《能言馬與男孩》 第十二章 沙斯塔在納尼亞

CHAPTER TWELVE SHASTA IN NARNIA

第十二章 沙斯塔在納尼亞

"WAS it all a dream ?" wondered Shasta. But it couldn't have been a dream for there in the grass before him he saw the deep, large print of the Lion' s front right paw. It took one' s breath away to think of the weight that could make a footprint like that. But there was something more remarkable than the size about it. As he looked at it, water had already filled the bottom of it. Soon it was full to the brim, and then overflowing, and a little stream was running downhill,past him,over the grass.

“這是個夢?”沙斯塔疑惑不已。但當他看到在面前草地上，有個又大又深的獅子右爪爪印的時候，就知道這不是夢。能造成這樣的爪印的力量，想想也叫人透不過氣來。當他看到爪印的時候，發(fā)生了比爪印更奇怪的事，水已經(jīng)浸滿爪印底部，很快就溢了出來，形成了一條小溪，經(jīng)過他身邊，經(jīng)過青草，向山下奔流而去。

Shasta stooped and drank-a very long drink-and then dipped his face in and splashed his head. It was extremely cold, and clear as glass, and refreshed him very much. After that he stood up, shaking the water out of his ears and flinging the wet hair back from his forehead,and began to take stock of his surroundings.

沙斯塔彎下身子喝水——喝了很久，然后把臉浸在水里，用水潑頭。水很涼，清澈透亮，沙斯塔神清氣爽。然后他起身，甩掉耳朵里的水，把額前濕漉漉的頭發(fā)撩到后面，開始觀察周圍的環(huán)境。

Apparently it was still very early morning. The sun had only just risen, and it had risen out of the forests which he saw low down and far away on his right.The country which he was looking at was absolutely new to him. It was a green valley-land dotted with trees through which he caught the gleam of a river that wound away roughly to the North-West. On the far side of the valley there were high and even rocky hills, but they were lower than the mountains he had seen yesterday. Then he began to guess where he was. He turned and looked behind him and saw that the slope on which he was standing belonged to a range of far higher mountains.

顯然天色尚早，太陽剛剛升起，他看到右手邊有茂密的森林，太陽就是從那兒出來的。他眺望這片土地，新奇不已。這兒溪流潺潺，樹木茂盛，他瞥見一條熠熠生光的河流，拐了個彎，大致向西北方向奔流而去。溪谷對岸是高高的石頭小山，但是比起昨天看到的山峰要低，他開始猜測自己身處何地。他轉過身，看到自己身后是層層疊疊的山峰。

"I see," said Shasta to himself. "Those are the big mountains between Archenland and Narnia. I was on the other side of them yesterday. I must have come through the pass in the night. What luck that I hit it ! At least it wasn' t luck at all really, it was Him.And now I' m in Narnia."

“我知道了，”沙斯塔自言自語，“這些就是介于阿欽蘭和納尼亞之間的大山。昨晚我在山的那邊。我肯定是在夜晚穿過了山口。多幸運啊——可能壓根就不是幸運，是那頭獅子。我現(xiàn)在在納尼亞國境了。”

He turned and unsaddled his horse and took off its bridle-"Though you are a perfectly horrid horse,"he said.It took no notice of this remark and immediately began eating grass. That horse had a very low opinion of Shasta.

他又轉過身，給馬卸下了韁繩和鞍子——“盡管你是一匹特別討人厭的馬。”他說。但是馬毫不理會，開始吃草。馬對沙斯塔評價同樣不高。

"I wish I could eat grass !" thought Shasta. "It's no good going back to Anvard, it' ll all be besieged. I' d better get lower down into the valley and see if I can get anything to eat."

“真希望我能吃草!”沙斯塔想，“回到安瓦德毫無意義，這個城將被圍攻。我還不如到下面的山谷中找點吃的。”

So he went on downhill (the thick dew was cruelly cold to his bare feet) till he came into a wood.There was a kind of track running through it and he had not followed this for many minutes when he heard a thick and rather wheezy voice saying to him. "Good morning, neighbour. " Shasta looked round eagerly to find the speaker and presently saw a small, prickly person with a dark face who had just come out from among the trees. At least, it was small for a person but very big indeed for a hedgehog,which was what it was.

