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双语·银椅 第二章 吉尔得到一项任务

所属教程:译林版·银椅

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2022年05月06日

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CHAPTER TWO: JILL IS GIVEN A TASK

WITHOUT a glance at Jill, the lion rose to its feet and gave one last blow. Then, as if satisfied with its work, it turned and stalked slowly away, back into the forest.

“It must be a dream, it must, it must,” said Jill to herself. “I'll wake up in a moment.” But it wasn't, and she didn't.

“I do wish we'd never come to this dreadful place,” said Jill. “I don't believe Scrubb knew any more about it than I do. Or if he did, he had no business to bring me here without warning me what it was like. It's not my fault he fell over that cliff. If he'd left me alone we should both be all right.” Then she remembered again the scream that Scrubb had given when he fell, and burst into tears.

Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do. When Jill stopped, she found she was dreadfully thirsty. She had been lying face downward, and now she sat up. The birds had ceased singing and there was perfect silence except for one small, persistent sound, which seemed to come from a good distance away. She listened carefully, and felt almost sure it was the sound of running water.

Jill got up and looked round her very carefully. There was no sign of the lion; but there were so many trees about that it might easily be quite close without her seeing it. For all she knew, there might be several lions. But her thirst was very bad now, and she plucked up her courage to go and look for that running water. She went on tiptoes, stealing cautiously from tree to tree, and stopping to peer round her at every step.

The wood was so still that it was not difficult to decide where the sound was coming from. It grew clearer every moment and, sooner than she expected, she came to an open glade and saw the stream, bright as glass, running across the turf a stone's throw away from her. But although the sight of the water made her feel ten times thirstier than before, she didn't rush forward and drink. She stood as still as if she had been turned into stone, with her mouth wide open. And she had a very good reason; just on this side of the stream lay the lion.

It lay with its head raised and its two fore-paws out in front of it, like the lions in Trafalgar Square. She knew at once that it had seen her, for its eyes looked straight into hers for a moment and then turned away—as if it knew her quite well and didn't think much of her.

“If I run away, it'll be after me in a moment,” thought Jill. “And if I go on, I shall run straight into its mouth.” Anyway, she couldn't have moved if she had tried, and she couldn't take her eyes off it. How long this lasted, she could not be sure; it seemed like hours. And the thirst became so bad that she almost felt she would not mind being eaten by the lion if only she could be sure of getting a mouthful of water first.

“If you're thirsty, you may drink.”

They were the first words she had heard since Scrubb had spoken to her on the edge of the cliff. For a second she stared here and there, wondering who had spoken. Then the voice said again, “If you are thirsty, come and drink,” and of course she remembered what Scrubb had said about animals talking in that other world, and realized that it was the lion speaking. Anyway, she had seen its lips move this time, and the voice was not like a man's. It was deeper, wilder, and stronger; a sort of heavy, golden voice. It did not make her any less frightened than she had been before, but it made her frightened in rather a different way.

“Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion.

“I'm dying of thirst,” said Jill.

“Then drink,” said the Lion.

“May I—could I—would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill.

The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience.

The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.

“Will you promise not to—do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill.

“I make no promise,” said the Lion.

Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.

“Do you eat girls?” she said.

“I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.

“I daren't come and drink,” said Jill.

“Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion.

“Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”

“There is no other stream,” said the Lion.

It never occurred to Jill to disbelieve the Lion—no one who had seen his stern face could do that—and her mind suddenly made itself up. It was the worst thing she had ever had to do, but she went forward to the stream, knelt down, and began scooping up water in her hand. It was the coldest, most refreshing water she had ever tasted. You didn't need to drink much of it, for it quenched your thirst at once. Before she tasted it she had been intending to make a dash away from the Lion the moment she had finished. Now, she realized that this would be on the whole the most dangerous thing of all. She got up and stood there with her lips still wet from drinking.

“Come here,” said the Lion. And she had to. She was almost between its front paws now, looking straight into its face. But she couldn't stand that for long; she dropped her eyes.

“Human Child,” said the Lion. “Where is the Boy?”

