《凱斯賓王子》第十五章 天門開啟

CHAPTER FIFTEEN ASLAN MAKES A DOOR IN THE AIR

第十五章 天門開啟

AT the sight of Aslan the cheeks of the Telmarine soldiers became the colour of cold gravy，their knees knocked together，and many fell on their faces.They had not believed in lions and this made their fear greater.Even the Red Dwarfs，who knew that he came as a friend，stood with open mouths and could not speak.Some of the Black Dwarfs，who had been of Nikabrik's party，began to edge away.But all the Talking Beasts surged round the Lion，with purrs and grunts and squeaks and whinneys of delight，fawning on him with their tails，rubbing against him，touching him reverently with their noses and going to and fro under his body and between his legs.If you have ever seen a little cat loving a big dog whom it knows and trusts，you will have a pretty good picture of their behaviour.Then Peter，leading Caspian，forced his way through the crowd of animals.

一看到阿斯蘭，臺(tái)爾馬士兵頓時(shí)嚇得六神無主，不少人磕頭求饒。他們從來不相信獅王阿斯蘭的傳說，他的突然出現(xiàn)更讓人恐懼。雖然紅發(fā)小矮人知道阿斯蘭是友，可這時(shí)也目瞪口呆。尼克布瑞克部下的那些黑發(fā)小矮人，悄悄退到一邊。但會(huì)說話的動(dòng)物就沒有絲毫恐懼和害怕，它們把阿斯蘭團(tuán)團(tuán)圍住，叫著、跳著，沖著他搖頭擺尾，親熱地在他身上蹭來蹭去，在他的身下、腿間鉆來鉆去，用鼻子拱他、親他。你要是見過一只貓跟一只信賴自己、了解自己的狗親昵的話，你就能想象出當(dāng)時(shí)的情景了。這時(shí)彼得領(lǐng)著凱斯賓擠進(jìn)人群，來到了阿斯蘭面前。

"This is Caspian，Sir，"he said.And Caspian knelt and kissed the Lion's paw.

"這是凱斯賓王子，閣下，"他介紹道。凱斯賓便單腿跪下，吻了吻獅王的爪子。

"Welcome，Prince，"said Aslan."Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?"

"歡迎你，王子，"阿斯蘭說，"你有足夠的信心治理好納尼亞嗎?"

"I-I don't think I do，Sir，"said Caspian."I'm only a kid."

"我--我認(rèn)為我不行，閣下，"凱斯賓說，"我尚年幼。"

"Good，"said Aslan."If you had felt yourself sufficient，it would have been a proof that you were not.Therefore，under us and under the High King，you shall be King of Narnia，Lord of Cair Paravel，and Emperor of the Lone Islands.You and your heirs while your race lasts.And your coronation-but what have we here?"For at that moment a curious little procession was approaching-eleven Mice，six of whom carried between them something on a litter made of branches，but the litter was no bigger than a large atlas.No one has ever seen mice more woebegone than these.They were plastered with mud-some with blood too-and their ears were down and their whiskers drooped and their tails dragged in the grass，and their leader piped on his slender pipe a melancholy tune.On the litter lay what seemed little better than a damp heap of fur; all that was left of Reepicheep.He was still breathing，but more dead than alive，gashed with innumerable wounds，one paw crushed，and，where his tail had been，a bandaged stump.

"好，"阿斯蘭說，"如果你自認(rèn)為胸有成竹，這只能證明你幼稚?，F(xiàn)在你就要成為繼我和至尊王之后的納尼亞國王、凱爾帕拉維爾統(tǒng)治者、孤獨(dú)群島君王。只要你的臣民還在這片土地上繁衍生息，你和你的繼承人就要對(duì)他們負(fù)責(zé)。坐好你的寶座--是誰走過來了?"就在這時(shí)，一支小小的隊(duì)伍走來--是十一只老鼠。六只抬著樹枝擔(dān)架，不過還不及一本地圖大呢，看不清上面是什么。老鼠身上全是泥和血跡，老鼠們的尾巴無精打采地拖在草地上。領(lǐng)隊(duì)吹著一支憂傷的曲子。隊(duì)伍到大家跟前，才看清擔(dān)架上那一小堆東西，是雷佩契普。它受傷非常嚴(yán)重，一只爪子被踩碎了，尾巴也掉了，就剩最后一口氣。

"Now，Lucy，"said Aslan.

"露茜，看你的了。"阿斯蘭說。

Lucy had her diamond bottle out in a moment.Though only a drop was needed on each of Reepicheep's wounds，the wounds were so many that there was a long and anxious silence before she had finished and the Master Mouse sprang from the litter.His hand went at once to his sword hilt，with the other he twirled his whiskers.He bowed.

露茜立刻拿出她的鉆石瓶子。一個(gè)傷口只需一滴藥水，但是她似乎好久才給雷佩契普上完藥，它的傷口實(shí)在太多。最后一滴藥水滴完，鼠將軍翻身就從擔(dān)架上跳了下來。它一手握著劍柄上，一手捻著胡須，優(yōu)雅地向阿斯蘭鞠躬。

"Hail，Aslan!"came his shrill voice."I have the honour-"But then he suddenly stopped.

