《黎明踏浪号》第一章 卧室内的画
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CHAPTER ONE THE PICTURE IN THE BEDROOM
第一章 卧室内的画
THERE was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb，and he almost deserved it.His parents called him Eustace Clarence and masters called him Scrubb.I can’t tell you how his friends spoke to him，for he had none.He didn’t call his Father and Mother“Father”and“Mother”，but Harold and Alberta.They were very up-to-date and advanced people.They were vegetarians， non-smokers and teetotallers and wore a special kind of underclothes.In their house there was very little furniture and very few clothes on beds and the windows were always open.一个小男孩叫尤斯塔斯·克拉伦斯·斯克伦布[1]，他叫这个名字真是名副其实。父母叫他尤斯塔斯·克拉伦斯，老师叫他斯克罗布。至于他的朋友们管他叫什么，就不得而知了，因为他压根儿没有朋友。他不叫自己的父母“爸爸妈妈”，而是直呼他们的名字——哈罗德和艾贝塔。他们是非常时髦的人，是素食主义者，不吸烟，不喝酒， 穿特制的内衣裤。在他们房间里，只有很少的家具，床上基本没有褥子和床单，窗户总敞开着。
Eustace Clarence liked animals，especially beetles，if they were dead and pinned on a card.He liked books if they were books of information and had pictures of grain elevators or of fat foreign children doing exercises in model schools.
尤斯塔斯·克拉伦斯很喜欢小动物，特别是那些被制成标本的甲壳虫。他也很喜欢看书，尤爱知识类的书籍，比如那些带插画的书， 上面画有谷物输送机，或是国外的胖娃娃在他们的示范学校里做操的情景。
Edmund and Lucy did not at all want to come and stay with Uncle Harold and Aunt Alberta.But it really couldn’t be helped. Father had got a job lecturing in America for sixteen weeks that summer，and Mother was to go with him because she hadn’t had a real holiday for ten years.Peter was working very hard for an exam and he was to spend the holidays being coached by old Professor Kirke in whose house these four children had had wonderful adventures long ago in the war years.If he had still been in that house he would have had them all to stay.But he had somehow become poor since the old days and was living in a small cottage with only one bedroom to spare.It would have cost too much money to take the other three all to America，and Susan had gone.
爱德蒙和露茜原本不想住尤斯塔斯家，但他们别无选择。因为暑假他们的父亲要去美国做十六周的讲学，母亲也要跟着去。彼得正在准备下次考试，所以这个假期会暂住到柯克老教授家里，柯克老教授还可以为他辅导功课。在早年的战争时期，这几个兄弟姐妹就曾住在柯克教授家中避难，并拥有一段难忘的经历。柯克老教授很乐意他们一起住在他家，但不知怎么回事，他的家突然就没落了，所以不得不搬进了一幢小房子里。现在的房子只能匀出一间房给彼得住。父母又实在没有钱把三个孩子都带走，最后只带走了苏珊。
Grown-ups thought her the pretty one of the family and she was no good at school work(though otherwise very old for her age) and Mother said she“would get far more out of a trip to America than the youngsters”.Edmund and Lucy tried not to grudge Susan her luck，but it was dreadful having to spend the summer holidays at their Aunt’s.“But it’s far worse for me，”said Edmund，“because you’ll at least have a room of your own and I shall have to share a bedroom with that record stinker，Eustace.”
苏珊是几个孩子中最乖巧、最漂亮的一个，可惜她学习不好( 尽管她已经不小了)。而且母亲认为，比起那两个更小的孩子，她“可以在美国之旅受益匪浅”。露茜和爱德蒙虽然不至于去嫉妒苏珊的好运气，但想到整个假期都要在舅妈家里度过，就非常不情愿。“但是， 最倒霉的是我，”爱德蒙说，“最起码你还有间自己的屋子，而我竟然要和那个讨厌鬼尤斯塔斯住在一起。”
The story begins on an afternoon when Edmund and Lucy were stealing a few precious minutes alone together.And of course they were talking about Narnia，which was the name of their own private and secret country.Most of us，I suppose，have a secret country but for most of us it is only an imaginary country.Edmund and Lucy were luckier than other people in that respect.Their secret country was real.They had already visited it twice;not in a game or a dream but in reality.They had got there of course by Magic，which is the only way of getting to Narnia.And a promise，or very nearly a promise，had been made them in Narnia itself that they would some day get back.You may imagine that they talked about it a good deal，when they got the chance.
故事在一天下午拉开了序幕。露茜和爱德蒙两人正偷偷聚在一起，畅谈纳尼亚的传奇故事，这是只属于他们两个人的秘密。大多数人都会有属于自己的“秘密国度”，但是，那都只是我们想象出来的而已。在这一点上，露茜和爱德蒙比我们幸运多了，因为他们的纳尼亚是真实存在的，而且他们还去过两次，他们不是在做游戏或梦境里假装去到的，而是实实在在地去过。当然，他们只有依靠魔法才能到达那里，纳尼亚可不是随便想去就能去的。所以，他们还在纳尼亚时就曾约定，一有机会，他们肯定会再去的。
They were in Lucy’s room，sitting on the edge of her bed and looking at a picture on the opposite wall.It was the only picture in the house that they liked.Aunt Alberta didn’t like it at all(that was why it was put away in a little back room upstairs)，but she couldn’t get rid of it because it had been a wedding present from someone she did not want to offend.
他们坐在露茜的床边仔细端详着墙上的一幅画。这是唯一一幅他们非常喜欢的画，尽管艾贝塔舅妈并不喜欢它( 所以它才被放在楼上的阁楼里)，但是又不能把它扔掉，因为她不想得罪把这幅画当作结婚礼物送给她的那个人。
It was a picture of a ship—a ship sailing straight towards you. Her prow was gilded and shaped like the head of a dragon with wide-open mouth.She had only one mast and one large，square sail which was a rich purple.The sides of the ship—what you could see of them where the gilded wings of the dragon ended—were green.She had just run up to the top of one glorious blue wave， and the nearer slope of that wave came down towards you，with streaks and bubbles on it.She was obviously running fast before a gay wind，listing over a little on her port side.(By the way，if you are going to read this story at all，and if you don’t know already，you had better get it into your head that the left of a ship when you are looking ahead，is port ，and the right is starboard .) All the sunlight fell on her from that side，and the water on that side was full of greens and purples.On the other，it was darker blue from the shadow of the ship.
画上是一艘船——一艘看起来正朝你迎面驶来的船。船头是镀金的龙头，张着嘴。船上只有一根桅杆，张着紫色的帆，船舷是绿色的。这艘船正冲向船头碧浪的最高处，近处的波涛挟着海浪和泡沫向你涌来，它正乘风破浪，快速前进，左舷略微倾斜。( 如果你想认真地把故事看完，而你此时还不明白之前所描述的场景的话，你可以在脑中想象：你朝一艘船看去时，船的左边叫左舷，船的右边叫右舷) 阳光从船的另一侧洒下来，海水折射出碧绿或者紫色的光芒，而被船身遮挡住了阳光的那一侧的海水泛着幽暗的深蓝色光芒。
“The question is，”said Edmund，“whether it doesn’t make things worse，looking at a Narnian ship when you can’t get there.”
“问题是，”爱德蒙说，“眼睁睁地看着纳尼亚的船却上不去， 真让人心烦。”
“Even looking is better than nothing，”said Lucy.“And she is such a very Narnian ship.”
“就这样看一看也好啊，”露茜感叹，“这毕竟是艘真正的纳尼亚的船。”
“Still playing your old game ?”said Eustace Clarence，who had been listening outside the door and now came grinning into the room. Last year，when he had been staying with the Pevensies，he had managed to hear them all talking of Narnia and he loved teasing them about it.He thought of course that they were making it all up;and as he was far too stupid to make anything up himself，he did not approve of that.
