《魔法師的外甥》 第十一章 陷入困境

CHAPTER ELEVEN DIGORY AND HIS UNCLE ARE BOTH IN TROUBLE

You may think the animals were very stupid not to see at once that Uncle Andrew was the same kind of creature as the two children and the Cabby．But you must remember that the animals knew nothing about clothes．They thought that Polly’s frock and Digory’s Norfolk suit and the Cabby’s howlet hat were as much parts of them as their own fur and feathers．They wouldn’t have known even that those three were all of the same kind if they hadn’t spoken to them and if Strawberry had not seemed to think so． And Uncle Andrew was a great deal taller than the children and a good deal thinner than the Cabby．He was all in black except for his white waistcoat（not very white by now），and the great grey mop of his hair（now very wild indeed）didn’t look to them like anything they had seen in the three other humans．So it was only natural that they should be puzzled．Worst of all，he didn’t seem to be able to talk．
He had tried to．When the Bulldog spoke to him（or，as he thought，first snarled and then growled at him）he held out his shaking hand and gasped“Good Doggie，then，poor old fellow．”But the beasts could not understand him any more than he could understand them．They didn’t hear any words： only a vague sizzling noise．Perhaps it was just as well they didn’t，for no dog that I ever knew，least of all a Talking Dog of Narnia，likes being called a Good Doggie then；any more than you would like being called My Little Man．
Then Uncle Andrew dropped down in a dead faint．
“There ！”said a Warthog，“it’s only a tree．I always thought so．”(Remember，they had never yet seen a faint or even a fall．）
The Bulldog，who had been sniffing Uncle Andrew all over， raised its head and said，“It’s an animal．Certainly an animal． And probably the same kind as those other ones．”
“I don’t see that，”said one of the Bears．“An animal wouldn’t just roll over like that．We’re animals and we don’t roll over． We stand up．Like this．”He rose to his hind legs，took a step backwards，tripped over a low branch and fell flat on his back．
“The Third Joke，the Third Joke，the Third Joke ！”said the Jackdaw in great excitement．
“I still think it’s a sort of tree，”said the Warthog．
“If it’s a tree，”said the other Bear，“there might be a bees’ nest in it．”
“I’m sure it’s not a tree，”said the Badger．“I had a sort of idea it was trying to speak before it toppled over．”
“That was only the wind in its branches，”said the Warthog．
“You surely don’t mean，”said the Jackdaw to the Badger，“that you think its a talking animal ！ It didn’t say any words．”
“And yet，you know，”said the Elephant（the She— Elephant，of course；her husband，as you remember，had been called away by Aslan）．“And yet，you know，it might be an animal of some kind．Mightn’t the whitish lump at this end be a sort of face ？ And couldn’t those holes be eyes and a mouth ？ No nose， of course．But then-ahem-one mustn’t be narrow-minded．Very few of us have what could exactly be called a Nose．”She squinted down the length of her own trunk with pardonable pride．
“I object to that remark very strongly，”said the Bulldog．
“The Elephant is quite right，”said the Tapir．
“I tell you what ！”said the Donkey brightly，“perhaps it’s an animal that can’t talk but thinks it can．”
“Can it be made to stand up ？”said the Elephant thoughtfully．She took the limp form of Uncle Andrew gently in her trunk and set him up on end：upside down，unfortunately，so that two half-sovereigns，three half— crowns，and a sixpence fell out of his pocket．But it was no use．Uncle Andrew merely collapsed again．
“There ！”said several voices．“It isn’t an animal at all，it’s not alive．”
“I tell you，it is an animal，”said the Bulldog．“Smell it for yourself．”
“Smelling isn’t everything，”said the Elephant．
“Why，”said the Bulldog，“if a fellow can’t trust his nose， what is he to trust ？”
“Well，his brains perhaps，”she replied mildly．
