《黎明踏浪號》第一章

By C. S. Lewis

C. S. 劉易斯（1898—1963），英國著名作家，所著兒童故事集《納尼亞傳奇》七部曲，情節動人，妙趣橫生。本文選自《納尼亞傳奇》第三部《黎明踏浪號》。

第一章 臥室里的畫兒

THERE was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb， and he almost deserved it. His parents called him Eustace and masters called him Scrubb. I cant tell you how his friends spoke to him， for he had none. He didnt call his Father and Mother “Father” and “Mother”， but Harold and Alberta. They were very up-to-date and advanced people. They were vegetarians， non-smokers and teetotallers and wore a special kind of underclothes. In their house there was very little furniture and very few clothes on beds and the windows were always open.

Eustace liked animals， especially beetles， if they were dead and pinned on a card. He liked books if they were books of information and had pictures of grain elevators or of fat foreign children doing exercises in model schools.

Eustace disliked his cousins the four Pevensies， Peter， Susan， Edmund and Lucy. But he was quite glad when he heard that Edmund and Lucy were coming to stay. For deep down inside him he liked bossing and bullying; and， though he was a puny little person who couldnt have stood up even to Lucy， let alone Edmund， in a fight， he knew that there are dozens of ways to give people a bad time if you are in your own home and they are only visitors.

Edmund and Lucy did not at all want to come and stay with Uncle Harold and Aunt Alberta. But it really couldnt be helped. Father had got a job lecturing in America for sixteen weeks that summer， and Mother was to go with him because she hadnt had a real holiday for ten years. Peter was working very hard for an exam and he was to spend the holidays being coached by old Professor Kirke in whose house these four children had had wonderful adventures long ago in the war years. If he had still been in that house he would have had them all to stay. But he had somehow become poor since the old days and was living in a small cottage with only one bedroom to spare. It would have cost too much money to take the other three all to America， and Susan had gone.

Grown-ups thought her the pretty one of the family and she was no good at school work （though otherwise very old for her age） and Mother said she “would get far more out of a trip to America than the youngsters”. Edmund and Lucy tried not to grudge Susan her luck， but it was dreadful having to spend the summer holidays at their Aunts. “But its far worse for me，” said Edmund， “because youll at least have a room of your own and I shall have to share a bedroom with that record stinker， Eustace.”

The story begins on an afternoon when Edmund and Lucy were stealing a few precious minutes alone together. And of course they were talking about Narnia， which was the name of their own private and secret country. Most of us， I suppose， have a secret country but for most of us it is only an imaginary country. Edmund and Lucy were luckier than other people in that respect. Their secret country was real. They had already visited it twice; not in a game or a dream but in reality. They had got there of course by Magic， which is the only way of getting to Narnia. And a promise， or very nearly a promise， had been made them in Narnia itself that they would some day get back. You may imagine that they talked about it a good deal， when they got the chance.

大人們覺得，蘇珊是四個孩子中長得最漂亮的，此外，對于學校的功課，她并不是那么拿手（盡管相對于她的年齡來說，她在同年級的學生中算是年紀大的了），所以媽媽說，“蘇珊可以從美國之行中比弟弟妹妹學到更多”。然而，對于愛德蒙和露茜來說，他們能夠做到不嫉妒蘇珊的好運氣，可是要讓他們到叔叔嬸嬸家過暑假，卻是一件讓他們非常沮喪的事情。“而且，我的情況可是最糟的，”愛德蒙說，“至少露茜還有一間自己的房間，而我得和尤斯塔斯那個討厭鬼住在同一間臥室里。”

本書的故事在暑假里的一天下午開始了。這天，愛德蒙和露茜好不容易找了個時間，就他們兩人待在一起。每逢這時候，他們聊天的內容自然而然地就轉向了納尼亞——這個只屬于他們的神奇國度。我猜，我們很多人心中，其實都有一個屬于我們自己的神奇國度，只不過，我們心中的神奇國度往往都出自我們的想象。所以，在這一點上，愛德蒙和露茜比我們大多數人都幸運多了。納尼亞是真實的，他們已經到那兒去過兩次——兩次都是實實在在地踏足其上，而不是在游戲里或者是夢中。當然了，他們進入納尼亞憑借的是魔法的力量，這是唯一能夠進入納尼亞的方式。而且，當他們在納尼亞世界里的時候，他們得到承諾，一個很有力的保證，保證他們將來有一天，還可以再度回到納尼亞。可以想象得到，他們一有機會，就總是會圍繞著這個話題談個不停。

