《黎明踏浪号》第二章 在黎明踏浪号上

CHAPTER TWO ON BOARD THE DAWN TREADER
第二章　在黎明踏浪号上

“AH，there you are，Lucy，”said Caspian.“We were just waiting for you.This is my captain，the Lord Drinian.”
“哎呀，露茜，你可回来了，”凯斯宾说，“我们一直都在等你， 这位是我们的船长，德里宁公爵。”
A dark-haired man went down on one knee and kissed her hand.The only others present were Reepicheep and Edmund.
那个黑发人单膝下跪，吻她的手。雷佩契普和爱德蒙也在场。
“Where is Eustace ?”asked Lucy.
“尤斯塔斯去哪儿了?”露茜问道。
“In bed，”said Edmund，“and I don’t think we can do anything for him.It only makes him worse if you try to be nice to him.”
“他在床上躺着呢，”爱德蒙说，“我们帮不了他，恐怕只会帮倒忙。”
“Meanwhile，”said Caspian，“we want to talk.”
“那我们叙叙旧吧。”凯斯宾说。
“By Jove，we do，”said Edmund.“And first，about time. It’s a year ago by our time since we left you just before your coronation.How long has it been in Narnia ?”
“哎呀，我真想和你好好聊聊。”爱德蒙说，“那我们先说说时间的问题。上次我们是在你加冕典礼前离开的。按我们那里的时间， 已经过了一年了，不知道这里过了多久啊?”
“Exactly three years，”said Caspian.
“正好是三年。”凯斯宾回答。
“All going well ?”asked Edmund.
“这里都还好吧?”爱德蒙问。
“You don’t suppose I’d have left my kingdom and put to sea unless all was well，”answered the King.“It couldn’t be better.There’s no trouble at all now between Telmarines，Dwarfs，Talking Beasts，Fauns and the rest.And we gave those troublesome giants on the frontier such a good beating last summer that they pay us tribute now.And I had an excellent person to leave as Regent while I’m away—Trumpkin，the Dwarf.You remember him ?”
“不用担心，要是国内有事的话，我还能出海远航吗?”凯斯宾国王回答，“现在比以前的状况好多了，台尔马人、小矮人、会说话的兽类、小羊怪和其他臣民都没什么矛盾。我们去年给边境那些惹是生非的人一顿教训之后，他们现在还向我们进贡呢。我出海之前把国内的政事交给了一个了不起的人，你还记得小矮人杜鲁普金吗?”
“Dear Trumpkin，”said Lucy，“of course I do.You couldn’t have made a better choice.”
“你是说杜鲁普金吗?”露茜说，“我当然记得啦，你选的这个人再合适不过了。”
“Loyal as a badger ，M a’am，and valiant as — as a Mouse，”said Drinian.He had been going to say“as a lion”but had noticed Reepicheep’s eyes fixed on him.
“是啊，女王陛下，他像獾一样忠诚，像老鼠一样勇敢。”德里宁说。他本来想说“像狮子一样勇敢”，但看到雷佩契普看自己的眼神，只好改了口。
“And where are we heading for ?”asked Edmund.
“我们要去哪里啊?”爱德蒙问。
“Well，”said Caspian，“that’s rather a long story.Perhaps you remember that when I was a child my usurping uncle Miraz got rid of seven friends of my father’s(who might have taken my part) by sending them off to explore the unknown Eastern Seas beyond the Lone Islands.”
“这个嘛，”凯斯宾说，“说来话长，你们是否还记得，在我小时候， 我父王的七位朋友曾支持我做国王，可是我的叔父却想篡夺王位，就把他们派到孤独群岛那边，去开发东大洋的那片未知地吗?”
“Yes，”said Lucy，“and none of them ever came back.”
“记得啊，”露茜说，“他们一个都没能回来。”
“Right.Well，on my coronation day，with Aslan’s approval，I swore an oath that，if once I established peace in Narnia，I would sail east myself for a year and a day to find my father’s friends or to learn of their deaths and avenge them if I could.These were their names：the Lord Revilian，the Lord Bern，the Lord Argoz，the Lord Mavramorn，the Lord Octesian，the Lord Restimar，and—oh，that other one who’s so hard to remember.”
“没错。说起来就在我加冕那天，在狮王阿斯兰的见证下，我发誓一旦纳尼亚重建和平，我就亲自航海去东海，用一年的时间去找我父王的朋友，不论他们是否还在人世。如果可能的话，我一定会替他们报仇。他们七个是雷维廉公爵、伯恩公爵、阿尔戈兹公爵、马弗拉蒙公爵、奥克特西安公爵、雷斯蒂玛公爵，还有……唉，还有一个名字，我记不清了。”
“The Lord Rhoop，Sire，”said Drinian.
