英語聽力 學英語,練聽力,上聽力課堂! 注冊 登錄
> 在線聽力 > 有聲讀物 > 世界名著 > 譯林版·能言馬與男孩 >  第11篇

雙語·能言馬與男孩 第十一章 不受歡迎的旅伴

所屬教程:譯林版·能言馬與男孩

瀏覽:

2022年04月30日

手機版
掃描二維碼方便學習和分享

Chapter XI THE UNWELCOME FELLOW TRAVELLER

When Shasta went through the gate he found a slope of grass and a little heather running up before him to some trees. He had nothing to think about now and no plans to make: he had only to run, and that was quite enough. His limbs were shaking, a terrible stitch was beginning in his side, and the sweat that kept dropping into his eyes blinded them and made them smart. He was unsteady on his feet too, and more than once he nearly turned his ankle on a loose stone.

The trees were thicker now than they had yet been and in the more open spaces there was bracken. The sun had gone in without making it any cooler. It had become one of those hot, grey days when there seem to be twice as many flies as usual. Shasta's face was covered with them; he didn't even try to shake them off—he had too much else to do.

Suddenly he heard a horn—not a great throbbing horn like the horns of Tashbaan but a merry call, Ti-ro-to-to-ho! Next moment he came out into a wide glade and found himself in a crowd of people.

At least, it looked a crowd to him. In reality there were about fifteen or twenty of them, all gentlemen in green hunting dress, with their horses; some in the saddle and some standing by their horses' heads. In the centre someone was holding the stirrup for a man to mount. And the man he was holding it for was the jolliest, fat, apple-cheeked, twinkling-eyed King you could imagine.

As soon as Shasta came in sight this King forgot all about mounting his horse. He spread out his arms to Shasta, his face lit up, and he cried out in a great, deep voice that seemed to come from the bottom of his chest.

“Corin! My son! And on foot, and in rags! What—”

“No,” panted Shasta, shaking his head. “Not Prince Corin. I—I—know I'm like him... saw his Highness in Tashbaan... sent his greetings.”

The King was staring at Shasta with an extraordinary expression on his face.

“Are you K-King Lune?” gasped Shasta. And then, without waiting for an answer, “Lord King—fly—Anvard—shut the gates— enemies upon you—Rabadash and two hundred horse.”

“Have you assurance of this, boy?” asked one of the other gentlemen.

“My own eyes,” said Shasta. “I've seen them. Raced them all the way from Tashbaan.”

“On foot?” said the gentleman, raising his eyebrows a little.

“Horses—with the Hermit,” said Shasta.

“Question him no more, Darrin,” said King Lune. “I see truth in his face. We must ride for it, gentlemen. A spare horse there, for the boy. You can ride fast, friend?”

For answer Shasta put his foot in the stirrup of the horse which had been led towards him and a moment later he was in the saddle. He had done it a hundred times with Bree in the last few weeks, and his mounting was very different now from what it had been on that first night when Bree had said that he climbed up a horse as if he were climbing a haystack.

He was pleased to hear the Lord Darrin say to the King, “The boy has a true horseman's seat, Sire. I'll warrant there's noble blood in him.”

“His blood, aye, there's the point,” said the King. And he stared hard at Shasta again with that curious expression, almost a hungry expression, in his steady, grey eyes.

But by now the whole party was moving off at a brisk canter. Shasta's seat was excellent but he was sadly puzzled what to do with his reins, for he had never touched the reins while he was on Bree's back. But he looked very carefully out of the corners of his eyes to see what the others were doing (as some of us have done at parties when we weren't quite sure which knife or fork we were meant to use) and tried to get his fingers right. But he didn't dare to try really directing the horse; he trusted it would follow the rest. The horse was of course an ordinary horse, not a Talking Horse; but it had quite wits enough to realise that the strange boy on its back had no whip and no spurs and was not really master of the situation. That was why Shasta soon found himself at the tail end of the procession.

Even so, he was going pretty fast. There were no flies now and the air in his face was delicious. He had got his breath back too. And his errand had succeeded. For the first time since the arrival at Tashbaan (how long ago it seemed!) he was beginning to enjoy himself.

