《能言馬與男孩》 第十一章 不受歡迎的同路人

CHAPTER ELEVEN THE UNWELCOME FELLOW TRAVELLER

第十一章　不受歡迎的同路人

WHEN Shasta went through the gate he found a slope of grass and a little heather running up before him to some trees. He had nothing to think about now and no plans to make: he had only to run, and that was quite enough. His limbs were shaking, a terrible stitch was beginning in his side, and the sweat that kept dropping into his eyes blinded them and made them smart. He was unsteady on his feet too, and more than once he nearly turned his ankle on a loose stone.

沙斯塔穿過(guò)門(mén)，看到一個(gè)芳草萋萋的山坡，一些雜草蔓延到了樹(shù)邊。除了奔跑之外他毫無(wú)辦法，但是這也足夠了;他四肢顫抖，兩肋如針扎般的疼，汗水落進(jìn)眼睛里，讓它們疼痛并且模糊不清。走路踉踉蹌蹌，腳踝不止一次地撞在凌亂的石頭上。

The trees were thicker now than they had yet been and in the more open spaces there was bracken. The sun had gone in without making it any cooler. It had become one of those hot, grey days when there seem to be twice as many flies as usual. Shasta' s face was covered with them;he didn' t even try to shake them off-he had too much else to do.

樹(shù)木比剛才更加茂盛，空地上生長(zhǎng)著大片的蕨類(lèi)植物。太陽(yáng)藏了起來(lái)，但是仍然燥熱不已。當(dāng)看到蒼蠅似乎比往常多了一倍的時(shí)候，他感覺(jué)更加炎熱灰暗。沙斯塔臉上爬滿(mǎn)了蒼蠅，但是他現(xiàn)在沒(méi)有工夫去趕走它們。

Suddenly he heard a horn-not a great throbbing horn like the horns of Tashbaan but a merry call, Ti-ro-to-to-ho! Next moment he came out into a wide glade and found himself in a crowd of people.

突然，他聽(tīng)到了號(hào)角聲——不是塔什班城那種悸動(dòng)的號(hào)角聲，而是一種歡樂(lè)的呼喊：蒂……羅……托托……霍!很快他就走進(jìn)了一片寬闊的林間空地，發(fā)覺(jué)自己周?chē)际侨肆恕?/p>

At least, it looked a crowd to him. In reality there were about fifteen or twenty of them, all gentlemen in green hunting-dress, with their horses; some in the saddle and some standing by their horses' heads. In the centre someone was holding the stirrup for a man to mount. And the man he was holding it for was the jolliest, fat, apple-cheeked, twinkling-eyed King you could imagine.

至少在他看來(lái)是一大群人。事實(shí)上總共有大概十五或者二十人，紳士們都身著綠色打獵裝，有的坐在馬鞍上，有些站在馬身邊。中間有個(gè)人拉住馬鐙，以方便一位紳士上馬。那個(gè)紳士你能夠想象得到，就是興高采烈、肥頭大耳、圓滾滾、眼睛亮晶晶的國(guó)王。

As soon as Shasta came in sight this King forgot all about mounting his horse. He spread out his arms to Shasta, his face lit up, and he cried out in a great, deep voice that seemed to come from the bottom of his chest:

國(guó)王一看到沙斯塔，就把上馬的事兒全忘了。興高采烈的向他展開(kāi)雙臂，用他那仿佛來(lái)自胸腔最深處的洪厚聲音喊道：

"Corin! My son! And on foot, and in rags! What—" "No," panted Shasta,shaking his head."Not Prince Corin.I-I-know I'm like him…saw his Highness in Tashbaan… sent his greetings."

“科林!我的兒子!像個(gè)乞丐一樣在步行!發(fā)生了什么……”“不，”沙斯塔晃著腦袋，氣喘吁吁的說(shuō)，“我不是科林王子，我……我……知道和他長(zhǎng)得很像……我在塔什班見(jiàn)到了王子殿下……我?guī)?lái)了王子的問(wèn)候。”

The King was staring at Shasta with an extraordinary expression on his face.

