《黎明踏浪號(hào)》第九章 聲島

CHAPTER NINE THE ISLAND OF THE VOICES
第九章　聲島

AND now the winds which had so long been from the north-west began to blow from the west itself and every morning when the sun rose out of the sea the curved prow of the Dawn Treader stood up right across the middle of the sun.Some thought that the sun looked larger than it looked from Narnia，but others disagreed.And they sailed and sailed before a gentle yet steady breeze and saw neither fish nor gull-nor ship nor shore.And stores began to get low again，and it crept into their hearts that perhaps they might have come to a sea which went on for ever.But when the very last day on which they thought they could risk continuing their eastward voyage dawned，it showed，right ahead between them and the sunrise，a low land lying like a cloud.
刮了好多天西北風(fēng)之后開(kāi)始刮西風(fēng)了。每天早上太陽(yáng)從海平面升起，黎明踏浪號(hào)的雕花船頭就正好對(duì)著太陽(yáng)。有人覺(jué)得這里的太陽(yáng)看上去比納尼亞的大，有的人不這么認(rèn)為。他們就這樣順著風(fēng)航行， 風(fēng)雖小，風(fēng)向倒也不變?？床灰?jiàn)魚和海鷗，看不見(jiàn)船，也看不見(jiàn)海岸。船上的食物儲(chǔ)備又開(kāi)始變少，大家心里偷偷地想，也許他們要開(kāi)到一個(gè)永遠(yuǎn)都到不了岸的大海。就在最后一天，他們本以為還要繼續(xù)東航， 天剛剛明亮，就看見(jiàn)前面有一片云層似的低矮陸地，橫亙?cè)诖腿粘龅暮Ｆ骄€之間。
They made harbour in a wide bay about the middle of the afternoon and landed.It was a very different country from any they had yet seen.For when they had crossed the sandy beach they found all silent and empty as if it were an uninhabited land，but before them there were level lawns in which the grass was as smooth and short as it used to be in the grounds of a great English house where ten gardeners were kept.The trees，of which there were many，all stood well apart from one another，and there were no broken branches and no leaves lying on the ground.Pigeons sometimes cooed but there was no other noise.
大約在下午三點(diǎn)，他們把船?？吭谝粋€(gè)寬闊的海灣，然后上了岸。這里與他們?nèi)ミ^(guò)的地方都不一樣。當(dāng)他們走過(guò)沙灘時(shí)，發(fā)現(xiàn)四下一片寂靜，空空蕩蕩，像是個(gè)無(wú)人的荒島?？墒撬麄兠媲皡s是平坦的草地， 上面的草又短又柔滑，就像英國(guó)名門大戶有十個(gè)園丁侍弄的庭院一樣。好多樹(shù)木，兩兩之間距離非常均勻，地上沒(méi)有斷枝殘葉。除了咕咕的鴿子叫，沒(méi)有別的聲音。
Presently they came to a long，straight，sanded path with not a weed growing on it and trees on either hand.Far off at the other end of this avenue they now caught sight of a house—very long and grey and quiet—looking in the afternoon sun.
他們很快來(lái)到一條又長(zhǎng)又直的由沙子鋪成的林蔭道。路面上沒(méi)有一棵草，路的兩邊都栽滿樹(shù)。在林蔭道的盡頭他們看見(jiàn)一排房子——長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的一排，灰色的屋頂，在午后的陽(yáng)光下特別安靜。
Almost as soon as they entered this path Lucy noticed that she had a little stone in her shoe.In that unknown place it might have been wiser for her to ask the others to wait while she took it out. But she didn’t;she just dropped quietly behind and sat down to take off her shoe.Her lace had got into a knot.
就在他們要經(jīng)過(guò)這條路的時(shí)候，露茜覺(jué)得鞋里面有顆小石頭。在那種情況，她本該讓其他人等著她取出石頭，可是她沒(méi)有。她脫下鞋，鞋帶打結(jié)了，就這樣不經(jīng)意落在后面了。
Before she had undone the knot the others were a fair distance ahead.By the time she had got the stone out and was putting the shoe on again she could no longer hear them.But almost at once she heard something else.It was not coming from the direction of the house.
還沒(méi)等她解開(kāi)鞋帶，別人已經(jīng)走了很遠(yuǎn)了。等她掏出石頭，再穿上鞋，周圍已經(jīng)沒(méi)有了其他人的聲音。然而她聽(tīng)到了其他的聲音， 但是這聲音不是從那一排房子那里傳來(lái)的。
What she heard was a thumping.It sounded as if dozens of strong workmen were hitting the ground as hard as they could with great wooden mallets.And it was very quickly coming nearer. She was already sitting with her back to a tree，and as the tree was not one she could climb，there was really nothing to do but to sit dead still and press herself against the tree and hope she wouldn’t be seen.
