《凯斯宾王子》第三章 小矮人

CHAPTER THREE THE DWARF

第三章 小矮人

THE worst of sleeping out of doors is that you wake up so dreadfully early.And when you wake you have to get up because the ground is so hard that you are uncomfortable.And it makes matters worse if there is nothing but apples for breakfast and you have had nothing but apples for supper the night before.When Lucy had said-truly enough-that it was a glorious morning，there did not seem to be anything else nice to be said.Edmund said what everyone was feeling，"We've simply got to get off this island."

在小岛上过夜，最糟糕的事情就是一大早就醒来。如果你不想腰酸背痛的话，肯定不会像在自己家一样赖床，因为地面实在是太硬了。更糟糕的是，早餐除了吃前一天晚上就吃腻了的苹果，根本没有其他东西可吃。露茜说得不错，这的确是一个明媚的清晨，但是没有任何人觉得它美好。还是爱德蒙说出来了："我们必须离开这儿。"的确，这是大家的心里话。

When they had drunk from the well and splashed their faces they all went down the stream again to the shore and stared at the channel which divided them from the mainland.

他们喝饱了井水，洗了脸之后，便一直顺着溪流原路返回，来到了海岸边。他们呆呆地注视着把他们和大陆隔开的海峡。

"We'll have to swim，"said Edmund.

"看来我们只能游过去了。"爱德蒙说。

"It would be all right for Su，"said Peter (Susan had won prizes for swimming at school)."But I don't know about the rest of us." By"the rest of us"he really meant Edmund who couldn't yet do two lengths at the school baths，and Lucy，who could hardly swim at all.

" 这对苏珊来说绝对没问题，"彼得说，"不过我们就难说了。"因为之前苏珊拿到过学校游泳比赛的奖牌。其实他说的"我们"是指爱德蒙和露茜，因为就算是在学校的游泳池里，爱德蒙也游不了一个来回，而露茜更是根本不会游泳。

"Anyway，"said Susan，"there may be currents.Father says it's never wise to bathe in a place you don't know."

"不管怎么说"苏珊说，"海里会有漩涡。爸爸说过，在不熟悉的地方游泳绝对是不明智的。"

"But，Peter，"said Lucy，"look here.I know I can't swim for nuts at home-in England，I mean.But couldn't we all swim long ago-if it was long ago-when we were Kings and Queens in Narnia? We could ride then too，and do all sorts of things.Don't you think-?"

"但是，彼得，"露茜说，"好吧，我很清楚我在我们家乡不会游泳，我的意思是在英国。但是之前我们是纳尼亚国王和女王的时候，不是会游泳吗。我们还会骑马以及做很多其他各种事情，你说呢?"

"Ah，but we were sort of grown-up then，"said Peter.

"啊，是啊，不过那时候我们可是成年人。"彼得说。

"We reigned for years and years and learned to do things.Aren't we just back at our proper ages again now?"

"我们年复一年地统治纳尼亚，学会了很多事。但是现在我们不在纳尼亚，而是在自己生活的国家，不是吗?

"Oh!"said Edmund in a voice which made everyone stop talking and listen to him.

"哦!"爱德蒙的声音很大，所有人都默不作声齐刷刷地看向他。

"I've just seen it all，"he said.

他说，"我终于明白了。"

"Seen what?"asked Peter.

"明白了什么?"彼得问道。

"Why，the whole thing，"said Edmund."You know what we were puzzling about last night，that it was only a year ago since we left Narnia but everything looks as if no one had lived in Cair Paravel for hundreds of years? Well，don't you see? You know that，however long we seemed to have lived in Narnia，when we got back through the wardrobe it seemed to have taken no time at all?"

"嗯，就是整个事情啊，"爱德蒙说，"我终于明白你们说的，也就是之前一直困惑我们的问题。虽然我们离开纳尼亚仅仅一年，凯尔帕拉维尔城堡就好像有几百年没人住过了。好吧，难道你们还不明白吗?不管我们在纳尼亚待多久，一旦我们从魔衣橱里回到我们的世界，对于我们那个世界来说，好像根本没耗费一点时间。"

"Go on，"said Susan."I think I'm beginning to understand."

