《凱斯賓王子》第9章:露茜看到了什麼
SUSAN and the two boys were bitterly tired with rowing before they rounded the last headland and began the final pull up Glasswater itself, and Lucy's head ached from the long hours of sun and the glare on the water. Even Trumpkin longed for the voyage to be over. The seat on which he sat to steer had been made for men, not Dwarfs, and his feet did not reach the floor-boards; and everyone knows how uncomfortable that is even for ten minutes. And as they all grew more tired, their spirits fell. Up till now the children had only been thinking of how to get to Caspian. Now they wondered what they would do when they found him, and how a handful of Dwarfs and woodland creatures could defeat an army of grown-up Humans.
Twilight was coming on as they rowed slowly up the windings of Glasswater Creek - a twilight which deepened as the banks drew closer together and the overhanging trees began almost to meet overhead. It was very quiet in here as the sound of the sea died away behind them; they could even hear the trickle of the little streams that poured down from the forest into Glasswater.
They went ashore at last, far too tired to attempt lighting a fire; and even a supper of apples (though most of them felt that they never wanted to see an apple again) seemed better than trying to catch or shoot anything. After a little silent munching they all huddled down together in the moss and dead leaves between four large beech trees.
Everyone except Lucy went to sleep at once. Lucy, being far less tired, found it hard to get comfortable. Also, she had forgotten till now that all Dwarfs snore. She knew that one of the best ways of getting to sleep is to stop trying, so she opened her eyes.
Through a gap in the bracken and branches she could just see a patch of water in the Creek and the sky above it. Then, with a thrill of memory, she saw again, after all those years, the bright Narnian stars. She had once known them better than the stars of our own world, because as a Queen in Narnia she had gone to bed much later than as a child in England. And there they were - at least, three of the summer constellations could be seen from where she lay: the Ship, the Hammer, and the Leopard. "Dear old Leopard," she murmured happily to herself.
Instead of getting drowsier she was getting more awake - with an odd, night-time, dreamish kind of wakefulness. The Creek was growing brighter. She knew now that then moon was on it, though she couldn't see the moon. And now she began to feel that the whole forest was coming awake like herself. Hardly knowing why she did it, she got up quickly and walked a little distance away from their bivouac.
"This is lovely," said Lucy to herself. It was cool and fresh, delicious smells were floating everywhere.
Somewhere close by she heard the twitter of a nightingale beginning to sing, then stopping, then beginning again. It was a little lighter ahead. She went towards the light and came to a place where there were fewer trees, and whole patches or pools of moonlight, but the moonlight and the shadows so mixed that you could hardly be sure where anything was or what it was. At the same moment the nightingale, satisfied at last with his tuning up, burst into full song.
Lucy's eyes began to grow accustomed to the light, and she saw the trees that were nearest her more distinctly. A great longing for the old days when the trees could talk in Narnia came over her. She knew exactly how each of these trees would talk if only she could wake them, and what sort of human form it would put on. She looked at a silver birch: it would have a soft, showery voice and would look like a slender girl, with hair blown all about her face, and fond of dancing. She looked at the oak: he would be a wizened, but hearty old man with a frizzled beard and warts on his face and hands, and hair growing out of the warts. She looked at the beech under which she was standing. Ah! she would be the best of all. She would be a gracious goddess, smooth and stately, the lady of the wood.
"Oh, Trees, Trees, Trees," said Lucy (though she had not been intending to speak at all). "Oh, Trees, wake, wake, wake. Don't you remember it? Don't you remember me? Dryads and Hamadryads, come out, come to me."
Though there was not a breath of wind they all stirred about her. The rustling noise of the leaves was almost like words. The nightingale stopped singing as if to listen to it.
Lucy felt that at any moment she would begin to understand what the trees were trying to say. But the moment did not come. The rustling died away. The nightingale resumed its song. Even in the moonlight the wood looked more ordinary again. Yet Lucy had the feeling (as you sometimes have when you are trying to remember a name or a date and almost get it, but it vanishes before you really do) that she had just missed something: as if she had spoken to the trees a split second too soon or a split second too late, or used all the right words except one, or put in one word that was just wrong.
