《凱斯賓王子》第九章 露茜發(fā)現(xiàn)了什么

CHAPTER NINE WHAT LUCY SAW

第九章 露茜發(fā)現(xiàn)了什么

SUSAN and the two boys were bitterly tired with rowing before they rounded the last headland and began the final pull up Glasswater itself，and Lucy's head ached from the long hours of sun and the glare on the water.Even Trumpkin longed for the voyage to be over.The seat on which he sat to steer had been made for men，not Dwarfs，and his feet did not reach the floor-boards; and everyone knows how uncomfortable that is even for ten minutes.And as they all grew more tired，their spirits fell.Up till now the children had only been thinking of how to get to Caspian.Now they wondered what they would do when they found him，and how a handful of Dwarfs and woodland creatures could defeat an army of grown-up Humans.

繞過最后一個海角，逆流而上的時候，蘇珊和兩個男孩都已經(jīng)疲憊不堪了。由于海水反光刺眼，露茜感到有些頭疼。甚至連杜魯普金都覺得疲憊不堪，希望快些結(jié)束這次航行。他一直坐在船尾為人類而不是小矮人準(zhǔn)備的座位上，所以他的兩只腳只能懸在那里，碰不到船板。每個人都知道那樣坐著即使是僅僅十分鐘也是那么地不舒服。而且隨著大家越來越疲憊，他們的情緒也漸漸低落下去。起初，他們只是思考如何快點(diǎn)找到凱斯賓，現(xiàn)在他們開始懷疑，當(dāng)他們找到他的時候，就憑這么幾個小不點(diǎn)兒的小矮人和森林里的動物，他們可以怎么去打敗一支成年人組成的軍隊(duì)。

Twilight was coming on as they rowed slowly up the windings of Glasswater Creek-a twilight which deepened as the banks drew closer together and the overhanging trees began almost to meet overhead.It was very quiet in here as the sound of the sea died away behind them; they could even hear the trickle of the little streams that poured down from the forest into Glasswater.

當(dāng)他們緩慢地劃過清水溪的時候，天已經(jīng)暗了--隨著海岸一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)靠近，夜色也越來越重，河岸上伸出來的樹枝幾乎要碰到他們的頭。海浪聲漸漸消失，這里安靜極了，安靜到可以聽見潺潺的小溪從森林里匯入清水溪的聲音。

They went ashore at last，far too tired to attempt lighting a fire; and even a supper of apples (though most of them felt that they never wanted to see an apple again) seemed better than trying to catch or shoot anything.After a little silent munching they all huddled down together in the moss and dead leaves between four large beech trees.

他們終于上岸了。大家都沒有力氣去撿柴和打獵了，他們寧愿再吃一頓蘋果作為晚飯(盡管大多數(shù)人都感到他們再也不想看到蘋果了)。在他們靜靜地嚼了一會蘋果之后，他們所有人便擠作一團(tuán)，躺在四棵高大的櫟樹下面那層厚厚的枯葉上。

Everyone except Lucy went to sleep at once.Lucy，being far less tired，found it hard to get comfortable.Also，she had forgotten till now that all Dwarfs snore.She knew that one of the best ways of getting to sleep is to stop trying，so she opened her eyes.Through a gap in the bracken and branches she could just see a patch of water in the Creek and the sky above it.Then，with a thrill of memory，she saw again，after all those years，the bright Narnian stars.She had once known them better than the stars of our own world，because as a Queen in Narnia she had gone to bed much later than as a child in England.And there they were-at least，three of the summer constellations could be seen from where she lay: the Ship，the Hammer，and the Leopard."Dear old Leopard，"she murmured happily to herself.

除了露茜以外，其他人立刻睡著了。露茜還不怎么累，她發(fā)現(xiàn)很難找到舒服的姿勢入睡。而且，直到現(xiàn)在她才想起，小矮人睡覺都會打鼾。她知道，在這種情況下要入睡，最好的方法之一就是不要逼迫自己入睡，于是她干脆睜著眼睛?！⊥ㄟ^樹枝間的空隙，她剛好可以看見河里的一泓清水和上面的天空。這是過了那長時間之后她再次看到納尼亞的明亮星空，回想起往事讓她心里很激動。相對我們這個世界的星空來說，她還是比較熟悉納尼亞的星空。因?yàn)樽鳛榧{尼亞的女王她比任何一個英國的女孩更晚入睡。此時，從她躺著的地方看過去，至少可以看到夏季星座中的三個：大船星座、鐵錘星座和豹子星座。"親愛的老豹子。"她喃喃地對自己說道。

Instead of getting drowsier she was getting more awake-with an odd，night-time，dreamish kind of wakefulness.The Creek was growing brighter.She knew now that then moon was on it，though she couldn't see the moon.And now she began to feel that the whole forest was coming awake like herself.Hardly knowing why she did it，she got up quickly and walked a little distance away from their bivouac.