她聽(tīng)到一陣“砰砰砰”的聲音，像有十幾個(gè)身強(qiáng)力壯的工人掄著大錘捶打地面，而且聲音越來(lái)越近。她背靠著一棵樹(shù)坐著，爬不上去，也只好一動(dòng)不動(dòng)地坐著，緊緊貼著樹(shù)，希望那些人看不到她。
Thump，thump，thump... and whatever it was must be very close now for she could feel the ground shaking.But she could see nothing.She thought the thing-or things must be just behind her.But then there came a thump on the path right in front of her. She knew it was on the path not only by the sound but because she saw the sand scatter as if it had been struck a heavy blow.But she could see nothing that had struck it.Then all the thumping noises drew together about twenty feet away from her and suddenly ceased. Then came the Voice.
砰、砰、砰……雖然她不知道這是什么聲音，但是那聲音越來(lái)越近，她甚至感覺(jué)地面在震動(dòng)，可是她什么也看不見(jiàn)。她甚至覺(jué)得那東西——或者那些東西——就在她身后。但她面前的小路突然又傳來(lái)“砰”的一聲，她不僅聽(tīng)到聲音還看到路面上塵土飛揚(yáng)，她突然想到聲音來(lái)自那條小路，可是她看不到是什么在擊打地面。很快所有的“砰砰”聲都集中到一起，在離她大約二十英尺的地方突然停了，只聽(tīng)到一些說(shuō)話聲。
It was really very dreadful because she could still see nobody at all.The whole of that park-like country still looked as quiet and empty as it had looked when they first landed.Nevertheless，only a few feet away from her，a voice spoke.And what it said was：“Mates，now’s our chance.”
真是太可怕了，因?yàn)樗粋€(gè)人也看不見(jiàn)。整個(gè)公園就像之前他們剛登上小島那樣寂靜和空曠。盡管這樣，在離她只有兩三步的地方有個(gè)聲音在說(shuō)：“伙計(jì)們，我們的機(jī)會(huì)終于來(lái)了。”
Instantly a whole chorus of other voices replied，“Hear him. Hear him.Now ‘s our chance’，he said.Well done，Chief. You never said a truer word.”
突然，其他人齊聲說(shuō)：“聽(tīng)，你們聽(tīng)，他說(shuō)我們的機(jī)會(huì)終于來(lái)了。你說(shuō)得太好了，老大。”
“What I say，”continued the first voice，“is，get down to the shore between them and their boat，and let every mother’s son look to his weapons.Catch’em when they try to put to sea.”
“我是說(shuō)，”那聲音繼續(xù)說(shuō)，“到岸邊去攔住他們，不讓他們上小船，你們都拿好家伙，他們要是到海上就抓住他們。”
“Eh，that’s the way，”shouted all the other voices.“You never made a better plan，Chief.Keep it up，Chief.You couldn’t have a better plan than that.”
“對(duì)，就是這樣，”其他聲音非常一致，“你這辦法太妙了，老大，然后呢，你這想法再妙不過(guò)了。”
“Lively，then，mates，lively，”said the first voice.“Off we go.
“伙計(jì)們，那趕緊吧，加油，”那個(gè)聲音說(shuō)，“出發(fā)。”
“Right again，Chief，”said the others.“Couldn’t have a better order.Just what we were going to say ourselves.Off we go.”
“太對(duì)了，老大。”其他聲音說(shuō)，“這決定再好不過(guò)了。我們也這么想呢，走吧。”
Immediately the thumping began again—very loud at first but soon fainter and fainter，till it died out in the direction of the sea.
“砰砰”聲又響起來(lái)了——一開(kāi)始很響，慢慢地越來(lái)越弱，越來(lái)越弱，然后消失在海岸邊。
Lucy knew there was no time to sit puzzling as to what these invisible creatures might be.As soon as the thumping noise had died away she got up and ran along the path after the others as quickly as her legs would carry her.They must at all costs be warned.
露茜沒(méi)有工夫管這些看不見(jiàn)的怪物是什么東西。等“砰砰”的聲音一消失，她就站起來(lái)，沿著小路跑，去追大家，無(wú)論如何也要告訴他們。
While this had been happening the others had reached the house.It was a low building-only two stories high made of a beautiful mellow stone，many-windowed，and partially covered with ivy.Everything was so still that Eustace said，“I think it’s empty，”but Caspian silently pointed to the column of smoke which rose from one chimney.