"阿斯蘭在上!"場上又響起它尖細(xì)的嗓音，"我很榮幸......"然后它突然停了下來。

The fact was that he still had no tail-whether that Lucy had forgotten it or that her cordial，though it could heal wounds，could not make things grow again.Reepicheep became aware of his loss as he made his bow; perhaps it altered something in his balance.He looked over his right shoulder.Failing to see his tail，he strained his neck further till he had to turn his shoulders and his whole body followed.But by that time his hind-quarters had turned too and were out of sight.Then he strained his neck looking over his shoulder again，with the same result.Only after he had turned completely round three times did he realize the dreadful truth.

實(shí)際上，雖然雷佩契普的傷口已經(jīng)痊愈，但它沒了尾巴。要么是露茜忘了它的尾巴部分，要么是她的藥水雖然可以治愈傷口，卻無法使身體失去的部分重獲新生。雷佩契普鞠躬時(shí)，突然發(fā)現(xiàn)自己沒了尾巴，就從右肩向身后望去，還是不見自己的尾巴。于是它又把脖子向后伸去，整個(gè)身體都扭動(dòng)起來，卻還是看不到自己的尾巴。反復(fù)了幾次，終于確定了自己的尾巴不見了。

"I am confounded，"said Reepicheep to Aslan."I am completely out of countenance.I must crave your indulgence for appearing in this unseemly fashion."

"我該死，"雷佩契普對(duì)阿斯蘭說，"在您面前如此不穩(wěn)重。以這樣的樣子在您面前出丑，請(qǐng)見諒。"

"It becomes you very well，Small One，"said Aslan.

"看起來還好啊，小家伙。"阿斯蘭說。

"All the same，"replied Reepicheep，"if anything could be done...Perhaps her Majesty?"and here he bowed to Lucy.

"如您所說，"雷佩契普回復(fù)道，"不過不知道有沒有辦法讓尾巴再長出來......也許女王陛下?"雷佩契普說著，又向露茜行了個(gè)禮。

"But what do you want with a tail?"asked Aslan.

"可是要尾巴有什么用呢?"阿斯蘭問。

"Sir，"said the Mouse，"I can eat and sleep and die for my King without one.But a tail is the honour and glory of a Mouse."

"閣下，"鼠將軍說，"沒有尾巴絲毫不影響我的吃睡，也不影響我為您戰(zhàn)斗犧牲。但是尾巴是老鼠的榮譽(yù)。"

"I have sometimes wondered，friend，"said Aslan，"whether you do not think too much about your honour."

"朋友，有時(shí)我想，"阿斯蘭說，"你對(duì)你的榮譽(yù)是不是多慮了。"

"Highest of all High Kings，"said Reepicheep，"permit me to remind you that a very small size has been bestowed on us Mice，and if we did not guard our dignity，some (who weigh worth by inches) would allow themselves very unsuitable pleasantries at our expense.That is why I have been at some pains to make it known that no one who does not wish to feel this sword as near his heart as I can reach shall talk in my presence about Traps or Toasted Cheese or Candles: no，Sir-not the tallest fool in Narnia!"Here he glared very fiercely up at Wimbleweather，but the Giant，who was always a stage behind everyone else，had not yet discovered what was being talked about down at his feet，and so missed the point.

"尊貴的王，"雷佩契普說，"請(qǐng)?jiān)试S我說句，命運(yùn)賦予我們這樣小的身體，如果我們不保護(hù)自己的尊嚴(yán)，那么那些以身高來衡量價(jià)值的家伙，就會(huì)拿我們尋開心。這就是為什么我總告誡人們，如果不想被刺就不要在我面前提'鼠夾子'、'鼠藥'、'上燈臺(tái)、下不來'等字眼。不管他是誰!個(gè)子多高!"雷佩契普說到這里，瞪了韋姆布威熱一眼?？墒?，擋在大家身后的巨人并沒有聽到腳下的朋友在說什么，當(dāng)然也不知道鼠將軍是在指桑罵槐。

"Why have your followers all drawn their swords，may I ask?"said Aslan.

"請(qǐng)問，你的部下為什么都把寶劍抽出來?"阿斯蘭說。

"May it please your High Majesty，"said the second Mouse，whose name was Peepiceek，"we are all waiting to cut off our own tails if our Chief must go without his.We will not bear the shame of wearing an honour which is denied to the High Mouse."

"啟稟至高無上的君主，"老鼠副統(tǒng)帥雷佩?？嘶卮鹫f，"假如我們老大的尾巴無法恢復(fù)，我們所有人都割去尾巴來分擔(dān)它的不幸。

"Ah!"roared Aslan."You have conquered me.You have great hearts.Not for the sake of your dignity，Reepicheep，but for the love that is between you and your people，and still more for the kindness your people showed me long ago when you ate away the cords that bound me on the Stone Table (and it was then，though you have long forgotten it，that you began to be Talking Mice)，you shall have your tail again."