Quite suddenly she began to feel tired. She went back to the bivouac, snuggled down between Susan and Peter, and was asleep in a few minutes.
It was a cold and cheerless waking for them all next morning, with a grey twilight in the wood (for the sun had not yet risen) and everything damp and dirty.
"Apples, heigh-ho," said Trumpkin with a rueful grin. "I must say you ancient kings and queens don't overfeed your courtiers!"
They stood up and shook themselves and looked about. The trees were thick and they could see no more than a few yards in any direction.
"I suppose your Majesties know the way all right?" said the Dwarf.
"I don't," said Susan. "I've never seen these woods in my life before. In fact I thought all along that we ought to have gone by the river."
"Then I think you might have said so at the time," answered Peter, with pardonable sharpness.
"Oh, don't take any notice of her," said Edmund. "She always is a wet blanket. You've got that pocket compass of yours, Peter, haven't you? Well, then, we're as right as rain. We've only got to keep on going north-west - cross that little river, the what-do-you-call-it? - the Rush -"
"I know," said Peter. "The one that joins the big river at the Fords of Beruna, or Beruna's Bridge, as the D.L.F. calls it."
"That's right. Cross it and strike uphill, and we'll be at the Stone Table (Aslan's How, I mean) by eight or nine o'clock. I hope King Caspian will give us a good breakfast!"
"I hope you're right," said Susan. "I can't remember all that at all."
"That's the worst of girls," said Edmund to Peter and the Dwarf. "They never carry a map in their heads."
"That's because our heads have something inside them," said Lucy.
At first things seemed to be going pretty well. They even -thought they had struck an old path; but if you know anything about woods, you will know that one is always finding imaginary paths. They disappear after about five minutes and then you think you have found another (and hope it is not another but more of the same one) and it also disappears, and after you have been well lured out of your right direction you realize that none of them were pats at all. The boys and the Dwarf, however, were used to woods and were not taken in for more than a few seconds.
They had plodded on for about half an hour (three of them very stiff from yesterday's rowing) when Trumpkin suddenly whispered, "Stop." They all stopped. "There's something following us," he said in a low voice. "Or rather, something keeping up with us: over there on the left." They all stood still, listening and staring till their ears and eyes ached. "You and I'd better each have an arrow on the string," said Susan to Trumpkin. The Dwarf nodded, and when both bows were ready for action the party went on again.
They went a few dozen yards through fairly open woodland, keeping a sharp look-out. Then they came to a place where the undergrowth thickened and they had to pass nearer to it. Just as they were passing the place, there came a sudden something that snarled and flashed, rising out from the breaking twigs like a thunderbolt. Lucy was knocked down and winded, hearing the twang of a bowstring as she fell. When she was able to take notice of things again, she saw a great grim-looking grey bear lying dead with Trumpkin's arrow in its side.
"The D.L.F. beat you in that shooting match, Su," said #Peter, with a slightly forced smile. Even he had been shaken by this adventure.
"I - I left it too late," said Susan, in an embarrassed voice. "I was so afraid it might be, you know - one of our kind of bears, a talking bear." She hated killing things.
"That's the trouble of it," said Trumpkin, "when most of the beasts have gone enemy and gone dumb, but there are still some of the other kind left. You never know, and you daren't wait to see."
"Poor old Bruin," said Susan. "You don't think he was?"
"Not he," said the Dwarf. "I saw the face and I heard the snarl. He only wanted Little Girl for his breakfast. And talking of breakfast, I didn't want to discourage your Majesties when you said you hoped King Caspian would give you a good one: but meat's precious scarce in camp. And there's good eating on a bear. It would be a shame to leave the carcass without taking a bit, and it won't delay us more than half an hour. I dare say you two youngsters - Kings, I should say - know how to skin a bear?"
