《能言马与男孩》 11 不受欢迎的同路人

CHAPTER ELEVEN THE UNWELCOME FELLOW TRAVELLER 

十一不受欢迎的同路人

WHEN Shasta went through the gate he found a slope of grass and a little heather running up before him to some trees. He had nothing to think about now and no plans to make: he had only to run, and that was quite enough. His limbs were shaking, a terrible stitch was beginning in his side, and the sweat that kept dropping into his eyes blinded them and made them smart. He was unsteady on his feet too, and more than once he nearly turned his ankle on a loose stone.

沙斯塔穿过门,看到一个芳草萋萋的山坡,一些杂草蔓延到了树边。除了奔跑之外他毫无办法,但是这也足够了;他四肢颤抖,两肋如针扎般的疼,汗水落进眼睛里,让它们疼痛并且模糊不清。走路踉踉跄跄,脚踝不止一次地撞在凌乱的石头上。

The trees were thicker now than they had yet been and in the more open spaces there was bracken. The sun had gone in without making it any cooler. It had become one of those hot, grey days when there seem to be twice as many flies as usual. Shasta' s face was covered with them;he didn' t even try to shake them off-he had too much else to do.

树木比刚才更加茂盛,空地上生长着大片的蕨类植物。太藏了起来,但是仍然燥热不已。当看到苍蝇似乎比往常多了一倍的时候,他感觉更加炎热灰暗。沙斯塔脸上爬满了苍蝇,但是他现在没有工夫去赶走它们。

Suddenly he heard a horn-not a great throbbing horn like the horns of Tashbaan but a merry call, Ti-ro-to-to-ho! Next moment he came out into a wide glade and found himself in a crowd of people.

突然,他听到了号角声——不是塔什班城那种悸动的号角声,而是一种欢乐的呼喊:蒂……罗……托托……霍!很快他就走进了一片宽阔的林间空地,发觉自己周围都是人了。

At least, it looked a crowd to him. In reality there were about fifteen or twenty of them, all gentlemen in green hunting-dress, with their horses; some in the saddle and some standing by their horses' heads. In the centre someone was holding the stirrup for a man to mount. And the man he was holding it for was the jolliest, fat, apple-cheeked, twinkling-eyed King you could imagine.

至少在他看来是一大人。事实上总有大概十五或者二十人,绅士们都身着绿打猎装,有的坐在马鞍上,有些站在马身边。中间有个人拉住马镫,以方便一位绅士上马。那个绅士你能够想象得到,就是兴高采烈、肥头大耳、圆滚滚、眼睛亮晶晶的国王。

As soon as Shasta came in sight this King forgot all about mounting his horse. He spread out his arms to Shasta, his face lit up, and he cried out in a great, deep voice that seemed to come from the bottom of his chest:

国王一看到沙斯塔,就把上马的事儿全忘了。兴高采烈的向他展开双臂,用他那仿佛来自腔最深处的洪厚声音喊道:

"Corin! My son! And on foot, and in rags! What—" "No," panted Shasta,shaking his head."Not Prince Corin.I-I-know I'm like him…saw his Highness in Tashbaan… sent his greetings."

“科林!我的儿子!像个乞丐一样在步行!发生了什么……”“不,”沙斯塔晃着脑袋,气喘吁吁的说,“我不是科林王子,我……我……知道和他长得很像……我在塔什班见到了王子殿下……我带来了王子的问候。”

The King was staring at Shasta with an extraordinary expression on his face.

国王用诧异的表情盯着沙斯塔。

"Are you K-King Lune ?"gasped Shasta.And then, without waiting for an answer,.Lord King-fly-Anvard shut the gates-enemies upon you-Rabadash and two hundred horse. "

“您是国……国王伦恩吗?”沙斯塔没有等国王回答就气喘吁吁的说了下去,“国王陛下……快跑……安瓦德关上城门……罗八达和两百人马正在近。”

"Have you assurance of this, boy ?"asked one of the other gentlemen.

“你确信,孩子?”另一位绅士问道。

"My own eyes,"said Shasta..I' ve seen them. Raced them all the way from Tashbaan."

