《黎明踏浪号》第二章

C. S.刘易斯

C. S. 刘易斯（1898—1963），英国著名作家，所著儿童故事集《纳尼亚传奇》七部曲，情节动人，妙趣横生。本文选自《纳尼亚传奇》第三部《黎明踏浪号》。

“AH， there you are， Lucy，” said Caspian. “We were just waiting for you. This is my captain， the Lord Drinian.”

A dark-haired man went down on one knee and kissed her hand. The only others present were Reepicheep and Edmund.

“Where is Eustace？” asked Lucy.

“In bed，” said Edmund， “and I dont think we can do anything for him. It only makes him worse if you try to be nice to him.”

“Meanwhile，” said Caspian， “we want to talk.”

“By Jove， we do，” said Edmund. “And first， about time. Its a year ago by our time since we left you just before your coronation. How long has it been in Narnia？”

“Exactly three years，” said Caspian.

“All going well？” asked Edmund.

“You dont suppose Id have left my kingdom and put to sea unless all was well，” answered the King. “It couldnt be better. Theres no trouble at all now between Telmarines， Dwarfs， Talking Beasts， Fauns and the rest. And we gave those troublesome giants on the frontier such a good beating last summer that they pay us tribute now. And I had an excellent person to leave as Regent while Im away Trumpkin， the Dwarf. You remember him？”

“啊，露茜，你在这儿。”凯斯宾说，“我们正在等你来。这位是我的船长，德瑞尼亚爵士。”

一位黑色头发的绅士單膝跪下，吻了露茜的手。在他们身旁的，还有雷佩契普和爱德蒙。

露茜问：“尤斯塔斯在哪儿？”

“躺在床上。”爱德蒙说，“我认为，对于他目前的情况，我们完全无能为力。如果你想好好待他，只会让他的情绪变得更糟。”

“而且，我们还有很多话要谈。”凯斯宾说。

“说得没错！”爱德蒙道，“首先，我们得弄清楚时间。按照外面那个世界的时间来算，从上次我们离开纳尼亚到现在，已经有一年了。那时候你正要登基加冕国王。可在纳尼亚，已经过了很长时间吧？”

“整整三年。”凯斯宾答道。

“一切都好吗？”爱德蒙继续问。

“你该不会认为我会在国家有问题的情况下，离开我的王国，跑到海上来冒险吧？”凯斯宾笑道，“一切都好得不能再好了。目前，在台尔马人、小矮人、会说话的兽类半人羊、羊人法翁和其他人之间都没有任何冲突。边境上的巨人总是捣乱，不过去年夏天我们好好地教训了他们一次。现在这些巨人已经对我们投降纳贡了。而且，在我出发之前，我还找了一个非常可靠的人来摄政——小矮人杜普鲁金。你还记得他吗？”

“Dear Trumpkin，” said Lucy， “of course I do. You couldnt have made a better choice.”

“Loyal as a badger， Maam， and valiant as—as a Mouse，” said Drinian. He had been going to say “as a lion” but had noticed Reepicheeps eyes fixed on him.

“And where are we heading for？” asked Edmund.

“Well，” said Caspian， “thats rather a long story. Perhaps you remember that when I was a child my usurping uncle Miraz got rid of seven friends of my fathers （who might have taken my part） by sending them off to explore the unknown， Eastern Seas beyond the Lone Islands.”

“Yes，” said Lucy， “and none of them ever came back.”

“Right. Well， on my coronation day， with Aslans approval， I swore an oath that， if once I established peace in Narnia， I would sail east myself for a year and a day to find my fathers friends or to learn of their deaths and avenge them if I could. These were their names—the Lord Revilian， the Lord Bern， the Lord Argoz， the Lord Mavramorn， the Lord Octesian， the Lord Restimar， and—oh， that other one whos so hard to remember.”

“The Lord Rhoop， Sire，” said Drinian.

“亲爱的杜普鲁金！”露茜叫道，“我当然记得他。找他来摄政真是个再好不过的主意了。”

船长德瑞尼亚附和道：“对极了，殿下！他忠诚得像一只獾，勇猛得像一只……呃，像一只老鼠。”其实他本来想说“勇猛得像一只狮子”，可是这句话刚要出口，他就瞥见雷佩契普正盯着他看。

“那么，我们现在是要去哪儿？”爱德蒙问道。

“嗯，说来话长，”凯斯宾道，“不知你们还记不记得，在我小的时候，我的叔父弥若兹篡了我父亲的权，并将我父亲的七位朋友派遣到孤岛群岛以外，从来没有人去过的东海探险。”

“这事我知道，”露茜说，“而且他们就再也没有回来。”

“说得对。所以，我在登基加冕的那天发了一个誓——阿斯兰对此也表示同意。我说，纳尼亚一旦获得了和平，我就要出海向东去寻找我父亲的这些朋友，为期一年零一天。我要找到这些爵士的下落，如果他们死了，那我就要尽我之力为他们复仇。这七位爵士的名字是，瑞文利亚爵士、波恩爵士、阿戈斯爵士、马福拉摩尔爵士、奥克特西亚爵士、雷斯蒂玛尔爵士，还有一位，哎呀，他的名字真是太难记了。”

德瑞尼亚说：“是罗普爵士，我的陛下。”

“Rhoop， Rhoop， of course，” said Caspian. “That is my main intention. But Reepicheep here has an even higher hope.” Everyones eyes turned to the Mouse.