He looked up to see how much nearer the mountain tops had come. To his disappointment he could not see them at all: only a vague greyness, rolling down towards them. He had never been in mountain country before and was surprised. “It's a cloud,” he said to himself, “a cloud coming down. I see. Up here in the hills one is really in the sky. I shall see what the inside of a cloud is like. What fun! I've often wondered.” Far away on his left, and a little behind him, the sun was getting ready to set.

They had come to a rough kind of road by now and were making very good speed. But Shasta's horse was still the last of the lot. Once or twice when the road made a bend (there was now continuous forest on each side of it) he lost sight of the others for a second or two.

Then they plunged into the fog, or else the fog rolled over them. The world became grey. Shasta had not realised how cold and wet the inside of a cloud would be; nor how dark. The grey turned to black with alarming speed.

Someone at the head of the column winded the horn every now and then, and each time the sound came from a little further off. He couldn't see any of the others now, but of course he'd be able to as soon as he got round the next bend. But when he rounded it he still couldn't see them. In fact he could see nothing at all. His horse was walking now. “Get on, Horse, get on,” said Shasta. Then came the horn, very faint. Bree had always told him that he must keep his heels well turned out, and Shasta had got the idea that something very terrible would happen if he dug his heels into a horse's sides. This seemed to him an occasion for trying it. “Look here, Horse,” he said, “if you don't buck up, do you know what I'll do? I'll dig my heels into you. I really will.” The horse, however, took no notice of this threat. So Shasta settled himself firmly in the saddle, gripped with his knees, clenched his teeth, and punched both the horse's sides with his heels as hard as he could.

The only result was that the horse broke into a kind of pretence of a trot for five or six paces and then subsided into a walk again. And now it was quite dark and they seemed to have given up blowing that horn. The only sound was a steady drip-drip from the branches of the trees.

“Well, I suppose even a walk will get us somewhere sometime,” said Shasta to himself. “I only hope I shan't run into Rabadash and his people.”

He went on for what seemed a long time, always at a walking pace. He began to hate that horse, and he was also beginning to feel very hungry.

Presently he came to a place where the road divided into two. He was just wondering which led to Anvard when he was startled by a noise from behind him. It was the noise of trotting horses. “Rabadash!” thought Shasta. He had no way of guessing which road Rabadash would take. “But if I take one,” said Shasta to himself, “he may take the other: and if I stay at the crossroads I'm sure to be caught.” He dismounted and led his horse as quickly as he could along the right-hand road.

The sound of the cavalry grew rapidly nearer and in a minute or two Shasta realised that they were at the crossroads. He held his breath, waiting to see which way they would take.

There came a low word of command “Halt!” then a moment of horsey noises—nostrils blowing, hoofs pawing, bits being champed, necks being patted. Then a voice spoke.

“Attend, all of you,” it said. “We are now within a furlong of the castle. Remember your orders. Once we are in Narnia, as we should be by sunrise, you are to kill as little as possible. On this venture you are to regard every drop of Narnian blood as more precious than a gallon of your own. On this venture, I say. The gods will send us a happier hour and then you must leave nothing alive between Cair Paravel and the Western Waste. But we are not yet in Narnia. Here in Archenland it is another thing. In the assault on this castle of King Lune's, nothing matters but speed. Show your mettle. It must be mine within an hour. And if it is, I give it all to you. I reserve no booty for myself. Kill me every barbarian male within its walls, down to the child that was born yesterday, and everything else is yours to divide as you please—the women, the gold, the jewels, the weapons, and the wine. The man that I see hanging back when we come to the gates shall be burned alive. In the name of Tash the irresistible, the inexorable—forward!”

With a great cloppitty-clop the column began to move, and Shasta breathed again. They had taken the other road.

Shasta thought they took a long time going past, for though he had been talking and thinking about “two hundred horse” all day, he had not realised how many they really were. But at last the sound died away and once more he was alone amid the drip-drip from the trees.

He now knew the way to Anvard but of course he could not now go there: that would only mean running into the arms of Rabadash's troopers. “What on earth am I to do?” said Shasta to himself. But he remounted his horse and continued along the road he had chosen, in the faint hope of finding some cottage where he might ask for shelter and a meal. He had thought, of course, of going back to Aravis and Bree and Hwin at the hermitage, but he couldn't because by now he had not the least idea of the direction.

“After all,” said Shasta, “this road is bound to get to somewhere.”