國(guó)王用詫異的表情盯著沙斯塔。

"Are you K-King Lune ?"gasped Shasta.And then, without waiting for an answer,.Lord King-fly-Anvard shut the gates-enemies upon you-Rabadash and two hundred horse. "

“您是國(guó)……國(guó)王倫恩嗎?”沙斯塔沒(méi)有等國(guó)王回答就氣喘吁吁的說(shuō)了下去，“國(guó)王陛下……快跑……安瓦德關(guān)上城門(mén)……羅八達(dá)和兩百人馬正在逼近。”

"Have you assurance of this, boy ?"asked one of the other gentlemen.

“你確信，孩子?”另一位紳士問(wèn)道。

"My own eyes,"said Shasta..I' ve seen them. Raced them all the way from Tashbaan."

“親眼所見(jiàn)，”沙斯塔說(shuō)，“我看到了他們。我從塔什班城一路和他們賽跑過(guò)來(lái)的。”

"On foot ?"said the gentleman, raising his eyebrows a little.

“步行?”紳士微微挑了下眉毛說(shuō)道。

"Horses-with the Hermit," said Shasta.

“騎馬……馬在隱士家里。”沙斯塔說(shuō)。

"Question him no more;Darrin,"said King Lune."I see truth in his face. We must ride for it, gentlemen. A spare horse there, for the boy. You can ride fast,friend ?"

“別問(wèn)了，達(dá)蘭，”國(guó)王倫恩說(shuō)，“我看是真的。紳士們，我們必須抓緊時(shí)間了。給這孩子一匹備用馬。你能騎馬快跑嗎，朋友?”

For answer Shasta put his foot in the stirrup of the horse which had been led towards him and a moment later he was in the saddle. He had done it a hundred times with Bree in the last few weeks, and his mounting was very different now from what it had been on that first night when Bree had said that he climbed up a horse as if he were climbing a haystack.

作為回答，沙斯塔縱身騎到了馬鞍上。過(guò)去幾個(gè)星期，布里已經(jīng)引導(dǎo)他騎過(guò)很多次馬了，第一次上馬的那個(gè)晚上，布里嘲笑他就像在爬一個(gè)干草堆，但是現(xiàn)在情況大為改觀了。

He was pleased to hear the Lord Darrin say to the King,.The boy has a true horseman' s seat, Sire. I' ll warrant there' s noble blood in him."

當(dāng)聽(tīng)到達(dá)蘭爵士對(duì)國(guó)王說(shuō)：“這孩子騎馬姿勢(shì)頗具騎士風(fēng)度，陛下，我保證他有貴族血統(tǒng)。”沙斯塔興奮不已。

"His blood, aye, there' s the point,"said the King. And he stared hard at Shasta again with that curious expression, almost a hungry expression, in his steady,grey eyes.

“他的血統(tǒng)，是呀，這是關(guān)鍵。”國(guó)王說(shuō)。再次用那雙堅(jiān)定的、灰色的眼睛緊緊盯著他，眼里露出探詢(xún)甚至是渴望的神色。

But by now-the whole party was moving off at a brisk canter. Shasta's seat was excellent but he was sadly puzzled what to do with his reins, for he had never touched the reins while he was on Bree' s back. But he looked very carefully out of the corners of his eyes to see what the others were doing (as some of us have done at parties when we weren' t quite sure which knife or fork we were meant to use) and tried to get his fingers right. But he didn' t dare to try really directing the horse;he trusted it would follow the rest.The horse was of course an ordinary horse,not a Talking Horse;but it had quite wits enough to realize that the strange boy on its back had no whip and no spurs and was not really master of the situation. That was why Shasta soon found himself at the tail end of the procession.

但是很快這群紳士就開(kāi)始行動(dòng)。沙斯塔的馬鞍很棒，但是他苦于不知如何使用韁繩，當(dāng)騎在布里背上時(shí)是從不用韁繩的。他小心翼翼的偷瞄其他人的動(dòng)作( 就像我們?cè)谘鐣?huì)上不知道選擇刀子還是叉子那樣)，竭力讓自己的手指姿勢(shì)正確。但他不敢直接用韁繩去控制馬;他深信馬會(huì)隨著其他人馬一起行動(dòng)。馬當(dāng)然是不會(huì)說(shuō)話(huà)的普通馬;但是它也認(rèn)識(shí)到了，背上這個(gè)奇怪的孩子，既沒(méi)有馬鞭，也沒(méi)有馬刺，難以控制局面。這就是為什么沙斯塔很快發(fā)現(xiàn)自己遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)落后的原因了。

Even so, he was going pretty fast. There were no flies now and the air in his face was delicious. He had got his breath back too. And his errand had succeeded. For the first time since the arrival at Tashbaan (how long ago it seemed !) he was beginning to enjoy himself.