"接着说，"苏珊说，"我好像能搞清楚是怎么回事了。"

"And that means，"continued Edmund，"that，once you're out of Narnia，you have no idea how Narnian time is going.Why shouldn't hundreds of years have gone past in Narnia while only one year has passed for us in England?"

"也就是说，"爱德蒙继续说，"我们一离开纳尼亚，就没有了纳尼亚的时间概念。这么一来，我们在英国待一年，纳尼亚怎么就不能过了几百年了呢?"

"By Jove，Ed，"said Peter."I believe you've got it.In that sense it really was hundreds of years ago that we lived in Cair Paravel.And now we're coming back to Narnia just as if we were Crusaders or Anglo-Saxons or Ancient Britons or someone coming back to modern England?"

"亲爱的爱德蒙，"彼得开口说,"我相信你说的是对的，现在看来凯尔帕拉维尔已经是过了几百年了!我们现在重返纳尼亚，就跟十字军和盎格鲁-撒克逊人或是古代的英国人穿越到现在社会一样。

"How excited they'll be to see us-"began Lucy，but at the same moment everyone else said，"Hush!"or"Look!"For now something was happening.

"要是纳尼亚的朋友看到我们，该有多么激动啊!"露茜一张嘴，就被其他人的"嘘"声和那一声"看!"给打断了。

There was a wooded point on the mainland a little to their right，and they all felt sure that just beyond that point must be the mouth of the river.And now，round that point there came into sight a boat.When it had cleared the point，it turned and began coming along the channel towards them.There were two people on board，one rowing，the other sitting in the stern and holding a bundle that twitched and moved as if it were alive.Both these people seemed to be soldiers.They had steel caps on their heads and light shirts of chain-mail.Their faces were bearded and hard.The children drew back from the beach into the wood and watched without moving a finger.

于是，所有人都注意到了海峡对面那个右边一点的树林。一时之间，他们似乎都确定了那就是河口。现在，有只小船正闯入他们的视线，划向他们。随着距离的拉近，一切变得越来越清晰。船上有两个人，其中一个在摇橹，另外一个则坐在船尾，抓住一个不停扭动的东西。他们戴着钢盔，穿着轻薄的锁子甲，满脸的胡须，表情凶悍，看起来像是士兵。孩子们从沙滩上退回树林，一动不动地注视着他们，不敢发出任何声响。

"This'll do，"said the soldier in the stern when the boat had come about opposite to them.

"这儿就可以了。"小船停到孩子对面的时候，船尾的那个人说。

"What about tying a stone to his feet，Corporal?"said the other，resting on his oars.

"捆一块石头在他的脚上吧，老大?"摇橹的人边说边停下了手中的桨。

"Garn!"growled the other."We don't need that，and we haven't brought one.He'll drown sure enough without a stone，as long as we've tied the cords right."With these words he rose and lifted his bundle.Peter now saw that it was really alive and was in fact a Dwarf，bound hand and foot but struggling as hard as he could.Next moment he heard a twang just beside his ear，and all at once the soldier threw up his arms，dropping the Dwarf into the bottom of the boat，and fell over into the water.He floundered away to the far bank and Peter knew that Susan's arrow had struck on his helmet.He turned and saw that she was very pale but was already fitting a second arrow to the string.But it was never used.As soon as he saw his companion fall，the other soldier，with a loud cry，jumped out of the boat on the far side，and he also floundered through the water (which was apparently just in his depth) and disappeared into the woods of the mainland.

"闭嘴!"船尾的那个人粗鲁地说，"不需要，咱们没带石头。只要绑紧点，不用石头照样能淹死他。"说着，那个人站起来，提起了那个东西。彼得看得很清楚，是一个手和脚都被捆住的小矮人，他在拼命挣扎。突然，小矮人掉在了船上，士兵也掉到了水里，挣扎着游向河岸。彼得知道，肯定是苏珊一箭射中了士兵的头盔。回过头来，发现苏珊铁青着脸，正准备发射第二箭。但她还没有射出去，那个小兵看到老大遭到袭击，自己就尖叫着从船的另一头跳进了河水里，玩命似的一口气游到了对岸。很快，便消失在对岸的树林里。(显然这里水太浅，淹不死他。)