But that all depends on what you mean by somewhere. The road kept on getting to somewhere in the sense that it got to more and more trees, all dark and dripping and to colder and colder air. And strange, icy winds kept blowing the mist past him though they never blew it away. If he had been used to mountain country he would have realised that this meant he was now very high up— perhaps right at the top of the pass. But Shasta knew nothing about mountains.

“I do think,” said Shasta, “that I must be the most unfortunate boy that ever lived in the whole world. Everything goes right for everyone except me. Those Narnian lords and ladies got safe away from Tashbaan; I was left behind. Aravis and Bree and Hwin are all as snug as anything with that old Hermit: of course I was the one who was sent on. King Lune and his people must have got safely into the castle and shut the gates long before Rabadash arrived, but I get left out.”

And being very tired and having nothing inside him, he felt so sorry for himself that the tears rolled down his cheeks.

What put a stop to all this was a sudden fright. Shasta discovered that someone or somebody was walking beside him. It was pitch dark and he could see nothing. And the Thing (or Person) was going so quietly that he could hardly hear any footfalls. What he could hear was breathing. His invisible companion seemed to breathe on a very large scale, and Shasta got the impression that it was a very large creature. And he had come to notice this breathing so gradually that he had really no idea how long it had been there. It was a horrible shock.

It darted into his mind that he had heard long ago that there were giants in these Northern countries. He bit his lip in terror. But now that he really had something to cry about, he stopped crying.

The Thing (unless it was a Person) went on beside him so very quietly that Shasta began to hope he had only imagined it. But just as he was becoming quite sure of it, there suddenly came a deep, rich sigh out of the darkness beside him. That couldn't be imagination! Anyway, he had felt the hot breath of that sigh on his chilly left hand.

If the horse had been any good—or if he had known how to get any good out of the horse—he would have risked everything on a break away and a wild gallop. But he knew he couldn't make that horse gallop. So he went on at a walking pace and the unseen companion walked and breathed beside him. At last he could bear it no longer.

“Who are you?” he said, scarcely above a whisper.

“One who has waited long for you to speak,” said the Thing. Its voice was not loud, but very large and deep.

“Are you—are you a giant?” asked Shasta.

“You might call me a giant,” said the Large Voice. “But I am not like the creatures you call giants.”

“I can't see you at all,” said Shasta, after staring very hard. Then (for an even more terrible idea had come into his head) he said, almost in a scream, “You're not—not something dead, are you? Oh please—please do go away. What harm have I ever done you? Oh, I am the unluckiest person in the whole world?”

Once more he felt the warm breath of the Thing on his hand and face. “There,” it said, “that is not the breath of a ghost. Tell me your sorrows.”

Shasta was a little reassured by the breath: so he told how he had never known his real father or mother and had been brought up sternly by the fisherman. And then he told the story of his escape and how they were chased by lions and forced to swim for their lives; and of all their dangers in Tashbaan and about his night among the Tombs and how the beasts howled at him out of the desert. And he told about the heat and thirst of their desert journey and how they were almost at their goal when another lion chased them and wounded Aravis. And also, how very long it was since he had had anything to eat.

“I do not call you unfortunate,” said the Large Voice.

“Don't you think it was bad luck to meet so many lions?” said Shasta.

“There was only one lion,” said the Voice.

“What on earth do you mean? I've just told you there were at least two the first night, and—”

“There was only one: but he was swift of foot.”

“How do you know?”

“I was the lion.” And as Shasta gaped with open mouth and said nothing, the Voice continued. “I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you.”

“Then it was you who wounded Aravis?”

“It was I.”

“But what for?”

“Child,” said the Voice, “I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own.”

“Who are you?” asked Shasta.

“Myself,” said the Voice, very deep and low so that the earth shook: and again “Myself,” loud and clear and gay: and then the third time “Myself,” whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, and yet it seemed to come from all round you as if the leaves rustled with it.

Shasta was no longer afraid that the Voice belonged to something that would eat him, nor that it was the voice of a ghost. But a new and different sort of trembling came over him. Yet he felt glad too.

The mist was turning from black to grey and from grey to white. This must have begun to happen some time ago, but while he had been talking to the Thing he had not been noticing anything else. Now, the whiteness around him became a shining whiteness; his eyes began to blink. Somewhere ahead he could hear birds singing. He knew the night was over at last. He could see the mane and ears and head of his horse quite easily now. A golden light fell on them from the left. He thought it was the sun.

