By C. S. Lewis 、C. S. 劉易斯、吳民

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(jié)動人，妙趣橫生。本文選自《納尼亞傳奇》第二部《凱斯賓王子》。

The worst of sleeping out of doors is that you wake up so dreadfully early. And when you wake you have to get up because the ground is so hard that you are uncomfortable. And it makes matters worse if there is nothing but apples for breakfast and you have had nothing but apples for supper the night before. When Lucy had said—truly enough that it was a glorious morning， there did not seem to be anything else nice to be said. Edmund said what everyone was feeling， “Weve simply got to get off this island.”

When they had drunk from the well and splashed their faces they all went down the stream again to the shore and stared at the channel which divided them from the mainland.

“Well have to swim，” said Edmund.

“It would be all right for Su，” said Peter （Susan had won prizes for swimming at school）. “But I dont know about the rest of us.” By “the rest of us” he really meant Edmund who couldnt yet do two lengths at the school baths， and Lucy， who could hardly swim at all！

“Anyway，” said Susan， “there may be currents. Father says its never wise to bathe in a place you dont know.”

“But， Peter，” said Lucy， “l(fā)ook here. I know I cant swim for nuts at home—in England， I mean. But couldnt we all swim long ago—if it was long ago—when we were Kings and Queens in Narnia？ We could ride then too， and do all sorts of things. Dont you think...”

“Ah， but we were sort of grown-up then，” said Peter. “We reigned for years and years and learned to do things. Arent we just back at our proper ages again now？”

“Oh！” said Edmund in a voice which made everyone stop talking and listen to him.

“Ive just seen it all，” he said.

“Seen what？” asked Peter.

“Why， the whole thing，” said Edmund. “You know what we were puzzling about last night， that it was only a year ago since we left Narnia but everything looks as if no one had lived in Cair Paravel for hundreds of years？ Well， dont you see？ You know that， however long we seemed to have lived in Narnia， when we got back through the wardrobe it seemed to have taken no time at all？”

“Go on，” said Susan. “I think Im beginning to understand.”

露宿的痛苦在清早醒來時是最厲害的。你一睜開眼就必須起來，因為地面太硬，你覺得很不舒服。更糟糕的是，早餐完全沒有著落，只有蘋果。前一天晚上，大家吃的也是蘋果。當露茜說這是個陽光明媚的早晨時（她的話并沒有錯），小伙伴們誰也沒有在意。愛德蒙說“我們必須盡快離開這個小島”，這才是大家的心里話。

他們在井邊喝了點水，再蘸了點往臉上拍了拍，算是洗了臉，然后順溪流而下。他們來到海岸邊，久久地凝視著眼前的海峽，正是這海峽讓他們與大陸完全隔絕了。

“我們得游過去?！睈鄣旅烧f。

“蘇珊沒有問題（因為她在學校時就是游泳健將）?！北说谜f，“可是，我不知道咱們幾個怎么樣?！彼f的“咱們幾個”是指愛德蒙和露茜。愛德蒙至今在學校的游泳池里也游不了一個來回，而露茜在水里簡直就是個秤砣！

蘇珊說：“不管怎樣，海里也許有暗流。爸爸說在未知區(qū)域游泳是很不明智的?！?/p>

“可是，彼得，”露茜說，“在學校，我是不會游泳，可是自從來到納尼亞，我們不是學會了很多嗎？騎馬、打獵……當然也包括游泳?。∧悴徽J為……”

“嗯，但是在納尼亞我們都是成年人啊。”彼得說，“我們甚至將國家治理得好好的，也的確學會了做很多事情?？赡且磺幸褧r過境遷了?！?/p>

“哦！”愛德蒙叫了一聲。所有人都停下來聽他講。

“我有些明白了。”愛德蒙若有所思。

“明白什么了？”彼得問。

“就是這里所發(fā)生的一切啊?！睈鄣旅杉拥卣f，“我一直在想為什么呢？為什么我們離開納尼亞不過才一年，凱爾帕拉維爾卻好像已經(jīng)被廢棄好幾百年了？難道你還沒想明白嗎？也就是說，或許納尼亞的漫長光陰在英格蘭不過是彈指一揮間?！?/p>

“說下去，”蘇珊說，“我也開始有點明白了?！?/p>

“And that means，” continued Edmund， “that， once youre out of Narnia， you have no idea how Narnian time is going. Why shouldnt hundreds of years have gone past in Narnia while only one year has passed for us in England？”

“By Jove， Ed，” said Peter. “I believe youve got it. In that sense it really was hundreds of years ago that we lived in Cair Paravel. And now were coming back to Narnia just as if we were Crusaders or Anglo-Saxons or Ancient Britons or someone coming back to modern England？”

“How excited theyll be to see us—” began Lucy， but at the same moment everyone else said， “Hush！” or “Look！” For now something was happening.

