《銀椅子》 第十二章 秘境女王

CHAPTER TWELVE THE QUEEN OF UNDERLAND

TWO Earthmen entered，but instead of advancing into the room，they placed themselves one on each side of the door，and bowed deeply. They were followed immediately by the last person whom anyone had expected or wished to see：the Lady of the Green Kirtle，the Queen of Underland. She stood dead still in the doorway，and they could see her eyes moving as she took in the whole situation—the three strangers，the silver chair destroyed， and the Prince free，with his sword in his hand.
She turned very white；but Jill thought it was the sort of whiteness that comes over some people’s faces not when they are frightened but when they are angry. For a moment the Witch fixed her eyes on the Prince，and there was murder in them. Then she seemed to change her mind.
“Leave us,”she said to the two Earthmen. “And let none disturb us till I call，on pain of death.”The gnomes padded away obediently，and the Witch-queen shut and locked the door.
“How now，my lord Prince,”she said. “Has your nightly fit not yet come upon you，or is it over so soon ？ Why stand you here unbound ？ Who are these aliens ？ And is it they who have destroyed the chair which was your only safety ？”
Prince Rilian shivered as she spoke to him. And no wonder： it is not easy to throw off in half an hour an enchantment which has made one a slave for ten years. Then，speaking with a great effort，he said：“Madam，there will be no more need of that chair. And you，who have told me a hundred times how deeply you pitied me for the sorceries by which I was bound，will doubtless hear with joy that they are now ended for ever. There was，it seems，some small error in your Ladyship’s way of treating them. These，my true friends，have delivered me. I am now in my right mind，and there are two things I will say to you. First—as for your Ladyship’s design of putting me at the head of an army of Earthmen so that I may break out into the Overworld and there，by main force， make myself king over some nation that never did me wrong— murdering their natural lords and holding their throne as a bloody and foreign tyrant—now that I know myself，I do utterly abhor and renounce it as plain villainy. And second：I am the King’s son of Narnia，Rilian，the only child of Caspian，Tenth of that name， whom some call Caspian the Seafarer. Therefore，Madam，it is my purpose，as it is also my duty，to depart suddenly from your Highness’s court into my own country. Please it you to grant me and my friends safe conduct and a guide through your dark realm.”
Now the Witch said nothing at all，but moved gently across the room，always keeping her face and eyes very steadily towards the Prince. When she had come to a little ark set in the wall not far from the fireplace，she opened it，and took out first a handful of a green powder. This she threw on the fire. It did not blaze much， but a very sweet and drowsy smell came from it. And all through the conversation which followed，that smell grew stronger，and filled the room，and made it harder to think. Secondly，she took out a musical instrument rather like a mandolin. She began to play it with her fingers—a steady，monotonous thrumming that you didn’t notice after a few minutes. But the less you noticed it，the more it got into your brain and your blood. This also made it hard to think. After she had thrummed for a time（and the sweet smell was now strong）she began speaking in a sweet，quiet voice.
“Narnia ？”she said. “Narnia ？ I have often heard your Lordship utter that name in your ravings. Dear Prince，you are very sick. There is no land called Narnia.”
“Yes there is，though，Ma’am,”said Puddleglum. “You see，I happen to have lived there all my life.”
“Indeed,”said the Witch. “Tell me，I pray you，where that country is ？”
“Up there,”said Puddleglum，stoutly，pointing overhead. “I— I don’t know exactly where.”
“How ？”said the Queen，with a kind，soft，musical laugh. “Is there a country up among the stones and mortar of the roof ？”
“No,”said Puddleglum，struggling a little to get his breath. “It’s in Overworld.”
“And what，or where，pray is this...how do you call it...Overworld ？”
“Oh，don’t be so silly,”said Scrubb，who was fighting hard against the enchantment of the sweet smell and the thrumming. “As if you didn’t know ！ It’s up above，up where you can see the sky and the sun and the stars. Why，you’ve been there yourself. We met you there.”
“I cry you mercy，little brother,”laughed the Witch（you couldn’t have heard a lovelier laugh）. “I have no memory of that meeting. But we often meet our friends in strange places when we dream. And unless all dreamed alike，you must not ask them to remember it.”
“Madam,”said the Prince sternly，“I have already told your Grace that I am the King’s son of Narnia.”
“And shalt be，dear friend,”said the Witch in a soothing voice，as if she was humouring a child，“shalt be king of many imagined lands in thy fancies.”