然后他就下山去( 露水濃重，讓他的赤腳冰涼)，一直走到一個林場。他沿著一條貫穿林場的小路走了沒幾分鐘，就聽到一個沙啞的嗓音，呼哧呼哧的和他講話。“早安，鄰居。”沙斯塔急忙四顧，想找出誰在說話，很快他就看到一個身材短小、黑臉多刺的小人，從樹叢里走出來。作為一個人，顯得有點小，但是作為一只刺猬，著實有點大了。但是它就是一只刺猬。

"Good morning," said Shasta. "But I'm not a neighbour. In fact I' m a stranger in these parts."

“早安，”沙斯塔說，“可我并不是你的鄰居，事實上我對這兒并不熟。”

"Ah ?" said the Hedgehog inquiringly.

“啊?”刺猬充滿疑問。

"I 've come over the mountains-from Archenland, you know."

“我來自山那邊——阿欽蘭，你知道的。”

"Ah, Archenland," said the Hedgehog."That's a terrible long way.Never been there myself."

“啊，阿欽蘭，”刺猬說，“實在太遠了。我自己從沒去過。”

"And I think, perhaps," said Shasta, "someone ought to be told that there s an army of savage Calormenes attacking Anvard at this very moment."

“我想，你們應該了解，”沙斯塔說，“安瓦德城此時正在受到野蠻的卡樂門軍隊的進攻。”

"You don't say so !" answered the Hedgehog. "Well, think of that.And they do say that Calormen is hundreds and thousands of miles away, right at the world s end,across a great sea of sand."

“不是吧!”刺猬答道，“好吧，想想吧，他們不是說卡樂門在成千上百里外嗎，在世界盡頭，需要越過一個大沙漠。”

"It's not nearly as far as you think," said Shasta. "And oughtn t something to be done about this attack on Anvard ? Oughtn t your High King to be told ?"

“沒有那么遠，”沙斯塔說，“難道不應該解救一下安瓦德城嗎?不應該稟報一下你們至高無上的國王嗎?”

"Certain sure, something ought to be done about it,"said the Hedgehog. "But you see I'm just on my way to bed for a good day s sleep. Hullo,neighbour !"

“確實如此，得干點事兒。”刺猬說，“但你瞧，我正要到床上去享受安眠。喂，鄰居!”最后一句是對一只巨大的淡褐色兔子說的，剛才兔子腦袋從小徑底下突然冒出來。刺猬立刻把沙斯塔告訴它的轉告給兔子。兔子也認為這個消息驚人，應該發(fā)動群眾做點事情。

The last words were addressed to an immense biscuit-coloured rabbit whose head had just popped up from somewhere beside the path.The Hedgehog immediately told the Rabbit what it had just learned from Shasta. The Rabbit agreed that this was very remarkable news and that somebody ought to tell someone about it with a view to doing something.

一傳十十傳百。每隔幾分鐘就有新的生物加入進來，有的來自頭頂?shù)臉渲?，有的來自腳下的地底小屋。最后，這一幫子共有五只兔子、一只松鼠、兩只喜鵲、一個長著羊腳的怪物和一只老鼠，他們議論紛紛，最終同意刺猬的意見。

And so it went on. Every few minutes they were joined by other creatures, some from the branches overhead and some from little underground houses at their feet, till the party consisted of five rabbits, a squirrel, two magpies, a goat-foot faun, and a mouse, who all talked at the same time and all agreed with the Hedgehog. For the truth was that in that golden age when the Witch and the Winter had gone and Peter the High King ruled at Cair Paravel, the smaller woodland people of Narnia were so safe and happy that they were getting a little careless.

事實的真相是：在那個黃金時代，女巫和蕭條都被趕走，至尊王彼得治理著凱爾帕拉維爾，納尼亞小林區(qū)的居民生活安定幸福，以至他們有點麻痹大意了。

Presently, however, two more practical people arrived in the little wood. One was a Red Dwarf whose name appeared to be Duffle. The other was a stag, a beautiful lordly creature with wide liquid eyes, dappled flanks and legs so thin and graceful that they looked as if you could break them with two fingers.

不過，很快就有兩個比較像樣的居民來了。一個是紅的小矮人，叫德夫爾。另一個是一頭漂亮的牡鹿，眼睛寬大，四肢修長，看上去好像用兩根手指就能折斷。

"Lion alive !" roared the Dwarf as soon as he had heard the news. "And if that's so, why are we all standing still, chattering ? Enemies at Anvard !News must be sent to Cair Paravel at once. The army must be called out.Narnia must go to the aid of King Lune."

