By C. S. Lewis

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

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(jué)得，蘇珊是四個(gè)孩子中長(zhǎng)得最漂亮的，此外，對(duì)于學(xué)校的功課，她并不是那么拿手（盡管相對(duì)于她的年齡來(lái)說(shuō)，她在同年級(jí)的學(xué)生中算是年紀(jì)大的了），所以媽媽說(shuō)，“蘇珊可以從美國(guó)之行中比弟弟妹妹學(xué)到更多”。然而，對(duì)于愛(ài)德蒙和露茜來(lái)說(shuō)，他們能夠做到不嫉妒蘇珊的好運(yùn)氣，可是要讓他們到叔叔嬸嬸家過(guò)暑假，卻是一件讓他們非常沮喪的事情?！岸遥业那闆r可是最糟的，”愛(ài)德蒙說(shuō)，“至少露茜還有一間自己的房間，而我得和尤斯塔斯那個(gè)討厭鬼住在同一間臥室里?！?/p>

本書的故事在暑假里的一天下午開(kāi)始了。這天，愛(ài)德蒙和露茜好不容易找了個(gè)時(shí)間，就他們兩人待在一起。每逢這時(shí)候，他們聊天的內(nèi)容自然而然地就轉(zhuǎn)向了納尼亞——這個(gè)只屬于他們的神奇國(guó)度。我猜，我們很多人心中，其實(shí)都有一個(gè)屬于我們自己的神奇國(guó)度，只不過(guò)，我們心中的神奇國(guó)度往往都出自我們的想象。所以，在這一點(diǎn)上，愛(ài)德蒙和露茜比我們大多數(shù)人都幸運(yùn)多了。納尼亞是真實(shí)的，他們已經(jīng)到那兒去過(guò)兩次——兩次都是實(shí)實(shí)在在地踏足其上，而不是在游戲里或者是夢(mèng)中。當(dāng)然了，他們進(jìn)入納尼亞憑借的是魔法的力量，這是唯一能夠進(jìn)入納尼亞的方式。而且，當(dāng)他們?cè)诩{尼亞世界里的時(shí)候，他們得到承諾，一個(gè)很有力的保證，保證他們將來(lái)有一天，還可以再度回到納尼亞?？梢韵胂蟮玫剑麄円挥袡C(jī)會(huì)，就總是會(huì)圍繞著這個(gè)話題談個(gè)不停。

有一個(gè)小男孩兒，名字叫尤斯塔斯·克拉倫斯·斯庫(kù)波。他的脾氣和行為的確當(dāng)?shù)闷疬@個(gè)名字（“尤斯塔斯”在英語(yǔ)中和“沒(méi)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(kù)波。你要是問(wèn)我，他的朋友又是怎么稱呼他的，我還真答不上來(lái)。因?yàn)檫@個(gè)小男孩兒一個(gè)朋友都沒(méi)有。對(duì)他的爸爸媽媽，尤斯塔斯從來(lái)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(duì)父母可是非常時(shí)髦、非常愛(ài)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(gè)牌子的內(nèi)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(diǎn)，房間的窗戶永遠(yuǎn)是開(kāi)著的。

尤斯塔斯喜歡動(dòng)物，尤其是各種甲蟲(chóng)，不過(guò)只限于它們死了之后用大頭針固定在紙板上的時(shí)候。他也喜歡讀書，不過(guò)他偏好那些配了圖片，教給人可實(shí)際運(yùn)用的圖書，比如對(duì)配有升降機(jī)的大谷倉(cāng)的說(shuō)明，或者描述外國(guó)模范學(xué)校里身體肥胖的學(xué)生如何進(jìn)行體操訓(xùn)練等內(nèi)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(gè)孩子——彼得、蘇珊、愛(ài)德蒙和露茜?？墒钱?dāng)他聽(tīng)說(shuō)愛(ài)德蒙和露茜要到他家來(lái)住一段時(shí)間的時(shí)候，他還是相當(dāng)高興。在內(nèi)心深處，尤斯塔斯巴不得能夠有機(jī)會(huì)對(duì)別人發(fā)號(hào)施令，在別的孩子面前抖抖威風(fēng)。只不過(guò)，尤斯塔斯實(shí)在體格瘦弱，力氣又小，要是真打起來(lái)，且不說(shuō)面對(duì)愛(ài)德蒙，就算是面對(duì)露茜，他也占不了任何便宜。不過(guò)，尤斯塔斯是在自己家里，愛(ài)德蒙和露茜則寄人籬下。尤斯塔斯肚子里無(wú)數(shù)的壞點(diǎn)子，足以讓愛(ài)德蒙和露茜兄妹倆吃盡苦頭。