"啊!"阿斯蘭高聲說，"你們心靈非常高尚，雷佩契普你將擁有一條新的尾巴，不是因?yàn)槟愕淖饑?yán)，而是因?yàn)槟愫屯榉浅Ｓ褠?，并且感謝你們對(duì)我的幫助。還記得嗎，大石桌上是你們咬斷了我身上的繩索。于是從那時(shí)起，你們開始會(huì)講話。"

Before Aslan had finished speaking the new tail was in its place.Then，at Aslan's command，Peter bestowed the Knighthood of the Order of the Lion on Caspian，and Caspian，as soon as he was knighted，himself bestowed it on Trufflehunter and Trumpkin and Reepicheep，and made Doctor Cornelius his Lord Chancellor，of the Lists.And there was great applause.

阿斯蘭話還沒說完，雷佩契普就長出了一條新的尾巴。接著在阿斯蘭的指示下，彼得授予凱斯賓騎士封號(hào)。凱斯賓又封特魯佛漢特、杜魯普金和雷佩契普為護(hù)國將軍，封克奈爾斯博士為大法官，棕熊為決斗公證所所長。然后是一陣?yán)坐Q般的掌聲。

After this the Telmarine soldiers，firmly but without taunts or blows，were taken across the ford and all put under lock and key in the town of Beruna and given beef and beer.They made a great fuss about wading in the river，for they all hated and feared running water just as much as they hated and feared woods and animals.But in the end the nuisance was over: and then the nicest parts of that long day began.

儀式結(jié)束后，那些戰(zhàn)俘被押到河對(duì)岸囚禁在柏盧納，每天給他們牛肉、啤酒，他們茍延殘喘地活著。他們過河費(fèi)了很大的勁兒，因?yàn)槟切┦勘貏e害怕河水。在過河時(shí)一個(gè)個(gè)大喊大叫，驚恐萬分。不過好在最后一切都?xì)w于平靜，然后這一天中最美好的一段時(shí)光開始了。

Lucy，sitting close to Aslan and divinely comfortable，wondered what the trees were doing.At first she thought they were merely dancing; they were certainly going round slowly in two circles，one from left to right and the other from right to left.Then she noticed that they kept throwing something down in the centre of both circles.Sometimes she thought they were cutting off long strands of their hair; at other times it looked as if they were breaking off bits of their fingers-but，if so，they had plenty of fingers to spare and it did not hurt them.But whatever they were throwing down，when it reached the ground，it became brushwood or dry sticks.Then three or four of the Red Dwarfs came forward with their tinder boxes and set light to the pile，which first crackled，and then blazed，and finally roared as a woodland bonfire on midsummer night ought to do.And everyone sat down in a wide circle round it.

露茜坐在阿斯蘭身旁，說不出的開心。突然她看到那些樹神好像是在跳舞。它們圍成兩個(gè)圈，緩緩地一個(gè)圈從左往右移動(dòng)，另一個(gè)圈從右往左露茜注意到，移動(dòng)它們不停地往圓圈中心扔著東西。她覺得它們?cè)谡蹟嘧约旱拈L發(fā)，又覺得它們?cè)谡蹟嘧约旱闹θ~，總之它們有很多枝葉，也不覺得會(huì)痛。那些東西一落地，就變成了干柴。這時(shí)三四個(gè)小矮人拿著火柴點(diǎn)燃了地上的干柴。先是星星之火，很快就燃成了熊熊大火，大家在火旁堆旁坐了下來。

Then Bacchus and Silenus and the Maenads began a dance，far wilder than the dance of the trees; not merely a dance for fun and beauty (though it was that too) but a magic dance of plenty，and where their hands touched，and where their feet fell，the feast came into existence-sides of roasted meat that filled the grove with delicious smell，and wheaten cakes and oaten cakes，honey and many-coloured sugars and cream as thick as porridge and as smooth as still water，peaches，nectarines，pomegranates，pears，grapes，strawberries，raspberries-pyramids and cataracts of fruit.Then，in great wooden cups and bowls and mazers，wreathed with ivy，came the wines; dark，thick ones like syrups of mulberry juice，and clear red ones like red jellies liquefied，and yellow wines and green wines and yellow-green and greenish-yellow.

這時(shí)巴庫斯、塞利努斯和那些野姑娘開始起舞。他們的舞非常特別，不僅舞姿優(yōu)美，更像是在變魔術(shù)--他們所到之處，會(huì)出現(xiàn)各種美味佳肴：令人饞涎欲滴的烤肉，蛋糕、餡餅和色彩鮮艷的糖果令人目不暇接，還有入口即化的奶油、蜂蜜、鴨梨、葡萄、草莓、蜜桃、哈密瓜。而在常春藤纏繞著的巨大的木杯中，盛著各種美酒佳釀，有的像桑椹漿般醇厚 ，有的像果凍般透明，有的像青翠欲滴的葡萄，有的變換著色澤，這些都是黃葡萄酒、綠葡萄酒、黃綠葡萄酒和綠黃葡萄酒。

