英语听力 学英语,练听力,上听力课堂! 注册 登录
> 在线听力 > 有声读物 > 世界名著 > 译林版·银椅 >  第7篇

双语·银椅 第七章 有奇怪沟渠的山丘

所属教程:译林版·银椅

浏览:

2022年05月11日

手机版
扫描二维码方便学习和分享

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE HILL OF THE STRANGE TRENCHES

THERE is no denying it was a beast of a day. Overhead was a sunless sky, muffled in clouds that were heavy with snow; underfoot, a black frost; blowing over it, a wind that felt as if it would take your skin off. When they got down into the plain they found that this part of the ancient road was much more ruinous than any they had yet seen. They had to pick their way over great broken stones and between boulders and across rubble: hard going for sore feet. And, however tired they got, it was far too cold for a halt.

At about ten o'clock the first tiny snow flakes came loitering down and settled on Jill's arm. Ten minutes later they were falling quite thickly. In twenty minutes the ground was noticeably white. And by the end of half an hour a good steady snowstorm, which looked as if it meant to last all day, was driving in their faces so that they could hardly see.

In order to understand what followed, you must keep on remembering how little they could see. As they drew near the low hill which separated them from the place where the lighted windows had appeared, they had no general view of it at all. It was a question of seeing the next few paces ahead, and, even for that, you had to screw up your eyes. Needless to say, they were not talking.

When they reached the foot of the hill they caught a glimpse of what might be rocks on each side—squarish rocks, if you looked at them carefully, but no one did. All were more concerned with the ledge right in front of them which barred their way. It was about four feet high. The Marsh-wiggle, with his long legs, had no difficulty in jumping onto the top of it, and he then helped the others up. It was a nasty wet business for them, though not for him, because the snow now lay quite deep on the ledge. They then had a stiff climb—Jill fell once—up very rough ground for about a hundred yards, and came to a second ledge. There were four of these ledges altogether, at quite irregular intervals.

As they struggled on to the fourth ledge, there was no mistaking the fact that they were now at the top of the flat hill. Up till now the slope had given them some shelter; here, they got the full fury of the wind. For the hill, oddly enough, was quite as flat on top as it had looked from a distance: a great level tableland which the storm tore across without resistance. In most places the snow was still hardly lying at all, for the wind kept catching it up off the ground in sheets and clouds, and hurling it in their faces. And round their feet little eddies of snow ran about as you sometimes see them doing over ice. And, indeed, in many places, the surface was almost as smooth as ice. But to make matters worse it was crossed and crisscrossed with curious banks or dykes, which sometimes divided it up into squares and oblongs. All these of course had to be climbed; they varied from two to five feet in height and were about a couple of yards thick. On the north side of each bank the snow already lay in deep drifts; and after each climb you came down into a drift and got wet.

Fighting her way forward with hood up and head down and numb hands inside her cloak, Jill had glimpses of other odd things on that horrible tableland—things on her right that looked vaguely like factory chimneys, and, on her left, a huge cliff, straighter than any cliff ought to be. But she wasn't at all interested and didn't give them a thought. The only things she thought about were her cold hands (and nose and chin and ears) and hot baths and beds at Harfang.

Suddenly she skidded, slid about five feet, and found herself to her horror sliding down into a dark, narrow chasm which seemed that moment to have appeared in front of her. Half a second later she had reached the bottom. She appeared to be in a kind of trench or groove, only about three feet wide. And though she was shaken by the fall, almost the first thing she noticed was the relief of being out of the wind; for the walls of the trench rose high above her. The next thing she noticed was, naturally, the anxious faces of Scrubb and Puddleglum looking down at her from the edge.

“Are you hurt, Pole?” shouted Scrubb.

“Both legs broken, I shouldn't wonder,” shouted Puddleglum.

Jill stood up and explained that she was all right, but they'd have to help her out.

“What is it you've fallen into?” asked Scrubb.

“It's a kind of trench, or it might be a kind of sunken lane or something,” said Jill. “It runs quite straight.”

“Yes, by Jove,” said Scrubb. “And it runs due north! I wonder is it a sort of road? If it was, we'd be out of this infernal wind down there. Is there a lot of snow at the bottom?”

