The surrounding islanders cannot say for sure why the wall was built. Nobody was planning an assault of any kind, nor was anyone powerful enough to pose a threat with enough strength to justify such a fortress. There were no rumours of an attack from overseas, although the people admit that while the wall was under construction, they had grown nervous. Perhaps the builders had heard of a new, formidable enemy that they had not. They felt uneasy, as if they too should be taking special precautions but against what, they had no idea. As the work intensified, so did their alarm. But they had crops to plant, cattle to feed, children to care for and pleasures to seek. Despite their bewilderment, the people of the archipelago got on with their lives and watched in wonder as year after year the fortress grew, until the low clouds grazed its upper reaches and its blackened walls seemed to swallow the sunshine; a broken crown in the deep blue sea.

周围的岛上居民说不准为什么要建围墙。没有人计划任何形式的攻击，也没有任何人强大到足以造成有足够威力的威胁来证明这样的堡垒是必要的。也没有海外来袭的谣言，虽然人们承认墙在建造时他们渐渐变得紧张。可能建造者听说了一个他们没有听说过的新的、强大的敌人。他们感到不安，好像他们也应该采取特殊的预防措施，但要抵抗什么，他们不知道。随着工程加强，他们的警觉也加强了。但他们有庄稼要种，有牲口要喂养，有孩子要照料，有乐子要找。他们虽然困惑，但随着一年又一年堡垒逐渐建成，群岛上的人继续过他们的生活，疑惑地看着，直到低矮的云掠过它的顶端，它那发黑的墙好像要吞掉阳光；深蓝色大海上一顶坏掉的王冠。

Gradually the island fell silent. First, trade petered out and then ceased altogether. Onlookers muttered that with so much time spent on the wall, the builders simply had nothing left to sell. Next, the fishing boats stopped sailing from the ports, then the hearth smoke faded away and only a sandy haze was left hanging in the air; a death rattle of dust. Last of all to disappear were the sounds of building; the echo of brick on brick and the continual whine of pulleys.

渐渐地这个岛变得沉寂。首先，贸易逐渐减少，然后完全终结。旁观者嘀咕说，这么多时间花在围墙上，建造者只不过没剩下什么要卖的东西了。接着，渔船停止从港口启航，然后炉烟逐渐消逝，只剩下一层沙色的薄雾悬在空中；尘埃的临死哀鸣。最后消失的是建造的声音；砖头碰砖头的回声和连续不断的滑车的嘎嘎声。

Nobody can explain why the wall was started but there are many theories as to why it was never finished. Some say that so many had perished during its construction, that no one dared halt the work and thereby admit that it had all been in vain. Others claim that the builders simply ran out of materials and since they had scooped so much rock from the centre of the island, there was no land left to plough. There are those who believe that the bricks near the top of the wall are made from the baked bones of labourers who dropped from exhaustion further down. Or perhaps the islanders grew so used to the work that they just couldn't stop themselves. But one thing is certain, the prophesied threat never arrived and the people at the centre of the archipelago had, quite simply, bricked themselves in.

没有人能解释为什么开始建造围墙，但对于它为什么从未完工却有许多说法。有些人说在建造的过程中毁坏了这么多，使得没人敢停下工程并从而承认它全是徒然。还有些人声称建造者只是用光了材料，因为他们从岛中心挖了这么多石头，没有可耕耘的土地了。还有人认为靠近墙顶的砖是由烘烤的劳工的骨头制成的，这些劳工由于精疲力竭而跌落到更深的下面。或者是岛上居民可能变得太习惯这个工程了，以至于他们完全阻止不了自己。但有一件事是确定的，那个预言的威胁从未到来，群岛中心的人只不过是用砖头把自己砌在了里面。