這樣一來，她不但沒有更有睡意，反而變得更精神了--那是一種古怪的、只有屬于夜晚的、如同夢幻一般的情緒。海灣變得更加明亮，盡管她看不到月亮，但是她知道月亮已經(jīng)升到海灣之上了。然后她感到整個森林都像她自己一樣醒了過來。不知道出于什么樣的原因，她迅速站起身悄無聲息地離開了宿營地。

"This is lovely，"said Lucy to herself.It was cool and fresh，delicious smells were floating everywhere.Somewhere close by she heard the twitter of a nightingale beginning to sing，then stopping，then beginning again.It was a little lighter ahead.She went towards the light and came to a place where there were fewer trees，and whole patches or pools of moonlight，but the moonlight and the shadows so mixed that you could hardly be sure where anything was or what it was.At the same moment the nightingale，satisfied at last with his tuning up，burst into full song.

"這兒多么美好啊。" 露茜對自己說道。夜晚的空氣涼爽、新鮮，到處都散發(fā)著美妙的花香。她聽到不遠(yuǎn)處有一只夜鶯開始歌唱，時唱時停。前面光線更明亮一些，露茜朝著光走過去，來到一個樹木很少的地方。這里月光與樹木的陰影交錯，讓她很難確定自己是在什么地方，周圍的景物到底是什么。這時有只夜鶯終于對自己的調(diào)子感到滿意了，開始?xì)g快地歌唱。

Lucy's eyes began to grow accustomed to the light，and she saw the trees that were nearest her more distinctly.A great longing for the old days when the trees could talk in Narnia came over her.She knew exactly how each of these trees would talk if only she could wake them，and what sort of human form it would put on.She looked at a silver birch: it would have a soft，showery voice and would look like a slender girl，with hair blown all about her face，and fond of dancing.She looked at the oak: he would be a wizened，but hearty old man with a frizzled beard and warts on his face and hands，and hair growing out of the warts.She looked at the beech under which she was standing.Ah!-she would be the best of all.She would be a gracious goddess，smooth and stately，the lady of the wood.

露茜的眼睛開始適應(yīng)了這里的光線，她看得到身邊最近的樹。她的心里滿是對舊時光的懷念。那時，納尼亞的樹木還會說話。她深信只要自己能夠喚醒它們，這里每一棵樹都能夠說話，而且能化作人形。她看向那棵銀樺，它應(yīng)該有柔美的,溫潤的嗓子，化作人形則應(yīng)該是一位苗條的女孩，棕色的長發(fā)披散著，而且舞姿優(yōu)美。她又看向那棵老橡樹，它該是一位干癟的但是精神飽滿的老人，他臉上有著卷曲的胡須，由于上了年紀(jì)，手上的青筋鼓起。她看向站在她身邊的這棵山毛櫸，啊!她是所有樹木中最好的。它應(yīng)該是一位高尚的女神，安詳而莊嚴(yán)是森林中的淑女。

"Oh，Trees，Trees，Trees，"said Lucy (though she had not been intending to speak at all)."Oh，Trees，wake，wake，wake.Don't you remember it? Don't you remember me? Dryads and Hamadryads，come out，come to me."

"嗨，樹們，樹們，樹們，"露茜說道(盡管她根本沒有打算說出聲來)，"哦，樹們，醒醒，醒醒，快醒醒。你們不記得了嗎?你們不記得我了嗎?森林女神和樹神們啊，出來吧，到我這里來吧。"

Though there was not a breath of wind they all stirred about her.The rustling noise of the leaves was almost like words.The nightingale stopped singing as if to listen to it.Lucy felt that at any moment she would begin to understand what the trees were trying to say.But the moment did not come.The rustling died away.The nightingale resumed its song.Even in the moonlight the wood looked more ordinary again.Yet Lucy had the feeling (as you sometimes have when you are trying to remember a name or a date and almost get it，but it vanishes before you really do) that she had just missed something: as if she had spoken to the trees a split second too soon or a split second too late，or used all the right words except one，or put in one word that was just wrong.

