《凯斯宾王子》第一章

By C. S. Lewis

C. S.刘易斯（1898—1963），英国著名作家，所著儿童故事集《纳尼亚传奇》七部曲，情节动人，妙趣横生。本文选自《纳尼亚传奇》第二部《凯斯宾王子》。

CHAPTER ONE  THE ISLAND

第一章 孤岛

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.

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.

從前有四个孩子，他们的名字叫彼得、苏珊、爱德蒙和露茜。关于他们的故事，我们在另一本叫作《狮子·女巫·魔衣橱》的书里，曾经有过详细的讲述，那真是一次有趣、精彩的历险。他们钻进一个神秘的大衣橱，门的那边是另一个世界，与他们原先生活的国度全然不同，他们在那里被人民拥戴做了这个神奇国度的国王和女王。他们感觉在纳尼亚待了很多很多年，但当重新开启衣柜回到现实生活时，这场历险似乎只是瞬间发生的事情，甚至没人发现他们曾经离开过。而他们除了将这“梦境”告诉过一位非常博学的长者，对谁也没有再提起。

那是一年前发生的事情了。现在，这四个孩子都坐在火车站的长椅上，身边堆放着大衣箱和用品箱。这是在回学校的路上，他们将在这里分手。女孩子们准备乘坐很快就要进站的一列火车返回自己的学校，而大约半个小时以后，两个男孩将乘另一列火车返回他们的学校。这一路上大家热热闹闹在一起，总觉得仍然是在度假，可是现在，马上就要握手告别，这使每个人都意识到，假期的确已经结束，天天上课的日子又要开始了。孩子们不由得都情绪低落，谁也想不出该说些什么才好。露茜将是第一次上寄宿学校。

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.

“Whats up， Lu？” said Edmund—and then suddenly broke off and made a noise like “Ow！”

“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？”

“Im not touching you，” said Susan. “Someone is pulling me. Oh—oh—oh—stop it！”

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

“I felt just the same，” said Edmund in a breathless voice. “As if I were being dragged along. A most frightful pulling—ugh！ its beginning again.”

“Me too，” said Lucy. “Oh， I cant bear it.”

这是一个空荡、沉寂的小镇车站，月台上除了他们，几乎再没其他人。突然，露茜轻声尖叫了一下，就像被马蜂蜇了一下似的。

“怎么啦？露茜……哎哟——”爱德蒙的话还没说完，也叫了一声。

“你们到底怎么啦……”话音未落，彼得突然也改变了原先想说的话，“放手！苏珊，你干什么？你要拉我上哪儿去？”

“谁碰你了？！”苏珊说，“倒是好像也有人在拉我，哎……哎……哎……别拉我呀！”

孩子们一个个吓得脸色煞白。

“我也是，”爱德蒙气都喘不过来了，“好像有人在拼命地拉我。好可怕！哟，又来了！”

“我也一样，”露茜喊道，“哦，我支持不住了。”

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

“Yes，” said Susan. “Hold hands. Oh， I do wish it would stop—oh！”

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.

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

“It might be anywhere，” said Peter. “I cant see a yard in all these trees. Lets try to get into the open—if there is any open.”

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 oclock in the morning， and the sea was a dazzling blue. They stood sniffing in the sea-smell.

“快！”愛德蒙发出指令，“大家快拉起手来，不要松开！这肯定是一股魔力——我的感觉没错，快！”

“对！”苏珊急急地说，“大家拉起手来，噢，可是怎么还是停不下来呀！啊——”

接着行李、长椅、月台和整个车站转眼间就不见了。四个孩子手拉着手，气都喘不上来。当稍稍平静一些之后，才发现他们站在一大片丛林里——这里的树木真稠密啊，他们被卡在几棵树的树枝中间，动弹不得。孩子们揉揉眼睛，深深地吸了一口气。

“喂，彼得！”露茜大声说，“你看咱们是不是又回到纳尼亚了？”

“谁知道呢！”彼得答道，“这么多的树，一米开外全被树枝挡住了。咱们得想法找一找，看看外面有没有空地。”

费了九牛二虎之力，身上多处被树枝划破，他们终于走出了树木最稠密的地区。外面的光线强烈多了，再往前走几步，他们突然惊奇地发现自己已站在树林的边缘，眼前是一片海滩。离他们不远处，温和的海水轻轻地涌上滩头，激起层层细浪，几乎一点儿声响都没有。这里看不到田野，天上也没有云，眼前只有大海那令人目眩的一片蔚蓝。根据太阳的位置判断，现在大约是上午十点钟。几个孩子悄然肃立，沐浴在海洋的气息之中。

“By Jove！” said Peter. “This is good enough.”

