By C. S. Lewis

C. S.劉易斯（1898—1963），英國著名作家，所著兒童故事集《納尼亞傳奇》七部曲，情節(jié)動人，妙趣橫生。本文選自《納尼亞傳奇》第二部《凱斯賓王子》。

CHAPTER ONE? THE ISLAND

第一章 孤島

Once there were four children whose names were Peter， Susan， Edmund， and Lucy， and it has been told in another book called The Lion， the Witch and the Wardrobe how they had a remarkable adventure. They had opened the door of a magic wardrobe and found themselves in a quite different world from ours， and in that different world they had become Kings and Queens in a country called Narnia. While they were in Narnia they seemed to reign for years and years; but when they came back through the door and found themselves in England again， it all seemed to have taken no time at all. At any rate， no one noticed that they had ever been away， and they never told anyone except one very wise grown-up.

That had all happened a year ago， and now all four of them were sitting on a seat at a railway station with trunks and playboxes piled up round them. They were， in fact， on their way back to school. They had travelled together as far as this station， which was a junction; and here， in a few minutes， one train would arrive and take the girls away to one school， and in about half an hour another train would arrive and the boys would go off to another school. The first part of the journey， when they were all together， always seemed to be part of the holidays; but now when they would be saying good-bye and going different ways so soon， everyone felt that the holidays were really over and everyone felt their term-time feelings beginning again， and they were all rather gloomy and no one could think of anything to say. Lucy was going to boarding school for the first time.

從前有四個孩子，他們的名字叫彼得、蘇珊、愛德蒙和露茜。關(guān)于他們的故事，我們在另一本叫作《獅子·女巫·魔衣櫥》的書里，曾經(jīng)有過詳細的講述，那真是一次有趣、精彩的歷險。他們鉆進一個神秘的大衣櫥，門的那邊是另一個世界，與他們原先生活的國度全然不同，他們在那里被人民擁戴做了這個神奇國度的國王和女王。他們感覺在納尼亞待了很多很多年，但當重新開啟衣柜回到現(xiàn)實生活時，這場歷險似乎只是瞬間發(fā)生的事情，甚至沒人發(fā)現(xiàn)他們曾經(jīng)離開過。而他們除了將這“夢境”告訴過一位非常博學(xué)的長者，對誰也沒有再提起。

那是一年前發(fā)生的事情了?，F(xiàn)在，這四個孩子都坐在火車站的長椅上，身邊堆放著大衣箱和用品箱。這是在回學(xué)校的路上，他們將在這里分手。女孩子們準備乘坐很快就要進站的一列火車返回自己的學(xué)校，而大約半個小時以后，兩個男孩將乘另一列火車返回他們的學(xué)校。這一路上大家熱熱鬧鬧在一起，總覺得仍然是在度假，可是現(xiàn)在，馬上就要握手告別，這使每個人都意識到，假期的確已經(jīng)結(jié)束，天天上課的日子又要開始了。孩子們不由得都情緒低落，誰也想不出該說些什么才好。露茜將是第一次上寄宿學(xué)校。

It was an empty， sleepy， country station and there was hardly anyone on the platform except themselves. Suddenly Lucy gave a sharp little cry， like someone who has been stung by a wasp.

“Whats up， Lu？” said Edmund—and then suddenly broke off and made a noise like “Ow！”

“What on earth—”， began Peter， and then he too suddenly changed what he had been going to say. Instead， he said， “Susan， let go！ What are you doing？ Where are you dragging me to？”

“Im not touching you，” said Susan. “Someone is pulling me. Oh—oh—oh—stop it！”

Everyone noticed that all the others faces had gone very white.

“I felt just the same，” said Edmund in a breathless voice. “As if I were being dragged along. A most frightful pulling—ugh！ its beginning again.”

“Me too，” said Lucy. “Oh， I cant bear it.”