這個(gè)時(shí)候，他們已經(jīng)走到那座房子邊。矮房子有兩層——是用光滑漂亮的石塊建造的，有很多窗子，墻上爬著常春藤，一切都很寧?kù)o。尤斯塔斯說(shuō)：“我看這是空房。”可是凱斯賓一聲不吭，指著冒煙的煙囪。
They found a wide gateway open and passed through it into a paved courtyard.And it was here that they had their first indication that there was something odd about this island.In the middle of the courtyard stood a pump，and beneath the pump a bucket.There was nothing odd about that.But the pump handle was moving up and down，though there seemed to be no one moving it.
他們看到門開(kāi)著，就直接走進(jìn)那個(gè)鋪著石板的院子。院子里有個(gè)水泵，水泵下有個(gè)水桶，這倒是沒(méi)什么稀奇，稀奇的是沒(méi)有人搖動(dòng)把手，水泵的把手就上下?lián)u動(dòng)。
“There’s some magic at work here，”said Caspian.
“這是魔法。”凱斯賓說(shuō)。
“Machinery !”said Eustace.“I do believe we’ve come to a civilized country at last.”
“是機(jī)器!”尤斯塔斯說(shuō)，“我相信我們到了一個(gè)文明的國(guó)度。”
At that moment Lucy，hot and breathless，rushed into the courtyard behind them.In a low voice she tried to make them understand what she had overheard.And when they had partly understood it even the bravest of them did not look very happy.
這個(gè)時(shí)候，露茜風(fēng)風(fēng)火火，氣喘吁吁地跑進(jìn)院子。她壓低聲音跟他們說(shuō)她聽(tīng)到的消息，等到他們聽(tīng)明白怎么回事，連最勇敢的人臉色都變了。
“Invisible enemies，”muttered Caspian.“And cutting us off from the boat.This is an ugly furrow to plough.”
“看不見(jiàn)的敵人，”凱斯賓嘀咕，“切斷我們上船的路，這一關(guān)不好過(guò)啊。”
“You’ve no idea what sort of creatures they are，Lu ?”asked Edmund.
“你不知道他們是什么怪物嗎，露茜?”愛(ài)德蒙問(wèn)。
“How can I，Ed，when I couldn’t see them ?”
“我怎么能知道呢，愛(ài)德蒙，我又看不見(jiàn)他們。”
“Did they sound like humans from their footsteps ?”
“你聽(tīng)著他們的腳步聲像人類嗎?”
“I didn’t hear any noise of feet—only voices and this frightful thudding and thumping-like a mallet.”
“我沒(méi)聽(tīng)到腳步聲——只聽(tīng)到‘砰砰砰’這樣的聲音——像用木槌捶打的一樣。”
“I wonder，”said Reepicheep，“do they become visible when you drive a sword into them ?”
“我倒是想知道，”雷佩契普說(shuō)，“如果把劍刺進(jìn)他們的身體， 不知道他們會(huì)不會(huì)露出原形。”
“It looks as if we shall find out，”said Caspian.“But let’s get out of this gateway.There’s one of these gentry at that pump listening to all we say.”
“看來(lái)我們必須要弄明白，”凱斯賓說(shuō)，“不過(guò)我們還是先出去吧。水泵旁邊有一個(gè)家伙在聽(tīng)我們說(shuō)話。”
They came out and went back on to the path where the trees might possibly make them less conspicuous.“Not that it’s any good really，”said Eustace，“trying to hide from people you can’t see.They may be all round us.”
他們走出大門，回到那條小路，路邊有樹(shù)可以隱蔽。“其實(shí)想躲開(kāi)你看不見(jiàn)的人，一點(diǎn)用也沒(méi)有。因?yàn)樗赡芤呀?jīng)在我們周圍了。” 尤斯塔斯說(shuō)。
“Now，Drinian，”said Caspian.“How would it be if we gave up the boat for lost，went down to another part of the bay，and signalled to the Dawn Treader to stand in and take us aboard ?”
“好吧，德里寧，”凱斯賓說(shuō)，“如果我們確定回小船沒(méi)有可能的話，不如到海灣那邊給黎明踏浪號(hào)發(fā)信號(hào)，讓他們把船開(kāi)到海岸邊來(lái)接我們上船，你覺(jué)得怎么樣?”
“Not depth for her，Sire，”said Drinian.
“這邊水太淺，容易拋錨，陛下。”德里寧回答。
“We could swim，”said Lucy.
