纳尼亚传奇系列2：狮子、女巫和魔衣柜(中英双语典藏版)(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)

作者：(英)C·S·刘易斯

出版社：天津人民出版社

格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT

纳尼亚传奇系列2：狮子、女巫和魔衣柜(中英双语典藏版)试读：

译者序

经过两年多不懈的努力，“纳尼亚”系列经典的译文终于杀青了！这时，我既感到完成任务的轻松与喜悦，又隐隐感到一丝不舍。以前，也曾经读过“纳尼亚”系列，但那时是一目十行，不求甚解。翻译则不同，不仅要对作者的思想和时代背景有较深入的了解，而且要尽量将其语言风格表达出来。这大概就是翻译所谓的“神似”与“形似”吧。

C·S·刘易斯可以称得上是一代宗师，被誉为“最伟大的牛津人”。他博学多才，著述颇丰。有人说，“纳尼亚”系列是“儿童的圣经”。要想读懂这套传奇故事，我们就必须对作者的信仰历程有所了解。

刘易斯的父母都是虔诚的新教徒。刘易斯出生后不久，就在爱尔兰的教会受洗。由于青少年时期的叛逆，他曾一度远离了自己的信仰。后来，在《魔戒》的作者、好友托尔金和其他朋友的影响下， 32岁时他又回到了上帝的怀抱。回归信仰之后，刘易斯创作出了许多不朽的传世之作。

在“纳尼亚”的奇幻世界中，那位无所不在的狮子阿斯兰正是耶稣的化身。狮子是百兽之王，而圣经启示录则称耶稣为“犹大支派中的狮子”、“万王之王”。刘易斯藉着一系列的故事，轻松地阐释了上帝创造宇宙、魔鬼诱使人类犯罪、耶稣为罪人赎罪舍命、然后从死里复活等基督教教义。

刘易斯曾广泛涉猎欧洲的神话，因此“纳尼亚”系列经典中也出现了小矮人、半人马、潘恩、树精和狼人等形象。大师的想象力异常丰富，不受时空的限制，可谓天马行空，驰骛八极。套用刘勰的话来说，就是“思接千载，视通万里”。加上他的词汇量丰富，时常用诗一般的语言来描绘高山、峡谷、密林、瀑布和清泉等自然景观。因此，尽管译者自诩中英文功底都比较深厚，但不时也会感到“词穷”。有时，为了一句话、一个词，我会多方求教于英、美的朋友，真正体会到了译事之难。

在第一本《魔法师的外甥》中，作者展开想象的翅膀，带领我们“上天”，亲眼目睹了纳尼亚被创造的过程：随着狮子跌宕起伏的歌声，从土壤中接连冒出了树木、花草、动物和飞鸟。狮子赐给一部分动物和飞鸟说话的能力，使他们成为自己的“选民”。

除了“上天”，刘易斯还带着我们“入地”。在《银椅子》中，我们跟随作者来到了黑暗的地下王国，经历了一场惊心动魄的属灵争战。“七”在《圣经》中是一个完全的数字，因为上帝在七天中创造了宇宙万物。故此，“纳尼亚”系列经典一共有七册书。这个系列中人物众多，场景变幻莫测。在《“黎明”号的远航》中，卡斯宾王等在海上的历险和奇遇扣人心弦；在《马儿与少年》中，我们又体验到了异国情调和大漠风光。而《最后的决战》栩栩如生地描绘了善与恶两个阵营，恶神塔西和白女巫、绿女巫一样，都象征着魔鬼撒旦，它们都逃脱不了失败与灭亡的命运。

何光沪老师在《从岁首到年终》的序言中说过，同刘易斯交上一年的朋友，会使你变得更好。两年多来，与刘大师朝夕相处，虽然不敢说自己变得更好了，但在这个过程中的确获益匪浅，虽苦也甜。向和平2013年12月

Chapter 1 Lucy Looks Into A Wardrobe露西进入魔衣柜

Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids. They were sent to the house of an old Professor who lived in the heart of the country, ten miles from the nearest railway station and two miles from the nearest post office. He had no wife and he lived in a very large house with a housekeeper called Mrs Macready and three servants. (Their names were Ivy, Margaret and Betty, but they do not come into the story much.) He himself was a very old man with shaggy white hair which grew over most of his face as well as on his head, and they liked him almost at once; but on the first evening when he came out to meet them at the front door he was so oddlooking that Lucy (who was the youngest) was a little afraid of him, and Edmund (who was the next youngest) wanted to laugh and had to keep on pretending he was blowing his nose to hide it.

As soon as they had said goodnight to the Professor and gone upstairs on the first night, the boys came into the girls’ room and they all talked it over.

“We’ve fallen on our feet and no mistake,” said Peter. “This is going to be perfectly splendid. That old chap will let us do anything we like.”

“I think he’s an old dear,” said Susan.

“Oh, come off it!” said Edmund, who was tired and pretending not to be tired, which always made him bad-tempered. “Don’t go on talking like that.”

“Like what?” said Susan; “and anyway, it’s time you were in bed.”

“Trying to talk like Mother,” said Edmund. “And who are you to say when I’m to go to bed? Go to bed yourself.”

“Hadn’t we all better go to bed?” said Lucy. “There’s sure to be a row if we’re heard talking here.”

“No there won’t,” said Peter. “I tell you this is the sort of house where no one’s going to mind what we do. Anyway, they won’t hear us. It’s about ten minutes’ walk from here down to that dining-room, and any amount of stairs and passages in between.”

“What’s that noise?” said Lucy suddenly. It was a far larger house than she had ever been in before and the thought of all those long passages and rows of doors leading into empty rooms was beginning to make her feel a little creepy.

“It’s only a bird, silly,” said Edmund.

“It’s an owl,” said Peter. “This is going to be a wonderful place for birds. I shall go to bed now. I say, let’s go and explore tomorrow. You might find anything in a place like this. Did you see those mountains as we came along? And the woods? There might be eagles. There might be stags. There’ll be hawks.”

“Badgers!” said Lucy.

“Foxes!” said Edmund.

“Rabbits!” said Susan.

But when next morning came there was a steady rain falling, so thick that when you looked out of the window you could see neither the mountains nor the woods nor even the stream in the garden.

“Of course it would be raining!” said Edmund. They had just finished their breakfast with the Professor and were upstairs in the room he had set apart for them—a long, low room with two windows looking out in one direction and two in another.

“Do stop grumbling, Ed,” said Susan. “Ten to one it’ll clear up in an hour or so. And in the meantime we’re pretty well off. There’s a wireless and lots of books.”

“Not for me,”said Peter; “I’m going to explore in the house.”

Everyone agreed to this and that was how the adventures began. It was the sort of house that you never seem to come to the end of, and it was full of unexpected places. The first few doors they tried led only into spare bedrooms, as everyone had expected that they would; but soon they came to a very long room full of pictures and there they found a suit of armour; and after that was a room all hung with green, with a harp in one corner; and then came three steps down and five steps up, and then a kind of little upstairs hall and a door that led out on to a balcony, and then a whole series of rooms that led into each other and were lined with books—most of them very old books and some bigger than a Bible in a church. And shortly after that they looked into a room that was quite empty except for one big wardrobe; the sort that has a looking-glass in the door. There was nothing else in the room at all except a dead bluebottle on the window-sill.

“Nothing there!” said Peter, and they all trooped out again—all except Lucy. She stayed behind because she thought it would be worth-while trying the door of the wardrobe, even though she felt almost sure that it would be locked. To her surprise it opened quite easily, and two mothballs dropped out.

Looking into the inside, she saw several coats hanging up—mostly long fur coats. There was nothing Lucy liked so much as the smell and feel of fur. She immediately stepped into the wardrobe and got in among the coats and rubbed her face against them, leaving the door open, of course, because she knew that it is very foolish to shut oneself into any wardrobe. Soon she went further in and found that there was a second row of coats hanging up behind the first one. It was almost quite dark in there and she kept her arms stretched out in front of her so as not to bump her face into the back of the wardrobe. She took a step further in—then two or three steps—always expecting to feel woodwork against the tips of her fingers. But she could not feel it.

“This must be a simply enormous wardrobe!” thought Lucy, going still further in and pushing the soft folds of the coats aside to make room for her. Then she noticed that there was something crunching under her feet. “I wonder is that more mothballs?” she thought, stooping down to feel it with her hand. But instead of feeling the hard, smooth wood of the floor of the wardrobe, she felt something soft and powdery and extremely cold. “This is very queer,” she said, and went on a step or two further.

Next moment she found that what was rubbing against her face and hands was no longer soft fur but something hard and rough and even prickly. “Why, it is just like branches of trees!” exclaimed Lucy. And then she saw that there was a light ahead of her; not a few inches away where the back of the wardrobe ought to have been, but a long way off. Something cold and soft was falling on her. A moment later she found that she was standing in the middle of a wood at night-time with snow under her feet and snowflakes falling through the air.

Lucy felt a little frightened, but she felt very inquisitive and excited as well. She looked back over her shoulder and there, between the dark tree-trunks, she could still see the open doorway of the wardrobe and even catch a glimpse of the empty room from which she had set out. (She had, of course, left the door open, for she knew that it is a very silly thing to shut oneself into a wardrobe.) It seemed to be still daylight there. “I can always get back if anything goes wrong,” thought Lucy. She began to walk forward, crunch-crunch over the snow and through the wood towards the other light. In about ten minutes she reached it and found it was a lamp-post. As she stood looking at it, wondering why there was a lamp-post in the middle of a wood and wondering what to do next, she heard a pitter patter of feet coming towards her. And soon after that a very strange person stepped out from among the trees into the light of the lamp-post.

He was only a little taller than Lucy herself and he carried over his head an umbrella, white with snow. From the waist upwards he was like a man, but his legs were shaped like a goat’s (the hair on them was glossy black) and instead of feet he had goat’s hoofs. He also had a tail, but Lucy did not notice this at first because it was neatly caught up over the arm that held the umbrella so as to keep it from trailing in the snow. He had a red woollen muffler round his neck and his skin was rather reddish too. He had a strange, but pleasant little face, with a short pointed beard and curly hair, and out of the hair there stuck two horns, one on each side of his forehead. One of his hands, as I have said, held the umbrella; in the other arm he carried several brownpaper parcels. What with the parcels and the snow it looked just as if he had been doing his Christmas shopping. He was a Faun. And when he saw Lucy he gave such a start of surprise that he dropped all his parcels.

“Goodness gracious me!” exclaimed the Faun.

中文阅读

从前有四个孩子，他们的名字叫彼得、苏珊、埃德蒙和露西。这是一个发生在他们身上的故事。当时正处于战争期间，由于空袭，父母将他们从伦敦疏散，送到了一位住在偏远乡下一座庄园里的老教授家里。那个地方离最近的火车站有十英里，距离最近的邮局也有两英里。老教授没有妻子，他和一个名叫麦克里迪夫人的女管家还有三个仆人（她们的名字叫艾维、玛格丽特和贝蒂，但她们并不经常出现在故事中）住在一座非常大的房子里。他本人已经上了年纪，他脸上的大部分地方都和头上一样，长满了蓬乱的白色须发。孩子们几乎立刻就喜欢上了他。可是在第一天傍晚，当他走出来，站在前门迎接他们时，因为他的长相如此古怪，以致露西（她是年纪最小的）有一点儿怕他，而埃德蒙（他排行老三）想要大笑，只得不停地装作要擤鼻涕来加以掩饰。

头一个夜晚，他们刚跟教授道了晚安，回到楼上，男孩们就立刻来到了女孩们的房间，四个人凑在一起谈论起来。“毫无疑问，我们的确非常幸运。”彼得说，“这里的一切都棒极了。那个老爷子会让我们随心所欲做我们想做的事情。”“我觉得他是个老好人。”苏珊说。“哦，打住！”埃德蒙说道，他已经累了，但他装出自己并没有感到疲惫的样子，这总会使得他脾气暴燥，“别再继续像那样讲话了。”“像什么样？”苏珊问道，“不管怎样，你都该上床睡觉了。”“学着像老妈那样讲话。”埃德蒙说，“你凭什么管我该啥时睡觉？你自己去睡吧。”“是不是我们最好都去睡觉呢？”露西说，“如果有人听到我们在这里说话，我们肯定该要挨尅了。”“不会有人听见的。”彼得说，“我告诉你们，在这种房子里，没有人会在意我们做些什么。再说，他们不会听到我们说话。从这里下到那个餐厅大概要走十分钟，中间还有那么多的楼梯和过道。”“那是什么声音？”露西突然问道。这座房子比她以前到过的任何房子都要大，一想到所有那些长长的走廊，以及一排排通向空房间的房门，她就开始感到有点毛骨悚然。“那只是一只鸟，傻瓜。”埃德蒙答道。“那是一只猫头鹰。”彼得说，“对于鸟类来说，这里可真是个美妙的地方。我现在要去睡觉了。听着，我们明天出去探险吧。在这样一个地方，你可能会发现任何东西。我们来的时候，你们看见那些山了吗？还有那些树林？没准儿那里还有老鹰。说不定还有雄鹿呢。肯定会有隼。”“还有獾！”露西说。“还有狐狸！”埃德蒙说。“还有兔子！”苏珊说。