愛(ài)德蒙和露茜一點(diǎn)兒也不愿意到叔叔嬸嬸家去住。可是沒(méi)有用。今年夏天他們的父親要到美國(guó)講學(xué)，時(shí)間是十六個(gè)星期。而母親決定跟著去，畢竟她已經(jīng)有十年的時(shí)間沒(méi)有真正休息過(guò)一個(gè)假期了。彼得要準(zhǔn)備一場(chǎng)重要的考試。為了考出好成績(jī)，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(fù)習(xí)功課。很久以前，還在戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)年月，佩文西家的四個(gè)孩子在教授家里經(jīng)歷了一次難以忘懷的歷險(xiǎn)?？涩F(xiàn)在的問(wèn)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?？墒亲詮膽?zhàn)爭(zhēng)之后，教授的生活越來(lái)越清貧，最后他搬進(jìn)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(jìn)去之后，就沒(méi)有更多的地方給愛(ài)德蒙和露茜了。而爸爸媽媽又沒(méi)有那么多錢把除彼得外的三個(gè)孩子都帶到美國(guó)去，所以，最后就只有蘇珊得到了這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)。

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(huì)兒，兄妹倆聚在露茜的房間，肩并肩地坐在床邊，端詳著對(duì)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?？墒前愃饗饏s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(gè)小房間里的原因），只不過(guò)，因?yàn)檫@幅畫是她得罪不起的某個(gè)人送給她的結(jié)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(lái)。船頭是一條龍的樣子，龍頭高聳，龍嘴大張，整個(gè)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(méi)在綠色的船舷兩側(cè)。畫面上的這艘船正爬上一個(gè)大浪的浪尖。湛藍(lán)色的海浪發(fā)出耀眼的光芒，浪頭朝向畫面涌來(lái)，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(fēng)行駛在海面上，船的左舷露出來(lái)得更多一點(diǎn)（順便插一句，如果你還不知道水手是怎么稱呼船的各個(gè)部分的話，那么現(xiàn)在就可以把下面這兩個(gè)術(shù)語(yǔ)記在腦海里了：船的左側(cè)被稱為“左舷”，而右側(cè)則叫作“右舷”）。明媚的陽(yáng)光從天空直射到船的左舷，使得這一邊下方的海水呈現(xiàn)出清澈的綠色和淡淡的紫色。而船的另一面，由于陽(yáng)光不能直射，使得船身陰影下方的海水呈現(xiàn)一片深藍(lán)。

愛(ài)德蒙開(kāi)口說(shuō)道：“問(wèn)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(méi)有強(qiáng)吧?！甭盾缯f(shuō)，“再說(shuō)了，這是多么漂亮的一艘納尼亞船啊?！?/p>

“又在玩你們那老掉牙的游戲了？”尤斯塔斯說(shuō)道。原來(lái)這個(gè)家伙一直躲在房間門外偷聽(tīng)愛(ài)德蒙和露茜的談話。這會(huì)兒，他咧著大嘴，壞笑著擠進(jìn)了房間。去年夏天，當(dāng)尤斯塔斯同伯伯家的幾個(gè)孩子待在一起的時(shí)候，他也是這樣偷聽(tīng)他們談話的。所有關(guān)于納尼亞的事情他都聽(tīng)到了，可是他卻總是喜歡拿這個(gè)話題來(lái)嘲笑佩文西兄妹。尤斯塔斯認(rèn)為，所有關(guān)于納尼亞的故事都是他們胡編亂造出來(lái)的，而他自己又沒(méi)有任何才華編出這樣一個(gè)精彩的故事，所以他對(duì)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?！睈?ài)德蒙冷冰冰地說(shuō)道。

