凱斯賓王子

Chapter Five? Caspians Adventure in the Mountains （Ⅱ）

第五章 凱斯賓的神奇探險之旅（下）

C. S. 劉易斯（1898—1963），英國著名文學(xué)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》。

As soon as it was full daylight he left the road and found an open grassy place amid a wood where he could rest. He took off Destriers bridle and let him graze， ate some cold chicken and drank a little wine， and presently fell asleep. It was late afternoon when he awoke. He ate a morsel and continued his journey， still southward， by many unfrequented lanes. He was now in a land of hills， going up and down， but always more up than down. From every ridge he could see the mountains growing bigger and blacker ahead. As the evening closed in， he was riding their lower slopes. The wind rose. Soon rain fell in torrents.

Destrier became uneasy; there was thunder in the air. And now they entered a dark and seemingly endless pine forest， and all the stories Caspian had ever heard of trees being unfriendly to Man crowded into his mind. He remembered that he was， after all， a Telmarine， one of the race who cut down trees wherever they could and were at war with all wild things; and though he himself might be unlike other Telmarines， the trees could not be expected to know this.

Nor did they. The wind became a tempest， the woods roared and creaked all round them. There came a crash. A tree fell right across the road just behind him. “Quiet， Destrier， quiet！” said Caspian， patting his horses neck; but he was trembling himself and knew that he had escaped death by an inch. Lightning flashed and a great crack of thunder seemed to break the sky in two just overhead.

天光大亮后，凱斯賓離開大路，在森林中找到一片草地，準(zhǔn)備稍稍休息一會兒。他卸下戴思特里爾身上的鞍子，讓它在一旁吃草。自己則用冷雞肉佐酒，然后舒舒服服地躺在草地上，很快就進(jìn)入了夢鄉(xiāng)。這一睡就睡到傍晚，凱斯賓草草吃了些東西，便又上路，一直向南，穿過大片荒蕪的原野，便來到一片山地。這兒的道路顛簸不平，似乎一直在往上走。翻過一座座山脊，前面的山峰顯得越來越近，青翠的顏色變成墨綠。當(dāng)夜幕降臨時，他已經(jīng)開始下坡了。突然，狂風(fēng)大作，巨大的雨點劈頭蓋臉打了下來。

天空中雷聲隆隆，戴思特里爾變得焦躁不安起來。這時，他們走進(jìn)一片漆黑一團(tuán)、似乎沒有盡頭的松樹林。凱斯賓一下子想起了他曾聽過的那些故事。故事里的樹林對人類總是很不友善。他的家族臺爾馬人曾經(jīng)到處砍伐樹木，還和所有山林家族打仗。雖然他本人和那些臺爾馬人不同，可樹木哪里知道這個？

它們的確不知道。風(fēng)越來越大，狂風(fēng)暴雨搖撼著整個樹林，發(fā)出一陣陣呼嘯。突然一聲巨響，一棵大樹倒在他身后的路上?！版?zhèn)定些，戴思特里爾，鎮(zhèn)定些！”凱斯賓拍拍馬的脖子，可自己卻難以克制地哆嗦起來。他慶幸自己從死神手里逃了出來——因為只差那么一點兒，那棵大樹就會把他們都砸死。閃電讓人一陣目眩，驚雷似乎要把天空劈開。

Destrier bolted in good earnest. Caspian was a good rider， but he had not the strength to hold him back. He kept his seat， but he knew that his life hung by a thread during the wild career that followed. Tree after tree rose up before them in the dusk and was only just avoided. Then， almost too suddenly to hurt （and yet it did hurt him too） something struck Caspian on the forehead and he knew no more.

When he came to himself he was lying in a firelit place with bruised limbs and a bad headache. Low voices were speaking close at hand.

“And now，” said one， “before it wakes up we must decide what to do with it.”

“Kill it，” said another. “We cant let it live. It would betray us.”

“We ought to have killed it at once， or else let it alone，” said a third voice. “We cant kill it now. Not after weve taken it in and bandaged its head and all. It would be murdering a guest.”

“Gentlemen，” said Caspian in a feeble voice， “whatever you do to me， I hope you will be kind to my poor horse.”

“Your horse had taken flight long before we found you，” said the first voice—a curiously husky， earthy voice， as Caspian now noticed.