有一個小男孩兒，名字叫尤斯塔斯·克拉倫斯·斯庫波。他的脾氣和行為的確當得起這個名字（“尤斯塔斯”在英語中和“沒用的”一詞音相近）。他的爸爸媽媽叫他尤斯塔斯，而他的老師則叫他斯庫波。你要是問我，他的朋友又是怎么稱呼他的，我還真答不上來。因為這個小男孩兒一個朋友都沒有。對他的爸爸媽媽，尤斯塔斯從來都是直呼其名，管他的爸爸叫“哈羅德”，管他媽媽叫“艾貝塔”。這一對父母可是非常時髦、非常愛趕潮流的人。他們是素食主義者，不抽煙，滴酒不沾，只穿某一個牌子的內衣。他們的屋子里家具很少，也幾乎不把衣服堆在床上。還有一點，房間的窗戶永遠是開著的。

尤斯塔斯喜歡動物，尤其是各種甲蟲，不過只限于它們死了之后用大頭針固定在紙板上的時候。他也喜歡讀書，不過他偏好那些配了圖片，教給人可實際運用的圖書，比如對配有升降機的大谷倉的說明，或者描述外國模范學校里身體肥胖的學生如何進行體操訓練等內容的書。

尤斯塔斯不喜歡他的堂兄妹們，也就是伯伯佩文西家的四個孩子——彼得、蘇珊、愛德蒙和露茜。可是當他聽說愛德蒙和露茜要到他家來住一段時間的時候，他還是相當高興。在內心深處，尤斯塔斯巴不得能夠有機會對別人發號施令，在別的孩子面前抖抖威風。只不過，尤斯塔斯實在體格瘦弱，力氣又小，要是真打起來，且不說面對愛德蒙，就算是面對露茜，他也占不了任何便宜。不過，尤斯塔斯是在自己家里，愛德蒙和露茜則寄人籬下。尤斯塔斯肚子里無數的壞點子，足以讓愛德蒙和露茜兄妹倆吃盡苦頭。

愛德蒙和露茜一點兒也不愿意到叔叔嬸嬸家去住。可是沒有用。今年夏天他們的父親要到美國講學，時間是十六個星期。而母親決定跟著去，畢竟她已經有十年的時間沒有真正休息過一個假期了。彼得要準備一場重要的考試。為了考出好成績，他非常用功，甚至連住都住到柯克教授家去了——教授在自己家里幫助他復習功課。很久以前，還在戰爭年月，佩文西家的四個孩子在教授家里經歷了一次難以忘懷的歷險。可現在的問題是，教授搬家了。要是他還住在以前那座大房子里的話，他倒是非常歡迎所有的孩子都到他那里去。可是自從戰爭之后，教授的生活越來越清貧，最后他搬進了一座小房子安身。這座房子很小，除了教授自己的臥室，另外就只剩下一間臥室可供客人使用。彼得住進去之后，就沒有更多的地方給愛德蒙和露茜了。而爸爸媽媽又沒有那么多錢把除彼得外的三個孩子都帶到美國去，所以，最后就只有蘇珊得到了這個機會。

They were in Lucys room， sitting on the edge of her bed and looking at a picture on the opposite wall. It was the only picture in the house that they liked. Aunt Alberta didnt like it at all （that was why it was put away in a little back room upstairs）， but she couldnt get rid of it because it had been a wedding present from someone she did not want to offend.

It was a picture of a ship—a ship sailing straight towards you. Her prow was gilded and shaped like the head of a dragon with wide-open mouth. She had only one mast and one large， square sail which was a rich purple. The sides of the ship—what you could see of them where the gilded wings of the dragon ended—were green. She had just run up to the top of one glorious blue wave， and the nearer slope of that wave came down towards you， with streaks and bubbles on it. She was obviously running fast before a gay wind， listing over a little on her port side. （By the way， if you are going to read this story at all， and if you dont know already， you had better get it into your head that the left of a ship when you are looking ahead， is port， and the right is starboard.） All the sunlight fell on her from that side， and the water on that side was full of greens and purples. On the other， it was darker blue from the shadow of the ship.

“The question is，” said Edmund， “whether it doesnt make things worse， looking at a Narnian ship when you cant get there.”

“Even looking is better than nothing，” said Lucy. “And she is such a very Narnian ship.”

“Still playing your old game？” said Eustace， who had been listening outside the door and now came grinning into the room. Last year， when he had been staying with the Pevensies， he had managed to hear them all talking of Narnia and he loved teasing them about it. He thought of course that they were making it all up; and as he was far too stupid to make anything up himself， he did not approve of that.

