《黎明踏浪號》第二章

C. S.劉易斯

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》第三部《黎明踏浪號》。

“AH， there you are， Lucy，” said Caspian. “We were just waiting for you. This is my captain， the Lord Drinian.”

A dark-haired man went down on one knee and kissed her hand. The only others present were Reepicheep and Edmund.

“Where is Eustace？” asked Lucy.

“In bed，” said Edmund， “and I dont think we can do anything for him. It only makes him worse if you try to be nice to him.”

“Meanwhile，” said Caspian， “we want to talk.”

“By Jove， we do，” said Edmund. “And first， about time. Its a year ago by our time since we left you just before your coronation. How long has it been in Narnia？”

“Exactly three years，” said Caspian.

“All going well？” asked Edmund.

“You dont suppose Id have left my kingdom and put to sea unless all was well，” answered the King. “It couldnt be better. Theres no trouble at all now between Telmarines， Dwarfs， Talking Beasts， Fauns and the rest. And we gave those troublesome giants on the frontier such a good beating last summer that they pay us tribute now. And I had an excellent person to leave as Regent while Im away Trumpkin， the Dwarf. You remember him？”

“啊，露茜，你在這兒?！眲P斯賓說，“我們正在等你來。這位是我的船長，德瑞尼亞爵士?！?/p>

一位黑色頭發(fā)的紳士單膝跪下，吻了露茜的手。在他們身旁的，還有雷佩契普和愛德蒙。

露茜問：“尤斯塔斯在哪兒？”

“躺在床上。”愛德蒙說，“我認(rèn)為，對于他目前的情況，我們完全無能為力。如果你想好好待他，只會讓他的情緒變得更糟。”

“而且，我們還有很多話要談?！眲P斯賓說。

“說得沒錯！”愛德蒙道，“首先，我們得弄清楚時間。按照外面那個世界的時間來算，從上次我們離開納尼亞到現(xiàn)在，已經(jīng)有一年了。那時候你正要登基加冕國王?？稍诩{尼亞，已經(jīng)過了很長時間吧？”

“整整三年?！眲P斯賓答道。

“一切都好嗎？”愛德蒙繼續(xù)問。

“你該不會認(rèn)為我會在國家有問題的情況下，離開我的王國，跑到海上來冒險吧？”凱斯賓笑道，“一切都好得不能再好了。目前，在臺爾馬人、小矮人、會說話的獸類半人羊、羊人法翁和其他人之間都沒有任何沖突。邊境上的巨人總是搗亂，不過去年夏天我們好好地教訓(xùn)了他們一次?，F(xiàn)在這些巨人已經(jīng)對我們投降納貢了。而且，在我出發(fā)之前，我還找了一個非常可靠的人來攝政——小矮人杜普魯金。你還記得他嗎？”

“Dear Trumpkin，” said Lucy， “of course I do. You couldnt have made a better choice.”

“Loyal as a badger， Maam， and valiant as—as a Mouse，” said Drinian. He had been going to say “as a lion” but had noticed Reepicheeps eyes fixed on him.

“And where are we heading for？” asked Edmund.

“Well，” said Caspian， “thats rather a long story. Perhaps you remember that when I was a child my usurping uncle Miraz got rid of seven friends of my fathers （who might have taken my part） by sending them off to explore the unknown， Eastern Seas beyond the Lone Islands.”

“Yes，” said Lucy， “and none of them ever came back.”

“Right. Well， on my coronation day， with Aslans approval， I swore an oath that， if once I established peace in Narnia， I would sail east myself for a year and a day to find my fathers friends or to learn of their deaths and avenge them if I could. These were their names—the Lord Revilian， the Lord Bern， the Lord Argoz， the Lord Mavramorn， the Lord Octesian， the Lord Restimar， and—oh， that other one whos so hard to remember.”

“The Lord Rhoop， Sire，” said Drinian.

“親愛的杜普魯金！”露茜叫道，“我當(dāng)然記得他。找他來攝政真是個再好不過的主意了。”

船長德瑞尼亞附和道：“對極了，殿下！他忠誠得像一只獾，勇猛得像一只……呃，像一只老鼠?！逼鋵嵥緛硐胝f“勇猛得像一只獅子”，可是這句話剛要出口，他就瞥見雷佩契普正盯著他看。

“那么，我們現(xiàn)在是要去哪兒？”愛德蒙問道。

“嗯，說來話長，”凱斯賓道，“不知你們還記不記得，在我小的時候，我的叔父彌若茲篡了我父親的權(quán)，并將我父親的七位朋友派遣到孤島群島以外，從來沒有人去過的東海探險?！?/p>

“這事我知道，”露茜說，“而且他們就再也沒有回來?！?/p>

“說得對。所以，我在登基加冕的那天發(fā)了一個誓——阿斯蘭對此也表示同意。我說，納尼亞一旦獲得了和平，我就要出海向東去尋找我父親的這些朋友，為期一年零一天。我要找到這些爵士的下落，如果他們死了，那我就要盡我之力為他們復(fù)仇。這七位爵士的名字是，瑞文利亞爵士、波恩爵士、阿戈斯爵士、馬福拉摩爾爵士、奧克特西亞爵士、雷斯蒂瑪爾爵士，還有一位，哎呀，他的名字真是太難記了。”

德瑞尼亞說：“是羅普爵士，我的陛下?！?/p>

“Rhoop， Rhoop， of course，” said Caspian. “That is my main intention. But Reepicheep here has an even higher hope.” Everyones eyes turned to the Mouse.