“I object to that remark very strongly，”said the Bulldog．
“Well，we must do something about it，”said the Elephant．“Because it may be the Neevil，and it must be shown to Aslan．What do most of us think ？ Is it an animal or something of the tree kind ？”
“Tree ！ Tree ！”said a dozen voices．
“Very well，”said the Elephant．“Then，if it’s a tree it wants to be planted．We must dig a hole．”
The two Moles settled that part of the business pretty quickly． There was some dispute as to which way up Uncle Andrew ought to be put into the hole，and he had a very narrow escape from being put in head foremost．Several animals said his legs must be his branches and therefore the grey，fluffy thing（they meant his head）must be his root．But then others said that the forked end of him was the muddier and that it spread out more，as roots ought to do．So finally he was planted right way up．When they had patted down the earth it came up above his knees．
“It looks dreadfully withered，”said the Donkey．
“Of course it wants some watering，”said the Elephant．
“I think I might say（meaning no offence to anyone present） that，perhaps，for that sort of work，my kind of nose-”
“I object to that remark very strongly，”said the Bulldog． But the Elephant walked quietly to the river，filled her trunk with water，and came back to attend to Uncle Andrew．The sagacious animal went on doing this till gallons of water had been squirted over him，and water was running out of the skirts of his frock-coat as if he had been for a bath with all his clothes on．In the end it
revived him．He awoke from his faint．What a wakening it was ！ But we must leave him to think over his wicked deed（if he was likely to do anything so sensible）and turn to more important things．
Strawberry trotted on with Digory on his back till the noise of the other animals died away，and now the little group of Aslan and his chosen councillors was quite close．Digory knew that he couldn’t possibly break in on so solemn a meeting，but there was no need to do so．At a word from Aslan，the He-Elephant，the Ravens，and all the rest of them drew aside．Digory slipped off the horse and found himself face to face with Aslan．And Aslan was bigger and more beautiful and more brightly golden and more terrible than he had thought．He dared not look into the great eyes．
“Please-Mr. Lion-Aslan-Sir，”said Digory，“could you-may I-please，will you give me some magic fruit of this country to make Mother well ？”
He had been desperately hoping that the Lion would say“Yes”；he had been horribly afraid it might say“No”．But he was taken aback when it did neither．
“This is the Boy，”said Aslan，looking，not at Digory，but at his councillors．“This is the Boy who did it．”
“Oh dear，”thought Digory，“what have I done now ？”
“Son of Adam，”said the Lion．“There is an evil Witch abroad in my new land of Narnia．Tell these good Beasts how she came here．”
A dozen different things that he might say flashed through Digory’s mind，but he had the sense to say nothing except the exact truth．
“I brought her，Aslan，”he answered in a low voice．
“For what purpose ？”
“I wanted to get her out of my own world back into her own．I thought I was taking her back to her own place．”
“How came she to be in your world，Son of Adam ？”
“By-by Magic．”
The Lion said nothing and Digory knew that he had not told enough．
“It was my Uncle，Aslan，”he said．“He sent us out of our own world by magic rings，at least I had to go because he sent Polly first，and then we met the Witch in a place called Charn and she just held on to us when-”
“You met the Witch ？ ”said Asian in a low voice which had the threat of a growl in it．
“She woke up，”said Digory wretchedly．And then，turning very white，“I mean，I woke her．Because I wanted to know what would happen if I struck a bell．Polly didn’t want to．It wasn’t her fault．I-I fought her．I know I shouldn’t have．I think I was a bit enchanted by the writing under the bell．”
