《凱斯賓王子》第一章 小島

CHAPTER ONE THE ISLAND

第一章 小島

ONCE there were four children whose names were Peter，Susan，Edmund，and Lucy，and it has been told in another book called The Lion，the Witch and the Wardrobe how they had a remarkable adventure.They had opened the door of a magic wardrobe and found themselves in a quite different world from ours，and in that different world they had become Kings and Queens in a country called Narnia.While they were in Narnia they seemed to reign for years and years; but when they came back through the door and found themselves in England again，it all seemed to have taken no time at all.At any rate，no one noticed that they had ever been away，and they never told anyone except one very wise grown-up.

從前有四個孩子，他們的名字分別叫彼得、蘇珊、愛德蒙和露茜。他們在一本叫《獅子、女巫和魔衣櫥》的書里已經(jīng)有過一次非常精彩的冒險。他們穿過魔衣櫥的門，發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個與我們截然不同的世界。在那個叫納尼亞的國家里，他們是國王和女王。他們好像曾經(jīng)在那里統(tǒng)治了許多年，但當(dāng)他們從魔法衣櫥的門回到我們的世界時，一切又好像沒發(fā)生過一樣，至少沒有人發(fā)現(xiàn)他們離開過。他們把這件事告訴一位知識淵博的老者之后，再也沒對任何人提起過。

That had all happened a year ago，and now all four of them were sitting on a seat at a railway station with trunks and playboxes piled up round them.They were，in fact，on their way back to school.They had travelled together as far as this station，which was a junction; and here，in a few minutes，one train would arrive and take the girls away to one school，and in about half an hour another train would arrive and the boys would go off to another school.The first part of the journey，when they were all together，always seemed to be part of the holidays; but now when they would be saying good-bye and going different ways so soon，everyone felt that the holidays were really over and everyone felt their term-time feelings beginning again，and they were all rather gloomy and no one could think of anything to say.Lucy was going to boarding school for the first time.

那是一年前的事了。現(xiàn)在，他們四個正坐在火車站的椅子上，周圍放著行李箱和玩具箱。實際上，他們這是在回學(xué)校的路上，他們的旅行到這個車站就算是結(jié)束了。再等一會兒，會有一輛火車帶女孩們?nèi)ニ齻兊膶W(xué)校，然后再過大約半個小時，另一輛火車過來帶男孩們?nèi)チ硗庖凰鶎W(xué)校。他們感覺還沒有從之前愉快的假期里走出來，仿佛還在度假一樣。但是現(xiàn)在，他們馬上就要說再見，然后去不同的地方。每個人都意識到到假期真的結(jié)束了，他們要開始新的學(xué)習(xí)生活，所以他們的情緒都很低落，什么話也不想說。況且，露茜是第一次去寄宿學(xué)校讀書。

It was an empty，sleepy，country station and there was hardly anyone on the platform except themselves.Suddenly Lucy gave a sharp little cry，like someone who has been stung by a wasp.

在這個沉寂的鄉(xiāng)村車站，月臺上除了他們幾個，幾乎再也沒有其他人。突然，露茜像被馬蜂蜇了一下一樣，尖叫了一聲。

"""What's up，Lu?""said Edmund-and then suddenly broke off and made a noise like""Ow!"""

"""怎么啦，露茜......?""愛德蒙還沒問完，他也跟著尖叫了起來。"

"""What on earth-""，began Peter，and then he too suddenly changed what he had been going to say.Instead，he said，""Susan，let go! What are you doing? Where are you dragging me to?"""

"""到底怎么......""彼得剛問了一半，就突然打住，說道：""蘇珊，放手!你在干嗎，你拉我去哪?"""

"""I'm not touching you，""said Susan.""Someone is pulling me.Oh-oh-oh-stop it!"""

"""我沒有碰你，好像有人在拉我。噢......噢......噢......停下!""蘇珊叫道。"

Everyone noticed that all the others' faces had gone very white.

他們都看到大家的臉色突然都變得煞白。

"""I felt just the same，""said Edmund in a breathless voice.""As if I were being dragged along.A most frightful pulling-ugh! it's beginning again."""

"""我也是。""愛德蒙都快喘不過氣來了。""好像有人一直在拉我，好可怕......啊!又開始了。"""

"""Me too，""said Lucy.""Oh，I can't bear it."""

"""我也是。""露茜說：""噢，我受不了了。"""

"""Look sharp!""shouted Edmund.""All catch hands and keep together.This is magic-I can tell by the feeling.Quick!"""

"""快!""愛德蒙喊。""大家快待在一起，緊緊拉著手。這是魔法的力量，我能感覺到?？?"""