“亲眼所见,”沙斯塔说,“我看到了他们。我从塔什班城一路和他们赛跑过来的。”

"On foot ?"said the gentleman, raising his eyebrows a little.

“步行?”绅士微微挑了下眉说道。

"Horses-with the Hermit," said Shasta.

“骑马……马在隐士家里。”沙斯塔说。

"Question him no more;Darrin,"said King Lune."I see truth in his face. We must ride for it, gentlemen. A spare horse there, for the boy. You can ride fast,friend ?"

“别问了,达兰,”国王伦恩说,“我看是真的。绅士们,我们必须抓紧时间了。给这孩子一匹备用马。你能骑马快跑吗,朋友?”

For answer Shasta put his foot in the stirrup of the horse which had been led towards him and a moment later he was in the saddle. He had done it a hundred times with Bree in the last few weeks, and his mounting was very different now from what it had been on that first night when Bree had said that he climbed up a horse as if he were climbing a haystack.

作为回答,沙斯塔纵身骑到了马鞍上。过去几个星期,布里已经引导他骑过很多次马了,第一次上马的那个晚上,布里嘲笑他就像在爬一个干草堆,但是现在情况大为改观了。

He was pleased to hear the Lord Darrin say to the King,.The boy has a true horseman' s seat, Sire. I' ll warrant there' s noble blood in him."

当听到达兰爵士对国王说:“这孩子骑马姿势颇具骑士风度,陛下,我保证他有贵族血统。”沙斯塔兴奋不已。

"His blood, aye, there' s the point,"said the King. And he stared hard at Shasta again with that curious expression, almost a hungry expression, in his steady,grey eyes.

“他的血统,是呀,这是关键。”国王说。再次用那双坚定的、灰的眼睛紧紧盯着他,眼里露出探询甚至是渴望的神

But by now-the whole party was moving off at a brisk canter. Shasta's seat was excellent but he was sadly puzzled what to do with his reins, for he had never touched the reins while he was on Bree' s back. But he looked very carefully out of the corners of his eyes to see what the others were doing (as some of us have done at parties when we weren' t quite sure which knife or fork we were meant to use) and tried to get his fingers right. But he didn' t dare to try really directing the horse;he trusted it would follow the rest.The horse was of course an ordinary horse,not a Talking Horse;but it had quite wits enough to realize that the strange boy on its back had no whip and no spurs and was not really master of the situation. That was why Shasta soon found himself at the tail end of the procession.

但是很快这绅士就开始行动。沙斯塔的马鞍很棒,但是他苦于不知如何使用缰绳,当骑在布里背上时是从不用缰绳的。他小心翼翼的偷瞄其他人的动作( 就像我们在宴会上不知道选择刀子还是叉子那样),竭力让自己的手指姿势正确。但他不敢直接用缰绳去控制马;他深信马会随着其他人马一起行动。马当然是不会说话的普通马;但是它也认识到了,背上这个奇怪的孩子,既没有马鞭,也没有马刺,难以控制局面。这就是为什么沙斯塔很快发现自己远远落后的原因了。

Even so, he was going pretty fast. There were no flies now and the air in his face was delicious. He had got his breath back too. And his errand had succeeded. For the first time since the arrival at Tashbaan (how long ago it seemed !) he was beginning to enjoy himself.

即便如此,他的速度也不慢。苍蝇很少,空气清新。他呼吸平稳,使命已经完成。这是他到达塔什班城( 好像是很久以前的事情了) 后第一次感觉到逍遥自在。

He looked up to see how much nearer the mountain tops had come. To his disappointment he could not see them at all: only a vague greyness, rolling down towards them. He had never been in mountain country before and was surprised. "It's a cloud," he said to himself, "a cloud coming down. I see. Up here in the hills one is really in the sky. I shall see what the inside of a cloud is like. What fun ! I' ve often wondered."Far away on his left and a little behind him, the sun was getting ready to set.