這會兒，兄妹倆聚在露茜的房間，肩并肩地坐在床邊，端詳著對面墻上掛著的一幅畫——這是在叔叔嬸嬸家里他們唯一喜歡的一幅畫。可是艾貝塔嬸嬸卻非常討厭這幅畫（這也是為什么她把這幅畫給掛在樓上背靜的一個小房間里的原因），只不過，因為這幅畫是她得罪不起的某個人送給她的結婚禮物，所以艾貝特嬸嬸不好把這幅畫給丟掉。

這幅畫上畫的是一艘船——這艘船正筆直地沖著看畫的人駛來。船頭是一條龍的樣子，龍頭高聳，龍嘴大張，整個船頭的這部分都鍍著金。這條船有一根桅桿，上面懸掛著一張巨大的方形船帆。船帆是厚重的紫色。龍的翅膀逐漸隱沒在綠色的船舷兩側。畫面上的這艘船正爬上一個大浪的浪尖。湛藍色的海浪發出耀眼的光芒，浪頭朝向畫面涌來，你甚至都能清楚地看到水面上的波紋和泛起的泡沫。這艘快船乘著一陣勁風行駛在海面上，船的左舷露出來得更多一點（順便插一句，如果你還不知道水手是怎么稱呼船的各個部分的話，那么現在就可以把下面這兩個術語記在腦海里了：船的左側被稱為“左舷”，而右側則叫作“右舷”）。明媚的陽光從天空直射到船的左舷，使得這一邊下方的海水呈現出清澈的綠色和淡淡的紫色。而船的另一面，由于陽光不能直射，使得船身陰影下方的海水呈現一片深藍。

愛德蒙開口說道：“問題在于，我們就這樣眼看著這艘納尼亞船，可卻只能在房間里呆坐著，這樣還不如不要讓我看到這幅畫呢！”

“就算是看看也比什么都沒有強吧。”露茜說，“再說了，這是多么漂亮的一艘納尼亞船啊。”

“又在玩你們那老掉牙的游戲了？”尤斯塔斯說道。原來這個家伙一直躲在房間門外偷聽愛德蒙和露茜的談話。這會兒，他咧著大嘴，壞笑著擠進了房間。去年夏天，當尤斯塔斯同伯伯家的幾個孩子待在一起的時候，他也是這樣偷聽他們談話的。所有關于納尼亞的事情他都聽到了，可是他卻總是喜歡拿這個話題來嘲笑佩文西兄妹。尤斯塔斯認為，所有關于納尼亞的故事都是他們胡編亂造出來的，而他自己又沒有任何才華編出這樣一個精彩的故事，所以他對納尼亞毫不相信。

Word Study

teetotaller /'ti?'t??tl?（r）/ n. 不飲酒的人;滴酒不沾的人

puny /'pju?ni/ adj. 弱小的，孱弱的;不起眼的

prow /pra?/ n. 船頭

gild /?ld/ v. 給……鍍金;涂金于

“Youre not wanted here，” said Edmund curtly.

“Im trying to think of a limerick，” said Eustace. “Something like this：

“Some kids who played games about Narnia got gradually balmier and balmier—”

“Well Narnia and balmier dont rhyme， to begin with，” said Lucy.

“Its an assonance，” said Eustace.

“Dont ask him what an assy-thingummy is，” said Edmund. “Hes only longing to be asked. Say nothing and perhaps hell go away.”

Most boys， on meeting a reception like this， would either have cleared out or flared up. Eustace did neither. He just hung about grinning， and presently began talking again.

“Do you like that picture？” he asked.

“For heavens sake dont let him get started about Art and all that，” said Edmund hurriedly， but Lucy， who was very truthful， had already said， “Yes， I do. I like it very much.”

“Its a rotten picture，” said Eustace.

“You wont see it if you step outside，” said Edmund.

“Why do you like it？” said Eustace to Lucy.

“Well， for one thing，” said Lucy， “I like it because the ship looks as if it was really moving. And the water looks as if it was really wet. And the waves look as if they were really going up and down.”

“這兒不需要你。”愛德蒙冷冰冰地說道。

尤斯塔斯沒有離開的意思，他說：“我在構思一首詩，前面幾句是這樣的：

有那么幾個小孩子，玩的游戲是關于納尼亞。他們玩兒啊玩兒，結果變得越來越奇怪……”

露茜打斷了尤斯塔斯：“嘿！‘納尼亞和‘奇怪這兩個詞根本就不押韻，不能這樣寫詩。”

“這叫半諧音。”尤斯塔斯強詞奪理道。

“別跟這討厭鬼搭腔，”愛德蒙對露茜說，“他巴不得你跟他說話。我們什么話都不要講，這樣說不定他就會自己走開了。”

大多數男孩子聽到這樣的話，要么很識趣地自己走開，要么一定會火冒三丈。可是尤斯塔斯沒有這樣的反應。他依然咧著一張大嘴，訕笑著在房間里走來走去。

然后他又開口說道：“你們喜歡這張畫兒？”

“看在老天的分上，別跟他討論藝術和任何類似的話題。”愛德蒙連忙說。可是單純的露茜已經接下了話頭，她說：“是的，我非常喜歡這幅畫。”

“這幅畫爛透了。”尤斯塔斯說。

“如果你離開這里，你就不會看到它了。”愛德蒙說。

尤斯塔斯問露茜：“你為什么喜歡這幅畫？”

露茜回答說：“嗯，我喜歡它就一個原因，因為這畫上的船看起來真的像在動似的。水看上去也很逼真，濕漉漉的水汽撲面而來。還有浪花，看上去就像真的在上下起伏一樣。”

Of course Eustace knew lots of answers to this， but he didnt say anything. The reason was that at that very moment he looked at the waves and saw that they did look very much indeed as if they were going up and down. He had only once been in a ship （and then only as far as the Isle of Wight） and had been horribly seasick. The look of the waves in the picture made him feel sick again. He turned rather green and tried another look. And then all three children were staring with open mouths.