“He fell over the cliff,” said Jill, and added, “Sir.” She didn't know what else to call him, and it sounded cheek to call him nothing.

“How did he come to do that, Human Child?”

“He was trying to stop me from falling, Sir.”

“Why were you so near the edge, Human Child?”

“I was showing off, Sir.”

“That is a very good answer, Human Child. Do so no more. And now,” (here for the first time the Lion's face became a little less stern) “the Boy is safe. I have blown him to Narnia. But your task will be the harder because of what you have done.”

“Please, what task, Sir?” said Jill.

“The task for which I called you and him here out of your own world.”

This puzzled Jill very much. “It's mistaking me for someone else,” she thought. She didn't dare to tell the Lion this, though she felt things would get into a dreadful muddle unless she did.

“Speak your thought, Human Child,” said the Lion.

“I was wondering—I mean—could there be some mistake? Because nobody called me and Scrubb, you know. It was we who asked to come here. Scrubb said we were to call to—to Somebody—it was a name I wouldn't know—and perhaps the Somebody would let us in. And we did, and then we found the door open.”

“You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you,” said the Lion.

“Then you are Somebody, Sir?” said Jill.

“I am. And now hear your task. Far from here in the land of Narnia there lives an aged king who is sad because he has no prince of his blood to be king after him. He has no heir because his only son was stolen from him many years ago, and no one in Narnia knows where that Prince went or whether he is still alive. But he is. I lay on you this command, that you seek this lost prince until either you have found him and brought him to his father's house, or else died in the attempt, or else gone back into your own world.”

“How, please?” said Jill.

“I will tell you, Child,” said the Lion. “These are the signs by which I will guide you in your quest. First; as soon as the Boy Eustace sets foot in Narnia, he will meet an old and dear friend. He must greet that friend at once; if he does, you will both have good help. Second; you must journey out of Narnia to the north till you come to the ruined city of the ancient giants. Third; you shall find a writing on a stone in that ruined city, and you must do what the writing tells you. Fourth; you will know the lost prince (if you find him) by this, that he will be the first person you have met in your travels who will ask you to do something in my name, in the name of Aslan.”

As the Lion seemed to have finished, Jill thought she should say something. So she said, “Thank you very much. I see.”

“Child,” said Aslan, in a gentler voice than he had yet used, “perhaps you do not see quite as well as you think. But the first step is to remember. Repeat to me, in order, the four signs.”

Jill tried, and didn't get them quite right. So the Lion corrected her, and made her repeat them again and again till she could say them perfectly. He was very patient over this, so that, when it was done, Jill plucked up courage to ask:

“Please, how am I to get to Narnia?”

“On my breath,” said the Lion. “I will blow you into the west of the world as I blew Eustace.”

“Shall I catch him in time to tell him the first sign? But I suppose it won't matter. If he sees an old friend, he's sure to go and speak to him, isn't he?”

“You will have no time to spare,” said the Lion. “That is why I must send you at once. Come. Walk before me to the edge of the cliff.”

Jill remembered very well that if there was no time to spare, that was her own fault. “If I hadn't made such a fool of myself, Scrubb and I would have been going together. And he'd have heard all the instructions as well as me,” she thought. So she did as she was told. It was very alarming walking back to the edge of the cliff, especially as the Lion did not walk with her but behind her—making no noise on his soft paws.

But long before she had got anywhere near the edge, the voice behind her said, “Stand still. In a moment I will blow. But, first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters. And now, daughter of Eve, farewell—”

The voice had been growing softer towards the end of this speech and now it faded away altogether. Jill looked behind her. To her astonishment she saw the cliff already more than a hundred yards behind her, and the Lion himself a speck of bright gold on the edge of it. She had been setting her teeth and clenching her fists for a terrible blast of lion's breath; but the breath had really been so gentle that she had not even noticed the moment at which she left the earth. And now, there was nothing but air for thousands upon thousands of feet below her.

She felt frightened only for a second. For one thing, the world beneath her was so very far away that it seemed to have nothing to do with her. For another, floating on the breath of the Lion was so extremely comfortable. She found she could lie on her back or on her face and twist any way she pleased, just as you can in water (if you've learned to float really well). And because she was moving at the same pace as the breath, there was no wind, and the air seemed beautifully warm. It was not in the least like being in an aeroplane, because there was no noise and no vibration. If Jill had ever been in a balloon she might have thought it more like that; only better.