“As high as my spirit，” it said. “Though perhaps as small as my stature. Why should we not come to the very eastern end of the world？ And what might we find there？ I expect to find Aslans own country. It is always from the east， across the sea， that the great Lion comes to us.”

“I say， that is an idea，” said Edmund in an awed voice.

“But do you think，” said Lucy， “Aslans country would be that sort of country—I mean， the sort you could ever sail to？”

“I do not know， Madam，” said Reepicheep. “But there is this. When I was in my cradle， a wood woman， a Dryad， spoke this verse over me：

‘Where sky and water meet， Where the waves grow sweet， Doubt not， Reepicheep， To find all you seek， There is the utter East.

“羅普……罗普，对了！”凯斯宾继续说，“这就是此行我的主要目的。不过，雷佩契普还有一个更宏伟的计划。”每个人的目光都转向了老鼠雷佩契普。

雷佩契普开口道：“这计划像我的品格一样高远，不过也许同时也像我的身材一样微不足道。我们为什么不干脆就一直往东走到底，说不定我们还会在那儿发现些什么呢。我期待能找到阿斯兰亲自统治的国家。因为这伟大的雄狮总是从东边跨海而来。”

“我觉得，这还真是个伟大的计划。”爱德蒙的语调中充满了敬佩。

“可是，难道你不觉得，阿斯兰的国家是那种……嗯，是那种你会一直航行下去，可是永远也到达不了的地方吗？”露茜问。

“殿下，我还不知道。”雷佩契普答道，“有这样一件事，当我还在襁褓中的时候，一位森林女神对我念了一首诗。她说：

‘在海天相接的地方，那里海浪变甜，雷佩契普，你不要犹豫，去探索你想要寻找的东西，那里乃是东方的尽头。

“I do not know what it means. But the spell of it has been on me all my life.”

After a short silence Lucy asked， “And where are we now， Caspian？”

“The Captain can tell you better than I，” said Caspian， so Drinian got out his chart and spread it on the table.

“Thats our position，” he said， laying his finger on it. “Or was at noon today. We had a fair wind from Cair Paravel and stood a little north for Galma， which we made on the next day. We were in port for a week， for the Duke of Galma made a great tournament for His Majesty and there he unhorsed many knights—”

“And got a few nasty falls myself， Drinian. Some of the bruises are there still，” put in Caspian.

“—And unhorsed many knights，” repeated Drinian with a grin. “We thought the Duke would have been pleased if the Kings Majesty would have married his daughter， but nothing came of that—”

“Squints， and has freckles，” said Caspian.

“Oh， poor girl，” said Lucy.

“And we sailed from Galma，” continued Drinian， “and ran into a calm for the best part of two days and had to row， and then had wind again and did not make Terebinthia till the fourth day from Galma. And there their King sent out a warning not to land for there was sickness in Terebinthia， but we doubled the cape and put in at a little creek far from the city and watered. Then we had to lie off for three days before we got a south-east wind and stood out for Seven Isles. The third day out a pirate （Terebinthian by her rig） overhauled us， but when she saw us well armed she stood off after some shooting of arrows on either part—”

“And we ought to have given her chase and boarded her and hanged every mothers son of them，” said Reepicheep.

“我一點儿也想不通这首诗到底是什么意思。可是从小到大，这首诗始终在我脑海里挥之不去。”

有一小会儿，每个人都没有说话。露茜说：“凯斯宾，我们现在在什么地方呢？”

凯斯宾说：“船长会比我更好地回答这个问题。”于是德瑞尼亚拿出了海图，把它铺展在桌子上。

“这里是我们现在所在的位置。”德瑞尼亚一边说，一边用手指着图上的某个点，“当然更准确地说，是我们今天中午所在的地方。我们从凯尔帕拉维尔出港，一帆风顺，第二天就来到了迦尔玛北部。我们在迦尔玛的港口停留了一个星期，因为迦尔玛的公爵为国王陛下举办了一场盛大的武术比赛。我们的国王陛下把很多位武艺高强的骑士都挑下了马……”

“同时我自己也被摔下马很多次，德瑞尼亚。我现在身上还有不少当时留下的瘀青呢。”凯斯宾连忙说。

“——同时也把很多位武艺高强的骑士都挑下了马。”德瑞尼亚露齿一笑，重复了一遍刚才说的话，“我们都觉得，要是国王陛下能够迎娶迦尔玛公爵的女儿，那公爵一定会乐上了天的。可惜最后什么都没有发生。”

