I am looking for The Lord of the Rings (Zhu Edition), a resource shared by famous bar friends, but it was translated a long time ago. The name of the seventh chapter I wrote was based on the latest edition of The Lord of the Rings that I bought myself. Please forgive me for some translation differences.
Chapter VII Tom Bambadil's Home
Four hobbits stood inside the door, motionless, just blinking. They are in a long and low room, and the oil lamp on the ceiling makes the room look like day; There are many thick yellow candles on the polished black wooden table, emitting warm light.
On the other side of the room, a woman sat in a chair facing the door. She has shoulder-length blonde hair and wears a long jade dress dotted with silver thread shining like dew. She wore a belt made of gold, carved with delicate lotus flowers, and occasionally decorated with a blue forget-me-not heart pattern. There are many green clay containers at her feet, in which beautiful lotus flowers float; For a time, everyone had the feeling that she was floating in the lotus pond.
"Come in, my hospitable people!" As soon as she spoke, the four of them immediately knew that this was the owner of the previous Qingqu. They took a few steps blankly, bowed to their host and felt really stupid. These four people felt like begging for water at the door of a humble hut, but they were received by an elf queen covered with beautiful flowers. However, before they could speak, she lightly crossed the basin on the ground and ran to them with a smile. Accompanied by her footsteps, the long skirt made soft music, like a breeze blowing through the flower beds by the river.
"You're welcome!" She took Frodo's hand and said. "Be happy, laugh! I am the golden raspberry, the daughter of the river. " Then, with a slight turn, she closed the door backwards. "Let's shut out the night!" She said, "It seems that you still have a lingering fear of tree shadows, deep water and wildlife. Don't be afraid! Because tonight you are under the protection of Tom Bambadil. "
Hobbits looked at her in surprise, while Kimberly smiled generously at everyone. "Beautiful Miss Golden Berry!" Frodo felt that his heart was full of incomprehensible joy. His mind was blank, as if fascinated by the beautiful music of the elves; But this time, the spell he wore was completely different. This kind of pleasure is not so extraordinary, but it is closer to ordinary people and more inspiring. Although wonderful, it is not alienated. "Beautiful Miss Golden Berry!" This is the only thing he can squeeze out. "There are such beautiful hints hidden in the song we just heard!"
Oh, as slender as a willow branch! Oh, clear as spring water!
Oh, as fresh as grass by the river! Beautiful daughter of the river!
Ah, spring has gone, summer has come, and spring has come again!
Oh, the breeze blows over the waterfall, and the green leaves dance and laugh!
When he found himself blurting out these poems, he immediately stopped stuttering. Golden raspberry smiled generously.
"Welcome!" She said. "I didn't expect the guests in the shire to be so colorful. However, I can hear from the light in your eyes and the tone in your singing that you are a friend of the elves. This is really exciting! Please sit down and wait for our host to come back! He is taking care of your tired horse and should be well soon! "
The Hobbit sat down in the cushioned chair honestly and rudely, and at the same time, each pair of eyes stared at the busy golden berries; Her graceful dancing movements filled everyone with joy. Another song came from the back of the house. Between "Jingle bells, be happy" and "Luo Haha", they can hear a few words repeatedly:
Old Tom Bambadier is a happy guy;
He is wearing a light blue coat and yellow boots.
"Beautiful young lady!" Frodo quickly asked again. "Could you please answer my stupid question? Who is Tom Bambadil? "
"That's him," Kimberly still kept smiling and graceful.
Frodo looked at her puzzled. "It's the man you just met," she answered his doubts. "He is the master of forests, running water and hills."
"Does this strange land belong to him?"
"Of course not!" Her smile faded away. "This burden is too heavy," she added in a low voice, as if to herself. "All the flowers and trees that grow and live here have autonomy. Tom Bambadil is just a master. He has no fear. No matter day or night, he can walk freely in the forest, by the water and on the mountains. No force can interfere with him. Tom Bambadil is a master. "
Another door creaked open and Tom followed it into the room. His hat has been taken off, and he found that the thick brown is as messy as the red leaves all over the ground in autumn. He smiled and walked up to the cranberry, holding her hand.