What they were seeing may be hard to believe when you read it in print， but it was almost as hard to believe when you saw it happening. The things in the picture were moving. It didnt look at all like a cinema either; the colours were too real and clean and out-of-doors for that. Down went the prow of the ship into the wave and up went a great shock of spray. And then up went the wave behind her， and her stern and her deck became visible for the first time， and then disappeared as the next wave came to meet her and her bows went up again. At the same moment an exercise book which had been lying beside Edmund on the bed flapped， rose and sailed through the air to the wall behind him， and Lucy felt all her hair whipping round her face as it does on a windy day. And this was a windy day; but the wind was blowing out of the picture towards them. And suddenly with the wind came the noises—the swishing of waves and the slap of water against the ships sides and the creaking and the overall high steady roar of air and water. But it was the smell， the wild， briny smell， which really convinced Lucy that she was not dreaming.

尤斯塔斯肚子里有一百句可以用來揶揄露茜的話，可是這時候他卻什么話都沒說。之所以會這樣，是因為尤斯塔斯這時候也將目光落到了畫面上，而且他還發現，畫里面的海浪是真的在上下起伏。尤斯塔斯從小到大只有一次坐船的經歷（而且還只是去了懷特島而已），可是那一次暈船暈得非常厲害。現在，眼看著面前這幅畫中洶涌的波濤，尤斯塔斯又一次感覺自己像在船上，他開始頭暈了。尤斯塔斯臉色鐵青，努力讓自己再朝畫面看了一眼。而就在這時候，三個孩子都張大了嘴巴，目光落在畫面上，一動不動。

在他們眼前發生的景象令人難以置信，文字很難描述出當時的情形。我甚至覺得，就算你當時也置身其中，親眼看見了當時的場面，你也一樣很難相信——畫中的所有東西都開始動了起來。這情形絕對不像是在看電影。因為畫中所有東西看上去都顏色飽滿。而且，正如畫面所顯示的那樣，船和海洋，都在自然光的照耀下，看上去栩栩如生，富有實物的質感。大船隨著波浪起伏，船頭一個猛子扎到水里，又隨著下一個浪頭從水里昂起頭來，帶出一股水沫，灑向天空。一波波的海浪把大船推向前進。浪頭卷起，船尾和甲板清楚地進入了三個孩子的視野。浪頭落下，船頭又升了起來。就在這個當兒，愛德蒙手邊放在床上的一本練習冊被一股勁風吹得飛了起來，徑直貼到了愛德蒙背后的墻上。這一陣狂風把露茜的長頭發吹得紛紛揚揚，卷到了她的臉上。那天確實是一個刮風天，可是吹向他們的這陣狂風并非來自屋外，而是從畫里面向他們吹來的。而就在刮風的同時，伴隨而來的還有聲音。有海浪翻滾的水聲，浪花打在船身上的拍擊聲，還有咆哮的風聲。所有這些聲音混成一體，讓人有身臨其境之感。可是，還不只這些。讓露茜確信自己不是在做夢的，是氣味。在刮來的海風中，她聞到了海洋濕潤、微咸的味道。

“Stop it，” came Eustaces voice， squeaky with fright and bad temper. “Its some silly trick you two are playing. Stop it. Ill tell Alberta—Ow！”

The other two were much more accustomed to adventures， but， just exactly as Eustace said “Ow，” they both said “Ow” too. The reason was that a great cold， salt splash had broken right out of the frame and they were breathless from the smack of it， besides being wet through.

“快停下來！”尤斯塔斯扯著嗓子尖叫道，他的聲音里充滿了恐懼和憤怒，“這一定是你倆弄出來的什么魔法。快給我停下來，我要告訴艾貝塔——啊噢！”

愛德蒙和露茜已經比較習慣于各種稀奇古怪的事情和冒險了，可是，就在尤斯塔斯發出那一聲凄慘的“啊噢”的同時，他倆也不由自主地喊出了聲。原來，洶涌的海水突然之間從畫框中噴涌而出，將三個孩子兜頭灌了個精濕。三個孩子猝不及防，嗆了一嘴的水，連呼吸都憋住了。

“Ill smash the rotten thing，” cried Eustace; and then several things happened at the same time. Eustace rushed towards the picture. Edmund， who knew something about magic， sprang after him， warning him to look out and not to be a fool. Lucy grabbed at him from the other side and was dragged forward. And by this time either they had grown much smaller or the picture had grown bigger. Eustace jumped to try to pull it off the wall and found himself standing on the frame; in front of him was not glass but real sea， and wind and waves rushing up to the frame as they might to a rock. He lost his head and clutched at the other two who had jumped up beside him. There was a second of struggling and shouting， and just as they thought they had got their balance a great blue roller surged up round them， swept them off their feet， and drew them down into the sea. Eustaces despairing cry suddenly ended as the water got into his mouth.

