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小编喜欢读这个童话故事，可不仅仅是因为它是英国大文豪托尔金的代表作，还在于它是一位超级“学霸”父亲“屈尊”为儿子创作的一本小书……
J·R·R·托尔金（1892—1973）是英国的天才语言学家，牛津大学教授，古英语专家，1919—1920年《牛津英语词典》的编委成员。1937年，《霍比特人》出版，由于赢得好评如潮，出版商建议托尔金续写故事。结果，托尔金一写就写了十几年，写出了气势磅礴的史诗作品——《魔戒》三部曲，奠定了自己文坛巨匠的地位。而《霍比特人》和《魔戒》也成为当代奇幻作品的鼻祖。
《霍比特人》记述的是霍比特人比尔博·巴金斯与巫师甘道夫和13个矮人横越中土大陆，寻找被恶龙抢占的属于矮人的珍贵宝藏的探险故事。作为写给孩子们的童话，整个故事遣词用句显浅诙谐，童趣满溢——据说书中关于勇斗大蜘蛛的情节，也是因为托尔金的儿子害怕蜘蛛而特意加进去的。不过，尽管全书语言简洁，但仍然能够显露出托尔金在英语造诣上的深厚功力（例如本节选中的Attercop、Lob和Cob皆出自古英语中对蜘蛛的称谓）。对于学习英语，这确实是一部不可多得的作品。
Chapter 8 Flies and Spiders
There was the usual dim grey light of the forest-day about him when he came to his senses. The spider lay dead beside him， and his sword-blade was stained black. Somehow the killing of the giant spider， all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else， made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person， and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach， as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back into its 1）sheath.
“I will give you a name，” he said to it，“and I shall call you Sting.” After that he set out to explore. The forest was grim and silent， but obviously he had first of all to look for his friends， who were not likely to be very far off， unless they had been made prisoners by the elves （or worse things）.
Bilbo felt that it was unsafe to shout， and he stood a long while wondering in what direction the path lay， and in what direction he should go first to look for the dwarves.
In the end he made as good a guess as he could at the direction from which the cries for help had come in the night—and by luck （he was born with a good share of it） he guessed more or less right， as you will see. Having made up his mind he crept along as cleverly as he could. Hobbits are clever at quietness， especially in the woods， as I’ve already told you； also Bilbo had slipped on his ring before he started. That is why the spiders neither saw nor heard him coming.
He had picked his way 2）stealthily for some distance， when he noticed a place of dense black shadows ahead of him， black even for that forest， like a patch of midnight that had never been cleared away. As he drew nearer， he saw that it was made by spider-webs one behind and over and tangled with another.
Suddenly he saw， too， that there were spiders huge and horrible sitting in the branches above him， and ring or no ring he trembled with fear 3）lest they should discover him. Standing behind a tree he watched a group of them for some time， and then in the silence and stillness of the wood he realised that these loathsome creatures were speaking one to another. Their voices were a sort of thin creaking and hissing， but he could make out many of the words that they said. They were talking about the dwarves！ “It was a sharp struggle， but worth it，” said one. “What nasty thick skins they have to be sure， but I’ll wager there’s good juice inside.” “Why， they’ll make fine eating， when they’ve hung a bit，” said another. “Don’t hang ’em too long，” said a third. “They’re not as fat as they might be. Been feeding none too well of late， I should guess.” “Kill ’em， I say，” hissed a fourth； “kill ’em now and hang ’em dead for a while.”
“They’re dead now， I’ll 4）warrant，” said the first.
“That they are not. I saw one a-struggling just now. Just coming round again， I should say， after a bee-autiful sleep. I’ll show you.”
With that one of the fat spiders ran along a rope， till it came to a dozen bundles hanging in a row from a high branch. Bilbo was horrified， now that he noticed them for the first time dangling in the shadows， to see a dwarvish foot sticking out of the bottoms of some of the bundles， or here and there the tip of a nose， or a bit of beard or of a hood.
To the fattest of these bundles the spider went—“It is poor old Bombur， I’ll bet，” thought Bilbo—and nipped hard at the nose that stuck out. There was a muffled yelp inside， and a toe shot up and kicked the spider straight and hard. There was life in Bombur still. There was a noise like the kicking of a flabby football， and the enraged spider fell off the branch， only catching itself with its own thread just in time.
The others laughed. “You were quite right，” they said， “the meat’s alive and kicking！” “I’ll soon put an end to that，”hissed the angry spider climbing back onto the branch.
