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.

周圍的島上居民說不準為什么要建圍墻。沒有人計劃任何形式的攻擊，也沒有任何人強大到足以造成有足夠威力的威脅來證明這樣的堡壘是必要的。也沒有海外來襲的謠言，雖然人們承認墻在建造時他們漸漸變得緊張。可能建造者聽說了一個他們沒有聽說過的新的、強大的敵人。他們感到不安，好像他們也應該采取特殊的預防措施，但要抵抗什么，他們不知道。隨著工程加強，他們的警覺也加強了。但他們有莊稼要種，有牲口要喂養，有孩子要照料，有樂子要找。他們雖然困惑，但隨著一年又一年堡壘逐漸建成，群島上的人繼續過他們的生活，疑惑地看著，直到低矮的云掠過它的頂端，它那發黑的墻好像要吞掉陽光；深藍色大海上一頂壞掉的王冠。

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.

漸漸地這個島變得沉寂。首先，貿易逐漸減少，然后完全終結。旁觀者嘀咕說，這么多時間花在圍墻上，建造者只不過沒剩下什么要賣的東西了。接著，漁船停止從港口啟航，然后爐煙逐漸消逝，只剩下一層沙色的薄霧懸在空中；塵埃的臨死哀鳴。最后消失的是建造的聲音；磚頭碰磚頭的回聲和連續不斷的滑車的嘎嘎聲。

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.

沒有人能解釋為什么開始建造圍墻，但對于它為什么從未完工卻有許多說法。有些人說在建造的過程中毀壞了這么多，使得沒人敢停下工程并從而承認它全是徒然。還有些人聲稱建造者只是用光了材料，因為他們從島中心挖了這么多石頭，沒有可耕耘的土地了。還有人認為靠近墻頂的磚是由烘烤的勞工的骨頭制成的，這些勞工由于精疲力竭而跌落到更深的下面。或者是島上居民可能變得太習慣這個工程了，以至于他們完全阻止不了自己。但有一件事是確定的，那個預言的威脅從未到來，群島中心的人只不過是用磚頭把自己砌在了里面。