There was a wooded point on the mainland a little to their right， and they all felt sure that just beyond that point must be the mouth of the river. And now， round that point there came into sight a boat. When it had cleared the point， it turned and began coming along the channel towards them. There were two people on board， one rowing， the other sitting in the stern and holding a bundle that twitched and moved as if it were alive. Both these people seemed to be soldiers. They had steel caps on their heads and light shirts of chain-mail. Their faces were bearded and hard. The children drew back from the beach into the wood and watched without moving a finger.

“Thisll do，” said the soldier in the stern when the boat had come about opposite to them.

“What about tying a stone to his feet， Corporal？” said the other， resting on his oars.

“Garn！” growled the other. “We dont need that， and we havent brought one. Hell drown sure enough without a stone， as long as weve tied the cords right.” With these words he rose and lifted his bundle. Peter now saw that it was really alive and was in fact a Dwarf， bound hand and foot but struggling as hard as he could. Next moment he heard a twang just beside his ear， and all at once the soldier threw up his arms， dropping the Dwarf into the bottom of the boat， and fell over into the water. He floundered away to the far bank and Peter knew that Susans arrow had struck on his helmet. He turned and saw that she was very pale but was already fitting a second arrow to the string. But it was never used. As soon as he saw his companion fall， the other soldier， with a loud cry， jumped out of the boat on the far side， and lie also floundered through the water （which was apparently just in his depth） and disappeared into the woods of the mainland.

“Quick！ Before she drifts！” shouted Peter. He and Susan， fully dressed as they were， plunged in， and before the water was up to their shoulders their hands were on the side of the boat. In a few seconds they had hauled her to the bank and lifted the Dwarf out， and Edmund was busily engaged in cutting his bonds with the pocket knife. （Peters sword would have been sharper， but a sword is very inconvenient for this sort of work because you cant hold it anywhere lower than the hilt.） When at last the Dwarf was free， he sat up， rubbed his arms and legs， and exclaimed： “Well， whatever they say， you dont feel like ghosts.”

Like most Dwarfs he was very stocky and deep-chested. He would have been about three feet high if he had been standing up， and an immense beard and whiskers of coarse red hair left little of his face to be seen except a beak-like nose and twinkling black eyes.

“Anyway，” he continued， “ghosts or not， youve saved my life and Im extremely obliged to you.”

“這就是說，”愛德蒙繼續(xù)說道，“一旦我們離開納尼亞，原來的時間概念就不存在了。雖然我們在英格蘭才一年時間，但這一年完全有可能就是納尼亞的好幾百年呢！”

“真棒，愛德蒙！”彼得興奮起來，“我相信你說得對?！薄斑@一切已經(jīng)是好幾百年前的事情了！我們現(xiàn)在重返納尼亞，就像是十字軍，或盎格魯-撒克遜人或古英國人回到今天的英國一樣！”

“過去的朋友如果還在，見到我們會驚呆的！”露茜激動地說?！皣u！看！”三個伙伴打斷了露茜的話，因為這時發(fā)生了新的情況。

海峽對面，他們的右前方，是一片樹林，而他們都能肯定的是，河口就隱藏在那片林子的另一側(cè)。此刻，從樹林后面劃出來一條小船，橫穿海峽朝他們駛來。船上坐著兩個人，一個劃槳，另一個坐在船尾，一直使勁按著什么，被按著的東西似乎在拼命地掙扎著，應該是個活物。坐的兩人應該是士兵身穿盔甲，胡子拉碴，長相彪悍兇惡。孩子們趕緊在林中隱蔽起來，緊張地注視著那條船。

“就這兒吧?！弊诖驳哪莻€人說。這時候小船正好停在孩子們對面。

“老大，要不要在他腳上捆一塊大石頭？”劃槳的人停下了手中的槳。

“狗屁，”船尾那人暴躁地說，“我們沒帶，也不需要。咱們把繩子綁緊些，還能淹不死他！”他一邊陰陽怪氣地說著，一邊立起身提起了一團東西。彼得看得清清楚楚，那是一個小矮人，他手腳被縛，仍在掙扎。突然，耳邊嗖的一聲，只見那家伙手一松，身子一歪，落入水中，掙扎著朝對岸游去。小矮人被重重地摔在小船的底板上。原來蘇珊放箭射中了那個“老大”的頭盔。彼得剛反應過來，雖然蘇珊面色蒼白，但她已經(jīng)搭上了第二支箭，可這支箭沒派上用場。另一個士兵看到同伴的遭遇，驚叫一聲立即從小船的另一端跳入水中，沒命地游到對岸，兩人很快消失在樹林中。