“Hardly any. It all blows over the top, I suppose.”

“What happens further on?”

“Half a sec. I'll go and see,” said Jill. She got up and walked along the trench; but before she had gone far, it turned sharply to the right. She shouted this information back to the others.

“What's round the corner?” asked Scrubb.

Now it happened that Jill had the same feeling about twisty passages and dark places underground, or even nearly underground, that Scrubb had about the edges of cliffs. She had no intention of going round that corner alone; especially when she heard Puddleglum bawling out from behind her:

“Be careful, Pole. It's just the sort of place that might lead to a dragon's cave. And in a giant country, there might be giant earthworms or giant beetles.”

“I don't think it goes anywhere much,” said Jill, coming hastily back.

“I'm jolly well going to have a look,” said Scrubb. “What do you mean by anywhere much, I should like to know?” So he sat down on the edge of the trench (everyone was too wet by now to bother about being a bit wetter) and then dropped in. He pushed past Jill and, though he didn't say anything, she felt sure that he knew she had funked it. So she followed him close, but took care not to get in front of him.

It proved, however, a disappointing exploration. They went round the right-hand turn and straight on for a few paces. Here there was a choice of ways: straight on again, or sharp to the right. “That's no good,” said Scrubb, glancing down the right-hand turn, “that would be taking us back—south.” He went straight on, but once more, in a few steps, they found a second turn to the right. But this time there was no choice of ways, for the trench they had been following here came to a dead end.

“No good,” grunted Scrubb. Jill lost no time in turning and leading the way back. When they returned to the place where Jill had first fallen in, the Marsh-wiggle with his long arms had no difficulty in pulling them out.

But it was dreadful to be out on top again. Down in those narrow slits of trenches, their ears had almost begun to thaw. They had been able to see clearly and breathe easily and hear each other speak without shouting. It was absolute misery to come back into the withering coldness. And it did seem hard when Puddleglum chose that moment for saying:

“Are you still sure of those signs, Pole? What's the one we ought to be after, now?”

“Oh, come on! Bother the signs,” said Pole. “Something about someone mentioning Aslan's name, I think. But I'm jolly well not going to give a recitation here.”

As you see, she had got the order wrong. That was because she had given up saying the signs over every night. She still really knew them, if she troubled to think: but she was no longer so “pat” in her lesson as to be sure of reeling them off in the right order at a moment's notice and without thinking. Puddleglum's question annoyed her because, deep down inside her, she was already annoyed with herself for not knowing the Lion's lesson quite so well as she felt she ought to have known it. This annoyance, added to the misery of being very cold and tired, made her say, “Bother the signs.” She didn't perhaps quite mean it.

“Oh, that was next, was it?” said Puddleglum. “Now I wonder, are you right? Got 'em mixed, I shouldn't wonder. It seems to me, this hill, this flat place we're on, is worth stopping to have a look at. Have you noticed—”

“Oh Lor!” said Scrubb, “is this a time for stopping to admire the view? For goodness' sake let's get on.”

“Oh, look, look, look,” cried Jill and pointed. Everyone turned, and everyone saw. Some way off to the north, and a good deal higher up than the tableland on which they stood, a line of lights had appeared. This time, even more obviously than when the travellers had seen them the night before, they were windows: smaller windows that made one think deliciously of bedrooms, and larger windows that made one think of great halls with fires roaring on the hearth and hot soup or juicy sirloins smoking on the table.

“Harfang!” exclaimed Scrubb.

“That's all very well,” said Puddleglum. “But what I was saying was—”

“Oh, shut up,” said Jill crossly. “We haven't a moment to lose. Don't you remember what the Lady said about their locking up so early? We must get there in time, we must, we must. We'll die if we're shut out on a night like this.”

“Well, it isn't exactly a night, not yet,” began Puddleglum; but the two children both said, “Come on,” and began stumbling forward on the slippery tableland as quickly as their legs would carry them. The Marsh-wiggle followed them: still talking, but now that they were forcing their way into the wind again, they could not have heard him even if they had wanted to. And they didn't want. They were thinking of baths and beds and hot drinks; and the idea of coming to Harfang too late and being shut out was almost unbearable.