這是一個空蕩、沉寂的小鎮(zhèn)車站，月臺上除了他們，幾乎再沒其他人。突然，露茜輕聲尖叫了一下，就像被馬蜂蜇了一下似的。

“怎么啦？露茜……哎喲——”愛德蒙的話還沒說完，也叫了一聲。

“你們到底怎么啦……”話音未落，彼得突然也改變了原先想說的話，“放手！蘇珊，你干什么？你要拉我上哪兒去？”

“誰碰你了？！”蘇珊說，“倒是好像也有人在拉我，哎……哎……哎……別拉我呀！”

孩子們一個個嚇得臉色煞白。

“我也是，”愛德蒙氣都喘不過來了，“好像有人在拼命地拉我。好可怕！喲，又來了！”

“我也一樣，”露茜喊道，“哦，我支持不住了?！?/p>

“Look sharp！” shouted Edmund. “All catch hands and keep together. This is magic—I can tell by the feeling. Quick！”

“Yes，” said Susan. “Hold hands. Oh， I do wish it would stop—oh！”

Next moment the luggage， the seat， the platform， and the station had completely vanished. The four children， holding hands and panting， found themselves standing in a woody place—such a woody place that branches were sticking into them and there was hardly room to move. They all rubbed their eyes and took a deep breath.

“Oh， Peter！” exclaimed Lucy. “Do you think we can possibly have got back to Narnia？”

“It might be anywhere，” said Peter. “I cant see a yard in all these trees. Lets try to get into the open—if there is any open.”

With some difficulty， and with some stings from nettles and pricks from thorns， they struggled out of the thicket. Then they had another surprise. Everything became much brighter， and after a few steps they found themselves at the edge of the wood， looking down on a sandy beach. A few yards away a very calm sea was falling on the sand with such tiny ripples that it made hardly any sound. There was no land in sight and no clouds in the sky. The sun was about where it ought to be at ten oclock in the morning， and the sea was a dazzling blue. They stood sniffing in the sea-smell.

“快！”愛德蒙發(fā)出指令，“大家快拉起手來，不要松開！這肯定是一股魔力——我的感覺沒錯，快！”

“對！”蘇珊急急地說，“大家拉起手來，噢，可是怎么還是停不下來呀！啊——”

接著行李、長椅、月臺和整個車站轉(zhuǎn)眼間就不見了。四個孩子手拉著手，氣都喘不上來。當稍稍平靜一些之后，才發(fā)現(xiàn)他們站在一大片叢林里——這里的樹木真稠密啊，他們被卡在幾棵樹的樹枝中間，動彈不得。孩子們?nèi)嗳嘌劬?，深深地吸了一口氣?/p>

“喂，彼得！”露茜大聲說，“你看咱們是不是又回到納尼亞了？”

“誰知道呢！”彼得答道，“這么多的樹，一米開外全被樹枝擋住了。咱們得想法找一找，看看外面有沒有空地?！?/p>

費了九牛二虎之力，身上多處被樹枝劃破，他們終于走出了樹木最稠密的地區(qū)。外面的光線強烈多了，再往前走幾步，他們突然驚奇地發(fā)現(xiàn)自己已站在樹林的邊緣，眼前是一片海灘。離他們不遠處，溫和的海水輕輕地涌上灘頭，激起層層細浪，幾乎一點兒聲響都沒有。這里看不到田野，天上也沒有云，眼前只有大海那令人目眩的一片蔚藍。根據(jù)太陽的位置判斷，現(xiàn)在大約是上午十點鐘。幾個孩子悄然肅立，沐浴在海洋的氣息之中。

“By Jove！” said Peter. “This is good enough.”

Five minutes later everyone was barefooted and wading in the cool clear water.

“This is better than being in a stuffy train on the way back to Latin and French and Algebra！” said Edmund. And then for quite a long time there was no more talking， only splashing and looking for shrimps and crabs.

“All the same，” said Susan presently， “I suppose well have to make some plans. We shall want something to eat before long.”

“Weve got the sandwiches Mother gave us for the journey，” said Edmund. “At least Ive got mine.”

“Not me，” said Lucy. “Mine were in my little bag.”

“So were mine，” said Susan.

“Mine are in my coat-pocket， there on the beach，” said Peter. “Thatll be two lunches among four. This isnt going to be such fun.”

“At present，” said Lucy， “I want something to drink more than something to eat.”