When she looked back now she could take in for the first time the real size of the mountain she was leaving. She wondered why a mountain so huge as that was not covered with snow and ice—“but I suppose all that sort of thing is different in this world,” thought Jill. Then she looked below her; but she was so high that she couldn't make out whether she was floating over land or sea, nor what speed she was going at.

“By Jove! The signs!” said Jill suddenly. “I'd better repeat them.” She was in a panic for a second or two, but she found she could still say them all correctly. “So that's all right,” she said, and lay back on the air as if it was a sofa, with a sigh of contentment.

“Well, I do declare,” said Jill to herself some hours later, “I've been asleep. Fancy sleeping on air. I wonder if anyone's done it before. I don't suppose they have. Oh, bother—Scrubb probably has! On this same journey, a little bit before me. Let's see what it looks like down below.”

What it looked like was an enormous, very dark blue plain. There were no hills to be seen, but there were biggish white things moving slowly across it. “Those must be clouds,” she thought. “But far bigger than the ones we saw from the cliff. I suppose they're bigger because they're nearer. I must be getting lower. Bother this sun.”

The sun which had been high overhead when she began her journey was now getting into her eyes. This meant that it was getting lower, ahead of her. Scrubb was quite right in saying that Jill (I don't know about girls in general) didn't think much about points of the compass. Otherwise she would have known, when the sun began getting in her eyes, that she was travelling pretty nearly due west.

Staring at the blue plain below her, she presently noticed that there were little dots of brighter, paler colour in it here and there. “It's the sea!” thought Jill. “I do believe those are islands.” And so they were. She might have felt rather jealous if she had known that some of them were islands which Scrubb had seen from a ship's deck and even landed on; but she didn't know this. Then, later on, she began to see that there were little wrinkles on the blue flatness: little wrinkles which must be quite big ocean waves if you were down among them. And now, all along the horizon there was a thick dark line which grew thicker and darker so quickly that you could see it growing. That was the first sign she had had of the great speed at which she was travelling. And she knew that the thickening line must be land.

Suddenly from her left (for the wind was in the south) a great white cloud came rushing towards her, this time on the same level as herself. And before she knew where she was, she had shot right into the middle of its cold, wet fogginess. That took her breath away, but she was in it only for a moment. She came out blinking in the sunlight and found her clothes wet. (She had on a blazer and sweater and shorts and stockings and pretty thick shoes; it had been a muddy sort of day in England.) She came out lower than she had gone in; and as soon as she did so she noticed something which, I suppose, she ought to have been expecting, but which came as a surprise and a shock. It was Noises. Up till then she had travelled in total silence. Now, for the first time, she heard the noise of waves and the crying of seagulls. And now, too, she smelled the smell of the sea. There was no mistake about her speed now. She saw two waves meet with a smack and a spout of foam go up between them; but she had hardly seen it before it was a hundred yards behind her.

The land was getting nearer at a great pace. She could see mountains far inland, and other nearer mountains on her left. She could see bays and headlands, woods and fields, stretches of sandy beach. The sound of waves breaking on the shore was growing louder every second and drowning the other sea noises.

Suddenly the land opened right ahead of her. She was coming to the mouth of a river. She was very low now, only a few feet above the water. A wave-top came against her toe and a great splash of foam spurted up, drenching her nearly to the waist. Now she was losing speed. Instead of being carried up the river she was gliding in to the river bank on her left. There were so many things to notice that she could hardly take them all in; a smooth, green lawn, a ship so brightly coloured that it looked like an enormous piece of jewellery, towers and battlements, banners fluttering in the air, a crowd, gay clothes, armour, gold, swords, a sound of music. But this was all jumbled. The first thing that she knew clearly was that she had alighted and was standing under a thicket of trees close by the river side, and there, only a few feet away from her, was Scrubb.

The first thing she thought was how very grubby and untidy and generally unimpressive he looked. And the second was “How wet I am!”