“我要把這鬼玩意給砸掉！”尤斯塔斯高聲喊道;就在這會兒，事情接連發生。尤斯塔斯向墻上的畫沖了過去。愛德蒙知道魔法的威力，立馬沖向尤斯塔斯，想要阻止他做蠢事。露茜從另一邊抓住尤斯塔斯，同樣打算阻止他。可是尤斯塔斯力氣很大，露茜反而被尤斯塔斯給拖著往前走了幾步。而這個時候，不知道是三個孩子在一瞬間變小了，還是畫框突然變大了，就在尤斯塔斯正要將畫框從墻上取下來的時候，他卻驚訝地發現自己忽然置身于畫框當中。在尤斯塔斯面前，并非畫框的玻璃，而是真正的海水。狂風裹挾著巨浪正向他打來，就好像拍打巖石一樣。尤斯塔斯魂都要嚇掉了。他本能地一把抓住身邊的愛德蒙和露茜。他倆也置身于畫框之內。有那么一兩秒鐘，三個人都在大叫，力圖站穩身子。而就在他們覺得似乎已經穩下來的時候，一股洶涌的藍色波濤將他們整個卷了進去。三個人全都失去了平衡，掉進了大海。尤斯塔斯絕望的叫聲一下子沉寂了，海水灌進了他的嘴里。

Lucy thanked her stars that she had worked hard at her swimming last summer term. It is true that she would have got on much better if she had used a slower stroke， and also that the water felt a great deal colder than it had looked while it was only a picture. Still， she kept her head and kicked her shoes off， as everyone ought to do who falls into deep water in their clothes. She even kept her mouth shut and her eyes open. They were still quite near the ship; she saw its green side towering high above them， and people looking at her from the deck. Then， as one might have expected， Eustace clutched at her in a panic and down they both went.

When they came up again she saw a white figure diving off the ships side. Edmund was close beside her now， treading water， and had caught the arms of the howling Eustace. Then someone else， whose face was vaguely familiar， slipped an arm under her from the other side. There was a lot of shouting going on from the ship， heads crowding together above the bulwarks， ropes being thrown. Edmund and the stranger were fastening ropes round her. After that followed what seemed a very long delay during which her face got blue and her teeth began chattering. In reality the delay was not very long; they were waiting till the moment when she could be got on board the ship without being dashed against its side. Even with all their best endeavours she had a bruised knee when she finally stood， dripping and shivering， on the deck. After her Edmund was heaved up， and then the miserable Eustace. Last of all came the stranger—a golden-headed boy some years older than herself.

“Ca... Ca... Caspian！” gasped Lucy as soon as she had breath enough. For Caspian it was; Caspian， the boy king of Narnia whom they had helped to set on the throne during their last visit. Immediately Edmund recognized him too. All three shook hands and clapped one another on the back with great delight.

露茜慶幸自己在暑假的游泳課上學得認真。不過要是這會兒她劃水能再劃得慢一些，那她就可以更好地控制住自己的身體了。這海水很冷，比它在畫里看起來的樣子要冷多了。不過，露茜很快就讓自己冷靜下來。她首先踢掉了鞋子——任何人如果穿著衣服掉到水里，需要做的第一件事情就是踢掉鞋子。露茜還閉上了嘴巴，同時努力讓自己把眼睛睜開。她看到自己離那艘大船很近。她甚至都能看到綠色的船舷在她上方的海面聳立著，船上的人正從甲板上往下看著她。而這時候，啊，你也許能夠預料得到，尤斯塔斯在驚慌失措中一把抓住了她。兩個人都朝水下沉去。

當露茜拖著尤斯塔斯再一次往海面上浮的時候，她看到一個白色的身影從大船的船舷跳下。愛德蒙這時候也游到了露茜身邊，拖著尤斯塔斯的胳膊，雙腳踩水，往水面游去。這時，另一只有力的胳膊從露茜的另一側伸了過來，托著她往水面游去。這人的面目一時還看不清，可是卻又那么熟悉。船上人聲鼎沸，有無數個腦袋擠在船舷邊。繩子也放了下來。愛德蒙和跳到水里的那個人把繩子拴在露茜腰間……這之后的時間仿佛過得非常漫長。露茜的臉已經憋氣憋得發青了，牙齒也因為寒冷而顫抖不停。不過實際上這段時間很短，船上的人只是在等待合適的時機，好把露茜安全地拉到甲板上，免得她被船舷刮到。不過，盡管人們已經非常小心翼翼，露茜最后踏上甲板時，膝蓋還是被船舷給磕青了一片。她全身都在滴水，還冷得發抖。在她之后，愛德蒙也登上了甲板。然后是倒霉的尤斯塔斯。最后一個上來的，是從船上跳下海救他們的那位陌生人。這是一個滿頭金發的男孩子，年紀比露茜要大一些。

