《能言馬與男孩》 第四章 初遇納尼亞人

CHAPTER FOUR SHASTA FALLS IN WITH THE NARNIANS

第四章　初遇納尼亞人

AT first Shasta could see nothing in the valley below him but a sea of mist with a few domes and pinnacles rising from it;but as the light increased and the mist cleared away he saw more and more.A broad river divided itself into two streams and on the island between them stood the city of Tashbaan, one of the wonders of the world. Round the very edge of the island, so that the water lapped against the stone, ran high walls strengthened with so many towers that he soon gave up trying to count them. Inside the walls the island rose in a hill and every bit of that hill, up to the Tisroc' s palace and the great temple of Tash at the top, was completely covered with buildings-terrace above terrace, street above street, zigzag roads or huge flights of steps bordered with orange trees and lemon trees, roof-gardens, balconies, deep archways, pillared colonnades, spires, battlements, minarets, pinnacles. And when at last the sun rose out of the sea and the great silver-plated dome of the temple flashed back its light, he was almost dazzled.

一開始，沙斯塔覺得下方的河谷只是一片灰蒙蒙的霧海，間或點綴著幾個突出的圓頂和尖塔，其他什么也瞧不見。但隨著天色慢慢轉(zhuǎn)亮，霧氣漸漸消散，他就看得越來越清楚了。一條遼闊的大河分岔為兩道溪流，而被尊為世界奇觀之一的塔什班城，就矗立在溪流中間的島嶼上。島嶼邊緣環(huán)繞著一圈高聳的石墻，與河流的距離近得足以讓河水直接拍打墻上的石頭，同時城墻上還有著許許多多的塔樓，塔樓數(shù)量實在太多了，沙斯塔才數(shù)了一會兒，就完全宣告放棄。城墻內(nèi)的島嶼地形是一座聳立的山丘，從山腳下直到山頂太洛帝宮殿與塔什神龐大廟宇之間的每一寸土地上，全都擠滿了密密麻麻的建筑物——呈梯田狀排列的連棟房屋、層層相疊的街道，以及兩旁林立著橘子樹和檸檬樹的蜿蜒巷道與寬闊階梯，另外還有屋頂花園、陽臺、幽深的拱道、柱廊、教堂尖塔、城垛、寺廟尖塔，以及小塔樓。當(dāng)太陽終于破海而出，而那貼著銀箔的巨大圓形屋頂在陽光下發(fā)出燦爛的光芒時，他更是看得目眩神迷，完全呆住了。

"Get on, Shasta," Bree kept saying.

“快走啊，沙斯塔，”布里不停地在旁催促。

The river banks on each side of the valley were such a mass of gardens that they looked at first like forest, until you got closer and saw the white walls of innumerable houses peeping out from beneath the trees. Soon after that, Shasta noticed a delicious smell of flowers and fruit. About fifteen minutes later they were down among them, plodding on a level road with white walls on each side and trees bending over the walls.

河谷兩邊的河岸，都有著大片大片的花園，乍看之下你會以為那是森林，但走近一瞧，你就會看到樹叢下露出難以數(shù)盡的房舍白墻。再往前走一會兒，沙斯塔就聞到一股芬芳無比的花果香味。大約一刻鐘后，他們就走進了花園，踏上一條兩旁排列著白墻的平坦道路，欣賞起垂掛在墻外的青綠枝丫了。

"I say,"said Shasta in an awed voice.,This is a wonderful place !"

“哎呀，”沙斯塔滿懷敬畏地嘆道，“這地方真是棒極了!”

"I daresay,"said Bree.,But I wish we were safely through it and out at the other side. Narnia and the North !"

“也許是吧，”布里說，“但我只希望我們能順利通過，從對面的城門走出去。走向納尼亞!走向北方!”

At that moment a low, throbbing noise began which gradually swelled louder and louder till the whole valley seemed to be swaying with it. It was a musical noise, but so strong and solemn as to be a little frightening.

就在那一刻，他們聽到了一種低沉且微微顫動的聲音，這聲音逐漸升高，變得越來越響亮，最后甚至連整個河谷似乎都在隨之晃動。這其實是一種樂聲，但太過于莊嚴(yán)霸氣，因此聽起來有些嚇人。

"That' s the horns blowing for the city gates to be open,"said Bree.,We shall be there in a minute. Now, Aravis, do droop your shoulders a bit and step heavier and try to look less like a princess. Try to imagine you' ve been kicked and cuffed and called names all your life."

“那是宣告城門開啟的號角聲，”布里說，“我們馬上就要到了。阿拉維斯，拜托你別站得那么挺好不好，腳步再放重一些，別擺出一副公主的尊貴派頭;試著去想象，你是個可憐的小奴隸，這輩子過的一直都是被別人拳打腳踢，呼來喚去的苦日子。”

"If it comes to that,"said Aravis,,what about you drooping your head a bit more and arching your neck a bit less and trying to look less like a warhorse ?"