“她眼睛那么小，还长着雀斑。”凯斯宾说。

“哦，可怜的姑娘。”露茜道。

德瑞尼亚接着说：“于是我们离开了迦尔玛，可是接下来的两天简直糟糕极了，一丝风都没有，全靠船员们划桨。之后终于起风了，我们在离开迦尔玛的第四天到达了特里宾希亚。可是特里宾希亚的国王送来警告，说他们城里正暴发疾病，让我们不要登陆。于是我们迅速地绕过了海岬，在离开特里宾希亚城很远的地方找到了一条干净的小溪，在那儿补给了淡水。之后我们等了足足三天，才等来了一阵东南风。凭借这股风，我们接近了七群岛。在航行中的第三天，一艘海盗船追上了我们（从船的装备上看，这是一艘特里宾希亚船）。当他们发现我们武装精良、准备充分时，不敢同我们接近，只不过胡乱放了几箭，然后就逃掉了。”

“当时我们应该追上去，把船上的每一个匪徒都绞死。”雷佩契普恨恨地说。

Word Study

awed /??d/ adj. 充满敬畏的

We watched in awed silence.

“—And in five days more we were insight of Muil， which， as you know， is the westernmost of the Seven Isles. Then we rowed through the straits and came about sundown into Redhaven on the isle of Brenn， where we were very lovingly feasted and had victuals and water at will. We left Redhaven six days ago and have made marvellously good speed， so that I hope to see the Lone Islands the day after tomorrow. The sum is， we are now nearly thirty days at sea and have sailed more than four hundred leagues from Narnia.”

在甲板上，嵌着两个又大又长的舱口。舱口一前一后地排列在桅桿的两侧。天气晴朗的时候，这两个舱盖总是打开着的，好让光线和空气进到船舱里去。凯斯宾在前，众人踩着梯子进到了后舱口。在那儿，左右各有一排排的长凳，这是供水手划船时坐的。光透过桨孔照进来，在舱顶上晃动。凯斯宾的船可不是那种驱使奴隶成天划船的恐怖地方，只有在没有风，或者船要进出港口的时候，才用人力划船。而且，每个人（雷佩契普除外，因为它的手脚太短了，够不着船桨）都要参与划船，大家轮班工作和休息。每一排长凳下面的空间都给空出来，以便划船的人搁脚。而在整个船身的正中间，船体左右龙骨相接的部分，从船头到船尾有一长溜空隙。这部分则被利用起来放置各种各样的东西——一袋袋的面粉，装满水和啤酒的木桶，成筐的猪肉，一罐罐的蜂蜜，装在皮囊里的葡萄酒，另外还有苹果、坚果、奶酪、饼干、萝卜、熏猪肉。在船舱天花板上（即甲板的下方）挂着一条条火腿、成串的洋葱，当然还有值完班从瞭望哨下来，正躺在吊床上睡觉的水手。凯斯宾带着大伙儿往船尾走去。那些长凳，凯斯宾每一步就跨过一张去。而露茜一步迈不过，得边走边跳才行。雷佩契普则在长凳上蹿。它纵身一跳，可以蹿得很远。大家走到船舱最后面的一扇门前。凯斯宾打开门，里面是一间舱房。这间舱房在刚才大家所在的甲板舱的正下方，也是船尾的一部分。当然了，这间底层舱房肯定不会那么舒适。首先，这间舱房在船的底部;其次，船身两侧的龙骨在这里会合，所以这间舱房可供落脚的面积就变得很小;再次，尽管这里也有窗户，但是这窗户是不能打开的，因为这是用厚厚的玻璃嵌成的窗户，并且在船的吃水线以下。事实上，就在大家进入这小舱房的当儿，船身正随着海浪而颠簸起伏。如果船尾翘起，阳光会从窗户外射进来，可要是船尾落下，那从窗户里看到的就是阴沉苍茫的海水。

“You and I must lodge here， Edmund，” said Caspian. “Well leave your kinsman the bunk and sling hammocks for ourselves.”

“I beseech your Majesty—” said Drinian.

“No， no shipmate，” said Caspian， “we have argued all that out already. You and Rhince （Rhince was the mate） are sailing the ship and will have cares and labours many a night when we are singing catches or telling stories， so you and he must have the port cabin above. King Edmund and I can lie very snug here below. But how is the stranger？”

Eustace， very green in the face， scowled and asked whether there was any sign of the storm getting less. But Caspian said， “What storm？” and Drinian burst out laughing.

“Storm， young master！” he roared. “This is as fair weather as a man could ask for.”

“Whos that？” said Eustace irritably. “Send him away. His voice goes through my head.”

“Ive brought you something that will make you feel better， Eustace，” said Lucy.