"Let's go and sit down a fair way off," said Susan to Lucy. "I know what a horrid messy business that will be." Lucy shuddered and nodded. When they had sat down she said: "Such a horrible idea has come into my head, Su. "
"What's that?"
"Wouldn't it be dreadful if some day, in our own world, at home, men started going wild inside, like the animals here, and still looked like men, so that you'd never know which were which?"
"We've got enough to bother about here and now in Narnia," said the practical Susan, "without imagining things like that."
When they rejoined the boys and the Dwarf, as much as they thought they could carry of the best meat had been cut off. Raw meat is not a nice thing to fill one's pockets with, but they folded it up in fresh leaves and made the best of it. They were all experienced enough to know that they would feel quite differently about these squashy and unpleasant parcels when they had walked long enough to be really hungry.
On they trudged again (stopping to wash three pairs of hands that needed it in the first stream they passed) until the sun rose and the birds began to sing, and more flies than they wanted were buzzing in the bracken. The stiffness from yesterday's rowing began to wear off. Everybody's spirits rose. The sun grew warmer and they took their helmets off and carried them.
"I suppose we are going right?" said Edmund about an hour later.
"I don't see how we can go wrong as long as we don't bear too much to the left," said Peter. "If we bear too much to the right, the worst that can happen is wasting a little time by striking the great River too soon and not cutting off the corner."
And again they trudged on with no sound except the thud of their feet and the jingle of their chain shirts.
"Where's this bally Rush got to?" said Edmund a good deal later.
"I certainly thought we'd have struck it by now," said Peter. "But there's nothing to do but keep on." They both knew that the Dwarf was looking anxiously at them, but he said nothing.
And still they trudged on and their mail shirts began to feel very hot and heavy.
"What on earth?" said Peter suddenly.
They had come, without seeing it, almost to the edge of a small precipice from which they looked down into a gorge with a river at the bottom. On the far side the cliffs rose much higher. None of the party except Edmund (and perhaps Trumpkin) was a rock climber.
"I'm sorry," said Peter. "It's my fault for coming this way. We're lost. I've never seen this place in my life before."
The Dwarf gave a low whistle between his teeth.
"Oh, do let's go back and go the other way," said Susan. "I knew all along we'd get lost in these woods."
"Susan!" said Lucy, reproachfully, "don't nag at Peter like that. It's so rotten, and he's doing all he can."
"And don't you snap at Su like that, either," said Edmund. "I think she's quite right."
"Tubs and tortoiseshells!" exclaimed Trumpkin. "If we've got lost coming, what chance have we of finding our way back? And if we're to go back to the Island and begin all over again - even supposing we could - we might as well give the whole thing up. Miraz will have finished with Caspian before we get there at that rate."
"You think we ought to go on?" said Lucy.
"I'm not sure the High King is lost," said Trumpkin. "What's to hinder this river being the Rush?"
"Because the Rush is not in a gorge," said Peter, keeping his temper with some difficulty.
"Your Majesty says is," replied the Dwarf, "but oughtn't you to say was? You knew this country hundreds - it may be a thousand - years ago. Mayn't it have changed? A landslide might have pulled off half the side of that hill, leaving bare rock, and there are your precipices beyond the gorge. Then the Rush might go on deepening its course year after year till you get the little precipices this side. Or there might have been an earthquake, or anything."
"I never thought of that," said Peter.
"And anyway," continued Trumpkin, "even if this is not the Rush, it's flowing roughly north and so it must fall into the Great River anyway. I think I passed something that might have been it, on my way down. So if we go downstream, to our right, we'll hit the Great River. Perhaps not so high as we'd hoped, but at least we'll be no worse off than if you'd come my way."
"Trumpkin, you're a brick," said Peter. "Come on, then. Down this side of the gorge."
"Look! Look! Look!" cried Lucy.
"Where? What?" said everyone.
"The Lion," said Lucy. "Aslan himself. Didn't you see?" Her face had changed completely and her eyes shone.
"Do you really mean -?" began Peter.
"Where did you think you saw him?" asked Susan.