但是当第二天清晨到来时，外面正在不停地下着雨，雨很大，如果你向窗外望去，既看不到山岭，也看不见树林，甚至连花园中的小溪都看不见了。“竟然下起雨来！”埃德蒙说。他们刚刚和教授一起吃完早餐，来到楼上他专门给他们留出的一个房间——那是一个长长的低矮的房间，在两边墙上各有两扇窗户，可以眺望不同的方向。“别再抱怨了，埃德。”苏珊说，“再过个把小时，十有八九天就会放晴。在此期间，我们可以自得其乐。这儿有一个无线电收音机，还有大量的书籍。”“我对这些可不感兴趣。”彼得说，“我要在室内探索一番。”

大家一致同意这个建议，历险就这样开始了。这座房子属于那一种，你似乎永远也不可能走到它的尽头，因为里面到处都是出人意料的地方。恰如他们所预料的那样，打开来的头几扇门里面只是闲置的卧室。很快他们来到了一间非常长的，挂满了画像的房间，在那里他们还发现了一副盔甲。在那之后又是一间挂满绿色帘幕的房间，角落里还有一张竖琴。接着下了三级台阶，然后又上了五级台阶，他们来到了一间小小的楼上客厅，有一扇门通往外面的阳台。再往后又是一连串互相贯通的房间，里面摆满了书籍——大部分书籍都非常古老，有一些书比教堂里的《圣经》还要大。在那之后不久，他们又进入一个房间查看。那个房间空空荡荡，只有一个大衣柜，是那种柜门上有一面镜子的衣柜。除了窗台上一盆枯死的矢车菊，房间里没有其他任何东西。“这里一无所有！”彼得说。他们又都鱼贯地走了出去——除了露西之外。她落在后面，是因为她觉得有必要打开柜门看一看，尽管她几乎确信柜门是锁着的。令她吃惊的是，柜门轻而易举地就打开了，两个樟脑丸滚了出来。

向里面张望，她看到了几件挂着的大衣——基本上都是皮毛长外衣。露西特别喜欢皮毛的气味和手感。她立刻进入衣柜，钻到皮大衣之间，把脸贴在皮毛上面轻轻摩擦。当然，她让柜门敞开在那里，因为她知道，将自己关进衣柜是一种很愚蠢的行为。她马上又朝衣柜深处走出一步，发现在第一排大衣的后面还挂着第二排大衣。那里黑咕隆咚的，她将两只手臂向前伸出，以避免将脸撞在衣柜的后壁上。她又向前跨了一步——然后又迈出两三步——一直期待着自己的指尖会触碰到木制板壁。但是她却摸不到木板。“这一定是一个非常巨大的衣柜！”露西心里想着，仍然摸索着向前移动，把几件柔软的皮衣推到一边，给自己腾出地方。这时，她注意到自己脚下有什么东西在嘎吱作响。“我想知道是否有更多的樟脑丸？”她一边想着，一边弯下身子用手去摸。可是她摸到的并不是衣柜坚硬光滑的木地板，而是某种松软的粉末状的东西，而且异常冰凉。“这可真是奇怪。”她说着，又往前走了一两步。

就在这时，她发现碰触到她的脸和手的不再是柔软的毛皮，而是某种坚硬而粗糙，甚至是带刺的东西。“哎呀，这真像树的枝条！”露西大叫起来。随即她看见自己前面有一处亮光；不是在几英寸之外，即衣柜后壁应该在的位置，而是在远远的某个地方。一些又凉又软的东西飘落在她的身上。片刻之后，她发现自己站在一片树林中间，时间已是夜晚，脚下踏着积雪，雪花还在漫天飞舞，纷纷扬扬下个不停。

露西感到有点害怕，同时又感到非常激动与好奇。她扭头向后看去，在黑乎乎的树干之间，她仍然可以看见柜门敞开着，甚至能够依稀看见那个空空如也的房间。（当然她没有关上柜门，因为她知道，将自己关进衣柜中是一件再蠢不过的事情。）那边看起来依旧还是白天。“如果有什么不对劲儿，我总还能退回去。”露西心想。她开始向前走去，在积雪上发出咯吱—咯吱的声音。她穿过树林，朝那个亮光走去。大约走了十分钟，她到达了那里，发现那是一根路灯柱。她站在那里，看着它，心里在琢磨为什么树林中会有一根路灯柱，同时也在考虑下一步该做什么。这时，她听到拍挞拍挞的脚步声朝她这个方向而来。很快，一个非常奇特的人从树木之间走了出来，出现在路灯的亮光之中。

他只比露西高出一点点，头上撑着一把因落满了雪而变白的雨伞。他的上半身看起来像是一个人，但是他双腿的形状却像是山羊腿（腿上长着黑亮的羊毛）。他长着一对羊蹄子，而不是一双脚。他还有一条尾巴，但露西一开始并没有注意到，因为那条尾巴搭在了那只举着伞的手臂上，以免它拖在雪地上。他的脖子上围着一条红色的羊毛围巾，他的皮肤也红扑扑的。他有一张奇怪的、但颇为讨人喜欢的小脸，上面长着短短的尖胡子和卷曲的头发，两只角从他的头发中露出来，额头两边各有一只。正如我刚才所说，他一只手打着伞；另一只手臂夹着几个棕色纸包。由纸包和雪联想开来，他似乎刚刚去采购了一些圣诞礼物。他是一个农牧之神潘恩。他一眼看见露西，不由得大吃一惊，将手上的包裹都掉落在了地上。“我的天啊！”那个潘恩大叫了一声。

Chapter 2 What Lucy Found There露西首探纳尼亚

“Good evening,” said Lucy. But the Faun was so busy picking up its parcels that at first it did not reply. When it had finished it made her a little bow.

“Good evening, good evening,” said the Faun. “Excuse me—I don’t want to be inquisitive—but should I be right in thinking that you are a Daughter of Eve?”

“My name’s Lucy,” said she, not quite understanding him.

“But you are—forgive me—you are what they call a girl?” said the Faun.

“Of course I’m a girl,” said Lucy.

“You are in fact Human?”

“Of course I’m human,” said Lucy, still a little puzzled.

“To be sure, to be sure,” said the Faun. “How stupid of me! But I’ve never seen a Son of Adam or a Daughter of Eve before. I am delighted. That is to say—” and then it stopped as if it had been going to say something it had not intended but had remembered in time.“Delighted, delighted,” it went on. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tumnus.”

“I am very pleased to meet you, Mr Tumnus,” said Lucy.

“And may I ask, O Lucy Daughter of Eve,” said Mr Tumnus, “how you have come into Narnia?”

“Narnia? What’s that?” said Lucy.

“This is the land of Narnia,” said the Faun, “where we are now; all that lies between the lamp-post and the great castle of Cair Paravel on the eastern sea. And you—you have come from the wild woods of the west?”

“I—I got in through the wardrobe in the spare room,” said Lucy.

“Ah!” said Mr Tumnus in a rather melancholy voice, “if only I had worked harder at geography when I was a little Faun, I should no doubt know all about those strange countries. It is too late now.”

“But they aren’t countries at all,” said Lucy, almost laughing. “It’s only just back there—at least—I’m not sure. It is summer there.”

“Meanwhile,” said Mr Tumnus, “it is winter in Narnia, and has been for ever so long, and we shall both catch cold if we stand here talking in the snow. Daughter of Eve from the far land of Spare Oom where eternal summer reigns around the bright city of War Drobe, how would it be if you came and had tea with me?”

“Thank you very much, Mr Tumnus,” said Lucy. “But I was wondering whether I ought to be getting back.”

“It’s only just round the corner,” said the Faun, “and there’ll be a roaring fire—and toast—and sardines—and cake.”

“Well, it’s very kind of you,” said Lucy. “But I shan’t be able to stay long.”

“If you will take my arm, Daughter of Eve,” said Mr Tumnus, “I shall be able to hold the umbrella over both of us. That’s the way. Now—off we go.”

And so Lucy found herself walking through the wood arm in arm with this strange creature as if they had known one another all their lives.

They had not gone far before they came to a place where the ground became rough and there were rocks all about and little hills up and little hills down. At the bottom of one small valley Mr Tumnus turned suddenly aside as if he were going to walk straight into an unusually large rock, but at the last moment Lucy found he was leading her into the entrance of a cave. As soon as they were inside she found herself blinking in the light of a wood fire. Then Mr Tumnus stooped and took a flaming piece of wood out of the fire with a neat little pair of tongs, and lit a lamp. “Now we shan’t be long,” he said, and immediately put a kettle on.

Lucy thought she had never been in a nicer place. It was a little, dry, clean cave of reddish stone with a carpet on the floor and two little chairs (“One for me and one for a friend,” said Mr Tumnus) and a table and a dresser and a mantelpiece over the fire and above that a picture of an old Faun with a grey beard. In one corner there was a door which Lucy thought must lead to Mr Tumnus’s bedroom, and on one wall was a shelf full of books. Lucy looked at these while he was setting out the tea things. They had titles like The Life and Letters of Silenus or Nymphs and Their Ways or Men, Monks and Gamekeepers; a Study in Popular Legend or Is Man a Myth?

“Now, Daughter of Eve!” said the Faun.

And really it was a wonderful tea. There was a nice brown egg, lightly boiled, for each of them, and then sardines on toast, and then buttered toast, and then toast with honey, and then a sugar-topped cake. And when Lucy was tired of eating, the Faun began to talk. He had wonderful tales to tell of life in the forest. He told about the midnight dances and how the Nymphs who lived in the wells and the Dryads who lived in the trees came out to dance with the Fauns; about long hunting parties after the milk-white stag who could give you wishes if you caught him; about feasting and treasure-seeking with the wild Red Dwarfs in deep mines and caverns far beneath the forest floor; and then about summer when the woods were green and old Silenus on his fat donkey would come to visit them, and sometimes Bacchus himself, and then the streams would run with wine instead of water and the whole forest would give itself up to jollification for weeks on end. “Not that it isn’t always winter now,” he added gloomily. Then to cheer himself up he took out from its case on the dresser a strange little flute that looked as if it were made of straw, and began to play. And the tune he played made Lucy want to cry and laugh and dance and go to sleep all at the same time. It must have been hours later when she shook herself and said:

“Oh, Mr Tumnus—I’m so sorry to stop you, and I do love that tune—but really, I must go home. I only meant to stay for a few minutes.”

“It’s no good now, you know,” said the Faun, laying down its flute and shaking its head at her very sorrowfully.

“No good?” said Lucy, jumping up and feeling rather frightened.“What do you mean? I’ve got to go home at once. The others will be wondering what has happened to me.” But a moment later she asked,“Mr Tumnus! Whatever is the matter?” for the Faun’s brown eyes had filled with tears and then the tears began trickling down its cheeks, and soon they were running off the end of its nose; and at last it covered its face with its hands and began to howl.

“Mr Tumnus! Mr Tumnus!” said Lucy in great distress. “Don’t! Don’t! What is the matter? Aren’ you well? Dear Mr Tumnus, do tell me what is wrong.”

But the Faun continued sobbing as if its heart would break. And even when Lucy went over and put her arms round him and lent him her handkerchief, he did not stop. He merely took the handkerchief and kept on using it, wringing it out with both hands whenever it got too wet to be any more use, so that presently Lucy was standing in a damp patch.

“Mr Tumnus!” bawled Lucy in his ear, shaking him. “Do stop. Stop it at once! You ought to be ashamed of yourself, a great big Faun like you. What on earth are you crying about?”

“Oh—oh—oh!” sobbed Mr Tumnus. “I’m crying because I’m such a bad Faun.”

“I don’t think you’re a bad Faun at all,” said Lucy. “I think you are a very good Faun. You are the nicest Faun I’ve ever met.”

“Oh—oh—you wouldn’t say that if you knew,” replied Mr Tumnus between his sobs. “No, I’m a bad Faun. I don’t suppose there ever was a worse Faun since the beginning of the world.”

“But what have you done?” asked Lucy.

“My old father, now,” said Mr Tumnus; “that’s his picture over the mantelpiece. He would never have done a thing like this.”

“A thing like what?” said Lucy.

“Like what I’ve done,” said the Faun. “Taken service under the White Witch. That’s what I am. I’m in the pay of the White Witch.”

“The White Witch? Who is she?”

“Why, it is she who has got all Narnia under her thumb. It’s she who makes it always winter. Always winter and never Christmas; think of that!”

“How awful!” said Lucy. “But what does she pay you for?”

“That’s the worst of it,” said Mr Tumnus with a deep groan. “I’m a kidnapper for her, that’s what I am. Look at me, Daughter of Eve. Would you believe that I’m the sort of Faun to meet a poor innocent child in the wood, one that had never done me any harm, and pretend to be friendly with it, and invite it home to my cave, all for the sake of lulling it asleep and then handing it over to the White Witch?”

“No,” said Lucy. “I’m sure you wouldn’t do anything of the sort.”

“But I have,” said the Faun.

“Well,” said Lucy rather slowly (for she wanted to be truthful and yet not be too hard on him), “well, that was pretty bad. But you’re so sorry for it that I’m sure you will never do it again.”