第二章 吉尔得到一项任务

狮子看都没看吉尔一眼,就站起身来,又吹了最后一口气。然后,他仿佛很满意自己的成果,转身悄无声息地缓缓离开,向树林走去。

“这肯定是一场梦,肯定是,肯定是。”吉尔对自己说,“我很快就会醒来。”但这并不是梦,她也没有醒来。

“我真希望我们从没来过这个鬼地方,”吉尔说,“我相信斯克罗布对这里的了解一点儿都不比我多。他要是了解的话,不应该不提前警告我这里是什么样子,就把我带过来。他摔下悬崖不是我的错。如果他不管我,我们两个都会好好的。”然后,她又想起了斯克罗布摔下去时的惨叫声,她放声大哭起来。

大哭一场固然痛快,但你迟早得停下来,然后还得决定该做什么。吉尔停止哭泣的时候,发现自己渴得要命。原来她一直脸朝下趴在地上,这时,她坐起了身子。鸟儿已经不再唱了,此时万籁俱寂,只有一个小小的持续不断的声音,那声音似乎是从很遥远的地方传来的。她认真听着,几乎可以肯定那是流水的声音。

吉尔站起身,非常仔细地打量了一下四周。狮子的踪迹早已消失;不过周围有那么多树,他极有可能就待在附近,只是她看不到而已。根据她的知识,这里可能有好多狮子。但是她渴得厉害,只好鼓足勇气,出发去寻找流水。她踮着脚尖走路,谨慎地从一棵树悄悄挪到另一棵树背后,每走一步都停下来观察一下四周。

森林里非常安静,不难判断出水声是从哪里传来的。水流的声音愈来愈清晰,她没想到这么快就来到一片开阔的空地,看到了那道溪流,溪水明亮得像玻璃一样,绕着草地奔流,就在距离她一步之遥的地方。尽管看到水,让她感觉又渴了十倍,不过她并没有急匆匆跑上前去喝。相反,她仿佛变成了石头,一动不动地站着,嘴张得大大的。而她之所以这样做,理由非常充分,因为狮子就卧在溪流的这一边。

狮子卧在地上,头抬着,两只前爪探在身前,像特拉法尔加广场上的狮子雕塑一样。她立刻就知道他看到了她,因为他直直地望了她一阵,之后才转移视线——就仿佛他非常了解她,并不太在意她。

“如果我现在跑开,他很快就能追上我。”吉尔想,“如果我向前走,就会直接跑进他的嘴里。”总之,她就算想动,也动不了,她的视线一刻也不敢从那头狮子身上挪开。这情形到底持续了多久,她无法确定,似乎有好几个小时。而她越来越渴,她甚至都觉得只要能够先喝上一口水,就算被狮子吃掉也在所不惜。

“如果你渴了,你可以喝。”

这是自从斯克罗布在悬崖边跟她说过话后,她听到的第一句话。有一秒钟,她看看这里,看看那里,想知道到底是谁在说话。然后那个声音又说:“如果你渴了,过来喝吧。”她当然想起了斯克罗布说过在另外的世界里,动物是可以说话的,然后意识到这是狮子在说话。反正,这一次,她看到了他的嘴唇在动,而且这声音也不像人的声音。那是一种更深沉、更野性、更有力的声音,是一种庄重而高贵的声音。这声音没有让她变得不那么害怕,反而令她感觉到了一种完全不同的恐惧。

“你不渴吗?”狮子说。

“我要渴死了。”吉尔说。

“那就喝吧。”狮子说。

“我可不可以……我能不能……我喝水的时候能不能请你走开一些?”吉尔问。

狮子的回答只是一个眼神和一声非常低的轻吼。吉尔看着他一动不动的身体,感觉自己像是在要求整座高山为了方便她而挪到旁边一样。

溪流令人开心的潺潺声引得她就要疯了。

“你能保证不——不对我做任何事情吗,如果我过去的话?”吉尔问。

“我不保证。”狮子说。

吉尔现在太渴了,她竟然不知不觉地向前挪了一步。

“你吃女孩吗?”她说。

“我曾吞过女孩和男孩,女人和男人,国王和皇帝,城市和王国。”狮子说。他说这话并不像是在吹牛,似乎也不觉得抱歉或是愤怒。他只是随口说说而已。

“我不敢过去喝水。”吉尔说。

“那你会渴死。”狮子说。

“啊,天啊!”吉尔说着又走近了一步,“我觉得我必须离开这里,去寻找另一条小溪。”