“Do you ？”asked Asian；still speaking very low and deep．
“No，”said Digory．“I see now I wasn’t. I was only pretending．”
There was a long pause．And Digory was thinking all the time，“I’ve spoiled everything．There’s no chance of getting anything for Mother now．”
When the Lion spoke again，it was not to Digory．
“You see，friends，”he said，“that before the new，clean world I gave you is seven hours old，a force of evil has already entered it；waked and brought hither by this son of Adam．”The Beasts，even Strawberry，all turned their eyes on Digory till he felt that he wished the ground would swallow him up．“But do not be cast down，”said Aslan，still speaking to the Beasts．“Evil will come of that evil，but it is still a long way off，and I will see to it that the worst falls upon myself．In the meantime，let us take such order that for many hundred years yet this shall be a merry land in a merry world．And as Adam’s race has done the harm，Adam’s race shall help to heal it．Draw near，you other two．”
The last words were spoken to Polly and the Cabby who had now arrived．Polly，all eyes and mouth，was staring at Aslan and holding the Cabby’s hand rather tightly．The Cabby gave one glance at the Lion，and took off his bowler hat：no one had yet seen him without it．When it was off，he looked younger and nicer，and more like a countryman and less like a London cabman．
“Son，”said Aslan to the Cabby．“I have known you long．Do you know me ？”
“Well，no，sir，”said the Cabby．“Leastways，not in an ordinary manner of speaking．Yet I feel somehow，if I may make so free，as, ow we’ve met before．”
“It is well，”said the Lion．“You know better than you think you know，and you shall live to know me better yet．How does this land please you ？”
“It’s a fair treat，sir，”said the Cabby．
“Would you like to live here always ？”
“Well you see sir，I’m a married man，”said the Cabby． “If my wife was here neither of us would ever want to go back to London，I reckon．We’re both country folks really．”
Aslan threw up his shaggy head，opened his mouth，and uttered a long，single note；not very loud，but full of power． Polly’s heart jumped in her body when she heard it．She felt sure that it was a call，and that anyone who heard that call would want to obey it and（what’s more）would be able to obey it，however many worlds and ages lay between．And so，though she was filled with wonder，she was not really astonished or shocked when all of a sudden a young woman，with a kind，honest face stepped out of nowhere and stood beside her．Polly knew at once that it was the Cabby’s wife，fetched out of our world not by any tiresome magic rings，but quickly，simply and sweetly as a bird flies to its nest． The young woman had apparently been in the middle of a washing day，for she wore an apron，her sleeves were rolled up to the elbow，and there were soapsuds on her hands．If she had had time to put on her good clothes（her best hat had imitation cherries on it） she would have looked dreadful；as it was，she looked rather nice．
Of course she thought she was dreaming．That was why she didn’t rush across to her husband and ask him what on earth had happened to them both．But when she looked at the Lion she didn’t feel quite so sure it was a dream，yet for some reason she did not appear to be very frightened．Then she dropped a little half curtsey， as some country girls still knew how to do in those days．After that， she went and put her hand in the Cabby’s and stood there looking round her a little shyly．
“My children，”said Aslan，fixing his eyes on both of them， “you are to be the first King and Queen of Narnia．”
The Cabby opened his mouth in astonishment，and his wife turned very red．
“You shall rule and name all these creatures，and do justice among them，and protect them from their enemies when enemies arise． And enemies will arise，for there is an evil Witch in this world．”
The Cabby swallowed hard two or three times and cleared his throat.