“还在玩你们的幻想游戏吗?”尤斯塔斯突然走进屋子里。原来他一直躲在门外偷听他们说话，这会儿正咧着嘴取笑他们。去年， 在佩文西家的时候他就曾听到过他们谈论纳尼亚，之后他经常拿这事来取笑他们。因为他认为那全是他们编出来的，并对此不以为然， 尽管他自己什么也编不出来。
“You’re not wanted here，”said Edmund curtly.
“这里不欢迎你。”爱德蒙粗声粗气地说。
“I’m trying to think of a limerick，”said Eustace.“Something like this：
“我正在写一首打油诗，”尤斯塔斯说，“大概是这样的：
“Well Narnia and balmier don’t rhyme，to begin with，”said Lucy.
“得了吧，孩子和愚蠢两个词根本就不押韵。”露茜说。
“It’s an assonance，”said Eustace.
“它们押的是元音。”尤斯塔斯狡辩。
“Don’t ask him what an assy-thingummy is，”said Edmund.“He’s only longing to be asked.Say nothing and perhaps he’ll go away.”
“别问他什么是押元音，”爱德蒙说，“他巴不得别人问他。别理他，他自讨没趣就走了。”
Most boys，on meeting a reception like this，would either have cleared out or flared up.Eustace did neither.He just hung about grinning，and presently began talking again.“Do you like that picture ?”he asked.
这样碰了一鼻子灰，一般的孩子不是扭头就走就是火冒三丈。但尤斯塔斯却没有这样做，他嬉皮笑脸地赖着不走。还问：“你们喜欢那幅画吗?”
“For heaven’s sake don’t let him get started about Art and all that，”said Edmund hurriedly，but Lucy，who was very truthful， had already said，“Yes，I do.I like it very much.”
“天知道他会不会又说艺术审美的事。”爱德蒙急忙说。但露茜却真诚地回答：“是呀，非常喜欢。”
“It’s a rotten picture，”said Eustace.
“这幅画很烂。”尤斯塔斯诋毁道。
“You won’t see it if you step outside，”said Edmund.
“你滚出去，不就看不见了。”爱德蒙说。
“Why do you like it ?”said Eustace to Lucy.
“你为什么会喜欢这幅画呢?”尤斯塔斯问露茜。
“Well，for one thing，”said Lucy，“I like it because the ship looks as if it was really moving.And the water looks as if it was really wet.And the waves look as if they were really going up and down.”
“嗯，其一，”露茜回答：“这艘船看上去像是真的正航行在海里， 画上的海水像是潮湿的，海浪看上去也像是真的在翻腾。”
Of course Eustace knew lots of answers to this，but he didn’t say anything.The reason was that at that very moment he looked at the waves and saw that they did look very much indeed as if they were going up and down.He had only once been in a ship(and then only as far as the Isle of Wight)and had been horribly seasick.The look of the waves in the picture made him feel sick again.He turned rather green and tried another look.And then all three children were staring with open mouths.
尤斯塔斯有很多话来回答露茜，现在他却一言不发。因为他也看到那些海浪在起伏不平。他只坐过一次船( 只到了怀特岛)，还晕船晕得很厉害。现在一看海浪他又有点晕了。他脸色铁青，却抑制不住对海浪的好奇心。接下来发生的事情，更是让三个孩子目瞪口呆。
What they were seeing may be hard to believe when you read it in print，but it was almost as hard to believe when you saw it happening.The things in the picture were moving.It didn’t look at all like a cinema either;the colours were too real and clean and out-of-doors for that.Down went the prow of the ship into the wave and up went a great shock of spray.And then up went the wave behind her，and her stern and her deck became visible for the first time，and then disappeared as the next wave came to meet her and her bows went up again.At the same moment an exercise book which had been lying beside Edmund on the bed flapped，rose and sailed through the air to the wall behind him，and Lucy felt all her hair whipping round her face as it does on a windy day. And this was a windy day;but the wind was blowing out of the picture towards them.And suddenly with the wind came the noises—the swishing of waves and the slap of water against the ship’s sides and the creaking and the over—all high steady roar of air and water. But it was the smell，the wild，briny smell，which really convinced Lucy that she was not dreaming.
面对这些铅字的时候，你们真的难以想象他们眼前的场景。即便亲眼看到，你们也会不敢相信自己的眼睛的。画上的东西突然动了， 却不像露天电影幕布里的那样。那幅画的色彩非常逼真，相信即使露天电影也不会有这样逼真的效果：那条船分明在海上航行，船头在海浪中起伏，激起一大片浪花后又猛地把它们甩在后面。他们刚看见了船尾和甲板，第二个浪就打过来了，船又在海浪中起起伏伏，船尾和甲板又不见了。就在此时，一直放在爱德蒙身边的练习本开始呼啦啦地翻动，甚至飞了起来，向爱德蒙身后的墙上飞去。好像刮了一场大风，露茜满头发丝都被吹到了脸上。其实那会儿的确刮风了——不过风是从画上刮来的，还夹杂着各种声响——海浪沙沙的冲刷声，海水拍打船舷的声音，船身嘎嘎的鸣响声，以及那回荡在天地间像是要摧毁一切的怒号声。海水那股强烈的咸涩味让露茜更加确定，自己不是在做梦。
“Stop it，”came Eustace’s voice，squeaky with fright and bad temper.“It’s some silly trick you two are playing.Stop it.I’ll tell Alberta—Ow !”
“快停下!”尤斯塔斯的声音充满着恐惧和惊慌，“你们又在玩什么鬼把戏!快停下，我要去告诉艾贝塔了……”
The other two were much more accustomed to adventures， but，just exactly as Eustace Clarence said“Ow，”they both said“Ow”too.The reason was that a great cold，salt splash had broken right out of the frame and they were breathless from the smack of it，besides being wet through.
两兄妹对这种冒险的事本来早已经习以为常了，谁料就在尤斯塔斯嗷嗷大叫的同时，他俩也一起“噢”了一声。因为又凉又咸的海水从画中冲了出来，不仅把他们全身都打湿了，还差点让他们喘不过气来。
“I’ll smash the rotten thing，”cried Eustace;and then several things happened at the same time.Eustace rushed towards the picture.Edmund，who knew something about magic，sprang after him，warning him to look out and not to be a fool.Lucy grabbed at him from the other side and was dragged forward.And by this time either they had grown much smaller or the picture had grown bigger.Eustace jumped to try to pull it off the wall and found himself standing on the frame;in front of him was not glass but real sea，and wind and waves rushing up to the frame as they might to a rock.He lost his head and clutched at the other two who had jumped up beside him.There was a second of struggling and shouting，and just as they thought they had got their balance a great blue roller surged up round them，swept them off their feet，and drew them down into the sea.Eustace’s despairing cry suddenly ended as the water got into his mouth.
“我要把这幅画砸烂!”尤斯塔斯大叫着冲向那幅画。此时， 一些事情好像巧合般地上演。尤斯塔斯已冲到画的前面，对魔法略懂一二的爱德蒙，立刻拉住尤斯塔斯，警告他别去干傻事。露茜从另一边拉着他，却还是被他拽着向前冲去。这时候，不知道是画越变越大， 还是他们越变越小了。尤斯塔斯跳起来，想把画从墙上扯下来，没想到发现自己竟站在了画框里。此刻在他面前的不是玻璃镜面，而是真正的大海，海风和海浪像拍打岸边岩石一样向他扑面冲来。他被这景象吓昏了头， 紧紧地抓住爱德蒙和露茜。他们三个在画框上又是挣扎，又是喊叫， 折腾了好一会儿。正当他们刚刚保持住平衡时，一个巨大的蓝色海浪又把他们拖到了海里。苦涩的海水冲进了尤斯塔斯的嘴里，让他那绝望的叫喊声戛然而止。
Lucy thanked her stars that she had worked hard at her swimming last summer term.It is true that she would have got on much better if she had used a slower stroke，and also that the water felt a great deal colder than it had looked while it was only a picture. Still，she kept her head and kicked her shoes off，as everyone ought to do who falls into deep water in their clothes.She even kept her mouth shut and her eyes open.They were still quite near the ship;she saw its green side towering high above them，and people looking at her from the deck.Then，as one might have expected， Eustace clutched at her in a panic and down they both went.