“哇！”彼得不禁感嘆道，“好美的風(fēng)景??！”

大約五分鐘之后，大家都忍不住脫掉鞋子，將腳丫子浸入那清涼澄澈的海水之中。

“要是現(xiàn)在坐在回學(xué)校的火車上，那該多么悶熱、無趣??！還得去上那些枯燥的拉丁文、法文和代數(shù)課呢。而現(xiàn)在的我們多快樂！”愛德蒙說。然而這興奮與愜意并沒有持續(xù)多久，之后的老半天，大家都不愿多說話。大家一邊踩著水漫無目標地往前走，一邊尋找水中的蝦蟹。

“盡管如此，”過了一會兒蘇珊說，“但咱們計劃一下，否則大家很快就要餓肚子了?！?/p>

“不是有媽媽給我們帶在路上吃的三明治嗎？”愛德蒙說，“至少我的那份還在這里?！?/p>

“我的沒了！”露茜說，“我把它落在小包里了?！?/p>

“我的也放在小包里?！碧K珊說。

“我的在衣服口袋里，哈，衣服就脫在海灘上。”彼得說，“四個人才兩份午餐，這哪里夠吃！”

“但是我現(xiàn)在并不覺得餓，倒是渴得不得了。”露茜說道。

Word Study

junction /'d???k?n/ n. （公路或鐵路的）交叉路口，匯合處，樞紐站

sting /st??/ v. 刺;蜇;叮

I was stung on the arm by a wasp.

vanish /'v?n??/ v. 突然消失;不復(fù)存在;消亡;絕跡

My glasses seem to have vanished.

exclaim /?k'skle?m/ v. （由于強烈的情感或痛苦而）驚叫，呼喊

She opened her eyes and exclaimed in delight at the scene.

wade /we?d/ v. 跋涉，涉，蹚（水或淤泥等）

He waded into the water to push the boat out.

Everyone else now felt thirsty， as one usually is after wading in salt water under a hot sun.

“Its like being shipwrecked，” remarked Edmund. “In the books they always find springs of clear， fresh water on the island. Wed better go and look for them.”

“Does that mean we have to go back into all that thick wood？” said Susan.

“Not a bit of it，” said Peter. “If there are streams theyre bound to come down to the sea， and if we walk along the beach were bound to come to them.”

They all now waded back and went first across the smooth， wet sand and then up to the dry， crumbly sand that sticks to ones toes， and began putting on their shoes and socks. Edmund and Lucy wanted to leave them behind and do their exploring with bare feet， but Susan said this would be a mad thing to do. “We might never find them again，” she pointed out， “and we shall want them if were still here when night comes and it begins to be cold.”

When they were dressed again they set out along the shore with the sea on their left hand and the wood on their right. Except for an occasional seagull it was a very quiet place. The wood was so thick and tangled that they could hardly see into it at all; and nothing in it moved—not a bird， not even an insect.

Shells and seaweed and anemones， or tiny crabs in rockpools， are all very well， but you soon get tired of them if you are thirsty. The childrens feet， after the change from the cool water， felt hot and heavy. Susan and Lucy had raincoats to carry. Edmund had put down his coat on the station seat just before the magic overtook them， and he and Peter took it in turns to carry Peters great-coat.

這一說，大家都感到口渴起來。當然啦，在烈日下的海水中玩一會兒之后，誰都要口渴的。

“我們現(xiàn)在的情形就好像船在海上遇了險，”愛德蒙一本正經(jīng)地說，“書中的逃生者們總是能在荒島上找到清涼甘甜的泉水。咱們也該去找找看?！?/p>

“你是說，我們還得回到那茂密的林子中去？”蘇珊問道。

“那倒不必，”彼得說，“只要有小溪，溪水一定會潺潺而下，流入大海。我們沿著海岸走，準能找得到?！?/p>

于是孩子們開始蹚著海水往回走。他們首先經(jīng)過一段光滑、潮濕的沙灘，接著是干燥、松軟的沙灘，滾燙的沙礫黏著腳趾和腳底板，別提多難受了。孩子們趕緊穿上了鞋襪。愛德蒙和露茜曾想把鞋襪丟掉，光著腳去探險。幸虧蘇珊及時阻止了他們，說那樣做簡直是發(fā)瘋?！皝G掉就再也找不回了，而且夜幕降臨以后就會冷起來的，到時候你們穿什么？”

