本篇节选自《驯龙高手》原著，由译者：学有所长无偿汉化，仅供参考，请酌情引用译文。未经译者授权禁止转载译文。

作者信息

作者：克蕾西达·考威尔（原著）

译者：学有所长  

译文：

很抱歉，虽然现在似乎很不是时候，但是我们只能把那些小宝宝们留在即将被萤火虫吃掉的险境之中，因为我们得回过头来看看小嗝嗝和其他霍里根人的情况了。

因为，你也知道，他们也有麻烦了。

可怕的，要命的大麻烦。

这个麻烦光是想想都太可怕了，更别提说出来了。

霍里根人们正在船上，而船已经驶出港口，去执行史图伊克的机智策略了。

他们正向着那个巨大的水下暗影前进，高举着斧头，准备赶走这个可怕的猛兽。

即使是最勇敢的霍里根人，最强大的战士，有勇无谋的巨人戈伯，也吓坏了，脸上甚至连嘴唇都发白。

他们的全部理智都在喊叫着让他们“回去！”，逃离波浪下的黑影，而不是去靠近。

“回去！回去！回去！”

但是饥饿已经让他们不顾一切了。

所以，他们强迫着他们颤抖着的长毛的胳膊划着桨，靠近那个可怕的黑影。

他们强迫他们可怜的疲惫的前臂举起斧头无力地敲击着盾牌，命令他们可怜的颤抖的腿，对潜伏在水下的那个强大武器的恐怖存在，踏出人类的无力的警告。

这些霍里根人的行为实在是太勇敢了。

这行为同时也是非常愚蠢的。

小嗝嗝和鱼腿在史图伊克的船，胖企鹅号上。

鱼腿浑身颤抖着，他的腿无法控制地摇动着，就像得了什么发烧瘟疫一样。他闭着眼睛，无助而无用地希望要是他看不到正发生着什么，那他就实际上不在场。

他也试着用斧头敲击着盾牌，一边抱怨着：“唉，这噪音对我的头疼真是没一点好处……”

鱼腿开始笑，不过他的笑逐渐失控，变得有些疯狂。“怎么样了，小嗝嗝？恐惧龙有没有把谁的心吸出来，或者把谁的脑袋弄下去？”

“还没有。”小嗝嗝小心地回答。他也面如死灰，心跳快得让他恶心。这样死的话太难受了……

然后，在小嗝嗝的恐惧的眼前，奇迹发生了。

“等一下，”小嗝嗝惊喜地喘着气说，“我不敢相信……它掉头了……它在离开！”

似乎确实如此。

那个黑影展开他缠绕在岛周围的蛇行身体。它离开了，前往名叫沃登澡盆（Woden’s Bathtub）的海域。看到它离开，饿疯了的维京人们简直不敢相信他们的运气。

转眼间，恐惧变为了希望。

希望让他们的手臂更加有力，他们更加用力地敲打着盾牌，费力地喊出霍里根式欢呼，因为他们意识到他们过了这么多个星期，终于有机会捕鱼，终于能有吃的了。

“拿出渔网来！”必将再次长成大块头的史图依克喊道。他松下这口气之后，脸上有了血色。

感谢雷神，感谢雷神。

有可怕的那么一瞬间，他怀疑了一下他的计划也许并不是个好计划。他挥了挥剑，然后拍了拍他可怜的空空的肚子。

“你看，小嗝嗝?”史图伊克红光满面，得意地笑着转向他的儿子，“计划成功了，孩子。”

他和蔼地拍了拍小嗝嗝的头。“好好看，好好学，小嗝嗝小伙子，好好看好好学。我的几只策略成功了。这就是思考的艺术，脑袋的力量。”

史图伊克郑重地拍了拍他的毛发旺盛的头，然后轻快地对着维京战士们大喊：“今晚一定能饱餐的，以雷神的胃液起誓，一定会的，我的霍里根伙伴们！”

但是是谁饱餐谁呢？？？

有时候我们庆祝得太早了，兄弟姐妹们。

有时候我们庆祝得太早了，我们都忘了我们并不安全，直到我们上了岸，或是到了故事结尾，这取决于哪一个来得更早。

看来霍里根人们确实庆祝得太太早了。因为那个像一艘水下战船一样的在缓慢离开的阴影，渐渐停了下来。

它慢慢地转了个方向……

它转向了霍里根船队。

史图伊克虽然可能不是你眼中那种思考快速的人，但是他也反应过来这不是好事。他长大了嘴。“啊哦。”

然后他们饥饿的嘴也喊不下去霍里根式欢呼了，所有船上的维京人也停止了敲击盾牌。他们无力的手臂惊恐地呆住了，一切噪音都迷惑地停了下来。

除了鱼腿，他敲击的手臂抖得更厉害了。他大叫道：“他们为什么停了下来，小嗝嗝？为什么他们停了下来？算了别告诉我……我不想知道。”

小嗝嗝眯着眼睛看向那团黑暗，使劲咽了一下口水，尽管他口干舌燥，嘴里没有一丝水分。

他只说道：“不要睁眼，鱼腿。”

那团黑影正在移动……

以雷神之名，它真大啊……

它移动着，然后黑暗的海洋凸了起来，开始朝他们涌动，就像一波海浪，但是这并非海浪……

这是恐惧龙。

原文：

I’m sorry, it doesn’t seem a very good moment, but we’ll just have to leave those babies in awful peril, about to be eaten up by Fireworm, while we return to catch up with what was happening with Hiccup and the Hooligans.

