"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 don't 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.It's 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 don't suppose I'd have left my kingdom and put to sea unless all was well," answered the King."It couldn't be better.There's 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 I'm away—Trumpkin,the Dwarf.You remember him?"
"Dear Trumpkin," said Lucy,"of course I do.You couldn't have made a better choice."
"Loyal as a badger,Ma'am,and valiant as—as a Mouse,"said Drinian.He had been going to say"as a lion"but had noticed Reepicheep's eyes fixed on him.
"And where are we heading for?"asked Edmund.
"Well," said Caspian,"that's rather a long story.Perhaps you remember that when I was a child my usurping uncle Miraz got rid of seven friends of my father's (who might have taken my part) by sending them off to explore the unknown Eastern Seas beyond the Lone Islan...
"Yes,"said Lucy,"and none of them ever came back."
"Right.Well,on,my coronation day,with Aslan's 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 father's 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 who's so hard to remember."
"The Lord Rhoop,Sire,"said Drinian.
"Rhoop,Rhoop,of course," said Caspian."That is my main intention.But Reepicheep here has an even higher hope." Everyone's eyes turned to the Mouse.
"As high as my spirit," he 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 Aslan's 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,"Aslan's 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.
"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.
"That's 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 King's 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 mother's son of them,"said Reepicheep.
"—and in five days more we were in sight 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."
"And after the Lone Islands?"said Lucy.
"No one knows,your Majesty,"answered Drinian."Unless the Lone Islanders themselves can tell us."
"They couldn't in our days,"said Edmund.
"Then," said Reepicheep,"it is after the Lone Islands that the adventure really begins."
Caspian now suggested that they might like to be shown over the ship before supper,but Lucy's conscience smote her and she said,"I think I really must go and see Eustace.Seasickness is horrid,you know.If I had my old cordial with me I could cure him."
"But you have," said Caspian."I'd quite forgotten about it.As you left it behind I thought it might be regarded as one of the royal treasures and so I brought it—if you think it ought to be wasted on a thing like seasickness."
"It'll only take a drop,"said Lucy.
Caspian opened one of the lockers beneath the bench and brought out the beautiful little diamond flask which Lucy remembered so well."Take back your own,Queen," he said.They then left the cabin and went out into the sunshine.
In the deck there were two large,long hatches,fore and aft of the mast,and both open,as they always were in fair weather,to let light and air into the belly of the ship.Caspian led them down a ladder into the after hatch.Here they found themselves in a place where benches for rowing ran from side to side and the light came in through the oar-holes and danced on the roof.Of course Caspian's ship was not that horrible thing,a galley rowed by slaves.Oars were used only when wind failed or for getting in and out of harbour and everyone (except Reepicheep whose legs were too short) had often taken a turn.At each side of the ship the space under the benches was left clear for the rowers'feet,but all down the centre there was a kind of pit which went down to the very keel and this was filled with all kinds of things—sacks of flour,casks of water and beer,barrels of pork,jars of honey,skin bottles of wine,apples,nuts,cheeses,biscuits,turnips,sides of bacon.From the roof—that is,from the under side of the deck—hung hams and strings of onions,and also the men of the watch off-duty in their hammocks.Caspian led them aft,stepping from bench to bench;at least,it was stepping for him,and something between a step and a jump for Lucy,and a real long jump for Reepicheep.In this way they came to a partition with a door in it.Caspian opened the door and led them into a cabin which filled the stern underneath the deck cabins in the poop.It was of course not so nice.It was very low and the sides sloped together as they went down so that there was hardly any floor;and though it had windows of thick glass,they were not made to open because they were under water.In fact at this very moment,as the ship pitched they were alternately golden with sunlight and dim green with the sea.
"You and I must lodge here,Edmund," said Caspian."We'll 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."
"Who's that?"said Eustace irritably."Send him away.His voice goes through my head."
"I've brought you something that will make you feel better,Eustace,"said Lucy.
"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 you 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.
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 dragon's neck and peering through its open mouth.Inside the forecastle was the galley (or ship's 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 dragon's 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 Caspian's 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 ship's 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.
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 didn't 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 didn't seem likely to get many marks on the Dawn Treader he now started a diary.This was the first entry:
August 7
Have now been twenty-four hours on this ghastly boat if it isn't a dream.All the time a frightful storm has been raging (it's a good thing I'm 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.It's 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 he's too dense.E.and L.,of course,didn't back me up.I suppose a kid like L.doesn't 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 doesn't seem to know anything at all.Needless to say I've 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 that's because she's 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 I'm kept in that hole any longer.E.says we mustn't grumble because C.is sharing it with us himself to make room for L.As if that didn't 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.