“We’ve been there，too,”snapped Jill. She was very angry because she could feel enchantment getting hold of her every moment. But of course the very fact that she could still feel it， showed that it had not yet fully worked.
“And thou art Queen of Narnia too，I doubt not，pretty one,”said the Witch in the same coaxing，half-mocking tone.
“I’m nothing of the sort,”said Jill，stamping her foot. “We come from another world.”
“Why，this is a prettier game than the other,”said the Witch. “Tell us，little maid，where is this other world ？ What ships and chariots go between it and ours ？”
Of course a lot of things darted into Jill’s head at once： Experiment House，Adela Pennyfather，her own home，radio-sets，cinemas，cars，aeroplanes，ration-books，queues. But they seemed dim and far away. （Thrum—thrum—thrum—went the strings of the Witch’s instrument.）Jill couldn’t remember the names of the things in our world. And this time it didn’t come into her head that she was being enchanted，for now the magic was in its full strength；and of course，the more enchanted you get，the more certain you feel that you are not enchanted at all. She found herself saying（and at the moment it was a relief to say）：
“No. I suppose that other world must be all a dream.”
“Yes. It is all a dream,”said the Witch，always thrumming.
“Yes，all a dream,”said Jill.
“There never was such a world,”said the Witch.
“No,”said Jill and Scrubb，“never was such a world.”
“There never was any world but mine,”said the Witch.
“There never was any world but yours,”said they.
Puddleglum was still fighting hard. “I don’t know rightly what you all mean by a world,”he said，talking like a man who hasn’t enough air. “But you can play that fiddle till your fingers drop off，and still you won’t make me forget Narnia；and the whole Overworld too. We’ll never see it again，I shouldn’t wonder. You may have blotted it out and turned it dark like this，for all I know. Nothing more likely. But I know I was there once. I’ve seen the sky full of stars. I’ve seen the sun coming up out of the sea of a morning and sinking behind the mountains at night. And I’ve seen him up in the midday sky when I couldn’t look at him for brightness.”
Puddleglum’s words had a very rousing effect. The other three all breathed again and looked at one another like people newly awaked.
“Why，there it is ！”cried the Prince. “Of course ！The blessing of Aslan upon this honest Marsh-wiggle. We have all been dreaming，these last few minutes. How could we have forgotten it ？ Of course we’ve all seen the sun.”
“By Jove，so we have ！”said Scrubb. “Good for you， Puddleglum ！You’re the only one of us with any sense，I do believe.”
Then came the Witch’s voice，cooing softly like the voice of a wood-pigeon from the high elms in an old garden at three o’clock in the middle of a sleepy，summer afternoon；and it said：
“What is this sun that you all speak of ？ Do you mean anything by the word ？”
“Yes，we jolly well do,”said Scrubb.
“Can you tell me what it’s like ？”asked the Witch（thrum， thrum，thrum，went the strings）.
“Please it your Grace,”said the Prince，very coldly and politely. “You see that lamp. It is round and yellow and gives light to the whole room；and hangeth moreover from the roof. Now that thing which we call the sun is like the lamp，only far greater and brighter. It giveth light to the whole Overworld and hangeth in the sky.”
“Hangeth from what，my lord ？”asked the Witch；and then，while they were all still thinking how to answer her，she added， with another of her soft，silver laughs：“You see ？ When you try to think out clearly what this sun must be，you cannot tell me. You can only tell me it is like the lamp. Your sun is a dream；and there is nothing in that dream that was not copied from the lamp. The lamp is the real thing；the sun is but a tale，a children’s story.”
“Yes，I see now,”said Jill in a heavy，hopeless tone. “It must be so.”And while she said this，it seemed to her to be very good sense.
Slowly and gravely the Witch repeated，“There is no sun.”And they all said nothing. She repeated，in a softer and deeper voice. “There is no sun.”After a pause，and after a struggle in their minds，all four of them said together. “You are right. There is no sun.”It was such a relief to give in and say it.
“There never was a sun,”said the Witch.
“No. There never was a sun,”said the Prince，and the Marsh-wiggle，and the children.
For the last few minutes Jill had been feeling that there was something she must remember at all costs. And now she did. But it was dreadfully hard to say it. She felt as if huge weights were laid on her lips. At last，with an effort that seemed to take all the good out of her，she said：
“There’s Aslan.”