“陛下，是罗普公爵。”德里宁提醒道。
“Rhoop，Rhoop，of course，”said Caspian.“That is my main intention.But Reepicheep here has an even higher hope.”Everyone’s eyes turned to the Mouse.
“罗普，是罗普，当然，”凯斯宾说，“这就是我这次出海的目的。可是我们的雷佩契普还有个更大的梦想。”话音刚落，大家的目光就都投向那只老鼠。
“As high as my spirit，”it said.“Though perhaps as small as my stature.Why should we not come to the very eastern end of the world ? And what might we find there ? I expect to find Aslan’s own country.It is always from the east，across the sea，that the great Lion comes to us.”
“别看我个头不高，”它说，“可是我梦想远大。既然我们出海远航，为什么不到世界的最东方呢?去那里会有什么发现呢?说不定那边就是狮王阿斯兰的国土。他总是从东方漂洋过海来找我们。”
“I say，that is an idea，”said Edmund in an awed voice.
“我说，这真是一个好主意。”爱德蒙的声音中充满敬意。
“But do you think，”said Lucy，“Aslan’s country would be that sort of country—I mean，the sort you could ever sail to ?”
“但你想过没有，”露茜说，“阿斯兰王国究竟是怎样的王国， 我的意思是，你乘船能到那里吗?”
“I do not know，Madam，”said Reepicheep.“But there is this. When I was in my cradle a wood woman，a Dryad，spoke this verse over me：
“我不知道，女王陛下，”雷佩契普说，“不过有一首诗里写到过， 当我还在摇篮里的时候，树仙女曾给我念过那首诗：
“Where sky and water meet，Where the waves grow sweet，Doubt not，Reepicheep，To find all you seek，There is the utter East.”
海天相连之地，海水变得甜又香。雷佩契普把心放，定能找到那地方。那里就是最东方。”
“I do not know what it means.But the spell of it has been on me all my life.”
虽不知道这句诗歌是什么意思，但无形中它总能给我一种神奇的力量。”
After a short silence Lucy asked，“And where are we now， Caspian ?”
短暂的沉默之后，露茜问，“凯斯宾，我们现在到哪儿了?”
“The Captain can tell you better than I，”said Caspian，so Drinian got out his chart and spread it on the table.
“船长肯定比我说得清楚。”凯斯宾说。德里宁拿出地图，摊在桌子上。
“That’s our position，”he said，laying his finger on it.“Or was at noon today.We had a fair wind from Cair Paravel and stood a little north for Galma，which we made on the next day.We were in port for a week，for the Duke of Galma made a great tournament for His Majesty and there he unhorsed many knights—”
“我们现在在这里，”他指着地图上的某个点，“这儿是今天正午的方位，我们从凯尔帕拉维尔出来之后，一路顺风，稍稍向北， 第二天就到达了加尔马。我们在港口停了一周，因为加尔马公爵为陛下举行了一次比武大赛，陛下把很多骑士都打下了马……”
“And got a few nasty falls myself，Drinian.Some of the bruises are there still，”put in Caspian.
“德里宁，你都没提我也摔下来好几次，而且很狼狈，直到现在肿块还没消。”凯斯宾插了一句。
“—And unhorsed many knights，”repeated Drinian with a grin. “We thought the Duke would have been pleased if the King’s Majesty would have married his daughter，but nothing came of that—”
“……陛下把很多骑士都打落到马下，”德里宁又说了一遍， 咧着嘴笑着说，“我们还以为国王陛下为了讨公爵的欢心，会迎娶公爵家的小姐。可是，没有……”
“Squints，and has freckles，”said Caspian.
“她是个斜视眼，脸上好多雀斑。”凯斯宾接过话。
“Oh，poor girl，”said Lucy.
“啊，可怜的姑娘。”露茜感叹了一声。
“And we sailed from Galma，”continued Drinian，“and ran into a calm for the best part of two days and had to row，and then had wind again and did not make Terebinthia till the fourth day from Galma.And there their King sent out a warning not to land for there was sickness in Terebinthia，but we doubled the cape and put in at a little creek far from the city and watered.Then we had to lie off for three days before we got a south east wind and stood out for Seven Isles.The third day out a pirate(Terebinthian by her rig)overhauled us，but when she saw us well armed she stood off after some shooting of arrows on either part—”
“后来我们从加尔马起航，”德里宁又说，“整整两天都是风平浪静，只好用桨划船。接着又起风了，所以离开加尔马后第四天我们才到达特里宾西亚。那里发出警报说，我们不能在当地登陆，因为那儿正在闹瘟疫。我们只好两次绕过海角，驶进了一个小海湾，加满水。后来，我们在遇上下一个东南风之前不得已歇了三天，才开往七岛。第三天的时候，有一条海盗船追我们，看装备是特里宾西亚的船， 不过那条船看见我们全副武装，朝船两边射了几箭之后就开走了。”
“And we ought to have given her chase and boarded her and hanged every mother’s son of them，”said Reepicheep.