“快，別讓小船順水漂走了！”彼得著急地喊道。他和蘇珊沒來得及脫下衣服，就撲通跳進水里，沒費多大勁兒，便將小船拖到岸邊，小矮人還在里面，愛德蒙趕緊用小刀割斷他身上的繩索（彼得的劍應該更鋒利，但用劍來割的話更不方便，因為沒有比劍柄更低的位置給人握）。小矮人站起來，活動活動四肢，然后大聲說：“無論他們怎么說，我看你們……你們并不像是妖魔鬼怪。”

和絕大多數(shù)小矮人一樣，他又矮又小、雞胸，身高不足一米，粗重的紅色大胡子垂到胸前，臉顯得很小，有著山峰般聳立的高鼻子和一雙炯炯發(fā)亮的黑眼睛。

“不管怎樣，”他繼續(xù)說，“無論你們是人是鬼，救命之恩，我都不勝感激。”

“But why should we be ghosts？” asked Lucy.

“Ive been told all my life，” said the Dwarf， “that these woods along the shore were as full of ghosts as they were of trees. Thats what the story is. And thats why， when they want to get rid of anyone， they usually bring him down here （like they were doing with me） and say theyll leave him to the ghosts. But I always wondered if they didnt really drown em or cut their throats. I never quite believed in the ghosts. But those two cowards youve just shot believed all right. They were more frightened of taking me to my death than I was of going！”

“Oh，” said Susan. “So thats why they both ran away.”

“Eh？ Whats that？” said the Dwarf.

“They got away，” said Edmund. “To the mainland.”

“I wasnt shooting to kill， you know，” said Susan. She would not have liked anyone to think she could miss at such a short range.

“Hm，” said the Dwarf. “Thats not so good. That may mean trouble later on， unless they hold their tongues for their own sake.”

“What were they going to drown you for？” asked Peter.

“Oh， Im a dangerous criminal， I am，” said the Dwarf cheerfully. “But thats a long story. Meantime， I was wondering if perhaps you were going to ask me to breakfast？ Youve no idea what an appetite it gives one， being executed.”

“Theres only apples，” said Lucy dolefully.

“Better than nothing， but not so good as fresh fish，” said the Dwarf. “It looks as if Ill have to ask you to breakfast instead. I saw some fishing tackle in that boat. And anyway， we must take her round to the other side of the island. We dont want anyone from the mainland coming down and seeing her.”

“I ought to have thought of that myself，” said Peter.

The four children and the Dwarf went down to the waters edge， pushed off the boat with some difficulty， and scrambled aboard. The Dwarf at once took charge. The oars were of course too big for him to use， so Peter rowed and the Dwarf steered them north along the channel and presently eastward round the tip of the island. From here the children could see right up the river， and all the bays and headlands of the coast beyond it. They thought they could recognize bits of it， but the woods， which had grown up since their time， made everything look very different.

When they had come round into open sea on the east of the island， the Dwarf took to fishing. They had an excellent catch of pavenders， a beautiful rainbow-coloured fish which they all remembered eating in Cair Paravel in the old days. When they had caught enough they ran the boat up into a little creek and moored her to a tree.

The Dwarf， who was a most capable person （and， indeed， though one meets bad Dwarfs， I never heard of a Dwarf who was a fool）， cut the fish open， cleaned them， and said， “Now， what we want next is some firewood.”

“Weve got some up at the castle，” said Edmund.

The Dwarf gave a low whistle. “Beards and bedsteads！" he said. "So there really is a castle， after all？”

“Its only a ruin，” said Lucy.