Bilbo saw that the moment had come when he must do something. He could not get up at the 5）brutes and he had nothing to shoot with； but looking about he saw that in this place there were many stones lying in what appeared to be a now dry little watercourse. Bilbo was a pretty fair shot with a stone， and it didn’t take him long to find a nice smooth egg-shaped one that fitted his hand cosily.
As a boy he used to practise throwing stones at things， until rabbits and squirrels， and even birds， got out of his way as quick as lightning if they saw him stoop； and even grownup he had still spent a deal of his time at 6）quoits， dart-throwing， shooting at the wand， bowls， ninepins and other quiet games of the aiming and throwing sort. Indeed he could do lots of things， besides blowing smoke-rings， asking riddles and cooking， that I haven’t had a time to tell you about. There is no time now. While he was picking up stones， the spider had reached Bombur， and soon he would have been dead. At that moment Bilbo threw. The stone struck the spider plunk on the head， and it dropped senseless off the tree， flop to the ground， with all its legs curled up. The next stone went whizzing through a big web， snapping its cords， and taking off the spider sitting in the middle of it， whack， dead. After that there was a deal of 7）commotion in the spider-colony， and they forgot the dwarves for a bit， I can tell you. They couldn’t see Bilbo， but they could make a good guess at the direction from which the stones were coming. As quick as lightning they came running and swinging towards the hobbit， flinging out their long threads in all directions， till the air seemed full of waving 8）snares. Bilbo， however， soon slipped away to a different place. The idea came to him to lead the furious spiders further and further away from the dwarves， if he could； to make them curious， excited and angry all at once. When about fifty had gone off to the place where he had stood before， he threw some more stones at these， and at others that had stopped behind； then dancing among the trees he began to sing a song to 9）infuriate them and bring them all after him， and also to let the dwarves hear his voice.
This is what he sang：
“Old fat spider spinning in a tree！
Old fat spider can’t see me！
Attercop！ Attercop！
Won’t you stop，
Stop your spinning and look at me！
Old 10）Tomnoddy， all big body，
Old Tomnoddy can’t spy me！
Attercop！ Attercop！
Down you drop！
You’ll never catch me up your tree！”
Not very good perhaps， but then you must remember that he had to make it up himself， on the spur of a very awkward moment. It did what he wanted anyway. As he sang he threw some more stones and stamped. Practically all the spiders in the place came after him： some dropped to the ground， others raced along the branches， swung from tree to tree， or cast new ropes across the dark spaces. They made for his noise far quicker than he had expected. They were frightfully angry. Quite apart from the stones no spider has ever liked being called Attercop， and Tomnoddy of course is insulting to anybody.
Off Bilbo scuttled to a fresh place， but several of the spiders had run now to different points in the 11）glade where they lived， and were busy spinning webs across all the spaces between the tree-stems. Very soon the hobbit would be caught in a thick fence of them all round him—that at least was the spiders’ idea. Standing now in the middle of the hunting and spinning insects Bilbo plucked up his courage and began a new song：
“Lazy Lob and crazy Cob are weaving webs to wind me.
I am far more sweet than other meat，
but still they cannot find me！
Here am I， naughty little fly；
you are fat and lazy.
You cannot trap me， though you try，
in your cobwebs crazy.”
With that he turned and found that the last space between two tall trees had been closed with a web—but luckily not a proper web， only great strands of double-thick spider-rope run hastily backwards and forwards from trunk to trunk. Out came his little sword. He slashed the threads to pieces and went off singing.
The spiders saw the sword， though I don’t suppose they knew what it was， and at once the whole lot of them came hurrying after the hobbit along the ground and the branches， hairy legs waving， nippers and spinners snapping， eyes popping， full of froth and rage. They followed him into the forest until Bilbo had gone as far as he dared.
Then quieter than a mouse he stole back. He had precious little time， he knew， before the spiders were disgusted and came back to their trees where the dwarves were hung. In the meanwhile he had to rescue them. The worst part of the job was getting up on to the branch where the bundles were dangling.
I don’t suppose he would have managed it， if a spider had not luckily left a rope hanging down； with its help， though it stuck to his hand and hurt him， he scrambled up—only to meet an old slow wicked fat-bodied spider who had remained behind to guard the prisoners， and had been busy pinching them to see which was the juiciest to eat. It had thought of starting the feast while the others were away， but Mr. Baggins was in a hurry， and before the spider knew what was happening it felt his sting and rolled off the branch dead.
