04-02-04-格列佛游记 [17]
糕的小国民。”
我非常遗憾不得不转述国王的这些话，我这样做只是因为我对真相的热爱。我必须原原本本地告诉你们发生的事，即使我并不赞同。在他发表关于我亲爱的祖国的不同寻常的看法时，我不得不耐心地听着。不过我们必须记住，这个国王生活在几乎完全与世隔绝的国度里，因为他不知道别的国家的制度或习俗，他的想法中有一定的狭隘性，这当然是我们欧洲人所没有的。
你将觉得接下来发生的事很难置信。
“先生，”我说，“我想送给你一样东西以表示感谢自我从来到宫里后你对我的厚爱。三四百年前，我们欧洲人发明了怎样制造一种特别的粉末。当你点燃它时，它立即燃烧爆炸，声音比打雷还响，你可以用它来把很沉的金属弹丸从很大的枪中射出，它可以摧毁最大的轮船，消灭整个军队，把人的身躯切成两半，摧毁最坚固的墙壁。它叫火药，制作起来简单廉价。为了表达我是多么的感激你，我自愿给你解释怎么制造它——然后你就有能力消灭你的所有敌人！”
我对国王的回答感到非常吃惊。
“不！”他惊恐地叫道，“不要告诉我！我不想知道怎样去谋杀人。我宁愿割出一半国土也不想知道这种粉末的秘密。你们这样渺小的生物怎么可以有如此不人道、残酷的想法？决不要再跟我提这事！”
多么奇怪！如此优秀的国王，竟然不抓住我提供给他的机会！任何一个欧洲国王绝不会有一丝犹豫。可是他还有其他怪念头。他相信，每个问题都可以被诚实、通情理的人解决，一个国家的政治生活必须没有秘密，必须公开给世人看和理解。当然，我们知道这是不可能的，所以他的看法也许对我们来说不值得考虑。
■ 9 Gulliver escapes from Brobdingnag
I was still hoping to return to England one day．But the ship in which I had arrived in Brobdingnag was the first that had ever come near the coast．So I could not see how I could get away．I began to think more and more about my family and my home．
By now I had been in Brobdingnag for about two years．When the King and Queen travelled to the south coast，Glum－dalclitch and I went with them．I really wanted to be close to the sea again，which I had not seen or even smelt for so long．As Glumdalclitch was ill，I asked a young servant to take me down to the beach for some fresh air．The boy carried me in my travelling box，and put me down on the beach，while he looked for birds’eggs among the rocks．I looked sadly at the sea，but stayed in my box，and after a while I fell asleep．
I was woken suddenly when my box was lifted high in the air．I can only suppose that a large bird took hold of the ring on top of the box with his talons，and flew away with it．Through the windows I could see the sky and clouds passing by，and I could hear the noise of the bird's wings．Then I was falling，so fast that I felt quite breathless．There was a loud crash，as the box fell into the sea．Perhaps the bird had been attacked by others，and so had to drop what he was carrying．
Luckily，the box had been well made，and not much sea water came in．But I do not think any traveller has ever been in a worse situation than I was then．I wondered讪how long I would survive，with no food or drink in the middle of the ocean．I felt sure I would never see poor Glumdalclitch again，and I knew how sad she would be to lose me．
Several hours passed，and then I suddenly heard a strange noise above my head People were fastening a rope to the ring．Then my box was pulled through the water．Was it a ship that was pulling me along？
‘Help！Help！’I shouted as loudly as I could．
I was delighted to hear English voices reply．
‘Who's there？’they cried．
‘I'm English！’I shouted back desperately．‘Please help me to get out of here！Just put your finger into the ring on top of the box and lift it out of the water！Quickly！’
There were great shouts of laughter．
‘He's mad！’I heard one man say．
‘Ten men couldn't lift that huge box！’said another．There was more laughter．
Indeed，because I had been with giants for so long，I had forgotten that my countrymen were as small as me．The only thing the sailors could do was to cut a hole in the top of my box，and help me to climb out．I was exhausted and unable to walk far．
They took me to their captain．
‘Welcome to my ship，’he said kindly．‘You're lucky we found you．My men saw that huge box on the water，and we decided to pull it along behind the ship．Then we realized there was a man inside！Why were you locked up in there？Was it a punishment for some terrible crime？But tell me all about it later．Now you need to sleep，and then eat．’
When I told him my story，a few hours later，he found it difficult to believe．But after a while he began to accept that what I told him must be true．
‘But why do you shout so loudly？’he asked．‘We can hear you perfectly well if you speak normally．’
‘You see，’I explained，‘for two years I've had to shout to make myself understood by the giants．I was like a man in the street who was trying to talk to another man at the top of a very tall building．And another thing-your sailors all seem very small to me，because I've been used to looking up at peo