尤斯塔斯沒(méi)有離開(kāi)的意思，他說(shuō)：“我在構(gòu)思一首詩(shī)，前面幾句是這樣的：

有那么幾個(gè)小孩子，玩的游戲是關(guān)于納尼亞。他們玩兒啊玩兒，結(jié)果變得越來(lái)越奇怪……”

露茜打斷了尤斯塔斯：“嘿！‘納尼亞和‘奇怪這兩個(gè)詞根本就不押韻，不能這樣寫詩(shī)?！?/p>

“這叫半諧音?！庇人顾箯?qiáng)詞奪理道。

“別跟這討厭鬼搭腔，”愛(ài)德蒙對(duì)露茜說(shuō)，“他巴不得你跟他說(shuō)話。我們什么話都不要講，這樣說(shuō)不定他就會(huì)自己走開(kāi)了。”

大多數(shù)男孩子聽(tīng)到這樣的話，要么很識(shí)趣地自己走開(kāi)，要么一定會(huì)火冒三丈?？墒怯人顾箾](méi)有這樣的反應(yīng)。他依然咧著一張大嘴，訕笑著在房間里走來(lái)走去。

然后他又開(kāi)口說(shuō)道：“你們喜歡這張畫兒？”

“看在老天的分上，別跟他討論藝術(shù)和任何類似的話題?！睈?ài)德蒙連忙說(shuō)?？墒菃渭兊穆盾缫呀?jīng)接下了話頭，她說(shuō)：“是的，我非常喜歡這幅畫。”

“這幅畫爛透了?！庇人顾拐f(shuō)。

“如果你離開(kāi)這里，你就不會(huì)看到它了?！睈?ài)德蒙說(shuō)。

尤斯塔斯問(wèn)露茜：“你為什么喜歡這幅畫？”

露茜回答說(shuō)：“嗯，我喜歡它就一個(gè)原因，因?yàn)檫@畫上的船看起來(lái)真的像在動(dòng)似的。水看上去也很逼真，濕漉漉的水汽撲面而來(lái)。還有浪花，看上去就像真的在上下起伏一樣?！?/p>

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(lái)揶揄露茜的話，可是這時(shí)候他卻什么話都沒(méi)說(shuō)。之所以會(huì)這樣，是因?yàn)橛人顾惯@時(shí)候也將目光落到了畫面上，而且他還發(fā)現(xiàn)，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(jīng)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?，F(xiàn)在，眼看著面前這幅畫中洶涌的波濤，尤斯塔斯又一次感覺(jué)自己像在船上，他開(kāi)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(shí)候，三個(gè)孩子都張大了嘴巴，目光落在畫面上，一動(dòng)不動(dòng)。

在他們眼前發(fā)生的景象令人難以置信，文字很難描述出當(dāng)時(shí)的情形。我甚至覺(jué)得，就算你當(dāng)時(shí)也置身其中，親眼看見(jiàn)了當(dāng)時(shí)的場(chǎng)面，你也一樣很難相信——畫中的所有東西都開(kāi)始動(dòng)了起來(lái)。這情形絕對(duì)不像是在看電影。因?yàn)楫嬛兴袞|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(shí)物的質(zhì)感。大船隨著波浪起伏，船頭一個(gè)猛子扎到水里，又隨著下一個(gè)浪頭從水里昂起頭來(lái)，帶出一股水沫，灑向天空。一波波的海浪把大船推向前進(jìn)。浪頭卷起，船尾和甲板清楚地進(jìn)入了三個(gè)孩子的視野。浪頭落下，船頭又升了起來(lái)。就在這個(gè)當(dāng)兒，愛(ài)德蒙手邊放在床上的一本練習(xí)冊(cè)被一股勁風(fēng)吹得飛了起來(lái)，徑直貼到了愛(ài)德蒙背后的墻上。這一陣狂風(fēng)把露茜的長(zhǎng)頭發(fā)吹得紛紛揚(yáng)揚(yáng)，卷到了她的臉上。那天確實(shí)是一個(gè)刮風(fēng)天，可是吹向他們的這陣狂風(fēng)并非來(lái)自屋外，而是從畫里面向他們吹來(lái)的。而就在刮風(fēng)的同時(shí)，伴隨而來(lái)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(fēng)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(mèng)的，是氣味。在刮來(lái)的海風(fēng)中，她聞到了海洋濕潤(rùn)、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(lái)！”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(lái)的什么魔法。快給我停下來(lái)，我要告訴艾貝塔——啊噢！”