He turned and saw, pacing beside him, taller than the horse, a Lion. The horse did not seem to be afraid of it or else could not see it. It was from the Lion that the light came. No one ever saw anything more terrible or beautiful.

Luckily Shasta had lived all his life too far south in Calormen to have heard the tales that were whispered in Tashbaan about a dreadful Narnian demon that appeared in the form of a lion. And of course he knew none of the true stories about Aslan, the great Lion, the son of the Emperor-over-the-sea, the King above all High Kings in Narnia. But after one glance at the Lion's face he slipped out of the saddle and fell at its feet. He couldn't say anything but then he didn't want to say anything, and he knew he needn't say anything.

The High King above all kings stooped towards him. Its mane, and some strange and solemn perfume that hung about the mane, was all round him. It touched his forehead with its tongue. He lifted his face and their eyes met. Then instantly the pale brightness of the mist and the fiery brightness of the Lion rolled themselves together into a swirling glory and gathered themselves up and disappeared. He was alone with the horse on a grassy hillside under a blue sky. And there were birds singing.

第十一章 不受歡迎的旅伴

沙斯塔穿過大門,只見眼前的山坡綠草如茵,些許石楠延綿生長至幾棵大樹腳下。眼下,他沒什么別的要考慮的,也沒什么計劃要盤算的。他只要飛跑就行了,可這也夠他受的了。他的四肢累得抖抖索索,兩肋開始感到陣陣劇痛,汗水不停地滑入眼中,眼睛模模糊糊而又疼得厲害。他的步子也邁不穩(wěn)了,不止一次,他的腳踝都快要撞上松動的碎石。

現(xiàn)在,樹木比方才更加枝繁葉茂,曠野更加廣闊,遍地長著歐洲蕨。太陽已經(jīng)落山,可天氣卻沒有更涼爽些。這天兒悶熱且陰沉,連蒼蠅都好像比平時多了一倍。沙斯塔的臉上爬滿了蒼蠅,他甚至都顧不上抖掉它們——他要做的事實在太多了。

突然間,他聽到了號角聲——與塔什班城那種震耳欲聾的號角聲不同,這是愉悅的歡呼聲,蒂——羅——托——托——霍!眨眼間,他就進到了一片寬闊的林中空地,置身于熙熙攘攘的人群中。

起碼,在他看來這就是一大群人。實際上,那里約莫只有十五到二十個人,這些紳士們都身穿綠色獵裝,帶著馬兒;有的人騎在馬鞍上,有的人站在馬兒身旁。正中央,有人正拉住馬鐙,以便讓另一個人騎上馬。你可以想象到,那個要人伺候著上馬,最是興致勃勃、大腹便便、長著一張?zhí)O果臉、眼睛亮晶晶的人,就是國王了。

國王一瞧見沙斯塔,就把上馬這檔子事忘得一干二凈了。他向沙斯塔伸出雙臂,臉色一下明亮起來,用那好似發(fā)自丹田深處的渾厚而洪亮的聲音,大聲喊道:

“科林!我的兒子!居然徒步行走,還衣衫襤褸!什么情況——”

“我不是,”沙斯塔搖著腦袋,上氣不接下氣地說道,“我不是科林王子。我——我知道我同他長得很像——我在塔什班城瞧見過王子殿下——代他向您問安?!?/p>

國王盯著沙斯塔直瞧,神色古怪。

“您是倫恩國——國王嗎?”沙斯塔氣喘吁吁地問道,也不等對方回話,便接著說道,“國王陛下——趕快跑——安瓦德——關(guān)城門——敵軍壓境——拉巴達什帶著二百人馬來了?!?/p>

“孩子,你這消息可靠嗎?”另一位紳士問道。

“我親眼所見,”沙斯塔說道,“我瞧見了他們,從塔什班城一路同他們賽跑過來的?!?/p>

“走路嗎?”紳士說著,揚了揚眉毛。

“騎馬——馬兒寄放在隱士那兒?!鄙乘顾f道。

“別再問了,達林,”倫恩國王說道,“我看得出,他說的是真話。紳士們,我們必須得快馬加鞭地趕回去。那匹備用馬就給這男孩騎。小朋友,你能騎得快吧?”