盡管樹林里沒有風(fēng)吹過，那些樹卻都在她身旁一齊擺動起來，樹葉沙沙的響聲就好像說話的聲音。那只夜鶯這時停止歌唱，就好像在側(cè)耳傾聽樹的聲音。露茜覺得她隨時可能聽懂樹木要說的話，但是那個時刻還是沒有到來。沙沙的響聲逐漸消失，夜鶯重新開始了它的歌唱。在月光之下，樹林再一次看起來更加尋常了。然而露茜有種感覺，她剛剛錯過了什么(就好像你有時候覺得自己試圖去記起一個名字或一個日期，幾乎就要想起來了，但是在你真的完全想起來之前它又消失了)，就好像她對樹說話的時機(jī)太早或者太晚，要不就是說漏了一個字或是說錯了一個字。

Quite suddenly she began to feel tired.She went back to the bivouac，snuggled down between Susan and Peter，and was asleep in a few minutes.

突然，她開始覺得疲憊。她走回營地，舒服地依靠在蘇珊和彼得當(dāng)中，沒幾分鐘便進(jìn)入了夢鄉(xiāng)。

It was a cold and cheerless waking for them all next morning，with a grey twilight in the wood (for the sun had not yet risen) and everything damp and dirty.

第二天早上空氣很冷，大家一覺醒來都感到無精打采。森林里看起來灰蒙蒙又陰沉沉的(因?yàn)檫@時太陽還沒升起)，周圍一切都是潮濕和臟亂不堪的。

"Apples，heigh-ho，"said Trumpkin with a rueful grin."I must say you ancient kings and queens don't overfeed your courtiers!"

"蘋果，啊......哈!"杜魯普金悲傷地說著，"我說你們幾位古代的國王和女王，再也不要給你們的大臣吃這么多蘋果了!"

They stood up and shook themselves and looked about.The trees were thick and they could see no more than a few yards in any direction.

他們站起身擺動著身體，讓自己清醒，然后向四周打量。這里樹林茂密，無論朝任何一個方向望去，都只能望到不遠(yuǎn)的地方。

"I suppose your Majesties know the way all right?"said the Dwarf.

"我覺得陛下們一定認(rèn)識路吧?"小矮人問。

"I don't，"said Susan."I've never seen these woods in my life before.In fact I thought all along that we ought to have gone by the river."

"我不認(rèn)識，"蘇珊說，"我從來沒見過這些樹木。事實(shí)上，我一直在想，我們應(yīng)該順流而上才對。"

"Then I think you might have said so at the time，"answered Peter，with pardonable sharpness.

"那么你應(yīng)該一早就這么說。"因?yàn)樾那椴缓?，彼得的話有些?yán)厲。

"Oh，don't take any notice of her，"said Edmund."She always is a wet blanket.You've got that pocket compass of yours，Peter，haven't you? Well，then，we're as right as rain.We've only got to keep on going north west-cross that little river，the what-do-you-call-it?-the Rush-"

"好了，別聽她的，"愛德蒙說，"她總是讓人掃興。彼得，你帶了那個袖珍指南針了，對吧?好，這樣我們就一帆風(fēng)順了。我們只要保持一直朝西北方向走，穿過那條小河，你們怎么叫它來著，拉什河?"

"I know，"said Peter."The one that joins the big river at the Fords of Beruna，or Beruna's Bridge，as theD.L.F.calls it."

"我知道，"彼得說，"那條小河在柏盧納渡口匯入大河，也就是小不點(diǎn)說的柏盧納大橋那兒。"

"That's right.Cross it and strike uphill，and we'll be at the Stone Table (Aslan's How，I mean) by eight or nine o'clock.I hope King Caspian will give us a good breakfast!"

"對，我們過了橋，然后沿著山往上爬，就能在八九點(diǎn)鐘到達(dá)石桌，也就是阿斯蘭的堡壘。我希望凱斯賓國王會用一頓豐盛的早餐來款待我們!"

"I hope you're right，"said Susan."I can't remember all that at all."

"我希望你說的是對的，"蘇珊說，"我一點(diǎn)都記不起來了。"

"That's the worst of girls，"said Edmund to Peter and the Dwarf."They never carry a map in their heads."