"Quick! Before she drifts!"shouted Peter.He and Susan，fully dressed as they were，plunged in，and before the water was up to their shoulders their hands were on the side of the boat.In a few seconds they had hauled her to the bank and lifted the Dwarf out，and Edmund was busily engaged in cutting his bonds with the pocket-knife.(Peter's sword would have been sharper，but a sword is very inconvenient for this sort of work because you can't hold it anywhere lower than the hilt.) When at last the Dwarf was free，he sat up，rubbed his arms and legs，and exclaimed:

"快点!不要让小船漂走了!"彼得喊了一声。他和苏珊衣服都没来得及脱 ，就一头扎进了水里，把小船拖到了岸边，抬出了里面的小矮人。爱德蒙费力地用小折刀割断了绑着小矮人的绳子。(彼得的剑比小刀锋利多了，但是他的长剑在这种情况下不太方便，因为不能用手握着刀刃去割绳子。)小矮人被松绑后，就坐了起来，活动了一下手脚，说：

"Well，whatever they say，you don't feel like ghosts."

Like most Dwarfs he was very stocky and deep-chested.He would have been about three feet high if he had been standing up，and an immense beard and whiskers of coarse red hair left little of his face to be seen except a beak-like nose and twinkling black eyes.

"嗯，不管他们怎么说，可我觉得你们并不像幽灵鬼怪。"　和其他大多数的小矮人一样，他有鸡胸，又矮又胖，不足一米高。那满脸的红胡子让他的脸看起来几乎只剩下尖尖的高鼻子和闪闪发光的黑眼睛。

"Anyway，"he continued，"ghosts or not，you've saved my life and I'm extremely obliged to you."

"不管你们是不是幽灵，"他继续说，"你们救了我的命，我真的非常感激。"

"But why should we be ghosts?"asked Lucy.

"我们怎么可能是幽灵呢?"露茜问。

"I've been told all my life，"said the Dwarf，"that these woods along the shore were as full of ghosts as they were of trees.That's what the story is.And that's why，when they want to get rid of anyone，they usually bring him down here (like they were doing with me) and say they'll leave him to the ghosts.But I always wondered if they didn't really drown'em or cut their throats.I never quite believed in the ghosts.But those two cowards you've just shot believed all right.They were more frightened of taking me to my death than I was of going!"

"这话我已经听了一辈子了，"小矮人接着说，"大家都说，海岸这边树林里的幽灵多得像树叶一样，所以当他们想除掉谁的时候，就会把他送到这里，交给幽灵处置。(就像我遇到的情况一样。)但是那些幽灵真的会把人活活淹死或者割断喉咙吗?我一直不相信。但刚才那两个胆小鬼却深信不疑，他们本来是要害死我，到头来却吓破了自己的胆子 。

"Oh，"said Susan."So that's why they both ran away."

"哦，难怪他们逃命时跑得那么快!"苏珊说。

"Eh? What's that?"said the Dwarf.

"什么?他们怎么了?"小矮人问。

"They got away，"said Edmund."To the mainland."

"他们跑了，"爱德蒙说，"到大陆上去了。"

"I wasn't shooting to kill，you know，"said Susan.She would not have liked anyone to think she could miss at such a short range.

苏珊解释说："我只是射了一箭吓吓他们，并没打算伤害他们。"她其实是怕别人以为那么近她还射不中。

"Hm，"said the Dwarf."That's not so good.That may mean trouble later on.Unless they hold their tongues for their own sake."

"好吧，"小矮人说，"这可不太好，他们以后会来找麻烦的，除非他们愿意为了自己的利益保守秘密。"

"What were they going to drown you for?"asked Peter.

彼得问："他们为什么要淹死你?"

"Oh，I'm a dangerous criminal，I am，"said the Dwarf cheerfully."But that's a long story.Meantime，I was wondering if perhaps you were going to ask me to breakfast? You've no idea what an appetite it gives one，being executed."

"哦，我是一个危险分子，是的，"小矮人非常自豪地回答。"说来话长，不过现在我想知道的是，你们会不会邀请我一起吃早餐?你们可能不知道一个人死里逃生之后，胃口会有多好。"

"There's only apples，"said Lucy dolefully.

"我们只有苹果。"露茜顿时很沮丧。

"Better than nothing，but not so good as fresh fish，"said the Dwarf."It looks as if I'll have to ask you to breakfast instead.I saw some fishing tackle in that boat.And anyway，we must take her round to the other side of the island.We don't want anyone from the mainland coming down and seeing her."