"Ah, my little beauty!" He bowed to the Hobbit. "Our family's golden raspberry is dressed in beautiful green clothes and has flowers. It's really nice! Is the table all set? I saw yellow cheese and fresh honey, soft white bread, cream, milk and cheese, green herbs and ripe berries. Is this enough? Is dinner ready? "
"Yes," said the raspberry, "but the guests may not be ready yet?"
Tom clapped his hands and shouted, "Tom, Tom! You forgot to welcome the guests! Come on, dear friends, let Tom take care of everything for you! Wipe your sticky hands, wash the sweat off your face, take off your dusty cloak and comb your tangled hair! "
He opened a door and asked everyone to follow him along a short aisle. Then the corridor turned a right angle and let them come to a room with a low sloping roof. It seems that this is a small attic built in the north of the house. The walls of the room are made of neat stones, but there are many green tapestries and yellow curtains hanging on them. The ground is covered with slate and fresh green rushes. In addition, there are four thick mats on the floor, and there is a tall white blanket next to each mat. On the other side of the wall, there is a long bench filled with wide clay pots, and there are many jars filled with clear water next to the bench. The water in some jars is cold and cool, while others are steaming. There are green soft slippers beside the bed in the room.
Before long, the hobbits had finished washing, and two couples were sitting at the table, with golden raspberries and their owners on both sides of the long table. The meal took a long time and was pleasant. Hungry hobbits gobble, but the food on the table is endless. Their bowls seem to be filled with clear water, but they are as comfortable and relaxed as wine. These little guests suddenly realized that they were singing happily, as if they were more natural than talking.
After eating and drinking, Tom and raspberry began to clear the table. Every guest is asked to sit quietly in his seat and rest his tired feet on a small stool. There was a warm flame burning in the fireplace in front of them, and at the same time, it gave off a sweet aroma, as if it were burning the most advanced apple wood. When everything was in order, the owners put out all the lights in the house, leaving only a pair of candles and oil lamps on the left and right sides of the fireplace. At this time, cranberries stood in front of them with candles, saying good night to everyone and wishing them a good dream.
"Go to sleep," she said. "Sleep till dawn! Don't worry about any noise! Nothing can pass through the doors and windows here except moonlight, starlight and night wind. Good night! " She swaggered out of the room. Her footsteps are as sweet as a stream to everyone, and flow slowly along the hillside to the night.
Tom sat beside them silently for a while, and everyone tried to summon up courage to ask many accumulated questions. But their eyelids are getting heavier. Finally, Frodo spoke:
"My Lord, is it a coincidence that you will appear in front of us, or did you really hear my cry for help?"
Tom was shocked all over, as if waking up from a beautiful dream. "Well, what?" He said. "Are you asking me if I heard your cry for help? No, I didn't hear you. I am busy singing. If you call this an opportunity, it's just a coincidence. Although this is not my plan, I am really waiting for you. We've heard about you and found that you seem to have a hard time. We guess it won't be long before you walk to the water; Every road in this forest will eventually lead to the wicker river. Old gray willow is a good singer, so it's even harder for you little guys to escape his trap. However, I happen to have some things to do over there, and I can't delay. " Tom nodded, as if dozing off again, but he continued to sing:
I have a task: collecting beautiful lotus flowers,
Green leaves and Bai Lianhua are just to please my beauty.
This is the last lotus in autumn and can only be picked to spend that winter.
Decorate her dexterous feet until the frost melts.
Every year at the end of summer, I will pick this flower for her.
Pick flowers from the deep pool at the end of the wicker river;
The lotus flowers there bloom at the earliest in early spring and wither at the latest in late summer.
Just by the pool, a long time ago, I was destined to meet the daughter of the river.
The beautiful girl, Golden Berry, is sitting on the grass by the pool.
Her singing is sweet, and her heart is as happy as a deer!
He opened his eyes and looked at them with clear blue eyes:
You are lucky, because I won't go there again.
A puddle in the forest,
Because it's late autumn and early winter. Neither can I./Neither will I.
Passing the willow old man, because this spring has passed,
Wait until next spring, the happy girl by the river,
Take a bath in the deep pool on the side of the road, that's when I go out.