"女孩子這個最差了，"愛德蒙對彼得和小矮人說，"她們的腦袋從來都不裝地圖。"

"That's because our heads have something inside them，"said Lucy.

"那是我們腦子里裝的是別的事情。"露茜說道。

At first things seemed to be going pretty well.They even thought they had struck an old path; but if you know anything about woods，you will know that one is always finding imaginary paths.They disappear after about five minutes and then you think you have found another (and hope it is not another but more of the same one) and it also disappears，and after you have been well lured out of your right direction you realize that none of them were pats at all.The boys and the Dwarf，however，were used to woods and were not taken in for more than a few seconds.

起初，一切似乎都非常順利，他們甚至認(rèn)為自己以前走過這條路。可是假如他們知道一些關(guān)于森林的常識，就會知道走在森林里的人們總是會被自己想象出來的道路所迷惑。路在五分鐘之后消失了，然后你認(rèn)為自己已經(jīng)找到了另一條，心里還希望這不是另一條，而是同一條路，然后它也消失了。你最后將意識到，原來腳下根本就沒有任何路。幸虧兩個男孩子和那小矮人都很熟悉森林，所以也沒有繞多少彎路。

They had plodded on for about half an hour (three of them very stiff from yesterday's rowing) when Trumpkin suddenly whispered，"Stop."They all stopped."there's something following us，"he said in a low voice."Or rather，something keeping up with us: over there on the left."They all stood still，listening and staring till their ears and eyes ached."You and I'd better each have an arrow on the string，"said Susan to Trumpkin.The Dwarf nodded，and when both bows were ready for action the party went on again.

他們吃力地走了大概半個鐘頭。他們中的三個人都由于昨天劃船，直到現(xiàn)在還渾身酸痛。當(dāng)杜魯普金突然悄聲說道，"停。"大家全都停下了。"有個東西在跟著我們，"他用低低的聲音說道，"它一直跟在我們身后--就在左邊。"他們所有人都一動不動，仔細(xì)傾聽并一直盯著那個方向，直到他們的耳朵和眼睛都感到酸痛了。"你和我最好先把箭上弦。"蘇珊對杜魯普金說。小矮人點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭，表示贊成。當(dāng)兩張弓都箭在弦上之后，隊(duì)伍再次開始前進(jìn)。

They went a few dozen yards through fairly open woodland，keeping a sharp look-out.Then they came to a place where the undergrowth thickened and they had to pass nearer to it.Just as they were passing the place，there came a sudden something that snarled and flashed，rising out from the breaking twigs like a thunderbolt.Lucy was knocked down and winded，hearing the twang of a bowstring as she fell.When she was able to take notice of things again，she saw a great grim-looking grey bear lying dead with Trumpkin's arrow in its side.

在一片相當(dāng)開闊的林子里，他們保持警覺地走了幾十米。然后他們來到一個灌木茂密的地方，并且不得不經(jīng)過那里。就在他們穿過灌木叢的時候，突然間伴隨著一聲呼嘯，一只野獸像閃電一樣從灌木后面猛撲過來。露茜被撲倒在地上，打了幾個滾。在跌倒的同時，她聽見"嗒"的一聲弓弦響。當(dāng)她再次恢復(fù)知覺的時候，她看到一只面目可憎的大灰熊，躺在地上死了。杜魯普金的箭插在熊的腦袋里。

"TheD.L.F.beat you in that shooting match，Su，"said Peter，with a slightly forced smile.Even he had been shaken by this adventure.

"在這場射箭比賽中，你輸給了小不點(diǎn)，蘇珊。"彼得勉強(qiáng)地笑了一下說道。就連他也被這次險情嚇到了。

"I-I left it too late，"said Susan，in an embarrassed voice."I was so afraid it might be，you know-one of our kind of bears，a talking bear."She hated killing things.

"我......我箭放得太慢了，"蘇珊尷尬地說道，"我生怕那會是一只......你們知道--那種有靈性的熊，一只會講話的熊。"她從來都討厭殺生。

"That's the trouble of it，"said Trumpkin，"when most of the beasts have gone enemy and gone dumb，but there are still some of the other kind left.You never know，and you daren't wait to see."

"這就是麻煩所在。"杜魯普金說，"有些納尼亞的后代至今仍活在世上，而大部分的啞巴動物都投敵了，要分辨出來不容易。"

"Poor old Bruin，"said Susan."You don't think he was?"

