只是開始

Just the beginning

朋友們朝著卡拉米拉指示的方向走向那個物體。他們為任務的成功感到高興，但同時也有些傷感，因為他們的奇妙冒險已經結束。毫無戒心的冒險追求者無法想像前方還有什麼驚喜等待著他們。他們所處的現實如此不可預測，至少希望有任何程度的確定性是天真的。

The friends walked toward the object in the direction that Caramilla had shown them. They were happy that their mission was successful, but at the same time they were a little sad that their amazing adventures had come to an end. The unsuspecting pursuers of adventure could not have imagined what surprises still lay ahead of them. The reality in which they found themselves was so unpredictable, it would have been at the very least naive to hope for any level of certainty.

與此同時，在他們幸福的無知中，我們的旅行者忙於計劃如何回家，如何慶祝，以及如何開始過上和諧豐盛的新生活。在旅行期間，他們成為了好朋友，儘管最近的事件來得如此迅速，沒有時間去理清他們之間的關係。

In the meantime, in their happy ignorance our travelers were busy making plans for how they would return home, how they would celebrate and how they would begin living a new life of harmonious abundance. They had become great friends during the time of their travels although recent events had come at them so thick and fast, there had not been a moment to work out how the relationships between them stood.

一旦他們走出城市的邊緣，他們就離那個鏡面物體只有一步之遙。

Once they went beyond the outskirts of the city, they were just a stone’s throw from the mirror-like object.

「我只希望一旦我們到達這個奇怪的地方，我們會明白接下來該去哪裡，」潛水艇說。「我們之前知道我們是怎麼到那裡的，不是嗎？」

“I just hope that once we arrive at this strange place, we’ll understand where to go next,” said Submarine. “We knew how we got there before, didn’t we?”

「希望是女孩的事，」伊吉特用諷刺的語氣說。

“Hoping is for girls,” said Eejit in an ironic tone.

「不，是女孩是男人的希望，」潛水艇反駁道。

“No, it’s the girls who are the hope of men,” retorted Submarine.

「我不知道那邊誰是為了誰，但我真的很期待看到你們的那個物體，」普西拉說。「它是貓咪宇宙的嗎？」

“I don’t know who is for whom over there but I’m really looking forward to seeing this object of yours,” said Puscilla. “Is it catty-cosmic?”

「哦，是的，普西拉，它是如此貓咪宇宙，你會完全被貓化，」伊吉特回答。

“Oh yes, Puscilla, it’s so catty-cosmic that you’ll be completely cattified,” answered Eejit.

「真是貓咪驚奇，」牛接著說。

“It’s moggy-mazing,” said Cow in turn.

「甚至是夜貓驚悚，」潛水艇補充道。

“Or even night-moggy-marish,” added Submarine.

最終，他們到達了那個奇怪物體的所在地。和之前一樣，視野展開，呈現出一片令人驚嘆的湛藍海洋，岸邊有草地、沙灘和棕櫚樹。

Eventually, they arrived at the site of the strange object. As before, the view opened out onto a stunning azure sea with grass, sand and palm trees lining the shore.

「喵！多麼奢華！」普西拉讚嘆道。「我會很高興地在那裡弄濕我的尾巴，可能還有我的爪子，甚至其他地方！」

“Miaow! How luxurious!” exclaimed Puscilla in admiration. “I’ll wet my tail there with pleasure, and possibly my paws, too, if not everything else!”

「慢點，普西拉，」野獸警告她。「你不覺得一個景觀如此突然地轉換成另一個很奇怪嗎？」

“Slow down, Puscilla,” Beast warned her. “Don’t you think it’s strange that one landscape shifts so sharply into another?”

普西拉看起來困惑。他們走過的區域發生了劇烈變化，就像兩張不同的風景照片被推到了一起。

Puscilla looked puzzled. The area through which they were walking changed radically as if two different landscape photographs had been pushed together.

「你真的可能在這裡被貓化，」普西拉驚訝地說，沿著看不見的牆摸索著。「這是一面鏡子，對吧？」

“You really could get cattified here,” said Puscilla in surprise, fumbling her way along the invisible wall. “It is a mirror, right?”