他抬起头,看看自己离山顶还有多远。让他大失所望的是,只看到一片沉重的灰迎面而来,压根就看不到山顶。他从未在山区待过,眼前的景象让他诧异。“是云,”他自言自语,“一片下降的云,看来这里有一座高耸入云的山。我能够看到云里面是什么样子了。多有趣!我不止一次地想弄清楚。”在遥远的左后方,太开始落山了。此时他们到了崎岖的道路上,速度加快。沙斯塔仍落在最后。

They had come to a rough kind of road by now and were making very good speed. But Shasta' s horse was still the last of the lot. Once or twice when the road made a bend (there was now continuous forest on each side of it) he lost sight of the others for a second or two.

有那么一两次,在大路转弯的地方( 现在大路两旁是绵延不绝的森林),其他人马在他视野里消失了几秒钟。

Then they plunged into the fog, or else the fog rolled over them. The world became grey. Shasta had not realized how cold and wet the inside of a cloud would be;nor how dark. The grey turned to black with alarming speed.

接着他们遇到了大雾,或者说大雾吞没了他们,世界变得灰蒙蒙的。沙斯塔不曾想到,在云雾中是如此湿冷和黑暗,灰白的雾以惊人的速度变黑了。

Someone at the head of the column winded the horn every now and then, and each time the sound came from a little farther off. He couldn' t see any of the others now, but of course he' d be able to as soon as he got round the next bend. But when he rounded it he still couldn' t see them. In fact he could see nothing at all. His horse was walking now. "Get on, Horse, get on," said Shasta. Then came the horn, very faint. Bree had always told him that he must keep his heels well turned out, and Shasta had got the idea that something very terrible would happen if he dug his heels into a horse' s sides.This seemed to him an occasion for trying it.

队伍的前头不时有号角声传来,声音越来越远。他现在已经看不到其他人了,当在拐弯的地方时,好像能够看到,但是过了拐弯处,又什么也看不到了。事实上,他压根就没看到过。现在马像是在散步。“快点儿,马儿,快点儿。”沙斯塔说。然后他听到已经十分轻微的号角声。布里不止一次地告诉他,骑马时放好脚跟,所以沙斯塔认为,脚跟踢到马两肋的时候会有可怕的事情发生。但是现在他不得不试一下了。

"Look here, Horse," he said,"if you don'tbuck up, do you know what I' ll do ? I' ll dig my heels into you. I really will."The horse, however, took no notice of this threat. So Shasta settled himself firmly in the saddle, gripped with his knees, clenched his teeth, and punched both the horse' s sides with his heels as hard as he could.

“听着,马儿,你再不快点的话,可知道我会干什么?我保证会用脚跟踢你。”然而马毫不理睬。迫不得已,沙斯塔只得牢牢坐在马鞍上,牙关紧咬,双膝夹紧,用尽力气用脚跟踢马的两肋。

The only result was that the horse broke into a kind of pretence of a trot for five or six paces and then subsided into a walk again. And now it was quite dark and they seemed to have given up blowing that horn. The only sound was a steady drip-drip from the branches of the trees.

结果只是那马儿装模作样的小跑几步,然后又恢复常态了。天漆黑,号角声已经没有了。唯一的声音就是树叶上的滴水声。

"Well, I suppose even a walk will get us somewhere sometime," said Shasta to himself. "I only hope I shan't run into Rabadash and his people."

“好吧,我想即使马步行,也能带我到某个地方去,”沙斯塔安慰自己,“我只希望不要碰到罗八达和他的人马。”

He went on for what seemed a long time, always at a walking pace.He began to hate that horse,and he was also beginning to feel very hungry.

马儿用步行的速度,又走了仿佛很长时间。他饥肠辘辘,开始讨厌马儿了。

Presently he came to a place where the road divided into two. He was just wondering which led to Anvard when he was startled by a noise from behind him. It was the noise of trotting horses. "Rabadash !" thought Shasta. He had no way of guessing which road Rabadash would take..But if I take one,"said Shasta to himself,.he may take the other: and if I stay at the cross-roads I' m sure to be caught."He dismounted and led his horse as quickly as he could along the right-hand road.