"可憐的熊，"蘇珊說，"你認(rèn)為它會是老布魯恩嗎?"

"Not he，"said the Dwarf."I saw the face and I heard the snarl.He only wanted Little Girl for his breakfast.And talking of breakfast，I didn't want to discourage your Majesties when you said you hoped King Caspian would give you a good one: but meat's precious scarce in camp.And there's good eating on a bear.It would be a shame to leave the carcass without taking a bit，and it won't delay us more than half an hour.I dare say you two youngsters-Kings，I should say-know how to skin a bear?"

"不是他，"小矮人說，"我看清了那張臉，也聽到了那聲咆哮，它只是想把這小姑娘當(dāng)作它的早餐。提到早餐，剛才你說你希望凱斯賓國王能用一頓豐盛的早餐款待你們，我真不想掃你們的興，但是營地里肉非常稀缺，能吃上熊肉倒是不錯。如果我們將熊尸體扔在這里，不帶上一點(diǎn)熊肉是很可惜的，而且這最多耽誤我們半個鐘頭。我敢說你們兩個年輕人......對不起，我該說國王陛下--該知道怎么給熊剝皮的吧?"

"Let's go and sit down a fair way off，"said Susan to Lucy."I know what a horrid messy business that will be."Lucy shuddered and nodded.When they had sat down she said:"Such a horrible idea has come into my head，Su."

"我們應(yīng)該找個地方坐會兒，"蘇珊對露茜說，"我知道那活兒很惡心。"露茜打了個哆嗦并且點(diǎn)頭同意了。當(dāng)她們坐下來的時候，露茜說，"蘇珊，我腦子里閃過一個多么可怕的念頭。"

"What's that?"

"什么念頭?"

"Wouldn't it be dreadful if some day in our own world，at home，men started going wild inside，like the animals here，and still looked like men，so that you'd never know which were which?"

"如果有一天在我們自己的世界里，有人野蠻地向你沖過來，就像這里的野獸一樣;可長相卻仍然是人，你也搞不清他是人是獸，是敵是友，那不是糟透了嗎?"

"We've got enough to bother about here and now in Narnia，"

"我們在納尼亞遇到的煩惱足夠多了，"蘇珊現(xiàn)實(shí)地說，

said the practical Susan，"without imagining things like that."

你就不要在再幻想這樣的事情了。

When they rejoined the boys and the Dwarf，as much as they thought they could carry of the best meat had been cut off.Raw meat is not a nice thing to fill one's pockets with，but they folded it up in fresh leaves and made the best of it.They were all experienced enough to know that they would feel quite differently about these squashy and unpleasant parcels when they had walked long enough to be really hungry.

當(dāng)她們重新回到男孩們和小矮人的身邊時，最好的熊肉已經(jīng)被割下來了。要把生肉裝入口袋很不容易，但是他們用新鮮葉子仔細(xì)地把肉包好了。經(jīng)驗(yàn)告訴他們，在一番長途跋涉而肚子真的餓了的時候，這些又濕又軟、令人惡心的小肉包裹會有大用處的。

On they trudged again (stopping to wash three pairs of hands that needed it in the first stream they passed) until the sun rose and the birds began to sing，and more flies than they wanted were buzzing in the bracken.The stiffness from yesterday's rowing began to wear off.Everybody's spirits rose.The sun grew warmer and they took their helmets off and carried them.

他們再次艱難地跋涉著。他們在經(jīng)過的第一條小溪邊，停下來，將沾滿熊血的雙手洗干凈，太陽升起來了，小鳥開始歌唱，嗡嗡作響的蒼蠅從植物中蜂擁出來。昨天劃船引起的渾身酸痛開始消失了，每個人的情緒又高漲了起來。太陽變得越來越熱，他們將盔甲脫了下來拿在手上。

"I suppose we are going right?"said Edmund about an hour later.

"我們走的方向是對的吧?"一個小時之后愛德蒙問道。

"I don't see how we can go wrong as long as we don't bear too much to the left，"said Peter."If we bear too much to the right，the worst that can happen is wasting a little time by striking the great River too soon and not cutting off the corner."

"我看不會錯，只要我們沒有偏離左邊太多，"彼得說，"如果咱們靠右走得太多，最壞的情況就是多浪費(fèi)一點(diǎn)時間太靠近河我們就抄不了近路了。"

And again they trudged on with no sound except the thud of their feet and the jingle of their chain shirts.