馬被牽過來了。作為回應,沙斯塔一腳踏上馬鐙,很快便坐在馬鞍上了。在過去的幾周里,他跨上布里的背得有一百次了。第一天晚上,布里說他上馬就像翻過一垛干草堆,而現(xiàn)在他上馬的技術(shù)同那時已經(jīng)不可同日而語了。

他很高興聽到達林勛爵對國王說:“這孩子有真正騎士的風姿,陛下。我敢保證,他一定出身高貴?!?/p>

“他的出身,嗯,說得有理?!眹跽f道。他再一次目不轉(zhuǎn)睛地盯著沙斯塔直瞧,目光沉著冷靜,神色中透著探究和渴求。

但現(xiàn)在,這群紳士們都邁著輕快的步子開始慢跑起來了。沙斯塔坐得倒是很穩(wěn),可他迷瞪得不知該怎么用他的韁繩,因為他坐在布里背上時從未碰過韁繩。但他小心翼翼地用余光去看別人是怎么做的(就像我們有些人在宴會上,不大確定該用刀還是叉時做的那樣),他試著把手指放對位置??伤桓艺娴挠庙\繩去控制馬兒,情愿相信馬兒自己會跟著大部隊走。當然啦,這馬兒是匹普普通通的馬,不是一匹能言馬;但是,憑著它的智慧也足以明白,那個坐在它背上的男孩,奇奇怪怪的,不揮鞭子也不用靴刺踢它,不是這局面的真正掌控者。這就是為什么沙斯塔很快就發(fā)現(xiàn)自己落在大部隊的末尾了。

即便如此,他也騎得相當快。現(xiàn)在,沒有蒼蠅亂飛,拂面而來的空氣都是香甜的。他又能正常呼吸了。他的使命也已經(jīng)達成。抵達塔什班城后(這似乎已經(jīng)是很久以前的事了?。┧谝淮胃械藉羞b自在。

他仰起頭來,想看看離山頂有多近了。令他沮喪的是,他壓根兒瞧不見山頂:只能隱隱約約看見灰茫茫的一團朝他們滾滾而下。他以前從未領(lǐng)略過山野風光,此情此景讓他驚訝萬分?!斑@是一團云,”他自言自語道,“一團烏云壓下來了。我明白啦。在這群山上,人誠然是置身天上啰。我就要瞧著云里是什么樣的啦。這多么有趣啊!我早就想要探個究竟啦?!痹谒竺孢h遠的天邊,背后不遠處,太陽就要落山了。

眼下,他們已經(jīng)來到了一條崎嶇不平的大路上,正馬不停蹄地疾馳著??缮乘顾鸟R兒仍舊落在隊尾。有一兩次,在大路的轉(zhuǎn)彎處(現(xiàn)在路的兩側(cè)皆是茫茫林海),有那么一兩秒,他瞧不見前方大部隊的身影。

接著,他們闖進一片迷霧中,或者說茫茫大霧將他們團團籠罩了。世界變得灰蒙蒙的。沙斯塔不知道置身云霧間竟會是那么寒冷和潮濕,也不知道天色竟會那么黑暗。灰蒙蒙的濃霧正以驚人的速度變得黑沉。

隊伍前頭時不時就會有人吹響號角,每一次聲音聽起來都比上一次要更遠些?,F(xiàn)在,他瞧不見其他人了,但照理說只要他一轉(zhuǎn)過彎,就能馬上看到大部隊。可是,當他轉(zhuǎn)過路口,他仍舊看不見大家。事實上,他根本什么也看不見?,F(xiàn)在,就連他的馬兒都閑庭信步起來了?!白飞先?,馬兒,追上去。”沙斯塔喊道。接著,傳來了號角聲,聲音十分微弱。布里總是告誡他腳跟必須朝外頭,沙斯塔便以為要是他把腳跟戳進馬兒的兩肋,就會釀成什么惡果。在他看來,眼下倒是個嘗試的好時機?!奥牶昧?,馬兒,”他說道,“要是你再不加把勁快跑,你可知道我會怎么做嗎?我會把腳跟戳進你的兩肋。我真的會這么做。”然而,馬兒卻對這威脅充耳不聞。于是,沙斯塔便坐穩(wěn)馬鞍,夾緊膝蓋,咬緊牙關(guān),使勁用腳跟狠狠地刺向馬兒的兩肋。