不久,他到了一个岔路口,正琢磨着哪一条能够通往安瓦德的时候,背后的一阵声音惊吓到了他。是马儿的蹄声,“罗八达!”沙斯塔想。他没法猜测罗八达会走哪条路。“但是如果我走了这一条路,”沙斯塔告诉自己,“说不定他会走那条,但是我继续待在这儿,肯定会被抓住。”他下了马,牵着它以最快的速度走上右手边那条路。

The sound of the cavalry grew rapidly nearer and in a minute or two Shasta realized that they were at the crossroads. He held his breath,waiting to see which way they would take.

骑兵的声音迅速近,很快沙斯塔就意识到,他们已经到了岔路口。他屏息静气,等着看他们到底走哪条路。

There came a low word of command.Halt !"then a moment of horsey noises-nostrils blowing, hoofs pawing, bits being champed,necks being patted.Then a voice spoke.

“停止前进!”,一声低沉的命令传来。接下来是马的鼻息声,马蹄刨地的声音,咬嚼子的声音和拍马脖子的声音。然后有人说话了。

"Attend,all of you,"it said..We are now within a furlong of the castle.Remember your orders. Once we are in Narnia, as we should be by sunrise,you are to kill as little as possible. On this venture you are to regard every drop of Narnian blood as more precious than a gallon of your own. On this venture,I say. The gods will send us a happier hour and then you must leave nothing alive between Cair Paravel and the Western Waste. But we are not yet in Narnia.Here in Archenland it is another thing. In the assault on this castle of King Lune' s, nothing matters but speed. Show your mettle.It must be mine within an hour.And if it is, I give it all to you.I reserve no booty for myself.Kill me every barbarian male within its walls, down to the child that was born yesterday, and everything else is yours to divide as you please-the women, the gold, the jewels, the weapons, and the wine. The man that I see hanging back when we come to the gates shall be burned alive. In the name of Tash the irresistible, the inexorable forward !"

“大家听着,”那声音说道,“现在离城堡不到200 米了,记住命令。一旦进入纳尼亚国境( 应该在日出时到达),尽量不要杀人。在这番冒险行动中,你们要把每一滴纳尼亚人的血看作比你们一加仑的血还重要,记住了,只是在这次行动中。以后在凯尔帕拉维尔和西部沙漠之间你们可以大杀特杀,那是天神赐予你们的。但现在还没有到达纳尼亚。这儿——阿钦兰境,是另一回事儿。以最快的速度攻下伦恩国王的城堡。拿出勇气,务必一个时辰成功。如果你们占领了它,我把所有都给你们,什么战利品也不留给自己。把城里每一个野蛮的男人,包括昨天刚出生的婴儿,统统杀掉,其他一切你们想怎么分就怎么分——包括女人、金子、珠宝、武器和美酒。畏缩的人会被活活烧死,以不可阻挡、不可抗拒的塔什神的名义——前进。”

With a great cloppitty-clop the column began to move, and Shasta breathed again.They had taken the other road.

随着一阵喧闹的蹄声,骑兵们行动了,沙斯塔缓了口气。他们选择了另一条路。

Shasta thought they took a long time going past, for though he had been talking and thinking about.two hundred horse"all day, he had not realized how many they really were. But at last the sound died away and once more he was alone amid the drip-drip from the trees.

骑兵们花了好长时间才过去,虽然他口头和心上整天都挂着“两百人马”,但实际上有多少人他并不清楚。骑兵的声音最终还是消失了,他只得继续听树叶滴水的声音。

He now knew the way to Anvard but of course he could not now go there: that would only mean running into the arms of Rabadash' s troopers..What on earth am I to do ?"said Shasta to himself. But he remounted his horse and continued along the road he had chosen, in the faint hope of finding some cottage where he might ask for shelter and a meal. He had thought, of course, of going back to Aravis and Bree and Hwin at the hermitage, but he couldn' t because by now he had not the least idea of the direction.