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 hands 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 Majesty's.If I had known that he would take refuge here I would have awaited a more reasonable time for his correction."
"What on earth's up?"asked Edmund.
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 forwards just beside the dragon's 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 offthe 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 one's sword when one is swinging round in the air by one's 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 doesn't count as below the belt for mice in Narnia because they can hardly be expected to reach higher.)
"Stop it,"spluttered Eustace,"go away.Put that thing away.It's not safe.Stop it,I say.I'll tell Caspian.I'll have you muzzled and tied up."
"Why do you not draw your own sword,poltroon?" cheeped the Mouse."Draw and fight or I'll beat you black and blue with the flat."
"I haven't got one," said Eustace."I'm a pacfist.I don't believe in fighting."
"Do I understand," said Reepicheep,with-drawing his sword for a moment and speaking very sternly,"that you do not intend to give me satisfaction?"
"I don't know what you mean," said Eustace,nursing his hand."If you don't know how to take a joke I shan't 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 Mouse's 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 didn't have corporal punishment,so the sensation was quite new to him.That was why,in spite of having no sea-legs,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.
中文阅读
“啊，你来了，露西，”卡斯宾说，“我们正在等你。这是我的船长，德利尼安大臣。”
一个深色头发的人单膝跪下，吻了吻她的手。在场的还有雷匹奇普和埃德蒙。
“尤斯塔斯在哪儿？”露西问道。
“在床上，”埃德蒙说，“我觉得，我们对他无计可施。如果你试着去关心他，只会使他的情况更加糟糕。”
“同时，”卡斯宾说，“我们需要畅谈一番。”
“天哪，我们是要好好谈谈，”埃德蒙说，“首先，关于时间。用我们的时间来计算，我们是一年前在你的加冕仪式上离开的。在纳尼亚已经过去多久啦？”