「嗯，是也不是，」伊吉特回答。「看看我們周圍的一切是如何反射的，而我們的輪廓則模糊不清？」

“Well, yes and no,” replied Eejit. “See how everything around us is reflected whereas our silhouettes are sketchy?”

「這牆沒有盡頭或邊緣嗎？你檢查過嗎？」

“And there’s no end or edge to this wall? Have you checked?”

「這可能是一個屏幕，這不太可能，或者是卡拉米拉所說的兩個世界或現實層面的邊界，」布倫希爾達說。「但我們沒有找到它的邊緣。」

“It could either be a screen, which is unlikely, or a border between two worlds or aspects of reality as Caramilla suggested,” said Brunhilda. “But we haven’t found any edges to it.”

「無論如何，這簡直是貓咪嘲弄！」普西拉憤怒地說。「多麼怪異的貓咪詭計！我們能研究它嗎？」

“Whatever the case, this is sheer moggy-mockery!” said Puscilla in indignation. “What monstrous catty-trickery! Can we study it?”

「我們已經從各個可能的角度嘗試過了，」伊吉特回答，「但這不是可以研究的那種物體。它只是……存在。」

“We’ve already tried from every possible angle,” replied Eejit, “but it is not the kind of object that can be researched. It just… exists.”

「我們的科學家會說相反的，不是嗎？他們會得出結論，如果一個物體不能被研究，那麼它事實上就不存在，」牛說。「真是一個方便的方法！」

“Out sciendologists would say the opposite, wouldn’t they? They would conclude that if an object is not subject to research, it cannot in fact exist,” said Cow. “A very convenient approach!”

「不管那是什麼，如果我們無法在這裡取得進展，我們唯一能做的就是回家。至少目前是這樣，」女王說。

“Whatever that may be, if can’t make any headway here, all we can do is go home. At least for now,” said the queen.

「我想我們第一次來這裡時，是從那邊過來的，」牛指著一個方向說。

“I think when we were first here, we approached from over there,” said Cow pointing in one direction.

「不，我們是從那邊過來的，」潛水艇指著相反的方向說。

“No, we approached from over there,” said Submarine pointing in the opposite direction.

「我們先試試那邊，」伊吉特指著另一個方向說。「好吧，就讓我們跟隨你那令人費解的直覺，」女王同意道。

“Let’s try over there first,” said Eejit pointing in another direction altogether. “Okay, let’s go where your mind-boggling intuition leads us,” agreed the queen.

「陛下，我的直覺完全是教育性的，啟發性的，而且非常切題，」伊吉特以他老派的方式回答。

“Your Majesty, my intuition is entirely educational, enlightening and very much to the point,” replied Eejit in his old-style manner.

然後他們朝著伊吉特指示的方向出發。他們走了一段距離，最終那個物體從視野中消失了。但即使他們試圖嚴格地朝一個方向走，熟悉的地貌特徵很快又出現了，他們最終回到了最初的起點。

And with that they set off in the direction Eejit had indicated. They walked some distance from the object and eventually it disappeared from view. But even though they tried to go strictly in one direction, familiar features of the landscape soon reappeared, and they ended up where they had first started.

「好吧，」女王說。「好吧，」潛水艇附和道。

“Right,” said the queen. “Right,” echoed Submarine.

「看來我們在繞圈子，」普西拉說。「這不可能！」牛說。

“Looks like we’re going around in circles,” said Puscilla. “That’s not possible!” said Cow.

「這不可能！」伊吉特重複道。

“That can’t be!” repeated Eejit.

「我有很好的方向感。我們不可能繞了一圈，」野獸說。「那麼我們試試另一個方向，」女王建議。

“I have a great sense of direction. We can’t have gone in a circle,” said Beast. “Then let’s try going in a different direction,” the queen suggested.

朋友們朝著牛最初選擇的方向出發。他們再次保持整齊的隊形，過了一會兒，遠處出現了一個城鎮的輪廓。當他們靠近一點時，大家齊聲驚呼：「龐波尼烏斯！」

The friends set off in the direction Cow had originally chosen. Again, they stayed in a neat line and after a while the contours of a town appeared in the distance. Once they were a little closer, they all exclaimed in chorus, “Pomponius!”