“Aslan ？”said the Witch，quickening ever so slightly the pace of her thrumming. “What a pretty name ！ What does it mean ？”
“He is the great Lion who called us out of our own world,”said Scrubb，“and sent us into this to find Prince Rilian.”
“What is a lion ？”asked the Witch.
“Oh，hang it all ！”said Scrubb. “Don’t you know ？ How can we describe it to her ？ Have you ever seen a cat ？”
“Surely,”said the Queen. “I love cats.”
“Well，a lion is a little bit—only a little bit，mind you—like a huge cat—with a mane. At least，it’s not like a horse’s mane， you know，it’s more like a judge’s wig. And it’s yellow. And terrifically strong.”
The Witch shook her head. “I see,”she said，“that we should do no better with your lion，as you call it，than we did with your sun. You have seen lamps，and so you imagined a bigger and better lamp and called it the sun. You’ve seen cats，and now you want a bigger and better cat，and it’s to be called a lion. Well，’tis a pretty make-believe，though，to say truth，it would suit you all better if you were younger. And look how you can put nothing into your make-believe without copying it from the real world，this world of mine，which is the only world. But even you children are too old for such play. As for you，my lord Prince，that art a man full grown，fie upon you ！ Are you not ashamed of such toys ？ Come，all of you. Put away these childish tricks. I have work for you all in the real world. There is no Narnia，no Overworld，no sky，no sun，no Aslan. And now，to bed all. And let us begin a wiser life tomorrow. But，first，to bed；to sleep；deep sleep， soft pillows，sleep without foolish dreams.”
The Prince and the two children were standing with their heads hung down，their cheeks flushed，their eyes half closed；the strength all gone from them；the enchantment almost complete. But Puddleglum，desperately gathering all his strength，walked over to the fire. Then he did a very brave thing. He knew it wouldn’t hurt him quite as much as it would hurt a human；for his feet（which were bare）were webbed and hard and cold-blooded like a duck’s. But he knew it would hurt him badly enough；and so it did. With his bare foot he stamped on the fire，grinding a large part of it into ashes on the flat hearth. And three things happened at once.
First，the sweet，heavy smell grew very much less. For though the whole fire had not been put out，a good bit of it had， and what remained smelled very largely of burnt Marsh-wiggle， which is not at all an enchanting smell. This instantly made everyone’s brain far clearer. The Prince and the children held up their heads again and opened their eyes.
Secondly，the Witch，in a loud，terrible voice，utterly different from all the sweet tones she had been using up till now， called out，“What are you doing ？ Dare to touch my fire again， mud-filth，and I’ll turn the blood to fire inside your veins.”
Thirdly，the pain itself made Puddleglum’s head for a moment perfectly clear and he knew exactly what he really thought. There is nothing like a good shock of pain for dissolving certain kinds of magic.
“One word，Ma’am,”he said，coming back from the fire； limping，because of the pain. “One word. All you’ve been saying is quite right，I shouldn’t wonder. I’m a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won’t deny any of what you said. But there’s one thing more to be said，even so. Suppose we have only dreamed，or made up， all those things—trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that，in that case，the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well，it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing，when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game，if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play-world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia. So，thanking you kindly for our supper，if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready，we’re leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long，I should think；but that’s a small loss if the world’s as dull a place as you say.”
“Oh，hurrah ！ Good old Puddleglum ！”cried Scrubb and Jill. But the Prince shouted suddenly，“Ware ！ Look to the Witch.”
When they did look their hair nearly stood on end.
The instrument dropped from her hands. Her arms appeared to be fastened to her sides. Her legs were intertwined with each other，and her feet had disappeared. The long green train of her skirt thickened and grew solid，and seemed to be all one piece with the writhing green pillar of her interlocked legs. And that writhing green pillar was curving and swaying as if it had no joints，or else were all joints. Her head was thrown far back and while her nose grew longer and longer，every other part of her face seemed to disappear，except her eyes. Huge flaming eyes they were now， without brows or lashes. All this takes time to write down；it happened so quickly that there was only just time to see it. Long before there was time to do anything，the change was complete， and the great serpent which the Witch had become，green as poison，thick as Jill’s waist，had flung two or three coils of its loathsome body round the Prince’s legs. Quick as lightning another great loop darted round，intending to pinion his sword-arm to his side. But the Prince was just in time. He raised his arms and got them clear：the living knot closed only round his chest-ready to crack his ribs like firewood when it drew tight.