第八章 苍蝇与蜘蛛
当他醒来的时候，脸上已映着森林里通常显现的那种黯淡灰光。死蜘蛛就躺在他身边，他宝剑的刀刃上沾染了黑血。不靠巫师、矮人或是其他什么人的帮助，单凭一己之力在黑暗中杀死了巨蜘蛛，这对巴金斯先生来说，感觉大不相同。当他在草地上擦拭宝剑而后插回剑鞘时，他觉得自己已然脱胎换骨，变得更凶猛、更勇敢了——即使肚子还是空空如也。
“我要给你取个名字，”他对宝剑说道：“就叫你‘刺叮’好了！”接着，他又开始对森林的探索。森林阴森而静寂，但很明显，他首先要做的是找到同伴的下落，因为，除非他们已经落入了精灵（或是更糟糕的东西）的手中，否则他们应该就在不远的地方。
比尔博觉得大喊大叫并不安全，因此他呆立了好一阵子，思索着小径到底通向何方，他又应该先往哪个方向寻找矮人们。
到了最后，他勉强猜测昨晚的呼救声传来的方向，凭着运气的帮助（他这人天生就有好运气），他猜的实际上并没有差太远，呆会儿你们就知道了。下定决心之后，他开始小心翼翼地往前走。霍比特人十分擅长无声行动，特别是在森林中，我之前已经跟你们说过了；而且，比尔博在动身前已经戴上了戒指，就是这个原因蜘蛛们完全没看见、也没听见他的到来。
他悄悄地走了一段距离，然后发现眼前有块地方笼罩着浓重的黑影，甚至比这片森林还要漆黑，就像是一片永不褪去的午夜。随着他越走越近，他才看到那是由层层叠叠的蜘蛛网交织而成的。 不光如此，他突然间还看到有些又大又恐怖的蜘蛛就盘踞在他头顶的树枝上。不管有没有戴着戒指，他都怕被蜘蛛们发现，惊恐得浑身发抖。他躲在一棵树后面，打量了其中几只怪物一阵子，然后在森林静默的气氛中，他发现这些令人生厌的生物正在相互交谈着。它们的声音有点像是细薄的咯吱和嘶嘶声，但他还是可以勉强听清楚其中大部分的内容。它们正在讨论矮人！
“这可是好一场挣扎，不过相当值得，”一只说：“他们的外皮一定又粗又脏，但我打赌里面一定有甜美的汁液！”“呃，把他们挂着风干一阵儿就会好吃多了！”另一只说道。“别把他们晾太久，”第三只说：“他们不够胖，我猜多半是由于最近吃得不够多的关系。”“照我说，先杀了他们吧，”第四只嘶嘶地说：“现在就把他们杀了，再把他们晾上一会儿。”
“我敢保证他们现在都死了，”第一只说。
“应该还没有，我刚刚才看到有一个在挣扎着呢。我想他们刚从美梦中醒来。我带你们去看吧。”
话一说完，这些肥大蜘蛛中的一只就沿着蛛丝跑了过去，径直去到一高枝上一字排开挂着十多个捆包的地方。比尔博现在才注意到那些挂在阴影中摇摇欲坠的东西，他看到有些捆包底部伸出了一只矮人的脚，这儿露出鼻尖，那儿露出一部分的胡子和帽子，他不禁害怕起来。
蜘蛛走到最鼓囊的捆包旁边——比尔博想：“我打赌那一定是可怜的老庞伯！”——然后，那蜘蛛就用力地对着突出来的鼻子咬了一口，里面传来了闷声惨叫，一只脚伸了出来，狠狠地踢了蜘蛛一脚。庞伯还有气，蜘蛛发出一声像是瘪气的足球被踢中的声音，然后这只气坏了的蜘蛛就这么从树枝上摔了下来，好不容易才靠着自己的蛛丝保住了性命。
其他的蜘蛛哈哈大笑起来。“你说的很对，”他们说：“我们的肉食还活着，而且脚力还蛮大的嘛！”“我很快就会结束这一切！”那只愤怒的蜘蛛气呼呼地爬回树枝上。
比尔博当下就明白，是该他做些什么的时候了。他没办法和这些怪物正面对抗，手上也没有弓箭；不过，四下张望后，他发现附近有条像是如今干枯了的河道，上面有许多小石头。比尔博在扔石头方面可是个高手，他没有花多少时间就找到了一颗蛋形的、十分趁手的光滑石头。
在他年纪还小的时候就时常对着各种各样的东西练习丢石头，到了最后，连兔子、松鼠，甚至是飞鸟，只要一看见他弯下腰来，就立刻快如闪电般逃之夭夭。在他长大之后，他依然经常参与套环、掷飞镖、射靶、推保龄球、九柱地滚球和其他的这类需要瞄准和投掷的游戏；事实上，除了吐烟圈、出谜题和煮菜之外，他还有很多其他兴趣，只是我之前来不及详细告诉你们，现在也没时间啰唆了。当他捡起石头之时，蜘蛛已经走到了庞伯身边，很快，他就会没命了。就在这时，比尔博掷出了石头。飞石砰的一声击中了蜘蛛的脑袋，它从树上摔落在地上，不省人事，所有的脚都卷曲了起来。
第二颗石头毫不留情地打穿蛛网、扯断蛛丝，击中了蛛网正中央的蜘蛛，狠狠地，一击致命；接下来，蜘蛛们骚动起来，我敢肯定，这下它们可没有时间管矮人们了！它们看不见比尔博，但还是可以大致猜到石头飞来的方向。它们立刻闪电般摇摇摆摆地向霍比特人冲来，蛛丝满天盖地地飞来，直到空中好像布满了摆动的罗网。不过，比尔博很快就溜到另外一个地方去了。他灵机一动，想要把这些愤怒的蜘蛛引得离矮人越远越好；他想要让这些蜘蛛一下子陷入好奇、激动而愤怒的状态中。当大约有五十只蜘蛛冲往他之前所在的位置之后，他又瞄准对方丢了几颗石头，更对着停在后面的其他蜘蛛丢了一些；不但如此，他还在树间跳舞，并且开始唱起歌来，想要激怒这些蜘蛛，让它们全都向他冲过来，同时，也让矮人们能够听见他的声音。
他唱道：
“老胖蜘蛛在树上结网！
看不见我呀，它又老又胖！
毒蛛啊！毒蛛啊！
快停下，
看看我呀，不要再织网！
老傻瓜，胖得不像样，
老傻瓜，查不到我的方向！
毒蛛啊！毒蛛啊！
摔到地上！
想要抓我，就别赖在树上！”
这首歌或许听起来不怎么样，但你得知道，那是他在火烧眉毛的窘迫时刻自己编的歌。不论怎样，它的确达到了目的。当他唱歌的时候，他又丢了更多的石头，还用力地跺脚。附近所有的蜘蛛几乎都倾巢而出来追捕他：有些蜘蛛跳到地上，有些则是沿着树枝狂奔，从一棵树晃到另一棵，或是对着黑暗处抛出蛛丝。它们对他的声音的反应比他想象的要快多了。它们气急败坏了。除了被扔石头之外，蜘蛛最讨厌被人骂成毒蛛，而傻瓜，当然了，无论是对谁来说都是很损的话。
比尔博又换了个新的藏身之处，不过，这时有几只蜘蛛已经分别冲到了它们生活的林地中不同的地方，并且在树干之间的所有空位上织起了罗网。很快，霍比特人的四周就会被厚重的蛛网团团围住——至少，这就是蜘蛛们的用意。比尔博站在这群忙着追捕和织网的昆虫中间，鼓起勇气，开始唱另外一首歌：
“懒蜘蛛，傻蜘蛛，
织着网子想抓我。
我的肉肉比他人甜得多，
但它们还是找不到我！
我在这儿，顽皮小苍蝇；
你呀实在胖又懒。
逮不到我呀，努力也不行，