“我们真应该追上那条船，上去把那些强盗一个个绞死。”雷佩契普说。
“—And in five days more we were insight of Muil，which， as you know，is the westernmost of the Seven Isles.Then we rowed through the straits and came about sundown into Redhaven on the isle of Brenn，where we were very lovingly feasted and had victuals and water at will.We left Redhaven six days ago and have made marvellously good speed，so that I hope to see the Lone Islands the day after tomorrow.The sum is，we are now nearly thirty days at sea and have sailed more than four hundred leagues from Narnia.”
“又过了五天，我们看到了米尔岛，正如你所知，它是七岛中最西边的一个小岛。然后我们划出海峡，傍晚的时候到了布伦岛上的红港。当地人盛情款待了我们，食物和水想加多少就加多少。六天前我们离开了红港，一路上出奇的顺利，我们估计后天就能到孤独群岛了。总的来说，我们已经出海将近三十天，已经远离纳尼亚四百多海里了。
“And after the Lone Islands ?”said Lucy.
“到了那里之后呢?”露茜问。
“No one knows，your Majesty，”answered Drinian.“Unless the Lone Islanders themselves can tell us.”
“现在还不好说，陛下，”德里宁说，“除非岛上有人告诉我们。”
“They couldn’t in our days，”said Edmund.
“他们未必能告诉我们。”爱德蒙说。
“Then，”said Reepicheep，“it is after the Lone Islands that the adventure really begins.”
“那么说来，”雷佩契普说，“到了群岛之后，探险才算是真正的开始呢。”
Caspian now suggested that they might like to be shown over the ship before supper，but Lucy’s conscience smote her and she said，“I think I really must go and see Eustace.Seasickness is horrid，you know.If I had my old cordial with me I could cure him.”
凯斯宾提议大家先在船上参观一下，再吃晚饭，可是露茜心里一直有小小的牵挂。她说，“我想去看看尤斯塔斯。他晕船晕得厉害， 如果我现在还有原来随身携带的药瓶，就可以治好他。”
“But you have，”said Caspian.“I’d quite forgotten about it.As you left it behind I thought it might be regarded as one of the royal treasures and so I brought it—if you think it ought to be wasted on a thing like seasickness.”
“药还有，”凯斯宾说，“我差点忘了。当初你走的时候留下这药， 我想着，不妨把这药当成一件王室宝贝，所以我一直随身携带——如果你想在晕船这个小毛病上把它浪费掉的话，你就用吧。”
“It’ll only take a drop，”said Lucy.
“我只要一滴。”露茜说。
Caspian opened one of the lockers beneath the bench and brought out the beautiful little diamond flask which Lucy remembered so well.“Take back your own，Queen，”he said.They then left the cabin and went out into the sunshine.
凯斯宾打开凳子下面的一个储物箱，取出露茜给他的那个小钻石药瓶，她对这个再熟悉不过了。他说：“我亲爱的女王，你的宝贝还给你。”于是他们离开舱房，走到阳光下。
In the deck there were two large，long hatches，fore and aft of the mast，and both open，as they always were in fair weather，to let light and air into the belly of the ship.Caspian led them down a　ladder into the after hatch.Here they found themselves in a place where benches for rowing ran from side to side and the light came in through the oarholes and danced on the roof.Of course Caspian’s ship was not that horrible thing，a galley rowed by slaves.Oars were used only when wind failed or for getting in and out of harbour and everyone(except Reepicheep whose legs were too short)had often taken a turn.At each side of the ship the space under the benches was left clear for the rowers’ feet，but all down the center there was a kind of pit which went down to the very keel and this was filled with all kinds of things—sacks of flour，casks of water and beer，barrels of pork，jars of honey，skin bottles of wine， apples，nuts，cheeses，biscuits，turnips，sides of bacon.From the roof—that is，from the under side of the deck—hung hams and strings of onions，and also the men of the watch off—duty in their hammocks.Caspian led them aft，stepping from bench to bench; at least，it was stepping for him，and something between a step and a jump for Lucy，and a real long jump for Reepicheep.In this way they came to a partition with a door in it.Caspian opened the door and led them into a cabin which filled the stern underneath the deck cabins in the poop.It was of course not so nice.It was very low and the sides sloped together as they went down so that there was hardly any floor;and though it had windows of thick glass， they were not made to open because they were under water.In fact at this very moment，as the ship pitched they were alternately golden with sunlight and dim green with the sea.