“Begging your pardon，sir，”he said，“and thanking you very much I’m sure（which my Missus does the same）but I ain’t no sort of a chap for a job like that．I never, ad much eddycation，you see．”
“Well，”said Aslan，“can you use a spade and a plough and raise food out of the earth ？”
“Yes，sir，I could do a bit of that sort of work：being brought up to it，like．”
“Can you rule these creatures kindly and fairly，remembering that they are not slaves like the dumb beasts of the world you were born in，but Talking Beasts and free subjects ？”
“I see that，sir，”replied the Cabby．“I’d try to do the square thing by them all．”
“And would you bring up your children and grandchildren to do the same ？”
“It’d be up to me to try，sir．I’d do my best：wouldn’t we，Nellie ？”
“And you wouldn’t have favourites either among your own children or among the other creatures or let any hold another under or use it hardly ？”
“I never could abide such goings on，sir，and that’s the truth．I’d give ’em what for if I caught ’em at it，”said the Cabby．(All through this conversation his voice was growing slower and richer．More like the country voice he must have had as a boy and less like the sharp，quick voice of a cockney．）
“And if enemies came against the land（for enemies will arise）and there was war，would you be the first in the charge and the last in the retreat ？”
“Well，sir，”said the Cabby very slowly，“a chap don’t exactly know till he’s been tried．I dare say I might turn out ever such a soft ’un．Never did no fighting except with my fists．I’d try-that is，I ’ope I’d try-to do my bit．”
“Then，”said Aslan，“You will have done all that a King should do．Your coronation will be held presently．And you and your children and grandchildren shall be blessed，and some will be Kings of Narnia，and others will be Kings of Archenland which lies yonder over the Southern Mountains．And you，little Daughter ” （here he turned to Polly）“are welcome．Have you forgiven the Boy for the violence he did you in the Hall of Images in the desolate palace of accursed Charn ？”