“獅子還活著!”德夫爾聽到消息就大聲嚷嚷，“如果真是這樣，那么就別站在這兒閑談了，敵人在進攻安瓦德!要立刻把消息送到凱爾帕拉維爾去。組織軍隊，納尼亞必須去支援倫恩國王。”

"Ah !" said the Hedgehog."But you won't find the High King at the Cair. He s away to the North trouncing those giants. And talking of giants, neighbours, that puts me in mind—"

“啊!”刺猬說，“但是皇帝現(xiàn)在不在凱爾帕拉維爾。他已經(jīng)北上去討伐巨人。說到巨人，我想起了……”

"Who'll take our message ?" interrupted the Dwarf.

“誰去送信?”小矮人打斷刺猬，

"Anyone here got more speed than me ?"

“這兒有誰比我跑得快?”

"I've got speed,"said the Stag."What's my message? How many Calormenes ?"

“我，”牡鹿說，“我怎么說?有多少卡樂門人?”

"Two hundred: under Prince Rabadash. And-" But the Stag was already away-all four legs off the ground at once, and in a moment its white stern had disappeared among the remoter trees.

“羅八達王子率領兩百人馬，還有……”但牡鹿已經(jīng)跑了——四肢飛奔，白色的臀部很快消失在遙遠的樹木之間。

"Wonder where he's going," said a Rabbit. "He won't find the High King at Cair Paravel, you know."

“他要去哪兒，”一只兔子說，“要知道，皇帝現(xiàn)在不在凱爾帕拉維爾。”

"He'll find Queen Lucy," said Duffle."And then hullo ! What s wrong with the Human ? It looks pretty green.Why, I do believe it s quite faint.Perhaps it s mortal hungry.When did you last have a meal,youngster ?"

“可以找露茜女王，”德夫爾說，“然后……喂!這個人怎么了?臉色發(fā)青。我想他快要昏過去了?？赡苁翘I了。你上一頓飯是什么時候吃的，小家伙?”

"Yesterday morning," said Shasta weakly.

“昨天早晨。”沙斯塔虛弱無力。

"Come on, then, come on," said the Dwarf, at once throwing his thick little arms round Shasta s waist to support him.

“來，來，”德夫爾說，立刻用他的小細手臂撐住沙斯塔。

"Why, neighbours,we ought all to be ashamed of ourselves ! You come with me, lad.Breakfast ! Better than talking."

“喂，鄰居們!我們應該感到羞愧!來，小子。吃早飯!別說話了，吃早飯。”小矮人一陣手忙腳亂，喃喃的責備自己，將沙斯塔攙扶著走進樹林，帶下山一點兒。

With a great deal of bustle, muttering reproaches to itself, the Dwarf half led and half supported Shasta at a great speed further into the wood and a little downhill. It was a longer walk than Shasta wanted at that moment and his legs had begun to feel very shaky before they came out from the trees on to bare hillside. There they found a little house with a smoking chimney and an open door,and as they came to the doorway Duffle called out,

這段路真是很長，還沒等走出樹林，到達光禿禿的山坡，他就感覺兩腿顫抖。他們來到山坡上的一個小屋子，炊煙裊裊，門戶洞開，在門口的時候，德夫爾就喊道：

"Hey, brothers ! A visitor for breakfast." And immediately,mixed with a sizzling sound,there came to Shasta a simply delightful smell. It was one he had never smelled in his life before, but I hope you have. It was, in fact, the smell of bacon and eggs and mushrooms all frying in a pan.

“嘿，兄弟!有位客人來吃早飯了。”隨著一陣嘶嘶的油炸聲，一股令人垂涎欲滴的香味飄來。此前沙斯塔從未聞過這種香味。但我肯定你聞過，事實上，這是咸肉、雞蛋、蘑菇一起炸的香味。

"Mind your head, lad," said Duffle a moment too late, for Shasta had already bashed his forehead against the low lintel of the door."Now," continued the Dwarf,"sit you down. The table s a bit low for you, but then the stool s low too. That s right. And here s porridge-and here s a jug of cream—and here s a spoon."