"Don't talk like a grown-up," said Lucy, stamping her foot. "I didn't think I saw him. I saw him."
"Where, Lu?" asked Peter.
"Right up there between those mountain ashes. No, this side of the gorge. And up, not down. Just the opposite of the way you want to go. And he wanted us to go where he was - up there."
"How do you know that was what he wanted?" asked Edmund.
"He - I - I just know," said Lucy, "by his face."
The others all looked at each other in puzzled silence.
"Her Majesty may well have seen a lion," put in Trumpkin. "There are lions in these woods, I've been told. But it needn't have been a friendly and talking lion any more than the bear was a friendly and talking bear."
"Oh, don't be so stupid," said Lucy. "Do you think I don't know Aslan when I see him?"
"He'd be a pretty elderly lion by now," said Trumpkin, "if he's one you knew when you were here before! And if it could be the same one, what's to prevent him having gone wild and witless like so many others?"
Lucy turned crimson and I think she would have flown at Trumpkin, if Peter had not laid his hand on her arm. "The D.L.F. doesn't understand. How could he? You must just take it, Trumpkin, that we do really know about Aslan; a little bit about him, I mean. And you mustn't talk about him like that again. It isn't lucky for one thing: and it's all nonsense for another. The only question is whether Aslan was really there."
"But I know he was," said Lucy, her eyes filling with tears.
"Yes, Lu, but we don't, you see," said Peter.
"There's nothing for it but a vote," said Edmund.
"All right," replied Peter. "You're the eldest, D.L.F. What do you vote for? Up or down?"
"Down," said the Dwarf. "I know nothing about Aslan. But I do know that if we turn left and follow the gorge up, it might lead us all day before we found a place where we could cross it. Whereas if we turn right and go down, we're bound to reach the Great River in about a couple of hours. And if there are any real lions about, we want to go away from them, not towards them."
"What do you say, Susan?"
"Don't be angry, Lu," said Susan, "but I do think we should go down. I'm dead tired. Do let's get out of this wretched wood into the open as quick as we can. And none of us except you saw anything."
"Edmund?" said Peter.
"Well, there's just this," said Edmund, speaking quickly and turning a little red. "When we first discovered Narnia a year ago - or a thousand years ago, whichever it is - it was Lucy who discovered it first and none of us would believe her. I was the worst of the lot, I know. Yet she was right after all. Wouldn't it be fair to believe her this time? I vote for going up."
"Oh, Ed!" said Lucy and seized his hand.
"And now it's your turn, Peter," said Susan, "and I do hope -"
"Oh, shut up, shut up and let a chap think," interrupted Peter. "I'd much rather not have to vote. "
"You're the High King," said Trumpkin sternly.
"Down," said Peter after a long pause. "I know Lucy may be right after all, but I can't help it. We must do one or the other."
So they set off to their right along the edge, downstream. And Lucy came last of the party, crying bitterly.