"""Yes，""said Susan.""Hold hands.Oh，I do wish it would stop-oh!"""

"""沒錯。""蘇珊也感覺到了。""快拉緊。噢，希望能趕快停下來......噢!"""

Next moment the luggage，the seat，the platform，and the station had completely vanished.The four children，holding hands and panting，found themselves standing in a woody place-such a woody place that branches were sticking into them and there was hardly room to move.They all rubbed their eyes and took a deep breath.

緊接著行李、座椅、站臺和車站瞬間全都消失了。四個孩子氣喘吁吁地手拉著手，他們突然發(fā)現(xiàn)自己竟然是在一片森林中，而且這里的樹木很茂密，周圍全是樹枝，他們一點兒活動的余地都沒有。他們?nèi)嗳嘌?，深深吸了一口氣?/p>

"""Oh，Peter!""exclaimed Lucy.""Do you think we can possibly have got back to Narnia?"""

"""嘿，彼得!""露茜驚呼。""我們是不是又要回納尼亞了?"""

"""It might be anywhere，""said Peter.""I can't see a yard in all these trees.Let's try to get into the open-if there is any open."""

"""也可能是其他地方。""彼得說道 ，""這里都是樹，一米以外的東西什么都看不到。 也許咱們?nèi)フ乙徽?，看看有沒有開闊一點的地方。"""

With some difficulty，and with some stings from nettles and pricks from thorns，they struggled out of the thicket.Then they had another surprise.Everything became much brighter，and after a few steps they found themselves at the edge of the wood，looking down on a sandy beach.A few yards away a very calm sea was falling on the sand with such tiny ripples that it made hardly any sound.There was no land in sight and no clouds in the sky.The sun was about where it ought to be at ten o'clock in the morning，and the sea was a dazzling blue.They stood sniffing in the sea-smell.

他們費了九牛二虎之力，身上的許多地方都被樹枝刮傷了，才從密林中走了出來。然后，讓他們吃驚的是，一切突然變得明亮起來，再往前幾步就走到了森林的邊緣，下面竟然是一片沙灘。附近的海水輕輕地、柔柔地沖刷著海灘，激起一層又一層細浪，卻沒有一點兒聲音。他們看不到陸地，天上也沒有云朵。照太陽的位置來看，大概也就是早上10點鐘的樣子。眼前只有一片蔚藍的大海，無邊無際。他們站在海邊，感受著大海的氣息。

"""By Jove!""said Peter.""This is good enough."""

"""天哪!""彼得驚嘆道，""這兒太美了!"""

Five minutes later everyone was barefooted and wading in the cool clear water.

五分鐘后，大家都赤著腳走進了清澈、涼爽的海水里。

"""This is better than being in a stuffy train on the way back to Latin and French and Algebra!""said Edmund.And then for quite a long time there was no more talking，only splashing and looking for shrimps and crabs."

"""這比坐在悶熱的火車廂里，回學(xué)校去上拉丁文、法語和代數(shù)課強多了。""愛德蒙說。這之后的好一會兒，都沒有人說話。他們一邊往前走，一邊在水里逮蝦蟹。"

"""All the same，""said Susan presently，""I suppose we'll have to make some plans.We shall want something to eat before long."""

"""盡管如此，""蘇珊說，""我還是認為我們應(yīng)該好好計劃一下，不然，我們很快就會餓肚子的。"""

"""We've got the sandwiches Mother gave us for the journey，""said Edmund.""At least I've got mine."""

"""媽媽不是給我們帶了三明治讓我們在路上吃嗎?""愛德蒙說，""反正我這兒還有。"""

"""Not me，""said Lucy.""Mine were in my little bag."""

"""我的沒了。""露茜說，""我把它放在小包里了。"""

"""So were mine，""said Susan."

"""我也是。""蘇珊說。"

"""Mine are in my coat-pocket，there on the beach，""said Peter.""That'll be two lunches among four.This isn't going to be such fun."""

"""我的在外衣口袋里，擱在那邊的海灘上，""彼得說，""四個人只有兩份午餐，肯定不夠。"""

"""At present，""said Lucy，""I want something to drink more than something to eat."""

"""我現(xiàn)在不餓，只想喝水。""露茜說。"

Everyone else now felt thirsty，as one usually is after wading in salt water under a hot sun.

這時候其他人也口渴了。烈日下在海水中玩一會兒之后，誰都會覺得口渴的。

"""It's like being shipwrecked，""remarked Edmund.""In the books they always find springs of clear，fresh water on the island.We'd better go and look for them."""