“Now dont let it talk you round with its pretty words，” said the second voice. “I still say—”

“Horns and halibuts！” exclaimed the third voice. “Of course were not going to murder it. For shame， Nikabrik. What do you say， Trufflehunter？ What shall we do with it？”

戴斯特里爾拼命地奔跑起來，擅騎射的凱斯賓簡直抓不住韁繩。他緊緊地貼在馬背上，心里明白，這樣的奔跑對他有多么危險。黑暗中，一棵接一棵的大樹向他迎面撲來，又從身邊一閃而過。突然，他感到前額被什么東西猛擊了一下，之后便什么也不知道了。

當(dāng)凱斯賓醒來時，他發(fā)現(xiàn)自己躺在溫暖的篝火旁，胳膊和腿上傷痕累累，而且頭痛得厲害。這時，身邊傳來低沉的對話。

“現(xiàn)在，”一個聲音說，“在他醒來之前，我們必須商定一個處置他的辦法?！?/p>

“干掉他！”另一個聲音說，“咱們不能讓他活著，他會出賣我們的?！?/p>

“咱們本來就該當(dāng)場下手干掉他的，不然就放了他。”第三個聲音說，“既然我們把他帶了回來，給他包扎好頭上的傷口和其他傷口，就不能殺他，不然就是謀殺客人。”

“先生們，”凱斯賓說，聲音很微弱，“你們怎樣對待我都可以，只希望你們能仁慈地對待我那匹可憐的馬。”

大家被這聲音驚了一下。“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)你的時候，那匹馬早就跑掉了?！钡谝粋€聲音說——凱斯賓這會兒察覺到這聲音沙啞而憨厚。

“別相信他會對一匹馬有多少感情?！边@是第二個聲音，“我還是堅持……”

“嘿，嘿，嘿！尼克布瑞克！”第三個聲音高聲說，“咱們絕不能殺掉他，那將使我們蒙羞！特魯佛漢特，你說我們該怎么辦？”

Word Study

torrent /'t?r?nt/ n. 急流;洪流

The rain was coming down in torrents.

roar /r??（r）/ v. 吼叫;咆哮

bolt /b??lt/ v. 跑開;（尤指）逃跑

When he saw the police arrive， he bolted down an alley.

feeble /'fi?bl/ adj. 虛弱的;衰弱的

“I shall give it a drink，” said the first voice， presumably Trufflehunters. A dark shape approached the bed. Caspian felt an arm slipped gently under his shoulders—if it was exactly an arm. The shape somehow seemed wrong. The face that bent towards him seemed wrong too. He got the impression that it was very hairy and very long nosed， and there were odd white patches on each side of it. “Its a mask of some sort，” thought Caspian. “Or perhaps Im in a fever and imagining it all.” A cupful of something sweet and hot was set to his lips and he drank. At that moment one of the others poked the fire. A blaze sprang up and Caspian almost screamed with the shock as the sudden light revealed the face that was looking into his own. It was not a mans face but a badgers， though larger and friendlier and more intelligent than the face of any badger he had seen before. And it had certainly been talking. He saw， too， that he was on a bed of heather， in a cave. By the fire sat two little bearded men， so much wilder and shorter and hairier and thicker than Doctor Cornelius that he knew them at once for real Dwarfs， ancient Dwarfs with not a drop of human blood in their veins. And Caspian knew that he had found the Old Narnians at last. Then his head began to swim again.

In the next few days he learned to know them by names. The Badger was called Trufflehunter; he was the oldest and kindest of the three. The Dwarf who had wanted to kill Caspian was a sour Black Dwarf （that is， his hair and beard were black， and thick and hard like horsehair）. His name was Nikabrik. The other Dwarf was a Red Dwarf with hair rather like a Foxs and he was called Trumpkin.