But for the tree people different fare was provided.When Lucy saw Clodsley Shovel and his moles scuffling up the turf in various places (which Bacchus had pointed out to them) and realized that the trees were going to eat earth it gave her rather a shudder.But when she saw the earths that were actually brought to them she felt quite different.They began with a rich brown loam that looked almost exactly like chocolate; so like chocolate，in fact，that Edmund tried a piece of it，but he did not find it at all nice.When the rich loam had taken the edge off their hunger，the trees turned to an earth of the kind you see in Somerset，which is almost pink.They said it was lighter and sweeter.At the cheese stage they had a chalky soil，and then went on to delicate confections of the finest gravels powdered with choice silver sand.They drank very little wine，and it made the Hollies very talkative: for the most part they quenched their thirst with deep draughts of mingled dew and rain，flavoured with forest flowers and the airy taste of the thinnest clouds.

他們還給樹木準(zhǔn)備了不一樣的宴席。鼴鼠們?cè)谑奏彽膸ьI(lǐng)下，按照巴庫斯的指點(diǎn)用鐵鍬挖開了一些地方的草皮。露茜這才發(fā)現(xiàn)，樹木要吃的原來是泥巴;想到這兒，她不由自主地打了個(gè)戰(zhàn)栗。但是當(dāng)她親眼見到樹木吃泥巴的樣子，感覺就大不一樣了。他們先吃了像巧克力一樣的沃土--那看上去實(shí)在太像巧克力醬了，愛德蒙也忍不住抓起來嘗了一點(diǎn)，但他還是覺得味道不太對(duì)。樹木們吃了沃土之后，沒有那么餓了，又吃起了另一種泥土。這種粉紅色的泥土只能在薩默塞特郡找到。樹木們說，這種泥土味道比較清淡，吃起來還有點(diǎn)甜。到了該吃奶酪的時(shí)候，樹木享用的是一種白堊土;他們的甜品則是上面撒著細(xì)沙的優(yōu)質(zhì)卵石。他們也喝了一點(diǎn)葡萄酒，這讓冬青樹變得很話嘮。大部分樹木都喝飽了用露水和雨水調(diào)制的飲料，里面還摻了點(diǎn)森林花朵的味道，還有用最淡的云彩造的氣泡。

Thus Aslan feasted the Narnians till long after the sunset had died away，and the stars had come out; and the great fire，now hotter but less noisy，shone like a beacon in the dark woods，and the frightened Telmarines saw it from far away and wondered what it might mean.The best thing of all about this feast was that there was no breaking up or going away，but as the talk grew quieter and slower，one after another would begin to nod and finally drop off to sleep with feet towards the fire and good friends on either side，till at last there was silence all round the circle，and the chattering of water over stone at the Ford of Beruna could be heard once more.But all night Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes.

阿斯蘭以這樣的盛宴款待了納尼亞的臣民，一直到夜幕降臨，繁星升起。篝火不再劈啪作響，卻明亮得像一座燈塔，照亮了黑暗的山林。臺(tái)爾馬人從遠(yuǎn)處看到這火光，都惶惶不安，不知道這是一種什么預(yù)兆。這種宴會(huì)好就好在，大家不需要互相告別，也沒有人中途退席;只聽見談話聲漸弱，人們說話的聲調(diào)越拉越長，然后就挨個(gè)兒睡去了。大家都躺在草地上或都依偎著好朋友，腳朝著篝火呼呼大睡。最后篝火四周都安靜下來了，只有不遠(yuǎn)處傳來柏盧納渡口潺潺的水聲。一整夜，只有阿斯蘭像月亮一樣，清醒地、默默地盯著每一張熟睡的面孔。

Next day messengers (who were chiefly squirrels and birds) were sent all over the country with a proclamation to the scattered Telmarines-including，of course，the prisoners in Beruna.They were told that Caspian was now King and that Narnia would henceforth belong to the Talking Beasts and the Dwarfs and Dryads and Fauns and other creatures quite as much as to the men.Any who chose to stay under the new conditions might do so; but for those who did not like the idea，Aslan would provide another home.Anyone who wished to go there must come to Aslan and the Kings at the Ford of Beruna by noon on the fifth day.You may imagine that this caused plenty of head-scratching among the Telmarines.Some of them，chiefly the young ones，had，like Caspian，heard stories of the Old Days and were delighted that they had come back.They were already making friends with the creatures.These all decided to stay in Narnia.But most of the older men，especially those who had been important under Miraz，were sulky and had no wish to live in a country where they could not rule the roost."Live here with a lot of blooming performing animals! No fear，"they said."And ghosts too，"some added with a shudder."That's what those there Dryads really are.It's not canny."They were also suspicious."I don't trust'em，"they said."Not with that awful Lion and all.He won't keep his claws off us long，you'll see."But then they were equally suspicious of his offer to give them a new home."Take us off to his den and eat us one by one most likely，"they muttered.And the more they talked to one another the sulkier and more suspicious they became.But on the appointed day more than half of them turned up.