In spite of their haste, it took them a long time to cross the flat top of that hill. And even when they had crossed it, there were still several ledges to climb down on the far side. But at last they reached the bottom and could see what Harfang was like.

It stood on a high crag, and in spite of its many towers was more a huge house than a castle. Obviously, the Gentle Giants feared no attack. There were windows in the outside wall quite close to the ground—a thing no one would have in a serious fortress. There were even odd little doors here and there, so that it would be quite easy to get in and out of the castle without going through the courtyard. This raised the spirits of Jill and Scrubb. It made the whole place look more friendly and less forbidding. At first the height and steepness of the crag frightened them, but presently they noticed that there was an easier way up on the left and that the road wound up towards it. It was a terrible climb, after the journey they had already had, and Jill nearly gave up. Scrubb and Puddleglum had to help her for the last hundred yards. But in the end they stood before the castle gate. The portcullis was up and the gate open.

However tired you are, it takes some nerve to walk up to a giant's front door. In spite of all his previous warnings against Harfang, it was Puddleglum who showed most courage.

“Steady pace, now,” he said. “Don't look frightened, whatever you do. We've done the silliest thing in the world by coming at all: but now that we are here, we'd best put a bold face on it.”

With these words he strode forward into the gateway, stood still under the arch where the echo would help his voice, and called out as loud as he could.

“Ho! Porter! Guests who seek lodging.”

And while he was waiting for something to happen, he took off his hat and knocked off the heavy mass of snow which had gathered on its wide brim.

“I say,” whispered Scrubb to Jill. “He may be a wet blanket, but he has plenty of pluck—and cheek.”

A door opened, letting out a delicious glow of firelight, and the Porter appeared. Jill bit her lips for fear she should scream. He was not a perfectly enormous giant; that is to say, he was rather taller than an apple tree but nothing like so tall as a telegraph pole. He had bristly red hair, a leather jerkin with metal plates fastened all over it so as to make a kind of mail shirt, bare knees (very hairy indeed) and things like puttees on his legs. He stooped down and goggled at Puddleglum.

“And what sort of creature do you call yourself,” he said.

Jill took her courage in both hands. “Please,” she said, shouting up at the giant. “The Lady of the Green Kirtle salutes the King of the Gentle Giants, and has sent us two Southern children and this Marsh-wiggle (his name's Puddleglum) to your Autumn Feast. If it's quite convenient, of course,” she added.

“Oho!” said the Porter. “That's quite a different story. Come in, little people, come in. You'd best come into the lodge while I'm sending word to his Majesty.” He looked at the children with curiosity. “Blue faces,” he said. “I didn't know they. were that colour. Don't care about it myself. But I dare say you look quite nice to one another. Beetles fancy other beetles, they do say.”

“Our faces are only blue with cold,” said Jill. “We're not this colour really.”

“Then come in and get warm. Come in, little shrimps,” said the Porter. They followed him into the lodge. And though it was rather terrible to hear such a big door clang shut behind them, they forgot about it as soon as they saw the thing they had been longing for ever since supper time last night—a fire. And such a fire! It looked as if four or five whole trees were blazing on it, and it was so hot they couldn't go within yards of it. But they all flopped down on the brick floor, as near as they could bear the heat, and heaved great sighs of relief.

“Now, youngster,” said the Porter to another giant who had been sitting in the back of the room, staring at the visitors till it looked as if his eyes would start out of his head, “run across with this message to the House.” And he repeated what Jill had said to him. The younger giant, after a final stare, and a great guffaw, left the room.

“Now, Froggy,” said the Porter to Puddleglum, “you look as if you wanted some cheering up.” He produced a black bottle very like Puddleglum's own, but about twenty times larger. “Let me see, let me see,” said the Porter. “I can't give you a cup or you'll drown yourself. Let me see. This salt-cellar will be just the thing. You needn't mention it over at the House. The silver will keep on getting over here, and it's not my fault.”