“As high as my spirit，” it said. “Though perhaps as small as my stature. Why should we not come to the very eastern end of the world？ And what might we find there？ I expect to find Aslans own country. It is always from the east， across the sea， that the great Lion comes to us.”

“I say， that is an idea，” said Edmund in an awed voice.

“But do you think，” said Lucy， “Aslans country would be that sort of country—I mean， the sort you could ever sail to？”

“I do not know， Madam，” said Reepicheep. “But there is this. When I was in my cradle， a wood woman， a Dryad， spoke this verse over me：

‘Where sky and water meet， Where the waves grow sweet， Doubt not， Reepicheep， To find all you seek， There is the utter East.

“羅普……羅普，對了！”凱斯賓繼續(xù)說，“這就是此行我的主要目的。不過，雷佩契普還有一個更宏偉的計劃?！泵總€人的目光都轉(zhuǎn)向了老鼠雷佩契普。

雷佩契普開口道：“這計劃像我的品格一樣高遠(yuǎn)，不過也許同時也像我的身材一樣微不足道。我們?yōu)槭裁床桓纱嗑鸵恢蓖鶘|走到底，說不定我們還會在那兒發(fā)現(xiàn)些什么呢。我期待能找到阿斯蘭親自統(tǒng)治的國家。因為這偉大的雄獅總是從東邊跨海而來?！?/p>

“我覺得，這還真是個偉大的計劃?！睈鄣旅傻恼Z調(diào)中充滿了敬佩。

“可是，難道你不覺得，阿斯蘭的國家是那種……嗯，是那種你會一直航行下去，可是永遠(yuǎn)也到達(dá)不了的地方嗎？”露茜問。

“殿下，我還不知道?！崩着迤跗沾鸬?，“有這樣一件事，當(dāng)我還在襁褓中的時候，一位森林女神對我念了一首詩。她說：

‘在海天相接的地方，那里海浪變甜，雷佩契普，你不要猶豫，去探索你想要尋找的東西，那里乃是東方的盡頭。

“I do not know what it means. But the spell of it has been on me all my life.”

After a short silence Lucy asked， “And where are we now， Caspian？”

“The Captain can tell you better than I，” said Caspian， so Drinian got out his chart and spread it on the table.

“Thats our position，” he said， laying his finger on it. “Or was at noon today. We had a fair wind from Cair Paravel and stood a little north for Galma， which we made on the next day. We were in port for a week， for the Duke of Galma made a great tournament for His Majesty and there he unhorsed many knights—”

“And got a few nasty falls myself， Drinian. Some of the bruises are there still，” put in Caspian.

“—And unhorsed many knights，” repeated Drinian with a grin. “We thought the Duke would have been pleased if the Kings Majesty would have married his daughter， but nothing came of that—”

“Squints， and has freckles，” said Caspian.

“Oh， poor girl，” said Lucy.

“And we sailed from Galma，” continued Drinian， “and ran into a calm for the best part of two days and had to row， and then had wind again and did not make Terebinthia till the fourth day from Galma. And there their King sent out a warning not to land for there was sickness in Terebinthia， but we doubled the cape and put in at a little creek far from the city and watered. Then we had to lie off for three days before we got a south-east wind and stood out for Seven Isles. The third day out a pirate （Terebinthian by her rig） overhauled us， but when she saw us well armed she stood off after some shooting of arrows on either part—”

“And we ought to have given her chase and boarded her and hanged every mothers son of them，” said Reepicheep.

“我一點兒也想不通這首詩到底是什么意思?？墒菑男〉酱?，這首詩始終在我腦海里揮之不去?！?/p>

有一小會兒，每個人都沒有說話。露茜說：“凱斯賓，我們現(xiàn)在在什么地方呢？”

凱斯賓說：“船長會比我更好地回答這個問題?！庇谑堑氯鹉醽喣贸隽撕D，把它鋪展在桌子上。

“這里是我們現(xiàn)在所在的位置?！钡氯鹉醽喴贿呎f，一邊用手指著圖上的某個點，“當(dāng)然更準(zhǔn)確地說，是我們今天中午所在的地方。我們從凱爾帕拉維爾出港，一帆風(fēng)順，第二天就來到了迦爾瑪北部。我們在迦爾瑪?shù)母劭谕Ａ袅艘粋€星期，因為迦爾瑪?shù)墓魹閲醣菹屡e辦了一場盛大的武術(shù)比賽。我們的國王陛下把很多位武藝高強(qiáng)的騎士都挑下了馬……”

“同時我自己也被摔下馬很多次，德瑞尼亞。我現(xiàn)在身上還有不少當(dāng)時留下的瘀青呢?！眲P斯賓連忙說。

“——同時也把很多位武藝高強(qiáng)的騎士都挑下了馬。”德瑞尼亞露齒一笑，重復(fù)了一遍剛才說的話，“我們都覺得，要是國王陛下能夠迎娶迦爾瑪公爵的女兒，那公爵一定會樂上了天的?？上ё詈笫裁炊紱]有發(fā)生?！?/p>