“但為什么說我們是鬼？”露茜好奇地問。

“一直以來大家都這么說啊，”小矮人說，“都說海岸這邊鬼怪橫行，多如樹葉。所以要被干掉的人常常被帶到這個地方來（正像我一樣），說是要交給鬼怪去處理。我總是在想鬼怪是不是真把人活活淹死，或者割斷誰的喉嚨。我并不懼怕鬼神，可是剛才那兩個膽小鬼卻怕得要命。他們送我去死，而面對死亡時，卻比我懦弱一千倍！”

“哦，”蘇珊笑著說，“難怪他倆逃得那么快。”

“什么？逃走了？”小矮人立即緊張起來。

“是的，”愛德蒙說，“逃到大陸上去了。”

“我本來也不打算傷害他們的，請原諒?！碧K珊趕忙解釋，她怕被說箭法不精。

“嗯，”小矮人說，“那確實不太好。因為意味著恐怕我們要有麻煩了，除非他們?yōu)榱颂颖苁毜呢熑味乜谌缙?。?/p>

“他們?yōu)槭裁匆退滥悖俊北说脝枴?/p>

“我是一個危險的罪犯，真的！”小矮人神氣活現(xiàn)地說，“說起來話就長了。不過，我現(xiàn)在腦子里想的是也許你們會邀請我共進早餐？你們無法想象，一個剛死里逃生的人，胃口有多么好?！?/p>

“這兒只有蘋果?！甭盾缑媛独⑸?。

“總比什么都沒有強，當然，能有幾條鮮魚做早餐就更好了?！毙“诉七谱?，“看來我只好反客為主，請你們吃早餐啰。喏，那小船上有些釣具，不過大家還是先把小船挪到島的那邊去，可不能再讓對面大陸上的人瞧見它！”

“怎么我就沒想到抓點魚蝦呢？”彼得有些慚愧。

四個孩子和小矮人一道來到水邊，費了好大力氣才把小船推進水里，然后一個個爬上船。由小矮人掌舵，他最為老練?？梢驗榇瑯獙λ麃碚f太大了，根本操控不了，所以彼得操槳，小船緩緩朝北駛?cè)?。劃了沒多久，船從東邊轉(zhuǎn)過小島，極目遠眺，整片海灣以及對岸的土地盡收眼底。他們一直在搜索納尼亞的遺跡，但幾百年來形成的茂密樹林已使一切面目全非。

當他們來到小島位于東側(cè)的寬闊海域時，小矮人已經(jīng)開始釣魚了。讓人欣喜不已的是，許多像彩虹一樣美麗的鱒魚上鉤了，這使孩子們的思緒不禁又回到了在納尼亞的那些日子，這種魚是那時他們常吃的。魚釣得足夠吃了，大家便把小船逆水劃進一條小溪，拴在一棵樹上。

小矮人真能干（盡管小矮人里也有壞蛋，可他們個個都很聰明），他麻利地把魚剖洗干凈，然后說：“孩子們，得上岸去生一堆火?！?/p>

“城堡的平臺上有現(xiàn)成的篝火?！睈鄣旅烧f。

小矮人輕輕地吹了一聲口哨：“所以的確有一個城堡，對吧？”

“只不過是一堆廢墟?！甭盾缛跞醯卣f。

The Dwarf stared round at all four of them with a very curious expression on his face. “And who on earth...？” he began， but then broke off and said， “No matter. Breakfast first. But one thing before we go on. Can you lay your hand on your hearts and tell me Im really alive？ Are you sure I wasnt drowned and were not all ghosts together？”

When they had all reassured him， the next question was how to carry the fish. They had nothing to string them on and no basket. They had to use Edmunds hat in the end because no one else had a hat. He would have made much more fuss about this if he had not by now been so ravenously hungry.

At first the Dwarf did not seem very comfortable in the castle. He kept looking round and sniffing and saying， “Hm. Looks a bit spooky after all. Smells like ghosts， too.” But he cheered up when it came to lighting the fire and showing them how to roast the fresh pavenders in the embers. Eating hot fish with no forks， and one pocket knife between five people， is a messy business and there were several burnt fingers before the meal was ended; but， as it was now nine oclock and they had been up since five， nobody minded the burns so much as you might have expected. When everyone had finished off with a drink from the well and an apple or so， the Dwarf produced a pipe about the size of his own arm， filled it， lit it， blew a great cloud of fragrant smoke， and said， “Now.”

“You tell us your story first，” said Peter. “And then well tell you ours.”

“Well，” said the Dwarf， “as youve saved my life it is only fair you should have your own way. But I hardly know where to begin. First of all Im a messenger of King Caspians.”

“Whos he？” asked four voices all at once.

“Caspian the Tenth， King of Narnia， and long may he reign！” answered the Dwarf. “That is to say， he ought to be King of Narnia and we hope he will be. At present he is only King of us Old Narnians.”

“What do you mean by old Narnians， please？” asked Lucy.

“Why， thats us，” said the Dwarf. “Were a kind of rebellion， I suppose.”