"""我們現(xiàn)在就像遇到了海難，""愛德蒙說，""故事書里都寫著，遇到海難的人總能在島上找到清澈新鮮的泉水，我們?nèi)フ艺铱窗伞?quot;""

"""Does that mean we have to go back into all that thick wood?""said Susan."

"""你是說我們要回到那個茂密的森林中嗎?""蘇珊開口問。"

"""Not a bit of it，""said Peter.""If there are streams they're bound to come down to the sea，and if we walk along the beach we're bound to come to them."""

"""不一定，""彼得說，""小溪一定會匯入大海。只要一直沿著海岸走，我們就能找到小溪。"""

They all now waded back and went first across the smooth，wet sand and then up to the dry，crumbly sand that sticks to one's toes，and began putting on their shoes and socks.Edmund and Lucy wanted to leave them behind and do their exploring with bare feet，but Susan said this would be a mad thing to do."We might never find them again，"she pointed out，"and we shall want them if we're still here when night comes and it begins to be cold."

他們開始趟水往回走，穿過松軟的沙灘，在干燥的地方撣掉沾在腳趾頭上的細沙，穿上鞋襪。愛德蒙和露茜一開始還想扔掉鞋襪，光著腳走。但是蘇珊說他們那樣想太明智了，她說："如果扔掉了，恐怕就再也找不到了。如果天黑了我們還在這里，肯定會需要它們的，因為到時候氣溫會很低。"

When they were dressed again they set out along the shore with the sea on their left hand and the wood on their right.Except for an occasional seagull it was a very quiet place.The wood was so thick and tangled that they could hardly see into it at all; and nothing in it moved-not a bird，not even an insect.

他們穿好鞋襪后，就繼續(xù)沿著海岸走。左邊是大海，右邊是森林。這里非常安靜，偶爾有海鷗飛過。森林里枝繁葉茂，枝葉相互交錯、纏繞，他們根本看不到任何活動的東西，沒有小鳥也沒有昆蟲。

Shells and seaweed and anemones，or tiny crabs in rock-pools，are all very well，but you soon get tired of them if you are thirsty.The children's feet，after the change from the cool water，felt hot and heavy.Susan and Lucy had raincoats to carry.Edmund had put down his coat on the station seat just before the magic overtook them，and he and Peter took it in turns to carry Peter's great-coat.

海灘上到處都是貝殼、海藻和?？?，還有那些石頭縫里的小螃蟹，這些都很有意思。但是如果你口渴的話，就會很快對這些東西失去興趣。孩子們從冰涼的海水中走出來后，很快就感覺到自己的腿火辣辣、沉甸甸的。蘇珊和露茜還要拿著自己的雨衣。而在魔術(shù)把他們帶走之前愛德蒙把自己的外套放車站座位上了。所以他現(xiàn)在只能和彼得輪流抱著彼得的大衣。

Presently the shore began to curve round to the right.About quarter of an hour later，after they had crossed a rocky ridge which ran out into a point，it made quite a sharp turn.Their backs were now to the part of the sea which had met them when they first came out of the wood，and now，looking ahead，they could see across the water another shore，thickly wooded like the one they were exploring.

沒走多久，海岸在他們的右邊延伸。大約又過了一刻鐘后，他們穿過一個山崖，再前面是一個急轉(zhuǎn)彎，把剛才的那片海遠遠地拋在了身后?，F(xiàn)在再看海峽對面，那一片茂密的樹木和腳下這片土地非常相似。

"""I wonder，is that an island or do we join on to it presently?""said Lucy."

"""我猜那是一個半島把，說不定是跟這邊連在一起的?""露茜說。"

"""Don't know，""said Peter and they all plodded on in silence."

"""不知道。""彼得說。然后所有人都一聲不吭地往前走。"

The shore that they were walking on drew nearer and nearer to the opposite shore，and as they came round each promontory the children expected to find the place where the two joined.But in this they were disappointed.They came to some rocks which they had to climb and from the top they could see a fair way ahead and-"Oh bother!"said Edmund，"it's no good.We shan't be able to get to those other woods at all.We're on an island!"

兩邊的海岸越來越靠近。他們都希望再轉(zhuǎn)過一個海角就可以看到兩邊海岸交匯在一起。可結(jié)果總是讓他們失望。走了很久之后，他們看到一塊巖石，爬到巖石上可以看見有條小路向前延伸。"糟了，"愛德蒙說，"情況不妙，我們現(xiàn)在是在一個島上，根本到不了那邊的森林。"

It was true.At this point the channel between them and the opposite coast was only about thirty or forty yards wide; but they could now see that this was its narrowest place.After that，their own coast bent round to the right again and they could see open sea between it and the mainland.It was obvious that they had already come much more than halfway round the island.