第二天，主要是松鼠和小鳥的使臣們被派到各處，向逃亡的臺(tái)爾馬人--包括柏盧納的那些俘虜宣告：凱斯賓已經(jīng)成為納尼亞的國王，這個(gè)國家屬于人類，也屬于所有會(huì)說話的動(dòng)物、小矮人和巨人。任何愿意在這塊土地上生活的人，都可以留下來絕不勉強(qiáng)。那些不愿意留下的人阿斯蘭另有安排，但這些人必須在第五天中午前到柏盧納渡口。你可以想象，這些新政策肯定會(huì)在多數(shù)臺(tái)爾馬人中引起騷動(dòng)。他們之中有許多年輕人，像凱斯賓一樣自小就聽過許多古老納尼亞的傳說，他們?yōu)槊篮脮r(shí)光的來臨感到興奮，并且已經(jīng)和動(dòng)物們成了朋友。這些人毫無疑問地都愿意留在納尼亞?？赡切┐蟛糠稚狭四昙o(jì)的人，尤其是那些在彌若茲統(tǒng)治下有權(quán)有勢(shì)的人卻郁郁寡歡。他們不敢想象失去了權(quán)勢(shì)，生活還會(huì)有什么意義。他們說："和那些動(dòng)物生活在一起!還有小矮人、巨人、人馬那樣的怪物!太恐怖了，我們可不干!""還有鬼魂!"有人補(bǔ)充道，這話說起來不寒而栗，"還有樹妖、樹精那些嚇人的東西。"還有人持懷疑態(tài)度："我不相信那只獅子和他的屬下會(huì)讓我們過好日子的，走著瞧吧!"他們也不相信阿斯蘭會(huì)給他們一個(gè)新家園，小聲地嘟囔說："他會(huì)把我們帶回山洞，一個(gè)個(gè)吃掉!"他們?cè)绞亲h論，越是懷疑和不安?？墒悄且惶齑蟀肴诉€是如期而至。

At one end of the glade Aslan had caused to be set up two stakes of wood，higher than a man's head and about three feet apart.A third，and lighter，piece of wood was bound across them at the top，uniting them，so that the whole thing looked like a doorway from nowhere into nowhere.In front of this stood Aslan himself with Peter on his right and Caspian on his left.Grouped round them were Susan and Lucy，Trumpkin and Trufflehunter，the Lord Cornelius，Glenstorm，Reepicheep，and others.The children and the Dwarfs had made good use of the royal wardrobes in what had been the castle of Miraz and was now the castle of Caspian，and what with silk and cloth of gold，with snowy linen glancing through slashed sleeves，with silver mail shirts and jewelled sword-hilts，with gilt helmets and feathered bonnets，they were almost too bright to look at.Even the beasts wore rich chains about their necks.Yet nobody's eyes were on them or the children.The living and strokable gold of Aslan's mane outshone them all.The rest of the Old Narnians stood down each side of the glade.At the far end stood the Telmarines.The sun shone brightly and pennants fluttered in the light wind.

阿斯蘭讓人在林中空地上豎起兩根木棍，一根人那么高，間隔一米左右，又把另一根木棍，橫綁在那兩根的頂端，最后的形狀像個(gè)門框一樣。阿斯蘭站在不遠(yuǎn)處，左邊是彼得，右邊是凱斯賓，他們旁邊站著愛德蒙、蘇珊、露茜和其他人。孩子們和小矮人們都穿著節(jié)日的盛裝。這些華麗的衣服都出自彌若茲城堡，當(dāng)然確切地說現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)是凱斯賓城堡了。可是，沒有人去注意這些。阿斯蘭那金色鬃毛，已經(jīng)讓他們頭暈?zāi)垦！＜{尼亞臣民分站空地兩端。遠(yuǎn)處是臺(tái)爾馬人。天氣很好，陽光明媚，戰(zhàn)旗迎風(fēng)飄揚(yáng)。

"Men of Telmar，"said Aslan，"you who seek a new land，hear my words.I will send you all to your own country，which I know and you do not."

"臺(tái)爾馬的同胞們，"阿斯蘭說道，"愿意重建家園的人，聽我說。我會(huì)把你們送回你們自己的國家，只有我知道的那里。"

"We don't remember Telmar.We don't know where it is.We don't know what it is like，"grumbled the Telmarines.

"我們不記得臺(tái)爾馬了。不知道它在哪兒，也不知道那里現(xiàn)在是什么樣子。"臺(tái)爾馬人各抒己見。

"You came into Narnia out of Telmar，"said Aslan."But you came into Telmar from another place.You do not belong to this world at all.You came hither，certain generations ago，out of that same world to which the High King Peter belongs."

"你們從臺(tái)爾馬來到納尼亞，"阿斯蘭說，"而你們又是別的地方來到臺(tái)爾馬。你們的國家根本不屬于這里。幾百年前你們屬于另一個(gè)世界，就是至尊王彼得所在的那個(gè)世界。"

At this，half the Telmarines began whimpering，"There you are.Told you so.He's going to kill us all，send us right out of the world，"and the other half began throwing out their chests and slapping one another on the back and whispering，"There you are.Might have guessed we didn't belong to this place with all its queer，nasty，unnatural creatures.We're of royal blood，you'll see."And even Caspian and Cornelius and the children turned to Aslan with looks of amazement on their faces.