即便如此，他的速度也不慢。蒼蠅很少，空氣清新。他呼吸平穩(wěn)，使命已經(jīng)完成。這是他到達(dá)塔什班城( 好像是很久以前的事情了) 后第一次感覺(jué)到逍遙自在。

He looked up to see how much nearer the mountain tops had come. To his disappointment he could not see them at all: only a vague greyness, rolling down towards them. He had never been in mountain country before and was surprised. "It's a cloud," he said to himself, "a cloud coming down. I see. Up here in the hills one is really in the sky. I shall see what the inside of a cloud is like. What fun ! I' ve often wondered."Far away on his left and a little behind him, the sun was getting ready to set.

他抬起頭，看看自己離山頂還有多遠(yuǎn)。讓他大失所望的是，只看到一片沉重的灰色迎面而來(lái)，壓根就看不到山頂。他從未在山區(qū)待過(guò)，眼前的景象讓他詫異。“是云，”他自言自語(yǔ)，“一片下降的云，看來(lái)這里有一座高聳入云的山。我能夠看到云里面是什么樣子了。多有趣!我不止一次地想弄清楚。”在遙遠(yuǎn)的左后方，太陽(yáng)開(kāi)始落山了。此時(shí)他們到了崎嶇的道路上，速度加快。沙斯塔仍落在最后。

They had come to a rough kind of road by now and were making very good speed. But Shasta' s horse was still the last of the lot. Once or twice when the road made a bend (there was now continuous forest on each side of it) he lost sight of the others for a second or two.

有那么一兩次，在大路轉(zhuǎn)彎的地方( 現(xiàn)在大路兩旁是綿延不絕的森林)，其他人馬在他視野里消失了幾秒鐘。

Then they plunged into the fog, or else the fog rolled over them. The world became grey. Shasta had not realized how cold and wet the inside of a cloud would be;nor how dark. The grey turned to black with alarming speed.

接著他們遇到了大霧，或者說(shuō)大霧吞沒(méi)了他們，世界變得灰蒙蒙的。沙斯塔不曾想到，在云霧中是如此濕冷和黑暗，灰白的霧以驚人的速度變黑了。

Someone at the head of the column winded the horn every now and then, and each time the sound came from a little farther off. He couldn' t see any of the others now, but of course he' d be able to as soon as he got round the next bend. But when he rounded it he still couldn' t see them. In fact he could see nothing at all. His horse was walking now. "Get on, Horse, get on," said Shasta. Then came the horn, very faint. Bree had always told him that he must keep his heels well turned out, and Shasta had got the idea that something very terrible would happen if he dug his heels into a horse' s sides.This seemed to him an occasion for trying it.

隊(duì)伍的前頭不時(shí)有號(hào)角聲傳來(lái)，聲音越來(lái)越遠(yuǎn)。他現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)看不到其他人了，當(dāng)在拐彎的地方時(shí)，好像能夠看到，但是過(guò)了拐彎處，又什么也看不到了。事實(shí)上，他壓根就沒(méi)看到過(guò)?，F(xiàn)在馬像是在散步。“快點(diǎn)兒，馬兒，快點(diǎn)兒。”沙斯塔說(shuō)。然后他聽(tīng)到已經(jīng)十分輕微的號(hào)角聲。布里不止一次地告訴他，騎馬時(shí)放好腳跟，所以沙斯塔認(rèn)為，腳跟踢到馬兩肋的時(shí)候會(huì)有可怕的事情發(fā)生。但是現(xiàn)在他不得不試一下了。

"Look here, Horse," he said,"if you don'tbuck up, do you know what I' ll do ? I' ll dig my heels into you. I really will."The horse, however, took no notice of this threat. So Shasta settled himself firmly in the saddle, gripped with his knees, clenched his teeth, and punched both the horse' s sides with his heels as hard as he could.