「這是我們的城鎮！」

“It’s our town!”

「看！那邊是市政廳的塔樓！」

“Look! Over there is the tower of the town hall!”

「我們現在該怎麼辦？」潛水艇問她最喜歡的問題。

“What are we going to do now?” Submarine said asking her favorite question.

「首先，我們應該回到那個奇怪鏡面物體的所在地，」女王決定道。

“First of all, we should go back to the site of the strange mirror-like object,” the queen decided.

最終，他們又回到了起點。就在看不見的牆後，和之前一樣，海浪有節奏地向岸邊推進，棕櫚樹的寬大葉子在微風中無動於衷地搖曳。

Eventually, they found themselves back where they had started again. Behind the invisible wall, just as before, the sea methodically drove its much-longed-for waves towards the shore and the palm trees swayed their wide leaves indifferently in the breeze.

「也許我應該像之前一樣飛上天空看看？」牛建議道。

“Maybe I should get up into the sky and take a look around like before?” Cow suggested.

「是的，試試吧。加油，牛，」女王說。

“Yes, try it. Good for you, Cow,” said the queen.

牛停下來集中注意力片刻，抖動翅膀，變回她原來的樣子——一頭有翅膀的橙色奶牛。整理好羽毛後，牛快速拍動翅膀，升上天空，在空中畫出螺旋圈。轉了幾圈後，她安全降落，立即恢復成人形。朋友們都帶著疑問的期待看著她。

Cow stopped to concentrate for a moment, shook her wings and shape-shifted into her former appearance, — a winged orange cow. Having straightened her feathers, Cow gave her wings a quick flap and rose upwards into the sky drawing spiraling circles in the air. Having turned this way and that, she landed safely instantly regaining her human form. The friends all looked at her in questioning expectation.

「陛下，」她對女王說，「除了城市，這個地區沒有什麼特別的東西。雖然我確實看到了一片類似樹林的地方。」

“Your Majesty,” she said addressing the queen, “there is nothing in the area of any note except for the city. Although I did spot something resembling a patch of woodland.”

「是的！我們第一次來這裡時經過了一片稀有樹種的區域！」伊吉特興奮地說。

“Yes! We passed through an area of rare species of tree when we were here the first time!” said Eejit enthusiastically.

「那麼我們就朝那個方向走，」女王決定。「我先走，」野獸說。

“Then that’s the direction we’ll take,” decided the queen. “I’ll go ahead,” said Beast

然後他們都跟著他。

And they all followed him.

十五分鐘後，他們進入了一片樹林區域，這片區域真的很小，所以不久他們就從另一邊出來了。之後，地形變得多山，長滿了草和灌木。一直向前走，朋友們開始注意到他們所導航的地貌特徵開始重複，給人一種他們在繞圈子的印象。果然，他們很快又回到了鏡面物體旁的起點，遠處仍能隱約看到同一座城市的輪廓。筋疲力盡地倒在地上，朋友們完全困惑地沉默了。

A quarter of an hour later, they entered the woodland area, which was truly very small and so it was not long before they emerged on the other side. After that the landscape became hilly and thick with grasses and shrubs. Heading consistently straight ahead, the friends began to notice that the distinctive features of the landscape which they were navigating by began to be repeated creating the impression that they were turning back on themselves. And indeed, they soon found themselves back where they had started beside the mirror-like object and in the distance, they could still make out the outlines of the same city. Throwing themselves onto the ground with exhaustion, the friends fell silent completely flummoxed.

已經變得非常激動的潛水艇從左到右衝來衝去，把手推向看不見的牆。

Submarine, who had become highly agitated rushed from left to right shoving her hands up against the invisible wall.

「這是什麼懲罰？」她哀嚎道。「一定有通路！為什麼沒有人回答我？」

“What is this punishment?” she wailed. “There must be a way through somewhere! Why won’t anyone answer me?”