现在他知道去安瓦德的路了,但显然现在还不能动身,不然就是自寻死路。“我究竟该怎么办呢?”沙斯塔问自己。他重新跨上马,沿着选择的路继续走,抱着微薄的希望,但愿能找到几户人家,求个栖身之所,填饱肚子。他当然也想过回到隐士那里去,和阿拉维斯、布里、赫温汇合,但是现在他办不到,因为他已经弄不清楚方向了。

"After all," said Shasta, "this road is bound to get to somewhere."

“这条路,”沙斯塔想,“终归是要通往某个地方的。”

But that all depends on what you mean by somewhere. The road kept on getting to somewhere in the sense that it got to more and more trees,all dark and dripping,and to colder and colder air. And strange, icy winds kept blowing the mist past him though they never blew it away. If he had been used to mountain country he would have realized that this meant he was now very high up-perhaps right at the top of the pass. But Shasta knew nothing about mountains.

但那完全取决于你说的某个地方是什么意思。道路通向的地方,看起来树木越来越多,漆黑一片,水声嗒嗒,空气凛冽,寒风阵阵,想要吹走雾霭但是徒劳无功。如果他在山区生活过,他就会明白,现在他所处的海拔越来越高,也许正好在山口顶上。但是沙斯塔对山一无所知。

"I do think," said Shasta, "that I must be the most unfortunate boy that ever lived in the whole world. Everything goes right for everyone except me. Those Narnian lords and ladies got safe away from Tashbaan;I was left behind. Aravis and Bree and Hwin are all as snug as anything with that old Hermit: of course I was the one who was sent on. King Lune and his people must have got safely into the castle and shut the gates long before Rabadash arrived, but I get left out. "

“我确信,”沙斯塔说,“我肯定是这个世界上最不幸的孩子。除了我,人人都万事如意。那些纳尼亚国王女王都安全地离开了塔什班城,只有我被抛下。阿拉维斯、布里、赫温都和老隐士一起享受生活,我却被派出来奔波。伦恩国王和其他人应该安全到达城堡,用城门阻止了罗八达,也把我关在了外面。”

And being very tired and having nothing inside him, he felt so sorry for himself that the tears rolled down his cheeks.

他饥肠辘辘,疲惫不堪,暗自伤心垂泪。

What put a stop to all this was a sudden fright. Shasta discovered that someone or somebody was walking beside him. It was pitch dark and he could see nothing. And the Thing (or Person) was going so quietly that he could hardly hear any footfalls. What he could hear was breathing. His invisible companion seemed to breathe on a very large scale, and Shasta got the impression that it was a very large creature. And he had come to notice this breathing so gradually that he had really no idea how long it had been there.It was a horrible shock.

一种突然的惶恐打断了他的伤感。沙斯塔发现有人或者动物在身边走来走去。周围伸手不见五指。那个东西( 或者人) 脚步非常轻,难以辨别。他只能听到呼吸声。这个“隐身人”呼吸沉重,沙斯塔感觉这是一种庞然大物。他才发现自己是逐渐注意到呼吸声的,也就是说它早就在这儿了。沙斯塔不觉心惊肉跳。

It darted into his mind that he had heard long ago that there were giants in these Northern countries.He bit his lip in terror.

他突然想到,在很久以前,他听说过北方国家有巨人存在。

But now that he really had something to cry about, he stopped crying.

他惶恐地咬着嘴唇,本来应该哭泣的,但是他没有。

The Thing (unless it was a Person) went on beside him so very quietly that Shasta began to hope he had only imagined it. But just as he was becoming quite sure of it, there suddenly came a deep, rich sigh out of the darkness beside him. That couldn't be imagination ! Anyway, he had felt the hot breath of that sigh on his chilly left hand.

这个庞然大物( 如果不是人) 仍然安静地在他身边走着,沙斯塔希望这不过是幻觉而已。但他逐渐确信这种想法的时候,身旁的黑暗中传来一声沉重的长叹,这不可能是幻觉!确信无疑的是,他感觉到一股热气喷到了他冰冷的左手上。

If the horse had been any good-or if he had known how to get any good out of the horse-he would have risked everything on a breakaway and a wild gallop. But he knew he couldn't make that horse gallop. So he went on at a walking pace and the unseen companion walked and breathed beside him. At last he could bear it no longer.