“聽(tīng)著，馬兒，你再不快點(diǎn)的話(huà)，可知道我會(huì)干什么?我保證會(huì)用腳跟踢你。”然而馬毫不理睬。迫不得已，沙斯塔只得牢牢坐在馬鞍上，牙關(guān)緊咬，雙膝夾緊，用盡力氣用腳跟踢馬的兩肋。

The only result was that the horse broke into a kind of pretence of a trot for five or six paces and then subsided into a walk again. And now it was quite dark and they seemed to have given up blowing that horn. The only sound was a steady drip-drip from the branches of the trees.

結(jié)果只是那馬兒裝模作樣的小跑幾步，然后又恢復(fù)常態(tài)了。天色漆黑，號(hào)角聲已經(jīng)沒(méi)有了。唯一的聲音就是樹(shù)葉上的滴水聲。

"Well, I suppose even a walk will get us somewhere sometime," said Shasta to himself. "I only hope I shan't run into Rabadash and his people."

“好吧，我想即使馬步行，也能帶我到某個(gè)地方去，”沙斯塔安慰自己，“我只希望不要碰到羅八達(dá)和他的人馬。”

He went on for what seemed a long time, always at a walking pace.He began to hate that horse,and he was also beginning to feel very hungry.

馬兒用步行的速度，又走了仿佛很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。他饑腸轆轆，開(kāi)始討厭?cǎi)R兒了。

Presently he came to a place where the road divided into two. He was just wondering which led to Anvard when he was startled by a noise from behind him. It was the noise of trotting horses. "Rabadash !" thought Shasta. He had no way of guessing which road Rabadash would take..But if I take one,"said Shasta to himself,.he may take the other: and if I stay at the cross-roads I' m sure to be caught."He dismounted and led his horse as quickly as he could along the right-hand road.

不久，他到了一個(gè)岔路口，正琢磨著哪一條能夠通往安瓦德的時(shí)候，背后的一陣聲音驚嚇到了他。是馬兒的蹄聲，“羅八達(dá)!”沙斯塔想。他沒(méi)法猜測(cè)羅八達(dá)會(huì)走哪條路。“但是如果我走了這一條路，”沙斯塔告訴自己，“說(shuō)不定他會(huì)走那條，但是我繼續(xù)待在這兒，肯定會(huì)被抓住。”他下了馬，牽著它以最快的速度走上右手邊那條路。

The sound of the cavalry grew rapidly nearer and in a minute or two Shasta realized that they were at the crossroads. He held his breath,waiting to see which way they would take.

騎兵的聲音迅速逼近，很快沙斯塔就意識(shí)到，他們已經(jīng)到了岔路口。他屏息靜氣，等著看他們到底走哪條路。

There came a low word of command.Halt !"then a moment of horsey noises-nostrils blowing, hoofs pawing, bits being champed,necks being patted.Then a voice spoke.

“停止前進(jìn)!”，一聲低沉的命令傳來(lái)。接下來(lái)是馬的鼻息聲，馬蹄刨地的聲音，咬嚼子的聲音和拍馬脖子的聲音。然后有人說(shuō)話(huà)了。

"Attend,all of you,"it said..We are now within a furlong of the castle.Remember your orders. Once we are in Narnia, as we should be by sunrise,you are to kill as little as possible. On this venture you are to regard every drop of Narnian blood as more precious than a gallon of your own. On this venture,I say. The gods will send us a happier hour and then you must leave nothing alive between Cair Paravel and the Western Waste. But we are not yet in Narnia.Here in Archenland it is another thing. In the assault on this castle of King Lune' s, nothing matters but speed. Show your mettle.It must be mine within an hour.And if it is, I give it all to you.I reserve no booty for myself.Kill me every barbarian male within its walls, down to the child that was born yesterday, and everything else is yours to divide as you please-the women, the gold, the jewels, the weapons, and the wine. The man that I see hanging back when we come to the gates shall be burned alive. In the name of Tash the irresistible, the inexorable forward !"