"甲板上有两个敞开的舱口盖，又大又长。晴天的时候，水手们总是把它们打开，用来通风和采光。凯斯宾带他们走到梯子下面，进入后面的舱口。他们这才发现，原来左右两边都有划桨的长凳，阳光透过桨孔照进来，在舱顶上闪烁不定。凯斯宾的船不是由奴隶划桨的， 也没有单层甲板大帆船那种可怕的东西。在没风或者进出港口的时候，船桨才会被用到。除了个头矮小的雷佩契普之外，其他人都要轮流划桨。船两边的长凳下都有空地方供划船的人搁脚，中间部分有个深窖，一直通向龙骨处，里面堆满了各种东西，比如很多袋的面粉，很多桶水，很多块猪肉，很多罐蜂蜜，还有很多装满酒的皮囊，以及苹果、坚果、奶酪、饼干、大头菜和熏肉。舱顶，也就是甲板下面， 挂着很多火腿和成捆成捆的大葱。当然，还有个值班人员下班后在里面的吊床上休息。凯斯宾带他们走到船尾，从一个长凳跨到另一个长凳，他的确是名副其实的跨，露茜则是边跳边跨，而对雷佩契普来说， 那就不能称作跨了，简直就是大幅度地跳。就这样，他们走到一块有门的隔板前。凯斯宾打开门，带他们走了进去，这间舱房正好在船尾几间甲板舱下面的尾部，所以条件不太好。房间很低，屋顶根本没有天花板，墙壁都是倾斜着靠在一起的。他们一路走过去，船里一点空隙都没有了。虽然里面有厚厚的玻璃窗， 却打不开，因为它们都在水下。不过，这个时候如果船身前后颠簸， 舱房里就会一下子闪烁着金色的阳光，一下子泛着幽暗的绿光。
"
“You and I must lodge here，Edmund，”said Caspian.“We’ll leave your kinsman the bunk and sling hammocks for ourselves.”
“我们只能睡在这儿了，爱德蒙。”凯斯宾说。
“I beseech your Majesty—”said Drinian.
“可是陛下您……”德里宁说。
“No，no shipmate，”said Caspian，“we have argued all that out already.You and Rhince”(Rhince was the mate)“are sailing the ship and will have cares and labours many a night when we are singing catches or telling stories，so you and he must have the port cabin above.King Edmund and I can lie very snug here below. But how is the stranger ?”
“不，不，船长，”凯斯宾说，“我们已经说好了。你和赖因斯还要掌舵( 赖因斯是副驾)，已经操劳了好多个晚上，而我们几个只是唱唱歌，聊聊天，所以你应该和他一起住在舱房里。我和爱德蒙国王在这下面一样可以睡得很好。只是，不知道那个陌生人怎样了?
Eustace，very green in the face，scowled and asked whether there was any sign of the storm getting less.But Caspian said，“What storm ?”and Drinian burst out laughing.
尤斯塔斯脸色铁青，正满脸忧愁地打听风浪有没有平息的迹象。凯斯宾却问：“什么风浪呢?”德里宁不由得放声大笑。
“Storm，young master !”he roared.“This is as fair weather as a man could ask for.”
“大少爷，你是在说风浪吗?”他哈哈大笑，“现在的天气好得不能再好了。”
“Who’s that ?”said Eustace irritably.“Send him away.His voice goes through my head.”
“你是谁?”尤斯塔斯不耐烦地说，“叫他走，听到他的声音我脑袋就疼。”
“I’ve brought you something that will make you feel better， Eustace，”said Lucy.
“我给你拿了点东西，吃了你就会感觉好多了，尤斯塔斯。” 露茜说。
“Oh，go away and leave me alone，”growled Eustace.But he took a drop from her flask，and though he said it was beastly stuff(the smell in the cabin when she opened it was delicious)it is certain that his face came the right colour a few moments after he had swallowed it，and he must have felt better because，instead of wailing about the storm and his head，he began demanding to be put ashore and said that at the first port he would“lodge a disposition”against them all with the British Consul.But when Reepicheep asked what a disposition was and how you lodged it(Reepicheep thought it was some new way of arranging a single combat)Eustace could only reply，“Fancy not knowing that.”In the end they succeeded in convincing Eustace that they were already sailing as fast as they could towards the nearest land they knew，and that they had no more power of sending him back to Cambridge—which was where Uncle Harold lived—than of sending him to the moon. After that he sulkily agreed to put on the fresh clothes which had been put out for him and come on deck.
