本集演播：槑贰 

后期：Ning

英文对照文本在最底下，请往下拉到底。

第9章 地精的宫殿 

第1节

然后是一阵软脚的脚步声，但很快就没声音了。科迪像只老虎一样跃到洞口，掏挖着岩石。两边慢慢掏空，很快就足够他爬进去了。他不能再亮起灯，否则就会暴露自己，不过撤离大队的火炬，从洞口向外照亮了一条撤离的路，刚好可以让他借着这光看一眼地精遗弃的房子。令他吃惊地是，这里没有任何东西能把它跟天然的岩洞区别开，甚至跟他看到的很多其他矿工挖掘的矿洞差不多。地精说的要回来拿剩下的家庭用品：他没看到任何能让他怀疑有一家子在此度过哪怕一夜的东西。地面粗糙不平、到处都是石头；墙上布满了突出的石块；屋顶有的地方20英尺高，有的地方几乎碰着他的头；一边有一条细得跟线似的小溪流，从岩石的表面流下，尽管很少，还是让整面墙都水淋淋的。可他前面的搬家大军带的东西可多的要命了。在闪烁的灯光里，他差不多能认出那个被沉重的箱子压弯驼背的大概是黑尔菲尔，而老二背着的像是巨大的羽毛床的东西几乎要把他整个埋没了。“他们从哪弄来的羽毛？”科迪想，这时大部队拐了个弯不见了，科迪刚好可以安全地跟上他们，他要在他们下次拐弯前赶上，不然看不见他们在哪拐弯，他就要跟丢他们了。他像条猎犬一样在他们后面飞奔。到拐角处的时候他警惕地四处观察，看见他们在不远处拐进了另一个长的通道。那天晚上他看见的所有地洞都看不出人为开凿的痕迹——也不像是地精开凿的。比矿工们年岁还老得多的钟乳石在顶端倒挂着，地面遍布的卵石和巨大的圆形的石头，说明这里曾经有水流经过。他在拐角处又等了一会儿，直到他们在前面的另一个拐角处消失，才远远地从一个通道跟到另一个通道。通道越来越高，顶上闪闪发光的钟乳石也越来越多。

他跟踪的队伍就已经够奇怪了。而最最奇怪的则是跟在地精脚底下爬着的家养动物。他们在地底下的确没有野兽——至少他们不知道有；但他们却有数量惊人的驯养动物。不过我要把我对自然史的致敬保留到后面的故事里。

最后的一个拐角，他跑得太快，差点儿冲进地精家里；那个洞比他们离开的那个洞要大得多，他们在那里把所有的行李卸到上。

CHAPTER 9 The Hall of the Goblin Palace

A sound of many soft feet followed, but soon ceased. Then Curdie flew at the hole like a tiger, and tore and pulled. The sides gave way, and it was soon large enough for him to crawl through. He would not betray himself by rekindling his lamp, but the torches of the retreating company, which he found departing in a straight line up a long avenue from the door of their cave, threw back light enough to afford him a glance round the deserted home of the goblins. To his surprise, he could discover nothing to distinguish it from an ordinary natural cave in the rock, upon many of which he had come with the rest of the miners in the progress of their excavations. The goblins had talked of coming back for the rest of their household gear: he saw nothing that would have made him suspect a family had taken shelter there for a single night. The floor was rough and stony; the walls full of projecting corners; the roof in one place twenty feet high, in another endangering his forehead; while on one side a stream, no thicker than a needle, it is true, but still sufficient to spread a wide dampness over the wall, flowed down the face of the rock. But the troop in front of him was toiling under heavy burdens. He could distinguish Helfer now and then, in the flickering light and shade, with his heavy chest on his bending shoulders; while the second brother was almost buried in what looked like a great feather bed.

 'Where do they get the feathers?' thought Curdie; but in a moment the troop disappeared at a turn of the way, and it was now both safe and necessary for Curdie to follow them, lest they should be round the next turning before he saw them again, for so he might lose them altogether. He darted after them like a greyhound. When he reached the corner and looked cautiously round, he saw them again at some distance down another long passage. None of the galleries he saw that night bore signs of the work of man—or of goblin either. Stalactites, far older than the mines, hung from their roofs; and their floors were rough with boulders and large round stones, showing that there water must have once run. He waited again at this corner till they had disappeared round the next, and so followed them a long way through one passage after another. The passages grew more and more lofty, and were more and more covered in the roof with shining stalactites.

It was a strange enough procession which he followed. But the strangest part of it was the household animals which crowded amongst the feet of the goblins. It was true they had no wild animals down there—at least they did not know of any; but they had a wonderful number of tame ones. I must, however, reserve any contributions towards the natural history of these for a later position in my story.

At length, turning a corner too abruptly, he had almost rushed into the middle of the goblin family; for there they had already set down all their burdens on the floor of a cave considerably larger than that which they had left.