露茜暗自庆幸自己去年夏天学了游泳。事实上，海水比看上去凉许多，如果她可以游得慢一点，她可以游得很好的。她和所有一下子掉进水中的人一样，努力地保持镇定，踢掉了鞋子，然后她还紧闭嘴巴，睁开眼睛。这时他们已经离船身非常近了，露茜看到了绿色的船舷，还发现有人正从甲板上看着她。然而，这时，尤斯塔斯在慌乱中紧紧地抓住她，两人一起往下沉。
When they came up again she saw a white figure diving off the ship’s side.Edmund was close beside her now，treading water， and had caught the arms of the howling Eustace.Then someone else，whose face was vaguely familiar，slipped an arm under her from the other side.There was a lot of shouting going on from the ship，heads crowding together above the bulwarks，ropes being thrown.Edmund and the stranger were fastening ropes round her. After that followed what seemed a very long delay during which her face got blue and her teeth began chattering.In reality the delay was not very long;they were waiting till the moment when she could be got on board the ship without being dashed against its side. Even with all their best endeavours she had a bruised knee when she finally stood，dripping and shivering，on the deck.After her Edmund was heaved up，and then the miserable Eustace.Last of all came the stranger-a golden-headed boy some years older than herself.
当他们再次浮出水面时，露茜看见一个白色的人影跳入水中。此刻爱德蒙紧靠着她，踩着水，双手抓住还在号叫的尤斯塔斯的胳膊。接着，又有人从另一边伸出胳膊托住他。露茜隐约中觉得那个人有些面熟。船上的人七嘴八舌地喊叫着，把缆绳扔了下来。爱德蒙和那个人一起把绳系在她的身上。绳绕好后，好像又过了很久，直到她着急得脸色发青，牙齿开始打战。而事实上这中间并没有过多久，他们只是在等绳子固定好， 以便拉她上船时，不至于让她的身体碰到船体而受伤。尽管他们做了很多努力，当露茜终于被拉上来时，她发抖地站在甲板上，浑身湿淋淋，一只膝盖青肿起来。接着，爱德蒙也被拉上来了，然后是被吓傻了的尤斯塔斯。最后还有个陌生人 ——一个比露茜大不了几岁的金发少年。
“Ca—Ca—Caspian !”gasped Lucy as soon as she had breath enough.For Caspian it was;Caspian，the boy king of Narnia whom they had helped to set on the throne during their last visit. Immediately Edmund recognized him too.All three shook hands and clapped one another on the back with great delight.
“凯、凯、凯斯宾!”露茜还没缓过气来，就喘着粗气惊喜地叫道。那个年轻人正是凯斯宾——他们曾帮助他登上了纳尼亚的王位。此时爱德蒙也认出了他，三个人喜出望外，乐得手舞足蹈。
“But who is your friend ?”said Caspian almost at once， turning to Eustace with his cheerful smile.But Eustace was crying much harder than any boy of his age has a right to cry when nothing worse than a wetting has happened to him，and would only yell out，“Let me go.Let me go back.I don’t like it.”
“这家伙是谁呀?”凯斯宾满面笑容地转向尤斯塔斯。谁料尤斯塔斯哭得更厉害了。像他这样的男孩遇见浑身湿透这种事，大哭一场无可厚非，可像他这样哭得如此夸张，确实少见。尤斯塔斯还自顾自地叫着：“让我走，让我回去，我不喜欢这里!”
“Let you go ?”said Caspian.“But where ?”
“让你走?”凯斯宾疑惑地问道：“你要去哪儿呢?”
Eustace rushed to the ship’s side，as if he expected to see the picture frame hanging above the sea，and perhaps a glimpse of Lucy’s bedroom.What he saw was blue waves flecked with foam，and paler blue sky，both spreading without a break to the horizon.Perhaps we can hardly blame him if his heart sank.He was promptly sick.
尤斯塔斯冲到船边，想再看一眼镶在墙上的画框，或者是露茜的卧室。可眼前只有泛着泡沫的海水和浅蓝色的天空。远处，海天一线，无边无际。他吓得魂都快没了。不过我们也不能过分责备他， 谁让他晕船呢。
“Hey !Rynelf，”said Caspian to one of the sailors.“Bring spiced wine for their Majesties.You’ll need something to warm you after that dip.”He called Edmund and Lucy their Majesties because they and Peter and Susan had all been Kings and Queens of Narnia long before his time.Narnian time flows differently from ours.If you spent a hundred years in Narnia，you would still come back to our world at the very same hour of the very same day on which you left.And then，if you went back to Narnia after spending a week here，you might find that a thousand Narnian years had passed，or only a day，or no time at all.You never know till you get there.Consequently，when the Pevensie children had returned to Narnia last time for their second visit，it was(for the Narnians)as if King Arthur came back to Britain，as some people say he will.And I say the sooner the better.
“嗨，赖尼夫，”凯斯宾对一个水手说，“给这两位陛下送点酒来，”他转向露茜和爱德蒙说，“你们在水里泡了太久，需要喝点东西暖暖身子。”他称露茜和爱德蒙为“陛下”，因为他们和苏珊与彼得一样，在他即位之前是纳尼亚的国王和女王。要知道，纳尼亚的时间和我们这个世界的时间是不一样的，即使你在纳尼亚世界过了一百年，当你回到这里，仍然还是你离开的那一天的同一个时刻。但如果你在自己的世界过上一个星期或者一天，纳尼亚却早已过了一千年。因此，露茜和爱德蒙两兄妹自上次从纳尼亚离开后， 这次再回来( 在纳尼亚人眼中) 就如传说中亚瑟王一样，终于重返纳尼亚了。
Rynelf returned with the spiced wine steaming in a flagon and four silver cups.It was just what one wanted，and as Lucy and Edmund sipped it they could feel the warmth going right down to their toes.But Eustace made faces and spluttered and spat it out and was sick again and began to cry again and asked if they hadn’t any Plumptree’s Vitaminized Nerve Food and could it be made with distilled water and anyway he insisted on being put ashore at the next station.
赖尼夫端来一瓶冒着香气的酒和四只银杯。这酒来得正是时候， 爱德蒙和露茜抿了一小口，顿觉一股暖流从喉咙直达脚底。尤斯塔斯却还是苦着张脸，先是呕吐，一会儿又哇哇大哭，问人家有没有枫树牌那种加了维生素的营养食品，还告诉人家如果没有可以用蒸馏水去制作，并坚持说到了下一站就回岸上去。
“This is a merry shipmate you’ve brought us，Brother，” whispered Caspian to Edmund with a chuckle;but before he could say anything more Eustace burst out again.
“这个活宝可是你们带来的呀，兄弟。”凯斯宾笑着对爱德蒙咬耳朵。还没等他说其他事情，尤斯塔斯就又开始折腾了。
“Oh !Ugh !What on earth’s that !Take it away，the horrid thing.”
“噢!啊!那究竟是什么玩意?赶紧把这令人恶心的东西弄走!”