“大家聽(tīng)著，”那聲音說(shuō)道，“現(xiàn)在離城堡不到200 米了，記住命令。一旦進(jìn)入納尼亞國(guó)境( 應(yīng)該在日出時(shí)到達(dá))，盡量不要?dú)⑷恕Ｔ谶@番冒險(xiǎn)行動(dòng)中，你們要把每一滴納尼亞人的血看作比你們一加侖的血還重要，記住了，只是在這次行動(dòng)中。以后在凱爾帕拉維爾和西部沙漠之間你們可以大殺特殺，那是天神賜予你們的。但現(xiàn)在還沒(méi)有到達(dá)納尼亞。這兒——阿欽蘭境內(nèi)，是另一回事兒。以最快的速度攻下倫恩國(guó)王的城堡。拿出勇氣，務(wù)必一個(gè)時(shí)辰內(nèi)成功。如果你們占領(lǐng)了它，我把所有都給你們，什么戰(zhàn)利品也不留給自己。把城里每一個(gè)野蠻的男人，包括昨天剛出生的嬰兒，統(tǒng)統(tǒng)殺掉，其他一切你們想怎么分就怎么分——包括女人、金子、珠寶、武器和美酒。畏縮的人會(huì)被活活燒死，以不可阻擋、不可抗拒的塔什神的名義——前進(jìn)。”

With a great cloppitty-clop the column began to move, and Shasta breathed again.They had taken the other road.

隨著一陣喧鬧的蹄聲，騎兵們行動(dòng)了，沙斯塔緩了口氣。他們選擇了另一條路。

Shasta thought they took a long time going past, for though he had been talking and thinking about.two hundred horse"all day, he had not realized how many they really were. But at last the sound died away and once more he was alone amid the drip-drip from the trees.

騎兵們花了好長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才過(guò)去，雖然他口頭和心上整天都掛著“兩百人馬”，但實(shí)際上有多少人他并不清楚。騎兵的聲音最終還是消失了，他只得繼續(xù)聽(tīng)樹(shù)葉滴水的聲音。

He now knew the way to Anvard but of course he could not now go there: that would only mean running into the arms of Rabadash' s troopers..What on earth am I to do ?"said Shasta to himself. But he remounted his horse and continued along the road he had chosen, in the faint hope of finding some cottage where he might ask for shelter and a meal. He had thought, of course, of going back to Aravis and Bree and Hwin at the hermitage, but he couldn' t because by now he had not the least idea of the direction.

現(xiàn)在他知道去安瓦德的路了，但顯然現(xiàn)在還不能動(dòng)身，不然就是自尋死路。“我究竟該怎么辦呢?”沙斯塔問(wèn)自己。他重新跨上馬，沿著選擇的路繼續(xù)走，抱著微薄的希望，但愿能找到幾戶(hù)人家，求個(gè)棲身之所，填飽肚子。他當(dāng)然也想過(guò)回到隱士那里去，和阿拉維斯、布里、赫溫匯合，但是現(xiàn)在他辦不到，因?yàn)樗呀?jīng)弄不清楚方向了。

"After all," said Shasta, "this road is bound to get to somewhere."

“這條路，”沙斯塔想，“終歸是要通往某個(gè)地方的。”

But that all depends on what you mean by somewhere. The road kept on getting to somewhere in the sense that it got to more and more trees,all dark and dripping,and to colder and colder air. And strange, icy winds kept blowing the mist past him though they never blew it away. If he had been used to mountain country he would have realized that this meant he was now very high up-perhaps right at the top of the pass. But Shasta knew nothing about mountains.

但那完全取決于你說(shuō)的某個(gè)地方是什么意思。道路通向的地方，看起來(lái)樹(shù)木越來(lái)越多，漆黑一片，水聲嗒嗒，空氣凜冽，寒風(fēng)陣陣，想要吹走霧靄但是徒勞無(wú)功。如果他在山區(qū)生活過(guò)，他就會(huì)明白，現(xiàn)在他所處的海拔越來(lái)越高，也許正好在山口頂上。但是沙斯塔對(duì)山一無(wú)所知。

"I do think," said Shasta, "that I must be the most unfortunate boy that ever lived in the whole world. Everything goes right for everyone except me. Those Narnian lords and ladies got safe away from Tashbaan;I was left behind. Aravis and Bree and Hwin are all as snug as anything with that old Hermit: of course I was the one who was sent on. King Lune and his people must have got safely into the castle and shut the gates long before Rabadash arrived, but I get left out. "

“我確信，”沙斯塔說(shuō)，“我肯定是這個(gè)世界上最不幸的孩子。除了我，人人都萬(wàn)事如意。那些納尼亞國(guó)王女王都安全地離開(kāi)了塔什班城，只有我被拋下。阿拉維斯、布里、赫溫都和老隱士一起享受生活，我卻被派出來(lái)奔波。倫恩國(guó)王和其他人應(yīng)該安全到達(dá)城堡，用城門(mén)阻止了羅八達(dá)，也把我關(guān)在了外面。”

And being very tired and having nothing inside him, he felt so sorry for himself that the tears rolled down his cheeks.