這樣做唯一的成效就是,馬兒倏地假模假樣地小跑了五六步,接著又慢悠悠地溜達了起來。天色已經(jīng)很黑了,大部隊好像已經(jīng)不再吹響號角了。只聽見水珠不斷從枝丫上滑落的滴滴答答聲。

“算啦,我想就算是慢慢走,我們也總會走到的,”沙斯塔自言自語道,“我只盼著千萬別撞上拉巴達什和他的騎兵就好啦?!?/p>

他仿佛繼續(xù)走了很長時間,總是這樣慢悠悠地走著。他開始討厭起那匹馬來,開始覺得饑腸轆轆了。

不一會兒,他來到了一個岔路口。他正琢磨著到底哪條才是通往安瓦德的路,就在這時,身后傳來一聲巨響,他嚇了一大跳。這是馬群奔跑的聲音?!笆抢瓦_什!”沙斯塔心想。他沒法兒猜到拉巴達什會走哪條路?!暗?,如果我走了這條路,”沙斯塔自言自語道,“他也許會走那條路,要是我就乖乖地待在這岔路口,我肯定會被逮住的?!彼B忙翻身下馬,牽著馬兒飛快地沿著右邊那條路走去。

很快,騎兵的聲音越來越近了,才過了一兩分鐘,沙斯塔便發(fā)現(xiàn)到他們已經(jīng)抵達岔路口了。他屏氣凝神,等著看他們會走哪一條路。

一個低沉的聲音命令道:“停止前進!”這下,一時間都是馬兒的嘈雜聲——有馬鼻子的哼哧聲、馬蹄子的跑地聲、咬馬嚼子的咀嚼聲,還有輕撫馬脖子的拍打聲。接著,一個聲音開口說話了。

“大家注意了,”這聲音說道,“我們現(xiàn)在離城堡沒有多遠了。牢記命令。一旦我們到了納尼亞(我們應該會在日出時抵達),你們要竭力減少殺戮。在此次冒險行動中,你們要視納尼亞人的每一滴血比你們自己的每一加侖血都珍貴。我說的這番話是針對此次的冒險行動而言。上天會賜予我們良機,到那時你們便能在凱爾帕拉維爾和西部沙漠之間,大開殺戒,趕盡殺絕了。但我們還沒進入納尼亞境內(nèi)。在阿欽蘭境內(nèi)這兒又是另一回事了。進攻倫恩國王的城堡,除了速度,什么都不重要。拿出你們的勇氣來。我們必須在一個鐘頭內(nèi)拿下它。事成之后,這座城堡就屬于你們,所有的戰(zhàn)利品,我分毫不取。你們替我將城內(nèi)所有的外邦男子統(tǒng)統(tǒng)殺死,就連昨日剛出生的嬰兒也不能放過。其余一切你們都可以隨心所欲地分享——諸如女人、黃金、珠寶、武器還有美酒。兵臨城下,誰要是膽敢退縮不前,我就將他活活燒死。以不可抗拒、不屈不撓的塔什神之名,沖??!”

伴著嗒嗒的馬蹄聲,騎兵隊向前行進,沙斯塔終于喘過氣來。他們走上了另一條路。

沙斯塔覺得騎兵隊得費好長時間才能全都走過路口,因為盡管他成日里總心心念念著“二百人馬”,還把這話總掛在嘴邊,可他并不確定他們究竟有多少人馬。終于,馬蹄聲漸漸消失了,他又一次孤身一人,聽著枝頭滴滴答答的水滴聲。

眼下他倒是知道了去安瓦德的路,可現(xiàn)在他當然不能往那兒走了:這無異于撞到拉巴達什軍隊的槍口上?!澳俏业降自撛趺醋瞿??”沙斯塔自言自語道。他重新翻身上馬,沿著選定的那條路繼續(xù)前進,心里懷著微弱的希望,盼著能找到一間小屋,在那兒求個落腳地,再討上一頓飯吃。當然,他也曾想過回到隱士那兒,去找阿拉維斯、布里和赫溫,可如今他壓根兒就不知道回去的方向,根本沒法兒回去。

“不管怎么說,”沙斯塔說道,“這條路總會通到某個地方的。”