The salt-cellar was not very like one of ours, being narrower and more upright, and made quite a good cup for Puddleglum, when the giant set it down on the floor beside him.

The children expected Puddleglum to refuse it, distrusting the Gentle Giants as he did. But he muttered, “It's rather late to be thinking of precautions now that we're inside and the door shut behind us.” Then he sniffed at the liquor. “Smells all right,” he said. “But that's nothing to go by. Better make sure,” and took a sip. “Tastes all right, too,” he said. “But it might do that at the first sip. How does it go on?” He took a larger sip. “Ah!” he said. “But is it the same all the way down?” and took another. “There'll be something nasty at the bottom, I shouldn't wonder,” he said, and finished the drink. He licked his lips and remarked to the children, “This'll be a test, you see. If I curl up, or burst, or turn into a lizard, or something, then you'll know not to take anything they offer you.”

But the giant, who was too far up to hear the things Puddleglum had been saying under his breath, roared with laughter and said, “Why, Froggy, you're a man. See him put it away!”

“Not a man... Marsh-wiggle,” replied Puddleglum in a somewhat indistinct voice. “Not frog either: Marsh-wiggle.”

At that moment the door opened behind them and the younger giant came in saying, “They're to go to the throne-room at once.”

The children stood up but Puddleglum remained sitting and said, “Marsh-wiggle. Marsh-wiggle. Very respectable Marsh-wiggle. Respectowiggle.”

“Show them the way, young 'un,” said the giant Porter. “You'd better carry Froggy. He's had a drop more than's good for him.”

“Nothing wrong with me,” said Puddleglum. “Not a frog. Nothing frog with me. I'm a respectabiggle.”

But the young giant caught him up by the waist and signed to the children to follow. In this undignified way they crossed the courtyard. Puddleglum, held in the giant's fist, and vaguely kicking the air, did certainly look very like a frog. But they had little time to notice this, for they soon entered the great doorway of the main castle—both their hearts beating faster than usual—and, after pattering along several corridors at a trot to keep up with the giant's paces, found themselves blinking in the light of an enormous room, where lamps glowed and a fire roared on the hearth and both were reflected from the gilding of roof and cornice. More giants than they could count stood on their left and right, all in magnificent robes; and on two thrones at the far end, sat two huge shapes that appeared to be the King and Queen.

About twenty feet from the thrones, they stopped. Scrubb and Jill made an awkward attempt at a bow (girls are not taught how to curtsey at Experiment House) and the young giant carefully put Puddleglum down on the floor, where he collapsed into a sort of sitting position. With his long limbs he looked, to tell the truth, uncommonly like a large spider.

第七章 有奇怪沟渠的山丘

无可否认,天气糟透了。头上的天空暗无天日,阴云密布,很快就会下大雪,脚下是黑漆漆的寒霜,冷风吹过,让人觉得皮都要被风吹掉了。他们进入平原后,发现这一段的古道比过去走过的路段毁损得都要严重。他们不得不小心谨慎地迈步,在破裂的大石块、卵石和碎石砾之间选择下脚的地方:他们本来就双脚酸疼,走在这样的路上更加艰难了。然而,尽管累得不行,但实在太冷了,他们根本不能停下来休息。

大约十点钟,第一片小雪花慢慢地飘落下来,落在了吉尔的手臂上。十分钟后,雪就下得非常密了。二十分钟后,大地变成一片耀眼的白色。半小时后,来了一场实实在在的大暴雪,而且看起来会下上一整天,风雪直扑向他们的脸,他们几乎什么都看不到了。

为了理解接下来发生的故事,你必须时刻记住他们能看到的东西多么有限。当他们渐渐走向那座矮山丘时,那座小山把昨天晚上窗户亮着灯的那个地方挡住了,以至于他们几乎一点儿也看不见。只能看到眼前几步远的地方,这真是个大问题,更何况这几步远的地方,还需要你眯缝着眼睛仔细看。不用说,他们都没有说话。