“Yes，Aslan，we’ve made it up，”said Polly．
“That is well，”said Aslan．“And now for the Boy himself．”

第十一章　陷入困境

可能你會覺得，這些動物愚蠢至極，不能馬上明白安德魯舅舅、兩個孩子、馬車夫是同一種生物。但你得知道，動物們對衣服是沒有概念的。在它們看來，波莉的外衣、迪格雷的諾?？颂籽b，馬車夫的圓頂帽，如同動物身上的皮毛和翅膀，是長在他們身上的東西。如果它們沒有和他們交流，如果“草莓”也沒有那么想，它們也不會知道他們?nèi)齻€人是同類。安德魯舅舅比孩子們高很多，比馬車夫瘦很多。他渾身都是黑色的，除了他的白背心（現(xiàn)在也不那么白了），他那深灰色蓬松的頭發(fā)（現(xiàn)在的確很凌亂），在動物看來，這與其他三人一點也不相同。它們迷惑不解。不幸的是，他似乎不會說話。
他試過。當(dāng)斗牛犬對著他說話的時候，其實他認(rèn)為，它先是對他糾纏，然后對他咆哮，他顫抖著伸出手，喘著氣說：“好小狗，嗯， 可憐的老家伙。”正如他無法聽懂動物們在說什么，動物們也聽不懂他說的話。在它們看來，那只是模糊不清的嘶嘶聲?；蛟S這樣最好不過了，因為我見過的狗，從不愿被人叫作“好小狗”，如同你也不情愿被叫成“我的小男人”，更別提納尼亞那條會說話的狗了。
忽然安德魯舅舅昏倒在地上。
“你瞧！”一頭野豬說，“那不過是一棵樹。剛剛我就那么認(rèn)為。” 你得知道，它們并不知道什么是昏厥，也沒見過什么是倒下。
那斗牛犬在安德魯舅舅身上來回嗅著，抬起頭說，“它是動物， 絕對是動物，估計和剛剛那幾個是同類。”
“我不這么認(rèn)為，”一頭熊說，“這樣蜷著倒在地上，動物們不會吧。比如我們就不會蜷著臥倒。我們都是這樣站立著。”它翹起后腿，后退了一步，絆在一根矮樹枝上，然后仰倒在地上。
“第三個笑話，第三個笑話，第三個笑話！”那只慈鳥十分激動地說道。
野豬說：“我仍然覺得那是一種樹。”
“假如是樹，”另一頭熊說，“上面就有蜂窩。”
“我確信這一定不是樹，”一頭獾說，“我認(rèn)為，它倒下之前想說告訴我們什么。”
“那不過是風(fēng)吹過樹枝的聲音。”野豬說。
“你是這樣認(rèn)為的，”慈鳥對獾說，“你覺得它只是一個會說話的動物？可它什么都沒說。”
“大家都知道，”大象說。這是頭母象，她的丈夫剛剛被阿斯蘭叫走了，“你們懂的，它也許是某種動物。這塊白色的東西像是臉嗎？那些洞不應(yīng)該是眼睛和嘴嗎？當(dāng)然，沒有鼻子。但是，啊，我們的想法不應(yīng)這么狹隘。那個叫鼻子的東西，我們也只有少數(shù)才擁有。” 她斜著眼向下看自己長長的象鼻，帶著一種情有可原的驕傲。
“我非常不贊同你的言辭。”斗牛犬說。
“可它說得對。”貘說。
“聽我說說！”機靈的驢子說，“或許它是一只自認(rèn)為能說話， 但事實上卻不會說話的動物。”
“它還能站起來嗎？”大象有些擔(dān)心。它輕輕地用鼻子卷起了安德魯舅舅松軟的身體，并試圖讓他豎起來，倒霉的是，它把他放反了。兩枚二分之一金鎊、三枚五分之二先令和一枚六便士硬幣，從他的口袋里掉下。不幸的是，安德魯舅舅再次倒下。
“啊哈！”幾個動物的聲音，“它一定不是動物，它并沒有活著。”
“我說過，它真的是動物，”斗牛犬說，“不信你們聞聞看。”
“氣味也不能代表一切。”大象說。
“為什么，”斗牛犬說，“假如誰連自己的鼻子都無法信任， 它還會信什么？”
大象溫柔地回應(yīng)說：“哦，那就信他的大腦。”
斗牛犬說：“我非常不贊同你的觀點。”
“嗯，我們必須做點什么，”大象說，“它可能就是‘鏌’， 我們得把它交給阿斯蘭。大家怎么想的呢？它到底是動物，還是像樹一樣的東西？”
