本集演播：槑贰 

后期：骐煜

英文对照文本在最底下，请往下拉到底。

第19章 地精开大会

科迪一定睡了很久，因为他醒过来的时候，觉得自己奇迹般地恢复了精神——而且恢复得相当好——但是非常饿。外面的山洞里传来阵阵声响。

那么，这会儿肯定又是晚上了，地精白天都在睡觉，只有晚上才出来活动。

地精住的地方一直黑漆漆的，白天还是晚上都没什么分别；不过因为它们讨厌人类，所以就选在晚上活动。这么一来，它们就不太会碰到干活的矿工，也不太会碰到放羊的山里人。

真的是这样，只有等太阳完全下山，外面就和地精住的地方一样昏暗，它们那双鼹鼠似的眼睛才受得了。它们只能看自己生起来的火光，完全不习惯别的光亮。

科迪听了一会儿，就发现地精们原来在说自己。

“要多久？”赫尔利普问道。

“我想要不了几天，”地精国王回答道。“那些个太阳底下的人类，都是些不堪一击的可怜家伙，一天到晚都得吃东西。我们一个礼拜不吃东西都没事，而且那样还更好，但我听说他们每天都要吃两三顿！真是难以置信！他们的身体肯定都是一具空壳——哪像我们，我们这身块头十有八九都是结实的肌肉和骨头。没错——我想让他饿上一个礼拜，就差不多了。”

“如果能允许我说句话的话，”地精王后插嘴道，“我觉得自己应该就此事说上几句——”

“夫人，那个可怜虫全凭你处置，”大王打断王后说道，“他归你所有。是你捉住了他，我们都没能做到。”

王后哈哈大笑，她的心情似乎比昨天晚上好多了。

“我正想说，”她接着说道，“浪费这么多新鲜的肉真是太可惜了。”

“你想到了什么，亲爱的？”大王说道，“饿他就是不给他肉吃呀，不管是腌肉还是新鲜的肉都不给。”

“我可没傻到那种地步，”王后回答道，“我的意思是等他饿死了，身上可就什么肉都不剩了。”

地精大王听了哈哈大笑。

“好吧，夫人，你随时可以享用，”他说，“至于我，还是算了吧。我觉得他八成皮糙肉厚，不太好吃。”

“他那么放肆无礼，吃了他非但不是惩罚，还是他的荣耀呢，”王后回答道，“为什么不给咱们那些可怜的牲口开开荤呢？我们养的小狗、小猫、小猪和小熊一定很喜欢吃。”

CHAPTER 19 Goblin Counsels

He must have slept a long time, for when he awoke he felt wonderfully restored—indeed almost well—and very hungry. There were voices in the outer cave.

Once more, then, it was night; for the goblins slept during the day and went about their affairs during the night.

In the universal and constant darkness of their dwelling they had no reason to prefer the one arrangement to the other; but from aversion to the sun-people they chose to be busy when there was least chance of their being met either by the miners below, when they were burrowing, or by the people of the mountain above, when they were feeding their sheep or catching their goats. And indeed it was only when the sun was away that the outside of the mountain was sufficiently like their own dismal regions to be endurable to their mole eyes, so thoroughly had they become unaccustomed to any light beyond that of their own fires and torches.

Curdie listened, and soon found that they were talking of himself.

'How long will it take?' asked Harelip.

'Not many days, I should think,' answered the king. 'They are poor feeble creatures, those sun-people, and want to be always eating. We can go a week at a time without food, and be all the better for it; but I've been told they eat two or three times every day! Can you believe it? They must be quite hollow inside—not at all like us, nine-tenths of whose bulk is solid flesh and bone. Yes—I judge a week of starvation will do for him.'

'If I may be allowed a word,' interposed the queen,—'and I think I ought to have some voice in the matter—'

'The wretch is entirely at your disposal, my spouse,' interrupted the king. 'He is your property. You caught him yourself. We should never have done it.'

The queen laughed. She seemed in far better humour than the night before.

'I was about to say,' she resumed, 'that it does seem a pity to waste so much fresh meat.'

'What are you thinking of, my love?' said the king. 'The very notion of starving him implies that we are not going to give him any meat, either salt or fresh.'

'I'm not such a stupid as that comes to,' returned Her Majesty. 'What I mean is that by the time he is starved there will hardly be a picking upon his bones.'

The king gave a great laugh.

'Well, my spouse, you may have him when you like,' he said. 'I don't fancy him for my part. I am pretty sure he is tough eating.'

'That would be to honour instead of punish his insolence,' returned the queen. 'But why should our poor creatures be deprived of so much nourishment? Our little dogs and cats and pigs and small bears would enjoy him very much.'