他们到达山丘脚下时,瞥到了两侧可能是石头的东西——如果仔细看的话,能看出来是方方正正的石头,但没有人细看。他们满腹心思都放在了正前方挡住了他们路的一道岩壁上。这道岩壁大约四英尺高。沼泽怪的双腿很长,可以毫不费力地跳到顶上去,然后他再帮助两个孩子上去。对两个孩子来说,爬上去的这个过程弄得他们湿漉漉的,非常讨厌,因为现在岩壁顶上的雪已经非常厚了,不过沼泽怪却没当回事。之后,他们虽然浑身僵硬,但还是开始了爬坡,中间吉尔摔了一跤,他们顺着非常陡峭、非常崎岖的路向上爬了大约一百码远,遇到了第二道岩壁。他们总共遇到了四道岩壁,之间的距离都不相等。

他们费力地爬上第四道岩壁后,已经毋庸置疑,他们到了平顶山的山顶。在此之前,山坡多多少少帮他们挡了些风,而到了这里,他们开始直面猛烈的狂风了。这座山相当奇怪,山顶非常平,和远处看起来的一样。这里是一片高高的台地,暴风雪毫无阻挡地在上面肆虐。在大多数的地方,雪几乎无法积在地上,因为风一直吹着,一层层、一团团的雪被吹离了地面,直拍他们的脸。雪在他们脚边像是旋风一样打着转,就像有时候看到暴风雪刮过冰面那样。实际上,这里有很多地方,地面都平得像冰一样。但雪上加霜的是,地面上纵横交错地分布着奇怪的堤坝或矮坡,将这片山顶分成了大大小小的正方形和长方形。所有这些堤坝当然都需要爬过去,高度从两英尺到五英尺不等,有好几码厚。每一道堤坝的北侧都已经积了厚厚的雪,每爬过一道堤坝,你就会陷进一个雪坑,搞得浑身湿漉漉的。

吉尔头戴兜帽,低着头,顶风冒雪地往前走,斗篷下面的双手都冻麻了,这时她看到这片可怕的台地上还有奇怪的东西——她右边的东西看起来隐约像是工厂的烟囱,她左边有一大块悬崖,直上直下的,比所有的悬崖都要陡。但她对这些毫无兴趣,没把这些放在心上。她此时想的只是她冰冷的双手(还有鼻子、下巴和耳朵),以及到了哈方能享受到的热水澡和温暖的床。

突然之间,她脚下打滑,滑出去大约五英尺远,她发现自己滑入了一个黑暗狭窄的裂缝,不由心惊胆战起来。这道裂缝似乎是突然之间就出现在她面前的一般。半秒钟之后,她滑到了裂缝底部。这里似乎是一个水渠或水沟,只有大约三英尺宽。尽管摔下来的过程吓得她浑身发抖,但她首先注意到的是这里没有风,不由得放松了下来,因为这里的沟壁高出她头顶很多。接下来她注意到的,自然就是斯克罗布和普登格伦姆忧心的脸,他们正从沟边向下望着她。

“你受伤了吗,波尔?”斯克罗布说。

“两条腿都断了,我一点儿都不觉得奇怪。”普登格伦姆喊道。

吉尔站起来,解释说自己很好,但他们必须想办法帮她出去。

“你掉进去的是个什么地方呀?”斯克罗布问。

“我觉得是水渠,也可能是地道之类的。”吉尔说,“笔直笔直的。”

“好吧,天啊,”斯克罗布说,“正通向北方!我猜这是不是一条路?如果是的话,我们可以到下面去,躲开这要命的风。下面雪多吗?”

“几乎没有。雪应该都从顶上吹过去了,我猜。”

“还有什么?”

“等一下,我看看。”吉尔说。她站起来,顺着沟渠走,但没走多远,路就拐向了正右方。她喊着把这个信息告诉给了另外两个人。

“拐弯之后呢?”斯克罗布问。

对于这拐来拐去的黑暗地下世界,或者说差不多算是地下世界,吉尔的感觉和斯克罗布对悬崖边缘的感觉是一样的。她不想孤身一人拐过去,特别是她还听到普登格伦姆在她身后大声嘶吼:“要小心啊,波尔。这种地方,可能会通向恶龙的巢穴。而且在巨人国里面,可能会有巨型蚯蚓或是巨型甲虫。”