他們就這么走著，除了腳步聲就和鎖子甲摩擦的叮當(dāng)聲就沒有任何其他聲音了。

"Where's this bally Rush got to?"said Edmund a good deal later.

"那該死的河口在哪兒?"過了老半天，愛德蒙終于忍不住了。

"I certainly thought we'd have struck it by now，"said Peter."But there's nothing to do but keep on."They both knew that the Dwarf was looking anxiously at them，but he said nothing.

"我剛才就覺得我們該到了，"彼得說，"可現(xiàn)在除了繼續(xù)向前走，沒有什么可以做的。"

And still they trudged on and their mail shirts began to feel very hot and heavy.

他倆都發(fā)覺那小矮人正焦慮地望著他們，但是他沒有再說什么。他們?nèi)匀徊煌５刈甙∽?，感覺盔甲越來越重了，也越來越熱。

"What on earth?"said Peter suddenly.

"究竟是怎么回事?"彼得突然說道。

They had come，without seeing it，almost to the edge of a small precipice from which they looked down into a gorge with a river at the bottom.On the far side the cliffs rose much higher.

他們不知不覺中已經(jīng)來到一個懸崖的邊上，從這兒往下看是一條峽谷，谷底有一條河流，對面的峭壁更高。

None of the party except Edmund (and perhaps Trumpkin) was a rock climber.

隊(duì)伍里除了愛德蒙以外，沒有誰懂攀巖。也許杜魯普金也會。

"I'm sorry，"said Peter."It's my fault for coming this way.We're lost.I've never seen this place in my life before."

"抱歉，"彼得說，"走這條路是我的錯誤。我們迷路了，我以前從來沒有到過這個地方。"

The Dwarf gave a low whistle between his teeth.

小矮人輕輕吹了聲口哨。

"Oh，do let's go back and go the other way，"said Susan."I knew all along we'd get lost in these woods."

"噢，咱們退回去走另一條路吧，"蘇珊說，"我老早就知道在這些樹林里我們會迷路的。"

"Susan!"said Lucy，reproachfully，"don't nag at Peter like that.It's so rotten，and he's doing all he can."

"蘇珊!"露茜責(zé)備地看了她一眼說道，"別這樣跟彼得嘮叨，這可不好，而且他已經(jīng)盡力了。"

"And don't you snap at Su like that，either，"said Edmund."I think she's quite right."

"你也別這樣嚴(yán)厲地和蘇珊說話，"愛德蒙說，"我想她的話是對的。"

"Tubs and tortoiseshells!"exclaimed Trumpkin."If we've got lost coming，what chance have we of finding our way back? And if we're to go back to the Island and begin all over again-even supposing we could-we might as well give the whole thing up.Miraz will have finished with Caspian before we get there at that rate."

"嘖嘖!"杜魯普金大聲嚷道，"我們?nèi)绻粤寺?，怎樣才能找到路回去?更何況，就算我們又回到島上，一切從頭開始我們可能將什么事都給耽誤啦。在我們到達(dá)那里之前，彌若茲可能已經(jīng)把凱斯賓打垮了。"

"You think we ought to go on?"said Lucy.

"你認(rèn)為我們應(yīng)該繼續(xù)往前走嗎?"露茜問。

"I'm not sure the High King is lost，"said Trumpkin."What's to hinder this river being the Rush?"

"我不知道至尊王是不是真的迷路了，"杜魯普金說，"怎么能確定這條河就不是我們要找的河呢?"

"Because the Rush is not in a gorge，"said Peter，keeping his temper with some difficulty.

"因?yàn)槟菞l河不在峽谷里。"彼得按捺住了他的脾氣說道。

"Your Majesty says is，"replied the Dwarf，"but oughtn't you to say was? You knew this country hundreds-it may be a thousand-years ago.Mayn't it have changed? A landslide might have pulled off half the side of that hill，leaving bare rock，and there are your precipices beyond the gorge.Then the Rush might go on deepening its course year after year till you get the little precipices this side.Or there might have been an earthquake，or anything."

"陛下說的是，"小矮人回答說，"是不是應(yīng)該說過去不是這樣的?你所熟悉的是幾百年甚至幾千年以前的納尼亞。它難道不可能發(fā)生了改變嗎?一次大塌方就可能把半邊山削去，留下光禿禿的巖石，形成峽谷那邊的峭壁。然后年復(fù)一年，湍急的河流不斷地沖刷河槽，讓這一面又成為我們腳下的懸崖。要不就是這里可能曾經(jīng)發(fā)生過地震之類的事情。"

"I never thought of that，"said Peter.