让你在蛛网里气得惨。”
他歌一唱完，转身就发现两棵大树之间的最后空间被蛛网给封住了，幸好，那不是什么恢恢罗网，只是两股在大树之间匆匆来回缠绕的粗丝。他拔出了短剑，将蛛网砍成碎片，继续唱歌。
蜘蛛们看得见那剑，但我想它们不知道那是什么东西；立刻，一整群蜘蛛就气冲冲地从地面和树枝飞奔冲向霍比特人。它们的双眼突出，长着毛的触角四处挥舞，口钳挟个不停，满嘴泡沫，怒气冲天；它们追着比尔博一直冲入森林，直到他尽其所能走到最远。
然后，他又无声无息地溜了回来。他知道，在蜘蛛们放弃追逐，回到悬挂矮人的树上之前，他只有非常短的时间。在这段空档中，他必须要救出那些家伙。这个任务最麻烦的部分，就是要爬上那挂着许多矮人的树枝。
如果不是有蜘蛛留了一条蛛丝下来，我觉得他根本爬不上去。借着蛛丝的帮助，即使那东西缠在他的手上，还弄痛了他，但他还是勉强爬了上去。然而，在他眼前竟然出现了一只又老又胖又迟钝的奸诈蜘蛛，它被留下来看守这些俘虏，它正忙碌地东戳西戳，看看哪个俘虏最为汁多味美。它正准备在其他人都不在的时候动手享受眼前的美食，但不幸的是，比尔博先生急着办事，因此，在它还没回过神来之前，“刺叮”刺中了它，它滚下树枝，一命呜呼。
J·R·R·托尔金（1892—1973）是英国的天才语言学家，牛津大学教授，古英语专家，1919—1920年《牛津英语词典》的编委成员。1937年，《霍比特人》出版，由于赢得好评如潮，出版商建议托尔金续写故事。结果，托尔金一写就写了十几年，写出了气势磅礴的史诗作品——《魔戒》三部曲，奠定了自己文坛巨匠的地位。而《霍比特人》和《魔戒》也成为当代奇幻作品的鼻祖。
《霍比特人》记述的是霍比特人比尔博·巴金斯与巫师甘道夫和13个矮人横越中土大陆，寻找被恶龙抢占的属于矮人的珍贵宝藏的探险故事。作为写给孩子们的童话，整个故事遣词用句显浅诙谐，童趣满溢——据说书中关于勇斗大蜘蛛的情节，也是因为托尔金的儿子害怕蜘蛛而特意加进去的。不过，尽管全书语言简洁，但仍然能够显露出托尔金在英语造诣上的深厚功力（例如本节选中的Attercop、Lob和Cob皆出自古英语中对蜘蛛的称谓）。对于学习英语，这确实是一部不可多得的作品。
Chapter 8 Flies and Spiders
There was the usual dim grey light of the forest-day about him when he came to his senses. The spider lay dead beside him， and his sword-blade was stained black. Somehow the killing of the giant spider， all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else， made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person， and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach， as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back into its 1）sheath.
“I will give you a name，” he said to it，“and I shall call you Sting.” After that he set out to explore. The forest was grim and silent， but obviously he had first of all to look for his friends， who were not likely to be very far off， unless they had been made prisoners by the elves （or worse things）.
Bilbo felt that it was unsafe to shout， and he stood a long while wondering in what direction the path lay， and in what direction he should go first to look for the dwarves.
In the end he made as good a guess as he could at the direction from which the cries for help had come in the night—and by luck （he was born with a good share of it） he guessed more or less right， as you will see. Having made up his mind he crept along as cleverly as he could. Hobbits are clever at quietness， especially in the woods， as I’ve already told you； also Bilbo had slipped on his ring before he started. That is why the spiders neither saw nor heard him coming.
He had picked his way 2）stealthily for some distance， when he noticed a place of dense black shadows ahead of him， black even for that forest， like a patch of midnight that had never been cleared away. As he drew nearer， he saw that it was made by spider-webs one behind and over and tangled with another.