He was silent again, but Frodo couldn't help asking the second question: that was the answer he wanted to know most. "My Lord, tell us," he asked, "about this old willow man. What is he? I have never heard of this name. "
"Oh, no!" Pippin and Merry suddenly sat up straight. "Don't ask now! Let's talk about it tomorrow morning! "
"That's right!" Tom said. "It's time to rest now. Some things are not suitable for talking at night. Sleep till dawn! Don't worry about noise at night! Don't worry about the harassment of willow trees! " No sooner had he finished than he blew out the oil lamp, grabbed a candle and led everyone into the front room.
Their cushions and pillows are soft and comfortable, while the blankets are made of white wool. For this group of exhausted hobbits, they fell asleep as soon as their heads touched the pillow, and even the blanket was pulled to half.
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At midnight, Frodo was in a dream without light. In his dream, he saw the new moon rising, and a towering black wall stood in front of him in the thin moonlight. The only gap in the black wall is a dark arch. Frodo felt lifted by some force and flew over the black wall in front of him. Only then did he discover that the rock wall was a continuous hill, while Kosanai was a plain. In the middle of the plain stands a tall spire, which seems beyond human power. There is a man standing at the top of the tower. The slowly rising moon seemed to stay for him for a moment, illuminating his white hair floating in the wind. From the plains below came the cries of evil and the howl of wolves. Suddenly, there was a road with the shadow of big wings passing through the air. The man raised his arm and a beam of light came out of his cane. An eagle swooped down and arrested him. The voices below began to scream and the wolves began to howl. Then there was a sound like a wind, accompanied by the sound of hooves coming from the east. "Black Knight!" Frodo suddenly woke up, and the sound of hooves still lingered in his ears. He began to doubt whether he had the courage to leave the shelter of the house. He lay quietly, listening to any movement around him. But everything was quiet and nothing happened. Before long, he fell asleep again and fell into a deep sleep.
Pippin slept soundly beside him. But his dream suddenly changed, making him turn over and cry. He suddenly woke up, and the voice that disturbed his dream could be heard in his ear: "Knock, knock!" " It sounds like the branches of an old tree dancing in the wind, banging on the windows and walls. Tickle, tickle. He began to worry about whether there were willows near his house, and suddenly he felt that he was not living in an ordinary house, but lying under the willows, listening to the horrible voice and laughing at him. He sat up, made sure he was lying on the soft quilt, and then lay down again with confidence. His ear seemed to hear Tom's previous promise: "Don't be afraid! Sleep till dawn! Don't worry about noise at night! " Then he fell asleep again.
In Merry's dream, there was the sound of water: the gurgling sound spread quietly, as if to engulf the whole house into a bottomless pool. The water in the pool rolled against the wall and rose slowly and continuously. "I will drown!" He thought. "The water will definitely flow in, and then I will drown." He felt as if he were lying in a muddy swamp. He jumped out of bed and stepped on the cold stone floor. Now he finally remembered where he slept, so he lay back obediently. He seemed to think that he remembered or heard the voice again: "Nothing can pass through the doors and windows here except moonlight, starlight and night wind." A sweet smell blew open the curtains and floated in. He took a deep breath and fell asleep again.
Sam is the only one of the four who has no dreams for a night. Because he is noisy like a piece of wood, he can't wake up.
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Four people woke up in the morning light at the same time. Tom whistled and cleaned the room, which was as loud as a bird flying. When he saw that all four people were awake, he clapped his hands and shouted, "Hello! Happy is coming! Jingle bells! Dear friend, get up! " He opened the yellow window, and the Hobbit noticed that there was a big window in the east and west of the room.
They jumped out of bed refreshed together. Frodo immediately rushed to the east window and found himself facing a small vegetable garden covered with morning dew. Because of the vivid nightmare last night, he thought he would see a large lawn covered with hoofprint. As a result, he faced a flower stand full of beans and vines, and in the distance was a hill that looked gray against the sunrise. The sky looks a little pale this morning. The clouds in the eastern sky look as thin as wool, with red edges and some yellow morning light. It seems that there will be a heavy rain. Even so, the speed of sunrise has not been delayed. The small flowers on the beanstalk came alive in the sun.