“她眼睛那么小，還長著雀斑?！眲P斯賓說。

“哦，可憐的姑娘?！甭盾绲?。

德瑞尼亞接著說：“于是我們離開了迦爾瑪，可是接下來的兩天簡直糟糕極了，一絲風(fēng)都沒有，全靠船員們劃槳。之后終于起風(fēng)了，我們在離開迦爾瑪?shù)牡谒奶斓竭_(dá)了特里賓希亞?？墒翘乩镔e希亞的國王送來警告，說他們城里正暴發(fā)疾病，讓我們不要登陸。于是我們迅速地繞過了海岬，在離開特里賓希亞城很遠(yuǎn)的地方找到了一條干凈的小溪，在那兒補(bǔ)給了淡水。之后我們等了足足三天，才等來了一陣東南風(fēng)。憑借這股風(fēng)，我們接近了七群島。在航行中的第三天，一艘海盜船追上了我們（從船的裝備上看，這是一艘特里賓希亞船）。當(dāng)他們發(fā)現(xiàn)我們武裝精良、準(zhǔn)備充分時，不敢同我們接近，只不過胡亂放了幾箭，然后就逃掉了。”

“當(dāng)時我們應(yīng)該追上去，把船上的每一個匪徒都絞死。”雷佩契普恨恨地說。

Word Study

awed /??d/ adj. 充滿敬畏的

We watched in awed silence.

“—And in five days more we were insight of Muil， which， as you know， is the westernmost of the Seven Isles. Then we rowed through the straits and came about sundown into Redhaven on the isle of Brenn， where we were very lovingly feasted and had victuals and water at will. We left Redhaven six days ago and have made marvellously good speed， so that I hope to see the Lone Islands the day after tomorrow. The sum is， we are now nearly thirty days at sea and have sailed more than four hundred leagues from Narnia.”

在甲板上，嵌著兩個又大又長的艙口。艙口一前一后地排列在桅桿的兩側(cè)。天氣晴朗的時候，這兩個艙蓋總是打開著的，好讓光線和空氣進(jìn)到船艙里去。凱斯賓在前，眾人踩著梯子進(jìn)到了后艙口。在那兒，左右各有一排排的長凳，這是供水手劃船時坐的。光透過槳孔照進(jìn)來，在艙頂上晃動。凱斯賓的船可不是那種驅(qū)使奴隸成天劃船的恐怖地方，只有在沒有風(fēng)，或者船要進(jìn)出港口的時候，才用人力劃船。而且，每個人（雷佩契普除外，因為它的手腳太短了，夠不著船槳）都要參與劃船，大家輪班工作和休息。每一排長凳下面的空間都給空出來，以便劃船的人擱腳。而在整個船身的正中間，船體左右龍骨相接的部分，從船頭到船尾有一長溜空隙。這部分則被利用起來放置各種各樣的東西——一袋袋的面粉，裝滿水和啤酒的木桶，成筐的豬肉，一罐罐的蜂蜜，裝在皮囊里的葡萄酒，另外還有蘋果、堅果、奶酪、餅干、蘿卜、熏豬肉。在船艙天花板上（即甲板的下方）掛著一條條火腿、成串的洋蔥，當(dāng)然還有值完班從瞭望哨下來，正躺在吊床上睡覺的水手。凱斯賓帶著大伙兒往船尾走去。那些長凳，凱斯賓每一步就跨過一張去。而露茜一步邁不過，得邊走邊跳才行。雷佩契普則在長凳上躥。它縱身一跳，可以躥得很遠(yuǎn)。大家走到船艙最后面的一扇門前。凱斯賓打開門，里面是一間艙房。這間艙房在剛才大家所在的甲板艙的正下方，也是船尾的一部分。當(dāng)然了，這間底層艙房肯定不會那么舒適。首先，這間艙房在船的底部;其次，船身兩側(cè)的龍骨在這里會合，所以這間艙房可供落腳的面積就變得很小;再次，盡管這里也有窗戶，但是這窗戶是不能打開的，因為這是用厚厚的玻璃嵌成的窗戶，并且在船的吃水線以下。事實上，就在大家進(jìn)入這小艙房的當(dāng)兒，船身正隨著海浪而顛簸起伏。如果船尾翹起，陽光會從窗戶外射進(jìn)來，可要是船尾落下，那從窗戶里看到的就是陰沉蒼茫的海水。

“You and I must lodge here， Edmund，” said Caspian. “Well leave your kinsman the bunk and sling hammocks for ourselves.”

“I beseech your Majesty—” said Drinian.

“No， no shipmate，” said Caspian， “we have argued all that out already. You and Rhince （Rhince was the mate） are sailing the ship and will have cares and labours many a night when we are singing catches or telling stories， so you and he must have the port cabin above. King Edmund and I can lie very snug here below. But how is the stranger？”

Eustace， very green in the face， scowled and asked whether there was any sign of the storm getting less. But Caspian said， “What storm？” and Drinian burst out laughing.

“Storm， young master！” he roared. “This is as fair weather as a man could ask for.”

“Whos that？” said Eustace irritably. “Send him away. His voice goes through my head.”

“Ive brought you something that will make you feel better， Eustace，” said Lucy.