“我們也可以游過(guò)去。”露茜說(shuō)。
“Your Majesties all，”said Reepicheep，“hear me.It is folly to think of avoiding an invisible enemy by any amount of creeping and skulking.If these creatures mean to bring us to battle，be sure they will succeed.And whatever comes of it I’d sooner meet them face to face than be caught by the tail.”
“三位陛下聽(tīng)我說(shuō)，”雷佩契普說(shuō)，“想偷偷摸摸，避開(kāi)看不見(jiàn)的敵人，簡(jiǎn)直就是妄想。如果這些怪物等著跟我們打一場(chǎng)，肯定能得逞。無(wú)論如何，我認(rèn)為與其讓他們牽著我們走，不如正面交鋒。”
“I really think Reep is in the right this time，”said Edmund.
“我認(rèn)為雷佩這次說(shuō)得很對(duì)。”愛(ài)德蒙說(shuō)。
“Surely，”said Lucy，“if Rhince and the others on the Dawn Treader see us fighting on the shore they’ll be able to do something.”
“那是當(dāng)然，”露茜說(shuō)，“如果賴因斯和黎明踏浪號(hào)上的人看見(jiàn)我們?cè)诎渡洗蛘?，肯定?huì)采取行動(dòng)。”
“But they won’t see us fighting if they can’t see any enemy，”said Eustace miserably.“They’ll think we’re just swinging our swords in the air for fun.”
“萬(wàn)一他們看不見(jiàn)敵人，就看不出來(lái)我們?cè)诖蛘獭?rdquo;尤斯塔斯發(fā)愁地說(shuō)，“他們會(huì)以為我們對(duì)著空氣舞劍呢。”
There was an uncomfortable pause.
大家都沉默了好久。
“Well，”said Caspian at last，“let’s get on with it.We must go and face them.Shake hands all round—arrow on the string， Lucy—swords out，everyone else—and now for it.Perhaps they’ll parley.”
“算了，”凱斯賓最后說(shuō)，“豁出去了，我們必須要面對(duì)他們。大家把手握在一起——露茜，箭上弦……其余人都把劍出鞘……準(zhǔn)備好。沒(méi)準(zhǔn)，他們?cè)敢庹勁小?rdquo;
It was strange to see the lawns and the great trees looking so peaceful as they marched back to the beach.And when they arrived there，and saw the boat lying where they had left her，and the smooth sand with no one to be seen on it，more than one doubted whether Lucy had not merely imagined all she had told them.But before they reached the sand，a voice spoke out of the air.
說(shuō)來(lái)奇怪，他們齊步回到海灘的時(shí)候，竟然是一片太平景象。小船還停在之前扔下的地方，光溜溜的沙地上一個(gè)人也沒(méi)有。大家都開(kāi)始懷疑露茜說(shuō)的事是不是她想象出來(lái)的，不料他們還沒(méi)走到沙地， 半空中就有個(gè)聲音說(shuō)話了。
“No further，masters，no further now，”it said.“We’ve got to talk with you first.There’s fifty of us and more here with weapons in our fists.”
“別走了，伙計(jì)，別走了，”那個(gè)聲音說(shuō)，“我們先談?wù)劊覀冇形迨嗳?，而且手里都有武器?rdquo;
“Hear him，hear him，”came the chorus.“That’s our Chief. You can depend on what he says.He’s telling you the truth，he is.”
“聽(tīng)他的，聽(tīng)他的，”眾人齊聲說(shuō)，“他是我們老大，他說(shuō)話算話。他說(shuō)的是實(shí)話，真的。”
“I do not see these fifty warriors，”observed Reepicheep.
“我看不見(jiàn)你們的五十個(gè)勇士。”雷佩契普說(shuō)。
“That’s right，that’s right，”said the Chief Voice.“You don’t see us.And why not ? Because we’re invisible.”
“沒(méi)錯(cuò)，當(dāng)然沒(méi)錯(cuò)。”他們老大的聲音說(shuō)，“你們看不見(jiàn)我們的。為什么呢?因?yàn)槲覀兪请[形人。”
“Keep it up，Chief，keep it up，”said the Other Voices.“You’re talking like a book.They couldn’t ask for a better answer than that.”
“繼續(xù)說(shuō)，老大，”其他聲音說(shuō)，“你說(shuō)得很對(duì)，再也沒(méi)有更好的回答了。”
“Be quiet，Reep，”said Caspian，and then added in a louder voice，“You invisible people，what do you want with us ?And what have we done to earn your enmity ?”
“安靜，雷佩契普，”凱斯賓說(shuō)，接著又提高聲音說(shuō)，“你們隱形人找我們干什么?我們做了什么得罪你們了?”