“这里没有别的小溪。”狮子说。

吉尔丝毫不怀疑狮子的话——任何人只要看过他严峻的脸,就不会对他心生怀疑——她突然下了决心。这可能是她做过的最糟糕的事情了,但她还是向前走到小溪边,跪在地上,用手掬起水。这是她喝过的最冷洌、最清凉的水了。你不需要喝太多,因为它能瞬间解你的渴。在喝到水之前,她本来决定,只要一喝完水,就立刻从狮子身边逃走。但现在,她意识到,那应该会是所有事情中最危险的。她站起身,站在那里,嘴唇湿漉漉的。

“过来。”狮子说。她不得不过去。她几乎走到了狮子的两个前爪中间,两眼直直地对着他的脸。但她没有办法坚持太久,很快就垂下了眼帘。

“人类的孩子,”狮子说,“那个男孩去哪儿了?”

“他摔下悬崖了。”吉尔说,然后又补充道,“先生。”她不知道除此之外还应该怎么称呼狮子,可是,不加个称呼,又显得很没有礼貌。

“他是怎么摔下去的,人类的孩子?”

“他想要防止我摔下去,先生。”

“你为什么距离悬崖边缘那么近,人类的孩子?”

“我在显摆,先生。”

“这是一个很好的回答,人类的孩子。别再那么做了。而现在,”这时,狮子的脸第一次显得没有那么严峻了,“男孩很安全。我把他吹去了纳尼亚。但因为你刚才的所作所为,你的任务要比他困难一些。”

“请问,是什么任务,先生?”吉尔说。

“正是为了这个任务,我将你和他从你们自己的世界中召唤过来。”

这让吉尔非常困惑。“他肯定是把我错当成别人了。”她想。但是她不敢告诉狮子这件事,不过她感觉,如果她不说出来,后面的事情就会变得一团糟。

“说出你的想法,人类的孩子。”狮子说。

“我在想……我是说……是不是出了什么错?因为,你瞧,没有人召唤我和斯克罗布。是我们两个自己要求来这里的。斯克罗布说我们要呼唤——呼唤某某——名字我不记得了……然后,可能,某某就会让我们进入这个世界。我们就呼唤了,然后我们发现那扇门开了。”

“如果我没有召唤你们,你们是不会呼唤我的。”狮子说。

“那么,你就是某某了,先生?”吉尔说。

“是。现在听听你的任务。在离这里很远的纳尼亚的土地上,住着一位年老的国王,他非常悲伤,因为他没有王子延续他的血脉,在他过世之后继承王位。他之所以没有继承人,是因为很多年以前他唯一的儿子被人偷走了。在纳尼亚没有人知道王子去了哪里,也没有人知道他是否还活着。但其实他还活着。我征召你们来承担这项任务,去寻找这位失踪的王子,直到找到他将他带回他父亲的王庭,如果找不到他,你们要么会死在寻找的路上,要么会回到你们自己的世界去。”

“怎么去找,请问?”吉尔说。

“我会告诉你的,孩子。”狮子说,“以下是我引导你们寻找王子的提示。第一,那个名叫尤斯塔斯的男孩一踏足纳尼亚,就会遇到一个昔日的好朋友。他必须立即去和那个朋友打招呼,如果他这么做了,你们两个就会得到很有益的帮助。第二,你们必须离开纳尼亚,一直向北,直到走到古代巨人的城市遗迹。第三,你们会在那座城市遗迹中发现一块石头,上面刻着文字,你们必须按照上面的文字去做。第四,你们会据此认出那位失踪的王子(如果你们找到他的话):他是你们旅行中遇到的第一个请求你们以我的名义,以阿斯兰的名义做一件事情的人。”

狮子似乎说完了,吉尔觉得自己应该说点儿什么。于是,她说:“非常感谢,我明白了。”

“孩子,”阿斯兰的声音比以往都温柔,“可能你并没有你自己以为的那么明白。但第一步,是要记住。给我按顺序复述一遍那四条提示。”

吉尔试着背了一遍,不是完全正确。于是,狮子一遍遍地纠正她,并让她一次次地复述,直到她说得完全正确为止。在这个过程中,他非常有耐心,因此,背完之后,吉尔鼓起勇气问了个问题:“请问,我该怎么去纳尼亚?”