她剛說完，一個低沉的耳語從沉默中升起，像跳躍的風一樣從一個方向竄到另一個方向。

No sooner had she spoken than a muffled whisper rose up out of the silence and darted from one direction to another like a jumping wind.

「誰在那裡？」潛水艇問。

“Who’s there?” asked Submarine.

「門檻……門檻……」耳語回應。「什麼的門檻？」

“Threshold... Threshold...” came the whispering response. “Threshold of what?”

「時間……時間……」「你在哪裡？」

“Time... time...” “Where are you?”

「我無處不在，圍繞著你……無處不在，圍繞著你……」

“I am everywhere and all about you... everywhere and all about you...”

「哦，你能告訴我，你能不能告訴我，」潛水艇問，「我們在哪裡？這看不見的牆是什麼？我們怎麼才能出去？」

“Oh, can you tell me, could you just tell me,” asked Submarine, “where are we? What is this invisible wall? How can we get out of here?”

「問題太多……問題……」

“Too many questions... questions...”

「你至少能告訴我們怎麼回家嗎？」

“Can you at least tell us how to get home?”

「找合成女僕和小紅女王……她們會幫助你……」「但怎麼找？我們應該在哪裡找到她們？」

“Find the synthetic maid and the little red queen... They will help you...” “But how? Where are we supposed to find them?”

「你會知道的……找到她們……」「你不能告訴我，只是告訴我……」

“You’ll learn... Find them...” “Can’t you tell me, just tell me...”

但耳語的風像出現時一樣突然消散了。

But the whispering wind dissipated as suddenly as it had appeared.

朋友們靜靜地坐著，驚訝地互相凝視。

The friends sat in silence staring at each other in amazement.

伊吉特是第一個打破沉默的人。

Eejit was the first to break the silence.

「時間的門檻？聽起來有點神秘……」「這一切都超出了我的理解，」牛說。

“Threshold of time? Sounds a bit mystical…” “This is all way beyond me,” said Cow.

「還有我的貓咪視野，」普西拉補充道。

“And my pussy-vision,” added Puscilla.

「合成女僕和紅女王是誰？」野獸問。「你們有誰聽說過她們嗎？」其他人都搖頭。

“And who are the synthetic maid and red queen?” asked Beast. “Have any of you ever heard of them?” The others shook their heads.

「別擔心。我們會想辦法找出她們是誰，然後找到她們，」潛水艇鼓勵地說。「門檻至少答應了這一點！」

“Don’t worry. We’ll find out who they are somehow, and we’ll find them,” said Submarine encouragingly. “Threshold promised that at least!”

「你相信他嗎？」伊吉特問。

“And you believe him?” asked Eejit.

「我們真的有選擇嗎？」潛水艇回答。

“Do we really have a choice?” replied Submarine.

「至少我們現在有了一些線索，」布倫希爾達說，「多虧了你的堅持，潛水艇，我們現在有了一些線索。」

“At least we have something to go on now,” said Brunhilda, “thanks to your persistence, Submarine, we now have some clues.”

「謝謝你，陛下。你永遠是我們的女王，但現在看來我們需要找到另一位，小紅女王。」

“Thank you, Your Majesty. You will always be our queen but now it looks like we need to find another, a little red queen.”

「是的，還有一位女僕……一位合成女僕。」

“Yes, and a maid… a synthetic maid.”

「這一切意味著什麼？」

“What can all this mean?”

「唉，」牛嘆道，「我們都以為一切結束了。」 「看來事情才剛剛開始，」女王說。

“Ho hum,” sighed Cow, “and there we all were thinking it was over.” “It looks like things are only just beginning,” said the queen.

僅僅是開始

Just the beginning

朋友們依照Caramilla所指的方向走向那個物件。他們為任務成功而欣喜，但同時也略帶哀愁，因為那段驚奇冒險終究告一段落。那些無心追求冒險的人無法想像，前方還隱藏著多少驚喜。他們所處的現實如此難以預料，若還抱著任何確定的期望，未免也太天真了。

The friends walked toward the object in the direction that Caramilla had shown them. They were happy that their mission was successful, but at the same time they were a little sad that their amazing adventures had come to an end. The unsuspecting pursuers of adventure could not have imagined what surprises still lay ahead of them. The reality in which they found themselves was so unpredictable, it would have been at the very least naive to hope for any level of certainty.