“先讓他喝點兒水吧。”又是第一個聲音，也許是特魯佛漢特。一個黑影朝床邊走來，凱斯賓感到肩上有一只胳膊——但愿這是人的胳膊，但不完全像。俯向他的那張臉?biāo)坪跻膊粚牛鞘且粡埫兹椎哪槪幸恢婚L長的鼻子，兩頰上還有古怪的白斑。“這準(zhǔn)是一種特殊的口罩。”凱斯賓有些疑慮，“難道是我發(fā)燒產(chǎn)生的幻覺？”一杯又甜又熱的東西放到他的嘴邊，他一口氣喝了下去。這時，篝火被撥得更旺了一些，凱斯賓幾乎失聲叫起來，因為他借著篝火的光亮，一下子看清了正對著他的那張臉。那不是一個人！那是一只獾。盡管它遠(yuǎn)比他以前見過的任何一只獾都大，卻更加友善，也更加聰明。而且可以肯定，剛才一直在講話的就是它。他還看出，自己是在一個山洞里，正躺在用石南草鋪成的床上。在火堆旁邊，坐著兩個長著長胡須的小個子，他們比克奈爾斯博士顯得更粗胖矮小，毛發(fā)也更濃密粗硬。他立即斷定他們是小矮人——真正的純種小矮人。凱斯賓意識到，他終于發(fā)現(xiàn)了古老的納尼亞。激動之中，他又感到一陣眩暈。

以后的幾天里，凱斯賓漸漸熟悉了他們的名字：那只獾叫特魯佛漢特，年長而忠厚;那個說要殺了他的，是一個脾氣很壞的小矮人，須發(fā)都是黑色，粗硬如馬鬃一般，他叫尼克布瑞克;另一個小矮人長著一頭狐貍毛般的紅頭發(fā)，他就是杜普魯金。

“And now，” said Nikabrik on the first evening when Caspian was well enough to sit up and talk， “we still have to decide what to do with this Human. You two think youve done it a great kindness by not letting me kill it. But I suppose the upshot is that we have to keep it a prisoner for life. Im certainly not going to let it go alive—to go back to its own kind and betray us all.”

“Bulbs and bolsters！ Nikabrik，” said Trumpkin. “Why need you talk so unhandsomely？ It isnt the creatures fault that it bashed its head against a tree outside our hole. And I dont think it looks like a traitor.”

“I say，” said Caspian， “you havent yet found out whether I want to go back. I dont. I want to stay with you—if youll let me. Ive been looking for people like you all my life.”

“Thats a likely story，” growled Nikabrik. “Youre a Telmarine and a Human， arent you？ Of course you want to go back to your own kind.”

“Well， even if I did， I couldnt，” said Caspian. “I was flying for my life when I had my accident. The King wants to kill me. If youd killed me， youd have done the very thing to please him.”

“Well now，” said Trufflehunter， “you dont say so！”

“Eh？” said Trumpkin. “Whats that？ What have you been doing， Human， to fall foul of Miraz at your age？”

“Hes my uncle，” began Caspian， when Nikabrik jumped up with his hand on his dagger.

“There you are！” he cried. “Not only a Telmarine but close kin and heir to our greatest enemy. Are you still mad enough to let this creature live？” He would have stabbed Caspian then and there， if the Badger and Trumpkin had not got in the way and forced him back to his seat and held him down.

“無論如何，”在凱斯賓能夠坐起來說話的第一天晚上，尼克布瑞克對他的同伴們說，“我們要商定一個辦法來處置這個人。你們攔著不讓我殺他，還以為是做了一件大好事。我看，這件事情的最終結(jié)局是把他終身監(jiān)禁起來。我決不讓他活著離開這里——回到他的同類那里，把我們的秘密都泄露出去?！?/p>

“嘿，嘿，嘿！尼克布瑞克！”杜普魯金說，“你為什么講話這么粗野？這家伙的頭不小心撞在我們洞外的樹上，但這并不是他的過錯。我看他不像是奸細(xì)?！?/p>

“在決定放不放我之前，”凱斯賓說，“你們首先應(yīng)該搞清楚，我是不是想走。說實話，我并不打算離開這里。假如你們允許的話，我想和你們待在一起。這些年來，我一直都在尋找你們?！?/p>

“說得好聽！”尼克布瑞克咆哮起來，“你是一個臺爾馬人，人類的一分子，難道不是嗎？你怎么會不想回到你的同類那里去呢？”

“可是，就算我想回去，我也回不去了?！眲P斯賓說，“我是因為逃命才撞在了樹上。國王想殺掉我。假如你們把我殺了，那正是幫他做了件好事。”

“在我們這里，”特魯佛漢特安慰道，“你不必害怕！”

“嗯？”杜普魯金問，“你說什么？人類，你做了什么錯事，小小年紀(jì)就成了彌若茲的對頭？”