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

“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.

“All the same，” said Susan presently， “I suppose well have to make some plans. We shall want something to eat before long.”

“Weve got the sandwiches Mother gave us for the journey，” said Edmund. “At least Ive got mine.”

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

“So were mine，” said Susan.

“Mine are in my coat-pocket， there on the beach，” said Peter. “Thatll be two lunches among four. This isnt going to be such fun.”

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

“哇！”彼得不禁感叹道，“好美的风景啊！”

大约五分钟之后，大家都忍不住脱掉鞋子，将脚丫子浸入那清凉澄澈的海水之中。

“要是现在坐在回学校的火车上，那该多么闷热、无趣啊！还得去上那些枯燥的拉丁文、法文和代数课呢。而现在的我们多快乐！”爱德蒙说。然而这兴奋与惬意并没有持续多久，之后的老半天，大家都不愿多说话。大家一边踩着水漫无目标地往前走，一边寻找水中的虾蟹。

“尽管如此，”过了一会儿苏珊说，“但咱们计划一下，否则大家很快就要饿肚子了。”

“不是有妈妈给我们带在路上吃的三明治吗？”爱德蒙说，“至少我的那份还在这里。”

“我的没了！”露茜说，“我把它落在小包里了。”

“我的也放在小包里。”苏珊说。

“我的在衣服口袋里，哈，衣服就脱在海滩上。”彼得说，“四个人才两份午餐，这哪里够吃！”

“但是我现在并不觉得饿，倒是渴得不得了。”露茜说道。

Word Study

junction /'d???k?n/ n. （公路或铁路的）交叉路口，汇合处，枢纽站

sting /st??/ v. 刺;蜇;叮

I was stung on the arm by a wasp.

vanish /'v?n??/ v. 突然消失;不復存在;消亡;绝迹

My glasses seem to have vanished.

exclaim /?k'skle?m/ v. （由于强烈的情感或痛苦而）惊叫，呼喊

She opened her eyes and exclaimed in delight at the scene.

wade /we?d/ v. 跋涉，涉，蹚（水或淤泥等）

He waded into the water to push the boat out.

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

“Its like being shipwrecked，” remarked Edmund. “In the books they always find springs of clear， fresh water on the island. Wed better go and look for them.”

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

“Not a bit of it，” said Peter. “If there are streams theyre bound to come down to the sea， and if we walk along the beach were bound to come to them.”

They all now waded back and went first across the smooth， wet sand and then up to the dry， crumbly sand that sticks to ones 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 were still here when night comes and it begins to be cold.”

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.

Shells and seaweed and anemones， or tiny crabs in rockpools， are all very well， but you soon get tired of them if you are thirsty. The childrens 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 Peters great-coat.

這一说，大家都感到口渴起来。当然啦，在烈日下的海水中玩一会儿之后，谁都要口渴的。

“我们现在的情形就好像船在海上遇了险，”爱德蒙一本正经地说，“书中的逃生者们总是能在荒岛上找到清凉甘甜的泉水。咱们也该去找找看。”

“你是说，我们还得回到那茂密的林子中去？”苏珊问道。

“那倒不必，”彼得说，“只要有小溪，溪水一定会潺潺而下，流入大海。我们沿着海岸走，准能找得到。”

于是孩子们开始蹚着海水往回走。他们首先经过一段光滑、潮湿的沙滩，接着是干燥、松软的沙滩，滚烫的沙砾黏着脚趾和脚底板，别提多难受了。孩子们赶紧穿上了鞋袜。爱德蒙和露茜曾想把鞋袜丢掉，光着脚去探险。幸亏苏珊及时阻止了他们，说那样做简直是发疯。“丢掉就再也找不回了，而且夜幕降临以后就会冷起来的，到时候你们穿什么？”