與此同時，在這幸福無知的狀態下，我們的旅行者們忙著籌劃如何回家、如何慶祝，以及如何開始過上充滿和諧與豐盛的新生活。雖然他們在旅途中結下了深厚的友誼，但近期發生的事情太過迅速，竟沒有一刻能弄清彼此間的關係究竟如何。

In the meantime, in their happy ignorance our travelers were busy making plans for how they would return home, how they would celebrate and how they would begin living a new life of harmonious abundance. They had become great friends during the time of their travels although recent events had come at them so thick and fast, there had not been a moment to work out how the relationships between them stood.

一旦他們走出城市邊緣，他們就與那宛如鏡面的物件僅咫尺之遙。

Once they went beyond the outskirts of the city, they were just a stone’s throw from the mirror-like object.

「我只希望，一旦我們抵達這個陌生之地，便能明白接下來該往何處走，」Submarine說道，「我們以前不是知道我們是怎樣到那裡的嗎？」

“I just hope that once we arrive at this strange place, we’ll understand where to go next,” said Submarine. “We knew how we got there before, didn’t we?”

「抱著希望，那是女生的專利，」Eejit諷刺地說道。

“Hoping is for girls,” said Eejit in an ironic tone.

「不，那些女生才是男人們的希望呢，」Submarine反駁道。

“No, it’s the girls who are the hope of men,” retorted Submarine.

「我不知道那邊誰與誰相依，但我真迫不及待想見到你那個物件，」Puscilla說道，「那是不是屬於‘貓宇宙’的呢？」

“I don’t know who is for whom over there but I’m really looking forward to seeing this object of yours,” said Puscilla. “Is it catty-cosmic?”

「哦，當然，Puscilla，它如此貓宇宙，保證讓你徹底變得貓感十足，」Eejit回答道。

“Oh yes, Puscilla, it’s so catty-cosmic that you’ll be completely cattified,” answered Eejit.

「簡直是moggy-mazing，」Cow依次說道。

“It’s moggy-mazing,” said Cow in turn.

「或者甚至是night-moggy-marish，」Submarine補充道。

“Or even night-moggy-marish,” added Submarine.

最終，他們抵達了那個奇異物件所在之處。正如往常，眼前展開的是一片驚艷的蔚藍海洋，岸邊佈滿綠草、細沙與搖曳的棕櫚樹。

Eventually, they arrived at the site of the strange object. As before, the view opened out onto a stunning azure sea with grass, sand and palm trees lining the shore.

「喵！多麼奢華！」Puscilla讚嘆道，「我會樂在其中，用滿足來濕潤我的尾巴，甚至可能連爪子也一併濕潤，如果不包括其它部位的話！」

“Miaow! How luxurious!” exclaimed Puscilla in admiration. “I’ll wet my tail there with pleasure, and possibly my paws, too, if not everything else!”

「慢一點，Puscilla，」Beast警告道，「你難道不覺得，一處風景突然變化成另一處十分奇異嗎？」

“Slow down, Puscilla,” Beast warned her. “Don’t you think it’s strange that one landscape shifts so sharply into another?”

Puscilla露出疑惑的神情。他們所行的路徑竟劇變無比，彷彿兩張截然不同的風景照片被拼湊在了一起。

Puscilla looked puzzled. The area through which they were walking changed radically as if two different landscape photographs had been pushed together.

「你在這裡真會貓化呢，」Puscilla驚訝地說，一邊摸索著沿著那看不見的牆壁前行，「這不就是鏡子嗎？」

“You really could get cattified here,” said Puscilla in surprise, fumbling her way along the invisible wall. “It is a mirror, right?”

「嗯，既是也不是，」Eejit回答道，「你看，我們周遭的萬物都能完整地映射，然而我們的身影卻只是粗略的輪廓呈現出來？」

“Well, yes and no,” replied Eejit. “See how everything around us is reflected whereas our silhouettes are sketchy?”