“We want something that little girl can do for us，”said the Chief Voice.(The others explained that this was just what they would have said themselves.)
“我們需要你們的小姑娘為我們辦件事。”那個(gè)為首的人說(shuō)。( 其他人就說(shuō)，這話正是他們都要說(shuō)的。)
“Little girl !”said Reepicheep.“The lady is a queen.”
“小姑娘!”雷佩契普說(shuō)，“這位小姐是女王陛下。”
“We don’t know about queens，”said the Chief Voice. (“No more we do，no more we do，”chimed in the others.)“But we want something she can do.”
“我們可沒(méi)聽(tīng)過(guò)什么女王，”那個(gè)為首的聲音說(shuō)，( “我們沒(méi)聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)， 我們沒(méi)聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)。”其他人隨聲附和，“我們沒(méi)聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)什么女王。”)“不過(guò)我們要做的事她能完成。”
“What is it ?”said Lucy.
“要我做什么事呢?”露茜問(wèn)。
“And if it is anything against her Majesty’s honour or safety，”added Reepicheep，“you will wonder to see how many we can kill before we die.”
“如果是有損女王陛下榮譽(yù)或安全的事，”雷佩契普又說(shuō)，“在我們臨死之前，我們會(huì)奮力一戰(zhàn)，看你們有多少人會(huì)被我們殺掉。”
“Well，”said the Chief Voice.“It’s a long story.Suppose we all sit down ?”，
“好吧，”那個(gè)為首的聲音說(shuō)，“說(shuō)來(lái)話長(zhǎng)，我們都坐下吧。”
The proposal was warmly approved by the other voices but the Narnians remained standing.
其他聲音都非常熱情地附和這個(gè)建議，可是所有的納尼亞人都還站著。
“Well，”said the Chief Voice.“It’s like this.This island has been the property of a great magician time out of mind.And we all are-or perhaps in a manner of speaking，I might say，we were-his servants.Well，to cut a long story short，this magician that I was speaking about，he told us to do something we didn’t like. And why not ? Because we didn’t want to.Well，then，this same magician he fell into a great rage;for I ought to tell you he owned the island and he wasn’t used to being crossed.He was terribly downright，you know.But let me see，where am I ? Oh yes，this magician then，he goes upstairs(for you must know he kept all his magic things up there and we all lived down below)， I say he goes upstairs and puts a spell on us.An uglifying spell.If you saw us now，which in my opinion you may thank your stars you can’t，you wouldn’t believe what we looked like before we were uglified. You wouldn’t really.So there we all were so ugly we couldn’t bear to look at one another.So then what did we do ? Well，I’ll tell you what we did.We waited till we thought this same magician would be asleep in the afternoon and we creep upstairs and go to his magic book，as bold as brass，to see if we can do anything about this uglification.But we were all of a sweat and a tremble，so I won’t deceive you.But，believe me or believe me not，I do assure you that we couldn’t find any thing in the way of a spell for taking off the ugliness.And what with time getting on and being afraid that the old gentleman might wake up any minute—I was all of a muck sweat，so I won’t deceive you— well，to cut a long story short，whether we did right or whether we did wrong，in the end we see a spell for making people invisible. And we thought we’d rather be invisible than go on being as ugly as all that.And why ? Because we’d like it better.So my little girl，who’s just about your little girl’s age，and a sweet child she was before she was uglified，though now—but least said soonest mended—I say，my little girl she says the spell，for it’s got to be a little girl or else the magician himself，if you see my meaning， for otherwise it won’t work.And why not ?Because nothing happens.So my Clipsie says the spell，for I ought to have told you she reads beautifully，and there we all were as invisible as you could wish to see.And I do assure you it was a relief not to see one another’s faces.At first，anyway.But the long and the short of it is we’re mortal tired of being invisible.And there’s another thing.We never reckoned on this magician(the one I was telling you about before)going invisible too.But we haven’t ever seen him since.So we don’t know if he’s dead，or gone.away， or whether he’s just sitting upstairs being invisible，and perhaps coming down and being invisible there.And，believe me，it’s no manner of use listening because he always did go about with his bare feet on，making no more noise than a great big cat.And I’ll tell all you gentlemen straight，it’s getting more than what our nerves can stand.”