“他是我的叔父……”凱斯賓話音未落，尼克布瑞克已經(jīng)跳了起來，用手握住他的寶劍。

“好哇！”他叫道，“你不僅僅是一個臺爾馬人，而且還是我們最大敵人的侄子和繼承人。你們現(xiàn)在還發(fā)傻嗎？還想留這家伙一條活命嗎？”多虧獾和杜魯普金及時擋住了他，使勁把他推回到他的座位上去，否則，凱斯賓也許當(dāng)場就被刺死了。

Word Study

scream /skri?m/ v.（因傷痛、害怕、激動等）尖叫

People ran for the exits， screaming out in terror.

traitor /'tre?t?（r）/ n. 背叛者;叛徒;賣國賊

growl /ɡra?l/ v. 發(fā)出低沉的怒吼;咆哮

“Who are you？” he growled at the stranger.

stab /st?b/ v.（用刀等銳器）刺，捅

“Now， once and for all， Nikabrik，” said Trumpkin. “Will you contain yourself， or must Trufflehunter and I sit on your head？”

Nikabrik sulkily promised to behave， and the other two asked Caspian to tell his whole story. When he had done so there was a moments silence.

“This is the queerest thing I ever heard，” said Trumpkin.

“I dont like it，” said Nikabrik. “I didnt know there were stories about us still told among the Humans. The less they know about us the better. That old nurse， now. Shed better have held her tongue. And its all mixed up with that Tutor： a renegade Dwarf. I hate them. I hate them worse than the Humans. You mark my words—no good will come of it.

“Dont you go talking about things you dont understand， Nikabrik，” said Trufflehunter. “You Dwarfs are as forgetful and changeable as the Humans themselves. Im a beast， I am， and a Badger whats more. We dont change. We hold on. I say great good will come of it. This is the true King of Narnia weve got here： a true King， coming back to true Narnia. And we beasts remember， even if Dwarfs forget， that Narnia was never right except when a son of Adam was King.”

“Whistles and whirligigs！ Trufflehunter，” said Trumpkin. “You dont mean you want to give the country to Humans？”

“I said nothing about that，” answered the Badger. “Its not Mens country （who should know that better than me？） but its a country for a man to be King of. We badgers have long enough memories to know that. Why， bless us all， wasnt the High King Peter a Man？”

“Do you believe all those old stories？” asked Trumpkin.

“I tell you， we dont change， we beasts，” said Trufflehunter. “We dont forget. I believe in the High King Peter and the rest that reigned at Cair Paravel， as firmly as I believe in Aslan himself.”

“As firmly as that， I dare say，” said Trumpkin. “But who believes in Aslan nowadays？”

“我最后一次警告你，尼克布瑞克，”杜普魯金說，“你要是再不老實，我和特魯佛漢特就要懲罰你了！”

尼克布瑞克悻悻地坐了下去。在另外兩個的要求下，凱斯賓開始講述自己的故事。故事講完的那一刻，山洞里一片沉寂。

“我從來沒有聽過這樣的怪事兒?！倍牌蒸斀鹫f。

“我不喜歡這故事?！蹦峥瞬既鹂苏f，“想不到在人類中，還有那么多有關(guān)我們的傳說。其實，他們知道的越少越好。那個多嘴的老保姆，應(yīng)該綁住她的舌頭！而那個什么博士還添油加醋，這個該死的混血小矮人！我憎恨他們！我恨他們勝過恨那些人類！你們記著我的話，他們會給我們帶來無窮的后患！”

“你不要再大放厥詞了，尼克布瑞克！”特魯佛漢特說，“你們這些小矮人和人類一樣健忘，讓人捉摸不透。我是個動物，一只獾而已。我們從不朝三暮四，總是一如既往。我認(rèn)為事情發(fā)展下去，將對我們大有好處。在我們面前的是納尼亞真正的君主，一位真正的國王。他回到了真正的納尼亞，盡管你們小矮人已經(jīng)忘記了，可我們動物們卻依然記得：只有亞當(dāng)?shù)膬鹤幼鰢酰{尼亞才能得安寧?！?/p>

“喂，特魯佛漢特！”杜普魯金冷笑道，“你是想把納尼亞拱手送給人類吧？”