「那這面牆竟然既沒有盡頭也沒有邊緣？你檢查過了嗎？」

“And there’s no end or edge to this wall? Have you checked?”

「這可能要麼是一塊螢幕（screen），但似乎不太可能；要麼就是如Caramilla所言，是兩個世界或現實層面之間的分界，」Brunhilda說道，「不過我們根本找不到它的邊緣。」

“It could either be a screen, which is unlikely, or a border between two worlds or aspects of reality as Caramilla suggested,” said Brunhilda. “But we haven’t found any edges to it.”

「無論如何，這簡直是純粹的moggy-mockery（moggy-mockery）！」Puscilla憤慨地喊道，「多麼怪誕的catty-trickery（catty-trickery）！我們能研究一下它嗎？」

“Whatever the case, this is sheer moggy-mockery!” said Puscilla in indignation. “What monstrous catty-trickery! Can we study it?”

「我們已從各種可能的角度嘗試過了，」Eejit回答道，「但這不是那種可以研究的物件，它就這樣……存在著。」

“We’ve already tried from every possible angle,” replied Eejit, “but it is not the kind of object that can be researched. It just… exists.”

「我們的sciendologists會說相反的話，不是嗎？他們會斷言，若一個物件無法成為研究對象，那它實際上是不存在的，」Cow說道，「這真是一種非常方便的方法！」

“Out sciendologists would say the opposite, wouldn’t they? They would conclude that if an object is not subject to research, it cannot in fact exist,” said Cow. “A very convenient approach!”

「不管怎麼說，如果我們在這裡無法有任何突破，那我們只能回家了，至少暫時如此，」女王說道。

“Whatever that may be, if can’t make any headway here, all we can do is go home. At least for now,” said the queen.

「我記得我們剛來的時候，是從那邊走過來的，」Cow說著，指向一個方向。

“I think when we were first here, we approached from over there,” said Cow pointing in one direction.

「不，我們是從那邊走過來的，」Submarine說道，指向相反的方向。

“No, we approached from over there,” said Submarine pointing in the opposite direction.

「那我們先試試那邊，」Eejit說道，指向另一個完全不同的方向。「好吧，就讓我們跟隨你那令人瞠目結舌的直覺吧，」女王也贊同道。

“Let’s try over there first,” said Eejit pointing in another direction altogether. “Okay, let’s go where your mind-boggling intuition leads us,” agreed the queen.

「陛下，我的直覺既具有教育意義，又能啟發思考，而且相當切中要害，」Eejit以他那古典的語氣回答道。

“Your Majesty, my intuition is entirely educational, enlightening and very much to the point,” replied Eejit in his old-style manner.

說完這話，他們便依著Eejit所指的方向啟程。他們走出一段距離後，那個物件終究消失在視野中；然而，即使他們竭力朝著同一個方向前進，很快又出現了些熟悉的地形特色，結果他們竟回到了最初的出發點。

And with that they set off in the direction Eejit had indicated. They walked some distance from the object and eventually it disappeared from view. But even though they tried to go strictly in one direction, familiar features of the landscape soon reappeared, and they ended up where they had first started.

「對了，」女王說道。「對了，」Submarine也附和道。

“Right,” said the queen. “Right,” echoed Submarine.

「看起來我們又在繞圈圈走了，」Puscilla說道。「這不可能！」Cow喊道。

“Looks like we’re going around in circles,” said Puscilla. “That’s not possible!” said Cow.

「這不可能！」Eejit重複道。

“That can’t be!” repeated Eejit.

「我方向感極佳，我們絕不可能走成圈，」Beast說道。「那就試著往另一個方向走吧，」女王建議道。

“I have a great sense of direction. We can’t have gone in a circle,” said Beast. “Then let’s try going in a different direction,” the queen suggested.

朋友們朝著Cow最初選擇的方向出發。他們依然整齊地排成一列，不久遠處便露出一個城鎮的輪廓。當他們走得近些時，大家齊聲驚呼：「Pomponius！」

The friends set off in the direction Cow had originally chosen. Again, they stayed in a neat line and after a while the contours of a town appeared in the distance. Once they were a little closer, they all exclaimed in chorus, “Pomponius!”