“Daughter of Eve, don’t you understand?” said the Faun. “It isn’t something I have done. I’m doing it now, this very moment.”

“What do you mean?” cried Lucy, turning very white.

“You are the child,” said Tumnus. “I had orders from the White Witch that if ever I saw a Son of Adam or a Daughter of Eve in the wood, I was to catch them and hand them over to her. And you are the first I’ve ever met. And I’ve pretended to be your friend an asked you to tea, and all the time I’ve been meaning to wait till you were asleep and then go and tell Her.”

“Oh, but you won’t, Mr Tumnus,” said Lucy. “You won’t, will you? Indeed, indeed you really mustn’t.”

“And if I don’t,” said he, beginning to cry again “she’s sure to find out. And she’ll have my tail cut off, and my horns sawn off, and my beard plucked out, and she’ll wave her wand over my beautiful cloven hoofs and turn them into horrid solid hoofs like a wretched horse’s. And if she is extra and specially angry she’ll turn me into stone and I shall be only a statue of a Faun in her horrible house until the four thrones at Cair Paravel are filled—and goodness knows when that will happen, or whether it will ever happen at all.”

“I’m very sorry, Mr Tumnus,” said Lucy. “But please let me go home.”

“Of course I will,” said the Faun. “Of course I’ve got to. I see that now. I hadn’t known what Humans were like before I met you. Of course I can’t give you up to the Witch, not now that I know you. But we must be off at once. I’ll see you back to the lamp-post. I suppose you can find your own way from there back to Spare Oom and War Drobe?”

“I’m sure I can,” said Lucy.

“We must go as quietly as we can,” said Mr Tumnus. “The whole wood is full of her spies. Even some of the trees are on her side.”

They both got up and left the tea things on the table, and Mr Tumnus once more put up his umbrella and gave Lucy his arm, and they went out into the snow. The journey back was not at all like the journey to the Faun’s cave; they stole along as quickly as they could, without speaking a word, and Mr Tumnus kept to the darkest places. Lucy was relieved when they reached the lamp-post again.

“Do you know your way from here, Daughter of Eve?” said Mr Tumnus.

Lucy looked very hard between the trees and could just see in the distance a patch of light that looked like daylight. “Yes,” she said, “I can see the wardrobe door.”

“Then be off home as quick as you can,” said the Faun, “and—c-can you ever forgive me for what I meant to do?”

“Why, of course I can,” said Lucy, shaking him heartily by the hand.“And I do hope you won’t get into dreadful trouble on my account.”

“Farewell, Daughter of Eve,” said he. “Perhaps I may keep the handkerchief?”

“Rather!” said Lucy, and then ran towards the far-off patch of daylight as quickly as her legs would carry her. And presently instead of rough branch brushing past her she felt coats, and instead of crunching snow under her feet she felt wooden board and all at once she found herself jumping out of the wardrobe into the same empty room from which the whole adventure had started. She shut the wardrobe door tightly behind her and looked around, panting for breath. It was still raining and she could hear the voices of the others in the passage.

“I’m here,” she shouted. “I’m here. I’ve come back, I’m all right.”

中文阅读

于是，露西和这个奇怪的人物手挽着手，穿过树林，好像他们自从生下来就认识对方似的。

他们还没有走出多远，就来到了一处崎岖不平的地方，那里到处都是岩石，还有高低起伏的小山丘。在一个小山谷的底部，图姆纳斯先生突然掉转方向，好像他打算径直走进一块超乎寻常的巨型岩石，但在最后一刻，露西发现他正带她进入一个洞穴的入口。他们刚一进到洞穴里面，露西就因木柴燃烧发出的火光而眨起眼睛来。图姆纳斯先生弯下腰，用一只整洁的小火钳从火中取出一片燃烧着的木柴，用它点燃了一盏油灯。“我们不需要多长时间。”他说着，立刻把一个水壶放在火上。

露西觉得，自己从来没有到过比这里更惬意的地方。那是一个由红色石头构成的洞穴，小巧、干燥而清洁，地上铺着地毯，有两把小椅子（“我自己一把，另一把是留给朋友的。”图姆纳斯先生说）和一张桌子，还有一个碗橱。火堆上面有个壁炉架，壁炉架上方挂着一张留着灰白胡须的老潘恩的画像。在一个角落里有一扇门，露西想，这扇门一定通向图姆纳斯先生的卧室。一个堆满了书的书架靠在一面墙上。在潘恩摆设茶具时，露西看了看这些书，其书名大都是一些《森林之神西勒诺斯的生平及书信》，《仙女以及她们的习俗》，《人类、僧侣和猎场看守人：通俗传奇研究》，或者《人类是杜撰出来的吗？》等等。“好啦，夏娃的女儿！”潘恩说。

这真的是一次绝妙的茶点。他们每个人都吃了一个煮得很嫩的鸡蛋，还有夹着沙丁鱼的吐司，然后是奶油吐司，接着又是蜂蜜吐司，再往后是涂抹着糖霜的蛋糕。露西吃饱喝足之后，潘恩开始聊天。他知道许多关于森林生活的精彩故事。他讲到午夜的舞蹈，住在井里的仙女们和树木中的树精们如何跑出来与潘恩们跳舞；讲到长长的狩猎队伍追逐着乳白色的雄鹿，如果你捉住它的话，它会满足你的愿望；讲到宴会，以及与野蛮的红矮人在幽深的矿井和森林地下深处的洞窟中去寻宝；还讲到夏天，当树木都郁郁葱葱的时候，老西勒诺斯会骑着他的肥驴子前来拜访，有时酒神巴克斯也会来，那时候小溪中流淌的不再是水，而是葡萄酒，整个森林将沉浸于狂欢之中，一连几个星期之久。“不像现在这样一直是冬天。”他阴郁地补充道。为了使自己高兴起来，他从碗橱上的盒子中取出一支奇怪的小笛子，开始吹奏起来。那个小笛子看上去就像是用稻草做的。他吹奏出来的旋律，使得露西在同一时刻既想哭，又想笑，既想跳舞，却又昏昏欲睡。一定过去了好几个钟头，露西才猛地一下子惊醒过来，说道：“哦，图姆纳斯先生——对不起，打断了你的演奏，我确实很喜欢那个旋律——但说真的，我必须回家了。我本来只打算待几分钟的。”“现在不行了，你要知道。”潘恩说着，放下手中的长笛，对着她非常悲伤地摇了摇头。“不行？”露西说着，跳了起来，感到相当恐惧。“你是什么意思？我必须立刻回家。其他人会担心我出了什么事儿。”过了片刻，她又问道：“图姆纳斯先生！到底是怎么回事？”因为潘恩棕色的眼睛里已经充满了泪水，随即泪水开始顺着他的面颊缓缓流淌，很快泪水在他的鼻尖上成串地滴下；最后他用双手捂住脸，放声大哭起来。“图姆纳斯先生！图姆纳斯先生！”露西异常苦恼地说，“不要哭！别哭啦！怎么回事？你感觉不舒服吗？亲爱的图姆纳斯先生，请你告诉我出了什么问题。”

潘恩继续啜泣着，好像他感到心痛欲绝。露西走了过去，用双臂拥抱着他，将自己的手帕借给他用，即使这样，他也没有停止哭泣。他只是接过手帕，不停地用它揩干眼泪。每当手帕浸满了泪水，无法使用时，他就用双手将它拧干，不一会儿，露西所站的地面就变得湿漉漉的。“图姆纳斯先生！”露西对着他的耳朵大叫，一边摇晃着他，“劳驾别哭了。立刻停止哭泣！你自己应该感到害臊，一个像你这样伟大的潘恩。你到底在哭什么？”“哦——哦——哦！”图姆纳斯先生哽咽着说：“我在哭泣，因为我是一个坏透了的潘恩。”“我可压根儿没认为你是个坏潘恩。”露西说，“我觉得你是一个很好的潘恩。你是我所见过的最好的潘恩。”“哦——哦——如果你知道底细的话，你就不会这么说了。”图姆纳斯先生一边抽抽搭搭地哭泣，一边回答道，“不，我是个坏潘恩。我想，自从这个世界诞生以来，还没有比我更坏的潘恩。”“可是你做了什么呢？”露西问。“我的老父亲，哦，”图姆纳斯先生说，“壁炉架上方就是他的画像。他可决不会做出这样的事情。”“什么样的事情？”露西又问。“像我所做的事情。”潘恩说，“为白女巫服务。这就是我的真实身份。我是白女巫所雇用的。”“白女巫？她是谁？”“嗯，是她掌控着整个纳尼亚。是她使得这里一直都是冬天。漫漫寒冬，永远没有圣诞节。你想想看！”“多么可怕啊！”露西说，“可是她雇用你做什么？”“那正是最糟糕的部分。”图姆纳斯先生低沉地呻吟了一声，说道：“我是一个为她效劳的绑架者，那就是我的真面目。看着我，夏娃的女儿。你会相信我是那样一种潘恩吗？我在树林中遇到一个可怜无辜的孩子，一个从来没有伤害过我的人，我假装对她友好，邀请她到我的洞穴里来做客，这一切都只是为了哄她睡着，然后将她交给白女巫。”“不。”露西说，“我确信你不会做那样的事情。”“但是我已经这样做了。”潘恩说。“好吧，”露西相当缓慢地（因为她想要说实话，却又不想对他太严厉）说，“嗯，那样做的确不太好。但是你对此感到这么懊悔，我相信，你将再也不会这样做了。”“夏娃的女儿，你难道还不明白吗？”潘恩说，“那不是我已经做过的事情。我现在正在做那件事，就是此时此刻。”“你是什么意思？”露西叫了起来，脸色变得异常苍白。“你就是那个孩子。”图姆纳斯说，“我接到白女巫的命令，如果我在树林中看到亚当的儿子或者夏娃的女儿，我必须捉住他们，将他们交给她。而你正是我所遇到的第一个。于是我假装对你友好，请你来喝茶。在这段时间里，我一直在谋划着，打算等你睡着了，我就去报告她。”“哦，你不会这么做的，图姆纳斯先生。”露西说，“你不会这么做，对吗？真的，真的，求你一定不要这样做。”“如果我不这样做的话，”他说着又哭了起来，“她肯定会发现的。她将会把我的尾巴割掉，把我的角锯掉，把我的胡子拔掉，她将对着我的漂亮的分趾的蹄子挥舞她的魔杖，把它们变成可怕的连成一片的蹄子，就像可怜的马蹄子。如果她非常地、特别地生气的话，她会将我变成石头，我将成为她的恐怖魔宫中的一座潘恩石像，直到凯尔帕拉维尔的四个王座都被坐满——天知道什么时候那件事才会发生，或者到底会不会发生。”“我感到非常抱歉，图姆纳斯先生。”露西说，“但是请放我回家吧。”“当然我会的。”潘恩说，“当然啦，我必须这样做。现在我明白了。在我遇到你之前，我并不知道人类是什么样子。现在我认识你了，我当然不能把你交给那个女巫。我们必须立刻动身。我将送你回到路灯柱。我想，从那里你自己能够找到返回空房大陆和衣柜城的路了吧？”“我肯定可以。”露西说。“我们必须尽量安静地离开。”图姆纳斯先生说，“整个树林到处都有她的密探。就连一些树木也都站到了她那边。”

他们站起身来，顾不上收拾茶具，图姆纳斯先生再一次撑起他的伞，让露西拉住他的手臂，两个人又走进了漫天飞雪之中。返程和前往潘恩洞穴时的路程大不相同；他们尽可能快地悄悄行走，一声不吭，图姆纳斯先生一直拣最暗的地方行走。当他们到达路灯柱时，露西才松了一口气。“你知道从这里回家的路吗，夏娃的女儿？”图姆纳斯先生问。

露西使劲从树木之间望去，隐隐约约看到远处有一小块看起来像是日光的亮光。“是的，”她说，“我能看到衣柜的门。”“那就赶快回家去吧，”潘恩说，“嗯——你能－能否宽恕我原本打算做的事情？”“哦，当然了，我可以。”露西说着，诚心诚意地握着他的手，“我真心希望，你不会因为我而惹上可怕的麻烦。”“别了，夏娃的女儿。”他说，“也许我可以留下这块手帕吧？”“没问题！”露西说着，用自己最快的速度，朝着远处的那片日光跑去。很快，她就感觉不到擦身而过的坚硬树枝，而是触摸到了毛皮大衣；脚下不再是嘎吱作响的积雪，而是硬实的木板。猛然间她发现自己跳出了衣柜，回到了那个空房间，而整个历险就是从这里开始的。她紧紧地将衣柜门在身后关上，喘息着向四周观看。外面仍然下着雨，她能够听到走廊中其他人的声音。“我在这里。”她大叫，“我在这里。我回来了，我没事儿。”

Chapter 3 Edmund And The Wardrobe埃德蒙与魔衣柜

Lucy ran out of the empty room into the passage and found the other three.

“It’s all right,” she repeated, “I’ve come back.”

“What on earth are you talking about, Lucy?” asked Susan.

“Why,”said Lucy in amazement, “haven’t you all been wondering where I was? ”

“So you’ve been hiding, have you?” said Peter. “Poor old Lu, hiding and nobody noticed! You’ll have to hide longer than that if you want people to start looking for you.”