凯斯宾对爱德蒙说：“你和我就睡这间舱房吧。我们把铺位给你的同伴，我俩就在这里牵吊床。”

“陛下，请允许我恳求您……”德瑞尼亚船长说道。

“不，不，我的好船长。”凯斯宾说，“这个问题我们已经讨论过很多次了，已经决定了。你和莱斯（莱斯是这艘船的大副）掌管这艘船，要日夜操劳。而我们不过就是在甲板上唱唱歌、吹吹牛。所以你和莱斯一定得睡在上面的甲板舱里。爱德蒙殿下和我躺在这里会非常舒适的。只不过，我们脾气古怪的客人怎么办？”

大家来看望尤斯塔斯，只见他脸色依旧铁青。他皱着眉问是否有迹象表明当前的暴风正在减弱。凯斯宾被尤斯塔斯的问题弄得不明所以，反问道：“暴风？什么暴风？”德瑞尼亚在一旁发出一阵大笑。

“暴风！年轻的小少爷。”德瑞尼亚船长嚷道，“现在的天气可是你能盼望到的最好的天气啊。”

听到这话，尤斯塔斯怒气冲冲地说：“这是谁？快把他赶走！他的声音震得我耳朵都要聋了。”

露茜忙劝道：“尤斯塔斯，我给你带了样东西，用了之后，准保你会觉得舒服一点的。”

“Oh， go away and leave me alone，” growled Eustace. But he took a drop from her flask， and though he said it was beastly stuff （the smell in the cabin when she opened it was delicious） it is certain that his face came the right colour a few moments after he had swallowed it， and he must have felt better because， instead of wailing about the storm and his head， he began demanding to be put ashore and said that at the first port he would “lodge a disposition” against them all with the British Consul. But when Reepicheep asked what a disposition was and how he lodged it （Reepicheep thought it was some new way of arranging a single combat）， Eustace could only reply， “Fancy not knowing that.” In the end they succeeded in convincing Eustace that they were already sailing as fast as they could towards the nearest land they knew， and that they had no more power of sending him back to Cambridge—which was where Uncle Harold lived—than of sending him to the moon. After that he sulkily agreed to put on the fresh clothes which had been put out for him and come on deck.

“哼，给我走远点，让我一个人待着！”尤斯塔斯咆哮道。盡管如此，他还是让露茜在他嘴里倒了一滴小瓶子里的药水。尤斯塔斯嘴里嘟囔着，说这玩意儿的味道真是恶心（当露茜把瓶子打开时，整个船舱里都充满了香甜的气味）。不过当尤斯塔斯把药水咽下去之后，他的脸色迅速就恢复正常了。而且，尤斯塔斯自己肯定也立马感觉好多了，因为他已经不再抱怨这险恶的“暴风”和自己的头痛，而是开始要求他们把自己送上岸去。他还说，等他到了前面第一个港口，一定会向当地的英国领事报告，要求领事给全船的人“一个处分”。雷佩契普以为处分是某种新的约战方式，于是就问尤斯塔斯处分到底是什么，怎么给处分。而尤斯塔斯支支吾吾答不上来，只是一个劲儿地说：“真奇怪，居然连这个也不知道。”最后，大家费尽九牛二虎之力终于让尤斯塔斯相信，他们已经尽可能快地向所知道的最近的陆地驶去。不过到了那儿之后，他们也没有能力把尤斯塔斯送回剑桥——那是哈罗德叔叔居住的地方——相比之下，可能把他送去月球的把握还要更大一些。听了这话，尤斯塔斯这才悻悻然地穿上了早就给他拿出来的干净衣服，跟大家来到了甲板上。

Word Study

feast /fi?st/ v. 款待;尽情享用

They feasted well into the afternoon on mutton and corn stew.

dim /d?m/ v. 使变暗

Dim the lighting—it is unpleasant to lie with a bright light shining in your eyes.

Caspian now showed them over the ship， though indeed they had seen most of it already. They went up on the forecastle and saw the look-out man standing on a little shelf inside the gilded dragons neck and peering through its open mouth. Inside the forecastle was the galley （or ships kitchen） and quarters for such people as the boatswain， the carpenter， the cook and the master-archer. If you think it odd to have the galley in the bows and imagine the smoke from its chimney streaming back over the ship， that is because you are thinking of steamships where there is always a headwind. On a sailing ship the wind is coming from behind， and anything smelly is put as far forward as possible. They were taken up to the fighting top， and at first it was rather alarming to rock to and fro there and see the deck looking small and far away beneath. You realized that if you fell there was no particular reason why you should fall on board rather than in the sea. Then they were taken to the poop， where Rhince was on duty with another man at the great tiller， and behind that the dragons tail rose up， covered with gilding， and round inside it ran a little bench. The name of the ship was Dawn Treader. She was only a little bit of a thing compared with one of our ships， or even with the cogs， dromonds， carracks and galleons which Narnia had owned when Lucy and Edmund had reigned there under Peter as the High King， for nearly all navigation had died out in the reigns of Caspians ancestors. When his uncle， Miraz the usurper， had sent the seven lords to sea， they had had to buy a Galmian ship and man it with hired Galmian sailors. But now Caspian had begun to teach the Narnians to be sea-faring folk once more， and the Dawn Treader was the finest ship he had built yet. She was so small that， forward of the mast， there was hardly any deck room between the central hatch and the ships boat on one side and the hen-coop （Lucy fed the hens） on the other. But she was a beauty of her kind， a “lady” as sailors say， her lines perfect， her colours pure， and every spar and rope and pin lovingly made. Eustace of course would be pleased with nothing， and kept on boasting about liners and motor-boats and aeroplanes and submarines （“As if he knew anything about them，” muttered Edmund）， but the other two were delighted with the Dawn Treader， and when they returned aft to the cabin and supper， and saw the whole western sky lit up with an immense crimson sunset， and felt the quiver of the ship， and tasted the salt on their lips， and thought of unknown lands on the Eastern rim of the world， Lucy felt that she was almost too happy to speak.