“凱……凱……凱斯賓！”露茜終于喘上來氣之后，她欣喜地喊道。沒錯，這個男孩子就是凱斯賓，納尼亞的年輕國王。上一次他們來到納尼亞時，幫助凱斯賓登上了王位。愛德蒙也立刻認出了他。三個人緊緊地握住了手，親熱地在彼此的背上拍了又拍。

Word Study

stern /st??n/ n. 船尾

adj. 嚴厲的;苛刻的

spring /spr??/ v. 跳;躍;蹦;突然出現（或來到）

tread /tred/ v. 踩;踏;踐踏;行走

“But who is your friend？” said Caspian almost at once， turning to Eustace with his cheerful smile. But Eustace was crying much harder than any boy of his age has a right to cry when nothing worse than a wetting has happened to him， and would only yell out， “Let me go. Let me go back. I dont like it.”

“Let you go？” said Caspian. “But where？”

Eustace rushed to the ships side， as if he expected to see the picture frame hanging above the sea， and perhaps a glimpse of Lucys bedroom. What he saw was blue waves flecked with foam， and paler blue sky， both spreading without a break to the horizon. Perhaps we can hardly blame him if his heart sank. He was promptly sick.

“你們的朋友叫什么名字？”凱斯賓轉頭看向尤斯塔斯，沖他露出一個燦爛的笑容，可是尤斯塔斯此時卻在又哭又嚷。任何一個像他這個年紀的男孩子，即便是經歷了這樣一次落水之后，都不會像他哭喊得這么兇。尤斯塔斯淚水橫流，大聲嚷嚷道：“讓我走，我要回去。我不喜歡這里。”

“讓你走？”凱斯賓覺得奇怪，“可是你能去哪兒？”

尤斯塔斯沖向船舷。他期望能看到他們穿過的畫框懸掛在海面上空，或許他還能從畫框里瞥見露茜的臥室。可是映入他眼簾的，是茫茫的大海，海上漂浮著團團水沫。天空湛藍，一直延伸到遠處，與海面相接在遙遠的地平線。看到這情形時，尤斯塔斯的心沉到了海底，但這也是情有可原的。他馬上就吐了。

“Hey！ Rynelf，” said Caspian to one of the sailors. “Bring spiced wine for their Majesties. Youll need something to warm you after that dip.” He called Edmund and Lucy their Majesties because they and Peter and Susan had all been Kings and Queens of Narnia long before his time. Narnian time flows differently from ours. If you spent a hundred years in Narnia， you would still come back to our world at the very same hour of the very same day on which you left. And then， if you went back to Narnia after spending a week here， you might find that a thousand Narnian years had passed， or only a day， or no time at all. You never know till you get there. Consequently， when the Pevensie children had returned to Narnia last time for their second visit， it was （for the Narnians） as if King Arthur came back to Britain， as some people say he will. And I say the sooner the better.

Rynelf returned with the spiced wine steaming in a flagon and four silver cups. It was just what one wanted， and as Lucy and Edmund sipped it they could feel the warmth going right down to their toes. But Eustace made faces and spluttered and spat it out and was sick again and began to cry again and asked if they hadnt any Plumptrees Vitaminized Nerve Food and could it be made with distilled water and anyway he insisted on being put ashore at the next station.

“This is a merry shipmate youve brought us， Brother，” whispered Caspian to Edmund with a chuckle; but before he could say anything more Eustace burst out again. “Oh！ Ugh！ What on earths that！ Take it away， the horrid thing.”

“嘿！瑞內夫，”凱斯賓對一位水手喊道，“請給殿下們上酒，要上好的調味葡萄酒。他們渾身都濕透了，需要喝點好東西暖暖身子。”凱斯賓稱呼愛德蒙和露茜“殿下”，是因為在凱斯賓自己當國王之前很久很久，愛德蒙和露茜，還有彼得和蘇珊就已經成為納尼亞的國王和王后了。納尼亞的時間和我們的時間過得不一樣。就算你在納尼亞生活了一百年，等你回到我們這個世界的時候，你還是回到你離開的那天的同一個時刻。反過來，如果你在我們的世界生活了一個星期，然后再回到納尼亞去，情況就有所不同，你可能會發現納尼亞的世界已經過去了一千年，也可能僅僅是一天，或者時間完全沒有變化。到底你會遇到什么情況，只有你到了納尼亞才會知道。事實上，當上一次，也就是佩文西家的幾個孩子第二次進入納尼亞的時候，（對于納尼亞人來說）就好像是我們世界里的亞瑟王（亞瑟王是英國傳說中公元6世紀前后的國王，圓桌騎士的首領。傳說中認為他沒有死，活在仙界，總有一天會回來拯救人民）再度君臨英格蘭一樣。很多人都相信亞瑟王一定會再度回到英格蘭。我也是這么認為的，而且，我希望他回來得越早越好。