凱斯賓對愛德蒙說：“你和我就睡這間艙房吧。我們把鋪位給你的同伴，我倆就在這里牽吊床?！?/p>

“陛下，請允許我懇求您……”德瑞尼亞船長說道。

“不，不，我的好船長。”凱斯賓說，“這個問題我們已經(jīng)討論過很多次了，已經(jīng)決定了。你和萊斯（萊斯是這艘船的大副）掌管這艘船，要日夜操勞。而我們不過就是在甲板上唱唱歌、吹吹牛。所以你和萊斯一定得睡在上面的甲板艙里。愛德蒙殿下和我躺在這里會非常舒適的。只不過，我們脾氣古怪的客人怎么辦？”

大家來看望尤斯塔斯，只見他臉色依舊鐵青。他皺著眉問是否有跡象表明當(dāng)前的暴風(fēng)正在減弱。凱斯賓被尤斯塔斯的問題弄得不明所以，反問道：“暴風(fēng)？什么暴風(fēng)？”德瑞尼亞在一旁發(fā)出一陣大笑。

“暴風(fēng)！年輕的小少爺?！钡氯鹉醽喆L嚷道，“現(xiàn)在的天氣可是你能盼望到的最好的天氣啊?！?/p>

聽到這話，尤斯塔斯怒氣沖沖地說：“這是誰？快把他趕走！他的聲音震得我耳朵都要聾了?！?/p>

露茜忙勸道：“尤斯塔斯，我給你帶了樣?xùn)|西，用了之后，準(zhǔn)保你會覺得舒服一點的?！?/p>

“Oh， go away and leave me alone，” growled Eustace. But he took a drop from her flask， and though he said it was beastly stuff （the smell in the cabin when she opened it was delicious） it is certain that his face came the right colour a few moments after he had swallowed it， and he must have felt better because， instead of wailing about the storm and his head， he began demanding to be put ashore and said that at the first port he would “l(fā)odge a disposition” against them all with the British Consul. But when Reepicheep asked what a disposition was and how he lodged it （Reepicheep thought it was some new way of arranging a single combat）， Eustace could only reply， “Fancy not knowing that.” In the end they succeeded in convincing Eustace that they were already sailing as fast as they could towards the nearest land they knew， and that they had no more power of sending him back to Cambridge—which was where Uncle Harold lived—than of sending him to the moon. After that he sulkily agreed to put on the fresh clothes which had been put out for him and come on deck.

“哼，給我走遠(yuǎn)點，讓我一個人待著！”尤斯塔斯咆哮道。盡管如此，他還是讓露茜在他嘴里倒了一滴小瓶子里的藥水。尤斯塔斯嘴里嘟囔著，說這玩意兒的味道真是惡心（當(dāng)露茜把瓶子打開時，整個船艙里都充滿了香甜的氣味）。不過當(dāng)尤斯塔斯把藥水咽下去之后，他的臉色迅速就恢復(fù)正常了。而且，尤斯塔斯自己肯定也立馬感覺好多了，因為他已經(jīng)不再抱怨這險惡的“暴風(fēng)”和自己的頭痛，而是開始要求他們把自己送上岸去。他還說，等他到了前面第一個港口，一定會向當(dāng)?shù)氐挠I(lǐng)事報告，要求領(lǐng)事給全船的人“一個處分”。雷佩契普以為處分是某種新的約戰(zhàn)方式，于是就問尤斯塔斯處分到底是什么，怎么給處分。而尤斯塔斯支支吾吾答不上來，只是一個勁兒地說：“真奇怪，居然連這個也不知道?！弊詈?，大家費(fèi)盡九牛二虎之力終于讓尤斯塔斯相信，他們已經(jīng)盡可能快地向所知道的最近的陸地駛?cè)?。不過到了那兒之后，他們也沒有能力把尤斯塔斯送回劍橋——那是哈羅德叔叔居住的地方——相比之下，可能把他送去月球的把握還要更大一些。聽了這話，尤斯塔斯這才悻悻然地穿上了早就給他拿出來的干凈衣服，跟大家來到了甲板上。

Word Study

feast /fi?st/ v. 款待;盡情享用

They feasted well into the afternoon on mutton and corn stew.

dim /d?m/ v. 使變暗

Dim the lighting—it is unpleasant to lie with a bright light shining in your eyes.

Caspian now showed them over the ship， though indeed they had seen most of it already. They went up on the forecastle and saw the look-out man standing on a little shelf inside the gilded dragons neck and peering through its open mouth. Inside the forecastle was the galley （or ships kitchen） and quarters for such people as the boatswain， the carpenter， the cook and the master-archer. If you think it odd to have the galley in the bows and imagine the smoke from its chimney streaming back over the ship， that is because you are thinking of steamships where there is always a headwind. On a sailing ship the wind is coming from behind， and anything smelly is put as far forward as possible. They were taken up to the fighting top， and at first it was rather alarming to rock to and fro there and see the deck looking small and far away beneath. You realized that if you fell there was no particular reason why you should fall on board rather than in the sea. Then they were taken to the poop， where Rhince was on duty with another man at the great tiller， and behind that the dragons tail rose up， covered with gilding， and round inside it ran a little bench. The name of the ship was Dawn Treader. She was only a little bit of a thing compared with one of our ships， or even with the cogs， dromonds， carracks and galleons which Narnia had owned when Lucy and Edmund had reigned there under Peter as the High King， for nearly all navigation had died out in the reigns of Caspians ancestors. When his uncle， Miraz the usurper， had sent the seven lords to sea， they had had to buy a Galmian ship and man it with hired Galmian sailors. But now Caspian had begun to teach the Narnians to be sea-faring folk once more， and the Dawn Treader was the finest ship he had built yet. She was so small that， forward of the mast， there was hardly any deck room between the central hatch and the ships boat on one side and the hen-coop （Lucy fed the hens） on the other. But she was a beauty of her kind， a “l(fā)ady” as sailors say， her lines perfect， her colours pure， and every spar and rope and pin lovingly made. Eustace of course would be pleased with nothing， and kept on boasting about liners and motor-boats and aeroplanes and submarines （“As if he knew anything about them，” muttered Edmund）， but the other two were delighted with the Dawn Treader， and when they returned aft to the cabin and supper， and saw the whole western sky lit up with an immense crimson sunset， and felt the quiver of the ship， and tasted the salt on their lips， and thought of unknown lands on the Eastern rim of the world， Lucy felt that she was almost too happy to speak.