愛(ài)德蒙和露茜已經(jīng)比較習(xí)慣于各種稀奇古怪的事情和冒險(xiǎn)了，可是，就在尤斯塔斯發(fā)出那一聲凄慘的“啊噢”的同時(shí)，他倆也不由自主地喊出了聲。原來(lái)，洶涌的海水突然之間從畫框中噴涌而出，將三個(gè)孩子兜頭灌了個(gè)精濕。三個(gè)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(huì)兒，事情接連發(fā)生。尤斯塔斯向墻上的畫沖了過(guò)去。愛(ài)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?？墒怯人顾沽夂艽螅盾绶炊挥人顾菇o拖著往前走了幾步。而這個(gè)時(shí)候，不知道是三個(gè)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(lái)的時(shí)候，他卻驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)自己忽然置身于畫框當(dāng)中。在尤斯塔斯面前，并非畫框的玻璃，而是真正的海水?？耧L(fēng)裹挾著巨浪正向他打來(lái)，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(ài)德蒙和露茜。他倆也置身于畫框之內(nèi)。有那么一兩秒鐘，三個(gè)人都在大叫，力圖站穩(wěn)身子。而就在他們覺(jué)得似乎已經(jīng)穩(wěn)下來(lái)的時(shí)候，一股洶涌的藍(lán)色波濤將他們整個(gè)卷了進(jìn)去。三個(gè)人全都失去了平衡，掉進(jìn)了大海。尤斯塔斯絕望的叫聲一下子沉寂了，海水灌進(jìn)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(xué)得認(rèn)真。不過(guò)要是這會(huì)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(lái)的樣子要冷多了。不過(guò)，露茜很快就讓自己冷靜下來(lái)。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(shí)努力讓自己把眼睛睜開(kāi)。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(shí)候，啊，你也許能夠預(yù)料得到，尤斯塔斯在驚慌失措中一把抓住了她。兩個(gè)人都朝水下沉去。

當(dāng)露茜拖著尤斯塔斯再一次往海面上浮的時(shí)候，她看到一個(gè)白色的身影從大船的船舷跳下。愛(ài)德蒙這時(shí)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(shí)，另一只有力的胳膊從露茜的另一側(cè)伸了過(guò)來(lái)，托著她往水面游去。這人的面目一時(shí)還看不清，可是卻又那么熟悉。船上人聲鼎沸，有無(wú)數(shù)個(gè)腦袋擠在船舷邊。繩子也放了下來(lái)。愛(ài)德蒙和跳到水里的那個(gè)人把繩子拴在露茜腰間……這之后的時(shí)間仿佛過(guò)得非常漫長(zhǎng)。露茜的臉已經(jīng)憋氣憋得發(fā)青了，牙齒也因?yàn)楹涠澏恫煌！２贿^(guò)實(shí)際上這段時(shí)間很短，船上的人只是在等待合適的時(shí)機(jī)，好把露茜安全地拉到甲板上，免得她被船舷刮到。不過(guò)，盡管人們已經(jīng)非常小心翼翼，露茜最后踏上甲板時(shí)，膝蓋還是被船舷給磕青了一片。她全身都在滴水，還冷得發(fā)抖。在她之后，愛(ài)德蒙也登上了甲板。然后是倒霉的尤斯塔斯。最后一個(gè)上來(lái)的，是從船上跳下海救他們的那位陌生人。這是一個(gè)滿頭金發(fā)的男孩子，年紀(jì)比露茜要大一些。

“凱……凱……凱斯賓！”露茜終于喘上來(lái)氣之后，她欣喜地喊道。沒(méi)錯(cuò)，這個(gè)男孩子就是凱斯賓，納尼亞的年輕國(guó)王。上一次他們來(lái)到納尼亞時(shí)，幫助凱斯賓登上了王位。愛(ài)德蒙也立刻認(rèn)出了他。三個(gè)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(yán)厲的;苛刻的

spring /spr??/ v. 跳;躍;蹦;突然出現(xiàn)（或來(lái)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(zhuǎn)頭看向尤斯塔斯，沖他露出一個(gè)燦爛的笑容，可是尤斯塔斯此時(shí)卻在又哭又嚷。任何一個(gè)像他這個(gè)年紀(jì)的男孩子，即便是經(jīng)歷了這樣一次落水之后，都不會(huì)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?！?/p>