凱斯宾这下终于有机会好好地让大家参观一下这艘船了。尽管在此之前，他们已经看了这艘船的不少地方。大家首先来到船首，登上船楼。船楼的外观就是那条金光闪闪的龙，拾级而上，就会来到一个小小的平台，平台在金龙脖子的那个位置，这就是瞭望哨位。有一名哨兵正站在这里，警惕地望着大海。站在瞭望哨位上，人的视线刚好在龙嘴的高度。通过金龙张开的大嘴，可以把船前方的海面看得清清楚楚。在船楼里面，有厨房和供船员居住的房间。不过只有几位船员有资格住在这里。他们是水手长、木匠、厨师和弓箭队队长。也许看到的人会感到奇怪，为何要将厨房设计在船头的位置。因为一般人会想，从厨房的烟囱里冒出来的烟，会向后飘到整艘船上去。其实，这种情形只会发生在蒸汽船上。蒸汽船航速快，风总是从船头向后吹。而帆船则不一样，风是从船的后方吹过来的。所以，船上任何会产生臭味的东西，都总是放在船首，离船上的人尽量远一点。接下来，凯斯宾带着大家来到供弓箭手射击的战斗平台上。如果是第一次站到这块狭小又摇晃的平台上的人，一定会觉得心惊胆战。站在这里向下看，甲板看上去那么小，离得那么远。大家免不了会产生这样的念头：如果不慎从平台上摔下去，很有可能就不会落在甲板上，而是直接掉到海里去了。凯斯宾又带大家来到了船尾甲板。大副莱斯正和另一名水手在那里值班，他们的职责是掌舵。在船尾，金龙的尾巴盘曲上翘，同龙首一样镀着金。尾巴也是中空的，里面摆着一张长凳。这艘船的名字，叫作“黎明踏浪号”。同我们这个世界的各种大船相比，黎明踏浪号只能算是个小家伙。它甚至还比不上彼得在纳尼亚当国王的时候，纳尼亚曾拥有的那些大船。那时候，露茜和爱德蒙也掌管着纳尼亚，纳尼亚的海面上航行着柯克船、快速帆船、多桅大帆船，以及盖伦大帆船等。然而，在凯斯宾的先祖执掌纳尼亚之后，纳尼亚的航海事业就终止了。所以，当凯斯宾的叔叔，篡位的弥若兹派七位爵士到东海的时候，他们不得不向迦尔玛买船，甚至就连船上的水手也是雇用的迦尔玛人。不过，现在到了凯斯宾这一朝，他开始重新将纳尼亚人训练成航海好手。黎明踏浪号就是他所建造的最好的一艘船。黎明踏浪号体积的确不大，只有一根桅杆。在桅杆前后，有着两个舱口。主舱口在前，其右边，是救生艇;左边，是养鸡的鸡笼子（鸡是露茜养的）。这几个部分挨得很近，彼此之间几乎没有更多的空位。尽管如此，黎明踏浪号倒真的是一艘非常漂亮的船。船员们都说，它像一位漂亮的“女士”，其线条非常流畅，船身的颜色十分出众，船上每一个柱头、绳索，以及索具都是悉心打造出来的。当然了，像尤斯塔斯这样的人，对黎明踏浪号上的任何东西都不会觉得喜欢，就一个劲儿地向周围的人吹嘘他知道的那些他所处世界的交通工具，比如大邮轮、摩托艇、飞机，还有潜艇什么的（爱德蒙低声讥笑道：“好像他对这些东西都一清二楚似的。”）。而露茜和爱德蒙却对黎明踏浪号十分喜欢。在参观完了整艘船之后，大家回到了甲板舱，坐下来吃晚饭。晚饭时分，落日余晖在西边的天空洒下，呈现出一片深红色的黄昏景象。大家坐在甲板舱里，能够感觉到船腹在水面上轻快滑行时的震动，伸出舌头就能舔到嘴唇上留下的大海的咸味。露茜想到自己能够亲自去这个世界未知的东方，感到由衷地激动。这种激动让她兴奋不已，溢于言表。

What Eustace thought had best be told in his own words， for when they all got their clothes back， dried， next morning， he at once got out a little black notebook and a pencil and started to keep a diary. He always had this notebook with him and kept a record of his marks in it， for though he didnt care much about any subject for its own sake， he cared a great deal about marks and would even go to people and say， “I got so much. What did you get？” But as he didnt seem likely to get many marks on the Dawn Treader he now started a diary. This was the first entry.