"我從來沒想過這些。"彼得說。

"And anyway，"continued Trumpkin，"even if this is not the Rush，it's flowing roughly north and so it must fall into the Great River anyway.I think I passed something that might have been it，on my way down.So if we go downstream，to our right，we'll hit the Great River.Perhaps not so high as we'd hoped，but at least we'll be no worse off than if you'd come my way."

"不管怎么樣，"杜魯普金繼續(xù)說，"就算這不是河口，可它向北流淌，最終肯定會匯入那條大河。我認(rèn)為我來的路上似乎曾經(jīng)走過這個地方。所以如果我們朝下游前進(jìn)，再右拐，我們應(yīng)該能到那條河了。如果你們能按我說的做，就算結(jié)果不如我們希望的好，但也不會糟糕到哪里去。"

"Trumpkin，you're a brick，"said Peter."Come on，then.Down this side of the gorge."

"杜魯普金，你真棒。"彼得說，"那么我們繼續(xù)走吧，讓我們下到峽谷里。"

"Look! Look! Look!"cried Lucy.

"看!看!快看!"露茜大喊了起來。

"Where? What?"said everyone.

"看哪里?看什么?"大家問道。

"The Lion，"said Lucy."Aslan himself.Didn't you see?"Her face had changed completely and her eyes shone.

"是獅王，"露茜說，"是阿斯蘭，你們沒看見嗎?"她激動得臉都完全變形了，兩只眼睛發(fā)著光。

"Do you really mean-?"began Peter.

"你的意思是......?"彼得說。

"Where did you think you saw him?"asked Susan.

"你認(rèn)為你在哪兒看到他了?"蘇珊問。

"Don't talk like a grown-up，"said Lucy，stamping her foot."I didn't think I saw him.I saw him."

"不要像大人那樣講話，"露茜跺著腳說，"我不是'認(rèn)為'我看到他了，我確實(shí)看到了他。"

"Where，Lu?"asked Peter.

"在哪里，露茜?"彼得問。

"Right up there between those mountain ashes.No，this side of the gorge.And up，not down.Just the opposite of the way you want to go.And he wanted us to go where he was-up there."

"就在山頂上那些桉樹叢里。不，是在峽谷的這一邊，而且是在上面，不是下面。和你想去的方向正好相反。它想要我們到它那兒去--到上面。"

"How do you know that was what he wanted?"asked Edmund.

"你怎么知道它想要我們?nèi)?"愛德蒙問道。

"He-I-I just know，"said Lucy，"by his face."

"他......我......就是知道，"露茜說，"通過他的表情就可以看出來。"

The others all looked at each other in puzzled silence.

大家都迷惑不解，沉默地望著彼此。

"Her Majesty may well have seen a lion， "put in Trumpkin."There are lions in these woods，I've been told.But it needn't have been a friendly and talking lion any more than the bear was a friendly and talking bear."

"露茜女王陛下看到的那一頭獅子可能是真的，"杜魯普金插嘴說，"樹林里當(dāng)然有獅子，這我太了解了。但它不一定是一頭友好的、會說話的獅子，就像剛才那頭熊一樣。"

"Oh，don't be so stupid，"said Lucy."Do you think I don't know Aslan when I see him?"

"噢，不要犯傻了，"露茜說，"你以為我會認(rèn)不出阿斯蘭嗎?"

"He'd be a pretty elderly lion by now，"said Trumpkin，"if he's one you knew when you were here before! And if it could be the same one，what's to prevent him having gone wild and witless like so many others?"

"它現(xiàn)在該是頭老獅子了，"杜魯普金說，"如果它是你們以前認(rèn)識的那位老相識!再說，如果是同一只獅子，這么多年之后，誰能阻止它不像其他的動物一樣變野蠻或者愚蠢呢?"

Lucy turned crimson and I think she would have flown at Trumpkin，if Peter had not laid his hand on her arm."The D.L.　F.doesn't understand.How could he? You must just take it，Trumpkin，that we do really know about Aslan; a little bit about him，I mean.And you mustn't talk about him like that again.It isn't lucky for one thing: and it's all nonsense for another.The only question is whether Aslan was really there."