Suddenly he saw， too， that there were spiders huge and horrible sitting in the branches above him， and ring or no ring he trembled with fear 3）lest they should discover him. Standing behind a tree he watched a group of them for some time， and then in the silence and stillness of the wood he realised that these loathsome creatures were speaking one to another. Their voices were a sort of thin creaking and hissing， but he could make out many of the words that they said. They were talking about the dwarves！ “It was a sharp struggle， but worth it，” said one. “What nasty thick skins they have to be sure， but I’ll wager there’s good juice inside.” “Why， they’ll make fine eating， when they’ve hung a bit，” said another. “Don’t hang ’em too long，” said a third. “They’re not as fat as they might be. Been feeding none too well of late， I should guess.” “Kill ’em， I say，” hissed a fourth； “kill ’em now and hang ’em dead for a while.”
“They’re dead now， I’ll 4）warrant，” said the first.
“That they are not. I saw one a-struggling just now. Just coming round again， I should say， after a bee-autiful sleep. I’ll show you.”
With that one of the fat spiders ran along a rope， till it came to a dozen bundles hanging in a row from a high branch. Bilbo was horrified， now that he noticed them for the first time dangling in the shadows， to see a dwarvish foot sticking out of the bottoms of some of the bundles， or here and there the tip of a nose， or a bit of beard or of a hood.
To the fattest of these bundles the spider went—“It is poor old Bombur， I’ll bet，” thought Bilbo—and nipped hard at the nose that stuck out. There was a muffled yelp inside， and a toe shot up and kicked the spider straight and hard. There was life in Bombur still. There was a noise like the kicking of a flabby football， and the enraged spider fell off the branch， only catching itself with its own thread just in time.
The others laughed. “You were quite right，” they said， “the meat’s alive and kicking！” “I’ll soon put an end to that，”hissed the angry spider climbing back onto the branch.
Bilbo saw that the moment had come when he must do something. He could not get up at the 5）brutes and he had nothing to shoot with； but looking about he saw that in this place there were many stones lying in what appeared to be a now dry little watercourse. Bilbo was a pretty fair shot with a stone， and it didn’t take him long to find a nice smooth egg-shaped one that fitted his hand cosily.
