來吧孩子們該吃晚飯了翻譯

King Fred’s Quest

國王弗雷德啟程探尋

King Fred strode from the Throne Room feeling quite delighted with himself。 Nobody would ever again say that he was selfish， vain， and cruel！ For the sake of a smelly， simple old shepherd and his worthless old mongrel， he， King Fred the Fearless， was going to hunt the Ickabog！ True， there was no such thing， but it was still dashed fine and noble of him to ride to the other end of the country， in person， to prove it！

國王弗雷德對自己相當滿意的大步離開主殿。再也沒有人說他是自私，虛偽和殘忍了！看在骯髒愚昧的老牧羊人和他無價值的雜種狗，他，無畏之王弗雷德就準備去獵殺艾卡伯格！真正的史無前例，但無論如何，親自去這個國家的另一半去證明，還是很高尚卓越的。

Quite forgetting lunch， the king rushed upstairs to his bedroom， shouting for his valet to come and help him out of the dreary black suit and help him into his battledress， which he’d never had the chance to wear before。 The tunic was scarlet， with buttons of gold， a purple sash， and lots of medals that Fred was allowed to wear because he was king， and when Fred looked in the mirror and saw how well battledress became him， he wondered why he didn’t wear it all the time。

國王完全忘記了午餐，跑向樓上的臥室，呼喊衣侍快點來幫助他脫下黑色的衣服並換上之前從沒有機會穿的戰衣。那戰衣是猩紅色的，金色紐扣，紫色腰帶，還有很多徽章，那是弗雷德允許配帶的，因為他是國王，當弗雷德在鏡子前看到自己是多麼的英姿颯爽，他不禁後悔自己為什麼不一直穿戰衣。

As his valet lowered the king’s plumed helmet onto his golden curls， Fred imagined himself painted wearing it， seated on his favourite milk-white charger and spearing a serpentlike monster with his lance。 King Fred the Fearless indeed！ Why， he half hoped there really was an Ickabog， now。

當衣侍把羽毛頭盔戴在了弗雷德金色捲髮上，弗雷德想象著自己穿著戰衣，坐在最喜愛的奶白戰馬上，用長矛刺向巨蟒一樣的怪物。無畏之王，弗雷德，名副其實！這也是他又半分希望艾卡伯格是真實存在的。

Meanwhile， the Chief Advisor was sending word throughout the City-Within-The-City that the king was setting off on a tour of the country， and that everyone should be ready to cheer him as he left。 Herringbone made no mention of the Ickabog， because he wanted to prevent the king from looking foolish， if he could。

與此同時，智囊團首席在城內之城釋出了一則告示，那就是國王將要出發巡視整個國家，每個人都應準備好恭送國王的啟程。賀瑞磅沒有提及艾卡伯格，因為他像避免讓國王看起來愚蠢，如果他可以的話。

Unfortunately， the footman called Cankerby had overheard two advisors muttering together about the king’s strange scheme。 Cankerby immediately told the between maid， who spread the word all over the kitchens， where a sausage seller from Baronstown was gossiping with the cook。 In short， by the time the king’s party was ready to leave， word had spread all through the City-Within-The-City that the king was riding north to hunt the Ickabog， and news was also beginning to leak out into wider Chouxville。

不行的是，一個僕人名叫闞可白，他無意聽到了國王兩個智囊團人員抱怨國王奇怪的行程。闞可白立馬告訴了同行侍女，而侍女又在整個餐廳傳播了此事，恰巧一個巴融斯通的香腸供應商正在和廚師在廚房交談。總之，國王一行人準備離開前，訊息就已經在整個城內之城傳播開來——國王要北向獵殺艾卡伯格，這則訊息也已經向首克斯威樂其他區域洩露傳播。

‘Is it a joke？’ the capital’s inhabitants asked each other， as they thronged out onto the pavements， ready to cheer the king。 ‘What does it mean？’

“這是個笑話嗎？”首都其他居民在去為國王送行的路上相互問著彼此，“這到底什麼意思？”

Some shrugged and laughed and said that the king was merely having fun。 Others shook their heads and muttered that there must be more to it than that。 No king would ride out， armed， to the north of the country without good reason。 What， the worried folk asked each other， does the king know， that we do not？

有些人一笑了之，認為國王只是追尋樂趣。有些人卻搖頭不以為然認為肯定還有許多不為人知的事情。因為沒有國王在沒有充足的理由情況下全副武裝，去這個國家的北部。到底是什麼，擔心的市民們問著彼此，是國王知道，而我們不知道的。

Lady Eslanda joined the other ladies of the court on a balcony， to watch the soldiers assembling。

艾斯蘭達也加入了其他女人的行列，在王宮陽臺上觀看者士兵們的集合。

I shall now tell you a secret， which nobody else knew。 Lady Eslanda would never have married the king， even if he’d asked her。 You see， she was secretly in love with a man called Captain Goodfellow， who was now chatting and laughing with his good friend Major Beamish in the courtyard below。

現在，我該告訴你一個秘密，這個秘密其他人都不知道。那就是即使國王向她求過婚，但艾斯蘭達女士永遠不會和國王結婚。因為她暗戀著一個叫開普敦古德佛羅的男人，那個男人現在和好朋友梅傑比姆世在下面的庭院裡聊天談笑。