“我觉得可能哪儿也到不了。”吉尔说着,就赶紧往回走。

“我真该去看一下。”斯克罗布说,“你说的哪儿也到不了是什么意思,我很想搞明白。”于是他坐在沟边(现在他们全都浑身湿透了,根本不在乎再湿一点儿了),滑了下去。他从吉尔身边挤过去,尽管他什么都没有说,但吉尔确信他知道自己害怕了。所以她紧紧地跟在他身后,但又小心地不走到他前面去。

不过,事实证明,这是一次令人失望的探险。他们向右转弯,又直着走了几步,然后就面临了选择,是继续向前,还是拐向正右方。“那边不行。”斯克罗布打量着右边的转弯,说,“拐了我们就回去了——朝南走了。”他选择了直走,不过没走太远,又碰上了第二个向右的转弯,而这一次,没有其他的选择了,因为他们走的那条沟到了尽头。

“不行。”斯克罗布咕哝着。吉尔立刻转身往回走。当他们回到吉尔原本落下来的地方,沼泽怪用他长长的胳膊毫不费力地将他们拉了上去。

不过,重新回到上面非常可怕。在沟渠下面窄窄的缝隙中时,他们的耳朵已经开始解冻了。他们又能看得很清楚,呼吸很轻松,能听到彼此讲话,说话时不需要大声喊。而回到令人瑟缩的严寒中,真是太痛苦了。而且,普登格伦姆还选择了这个时候开口说话:

“你还确切记得那些提示吗,波尔?我们现在应该遵照哪一条?”

“噢,算啦!别理那些提示了。”波尔说,“应该是关于什么人提到了阿斯兰的名字的什么事吧,我觉得。不过,我可一点儿都不想在这里背诵。”

你看,她已经把顺序记乱了。这是因为她不再每天晚上背诵那些提示。如果花心思去想的话,她其实还是知道的,但她对自己要记住的功课已经没有那么熟悉,在被问及时,已经不能不假思索、完全确定无误地按照正确的顺序张口就说了。而且,普登格伦姆的问题让她恼火,因为,在她内心深处,她已经开始对自己恼火了,她对狮子的提示的掌握程度,并不像她自己感觉的那么熟悉。因为这种恼火,再加上又冷又累的痛苦,所以,她说了“别理那些提示了”,不过她并不是真心这么想的。

“噢,那是下一条吧,是不是?”普登格伦姆说,“我真想知道你是不是说对了。都搞混了,我一点儿都不觉得奇怪。对我来说,这座山,我们现在所在的这片平地,真的值得停下来仔细看看。你们注意到了吗……”

“天啊!”斯克罗布说,“现在是停下来看风景的时候吗?天神在上,咱们接着走吧。”

“噢,看,看,看!”吉尔大声叫道,她指着一个方向。大家都转头去看,大家也都看到了。再往北一些,比他们所站的台地高出很多的地方,出现了一排灯光。这一次,比他们昨天晚上看到的要更明显,这些就是窗户,小些的窗户让人想到卧室的温馨,大些的窗户令人想到大厅中火焰腾腾的壁炉和桌子上的热汤,或是味美多汁的牛里脊肉冒出的热气。

“哈方!”斯克罗布叫道。

“这很好。”普登格伦姆说,“但我刚才要说的是……”

“噢,闭嘴吧!”吉尔气哄哄地说,“我们不能浪费时间了。你们还记得那位女士说他们很早就锁门吗?我们必须及时赶到那里,必须,必须。这样的晚上,如果我们被关在门外的话,肯定会死的。”

“其实,这并不是晚上,还没到呢。”普登格伦姆开口说,但两个孩子异口同声地说:“走啦!”然后就以他们最快的速度在滑溜溜的台地上费力向前。沼泽怪跟在他们身后,依然说个不停,不过由于他们现在是逆风而行的,两个孩子就算想听他说话,也是听不到的。更何况他们根本不想听。他们都在想着热水澡、床和热饮料,一想到有可能太晚到达哈方被关在门外,就感觉受不了。