“I see，” said Peter. “And Caspian is the chief Old Narnian.”

“Well， in a manner of speaking，” said the Dwarf， scratching his head. “But hes really a New Narnian himself， a Telmarine， if you follow me.”

“I dont，” said Edmund.

“Its worse than the Wars of the Roses，” said Lucy.

“Oh dear，” said the Dwarf. “Im doing this very badly. Look here： I think Ill have to go right back to the beginning and tell you how Caspian grew up in his uncles court and how he comes to be on our side at all. But itll be a long story.”

“All the better，” said Lucy. “We love stories.”

So the Dwarf settled down and told his tale. I shall not give it to you in his words， putting in all the childrens questions and interruptions， because it would take too long and be confusing， and， even so， it would leave out some points that the children only heard later. But the gist of the story， as they knew it in the end， was as follows.

小矮人一臉狐疑，仔細打量著孩子們?！澳悄銈兊降资恰彼洁熘?，顯得緊張而不安，不過馬上自解道，“管他呢，來來來，先吃早飯。但你們能先把手放在心口，對我說‘你還活著嗎？你們真的肯定我沒有被淹死，你們真的不是一群鬼？”

孩子們發(fā)誓說自己不是鬼，小矮人終于將心放回肚子里。現(xiàn)在最大的問題是找不到一根鐵絲把魚穿起來，更沒有簍子裝這些魚。最后只能犧牲愛德蒙的帽子了。要不是為了填飽肚子，愛德蒙可不會同意這個糟糕的決定。

來到城堡，小矮人一開始心神不定。他東張西望，用鼻子嗅來嗅去，嘴里嘟囔道：“什么味道，像是鬼窟里散發(fā)出來的……”當篝火生起的一剎那，他又來了精神，開始像模像樣地教孩子們制作烤魚。篝火暖暖的，魚很燙手，沒有叉子，只有一把小刀供五個人用。大家太餓了，顧不得那么多，以致還沒吃完幾個人的手指都燙傷了。但因為現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)九點了且大家五點就起來了，所以誰也顧不上手被燙傷了。最后，每個人喝了些井水，再吃了一個蘋果后，一頓美餐才宣告結(jié)束。小矮人不知什么時候做了一只足有他胳膊那么粗的大煙斗，裝滿煙絲，把煙點著，愜意地吐出了一口清香的灰色煙霧，滿足地說：“終于沒事了?！?/p>

“你先講講你的故事吧，”彼得說，“然后我們也給你講我們的故事?！?/p>

“好吧，”小矮人說，“既然你們救了我的命，當然應該滿足你們的要求，才算公開合理。不過從何說起呢？首先我要告訴你們，我是凱斯賓國王的信使?！?/p>

“誰是凱斯賓？”孩子們異口同聲地問。

“凱斯賓十世，納尼亞的國王，壽與天齊！”小矮人顯得極其虔誠和莊重，“我是說，他應該是整個納尼亞的統(tǒng)治者，這是我們的希望。不過，眼下他還只是我們納尼亞舊臣的國王?！?/p>

“請問納尼亞舊臣是指哪些人？”露茜滿臉疑惑。

“舊臣就是指我們?！毙“苏f，“我們這些被稱為‘怪逆的土生土長的納尼亞人。”

“我懂了，”彼得推測道，“凱斯賓是過去的納尼亞的首領(lǐng)?！?/p>

“可以這么說，”小矮人用手撓撓頭，“可他自己卻是個新納尼亞人，一個臺爾馬人。你們能夠聽明白我的意思嗎？”

“我都聽糊涂了?！睈鄣旅烧f。

“這比玫瑰戰(zhàn)爭還令人費解?！甭盾缫裁悦Ａ恕?/p>

“哦，親愛的，”小矮人抱歉地說，“我嘴太笨，我想最好還是從頭講起吧——從凱斯賓是怎樣在他叔父的王宮成長起來，以后又是怎樣完全站在了我們一邊。那可得講上好一段時間呢?！?/p>

“那樣更好，”露茜高興極了，“我們都喜歡聽故事?！?/p>

于是，小矮人坐下來，講了下面的故事。我不準備照他的原話把這故事復述給你們聽，因為，那就要把孩子們在聽故事過程中的提問和插話也都寫出來，篇幅就會太長，情節(jié)就會太復雜，而且仍然不得不舍去孩子們只是在后來才聽說的一些內(nèi)容。不過，故事的要點，與孩子們最終所了解的完全一致，是下面這樣的。