穿上鞋襪后，他們沿著海岸繼續(xù)向前，左邊是廣闊無垠的大海，右邊是陰森茂密的叢林。然而出奇地靜，間或傳來的海鷗聲顯得尤其清脆而明亮。樹林十分茂密，枝葉纏結(jié)在一起，根本看不到里面，而且，林子深處一片寂靜——沒有鳥兒，甚至連昆蟲的動靜也沒有。

貝殼啦、海藻啦、?？玻€有那巖石縫里的小螃蟹們，都很好玩。可是，在口渴難當?shù)臅r候，你就對它們不感興趣了。更為糟糕的是，從冰涼海水中出來的雙腳一下子變得又熱又沉甸甸。況且蘇珊和露茜還有各自的雨衣要拿，愛德蒙的外衣丟在了車站的長椅上，所以現(xiàn)在他和彼得輪流拿著彼得的大衣。

Presently the shore began to curve round to the right. About quarter of an hour later， after they had crossed a rocky ridge which ran out into a point， it made quite a sharp turn. Their backs were now to the part of the sea and now， looking ahead， they could see across the water another shore， thickly wooded like the one they were exploring.

“I wonder， is that an island or do we join on to it presently？” said Lucy.

“Dont know，” said Peter and they all plodded on in silence.

The shore that they were walking on drew nearer and nearer to the opposite shore， and as they came round each promontory the children expected to find the place where the two joined. But in this they were disappointed. They came to some rocks which they had to climb and from the top they could see a fairway ahead and—“Oh bother！” said Edmund， “its no good. We shant be able to get to those other woods at all. Were on an island！”

不久，海岸開始向右延伸。大約一刻鐘之后，他們繞過一個石崖，石崖后面一個急轉(zhuǎn)彎，把剛才那片海域拋在了身后。極目望去，他們看到海峽對面也是一片茂密的叢林，與腳下這片土地十分相似。

“那邊是一個島吧？或者，沒準兒兩邊很快就連在一起了。”露茜說。

“誰知道呢?！北说脩袘械卮鸬馈４蠹彝现v的身子，只顧往前走，誰也不愿多說話。

海峽兩岸越靠越近。每翻過一個岬角，他們就盼望著看到兩岸連接到一起?？山Y(jié)果呢？他們一次次地失望了。終于，他們來到一片巖石跟前，大家爬上巖頂，環(huán)顧四周，只看到一條小路伸向遠方?！罢嬉姽恚　睈鄣旅砂脨赖卣f，“白忙活了，咱們根本無法到達那邊的樹林——這兒就是一個孤島！”

It was true. At this point the channel between them and the opposite coast was only about thirty or forty yards wide; but they could now see that this was its narrowest place. After that， their own coast bent round to the right again and they could see open sea between it and the mainland. It was obvious that they had already come much more than halfway round the island.

“Look！” said Lucy suddenly. “Whats that？” She pointed to a long， silvery， snake-like thing that lay across the beach.

“A stream！ A stream！” shouted the others， and， tired as they were， they lost no time in clattering down the rocks and racing to the fresh water. They knew that the stream would be better to drink farther up， away from the beach， so they went at once to the spot where it came out of the wood. The trees were as thick as ever， but the stream had made itself a deep course between high mossy banks so that by stooping you could follow it up in a sort of tunnel of leaves. They dropped on their knees by the first brown， dimply pool and drank and drank， and dipped their faces in the water， and then dipped their arms in up to the elbow.

“Now，” said Edmund， “what about those sandwiches？”

“Oh， hadnt we better have them？” said Susan. “We may need them far worse later on.”

“I do wish，” said Lucy， “now that were not thirsty， we could go on feeling as not-hungry as we did when we were thirsty.”