“7 August. Have now been twenty-four hours on this ghastly boat if it isnt a dream. All the time a frightful storm has been raging （its a good thing Im not seasick）. Huge waves keep coming in over the front and I have seen the boat nearly go under any number of times. All the others pretend to take no notice of this， either from swank or because Harold says one of the most cowardly things ordinary people do is to shut their eyes to facts. Its madness to come out into the sea in a rotten little thing like this. Not much bigger than a lifeboat. And， of course， absolutely primitive indoors. No proper saloon， no radio， no bathrooms， no deck-chairs. I was dragged all over it yesterday evening and it would make anyone sick to hear Caspian showing off his funny little toy boat as if it was the Queen Mary. I tried to tell him what real ships are like， but hes too dense. E. and L.， of course， didnt back me up. I suppose a kid like L. doesnt realize the danger and E. is buttering up C. as everyone does here. They call him a King. I said I was a Republican but he had to ask me what that meant！ He doesnt seem to know anything at all. Needless to say Ive been put in the worst cabin of the boat， a perfect dungeon， and Lucy has been given a whole room on deck to herself， almost a nice room compared with the rest of this place. C. says thats because shes a girl. I tried to make him see what Alberta says， that all that sort of thing is really lowering girls but he was too dense. Still， he might see that I shall be ill if Im kept in that hole any longer. E. says we mustnt grumble because C. is sharing it with us himself to make room for L. As if that didnt make it more crowded and far worse. Nearly forgot to say that there is also a kind of Mouse thing that gives everyone the most frightful cheek. The others can put up with it if they like but I shall twist his tail pretty soon if he tries it on me. The food is frightful too.”

尤斯塔斯对当前的处境是怎么想的呢？谁也不清楚。在船上度过了第一个夜晚之后，第二天大家都拿回了自己原来的衣服。这些衣服放在厨房里烤了一个晚上之后，早就干了。尤斯塔斯拿到自己的东西之后，就马上摸出一个黑色封面的笔记本和一支铅笔，开始写起日记来。他总是习惯随身带着一个笔记本，然后在上面写点什么他所谓的“心得”。实际上，他并不在乎他所记下的东西及其内容，他在乎的是记录心得这件事情。因为在写了点什么之后，他就可以把笔记本拿着在别人面前炫耀：“你看，我已经记了这么多了。你都记了些什么？”不过，在黎明踏浪号上尤斯塔斯似乎收获不了什么心得，所以他现在改成写日记了。下面是他的第一篇日记：

八月七号。如果不是做梦的话，截至目前，我已经在这艘怪船上待了足足二十四个小时了。在此期间，一场可怕的狂风一直在不停地怒号着（还好我这次没有晕船）。巨大的波涛不停地向船头打来，我觉得这艘船随时都有被海浪倾覆的可能。然而其他所有人都装作对此危险视而不见。可是我知道，他们其实要么是因为喜欢出风头，所以装得自己胆子大;要么就是如同哈罗德所说的那样，普通人所做的最为怯懦的事情之一，就是在事实面前闭目塞听。乘坐这样一个又小又破的鬼玩意儿就跑出来航海，真是疯子才干的事情！这艘船都还没有一艘救生艇大。而且，毫无疑问，船舱内部简直可以说是极其简陋。没有正规的宴会厅，没有收音机，没有浴室，甲板上也没有折叠躺椅。我在昨天晚上被莫名其妙地拖上了这艘船。而且，听到凯斯宾向大家展示他的这艘可笑的玩具小船时，任何一个人都会觉得这简直愚不可及。他还当他的船是“玛丽女王号”了！我也曾试图向凯斯宾讲解真正的船到底像什么，可是他头脑顽固，什么也听不进去。而爱德蒙和露茜，当然也不会站在我这边。我觉得，像露茜那样的孩子，是意识不到任何危险的。而爱德蒙就像所有人做的那样，在不停地巴结凯斯宾。他们居然管他叫国王。我告诉凯斯宾我是共和派人士，可他居然问我那是什么意思！看起来他这个人脑子里什么知识都没有。更过分的是，我毫无疑问被塞进了船上最差的房间里，不折不扣就是个牢房。而露茜则在甲板舱上独占了一个大房间。那个房间同船上别的地方比起来，简直就是一个天上一个地下。凯斯宾说，这是因为露茜是女孩子。而我试着告诉他艾贝塔讲的道理，艾贝塔说：处处让女孩子受到特殊照顾其实是对女孩子的一种贬低。可是凯斯宾就是头脑顽固，听不进去。总之，他接下来就会看到的，如果我继续在这个“洞”里睡下去，马上就会生病的。爱德蒙说我们不能抱怨，因为凯斯宾为了让露茜住得舒服，他自己也跟我们一样睡在下面的船舱里。可是凯斯宾到下面来，不是把这里变得更拥挤了吗？啊，我还差点忘了一件事——这里居然还有一只大老鼠！它的脸任谁看了都会觉得害怕。其他人要是喜欢的话，可以不在乎，可要是它胆敢跟我开玩笑，我迟早会拧断它的尾巴。还有，吃的东西也很恶心。

Word Study

gilded /ɡ?ld/ adj. 镀金的;涂金色的

His office is decorated with gilded chairs.

dense /dens/ adj. 愚笨的;迟钝的

How can you be so dense？

The trouble between Eustace and Reepicheep arrived even sooner than might have been expected. Before dinner next day， when the others were sitting round the table， waiting （being at sea gives one a magnificent appetite）， Eustace came rushing in， wringing his hand and shouting out：

“That little brute has half killed me. I insist on it being kept under control. I could bring an action against you， Caspian. I could order you to have it destroyed.”

