The Punishment of Loki

When Loki was driven out by the mighty Thor from Aegir's palace-hall he knew that he could never again be allowed to come among the gods in Asgard. Many times had this mischievous fire-god brought trouble and sorrow to the Aesir, but now he had done the most cruel deed of all, he had slain Baldur the Good, and had driven all light and joy from Asgard.

洛基被强大的托尔从埃吉尔的宫殿大厅赶出来之后，他 知道自己再也不能被允许回到阿斯加德的众神中间了。这个 好惹是生非的火神已经多次给阿斯神族带来麻烦和 悲伤，可这一次，他做出了最残忍的事情——他 害死了善良的巴德尔，把一切光明与欢乐都从阿斯加德驱赶走了。

Far away he fled, among the mountains, hoping that no one would find him there; and near a lovely mountain stream he built for himself a hut with four doors looking north, east, south, and west, so that if the wise Allfather, on his high air throne in Asgard, should see him, and send messengers to punish him, the watchful Loki could see them coming and escape by the opposite door.

他逃到了远方的群山之中，希望没有人能够找到他； 在一条美丽的山涧旁边，他给自己搭了一间小屋，屋子有 四扇门，分别朝向北、东、南、西，这样一来，倘若坐在阿斯加德 高高天座上的智慧的众神之父看见了他，派遣使者 来惩罚他，机警的洛基就能看见他们走近，然后从 相反的那扇门逃走。

He spent most of the days and nights thinking how he could get away from the Aesir. "If I ran to the stream and turned myself into a fish," he thought, "I wonder if they could catch me. I could keep out of the way of a hook; but then there are nets; Aegir's wife has a wonderful thing like a net, for catching fish, and that would be far worse than a hook!"

他大部分的日日夜夜都在想着该怎样才能摆脱 阿斯神族。“如果我跑到小溪边，把自己变成一条鱼，” 他想道，“不知道他们能不能抓住我。我可以躲开鱼钩； 可是还有渔网呢；埃吉尔的妻子有一样奇妙的 东西，像张网一样，专门用来捕鱼，那可比鱼钩 糟糕得多！”

When Loki thought of the net, he began to wonder how it was made, and the more he thought, the more he wished he could make one so as to see how a fish could keep from getting caught in it.

洛基一想到渔网，就开始琢磨它是怎么做出来的，他 想得越多，就越想亲手编一张，好看看鱼怎样才能 不被网住。

He sat down by the fire in his little hut, took a piece of cord and began to make a fish-net. He had nearly finished it when, looking up through the open door, he saw three of the Aesir in the distance, coming toward his hut. Loki well knew that they were coming to catch him, and, quickly throwing his net into the fire, he ran to the stream, changed himself into a beautiful spotted salmon, and leaped into the water.

他坐在小屋的炉火旁，拿起一根绳子，开始 编织一张渔网。眼看就要编完的时候，他抬头 从敞开的门望出去，看见三位阿斯神族的神远远地朝 他的小屋走来。洛基心里清楚，他们是来抓他的，于是 他连忙把网扔进火里，跑到溪边，把自己变成一条 美丽的斑点鲑鱼，跳进了水里。

A moment later the three gods entered the hut, and one of them spied the fish-net burning in the fire. "See!" cried he, "Loki must have been making this net to catch fish; he always was a good fisherman, and now this is just what we want for catching him!"

片刻之后，三位神走进小屋，其中一位发现 炉火里正燃着一张渔网。“看啊！”他喊道，“洛基 一定是在编这张网来捕鱼；他向来是个出色的渔夫，如今 这正好可以用来抓他！”

So they snatched the last bit of the net from the fire, and by looking at it found out how to make another, which they took with them to the bank of the stream.

于是他们从火里抢出网的最后一小截，照着它 弄明白了该怎样编织另一张，然后带着这张网 来到了溪岸边。

The first time the net was put into the water, Loki hid between two rocks, and the net was so light that it floated past him; but the next time it had a heavy stone weight, which made it sink down, till Loki saw he could not get away unless he could leap over the net. He did this, but Thor, seeing him, waded out into the stream, where he threw the net again, so that Loki must jump a second time, or else go on out into the deep sea.

第一次把网放进水里的时候，洛基藏在两块 石头之间，网太轻了，从他身边漂了过去；可是第二 次，网上加了一块沉重的石头，使网沉了下去，洛基 这才看出，除非能跳过网去，否则就逃不掉了。他这样做了， 可是托尔看见了他，蹚水走进溪流，在那里又一次 撒下网，逼得洛基不得不再跳一次，否则就得一直 游向深海。

As he leaped, Thor stooped and caught him in his hand, but the fish was so slippery that Thor could hardly hold it. In the struggle the salmon's tail was pinched so tightly by the thunder-god's strong fingers that it was drawn out to a point, and the old stories say that is why salmon tails are so pointed ever since.

就在他跳起的那一刻，托尔弯下身子，一把将他 抓在手中，可是那条鱼太滑了，托尔几乎抓不住它。 在挣扎之中，这位雷神强壮的手指把鲑鱼的 尾巴捏得那样紧，以致尾巴被拉出了一个尖角，古老的 传说说，这就是鲑鱼的尾巴从此以后都是尖的缘故。

Thus was Loki caught in his own trap, and dreadful was his punishment. The Aesir chained him to a high rock, and placed a great, poisonous serpent, hanging over the cliff above his head.

就这样，洛基落入了自己布下的陷阱，他所受的 惩罚十分严厉。阿斯神族把他锁在一块高高的岩石上， 在他头顶上方的悬崖处，安放了一条巨大的毒蛇。

If it had not been for Loki's good, faithful wife, he would have died of the poison that dropped from the snake's mouth. She watched by her husband, holding a cup above him to catch the poison. Only when she had to turn aside to empty the cup did the drops fall upon Loki; then they gave him such terrible pain that he shook the earth with his struggles, and the people in Midgard fled from the dreadful earthquake, in Iceland the great geysers, springs of hot water, burst through the earth, and in the south-lands burning ashes and lava poured down the mountain-sides.

若不是洛基那位忠实善良的妻子，他早就会因为 从蛇口中滴落的毒液而丧命了。她守在丈夫身边， 举着一只杯子接住毒液。只有当她不得不转身去 倒空杯子的时候，毒液才会滴落在洛基身上；那时他会 感到剧烈的痛楚，浑身颤动，震得大地摇晃，米德加德的 人们纷纷逃离这可怕的地震，冰岛的 大间歇泉喷涌而出，南方的 土地上，炽热的灰烬与熔岩沿着山坡倾泻而下。

There, chained to the cliff, the cruel, mischievous Loki was to lie until the Twilight of the gods, the dark day of Ragnarök, when all the mighty evil monsters and beasts would get free, and the terrible battle be fought between them and the gods of Asgard.

就这样，洛基被锁在悬崖上，这个残忍而 爱闯祸的家伙将一直躺在那里，直到诸神的黄昏、 末日拉格纳罗克降临的那一天，那时所有强大的 邪恶怪物与野兽都将挣脱束缚，一场可怕的战斗 将在它们与阿斯加德众神之间展开。