"总比什么都吃不上强吧。如果加上几条活鱼做早餐，那就更好了。"小矮人说，"这样说来我只好反客为主，请你们吃早餐了，我看到了船上有一些渔具。不过无论如何，我们必须先把小船弄到小岛的另一边，千万不能让对面陆地上的人看到它。"

"I ought to have thought of that myself，"said Peter.

"这一点，我早该想到的。"彼得说。

The four children and the Dwarf went down to the water's edge，pushed off the boat with some difficulty，and scrambled aboard.The Dwarf at once took charge.The oars were of course too big for him to use，so Peter rowed and the Dwarf steered them north along the channel and presently eastward round the tip of the island.From here the children could see right up the river，and all the bays and headlands of the coast beyond it.They thought they could recognize bits of it，but the woods，which had grown up since their time，made everything look very different.

四个孩子和小矮人一起来到水边，折腾了半天，终于把小船推进水里，然后爬了上去。小矮人熟练地指挥起来。可是，船桨对他来说显然太大了。于是他掌舵，彼得划桨，小船缓缓朝北驶去，绕过小岛驶向东方。从这里他们可以看到整个海湾和对面海岸的沙地。他们原本以为，那些往日美好的时光总会留下一些印记，但是那些不知道什么年代开始长成的松林，让这一切都那么陌生，那些时光就这么面目全非，无从寻找了。

When they had come round into open sea on the east of the island，the Dwarf took to fishing.They had an excellent catch of pavenders，a beautiful rainbow-coloured fish which they all remembered eating in Cair Paravel in the old days.When they had caught enough they ran the boat up into a little creek and moored her to a tree.The Dwarf，who was a most capable person (and，indeed，though one meets bad Dwarfs，I never heard of a Dwarf who was a fool)，cut the fish open，cleaned them，and said:

到了小岛东边小矮人开始钓鱼。他们很幸运，钓到了很多像彩虹一样五颜六色的鳟鱼。这让他们想起了，在凯尔帕拉维尔时，他们也吃这种鱼。当他们钓到差不多足够吃的鱼时，就把小船划进了一条小溪，拴在树上。那个小矮人超级能干，(其实，尽管小矮人中也有坏人，但他们都很聪明。)他利落地杀鱼，把鱼剖开，并且清洗干净。然后说：

"Now，what we want next is some firewood."

好了，现在我们需要一堆柴火来烤鱼。

"We've got some up at the castle，"said Edmund.

"在城堡里，我们已经架起了火堆。"爱德蒙说。

The Dwarf gave a low whistle."Beards and bedsteads!"he said."So there really is a castle，after all?"

小矮人轻轻地吹了声口哨，"我的老天啊!这真的有城堡吗?"

"It's only a ruin，"said Lucy.

"现在是一片废墟了。"露茜接过话。

The Dwarf stared round at all four of them with a very curious expression on his face."And who on earth-?"he began，but then broke off and said，"No matter.Breakfast first.But one thing before we go on.Can you lay your hand on your hearts and tell me I'm really alive? Are you sure I wasn't drowned and we're not all ghosts together?"

小矮人满脸狐疑，打量着他们。"你们究竟是......"他小声嘟囔，但是很快就改口说，"无所谓了，先吃早饭。但是，吃饭前我们必须做一件事：你们把手放到胸口上，对我连说三遍'你真的还活着'。你们真的确定，我既没有被淹死，也没有和幽灵们在一起吗?"

When they had all reassured him，the next question was how to carry the fish.They had nothing to string them on and no basket.They had to use Edmund's hat in the end because no one else had a hat.He would have made much more fuss about this if he had not by now been so ravenously hungry.

几个孩子齐声向他做出保证。于是，小矮人不再有任何怀疑。可是，接下来又有一个问题，那就是怎么带走这些鱼。他们没有绳子也没有笼子。最后，他们不得不用爱德蒙的帽子。要不是他饿得心慌，他才不会同意用自己心爱的帽子装鱼呢!