千真萬確!從這看過去，對面海峽兩岸之間的距離不過三四十米寬，這無疑是最窄的地方。再繼續(xù)往前走，海岸繼續(xù)向右延伸，小島和陸地之間的海面越來越開闊了。這么說，他們顯然已經(jīng)繞著整個島走了大半圈。

"""Look!""said Lucy suddenly.""What's that?""She pointed to a long，silvery，snake-like thing that lay across the beach."

"""快看!""露茜突然說，""那邊是什么?""她指著橫穿在沙灘上那條長長的、銀色的、像蛇一樣的東西。"

"""A stream! A stream!""shouted the others，and，tired as they were，they lost no time in clattering down the rocks and racing to the fresh water.They knew that the stream would be better to drink farther up，away from the beach，so they went at once to the spot where it came out of the wood.The trees were as thick as ever，but the stream had made itself a deep course between high mossy banks so that by stooping you could follow it up in a sort of tunnel of leaves.They dropped on their knees by the first brown，dimply pool and drank and drank，and dipped their faces in the water，and then dipped their arms in up to the elbow."

"""小溪!是小溪!""其他孩子也大聲喊。盡管他們已經(jīng)十分疲憊，但還是以最快的速度跳下巖石，跑向小溪。上游的水更好喝，所以他們就沿著小溪一直向上走。雖然樹木仍然很么密集，但小溪在經(jīng)年累月的沖積下，已形成了一條通道 。他們彎下腰，穿過那些枝葉搭建的隧道順流而上。終于，他們在第一個水潭邊跪下身，盡情地喝了個夠。他們把臉浸在水里，又把胳膊也伸進去，水漫過了他們的臂彎。"

"""Now，""said Edmund，""what about those sandwiches?"""

"""現(xiàn)在，""愛德蒙說，""來點三明治怎么樣?"""

"""Oh，hadn't we better have them?""said Susan.""We may need them far worse later on."""

"""噢，我們還是省著點兒吃吧?""蘇珊說，""也許以后我們會更需要這些食物。"""

"""I do wish，""said Lucy，""now that we're not thirsty，we could go on feeling as not-hungry as we did when we were thirsty."""

"""現(xiàn)在我們都不渴了，""露茜說，""我真希望，我們要是不餓該多好啊!"""

"""But what about those sandwiches?""repeated Edmund."

"""那這些三明治該怎么辦呢?""愛德蒙說，"

"""there's no good saving them till they go bad.You've got to remember it's a good deal hotter here than in England and we've been carrying them about in pockets for hours.""So they got out the two packets and divided them into four portions，and nobody had quite enough，but it was a great deal better than nothing.Then they talked about their plans for the next meal.Lucy wanted to go back to the sea and catch shrimps，until someone pointed out that they had no nets.Edmund said they must gather gulls' eggs from the rocks，but when they came to think of it they couldn't remember having seen any gulls' eggs and wouldn't be able to cook them if they found any.Peter thought to himself that unless they had some stroke of luck they would soon be glad to eat eggs raw，but he didn't see any point in saying this out loud.Susan said it was a pity they had eaten the sandwiches so soon.One or two tempers very nearly got lost at this stage.Finally Edmund said:"

"""我們可別一味地想著節(jié)省，到最后卻把它們給放壞了。你們應(yīng)該知道這兒的溫度可比英國高多了，而我們已經(jīng)把它們裝在口袋里走了很久了。""于是，他們拿出三明治，分成四份。他們都沒有吃飽，但肯定比不吃好多了。接著他們開始計劃他們的下一餐。露茜提出大家可以一起回到海邊去捉海蝦，但有人立即提出他們沒有網(wǎng)。愛德蒙說大家可以一起到巖石那邊找海鷗蛋，但他們不記得剛才是不是看見了海鷗蛋，而且就算找到海鷗蛋，他們也沒有辦法把蛋煮熟。彼得心想，也許過不了多久，他們連生蛋都吃不上，除非大家運氣好，能找到一些吃的。當(dāng)然，他明白這些話是不能說出來的。蘇珊開始后悔剛才那么快就把三明治吃完了。他們中還是有人沉不住氣了，最后還是愛德蒙說："

"""Look here.There's only one thing to be done.We must explore the wood.Hermits and knights-errant and people like that always manage to live somehow if they're in a forest.They find roots and berries and things."""