如果马还能发挥点作用——或者他知道如何让它发挥作用——他历尽千难万险也要逃脱出去。但他不知道怎么让马跑起来,如果他继续让马慢悠悠地走,身旁环绕着庞然大物的呼吸。他最后肯定会崩溃的。

"Who are you ?" he said,scarcely above a whisper.

“你到底是谁?”他说,声音比窃窃私语高不了多少。

"One who has waited long for you to speak," said the Thing. Its voice was not loud, but very large and deep.

“一个等你说话的人,”那东西说。声音不大,但是响亮浑厚。

"Are you-are you a giant ?" asked Shasta.

“你是——你是巨人吗?”沙斯塔问。

"You might call me a giant," said the Large Voice. "But I am not like the creatures you call giants."

“你也可以叫我巨人,”大嗓门说,“但我并不像你们所说的巨人。”

"I can't see you at all," said Shasta, after staring very hard. Then (for an even more terrible idea had come into his head) he said, almost in a scream, "You're not-not something dead, are you ? Oh please-please do go away. What harm have I ever done you ? Oh, I am the unluckiest person in the whole world !"

“我根本就看不见你,”沙斯塔努力瞧了一会儿说。接着( 一个更可怕的念头跳了出来),他几乎是尖叫着说,“你是活着的是吗?哦,请——请你离开吧。我没有做过伤害你的事。哎,我是这个世界上最倒霉的人了!”

Once more he felt the warm breath of the Thing on his hand and face. There,it said, that is not the breath of a ghost. Tell me your sorrows."

一阵热热的气息再一次扑到他的手上和脸上。“听着,”那东西说,“这可不是鬼魂能够发出来的。请把你的苦恼告诉我吧。”

Shasta was a little reassured by the breath: so he told how he had never known his real father or mother and had been brought up sternly by the fisherman. And then he told the story of his escape and how they were chased by lions and forced to swim for their lives;and of all their dangers in Tashbaan and about his night among the tombs and how the beasts howled at him out of the desert. And he told about the heat and thirst of their desert journey and how they were almost at their goal when another lion chased them and wounded Aravis. And also, how very long it was since he had had anything to eat.

感受到那气息,沙斯塔稍稍心安:他向那个庞然大物倾诉,他不知道亲生父母是谁,被渔民养大。然后他说出了怎样被狮子追逐,不得不泅水逃命的逃命故事;还有在塔什班城遇到的种种危险,在坟地中过夜和听到那些沙漠中的野兽的吼叫。他讲到了沙漠跋涉中的炎热口渴,在快要到达目的地的时候被狮子追逐,阿拉维斯也被抓伤,还有他已经很久没吃东西了。

"I do not call you unfortunate," said the Large Voice.

“我并不认为你是不幸的。”大嗓门说。

"Don't you think it was bad luck to meet so many lions ?" said Shasta.

“遇到这么多狮子,难道还是幸运的?”沙斯塔说。

"There was only one lion," said the Voice. "What on earth do you mean ? I've just told you there were at least two the first night, and—"

“只有一头狮子。”那声音说。“你究竟是什么意思?我刚才就告诉你,第一夜就有至少两头狮子,还有……”

"There was only one: but he was swift of foot. " "How do you know ?"

“只有一头狮子,但是速度极快。”“你怎么知道?”

"I was the lion. " And as Shasta gaped with open mouth and said nothing, the Voice continued."! was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you. "

“我就是那头狮子。”沙斯塔瞠目结舌,无话可说,庞然大物继续说。“我就是你和阿拉维斯同行的那头狮子。我就是在坟场里给你安全感的猫咪。我就是在你熟睡时为你驱赶豺狼的那头狮子。我就是那头最后一英里路时在恐惧中重新赐予你的马力量,让你能够及时和伦恩国王汇合的狮子。我就是那头推着一条船的狮子,船里的你奄奄一息,一个深夜未眠的渔夫收留了你。而这一切,你都不记得。”

"Then it was you who wounded Aravis ?"

“抓伤阿拉维斯的也是你?”

"It was I. "

“是我。”

"But what for ?"