The Prince caught the creature’s neck in his left hand，trying to squeeze it till it choked. This held its face（if you could call it a face）about five inches from his own. The forked tongue flickered horribly in and out，but could not reach him. With his right hand he drew back his sword for the strongest blow he could give. Meanwhile Scrubb and Puddleglum had drawn their weapons and rushed to his aid. All three blows fell at once：Scrubb’s（which did not even pierce the scales and did no good）on the body of the snake below the Prince’s hand，but the Prince’s own blow and Puddleglum’s both on its neck. Even that did not quite kill it， though it began to loosen its hold on Rilian’s legs and chest. With repeated blows they hacked off its head. The horrible thing went on coiling and moving like a bit of wire long after it had died；and the floor，as you may imagine，was a nasty mess.
The Prince，when he had breath，said，“Gentlemen，I thank you.”Then the three conquerors stood staring at one another and panting，without another word，for a long time. Jill had very wisely sat down and was keeping quiet；she was saying to herself，“I do hope I don’t faint—or blub—or do anything idiotic.”
“My royal mother is avenged,”said Rilian presently. “This is undoubtedly the same worm that I pursued in vain by the fountain in the forest of Narnia，so many years ago. All these years I have been the slave of my mother’s slayer. Yet I am glad，gentlemen， that the foul Witch took to her serpent form at the last. It would not have suited well either with my heart or with my honour to have slain a woman. But look to the lady.”He meant Jill.
“I’m all right，thanks,”said she.
“Damsel,”said the Prince，bowing to her. “You are of a high courage，and therefore，I doubt not，you come of a noble blood in your own world. But come，friends. Here is some wine left. Let us refresh ourselves and each pledge his fellows. After that，to our plans.”