“是樹！是樹！”十幾個聲音齊說。
“好吧，”大象說，“假如他是樹，必須得把他栽在土中。先挖個洞吧。”
兩只鼴鼠迅速地挖了個洞。動物們卻產(chǎn)生了爭議，它們不知該把安德魯舅舅的哪一頭栽在地上。幾只動物覺得他的腿肯定是樹枝， 而那毛茸茸的灰色東西（指的是他的頭）一定是根部。但又有其他動物說，分叉的那頭會沾到比較多的泥巴，伸展得也會更快，所以是根部。最后，他被正立著栽在地上，當(dāng)被栽好時，泥土早已到了他的膝蓋。
“看上去，它很枯萎。”驢子說。
“當(dāng)然，它需要點水，”大象說，“我可以說（無心冒犯在場的任何一位），或許，我的這種鼻子，更適合這個工作……”
“我絕對不贊同，”斗牛犬說?？墒谴笙笠涯貋淼胶舆?， 鼻子里裝滿水，并澆在了安德魯舅舅身上。聰明的動物們不斷地澆水， 直到許許多多的水澆到他身上，水從他外衣的邊緣流淌而下，就像是他穿著衣服洗了個澡。終于，他清醒了，從昏迷中清醒過來，并且絕對清醒了！我們需要給他點時間，讓他好好想想自己曾做過的壞事（如果他還能保持理智的話），現(xiàn)在，我們需要說更重要的事。
“草莓”馱著迪格雷，一路奔跑，那些動物的聲音越來越小， 阿斯蘭和它挑選出來的那群動物們則越來越近。迪格雷明白自己不能打斷一個隆重的會議，并且也沒有必要這樣做。阿斯蘭說了句話，公象、渡鴉以及所有的動物都快速離開了。迪格雷迅速滑下馬，阿斯蘭就這樣和他面對面而站，他才發(fā)現(xiàn)阿斯蘭比他想象中更碩大、更美麗、更閃耀，也更讓人恐懼。他甚至不敢看他的眼睛。
“尊敬的……獅子先生……阿斯蘭……閣下，”迪格雷說，“可否——可以請您，請求您給我一些屬于這里的，神奇的果子，來為我媽媽治??？”
他極其盼望獅子會說“好的”，非常害怕它可能說“不好”。但看到獅子既沒答應(yīng)也沒拒絕，迪格雷有些吃驚。
“就是這個男孩，”阿斯蘭說，他并不看迪格雷，而是轉(zhuǎn)頭向著他的顧問們說，“就是他所為。”
“天哪，”迪格雷想，“我做什么了？”
“亞當(dāng)之子，”獅子說，“一個猶如惡魔般的女巫，來到了我們新的大地納尼亞。請告訴它們，她是如何到來的。”
迪格雷的腦海中閃現(xiàn)了很多事情，理智告訴他，除了將真相全部說出來，說其他的根本沒用。
“我?guī)齺淼?，阿斯蘭。”他低聲回答道。
“為什么目的而來？”
“我當(dāng)時只想讓她離開我們的世界，回到她的世界中去。我以為， 我可以帶她回去她自己的世界。”
“那她究竟是怎樣來到了你的世界，亞當(dāng)之子？”
“通過……魔法。”
獅子沉默。迪格雷知道自己并未說明白。
“應(yīng)該是我的舅舅，阿斯蘭，”他說，“他用魔法戒指讓我們離開了自己的世界，他先把波莉送走了，我不得不跟隨。然后，我們遇見了女巫，在那個叫作恰恩的世界，她抓住了我們當(dāng)……”
“你遇到了女巫？”阿斯蘭低聲說，那聲音在咆哮中隱藏著威脅。
“她醒了，”迪格雷失落地解釋。之后，他的臉顯得很蒼白，“是我喚醒了她。當(dāng)時我想知道敲響鐘究竟會發(fā)生什么。波莉不想這么做。她并沒有錯。為此，我還曾和她爭斗，我知道自己錯了。我想，自己一定是被鐘下面的字給迷昏了頭。”
“是嗎？”阿斯蘭問，聲音依舊低沉。
“不是，”迪格雷說，“我現(xiàn)在能明白不是那樣的。我只是在找借口。”
長時間的沉默。迪格雷不斷地想，“所有事情都被我搞砸了。我再也沒有機會為媽媽治病了。”
獅子再次說話時，已經(jīng)不是對迪格雷說了。
“你們看，朋友們，”他說，“我給你們這個嶄新的、純凈的世界， 還未到七個小時，一個邪惡的力量就已闖進來；是由眼前這位亞當(dāng)之子喚醒之后帶進來的。”動物們，包括“草莓”，把它們的目光一起看向迪格雷，他真希望大地有個縫可以鉆進去。“不要灰心，”阿斯蘭說，但眼睛依舊對著其他的動物，“那個惡魔帶來了邪惡，說這些為之尚早，我會時刻警惕糟糕的事情沖向我。我們更要建設(shè)好秩序， 以來維持?jǐn)?shù)百年內(nèi)，這里都會是快樂世界的一片凈土。亞當(dāng)?shù)暮蟠热粠砹藶?zāi)難，也應(yīng)該幫助我們消滅它，走近點，另外兩位。”
