Английский язык с Дж. Р. Р. Толкиеном. Хоббит

This was Thorin’s style. He was an important dwarf. If he had been allowed, he would probably have gone on like this until he was out of breath, without telling any one there anything that was not known already. But he was rudely interrupted. Poor Bilbo couldn’t bear it any longer. At may never return he began to feel a shriek coming up inside, and very soon it burst out like the whistle of an engine coming out of a tunnel. All the dwarves sprang on knocking over the table. Gandalf struck a blue light on the end of his magic staff, and in its firework glare the poor little hobbit could be seen kneeling on the hearth-rug, shaking like a jelly that was melting. Then he fell flat on the floor, and kept on calling out “struck by lightning, struck by lightning!” over and over again; and that was all they could get out of him for a long time. So they took him and laid him out of the way on the drawing-room sofa with a drink at his elbow, and they went back to their dark business.

“Excitable little fellow (легко возбудимый паренек: «малыш»), ” said Gandalf, as they sat down again (сказал Гэндальф, когда они снова расселись). “Gets funny queer fits (случаются забавные странные припадки), but he is one of the best (но он — один из самых лучших), one of the best (один из самых лучших) — as fierce as a dragon in a pinch (такой же свирепый, как дракон в трудную минуту; pinch — щипок; тяготы, чрезвычайные обстоятельства). ”

If you have ever seen a dragon in a pinch (если вы когда-нибудь видели дракона в трудную минуту), you will realise (то вы ясно представите себе) that this was only poetical exaggeration (что это было лишь поэтическое преувеличение) applied to any hobbit (применительно к любому хоббиту), even to Old Took’s great-granduncle Bullroarer (даже к прадядюшке Старого Тука /по имени/ Трещотка; bull — бык; roarer — горлопан, крикун), who was so huge (который был такой огромный) (for a hobbit (для хоббита)) that he could ride a horse (что мог ездить верхом на лошади). He charged the ranks of the goblins of Mount Gram (он набросился на шеренги гоблинов из Маунт—Грэма; to charge — нагружать, обременять; /воен. / атаковать) in the Battle of the Green Fields (в Битве на Зеленых Полях), and knocked their king Golfimbul’s head (и сшиб голову их короля Гольфимбуля) clean off (подчистую) with a wooden club (деревянной дубинкой). It sailed a hundred yards through the air (она пролетела сотню ярдов по воздуху; to sail — плыть /под парусом/, парить) and went down a rabbit hole (и опустилась в кроличью нору), and in this way the battle was won (и таким образом эта битва была выиграна; to win — выигрывать) and the game of Golf invented (и игра в Гольф была изобретена) at the same moment (в тот же самый момент).

excitable [ɪkˈsaɪtǝb (ǝ) l] exaggeration [ɪɡzædʒǝˈreɪʃ (ǝ) n] invent [ɪnˈvent]

“Excitable little fellow, ” said Gandalf, as they sat down again. “Gets funny queer fits, but he is one of the best, one of the best — as fierce as a dragon in a pinch. ”