He really had some excuse this time for feeling a little surprised.Something very curious indeed had come out of the cabin in the poop and was slowly approaching them.You might call it—and indeed it was—a Mouse.But then it was a Mouse on its hind legs and stood about two feet high.A thin band of gold passed round its head under one ear and over the other and in this was stuck a long crimson feather.(As the Mouse’s fur was very dark，almost black，the effect was bold and striking.)Its left paw rested on the hilt of a sword very nearly as long as its tail .Its balance，as it paced gravely along the swaying deck，was perfect，and its manners courtly.Lucy and Edmund recognized it at once—Reepicheep，the most valiant of all the Talking Beasts of Narnia，and the Chief Mouse.It had won undying glory in the second Battle of Beruna.Lucy longed，as she had always done， to take Reepicheep up in her arms and cuddle him.But this，as she well knew，was a pleasure she could never have：it would have offended him deeply.Instead，she went down on one knee to talk to him.
尤斯塔斯的吃惊情有可原，因为船尾竟然冒出来一个非常奇怪的东西，正向他们慢慢走来。我们把它叫做老鼠——确实是一只老鼠。可它竟然可以只用两条后腿站立，看上去有两英尺高。一个细细的金箍套住了它的脑袋，一只耳朵在金箍上面，另一只在下面，箍上还插了一支深红色长羽毛。( 老鼠的皮毛颜色非常深，接近黑色，非常引人注目) 老鼠的左爪放在几乎和它尾巴一样长的宝剑的剑柄上。它神色庄严，举止优雅，稳当地来回穿行在颠簸的甲板上。爱德蒙和露茜一眼就认出它是雷佩契普，纳尼亚王国里会说话的兽类中，最骁勇善战的老鼠大军的头目。在柏卢纳的第二次战役中， 它还获得了不朽的殊荣。露茜真想把它搂在怀里，她一直都想这么做。不过她知道自己是享受不到这种待遇的，因为那样的话会得罪它。因此露茜只好单膝跪地来跟它说话。
Reepicheep put forward his left leg，drew back his right， bowed，kissed her hand，straightened himself，twirled his whiskers，and said in his shrill，piping voice：
雷佩契普先伸出左腿，缩回右腿，向她鞠躬，再吻她的手，然后挺直身体，捻着自己的胡须，尖着嗓子说：
“My humble duty to your Majesty.And to King Edmund， too.”(Here he bowed again.)“Nothing except your Majesties’ presence was lacking to this glorious venture.”
“向爱德蒙国王陛下和露茜女王陛下致敬。( 说到这儿，它又向他们鞠了一躬) 承蒙两位陛下光临，这次辉煌的远航可算是十全十美了。”
“Ugh，take it away，”wailed Eustace.“I hate mice.And I never could bear performing animals.They’re silly and vulgar and—and sentimental.”
“啊，把它弄走!”尤斯塔斯叫道，“我讨厌老鼠。我最讨厌看动物表演，不仅无聊粗俗，而且……还自作多情。”
“Am I to understand，”said Reepicheep to Lucy after a long stare at Eustace，“that this singularly discourteous person is under your Majesty’s protection ? Because，if not—”
“如此无礼的人也受到陛下您的保护吗?”雷佩契普盯了尤斯塔斯好一会儿后，才接着说，“因为，如果不是的话……”
At this moment Lucy and Edmund both sneezed.
正巧这时，露茜和爱德蒙两个人同时打了个喷嚏。
“What a fool I am to keep you all standing here in your wet things，”said Caspian.“Come on below and get changed.I’ll give you my cabin of course，Lucy，but I’m afraid we have no women’s clothes on board.You’ll have to make do with some of mine.Lead the way，Reepicheep，like a good fellow.”
“是我糊涂，让你们浑身湿淋淋地站在这儿。”凯斯宾说，“快到船舱里换上干衣服。露茜，你去我的房间，不过，船上恐怕没有女人的衣服，你只好先将就一下穿我的衣服了。雷佩契普，好好带路。”
“To the convenience of a lady，”said Reepicheep，“even a question of honour must give way—at least for the moment—”and here he looked very hard at Eustace.But Caspian hustled them on and in a few minutes Lucy found herself passing through the door into the stern cabin.She fell in love with it at once—the three square windows that looked out on the blue，swirling water astern，the low cushioned benches round three sides of the table， the swinging silver lamp overhead(Dwarfs’ work，she knew at once by its exquisite delicacy)and the flat gold image of Aslan the Lion on the forward wall above the door.All this she took in in a flash，for Caspian immediately opened a door on the starboard side，and said，“This’ll be your room，Lucy.I’ll just get some dry things for myself—”he was rummaging in one of the lockers while he spoke—“and then leave you to change.If you’ll fling your wet things outside the door I’ll get them taken to the galley to be dried.”
“看在女王的份上，”雷佩契普说，“即使是事关尊严，也只能作罢，至少暂时只能如此。”话音未落，它狠狠地瞪了尤斯塔斯一眼， 凯斯宾催促他们赶紧走。不一会儿，露茜就走到了船尾的舱房。一进舱房她就喜欢上了这里——三扇方形的玻璃窗外面是碧蓝的海水，桌子的三边各摆着矮凳，矮凳上都铺上软垫。房顶吊着银灯( 从那精巧的做工，她就知道这是小矮人的杰作)，门头上方的墙上还挂着狮王阿斯兰的金像。她扫了整个房间一眼，凯斯宾打开一侧的房门，“露茜，你住我的房间，我去给你找几件干衣服。”凯斯宾说着开始翻开一个衣橱， 然后说：“换下来的湿衣服放门外就行了，有人会来拿走给你烘干的。”
Lucy found herself as much at home as if she had been in Caspian’s cabin for weeks，and the motion of the ship did not worry her，for in the old days when she had been a queen in Narnia she had done a good deal of voyaging.The cabin was very tiny but bright with painted panels(all birds and beasts and crimson dragons and vines)and spotlessly clean.Caspian’s clothes were too big for her，but she could manage.His shoes，sandals and sea-boots were hopelessly big but she did not mind going barefoot on board ship.When she had finished dressing she looked out of her window at the water rushing past and took a long deep breath.She felt quite sure they were in for a lovely time.
露茜觉得凯斯宾的舱房像家一样舒适，那种感觉像已经在这里住了很久似的。她一点都不害怕船身摇晃，想当初她在纳尼亚当女王的时候， 还多次出海远航呢。这舱房小却很明亮，墙上挂着镶板画( 画上都是些飞禽走兽，红色的龙以及一些藤蔓植物) 纤尘不染，非常干净。穿凯斯宾的衣服有点大，但勉强凑合。鞋子也大，不过露茜并不介意光着脚在船上走动。她穿好衣服后眺望窗外的海水，深深地呼了一口气。她知道又一段美好的时光已经到来了。
Eustace Clarence disliked his cousins the four Pevensies， Peter，Susan，Edmund and Lucy.But he was quite glad when he heard that Edmund and Lucy were coming to stay.For deep down inside him he liked bossing and bullying;and，though he was a puny little person who couldn’t have stood up even to Lucy，let alone Edmund，in a fight，he knew that there are dozens of ways to give people a bad time if you are in your own home and they are only visitors.