當他們慢慢劃過清水灣的時候，夜幕已經降臨——隨着海岸一點點靠近，暮色也越來越濃，河岸上伸出來的樹枝不時碰到頭上。大海的聲音在他們身後漸漸消失了，這裏非常安靜，甚至能聽見潺潺的小溪從森林裏流向清水灣。,
他們終於登陸了。誰也沒有力氣去拾柴點火，更談不上去捕獵充飢，他們寧願再吃一頓蘋果，儘管蘋果已經吃得太多，絲毫不能引起他們的食慾。他們默默地嚼了一陣蘋果，
便縮作一團，躺倒在四棵高大櫟樹下面那層厚厚的枯葉上。
除了露茜以外，其他人倒下便睡着了。露茜沒有那麼累，所以翻來覆去，怎麼躺都覺得不舒服。更糟糕的是，杜魯普金鼻平聲大作，簡直像在打雷。她知道，在這種情況下，最好的辦法就是不要勉強去睡。於是，她睜開雙眼，漫無目標地朝前望去。透過樹枝的空隙，她剛好看見河裏的一道清水。翻過身來，她又看見了一片星空，不由得激起她對往事的回想。她曾經是多麼熟悉納尼亞的星星，因爲作爲納尼亞的女王，晚上何時睡覺，從來不受別人管束。這時，從她躺着的地方，至少可以看到三個夏日星座：輪船星座、鐵錘星座和豹子星座。"親愛的老豹子。"她輕聲呼喚着，好像與老朋友久別重逢。
這麼一來，她不僅全無睡意，反而更精神了——那是一種奇怪的、只有夜間纔有的夢幻般的清醒。海灣亮如白晝，她知道月亮已經升起了，儘管看不見它。忽然，她感到整個森林都像她自己一樣甦醒了過來。出於一種莫名的衝動，她迅速站起身，悄悄離開了宿營地
夜晚的空氣涼爽、清新，帶着幽微的花香。不遠處有一隻夜鶯在歌唱，它時唱時停，悠然自得。前面的光線比較明亮，露茜信步走過去，來到一個樹木稀疏的地方。恬靜的月光與樹木的陰影交織在一起，使人辨不清周圍的景物。這時，那夜鶯終於定準了調子，開始引吭高歌起來
露茜的眼睛漸漸適應了這裏的光線，她便仔細打量起身邊的一草一木來，因爲她心裏充滿了對過去那些歲月的懷念。那時，納尼亞的樹木不僅會講話，簡直是能說會道。她深信這些樹木都有靈性，而且能化作人形。看那棵銀樺，它應該有清脆圓潤的嗓子，長得像一位苗條的姑娘，肩上披散着棕色的長髮，舞姿極其優美。再看那棵老棟樹，它該是二位慈祥並充滿智慧的老人，鬚髮蒼蒼，由於上了年紀，手上的青筋都鼓起來了。還有身邊這棵山毛櫸，美麗、端莊、高貴、安詳。啊，你這森林的女神!
"哦，樹神，我的老朋友們！"露茜不由自主地輕聲呼喚起來，"你們醒醒，醒醒啊|你們真的睡熟了嗎?你們把我忘記了嗎?林中仙女，水族仙女，出來吧，到我這兒來吧，"
雖然林子裏一絲風也沒有，那些樹卻在她身旁一齊擺動起來，樹葉沙沙地響，彷彿在低聲訴說着什麼。說來奇怪，那隻夜鶯這時也靜了下來，好像也在側耳傾聽。露茜覺得她隨時都可能聽懂樹木在說什麼，結果她失望了。沙沙聲漸漸消失，夜鶯又重新開始了它的歌唱，這使露茜感到茫然若有所失。是自己來得不合時宜，還是做錯了什麼事，或者說錯了什麼話?她百思不得其解。
突然，她感到有些累，於是轉身走向營地，依偎在蘇珊和彼得當中，幾分鐘之後便進入了夢鄉。
清晨，涼氣襲人。一覺醒來，大家都感到渾身乏力，打不起精神。森林裏透過一縷灰濛濛的晨曦(這時太陽還沒升起)，到處都顯得潮溼、髒亂。
"來呀，吃蘋果，又香又脆的大蘋果!”杜魯普金怪腔怪調地喊着，一邊拿起一隻蘋果，皺着眉頭看了看，又把它放下了。
孩子們懶懶地站起身來，使勁搖搖頭，使自己清醒起來，然後向四周望去。樹林很茂密，朝哪個方向都望不出很遠。
"我獵各位一定很熟悉道路吧?"小矮人問。
"我不熟悉，"蘇珊說，"從來沒見過這些樹林。實際上我一直在想，我們應該順河而上的。"
"你當時怎麼不說?"由於心情不好，彼得的話有些尖刻。
"喂，別聽她的，"愛德蒙說，"她總是讓人掃興。彼得，你帶着那個袖珍指南針了吧?好，那我們就不怕了，我們只要一直朝西北方向走，穿過那條小河，你們叫它什麼來着，拉什河？
"柏盧納渡口，是那條小河與大河匯合的地方，"彼得說，"或者按DLF的叫法，柏盧納大橋口"
"對，我們走過橋去，一直往山上爬，九點鐘以前就能到達石桌，也就是阿斯蘭堡壘。我相信凱斯賓國王將款待我們一頓豐盛的早餐!”