“整整三年。”卡斯宾说。
“一切都顺利吧？”埃德蒙问道。
“要不是国泰民安，你想我会离开国家出海远航吗？”国王答道，“一切都好得不能再好了。这会儿，提尔玛人、矮人、会说话的动物、潘恩等等都和睦相处。去年夏天，我们狠狠打击了那些爱在边界挑衅的巨人，如今他们向我们进贡了。在我外出期间，我让一个特别棒的人代我摄政——特伦普金，那个矮人。你们还记得他吗？”
“亲爱的特伦普金，”露西说，“当然记得。你不可能有更好的选择了。”
“他像河狸一样忠实，女士，像——像老鼠一样英勇。”德利尼安说。他本来打算说“像狮子”，可是他发现，雷匹奇普正拿眼睛盯着自己，因而就改口了。
“我们要去什么地方？”埃德蒙问道。
“哦，”卡斯宾回答，“说来话长。也许你还记得，在我小的时候，我那个篡权的叔叔米拉兹想要摆脱我父亲的七位朋友（他们有可能站在我的一边），就打发他们去探索孤独岛之外未知的东海。”
“是啊，”露西说，“他们一个都没有回来。”
“正是这样。嗯，就在我加冕的那一天，在阿斯兰的赞许下，我发誓，一旦在纳尼亚缔造了和平，我将用整整一年的时间亲自到东海远航，寻找我父亲的朋友们，或者了解他们的死因，为他们复仇。这就是他们的名字——勒费立安、伯恩、阿格兹、马福拉摩恩、欧克提宪、里斯提玛，和——噢，这个名字特别难记。”
“鲁普，陛下。”德利尼安说。
“鲁普，鲁普，对了，”卡斯宾说，“这是我的主要意图。但雷匹奇普还有一个更崇高的愿望。”大家将目光转向了老鼠。
“跟我的精神一样崇高，”它说，“尽管我的身材矮小。为什么我们不能到达世界东方的尽头？在那里我们将会发现什么呢？我期待能够找到阿斯兰的国度。伟大的狮子总是从东方，从大海的那一边来到我们这里。”
“哎呀，那可真是一个了不起的想法。”埃德蒙用充满敬畏的声音说道。
“但你想想，”露西说，“阿斯兰的国度是不是那种——我是说，那种你随便航行就可以到达的地方？”
“我不知道，女王陛下，”雷匹奇普说，“但是有这么一个传说。当我还在摇篮中的时候，一位林中女子，一个护树仙女，就对我唱过这首歌谣：
在水天相接的地方，
那里的波浪变得甘甜，
不要疑惑，雷匹奇普，
在东方的尽头，
去寻找你所追求的一切。
我不知道这些话是什么意思。但是我这辈子都对这种想法着迷。”
短暂的沉默之后，露西问道：“卡斯宾，现在我们是在什么地方？”
“船长能够比我更清楚地告诉你，”卡斯宾说。德利尼安拿出来航海图，铺在桌子上。
“这就是我们的位置，”他说，用手指着那个地方，“或者说是正午时我们的位置。从凯尔帕拉维尔我们一路顺风，偏北朝着噶尔玛行驶，第二天到达那里。在噶尔玛，我们停泊了一个星期，因为噶尔玛公爵为陛下举行了一场比武大会，陛下将很多骑士打落马下——”
“有几次我自己也摔得很惨，德利尼安。有些擦伤至今还没有痊愈。”卡斯宾插话道。
“——将很多骑士打落马下，”德利尼安咧嘴笑了笑，又重复了一遍，“我们认为，国王陛下如果娶了他的女儿，公爵将会非常开心。不料什么事情都没有发生——”
“斜眼，脸上还有雀斑。”卡斯宾说。
“哦，可怜的女孩子。”露西说。
“我们从噶尔玛启程，”德利尼安继续说道，“有将近两天的时间都是风平浪静，我们只好划船前进。随后起风了，直到第四天，我们才抵达提勒宾西亚。在那里，他们的国王发出警告，让我们不要登陆，因为有一种传染病正在那里肆虐。于是我们绕过海角，停靠在一个远离城市的小海湾里，加足了水。我们被迫停泊了三天，等到刮起了东南风，我们才向七岛屿驶去。第三天，一艘海盗船（看装备是提勒宾西亚人）追上了我们，但他们发现，我们的武器精良，就胡乱朝我们船的两边射了一通箭，便撤离了——”
“我们应该追上他们，跳上船去，把那些狗娘养的全都绞死。”雷匹奇普说。
“又过了五天，我们远远看到了缪尔岛，你知道，那是七岛屿最西边的一个岛。然后，我们划船渡过海峡，大约在日落时驶入了布伦岛的红港湾，在那里我们受到了盛情的款待，并尽我们所能地补充了水和给养。六天前，我们离开了红港湾，顺风疾驶。我希望，后天就可以看见孤独岛了。总之，我们在海上大约航行了三十天，距离纳尼亚已有四百多里格。”
“到达孤独岛之后呢？”露西问。
“女王陛下，没有人知道，”德利尼安回答，“除非孤独岛上的居民能给我们提供一些信息。”
“在我们那个时代，他们是一问三不知。”埃德蒙说。
“那么，”雷匹奇普说，“过了孤独岛，历险才真正开始。”