這最后的話是對剛來到的波莉和馬車夫說的。波莉用手緊抓住馬車夫的手，無比驚訝地看著阿斯蘭。馬車夫看了下獅子，摘下圓頂禮帽，從未有人見過他脫掉帽子的樣子。他不戴帽子時，顯得更年輕、漂亮，更像鄉(xiāng)下人，而并非倫敦的馬車夫。
“孩子，”阿斯蘭對馬車夫說，“我認(rèn)識你很久了。你認(rèn)識我嗎？”
“閣下，我不認(rèn)識，”馬車夫說，“我指的不是一般意義上的認(rèn)識。不過，我總覺得，自己可以說，以前我們好像是認(rèn)識的。”
“不錯，”獅子說。“你比想象中更富有靈性。你慢慢會了解我的。你喜歡這片大地嗎？”
“這里讓我覺得快樂無比，閣下，”馬車夫說。
“你想一直在這里住下去嗎？”
“閣下，你知道的，我已經(jīng)結(jié)婚了，”馬車夫說，“如果我妻子也在這里，相信我們誰也不想再回到倫敦，我們是標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的鄉(xiāng)下人。”
阿斯蘭昂起長滿蓬松毛發(fā)的頭，發(fā)出一聲長長的、音調(diào)不高但充滿力量的聲音。波莉聽得心兒“怦怦”直跳。她敢肯定，這是召喚， 任何一個聽到這召喚的人，不管相隔多少世界與時代，都會想去聽從它的安排。她的心中雖寫滿了疑問，當(dāng)她突然看到，一個善良誠實的年輕女人，突然來到她身邊時，她并不感到十分震驚或害怕。波莉馬上懂了，這個女人是馬車夫的妻子，但她不是被折磨人的魔法戒指， 從我們的世界帶過來的，而更像鳥兒飛回它的巢穴般迅速、簡單、舒適地，來到這里。這個年輕的女人還圍著圍裙，袖子在肘部，手上還有許多肥皂沫，她剛剛應(yīng)該是在洗衣服。如果時間允許，她將換上漂亮衣服（她的一頂帽子上鑲嵌著櫻桃飾品），那樣也許會讓人覺得不舒服。但此刻這身樸實的服裝，更顯得她很可愛。
當(dāng)然她還以為自己在做夢，于是沒有立刻跑到丈夫那兒，問他究竟發(fā)生了什么。當(dāng)她看到獅子，她又不確定自己是否在做夢，不知為何，她看起來并不是那么害怕。然后，她行了一個屈膝禮，那時， 農(nóng)村姑娘也知道怎么進行屈膝禮。然后，她走向丈夫，拉住馬車夫的手，站在他的身邊，羞澀地環(huán)顧四周。
“孩子們，”阿斯蘭看向他們說，“你們將是納尼亞第一任國王和王后。”
馬車夫張大了嘴巴表示吃驚，他妻子的臉則變得通紅。
“你們將會統(tǒng)治這里所有的動物，要公正做事，當(dāng)敵人入侵， 請保護它們的安全。這個世界里已有一個惡魔般的女巫了，所以敵人遲早會來的。”
馬車夫費力地吞咽了幾下口水，清亮了嗓子。
“閣下，原諒我吧，”他說，“感謝你，我太太也感謝你，但是我做不了這樣的事情。你知道，我并未接受過許多教育。”
“好吧，”阿斯蘭說，“你會用鏟子嗎？犁呢？會種莊稼嗎？”
“是，閣下，這種活我會，我從小就會。”
“你可以友好地、公平地善待這些動物嗎？同時別忘了，它們可不像你生活的那個世界里的啞獸，它們是自由的、而且會說話的動物。”
“我明白，閣下，”馬車夫說，“我將公平以待所有的動物。”
“你會保證你的子子孫孫也會這樣做嗎？”
“我會努力去做，閣下。我將全力而為，是吧，蕾麗？”
“你不會在你的孩子或動物中培養(yǎng)你的親信，來壓制和奴役其他的動物吧？”
“我絕不允許這樣的行為，閣下，是真的。如果我知道誰這樣做， 我一定會懲罰他。”馬車夫說。在談話中，馬車夫的聲音越來越慢與渾厚，很像他還是小男孩時的聲音，那時他還在鄉(xiāng)下，而不像他在倫敦時那種尖銳而快速的聲音。
“如果敵人來侵襲（敵人一般都會來），戰(zhàn)爭爆發(fā)，你會沖在最前面，撤退在最后面嗎？”
“閣下，”馬車夫緩慢地說，“一個人不經(jīng)歷磨難，就不會看清世界。我敢說，自己一直都是個溫和的人，最多是用拳頭打過架。我會努力——意思是，我希望努力去做好自己的職責(zé)。”
“那么，”阿斯蘭說，“你將去做一個國王該做的一切。你的加冕儀式馬上開始。你與兒孫都將得到保佑，其中一定會有人會成為納尼亞的國王，有人將會是南山那邊阿欽蘭的國王。而你，小姑娘（這時他轉(zhuǎn)向波莉），非常歡迎你。在恰恩廢墟塑像廳內(nèi)，他傷害了你， 你已經(jīng)原諒他了嗎？”
“是的，阿斯蘭，我們早已和好如初。”波莉說。
“這樣很好，”阿斯蘭說，“現(xiàn)在輪到你了，小伙子。”