"但願如此，"蘇珊說，"我怎麼對這裏的地形一點兒印象都沒有呢?"
"女孩子最糟的就是這個了，"愛德蒙對彼得和小矮人說，"她們的腦袋瓜里根本沒有放地圖的地方。"
"那是因爲我們的腦袋瓜裏裝着別的東西。"露茜反駁道。
開始，似乎一切都還順利，他們相信走的是正確的路線。可是，假如你對森林有些起碼的常識，那你就會知道走在森林裏的人們常常會被想像出來的道路所迷惑。因爲，過不了幾分鐘，腳下的路便消失了。於是，你的眼睛馬上轉向另一條路，希望這是剛纔那條路的延續。走不多遠，這條路又不見了。你最後將發現，原來腳下根本就不是路。好在兩個男孩子和那小矮人都在森林裏走慣了，所以也沒有繞多少彎路。
他們吃力而緩慢地向前走了大約有半個鐘頭(他們中間有三個由於昨天划船，直到現在還渾身痠痛)，突然，杜魯普金悄聲說"停！"大家立刻緊張地停下腳步。"有什麼東西在跟蹤我們，"小矮人把聲音壓得很低，"或者說它在與我們平行前進——就在左邊那兒。"孩子們緊張地站在原地，眼睛盯着小矮人於指的地方，半天也不見有什麼動靜。"我們倆最好在弓上搭一支箭。"蘇珊對杜魯普金說。小矮人點點頭，表示贊成。當兩張弓都箭在弦上後，大家纔多了些安全感，又繼續向前走。
他們十分警覺地在一片較爲開闊的林子裏又走了幾十米，然後來到一個灌木茂密的地方。猛然間，隨着一聲呼嘯，一隻什麼野獸從灌木後面猛撲過來。露茜猝不及防，一下被撲倒在地上，打了幾個滾兒。她在跌倒的一剎那，聽見嗒的一聲弓弦響。當她清醒過來時，看到一隻面曰猙獰的大灰熊，躺在地上，已經氣絕身亡。熊的大腦袋上還插着杜魯普金的一支箭。
"在這場射箭比賽中，DLF可是把你打敗啦，蘇。"彼得勉強笑了一下，試圖緩和這場虛驚造成的緊張。
"我……箭放得太遲了，"蘇珊說，那樣子很窘，"我真怕那會是一隻，你們知道——只有靈性的熊，一隻會講話的熊。"還有一句沒有說出口的話，那就是她不願意傷害任何一條生命。'
"這就麻煩了。"杜魯普金說，"不錯，有些納尼亞的後代至今仍活在世上，可大部分動物都是啞巴，都是敵人，你很難分辨出來。"
"我想到了老布魯恩，"蘇珊說，"你當時就沒有想到會是布魯恩嗎?"
"不是，"那小矮人說，"我看到了那張臉，也聽到了那聲呼嘯，它只不過是想要這小姑娘做早餐。剛纔你說，你指望凱斯賓國王能款待你們一頓豐盛的早餐，我真不想掃你們的興。說實話，營地裏的肉少得可憐。聽我說，朋友們，熊肉的味道肯定不錯。我們要是不帶上點兒熊肉，那可太遺憾了。怎麼樣，咱們頂多耽誤半個鐘頭。我敢說，你們兩個小夥子——對不起，我該說國王陛下——該知道怎麼剝熊皮的吧?"8
"咱們到別的什麼地方坐一會兒，"蘇珊對露茜說，"我知道那活兒有多麼髒，多麼噁心。"露茜打了個哆嗦，立即站起來隨姐姐走開，一邊說，"蘇，我腦子裏閃過一個非常可怕的念頭。"
"什麼?"
"要是有一天，在我們自己的世界裏，有人野蠻地向你衝過來，就像這兒的野獸，可樣子卻仍然是人，你也搞不清他是人是獸是敵是友，那不是很可怕嗎?"
