us to single combat. I think we should talk to him. He may be lost. Or just passing through." "Combat would be more princely," Bennett said regretfully. "But I suppose you're right. How shall we talk to him?" "We need a white flag," Florizella said. "To show that we want a peaceful talk. Have you got a clean hankie?" Bennett just laughed. Neither of them ever had a clean handkerchief.

还傻兮兮地想躲到一棵树后面去。 马本来就讨厌巨人，软糖豆尤其不喜欢弗洛里泽拉搞那些危险的冒险。 “我有个主意。”班纳特说。 “我们把他叫过来谈判。 然后向他提出挑战。” “挑战他什么呀？” 弗洛里泽拉问。 “用剑和长矛一对一决斗啊。”班纳特立刻回答。 “弗洛里泽拉，你得去跟他打。 毕竟这是你的王国呀。” “我才不去。”弗洛里泽拉也立刻回答。 “班纳特，你肯定是疯了。 这就好比一只老鼠要跟我们其中一个人决斗一样离谱。 我觉得我们应该先跟他聊聊。 说不定他是迷路了。 或者只是路过而已。” “决斗更有王子风范嘛。”班纳特有点遗憾地说。 “不过你说得也对。 我们怎么跟他说话呀？” “我们需要一面白旗。”弗洛里泽拉说。 “表示我们想好好谈，不想打架。 你有干净的手帕吗？” 班纳特直接笑出了声。 他们俩谁都从来没有干净的手帕。

"We'll use your shirt," Florizella said. "It's white under the dirt. And, anyway, we're not asking him to check up on the laundry. We just want to attract his attention and show him we mean peace." Bennett took off his shirt and they tied it to a fallen branch of a tree. Then they went as close to the giant boots as they thought safe and waved the flag in the air. They waved for a long time. Nothing happened. "I don't think he can see us," Florizella said. "My arms are tired," Bennett said. "Let's shout at him." The two children bawled upwards. "EXCUSE US! WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU!" Absolutely nothing happened. "This is stupid," Florizella said. "We'll have to get him to look down. I'll stab him in the ankle with my sword." "Better not," Bennett said cautiously. "It might

“那我们用你的衬衫。”弗洛里泽拉说。 “脏归脏，底色是白的呀。 再说了，我们又不是要让他检查衣服干不干净。 我们就是想吸引他的注意，告诉他我们没有恶意。” 班纳特脱下衬衫，他们把衬衫系在一根掉下来的树枝上。 然后他们走到觉得安全的、离巨人靴子最近的地方，在空中挥起了那面旗子。 他们挥了好半天。 什么动静都没有。 “我觉得他看不到我们。”弗洛里泽拉说。 “我胳膊都酸了。”班纳特说。 “我们朝他喊吧。” 两个孩子仰起头大声喊。 “打扰一下！ 我们想跟你说说话！” 还是一点反应都没有。 “这也太傻了。”弗洛里泽拉说。 我们得让他低下头来看。 我用剑戳他的脚踝。” “还是别吧。”班纳特小心地说。 “说不定会

hurt him." "No," Florizella said. "Look at the thickness of his socks. It would only be like a little mosquito bite." "Mm," said Bennett. "And what do people do to mosquitoes?" "Swat them," Florizella replied. Then she said, "Oh, I see." "We have to get him down to our level, without making him angry," Bennett said thoughtfully. He was staring at the great rope of bootlace. Then he snapped his fingers. "I am a genius!" he said. "We'll knot his bootlace to that tree, then he'll notice it has come undone and kneel down to do it up. Then he'll see us, and we can talk to him." "Great," said Florizella. The two of them took hold of the rope and, with much heaving and shoving, got it tied round a sturdy oak that grew in a little copse of other trees at the side of the road. Samson sat down beside the rope and tried to look optimistic. He was a very unhappy wolf cub. "Look out!" Florizella yelled. "He's moving!"

伤到他。” “不会的，”弗洛里泽拉说。 “你看他袜子多厚呀。 这咬上去就跟蚊子叮了一小口似的。” “嗯，”贝内特说。 “那人们会怎么对付蚊子呀？” “拍死它们呀。”弗洛里泽拉回答。 接着她反应过来：“哦，我懂了。” “我们得把他弄到和我们一样的高度，还不能惹他生气。”贝内特若有所思地说。 他盯着那根粗得像绳子似的靴带。 然后他打了个响指。 “我真是个天才！” 他说。 “我们把他的靴带系到那棵树上，等他发现鞋带开了，就会跪下来系。 那时候他就能看见我们，我们就可以和他说话了。” “太棒啦。”弗洛里泽拉说。 他俩抓住那根“鞋带绳”，又拉又推费了好大劲，总算把它系到了路边一小片树林里一棵结实的橡树上。 参孙蹲在绳子旁边，努力摆出一副很有信心的样子。 他其实是只特别不开心的小狼崽。 “小心！” 弗洛里泽拉大喊。 “他动了！”