【英文读物】The Fellowship Of The Ring护戒使者.docx

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1、【英文读物】The Fellowship Of The Ring护戒使者Chapter 1 A Long-expected PartyWhen Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.Bilbo was very rich and very peculiar,

2、and had been the wonder of the Shire for sixty years, ever since his remarkable disappearance and unexpected return. The riches he had brought back from his travels had now become a local legend, and it was popularly believed, whatever the old folk might say, that the Hill at Bag End was full of tun

3、nels stuffed with treasure. And if that was not enough for fame, there was also his prolonged vigour to marvel at. Time wore on, but it seemed to have little effect on Mr. Baggins. At ninety he was much the same as at fifty. At ninety-nine they began to call him well-preserved, but unchanged would h

4、ave been nearer the mark. There were some that shook their heads and thought this was too much of a good thing; it seemed unfair that anyone should possess (apparently) perpetual youth as well as (reputedly) inexhaustible wealth.It will have to be paid for, they said. It isnt natural, and trouble wi

5、ll come of it!But so far trouble had not come; and as Mr. Baggins was generous with his money, most people were willing to forgive him his oddities and his good fortune. He remained on visiting terms with his relatives (except, of course, the Sackville-Bagginses), and he had many devoted admirers am

6、ong the hobbits of poor and unimportant families. But he had no close friends, until some of his younger cousins began to grow up.The eldest of these, and Bilbos favourite, was young Frodo Baggins. When Bilbo was ninety-nine, he adopted Frodo as his heir, and brought him to live at Bag End; and the

7、hopes of the Sackville-Bagginses were finally dashed. Bilbo and Frodo happened to have the same birthday, September 22nd. You had better come and live here, Frodo my lad, said Bilbo one day; and then we can celebrate our birthday-parties comfortably together. At that time Frodo was still in his twee

8、ns, as the hobbits called the irresponsible twenties between childhood and coming of age at thirty-three.Twelve more years passed. Each year the Bagginses had given very lively combined birthday-parties at Bag End; but now it was understood that something quite exceptional was being planned for that

9、 autumn. Bilbo was going to be eleventy-one, 111, a rather curious number and a very respectable age for a hobbit (the Old Took himself had only reached 130; and Frodo was going to be thirty-three, 33) an important number: the date of his coming of age.Tongues began to wag in Hobbiton and Bywater; a

10、nd rumour of the coming event travelled all over the Shire. The history and character of Mr. Bilbo Baggins became once again the chief topic of conversation; and the older folk suddenly found their reminiscences in welcome demand.No one had a more attentive audience than old Ham Gamgee, commonly kno

11、wn as the Gaffer. He held forth at The Ivy Bush, a small inn on the Bywater road; and he spoke with some authority, for he had tended the garden at Bag End for forty years, and had helped old Holman in the same job before that. Now that he was himself growing old and stiff in the joints, the job was

12、 mainly carried on by his youngest son, Sam Gamgee. Both father and son were on very friendly terms with Bilbo and Frodo. They lived on the Hill itself, in Number 3 Bagshot Row just below Bag End.A very nice well-spoken gentlehobbit is Mr. Bilbo, as Ive always said, the Gaffer declared. With perfect

13、 truth: for Bilbo was very polite to him, calling him Master Hamfast, and consulting him constantly upon the growing of vegetablesin the matter of roots, especially potatoes, the Gaffer was recognized as the leading authority by all in the neighbourhood (including himself).But what about this Frodo

14、that lives with him? asked Old Noakes of Bywater. Baggins is his name, but hes more than half a Brandybuck, they say. It beats me why any Baggins of Hobbiton should go looking for a wife away there in Buckland, where folks are so queer.And no wonder theyre queer, put in Daddy Twofoot (the Gaffers ne

15、xt- door neighbour), if they live on the wrong side of the Brandywine River, and right agin the Old Forest. Thats a dark bad place, if half the tales be true.Youre right, Dad! said the Gaffer. Not that the Brandybucks of Buck- land live in the Old Forest; but theyre a queer breed, seemingly. They fo

16、ol about with boats on that big river . and that isnt natural. Small wonder that trouble came of it, I say. But be that as it may, Mr. Frodo is as nice a young hobbit as you could wish to meet. Very much like Mr. Bilbo, and in more than looks. After all his father was a Baggins. A decent respectable