大家聽我說。我們現(xiàn)在唯一能做的就是去森林里尋找食物。那些隱士、俠客之類的人，在這種情況下總有辦法活下來。他們會找到植物的根莖、野果或者是其他能吃的東西。

"""What sort of roots?""asked Susan."

"""什么植物的根莖?""蘇珊問。"

"""I always thought it meant roots of trees，""said Lucy."

"""我認為根莖就是樹根。""露茜回答。"

"""Come on，""said Peter，""Ed is right.And we must try to do something.And it'll be better than going out into the glare and the sun again."""

"""走吧。""彼得鼓勵大家，""愛德蒙說得對。我們應(yīng)該去找找看?？隙ū壬瞪档卣驹谶@烈日下要強多了。"""

So they all got up and began to follow the stream.It was very hard work.They had to stoop under branches and climb over branches，and they blundered through great masses of stuff like rhododendrons and tore their clothes and got their feet wet in the stream; and still there was no noise at all except the noise of the stream and the noises they were making themselves.They were beginning to get very tired of it when they noticed a delicious smell，and then a flash of bright colour high above them at the top of the right bank.

于是，他們站起來順著小溪走向森林深處。這并非易事，因為樹木的枝葉茂盛，他們不得不彎著身子前進，或者爬過那些枝干。他們在大片大片杜鵲花之類的灌木叢里艱難地穿過，衣服破了，鞋也濕了。此刻，除了小溪傳來的流水聲和他們自己發(fā)出的聲響外，樹林里什么聲音也沒有。當(dāng)他們越來越疲勞的時候，突然聞到一陣清香，緊接著，他們看到右岸上閃過一道明亮的色彩。

"""I say!""exclaimed Lucy.""I do believe that's an apple tree."""

"""看哪!""露茜大喊，""那是一棵蘋果樹。"""

It was.They panted up the steep bank，forced their way through some brambles，and found themselves standing round an old tree that was heavy with large yellowish-golden apples as firm and juicy as you could wish to see.

那真的是一棵蘋果樹。他們興奮地爬上陡坡，從荊棘中踩出了一條路，終于站到了這棵掛滿了沉甸甸、金黃色又美味多汁的蘋果樹前。

"""And this is not the only tree，""said Edmund with his mouth full of apple.""Look there-and there."""

"""還不止一棵呢。""嘴里塞滿蘋果的愛德蒙含糊不清地說道。""看那邊，還有那邊。"""

"""Why，there are dozens of them，""said Susan，throwing away the core of her first apple and picking her second.""This must have been an orchard-long，long ago，before the place went wild and the wood grew up."""

"""這有幾十棵蘋果樹呢，""蘇珊邊說邊扔掉了手里的蘋果，開始摘第二個蘋果吃?！?quot;"這里肯定是一個果園，在很久很久以前，樹木還沒有長大時，這兒肯定有人看管。"""

"""Then this was once an inhabited island，""said Peter."

"""也就是說這兒曾經(jīng)有人居住。""彼得說道。"

"""And what's that?""said Lucy，pointing ahead."

"""看那是什么?""露茜指著前面。"

"""By Jove，it's a wall，""said Peter.""An old stone wall."""

"""天哪，是一堵墻。""彼得很吃驚。""一堵古老的石墻。"""

Pressing their way between the laden branches they reached the wall.It was very old，and broken down in places，with moss and wallflowers growing on it，but it was higher than all but the tallest trees.And when they came quite close to it they found a great arch which must once have had a gate in it but was now almost filled up with the largest of all the apple trees.They had to break some of the branches to get past，and when they had done so they all blinked because the daylight became suddenly much brighter.They found themselves in a wide open place with walls all round it.In here there were no trees，only level grass and daisies，and ivy，and grey walls.It was a bright，secret，quiet place，and rather sad; and all four stepped out into the middle of it，glad to be able to straighten their backs and move their limbs freely.

他們扒開那些果實累累的樹枝，走到了墻前面。顯然這墻的年代已經(jīng)很久遠了，很多地方都已經(jīng)塌了。墻面上長滿了苔蘚和那種開滿黃色小花的藤本植物。墻上還有個又高又大的拱門，大家猜測這兒之前有一扇大門。不過現(xiàn)在，這個拱門被那棵最高的蘋果樹給擋住了。他們只好折斷一些樹枝，才能爬進去。墻另一邊的光線很明顯要好很多。他們驚奇地發(fā)現(xiàn)來到了一片開闊的地方。四周的墻是灰色的，沒有樹木，只有草坪，卻開滿了小雛菊。這個明亮、神秘、安靜的地方，不禁讓人感到有些陰郁。他們四個走到院中，伸了伸懶腰，活動了一下四肢。