As a boy he used to practise throwing stones at things， until rabbits and squirrels， and even birds， got out of his way as quick as lightning if they saw him stoop； and even grownup he had still spent a deal of his time at 6）quoits， dart-throwing， shooting at the wand， bowls， ninepins and other quiet games of the aiming and throwing sort. Indeed he could do lots of things， besides blowing smoke-rings， asking riddles and cooking， that I haven’t had a time to tell you about. There is no time now. While he was picking up stones， the spider had reached Bombur， and soon he would have been dead. At that moment Bilbo threw. The stone struck the spider plunk on the head， and it dropped senseless off the tree， flop to the ground， with all its legs curled up. The next stone went whizzing through a big web， snapping its cords， and taking off the spider sitting in the middle of it， whack， dead. After that there was a deal of 7）commotion in the spider-colony， and they forgot the dwarves for a bit， I can tell you. They couldn’t see Bilbo， but they could make a good guess at the direction from which the stones were coming. As quick as lightning they came running and swinging towards the hobbit， flinging out their long threads in all directions， till the air seemed full of waving 8）snares. Bilbo， however， soon slipped away to a different place. The idea came to him to lead the furious spiders further and further away from the dwarves， if he could； to make them curious， excited and angry all at once. When about fifty had gone off to the place where he had stood before， he threw some more stones at these， and at others that had stopped behind； then dancing among the trees he began to sing a song to 9）infuriate them and bring them all after him， and also to let the dwarves hear his voice.
This is what he sang：
“Old fat spider spinning in a tree！
Old fat spider can’t see me！
Attercop！ Attercop！
Won’t you stop，
Stop your spinning and look at me！
Old 10）Tomnoddy， all big body，
Old Tomnoddy can’t spy me！
Attercop！ Attercop！
Down you drop！
You’ll never catch me up your tree！”
Not very good perhaps， but then you must remember that he had to make it up himself， on the spur of a very awkward moment. It did what he wanted anyway. As he sang he threw some more stones and stamped. Practically all the spiders in the place came after him： some dropped to the ground， others raced along the branches， swung from tree to tree， or cast new ropes across the dark spaces. They made for his noise far quicker than he had expected. They were frightfully angry. Quite apart from the stones no spider has ever liked being called Attercop， and Tomnoddy of course is insulting to anybody.
Off Bilbo scuttled to a fresh place， but several of the spiders had run now to different points in the 11）glade where they lived， and were busy spinning webs across all the spaces between the tree-stems. Very soon the hobbit would be caught in a thick fence of them all round him—that at least was the spiders’ idea. Standing now in the middle of the hunting and spinning insects Bilbo plucked up his courage and began a new song：
“Lazy Lob and crazy Cob are weaving webs to wind me.
I am far more sweet than other meat，
but still they cannot find me！
Here am I， naughty little fly；
you are fat and lazy.
You cannot trap me， though you try，
in your cobwebs crazy.”
With that he turned and found that the last space between two tall trees had been closed with a web—but luckily not a proper web， only great strands of double-thick spider-rope run hastily backwards and forwards from trunk to trunk. Out came his little sword. He slashed the threads to pieces and went off singing.
The spiders saw the sword， though I don’t suppose they knew what it was， and at once the whole lot of them came hurrying after the hobbit along the ground and the branches， hairy legs waving， nippers and spinners snapping， eyes popping， full of froth and rage. They followed him into the forest until Bilbo had gone as far as he dared.
Then quieter than a mouse he stole back. He had precious little time， he knew， before the spiders were disgusted and came back to their trees where the dwarves were hung. In the meanwhile he had to rescue them. The worst part of the job was getting up on to the branch where the bundles were dangling.
I don’t suppose he would have managed it， if a spider had not luckily left a rope hanging down； with its help， though it stuck to his hand and hurt him， he scrambled up—only to meet an old slow wicked fat-bodied spider who had remained behind to guard the prisoners， and had been busy pinching them to see which was the juiciest to eat. It had thought of starting the feast while the others were away， but Mr. Baggins was in a hurry， and before the spider knew what was happening it felt his sting and rolled off the branch dead.