“乘着我的呼吸。”狮子说,“我会把你吹到这个世界的西方,就像我吹尤斯塔斯一样。”

“我可以及时追上他告诉他第一条提示吗?但我觉得这没关系。如果他见到了老朋友,肯定会过去和朋友说话的,是不是?”

“你没有时间了。”狮子说,“因此,我要立即把你送去。来吧。走在我前面,到悬崖边上去。”

吉尔很清楚地意识到,如果说没有时间了,那也全是她自己的错。“如果我表现得没有那么蠢,斯克罗布和我就已经一起去了那里了。而他也会像我一样听到所有的提示。”她想。她听从狮子的话。但走回悬崖边的这一路还是很令人心惊胆战的,特别是狮子不是和她走在一起,而是走在她后面——他柔软的爪子没有发出一点儿声音。

然而,离悬崖边还有一段不小的距离时,她身后的声音就说:“站好,我马上就会吹了。但是,首先,要牢记,牢记,牢记那些提示。每天早上醒来,对自己说一遍;每天晚上躺下,对自己说一遍;半夜醒来,对自己说一遍。无论你遇到什么奇怪的事情,都不要忘记那些提示。第二,我给你一个警告。在这座山上,我能清楚地和你交谈,在纳尼亚我不会经常这么做。在这座山上,空气很清新,你的头脑很清醒,但当你落到纳尼亚,空气会变得浑浊。一定要小心,不要让它使你的脑子变糊涂了。你在这里获得的那些提示,在那里遇到时,看上去会跟你想象中的完全不一样。所以,你必须要用心去认识它们,不要只看外表,这一点非常重要。记住那些提示,相信那些提示。其他一切都不重要。现在,夏娃之女,再见了……”

到了这席话结尾的时候狮子的声音变得更轻柔了,现在,那声音已经彻底消失了。吉尔看了看身后。令她吃惊的是,她看到悬崖已经离她至少有一百码远了,而狮子也变成了悬崖边一个金光闪闪的小点。她本来一直咬紧牙关,紧紧握着拳头,准备迎接狮子呼吸带来的猛风,但没想到那呼吸非常轻柔,她在离开地面之时甚至都没有感觉。而现在,在她身下,向下几千尺又几千尺,除了空气别无其他。

她只害怕了一秒钟。一来,下面那个世界离她是那么遥远,似乎和她没有什么关系。二来,飘在狮子呼出的空气上极其舒服。她发现自己可以躺下,可以趴着,可以随心所欲地动来动去,就像在水中一样(如果你的漂浮学得很好的话)。因为她移动的速度和狮子的呼吸一样,所以并没有风,空气也似乎格外的温暖宜人。这和在飞机里的感觉完全不同,因为既没有任何噪音,也没有任何震颤。如果吉尔坐过气球的话,她会觉得这更像是在气球里,只是比乘气球更舒服些。

回头望去时,她才第一次发现她刚刚离开的山到底有多大。她很好奇为什么这么巨大的一座山会没有冰雪覆盖——“不过,我猜,这个世界的一切都是与众不同的。”吉尔想。然后她又向下看,不过她距离地面太远了,根本分辨不出自己是在陆地上方飘移还是在海洋上空浮动,更看不出她在以多快的速度移动。

“天啊!那些提示!”吉尔突然说,“我最好背一遍。”她慌了一两秒,但她发现依然能完全正确地说出来。“那就没什么问题了。”她说,心满意足地长出一口气,背向后靠着空气,仿佛靠着沙发一样。