“留神你的腦袋，小子。”但是沙斯塔的額頭已經(jīng)撞到了低低的門楣上。“現(xiàn)在，”德夫爾繼續(xù)說，“坐下吧。雖然桌子和凳子都有點矮。但是足夠了。這是粥，這是奶油，這個是勺子。”

By the time Shasta had finished his porridge, the Dwarf s two brothers (whose names were Rogin and Bricklethumb) were putting the dish of bacon and eggs and mushrooms, and the coffee pot and the hot milk,and the toast,on the table.

沙斯塔剛喝完粥，德夫爾的兩個兄弟( 他們叫羅金和布里克爾森姆)，就把盛著雞蛋、咸肉、蘑菇的盤子，以及熱牛奶和吐司放在桌上。

It was all new and wonderful to Shasta for Calormene food is quite different. He didn t even know what the slices of brown stuff were, for he had never seen toast before. He didn t know what the yellow soft thing they smeared on the toast was, because in Calormen you nearly always get oil instead of butter. And the house itself was quite different from the dark, frowsty, fish-smelling but of Arsheesh and from the pillared and carpeted halls in the palaces of Tashbaan. The roof was very low, and everything was made of wood, and there was a cuckoo-clock and a red-and-white checked table-cloth and a bowl of wild flowers and little curtains on the thick-paned windows. It was also rather troublesome having to use dwarf cups and plates and knives and forks. This meant that helpings were very small, but then there were a great many helpings, so that Shasta s plate or cup was being filled every moment, and every moment the Dwarfs themselves were saying,"Butter please", or"Another cup of coffee", or"I'd like a few more mushrooms", or"What about frying another egg or so ?"And when at last they had all eaten as much as they possibly could the three Dwarfs drew lots for who would do the washing-up, and Rogin was the unlucky one. Then Duffle and Bricklethumb took Shasta outside to a bench which ran against the cottage wall, and they all stretched out their legs and gave a great sigh of contentment and the two Dwarfs lit their pipes. The dew was off the grass now and the sun was warm;indeed, if there hadn t been a light breeze, it would have been too hot.

對沙斯塔來說，這頓早餐新奇不已，因為卡樂門的食物和其他地方完全不同。他甚至不知道這一片片的棕色東西是什么，因為他從沒見過吐司。他不知道涂在吐司上的柔軟的黃色的是什么，因為在卡樂門，總是用食用油代替黃油。這屋子和阿什伊什黑暗、發(fā)霉、有魚腥味的小屋不同，和塔什班城珠簾畫棟的宮殿也不同。屋子低矮，一切都是木頭做的，有一個杜鵑報時的鐘，一塊紅白格子臺布，放在碗里的野花，后玻璃窗上有小小的白色窗簾。但是用小矮人的餐具是件麻煩事。也意味著必須少食多餐，所以沙斯塔一直在添飯。小矮人們也一直在說“再來點黃油”，“給我杯咖啡”，或是“再要點蘑菇”，還有“再來份煎雞蛋好嗎?”，當大家都八九分飽的時候，就抓鬮決定誰洗盤子，結果是羅金倒霉。于是德夫爾、布里克爾森姆和沙斯塔一起，坐在墻邊的一張長凳上;大家伸直雙腿，心滿意足地長呼一口氣，兩個小矮人還開始擺弄煙斗。露水蒸發(fā)，暖陽融融，一陣陣的清風讓他們感覺涼爽不已。

"Now, Stranger," said Duffle, "I'll show you the lie of the land. You can see nearly all South Narnia from here, and we re rather proud of the view. Right away on your left, beyond those near hills, you can just see the Western Mountains. And that round hill away on your right is called the Hill of the Stone Table. Just beyond—"

“現(xiàn)在，陌生人，”德夫爾說，“我來給你指指這兒的地形。從這兒你能看到幾乎整個南納尼亞，這兒的景色讓我們自豪。在你左邊，那些小山后，你能看到南部群山。你右手邊那個圓圓的小山，叫作石臺。就在那后面……”

But at that moment he was interrupted by a snore from Shasta who, what with his night s journey and his excellent breakfast, had gone fast asleep. The kindly Dwarfs, as soon as they noticed this, began making signs to each other not to wake him, and indeed did so much whispering and nodding and getting up and-tiptoeing away that they certainly would have waked him if he had been less tired.