他饑腸轆轆，疲憊不堪，暗自傷心垂淚。

What put a stop to all this was a sudden fright. Shasta discovered that someone or somebody was walking beside him. It was pitch dark and he could see nothing. And the Thing (or Person) was going so quietly that he could hardly hear any footfalls. What he could hear was breathing. His invisible companion seemed to breathe on a very large scale, and Shasta got the impression that it was a very large creature. And he had come to notice this breathing so gradually that he had really no idea how long it had been there.It was a horrible shock.

一種突然的惶恐打斷了他的傷感。沙斯塔發(fā)現(xiàn)有人或者動(dòng)物在身邊走來(lái)走去。周?chē)焓植灰?jiàn)五指。那個(gè)東西( 或者人) 腳步非常輕，難以辨別。他只能聽(tīng)到呼吸聲。這個(gè)“隱身人”呼吸沉重，沙斯塔感覺(jué)這是一種龐然大物。他才發(fā)現(xiàn)自己是逐漸注意到呼吸聲的，也就是說(shuō)它早就在這兒了。沙斯塔不覺(jué)心驚肉跳。

It darted into his mind that he had heard long ago that there were giants in these Northern countries.He bit his lip in terror.

他突然想到，在很久以前，他聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)北方國(guó)家有巨人存在。

But now that he really had something to cry about, he stopped crying.

他惶恐地咬著嘴唇，本來(lái)應(yīng)該哭泣的，但是他沒(méi)有。

The Thing (unless it was a Person) went on beside him so very quietly that Shasta began to hope he had only imagined it. But just as he was becoming quite sure of it, there suddenly came a deep, rich sigh out of the darkness beside him. That couldn't be imagination ! Anyway, he had felt the hot breath of that sigh on his chilly left hand.

這個(gè)龐然大物( 如果不是人) 仍然安靜地在他身邊走著，沙斯塔希望這不過(guò)是幻覺(jué)而已。但他逐漸確信這種想法的時(shí)候，身旁的黑暗中傳來(lái)一聲沉重的長(zhǎng)嘆，這不可能是幻覺(jué)!確信無(wú)疑的是，他感覺(jué)到一股熱氣噴到了他冰冷的左手上。

If the horse had been any good-or if he had known how to get any good out of the horse-he would have risked everything on a breakaway and a wild gallop. But he knew he couldn't make that horse gallop. So he went on at a walking pace and the unseen companion walked and breathed beside him. At last he could bear it no longer.

如果馬還能發(fā)揮點(diǎn)作用——或者他知道如何讓它發(fā)揮作用——他歷盡千難萬(wàn)險(xiǎn)也要逃脫出去。但他不知道怎么讓馬跑起來(lái)，如果他繼續(xù)讓馬慢悠悠地走，身旁環(huán)繞著龐然大物的呼吸。他最后肯定會(huì)崩潰的。

"Who are you ?" he said,scarcely above a whisper.

“你到底是誰(shuí)?”他說(shuō)，聲音比竊竊私語(yǔ)高不了多少。

"One who has waited long for you to speak," said the Thing. Its voice was not loud, but very large and deep.

“一個(gè)等你說(shuō)話(huà)的人，”那東西說(shuō)。聲音不大，但是響亮渾厚。

"Are you-are you a giant ?" asked Shasta.

“你是——你是巨人嗎?”沙斯塔問(wèn)。

"You might call me a giant," said the Large Voice. "But I am not like the creatures you call giants."

“你也可以叫我巨人，”大嗓門(mén)說(shuō)，“但我并不像你們所說(shuō)的巨人。”

"I can't see you at all," said Shasta, after staring very hard. Then (for an even more terrible idea had come into his head) he said, almost in a scream, "You're not-not something dead, are you ? Oh please-please do go away. What harm have I ever done you ? Oh, I am the unluckiest person in the whole world !"