千真萬確，從巖頂望去，海峽兩岸最狹長處不過三十來米。再往前，腳下的海岸繼續(xù)向右延伸，他們可以看到島與大陸之間開闊的海面，看來他們已經(jīng)沿著孤島走了大半圈了。

“看，那是什么？”露茜突然興奮地說，手指著橫臥在海灘上的一條銀色的如長蛇般的東西。

“小溪，是一條小溪！”其他幾個人齊聲歡呼起來。盡管已經(jīng)疲憊不堪，他們還是跳下巖石，向那條小溪跑過去。他們知道，上游的溪水才最好喝，便沿著小溪朝上游走去。樹林仍然是那么茂密，好在小溪長年累月地沖刷出了一條通道：彎下身來，在枝葉搭起的天然隧道里，就能逆水而上。很快，他們來到一處水潭，大家伏下身子，咕咚咕咚地盡情喝了個夠。然后把臉浸在水里，再把胳膊也伸進去，一直浸到臂彎處。

“太棒了！”愛德蒙長長地舒了一口氣，“現(xiàn)在，讓我們來點兒三明治怎么樣？”

“喂，我們是不是該省著點兒吃？”蘇珊猶豫地說，“也許我們以后更需要它?！?/p>

“現(xiàn)在我們已經(jīng)不覺得口渴了，”露茜說，“我真希望，我們能像剛才口渴時那樣一點兒都不覺得餓?！?/p>

“But what about those sandwiches？” repeated Edmund. “Theres no good saving them till they go bad. Youve got to remember its a good deal hotter here than in England and weve been carrying them about in pockets for hours.” So they got out the two packets and divided them into four portions， and nobody had quite enough， but it was a great deal better than nothing. Then they talked about their plans for the next meal. Lucy wanted to go back to the sea and catch shrimps， until someone pointed out that they had no nets. Edmund said they must gather gulls eggs from the rocks， but when they came to think of it they couldnt remember having seen any gulls eggs and wouldnt be able to cook them if they found any. Peter thought to himself that unless they had some stroke of luck they would soon be glad to eat eggs raw， but he didnt see any point in saying this out loud. Susan said it was a pity they had eaten the sandwiches so soon. One or two tempers very nearly got lost at this stage. Finally Edmund said：

“Look here. Theres only one thing to be done. We must explore the wood. Hermits and knights-errant and people like that always manage to live somehow if theyre in a forest. They find roots and berries and things.”

“可那些三明治怎么辦呢？”愛德蒙仍不甘心，“再說我們省著不吃，一會兒放壞了就更吃不成嘍。你們看，這兒比英國熱多了，況且三明治裝在口袋里已經(jīng)很久了。”于是大家將那兩包三明治取出來，分成四份。可說實在的，這點東西還不知道能不能填滿肚子的一個小角落呢，但總算比一點都不吃強多了。問題是下一頓在哪里呢？露茜提議回到海邊抓點蝦米螃蟹什么的，可是沒有網(wǎng)兜。愛德蒙認為最好是去巖石縫里掏海鷗蛋，可誰也想不起來曾經(jīng)在哪里看到過海鷗蛋。再說即使能夠找到，也無法將蛋煮熟。彼得心想，找得到蛋就算不錯了，說不定連生鳥蛋都沒得吃。當然，他明白沒有必要在這個時候給大家潑冷水。蘇珊開始后悔沒有堅持留下點三明治，而是和大家一下子吃個精光。孩子們有些沉不住氣了。最后，還是愛德蒙開口說道：

“聽我說，現(xiàn)在我們只能去森林里面碰碰運氣。高深睿智的隱士、放蕩不羈的騎士、探險家、俠客這些常常身處危險的人，在森林里總有辦法生存下去。他們吃根莖、野果和任何可以充饑的東西。”

Word Study

bound /ba?nd/ adj. 一定會;很可能會

Its bound to be sunny again tomorrow.

plod /pl?d/ v. 艱難地行走;吃力地行進

We plodded on through the rain.

stoop /stu?p/ v. 俯身;彎腰

“What sort of roots？” asked Susan.

“I always thought it meant roots of trees，” said Lucy.

“Come on，” said Peter， “Ed is right. And we must try to do something. And itll be better than going out into the glare and the sun again.”

So they all got up and began to follow the stream. It was very hard work. They had to stoop under branches and climb over branches， and they blundered through great masses of stuff like rhododendrons and tore their clothes and got their feet wet in the stream; and still there was no noise at all except the noise of the stream and the noises they were making themselves. They were beginning to get very tired of it when they noticed a delicious smell， and then a flash of bright colour high above them at the top of the right bank.