"“說(shuō)起來(lái)，”那個(gè)為首的聲音說(shuō)，“事情是這樣的。很多年以前， 這個(gè)島本來(lái)屬于一個(gè)大魔法師。我們都是……或者說(shuō)，我們以前都是他的奴仆?？偟恼f(shuō)起來(lái)，這個(gè)魔法師，一直讓我們做我們不喜歡做的事。為什么不喜歡?因?yàn)槲覀儾辉缸?。唉，這樣一來(lái)，這個(gè)魔法師就大發(fā)雷霆。還有，要知道，他是這個(gè)島的主人，不喜歡別人跟他抬杠。要知道，他這人其實(shí)直爽得不得了。
“我想想我說(shuō)到哪兒了?啊，對(duì)了，說(shuō)到這個(gè)魔法師，他當(dāng)時(shí)上了樓。他把所有的魔法玩意全放在樓上，我們都住在樓下。我的意思是，他上了樓，對(duì)我們施了一種丑化的魔法。依我看，你們看不見(jiàn)我們應(yīng)該謝天謝地，如果你們現(xiàn)在看見(jiàn)我們這模樣，根本沒(méi)法想象我們以前長(zhǎng)什么樣呢。你們真的不會(huì)相信，我們現(xiàn)在丑得彼此都受不了。

“那我們?cè)撛趺崔k呢?好吧，我告訴你我們?cè)趺崔k。等到這個(gè)魔法師睡午覺(jué)了，我們就壯著膽子偷偷上樓去找他的魔法書，看看有什么辦法能破解這個(gè)丑化魔法?？墒俏覀?nèi)祭鄣脺喩泶蠛?，直打哆嗦，我不騙你，信不信由你，我們確實(shí)找不到可以消除丑相的魔法。時(shí)間過(guò)得很快，我們怕這位老頭兒隨時(shí)都會(huì)醒來(lái)——絕不騙人，那時(shí)我渾身臭極了——好吧，就這樣吧，不管我們做對(duì)了也好，做錯(cuò)了也罷!最后我們看到一種隱形魔法。心想，與其這么丑下去還不如隱形的好。

“為什么呢?因?yàn)槲覀兏矚g這樣。于是我家的小姑娘，她跟這位小姑娘的年齡差不多，她沒(méi)變丑之前非常可愛(ài)，可如今……啊，不能再說(shuō)了。啊呀，我家的小姑娘念了這個(gè)咒語(yǔ)，所以必須是個(gè)小姑娘，或由魔法師本人再來(lái)念。你們明白嗎，否則就不靈了。

“為什么會(huì)不靈呢?因?yàn)槭裁炊甲儾涣?。我家的小姑娘克莉普西念了咒語(yǔ)，我應(yīng)當(dāng)告訴你們，她做得很好，咒語(yǔ)念完，我們就都遂了心愿，變成隱形人了。是的，大家彼此看不見(jiàn)真的輕松了很多。不管怎樣，一開(kāi)始是輕松的。后來(lái)，我們都對(duì)隱形感到無(wú)比厭煩。

“還有一件令人意想不到的事。我們絕沒(méi)料到這個(gè)魔法師，居然也成了隱形人。我們從此就沒(méi)看見(jiàn)過(guò)他。所以我們不知道他是死了還是走掉了，或者就坐在樓上卻看不見(jiàn)他，也許下樓來(lái)了，只是看不見(jiàn)他。真的，聽(tīng)動(dòng)靜一點(diǎn)也聽(tīng)不出來(lái)，因?yàn)樗鲜枪庵_走來(lái)走去， 像只貓一樣無(wú)聲無(wú)息。我對(duì)你們直說(shuō)了吧，這一切讓我們的神經(jīng)更加崩潰。”
"
Such was the Chief Voice’s story，but very much shortened， because I have left out what the Other Voices said.Actually he never got out more than six or seven words without being interrupted by their agreements and encouragements，which drove the Narnians nearly out of their minds with impatience.When it was over there was a very long silence.
以上就是為首的那個(gè)隱形人說(shuō)的故事，被我簡(jiǎn)單地概括了，我把他手下的那些聲音都略去了。實(shí)際上他說(shuō)的話每六七句不到，他們就會(huì)插嘴，要么表示同意，或者慫恿他說(shuō)下去。納尼亞人聽(tīng)得很不耐煩，簡(jiǎn)直聽(tīng)不下去。好不容易等他說(shuō)完了，大家卻沉默了。
“But，”said Lucy at last，“what’s all this got to do with us ? I don’t understand.”
“不過(guò)，”露茜說(shuō)，“這些跟我們有什么關(guān)系呢?我想不通。”
“Why，bless me，if I haven’t gone and left out the whole point，”said the Chief Voice.