“我根本就看不見(jiàn)你，”沙斯塔努力瞧了一會(huì)兒說(shuō)。接著( 一個(gè)更可怕的念頭跳了出來(lái))，他幾乎是尖叫著說(shuō)，“你是活著的是嗎?哦，請(qǐng)——請(qǐng)你離開(kāi)吧。我沒(méi)有做過(guò)傷害你的事。哎，我是這個(gè)世界上最倒霉的人了!”

Once more he felt the warm breath of the Thing on his hand and face. There,it said, that is not the breath of a ghost. Tell me your sorrows."

一陣熱熱的氣息再一次撲到他的手上和臉上。“聽(tīng)著，”那東西說(shuō)，“這可不是鬼魂能夠發(fā)出來(lái)的。請(qǐng)把你的苦惱告訴我吧。”

Shasta was a little reassured by the breath: so he told how he had never known his real father or mother and had been brought up sternly by the fisherman. And then he told the story of his escape and how they were chased by lions and forced to swim for their lives;and of all their dangers in Tashbaan and about his night among the tombs and how the beasts howled at him out of the desert. And he told about the heat and thirst of their desert journey and how they were almost at their goal when another lion chased them and wounded Aravis. And also, how very long it was since he had had anything to eat.

感受到那氣息，沙斯塔稍稍心安：他向那個(gè)龐然大物傾訴，他不知道親生父母是誰(shuí)，被漁民養(yǎng)大。然后他說(shuō)出了怎樣被獅子追逐，不得不泅水逃命的逃命故事;還有在塔什班城遇到的種種危險(xiǎn)，在墳地中過(guò)夜和聽(tīng)到那些沙漠中的野獸的吼叫。他講到了沙漠跋涉中的炎熱口渴，在快要到達(dá)目的地的時(shí)候被獅子追逐，阿拉維斯也被抓傷，還有他已經(jīng)很久沒(méi)吃東西了。

"I do not call you unfortunate," said the Large Voice.

“我并不認(rèn)為你是不幸的。”大嗓門(mén)說(shuō)。

"Don't you think it was bad luck to meet so many lions ?" said Shasta.

“遇到這么多獅子，難道還是幸運(yùn)的?”沙斯塔說(shuō)。

"There was only one lion," said the Voice. "What on earth do you mean ? I've just told you there were at least two the first night, and—"

“只有一頭獅子。”那聲音說(shuō)。“你究竟是什么意思?我剛才就告訴你，第一夜就有至少兩頭獅子，還有……”

"There was only one: but he was swift of foot. " "How do you know ?"

“只有一頭獅子，但是速度極快。”“你怎么知道?”

"I was the lion. " And as Shasta gaped with open mouth and said nothing, the Voice continued."! was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you. "

“我就是那頭獅子。”沙斯塔瞠目結(jié)舌，無(wú)話(huà)可說(shuō)，龐然大物繼續(xù)說(shuō)。“我就是逼你和阿拉維斯同行的那頭獅子。我就是在墳場(chǎng)里給你安全感的貓咪。我就是在你熟睡時(shí)為你驅(qū)趕豺狼的那頭獅子。我就是那頭最后一英里路時(shí)在恐懼中重新賜予你的馬力量，讓你能夠及時(shí)和倫恩國(guó)王匯合的獅子。我就是那頭推著一條船的獅子，船里的你奄奄一息，一個(gè)深夜未眠的漁夫收留了你。而這一切，你都不記得。”

"Then it was you who wounded Aravis ?"

“抓傷阿拉維斯的也是你?”

"It was I. "

“是我。”

"But what for ?"

“為什么?”

"Child," said the Voice,"I am telling you your story, not hers.I tell no one any story but his own." "Who are you ?" asked Shasta.

“孩子，”大嗓門(mén)說(shuō)，“我在講述你的故事，而不是她的。除了一個(gè)人自己的故事，我什么也不講。”“那你是誰(shuí)?”沙斯塔問(wèn)。

"Myself," said the Voice, very deep and low so that the earth shook: and again"Myself", loud and clear and gay: and then the third time"Myself", whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, and yet it seemed to come from all round you as if the leaves rustled with it.