Pippin looked out of the west window and saw a heavy fog. The whole forest is shrouded in fog, and it feels like overlooking the rolling sea of clouds. Where the wicker river passes, it takes the fog out of a passage; It gurgled down from the mountain on the left and flowed into the misty forest. Outside the window is a small garden, surrounded by a fence made of silver mesh, and outside the fence is a neat grass covered with dew. There are no willows nearby.
"Good morning, friends!" Tom opened the east window. A cool breeze blew in and smelled like a heavy rain was coming. "I don't think the sun will appear for long today. I walked outside at dawn with dew on my feet and a wet sky above my head. I woke up the cranberries with songs under the window, but I dare not wake up my guests so early. These little guys will wake up in the middle of the night, and of course, we will call them at dawn! Tink! Get up, happy friends! Forget last night's voice! Jingle bells, dear friends, if you hurry up, breakfast will be served. If the action is too slow, there will only be grass and rain! "
Although Tom's threat doesn't sound very serious, the hungry hobbits still attack the table like a strong wind sweeping away leaves; Don't leave until the desktop looks a little empty. Neither Tom nor raspberry appeared at the dinner table. Tom walked around the house. They can hear him working in the kitchen, running up and down the stairs, singing everywhere inside and outside the house. Their restaurant overlooks the valley surrounded by fog, and the windows are open. Before they had finished their meal, the clouds had closed and the raindrops as big as beans began to fall. The heavy rain completely covered the forest.
When they looked at the heavy rain outside the window, the crisp singing of golden berries came from upstairs like raindrops. They can't hear every word clearly, but they naturally know that this is a song praising the rain; This song describes the story of a small stream starting from the spring in the mountains and flowing all the way to the sea. Hobbits, listen contentedly. Frodo was happy from the bottom of his heart and thanked God for the timely rain at this time, so that they didn't have to leave immediately. From the moment he got up, the idea of setting foot on the journey again was like a heavy burden on him. Fortunately, from the current situation, they should not need to continue today's journey for the time being.
The west wind stopped temporarily, and denser clouds poured rain on the endless hills. The scenery around the house is shrouded in water curtain. Frodo sat at the door, watching the white path outside the door gather a lot of rain and turn it into a milky stream that flows to the valley. Tom Bambadier came around from the other direction, waving his hand as if to keep out the rain. When he entered the room, only his boots were wet. After he took off his boots and went to the chimney, he pulled up the biggest chair and sat down, signaling the guests to sit next to him.
"It's time to refresh the cranberries," he said. "It's also time for her to wash away the autumn scenery. Too wet for hobbits. Seize the opportunity to have a good rest! Today is a good day to tell stories, ask questions and give answers. Let Tom start first. "
Then, he told many wonderful stories. Sometimes he seems to be talking to himself, and sometimes he suddenly looks at everyone around him with his sparkling blue eyes. He often leaves his seat to dance and sing. He told them the story of bees and flowers, the law of tree growth, all kinds of strange creatures in the forest, some kind and evil, some friendly and hostile, some cruel and gentle creatures, and some secrets hidden in the bamboo forest that are not known to outsiders.
Slowly, they began to understand the truth of everything in the forest and felt that they were really not suitable for this place where many creatures flourished. Lao Liu keeps appearing in his topic, and Frodo knows more than he wants to know. Because this is not a reassuring story. Tom spoke frankly and directly about the thinking mode of these trees: their thoughts are beyond the understanding of ordinary creatures, and these old trees are full of resentment against animals that walk freely on the earth. Because these animals bite, bite, chop, burn, destroy everything and disturb everything. It is not unreasonable for this forest to be called the old forest. It is the remains of an ancient forest, where countless old trees look on coldly from generation to generation. They experienced an era when trees ruled everything. These countless years have filled them with wisdom, pride and resentment. One of the most terrible is the big willow: it has a corrupt heart and its strength is at its peak. It is scheming and can better grasp the changes in the situation; And its thoughts and songs are transmitted unimpeded on both sides of the river. Its gray, hungry soul draws strength from the earth, spreads a fine network under the ground and stretches invisible branches in the air. Finally, it will take all the forests from Korea to Gugugang as its own.