“你憑什么說我呀，”阿拉維斯說，“那你自己為什么不把頭再垂低一點，脖子再彎下一些，別再擺出一副神氣活現(xiàn)的戰(zhàn)馬架勢啊!”

"Hush,"said Bree. Here we are."

“安靜，”布里說，“我們到了。”

And they were.They had come to the river' s edge and the road ahead of them ran along a many—arched bridge. The water danced brightly in the early sunlight;away to the right nearer the river' s mouth, they caught a glimpse ships' masts. Several other travellers were before them on the bridge, mostly peasants driving laden donkeys and mules or carrying baskets on their heads. The children and horses joined the crowd.

他們到達了目的地。他們已走到河邊，前方出現(xiàn)一座有著許多拱門的橋梁。河面在清晨的陽光下閃爍著瀲滟波光。他們瞥見在右手邊靠近河口的地方有一根船桅，有些旅人已趕在他們前面踏上了橋，大部分都是鄉(xiāng)下人，不是手里牽著滿載貨物的驢子或騾子，就是頭上頂著一個大籃子。孩子們和兩匹馬兒隨即加入他們的隊伍。

"Is anything wrong ?"whispered Shasta to Aravis, who had an odd look on her face.

“怎么啦?”沙斯塔輕聲詢問阿拉維斯，因為她的表情顯得十分奇怪。

"Oh it' s all very well for you,"whispered Aravis rather savagely.,What would you care about Tashbaan ? But I ought to be riding in on a litter with soldiers before me and slaves behind, and perhaps going to a feast in the Tisroc' s palace (may he live for ever)—not sneaking in like this. It' s different for you."

“喔，你當(dāng)然覺得沒什么啦，”阿拉維斯用蠻橫的語氣輕聲答道，“反正塔什班跟你本來就沒有任何關(guān)系嘛，我沒說錯吧?但我原本應(yīng)該是坐在華麗的擔(dān)轎上，前有軍隊開道，后有奴隸追隨，風(fēng)風(fēng)光光地進城，說不定還會到太洛帝的宮殿去參加宴會呢，愿吾皇萬壽無疆，結(jié)果卻得像這樣偷偷摸摸地溜進來。我跟你才不一樣呢。”

Shasta thought all this very silly.

沙斯塔覺得這種想法實在太愚蠢無聊。

At the far end of the bridge the walls of the city towered high above them and the brazen gates stood open in the gateway which was really wide but looked narrow because it was so very high. Half a dozen soldiers, leaning on their spears, stood on each side. Aravis couldn' t help thinking,,They' d all jump to attention and salute me if they knew whose daughter I am."But the others were only thinking of how they' d get through and hoping the soldiers would not ask any questions. Fortunately they did not. But one of them picked a carrot out of a peasant' s basket and threw it at Shasta with a rough laugh, saying: "Hey ! Horse-boy! You'll catch it if your master finds you' ve been using his saddle-horse for pack work."

他們走到橋?qū)γ?，看到眼前矗立著一座高聳的城墻，這座墻實在是太高了，以致入口處那扇敞開的黃銅城門，雖然已經(jīng)相當(dāng)寬闊，但看起來卻顯得十分狹窄。城門兩旁各有六名士兵，他們懶洋洋地靠在長矛上，顯得無精打采。阿拉維斯忍不住心想：“他們要是知道我是誰家的女兒，肯定全都跳起來立正站好，向我行禮致敬。”但其他人卻只是專心思索著該怎樣順利通過城門，并暗暗祈禱士兵千萬不要上前盤問。幸好士兵并沒有問他們?nèi)魏螁栴}。但其中一名士兵順手從一個鄉(xiāng)下人的籃子里抓起一根胡蘿卜，呵呵怪笑地扔到沙斯塔身上，說：“嘿!我說小馬僮啊!你主人要是發(fā)現(xiàn)你居然用他的坐騎來運貨，那你可有得受了。”

This frightened him badly for of course it showed that no one who knew anything about horses would mistake Bree for anything but a charger.

這下沙斯塔真的是嚇壞了，這表示任何對馬稍稍有些認識的人，都可以一眼看出，布里絕對是一頭戰(zhàn)馬。

"It' s my master' s orders, so there !"said Shasta. But it would have been better if he had held his tongue for the soldier gave him a box on the side of his face that nearly knocked him down and said,,Take that, you young filth, to teach you how to talk to freemen."But they all slunk into the city without being stopped. Shasta cried only a very little;he was used to hard knocks.