“哎呀，都走开，别来烦我。”尤斯塔斯有些疯狂。露茜打开药瓶， 舱房里弥散出一股清香。尽管尤斯塔斯说这是致命的毒药，但他还是喝了一滴。等他喝下药后，脸色明显好转了，相信他也感觉舒服了许多。此刻他不再感到头昏脑胀，也不再提风浪了，只是要求他们把他送到岸上去，他还说只要自己一踏上海港，就向英国领事馆申请对他们所有人做出裁决。雷佩契普以为这是种新的决斗方式，问他裁决是什么、怎样申请时，尤斯塔斯嘲讽道：“你真是太奇怪了，连裁决都不知道。”最后， 大家不得不让尤斯塔斯相信，他们已经尽快朝所知道的最近陆地驶去，但就像他们没法送他上月球一样，他们也没有能力送他回到哈罗德舅舅所住的剑桥。他听了之后很不愉快，但还是换上了他们为他准备的干净衣服，走到了甲板上。
Caspian now showed them over the ship，though indeed they had seen most of it already.They went up on the forecastle and saw the look-out man standing on a little shelf inside the gilded dragon’s neck and peering through its open mouth.Inside the forecastle was the galley(or ship’s kitchen)and quarters for such people as the boatswain，the carpenter，the cook and the master-archer.If you think it odd to have the galley in the bows and imagine the smoke from its chimney streaming back over the ship，that is because you are thinking of steamships where there is always a headwind.On a sailing ship the wind is coming from behind，and anything smelly is put as far forward as possible. They were taken up to the fighting—top，and at first it was rather alarming to rock to and fro there and see the deck looking small and far away beneath.You realized that if you fell there was no particular reason why you should fall on board rather than in the sea. Then they were taken to the poop，where Rhince was on duty with another man at the great tiller，and behind that the dragon’s tail rose up，covered with gilding，and round inside it ran a little bench.The name of the ship was Dawn Treader.She was only a little bit of a thing compared with one of our ships，or even with the cogs，dromonds，carracks and galleons which Narnia had owned when Lucy and Edmund had reigned there under Peter as the High King，for nearly all navigation had died out in the reigns of Caspian’s ancestors.When his uncle，Miraz the usurper， had sent the seven lords to sea，they had had to buy a Galmian ship and man it with hired Galmian sailors.But now Caspian had begun to teach the Narnians to be sea-faring folk once more，and the Dawn Treader was the finest ship he had built yet.She was so small that，forward of the mast，there was hardly any deck room between the central hatch and the ship’s boat on one side and the hen-coop(Lucy fed the hens)on the other.But she was a beauty of her kind，a“lady”as sailors say，her lines perfect，her colours pure，and every spar and rope and pin lovingly made.Eustace of course would be pleased with nothing，and kept on boasting about liners and motor boats and aeroplanes and submarines(“As if he knew anything about them，”muttered Edmund)，but the other two were delighted with the Dawn Treader，and when they returned aft to the cabin and supper，and saw the whole western sky lit up with an immense crimson sunset，and felt the quiver of the ship，and tasted the salt on their lips，and thought of unknown lands on the Eastern rim of the world，Lucy felt that she was almost too happy to speak.
"凯斯宾带他们到甲板上参观整艘船，事实上，他们已经参观过一大半了。他们登上第一个阁楼，看到瞭望员站在镀金龙头旁的一个小木架上，从张开的龙嘴向外张望。阁楼里有厨房( 或者说船上的厨房)，还有水手、木匠、厨子，以及弓箭手头头儿的住处。如果你认为烟囱的烟是向后飘，觉得厨房在前面很奇怪的话，你就要知道， 所有的轮船都是逆风行驶的。事实上，帆船是靠后面的风推动而行， 那样的话所有的尾气和炊烟都会被吹到前面，所以厨房只能设在帆船的前面。他们到桅杆顶的观测台，起初那里晃得厉害，过了好一会才稳住了，从那儿往下看，甲板看起来又小又远。那种感觉自然是惊心动魄的。你想啊，万一掉了下去，肯定不会掉到海里，毫无疑问，只能掉到甲板上。然后他们又去了船尾，赖因斯和另一个水手正在值班掌舵，舵后面的龙尾是翘着的，上面镀着金粉，半圆形的船尾内有一排小凳子。这艘船被命名为“黎明踏浪号”。跟我们这里的船比起来，真是小巫见大巫，它甚至跟彼得国王、露茜和爱德蒙统治纳尼亚王国时的单桅船、双桅船、大帆船等任何一条船都没法比。不知为何，从凯斯宾时代起，几乎所有的航海事业都消亡了。所以当初凯斯宾的叔父， 那个篡夺王位的弥若兹国王把七位公爵派去出海时，只好买了一艘加尔马的船只，并雇佣了加尔马的水手。现在凯斯宾开始鼓励纳尼亚人学习造船技术并出海了。迄今为止，黎明踏浪号是他们建造出来的最优秀的船只。

这条船，结构小巧，一边是救生艇，另一边是露茜的鸡棚( 露茜养了一些母鸡)，中间剩下的地方就不多了。其实它的确算得上是同类船中的“美人儿”了，水手称她是一位“小姐”，因为船的外形很美，颜色纯净，甚至每根桅杆、每条缆绳、每只圆钉的做工都很精美。

尤斯塔斯对他们说的一概没有兴趣，一个人自顾自地吹嘘大客轮、汽艇、飞机和潜水艇( 爱德蒙暗自说：“就像他真的无所不知似的。”)。露茜和爱德蒙两个人对黎明踏浪号非常喜欢。在他们从船尾回到舱里吃饭的时候，看见西边的天空出现了一大片玫瑰色的晚霞。船身在前进中不停地颤动，似乎海水的咸味已经到了嘴边。想到马上就要到达世界最东方之外的那片未知地了，露茜觉得幸福得说不出话来。


"
What Eustace thought had best be told in his own words，for when they all got their clothes back，dried，next morning，he at　once got out a little black notebook and a pencil and started to keep a diary.He always had this notebook with him and kept a record of his marks in it，for though he didn’t care much about any subject for its own sake，he cared a great deal about marks and would even go to people and say，“I got so much.What did you get ?”But as he didn’t seem likely to get many marks on the Dawn Treader he now started a diary.This was the first entry.