Suddenly, Tom diverted the topic from the forest and began to talk about clear streams, splashing waterfalls, round pebbles and riverbeds dotted with strange stones, describing flowers between green grass and mountain gaps. Finally, he came all the way to the rolling hills. They listened to the past of these green hills, the megalithic circle above them and the dark valley between them. Goats flock together, with high green and white walls one after another. There is a commanding fortress on the high ground. The kings of small countries fought with each other, and the sun shone on their crimson steel swords, watching their drama for greed. There are brilliant victories and disastrous failures. The tower collapsed, the fortress was burned, the flames soared and the war spread everywhere. The graves of the dead kings and queens are full of gold, the heavy stone gates are closed, and weeds cover everything. Goats roam the mountains, eat grass, and then disappear without a trace. The ghost in the distance jumped up and the bones in the grave began to stir. The ancient tomb demon with the ring began to stir and roam in the wind. In the moonlight, the megalithic circle became grinning fangs.
Hobbits felt a chill. Even in the shire, they have all heard the legends of ancient tomb demons and ancient tomb hills. Even if they are by the warm fire in the distance, it is not an easy story to kill time. The four of them suddenly remembered something they had forgotten before because of the happy atmosphere in this place: Tom Bambadil's house is located under these horrible hills. At this time, the four men looked at each other and could no longer concentrate on listening to each other's stories.
By the time they came to their senses, his story had drifted to a foreign land with people's memories and historical records; At that time, the world was still very vast, and the sea rushed directly to the western coast ... but Tom kept saying that time went back to the ancient times when the stars were shining, and only elves lived in the distant past in this world. Suddenly, he stopped, and the Hobbit found that he had been nodding and seemed to be asleep. Four people sat motionless in front of him, unable to get rid of that special magic; Under his singing, the wind and rain stopped, the clouds dispersed, the sky became dark, and the darkness swept from east to west. In the sky, only the shining stars are left.
Frodo didn't know whether it was day or night, or it had been many days. He doesn't feel hungry at all, nor tired, but his heart is full of thoughts that keep turning. Starlight shone through the window, and the silent sky seemed to surround him. Finally, he was afraid of this silence and could not help but say his inner question:
"My Lord, who are you?" He asked.
"eh? What? " Tom sat up straight, his eyes flashing in the fog. "Don't you already know my name? This is the only answer. Can you introduce yourself without your name? I can only say that you are young and I am very old. I am the oldest of all things. My friend, mark my words: Tom existed before rivers and trees appeared; Tom saw the first drop of rain fall and witnessed the growth of the first acorn. He had been wandering around here until the big guy arrived, and he watched the little guy arrive. Before the king, tomb and corpse demon appeared, he had already taken root here. Tom was here before the elves began to move westward and the ocean. He also experienced the age of fearlessness under the night starlight, before the dark king appeared from the outside. "
As if a shadow had passed through the window, the Hobbit quickly turned to look. When they turned around, the golden raspberry bathed in the sun stood at the door. She holds the candle in one hand and protects the flame of the candle in the other; Candle light flowed from her white fingers, as if the sun were shining on white clouds.
"The rain stopped," she said. "The stream gurgled under the starlight. We should be happy and laugh loudly! "
"Let's eat and drink quickly!" Tom shouted after him. "Such a long story makes me thirsty. It should make people hungry from morning till night! " As soon as he finished speaking, he took the candle from the fireplace, lit a fire with a golden raspberry candle and jumped out of the door.
He quickly got back a big and heavy mop. Two people then began to busy setting the table. The Hobbit watched with surprise: every movement and gesture of the golden berry was surprisingly elegant, and Tom's bizarre behavior was so inspiring. Even so, the movements of these two people are as seamless as duets and do not interfere with each other. They went in and out, walked around the table, and soon arranged food, drinks and lights. There are many yellow or white candles on the table. Tom bowed to the guests. "Dinner is ready," Kimberly said. Hobbits didn't notice that she was wearing a silver dress with a white belt around her waist, and her shoes shone like fish scales. Tom is dressed in blue and has green socks on his feet. This meal is more abundant than the last one. Under Tom's magical storytelling skills, they missed many meals; However, as soon as the food came, the greedy bugs in their stomachs woke up immediately, making them hungry as if they had not eaten for a week. This time, they were absorbed in their hard work and had no time to be distracted by singing or talking. Before long, they began to laugh and laugh loudly with satisfaction.