凱斯賓這下終于有機(jī)會好好地讓大家參觀一下這艘船了。盡管在此之前，他們已經(jīng)看了這艘船的不少地方。大家首先來到船首，登上船樓。船樓的外觀就是那條金光閃閃的龍，拾級而上，就會來到一個小小的平臺，平臺在金龍脖子的那個位置，這就是瞭望哨位。有一名哨兵正站在這里，警惕地望著大海。站在瞭望哨位上，人的視線剛好在龍嘴的高度。通過金龍張開的大嘴，可以把船前方的海面看得清清楚楚。在船樓里面，有廚房和供船員居住的房間。不過只有幾位船員有資格住在這里。他們是水手長、木匠、廚師和弓箭隊隊長。也許看到的人會感到奇怪，為何要將廚房設(shè)計在船頭的位置。因為一般人會想，從廚房的煙囪里冒出來的煙，會向后飄到整艘船上去。其實，這種情形只會發(fā)生在蒸汽船上。蒸汽船航速快，風(fēng)總是從船頭向后吹。而帆船則不一樣，風(fēng)是從船的后方吹過來的。所以，船上任何會產(chǎn)生臭味的東西，都總是放在船首，離船上的人盡量遠(yuǎn)一點。接下來，凱斯賓帶著大家來到供弓箭手射擊的戰(zhàn)斗平臺上。如果是第一次站到這塊狹小又搖晃的平臺上的人，一定會覺得心驚膽戰(zhàn)。站在這里向下看，甲板看上去那么小，離得那么遠(yuǎn)。大家免不了會產(chǎn)生這樣的念頭：如果不慎從平臺上摔下去，很有可能就不會落在甲板上，而是直接掉到海里去了。凱斯賓又帶大家來到了船尾甲板。大副萊斯正和另一名水手在那里值班，他們的職責(zé)是掌舵。在船尾，金龍的尾巴盤曲上翹，同龍首一樣鍍著金。尾巴也是中空的，里面擺著一張長凳。這艘船的名字，叫作“黎明踏浪號”。同我們這個世界的各種大船相比，黎明踏浪號只能算是個小家伙。它甚至還比不上彼得在納尼亞當(dāng)國王的時候，納尼亞曾擁有的那些大船。那時候，露茜和愛德蒙也掌管著納尼亞，納尼亞的海面上航行著柯克船、快速帆船、多桅大帆船，以及蓋倫大帆船等。然而，在凱斯賓的先祖執(zhí)掌納尼亞之后，納尼亞的航海事業(yè)就終止了。所以，當(dāng)凱斯賓的叔叔，篡位的彌若茲派七位爵士到東海的時候，他們不得不向迦爾瑪買船，甚至就連船上的水手也是雇用的迦爾瑪人。不過，現(xiàn)在到了凱斯賓這一朝，他開始重新將納尼亞人訓(xùn)練成航海好手。黎明踏浪號就是他所建造的最好的一艘船。黎明踏浪號體積的確不大，只有一根桅桿。在桅桿前后，有著兩個艙口。主艙口在前，其右邊，是救生艇;左邊，是養(yǎng)雞的雞籠子（雞是露茜養(yǎng)的）。這幾個部分挨得很近，彼此之間幾乎沒有更多的空位。盡管如此，黎明踏浪號倒真的是一艘非常漂亮的船。船員們都說，它像一位漂亮的“女士”，其線條非常流暢，船身的顏色十分出眾，船上每一個柱頭、繩索，以及索具都是悉心打造出來的。當(dāng)然了，像尤斯塔斯這樣的人，對黎明踏浪號上的任何東西都不會覺得喜歡，就一個勁兒地向周圍的人吹噓他知道的那些他所處世界的交通工具，比如大郵輪、摩托艇、飛機(jī)，還有潛艇什么的（愛德蒙低聲譏笑道：“好像他對這些東西都一清二楚似的?！保６盾绾蛺鄣旅蓞s對黎明踏浪號十分喜歡。在參觀完了整艘船之后，大家回到了甲板艙，坐下來吃晚飯。晚飯時分，落日余暉在西邊的天空灑下，呈現(xiàn)出一片深紅色的黃昏景象。大家坐在甲板艙里，能夠感覺到船腹在水面上輕快滑行時的震動，伸出舌頭就能舔到嘴唇上留下的大海的咸味。露茜想到自己能夠親自去這個世界未知的東方，感到由衷地激動。這種激動讓她興奮不已，溢于言表。

What Eustace thought had best be told in his own words， for when they all got their clothes back， dried， next morning， he at once got out a little black notebook and a pencil and started to keep a diary. He always had this notebook with him and kept a record of his marks in it， for though he didnt care much about any subject for its own sake， he cared a great deal about marks and would even go to people and say， “I got so much. What did you get？” But as he didnt seem likely to get many marks on the Dawn Treader he now started a diary. This was the first entry.