“我只是奉主人的命令辦事，知道了吧!”沙斯塔說。其實他不吭聲還比較好些，因為那名士兵一聽之下，就往他臉頰上狠狠揍了一拳，差點把他打倒在地，口里還連聲罵道：“這是給你一個教訓(xùn)，你這個小臟鬼，讓你知道在跟自由公民說話的時候，語氣最好放尊重一點兒。”不過他們最后還是毫無阻攔地順利混進城里。沙斯塔只輕輕哀嚎了幾聲，他早就習(xí)慣挨打了。

Inside the gates Tashbaan did not at first seem so splendid as it had looked from a distance. The first street was narrow and there were hardly any windows in the walls on each side. It was much more crowded than Shasta had expected: crowded partly by the peasants (on their way to market) who had come in with them, but also with watersellers, sweetmeat sellers, porters, soldiers, beggars, ragged children, hens, stray dogs, and bare-footed slaves. What you would chiefly have noticed if you had been there was the smells, which came from unwashed people, unwashed dogs, scent, garlic, onions, and the piles of refuse which lay everywhere.

走進城門以后，他們不禁感到，塔什班好像沒有從遠處看時那么華麗壯觀了。

Shasta was pretending to lead but it was really Bree, who knew the way and kept guiding him by little nudges with his nose. They soon turned to the left and began going up a steep hill. It was much fresher and pleasanter, for the road was bordered by trees and there were houses only on the right side;on the other they looked out over the roofs of houses in the lower town and could see some way up the river.Then they went round a hairpin bend to their right and continued rising.They were zigzagging up to the centre of Tashbaan.Soon they came to finer streets. Great statues of the gods and heroes of Calormen—who are mostly impressive rather than agreeable to look at—rose on shining pedestals.Palm trees and pillared arcades cast shadows over the burning pavements. And through the arched gateways of many a palace Shasta caught sight of green branches,cool fountains,and smooth lawns.It must be nice inside,he thought.

他們踏上的第一條街道窄得要命，而且兩旁的住宅墻壁上幾乎看不到一個窗戶。這里比沙斯塔想象中擁擠多了：除了剛才跟他們一起進城正準(zhǔn)備上市場趕集的鄉(xiāng)下人之外，路上另外還有許許多多的小販、賣糖果蜜餞的攤販、挑夫、士兵、乞丐、衣衫襤褸的小孩、雞群、流浪狗和赤著腳的奴隸。你如果也在那兒的話，那么你馬上會聞到一股難以形容的怪味，摻雜了人類體臭、野狗臊味、香水、大蒜、洋蔥，以及街上一堆堆垃圾所發(fā)出的惡臭。

At every turn Shasta hoped they were getting out of the crowd, but they never did. This made their progress very slow, and every now and then they had to stop altogether. This usually happened because a loud voice shouted out,Way, way, way, for the Tarkaan", or,for the Tarkheena", or,for the fifteenth Vizier",,or for the Ambassador", and everyone in the crowd would crush back against the walls;and above their heads Shasta would sometimes see the great lord or lady for whom all the fuss was being made, lolling upon a litter which four or even six gigantic slaves carried on their bare shoulders. For in Tashbaan there is only one traffic regulation, which is that everyone who is less important has to get out of the way for everyone who is more important;unless you want a cut from a whip or punch from the butt end of a spear.

沙斯塔假裝在前面帶路，事實上只有布里知道該怎么走，他們一路上全靠布里不停地用鼻子輕輕頂一下沙斯塔，替大家指引方向。沒走多久，他們就轉(zhuǎn)向左方，開始爬上一座陡峭的山丘。路邊有許多樹木，而且只有右邊蓋著房子，感覺比剛才清爽舒服多了。另外一邊可以俯瞰下方的集市，眺望遠方的河流。接著他們就往右繞過一個 U 形急轉(zhuǎn)彎，繼續(xù)往上攀爬。他們沿著彎彎曲曲的道路，逐漸登上塔什班的市中心。沒過多久，他們就踏上了較為高級的街道。閃閃發(fā)亮的華麗柱基上，矗立著卡樂門王國英雄神祇的巨大雕像。他們雖令人心生敬畏，但長相大多不怎么討人喜歡。棕櫚樹與石柱林立的拱廊，在灼熱的鋪道上散落相互交錯的陰影。沙斯塔透過路邊富麗豪宅的拱門時望進去，瞥見了翠綠的枝丫、涼爽的噴泉與柔滑的草坪。里面一定漂亮極了，他心想。

It was in a splendid street very near the top of the city (the Tisroc' s palace was the only thing above it) that the most disastrous of these stoppages occurred.