尤斯塔斯心里的想法，恐怕是换个人都说不好。第二天早上， 在他们都取回自己的干衣服之后，他马上掏出一本黑色的笔记本和一只铅笔，开始写日记。这本日记本是他随身携带的，里面记着他每次考试的分数，虽然他对功课本身没有兴趣，却十分在乎那些分数。他最喜欢做的事情莫过于走到别人面前，炫耀道：“我得了好多分， 你得了多少呢?”可是，在黎明踏浪号上，他不能炫耀自己得了多少分。现在，他只能写日记，写下的第一段文字如下：
“7 August.Have now been twenty-four hours on this ghastly boat if it isn ’t a dream.All the time a frightful storm has been raging (it’s a good thing I’m not seasick).Huge waves keep coming in over the front and I have seen the boat nearly go under any number of times.All the others pretend to take no notice of this，either from swank or because Harold says one of the most cowardly things ordinary people do is to shut their eyes to Facts.It’s madness to come out into the sea in a rotten little thing like this.Not much bigger than a lifeboat.And，of course，absolutely primitive indoors.No proper saloon，no radio，no bathrooms，no deck-chairs.I was dragged all over it yesterday evening and it would make anyone sick to hear Caspian showing off his funny little toy boat as if it was the Queen Mary.I tried to tell him what real ships are like，but he’s too dense. E. and L.，of course，didn’t back me up.I suppose a kid like L. doesn’t realize the danger and E.is buttering up C.as everyone does here. They call him a King.I said I was a Republican but he had to ask me what that meant ! He doesn’t seem to know anything at all.Needless to say I’ve been put in the worst cabin of the boat， a perfect dungeon，and Lucy has been given a whole room on deck to herself，almost a nice room compared with the rest of this place. C.says that’s because she’s a girl.I tried to make him see what Alberta says，that all that sort of thing is really lowering girls but he was too dense.Still，he might see that I shall be ill if I’m kept in that hole any longer.E.says we mustn’t grumble because C.is sharing it with us himself to make room for L.As if that didn’t make it more crowded and far worse.Nearly forgot to say that there is also a kind of Mouse thing that gives everyone the most frightful cheek. The others can put up with it if they like but I shall twist his tail pretty soon if he tries it on me.The food is frightful too .”