“7 August. Have now been twenty-four hours on this ghastly boat if it isnt a dream. All the time a frightful storm has been raging （its a good thing Im not seasick）. Huge waves keep coming in over the front and I have seen the boat nearly go under any number of times. All the others pretend to take no notice of this， either from swank or because Harold says one of the most cowardly things ordinary people do is to shut their eyes to facts. Its madness to come out into the sea in a rotten little thing like this. Not much bigger than a lifeboat. And， of course， absolutely primitive indoors. No proper saloon， no radio， no bathrooms， no deck-chairs. I was dragged all over it yesterday evening and it would make anyone sick to hear Caspian showing off his funny little toy boat as if it was the Queen Mary. I tried to tell him what real ships are like， but hes too dense. E. and L.， of course， didnt back me up. I suppose a kid like L. doesnt realize the danger and E. is buttering up C. as everyone does here. They call him a King. I said I was a Republican but he had to ask me what that meant！ He doesnt seem to know anything at all. Needless to say Ive been put in the worst cabin of the boat， a perfect dungeon， and Lucy has been given a whole room on deck to herself， almost a nice room compared with the rest of this place. C. says thats because shes a girl. I tried to make him see what Alberta says， that all that sort of thing is really lowering girls but he was too dense. Still， he might see that I shall be ill if Im kept in that hole any longer. E. says we mustnt grumble because C. is sharing it with us himself to make room for L. As if that didnt make it more crowded and far worse. Nearly forgot to say that there is also a kind of Mouse thing that gives everyone the most frightful cheek. The others can put up with it if they like but I shall twist his tail pretty soon if he tries it on me. The food is frightful too.”

尤斯塔斯對當(dāng)前的處境是怎么想的呢？誰也不清楚。在船上度過了第一個夜晚之后，第二天大家都拿回了自己原來的衣服。這些衣服放在廚房里烤了一個晚上之后，早就干了。尤斯塔斯拿到自己的東西之后，就馬上摸出一個黑色封面的筆記本和一支鉛筆，開始寫起日記來。他總是習(xí)慣隨身帶著一個筆記本，然后在上面寫點什么他所謂的“心得”。實際上，他并不在乎他所記下的東西及其內(nèi)容，他在乎的是記錄心得這件事情。因為在寫了點什么之后，他就可以把筆記本拿著在別人面前炫耀：“你看，我已經(jīng)記了這么多了。你都記了些什么？”不過，在黎明踏浪號上尤斯塔斯似乎收獲不了什么心得，所以他現(xiàn)在改成寫日記了。下面是他的第一篇日記：

八月七號。如果不是做夢的話，截至目前，我已經(jīng)在這艘怪船上待了足足二十四個小時了。在此期間，一場可怕的狂風(fēng)一直在不停地怒號著（還好我這次沒有暈船）。巨大的波濤不停地向船頭打來，我覺得這艘船隨時都有被海浪傾覆的可能。然而其他所有人都裝作對此危險視而不見?？墒俏抑溃麄兤鋵嵰词且驗橄矚g出風(fēng)頭，所以裝得自己膽子大;要么就是如同哈羅德所說的那樣，普通人所做的最為怯懦的事情之一，就是在事實面前閉目塞聽。乘坐這樣一個又小又破的鬼玩意兒就跑出來航海，真是瘋子才干的事情！這艘船都還沒有一艘救生艇大。而且，毫無疑問，船艙內(nèi)部簡直可以說是極其簡陋。沒有正規(guī)的宴會廳，沒有收音機(jī)，沒有浴室，甲板上也沒有折疊躺椅。我在昨天晚上被莫名其妙地拖上了這艘船。而且，聽到凱斯賓向大家展示他的這艘可笑的玩具小船時，任何一個人都會覺得這簡直愚不可及。他還當(dāng)他的船是“瑪麗女王號”了！我也曾試圖向凱斯賓講解真正的船到底像什么，可是他頭腦頑固，什么也聽不進(jìn)去。而愛德蒙和露茜，當(dāng)然也不會站在我這邊。我覺得，像露茜那樣的孩子，是意識不到任何危險的。而愛德蒙就像所有人做的那樣，在不停地巴結(jié)凱斯賓。他們居然管他叫國王。我告訴凱斯賓我是共和派人士，可他居然問我那是什么意思！看起來他這個人腦子里什么知識都沒有。更過分的是，我毫無疑問被塞進(jìn)了船上最差的房間里，不折不扣就是個牢房。而露茜則在甲板艙上獨(dú)占了一個大房間。那個房間同船上別的地方比起來，簡直就是一個天上一個地下。凱斯賓說，這是因為露茜是女孩子。而我試著告訴他艾貝塔講的道理，艾貝塔說：處處讓女孩子受到特殊照顧其實是對女孩子的一種貶低?？墒莿P斯賓就是頭腦頑固，聽不進(jìn)去?？傊?，他接下來就會看到的，如果我繼續(xù)在這個“洞”里睡下去，馬上就會生病的。愛德蒙說我們不能抱怨，因為凱斯賓為了讓露茜住得舒服，他自己也跟我們一樣睡在下面的船艙里。可是凱斯賓到下面來，不是把這里變得更擁擠了嗎？啊，我還差點忘了一件事——這里居然還有一只大老鼠！它的臉任誰看了都會覺得害怕。其他人要是喜歡的話，可以不在乎，可要是它膽敢跟我開玩笑，我遲早會擰斷它的尾巴。還有，吃的東西也很惡心。

Word Study

gilded /ɡ?ld/ adj. 鍍金的;涂金色的

His office is decorated with gilded chairs.

dense /dens/ adj. 愚笨的;遲鈍的

How can you be so dense？

The trouble between Eustace and Reepicheep arrived even sooner than might have been expected. Before dinner next day， when the others were sitting round the table， waiting （being at sea gives one a magnificent appetite）， Eustace came rushing in， wringing his hand and shouting out：

“That little brute has half killed me. I insist on it being kept under control. I could bring an action against you， Caspian. I could order you to have it destroyed.”