沙斯塔每走到一個轉(zhuǎn)角，就暗暗祈禱他們能夠快點脫離人潮，但每次都希望落空。這使得他們的前進速度變得異常緩慢，而且每隔不久就得全部一起停下來。這通常是因為突然有個響亮的聲音高聲喊道“回避，回避，回避，泰坎駕到”或“恭迎泰坎希娜”或“恭迎十五品大臣”或“恭迎大使”等等，群眾們只得慌慌張張地退到路邊，背貼著墻肅立不動。有時沙斯塔可以越過人們的頭頂，看到那些引起騷動的高官或是貴婦，而他們總是慵懶地靠坐在擔(dān)轎上，由四名甚至六名巨人般高大的奴隸，用裸露的肩膀扛著他們往前走去。在塔什班唯一一條規(guī)矩就是身份較低的人，必須讓路給身份較高的人，讓他們先通過。要是膽敢不遵守規(guī)定的話，你就準(zhǔn)備挨鞭子，或是被長矛柄痛打吧。

Way ! Way ! Way !"came the voice.,Way for the White Barbarian King, the guest of the Tisroc (may he live for ever) ! Way for the Narnian lords. "

太洛帝的宮殿占據(jù)了整座山頂。他們走到靠近城市頂端的一條富麗堂皇的街道時遇到了最嚴(yán)重的交通堵塞。

Shasta tried to get out of the way and to make Bree go back.But no horse, not even a Talking Horse from Narnia, backs easily. And a woman with a very edgy basket in her hands, who was just behind Shasta, pushed the basket hard against his shoulders, and said,,Now then ! Who are you shoving !"And then someone else jostled him from the side and in the confusion of the moment he lost hold of Bree. And then the whole crowd behind him became so stiffened and packed tight that he couldn' t move at all. So he found himself, unintentionally, in the first row and had a fine sight of the party that was coming down the street.

“回避!回避!回避!”有人喊道，“太洛帝的貴賓，愿吾皇萬壽無疆，白蠻國王駕到!恭迎納尼亞君王!”

It was quite unlike any other party they had seen that day. The crier who went before it shouting, Way, way !"was the only Calormene in it. And there was no litter;everyone was on foot. There were about half a dozen men and Shasta had never seen anyone like them before. For one thing, they were all as fair-skinned as himself, and most of them had fair hair. And they were not dressed like men of Calormen. Most of them had legs bare to the kneee. Their tunics were of fine, bright, hardy colours—woodland green, or gay yellow, or fresh blue. Instead of turbans they wore steel or silver caps, some of them set with jewels, and one with little wings on each side of it. A few were bare-headed. The swords at their sides were long and straight, not curved like Calormene scimitars. And instead of being grave and mysterious like most Calormenes, they walked with a swing and let their arms and shoulders free, and chatted and laughed. One was whistling. You could see that they were ready to be friends with anyone who was friendly and didn' t give a fig for anyone who wasn' t. Shasta thought he had never seen anything so lovely in his life.

沙斯塔想要快點閃開，連忙拉著布里往后退。但馬兒向來就不善于后退，連納尼亞王國的能言馬也不例外。況且沙斯塔背后的女人手里捧了一個又尖又刺的籃子，她使勁用籃子推開他的肩膀，怒斥道：“喂!你擠個什么勁兒呀?”接著又有另一個人從他身邊硬擠過去，在混亂中他一時失神，松開了布里的韁繩。接著，他背后的人們顯然已經(jīng)擠到了最極限，無法再挪動分毫，因此他根本就完全動不了了。他發(fā)現(xiàn)自己無意間站到了人潮最前方，正好可以把那群沿著街道走過來的貴賓看得一清二楚。

But there was not time to enjoy it for at once a really dreadful thing happened. The leader of the fair-headed men suddenly pointed at Shasta, cried out,,There he is ! There' s our runaway !" and seized him by the shoulder. Next moment he gave Shasta a smack-not a cruel one to make you cry but a sharp one to let you know you are in disgrace and added, shaking:

這些人跟他們當(dāng)天在城里遇到的人大不相同。隊伍最前方那名正在大喊“回避!”的傳令兵，是他們之中唯一的卡樂門人。而且他們也沒用擔(dān)轎;大家全都是自己走路。這支隊伍大約有六名男子，而沙斯塔過去從來沒看過像他們這樣的人。首先，他們的皮膚全都跟他自己一樣白皙，而且大多數(shù)人都有著一頭金發(fā)。他們的穿著也跟卡樂門人很不一樣。大部分人都穿著長及膝蓋的短衫，露出雙腿。他們短衫的顏色十分鮮艷大膽，但也非常高雅耐看——鮮綠、艷黃、亮藍。他們頭上并未纏著頭巾，而是戴著鋼鐵或是銀制便帽，有些人的帽上鑲了珠寶，而且其中有個人的帽子兩邊還附上一對可愛的小翅膀，有些人頭上什么也沒戴。他們佩在腰邊的寶劍又長又直，不像卡樂門的偃月彎刀那樣有個弧度。而且他們不像大多數(shù)卡樂門人那樣，老是擺出一副正兒八經(jīng)又神祕兮兮的嚴(yán)肅面孔，而是踏著活潑輕快的腳步，雙手和臂膀自然地垂下擺動，一路上開心地大聲談笑。當(dāng)中有個人甚至在吹口哨。你可以看出，他們樂意隨時跟所有態(tài)度友善的人交朋友，至于那些態(tài)度惡劣的人呢，他們根本就懶得去搭理。沙斯塔覺得他這輩子從沒見過像他們這樣充滿吸引力的人。

"Shame on you, my lord ! Fie for shame ! Queen Susan's eyes are red with weeping because of you. What ! Truant for a whole night ! Where have you been ?"