“Some kids who played games about Narnia Got gradually balmier and balmier—”
尤斯塔斯·克拉伦斯不喜欢佩文西家的那些表兄弟姐妹—— 彼得、苏珊、爱德蒙和露茜。但听说爱德蒙和露茜要来他们家住，他还是非常高兴。虽然他骨子里喜欢对别人发号施令，欺凌弱小，但他身材矮小，还没有露茜个子高，更别说能打赢爱德蒙了。他已在心里盘算着，如果露茜和爱德蒙寄住在自己家里，他就可以用尽各种办法来捉弄他们。
玩纳尼亚游戏的孩子会变得越来越愚蠢，越来越愚蠢……”
CHAPTER ONE THE PICTURE IN THE BEDROOM
THERE was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb，and he almost deserved it.His parents called him Eustace Clarence and masters called him Scrubb.I can’t tell you how his friends spoke to him，for he had none.He didn’t call his Father and Mother“Father”and“Mother”，but Harold and Alberta.They were very up-to-date and advanced people.They were vegetarians， non-smokers and teetotallers and wore a special kind of underclothes.In their house there was very little furniture and very few clothes on beds and the windows were always open.Eustace Clarence liked animals，especially beetles，if they were dead and pinned on a card.He liked books if they were books of information and had pictures of grain elevators or of fat foreign children doing exercises in model schools.
Eustace Clarence disliked his cousins the four Pevensies， Peter，Susan，Edmund and Lucy.But he was quite glad when he heard that Edmund and Lucy were coming to stay.For deep down inside him he liked bossing and bullying;and，though he was a puny little person who couldn’t have stood up even to Lucy，let alone Edmund，in a fight，he knew that there are dozens of ways to give people a bad time if you are in your own home and they are only visitors.
Edmund and Lucy did not at all want to come and stay with Uncle Harold and Aunt Alberta.But it really couldn’t be helped. Father had got a job lecturing in America for sixteen weeks that summer，and Mother was to go with him because she hadn’t had a real holiday for ten years.Peter was working very hard for an exam and he was to spend the holidays being coached by old Professor Kirke in whose house these four children had had wonderful adventures long ago in the war years.If he had still been in that house he would have had them all to stay.But he had somehow become poor since the old days and was living in a small cottage with only one bedroom to spare.It would have cost too much money to take the other three all to America，and Susan had gone.
Grown-ups thought her the pretty one of the family and she was no good at school work(though otherwise very old for her age) and Mother said she“would get far more out of a trip to America than the youngsters”.Edmund and Lucy tried not to grudge Susan her luck，but it was dreadful having to spend the summer holidays at their Aunt’s.“But it’s far worse for me，”said Edmund，“because you’ll at least have a room of your own and I shall have to share a bedroom with that record stinker，Eustace.”
The story begins on an afternoon when Edmund and Lucy were stealing a few precious minutes alone together.And of course they were talking about Narnia，which was the name of their own private and secret country.Most of us，I suppose，have a secret country but for most of us it is only an imaginary country.Edmund and Lucy were luckier than other people in that respect.Their secret country was real.They had already visited it twice;not in a game or a dream but in reality.They had got there of course by Magic，which is the only way of getting to Narnia.And a promise，or very nearly a promise，had been made them in Narnia itself that they would some day get back.You may imagine that they talked about it a good deal，when they got the chance.
They were in Lucy’s room，sitting on the edge of her bed and looking at a picture on the opposite wall.It was the only picture in the house that they liked.Aunt Alberta didn’t like it at all(that was why it was put away in a little back room upstairs)，but she couldn’t get rid of it because it had been a wedding present from someone she did not want to offend.
It was a picture of a ship—a ship sailing straight towards you. Her prow was gilded and shaped like the head of a dragon with wide-open mouth.She had only one mast and one large，square sail which was a rich purple.The sides of the ship—what you could see of them where the gilded wings of the dragon ended—were green.She had just run up to the top of one glorious blue wave， and the nearer slope of that wave came down towards you，with streaks and bubbles on it.She was obviously running fast before a gay wind，listing over a little on her port side.(By the way，if you are going to read this story at all，and if you don’t know already，you had better get it into your head that the left of a ship when you are looking ahead，is port ，and the right is starboard .) All the sunlight fell on her from that side，and the water on that side was full of greens and purples.On the other，it was darker blue from the shadow of the ship.
“The question is，”said Edmund，“whether it doesn’t make things worse，looking at a Narnian ship when you can’t get there.”
“Even looking is better than nothing，”said Lucy.“And she is such a very Narnian ship.”
“Still playing your old game ?”said Eustace Clarence，who had been listening outside the door and now came grinning into the room. Last year，when he had been staying with the Pevensies，he had managed to hear them all talking of Narnia and he loved teasing them about it.He thought of course that they were making it all up;and as he was far too stupid to make anything up himself，he did not approve of that.
“You’re not wanted here，”said Edmund curtly.
“I’m trying to think of a limerick，”said Eustace.“Something like this：
“Some kids who played games about Narnia Got gradually balmier and balmier—”
“Well Narnia and balmier don’t rhyme，to begin with，”said Lucy.
“It’s an assonance，”said Eustace.
“Don’t ask him what an assy-thingummy is，”said Edmund.“He’s only longing to be asked.Say nothing and perhaps he’ll go away.”
Most boys，on meeting a reception like this，would either have cleared out or flared up.Eustace did neither.He just hung about grinning，and presently began talking again.“Do you like that picture ?”he asked.
“For heaven’s sake don’t let him get started about Art and all that，”said Edmund hurriedly，but Lucy，who was very truthful， had already said，“Yes，I do.I like it very much.”
“It’s a rotten picture，”said Eustace.
“You won’t see it if you step outside，”said Edmund.
“Why do you like it ?”said Eustace to Lucy.
“Well，for one thing，”said Lucy，“I like it because the ship looks as if it was really moving.And the water looks as if it was really wet.And the waves look as if they were really going up and down.”
Of course Eustace knew lots of answers to this，but he didn’t say anything.The reason was that at that very moment he looked at the waves and saw that they did look very much indeed as if they were going up and down.He had only once been in a ship(and then only as far as the Isle of Wight)and had been horribly seasick.The look of the waves in the picture made him feel sick again.He turned rather green and tried another look.And then all three children were staring with open mouths.
What they were seeing may be hard to believe when you read it in print，but it was almost as hard to believe when you saw it happening.The things in the picture were moving.It didn’t look at all like a cinema either;the colours were too real and clean and out-of-doors for that.Down went the prow of the ship into the wave and up went a great shock of spray.And then up went the wave behind her，and her stern and her deck became visible for the first time，and then disappeared as the next wave came to meet her and her bows went up again.At the same moment an exercise book which had been lying beside Edmund on the bed flapped，rose and sailed through the air to the wall behind him，and Lucy felt all her hair whipping round her face as it does on a windy day. And this was a windy day;but the wind was blowing out of the picture towards them.And suddenly with the wind came the noises—the swishing of waves and the slap of water against the ship’s sides and the creaking and the over—all high steady roar of air and water. But it was the smell，the wild，briny smell，which really convinced Lucy that she was not dreaming.
“Stop it，”came Eustace’s voice，squeaky with fright and bad temper.“It’s some silly trick you two are playing.Stop it.I’ll tell Alberta—Ow !”
The other two were much more accustomed to adventures， but，just exactly as Eustace Clarence said“Ow，”they both said“Ow”too.The reason was that a great cold，salt splash had broken right out of the frame and they were breathless from the smack of it，besides being wet through.
“I’ll smash the rotten thing，”cried Eustace;and then several things happened at the same time.Eustace rushed towards the picture.Edmund，who knew something about magic，sprang after him，warning him to look out and not to be a fool.Lucy grabbed at him from the other side and was dragged forward.And by this time either they had grown much smaller or the picture had grown bigger.Eustace jumped to try to pull it off the wall and found himself standing on the frame;in front of him was not glass but real sea，and wind and waves rushing up to the frame as they might to a rock.He lost his head and clutched at the other two who had jumped up beside him.There was a second of struggling and shouting，and just as they thought they had got their balance a great blue roller surged up round them，swept them off their feet，and drew them down into the sea.Eustace’s despairing cry suddenly ended as the water got into his mouth.