穿上鞋袜后，他们沿着海岸继续向前，左边是广阔无垠的大海，右边是阴森茂密的丛林。然而出奇地静，间或传来的海鸥声显得尤其清脆而明亮。树林十分茂密，枝叶缠结在一起，根本看不到里面，而且，林子深处一片寂静——没有鸟儿，甚至连昆虫的动静也没有。

贝壳啦、海藻啦、海葵啦，还有那岩石缝里的小螃蟹们，都很好玩。可是，在口渴难当的时候，你就对它们不感兴趣了。更为糟糕的是，从冰凉海水中出来的双脚一下子变得又热又沉甸甸。况且苏珊和露茜还有各自的雨衣要拿，爱德蒙的外衣丢在了车站的长椅上，所以现在他和彼得轮流拿着彼得的大衣。

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 and now， looking ahead， they could see across the water another shore， thickly wooded like the one they were exploring.

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

“Dont know，” said Peter and they all plodded on in silence.

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 fairway ahead and—“Oh bother！” said Edmund， “its no good. We shant be able to get to those other woods at all. Were on an island！”

不久，海岸开始向右延伸。大约一刻钟之后，他们绕过一个石崖，石崖后面一个急转弯，把刚才那片海域抛在了身后。极目望去，他们看到海峡对面也是一片茂密的丛林，与脚下这片土地十分相似。

“那边是一个岛吧？或者，没准儿两边很快就连在一起了。”露茜说。

“谁知道呢。”彼得懒懒地答道。大家拖着疲惫的身子，只顾往前走，谁也不愿多说话。

海峡两岸越靠越近。每翻过一个岬角，他们就盼望着看到两岸连接到一起。可结果呢？他们一次次地失望了。终于，他们来到一片岩石跟前，大家爬上岩顶，环顾四周，只看到一条小路伸向远方。“真见鬼！”爱德蒙懊恼地说，“白忙活了，咱们根本无法到达那边的树林——这儿就是一个孤岛！”

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.

“Look！” said Lucy suddenly. “Whats that？” She pointed to a long， silvery， snake-like thing that lay across the beach.

“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.

“Now，” said Edmund， “what about those sandwiches？”

“Oh， hadnt we better have them？” said Susan. “We may need them far worse later on.”

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

千真萬确，从岩顶望去，海峡两岸最狭长处不过三十来米。再往前，脚下的海岸继续向右延伸，他们可以看到岛与大陆之间开阔的海面，看来他们已经沿着孤岛走了大半圈了。

“看，那是什么？”露茜突然兴奋地说，手指着横卧在海滩上的一条银色的如长蛇般的东西。

“小溪，是一条小溪！”其他几个人齐声欢呼起来。尽管已经疲惫不堪，他们还是跳下岩石，向那条小溪跑过去。他们知道，上游的溪水才最好喝，便沿着小溪朝上游走去。树林仍然是那么茂密，好在小溪长年累月地冲刷出了一条通道：弯下身来，在枝叶搭起的天然隧道里，就能逆水而上。很快，他们来到一处水潭，大家伏下身子，咕咚咕咚地尽情喝了个够。然后把脸浸在水里，再把胳膊也伸进去，一直浸到臂弯处。

“太棒了！”爱德蒙长长地舒了一口气，“现在，让我们来点儿三明治怎么样？”

“喂，我们是不是该省着点儿吃？”苏珊犹豫地说，“也许我们以后更需要它。”

“现在我们已经不觉得口渴了，”露茜说，“我真希望，我们能像刚才口渴时那样一点儿都不觉得饿。”

“But what about those sandwiches？” repeated Edmund. “Theres no good saving them till they go bad. Youve got to remember its a good deal hotter here than in England and weve 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 couldnt remember having seen any gulls eggs and wouldnt 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 didnt 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：

“Look here. Theres 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 theyre in a forest. They find roots and berries and things.”