八月七日。如果不是在做梦的话，我已经在这条鬼船上待了整整二十四个小时了。外面的惊涛骇浪一直没有停歇( 幸好我现在没有晕船)，之前看到巨浪不断打来，船好多次都几乎沉没了。其他人却装作什么也没发生，这不是我在大惊小怪，正如哈罗德所言，凡人最懦弱的行为就是对事情的发生装作视而不见。坐这样一条比救生艇大不了多少的破船出海，简直就是疯了。船里面实在太简陋了，没有正式的沙龙，没有无线电，没有浴室，甲板上也没有躺椅。昨天晚上他们拖着我到处跑，凯斯宾还在卖弄这条可笑的小破船，仿佛它像“玛丽王后”号那么尊贵。我试图告诉他真正的船是什么模样，可是他太笨了。当然，爱德蒙和露茜也不会支持我。我说，像露茜这样的小孩子根本不知道什么是危险。爱德蒙竟然还和这儿的所有人一样拼命地讨好凯斯宾， 叫他凯斯宾陛下。我说我是共和主义者，他竟然问我共和是什么意思， 看来他什么也不懂啊。不用说，他们把我安排在条件最差的舱房里，这里简直像地牢一样。露茜却被安排在甲板上单独的一个房间里，那里跟其他地方比起来，算是一个好房间。凯斯宾说因为她是个女孩子。我试图让他明白艾贝塔说的话，这分明是在贬低女孩子的能力，可是他听不懂我的意思，他实在是笨得无可救药。他应该明白一点，如果再让我住在那个像地牢一样的房间，我会生病的。爱德蒙说我们不应该抱怨，因为他也把自己舒适的房间让给了露茜，他选择和我们合住。这样一来， 房间就更挤了。差点忘了说，这儿竟然有一种令人讨厌的老鼠，对每个人都非常无礼。尽管有的人愿意容忍它，如果它要欺负我，我一定会扭断它的尾巴。这里的饭菜也实在难吃。
The trouble between Eustace and Reepicheep arrived even sooner than might have been expected.Before dinner next day， when the others were sitting round the table waiting(being at sea gives one a magnificent appetite)，Eustace came rushing in， wringing his hand and shouting out：
尤斯塔斯和雷佩契普之间的矛盾比料想的还要糟。第二天午饭前，大家都围在饭桌上等着开饭( 因为在海上航行，大家的胃口变得特别好)，尤斯塔斯突然冲进来，搓着手，大叫着：
“That little brute has half killed me.I insist on it being kept under control.I could bring an action against you，Caspian.I could order you to have it destroyed.”
“那小畜生差点要了我的命。我坚持我的观点，你必须要对它严加看管。我向你提出控告，凯斯宾，我命令你消灭它。”
At the same moment Reepicheep appeared.His sword was drawn and his whiskers looked very fierce but he was as polite as ever.
就在此刻，雷佩契普来了。他把剑拔出鞘，愤怒中吹着胡须， 一脸凶相，但他依旧温文尔雅。
“I ask your pardons all，”he said，“and especially her Majesty’s.If I had known that he would take refuge here I would have awaited a more reasonable time for his correction.”
“请原谅我的鲁莽，”它说，“尤其是尊贵的女王陛下。看他在这里避难的份上，我就再等一段时间，给他一个改正的机会。
“What on earth’s up ?”asked Edmund.
“发生了什么事情?”爱德蒙问。
What had really happened was this.Reepicheep，who never felt that the ship was getting on fast enough，loved to sit on the bulwarks far forward just beside the dragon’s head，gazing out at the eastern horizon and singing softly in his little chirruping voice the song the Dryad had made for him.He never held on to anything，however the ship pitched，and kept his balance with perfect ease;perhaps his long tail，hanging down to the deck inside the bulwarks，made this easier.Everyone on board was familiar with this habit，and the sailors liked it because when one was on look-out duty it gave one somebody to talk to.Why exactly Eustace had slipped and reeled and stumbled all the way forward to the forecastle(he had not yet got his sea-legs)I never heard.Perhaps he hoped he would see land，or perhaps he wanted to hang about the galley and scrounge something.Anyway， as soon as he saw that long tail hanging down—and perhaps it was rather tempting—he thought it would be delightful to catch hold of it，swing Reepicheep round by it once or twice upside-down，then run away and laugh.At first the plan seemed to work beautifully.The Mouse was not much heavier than a very large cat.Eustace had him off the rail in a trice and very silly he looked(thought Eustace)with his little limbs all splayed out and his mouth open.But unfortunately Reepicheep，who had fought for his life many a time，never lost his head even for a moment. Nor his skill.It is not very easy to draw one’s sword when one is swinging round in the air by one’s tail，but he did.And the next thing Eustace knew was two agonizing jabs in his hand which made him let go of the tail;and the next thing after that was that the Mouse had picked itself up again as if it were a ball bouncing off the deck，and there it was facing him，and a horrid long， bright，sharp thing like a skewer was waving to and fro within an inch of his stomach.(This doesn’t count as below the belt for mice in Narnia because they can hardly be expected to reach higher.)