“哎呀，老天保佑，我該不會(huì)糊里糊涂地把這件事的關(guān)鍵給說(shuō)漏了吧?”那個(gè)為首的隱形人說(shuō)。
“That you have，that you have，”roared the Other Voices with great enthusiasm.“No one couldn’t have left it out cleaner and better.Keep it up，Chief，keep it up.”
“是漏了，漏掉了，”其他聲音一起附和著，“大家都會(huì)說(shuō)漏， 不過(guò)說(shuō)得越清楚越明白就越好。老大，你接著說(shuō)吧。”
“Well，I needn’t go over the whole story again，”began the Chief Voice.
“好吧，我用不著把整個(gè)事情再說(shuō)一遍。”那個(gè)為首的隱形人繼續(xù)說(shuō)。
“No.Certainly not，”said Caspian and Edmund.
“是的，當(dāng)然用不著。”凱斯賓和愛(ài)德蒙說(shuō)。
“Well，then，to put it in a nutshell，”said the Chief Voice， “we’ve been waiting for ever so long for a nice little girl from foreign parts，like it might be you，Missie-that would go upstairs and go to the magic book and find the spell that takes off the invisibleness，and say it.And we all swore that the first strangers as landed on this island(having a nice little girl with them，I mean，for if they hadn’t it’d be another matter)we wouldn’t let them go away alive unless they’d done the needful for us.And that’s why，gentlemen，if your little girl doesn’t come up to scratch，it will be our painful duty to cut all your throats.Merely in the way of business，as you might say，and no offence，I hope.”
“好吧，一句話概括，”他說(shuō)，“我們一直在等外邊來(lái)個(gè)漂亮的小姑娘。等了好久好久，才等到像這位小姐這樣的漂亮姑娘替我們上樓去找到那本魔法書中破解隱形法的咒語(yǔ)，并念上一遍。我們發(fā)誓， 碰到踏上本島的第一批人，決不放他們生還，除非他們替我們辦好這件大事。我是說(shuō)，如果他們有漂亮的小姑娘的話。如果沒(méi)有，那就是另一回事了。各位，正因?yàn)槿绱?，如果你們的小姑娘做不到，我們就要忍痛把你們殺了。不妨直說(shuō)，這只是作為交易而已，希望你們諒解。”
“I don’t see all your weapons，”said Reepicheep.“Are they invisible too ?”The words were scarcely out of his mouth before they heard a whizzing sound and next moment a spear had stuck， quivering，in one of the trees behind them.
“我看不見(jiàn)你們的武器在哪里。”雷佩契普說(shuō)，“你們的武器也隱形嗎?”話音剛落，就聽(tīng)見(jiàn)“嗖”的一聲，一支長(zhǎng)矛就顫巍巍地刺進(jìn)了他們身后的一棵樹(shù)上。
“That’s a spear，that is，”said the Chief Voice.
“給你們一支長(zhǎng)矛。”那個(gè)為首的隱形人說(shuō)。
“That it is，Chief，that it is，”said the others.“You couldn’t have put it better.”
“是的，老大，是長(zhǎng)矛，”其他聲音說(shuō)，“你說(shuō)得太對(duì)了。”
“And it came from my hand，”the Chief Voice continued.“They get visible when they leave us.”
“這支長(zhǎng)矛是從我手里扔出去的，”他接著說(shuō)，“一離手你就能看見(jiàn)了。”
“But why do you want me to do this ?”asked Lucy.“Why can’t one of your own people ?Haven’t you got any girls ?”
“可是你們?yōu)槭裁醋屛易鲞@件事呢?”露茜問(wèn)，“不能讓你們自己的人去做嗎?你們沒(méi)有小姑娘嗎?”
“We dursen’t，we dursen’t，”said all the Voices.“We’re not going upstairs again.”
“我們不干，我們不干，”眾聲說(shuō)，“我們?cè)僖膊灰蠘橇恕?rdquo;
“In other words，”said Caspian，“you are asking this lady to face some danger which you daren’t ask your own sisters and daughters to face !”
“換句話說(shuō)，”凱斯賓說(shuō)，“你們要這位小姐去面對(duì)危險(xiǎn)，卻不愿意讓自己的姐妹和女兒去冒險(xiǎn)!”
“That’s right，that’s right ，”said all the Voices cheerfully. “You couldn’t have said it better.Eh，you’ve had some education，you have.Anyone can see that.”
“對(duì)，對(duì)，”眾人一起歡呼說(shuō)，“說(shuō)得太對(duì)了。果然是受過(guò)教育的人， 不錯(cuò)，這都能看出來(lái)。”
“Well，of all the outrageous—”began Edmund，but Lucy interrupted.