At the same moment Reepicheep appeared. His sword was drawn and his whiskers looked very fierce but he was as polite as ever.

“I ask your pardons all，” he said， “and especially her Majestys. If I had known that he would take refuge here I would have awaited a more reasonable time for his correction.”

“What on earths up？” asked Edmund.

尤斯塔斯和雷佩契普之間的沖突比預(yù)想的要來得更快。第二天傍晚，當(dāng)大伙兒都坐在桌邊等著晚飯擺上來時（在海上，每個人的胃口都好得不得了），尤斯塔斯沖了過來，揮著他的胳膊沖大家怒吼：

“那個小畜生差點殺了我！我堅決要求把它關(guān)起來，凱斯賓。我會給你送來一紙訴狀的，我會要求你把那畜生給處死！”

尤斯塔斯話音未落，雷佩契普也在甲板艙里現(xiàn)了身。它拔劍在手，胡子根根直立，看上去氣勢很兇。不過它依然一如既往地保持著禮節(jié)。

“我請求各位的原諒，”雷佩契普說道，“尤其是尊貴的露茜殿下。如果我早知道他會跑到這里來尋求庇護(hù)，我一定會另找一個更加合適的時候來執(zhí)行對他的懲罰?！?/p>

“這到底是怎么回事？”愛德蒙問道。

What had really happened was this. Reepicheep， who never felt that the ship was getting on fast enough， loved to sit on the bulwarks far forward just beside the dragons head， gazing out at the eastern horizon and singing softly in his little chirruping voice the song the Dryad had made for him. He never held on to anything， however the ship pitched， and kept his balance with perfect ease; perhaps his long tail， hanging down to the deck inside the bulwarks， made this easier. Everyone on board was familiar with this habit， and the sailors liked it because when one was on look-out duty it gave one somebody to talk to. Why exactly Eustace had slipped and reeled and stumbled all the way forward to the forecastle （he had not yet got his sea-legs） I never heard. Perhaps he hoped he would see land， or perhaps he wanted to hang about the galley and scrounge something. Anyway， as soon as he saw that long tail hanging down—and perhaps it was rather tempting—he thought it would be delightful to catch hold of it， swing Reepicheep round by it once or twice upside-down， then run away and laugh. At first the plan seemed to work beautifully. The Mouse was not much heavier than a very large cat. Eustace had him off the rail in a trice and very silly he looked （thought Eustace） with his little limbs all splayed out and his mouth open. But unfortunately Reepicheep， who had fought for his life many a time， never lost his head even for a moment. Nor his skill. It is not very easy to draw ones sword when one is swinging round in the air by ones tail， but he did. And the next thing Eustace knew was two agonizing jabs in his hand which made him let go of the tail; and the next thing after that was that the Mouse had picked itself up again as if it were a ball bouncing off the deck， and there it was facing him， and a horrid long， bright， sharp thing like a skewer was waving to and fro within an inch of his stomach. （This doesnt count as below the belt for mice in Narnia because they can hardly be expected to reach higher.）

事情的原委是這樣的。雷佩契普從來都嫌黎明踏浪號行駛得還不夠快，所以它總愛高高地坐在船首龍頭的旁邊。在那兒，雷佩契普凝視著東方的天際，用它啁啾的嗓音柔聲哼唱著森林女神為它寫的一首歌。它從來不用扶著任何東西，不論船怎么顛簸，它都能非常輕松地保持平衡。也許是因為它垂下來的長尾巴能更好地幫助它保持平衡吧。船上的每一個人都很喜歡雷佩契普的這個習(xí)慣，尤其是那些要在瞭望哨上值班的水手。因為他們在瞭望哨上的時候，可以有個人跟他們說說話?？墒?，（尤斯塔斯在船上還是暈船）他究竟為什么溜出來，跌跌撞撞地跑到了船首，我可沒聽說。也許他是希望能夠看到陸地，要不然就是打算在廚房溜達(dá)一圈，看能不能討到點什么吃的東西。不管怎么說，當(dāng)尤斯塔斯一看到雷佩契普垂下來的尾巴時，他馬上就起了一個搗蛋的念頭——如果能把雷佩契普的尾巴抓住，扯著它的尾巴把它掄上兩三圈，然后再大笑著跑開，這一定相當(dāng)?shù)暮猛?。我敢說，雷佩契普垂下來的尾巴本身也一定在誘惑著尤斯塔斯去干這件事情。尤斯塔斯一出手就抓到了雷佩契普的尾巴，他的計劃看上去執(zhí)行得非常完美。老鼠雷佩契普并不比一只大貓重多少。尤斯塔斯給了雷佩契普一個措手不及，雷佩契普被他甩得手腳揮舞，嘴巴大張，樣子傻極了?？墒遣恍业氖牵着迤跗漳松斫?jīng)百戰(zhàn)，在任何時候都不會驚慌失措，更不用說它一身的好本領(lǐng)，隨時都能收放自如。要知道，在自己的尾巴被捉住，身子被人在空中甩的時候，并不是誰都能把劍給拔出來的?？墒抢着迤跗站陀羞@樣的身手。這之后，尤斯塔斯就感到自己手上針扎般的刺痛，逼得他放開了雷佩契普的尾巴。只見老鼠雷佩契普在地上一彈，像個皮球一般迅速地調(diào)整好了自己的身體?，F(xiàn)在雷佩契普正過身來，面對著尤斯塔斯。尤斯塔斯感到自己腹部受到一陣猛烈無比的重?fù)?。（這對納尼亞的老鼠來說，不能看成擊對方腰帶以下的犯規(guī)行為，因為老鼠夠不到更高的部位。）