卡斯宾建议，如果他们乐意，他可以先带他们去参观一下这艘船，然后再吃晚饭。但是露西感到心里不安，说：“我觉得，我必须去探望一下尤斯塔斯。你们知道，晕船是很难受的。假如我还带着那瓶神奇药液的话，我就能够医好他。”
“那药就在船上，”卡斯宾说，“我差点儿给忘了。你把那瓶药留了下来。我想，它应该被视为皇家的珍宝，于是我就带来了——如果你认为用它来治晕船不算浪费的话。”
“只用一滴就够了。”露西说。
卡斯宾打开长凳下的一个抽屉，拿出露西非常熟悉的那个漂亮的钻石小瓶。“女王，把你的宝物收回去吧。”他说。他们走出船舱，来到外面的阳光之中。
在桅杆前后的甲板上，有两个又长又大的舱口盖。正如人们在晴天经常做的，把两个舱口都敞开了，好让阳光和空气进入船舱中。卡斯宾领着他们走下后舱口的梯子，来到一个地方，这里两边摆着一排排划船时坐的长凳。阳光从桨孔中照射进来，在舱顶上闪烁跳动。当然，卡斯宾的船不是那种由奴隶划桨的可怕的苦力船。木桨只是在没有风时，或是在进出港口时才用一下。每个人（除了雷匹奇普，它的四肢太短）都经常轮流着划。在船的两边，长凳下面是划桨者放脚的地方。但在船舱中央有一个窖藏，直通向船的龙骨，里面装满了各种东西——一袋袋面粉、一桶桶水和啤酒、一筒筒猪肉、一罐罐蜂蜜、一些装满葡萄酒的皮囊、苹果、坚果、奶酪、饼干、萝卜，还有一块块腌肉。从舱顶上——也就是说，在甲板下的天花板上挂着火腿和一串串洋葱，还悬挂着吊床，换班下来的人睡在里面。卡斯宾带着大家向船尾走去，跨过一条条长凳。至少，他是一步跨过一条长凳，露西则是连跨带跳，对于雷匹奇普来说，简直就是跳远了。就这样，他们来到了一块用木板隔开的部分，卡斯宾打开隔板上面的门，领他们走进一间舱室。那间舱室位于船尾楼甲板下的船尾部分，当然不怎么样，非常低矮，两边倾斜，几乎没有什么立脚之地。因为是在水底下，尽管有镶着厚玻璃的窗户，却无法打开。事实上，就在这一刻，船颠簸了一下，窗户一会儿透进来金色的阳光，一会儿又只能看见外面墨绿色的海水。
“你和我只好住在这里了，埃德蒙，”卡斯宾说，“我们把睡铺留给你的亲戚，我们自己来睡吊床。”
“我恳请陛下——”德利尼安说。
“不，不，船老大，”卡斯宾说，“我们已经把一切都说定了。你和林思（林思是大副）要驾驶大船，要辛苦操劳许多个夜晚，而我们却在唱歌讲故事。所以你和他必须住在上边左舷的舱室。埃德蒙王和我可以非常舒适地睡在这下边。那位客人怎么样了？”
尤斯塔斯脸色铁青，愁眉苦脸地询问他们，风暴有没有减弱的迹象。卡斯宾问道：“什么风暴？”德利尼安忍不住放声大笑起来。
“风暴，少爷！”他哈哈笑道，“这是一个难得的好天气。”
“他是谁？”尤斯塔斯烦躁地说，“让他走开。他的声音刺痛了我的脑袋。”
“我给你带来一样东西，会使你感觉好一点儿，尤斯塔斯。”露西说。
“啊，走开，让我一个人呆着。”尤斯塔斯吼叫道。但他还是吞服了小瓶中的一滴液体，虽然他说那很难喝（她一打开盖子，舱室中就弥漫着一股芳香的气味），确实无疑的是，服用后没几分钟，他的脸色便恢复了正常。他一定感觉好多了，因为他不再抱怨风暴和头痛，而开始要求把他送上岸去，还说，到了第一个港口，自己就将要求英国领事馆“制裁”他们。雷匹奇普问他，什么是制裁，以及如何进行制裁（老鼠以为，那是一种新的单打独斗的方式），尤斯塔斯却回答不上来了，只好说：“真想不到，有人竟然连这个都不懂。”最后，他们终于说服了尤斯塔斯，说船正在以最快的速度，朝他们所知道的最近的陆地驶去。至于把他送回剑桥，他们实在是无能为力——剑桥是哈罗德姨父居住的地方——就像把他送上月球一样不太现实。后来，他阴沉着脸，答应换上为他找出来的干净衣服，到甲板上去。
这时，卡斯宾带领他们到处参观，其实他们已经看到了船的大部分地方。他们登上了首楼，看到守望的水手站在镀金龙脖子里的一个小架子上，透过大张着的龙口朝外瞭望。首楼里有做饭的地方（或者说厨房），还有水手长、木匠、厨师与弓箭手头目的住处。如果你对厨房位于船头感到奇怪，想象着烟囱的烟会吹过整个船只的话，那是因为你想到的是蒸汽轮船向后喷出的浓烟。在帆船上，风从后面吹来，把那些难闻的气味都向前吹散。他们还被带上了战斗桅楼，刚上去，觉得摇晃得很厉害，令人心惊胆战。下面的甲板显得很小、很远。这时你才意识到，万一掉下去，你不一定会落在甲板上，很有可能会掉进大海里。