「這就是我們的城鎮！」

“It’s our town!”

「看！城鎮大廳的塔就在那邊！」

“Look! Over there is the tower of the town hall!”

「現在我們該怎麼辦？」Submarine問道，提出她最喜歡的問題。

“What are we going to do now?” Submarine said asking her favorite question.

「首先，我們應該回到那處奇異的鏡面物件所在的地方，」女王決定道。

“First of all, we should go back to the site of the strange mirror-like object,” the queen decided.

最終，他們又回到了出發的地點。正如先前一樣，在那看不見的牆後，大海穩步地將那夢寐以求的浪潮(Wave of fortune)推向岸邊，而棕櫚樹則在微風中淡然搖曳著它們寬大的葉片。

Eventually, they found themselves back where they had started again. Behind the invisible wall, just as before, the sea methodically drove its much-longed-for waves towards the shore and the palm trees swayed their wide leaves indifferently in the breeze.

「也許我應該像之前那樣飛上天空，四處看看？」Cow提議道。

“Maybe I should get up into the sky and take a look around like before?” Cow suggested.

「好啊，試試看。Cow，你做得好，」女王說道。

“Yes, try it. Good for you, Cow,” said the queen.

Cow稍作停留、集中心神，拍了拍她的翅膀，然後變回了原來的模樣——一隻長著翅膀的橙色牛。整理好羽毛後，Cow迅速拍動翅膀，向上飛去，在空中畫出螺旋圈。轉了幾圈後，她平安降落，立刻恢復成人形。眾人帶著疑問與期待的目光望著她。

Cow stopped to concentrate for a moment, shook her wings and shape-shifted into her former appearance, — a winged orange cow. Having straightened her feathers, Cow gave her wings a quick flap and rose upwards into the sky drawing spiraling circles in the air. Having turned this way and that, she landed safely instantly regaining her human form. The friends all looked at her in questioning expectation.

「陛下，」她對女王說道，「這一帶除了城鎮外，並無其他值得留意的地方，雖然我確實發現有一片看起來像是林地的區域。」

“Your Majesty,” she said addressing the queen, “there is nothing in the area of any note except for the city. Although I did spot something resembling a patch of woodland.”

「是的！我們第一次來時就曾經穿過一片珍稀樹種的區域呢！」Eejit興奮地說道。

“Yes! We passed through an area of rare species of tree when we were here the first time!” said Eejit enthusiastically.

「那就按這個方向前進吧，」女王決定道。「我先走一步，」Beast說道。

“Then that’s the direction we’ll take,” decided the queen. “I’ll go ahead,” said Beast

他們全都跟隨著他。

And they all followed him.

約過了十五分鐘，他們便進入了一片樹林。這片樹林實在不大，不久後便穿越到了對面。此後，地形漸起丘陵，並遍布茂盛的青草與灌木。當他們一直筆直前行時，逐漸發現那獨特的地貌特徵不斷重複出現，讓人產生好像正折返回頭的印象。果不其然，他們很快又回到了起點——那與鏡面物件相依的地方；遠方依然隱約可見同一座城市的輪廓。疲憊至極之下，朋友們忽然倒在地上，瞬間啞口無言、完全困惑。

A quarter of an hour later, they entered the woodland area, which was truly very small and so it was not long before they emerged on the other side. After that the landscape became hilly and thick with grasses and shrubs. Heading consistently straight ahead, the friends began to notice that the distinctive features of the landscape which they were navigating by began to be repeated creating the impression that they were turning back on themselves. And indeed, they soon found themselves back where they had started beside the mirror-like object and in the distance, they could still make out the outlines of the same city. Throwing themselves onto the ground with exhaustion, the friends fell silent completely flummoxed.

Submarine激動得不知所措，左右奔走，雙手不斷地對著那看不見的牆猛推。

Submarine, who had become highly agitated rushed from left to right shoving her hands up against the invisible wall.