尽管他们急匆匆地赶路,但是穿过山丘的平顶还是花了很长的时间。而且,即便是穿过了这一段,山的另一面还有好几道岩壁需要爬下去。不过,他们终于还是到达了山脚,可以看到哈方是什么样子了。

哈方坐落在一处高耸的峭壁上,尽管有很多塔楼,不过这里更像是一座大房子,而不像一座城堡。很显然,文雅的巨人不惧怕外来的攻击。外墙上的窗户开得离地面很近——重要的堡垒都不会出现这样的情况。而且,墙上还有很多奇怪的小门,可以很轻易地不经过庭院就进出城堡。这令吉尔和斯克罗布都精神一振。因为这样的城堡显得非常友好,没有那么可怕。

起初,那处峭壁的高度和陡峭程度令他们生畏,但很快,他们就发现在左边,有一条相对容易上去的路,这条路是条盘山路,曲折地往上。这段上山路也着实骇人,特别是在经历了他们经历过的旅途之后,吉尔差一点儿就要放弃了。斯克罗布和普登格伦姆不得不帮助她走完最后的几百码。不过,到了最后,他们终于站在了城堡大门前。吊闸是升起来的,大门敞开着。

不论你有多么疲惫,要走到巨人家的前门,还是需要一些勇气的。尽管之前普登格伦姆一直都在警告他们,也反对来哈方,但结果看来还是他最勇敢。

“现在,脚步放稳,”他说,“无论做什么,都别表现出害怕来。我们来这里就是做了这个世界上最愚蠢的事情了,但是既然都到了,那我们最好勇敢面对。”

说完这些话,他就大步流星地走到门口,在拱门下面站定,这个位置有回声跟他的声音共鸣,他用他最大的声音叫道:

“哈!看门的!有客人要借宿。”

然后,他就一边等着回应,一边摘下自己的帽子,将宽宽的帽檐上积着的一大堆雪清理下去。

“我觉得吧,”斯克罗布悄声对吉尔说,“他也许很喜欢让人扫兴,不过他真的很有胆子——脸皮也挺厚。”

一扇门打开,显露出一丛诱人的炉火的火光,看门人出现了。吉尔咬着嘴唇,因为她害怕自己会叫出声。这个看门人并不是一个特别高大的巨人,这也就是说,他只比苹果树高一些,不过却没有电线杆那么高。他长着粗硬的红头发,穿着皮背心,上面镶满了金属板,看上去就像是一件锁子甲,膝盖赤裸着(上面长了很多毛),小腿上缠着像是绑腿一样的东西。他弯腰俯身,瞪大了眼睛盯着普登格伦姆。

“你们是什么生物,怎么称呼你们自己?”他说。

吉尔鼓起全身的勇气。“拜托,”她仰头冲着巨人喊道,“绿裙女士向文雅的巨人的国王问好,送我们这两个南方的孩子和这个沼泽怪(他叫普登格伦姆)来加入你们的秋日盛宴。——当然,如果方便的话。”她接着说。

“噢噢!”看门人说,“那就是另外一回事了。进来吧,小人儿,进来吧。你们最好到屋里等着,我去传话给陛下。”他好奇地看了看两个孩子。“青色的脸。”他说,“我真不知道他们是这种颜色的。不过我自己倒不在意。我敢说,你们彼此看起来肯定都觉得挺好看的。甲虫喜欢其他的甲虫,人们都这么说。”

“我们的脸只是被风吹成了青色,”吉尔说,“我们实际上不是这种颜色。”

“进来暖和暖和吧。进来,小虾米们。”看门人说。他们跟着他进了屋。尽管那扇巨大的门在他们身后咣当一下关上的声音听来相当吓人,不过他们立刻把这事情给忘了,因为他们看到了自昨晚晚餐后就一直渴望的东西——一堆火。那是多好的一堆火啊!似乎有四五棵整棵的树在火上燃烧,热烘烘的,他们都没有办法走到距离火堆几码的范围内。不过,他们都瘫坐在砖地上,尽量靠近火堆,如释重负地长长出了一口气。