“But I’ve been away for hours and hours,” said Lucy.

The others all stared at one another.

“Batty!” said Edmund, tapping his head. “Quite batty.”

“What do you mean, Lu?” asked Peter.

“What I said,” answered Lucy. “It was just after breakfast when I went into the wardrobe, and I’ve been away for hours and hours, and had tea, and all sorts of things have happened.”

“Don’t be silly, Lucy,” said Susan. “We’ve only just come out of that room a moment ago, and you were there then.”

“She’s not being silly at all,” said Peter, “she’s just making up a story for fun, aren’t you, Lu? And why shouldn’t she?”

“No, Peter, I’m not,” she said. “It’s—it’s a magic wardrobe. There’s a wood inside it, and it’s snowing, and there’s a Faun and a Witch and it’s called Narnia; come and see.”

The others did not know what to think, but Lucy was so excited that they all went back with her into the room. She rushed ahead of them, flung open the door of the wardrobe and cried, “Now! Go in and see for yourselves.”

“Why, you goose,” said Susan, putting her head inside and pulling the fur coats apart, “it’s just an ordinary wardrobe; look! there’s the back of it.”

Then everyone looked in and pulled the coats apart; and they all saw—Lucy herself saw—a perfectly ordinary wardrobe. There was no wood and no snow, only the back of the wardrobe, with hooks on it. Peter went in and rapped his knuckles on it to make sure that it was solid.

“A jolly good hoax, Lu,” he said as he came out again; “you have really taken us in, I must admit. We half believed you.”

“But it wasn’t a hoax at all,” said Lucy, “really and truly. It was all different a moment ago. Honestly it was. I promise.”

“Come, Lu,” said Peter, “that’s going a bit far. You’ve had your joke. Hadn’t you better drop it now?”

Lucy grew very red in the face and tried to say something, though she hardly knew what she was trying to say, and burst into tears.

For the next few days she was very miserable. She could have made it up with the others quite easily at any moment if she could have brought herself to say that the whole thing was only a story made up for fun. But Lucy was a very truthful girl and she knew that she was really in the right; and she could not bring herself to say this. The others who thought she was telling a lie, and a silly lie too, made her very unhappy. The two elder ones did this without meaning to do it, but Edmund could be spiteful, and on this occasion he was spiteful. He sneered and jeered at Lucy and kept on asking her if she’d found any other new countries in other cupboards all over the house. What made it worse was that these days ought to have been delightful. The weather was fine and they were out of doors from morning to night, bathing, fishing, climbing trees, and lying in the heather. But Lucy could not properly enjoy any of it. And so things went on until the next wet day.

That day, when it came to the afternoon and there was still no sign of a break in the weather, they decided to play hide-and-seek. Susan was “It” and as soon as the others scattered to hide, Lucy went to the room where the wardrobe was. She did not mean to hide in the wardrobe, because she knew that would only set the others talking again about the whole wretched business. But she did want to have one more look inside it; for by this time she was beginning to wonder herself whether Narnia and the Faun had not been a dream. The house was so large and complicated and full of hiding-places that she thought she would have time to have one look into the wardrobe and then hide somewhere else. But as soon as she reached it she heard steps in the passage outside, and then there was nothing for it but to jump into the wardrobe and hold the door closed behind her. She did not shut it properly because she knew that it is very silly to shut oneself into a wardrobe, even if it is not a magic one.

Now the steps she had heard were those of Edmund; and he came into the room just in time to see Lucy vanishing into the wardrobe. He at once decided to get into it himself—not because he thought it a particularly good place to hide but because he wanted to go on teasing her about her imaginary country. He opened the door. There were the coats hanging up as usual, and a smell of mothballs, and darkness and silence, and no sign of Lucy. “She thinks I’m Susan come to catch her,”said Edmund to himself, “and so she’s keeping very quiet at the back.”He jumped in and shut the door, forgetting what a very foolish thing this is to do. Then he began feeling about for Lucy in the dark. He had expected to find her in a few seconds and was very surprised when he did not. He decided to open the door again and let in some light. But he could not find the door either. He didn’t like this at all and began groping wildly in every direction; he even shouted out, “Lucy! Lu! Where are you? I know you’re here.”

There was no answer and Edmund noticed that his own voice had a curious sound—not the sound you expect in a cupboard, but a kind of open-air sound. He also noticed that he was unexpectedly cold; and then he saw a light.

“Thank goodness,” said Edmund, “the door must have swung open of its own accord.” He forgot all about Lucy and went towards the light, which he thought was the open door of the wardrobe. But instead of finding himself stepping out into the spare room he found himself stepping out from the shadow of some thick dark fir trees into an open place in the middle of a wood.

There was crisp, dry snow under his feet and more snow lying on the branches of the trees. Overhead there was pale blue sky, the sort of sky one sees on a fine winter day in the morning. Straight ahead of him he saw between the tree-trunks the sun, just rising, very red and clear. Everything was perfectly still, as if he were the only living creature in that country. There was not even a robin or a squirrel among the trees, and the wood stretched as far as he could see in every direction. He shivered.

He now remembered that he had been looking for Lucy: and also how unpleasant he had been to her about her “imaginary country”which now turned out not to have been imaginary at all. He thought that she must be somewhere quite close and so he shouted, “Lucy! Lucy! I’m here too—Edmund.”

There was no answer.

“She’s angry about all the things I’ve been saying lately,” thought Edmund. And though he did not like to admit that he had been wrong, he also did not much like being alone in this strange, cold, quiet place; so he shouted again.

“I say, Lu! I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I see now you were right all along. Do come out. Make it Pax.”

Still there was no answer.

“Just like a girl,” said Edmund to himself, “sulking somewhere, and won’t accept an apology.” He looked round him again and decided he did not much like this place, and had almost made up his mind to go home, when he heard, very far off in the wood, a sound of bells. He listened and the sound came nearer and nearer and at last there swept into sight a sledge drawn by two reindeer.

The reindeer were about the size of Shetland ponies and their hair was so white that even the snow hardly looked white compared with them; their branching horns were gilded and shone like something on fire when the sunrise caught them. Their harness was of scarlet leather and covered with bells. On the sledge, driving the reindeer, sat a fat dwarf who would have been about three feet high if he had been standing. He was dressed in polar bear’s fur and on his head he wore a red hood with a long gold tassel hanging down from its point; his huge beard covered his knees and served him instead of a rug. But behind him, on a much higher seat in the middle of the sledge sat a very different person—a great lady, taller than any woman that Edmund had ever seen. She also was covered in white fur up to her throat and held a long straight golden wand in her right hand and wore a golden crown on her head. Her face was white—not merely pale, but white like snow or paper or icing-sugar, except for her very red mouth. It was a beautiful face in other respects, but proud and cold and stern.

The sledge was a fine sight as it came sweeping towards Edmund with the bells jingling and the dwarf cracking his whip and the snow flying up on each side of it.

“Stop!” said the Lady, and the dwarf pulled the reindeer up so sharply that they almost sat down. Then they recovered themselves and stood champing their bits and blowing. In the frosty air the breath coming out of their nostrils looked like smoke.

“And what, pray, are you?” said the Lady, looking hard at Edmund.

“I’m—I’m—my name’s Edmund,” said Edmund rather awkwardly. He did not like the way she looked at him.

The Lady frowned, “Is that how you address a Queen?” she asked, looking sterner than ever.

“I beg your pardon, your Majesty, I didn’t know,” said Edmund.

“Not know the Queen of Narnia?” cried she. “Ha! You shall know us better hereafter. But I repeat—what are you?”

“Please, your Majesty,” said Edmund, “I don’t know what you mean. I’m at school—at least I was—it’s the holidays now.”

中文阅读

露西跑出空房间，来到走廊，找到了其他三个人。“没事儿，”她重复道，“我回来了。”“你到底在说些什么呀，露西？”苏珊问她。“怎么，”露西诧异地说，“难道你们不想知道我去哪里了吗？”“你刚刚藏了起来，是吗？”彼得说，“可怜的老露，藏起来却没有人注意！如果你想让别人寻找你的话，就应该再多躲藏一会儿。”“可是我已经离开好几个钟头了。”露西说。

其他几个人面面相觑。“疯了！”埃德蒙一边说，一边拍打着自己的脑门，“太疯狂了。”“你的话是什么意思，露？”彼得问道。“我是说，”露西回答道，“我刚吃完早饭就进入了衣柜，已经离开了好几个小时，已吃过下午的茶点，还发生了各种各样的事情。”“别冒傻气了，露西。”苏珊说，“我们从那个房间才出来一小会儿，刚才你也在那里。”“她一点也不傻，”彼得说，“她只是在编故事取乐，对吧，露？她为什么不可以这么做呢？”“不，彼得，我没有。”她说，“那是——那是一个有魔力的衣柜，里面有一片树林，那里正在下雪，还有一个潘恩和一个女巫，那地方叫做纳尼亚。过来看一下。”

其他人不知该作何感想，见露西是如此的激动，他们就都跟着她返回了那个房间。她冲在他们前面，用力拉开衣柜的门，大叫：“喂！你们自己进去看吧。”“呵唷，你这蠢鹅。”苏珊说着，将头伸进衣柜，分开毛皮大衣，“这只是一个普通的衣柜。看！那是它的后壁。”

于是，每个人都往里面观看，把大衣拉到一边，他们都看到了——露西本人也看到了——一个非常普通的衣柜。里面既没有树林也没有雪，只有衣柜的后壁，上面还带着衣钩。彼得进到里面，用自己的指关节在上面轻轻敲击，以确定它是实心的。“一个非常棒的恶作剧，露，”他走出来后说道，“你真的让我们上当了，我必须承认这个。我们当时还半信半疑的。”“可这根本就不是一个恶作剧，”露西说，“千真万确。不久之前，这里完全是另外一个样子。确实是这样。我保证。”“得啦，露，”彼得说，“这样就有点过分了。你的玩笑已经开过了。现在你是不是最好别再坚持了？”

露西的脸变得通红，她想要说些什么，却又不知道自己到底想要说些什么，于是她一下子哭了起来。

在接下来的几天中，她都非常痛苦。如果她能够让自己说出：那件事只不过是她为了好玩而编造出来的，她就随时都可以很容易地与其他人和好。但露西是一个非常诚实的女孩子，她知道自己说的确实是真话，因此她无法让自己服输认错。她的哥哥姐姐们认为她在撒谎，而且撒的还是很蠢的谎言，这使她十分难过。两个大孩子这样做并非是有意的，而埃德蒙却有可能心怀恶意。这一次他的确是故意的。他讥笑并嘲讽露西，一个劲儿地问她，是否在大房子别的橱柜里发现了其他的新国家。更糟糕的是，那些天本来应该是令人开心的。天气晴朗，他们从早到晚都在户外，洗澡，钓鱼，爬树，躺在石南丛中。可是露西却无法真正地享受这一切。于是他们就这样僵持着，直到下一个雨天的到来。

那一天，已经到了下午，天气仍然没有转晴的迹象。他们便决定玩捉迷藏，由苏珊来捉拿其他的人。于是，三个人立刻分散开来，去寻找躲藏的地方。露西来到了放着衣柜的那个房间。她并不打算藏在衣柜中，因为她知道，那样做只会使其他人再度关注这个令人不爽的事情。可她又确实想要到里面再查看一番，因为到这会儿，连她自己也开始怀疑，纳尼亚和那个潘恩究竟是不是一场梦。这个房子如此庞大而又复杂，到处都有可以躲藏的地方。她想，自己先去看一下衣柜，然后还有足够的时间去找地方躲藏。她刚一走到衣柜跟前，就听到外面走廊上传来了脚步声。这时，除了跳进衣柜，将身后的柜门关上之外，她已别无选择。她并没有将柜门完全关严，因为她知道，即使这不是一个魔衣柜，将自己关在里面仍然是很愚蠢的。

她听到的脚步声是埃德蒙发出的。他进入这个房间时，恰好看见露西消失在衣柜之中。他马上决定自己也进入衣柜——并非因为他觉得那是一个特别好的藏身之处，而是因为他想要继续嘲笑她的幻想之国。他打开门，里面和往常一样挂着大衣，还有一股樟脑丸的气味，黑黢黢的，悄无声息，没有露西的任何踪迹。“她以为我是来捉她的苏珊，”埃德蒙自言自语地说，“所以她静静地躲在后面。”他跳了进去，关上门，忘记这样做是一种傻乎乎的行为。然后，他开始在黑暗中摸索，寻找露西。他本来期待着，几秒钟就能够找到她。令他惊讶的是，他居然无法找到露西。他决定将柜门打开，能有一些亮光。谁知他连柜门也找不到了。对此他感到十分恼火，开始狂乱地向四周摸索，甚至喊叫起来：“露西！露！你在哪儿？我知道你在这里。”

没有人回答，埃德蒙注意到自己的喊声有点怪怪的——不是那种你期待着会在橱柜中听到的声音，而是一种户外的声音。他还注意到，自己忽然感到冷得要命。接着他看见了一道亮光。“谢天谢地，”埃德蒙说，“门一定是自己打开了。”他把露西完全抛在了脑后，朝着那道亮光走去，他认为那是敞开着的衣柜门。可是他发现，自己并没有从衣柜回到那个空房间，而是从茂密的冷杉树丛的阴影中走了出来，进入了树林中央的一片开阔地带。