At first the Dwarf did not seem very comfortable in the castle.He kept looking round and sniffing and saying，"H'm.Looks a bit spooky after all.Smells like ghosts，too."But he cheered up when it came to lighting the fire and showing them how to roast the fresh pavenders in the embers.Eating hot fish with no forks，and one pocket-knife between five people，is a messy business and there were several burnt fingers before the meal was ended; but，as it was now nine o'clock and they had been up since five，nobody minded the burns so much as you might have expected.When everyone had finished off with a drink from the well and an apple or so，the Dwarf produced a pipe about the size of his own arm，filled it，lit it，blew a great cloud of fragrant smoke，and said，"Now."

在城堡里面，刚开始时，小矮人浑身不自在，他时不时地东张西望，不停地闻来闻去，嘴里不停地嘟囔，"咦，这里真是古怪，有种幽灵的味道。"可是当火堆点燃后，他就来了精神，指手画脚地教那几个孩子如何用炭火烤新鲜的鳟鱼。他们没有叉子，只有一把小刀，还要五个人用。烤熟的鱼很烫手，饭还没吃完就有几个人的手指被烫伤了。不过，饥饿难耐的他们，根本顾不上这点烫伤。　当他们吃完这顿美餐后，又喝了些井水，吃了一两个苹果才算完事。那个小矮人不知道什么时候做了个跟他胳膊差不多粗的烟斗，填满烟丝，开始吞云吐雾。心满意足地说，"好了。"

"You tell us your story first，0"said Peter."And then we'll tell you ours."

"你先给我们讲讲你的故事，"彼得说，"然后我们再给你讲讲我们的。"

"Well，"said the Dwarf，"as you've saved my life it is only fair you should have your own way.But I hardly know where to begin.First of all I'm a messenger of King Caspian's."

"好啊，"小矮人说，"看在你们救了我的份上，我当然会满足你们的要求，但是真不知该从何说起。首先，我是凯斯宾国王的信使。"

"Who's he?"asked four voices all at once.

"凯斯宾是谁?"四个孩子异口同声地问道。

"Caspian the Tenth，King of Narnia，and long may he reign!"answered the Dwarf."That is to say，he ought to be King of Narnia and we hope he will be.At present he is only King of us Old Narnians-"

"凯斯宾十世，是纳尼亚的国王。凯斯宾万岁!"小矮人祈祷着。"也就是说，我们希望他是整个纳尼亚的统治者。可现在他只是我们旧纳尼亚人的国王。"

"What do you mean by old Narnians，please?"asked Lucy.

"旧纳尼亚人是指谁?"露茜问道。

"Why，that's us，"said the Dwarf."We're a kind of rebellion，I suppose."

"唉，当然是我们，"小矮人说，"我们这些土生土长的纳尼亚人，现在被称为'叛徒'的人。"

"I see，"said Peter."And Caspian is the chief Old Narnian."

"我明白了，"彼得说道，"凯斯宾是纳尼亚以前的首领。"

"Well，in a manner of speaking，"said the Dwarf，scratching his head."But he's really a New Narnian himself，a Telmarine，if you follow me."

"好吧，也可以这么说，"小矮人挠了挠头，然后说，"其实，他自己也是个新纳尼亚人，是台尔马人。你们明白我的意思吗?"

"I don't，"said Edmund.

我不明白。"爱德蒙说。

"It's worse than the Wars of the Roses，"said Lucy.

"我也糊涂了。"露茜说。

"Oh dear，"said the Dwarf."I'm doing this very badly.Look here: I think I'll have to go right back to the beginning and tell you how Caspian grew up in his uncle's court and how he comes to be on our side at all.But it'll be a long story."

"啊，天哪，"小矮人说，"我的表达能力太差了，我还是从头讲起吧，从凯斯宾是怎样在他叔父的王宫里成长，讲到他是怎样站到我们这边的。这是一个很长很长的故事。"

"All the better，"said Lucy."We love stories."

"越长越好，"露茜说，"我们都很喜欢听故事。"

So the Dwarf settled down and told his tale.I shall not give it to you in his words，putting in all the children's questions and interruptions，because it would take too long and be confusing，and，even so，it would leave out some points that the children only heard later.But the gist of the story，as they knew it in the end，was as follows.

小矮人坐下来开始讲他的故事。我不打算复述他的原话，因为这样的话，孩子们的提问和他们的插话也要原原本本地写出来。这样一来，这个故事就更长更复杂了。我把小矮人讲的故事归纳了一下，与孩子们后来了解到的情况完全一致。那个故事就是下面这样的。