但他根本沒有時間好好欣賞，因為接下來就發(fā)生了一件非?？膳碌氖?。這群金發(fā)男人的首領(lǐng)突然指著沙斯塔大叫：“他在那兒!我們的小逃犯在那兒!”并一把抓住他的肩頭。他打了沙斯塔一個耳光，并不是那種會把人打哭的痛毆，而是清脆利落的一掌，感覺像是在教訓(xùn)不聽話的小孩，然后他用顫抖的聲音說：

Shasta would have darted under Bree' s body and tried to make himself scarce in the crowd if he had had the least chance;but the fair-haired men were all round him by now and he was held firm.

“你真是可恥，閣下!可恥至極!蘇珊女王為你哭紅了眼?？蓯?竟敢徹夜不歸!你究竟是到哪里去了?”

Of course his first impulse was to say that he was only poor Arsheesh the fisherman' s son and that the foreign lord must have mistaken him for someone else. But then, the very last thing he wanted to do in that crowded place was to start explaining who he was and what he was doing. If he started on that, he would soon be asked where he had got his horse from, and who Aravis was— and then, goodbye to any chance of getting through Tashbaan. His next impulse was to look at Bree for help.But Bree had no intention of letting all the crowd know that he could talk, and stood looking just as stupid as a horse can. As for Aravis, Shasta did not even dare to look at her for fear of drawing attention. And there was no time to think, for the leader of the Narnians said at once:

沙斯塔要是能逮到機會的話，他就會趕緊閃到布里肚子下面，再設(shè)法混進人群里去;但現(xiàn)在，那些金發(fā)男人全都走過來圍在他身邊，而且還有一個人緊抓著他不放。他心里想到的第一個念頭，自然是趕緊表示自己只是窮漁夫厄西西的兒子，這位外國大官想必是認錯人了。但他接著就想到，絕對不能在大庭廣眾之下，不打自招地供出他的真實身份和他到這里來的目的。只要漏出一點口風(fēng)，他馬上就會受到盤問，逼他供出這匹馬兒到底是從哪兒弄來的，而阿拉維斯又是什么人——這樣他就休想順利通過塔什班了。接下來的第二個念頭，就是轉(zhuǎn)頭向布里求援。但布里并不想讓在場所有人全都曉得他會說話，因此他只是愣頭愣腦地站著不動，看起來就跟普通馬兒一樣又呆又蠢。至于阿拉維斯呢，沙斯塔甚至連看都不敢看她一眼，免得又引起更多的注意。而他還來不及多做思索，納尼亞人的首領(lǐng)又立刻開口說：

"Take one of his little lordship' s hands, Peridan, of your courtesy, and I' ll take the other. And now, on. Our royal sister' s mind will be greatly eased when she sees our young scapegrace safe in our lodging."

“帕里丹，有勞你抓住這位閣下的一只小手，我來抓另一只手。好，可以走了。皇姐若是看到我們這個小無賴安全返回住處，必然就會放下心來。”

And so, before they were half—way through Tashbaan, all their plans were ruined, and without even a chance to say good¬bye to the others Shasta found himself being marched off among strangers and quite unable to guess what might be going to happen next. The Narnian King-for Shasta began to see by the way the rest spoke to him that he must be a king—kept on asking him questions;where he had been, how he had got out, what he had done with his clothes, and didn' t he know that he had been very naughty.Only the king called it,naught"instead of naughty.

因此，他們穿越塔什班的旅途甚至還沒走到一半，原先的計劃就宣告失敗，而沙斯塔甚至沒機會跟其他伙伴說聲再見，就夾在一群陌生人中間被押著往前走，完全無法預(yù)料接下來會發(fā)生什么事。納尼亞國王，沙斯塔可以從其他人跟他說話的態(tài)度看出，他必然是一位國王，不停地問他各種問題：他到哪里去了?他是怎么溜出去的?他的衣服是怎么回事?難道他不曉得他這樣很頑皮嗎?只不過國王咬文嚼字地用“淘氣”這個字眼來代替頑皮。

And Shasta said nothing in answer, because he couldn' t think of anything to say that would not be dangerous.

沙斯塔悶不吭聲，因為他覺得他不管說什么，后果都相當(dāng)不妙。

"What ! All mum ?"asked the king.I must plainly tell you, prince, that this hangdog silence becomes one of your blood even less than the scape itself. To run away might pass for a boy' s frolic with some spirit in it. But the king' s son of Archenland should avouch his deed;not hang his head like a Calormene slave."