干燥的雪在他的脚下发出脆响，树木的枝干上堆积着更多的雪。头顶是一片淡蓝色的天空，在冬日晴朗的早晨，人们往往能够看到这种天空。在正前方，透过树干之间的空隙，他看到了一轮旭日，红彤彤明亮亮的，正在冉冉升起。周围异常静谧，就好像他是那个地方唯一的活物。林木中，甚至连一只知更鸟或者一只松鼠都看不到。树林向四面八方延伸，一直延伸到他视野的尽头。他不禁打了个寒战。

这时，他想起自己本来是来寻找露西的，想到因为她的“幻想之国”，自己曾令她何等的伤心，现在事实证明，那并非是她幻想出来的。他想，她一定就在附近的某个地方，于是他大叫道：“露西！露西！我也在这里——我是埃德蒙。”

没有人回答。“因我最近说的那些话，她还在生气呢。”埃德蒙暗想。尽管他并不喜欢承认自己的错误，同样他也不怎么喜欢独自待在这个陌生、寒冷而寂静的地方。于是他再次喊道：“嗨，露！对不起，我没有相信你。我现在明白了，你一直都是对的。快出来。我们和好吧。”

仍然没有人回应他。“女孩子就是这个样，”埃德蒙自言自语道，“躲在什么地方生闷气，不愿意接受道歉。”他再次环顾自己的四周，认定自己并不太喜欢这个地方。他几乎已经决定要回家了。就在这时，他听到从树林深处远远传来了铃铛声。他侧耳静听，铃声越来越近，最后由两只驯鹿拉着的一架雪橇突然闯进了他的视野。

驯鹿的大小与设得兰群岛矮种马的个头差不多，它们的皮毛异常洁白，相比之下，就连雪看起来似乎也显得不够白了。朝阳照射在它们分叉的鹿角上，鹿角好像镀上了一层金色，发出火焰一般的光芒。驯鹿的挽具是用猩红色的皮革制成的，上面挂着铃铛。坐在雪橇上驾驭驯鹿的是一个肥胖的矮人，如果他站起身来，应该会有三英尺来高。他穿着北极熊毛皮大衣，头上戴着一顶红色的兜帽，从帽子的尖顶垂下一条长长的金色帽缨；他的大胡子遮住了他的膝盖，就像一块御寒的小毯子。在他后面，雪橇中间高高的座位上坐着一个完全不同的人物——一位高大的女士，比埃德蒙所见过的任何女人都要高。她也穿着白色的毛皮大衣，从脖子一直覆盖到全身，她右手握着一根又长又直的金色魔杖，头上戴着一顶金色的王冠。她的脸很白——不仅仅是苍白，而是白得像雪或者像纸或者像糖霜，只有她的嘴唇是血红的。从五官来看，这是一张美丽的脸庞，但是显得傲慢、冷酷而且严厉。

雪橇朝着埃德蒙疾速驶来，雪橇两侧溅起的雪花，叮当作响的铃铛，矮人手中鞭子发出噼啪的声响，可以说是一道美妙的风景。“停！”那个女士说。矮人立刻用力拉住缰绳使驯鹿停下，由于太猛，驯鹿差点儿坐了下来。然后，它们重新站稳，站在那里一边使劲咬着嚼子，一边喘着粗气。在严寒的空气中，它们鼻孔中呼出的气息看上去就像烟雾。“喂，你是什么人？”那个女士问道，两眼狠狠地瞪着埃德蒙。“我是——我是——我的名字是埃德蒙。”埃德蒙笨口拙舌地说。他不喜欢她瞪着自己的样子。

那个女士皱起了眉头。“你就这样跟一位女王讲话吗？”她问道，看起来比先前更加严厉了。“请原谅，陛下，我不知道。”埃德蒙说。“不知道纳尼亚的女王？”她大叫道，“哈！从今以后你将对我有所了解。我再重复一遍——你是什么人？”“劳驾，陛下。”埃德蒙说，“我不明白你的意思。我在上学——至少我上过学——现在是假期。”

Chapter 4 Turkish Delight土耳其软糖

“But what are you?” said the Queen again. “Are you a great overgrown dwarf that has cut off its beard?”

“No, your Majesty,” said Edmund, “I never had a beard, I’m a boy.”

“A boy!” said she. “Do you mean you are a Son of Adam?”

Edmund stood still, saying nothing. He was too confused by this time to understand what the question meant.

“I see you are an idiot, whatever else you may be,” said the Queen.“Answer me, once and for all, or I shall lose my patience. Are you human?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” said Edmund.

“And how, pray, did you come to enter my dominions?”

“Please, your Majesty, I came in through a wardrobe.”

“A wardrobe? What do you mean?”

“I—I opened a door and just found myself here, your Majesty,” said Edmund.

“Ha!” said the Queen, speaking more to herself than to him. “A door. A door from the world of men! I have heard of such things. This may wreck all. But he is only one, and he is easily dealt with.” As she spoke these words she rose from her seat and looked Edmund full in the face, her eyes flaming; at the same moment she raised her wand. Edmund felt sure that she was going to do something dreadful but he seemed unable to move. Then, just as he gave himself up for lost, she appeared to change her mind.

“My poor child,” she said in quite a different voice, “how cold you look! Come and sit with me here on the sledge and I will put my mantle round you and we will talk.”

Edmund did not like this arrangement at all but he dared not disobey; he stepped on to the sledge and sat at her feet, and she put a fold of her fur mantle round him and tucked it well in.

“Perhaps something hot to drink?” said the Queen. “Should you like that?”

“Y es please, your Majesty,” said Edmund, whose teeth were chattering.

The Queen took from somewhere among her wrappings a very small bottle which looked as if it were made of copper. Then, holding out her arm, she let one drop fall from it on the snow beside the sledge. Edmund saw the drop for a second in mid-air, shining like a diamond. But the moment it touched the snow there was a hissing sound and there stood a jewelled cup full of something that steamed. The dwarf immediately took this and handed it to Edmund with a bow and a smile; not a very nice smile. Edmund felt much better as he began to sip the hot drink. It was something he had never tasted before, very sweet and foamy and creamy, and it warmed him right down to his toes.

“It is dull, Son of Adam, to drink without eating,” said the Queen presently. “What would you like best to eat?”

“Turkish Delight, please, your Majesty,” said Edmund.

The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle on to the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious. He was quite warm now, and very comfortable.

While he was eating, the Queen kept asking him questions. At first Edmund tried to remember that it is rude to speak with one’s mouth full, but soon he forgot about this and thought only of trying to shovel down as much Turkish Delight as he could, and the more he ate the more he wanted to eat, and he never asked himself why the Queen should be so inquisitive. She got him to tell her that he had one brother and two sisters, and that one of his sisters had already been in Narnia and had met a Faun there, and that no one except himself and his brother and his sisters knew anything about Narnia. She seemed especially interested in the fact that there were four of them, and kept on coming back to it. “You are sure there are just four of you?” she asked. “Two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve, neither more nor less?” and Edmund, with his mouth full of Turkish Delight, kept on saying, “Yes, I told you that before,” and forgetting to call her “Your Majesty”, but she didn’t seem to mind now.

At last the Turkish Delight was all finished and Edmund was looking very hard at the empty box and wishing that she would ask him whether he would like some more. Probably the Queen knew quite well what he was thinking; for she knew, though Edmund did not, that this was enchanted Turkish Delight and that anyone who had once tasted it would want more and more of it, and would even, if they were allowed, go on eating it till they killed themselves. But she did not offer him any more. Instead, she said to him.

“Son of Adam, I should so much like to see your brother and your two sisters. Will you bring them to see me?”

“I’ll try,” said Edmund, still looking at the empty box.

“Because, if you did come again—bringing them with you of course—I’d be able to give you some more Turkish Delight. I can’t do it now, the magic will only work once. In my own house it would be another matter.”

“Why can’t we go to your house now?” said Edmund. When he had first got on to the sledge he had been afraid that she might drive away with him to some unknown place from which he would not be able to get back; but he had forgotten about that fear now.

“It is a lovely place, my house,” said the Queen. “I am sure you would like it. There are whole rooms full of Turkish Delight, and what’s more, I have no children of my own. I want a nice boy whom I could bring up as a Prince and who would be King of Narnia when I am gone. While he was Prince he would wear a gold crown and eat Turkish Delight all day long; and you are much the cleverest and handsomest young man I’ve ever met. I think I would like to make you the Prince—some day, when you bring the others to visit me.”

“Why not now?” said Edmund. His face had become very red and his mouth and fingers were sticky. He did not look either clever or handsome, whatever the Queen might say.

“Oh, but if I took you there now,” said she, “I shouldn’t see your brother and your sisters. I very much want to know your charming relations. You are to be the Prince and—later on—the King; that is understood. But you must have courtiers and nobles. I will make your brother a Duke and your sisters Duchesses.”

“There’s nothing special about them,” said Edmund, “and, anyway, I could always bring them some other time.”

“Ah, but once you were in my house,” said the Queen, “you might forget all about them. You would be enjoying yourself so much that you wouldn’t want the bother of going to fetch them. No. You must go back to your own country now and come to me another day, with them, you understand. It is no good coming without them.”

“But I don’t even know the way back to my own country,” pleaded Edmund.

“That’s easy,” answered the Queen. “Do you see that lamp?” She pointed with her wand and Edmund turned and saw the same lamppost under which Lucy had met the Faun. “Straight on, beyond that, is the way to the World of Men. And now look the other way” —here she pointed in the opposite direction— “and tell me if you can see two little hills rising above the trees.”

“I think I can,” said Edmund.

“Well, my house is between those two hills. So next time you come you have only to find the lamp-post and look for those two hills and walk through the wood till you reach my house. But remember—you must bring the others with you. I might have to be very angry with you if you came alone.”

“I’ll do my best,” said Edmund.

“And, by the way,” said the Queen, “you needn’t tell them about me. It would be fun to keep it a secret between us two, wouldn’t it? Make it a surprise for them. Just bring them along to the two hills—a clever boy like you will easily think of some excuse for doing that—and when you come to my house you could just say, ‘Let’s see who lives here’, or something like that. I am sure that would be best. If your sister has met one of the Fauns, she may have heard strange stories about me—nasty stories that might make her afraid to come to me. Fauns will say anything, you know, and now—”

“Please, please,” said Edmund suddenly, “please couldn’t I have just one piece of Turkish Delight to eat on the way home?”

“No, no,” said the Queen with a laugh, “you must wait till next time.” While she spoke, she signalled to the dwarf to drive on, but as the sledge swept away out of sight, the Queen waved to Edmund, calling out, “Next time! Next time! Don’t forget. Come soon.”

Edmund was still staring after the sledge when he heard someone calling his own name, and looking round he saw Lucy coming towards him from another part of the wood.

“Oh, Edmund!” she cried. “So you’ve got in too! Isn’t it wonderful, and now—”

“All right,” said Edmund, “I see you were right and it is a magic wardrobe after all. I’ll say I’m sorry if you like. But where on earth have you been all this time? I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“If I’d known you had got in I’d have waited for you,” said Lucy, who was too happy and excited to notice how snappishly Edmund spoke or how flushed and strange his face was. “I’ve been having lunch with dear Mr Tumnus, the Faun, and he’s very well and the White Witch has done nothing to him for letting me go, so he thinks she can’t have found out and perhaps everything is going to be all right after all.”

“The White Witch?” said Edmund; “who’s she?”

“She is a perfectly terrible person,” said Lucy. “She calls herself the Queen of Narnia though she has no right to be queen at all, and all the Fauns and Dryads and Naiads and Dwarfs and Animals—at least all the good ones—simply hate her. And she can turn people into stone and do all kinds of horrible things. And she has made a magic so that it is always winter in Narnia—always winter, but it never gets to Christmas. And she drives about on a sledge, drawn by reindeer, with her wand in her hand and a crown on her head.”

Edmund was already feeling uncomfortable from having eaten too many sweets, and when he heard that the Lady he had made friends with was a dangerous witch he felt even more uncomfortable. But he still wanted to taste that Turkish Delight again more than he wanted anything else.

“Who told you all that stuff about the White Witch?” he asked.

“Mr Tumnus, the Faun,” said Lucy.

“You can’t always believe what Fauns say,” said Edmund, trying to sound as if he knew far more about them than Lucy.

“Who said so?” asked Lucy.

“Everyone knows it,” said Edmund; “ask anybody you like. But it’s pretty poor sport standing here in the snow. Let’s go home.”

“Yes, let’s,” said Lucy. “Oh, Edmund, I am glad you’ve got in too. The others will have to believe in Narnia now that both of us have been there. What fun it will be!”

But Edmund secretly thought that it would not be as good fun for him as for her. He would have to admit that Lucy had been right, before all the others, and he felt sure the others would all be on the side of the Fauns and the animals; but he was already more than half on the side of the Witch. He did not know what he would say, or how he would keep his secret once they were all talking about Narnia.

By this time they had walked a good way. Then suddenly they felt coats around them instead of branches and the next moment they were both standing outside the wardrobe in the empty room.