Because they were in trouble too, you see.

Dreadful, ghastly trouble. Trouble too nasty to even think about, let alone teU. The Hooligans were aboard their ships, and the ships were already out in the bay . carrying out Stoick's Clever and Intelligent Plan.

They were advancing on that great, grim underwater shadow, banging on their shields with their axes to shoo away this terrible beast .

Even the bravest of the Hooligans , magnificent warriors like that gormless muscly giant, Gobber the Belch , were terrified , and white to the lips.

All of their senses told them to 'Go back!', to run away from that darkness under the waves, and not to go nearer.

'Go back!Go back!Go back!'

But hunger had made them desperate.

So they forced their quaking hairy arms to row towards the dreadful shadow.

They made their poor exhausted limbs bash those axes weakly on those shields, and ordered their poor shaking feet to drum out a pathetic human warning to the mighty , pitiless horror that was lurking under the water.

It was very, very brave of those Hooligans.

It was also extremly stupid.

Hiccup and Fishlegs were aboard Stoick's ship ,The Fat Penguin.

Fishlegs was trembling all over, his legs shivering uncontrollably, as if he had caught some feverish plague. He had his eyes closed , in the useless and pathetic hope that if he couldn't see what was happening, maybe he wasn't really there.

He tried to bash his axe on his shaking shield, moaning, 'Oh This noise really isn't helping my headache one bit...'

Fishlegs laughed, but the laugh grew out of control, and became a bit hysterical.

'What's going on, Hiccup? Has the Dreader sucked out anybody's heart or removed their head yet? ’

‘Not yet, replied Hiccup cautiously.

He too, was pale as death, heart beating so quick he felt sick with the pulse of it. This was going to be a really unpleasant way to die…

And then, in front of Hiccup’s terrified eyes, a miracle happened.

‘Hang on a second,’ panted Hiccup,

in joyous astonishment. ‘I don’t believe it… It’s turning… It’s moving away!’

And so it seemed. The dark shape uncurled its serpentine coils from around the island. It moved away, out into the sea that was Woden’s Bathtub, and as it moved, the famished Vikings could hardly believe

their luck. Terror turned to hope in an instant. The hope gave strength to their arms, and they increased their banging on the shields and let out a ragged Hooligan Hoorah, as they saw themselves being able

to fish for food for the first time in many, many weeks. ‘Bring out the nets!’ bellowed Stoick

the Keen-to-be-Vast-Again, red with relief. Thank Thor, thank Thor.

And so it seemed.

For one horrible moment, he had thought perhaps his Plan hadn’t been such a good one after all. He shook his sword, and patted his poor empty belly. ‘You see. Hiccup?’ Flushed and beaming with triumph, Stoick turned to his son. ‘The Plan is working, my boy’ He patted Hiccup kindly on the

head. ‘Watch and learn. Hiccup laddie, watch and learn. My Clever and Intelligent Plan is working. Thinking skills, you see. Brain power.’Stoick tapped his hairy head importantly, and then roared to the Viking warriors in relieved joy: ‘THERE WILL BE FEASTING TONIGHT, BY THE STOMACH-JUICES OF THOR, THERE WILL, MY FELLOW HOOLIGANS!’

But WHO would befeasting on WHOM???

Sometimes we rejoice too soon,

brothers and sisters.

Sometimes we rejoice too soon, and we forget we are not safe until we reach the shore, or the end of the story, whichever is nearer. It seemed that the Hooligans had rejoiced too soon, for slowly, slowly the

shadow that had been moving away, like a departing underwater battleship, slowly, slowly, came to a halt.

Slowly, slowly, the shadow turned again…

It turned to face the Hooligan fleet. Stoick was not what you might call a lightning thinker, but even he reaHsed that this was not good news. His mouth dropped open. ‘Uh-oh.’

And the Hooligan Hurrah died on famished lips, and all around the ships the HooHgans stopped banging on their shields, and the noise came to a confused halt as their poor weakened arms were

frozen in terror.

AH except for Fishlegs, who banged away more shakily than ever, squeaking,

‘Why are they stopping. Hiccup? Why are they stopping? Actually don’t teU me… I

don’t want to know.’ Hiccup, peering out into that darkness, swallowed hard, though his

mouth had no moisture, for it was dry as dust.

‘Don’t open your eyes yet, Fishlegs,’ was all he said.

The shadow was moving...

Oh for Thor’s sake, it was huge…

It was moving, moving, and the darkened sea swelled up and began to

surge towards them like a tidal wave but wasn’t a tidal wave at all..,

It was the Dreader...