“什么!你打算沉默到底是吧?”國王說，“我必須坦白告訴你，王子，這種鬼祟的沉默習(xí)性，甚至比脫逃本身還要不可取。逃走還勉強稱得上是男孩子的嬉耍胡鬧，至少得需要一些勇氣。但阿欽蘭國王的兒子應(yīng)該要有點擔(dān)當(dāng)，必須為自己的行為負責(zé);而不是這樣畏畏縮縮，簡直就像是卡樂門的奴隸。”

This was very unpleasant,for Shasta felt all the time that this young king was the very nicest kind of grown-up and would have liked to make a good impression on him.

沙斯塔的心里很不好受，他一直覺得這位年輕國王是一個非常好的大人，他實在很想給國王留下一個好印象。

The strangers led him-held tightly by both hands-along a narrow street and down a flight of shallow stairs and then up another to a wide doorway in a white wall with two tall, dark cypress trees, one on each side of it. Once through the arch, Shasta found himself in a courtyard which was also a garden. A marble basin of clear water in the centre was kept continually rippling by the fountain that fell into it. Orange trees grew round it out of smooth grass, and the four white walls which surrounded the lawn were covered with climbing roses. The noise and dust and crowding of the streets seemed suddenly fad away. He was led rapidly across the garden and then into a dark doorway. The crier remained outside. After that they took him along a corridor, where the stone floor felt beautifully cool to his hot feet, and up some stairs. A moment later he found himself blinking in the light of a big, airy room with wide open windows, all looking North so that no sun came in. There was a carpet on the floor more wonderfully coloured than anything he had ever seen and his feet sank down into it as if he were treading in thick moss. All round the walls there were low sofas with rich cushions on them, and the room seemed to be full of people;very queer people some of them, thought Shasta. But he had no time to think of that before the most beautiful lady he had ever seen rose from her place and threw her arms round him and kissed him, saying:

這群陌生人帶著他，緊緊抓住他的雙手，踏上一條狹窄的街道，走下一列階梯，再爬上另一列階梯，走到一面白墻前，墻上有著一個寬闊的入口，兩邊各種了一株枝葉繁茂的高大柏樹。他們穿越拱門，沙斯塔發(fā)現(xiàn)自己踏入了一個像花園般的天井?；▓@中央有著一個大理石水池，噴泉飛濺的水珠使那清澈的水面總是蕩著一圈又一圈的漣漪。水池周圍的平坦草坪上種了一圈橘子樹，草坪四周的白墻上爬滿了玫瑰藤。街道上的一切喧鬧、灰塵與擁擠，似乎在瞬間變得十分遙遠。他們帶著他快步越過花園，踏進一個黑暗的入口。傳令兵待在外面沒跟著走進去。他們帶領(lǐng)他沿著一條走廊往前走去，冰涼的石頭地面使他發(fā)燙的雙腳感到非常舒服，隨后他們又爬了一段樓梯。不久，他就踏入一個通風(fēng)良好的明亮大房間，被光線刺得連連眨眼，這個房間有幾扇敞開的大窗戶，而且全都面向北方，不會有太陽直射進來的問題。地上鋪了一張色彩繽紛的地毯，他這輩子從來沒看過如此美麗的顏色，而他的雙腳深深地陷入地毯中，感覺就像是踩在厚厚的青苔上一樣舒坦。墻邊環(huán)繞著一圈擺了許多墊子的矮沙發(fā)，房中似乎擠滿了人。其中有些人長得還真是奇怪呢，沙斯塔心想。但他還來不及多做思索，一位美麗得超乎他想象的女人就從座位上站起來，撲過來抱住他，親吻他，并說：

"Oh Corin,Corin,how could you? And thou and I such close friends ever since thy mother died. And what should I have said to thy royal father if I came home without thee ? Would have been a cause almost of war between Archenland and Narnia which are friends time out of mind. It was naught, playmate, very naught of thee to use us so."

“喔，科林，科林，你怎能如此呢?你母親去世以后，你和我就一直是最親密的好朋友。若是我無法帶你一起返回家鄉(xiāng)，那我該如何向你的父王交代呢?這會使納尼亞與阿欽蘭兩國長久以來的深厚友誼，遭到嚴(yán)重的考驗，甚至可能因此而引起戰(zhàn)爭。你真是淘氣，我的玩伴，你如此對待我們，實在是太淘氣了。”

"Apparently," thought Shasta to himself, "I'm being mistaken for a prince of Archenland, wherever that is. And these must be the Narnians. I wonder where the real Corin is ?"But these thoughts did not help him say anything out loud.