但這完全取決于你說的“某個地方”是什么意思。道路一路延伸至某個地方,沿路樹林越來越多,烏壓壓的連成一片,枝頭滴滴答答地滴著水,空氣也越來越寒冷了。迎面不斷地吹來奇怪而冰冷的風,卻從不曾吹散濃霧。倘若他熟悉山野風光的話,他就會知道,這意味著他現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)攀登到高處了——沒準兒就正好在關(guān)口頂端呢。可沙斯塔對山岳一無所知。

“我打心眼里覺著,”沙斯塔心想,“我一定是這世上最最倒霉的孩子了。大家都事事如意,就我不是。那些納尼亞的王公小姐們都平平安安地離開了塔什班城,就我被落下了;阿拉維斯、布里和赫溫舒舒服服地同老隱士待在一塊兒,我卻理所當然地被派出來跑腿;倫恩國王和他的隨從一定已經(jīng)安全進入城堡,趕在拉巴達什到達之前就早早地關(guān)上了城門,就我被丟在外頭?!?/p>

他身心俱疲,饑腸轆轆,只覺著萬分難過,眼淚簌簌地從臉頰滑落。

一種突如其來的恐懼感襲來,讓他顧不上黯然神傷。沙斯塔發(fā)覺有什么動物或是有什么人正在他身邊走動。四周烏漆墨黑的,他什么也看不見。這動物(或是人)走路靜悄悄的,他幾乎聽不見任何腳步聲,只能聽見呼吸聲。他這看不見的同伴好像在大口喘氣,沙斯塔覺得它八成是個大家伙。他慢慢地才注意到這呼吸聲,以至于他壓根兒不知道它在那兒待了多久。這實在令人毛骨悚然。

他突然想到,很久以前他就聽說過,這些北方國家有巨人。他嚇得咬緊嘴唇。此刻他真該放聲大哭,他倒停止啜泣了。

這大家伙(要不然就是個人)仍在他身邊靜悄悄地走著,沙斯塔開始寄希望于這一切不過是他幻想出來的。可就在他確信無疑這是幻想時,突然,黑暗中他的身側(cè)傳來一聲意味深長的嘆息。這不是幻想!不管怎么說,他感覺到了那嘆息聲呼出的灼熱氣息噴在了他冰冷的左手上。

但凡這匹馬兒能派得上點用場——或者說但凡他知道如何使這匹馬兒派上用場——他就會不顧一切,策馬狂奔,逃之夭夭??墒牵靼鬃约簺]法兒讓馬兒飛奔起來的。于是,他只好繼續(xù)慢悠悠地走著,這看不見的同伴也就在他身邊亦步亦趨,吐納生息。最后,他再也忍不住了。

“你是誰?”他問道,說話聲比說悄悄話高不了多少。

“我等你說話等好久了?!蹦羌一镎f道。它說話并不大聲,但嗓門兒很大,聲音低沉。

“你——你是巨人嗎?”沙斯塔問道。

“你可以叫我巨人,”大嗓門說道,“不過我和你們所謂的巨人并不一樣?!?/p>

“我壓根兒看不到你,”沙斯塔瞪大眼睛瞧了老半天后說道。然后(他的腦子里冒出了一個更可怕的想法),他幾乎失聲叫道,“你該不會是——不會是什么妖魔鬼怪吧?噢,求你了,求你快走開。我可沒做過什么對不起你的事??!噢,我真是這世上最倒霉的人了?!?/p>

他又一次感受到了那家伙呼在他手上和臉上的熱氣?!奥犞?,”它說道,“鬼是不會吐氣的。告訴我你為什么難過吧?!?/p>

這呼吸聲倒是讓沙斯塔稍稍安了點心,于是他便同對方訴起衷腸來,講起自己從未見過親生父母,從小由一個刻薄的漁夫撫養(yǎng)長大。接著,他又講起了他逃跑的故事,以及他們是如何被獅子追趕,而后被逼無奈,跳海游泳逃生的;講起了他們在塔什班城遭遇的重重危險和他在古墓孤身過夜,還有沙漠里猛獸又是如何沖他咆哮不停。他講起了他們的沙漠之旅是何等酷熱難耐、焦渴難忍,以及就在他們快要抵達目的地時,另一頭獅子又是如何對他們緊追不舍,還抓傷了阿拉維斯。他還講到了自己打那時起就已經(jīng)好長時間都沒吃過一丁點兒東西了。

“我倒不覺得你倒霉。”大嗓門說道。

“撞上那么多頭獅子難道還不算倒霉嗎?”沙斯塔說道。

“只有一頭獅子?!贝笊らT說道。

“你這話究竟是什么意思啊?我剛剛就告訴過你,最起碼在頭天晚上,我們就撞見了兩頭獅子,還有——”

“只有一頭獅子,但那頭獅子身手敏捷?!?/p>

“你是怎么知道的呢?”