“Stop it，” spluttered Eustace， “go away. Put that thing away. Its not safe. Stop it， I say. Ill tell Caspian. Ill have you muzzled and tied up.”

“Why do you not draw your own sword， poltroon！” cheeped the Mouse. “Draw and fight or Ill beat you black and blue with the flat.”

“I havent got one，” said Eustace. “Im a pacifist. I dont believe in fighting.”

“Do I understand，” said Reepicheep， withdrawing his sword for a moment and speaking very sternly， “that you do not intend to give me satisfaction？”

“I dont know what you mean，” said Eustace， nursing his hand. “If you dont know how to take a joke I shant bother my head about you.”

“Then take that，” said Reepicheep， “and that—to teach you manners—and the respect due to a knight—and a Mouse—and a Mouses tail—” and at each word he gave Eustace a blow with the side of his rapier， which was thin， fine dwarf-tempered steel and as supple and effective as a birch rod. Eustace （of course） was at a school where they didnt have corporal punishment， so the sensation was quite new to him. That was why， in spite of having no sealegs， it took him less than a minute to get off that forecastle and cover the whole length of the deck and burst in at the cabin door—still hotly pursued by Reepicheep. Indeed it seemed to Eustace that the rapier as well as the pursuit was hot. It might have been red-hot by the feel.

There was not much difficulty in settling the matter once Eustace realized that everyone took the idea of a duel seriously and heard Caspian offering to lend him a sword， and Drinian and Edmund discussing whether he ought to be handicapped in some way to make up for his being so much bigger than Reepicheep. He apologized sulkily and went off with Lucy to have his hand bathed and bandaged and then went to his bunk. He was careful to lie on his side.

“快停手！”尤斯塔斯驚慌失措地喊道，“滾開！快把劍收起來，這太危險了?？焱Ｏ?，我說。我要去告訴凱斯賓，我要把你給銬起來，用繩子捆緊！”

“膽小鬼，為什么你不自己來跟我打？你的劍呢？”雷佩契普說，“把你的劍拔出來跟我戰(zhàn)斗。不然的話我可要把你揍個鼻青臉腫?！?/p>

“我沒有劍?！庇人顾购吆哌筮蟮卣f，“我是個和平主義者。我不崇尚武力?！?/p>

雷佩契普慢慢收回了它的劍，目光依然嚴(yán)厲，它說：“我是否可以這樣理解，你并不打算滿足我的要求？”

“我不懂你說的什么意思?！庇人顾挂贿呎f，一邊檢查自己受傷的手，“如果你聽不明白玩笑話的話，我可不會為此而費(fèi)心。”

“那你就嘗嘗這個，還有這個！”雷佩契普說，“讓我來教教你什么是該有的教養(yǎng)，還有對騎士和老鼠，以及對老鼠的尾巴的尊重……”雷佩契普每說一個字，尤斯塔斯就狠狠地挨一下，每一下用的都是劍身。雷佩契普手上的這柄寶劍很細(xì)很精致，用的是小矮人精心鍛造的好鋼，既鋒利，又柔韌。尤斯塔斯上學(xué)的學(xué)校從來不會對學(xué)生進(jìn)行體罰，所以挨這么重的打?qū)λ麃碚f還真是破天荒頭一遭。這也就是為什么盡管尤斯塔斯還沒有習(xí)慣在船上走路，可他還是在不到一分鐘的時間里，屁滾尿流地從船首落荒而逃，跑過整個甲板，最后沖進(jìn)凱斯賓他們所在的甲板艙——雷佩契普仍在他身后緊緊地追著不放。的確，對于尤斯塔斯來說，雷佩契普的劍，還有它咄咄逼人的氣勢，就跟自己身上被打過的傷一樣，都讓他覺得火辣辣的疼。

眾人沒費(fèi)什么勁就想好了解決這場爭端的辦法。尤斯塔斯意識到每個人都同意讓他和雷佩契普舉行一場決斗，而且他們說這話是認(rèn)真的。他還聽到凱斯賓答應(yīng)借給他一柄劍，德瑞尼亞船長和愛德蒙在商量是不是應(yīng)該讓他綁上一只手或一條腿，以此來彌補(bǔ)雷佩契普與他身高上的差距。尤斯塔斯悻悻然地向雷佩契普道了歉。露茜帶他去洗了手，把手上的傷包扎起來。之后尤斯塔斯回到自己的鋪位上，小心翼翼地側(cè)著身子躺了下去。

Word Study

stumble /'st?mbl/ v. 跌跌撞撞地走;蹣跚而行

We stumbled out into the street.

sternly /'st??nli/ adv. 嚴(yán)厲地

Hester repeated my command more sternly.