"事情是这个样子的——雷佩契普自始至终没觉得船开得有多快，它总是远远地坐在龙头旁边的船舷上一边凝视着东方地平线，一边轻轻地哼唱着树仙女为它写的歌曲。也许是它的长尾巴在甲板上更容易保持平衡吧，它什么东西都不用抓，不管船再怎么颠簸，它都能姿态优雅、稳稳地坐着。船上的人都知道它这种习惯，特别是水手，特喜欢它这样。因为当有人在值班瞭望时，就会跟它聊天了。

不知道尤斯塔斯为什么一路上摇摇晃晃，磕磕碰碰地摸到船头( 他还是晕船)。可能他想看看是不是能看见陆地，或许他想去厨房外面的走廊逛逛，看看能否找点东西吃吧。反正，只要他看见那条长尾巴拖在地上——这个想法太诱人了——他马上就想一把抓住那条尾巴，把雷佩契普头朝下扭上一两圈，自己赶快溜走，躲在一旁偷笑， 真是大快人心啊。

最初这个计划进行得很顺利。这只老鼠并不比一只猫大多少， 尤斯塔斯轻而易举地就把它扔到了栏杆外面。只见它张着嘴，四肢仰面朝天，尤斯塔斯觉得这样的丑相真是狼狈至极。没想到，雷佩契普多次拼死奋战，一点都没有惊慌失措，并抓住了机会扭转了败局。按理说，被人扭住尾巴，身体在空中摇摆是不可能拔出剑来的，可它却做到了。

尤斯塔斯不知不觉就被砍了两剑，痛得他只好松开雷佩契普的尾巴。然后，那只老鼠在甲板上打了个滚之后爬了起来，用那支明晃晃的剑对准了尤斯塔斯，并在他的肚子前一两寸的地方来回挥舞。( 这对纳尼亚的老鼠来说，不能看成是袭击腰部以下的违规行为，因为老鼠只能够得到那个位置。)
"
“Stop it，”spluttered Eustace，“go away.Put that thing away.It’s not safe.Stop it，I say.I’ll tell Caspian.I’ll have you muzzled and tied up.”
“住手，”尤斯塔斯唾沫四溅，“走开。把那东西收起来，这不安全。我说，住手。我要告诉凯斯宾，然后把你的嘴巴套上，把你捆起来。”
“Why do you not draw your own sword，poltroon !”cheeped the Mouse.“Draw and fight or I’ll beat you black and blue with the flat.”
“你这个胆小鬼，你拔出你的剑啊，我们再打!”老鼠吱吱地叫着，“拔出剑来和我打，不然我就用剑打得你浑身青紫。”
“I haven’t got one，”said Eustace.“I’m a pacifist.I don’t believe in fighting.”
“我没有剑，”尤斯塔斯说，“我是个和平主义者，我不认为武力能解决问题。”
“Do I understand，”said Reepicheep，withdrawing his sword for a moment and speaking very sternly，“that you do not intend to give me satisfaction ?”
“我明白了，”雷佩契普收回剑，非常严厉地说，“你是已经认输了吗?”
“I don’t know what you mean，”said Eustace，nursing his hand. “If you don’t know how to take a joke I shan’t bother my head about you.”
“我不知道你什么意思，”尤斯塔斯擦擦手，“如果你不懂什么是开玩笑，我也没必要和你一般见识。”
“Then take that，”said Reepicheep，“and that—to teach you manners—and the respect due to a knight—and a Mouse—and a Mouse’s tail—”and at each word he gave Eustace a blow with the side of his rapier，which was thin，fine，dwarf—tempered steel and as supple and effective as a birch rod.Eustace(of course) was at a school where they didn’t have corporal punishment，so the sensation was quite new to him.That was why，in spite of having no sea—legs，it took him less than a minute to get off that　forecastle and cover the whole length of the deck and burst in at the cabin door—still hotly pursued by Reepicheep.Indeed it seemed to Eustace that the rapier as well as the pursuit was hot.It might have been red—hot by the feel.
“那你必须受我一剑，”雷佩契普说，“这一剑会让你知道什么叫懂礼貌——懂得怎样尊敬一位骑士——一只老鼠骑士和老鼠骑士的尾巴。”每说一句，它就给尤斯塔斯一个轻剑，百炼钢如同绕指柔那般灵活。尤斯塔斯念书的学校没有体罚，这样惊心动魄的经历对他来说很新奇。尽管他会晕船，还是趁机逃离了船头，穿过甲板， 冲进舱房。雷佩契普在后面穷追不舍，不依不饶。在尤斯塔斯看来， 自己不仅被追得火热，那把剑也是热的，是火辣辣的热。
There was not much difficulty in settling the matter once Eustace realized that everyone took the idea of a duel seriously and heard Caspian offering to lend him a sword，and Drinian and Edmund discussing whether he ought to be handicapped in some way to make up for his being so much bigger than Reepicheep.He apologized sulkily and went off with Lucy to have his hand bathed and bandaged and then went to his bunk.He was careful to lie on his side.
大家明白了整件事情的原委，凯斯宾要借给他一把剑，德里宁和爱德蒙在讨论要不要给他点约束，以阻止他在雷佩契普身型上占得便宜。尤斯塔斯听出来大家对他们决斗的事情竟然都非常认真，只好愁眉苦脸地示弱和道歉，然后跟着露茜去洗伤口，包扎，再乖乖地在自己的床铺上躺下。