“I say,” said Lucy, “you do look awful, Edmund. Don’t you feel well?”

“I’m all right,” said Edmund, but this was not true. He was feeling very sick.

“Come on, then,” said Lucy, “let’s find the others. What a lot we shall have to tell them! And what wonderful adventures we shall have now that we’re all in it together.”

中文阅读

埃德蒙一动不动地站在那里，默不作声。到这会儿，他完全昏了头，不明白这个问题是什么意思。“我看你是个白痴，不管你还是别的什么。”女王说，“回答我，否则我将失去耐心。我再问最后一遍，你是人类吗？”“是的，陛下。”埃德蒙回答。“那么，你是如何进入我的领地的？”“如果你不见怪的话，陛下，我是通过一个衣柜进来的。”“一个衣柜？你是什么意思？”“我——我打开了一扇柜门，就发现自己来到了这里，陛下。”埃德蒙说。“哈！”女王说，与其说是对他说话，还不如说是自言自语，“一扇柜门。从人类世界到这里的一扇门！我听说过这种东西。说不定这会毁掉一切。但只有他一个人，他很容易对付。”她嘴里说着这些话，从座位上站了起来。她的眼睛闪闪发光，直视着埃德蒙的脸。同时她举起了手中的魔杖。埃德蒙确信，她正打算做一件可怕的事情，可是自己却似乎动弹不得。就在他认为自己死定了的时候，她仿佛改变了主意。“我可怜的孩子，”她换了一种完全不同的声调说，“你看上去好冷啊！过来和我一起坐在雪橇上，把我的斗篷给你披上，我们来谈谈。”

埃德蒙一点也不喜欢这个安排，可是他不敢不听。他上到雪橇上，坐在她的脚下，她将自己的皮斗篷的一部分盖在他身上，四面掖好。“来点儿热的饮料怎么样？”女王说，“你想来点吗？”“是的，请给我一点，陛下。”埃德蒙说，他的牙齿正在打战。

女巫从她斗篷的某个地方拿出了一个小瓶子，瓶子好像是用铜做的。然后，她伸出手臂，从瓶子里滴了一滴液体到雪橇旁边的雪地上。埃德蒙看见那滴液体在空中滴落，像一颗钻石一样闪烁着光芒。就在接触到雪的一刹那，它发出了嘶嘶的声音，随即地上出现了一盏镶嵌着宝石的杯子，里面装满了冒着热汽的液体。矮人立刻端起这个茶杯，向埃德蒙鞠了个躬，面带微笑地将杯子递给了他，那个微笑令人很不舒服。埃德蒙小口地呷着这杯热饮料，感觉好多了。那是一种他以前从未尝过的东西，甜蜜蜜的，充满了泡沫，还有奶油味儿，使他从头到脚都暖和起来。“只喝饮料而不吃点什么，是很乏味的，亚当的儿子。”这时女王说，“你最喜欢吃什么东西？”“请来点儿土耳其软糖，陛下。”埃德蒙说。

女王又从瓶子里滴了一滴液体在雪地上，那里顿时出现了一个圆形的盒子，上面系着绿色丝带。打开盒子，里面装着几磅最好的土耳其软糖。每一块软糖都香甜可口，一直到中间的糖芯都是软的，埃德蒙从来没有尝过比这更加美味的糖果。此刻他感到暖洋洋的，舒服极了。

就在他大嚼土耳其软糖之际，女王不停地向他发问。一开始，埃德蒙还记得，一个人嘴里塞满食物时讲话很不礼貌，但很快他就忘记了这一点，满脑子想的只是尽可能多地将土耳其软糖塞到嘴里，而他吃得越多，就越想吃。他压根儿就没去想一下，为什么女王这么好奇。她从他那里获悉，他还有一个哥哥和两个姐妹，他的妹妹以前来过纳尼亚，还曾经遇到过一个潘恩，除了他和他的兄弟姐妹，没有别的人知道纳尼亚的事情。她似乎对他们兄妹四人这个事实特别感兴趣，不停地重复这个问题。“你确定只有你们四个人？”她问道，“两个亚当的儿子，两个夏娃的女儿，不多也不少？”埃德蒙嘴里塞满了土耳其软糖，一个劲儿咕哝道：“不错，我刚才都告诉过你了。”他忘了称呼她“陛下”，但她似乎并不在意。

最后，所有的土耳其软糖都被吃光了，埃德蒙一个劲儿盯着空盒子，希望她会问他是否还想再来一点。女王大概十分清楚他在想些什么。虽然埃德蒙不晓得，她却知道这是施了魔法的土耳其软糖，任何人只要一尝，就会上瘾，吃起来没个够，如果让他们随心所欲，他们就会没完没了地吃下去，直到把自己给撑死为止。她没有给他更多的土耳其软糖，而是对他说：“亚当的儿子，我很想见见你的哥哥和两个姐妹。你能带他们来见我吗？”“我试试看吧。”埃德蒙说，仍然盯着那个空盒子。“因为，如果你下次再来的话——当然要带他们和你一起来——我就能够再给你一些土耳其软糖。我现在无法做到，这种魔法只能生效一次。在我自己的住处，那就是另外一回事了。”“为什么我们不能现在就去呢？”埃德蒙问。在他刚刚登上雪橇的时候，他还担心她会驾着雪橇，把他带到某个未知的地方，使他无法从那里返回。可这当儿，他已经忘记了先前的恐惧。“我的宫殿是一个美好的地方。”女王说，“我敢保证你会喜欢它的。那里有一间间装满了土耳其软糖的屋子，更重要的是，我自己没有孩子。我想要一个出色的小男孩，把他作为王子养大，到我离开这个世界的时候，他将成为纳尼亚的国王。在他作王子时，他将头戴黄金冠冕，一天到晚吃着土耳其软糖。你是我所见到过的最聪明最英俊的少年。我想我会愿意培养你成为王子——某一天，当你带着兄妹来我家做客的时候。”“为什么不是现在呢？”埃德蒙又问。他的脸变得通红，他的嘴巴和手指都是粘糊糊的。不管女王怎么说，他看上去既不聪明也不英俊。“哦，如果我现在就带你去的话，”她说，“我就见不到你的哥哥和姐妹们了。我非常想认识你可爱的家人。你将成为王子——在那之后——成为国王；这些毋庸赘言。但是你手下必须有大臣与贵族。我将封你哥哥为公爵，封你的姐妹们为女公爵。”“他们并没有什么特别的地方，”埃德蒙说，“不管怎样，我以后随时都可以把他们带过来。”“啊，一旦你到了我的皇宫，”女王说，“说不定你就把他们忘得一干二净。你将会玩得十分开心，结果就不愿意麻烦自己去接他们。不行。你必须现在就回到你自己的国度，改天再来找我，带上他们，你明白么。不带他们一起来就没有什么用处。”“可是我不知道返回我自己国度的路。”埃德蒙辩解道。“那很简单。”女王回答道，“你看到那盏路灯了吗？”她用魔杖指着前边，埃德蒙转过身来，看到了一个路灯柱，露西就是在那里遇到潘恩的。“一直往前走，走过路灯柱，就是通向人类世界的道路。现在朝那边看”——说到这里，她指着相反的方向——“告诉我你能否看见树木之上的那两座小山。”“我想我可以看见。”埃德蒙说。“好的，我的宫殿就位于那两座小山之间。下次再来的时候，你只需找到路灯柱，再找那两座小山，然后穿过树林，就可以到达我的宫殿。但要记着——你必须带着兄妹们一起来。如果你独自一人来的话，我会对你大大发火的。”“我将尽力而为。”埃德蒙说。“哦，对了，”女王说，“你不要告诉他们有关我的事情。这作为我们两个人之间的一个秘密，是不是很好玩？让这成为给他们的一个惊喜。只要把他们带到那两座小山那里——像你这样聪明的男孩子，不费吹灰之力就能找到这样做的借口——当你们抵达我的宫殿时，你可以说：‘让我们看看是谁住在这里’，或者诸如此类的话。我相信，那才是最好的方式。如果你妹妹遇到过一个潘恩，或许她会听到一些关于我的奇谈怪论——一些恶意中伤的故事，那会使她不敢来见我。潘恩们什么话都说得出来，你要知道，现在——”“求求你，求求你，”埃德蒙突然说道，“请问我能否再得到一块土耳其软糖，让我在回家的路上吃，好吗？”“不行，不行，”女王哈哈大笑着说，“你必须要等到下一次了。”她一边说着，一边示意矮人继续赶路。就在雪橇跑得快要看不见的时候，女王向埃德蒙挥着手，大声喊道：“下次见！下次见！别忘了。尽快过来。”

埃德蒙还在凝视着雪橇远去的方向，猛地听到有人喊自己的名字，他忙转过头来，看见露西从树林的另一端朝他走来。“哦，埃德蒙！”她大叫，“原来你也来了！这里是不是好极了，现在——”“不错。”埃德蒙说，“我发现你是对的，那的确是一个魔衣柜。如果你愿意的话，我要向你道歉。这么长时间你到底上哪儿去了？我一直在到处找你。”“如果我知道你也进来了，我就会等你。”露西说，她实在是太高兴太激动了，以至于没有注意到埃德蒙说起话来是那么地仓促，而他的脸色则是红红的，十分反常。“我刚才跟亲爱的图姆纳斯先生共进了午餐，就是那个潘恩，他现在还好，白女巫没有因为他放走我而找他的麻烦。他认为，她一定还没有发现，说不定到后来一切都平安无事。”“白女巫？”埃德蒙问，“她是谁？”“她是一个非常可怕的人物。”露西说，“她称呼自己为纳尼亚的女王，尽管她根本没有权利成为女王，所有的潘恩、树精、仙女、矮人和动物——起码是所有善良的那些——都非常憎恨她。她能将人变成石头，能做出各种各样可怕的事情。她施展了一个魔法，使得纳尼亚永远是冬天——总是冬天，但却永远到不了圣诞节。她的手里拿着一根魔杖，头上戴着一顶王冠，坐着一个驯鹿拉的雪橇，到处跑来跑去。”

埃德蒙吃了太多的糖果，已经感到很不舒服，听说与自己交好的女士是一个危险的女巫时，他感到更加难受。可是他想要再次吃到土耳其软糖的欲望胜过了其他所有的愿望。“是谁跟你讲这些有关白女巫的事情的？”他问。“图姆纳斯先生，那个潘恩。”露西说。“你不要总是相信潘恩的话。”埃德蒙说，听他的口气，似乎他比露西更了解他们。“是谁这么说的？”露西问。“大家都知道这个，”埃德蒙说，“你随便问谁都行。站在这里的冰天雪地之中，一点也不好玩儿。让我们回家吧。”“好的，我们走吧，”露西说，“哦，埃德蒙，我很高兴你也进来了。既然我们两个人都来过这里，现在他们将不得不相信纳尼亚的存在了。那该是多么有趣啊！”

埃德蒙私底下认为，对于他来说，这可没有她想的那么有趣。他必须在其他人面前承认露西是对的，他确信，其他人都会站在潘恩和动物那一边；而他却已经差不多站到女巫那一边了。他不知道自己该说些什么，或者当大家都开始谈论纳尼亚的时候，他将怎样来保守自己的秘密。

这时，他们已经走出了好一段路。突然，他们感觉到自己的周围不再是树枝，而是一件件的大衣。转瞬之间，他们两个人都出了衣柜，站在那个空房间中。“呦，”露西说，“你看起来糟透了，埃德蒙。你是不是不舒服？”“我还好。”埃德蒙说，但这并不是真话。他确实感觉很不舒服。“那么，来吧，”露西说，“让我们找到其他的人。如果我们大家一起来探索的话，将会有多少历险故事啊。”

Chapter 5 Back On This Side Of The Door回到柜门这一边

Because the game of hide-and-seek was still going on, it took Edmund and Lucy some time to find the others. But when at last they were all together (which happened in the long room, where the suit of armour was) Lucy burst out:

“Peter! Susan! It’s all true. Edmund has seen it too. There is a country you can get to through the wardrobe. Edmund and I both got in. We met one another in there, in the wood. Go on, Edmund; tell them all about it.”

“What’s all this about, Ed?” said Peter.

And now we come to one of the nastiest things in this story. Up to that moment Edmund had been feeling sick, and sulky, and annoyed with Lucy for being right, but he hadn’t made up his mind what to do. When Peter suddenly asked him the question he decided all at once to do the meanest and most spiteful thing he could think of. He decided to let Lucy down.

“Tell us, Ed,” said Susan.

And Edmund gave a very superior look as if he were far older than Lucy (there was really only a year’s difference) and then a little snigger and said, “Oh, yes, Lucy and I have been playing—pretending that all her story about a country in the wardrobe is true. Just for fun, of course. There’s nothing there really.”

Poor Lucy gave Edmund one look and rushed out of the room.

Edmund, who was becoming a nastier person every minute, thought that he had scored a great success, and went on at once to say, “There she goes again. What’s the matter with her? That’s the worst of young kids, they always—”

“Look here,” said Peter, turning on him savagely, “shut up! You’ve been perfectly beastly to Lu ever since she started this nonsense about the wardrobe, and now you go playing games with her about it and setting her off again. I believe you did it simply out of spite.”