“唉，竟然如此囂張……”愛(ài)德蒙開(kāi)口說(shuō)，可露茜打斷了他的話。
“Would I have to go upstairs at night，or would it do in daylight ?”
“你們是讓我晚上還是白天上樓?”
“Oh，daylight，daylight，to be sure，”said the Chief Voice. “Not at night.No one’s asking you to do that.Go upstairs in the dark ? Ugh.”
“噢，白天，當(dāng)然是白天，”那個(gè)為首的隱形人說(shuō)，“不是晚上， 沒(méi)人要你晚上摸黑上樓啊。”
“All right，then，I’ll do it，”said Lucy.“No，”she said， turning to the others，“don’t try to stop me.Can’t you see it’s no use ? There are dozens of them there.We can’t fight them.And the other way there is a chance.”
“那好吧，我愿意做，”露茜說(shuō)，“別勸我，”她轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身來(lái)對(duì)其他人說(shuō)，“你們不要阻攔我。難道你們不明白這沒(méi)用嗎?他們有幾十個(gè)人，我們不能硬拼?；蛟S，按照他們說(shuō)的做，是條活路。”
“But a magician !”said Caspian.
“那里有個(gè)魔法師在啊。”凱斯賓說(shuō)。
“I know，”said Lucy.“But he mayn’t be as bad as they make out.Don’t you get the idea that these people are not very brave ?”
“我知道，”露茜說(shuō)，“不過(guò)他也許不像他們說(shuō)的那么壞。難道你們沒(méi)發(fā)現(xiàn)這些人不夠勇敢嗎?”
“They’re certainly not very clever，”said Eustace.
“他們是不夠聰明。”尤斯塔斯說(shuō)。
“Look here，Lu，”said Edmund.“We really can’t let you do a thing like this.Ask Reep，I’m sure he’ll say just the same.”
“聽(tīng)我說(shuō)，露茜，”愛(ài)德蒙說(shuō)，“我們真的不能讓你這么做。問(wèn)問(wèn)雷佩契普，也許它也會(huì)這么說(shuō)。”
“But it’s to save my own life as well as yours，”said Lucy.“I don’t want to be cut to bits with invisible swords any more than anyone else.”
“可是這樣才能救你們，還有我自己，”露茜說(shuō)，“我跟大家一樣， 不愿被看不見(jiàn)的刀劍砍成肉泥。”
“Her Majesty is in the right，”said Reepicheep.“If we had any assurance of saving her by battle，our duty would be very-plain. It appears to me that we have none.And the service they ask of her is in no way contrary to her Majesty’s honour，but a noble and heroical act.If the Queen’s heart moves her to risk the magician， I will not speak against it.”
“女王陛下說(shuō)得對(duì)，”雷佩契普說(shuō)，“如果我們有一點(diǎn)把握可以通過(guò)打贏仗來(lái)保全她，我們義不容辭。在我看來(lái)，我們沒(méi)有一點(diǎn)把握。再說(shuō)了，他們的要求并不損害女王陛下的尊嚴(yán)，還可以說(shuō)這是一個(gè)高尚英勇的舉動(dòng)。如果女王愿意冒險(xiǎn)去見(jiàn)魔法師，我不阻攔。”
As no one had ever known Reepicheep to be afraid of anything，he could say this without feeling at all awkward.But the boys，who had all been afraid quite often，grew very red. None the less，it was such obvious sense that they had to give in. Loud cheers broke from the invisible people when their decision was announced，and the Chief Voice(warmly supported by all the others)invited the Narnians to come to supper and spend the night.Eustace didn’t want to accept，but Lucy said，“I’m sure they’re not treacherous.They’re not like that at all，”and the others agreed.And so，accompanied by an enormous noise of thumpings(which became louder when they reached the flagged and echoing courtyard)they all went back to the house.
人人都知道雷佩契普向來(lái)天不怕地不怕，說(shuō)這些話也在情理之中。那些前怕狼后怕虎的小伙子們的臉被他的話羞得通紅，于是他們只好讓步。隱形人聽(tīng)到事情就這么定了，頓時(shí)大聲歡呼，他們的老大提出請(qǐng)納尼亞人共進(jìn)晚餐，玩上一夜，其他人都一致熱烈擁護(hù)。尤斯塔斯不愿接受，可是露茜說(shuō)：“我相信他們也不是壞人，根本不像。” 其他人也都同意了。就這樣，他們?cè)谝黄榕榕榈穆曇衾?，回到那所房子。他們走到那個(gè)鋪著石板、發(fā)出回聲的院子里時(shí)，聲音就更大了。