“我并不是那個意思?！扁祷卮鸬?，“這不是人類的國家（這一點我比誰都知道得更清楚），但這是一個要由人來治理的國家。我們獾有足夠的記性來記住這一點，不是嗎？上蒼保佑，那至尊王彼得不就是個人嗎？”

“難道你真的相信那些古老的傳說？”杜普魯金問道。

“告訴你，我們動物堅信不疑！”特魯佛漢特說，“我們沒有忘記過去，我們相信曾經(jīng)在凱爾帕拉維爾治理納尼亞的至尊王彼得和其他幾個人，正如我們相信阿斯蘭一樣，絕不動搖！”

“恕我冒昧，”杜普魯金反駁道，“如今恐怕只有你還相信阿斯蘭吧！”

“I do，” said Caspian. “And if I hadnt believed in him before， I would now. Back there among the Humans the people who laughed at Aslan would have laughed at stories about Talking Beasts and Dwarfs. Sometimes I did wonder if there really was such a person as Aslan： but then sometimes I wondered if there were really people like you. Yet there you are.”

“Thats right，” said Trufflehunter. “Youre right， King Caspian. And as long as you will be true to Old Narnia you shall be my King， whatever they say. Long life to your Majesty.”

“You make me sick， Badger，” growled Nikabrik. “The High King Peter and the rest may have been Men， but they were a different sort of Men. This is one of the cursed Telmarines. He has hunted beasts for sport. Havent you， now？” he added， rounding suddenly on Caspian.

“Well， to tell you the truth， I have，” said Caspian. “But they werent Talking Beasts.”

“Its all the same thing，” said Nikabrik.

“No， no， no，” said Trufflehunter. “You know it isnt. You know very well that the beasts in Narnia nowadays are different and are no more than the poor dumb， witless creatures youd find in Calormen or Telmar. Theyre smaller too. Theyre far more different from us than the half-Dwarfs are from you.”

There was a great deal more talk， but it all ended with the agreement that Caspian should stay and even the promise that， as soon as he was able to go out， he should be taken to see what Trumpkin called “the Others”， for apparently in these wild parts all sorts of creatures from the Old Days of Narnia still lived on in hiding.

“我也相信！”凱斯賓插嘴道，“也許從前我只是半信半疑，但現(xiàn)在我相信了。那些嘲笑阿斯蘭的人同樣也從來不相信關(guān)于會講話的動物和小矮人的傳說。有時候，我的確也感到迷惑，世上到底有沒有這么個阿斯蘭，有沒有你們這樣的生靈。瞧，你們就在這里?！?/p>

“說得對！”特魯佛漢特說，“千真萬確，凱斯賓國王。只要你忠于至尊王和阿斯蘭，你就是我的國王，不管別人說什么。國王陛下萬歲！”

“你真讓我覺得肉麻，獾?！蹦峥瞬既鹂撕吡艘宦?，“不錯，至尊王彼得和其他幾個是人，但他們可不是臺爾馬人。我們面前的卻是個該死的臺爾馬人。你忘了臺爾馬人是怎樣圍獵屠殺動物取樂的嗎？老實說，你有沒有做過？”他猛地把身子轉(zhuǎn)向凱斯賓。

“好吧，說實話，我是那么做過。”凱斯賓說，“可那些完全是一些普通的不會講話的動物。”

“那還不是一樣?！蹦峥瞬既鹂苏f。

“不，不，不，”特魯佛漢特說，“那可不一樣。你明明知道，那些動物和如今生活在納尼亞的動物可不一樣，那些動物不過是些可憐的啞巴，毫無理性的生靈。這樣的動物在卡樂門和臺爾馬，以及在世界各個地方都不難找到。它們個子比較小，與我們之間的差距，比起混血小矮人與你們的差距真是大多了。

他們就這樣爭論了很久，最后決定讓凱斯賓留下來。他們甚至還答應(yīng)，一旦他完全康復(fù)，便馬上領(lǐng)他去見杜普魯金所說的“自己人”。顯然，在這荒山野林之中，納尼亞的老公民們至今還躲躲藏藏地生活著。

Word Study

queer /kw??（r）/ adj. 奇怪的;反常的

His face was a queer pink color.

apparently /?'p?r?ntli/ adv. 看來;顯然

He paused， apparently lost in thought.