“A jolly good idea，Sir,”said Scrubb.

第十二章　秘境女王

兩個侍從進(jìn)來，站在門口，深深鞠了一躬，緊跟在他們后面的是他們最不想看到的人：綠衣夫人——秘境女王。她站在門口一動不動，只有眼珠子轉(zhuǎn)來轉(zhuǎn)去，思索著目前的情況——三個陌生人，被破壞的銀椅，獲得自由的王子，手里還拿著劍。
她的臉色發(fā)白，在姬爾看來，這不是嚇白的，而是氣的。女巫盯著王子看了好一會，眼睛里殺氣騰騰。然后，她又似乎改變了主意。
“你們下去，”她對隨從說。“任何人都不要進(jìn)來打擾，否則一律處死。”侍從們順從地離開。女巫把門關(guān)上，鎖好。
“怎么了，王子殿下，”她說，“每晚你都會發(fā)瘋，現(xiàn)在怎么了？ 還沒有發(fā)作，還是已經(jīng)好了？怎么也沒綁上就在這兒站著。這些是什么人？他們怎么把唯一能夠救你的銀椅給毀了呢？”
聽到她的話，瑞利安不由自主打了個寒戰(zhàn)。也難怪，畢竟在她的魔法中生活了十年之久。因此，他半天才說：
“夫人，那把椅子已經(jīng)沒用了。你不止一次告訴我，你憐憫我遭受魔法禁錮，如果聽說魔法已經(jīng)永遠(yuǎn)消失了，你肯定會高興的?？磥恚蛉瞬⒉辉趺锤吲d。是這些真誠的朋友解救了我。趁我現(xiàn)在頭腦清醒，我要告訴您兩件事。首先，夫人曾經(jīng)計劃讓我?guī)е鼐车能婈牐?破土而出到上面的世界，武力占領(lǐng)一個從來沒有侵犯過我的國家， 殺害原有的貴族，當(dāng)個殘忍的暴君霸占他們的王位。我已經(jīng)清醒了， 我不同意這個邪惡的計劃。其次，我是納尼亞國王的兒子瑞利安，航海家凱斯賓，凱斯賓十世的獨子。夫人，我必須立刻離開您的宮殿回到我的國家，履行我的職責(zé)。請派一個向?qū)ьI(lǐng)我們安全地離開您的王國。”
女巫盯著王子，沉默不語，她輕輕穿過房間，從火爐附近墻上的一個小柜子里拿出一把綠色粉末，灑在火焰里。那粉末不發(fā)光，散發(fā)出令人昏昏欲睡的香氣。這股氣味越來越濃，很快彌漫在房間中， 大家的頭腦都開始模糊。接著，她又拿出一個類似于曼陀林的樂器， 用手撥動著琴弦——一種單調(diào)、沒有起伏的聲音發(fā)出來，開始你可能不太注意，但越是這樣，那聲音卻越要往你耳朵里鉆，攪得你無法思考。她彈奏了一小會兒（香味也更濃了），開始用一種甜蜜、沉著的聲音講話。
“納尼亞？”她說，“納尼亞？殿下說胡話的時候倒是經(jīng)常提到那個名字。親愛的王子，您的病一定是加重了，根本沒有納尼亞這個地方。”
“可是，夫人，有這地方，”普德格勒姆說，“你看，我在那兒住了一輩子了。”
“真的嗎？”女巫說，“那么請告訴我，那個國家在哪兒？”
“在上面，”普德格勒姆固執(zhí)地的了指頭頂，“我——我不知道確切的方位。”
“什么？”女王笑了，聲音很親切、很柔和、很動聽，“在上面的石頭和泥灰中有一個國家？”
“不，”普德格勒姆努力讓自己清醒起來，“我是說地上世界。”
“好吧，那個……你所謂的地上世界……在哪兒？”
“好，你別裝了，”尤斯塔斯說，他正拼命跟那股香味和音樂斗爭， “好像你真的不知道似的！那地方就在上面，能夠看得見天空、太陽和星星。你自己也去過，我們還在上面見過你。”
“很抱歉，小兄弟，”女巫笑道（你恐怕從來沒有聽過比這更悅耳的笑聲），“我可不記得見過你們。我們做夢的時候，常常會在稀奇古怪的地方遇到我們的朋友。不過除非所有人做的夢都一樣， 你可不能要求人家都記得這個夢。”
“夫人，”王子執(zhí)著地說，“我已經(jīng)說過了，我是納尼亞國王的兒子！”
“將來會是的，親愛的，”女巫安慰他說，那聲音就像在哄小孩， “你總是幻想成為許多地方的國王。”
“我們也去過那兒。”姬爾生氣地說。她感覺到魔法正在控制她， 她對此非常不悅。不過從她還能辨別真相來看，魔法并沒有完全起作用。
“那你就是納尼亞的女王咯，小美人兒。”女巫用半哄騙、半嘲諷的口氣說道。