瑞內夫端著一大壺冒著氣泡的調味葡萄酒和四個銀杯子過來了，這可正是愛德蒙和露茜需要的。他倆一杯酒下肚，就覺得身體里一股暖流從喉嚨里一直流到腳趾。尤斯塔斯耷拉著臉，可他一嘗這種酒，嘴里嘟噥著，把酒吐了出來。他又開始嘔吐起來，并大喊大叫。他問周圍的人，有沒有維生素活力食品，如果有的話，請一定要用蒸餾水來加工這些食品。然后尤斯塔斯還說，他堅持要求船上的人在下一個港口把他送上岸。

凱斯賓樂不可支地對愛德蒙說：“兄弟，你給我們的船帶來了一個多么有趣的家伙。”可是還沒等愛德蒙答話，尤斯塔斯又尖叫了起來：“哦！啊！這到底是什么東西？快把這惡心的東西拿走！”

He really had some excuse this time for feeling a little surprised. Something very curious indeed had come out of the cabin in the poop and was slowly approaching them. You might call it—and indeed it was—a Mouse. But then it was a Mouse on its hind legs and stood about two feet high. A thin band of gold passed round its head under one ear and over the other and in this was stuck a long crimson feather. （As the Mouses fur was very dark， almost black， the effect was bold and striking.） Its left paw rested on the hilt of a sword very nearly as long as its tail. Its balance， as it paced gravely along the swaying deck， was perfect， and its manners courtly. Lucy and Edmund recognized it at once Reepicheep， the most valiant of all the Talking Beasts of Narnia， and the Chief Mouse. It had won undying glory in the second Battle of Beruna. Lucy longed， as she had always done， to take Reepicheep up in her arms and cuddle him. But this， as she well knew， was a pleasure she could never have： it would have offended him deeply. Instead， she went down on one knee to talk to him.

這一次他倒是真的有理由感到驚訝。就在他們說話的當兒，一個非常奇怪的東西從船艙中溜了出來，來到了船尾，慢慢地走到了大家腳下。要是你看到這個東西，你會叫它——嗯，它也確實是—— 一只老鼠。可是這只老鼠兩只后腿直直地站立著，大約有兩英尺高。它的一只耳朵上套著一只金耳鐲，一根鮮紅的羽毛插在頭上，立在另一只耳朵后面（因為老鼠的毛色很深，幾乎是黑色的，所以這金燦燦的耳鐲和鮮紅的羽毛就顯得更加奪目）。它的左手按在一柄寶劍的劍柄上面。這柄寶劍掛在它的腰間，有它的尾巴那么長。這只老鼠在搖搖晃晃的船甲板上走過來，步伐穩重，步履堅定，不僅保持著很好的平衡，而且還顯示出端莊的儀態。露茜和愛德蒙馬上就認出了它——雷佩契普！它是納尼亞王國里所有能說話的動物中最勇敢的一個，也是老鼠之王。它在柏盧納的第二次戰役中為自己贏得了不朽的功勛。對雷佩契普，露茜老早以來就有一個愿望，想要把它抱在懷里。可是她也知道，這個愿望她永遠也實現不了：因為這樣做，會深深地冒犯雷佩契普。露茜一只腿跪在甲板上，俯下身子對雷佩契普說話。

Reepicheep put forward his left leg， drew back his right， bowed， kissed her hand， straightened himself， twirled his whiskers， and said in his shrill， piping voice：

“My humble duty to your Majesty. And to King Edmund， too.” （Here he bowed again.） “Nothing except your Majesties presence was lacking to this glorious venture.”

“Ugh， take it away，” wailed Eustace. “I hate mice. And I never could bear performing animals. Theyre silly and vulgar and—and sentimental.”

“Am I to understand，” said Reepicheep to Lucy after a long stare at Eustace， “that this singularly discourteous person is under your Majestys protection？ Because， if not—”

At this moment Lucy and Edmund both sneezed.

“What a fool I am to keep you all standing here in your wet things，” said Caspian. “Come on below and get changed. Ill give you my cabin of course， Lucy， but Im afraid we have no womens clothes on board. Youll have to make do with some of mine. Lead the way， Reepicheep， like a good fellow.”

“To the convenience of a lady，” said Reepicheep， “even a question of honour must give way—at least for the moment—” and here he looked very hard at Eustace. But Caspian hustled them on and in a few minutes Lucy found herself passing through the door into the stern cabin. She fell in love with it at once—the three square windows that looked out on the blue， swirling water astern， the low cushioned benches round three sides of the table， the swinging silver lamp overhead （Dwarfs work， she knew at once by its exquisite delicacy） and the flat gold image of Aslan the Lion on the forward wall above the door. All this she took in in a flash， for Caspian immediately opened a door on the starboard side， and said， “Thisll be your room， Lucy. Ill just get some dry things for myself，” He was rummaging in one of the lockers while he spoke， “and then leave you to change. If youll fling your wet things outside the door Ill get them taken to the galley to be dried.”