第八章 苍蝇与蜘蛛
当他醒来的时候，脸上已映着森林里通常显现的那种黯淡灰光。死蜘蛛就躺在他身边，他宝剑的刀刃上沾染了黑血。不靠巫师、矮人或是其他什么人的帮助，单凭一己之力在黑暗中杀死了巨蜘蛛，这对巴金斯先生来说，感觉大不相同。当他在草地上擦拭宝剑而后插回剑鞘时，他觉得自己已然脱胎换骨，变得更凶猛、更勇敢了——即使肚子还是空空如也。
“我要给你取个名字，”他对宝剑说道：“就叫你‘刺叮’好了！”接着，他又开始对森林的探索。森林阴森而静寂，但很明显，他首先要做的是找到同伴的下落，因为，除非他们已经落入了精灵（或是更糟糕的东西）的手中，否则他们应该就在不远的地方。
比尔博觉得大喊大叫并不安全，因此他呆立了好一阵子，思索着小径到底通向何方，他又应该先往哪个方向寻找矮人们。
到了最后，他勉强猜测昨晚的呼救声传来的方向，凭着运气的帮助（他这人天生就有好运气），他猜的实际上并没有差太远，呆会儿你们就知道了。下定决心之后，他开始小心翼翼地往前走。霍比特人十分擅长无声行动，特别是在森林中，我之前已经跟你们说过了；而且，比尔博在动身前已经戴上了戒指，就是这个原因蜘蛛们完全没看见、也没听见他的到来。
他悄悄地走了一段距离，然后发现眼前有块地方笼罩着浓重的黑影，甚至比这片森林还要漆黑，就像是一片永不褪去的午夜。随着他越走越近，他才看到那是由层层叠叠的蜘蛛网交织而成的。 不光如此，他突然间还看到有些又大又恐怖的蜘蛛就盘踞在他头顶的树枝上。不管有没有戴着戒指，他都怕被蜘蛛们发现，惊恐得浑身发抖。他躲在一棵树后面，打量了其中几只怪物一阵子，然后在森林静默的气氛中，他发现这些令人生厌的生物正在相互交谈着。它们的声音有点像是细薄的咯吱和嘶嘶声，但他还是可以勉强听清楚其中大部分的内容。它们正在讨论矮人！
“这可是好一场挣扎，不过相当值得，”一只说：“他们的外皮一定又粗又脏，但我打赌里面一定有甜美的汁液！”“呃，把他们挂着风干一阵儿就会好吃多了！”另一只说道。“别把他们晾太久，”第三只说：“他们不够胖，我猜多半是由于最近吃得不够多的关系。”“照我说，先杀了他们吧，”第四只嘶嘶地说：“现在就把他们杀了，再把他们晾上一会儿。”
“我敢保证他们现在都死了，”第一只说。
“应该还没有，我刚刚才看到有一个在挣扎着呢。我想他们刚从美梦中醒来。我带你们去看吧。”
话一说完，这些肥大蜘蛛中的一只就沿着蛛丝跑了过去，径直去到一高枝上一字排开挂着十多个捆包的地方。比尔博现在才注意到那些挂在阴影中摇摇欲坠的东西，他看到有些捆包底部伸出了一只矮人的脚，这儿露出鼻尖，那儿露出一部分的胡子和帽子，他不禁害怕起来。
蜘蛛走到最鼓囊的捆包旁边——比尔博想：“我打赌那一定是可怜的老庞伯！”——然后，那蜘蛛就用力地对着突出来的鼻子咬了一口，里面传来了闷声惨叫，一只脚伸了出来，狠狠地踢了蜘蛛一脚。庞伯还有气，蜘蛛发出一声像是瘪气的足球被踢中的声音，然后这只气坏了的蜘蛛就这么从树枝上摔了下来，好不容易才靠着自己的蛛丝保住了性命。
其他的蜘蛛哈哈大笑起来。“你说的很对，”他们说：“我们的肉食还活着，而且脚力还蛮大的嘛！”“我很快就会结束这一切！”那只愤怒的蜘蛛气呼呼地爬回树枝上。
比尔博当下就明白，是该他做些什么的时候了。他没办法和这些怪物正面对抗，手上也没有弓箭；不过，四下张望后，他发现附近有条像是如今干枯了的河道，上面有许多小石头。比尔博在扔石头方面可是个高手，他没有花多少时间就找到了一颗蛋形的、十分趁手的光滑石头。