“我可沒那么說，”姬爾跺著腳說，“我們來自于另一個世界。”
“咦，真是越來越有意思。”女巫說，“告訴我們，小姑娘， 另外一個世界又在哪兒？你怎么來這里的？坐船還是馬車？”
姬爾的腦海里涌現(xiàn)了許多東西：實驗學(xué)校、奧黛拉•潘妮法瑟、她的家、收音機(jī)、電影院、汽車、飛機(jī)、供貨車、排隊。不過這些事都很模糊的，好像很遙遠(yuǎn)（噔……噔……噔，女巫的樂器響個不停）， 姬爾快想不起來這些東西的名字了。她沒有想到自己會中魔法，看來魔法開始起作用了。這是肯定的，中魔法的人，是根本沒有意識的。不知不覺中，她竟然說（還松了一口氣）：
“不。這一定是個夢。”
“是啊，是個夢。”女巫一邊說一邊不停彈奏。
“沒錯，是夢。”姬爾說。
“那個世界根本不存在。”女巫說。
“就是，”姬爾和尤斯塔斯說，“根本不存在。”
“除了我的世界，再沒有別的世界。”女巫說。
“除了你的世界，再沒有別的世界。”他們齊聲說。
只有普德格勒姆還在苦苦掙扎。“另一個世界是什么意思，”他說， 看起來就像快窒息一樣，“你盡管彈那把琴，就算彈到手指都掉下來， 還是不能讓我忘記納尼亞和地面世界。哪怕我們將來再也看不見那個世界了，你盡管把這些抹掉，讓地上世界變得跟這里一樣黑暗。誰知道呢？那也是有可能的。我只知道自己到過那兒，看到漫天星斗。我見過太陽，早上從海上升起，晚上在山那邊落下，還有正午那耀眼的太陽，明亮得讓人不能直視。”
普德格勒姆的話很有用，三個人重新調(diào)整呼吸，彼此對望著， 如夢方醒。
“哦。是的。”王子喊道，“但愿阿斯蘭保佑這個忠誠的沼澤怪。這幾分鐘，我們才是在做夢。我們怎么會忘記，我們都見過太陽。”
“是的，我們都見過，”尤斯塔斯說，“好樣的，普德格勒姆！ 你是我們當(dāng)中最有頭腦的！”
然后女巫開口了，聲音輕柔，就像夏天的下午三點，老花園里高大的榆樹上野鴿子的叫聲，她說：
“你們所謂的太陽是什么呀？那個詞有什么特殊的意思嗎？”
“是的，當(dāng)然！”尤斯塔斯說。
“告訴我什么樣好嗎？”女巫問（噔……噔……噔，琴聲還在繼續(xù)）。
“是，陛下，”王子彬彬有禮地說，“就像那盞燈，圓的，黃色的， 掛在屋頂上，照亮整個房間。我們所說的太陽，就像這盞燈一樣，不過要大得多，也亮得多。它掛在天上，能照亮整個世界。”
“掛在什么地方，殿下？”女巫問。緊跟著，當(dāng)大家還在想應(yīng)該怎么回答的時候，她又笑了，聲音柔和得如同銀鈴般，“瞧，你們都想搞清楚這個太陽是個什么東西，可是卻又說不清。你們只能告訴我，太陽就像那盞燈。聽我說，太陽是個夢，夢里的東西都源于現(xiàn)實， 燈是真的，而太陽不過是個神話故事。”
“啊，我明白了，”姬爾的聲音低沉，絕望，“一定是這樣。” 她說這話的時候，似乎覺得這還蠻有道理的。
女巫慢慢地重復(fù)道：“沒有太陽。”聲音更加柔和、深沉。他們都一聲不吭。“沒有太陽。”就這樣過了一會，四個人明顯掙扎了一番，接著他們齊聲說道，“您說得對，沒有太陽。”
“從來沒有太陽。”女巫說。
“對，從來沒有太陽。”王子、沼澤怪和兩個孩子說。
這一刻，姬爾總覺得心里有什么事，她拼命地想啊想，突然她想起來了，可是又覺得嘴巴好沉好沉，最終她用盡全力說道：
“有阿斯蘭。”
“阿斯蘭？”女巫噔噔噔地加快了節(jié)奏，說道，“多好聽！那是什么意思？”
“他是偉大的獅王，是他把我們從自己的世界召喚過來的。” 尤斯塔斯說，“他派我們來找瑞利安。”
“獅王是什么？”女巫問。
“啊呀，見鬼！”尤斯塔斯說，“你真不知道？我們該怎么來形容獅子呢？你見過貓嗎？”
“當(dāng)然，”女巫說，“我喜歡貓。”
“好吧，獅子有點——聽著，有點——像一只大貓，它有鬃毛。不是馬鬃，更像法官的假發(fā)，黃色的，它非常強(qiáng)壯。”
女巫搖搖頭，“我明白了，”她說，“你們說的這個獅子和太陽都是一回事。你們看到燈，就想象出了一個更大更好的，也就是太陽。你們見到貓，就想出來一個更大更好的貓，還給它取名為獅子。好了，這都很有意思。老實說，如果你們還是小孩子，這么做就合情合理了。你看，如果你們并沒有從我這個世界里學(xué)到什么，所以想象不出來。我的世界是唯一的真實世界。話說回來，你們兩個也已經(jīng)夠大了，不適合玩這種游戲。至于你，王子殿下，你已經(jīng)是個成年人了， 竟然做得出來！知不知道什么叫害臊？過來，把這套孩子氣的把戲收起來?；氐秸鎸嵤澜缰校疫€有事兒要你們做。沒有納尼亞，沒有地上世界，沒有天空，沒有太陽，也沒有所謂的阿斯蘭，現(xiàn)在大家都睡去吧。明天開始，要懂事些。不過現(xiàn)在還是睡覺去吧，枕著軟軟的枕頭， 美美的睡一覺，不要再做任何荒唐可笑的夢。”