Lucy found herself as much at home as if she had been in Caspians cabin for weeks， and the motion of the ship did not worry her， for in the old days when she had been a queen in Narnia she had done a good deal of voyaging. The cabin was very tiny but bright with painted panels （all birds and beasts and crimson dragons and vines） and spotlessly clean. Caspians clothes were too big for her， but she could manage. His shoes， sandals and sea-boots were hopelessly big but she did not mind going barefoot on board ship. When she had finished dressing she looked out of her window at the water rushing past and took a long deep breath. She felt quite sure they were in for a lovely time.

雷佩契普左腿向前邁了一步，右腿向后退了一點，向露茜鞠了個躬，并親吻了露茜的手。之后它直起身子，把唇邊的胡子捋了捋，這才用它尖尖細細的聲音對露茜致意道：

“尊貴的露茜殿下，您謙卑的仆人聽從您的召喚。愛德蒙國王，您謙卑的仆人也聽從您的召喚（說到這兒他對著愛德蒙也鞠了一躬）。除了兩位殿下的蒞臨，再沒有別的什么能夠增添這次征程的榮耀了。”

“啊，快把它趕走！”尤斯塔斯嚷道，“我討厭老鼠。我從來就不喜歡馴養的動物。它們都是愚蠢粗鄙的玩意兒，而且……而且還太帶感情了！”

雷佩契普深深地看了尤斯塔斯一眼之后，意味深長地對露茜說：“我是否可以這樣理解，這位粗魯不遜的客人是在殿下您的保護之下？因為，如若不然的話……”

剛好這時，露茜和愛德蒙兩人同時都打了個噴嚏。

聽到噴嚏聲凱斯賓連忙說道：“啊，我真是個傻瓜，讓你們穿著濕衣服站在這兒說了半天話。到船艙里去把衣服換了吧。露茜，毫無疑問你可以用我的房間。不過我擔心我們這兒可能沒有女孩子穿的衣服。你就穿我的衣服將就一下吧。雷佩契普，好伙伴，快在前面帶路吧。”

雷佩契普回答道：“女士的舒適最優先。考慮到這一點，即使是事關榮譽的問題，也可以暫時先放到一邊——至少是在目前這時候……”說這話的同時，它目光非常凌厲地瞪了尤斯塔斯一眼。好在凱斯賓連連催促，大家這才紛紛離開了甲板。露茜穿過門廊，進到了位于船尾的大船艙。她發現自己立刻就愛上了這里——船艙朝船尾的方向，有三面方形的窗戶一字排開;窗戶外就是藍色的大海，透過窗戶，能看到海面的漩渦;船艙里有一張桌子，桌子三面各有一張鋪了墊子的長凳;一盞銀制的吊燈掛在頭頂上，隨著船的顛簸搖搖晃晃（露茜一看這銀燈精細的工藝，就知道它是納尼亞臣民小矮人的手藝）;而在朝船頭方向的門廊上，懸掛著獅王阿斯蘭的一幅金像。所有這些東西，露茜只來得及匆匆一瞥，就看見凱斯賓打開了右手邊的一扇門，然后對她說道：“露茜，這是你的房間。我先進去把我需要的東西拿點出來。”他一邊說著話，一邊在房間里的幾個柜子里翻揀，“你就在這里換衣服吧。把換下的濕衣服扔出來，我把它們拿到廚房去烤干。”

露茜換衣服的時候，覺得自己似乎已經在凱斯賓的房間里住了好幾個星期一樣。這種親切的感覺讓她覺得好像回到了家似的。船的顛簸對露茜來講也毫無問題，因為當她身為納尼亞女王的時候，她就已經航行過很多很多次了。這間房很小，可是墻上有很多漂亮的彩繪鑲嵌畫（有鳥兒、野獸，還有紅色的龍和各種藤蔓）。這些畫兒讓整個房間看起來富麗堂皇，而且一塵不染。凱斯賓的衣服對露茜來講確實有點大，不過她還是可以穿。而凱斯賓的涼鞋和水手靴對露茜來說就太不合腳了，不過露茜覺得，既然是在船上，那打赤腳也不是什么問題。當露茜把自己全身上下收拾妥帖之后，她朝窗戶外面看了一眼。窗外的海水飛一般地向船后面退去。露茜深吸了一口氣，心里想著：又一次美好的旅程開始了。

Word Study

fleck /flek/ v. 使有斑點;使斑駁

His hair was flecked with paint.

rummage /'r?m?d?/ v. 翻尋;亂翻;搜尋

I rummaged through the contents of the box until I found the book I wanted.

fling /fl??/ v.扔，擲，拋，丟

galley /'?li/ n.（船或飛機上的）廚房