“我就是我自己，”那聲音說(shuō)，緩慢沉重，大地仿佛因此震顫：還是那句“我自己”，響亮、清晰、愉快;然后是第三遍“我自己”，聲音柔和細(xì)微，難以辨別，然后這聲音又從四面八方簇?fù)磉^(guò)來(lái)，樹(shù)葉仿佛隨之簌簌有聲。

Shasta was no longer afraid that the Voice belonged to something that would eat him, nor that it was the voice of a ghost. But a new and different sort of trembling came over him. Yet he felt glad too.

這聲音即使來(lái)自要吃他的怪物，來(lái)自鬼魂，沙斯塔也不再害怕了。一種截然不同的敬畏傳遍全身，他也逐漸樂(lè)觀起來(lái)。

The mist was turning from black to grey and from grey to white. This must have begun to happen some time ago, but while he had been talking to the Thing he had not been noticing anything else. Now, the whiteness around him became a shining whiteness;his eyes began to blink. Somewhere ahead he could hear birds singing. He knew the night was over at last. He could see the mane and ears and head of his horse quite easily now. A golden light fell on them from the left.He thought it was the sun.

霧靄由漆黑變得灰白然后變得雪白，這種變化可能很早就發(fā)生了，但是沙斯塔和龐然大物交談的時(shí)候，心無(wú)旁騖。周?chē)陌咨_(kāi)始變得閃耀;沙斯塔眨眨眼睛，前方有鳥(niǎo)叫聲傳來(lái)。他知道黑夜終于過(guò)去了。馬兒的腦袋、耳朵、鬃毛清晰可辨，一道金色光芒從左邊照下來(lái)。起初他感覺(jué)是陽(yáng)光。

He turned and saw, pacing beside him, taller than the horse, a Lion. The horse did not seem to be afraid of it or else could not see it. It was from the Lion that the light came. No one ever saw anything more terrible or beautiful.

他轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)頭，看到一頭比馬還高的獅子。馬毫不畏懼，也許根本就看不到它。光芒來(lái)自獅子。這可能是他見(jiàn)過(guò)的最可怕、最美麗的東西了。

Luckily Shasta had lived all his life too far south in Calormen to have heard the tales that were whispered in Tashbaan about a dreadful Narnian demon that appeared in the form of a lion. And of course he knew none of the true stories about Aslan, the great Lion, the son of the Emperor-over-the-sea, the King above all High Kings in Narnia. But after one glance at the Lion' s face he slipped out of the saddle and fell at its feet. He couldn' t say anything but then he didn' t want to say anything, and he knew he needn' t say anything.

幸好沙斯塔一直生活在卡樂(lè)門(mén)南方的邊遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)，沒(méi)有聽(tīng)過(guò)塔什班城流傳的傳言：一個(gè)可怕的納尼亞魔鬼化身為一頭獅子。當(dāng)然，關(guān)于阿斯蘭的真正故事，關(guān)于偉大的獅子，海那邊的王子，納尼亞至高無(wú)上的皇帝，沙斯塔一無(wú)所知。但沙斯塔瞥了一眼獅子，就翻身下馬，跪倒在獅子腳邊。他無(wú)話(huà)可說(shuō)，也不想說(shuō)，而且他明白自己毋需多言。

The High King above all kings stooped towards him. Its mane, and some strange and solemn perfume that hung about the mane, was all round him. It touched his forehead with its tongue. He lifted his face and their eyes met. Then instantly the pale brightness of the mist and the fiery brightness of the Lion rolled themselves together into a swirling glory and gathered themselves up and disappeared. He was alone with the horse on a grassy hillside under a blue sky.And there were birds singing.

至高無(wú)上的獅王俯下頭來(lái)，鬃毛有一種奇怪并莊嚴(yán)的香氣，圍繞在沙斯塔周?chē)?。獅子輕輕舔舐他的額頭，沙斯塔抬起頭，四目相對(duì)。接著，霧靄的白色光芒和獅子的金色光芒立刻混在一起，化作散發(fā)光芒的漩渦，聚攏收縮，最終消失。沙斯塔和馬坐在藍(lán)天下芳草嫩綠的山坡上，鳥(niǎo)鳴聲聲。