聽到這兒，臺(tái)爾馬人開始坐立不安。"看看，我沒說錯(cuò)吧!他要把我們都?xì)⑺?，把我們從這個(gè)世界上除掉!"但是另一些人拍拍彼此的肩膀，低語道："怎么樣!早該看出來，我們本來不屬于這里，跟這些長相奇怪的家伙不是同類人。我們出身高貴，走著瞧吧!"這時(shí)候，甚至凱斯賓、克奈爾斯和孩子們都看著阿斯蘭。

"Peace，"said Aslan in the low voice which was nearest to his growl.The earth seemed to shake a little and every living thing in the grove became still as stone.

"安靜!"阿斯蘭簡直像在吼叫。大地似乎顫抖了一下，大家突然一下子像石頭一樣靜下來。

"You，Sir Caspian，"said Aslan，"might have known that you could be no true King of Narnia unless，like the Kings of old，you were a son of Adam and came from the world of Adam's sons.And so you are.Many years ago in that world，in a deep sea of that world which is called the South Sea，a shipload of pirates were driven by storm on an island.And there they did as pirates would: killed the natives and took the native women for wives，and made palm wine，and drank and were drunk，and lay in the shade of the palm trees，and woke up and quarrelled，and sometimes killed one another.And in one of these frays six were put to flight by the rest and fled with their women into the centre of the island and up a mountain，and went，as they thought，into a cave to hide.But it was one of the magical places of that world，one of the chinks or chasms between chat world and this.There were many chinks or chasms between worlds in old times，but they have grown rarer.This was one of the last: I do not say the last.And so they fell，or rose，or blundered，or dropped right through，and found themselves in this world，in the Land of Telmar which was then unpeopled.But why it was unpeopled is a long story: I will not tell it now.And in Telmar their descendants lived and became a fierce and proud people; and after many generations there was a famine in Telmar and they invaded Narnia，which was then in some disorder (but that also would be a long story)，and conquered it and ruled it.Do you mark all this well，King Caspian?"

"是的，凱斯賓國王，"阿斯蘭說，"你們應(yīng)該知道，只有亞當(dāng)?shù)淖訉O，并且來自亞當(dāng)子孫的世界，才有資格成為納尼亞的國王。而你們正是亞當(dāng)?shù)淖訉O。很久以前，在那個(gè)叫南海的地方，有一船海盜遇到海難，被風(fēng)暴吹上一個(gè)小島。他們露出海盜的本性，殺光了所有本地男人，逼迫當(dāng)?shù)氐膵D女做自己的妻子。終日喝島上自制的椰子酒，經(jīng)常酩酊大醉，睡在椰子樹下，醒來后就開始吵架，嚴(yán)重的時(shí)候還會(huì)互相殘殺。有一次六個(gè)人遭到其他同伴追殺，他們帶著自己的家眷逃到小島中間的山頂，藏在一個(gè)山洞。沒想到那個(gè)山洞通往兩個(gè)世界。古代有許多類似的通道連接兩個(gè)世界，可惜現(xiàn)在大部分都已經(jīng)自動(dòng)封閉了。他們碰巧鉆進(jìn)了其中一個(gè)。結(jié)果，他們就開始覺得天旋地轉(zhuǎn)。再睜開眼時(shí)，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在一片陌生的國土,就是后來的臺(tái)爾馬王國。之前這片土地還沒有人類踏足。至于為什么沒有人跡，那就是另一個(gè)故事了。這六對(duì)男女再也沒離開，他們世代繁衍生息形成一個(gè)彪悍的民族。就這樣過去了好多年。有一年臺(tái)爾馬鬧饑荒，他們只好開始侵略納尼亞，并統(tǒng)治這個(gè)國家。至于那時(shí)納尼亞為什么那么容易被入侵，那就另有原因了。凱斯賓國王，這些你都記下來了嗎?"

"I do indeed，Sir，"said Caspian."I was wishing that I came of a more honourable lineage."

"我會(huì)牢記的，閣下，"凱斯賓說，"我一直希望自己出身體面。"

"You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve，"said Aslan."And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar，and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth.Be content."

"你們的祖先是亞當(dāng)和夏娃，"阿斯蘭說，"這足以讓一無所有的乞丐也能挺起胸膛，也足以令那些其他君主相形見絀。你們應(yīng)該知足了。"

Caspian bowed.

凱斯賓鞠了一躬。

"And now，"said Aslan，"you men and women of Telmar，will you go back to that island in the world of men from which your fathers first came? It is no bad place.The race of those pirates who first found it has died out，and it is without inhabitants.There are good wells of fresh water，and fruitful soil，and timber for building，and fish in the lagoons; and the other men of that world have not yet discovered it.The chasm is open for your return; but this I must warn you，that once you have gone through，it will close behind you forever.There will be no more commerce between the worlds by that door."