Lucy thanked her stars that she had worked hard at her swimming last summer term.It is true that she would have got on much better if she had used a slower stroke，and also that the water felt a great deal colder than it had looked while it was only a picture. Still，she kept her head and kicked her shoes off，as everyone ought to do who falls into deep water in their clothes.She even kept her mouth shut and her eyes open.They were still quite near the ship;she saw its green side towering high above them，and people looking at her from the deck.Then，as one might have expected， Eustace clutched at her in a panic and down they both went.
When they came up again she saw a white figure diving off the ship’s side.Edmund was close beside her now，treading water， and had caught the arms of the howling Eustace.Then someone else，whose face was vaguely familiar，slipped an arm under her from the other side.There was a lot of shouting going on from the ship，heads crowding together above the bulwarks，ropes being thrown.Edmund and the stranger were fastening ropes round her. After that followed what seemed a very long delay during which her face got blue and her teeth began chattering.In reality the delay was not very long;they were waiting till the moment when she could be got on board the ship without being dashed against its side. Even with all their best endeavours she had a bruised knee when she finally stood，dripping and shivering，on the deck.After her Edmund was heaved up，and then the miserable Eustace.Last of all came the stranger-a golden-headed boy some years older than herself.
“Ca—Ca—Caspian !”gasped Lucy as soon as she had breath enough.For Caspian it was;Caspian，the boy king of Narnia whom they had helped to set on the throne during their last visit. Immediately Edmund recognized him too.All three shook hands and clapped one another on the back with great delight.
“But who is your friend ?”said Caspian almost at once， turning to Eustace with his cheerful smile.But Eustace was crying much harder than any boy of his age has a right to cry when nothing worse than a wetting has happened to him，and would only yell out，“Let me go.Let me go back.I don’t like it.”
“Let you go ?”said Caspian.“But where ?”
Eustace rushed to the ship’s side，as if he expected to see the picture frame hanging above the sea，and perhaps a glimpse of Lucy’s bedroom.What he saw was blue waves flecked with foam，and paler blue sky，both spreading without a break to the horizon.Perhaps we can hardly blame him if his heart sank.He was promptly sick.
“Hey !Rynelf，”said Caspian to one of the sailors.“Bring spiced wine for their Majesties.You’ll need something to warm you after that dip.”He called Edmund and Lucy their Majesties because they and Peter and Susan had all been Kings and Queens of Narnia long before his time.Narnian time flows differently from ours.If you spent a hundred years in Narnia，you would still come back to our world at the very same hour of the very same day on which you left.And then，if you went back to Narnia after spending a week here，you might find that a thousand Narnian years had passed，or only a day，or no time at all.You never know till you get there.Consequently，when the Pevensie children had returned to Narnia last time for their second visit，it was(for the Narnians)as if King Arthur came back to Britain，as some people say he will.And I say the sooner the better.
Rynelf returned with the spiced wine steaming in a flagon and four silver cups.It was just what one wanted，and as Lucy and Edmund sipped it they could feel the warmth going right down to their toes.But Eustace made faces and spluttered and spat it out and was sick again and began to cry again and asked if they hadn’t any Plumptree’s Vitaminized Nerve Food and could it be made with distilled water and anyway he insisted on being put ashore at the next station.
“This is a merry shipmate you’ve brought us，Brother，” whispered Caspian to Edmund with a chuckle;but before he could say anything more Eustace burst out again.
“Oh !Ugh !What on earth’s that !Take it away，the horrid thing.”
He really had some excuse this time for feeling a little surprised.Something very curious indeed had come out of the cabin in the poop and was slowly approaching them.You might call it—and indeed it was—a Mouse.But then it was a Mouse on its hind legs and stood about two feet high.A thin band of gold passed round its head under one ear and over the other and in this was stuck a long crimson feather.(As the Mouse’s fur was very dark，almost black，the effect was bold and striking.)Its left paw rested on the hilt of a sword very nearly as long as its tail .Its balance，as it paced gravely along the swaying deck，was perfect，and its manners courtly.Lucy and Edmund recognized it at once—Reepicheep，the most valiant of all the Talking Beasts of Narnia，and the Chief Mouse.It had won undying glory in the second Battle of Beruna.Lucy longed，as she had always done， to take Reepicheep up in her arms and cuddle him.But this，as she well knew，was a pleasure she could never have：it would have offended him deeply.Instead，she went down on one knee to talk to him.
Reepicheep put forward his left leg，drew back his right， bowed，kissed her hand，straightened himself，twirled his whiskers，and said in his shrill，piping voice：
“My humble duty to your Majesty.And to King Edmund， too.”(Here he bowed again.)“Nothing except your Majesties’ presence was lacking to this glorious venture.”
“Ugh，take it away，”wailed Eustace.“I hate mice.And I never could bear performing animals.They’re silly and vulgar and—and sentimental.”
“Am I to understand，”said Reepicheep to Lucy after a long stare at Eustace，“that this singularly discourteous person is under your Majesty’s protection ? Because，if not—”
At this moment Lucy and Edmund both sneezed.
“What a fool I am to keep you all standing here in your wet things，”said Caspian.“Come on below and get changed.I’ll give you my cabin of course，Lucy，but I’m afraid we have no women’s clothes on board.You’ll have to make do with some of mine.Lead the way，Reepicheep，like a good fellow.”
“To the convenience of a lady，”said Reepicheep，“even a question of honour must give way—at least for the moment—”and here he looked very hard at Eustace.But Caspian hustled them on and in a few minutes Lucy found herself passing through the door into the stern cabin.She fell in love with it at once—the three square windows that looked out on the blue，swirling water astern，the low cushioned benches round three sides of the table， the swinging silver lamp overhead(Dwarfs’ work，she knew at once by its exquisite delicacy)and the flat gold image of Aslan the Lion on the forward wall above the door.All this she took in in a flash，for Caspian immediately opened a door on the starboard side，and said，“This’ll be your room，Lucy.I’ll just get some dry things for myself—”he was rummaging in one of the lockers while he spoke—“and then leave you to change.If you’ll fling your wet things outside the door I’ll get them taken to the galley to be dried.”
Lucy found herself as much at home as if she had been in Caspian’s cabin for weeks，and the motion of the ship did not worry her，for in the old days when she had been a queen in Narnia she had done a good deal of voyaging.The cabin was very tiny but bright with painted panels(all birds and beasts and crimson dragons and vines)and spotlessly clean.Caspian’s clothes were too big for her，but she could manage.His shoes，sandals and sea-boots were hopelessly big but she did not mind going barefoot on board ship.When she had finished dressing she looked out of her window at the water rushing past and took a long deep breath.She felt quite sure they were in for a lovely time.