"我們在納尼亞麻煩已經夠多的了，"蘇珊非常現實地說，"你不要幻想那樣的事情了。"
剝熊皮的工作進行得很順利，馬上又要出發了。他們儘可能多地帶上切割下來的熊肉。口袋不好裝，他們便仔細地把肉包在新鮮的樹葉裏面。經驗告訴他們，待會兒走累了，肚子餓了的時候，這些又溼又軟、令人反感的小包包會有大用處的。
他們繼續艱難地向前走。直到旭日東昇，小鳥又開始歌唱，他們在一條小溪旁停了下來，仔細洗乾淨了三雙沾滿熊血的手。不知不覺中，昨天划船引起的渾身痠痛完全消失了，大家的情緒又振奮起來。
"咱們的方向沒錯吧?”一個鐘頭之後愛德蒙問道。
"我們並沒有向左邊去得太多，我還看不出來現在的方向會有什麼不對。"彼得說，"要是咱們走得太靠右邊，充其量不過是浪費一點時間;因爲那樣我們就會過早地靠近河邊，從那裏到河灣的路會難走一些。"
於是，他們繼續往前走，誰也不說話，只有他們的腳步聲和衣服的慧翠聲。
"這可恨的河口在什麼地方?"過了老半天愛德蒙說。
"我剛纔滿以爲這會兒就該到了，"彼得說，"可現在只有繼續向前走，別無選擇。"他倆都發覺那小矮人正憂心忡忡地望着他們，便沒有再說什麼。
他們不停地走呀走，身上的盔甲開始變得沉重起來，使他們感到十分悶熱。
"這是怎麼回事?"彼得突然停下腳步。
不知不覺中他們來到一個懸崖的邊緣，從這兒居高臨下，可以看到一條峽谷，以及谷底的河流。對面的峭壁要離得多。除了愛德蒙以外(也許還有杜魯普金)，誰也不曾在岩石上攀登過。
"真糟糕，"彼得說，"我們迷路了，以前從來沒有見到過這個地方。對不起，這都怪我。"
小矮人輕輕吹了聲口哨。
"唉，要不咱們返回去，從另一條路走吧，"蘇珊苦着臉說，"我早就知道在這些樹林裏我們要迷路的。"
"蘇珊!”露茜責備地看了她一眼，"別那麼說，彼得已經盡了最大的努力。"
"你也別這樣對蘇珊講話，"愛德蒙在一邊打抱不平，"我想她的話是對的。"
"嘖嘖嘖!”杜魯普金抱怨道，"要是我們迷了路，怎樣才能摸回去呢?況且，即便咱們又回到島上，一切從頭開始——假設那是可能的話——咱們可就把什麼事都給耽誤啦。因爲那樣的話，不等我們到達那裏，彌若茲就已經把凱斯賓打垮了。"
"你認爲我們應該繼續往前走?"露茜問。
"不知道，"杜魯普金聳聳肩膀，"隆下，你肯定咱們已誤入歧途?你能斷定這裏不是河口嗎?"
"因爲河口不在峽谷裏。"彼得說，竭力忍住沒有發火。"隆下，是不是應該說:‘過去不在峽谷裏?"小矮人仍不死心，"你所熟悉的是幾百年甚至幾千年以前的納尼亞。這麼多年過去了，難道它就不會改變?一次大塌方，就完全可能把那座山削去一面，留下光禿禿的岩石，成爲峽谷那邊的峭壁。以後，年復一年，端急的河流不斷地衝擊河槽，結果在這一面又形成了我們腳下的懸崖。我們還可以設想，這裏曾經發生過地震之類的事情。"
"我從來沒有想到過這些。"彼得說。
"無論如何，"杜魯普金接着說，"即便這不是河口，可它涓涓流向北方，勢將匯入那條大河口來的路上我似乎曾經走過這個地方。因此，假如我們朝下游走，再往右拐..