我非常遗憾不得不转述国王的这些话，我这样做只是因为我对真相的热爱。我必须原原本本地告诉你们发生的事，即使我并不赞同。在他发表关于我亲爱的祖国的不同寻常的看法时，我不得不耐心地听着。不过我们必须记住，这个国王生活在几乎完全与世隔绝的国度里，因为他不知道别的国家的制度或习俗，他的想法中有一定的狭隘性，这当然是我们欧洲人所没有的。
你将觉得接下来发生的事很难置信。
“先生，”我说，“我想送给你一样东西以表示感谢自我从来到宫里后你对我的厚爱。三四百年前，我们欧洲人发明了怎样制造一种特别的粉末。当你点燃它时，它立即燃烧爆炸，声音比打雷还响，你可以用它来把很沉的金属弹丸从很大的枪中射出，它可以摧毁最大的轮船，消灭整个军队，把人的身躯切成两半，摧毁最坚固的墙壁。它叫火药，制作起来简单廉价。为了表达我是多么的感激你，我自愿给你解释怎么制造它——然后你就有能力消灭你的所有敌人！”
我对国王的回答感到非常吃惊。
“不！”他惊恐地叫道，“不要告诉我！我不想知道怎样去谋杀人。我宁愿割出一半国土也不想知道这种粉末的秘密。你们这样渺小的生物怎么可以有如此不人道、残酷的想法？决不要再跟我提这事！”
多么奇怪！如此优秀的国王，竟然不抓住我提供给他的机会！任何一个欧洲国王绝不会有一丝犹豫。可是他还有其他怪念头。他相信，每个问题都可以被诚实、通情理的人解决，一个国家的政治生活必须没有秘密，必须公开给世人看和理解。当然，我们知道这是不可能的，所以他的看法也许对我们来说不值得考虑。
■ 9 Gulliver escapes from Brobdingnag
I was still hoping to return to England one day．But the ship in which I had arrived in Brobdingnag was the first that had ever come near the coast．So I could not see how I could get away．I began to think more and more about my family and my home．
By now I had been in Brobdingnag for about two years．When the King and Queen travelled to the south coast，Glum－dalclitch and I went with them．I really wanted to be close to the sea again，which I had not seen or even smelt for so long．As Glumdalclitch was ill，I asked a young servant to take me down to the beach for some fresh air．The boy carried me in my travelling box，and put me down on the beach，while he looked for birds’eggs among the rocks．I looked sadly at the sea，but stayed in my box，and after a while I fell asleep．
I was woken suddenly when my box was lifted high in the air．I can only suppose that a large bird took hold of the ring on top of the box with his talons，and flew away with it．Through the windows I could see the sky and clouds passing by，and I could hear the noise of the bird's wings．Then I was falling，so fast that I felt quite breathless．There was a loud crash，as the box fell into the sea．Perhaps the bird had been attacked by others，and so had to drop what he was carrying．
Luckily，the box had been well made，and not much sea water came in．But I do not think any traveller has ever been in a worse situation than I was then．I wondered讪how long I would survive，with no food or drink in the middle of the ocean．I felt sure I would never see poor Glumdalclitch again，and I knew how sad she would be to lose me．
Several hours passed，and then I suddenly heard a strange noise above my head People were fastening a rope to the ring．Then my box was pulled through the water．Was it a ship that was pulling me along？
‘Help！Help！’I shouted as loudly as I could．
I was delighted to hear English voices reply．
‘Who's there？’they cried．
‘I'm English！’I shouted back desperately．‘Please help me to get out of here！Just put your finger into the ring on top of the box and lift it out of the water！Quickly！’
There were great shouts of laughter．
‘He's mad！’I heard one man say．
‘Ten men couldn't lift that huge box！’said another．There was more laughter．
Indeed，because I had been with giants for so long，I had forgotten that my countrymen were as small as me．The only thing the sailors could do was to cut a hole in the top of my box，and help me to climb out．I was exhausted and unable to walk far．
They took me to their captain．
‘Welcome to my ship，’he said kindly．‘You're lucky we found you．My men saw that huge box on the water，and we decided to pull it along behind the ship．Then we realized there was a man inside！Why were you locked up in there？Was it a punishment for some terrible crime？But tell me all about it later．Now you need to sleep，and then eat．’
When I told him my story，a few hours later，he found it difficult to believe．But after a while he began to accept that what I told him must be true．
‘But why do you shout so loudly？’he asked．‘We can hear you perfectly well if you speak normally．’
‘You see，’I explained，‘for two years I've had to shout to make myself understood by the giants．I was like a man in the street who was trying to talk to another man at the top of a very tall building．And another thing-your sailors all seem very small to me，because I've been used to looking up at peo