但是他被沙斯塔的鼾聲打斷了，沙斯塔長途奔波，又吃了很棒的早餐，疲憊不已。善良的小矮人發(fā)現(xiàn)他睡著了，就打手勢告訴別人安靜。他們竊竊私語，點頭會意，踮著腳尖走路，事實上，如果不是沙斯塔太過疲倦，一定會被他們驚醒。

He slept pretty well-nearly all day but woke up in time for supper. The beds in that house were all too small for him but they made him a fine bed of heather on the floor, and he never stirred nor dreamed all night. Next morning they had just finished breakfast when they heard a shrill, exciting sound from outside.

沙斯塔幾乎睡了一天，在晚飯的時候醒來。屋子里的床太小，但是他們將蕨類植物鋪在地上，給他做了一張很棒的床，他睡在床上，一夜無夢。第二天早上，剛吃完早飯，他們就聽到一個激動尖銳的聲音。

"Trumpets !" said all the Dwarfs,as they and Shasta all came running out.

“喇叭聲!”小矮人們異口同聲，他們立刻和沙斯塔跑了出去。

The trumpets sounded again: a new noise to Shasta, not huge and solemn like the horns of Tashbaan nor gay and merry like King Lune s hunting horn, but clear and sharp and valiant. The noise was coming from the woods to the East, and soon there was a noise of horse-hoofs mixed with it. A moment later the head of the column came into sight.

喇叭聲又響起來：對沙斯塔來說，這是種嶄新的聲音，既不像塔什班城號角那樣沉重洪亮，也不像倫恩國王的狩獵號角那樣輕松歡快，這種聲音清晰、尖銳、豪邁。喇叭聲從樹林的東邊傳來，很快又出現(xiàn)了嗒嗒的馬蹄聲。一會兒，他們就看到了先頭部隊。

First came the Lord Peridan on a bay horse carrying the great banner of Narnia-a red lion on a green ground. Shasta knew him at once. Then came three people riding abreast, two on great chargers and one on a pony. The two on the chargers were King Edmund and a fair-haired lady with a very merry face who wore a helmet and a mail shirt and carried a bow across her shoulder and a quiver full of arrows at her side. ("The Queen Lucy"whispered Duffle.) But the one on the pony was Corin. After that came the main body of the army: men on ordinary horses, men on Talking Horses (who didn t mind being ridden on proper occasions, as when Narnia went to war), centaurs, stern, hard-bitten bears, great Talking Dogs, and last of all six giants. For there are good giants in Narnia.But though he knew they were on the right side Shasta at first could hardly bear to look at them;there are some things that take a lot of getting used to.

打頭的是帕里丹勛爵，騎栗色馬，手執(zhí)納尼亞大旗——青綠底上一頭紅色獅子。沙斯塔立刻認出了他。緊跟著三個并駕齊驅的人，兩人騎戰(zhàn)馬，一人騎小馬。戰(zhàn)馬上一個是愛德蒙國王，另一個是興高采烈的金發(fā)女郎，頭戴鋼盔，穿鎖子甲，肩上背弓，身邊有裝滿箭的箭袋(“露茜女王”德夫爾低聲說)。騎著小馬的是科林。接下來就是軍隊：騎在普通馬上的士兵、騎著會說話的馬的軍人( 遇到緊急情況，例如納尼亞發(fā)生戰(zhàn)爭時，這種馬并不在意被騎)、人頭馬、頑強的熊、大的會說話的狗，最后是六個巨人，在納尼亞有好巨人，盡管他知道巨人站在正義這邊，但起先他還是不敢抬頭看;要習慣某些東西，需要很長時間。

Just as the King and Queen reached the cottage and the Dwarfs began making low bows to them,King Edmund called out:

國王和女王到了小屋門口，小矮人們開始鞠躬，國王愛德蒙大喊：

"Now, friends ! Time for a halt and a morsel !" and at once there was a great bustle of people dismounting and haversacks being opened and conversation beginning when Corm came running up to Shasta and seized both his hands and cried:

“朋友們!吃點東西，歇一歇吧。”于是立刻一陣喧鬧，人們紛紛下馬，打開干糧袋，開始交談，這時科林向沙斯塔跑來，抓住他的雙手喊道：

"What ! You here ! So you got through all right ? I am glad. Now we shall have some sport. And isn t it luck ! We only got into harbour at Cair Paravel yesterday morning and the very first person who met us was Chervy the Stag with all this news of an attack on Anvard.Don t you think—"

“啊!你在這兒!你平安無事?我太高興了。現(xiàn)在我們可以活動活動了，真是幸運!昨天早上我們剛到凱爾帕拉維爾港口，就碰到了牡鹿徹耳，它把敵人進攻安瓦德的全部消息帶來了。你認為……”

"Who is your Highness's friend ?" said King Edmund who had just got off his horse.