Lady Eslanda， who was very shy， had never been able to bring herself to talk to Captain Goodfellow， who had no idea that the most beautiful woman at court was in love with him。 Both Goodfellow’s parents， who were dead， had been cheesemakers from Kurdsburg。 Though Goodfellow was both clever and brave， these were the days when no cheesemaker’s son would expect to marry a highborn lady。

艾斯蘭達女士比較害羞，她還從來沒有和開普敦古德佛羅說過話，開普敦也不知道王宮最漂亮的女人已經愛上了他。開普敦的已故父母來自科德斯伯格，曾經制作乳酪為生。儘管開普敦很聰明並且勇敢，現實是還沒有製作乳酪人家的兒子被期望能和出身高貴的女子結婚的。

Meanwhile， all the servants’ children were being let out of school early to watch the battle party set off。 Mrs Beamish the pastry chef naturally rushed to collect Bert， so that he’d have a good spot to watch his father passing by。

與此同時，所有僕人的孩子都早早放學，去看軍隊的啟程。糕點師比姆世太太也匆忙接回波特，好讓波特有個視野好的地方看自己的父親經過。

When the palace gates opened at last， and the cavalcade rode out， Bert and Mrs Beamish cheered at the top of their lungs。 Nobody had seen battledress for a very long time。 How exciting it was， and how fine！ The sunlight played upon the golden buttons， silver swords， and the gleaming trumpets of the buglers， and up on the palace balcony， the handkerchiefs of the ladies of the court fluttered in farewell， like doves。

王宮大門最終打開了，軍隊騎行而出，波特和比姆世太太高聲吶喊。有很長時間人們沒有看到戰鬥隊伍了。多麼的令人興奮，多麼的精良！陽光在金色紐扣上閃耀，在銀色寶劍上閃耀，進軍號角也在閃耀，在陽臺之上，女士們揮舞著手絹告別，好像鴿子在飛翔。

At the front of the procession rode King Fred， on his milk-white charger， holding scarlet reins and waving at the crowds。 Right behind him， riding a thin yellow horse and wearing a bored expression， was Spittleworth， and next came Flapoon， furiously lunch-less and sitting on his elephantine chestnut。

在軍隊的前方，國王弗雷德，在他的奶白戰馬上，手裡拿著猩紅色的韁繩，向群眾們揮舞著手。在其身後，是騎著黃色瘦馬的斯派頭沃斯，再然後是一臉沒吃午飯惱怒的臉的菲萊普恩，騎著大象似的巨大栗色馬上。

Behind the king and the two lords trotted the Royal Guard， all of them on dapple-grey horses， except for Major Beamish， who rode his steel-grey stallion。 It made Mrs Beamish’s heart flutter to see her husband looking so handsome。

國王和兩個爵士之後是皇家侍衛隊，他們都騎著灰色斑紋站馬，只有梅傑比姆世騎著純灰色戰馬。看到丈夫是如此的帥，比姆世太太心臟怦怦直跳。

‘Good luck， Daddy！’ shouted Bert， and Major Beamish （though he really shouldn’t have done） waved at his son。

“祝你好運，爹地！”波特大聲呼喊，比姆世向兒子揮手（其實他不應該揮手的）致意。

The procession trotted down the hill， smiling at the cheering crowds of the City-Within-The-City， until it reached the gates in the wall onto wider Chouxville。 There， hidden by the crowds， was the Dovetails’ cottage。 Mr Dovetail and Daisy had come out into their garden， and they were just able to see the plumes in the helmets of the Royal Guard riding past。

“軍隊向山下前進著，對著城內之城的群眾微笑著，直到快要到大門處，外面就是首克斯威樂其他更加廣闊的區域。就在那邊緣上，豆文太奧的小房子隱藏在了那人海之中，豆文太奧先生和黛西早來到了他們的花園裡，但只能看到侍衛頭盔上的羽毛移動。

Daisy didn’t feel much interest in the soldiers。 She and Bert still weren’t talking to each other。 In fact， he’d spent morning break with Roderick Roach， who often jeered at Daisy for wearing overalls instead of a dress， so the cheering and the sound of the horses didn’t raise her spirits at all。

黛西對那些士兵並不感興趣。她和波特仍然還沒有搭理彼此。實際上，黛西早晨和羅德瑞克羅池決裂了，因為他經常嘲笑黛西經常穿罩衣而不是裙子。因此歡呼聲和馬蹄聲並沒有引起黛西的興趣。

‘There isn’t really an Ickabog， Daddy， is there？’ she asked。

“那裡實際上並沒有艾卡伯格，是嗎？爹地，”黛西問。

‘No， Daisy，’ sighed Mr Dovetail， turning back to his workshop， ‘there’s no Ickabog， but if the king wants to believe in it， let him。 He can’t do much harm up in the Marshlands。’

“是的，黛西”豆文太奧先生嘆氣說著，轉身走向他的工作站，“那沒有艾卡伯格，但如果國王想相信有，就由他去吧。他在麻石地也做不出傷天害理的事。”

Which just goes to show that even sensible men may fail to see a terrible， looming danger。

正如所見，即使一個敏感的人也可能預見不了可怕的朦朧的危險。