“讓你走？”凱斯賓覺(jué)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(guò)的畫框懸掛在海面上空，或許他還能從畫框里瞥見(jiàn)露茜的臥室?？墒怯橙胨酆煹?，是茫茫的大海，海上漂浮著團(tuán)團(tuán)水沫。天空湛藍(lán)，一直延伸到遠(yuǎn)處，與海面相接在遙遠(yuǎn)的地平線?？吹竭@情形時(shí)，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(nèi)夫，”凱斯賓對(duì)一位水手喊道，“請(qǐng)給殿下們上酒，要上好的調(diào)味葡萄酒。他們渾身都濕透了，需要喝點(diǎn)好東西暖暖身子?！眲P斯賓稱呼愛(ài)德蒙和露茜“殿下”，是因?yàn)樵趧P斯賓自己當(dāng)國(guó)王之前很久很久，愛(ài)德蒙和露茜，還有彼得和蘇珊就已經(jīng)成為納尼亞的國(guó)王和王后了。納尼亞的時(shí)間和我們的時(shí)間過(guò)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(gè)世界的時(shí)候，你還是回到你離開(kāi)的那天的同一個(gè)時(shí)刻。反過(guò)來(lái)，如果你在我們的世界生活了一個(gè)星期，然后再回到納尼亞去，情況就有所不同，你可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)納尼亞的世界已經(jīng)過(guò)去了一千年，也可能僅僅是一天，或者時(shí)間完全沒(méi)有變化。到底你會(huì)遇到什么情況，只有你到了納尼亞才會(huì)知道。事實(shí)上，當(dāng)上一次，也就是佩文西家的幾個(gè)孩子第二次進(jìn)入納尼亞的時(shí)候，（對(duì)于納尼亞人來(lái)說(shuō)）就好像是我們世界里的亞瑟王（亞瑟王是英國(guó)傳說(shuō)中公元6世紀(jì)前后的國(guó)王，圓桌騎士的首領(lǐng)。傳說(shuō)中認(rèn)為他沒(méi)有死，活在仙界，總有一天會(huì)回來(lái)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(huì)再度回到英格蘭。我也是這么認(rèn)為的，而且，我希望他回來(lái)得越早越好。

瑞內(nèi)夫端著一大壺冒著氣泡的調(diào)味葡萄酒和四個(gè)銀杯子過(guò)來(lái)了，這可正是愛(ài)德蒙和露茜需要的。他倆一杯酒下肚，就覺(jué)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(lái)。他又開(kāi)始嘔吐起來(lái)，并大喊大叫。他問(wèn)周圍的人，有沒(méi)有維生素活力食品，如果有的話，請(qǐng)一定要用蒸餾水來(lái)加工這些食品。然后尤斯塔斯還說(shuō)，他堅(jiān)持要求船上的人在下一個(gè)港口把他送上岸。

凱斯賓樂(lè)不可支地對(duì)愛(ài)德蒙說(shuō)：“兄弟，你給我們的船帶來(lái)了一個(gè)多么有趣的家伙?！笨墒沁€沒(méi)等愛(ài)德蒙答話，尤斯塔斯又尖叫了起來(lái)：“哦！??！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(shuō)話的當(dāng)兒，一個(gè)非常奇怪的東西從船艙中溜了出來(lái)，來(lái)到了船尾，慢慢地走到了大家腳下。要是你看到這個(gè)東西，你會(huì)叫它——嗯，它也確實(shí)是—— 一只老鼠?？墒沁@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?yàn)槔鲜蟮拿苌?，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(zhǎng)。這只老鼠在搖搖晃晃的船甲板上走過(guò)來(lái)，步伐穩(wěn)重，步履堅(jiān)定，不僅保持著很好的平衡，而且還顯示出端莊的儀態(tài)。露茜和愛(ài)德蒙馬上就認(rèn)出了它——雷佩契普！它是納尼亞王國(guó)里所有能說(shuō)話的動(dòng)物中最勇敢的一個(gè)，也是老鼠之王。它在柏盧納的第二次戰(zhàn)役中為自己贏得了不朽的功勛。對(duì)雷佩契普，露茜老早以來(lái)就有一個(gè)愿望，想要把它抱在懷里?？墒撬仓溃@個(gè)愿望她永遠(yuǎn)也實(shí)現(xiàn)不了：因?yàn)檫@樣做，會(huì)深深地冒犯雷佩契普。露茜一只腿跪在甲板上，俯下身子對(duì)雷佩契普說(shuō)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(diǎn)，向露茜鞠了個(gè)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(xì)細(xì)的聲音對(duì)露茜致意道：