“我就是那頭獅子,”聽到這,沙斯塔目瞪口呆得說不出話來,大嗓門接著說道,“我就是那頭逼著你與阿拉維斯同行的獅子。我就是那只在古墓里安慰你的大貓。我就是那頭在你睡覺時為你趕跑豺狼的獅子。我就是那頭嚇得馬兒們在最后一程路重新鉚足了力狂奔,使你得以及時見到倫恩國王的獅子。我還是那頭你并不記得的獅子,那時你還是個小嬰兒,躺在一條小船上奄奄一息,是我推著小船,令它漂上了岸,岸邊正好坐著一個夜不能寐的漁夫,將你收留?!?/p>

“那是你抓傷了阿拉維斯嗎?”

“是我?!?/p>

“為什么要抓傷她呢?”

“孩子,”大嗓門說道,“我在講的是你的身世,而不是她的。我只對人們講他們自己的故事?!?/p>

“你是誰呢?”

“我自己,”大嗓門說道,聲音渾厚而低沉,連大地也為之震動;接著又喊道,“我自己!”聲音響亮、清晰、明媚;然后第三次說道,“我自己?!边@一次是呢喃細語,聲音輕柔到你都聽不大清,可又好似來自你的四面八方,仿佛連樹葉也隨之沙沙作響。

沙斯塔不再擔心這大嗓門會是什么吃人的野獸,也不再擔心這會是什么幽靈的聲音了。他突然感到一種全新的截然不同的誠惶誠恐之情。可他心里同樣覺得欣喜萬分。

云霧由黑漆漆變得灰蒙蒙,又由灰蒙蒙變得白茫茫。這一轉(zhuǎn)變必定發(fā)生了有段時間了,可他正和那個大家伙說著話,一直未曾注意到其他的事情?,F(xiàn)在,他周遭白茫茫的云霧變得刺眼,他的眼睛開始有些睜不開了。他聽見前頭什么地方,鳥兒正唱著歌。他知道黑夜終于過去了?,F(xiàn)在,他輕輕松松就能看清馬兒的鬃毛、耳朵還有腦袋。一道金光從左側(cè)落到他們身上。一時間他還以為那是陽光呢。

他轉(zhuǎn)過身來,看到一頭獅子,個頭比馬兒還高,正走在他身旁。馬兒似乎并不害怕它,要不然就是壓根兒瞧不見它。原來那是獅子身上發(fā)出的金光。沒人見過有什么東西比這更厲害、更迷人了。

好在沙斯塔自小一直生活在卡樂門王國偏遠的南境之地,不曾聽說過塔什班城里眾人皆知的傳說:一個可怕的納尼亞惡魔化身為一頭獅子。當然,對于阿斯蘭,這頭偉大的獅子,海外帝王之子,納尼亞諸位至高王的主宰者的真正事跡,沙斯塔是一無所知??删驮谒{子的臉瞧了一眼后,他當即從馬鞍上翻身下來,趴倒在它腳邊。他什么話也說不出來,他什么也不想說,他也明白他什么也不必說。

諸位國王的主宰者向他彎下腰來。它的鬃毛垂落在沙斯塔四周,散發(fā)著奇怪而莊重的香味。它用舌頭舔了舔他的額頭。沙斯塔仰起臉來,同它四目相對。接著,云霧蒼白的光輝連同獅子熾熱的光芒一下子相互交織,化作流轉(zhuǎn)的光華,而又聚成一道強光,終又煙消云散了。碧空下,沙斯塔獨自一人同馬兒站在芳草萋萋的山坡上。那里燕語鶯啼。

用戶搜索

瘋狂英語 英語語法 新概念英語 走遍美國 四級聽力 英語音標 英語入門 發(fā)音 美語 四級 新東方 七年級 賴世雄 zero是什么意思紹興市星洲商務樓英語學習交流群

  • 頻道推薦
  • |
  • 全站推薦
  • 推薦下載
  • 網(wǎng)站推薦