第一章 卧室内的画
一个小男孩叫尤斯塔斯·克拉伦斯·斯克伦布[1]，他叫这个名字真是名副其实。父母叫他尤斯塔斯·克拉伦斯，老师叫他斯克罗布。至于他的朋友们管他叫什么，就不得而知了，因为他压根儿没有朋友。他不叫自己的父母“爸爸妈妈”，而是直呼他们的名字——哈罗德和艾贝塔。他们是非常时髦的人，是素食主义者，不吸烟，不喝酒， 穿特制的内衣裤。在他们房间里，只有很少的家具，床上基本没有褥子和床单，窗户总敞开着。尤斯塔斯·克拉伦斯很喜欢小动物，特别是那些被制成标本的甲壳虫。他也很喜欢看书，尤爱知识类的书籍，比如那些带插画的书， 上面画有谷物输送机，或是国外的胖娃娃在他们的示范学校里做操的情景。
尤斯塔斯·克拉伦斯不喜欢佩文西家的那些表兄弟姐妹—— 彼得、苏珊、爱德蒙和露茜。但听说爱德蒙和露茜要来他们家住，他还是非常高兴。虽然他骨子里喜欢对别人发号施令，欺凌弱小，但他身材矮小，还没有露茜个子高，更别说能打赢爱德蒙了。他已在心里盘算着，如果露茜和爱德蒙寄住在自己家里，他就可以用尽各种办法来捉弄他们。
爱德蒙和露茜原本不想住尤斯塔斯家，但他们别无选择。因为暑假他们的父亲要去美国做十六周的讲学，母亲也要跟着去。彼得正在准备下次考试，所以这个假期会暂住到柯克老教授家里，柯克老教授还可以为他辅导功课。在早年的战争时期，这几个兄弟姐妹就曾住在柯克教授家中避难，并拥有一段难忘的经历。柯克老教授很乐意他们一起住在他家，但不知怎么回事，他的家突然就没落了，所以不得不搬进了一幢小房子里。现在的房子只能匀出一间房给彼得住。父母又实在没有钱把三个孩子都带走，最后只带走了苏珊。
苏珊是几个孩子中最乖巧、最漂亮的一个，可惜她学习不好( 尽管她已经不小了)。而且母亲认为，比起那两个更小的孩子，她“可以在美国之旅受益匪浅”。露茜和爱德蒙虽然不至于去嫉妒苏珊的好运气，但想到整个假期都要在舅妈家里度过，就非常不情愿。“但是， 最倒霉的是我，”爱德蒙说，“最起码你还有间自己的屋子，而我竟然要和那个讨厌鬼尤斯塔斯住在一起。”
故事在一天下午拉开了序幕。露茜和爱德蒙两人正偷偷聚在一起，畅谈纳尼亚的传奇故事，这是只属于他们两个人的秘密。大多数人都会有属于自己的“秘密国度”，但是，那都只是我们想象出来的而已。在这一点上，露茜和爱德蒙比我们幸运多了，因为他们的纳尼亚是真实存在的，而且他们还去过两次，他们不是在做游戏或梦境里假装去到的，而是实实在在地去过。当然，他们只有依靠魔法才能到达那里，纳尼亚可不是随便想去就能去的。所以，他们还在纳尼亚时就曾约定，一有机会，他们肯定会再去的。
他们坐在露茜的床边仔细端详着墙上的一幅画。这是唯一一幅他们非常喜欢的画，尽管艾贝塔舅妈并不喜欢它( 所以它才被放在楼上的阁楼里)，但是又不能把它扔掉，因为她不想得罪把这幅画当作结婚礼物送给她的那个人。
画上是一艘船——一艘看起来正朝你迎面驶来的船。船头是镀金的龙头，张着嘴。船上只有一根桅杆，张着紫色的帆，船舷是绿色的。这艘船正冲向船头碧浪的最高处，近处的波涛挟着海浪和泡沫向你涌来，它正乘风破浪，快速前进，左舷略微倾斜。( 如果你想认真地把故事看完，而你此时还不明白之前所描述的场景的话，你可以在脑中想象：你朝一艘船看去时，船的左边叫左舷，船的右边叫右舷) 阳光从船的另一侧洒下来，海水折射出碧绿或者紫色的光芒，而被船身遮挡住了阳光的那一侧的海水泛着幽暗的深蓝色光芒。
“问题是，”爱德蒙说，“眼睁睁地看着纳尼亚的船却上不去， 真让人心烦。”
“就这样看一看也好啊，”露茜感叹，“这毕竟是艘真正的纳尼亚的船。”
“还在玩你们的幻想游戏吗?”尤斯塔斯突然走进屋子里。原来他一直躲在门外偷听他们说话，这会儿正咧着嘴取笑他们。去年， 在佩文西家的时候他就曾听到过他们谈论纳尼亚，之后他经常拿这事来取笑他们。因为他认为那全是他们编出来的，并对此不以为然， 尽管他自己什么也编不出来。
“这里不欢迎你。”爱德蒙粗声粗气地说。
“我正在写一首打油诗，”尤斯塔斯说，“大概是这样的：
玩纳尼亚游戏的孩子会变得越来越愚蠢，越来越愚蠢……”
“得了吧，孩子和愚蠢两个词根本就不押韵。”露茜说。
“它们押的是元音。”尤斯塔斯狡辩。
“别问他什么是押元音，”爱德蒙说，“他巴不得别人问他。别理他，他自讨没趣就走了。”
这样碰了一鼻子灰，一般的孩子不是扭头就走就是火冒三丈。但尤斯塔斯却没有这样做，他嬉皮笑脸地赖着不走。还问：“你们喜欢那幅画吗?”
“天知道他会不会又说艺术审美的事。”爱德蒙急忙说。但露茜却真诚地回答：“是呀，非常喜欢。”
“这幅画很烂。”尤斯塔斯诋毁道。
“你滚出去，不就看不见了。”爱德蒙说。
“你为什么会喜欢这幅画呢?”尤斯塔斯问露茜。
“嗯，其一，”露茜回答：“这艘船看上去像是真的正航行在海里， 画上的海水像是潮湿的，海浪看上去也像是真的在翻腾。”
尤斯塔斯有很多话来回答露茜，现在他却一言不发。因为他也看到那些海浪在起伏不平。他只坐过一次船( 只到了怀特岛)，还晕船晕得很厉害。现在一看海浪他又有点晕了。他脸色铁青，却抑制不住对海浪的好奇心。接下来发生的事情，更是让三个孩子目瞪口呆。
面对这些铅字的时候，你们真的难以想象他们眼前的场景。即便亲眼看到，你们也会不敢相信自己的眼睛的。画上的东西突然动了， 却不像露天电影幕布里的那样。那幅画的色彩非常逼真，相信即使露天电影也不会有这样逼真的效果：那条船分明在海上航行，船头在海浪中起伏，激起一大片浪花后又猛地把它们甩在后面。他们刚看见了船尾和甲板，第二个浪就打过来了，船又在海浪中起起伏伏，船尾和甲板又不见了。就在此时，一直放在爱德蒙身边的练习本开始呼啦啦地翻动，甚至飞了起来，向爱德蒙身后的墙上飞去。好像刮了一场大风，露茜满头发丝都被吹到了脸上。其实那会儿的确刮风了——不过风是从画上刮来的，还夹杂着各种声响——海浪沙沙的冲刷声，海水拍打船舷的声音，船身嘎嘎的鸣响声，以及那回荡在天地间像是要摧毁一切的怒号声。海水那股强烈的咸涩味让露茜更加确定，自己不是在做梦。
“快停下!”尤斯塔斯的声音充满着恐惧和惊慌，“你们又在玩什么鬼把戏!快停下，我要去告诉艾贝塔了……”
两兄妹对这种冒险的事本来早已经习以为常了，谁料就在尤斯塔斯嗷嗷大叫的同时，他俩也一起“噢”了一声。因为又凉又咸的海水从画中冲了出来，不仅把他们全身都打湿了，还差点让他们喘不过气来。
“我要把这幅画砸烂!”尤斯塔斯大叫着冲向那幅画。此时， 一些事情好像巧合般地上演。尤斯塔斯已冲到画的前面，对魔法略懂一二的爱德蒙，立刻拉住尤斯塔斯，警告他别去干傻事。露茜从另一边拉着他，却还是被他拽着向前冲去。这时候，不知道是画越变越大， 还是他们越变越小了。尤斯塔斯跳起来，想把画从墙上扯下来，没想到发现自己竟站在了画框里。此刻在他面前的不是玻璃镜面，而是真正的大海，海风和海浪像拍打岸边岩石一样向他扑面冲来。他被这景象吓昏了头， 紧紧地抓住爱德蒙和露茜。他们三个在画框上又是挣扎，又是喊叫， 折腾了好一会儿。正当他们刚刚保持住平衡时，一个巨大的蓝色海浪又把他们拖到了海里。苦涩的海水冲进了尤斯塔斯的嘴里，让他那绝望的叫喊声戛然而止。
露茜暗自庆幸自己去年夏天学了游泳。事实上，海水比看上去凉许多，如果她可以游得慢一点，她可以游得很好的。她和所有一下子掉进水中的人一样，努力地保持镇定，踢掉了鞋子，然后她还紧闭嘴巴，睁开眼睛。这时他们已经离船身非常近了，露茜看到了绿色的船舷，还发现有人正从甲板上看着她。然而，这时，尤斯塔斯在慌乱中紧紧地抓住她，两人一起往下沉。
当他们再次浮出水面时，露茜看见一个白色的人影跳入水中。此刻爱德蒙紧靠着她，踩着水，双手抓住还在号叫的尤斯塔斯的胳膊。接着，又有人从另一边伸出胳膊托住他。露茜隐约中觉得那个人有些面熟。船上的人七嘴八舌地喊叫着，把缆绳扔了下来。爱德蒙和那个人一起把绳系在她的身上。绳绕好后，好像又过了很久，直到她着急得脸色发青，牙齿开始打战。而事实上这中间并没有过多久，他们只是在等绳子固定好， 以便拉她上船时，不至于让她的身体碰到船体而受伤。尽管他们做了很多努力，当露茜终于被拉上来时，她发抖地站在甲板上，浑身湿淋淋，一只膝盖青肿起来。接着，爱德蒙也被拉上来了，然后是被吓傻了的尤斯塔斯。最后还有个陌生人 ——一个比露茜大不了几岁的金发少年。
“凯、凯、凯斯宾!”露茜还没缓过气来，就喘着粗气惊喜地叫道。那个年轻人正是凯斯宾——他们曾帮助他登上了纳尼亚的王位。此时爱德蒙也认出了他，三个人喜出望外，乐得手舞足蹈。
“这家伙是谁呀?”凯斯宾满面笑容地转向尤斯塔斯。谁料尤斯塔斯哭得更厉害了。像他这样的男孩遇见浑身湿透这种事，大哭一场无可厚非，可像他这样哭得如此夸张，确实少见。尤斯塔斯还自顾自地叫着：“让我走，让我回去，我不喜欢这里!”