After dinner, Kimberly sang many songs with them. The melody of these songs starts from the joy at the top of the mountain, flows down gently, and ends with the silence if something is lost. In this silence, they seem to see a very clear and deep pool, and the sky shines on the water like the inverted image of the stars. Finally, like the night before, she said good night to everyone again and sat them in front of the fire. The only difference is that Tom seems to be sober this time and asked them a series of questions.
He seems to know their origins and family background like the back of his hand, even the past they don't remember very much in the shire is clear. They are not surprised by this, but the other party does not hide that they all know it from the farmer Ma Jia. Besides, Tom attaches more importance to this person than they think. "His feet are on the ground, his hands are muddy, he has seen the wind and waves, and his eyes are alert," said Tom. Obviously, Tom also dealt with elves; Somehow, he seems to know the whereabouts of Frodo from Gildo.
Tom really knows a lot, and his questions are sharp and direct; Frodo found himself telling him many fears and thoughts that he didn't even say in front of Gandalf. Tom kept nodding, and his eyes flashed when he heard the words of the black knight.
"Let me see this precious ring!" He suddenly interrupted. Frodo himself didn't know what was going on, so he took the ring out of his pocket and untied Tom's animal trainer.
When the ring was put on his big brown hand, it seemed to suddenly increase a lot. He suddenly raised the ring to his eyes and began to laugh. In a short moment, the Hobbit saw a scene that made people wonder whether to relax or worry: his blue eyes flashed a strange light from the ring. Then, Tom pointed the ring at the candlelight and inserted it into his little finger. Hobbits suddenly didn't notice any change, and then gasped. Tom was not invisible.
Tom smiled again and threw the ring up; It disappeared in an instant. Frodo low shout a voice, Tom leaned forward and returned the ring to him with a smile.
Frodo looked at the ring carefully, wondering (as if someone had lent the jewel to the magician). It's the same ring, at least the appearance and weight feel the same. Every time the ring is in Frodo's hands, it makes him feel particularly heavy. However, there seems to be something that makes him want to make an extra confirmation. He seems a little unhappy that Tom took Gandalf's ring as a natural treasure. As the conversation continued, he always wanted to find a chance to test the treasure. Tom happened to be describing the behavior of wild badgers in the forest, and he immediately seized the opportunity to put on the ring.
Merry turned to say something to him, but there was a very surprised expression on his face. Frodo felt quite happy: this is indeed his ring, because Merry stared at his seat in panic and seemed to see nothing. He stood up, quietly left the fireplace and walked to the door.
"Ah! Wait! " Tom's eyes sparkled with charming light. "Ah! Frodo, hey! Where are you going? Tom Bombardier is not too old to see! Take off your gold ring! Your hands will be more beautiful without that ring. Come back! Stop fooling around and sit next to me! We need to talk more and think about what to do tomorrow morning. Tom must tell you how to get there, lest you get lost again. "
Frodo smiled (he tried to make himself feel better), took off his ring and sat back in his original position. Tom now tells them that he thinks it will be sunny tomorrow. It will be a sunny morning, which is very suitable for traveling. However, they must leave early tomorrow, because even Tom is not sure about the weather nearby, which may change rapidly. "I'm not a master of weather forecasting," he said. "A guy who walks on two legs should not have this ability."
At his suggestion, the group decided to move north from his residence and along the lower hills in the west. In this way, they may one day set foot on the Oriental Avenue and avoid the ancient tombs. He told them not to think too much, but to be quick.
"Take a walk on the grass. Never deal with those rocks and corpse demons, let alone disturb their dwellings, unless you are as brave as a bear! " He emphasized this sentence more than once, suggesting that if they accidentally approached this place, they would cross these ancient tombs from the west. Then, he also taught them a song, which they should sing immediately if they encounter unfortunate circumstances the next day.
Oh! Tom Bombardier! Tom Bombardier!
By the water, in the forest, on the mountain, beside the grass, under the willows,
Like a flame, like the sun, like the moon, listen to our call!
Come on, Tom Bambadil, we need your help!
After everyone sang along, he patted everyone on the shoulder and casually led everyone back to the dormitory.
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