The myth of Loki and the deadly mistletoe - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: C Cheng 校对人员: Yu Xie

Baldur— son of All Father Odin and Queen Frigg,

巴德尔—— 众神之王奥汀与王后弗丽嘉之子，

husband of Nanna the Peaceful, and God of truth and light—

是真理与光明之神， 也是和平之神楠娜的丈夫——

was the gentlest and most beloved being in all of Asgard.

是阿斯加德神域里最温柔， 最受人爱戴的生命体。

In his great hall of Breidablik,

在他的光明宫的大殿里，

Baldur’s soothing presence eased his subject’s woes.

巴德尔的存在就能 抚平臣民的苦恼。

But lately, he was plagued by troubles of his own.

但是，最近，他却被 因自己的麻烦而备受煎熬。

Every night, Baldur had gruesome visions foretelling his own imminent death.

每晚，巴德尔都会看到 预示着死亡的可怕幻象。

Determined to protect her son from these grim prophecies,

为了保护儿子免受 这些严酷预言的伤害，

Queen Frigg travelled across the nine realms,

王后弗丽嘉穿越九大世界，

begging all living things not to harm Baldur.

祈求众生不要伤害巴德尔。

Her grace moved each being she encountered.

她的风度打动了 她所遇到的每一个事物。

Every animal and element, every plague and plant, every blade and bug

每个动物、每种元素、每场灾祸、 每棵植物、每刃刀锋、每只虫子

gladly gave their word.

都高兴地许下了诺言。

Frigg returned to Breidablik, and threw a great feast to celebrate.

弗丽嘉回到光明宫，举行了 盛大的宴会以示庆祝。

Wine flowed freely, and soon the gods took turns testing Baldur’s immunity.

推杯换盏，众神们很快开始 轮流测试巴德尔的免疫力。

Lurking in the corner, Loki rolled his eyes.

隐藏在角落里的 邪神洛基翻着白眼。

The trickster god had never cared for Baldur the Bright,

这个欺骗之神从来没有 关心过光明的巴德尔，

and found his new gift profoundly irritating.

而且觉得他的新能力很恼人。

Surely there was a flaw in Frigg’s plan.

可以肯定的是， 弗丽嘉的计划里存在缺陷。

Taking the form of an old woman,

洛基化身为一位老妇，

Loki crept to Frigg’s side and feigned confusion.

悄悄地来到弗丽嘉的身边， 装出一副困惑的样子。

Why were the gods attacking sweet Baldur, whom they all loved so dearly?

为什么众神都在攻击他们 深爱着的温和的巴德尔？

Frigg told her of the oaths, but the old woman pressed on.

弗丽嘉把有关誓言的事告诉了她， 但是老妇人继续追问道：

Surely you didn’t receive a vow from everything, she asked.

您肯定没有得到 所有事物的誓言吧？

Frigg shrugged.

弗丽嘉耸了耸肩。

The only being she hadn’t visited was mistletoe.

她唯一没有拜访到的 是槲寄生枝条。

After all, what god could fear a trifling weed?

毕竟，神会怕一颗 微不足道的杂草什么呢？

At this, Loki dashed outside to find a sprig of mistletoe.

听到此处，洛基冲到外面， 去寻找一根带叶的槲寄生枝条。

When he returned, the festivities had grown even rowdier.

当他回来时， 庆祝活动变得更加混乱。

But not every god was enjoying the party.

但是，并不是每位神 都在享受这个聚会。

Baldur’s brother Hodur, who was blind and weapon-less, sat dejected.

巴德尔的兄弟，黑暗之神霍德尔 既看不见也没有武器，正沮丧地坐着。

Seeing his opportunity,

洛基抓到了机会，

the trickster slyly offered Hodur a chance to participate.

那个骗子狡猾地为霍德尔 提供了一个参与的机会。

Loki armed him with mistletoe, guided his aim towards his brother,

洛基用槲寄生枝条把他武装起来， 引导他瞄准了他的兄弟，

and told Hodur to hurl with all his might.

然后告诉霍德尔用全力 投出槲寄生枝条。

The mistletoe pierced Baldur’s chest with deadly force.