17、 hobbit was Mr. Drogo Baggins; there was never much to tell of him, till he was drownded.Drownded? said several voices. They had heard this and other darker rumours before, of course; but hobbits have a passion for family history, and they were ready to hear it again. Well, so they say, said the Gaf

18、fer. You see: Mr. Drogo, he married poor Miss Primula Brandybuck. She was our Mr. Bilbos first cousin on the mothers side (her mother being the youngest of the Old Tooks daughters); and Mr. Drogo was his second cousin. So Mr. Frodo is his first and second cousin, once removed either way, as the sayi

19、ng is, if you follow me. And Mr. Drogo was staying at Brandy Hall with his father-in- law, old Master Gorbadoc, as he often did after his marriage (him being partial to his vittles, and old Gorbadoc keeping a mighty generous table); and he went out boating on the Brandywine River; and he and his wif

20、e were drownded, and poor Mr. Frodo only a child and all. Ive heard they went on the water after dinner in the moonlight, said Old Noakes; and it was Drogos weight as sunk the boat.And I heard she pushed him in, and he pulled her in after him, said Sandyman, the Hobbiton miller.You shouldnt listen t

21、o all you hear, Sandyman, said the Gaffer, who did not much like the miller. There isnt no call to go talking of pushing and pulling. Boats are quite tricky enough for those that sit still without looking further for the cause of trouble. Anyway: there was this Mr. Frodo left an orphan and stranded,

22、 as you might say, among those queer Bucklanders, being brought up anyhow in Brandy Hall. A regular warren, by all accounts. Old Master Gorbadoc never had fewer than a couple of hundred relations in the place. Mr. Bilbo never did a kinder deed than when he brought the lad back to live among decent f

23、olk.But I reckon it was a nasty shock for those Sackville-Bagginses. They thought they were going to get Bag End, that time when he went off and was thought to be dead. And then he comes back and orders them off; and he goes on living and living, and never looking a day older, bless him! And suddenl

24、y he produces an heir, and has all the papers made out proper. The Sackville- Bagginses wont never see the inside of Bag End now, or it is to be hoped not.Theres a tidy bit of money tucked away up there, I hear tell, said a stranger, a visitor on business from Michel Delving in the Westfarthing. All

25、 the top of your hill is full of tunnels packed with chests of gold and silver, and jools, by what Ive heard. Then youve heard more than I can speak to, answered the Gaffer. I know nothing about jools. Mr. Bilbo is free with his money, and there seems no lack of it; but I know of no tunnel-making. I

26、 saw Mr. Bilbo when he came back, a matter of sixty years ago, when I was a lad. Id not long come prentice to old Holman (him being my dads cousin), but he had me up at Bag End helping him to keep folks from trampling and trapessing all over the garden while the sale was on. And in the middle of it

27、all Mr. Bilbo comes up the Hill with a pony and some mighty big bags and a couple of chests. I dont doubt they were mostly full of treasure he had picked up in foreign parts, where there be mountains of gold, they say; but there wasnt enough to fill tunnels. But my lad Sam will know more about that.

28、 Hes in and out of Bag End. Crazy about stories of the old days he is, and he listens to all Mr. Bilbos tales. Mr. Bilbo has learned him his letters . meaning no harm, mark you, and I hope no harm will come of it.Elves and Dragons I says to him. Cabbages and potatoes are better for me and you. Dont

29、go getting mixed up in the business of your betters, or youll land in trouble too big for you, I says to him. And I might say it to others, he added with a look at the stranger and the miller.But the Gaffer did not convince his audience. The legend of Bilbos wealth was now too firmly fixed in the mi

30、nds of the younger generation of hobbits.Ah, but he has likely enough been adding to what he brought at first, argued the miller, voicing common opinion. Hes often away from home. And look at the outlandish folk that visit him: dwarves coming at night, and that old wandering conjuror, Gandalf, and a

31、ll. You can say what you like, Gaffer, but Bag Ends a queer place, and its folk are queerer.And you can say what you like, about what you know no more of than you do of boating, Mr. Sandyman, retorted the Gaffer, disliking the miller even more than usual. If thats being queer, then we could do with

32、a bit more queerness in these parts. Theres some not far away that wouldnt offer a pint of beer to a friend, if they lived in a hole with golden walls. But they do things proper at Bag End. Our Sam says that everyones going to be invited to the party, and theres going to be presents, mark you, prese

33、nts for allthis very month as is.That very month was September, and as fine as you could ask. A day or two later a rumour (probably started by the knowledgeable Sam) was spread about that there were going to be fireworks . fireworks, what is more, such as had not been seen in the Shire for nigh on a