At the same moment Reepicheep appeared. His sword was drawn and his whiskers looked very fierce but he was as polite as ever.

“I ask your pardons all，” he said， “and especially her Majestys. If I had known that he would take refuge here I would have awaited a more reasonable time for his correction.”

“What on earths up？” asked Edmund.

尤斯塔斯和雷佩契普之間的冲突比预想的要来得更快。第二天傍晚，当大伙儿都坐在桌边等着晚饭摆上来时（在海上，每个人的胃口都好得不得了），尤斯塔斯冲了过来，挥着他的胳膊冲大家怒吼：

“那个小畜生差点杀了我！我坚决要求把它关起来，凯斯宾。我会给你送来一纸诉状的，我会要求你把那畜生给处死！”

尤斯塔斯话音未落，雷佩契普也在甲板舱里现了身。它拔剑在手，胡子根根直立，看上去气势很凶。不过它依然一如既往地保持着礼节。

“我请求各位的原谅，”雷佩契普说道，“尤其是尊贵的露茜殿下。如果我早知道他会跑到这里来寻求庇护，我一定会另找一个更加合适的时候来执行对他的惩罚。”

“这到底是怎么回事？”爱德蒙问道。

What had really happened was this. Reepicheep， who never felt that the ship was getting on fast enough， loved to sit on the bulwarks far forward just beside the dragons head， gazing out at the eastern horizon and singing softly in his little chirruping voice the song the Dryad had made for him. He never held on to anything， however the ship pitched， and kept his balance with perfect ease; perhaps his long tail， hanging down to the deck inside the bulwarks， made this easier. Everyone on board was familiar with this habit， and the sailors liked it because when one was on look-out duty it gave one somebody to talk to. Why exactly Eustace had slipped and reeled and stumbled all the way forward to the forecastle （he had not yet got his sea-legs） I never heard. Perhaps he hoped he would see land， or perhaps he wanted to hang about the galley and scrounge something. Anyway， as soon as he saw that long tail hanging down—and perhaps it was rather tempting—he thought it would be delightful to catch hold of it， swing Reepicheep round by it once or twice upside-down， then run away and laugh. At first the plan seemed to work beautifully. The Mouse was not much heavier than a very large cat. Eustace had him off the rail in a trice and very silly he looked （thought Eustace） with his little limbs all splayed out and his mouth open. But unfortunately Reepicheep， who had fought for his life many a time， never lost his head even for a moment. Nor his skill. It is not very easy to draw ones sword when one is swinging round in the air by ones tail， but he did. And the next thing Eustace knew was two agonizing jabs in his hand which made him let go of the tail; and the next thing after that was that the Mouse had picked itself up again as if it were a ball bouncing off the deck， and there it was facing him， and a horrid long， bright， sharp thing like a skewer was waving to and fro within an inch of his stomach. （This doesnt count as below the belt for mice in Narnia because they can hardly be expected to reach higher.）

事情的原委是這样的。雷佩契普从来都嫌黎明踏浪号行驶得还不够快，所以它总爱高高地坐在船首龙头的旁边。在那儿，雷佩契普凝视着东方的天际，用它啁啾的嗓音柔声哼唱着森林女神为它写的一首歌。它从来不用扶着任何东西，不论船怎么颠簸，它都能非常轻松地保持平衡。也许是因为它垂下来的长尾巴能更好地帮助它保持平衡吧。船上的每一个人都很喜欢雷佩契普的这个习惯，尤其是那些要在瞭望哨上值班的水手。因为他们在瞭望哨上的时候，可以有个人跟他们说说话。可是，（尤斯塔斯在船上还是晕船）他究竟为什么溜出来，跌跌撞撞地跑到了船首，我可没听说。也许他是希望能够看到陆地，要不然就是打算在厨房溜达一圈，看能不能讨到点什么吃的东西。不管怎么说，当尤斯塔斯一看到雷佩契普垂下来的尾巴时，他马上就起了一个捣蛋的念头——如果能把雷佩契普的尾巴抓住，扯着它的尾巴把它抡上两三圈，然后再大笑着跑开，这一定相当的好玩。我敢说，雷佩契普垂下来的尾巴本身也一定在诱惑着尤斯塔斯去干这件事情。尤斯塔斯一出手就抓到了雷佩契普的尾巴，他的计划看上去执行得非常完美。老鼠雷佩契普并不比一只大猫重多少。尤斯塔斯给了雷佩契普一个措手不及，雷佩契普被他甩得手脚挥舞，嘴巴大张，样子傻极了。可是不幸的是，雷佩契普乃身经百战，在任何时候都不会惊慌失措，更不用说它一身的好本领，随时都能收放自如。要知道，在自己的尾巴被捉住，身子被人在空中甩的时候，并不是谁都能把剑给拔出来的。可是雷佩契普就有这样的身手。这之后，尤斯塔斯就感到自己手上针扎般的刺痛，逼得他放开了雷佩契普的尾巴。只见老鼠雷佩契普在地上一弹，像个皮球一般迅速地调整好了自己的身体。现在雷佩契普正过身来，面对着尤斯塔斯。尤斯塔斯感到自己腹部受到一阵猛烈无比的重击。（这对纳尼亚的老鼠来说，不能看成击对方腰带以下的犯规行为，因为老鼠够不到更高的部位。）