露茜的臉脹得通紅，如果不是彼得把一只手放在她肩膀上，她已經(jīng)撲向杜魯普金了。"小不點(diǎn)是不明白的，他怎么能知道呢?你記住杜魯普金，我們才真正了解阿斯蘭，而且我的意思是，不只是了解一點(diǎn)。你不能再那樣說他了。這樣不好，而且都是些廢話?，F(xiàn)在唯一的問題是要搞清楚阿斯蘭是否真的在那里。"

"But I know he was，"said Lucy，her eyes filling with tears.

"但是我知道他就在那兒。"露茜說，她的眼睛充滿了淚水。

"Yes，Lu，but we don't，you see，"said Peter.

"是的，露茜?？墒俏覀儧]有看見，只有你看見了。"彼得說。

"There's nothing for it but a vote，"said Edmund.

"除了表決，我們沒有其他方法了。"愛德蒙說。

"All right，"replied Peter."You're the eldest，D.L.F.What do you vote for? Up or down?"

"行，"彼得回答道，"你年紀(jì)最大，小不點(diǎn)，你投誰一票?往上還是往下?"

"Down，"said the Dwarf."I know nothing about Aslan.But I do know that if we turn left and follow the gorge up，it might lead us all day before we found a place where we could cross it.Whereas if we turn right and go down，we're bound to reach the Great River in about a couple of hours.And if there are any real lions about，we want to go away from them，not towards them."

"往下，"小矮人說，"我對阿斯蘭一無所知，但是我確實(shí)知道如果咱們向左拐，再順著峽谷往上走，那可能得花費(fèi)整整一天才能找到一個可以過河的地方;可是如果我們往右拐，然后往下游去，肯定能在大約兩個小時之內(nèi)到達(dá)大河。而且，如果附近真的有獅子的話，我想要避開它們都來不及。"

"What do you say，Susan?"

"你怎么看，蘇珊?"

"Don't be angry，Lu，"said Susan，"but I do think we should go down.I'm dead tired.Do let's get out of this wretched wood into the open as quick as we can.And none of us except you saw anything."

"你不要生氣，露茜，"蘇珊說，"我確實(shí)認(rèn)為我們應(yīng)該朝下游走，我累得要死，我們要趕快離開這片可惡的森林，盡快到露天的空地去。而且，除了你一個人之外，我們大家誰都沒看見任何東西。"

"Edmund?"said Peter.

"愛德蒙呢?"彼得說。

"Well，there's just this，"said Edmund，speaking quickly and turning a little red."When we first discovered Narnia a year ago-or a thousand years ago，whichever it is-it was Lucy who discovered it first and none of us would believe her.I was the worst of the lot，I know.Yet she was right after all.Wouldn't it be fair to believe her this time? I vote for going up."

"好吧，我是這么看的，"愛德蒙臉色微微發(fā)紅，很快地說道"一年以前，我們第一次發(fā)現(xiàn)納尼亞的時候--也許是一千年以前，這個先不去管--是露茜首先發(fā)現(xiàn)了它，而我們中沒有人相信她。我的表現(xiàn)是最糟的，這我很清楚。最后事實(shí)證明她是對的，這一次我要支持她，才算是公平的。我投票贊成向上游走。"

"Oh，Ed!"said Lucy and seized his hand.

"噢，愛德蒙!"露茜緊緊抓住他的手。

"And now it's your turn，Peter，"said Susan，"and I do hope-"

"現(xiàn)在輪到你了，彼得，"蘇珊說，"我真希望......"

"Oh，shut up，shut up and let a chap think，"interrupted Peter."I'd much rather not have to vote."

"嗨，閉嘴!閉嘴!讓我自己決定，"彼得打斷了她的話，"我想我最好不參加投票。"

"You're the High King，"said Trumpkin sternly.

"可你是至尊王。"杜魯普金嚴(yán)厲地提醒道。

"Down，"said Peter after a long pause."I know Lucy may be right after all，but I can't help it.We must do one or the other."

"向下。"沉思一會兒，彼得終于說，"我知道露茜可能最終還是對的，但是--我沒有別的辦法，兩條路我們只能選擇一條。"

So they set off to their right along the edge，downstream.And Lucy came last of the party，crying bitterly.

就這樣，他們沿著右邊的懸崖朝下游出發(fā)。露茜傷心地哭著，走在隊(duì)伍的最后面。