槲寄生枝条以致命的力量 刺入了巴德尔的胸腔。

The god’s light quickly flickered out, and despair swept over the crowd.

他的神光摇曳着熄灭了， 绝望席卷了人群。

Within moments, the impact of Baldur’s death could be felt

瞬间，整个九域都 感受到了巴德尔的死

across the nine realms.

所带来的冲击。

But from the weeping masses, Hermod the Brave stepped forward.

从哭泣的人群中， 勇敢的赫尔莫德走上前来。

The warrior god believed that with the help of Odin’s mighty steed,

这位战神相信, 在奥丁的骏马的帮助下，

there was no plane he could not reach.

没有达不成的计划。

He would travel to halls of Hel herself, and bring Baldur home.

他将到冥界女神海拉的大殿， 把巴德尔带回家。

The god rode for nine days and nine nights,

赫尔莫德骑了 9 天 9 夜，

past halls of corpses and over paths paved with bone.

经过了装满尸体的厅室 和用骨头铺就的小路。

When he finally reached the Queen of the Underworld,

当他终于见到冥界女王的时候，

Hermod begged her to return Baldur to his family.

赫尔莫德恳求她把 巴德尔归还给他的家庭。

Hel considered taking pity, but she wanted to know the extent of the gods’ mourning.

海拉是想帮助他的， 但是想要知道众神们哀悼的程度。

She agreed to relinquish Baldur’s soul—

她同意交还巴德尔的灵魂——

if Hermod could prove that every living thing wept at Baldur’s death.

前提是如果赫尔莫德能够证明 每一个生命都在为巴德尔的死而哭泣。

Hermod shot back to the land of the living.

赫尔莫德又迅速返回阳界。

He met with every creature that Frigg visited earlier—

他遇到了弗丽嘉早些时候 拜访过的每一个生物——

all of which cried for Baldur and begged for his return.

它们都在为巴德尔哭泣， 祈求他的回归。

Meanwhile, Loki watched Hermod’s mission with disdain.

同时，洛基在远处观望着 赫尔莫德的使命。

He would not let his work be so easily undone,

他不会让他这么容易地完成任务,

but if he interfered too boldly it might reveal his hand in Baldur’s murder.

但是，如果他干预得过于显眼，可能 会暴露他在这一场谋杀动的手脚。

Disguising himself as a ferocious giant, he hid himself at Hermod’s final stop.

他假扮成了一个凶恶的巨人， 躲在赫尔莫德的最后一站。

When the warrior came,

当武士到来时，

the howling wind and craggy rocks each declared their love for Baldur.

呼啸着的风和嶙峋的岩石 宣告了它们对巴德尔的爱。

But the giant within spewed only contempt for the deceased.

但是，其间的巨人只 吐露了对逝者的蔑视。

No matter how much Hermod begged, she would not shed a single tear.

不论赫尔莫德如何恳求， 他都不曾洒落一滴眼泪。

With his last hope dashed, the god began to mourn Baldur a second time.

当他最后的希望破灭时，赫尔莫德 开始再次为巴德尔哀悼。

But an echo from the cave rang out above his sobs.

但是，一个从山洞里传出的回声 清晰地响起，压过了他的抽泣。

Loki’s twisted cackle was well-known to every Asgardian,

洛基变态的嘎嘎笑声为 阿斯加德神域里每个人所知，

and Hermod realized he’d been tricked.

于是赫尔莫德意识到，他被骗了。

As he leapt to accost the trickster,

当他跃上前去与那个骗子搭话时，

Loki took the form of a salmon and wriggled into the waterfall.

洛基变身成一条鲑鱼， 扭动到了瀑布里。

His escape was guaranteed, until Thor arrived at the scene.

若不是雷神索尔突然出现， 他本可以逃之夭夭。

Dragging Loki back to the cave, the gods bound him with a poisonous serpent.

众神把洛基拖回到了山洞里， 用一条毒蛇把他绑了起来。

Here, Loki would remain chained until the end of days—

洛基将被绑在这里 直至世界末日——

the serpent dripping venom on his brow as punishment

毒蛇把毒汁滴落在他的眉毛上，

for dousing Asgard’s brightest light.

以惩罚他熄灭了阿斯加德 神域中最闪亮的光芒。