34、 century, not indeed since the Old Took died.Days passed and The Day drew nearer. An odd-looking waggon laden with odd-looking packages rolled into Hobbiton one evening and toiled up the Hill to Bag End. The startled hobbits peered out of lamplit doors to gape at it. It was driven by outlandish folk

35、, singing strange songs: dwarves with long beards and deep hoods. A few of them remained at Bag End. At the end of the second week in September a cart came in through Bywater from the direction of the Brandywine Bridge in broad daylight. An old man was driving it all alone. He wore a tall pointed bl

36、ue hat, a long grey cloak, and a silver scarf. He had a long white beard and bushy eyebrows that stuck out beyond the brim of his hat. Small hobbit-children ran after the cart all through Hobbiton and right up the hill. It had a cargo of fireworks, as they rightly guessed. At Bilbos front door the o

37、ld man began to unload: there were great bundles of fireworks of all sorts and shapes, each labelled with a large red G and the elf-rune, .That was Gandalfs mark, of course, and the old man was Gandalf the Wizard, whose fame in the Shire was due mainly to his skill with fires, smokes, and lights. Hi

38、s real business was far more difficult and dangerous, but the Shire-folk knew nothing about it. To them he was just one of the attractions at the Party. Hence the excitement of the hobbit-children. G for Grand! they shouted, and the old man smiled. They knew him by sight, though he only appeared in

39、Hobbiton occasionally and never stopped long; but neither they nor any but the oldest of their elders had seen one of his firework displays . they now belonged to the legendary past.When the old man, helped by Bilbo and some dwarves, had finished unloading, Bilbo gave a few pennies away; but not a s

40、ingle squib or cracker was forthcoming, to the disappointment of the onlookers.Run away now! said Gandalf. You will get plenty when the time comes. Then he disappeared inside with Bilbo, and the door was shut. The young hobbits stared at the door in vain for a while, and then made off, feeling that

41、the day of the party would never come.Inside Bag End, Bilbo and Gandalf were sitting at the open window of a small room looking out west on to the garden. The late afternoon was bright and peaceful. The flowers glowed red and golden: snap-dragons and sun-flowers, and nasturtiums trailing all over th

42、e turf walls and peeping in at the round windows.How bright your garden looks! said Gandalf.Yes, said Bilbo. I am very fond indeed of it, and of all the dear old Shire; but I think I need a holiday.You mean to go on with your plan then?I do. I made up my mind months ago, and I havent changed it.Very

43、 well. It is no good saying any more. Stick to your plan, your whole plan, mind, and I hope it will turn out for the best, for you, and for all of us.I hope so. Anyway I mean to enjoy myself on Thursday, and have my little joke.Who will laugh, I wonder? said Gandalf, shaking his head.We shall see, s

44、aid Bilbo.The next day more carts rolled up the Hill, and still more carts. There might have been some grumbling about dealing locally, but that very week orders began to pour out of Bag End for every kind of provision, commodity, or luxury that could be obtained in Hobbiton or Bywater or anywhere i

45、n the neighbourhood. People became enthusiastic; and they began to tick off the days on the calendar; and they watched eagerly for the postman, hoping for invitations.Before long the invitations began pouring out, and the Hobbiton post- office was blocked, and the Bywater post-office was snowed unde

46、r, and voluntary assistant postmen were called for. There was a constant stream of them going up the Hill, carrying hundreds of polite variations on Thank you, I shall certainly come.A notice appeared on the gate at Bag End: NO ADMITTANCE EXCEPT ON PARTY BUSINESS. Even those who had, or pretended to

47、 have Party Business were seldom allowed inside. Bilbo was busy: writing invitations, ticking off answers, packing up presents, and making some private preparations of his own. From the time of Gandalfs arrival he remained hidden from view.One morning the hobbits woke to find the large field, south

48、of Bilbos front door, covered with ropes and poles for tents and pavilions. A special entrance was cut into the bank leading to the road, and wide steps and a large white gate were built there. The three hobbit-families of Bagshot Row, adjoining the field, were intensely interested and generally env

49、ied. Old Gaffer Gamgee stopped even pretending to work in his garden.The tents began to go up. There was a specially large pavilion, so big that the tree that grew in the field was right inside it, and stood proudly near one end, at the head of the chief table. Lanterns were hung on all its branches. More promising still (to the hobbits mind): an enormous open-air kitc