"現(xiàn)在，"阿斯蘭說道，"臺(tái)爾馬人，你們?cè)敢饣氐侥銈冏嫦壬畹哪莻€(gè)世界嗎?那是個(gè)好地方。島上的海盜早已死光，一直荒無人煙。你們有水質(zhì)甘甜的水井，肥沃的土地，足夠的木材，還有捕不盡的魚蝦。人類至今還沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)那里，天門依然為你們敞開?？墒牵冶仨毟嬖V你們，一旦你們走過通道天門就會(huì)永遠(yuǎn)關(guān)閉。"

There was silence for a moment.Then a burly，decent looking fellow among the Telmarine soldiers pushed forward and said:

一陣沉默之后，一個(gè)健壯、長得還算體面的臺(tái)爾馬人走過來，說：

"Well，I'll take the offer."

好吧，我愿意接受這樣的安排。

The man，now a little pale，came forward.Aslan and his court drew aside，leaving him free access to the empty doorway of the stakes.

那人臉色有些蒼白，但還是邁開步子向前走去。阿斯蘭和其他人退到兩邊，留出一條路，一直通往那個(gè)門框。

"Go through it，my son，"said Aslan，bending towards him and touching the man's nose with his own.As soon as the Lion's breath came about him，a new look came into the man's eyes-startled，but not unhappy-as if he were trying to remember something.Then he squared his shoulders and walked into the Door.

"走過去，孩子。"阿斯蘭說著，起身用鼻子在那人的鼻子上輕輕碰了一下。接觸到阿斯蘭的氣息，那人的神色隨之一變目光堅(jiān)定，仿佛充滿回憶。他聳聳肩，從容地走向那門框。

Everyone's eyes were fixed on him.They saw the three pieces of wood，and through them the trees and grass and sky of Narnia.They saw the man between the doorposts: then，in one second，he had vanished utterly.

所有人都盯著他。同時(shí)，他們可以看清那三根木棍和門框那邊的草地、樹林和納尼亞的天空。他們看著那個(gè)人，一條腿剛跨進(jìn)門框之后，一眨眼就消失了。

From the other end of the glade the remaining Telmarines set up a wailing."Ugh! What's happened to him? Do you mean to murder us? We won't go that way."And then one of the clever Telmarines said:

剩下的臺(tái)爾馬人都大聲驚叫："天哪!這是怎么了?你要謀殺我們嗎?啊，我不去!"

"We don't see any other world through those sticks.If you want us to believe in it，why doesn't one of you go? All your own friends are keeping well away from the sticks."

這時(shí)一個(gè)明智的臺(tái)爾馬人站出來說："從這里根本看不到另一個(gè)世界。如果要我們相信它，除非派你的部下先過去。為什么你的朋友都站得遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)的呢?"

Instantly Reepicheep stood forward and bowed."If my example can be of any service，Aslan，"he said，"I will take eleven mice through that arch at your bidding without a moment's delay."

那人話音還沒落，雷佩契普就站出來向阿斯蘭鞠了一躬。"如果我能用自己的行動(dòng)說服他們，尊敬的阿斯蘭請(qǐng)你下令，我將帶著我的十一名兄弟馬上走過去，毫不猶豫。"

"Nay，little one，"said Aslan，laying his velvety paw ever so lightly on Reepicheep's head."They would do dreadful things to you in that world.They would show you at fairs.It is others who must lead."

"不，小家伙，"阿斯蘭把他毛茸茸的爪子輕輕放在老鼠的頭上，"在那個(gè)世界，他們會(huì)虐待你們。讓別人去吧。"

"Come on，"said Peter suddenly to Edmund and Lucy."Our time's up."

"我們?nèi)ァ?quot;彼得對(duì)愛德蒙和露茜喊了一聲，"是時(shí)候了。"

"What do you mean?"said Edmund.

"干什么?"愛德蒙問。

"This way，"said Susan，who seemed to know all about it."Back into the trees.We've got to change."

"回家啊!"蘇珊說，似乎對(duì)將要發(fā)生的事了然于胸。"但我們必須先換一下。"

"Change what?"asked Lucy.

"換什么?"露茜問。

"Our clothes，of course，"said Susan."Nice fools we'd look on the platform of an English station in these."

"當(dāng)然是衣服，"蘇珊說，"穿這身衣服出現(xiàn)在火車站臺(tái)上，那該多高的回頭率啊!"

"But our other things are at Caspian's castle，"said Edmund.

"可是我們的行李都在凱斯賓城堡。"愛德蒙說。

"No，they're not，"said Peter，still leading the way into the thickest wood."They're all here.They were brought down in bundles this morning.It's all arranged."

"不，不在那兒，"彼得站在木框前說，"在這里。早上送來的，都安排好了。"

"Was that what Aslan was talking to you and Susan about this morning?"asked Lucy.

"早上阿斯蘭對(duì)你和蘇珊說的就是這個(gè)嗎?"露茜問道。

"Yes-that and other things，"said Peter，his face very solemn."I can't tell it to you all.There were things he wanted to say to Su and me because we're not coming back to Narnia."