“我曉得了，”沙斯塔暗自忖度，“他們是把我當(dāng)作什么阿欽蘭的王子了，天知道他現(xiàn)在人在哪里。而這些人想必就是納尼亞人。怪了，真的科林到底跑到哪兒去啦?”但他心里雖然飛快地轉(zhuǎn)著念頭，卻還是想不出該怎么回答才好。

"Where hast been, Corin ?" said the lady, her hands still on Shasta' s shoulders.

“你究竟到哪兒去了，科林?”她的手仍按著沙斯塔的肩膀。

"I-I don'tknow," stammered Shasta.

“我……我不曉得，”沙斯塔結(jié)結(jié)巴巴地答道。

"There it is, Susan," said the King. "I could get no tale out of him, true or false."

“他就是這樣，蘇珊，”國王說，“我無法從他嘴里套出任何話，不論真話假話他都不說。”

"Your Majesties ! Queen Susan ! King Edmund !" said a voice: and when Shasta turned to look at the speaker he nearly jumped out of his skin with surprise. For this was one of these queer people whom he had noticed out of the corner of his eye when he first came into the room. He was about the same height as Shasta himself. From the waist upwards he was like a man, but his legs were hairy like a goat' s, and shaped like a goat' s and he had goat' s hooves and a tail. His skin was rather red and he had curly hair and a short pointed beard and two little horns. He was in fact a Faun, which is a creature Shasta had never seen a picture of or even heard of. And if you've read a book called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ,you may like to know that this was the very same Faun, Tumnus by name, whom Queen Susan's sister Lucy had met on the very first day when she found her way into Narnia. But he was a good deal older now for by this time Peter and Susan and Edmund and Lucy had been Kings and Queens of Narnia for several years.

“陛下!蘇珊女王!愛德蒙國王!”有人喊道，而當(dāng)沙斯塔一轉(zhuǎn)過頭，看清說話的人時，他立刻嚇得一跳。因為那就是他剛才踏進房間時，用眼角瞥見的怪人之一。這個人跟沙斯塔差不多高。他的腰部以上是男人的模樣，但卻長了一雙毛茸茸的羊腿，而且他還有一對羊蹄和一根羊尾巴。他的皮膚紅彤彤的，留著一頭鬈發(fā)和一把又尖又短的山羊胡，頭上長有兩根小角。他其實是一個半羊人，沙斯塔過去從來沒看過這種生物的畫像，甚至連聽都沒聽過。你若是讀過《獅子、女巫、魔衣櫥》這本書，或許會知道，這位就是蘇珊女王的妹妹露茜，第一次踏入納尼亞王國時，遇見的那個名叫圖姆納斯的半羊人。但他現(xiàn)在的年紀(jì)比那時老多了，因為此時的彼得、蘇珊、愛德蒙和露茜已在納尼亞執(zhí)政多年了。

"Your Majesties," he was saying,"His little Highness has had a touch of the sun. Look at him ! He is dazed. He does not know where he is. "

“陛下，”他說，“小殿下八成是中暑了。你們看看他!整個人都呆呆的。他壓根兒就不曉得自己人在哪里。”

Then of course everyone stopped scolding Shasta and asking him questions and he was made much of and laid on a sofa and cushions were put under his head and he was given iced sherbet in a golden cup to drink and told to keep very quiet.

這下大家自然不敢再責(zé)罵沙斯塔，或是繼續(xù)盤問他了，他們對他呵護備至，扶他躺到沙發(fā)上，在他頭下塞了一個墊子，還給了他一杯用金杯盛裝的冰凍果子露，囑咐他靜靜躺著休息。

Nothing like this had ever happened to Shasta in his life before. He had never even imagined lying on anything so comfortable as that sofa or drinking anything so delicious as that sherbet. He was still wondering what had happened to the others and how on earth he was going to escape and meet them at the Tombs, and what would happen when the real Corin turned up again. But none of these worries seemed so pressing now that he was comfortable. And perhaps, later on, there would be nice things to eat !

沙斯塔這輩子從來沒碰到過這樣的情形。他做夢都想不到自己可以躺在這么舒服的沙發(fā)上，喝著這么美味的果子露。他心里仍惦記著其他人的下落，擔(dān)心自己要用什么方法才能逃出去，到古帝王墓去跟其他人會合，而要是真正的科林出現(xiàn)的話，他又該怎么辦?但現(xiàn)在他感到舒服得要命，因此這些煩惱似乎都顯得沒那么急迫。而且，待會兒說不定還會有好東西吃呢!

Meanwhile the people in that cool airy room were very interesting. Besides the Faun there were two Dwarfs (a kind of creature he had never seen before) and a very large Raven.The rest were all humans;grown-ups, but young, and all of them, both men and women, had nicer faces and voices than most Calormenes.And soon Shasta found himself taking an interest in the conversation."Now, Madam," the King was saying to Queen Susan (the lady who had kissed Shasta)."What think you ? We have been in this city fully three weeks. Have you yet settled in your mind whether you will marry this dark-faced lover of yours, this Prince Rabadash, or no ?"