“为什么?”

"Child," said the Voice,"I am telling you your story, not hers.I tell no one any story but his own." "Who are you ?" asked Shasta.

“孩子,”大嗓门说,“我在讲述你的故事,而不是她的。除了一个人自己的故事,我什么也不讲。”“那你是谁?”沙斯塔问。

"Myself," said the Voice, very deep and low so that the earth shook: and again"Myself", loud and clear and gay: and then the third time"Myself", whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, and yet it seemed to come from all round you as if the leaves rustled with it.

“我就是我自己,”那声音说,缓慢沉重,大地仿佛因此震颤:还是那句“我自己”,响亮、清晰、愉快;然后是第三遍“我自己”,声音柔和细微,难以辨别,然后这声音又从四面八方簇拥过来,树叶仿佛随之簌簌有声。

Shasta was no longer afraid that the Voice belonged to something that would eat him, nor that it was the voice of a ghost. But a new and different sort of trembling came over him. Yet he felt glad too.

这声音即使来自要吃他的怪物,来自鬼魂,沙斯塔也不再害怕了。一种截然不同的敬畏传遍全身,他也逐渐乐观起来。

The mist was turning from black to grey and from grey to white. This must have begun to happen some time ago, but while he had been talking to the Thing he had not been noticing anything else. Now, the whiteness around him became a shining whiteness;his eyes began to blink. Somewhere ahead he could hear birds singing. He knew the night was over at last. He could see the mane and ears and head of his horse quite easily now. A golden light fell on them from the left.He thought it was the sun.

雾霭由漆黑变得灰白然后变得雪白,这种变化可能很早就发生了,但是沙斯塔和庞然大物交谈的时候,心无旁骛。周围的白开始变得闪耀;沙斯塔眨眨眼睛,前方有鸟叫声传来。他知道黑夜终于过去了。马儿的脑袋、耳朵、鬃清晰可辨,一道金光芒从左边照下来。起初他感觉是光。

He turned and saw, pacing beside him, taller than the horse, a Lion. The horse did not seem to be afraid of it or else could not see it. It was from the Lion that the light came. No one ever saw anything more terrible or beautiful.

他转过头,看到一头比马还高的狮子。马毫不畏惧,也许根本就看不到它。光芒来自狮子。这可能是他见过的最可怕、最美丽的东西了。

Luckily Shasta had lived all his life too far south in Calormen to have heard the tales that were whispered in Tashbaan about a dreadful Narnian demon that appeared in the form of a lion. And of course he knew none of the true stories about Aslan, the great Lion, the son of the Emperor-over-the-sea, the King above all High Kings in Narnia. But after one glance at the Lion' s face he slipped out of the saddle and fell at its feet. He couldn' t say anything but then he didn' t want to say anything, and he knew he needn' t say anything.

幸好沙斯塔一直生活在卡乐门南方的边远地区,没有听过塔什班城流传的传言:一个可怕的纳尼亚魔鬼化身为一头狮子。当然,关于阿斯兰的真正故事,关于伟大的狮子,海那边的王子,纳尼亚至高无上的皇帝,沙斯塔一无所知。但沙斯塔瞥了一眼狮子,就翻身下马,跪倒在狮子脚边。他无话可说,也不想说,而且他明白自己毋需多言。

The High King above all kings stooped towards him. Its mane, and some strange and solemn perfume that hung about the mane, was all round him. It touched his forehead with its tongue. He lifted his face and their eyes met. Then instantly the pale brightness of the mist and the fiery brightness of the Lion rolled themselves together into a swirling glory and gathered themselves up and disappeared. He was alone with the horse on a grassy hillside under a blue sky.And there were birds singing.

至高无上的狮王俯下头来,鬃有一种奇怪并庄严的香气,围绕在沙斯塔周围。狮子轻轻他的额头,沙斯塔抬起头,四目相对。接着,雾霭的白光芒和狮子的金光芒立刻混在一起,化作散发光芒的漩涡,聚拢收缩,最终消失。沙斯塔和马坐在蓝天下芳草嫩绿的山坡上,鸟鸣声声。