“這是你的朋友?”剛下馬的愛德蒙國王問。

"Don't you see, Sire ?" said Corin. "It's my double: the boy you mistook me for at Tashbaan."

“難道您沒看出來嗎，陛下?”科林說，“這就是我的翻版：你在塔什班城錯把他當成我了。”

"Why, so he is your double, " exclaimed Queen Lucy. "As like as two twins.This is a marvellous thing."

“呀，他就是和你很相似的那個人，”露茜女王叫道，“簡直就像雙胞胎，真是不可思議。”

"Please, your Majesty," said Shasta to King Edmund, "I was no traitor,really I wasn't.And I couldn't help hearing your plans.But I d never have dreamed of telling them to your enemies."

“陛下，”沙斯塔向愛德蒙國王說，“我真的不是奸細，我不小心聽到了您的計劃。但我從沒想過要泄密。”

"I know now that you were no traitor, boy," said King Edmund, laying his hand on Shasta's head. "But if you would not be taken for one,another time try not to hear what s meant for other ears.But all s well."

“我知道你不是奸細，孩子，”愛德蒙國王用手撫摸沙斯塔的額頭，“如果你不想被當作奸細，就不要聽你不應該聽到的事情。那么一切就會很完美。”

After that there was so much bustle and talk and coming and going that Shasta for a few minutes lost sight of Corin and Edmund and Lucy. But Corin was the sort of boy whom one is sure to hear of pretty soon and it wasn t very long before Shasta heard King Edmund saying in a loud voice:

這之后，又有無數(shù)的交談、人來人往，有那么幾分鐘，沙斯塔竟看不到科林、愛德蒙和露茜了。但是科林不是那種特別老實的孩子;果然沒過多久，就聽到愛德蒙國王大聲喊：

"By the Lion's Mane, prince, this is too much ! Will your Highness never be better ? You are more of a heart s-scald than our whole army together ! I d as lief have a regiment of hornets in my command as you."

“天啊，王子，你夠了!難道你永遠不長進嗎?整個軍隊加起來也沒有你事多!我寧愿去管理一個大黃蜂的團也不想去管你了!”

Shasta wormed his way through the crowd and there saw Edmund, looking very angry indeed, Corin looking a little ashamed of himself, and a strange Dwarf sitting on the ground making faces. A couple of fauns had apparently just been helping it out of its armour.

沙斯塔穿過人群，看到了憤怒不已的愛德蒙國王，科林有點不好意思，一個奇怪的小矮人坐在地上扮鬼臉。兩只半羊人剛剛幫助小矮人卸下盔甲。

"If I had but my cordial with me, "Queen Lucy was saying, "I could soon mend this. But the High King has so strictly charged me not to carry it commonly to the wars and to keep it only for great extremities !"

“如果我?guī)Я怂幘疲?rdquo;露茜女王說，“那我很快就能治好他。但皇帝不讓我隨意使用，要留到緊要關頭再用!”

What had happened was this. As soon as Corin had spoken to Shasta, Corin s elbow had been plucked by a Dwarf in the army called Thornbut.

事情原來是這樣，科林剛同沙斯塔說過話，就被小矮人抓住了胳膊。軍隊里把小矮人叫做“刺頭兒”。

,What is it, Thornbut ?"Corin had said.

“干什么，刺頭兒?”

,Your Royal Highness,"said Thornbut, drawing him aside,,our march today will bring us through the pass and right to your royal father s castle.We may be in battle before night."

“王子殿下，”刺頭兒把他拉到一邊，“我們今天行軍會經(jīng)過關卡，直達你父王的城堡。午夜之前就會發(fā)生戰(zhàn)斗。”

"I know,"said Corin.,Isn t it splendid !"

“我知道，”科林說，“戰(zhàn)爭很壯觀!”

"Splendid or not,"said Thornbut,"I have the strictest orders from King Edmund to see to it that your Highness is not in the fight. You will be allowed to see it, and that s treat enough for your Highness s little years."