"看!快看!你們快看！"露茜突然叫了起來。
"哪裏?什麼?"大家順着她手指的方向望去。
"獅子，"露茜激動不己，兩隻大眼睛閃閃發光，"就是阿斯蘭，你們沒有看見嗎?U
"你是說——阿斯蘭?”彼得頓時睜大了雙眼。"你以爲它在什麼地方?"蘇珊不大相信。
"不是以爲，"露茜使勁跺着腳，"千真萬確，我真的看到了阿斯蘭!”
"在哪兒，露?"彼得問。
"就在山頂上，那些按樹之間。不，在峽谷的這一邊，往上看——它想要我們到它那兒去，與你選擇的方向正好相反。"
"你怎麼知道它想要我們去?”愛德蒙問。
"它……我……反正我知道，"露茜說，"從它的臉上可以看出來。"
大家迷惑不解地互相望一望，誰也不講話。
"露茜女王隆下很可能真的看到了一頭獅子，"杜魯普金插嘴說，"這些樹林裏當然有獅子，而且肯定不止一頭，這我太知道了。但它未必是一頭友好的、會講話的獅子，就像剛纔那頭熊一樣。"
"噢，別傻了，"露茜說，"你以爲我看見了阿斯蘭會認不出來嗎?"
"它現在該是一頭老態龍鍾的獅子了，"杜魯普金說，"假如它就是你們的那位老相識，老朋友l再說，如果是它，誰又能夠擔保這麼多年之後，它不會像許多其他的動物一樣，變野變蠢呢
露茜一下子臉色通紅，要不是彼得把一隻手放在她肩膀上，她簡直會撲向杜魯普金。
"DLF是不明白的，他怎麼會呢?"彼得一邊安慰露茜，一邊轉向小矮人，"你記住，杜魯普金，我們才真正瞭解阿斯蘭，你不可以再那樣談論它了。現在必須搞清楚阿斯蘭是否真的在那裏。"
"我發誓，剛纔就是在那兒的。"露茜說，眼睛裏充滿了淚水。
"或許是的，露。可是隻有你看見了它，我們都沒有看見。"
"我們沒有別的辦法了，大家表決吧。"愛德蒙說。
"好吧，"彼得回答道，"你年紀最大，DLF，你投什麼票?往上走，還是往下?"
"往下，"小矮人毫不遲疑地說，"我對阿斯蘭一無所知，可我確實知道倘若咱們向左拐，再順着峽谷往上走，那可能得走一天才能找到一個可以過河的地方;可是如果往下游去，再往右拐，咱們肯定能在兩個小時之內到達大河。再說，要是附近真的有獅子的話，咱們應該避開它們，而不要走近它們。"
"你怎麼說，蘇珊γ'
"你別生氣，露，"蘇珊說，"我真的認爲我們應該朝下游走，我累極了，咱們趕緊離開這可惡的森林，到露天的空地去吧。我和大家一樣，希望看到阿斯蘭。可是，除了你一個人之外，我們大傢什麼都沒看見。"
"愛德蒙?"彼得說。
"嗯，是這樣，"愛德蒙講得很快，臉色微微發紅，"一年以前，咱們第一次發現納尼亞的時候——也許是一千年以前，這個不去管它——是露茜首先發現了這個奇妙的國度，而我們都不相信她。我表現最糟了，這我知道。可事實證明她是對的，這一次我要支持她，也算向露茜表示歉意。我投票贊成向上遊走。"
"噢，愛德蒙！"露茜緊緊抓住他的手。
"現在輪到你了，彼得，"蘇珊說，"我真希望——"
"嘿，別說!讓人家自己思考，"彼得打斷了她的話，"我想我最好不參加投票。"
"你是至尊王。"杜魯普金莊重地提醒道。
"向下。"沉默許久，彼得終於說，"我知道露茜很可能還是對的，但是……我沒有別的辦法，兩者之中我們必須選擇其一。
就這樣，他們沿着右邊的懸崖，朝下游出發了，露茜走在最後面，哭得好傷心。