在這個通風(fēng)良好的涼爽房間中，有些非常有趣的人除了半羊人之外，還有兩名矮人和一只巨大無比的烏鴉，他以前從來沒看到過這種生物。其他全都是人類，他們雖然都是成年人，但看起來年紀(jì)很輕，而且不論是男是女，全都長得比大多數(shù)卡樂門人漂亮，聲音也比較好聽。沙斯塔很快就被他們的談話內(nèi)容勾起了興趣。“現(xiàn)在告訴我，女王，”國王正在對蘇珊女王，也就是剛才親吻沙斯塔的那位小姐說，“你究竟意下如何?我們至今已在這個城市中待了整整三個星期。你是否已決定下嫁這位黑膚情人羅八達王子?

The lady shook her head."No, brother," she said,"not for all the jewels in Tashbaan."("Hullo !" thought Shasta."Although they're king and queen,they're brother and sister, not married to one another.")

女王搖搖頭。“不，我的弟弟，”她說，“即使以塔什班所有的珠寶作為交換，我也不愿委身下嫁。”“嘿!”沙斯塔心想，“他們兩個雖然是國王和女王，但并不是夫妻，而是姐弟呢。”

"Truly, sister,"said the King, "I should have loved you the less if you had taken him. And I tell you that at the first coming of the Tisroc' s ambassadors into Narnia to treat of this marriage, and later when the Prince was our guest at Cair Paravel, it was a wonder to me that ever you could find it in your heart to show him so much favour."

“確實，我的姐姐，”國王說，“你若是決心嫁給他為妻，那么我對你的敬愛將會因此而減少幾分。恕我直言，當(dāng)太洛帝開始派大使到納尼亞要求聯(lián)姻，而稍后王子親自來到凱爾帕拉瓦宮作客時，我萬萬想不到，你竟然會對他如此青睞有加。”

"That was my folly, Edmund,"said Queen Susan,"of which I cry you mercy. Yet when he was with us in Narnia, truly this Prince bore himself in another fashion than he does now in Tashbaan. For I take you all to witness what marvellous feats he did in that great tournament and hastilude which our brother the High King made for him, and how meekly and courteously he consorted with us the space of seven days. But here, in his own city, he has shown another face."

“我太愚蠢了，愛德蒙，”蘇珊女王說，“我請求你的諒解。然而，當(dāng)初這位王子在納尼亞王國與我們相處時的情形，跟他此刻在塔什班的行事作風(fēng)比起來，可以說是前后判若兩人。你們大家都曾親眼目睹，他在我們的兄弟，至尊王彼得為他所舉辦的競技賽和馬上長槍比武賽中，展現(xiàn)出令人贊嘆的精湛武功技藝，而他在與我們交往的七天之內(nèi)，又表現(xiàn)得十分溫文儒雅又彬彬有禮。但到了此地，回到他自己的城市中，他卻露出了另一副嘴臉。”

"Ah !" croaked the Raven."It is an old saying: see the bear in his own den before you judge of his conditions."

“啊!”烏鴉嘎嘎叫道，“有句老話說得好：要了解一頭熊的真實狀況，就得到它的老窩里去逛逛。”

"That's very true, Sallowpad, " said one of the Dwarfs. "And another is,Come, live with me and you' ll know me."

“你說得實在太好了，薩羅帕德，”一名矮人說，“另外還有一句老話是這么說的：來吧，跟我同住一個窩，你就一定會了解我。”

"Yes," said the King."We have now seen him for what he is:that is,a most proud,bloody,luxurious,cruel,and self-pleasing tryant."

“沒錯，”國王說，“我們現(xiàn)在已看清了他的真面目：他是一個傲慢自大、殘忍嗜殺、奢侈放縱、冷酷無情，并且極端自戀的暴君。”

"Then in the name of Aslan," said Susan,"let us leave Tashbaan this very day."

“我以阿斯蘭的名字起誓，”蘇珊說，“我們必須在今天就離開塔什班。”

"There's the rub, sister," said Edmund. "For now I must open to you all that has been growing in my mind these last two days and more. Peridan, of your courtesy look to the door and see that there is no spy upon us. All well ? So. For now we must be secret."

“這就是困難所在，皇姐，”愛德蒙說，“我現(xiàn)在必須向各位坦白說出，這幾天以來我所有的想法。帕里丹，有勞你到門外去看看，是否有奸細在偷聽我們談話。沒問題是嗎?那就好。現(xiàn)在我們談的事必須嚴(yán)格保密。”

Everyone had begun to look very serious. Queen Susan jumped up and ran to her brother."Oh, Edmund," she cried. "What is it ? There is something dreadful in your face."

大家的表情開始變得非常凝重。蘇珊女王跳起來，直奔到她的弟弟面前。“喔，愛德蒙，”她喊道，“怎么回事?你的表情變得好可怕啊!”