“I say！” exclaimed Lucy. “I do believe thats an apple tree.”

It was. They panted up the steep bank， forced their way through some brambles， and found themselves standing round an old tree that was heavy with large golden yellow apples as firm and juicy as you could wish to see.

“哪種根莖？”蘇珊好奇地問。

“不就是樹根嗎？”露茜說。

“出發(fā)吧，”彼得鼓勵大家，“愛德蒙是對的。我們必須去闖闖看，總不能待在這里坐以待斃呀。”

于是，他們站起來，順著小溪向叢林深處走去。過程十分艱難，茂密的枝葉常常擋住了前行的路，他們不得不彎下腰從枝丫間鉆過去，或者干脆從枝干上面爬過去。就這樣，他們跌跌撞撞地穿過大片大片杜鵑之類的灌木叢。衣服早被掛破了，鞋也在小溪里弄濕了。此時此地，除了小溪流水和他們自己發(fā)出的聲響，林子里依然是一片寂靜。正當大家?guī)缀跸萑虢^望的境地時，一股清香突然從什么地方飄飄忽忽地吹過來。接著，一抹十分鮮亮的色彩出現(xiàn)在右上方。

“快瞧！”露茜歡喜地嚷道，“我敢說，那一定是一棵蘋果樹?！?/p>

果然是一棵蘋果樹。他們一鼓作氣爬上陡坡，從荊棘中開出一條路，來到這棵老樹下。樹上沉甸甸地掛滿了金黃色的、堅實多汁的大蘋果。

“And this is not the only tree，” said Edmund with his mouth full of apple. “Look there and there.”

“Why， there are dozens of them，” said Susan， throwing away the core of her first apple and picking her second. “This must have been an orchard—long， long ago， before the place went wild and the wood grew up.”

“Then this was once an inhabited island，” said Peter.

“And whats that？” said Lucy， pointing ahead.

“By Jove， its a wall，” said Peter. “An old stone wall.”

Pressing their way between the laden branches they reached the wall. It was very old， and broken down in places， with moss and wallflowers growing on it. And when they came quite close to it they found a great arch which must once have had a gate in it but was now almost filled up with the largest of all the apple trees. They had to break some of the branches to get past， and when they had done so they all blinked because the daylight became suddenly much brighter. They found themselves in a wide open place with walls all round it. In here there were no trees， only level grass and daisies， and ivy， and grey walls. It was a bright， secret， quiet place， and rather sad; and all four stepped out into the middle of it， glad to be able to straighten their backs and move their limbs freely.

“還不止一棵呢?！睈鄣旅梢贿吚峭袒⒀实爻灾O果，一邊含糊不清地說著，“看那兒，還有那兒?！?/p>

“可不是嘛，瞧，這里足有好幾十棵蘋果樹！”蘇珊說著，扔掉了手里的果核，又摘下一個大蘋果，“很久很久以前，這兒一定是個果園。辛勤的園丁肯定將這個園子打理得很好，那些樹木也沒有長起來?！?/p>

“這么說來，這個小島以前是有人居住的嘍？”彼得沉思道。

“那是什么？”露茜指著前面。

“天哪！是一堵墻！”彼得吃了一驚，“一堵古老的石墻！”

孩子們繞開果實累累的樹枝，走到了墻根前。這墻的年代已經(jīng)很久遠了，有些地方已經(jīng)坍塌。墻上布滿了苔蘚，各種無名的小花在墻上攀緣。走近一看，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)墻上有個高大的門拱，這兒肯定有過一扇大門，可現(xiàn)在門洞幾乎被高大的蘋果樹堵死了。孩子們盡力清除了一些樹枝，才勉強爬了進去。突然，他們感到豁然開朗，光線也明亮了許多。他們驚愕地發(fā)現(xiàn)自己來到一片開闊地。這里沒有樹，只有平整的草坪，野花盛開。草坪的四周是灰色的圍墻，覆蓋著常春藤。這真是一個敞亮、寧靜、神秘但又多少讓人感到有些陰郁的地方。孩子們邁步來到院落中間，心里歡喜不已。現(xiàn)在他們可以舒展舒展筋骨、自由自在地活動一下四肢了。