“Stop it，” spluttered Eustace， “go away. Put that thing away. Its not safe. Stop it， I say. Ill tell Caspian. Ill have you muzzled and tied up.”

“Why do you not draw your own sword， poltroon！” cheeped the Mouse. “Draw and fight or Ill beat you black and blue with the flat.”

“I havent got one，” said Eustace. “Im a pacifist. I dont believe in fighting.”

“Do I understand，” said Reepicheep， withdrawing his sword for a moment and speaking very sternly， “that you do not intend to give me satisfaction？”

“I dont know what you mean，” said Eustace， nursing his hand. “If you dont know how to take a joke I shant bother my head about you.”

“Then take that，” said Reepicheep， “and that—to teach you manners—and the respect due to a knight—and a Mouse—and a Mouses tail—” and at each word he gave Eustace a blow with the side of his rapier， which was thin， fine dwarf-tempered steel and as supple and effective as a birch rod. Eustace （of course） was at a school where they didnt have corporal punishment， so the sensation was quite new to him. That was why， in spite of having no sealegs， it took him less than a minute to get off that forecastle and cover the whole length of the deck and burst in at the cabin door—still hotly pursued by Reepicheep. Indeed it seemed to Eustace that the rapier as well as the pursuit was hot. It might have been red-hot by the feel.

There was not much difficulty in settling the matter once Eustace realized that everyone took the idea of a duel seriously and heard Caspian offering to lend him a sword， and Drinian and Edmund discussing whether he ought to be handicapped in some way to make up for his being so much bigger than Reepicheep. He apologized sulkily and went off with Lucy to have his hand bathed and bandaged and then went to his bunk. He was careful to lie on his side.

“快停手！”尤斯塔斯驚慌失措地喊道，“滚开！快把剑收起来，这太危险了。快停下，我说。我要去告诉凯斯宾，我要把你给铐起来，用绳子捆紧！”

“胆小鬼，为什么你不自己来跟我打？你的剑呢？”雷佩契普说，“把你的剑拔出来跟我战斗。不然的话我可要把你揍个鼻青脸肿。”

“我没有剑。”尤斯塔斯哼哼唧唧地说，“我是个和平主义者。我不崇尚武力。”

雷佩契普慢慢收回了它的剑，目光依然严厉，它说：“我是否可以这样理解，你并不打算满足我的要求？”

“我不懂你说的什么意思。”尤斯塔斯一边说，一边检查自己受伤的手，“如果你听不明白玩笑话的话，我可不会为此而费心。”

“那你就尝尝这个，还有这个！”雷佩契普说，“让我来教教你什么是该有的教养，还有对骑士和老鼠，以及对老鼠的尾巴的尊重……”雷佩契普每说一个字，尤斯塔斯就狠狠地挨一下，每一下用的都是剑身。雷佩契普手上的这柄宝剑很细很精致，用的是小矮人精心锻造的好钢，既锋利，又柔韧。尤斯塔斯上学的学校从来不会对学生进行体罚，所以挨这么重的打对他来说还真是破天荒头一遭。这也就是为什么尽管尤斯塔斯还没有习惯在船上走路，可他还是在不到一分钟的时间里，屁滚尿流地从船首落荒而逃，跑过整个甲板，最后冲进凯斯宾他们所在的甲板舱——雷佩契普仍在他身后紧紧地追着不放。的确，对于尤斯塔斯来说，雷佩契普的剑，还有它咄咄逼人的气势，就跟自己身上被打过的伤一样，都让他觉得火辣辣的疼。

众人没费什么劲就想好了解决这场争端的办法。尤斯塔斯意识到每个人都同意让他和雷佩契普举行一场决斗，而且他们说这话是认真的。他还听到凯斯宾答应借给他一柄剑，德瑞尼亚船长和爱德蒙在商量是不是应该让他绑上一只手或一条腿，以此来弥补雷佩契普与他身高上的差距。尤斯塔斯悻悻然地向雷佩契普道了歉。露茜带他去洗了手，把手上的伤包扎起来。之后尤斯塔斯回到自己的铺位上，小心翼翼地侧着身子躺了下去。

Word Study

stumble /'st?mbl/ v. 跌跌撞撞地走;蹒跚而行

We stumbled out into the street.

sternly /'st??nli/ adv. 严厉地

Hester repeated my command more sternly.