"是的。還有一件事，"彼得突然變得很嚴(yán)肅起來，"我無法全部都告訴你。有些事情他只希望我和蘇珊明白就行了，因?yàn)槲覀冊(cè)僖不夭粊砹恕?quot;

"Never?"cried Edmund and Lucy in dismay.

"再也?"愛德蒙和露茜一起叫起來。

"Oh，you two are，"answered Peter."At least，from what he said，I'mpretty sure he means you to get back some day.But not Su and me.He says we're getting too old."

"哦，不過你們還會(huì)回來的，"彼得回答說，"至少從他的話里，我能聽出你們還會(huì)回到這里的。不過我和蘇珊不會(huì)了。他說我們已經(jīng)長大了。"

"Oh，Peter，"said Lucy."What awful bad luck.Can you bear it?"

"哦，彼得，"露茜說，"真是太可怕了!你能接受嗎?"

"Well，I think I can，"said Peter."It's all rather different from what I thought.You'll understand when it comes to your last time.But，quick，here are our things."

"我想我能，"彼得說，"我的思想已經(jīng)足夠理解這一切，當(dāng)你們最后一次告別的時(shí)候，你們也會(huì)明白的。好了，快點(diǎn)，衣服都在這兒。

It was odd，and not very nice，to take off their royal clothes and to come back in their school things (not very fresh now) into that great assembly.One or two of the nastier Telmarines jeered.But the other creatures all cheered and rose up in honour of Peter the High King，and Queen Susan of the Horn，and King Edmund，and Queen Lucy.There were affectionate and (on Lucy's part) tearful farewells with all their old friends-animal kisses，and hugs from Bulgy Bears，and hands wrung by Trumpkin，and a last tickly，whiskerish embrace with Trufflehunter.And of course Caspian offered the Horn back to Susan and of course Susan told him to keep it.And then，wonderfully and terribly，it was farewell to Aslan himself，and Peter took his place with Susan's hands on his shoulders and Edmund's on hers and Lucy's on his and the first of the Telmarine's on Lucy's，and so in a long line they moved forward to the Door.After that came a moment which is hard to describe，for the children seemed to be seeing three things at once.One was the mouth of a cave opening into the glaring green and blue of an island in the Pacific，where all the Telmarines would find themselves the moment they were through the Door.The second was a glade in Narnia，the faces of Dwarfs and Beasts，the deep eyes of Aslan，and the white patches on the Badger's cheeks.But the third (which rapidly swallowed up the other two) was the grey，gravelly surface of a platform in a country station，and a seat with luggage round it，where they were all sitting as if they had never moved from it-a little flat and dreary for a moment after all they had been through，but also，unexpectedly，nice in its own way，what with the familiar railway smell and the English sky and the summer term before them.

孩子們不情愿地脫下貴族服裝穿上校服，幾個(gè)臺(tái)爾馬人在竊笑。這時(shí)所有人都起立歡呼，向至尊王彼得、蘇珊女王、愛德蒙國王和露茜女王致敬。大家依依不舍地道別。他們和小動(dòng)物們親吻，和大棕熊擁抱，和杜魯普金握手。凱斯賓把號(hào)角還給蘇珊。蘇珊猶豫了一下，還是把號(hào)角交給凱斯賓留作紀(jì)念。他們的心情很復(fù)雜，向阿斯蘭告別之后彼得在前面領(lǐng)路，蘇珊雙手搭在他肩上，愛德蒙他的手搭在蘇珊肩上，露茜也照做。后面跟著一長隊(duì)臺(tái)爾馬人向門框走去。然后是一陣天旋地轉(zhuǎn)，孩子們同時(shí)看到了三幅畫面：第一幅是洞口，看著像太平洋的一個(gè)無名島嶼。所有臺(tái)爾馬人都將來到這里開始他們的新生活。第二幅是納尼亞的那片林間空地，他們看到了小矮人和動(dòng)物們的笑臉，還有阿斯蘭深邃的目光和獾兩頰的白毛。第三幅畫面很快覆蓋了前兩副，是鄉(xiāng)間火車站里那個(gè)霧蒙蒙的站臺(tái)和長凳，旁邊放著幾件行李箱，他們還坐在那里，好像他們沒離開過。經(jīng)歷了這一場冒險(xiǎn)，這里好像顯得有些平淡乏味，不過熟悉的火車氣味。英國的天空讓孩子們很快清醒過來，面對(duì)周圍久違的一切，和即將開始的暑期心生親切之感。

"Well!"said Peter."We have had a time."

"真好!"彼得說，"我們?cè)谀莾憾冗^了一段美好時(shí)光。"

"Bother!"said Edmund."I've left my new torch in Narnia.

"糟了!"愛德蒙說，"我的新手電筒落在納尼亞了。"

"It is well chosen，"said Aslan."And because you have spoken first，strong magic is upon you.Your future in that world shall be good.Come forth."

"這是個(gè)明智的選擇，"阿斯蘭說，"你是第一個(gè)敢于做決定的人，你將得到神靈更多的眷顧，你的命運(yùn)將比別人好。請(qǐng)你再往前走。"