“好啦,年轻人,”看门人对另一个巨人说,那个巨人一直坐在房间后面,盯着客人,眼睛似乎要从头上跳出来了,“跑去把这个消息报给王庭。”他把吉尔说的话讲给年轻的巨人听,年轻的巨人又望了客人最后一眼,然后一阵狂笑,离开了房间。

“好啦,青蛙仔,”看门人对普登格伦姆说,“你看起来需要点儿东西提提神。”他拿出一个黑色的瓶子,和普登格伦姆自己的瓶子很像,不过要大上二十倍。“让我想想,让我想想,”看门人说,“不能给你用杯子,那样你会淹死的。让我想想。那个小盐瓶正合适。你不需要跟王庭提这个事情,银器今后还会继续弄到这儿来的,而这可不是我的错。”

那个盐瓶和我们用的不一样,要细很多,而且也比较直,巨人将盐瓶放在普登格伦姆旁边的地上,一看就非常适合做他的杯子。

孩子们本以为普登格伦姆要拒绝,像之前那样不信任文雅的巨人。但他只是低声咕哝:“现在我们都进了屋,门也关上了,再考虑谨慎行事已经太晚了。”然后他闻了闻那液体。“闻起来很好。”他说。“但也不好判断,最好确认一下,”说完,他抿了一口。“尝起来也很好。”他说,“但可能就是第一口好喝。接下来如何呢?”他又抿了一大口。“啊哈!”他说,“不过,会全都一样好吗?”他又喝了一口。“底下肯定会有些不对劲儿的,我一点儿都不觉得奇怪。”他说完就将酒喝光了,舔了舔嘴唇,然后跟两个孩子说:“你们看,这是个测试。如果我缩成一团,或是身子炸开,或是变成蜥蜴,或是发生什么事,你们就知道,不能吃任何他们给你们的东西。”

巨人离他们很远,没有听到普登格伦姆压低了声音说的话,他大声笑着说:“啊呀,青蛙仔,你是个真男人。都喝光了!”

“不是男人……是沼泽怪。”普登格伦姆用有些含糊的声音回答,“也不是青蛙,是沼泽怪。”

就在这时,他们身后的门开了,年轻的巨人走进来说:“他们需要立刻就去大殿。”

两个孩子站起身,而普登格伦姆则依然坐着说:“沼泽怪,沼泽怪。非常受人尊敬的沼泽怪。受尊敬的怪。”

“给他们带路,年轻人。”看门巨人说,“你最好扛着青蛙仔。他喝得稍微有点儿多了。”

“我没事。”普登格伦姆说,“不是青蛙。半点儿不是青蛙。我是一个受尊敬的怪。”

但年轻的巨人将他拦腰提起,然后示意两个孩子跟上。他们就以这种不体面的方式穿过了庭院。普登格伦姆被巨人牢牢地箍住,腿在空中乱踢,样子真的非常像青蛙。但他们都没来得及注意到这一点,因为他们很快就到了主城堡的大门口——两个孩子的心跳都比平常快了很多——为了跟上巨人的步伐,他们不得不小跑着,啪嗒啪嗒地经过好几道走廊,然后,他们发现自己置身于一个宽敞的房间里,屋内明亮耀眼,灯光璀璨,炉火熊熊,在镀金的屋顶和飞檐的反射下照得人直眨眼。屋内的巨人多得数不清楚,分左右两排站立,全都身着华丽的长袍,房间的另一端有两把宝座,坐在其上的两个庞然大物应该就是国王和王后了。

他们走到距离王座大约二十英尺的地方,停住了脚步。斯克罗布和吉尔笨手笨脚地鞠躬行礼(在实验学校,并不教女孩们怎么行屈膝礼),年轻的巨人轻手轻脚地将普登格伦姆放在地上,他立刻瘫坐在地。说实话,他的四肢那么长,样子真是格外像一只大蜘蛛。

用户搜索

疯狂英语 英语语法 新概念英语 走遍美国 四级听力 英语音标 英语入门 发音 美语 四级 新东方 七年级 赖世雄 zero是什么意思成都市百悦云景英语学习交流群

  • 频道推荐
  • |
  • 全站推荐
  • 推荐下载
  • 网站推荐