「這是什麼樣的懲罰？」她哭喊道，「一定有條通道的！怎麼沒有人回應我？」

“What is this punishment?” she wailed. “There must be a way through somewhere! Why won’t anyone answer me?”

她剛一開口，沉默中便竄出一陣模糊的低語，像跳動的狂風一樣迅速從這邊掠向那邊。

No sooner had she spoken than a muffled whisper rose up out of the silence and darted from one direction to another like a jumping wind.

「誰在那裡？」Submarine問道。

“Who’s there?” asked Submarine.

「門檻……門檻……」那低語回答道，「什麼的門檻？」

“Threshold... Threshold...” came the whispering response. “Threshold of what?”

「時間……時間……」又有低語隨後響起，「你在何處？」

“Time... time...” “Where are you?”

「我無處不在，無處不在……」聲音迴盪著回答。

“I am everywhere and all about you... everywhere and all about you...”

「哦，你能告訴我嗎，能不能就告訴我——我們到底身處何地？這道看不見的牆究竟是什麼？我們該如何離開這裡？」Submarine急切地問。

“Oh, can you tell me, could you just tell me,” asked Submarine, “where are we? What is this invisible wall? How can we get out of here?”

「問題太多了……問題……」那低聲回答。

“Too many questions... questions...”

「你至少能告訴我們怎麼回家嗎？」

“Can you at least tell us how to get home?”

「找尋那位合成女僕和那位小紅皇后……他們會幫助你們的……」隨後傳來低語，「但該怎麼做？我們又該到哪裡去尋找他們？」

“Find the synthetic maid and the little red queen... They will help you...” “But how? Where are we supposed to find them?”

「你們遲早會明白……去找他們吧……」

“You’ll learn... Find them...” “Can’t you tell me, just tell me...”

但那輕聲低語的狂風猝然散去，就如它剛出現時那般迅速。

But the whispering wind dissipated as suddenly as it had appeared.

朋友們默然相對，滿臉驚愕地互相凝視。

The friends sat in silence staring at each other in amazement.

Eejit率先打破了沉默。

Eejit was the first to break the silence.

「時間的門檻？聽起來有點神秘……」Cow說，「這些全都超出我的理解範圍了。」

“Threshold of time? Sounds a bit mystical…” “This is all way beyond me,” said Cow.

「還有我的貓眼視野，」Puscilla補充道。

“And my pussy-vision,” added Puscilla.

「那合成女僕和紅皇后到底是誰？你們中有沒有人聽過他們？」Beast問道，其他人則搖了搖頭。

“And who are the synthetic maid and red queen?” asked Beast. “Have any of you ever heard of them?” The others shook their heads.

「別擔心，我們總會搞清楚他們是誰，也一定會找到他們的，」Submarine鼓勵地說，「至少Threshold (Threshold) 承諾過這一點！」

“Don’t worry. We’ll find out who they are somehow, and we’ll find them,” said Submarine encouragingly. “Threshold promised that at least!”

「你真相信他嗎？」Eejit問道。

“And you believe him?” asked Eejit.

「我們真的有選擇 (Choice) 嗎？」Submarine回答道。

“Do we really have a choice?” replied Submarine.

「至少我們現在有了一些線索，」Brunhilda說道，「多虧了你堅持不懈，Submarine，我們終於獲得了一些提示。」

“At least we have something to go on now,” said Brunhilda, “thanks to your persistence, Submarine, we now have some clues.”

「謝謝您，陛下。您永遠都是我們的女王，但看來我們現在得去尋找另一位——那位小小的紅皇后。」

“Thank you, Your Majesty. You will always be our queen but now it looks like we need to find another, a little red queen.”

「是的，還有一位女僕……一位合成女僕。」

“Yes, and a maid… a synthetic maid.”

「這一切究竟意味著什麼？」

“What can all this mean?”

Cow嘆了口氣說，「嗤，我們都以為一切已結束了。」女王緩緩地補充道，「看來事情才剛剛開始呢。」

“Ho hum,” sighed Cow, “and there we all were thinking it was over.” “It looks like things are only just beginning,” said the queen.