“But it’s all nonsense,” said Edmund, very taken aback.

“Of course it’s all nonsense,” said Peter, “that’s just the point. Lu was perfectly all right when we left home, but since we’ve been down here she seems to be either going queer in the head or else turning into a most frightful liar. But whichever it is, what good do you think you’ll do by jeering and nagging at her one day and encouraging her the next?”

“I thought—I thought—” said Edmund; but he couldn’t think of anything to say.

“You didn’t think anything at all,” said Peter; “it’s just spite. You’ve always liked being beastly to anyone smaller than yourself; we’ve seen that at school before now.”

“Do stop it,” said Susan; “it won’t make things any better having a row between you two. Let’s go and find Lucy.”

It was not surprising that when they found Lucy, a good deal later, everyone could see that she had been crying. Nothing they could say to her made any difference. She stuck to her story and said:

“I don’t care what you think, and I don’t care what you say. You can tell the Professor or you can write to Mother or you can do anything you like. I know I’ve met a Faun in there and—I wish I’d stayed there and you are all beasts, beasts.”

It was an unpleasant evening. Lucy was miserable and Edmund was beginning to feel that his plan wasn’t working as well as he had expected. The two older ones were really beginning to think that Lucy was out of her mind. They stood in the passage talking about it in whispers long after she had gone to bed.

The result was the next morning they decided that they really would go and tell the whole thing to the Professor. “He’ll write to Father if he thinks there is really something wrong with Lu,” said Peter; “it’s getting beyond us.” So they went and knocked at the study door, and the Professor said “Come in,” and got up and found chairs for them and said he was quite at their disposal. Then he sat listening to them with the tips of his fingers pressed together and never interrupting, till they had finished the whole story. After that he said nothing for quite a long time. Then he cleared his throat and said the last thing either of them expected:

“How do you know,” he asked, “that your sister’s story is not true?”

“Oh, but—” began Susan, and then stopped. Anyone could see from the old man’s face that he was perfectly serious. Then Susan pulled herself together and said, “But Edmund said they had only been pretending.”

“That is a point,” said the Professor, “which certainly deserves consideration; very careful consideration. For instance—if you will excuse me for asking the question—does your experience lead you to regard your brother or your sister as the more reliable? I mean, which is the more truthful?”

“That’s just the funny thing about it, sir,” said Peter. “Up till now, I’d have said Lucy every time.”

“And what do you think, my dear?” said the Professor, turning to Susan.

“Well,” said Susan, “in general, I’d say the same as Peter, but this couldn’t be true—all this about the wood and the Faun.”

“That is more than I know,” said the Professor, “and a charge of lying against someone whom you have always found truthful is a very serious thing; a very serious thing indeed.”

“We were afraid it mightn’t even be lying,” said Susan; “we thought there might be something wrong with Lucy.”

“Madness, you mean?” said the Professor quite coolly. “Oh, you can make your minds easy about that. One has only to look at her and talk to her to see that she is not mad.”

“But then,” said Susan, and stopped. She had never dreamed that a grown-up would talk like the Professor and didn’t know what to think.

“Logic!” said the Professor half to himself. “Why don’t they teach logic at these schools? There are only three possibilities. Either your sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. You know she doesn’t tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth.”

Susan looked at him very hard and was quite sure from the expression on his face that he was no making fun of them.

“But how could it be true, sir?” said Peter.

“Why do you say that?” asked the Professor.

“Well, for one thing,” said Peter, “if it was real why doesn’t everyone find this country every time they go to the wardrobe? I mean, there was nothing there when we looked; even Lucy didn’t pretend the was.”

“What has that to do with it?” said the Professor.

“Well, sir, if things are real, they’re there all the time.”

“Are they?” said the Professor; and Peter did not know quite what to say.

“But there was no time,” said Susan. “Lucy had had no time to have gone anywhere, even if there was such a place. She came running after us the very moment we were out of the room. It was less than a minute, and she pretended to have been away for hours.”

“That is the very thing that makes her story so likely to be true,”said the Professor. “If there really is a door in this house that leads to some other world (and I should warn you that this is a very strange house, and even I know very little about it)—if, I say, she had got into another world, I should not be at all surprised to find that the other world had a separate time of its own; so that however long you stayed there it would never take up any of our time. On the other hand, I don’t think many girls of her age would invent that idea for themselves. If she had been pretending, she would have hidden for a reasonable time before coming out and telling her story.”

“But do you really mean, sir,” said Peter, “that there could be other worlds—all over the place, just round the corner—like that?”

“Nothing is more probable,” said the Professor, taking off his spectacles and beginning to polish them, while he muttered to himself,“I wonder what they do teach them at these schools.”

“But what are we to do?” said Susan. She felt that the conversation was beginning to get off the point.

“My dear young lady,” said the Professor, suddenly looking up with a very sharp expression at both of them, “there is one plan which no one has yet suggested and which is well worth trying.”

“What’s that?” said Susan.

“We might all try minding our own business,” said he. And that was the end of that conversation.

After this, things were a good deal better for Lucy. Peter saw to it that Edmund stopped jeering at her, and neither she nor anyone else felt inclined to talk about the wardrobe at all. It had become a rather alarming subject. And so for a time it looked as if all the adventures were coming to an end; but that was not to be.

This house of the Professor’s—which even he knew so little about—was so old and famous that people from all over England used to come and ask permission to see over it. It was the sort of house that is mentioned in guide books and even in histories; and well it might be, for all manner of stories were told about it, some of them even stranger than the one I am telling you now. And when parties of sightseers arrived and asked to see the house, the Professor always gave them permission, and Mrs Macready, the housekeeper, showed them round, telling them about the pictures and the armour, and the rare books in the library. Mrs Macready was not fond of children, and did not like to be interrupted when she was telling visitors all the things she knew. She had said to Susan and Peter almost on the first morning (along with a good many other instructions), “And please remember you’re to keep out of the way whenever I’m taking a party over the house.”

“Just as if any of us would want to waste half the morning trailing round with a crowd of strange grown-ups!” said Edmund, and the other three thought the same. That was how the adventures began for the third time.

A few mornings later Peter and Edmund were looking at the suit of armour and wondering if they could take it to bits when the two girls rushed into the room and said, “Look out! Here comes the Macready and a whole gang with her.”

“Sharp’s the word,” said Peter, and all four made off through the door at the far end of the room. But when they had got out into the Green Room and beyond it, into the Library, they suddenly heard voices ahead of them, and realized that Mrs Macready must be bringing her party of sightseers up the back stairs—instead of up the front stairs as they had expected. And after that—whether it was that they lost their heads, or that Mrs Macready was trying to catch them, or that some magic in the house had come to life and was chasing them into Narnia—they seemed to find themselves being followed everywhere, until at last Susan said,“Oh, bother those trippers! Here—let’s get into the Wardrobe Room till they’ve passed. No one will follow us in there.” But the moment they were inside they heard the voices in the passage—and then someone fumbling at the door—and then they saw the handle turning.

“Quick!” said Peter, “there’s nowhere else,” and flung open the wardrobe. All four of them bundled inside it and sat there, panting, in the dark. Peter held the door closed but did not shut it; for, of course, he remembered, as every sensible person does, that you should never, never shut yourself in a wardrobe.

中文阅读

由于捉迷藏的游戏仍然在进行中，埃德蒙和露西花了一些时间才找到其他的人。当他们终于聚在一起时（这是在存放着那副盔甲的狭长房间中），露西脱口说道：“彼得！苏珊！那全都是真的。埃德蒙也看见了。那里的确有一个国度，你穿过衣柜就能到达。埃德蒙和我都进去了。我们在那里相遇，就在那个树林中。你接着说下去，埃德蒙，把一切都告诉他们。”“这是怎么一回事，埃德？”彼得说。

现在我们该讲到这个故事中最令人厌恶的事情之一。直到那一刻，埃德蒙都始终感觉不适，加上因为露西是对的，他感到恼怒，因而闷闷不乐。但他还没有盘算好自己应当怎么做。当彼得突然问到他的时候，他顿时决定去做他所能想到的最卑鄙最恶毒的事情。他打算让露西大失所望。“告诉我们，埃德。”苏珊催促道。

埃德蒙摆出了一副高高在上的表情，就好像他比露西要大出一大截似的（实际上只有一岁的差距），心里暗自窃笑着，说道：“哦，是的，露西刚才和我一起在玩儿——假装她那些所谓衣柜中国度的故事都是真的。当然了，只是为了好玩。那里面其实什么都没有。”

可怜的露西瞪了埃德蒙一眼，一下子冲出了房间。

埃德蒙正在变成一个越来越令人讨厌的人，他自以为取得了一个伟大的胜利，马上又接着说道：“她又来这一套了。她出了什么毛病？那是小孩子最烦人的地方，他们总是——”“听着，”彼得转身对着他怒喝道，“闭嘴！自从露开始说这些关于衣柜的胡言乱语，你就一直很不像话地恶待她，现在你又跟她玩什么衣柜的游戏，然后再把她气走。我相信你这么做纯粹是出于恶意。”“但那些都是胡掰瞎扯的。”埃德蒙说，他也给吓着了。“当然那都是胡说八道，”彼得说，“那恰好是问题的症结所在。我们离开家的时候，露还一切正常。可自从我们来到这里，她看来若不是大脑进水了，就是成为了一个最可怕的骗子。不管是哪一种，想想看，你先是讥笑和嘲讽她，然后又诱导她去这么做，这对她有什么好处？”“我想——我想——”埃德蒙说；可他却想不出任何辩解的话来。“你根本啥都没有想，”彼得说，“这完全是冒坏水儿。你总是喜欢卑劣地对待比你小的孩子；以前我们在学校就看到过。”“快别说了，”苏珊说，“你们两个吵一架，对事情不会有任何帮助。我们出去找露西吧。”

过了好久，他们才找到露西，每个人都能看出她一直在哭泣，这丝毫不令人感到意外。不管他们对她说什么，都不起一丁点儿作用。她一口咬定自己的故事是真的，并且说：“我不在乎你们怎么想，也不在乎你们怎么说。你们可以告诉教授，也可以写信给妈妈，你们可以做任何你们想做的事儿。我知道自己在那里遇到了一个潘恩，而且——我希望自己留在那里没有回来，你们都是畜生，畜生。”

那是一个令人不快的夜晚。露西非常痛苦。埃德蒙开始感到，他的计划并不像他预料的那样有效。两个年长一些的孩子真的以为露西的脑子出了问题。在她上床睡觉以后，过了好久，他们还站在走廊里小声地谈论这个问题。

第二天早上，他们决定自己真的应该去见见教授，把整个事情原原本本都告诉他。“如果他认为露确实有什么不对头，他将会给父亲写信，”彼得说，“我们已经无能为力了。”于是他们来到书房，敲了敲门。教授说：“进来。”随即他起身搬来椅子，让他们坐下，还说他非常乐意为他们效劳。他坐了下来，将两只手的十个指尖彼此相对，默默地倾听他们的叙述。直到他们将全部事情从头到尾和盘托出，他一次也没有打断他们的话。在那之后，他沉默了良久。最后，他清了清嗓子，说出了大大出乎他们意料之外的话：“你们怎么知道，”他问，“你们的妹妹讲的故事不是真的？”“噢，但是——”苏珊刚要说话，又咽了回去。从老人的脸上，任何人都可以看出，他是非常认真的。苏珊镇静了下来，说道：“但埃德蒙说，他们只不过是在闹着玩儿。”“那倒是个问题，”教授说，“当然值得考虑，非常认真的考虑。比如说——如果你们能允许我提问的话——根据你们的经验，你们认为你们的弟弟和妹妹哪一个更可靠？我的意思是，哪一个更诚实？”“那正是这件事令人费解的地方，先生。”彼得说，“到目前为止，我每一次的回答都会是露西。”“你怎么想呢，亲爱的？”教授转脸询问苏珊。“哦，”苏珊说，“一般情况下，我的回答和彼得一样，可这不可能是真的——这些关于树林和潘恩的话。”“那我就不明白了，”教授说，“指控你们一直认为很诚实的人说谎，这是一件非常严重的事情，的确是一件非常严重的事情。”“我们担心的还不是说谎，”苏珊说，“我们认为露西可能出了什么问题。”“发疯了，你的意思是说？”教授相当冷静地说，“哦，至于这个嘛，你们可以放心。一个人只需要当面和她交谈一下，就可以看出她并没有发疯。”“但是那……”苏珊说到这里，停了下来。她做梦也没有想到，一个成年人会像教授那样讲话，她不知道对此应该做何感想。“逻辑！”教授一半是自言自语地说道，“为什么他们在学校不开设逻辑课呢？只有三种可能。或者你们的妹妹在说谎，要不就是她疯了，否则就是她在说实话。你们知道她不爱说谎，显然她也没有发疯。目前如果没有更进一步的证据出现，我们就必须假定，她说的是实话。”