“壯觀也好不壯觀也罷，”刺頭兒說，“國王嚴厲命令我，留意不要讓你參與戰(zhàn)爭。你可以旁觀;以王子殿下的年齡，這種待遇最恰當了。”

"Oh what nonsense !" Corin burst out. "Of course I'm going to fight. Why, the Queen Lucy s going to be with the archers."

“胡說八道!”科林很生氣，“我當然要打仗。露茜女王都能帶著弓箭手打仗，為什么我不可以?”

"The Queen s grace will do as she pleases,"said Thornbut. ,But you are in my charge. Either I must have your solemn and princely word that you ll keep your pony beside mine-not half a neck ahead-till I give your Highness leave to depart: or else-it is his Majesty s word—we must go with our wrists tied together like two prisoners."

“女王慈悲為懷，能隨心所欲，”刺頭兒說，“現(xiàn)在我看管你。你的馬必須和我的并駕齊驅——超過一點兒也不行——直到我允許殿下離開：或者如陛下所說，咱倆必須像囚徒一樣，把手腕綁在一起。”

"I ll knock you down if you try to bind me,"said Corm.

“你要敢綁我，我就揍你。”科林說。

"I d like to see your Highness do it,"said the Dwarf.

“我倒是很期望呢。”小矮人說。

That was quite enough for a boy like Corin and in a second he and the Dwarf were at it hammer and tongs. It would have been an even match for, though Corin had longer arms and more height, the Dwarf was older and tougher. But it was never fought out (that's the worst of fights on a rough hillside) for by very bad luck Thornbut trod on a loose stone, came flat down on his nose, and found when he tried to get up that he had sprained his ankle: a real excruciating sprain which would keep him from walking or riding for at least a fortnight.

這句話足以惹惱科林這樣的孩子，他立刻和小矮人陷入了激烈的搏斗。本來勢均力敵，但科林手長腳長，小矮人老道健壯。搏斗最終沒有分出結果( 這是山坡上最糟糕的一次搏斗)，刺頭兒倒霉，踩在一塊不牢靠的石頭上，鼻子著地倒下了，想要站起來但是發(fā)現(xiàn)腳扭了：扭傷疼痛難忍，至少兩個星期不能騎馬走路。

"See what your Highness has done,"said King Edmund.

“瞧瞧殿下的所作所為吧，”愛德蒙國王說，

"Deprived us of a proved warrior on the very edge of battle."

“戰(zhàn)爭一觸即發(fā)，我卻失去了一個久經(jīng)沙場的戰(zhàn)士。”

"I ll take his place, Sire,"said Corin.

“我會替代他的，陛下。”科林說。

"Pshaw,"said Edmund.,No one doubts your courage. But a boy in battle is a danger only to his own side."

“呸，”愛德蒙說，“你的勇氣毋庸置疑，但是孩子在戰(zhàn)爭中不過是累贅。”

At that moment the King was called away to attend to something else, and Corin, after apologizing handsomely to the Dwarf,rushed up to Shasta and whispered,

科林趁著國王被請去安排別的事情，向小矮人真誠地道了個歉，便跑到沙斯塔身邊，悄悄說：

"Quick. There s a spare pony now, and the Dwarf s armour.Put it on before anyone notices."

“趕快。這兒有一匹備用的小馬，還有小矮人的盔甲。趁沒人注意，你趕緊穿上。”

"What for ?"said Shasta.

“干嗎?”沙斯塔說。

"Why, so that you and I can fight in the battle of course ! Don t you want to ?"

“當然是去打仗了!難道你不想打仗嗎?”

"Oh-ah, yes, of course,"said Shasta. But he hadn t been thinking of doing so at all, and began to get a most uncomfortable prickly feeling in his spine.

“啊，是的，當然想，”沙斯塔說。但他壓根沒想過去打仗，從骨子里感覺到不舒服。

"That s right,"said Corin.,Over your head. Now the sword-belt. But we must ride near the tail of the column and keep as quiet as mice. Once the battle begins everyone will be far too busy to notice us."

“這就對了，”科林說，“戴上頭盔，佩上劍帶。但我們必須不聲不響地跟在隊伍最后，像老鼠一樣。戰(zhàn)爭一旦打響，就沒人注意我們了。”