在他年纪还小的时候就时常对着各种各样的东西练习丢石头，到了最后，连兔子、松鼠，甚至是飞鸟，只要一看见他弯下腰来，就立刻快如闪电般逃之夭夭。在他长大之后，他依然经常参与套环、掷飞镖、射靶、推保龄球、九柱地滚球和其他的这类需要瞄准和投掷的游戏；事实上，除了吐烟圈、出谜题和煮菜之外，他还有很多其他兴趣，只是我之前来不及详细告诉你们，现在也没时间啰唆了。当他捡起石头之时，蜘蛛已经走到了庞伯身边，很快，他就会没命了。就在这时，比尔博掷出了石头。飞石砰的一声击中了蜘蛛的脑袋，它从树上摔落在地上，不省人事，所有的脚都卷曲了起来。
第二颗石头毫不留情地打穿蛛网、扯断蛛丝，击中了蛛网正中央的蜘蛛，狠狠地，一击致命；接下来，蜘蛛们骚动起来，我敢肯定，这下它们可没有时间管矮人们了！它们看不见比尔博，但还是可以大致猜到石头飞来的方向。它们立刻闪电般摇摇摆摆地向霍比特人冲来，蛛丝满天盖地地飞来，直到空中好像布满了摆动的罗网。不过，比尔博很快就溜到另外一个地方去了。他灵机一动，想要把这些愤怒的蜘蛛引得离矮人越远越好；他想要让这些蜘蛛一下子陷入好奇、激动而愤怒的状态中。当大约有五十只蜘蛛冲往他之前所在的位置之后，他又瞄准对方丢了几颗石头，更对着停在后面的其他蜘蛛丢了一些；不但如此，他还在树间跳舞，并且开始唱起歌来，想要激怒这些蜘蛛，让它们全都向他冲过来，同时，也让矮人们能够听见他的声音。
他唱道：
“老胖蜘蛛在树上结网！
看不见我呀，它又老又胖！
毒蛛啊！毒蛛啊！
快停下，
看看我呀，不要再织网！
老傻瓜，胖得不像样，
老傻瓜，查不到我的方向！
毒蛛啊！毒蛛啊！
摔到地上！
想要抓我，就别赖在树上！”
这首歌或许听起来不怎么样，但你得知道，那是他在火烧眉毛的窘迫时刻自己编的歌。不论怎样，它的确达到了目的。当他唱歌的时候，他又丢了更多的石头，还用力地跺脚。附近所有的蜘蛛几乎都倾巢而出来追捕他：有些蜘蛛跳到地上，有些则是沿着树枝狂奔，从一棵树晃到另一棵，或是对着黑暗处抛出蛛丝。它们对他的声音的反应比他想象的要快多了。它们气急败坏了。除了被扔石头之外，蜘蛛最讨厌被人骂成毒蛛，而傻瓜，当然了，无论是对谁来说都是很损的话。
比尔博又换了个新的藏身之处，不过，这时有几只蜘蛛已经分别冲到了它们生活的林地中不同的地方，并且在树干之间的所有空位上织起了罗网。很快，霍比特人的四周就会被厚重的蛛网团团围住——至少，这就是蜘蛛们的用意。比尔博站在这群忙着追捕和织网的昆虫中间，鼓起勇气，开始唱另外一首歌：
“懒蜘蛛，傻蜘蛛，
织着网子想抓我。
我的肉肉比他人甜得多，
但它们还是找不到我！
我在这儿，顽皮小苍蝇；
你呀实在胖又懒。
逮不到我呀，努力也不行，
让你在蛛网里气得惨。”
他歌一唱完，转身就发现两棵大树之间的最后空间被蛛网给封住了，幸好，那不是什么恢恢罗网，只是两股在大树之间匆匆来回缠绕的粗丝。他拔出了短剑，将蛛网砍成碎片，继续唱歌。
蜘蛛们看得见那剑，但我想它们不知道那是什么东西；立刻，一整群蜘蛛就气冲冲地从地面和树枝飞奔冲向霍比特人。它们的双眼突出，长着毛的触角四处挥舞，口钳挟个不停，满嘴泡沫，怒气冲天；它们追着比尔博一直冲入森林，直到他尽其所能走到最远。
然后，他又无声无息地溜了回来。他知道，在蜘蛛们放弃追逐，回到悬挂矮人的树上之前，他只有非常短的时间。在这段空档中，他必须要救出那些家伙。这个任务最麻烦的部分，就是要爬上那挂着许多矮人的树枝。
如果不是有蜘蛛留了一条蛛丝下来，我觉得他根本爬不上去。借着蛛丝的帮助，即使那东西缠在他的手上，还弄痛了他，但他还是勉强爬了上去。然而，在他眼前竟然出现了一只又老又胖又迟钝的奸诈蜘蛛，它被留下来看守这些俘虏，它正忙碌地东戳西戳，看看哪个俘虏最为汁多味美。它正准备在其他人都不在的时候动手享受眼前的美食，但不幸的是，比尔博先生急着办事，因此，在它还没回过神来之前，“刺叮”刺中了它，它滚下树枝，一命呜呼。