王子和兩個孩子站在那里，腦袋耷拉著，臉紅紅的，眼睛半睜著， 渾身癱軟，魔法就要完全控制他們了。不料普德格勒姆拼命地走到火爐旁，干了一件非常勇敢地事。他光著腳去踩火，把爐子里大部分燒著的木柴都踩成了灰。盡管他知道會被火燒傷，但是不會特別嚴(yán)重。因為他的腳上有硬硬的蹼，而他本身又是冷血的。這樣一來，立刻就發(fā)生了三個改變：
第一，那股香氣變淡了。盡管火還沒有被完全撲滅，但也已經(jīng)滅了一大半，加上空中彌散的沼澤怪被燒傷的腳臭味，已經(jīng)不全是魔法的氣味了，每個人頓時清醒了許多。王子和兩個孩子抬起頭，睜開了眼睛。
第二，女巫一改甜蜜的聲調(diào)，扯起嗓門，大喊道：“你在干什么？ 竟敢動我的火，你這團(tuán)爛泥巴，我要把你燒死！”
第三，疼痛讓普德格勒姆完全清醒了，他清楚地知道自己內(nèi)心的想法。想要破除魔法，沒有什么比劇烈疼痛更加管用的了。
“我說，夫人，”他從火爐邊一瘸一拐地走過來，“我說。您剛才說的都對，這完全有可能。我一向喜歡凡事往壞處想，然后再往好處想。你完全可以那么做。就算那樣，我還要說。假如我們只是夢見， 或者說想象出來的那些——樹木、草地、太陽、月亮、星星甚至阿斯蘭。就算那真的只是想象，而你的王國是唯一的世界。那么我想說， 為什么捏造出來的東西要比真實的東西還要重要呢？那么我覺得這個世界實在太可悲了，想來也有趣。如果像你所說，我們在玩這些小孩子的游戲，可是這個游戲居然能把你的真實世界打得落花流水， 因為我只會忠實于這個游戲世界。即便世界上沒有阿斯蘭，我也要站在他那邊；即便沒有納尼亞這個地方，我也要像個真正的納尼亞人那樣生活。所以，感謝您招待我們吃飯，要是這兩位先生和小姐都準(zhǔn)備好了，我們現(xiàn)在要出發(fā)，離開這里尋找理想世界。也許我們的生命很短暫，但如果這個世界跟你說的那樣沉悶，我們并沒有多大損失。
“哦，好啊！普德格勒姆真是好樣的！”尤斯塔斯和姬爾大叫道。王子則突然叫嚷起來：“小心！看女巫！”
大家不寒而栗。


她手里的樂器掉了下來，兩只胳膊緊緊貼住身體，兩只腳纏在一起然后突然不見了，她的長裙突然變成了一根蠕動的綠柱子。柱子歪歪扭扭左右搖擺，滿身是節(jié)，沒有主心骨。她的頭高高地后揚，鼻子變得很長，頭上只剩下了火紅色的眼睛，眉毛和睫毛都不見了。說時遲那時快，他們什么都沒做女巫就變成了一條毒蛇，綠幽幽的像是毒藥一樣，像姬爾的腰那么粗的軀體在王子的腿上纏了兩三圈， 還打算把王子拿著劍的那只手給圈住。幸虧王子舉起雙臂，她只纏住了胸部——打算像勒木柴一樣把王子的肋骨勒斷。
王子用左手，抓住蛇頸，拼命地想要把它掐死。蛇的臉（如果還能稱其為臉）離他的只有五英寸。蛇精不停地吐著信子，差點就夠著王子了。接著，他又舉起右手，抽出劍劈下去。普德格勒姆和尤斯塔斯都抽出武器沖上去幫助他，又刺了三下。尤斯塔斯一下子刺在了蛇身上，這一擊并不怎么樣，蛇鱗都沒有刺穿，王子本人和普德格勒姆倒是擊中了蛇頸。蛇精雖然還是沒死，但是繞在瑞利安腿上和胸脯上的軀體已經(jīng)松了。他們又刺了好幾下，終于把蛇頭砍掉。蛇精不停的扭動，你肯定能想象得出來，地板被她搞得多糟。
三個征服者站在那里，面面相覷，喘著粗氣，久久沒有說話。好大一會兒，王子才緩過勁來說：“謝謝你們！”姬爾則聰明地坐下了， 沉默不語，心想：“我真希望自己別昏過去，也別哭，沒出洋相。”
“我母后的仇報了，”瑞利安說，“這條蛇肯定就是多年前我在納尼亞森林的噴泉邊追捕的那條。這么多年，我居然成了仇人的奴隸。不過我很高興，這個惡毒的女巫終于現(xiàn)出原形。無論是良心上還是榮譽上，我很難去殺死這個女人。來照顧一下這位小姐。”他指的是姬爾。
“我還好，謝謝。”她說。
“小姐，”王子對她鞠了一躬，“你很勇敢，我想您一定出身高貴。來吧，朋友們，這里有酒，我們先干一杯。以后的事情以后再說。”
“好主意，殿下。”尤斯塔斯說。