“尊貴的露茜殿下，您謙卑的仆人聽(tīng)從您的召喚。愛(ài)德蒙國(guó)王，您謙卑的仆人也聽(tīng)從您的召喚（說(shuō)到這兒他對(duì)著愛(ài)德蒙也鞠了一躬）。除了兩位殿下的蒞臨，再?zèng)]有別的什么能夠增添這次征程的榮耀了?！?/p>

“啊，快把它趕走！”尤斯塔斯嚷道，“我討厭老鼠。我從來(lái)就不喜歡馴養(yǎng)的動(dòng)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(zhǎng)地對(duì)露茜說(shuō)：“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(hù)之下？因?yàn)椋缛舨蝗坏脑挕?/p>

剛好這時(shí)，露茜和愛(ài)德蒙兩人同時(shí)都打了個(gè)噴嚏。

聽(tīng)到噴嚏聲凱斯賓連忙說(shuō)道：“啊，我真是個(gè)傻瓜，讓你們穿著濕衣服站在這兒說(shuō)了半天話。到船艙里去把衣服換了吧。露茜，毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)你可以用我的房間。不過(guò)我擔(dān)心我們這兒可能沒(méi)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?！?/p>

雷佩契普回答道：“女士的舒適最優(yōu)先?？紤]到這一點(diǎn)，即使是事關(guān)榮譽(yù)的問(wèn)題，也可以暫時(shí)先放到一邊——至少是在目前這時(shí)候……”說(shuō)這話的同時(shí)，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(kāi)了甲板。露茜穿過(guò)門廊，進(jìn)到了位于船尾的大船艙。她發(fā)現(xiàn)自己立刻就愛(ài)上了這里——船艙朝船尾的方向，有三面方形的窗戶一字排開(kāi);窗戶外就是藍(lán)色的大海，透過(guò)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(zhǎng)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(xì)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(lái)得及匆匆一瞥，就看見(jiàn)凱斯賓打開(kāi)了右手邊的一扇門，然后對(duì)她說(shuō)道：“露茜，這是你的房間。我先進(jìn)去把我需要的東西拿點(diǎn)出來(lái)。”他一邊說(shuō)著話，一邊在房間里的幾個(gè)柜子里翻揀，“你就在這里換衣服吧。把換下的濕衣服扔出來(lái)，我把它們拿到廚房去烤干?！?/p>

露茜換衣服的時(shí)候，覺(jué)得自己似乎已經(jīng)在凱斯賓的房間里住了好幾個(gè)星期一樣。這種親切的感覺(jué)讓她覺(jué)得好像回到了家似的。船的顛簸對(duì)露茜來(lái)講也毫無(wú)問(wèn)題，因?yàn)楫?dāng)她身為納尼亞女王的時(shí)候，她就已經(jīng)航行過(guò)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(niǎo)兒、野獸，還有紅色的龍和各種藤蔓）。這些畫兒讓整個(gè)房間看起來(lái)富麗堂皇，而且一塵不染。凱斯賓的衣服對(duì)露茜來(lái)講確實(shí)有點(diǎn)大，不過(guò)她還是可以穿。而凱斯賓的涼鞋和水手靴對(duì)露茜來(lái)說(shuō)就太不合腳了，不過(guò)露茜覺(jué)得，既然是在船上，那打赤腳也不是什么問(wèn)題。當(dāng)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(kāi)始了。

Word Study

fleck /flek/ v. 使有斑點(diǎn);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(jī)上的）廚房