苏珊非常认真地看着他，从他脸上的表情她可以确定，他并不是在跟他们开玩笑。“但那怎么可能是真的，先生？”彼得说。“你为什么这样说呢？”教授反问他道。“好吧，首先，”彼得说，“如果那是真的，为什么不是所有的人每次来到衣柜那里都能找到这个国度？我的意思是，当我们去看的时候，那里什么都没有；就连露西都没有假装她看到了什么。”“那又有什么关系？”教授说。“是这样，先生，如果事情是真的，它们应该一直都在那里。”“真的吗？”教授说道，彼得不知道该怎么说了。“但是时间对不上，”苏珊说，“露西来不及到哪儿去，即使真的有这么个地方。我们前脚离开那个房间，她后脚就跟着我们跑了出来。连一分钟都不到，她却装做已经离开了好几个小时。”“正是这件事使得她的故事很可能是真的。”教授说，“如果这栋房子里真的有一扇门通往另外某个世界（我应该警告你们，这是一座非常奇特的房子，就连我对它也只是一知半解）——如果，听着，她进入了另外一个世界，而那个世界有它自己独立的一套时间的话，我可一点也不会感到惊讶。不论你在那里停留了多久，而在我们这里只不过是一刹那。另一方面，我不认为她那个年纪的女孩子会自己虚构出那样的想法来。如果她是在假装，她就会多躲藏一会儿，再出来讲述她的故事。”“先生，难道你真的以为，”彼得说，“可能有其他的世界——到处都有，只要拐个弯儿——就像是那样？”“这不是没有可能。”教授说着，摘下他的眼镜擦了起来，同时自言自语地咕哝着：“我想知道他们在学校里到底教孩子们一些什么东西。”“我们应该怎么办呢？”苏珊问道，她觉得谈话有点跑题了。“我亲爱的年轻女士，”教授说着，突然抬起头来，用一种非常机敏的表情看着他们两人。“有一个还没有人提出过的计划，非常值得一试。”“那是什么？”苏珊说。“我们都最好别多管闲事。”他说。谈话到这里就结束了。

打那儿以后，对露西来说，情况大为好转。彼得注意不准埃德蒙再嘲讽她。不论是她还是其他的人都绝口不再提衣柜的事。这已经成了一个使人畏惧的话题。因此有一段时间，似乎所有的历险都告一段落。其实并非如此。

教授的这座房子——就连他对之也仅仅是一知半解——是如此的古老，闻名遐迩，英国各地的人们时常来到这里，要求允许他们参观。在旅游指南，甚至是历史书中都会提及这类老房子。它也的确配享此殊荣，因为流传着关于它的各种故事，其中有一些比我正在讲的这个故事更加离奇。当一群群观光客抵达，要求参观这座房子时，教授总是表示许可，让女管家麦克里迪夫人带领他们参观，向他们讲解画像、盔甲、以及图书馆里的珍稀书籍。麦克里迪夫人不喜欢小孩子，也不喜欢在她向客人介绍自己所知道的事情时受到干扰。几乎是在他们到达之后的头一个早上，她就已经告诫苏珊和彼得说（同时还有一大堆其他的指令）：“不管什么时候，只要我正在带领一群人参观这座房子，请记住，你们要躲在一边，不要碍手碍脚。”“好像我们有谁愿意浪费半个上午的时间，跟在一帮陌生的成年人屁股后面，走来走去似的！”埃德蒙说，其他三人也是这么想的。第三次历险就是在这样的背景下展开的。

几天后的一个早晨，彼得和埃德蒙正在打量那副盔甲，琢磨着是否能将它拆卸开来，两个女孩子冲进了房间，说：“注意！麦克里迪夫人带着一帮人过来了。”“快走。”彼得说，他们四个都从房间另一端的门匆匆逃了出去。他们经过绿色房间，准备去隔壁的图书馆，却突然听到前面传来说话声。他们意识到，麦克里迪夫人一定是带着那群观光客从后面的楼梯上来了——而不是他们所猜想的前面的楼梯。在那之后——不知是他们惊慌失措，还是麦克里迪夫人想要捉住他们，或者是房子里的某种魔法死灰复燃，要将他们驱赶到纳尼亚——他们发现不管走到哪里，都甩不掉这群人，最后苏珊说：“哦，那些游客真麻烦！这里——让我们躲进放衣柜的房间，等他们过去了再出来。没有人会跟着我们进到那里去。”但他们刚一进入那个房间，就听到走廊里嘈杂的人声——随后有人在门上摸索——接着他们看到门的把手转动起来。“快！”彼得说，“没有别的地方可以躲藏了。”他猛地拉开了衣柜的门，四个人推搡着躲了进去，坐在黑暗中喘息着。彼得使柜门虚掩着，没有关严。当然了，他像所有明智的人一样牢记着，你永远、永远不要将自己关在一个衣柜中。

Chapter 6 Into The Forest进入森林

“I wish the Macready would hurry up and take all these people away,” said Susan presently, “I’m getting horribly cramped.”

“And what a filthy smell of camphor!” said Edmund.

“I expect the pockets of these coats are full of it,” said Susan, “to keep away the moths.”

“There’s something sticking into my back,” said Peter.

“And isn’t it cold?” said Susan.

“Now that you mention it, it is cold,” said Peter, “and hang it all, it’s wet too. What’s the matter with this place? I’m sitting on something wet. It’s getting wetter every minute.” He struggled to his feet.

“Let’s get out,” said Edmund, “they’ve gone.”

“O-o-oh!” said Susan suddenly, and everyone asked her what was the matter.

“I’m sitting against a tree,” said Susan, “and look! It’s getting light—over there.”

“By Jove, you’re right,” said Peter, “and look there—and there. It’s trees all round. And this wet stuff is snow. Why, I do believe we’ve got into Lucy’s wood after all.”

And now there was no mistaking it and all four children stood blinking in the daylight of a winter day. Behind them were coats hanging on pegs, in front of them were snow-covered trees.

Peter turned at once to Lucy.

“I apologize for not believing you,” he said, “I’m sorry. Will you shake hands?”

“Of course,” said Lucy, and did.

“And now,” said Susan, “what do we do next?”

“Do?” said Peter, “why, go and explore the wood, of course.”

“Ugh!” said Susan, stamping her feet, “it’s pretty cold. What about putting on some of these coats?”

“They’re not ours,” said Peter doubtfully.

“I am sure nobody would mind,” said Susan; “it isn’t as if we wanted to take them out of the house; we shan’t take them even out of the wardrobe.”

“I never thought of that, Su,” said Peter. “Of course, now you put it that way, I see. No one could say you had bagged a coat as long as you leave it in the wardrobe where you found it. And I suppose this whole country is in the wardrobe.”

They immediately carried out Susan’s very sensible plan. The coats were rather too big for them so that they came down to their heels and looked more like royal robes than coats when they had put them on. But they all felt a good deal warmer and each thought the others looked better in their new get-up and more suitable to the landscape.

“We can pretend we are Arctic explorers,” said Lucy.

“This is going to be exciting enough without pretending,” said Peter, as he began leading the way forward into the forest. There were heavy, darkish clouds overhead and it looked as if there might be more snow before night.

“I say,” began Edmund presently, “oughtn’t we to be bearing a bit more to the left, that is, if we are aiming for the lamp-post?” He had forgotten for the moment that he must pretend never to have been in the wood before. The moment the words were out of his mouth he realized that he had given himself away. Everyone stopped; everyone stared at him. Peter whistled.

“So you really were here,” he said, “that time Lu said she’d met you in here—and you made out she was telling lies.”

There was a dead silence. “Well, of all the poisonous little beasts—”said Peter, and shrugged his shoulders and said no more. There seemed, indeed, no more to say, and presently the four resumed their journey; but Edmund was saying to himself, “I’ll pay you all out for this, you pack of stuck-up, self-satisfied prigs.”

“Where are we going anyway?” said Susan, chiefly for the sake of changing the subject.

“I think Lu ought to be the leader,” said Peter; “goodness knows she deserves it. Where will you take us, Lu?”

“What about going to see Mr Tumnus?” said Lucy. “He’s the nice Faun I told you about.”

Everyone agreed to this and off they went, walking briskly and stamping their feet. Lucy proved a good leader. At first she wondered whether she would be able to find the way, but she recognized an oddlooking tree in one place and a stump in another and brought them on to where the ground became uneven and into the little valley and at last to the very door of Mr Tumnus’s cave. But there a terrible surprise awaited them.

The door had been wrenched off its hinges and broken to bits. Inside, the cave was dark and cold and had the damp feel and smell of a place that had not been lived in for several days. Snow had drifted in from the doorway and was heaped on the floor, mixed with something black, which turned out to be the charred sticks and ashes from the fire. Someone had apparently flung it about the room and then stamped it out. The crockery lay smashed on the floor and the picture of the Faun’s father had been slashed into shreds with a knife.

“This is a pretty good wash-out,” said Edmund; “not much good coming here.”

“What is this?” said Peter, stooping down. He had just noticed a piece of paper which had been nailed through the carpet to the floor.

“Is there anything written on it?” asked Susan.

“Yes, I think there is,” answered Peter, “but I can’t read it in this light. Let’s get out into the open air.”

They all went out in the daylight and crowded round Peter as he read out the following words:The former occupant of these premises, the Faun Tumnus, is under arrest and awaiting his trial on a charge of High Treason against her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, Chatelaine of Cair Paravel, Empress of the Lone Islands, etc., also of comforting her said Majesty’s enemies, harbouring spies and fraternizing with humans.signed MAUGRIM, Captain of the Secret Police.LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!

The children stared at each other.

“I don’t know that I’m going to like this place after all,” said Susan.

“Who is this Queen, Lu?” said Peter. “Do you know anything about her?”

“She isn’t a real queen at all,” answered Lucy; “she’s a horrible witch, the White Witch. Everyone—all the wood people—hate her. She has made an enchantment over the whole country so that it is always winter here and never Christmas.”

“I—I wonder if there’s any point in going on,” said Susan. “I mean, it doesn’t seem particularly safe here and it looks as if it won’t be much fun either. And it’s getting colder every minute, and we’ve brought nothing to eat. What about just going home?”

“Oh, but we can’t, we can’t,” said Lucy suddenly; “don’t you see? We can’t just go home, not after this. It is all on my account that the poor Faun has got into this trouble. He hid me from the Witch and showed me the way back. That’s what it means by comforting the Queen’s enemies and fraternizing with Humans. We simply must try to rescue him.”

“A lot we could do! ” said Edmund,“when we haven’t even got anything to eat! ”

“Shut up—you!” said Peter, who was still very angry with Edmund.“What do you think, Susan?”

“I’ve a horrid feeling that Lu is right,” said Susan. “I don’t want to go a step further and I wish we’d never come. But I think we must try to do something for Mr Whatever-his-name is—I mean the Faun.”

“That’s what I feel too,” said Peter. “I’m worried about having no food with us. I’d vote for going back and getting something from the larder, only there doesn’t seem to be any certainty of getting into this country again when once you’ve got out of it. I think we’ll have to go on.”

“So do I,” said both the girls.

“If only we knew where the poor chap was imprisoned!” said Peter.

They were all still wondering what to do next, when Lucy said,“Look! There’s a robin, with such a red breast. It’s the first bird I’ve seen here. I say! —I wonder can birds talk in Narnia? It almost looks as if it wanted to say something to us.” Then she turned to the Robin and said, “Please, can you tell us where Tumnus the Faun has been taken to?” As she said this she took a step towards the bird. It at once flew away but only as far as to the next tree. There it perched and looked at them very hard as if it understood all they had been saying. Almost without noticing that they had done so, the four children went a step or two nearer to it. At this the Robin flew away again to the next tree and once more looked at them very hard. (You couldn’t have found a robin with a redder chest or a brighter eye.)

“Do you know,” said Lucy, “I really believe he means us to follow him.”

“I’ve an idea he does,” said Susan. “What do you think, Peter?”

“Well, we might as well try it,” answered Peter.

The Robin appeared to understand the matter thoroughly. It kept going from tree to tree, always a few yards ahead of them, but always so near that they could easily follow it. In this way it led them on, slightly downhill. Wherever the Robin alighted a little shower of snow would fall off the branch. Presently the clouds parted overhead and the winter sun came out and the snow all around them grew dazzlingly bright. They had been travelling in this way for about half an hour, with the two girls in front, when Edmund said to Peter, “if you’re not still too high and mighty to talk to me, I’ve something to say which you’d better listen to.”

“What is it?” asked Peter.

“Hush! Not so loud,” said Edmund; “there’s no good frightening the girls. But have you realized what we’re doing?”

“What?” said Peter, lowering his voice to a whisper.

“We’re following a guide we know nothing about. How do we know which side that bird is on? Why shouldn’t it be leading us into a trap?”

“That’s a nasty idea. Still—a robin, you know. They’re good birds in all the stories I’ve ever read. I’m sure a robin wouldn’t be on the wrong side.”

“If it comes to that, which is the right side? How do we know that the fauns are in the right and the Queen (yes, I know we’ve been told she’s a witch) is in the wrong? We don’t really know anything about either.”

“The Faun saved Lucy.”

“He said he did. But how do we know? And there’s another thing too. Has anyone the least idea of the way home from here?”

“Great Scott!” said Peter, “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“And no chance of dinner either,” said Edmund.

中文阅读

现在已经毫无疑义了，四个孩子都站在冬日的阳光中眨着眼睛。在他们背后，是挂在挂钩上的大衣；在他们面前，是冰雪覆盖的树木。

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