“可那些三明治怎么办呢？”爱德蒙仍不甘心，“再说我们省着不吃，一会儿放坏了就更吃不成喽。你们看，这儿比英国热多了，况且三明治装在口袋里已经很久了。”于是大家将那两包三明治取出来，分成四份。可说实在的，这点东西还不知道能不能填满肚子的一个小角落呢，但总算比一点都不吃强多了。问题是下一顿在哪里呢？露茜提议回到海边抓点虾米螃蟹什么的，可是没有网兜。爱德蒙认为最好是去岩石缝里掏海鸥蛋，可谁也想不起来曾经在哪里看到过海鸥蛋。再说即使能够找到，也无法将蛋煮熟。彼得心想，找得到蛋就算不错了，说不定连生鸟蛋都没得吃。当然，他明白没有必要在这个时候给大家泼冷水。苏珊开始后悔没有坚持留下点三明治，而是和大家一下子吃个精光。孩子们有些沉不住气了。最后，还是爱德蒙开口说道：

“听我说，现在我们只能去森林里面碰碰运气。高深睿智的隐士、放荡不羁的骑士、探险家、侠客这些常常身处危险的人，在森林里总有办法生存下去。他们吃根茎、野果和任何可以充饥的东西。”

Word Study

bound /ba?nd/ adj. 一定会;很可能会

Its bound to be sunny again tomorrow.

plod /pl?d/ v. 艰难地行走;吃力地行进

We plodded on through the rain.

stoop /stu?p/ v. 俯身;弯腰

“What sort of roots？” asked Susan.

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

“Come on，” said Peter， “Ed is right. And we must try to do something. And itll be better than going out into the glare and the sun again.”

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.

“I say！” exclaimed Lucy. “I do believe thats an apple tree.”

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 golden yellow apples as firm and juicy as you could wish to see.

“哪種根茎？”苏珊好奇地问。

“不就是树根吗？”露茜说。

“出发吧，”彼得鼓励大家，“爱德蒙是对的。我们必须去闯闯看，总不能待在这里坐以待毙呀。”

于是，他们站起来，顺着小溪向丛林深处走去。过程十分艰难，茂密的枝叶常常挡住了前行的路，他们不得不弯下腰从枝丫间钻过去，或者干脆从枝干上面爬过去。就这样，他们跌跌撞撞地穿过大片大片杜鹃之类的灌木丛。衣服早被挂破了，鞋也在小溪里弄湿了。此时此地，除了小溪流水和他们自己发出的声响，林子里依然是一片寂静。正当大家几乎陷入绝望的境地时，一股清香突然从什么地方飘飘忽忽地吹过来。接着，一抹十分鲜亮的色彩出现在右上方。

“快瞧！”露茜欢喜地嚷道，“我敢说，那一定是一棵苹果树。”

果然是一棵苹果树。他们一鼓作气爬上陡坡，从荆棘中开出一条路，来到这棵老树下。树上沉甸甸地挂满了金黄色的、坚实多汁的大苹果。

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

“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.”

“Then this was once an inhabited island，” said Peter.

“And whats that？” said Lucy， pointing ahead.

“By Jove， its a wall，” said Peter. “An old stone wall.”

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. 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.

“還不止一棵呢。”爱德蒙一边狼吞虎咽地吃着苹果，一边含糊不清地说着，“看那儿，还有那儿。”

“可不是嘛，瞧，这里足有好几十棵苹果树！”苏珊说着，扔掉了手里的果核，又摘下一个大苹果，“很久很久以前，这儿一定是个果园。辛勤的园丁肯定将这个园子打理得很好，那些树木也没有长起来。”

“这么说来，这个小岛以前是有人居住的喽？”彼得沉思道。

“那是什么？”露茜指着前面。

“天哪！是一堵墙！”彼得吃了一惊，“一堵古老的石墙！”

孩子们绕开果实累累的树枝，走到了墙根前。这墙的年代已经很久远了，有些地方已经坍塌。墙上布满了苔藓，各种无名的小花在墙上攀缘。走近一看，他们发现墙上有个高大的门拱，这儿肯定有过一扇大门，可现在门洞几乎被高大的苹果树堵死了。孩子们尽力清除了一些树枝，才勉强爬了进去。突然，他们感到豁然开朗，光线也明亮了许多。他们惊愕地发现自己来到一片开阔地。这里没有树，只有平整的草坪，野花盛开。草坪的四周是灰色的围墙，覆盖着常春藤。这真是一个敞亮、宁静、神秘但又多少让人感到有些阴郁的地方。孩子们迈步来到院落中间，心里欢喜不已。现在他们可以舒展舒展筋骨、自由自在地活动一下四肢了。