“呃,我得说,”几个小时后,吉尔自言自语地说,“我刚才睡着了。睡在空中,可真是奇怪啊。真想知道还有没有人这么做过。我猜没有吧。噢,讨厌——斯克罗布可能这么睡过!就在这同一段旅途中,他比我提前一些。让我看看下面是什么样子吧。”

下面看起来像是一片广阔的湛蓝色平原。看不到山,但平原上方有白色的庞然大物在缓缓移动。“那肯定是云了。”她想,“但这些云朵比我们从悬崖上看到的那些大太多了。我猜,云变大了,是因为我离得近了。我肯定是飘得低些了。这太阳真讨厌。”

她的旅程刚开始的时候,太阳是当头照的,而现在,阳光射入了她的眼中。这说明,太阳在她前面,落山了。斯克罗布有一点说得很对,吉尔(我不知道一般的女孩子怎么样)没什么方向感。否则,在太阳开始照射她的眼睛时,她就会知道自己基本上是朝着正西方向而去的。

她凝望着身下的蓝色平原,很快便注意到上面零星地散落着一些颜色浅些亮些的小点。“这是海!”吉尔想,“我相信那些小点是岛屿。”的确如此。如果她知道斯克罗布曾经在一艘船的甲板上眺望过那些岛屿,甚至还登上了其中的一座岛屿,她应该会非常嫉妒,不过她并不知道这些。然后,过了一会儿,她才开始看清楚那蓝色而平静的海面上掀起了微微的褶皱:如果你身处那些褶皱之间,你就会发现这些微微的褶皱是非常大的海浪。而现在,在海天相接的地方出现了一道粗粗的暗黑色的线,那条线以极快的速度变得越来越粗,越来越黑,快得你可以看到它在不断地扩张。这是她正飞速行进的第一个迹象。另外,她知道,那越来越粗的线肯定就是陆地。

突然间,从她左边(现在正吹南风)急速地飘来一大片白云,这时,云和她在同一高度。她还没有意识到自己身在何方,就直接飞进了云的中心,那里又冷又湿,雾气蒙蒙。这令她透不过气来,不过她只在云里待了一小会儿。出来后,阳光照过来,她眨了眨眼睛,发现衣服都湿了。(她穿着运动衫、毛衣、短裤、短袜和一双很厚的鞋子;英国的今天是个泥泞的日子。)她从云里出来的时候飘浮的高度比进去的时候又低了一些,她一出来,就注意到了一些事情,我猜这应该是她一直都期待着的,不过,她还是大为震惊。是声音。直到这一刻之前,她都是在一片彻底的静寂中旅行。而现在,第一次,她听到了海浪声和海鸥的鸣叫声。同时,她还闻到了大海的气息。她可以确定,自己的确是在快速移动。她看到两个海浪撞在一起,啪的一声巨响,一团泡沫从中间升起,但还没等她看清楚,这些泡沫就已经消失在她身后一百码远的地方了。陆地正以飞快的速度向她靠近。她能看到远在内陆的高山,也能看到左边一些离得比较近的山。她能看到海湾和海岬,森林和田地,还有一片片的沙滩。海浪拍岸的声音越来越大,渐渐淹没了海洋上的其他声音。

突然之间,陆地呈现在了她的眼前。她直接面向一条河的入海处。她现在飘得很低了,距离水面只有几英尺。一个海浪的浪峰触到了她的脚趾,溅起一大团泡沫,几乎把她腰部以下都打湿了。现在,她的速度慢了下来。她没有被吹到河面上,而是滑到了左侧的河岸上。这里有太多值得看的东西了,她真的目不暇接:一片平滑的绿草地,一艘色泽明亮耀眼得仿佛巨大宝石的大船,塔楼,城垛,迎风招展的旗帜,人群,漂亮的衣服,铠甲,黄金,宝剑。她还听到了音乐。但这一切都显得杂乱无章。她清楚地意识到的第一件事情是她降落了,正站在河岸附近的一片树丛下面。而在离她只有几英尺的地方站着的正是斯克罗布。

她最先想到的是,他多么邋遢啊,看起来多不起眼啊,其次才想到“我简直湿透了呀”!

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