“让你走?”凯斯宾疑惑地问道：“你要去哪儿呢?”
尤斯塔斯冲到船边，想再看一眼镶在墙上的画框，或者是露茜的卧室。可眼前只有泛着泡沫的海水和浅蓝色的天空。远处，海天一线，无边无际。他吓得魂都快没了。不过我们也不能过分责备他， 谁让他晕船呢。
“嗨，赖尼夫，”凯斯宾对一个水手说，“给这两位陛下送点酒来，”他转向露茜和爱德蒙说，“你们在水里泡了太久，需要喝点东西暖暖身子。”他称露茜和爱德蒙为“陛下”，因为他们和苏珊与彼得一样，在他即位之前是纳尼亚的国王和女王。要知道，纳尼亚的时间和我们这个世界的时间是不一样的，即使你在纳尼亚世界过了一百年，当你回到这里，仍然还是你离开的那一天的同一个时刻。但如果你在自己的世界过上一个星期或者一天，纳尼亚却早已过了一千年。因此，露茜和爱德蒙两兄妹自上次从纳尼亚离开后， 这次再回来( 在纳尼亚人眼中) 就如传说中亚瑟王一样，终于重返纳尼亚了。
赖尼夫端来一瓶冒着香气的酒和四只银杯。这酒来得正是时候， 爱德蒙和露茜抿了一小口，顿觉一股暖流从喉咙直达脚底。尤斯塔斯却还是苦着张脸，先是呕吐，一会儿又哇哇大哭，问人家有没有枫树牌那种加了维生素的营养食品，还告诉人家如果没有可以用蒸馏水去制作，并坚持说到了下一站就回岸上去。
“这个活宝可是你们带来的呀，兄弟。”凯斯宾笑着对爱德蒙咬耳朵。还没等他说其他事情，尤斯塔斯就又开始折腾了。
“噢!啊!那究竟是什么玩意?赶紧把这令人恶心的东西弄走!”
尤斯塔斯的吃惊情有可原，因为船尾竟然冒出来一个非常奇怪的东西，正向他们慢慢走来。我们把它叫做老鼠——确实是一只老鼠。可它竟然可以只用两条后腿站立，看上去有两英尺高。一个细细的金箍套住了它的脑袋，一只耳朵在金箍上面，另一只在下面，箍上还插了一支深红色长羽毛。( 老鼠的皮毛颜色非常深，接近黑色，非常引人注目) 老鼠的左爪放在几乎和它尾巴一样长的宝剑的剑柄上。它神色庄严，举止优雅，稳当地来回穿行在颠簸的甲板上。爱德蒙和露茜一眼就认出它是雷佩契普，纳尼亚王国里会说话的兽类中，最骁勇善战的老鼠大军的头目。在柏卢纳的第二次战役中， 它还获得了不朽的殊荣。露茜真想把它搂在怀里，她一直都想这么做。不过她知道自己是享受不到这种待遇的，因为那样的话会得罪它。因此露茜只好单膝跪地来跟它说话。
雷佩契普先伸出左腿，缩回右腿，向她鞠躬，再吻她的手，然后挺直身体，捻着自己的胡须，尖着嗓子说：
“向爱德蒙国王陛下和露茜女王陛下致敬。( 说到这儿，它又向他们鞠了一躬) 承蒙两位陛下光临，这次辉煌的远航可算是十全十美了。”
“啊，把它弄走!”尤斯塔斯叫道，“我讨厌老鼠。我最讨厌看动物表演，不仅无聊粗俗，而且……还自作多情。”
“如此无礼的人也受到陛下您的保护吗?”雷佩契普盯了尤斯塔斯好一会儿后，才接着说，“因为，如果不是的话……”
正巧这时，露茜和爱德蒙两个人同时打了个喷嚏。
“是我糊涂，让你们浑身湿淋淋地站在这儿。”凯斯宾说，“快到船舱里换上干衣服。露茜，你去我的房间，不过，船上恐怕没有女人的衣服，你只好先将就一下穿我的衣服了。雷佩契普，好好带路。”
“看在女王的份上，”雷佩契普说，“即使是事关尊严，也只能作罢，至少暂时只能如此。”话音未落，它狠狠地瞪了尤斯塔斯一眼， 凯斯宾催促他们赶紧走。不一会儿，露茜就走到了船尾的舱房。一进舱房她就喜欢上了这里——三扇方形的玻璃窗外面是碧蓝的海水，桌子的三边各摆着矮凳，矮凳上都铺上软垫。房顶吊着银灯( 从那精巧的做工，她就知道这是小矮人的杰作)，门头上方的墙上还挂着狮王阿斯兰的金像。她扫了整个房间一眼，凯斯宾打开一侧的房门，“露茜，你住我的房间，我去给你找几件干衣服。”凯斯宾说着开始翻开一个衣橱， 然后说：“换下来的湿衣服放门外就行了，有人会来拿走给你烘干的。”
露茜觉得凯斯宾的舱房像家一样舒适，那种感觉像已经在这里住了很久似的。她一点都不害怕船身摇晃，想当初她在纳尼亚当女王的时候， 还多次出海远航呢。这舱房小却很明亮，墙上挂着镶板画( 画上都是些飞禽走兽，红色的龙以及一些藤蔓植物) 纤尘不染，非常干净。穿凯斯宾的衣服有点大，但勉强凑合。鞋子也大，不过露茜并不介意光着脚在船上走动。她穿好衣服后眺望窗外的海水，深深地呼了一口气。她知道又一段美好的时光已经到来了。
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