接着，他们又被带到船尾楼，林思与一名水手正在大舵柄旁值班。船后镀金的龙尾巴高高翘起，里面有一圈小长凳。船的名字叫“黎明”号。与我们的轮船相比，甚至与彼得大帝、露西和埃德蒙时代纳尼亚所拥有的小型帆船、大型快速帆船、大帆船和两用帆船相比，这艘船都只能算是个小字辈。因为在卡斯宾祖辈统治的时期，他们几乎终止了所有的航行。到了他叔父——篡权者米拉兹当权的时候，为了派七位大臣出海，只好从噶尔玛购买了一条船，还雇佣了噶尔玛的水手前来驾驶。到如今，卡斯宾又开始教导纳尼亚人成为航海者，“黎明”号是他迄今所建造的最好的船只。但船的确不怎么大，在桅杆的前方，中间是舱口，舱口的一边放着只小船，另一边是鸡舍（露西给母鸡喂了食），甲板差不多就给占满了。不过，在同类船只中，这艘帆船是个佼佼者，是位“贵妇人”，正如水手们所称呼的。它的线条完美，色彩纯净，每一个桅桁、每一根缆绳和每一颗钉子里都倾注着爱心。尤斯塔斯对这一切当然都不感兴趣，他一个劲儿地吹嘘着远洋客轮、摩托快艇、飞机和潜艇（“好像他是个百事通，”埃德蒙低语道），而露西和埃德蒙则对“黎明”号感到欣喜。当他们返回船尾的舱室吃晚饭时，看到西边整个天空都被落日的余晖染红了，这时，船颠簸了一下，他们的嘴唇上尝到了海水的咸味。一想到世界东方那未知的国度，露西感到自己幸福得几乎说不出话来。
至于尤斯塔斯的感受，最好用他自己的话来表述。第二天早晨，他们取回了烤*衣服，他立刻掏出一个黑色的小笔记本，一支铅笔，开始写起日记来。他总是随身带着这个笔记本，在上面记录下自己的分数。虽然他并不特别喜欢哪门功课，但对分数他却异常关心，经常会跟同学说：“我得了这么多分，你得了多少分？”在“黎明”号上，他获得分数的可能性微乎其微，于是他开始写日记。这是他的第一篇日记：
八月七日
如果不是做梦的话，我在这条破船上已经度过了二十四个小时。一场可怕的风暴一直在肆虐（幸运的是我没有晕船）。巨大的海浪一个接一个迎面扑来，有许多次，我看到船险些被淹没。其他人假装对此毫不在意，也许是出于虚荣心，也许是像哈罗德所说的，芸芸众生最胆怯的行为之一，就是闭目不看事实。乘坐这样一艘糟糕的小船出海真是发疯。它比救生艇大不了多少。当然了，船的内部绝对原始。没有像样的大厅，没有收音机，没有浴室，没有甲板躺椅。昨晚，我被生拉硬拽着到处走了一圈。卡斯宾竟然炫耀他那艘可笑的小玩具船，仿佛它就是“玛丽女王”号，实在是令人作呕。我试图告诉他，真正的轮船是什么样子，可他就是不开窍。埃和露并没有附和我。我猜想，像露那样的小孩子根本意识不到危险，而埃，则像这里所有的人一样，大拍卡的马屁。他们称他为国王。我说，我是一个共和主义者，他居然问我那是什么意思！看来他对什么事都一窍不通。更不用说，我被安排在船上最差劲的舱室，彻头彻尾的地牢，而露西却在上面独自拥有一个房间，与其他房间相比，那个房间可以说相当不错。卡说，因为她是个女孩子。我试图让他明白艾伯塔的话，特殊照顾实际上是在贬低女生，可他硬是不明白。再说，他应该懂得，我若继续留在这个地洞里，就会生病。埃说，我们不可以抱怨，因为卡也与我们一起住在这里，把房间让给了露。好像他不明白，卡这样做，只会使得这个地方更加拥挤，更加糟糕。我差点忘了，还有一只老鼠之类的动物，最为鲁莽放肆。其他人愿意容忍它，尽随尊便，它如果胆敢对我无礼，我立刻就要拧断它的尾巴。船上的食物也难以下咽。
尤斯塔斯和雷匹奇普的冲突来得比预料的还要早。第二天午饭前，众人围坐在桌边等待开饭的时候（在海上，人的胃口好得出奇），尤斯塔斯冲了进来，扭动着双手喊道：
“那个小畜生差点*了我。我要求把它关起来。我可以控告你，卡斯宾。我可以命令你把它消灭。”
与此同时，雷匹奇普也出现了。它手上拿着剑，胡须挓挲着，看上去很凶猛，但它还是与往常一样彬彬有礼。
“我请求诸位原谅，”它说，“尤其是女王陛下。如果早知道他会躲到这儿来，我就会找一个更合适的时机来教训他了。”
“到底是怎么回事儿？”埃德蒙问道。
情况是这样的，雷匹奇普总是嫌船的速度不够快，它喜欢坐在龙头旁边的防护墙上，遥望着东方的地平线，用自己尖细的吱吱声轻轻地唱着一首歌，那是林中仙女专门为它创作的。不管船怎样摇晃，它从来都不用扶什么东西，就能轻松自如地保持平衡。也许是那条拖到舷墙甲板里的长尾巴帮了它的大忙。船上的人都熟悉它这个习惯，水手们喜欢它这样做，因为在值班瞭望时，可以跟它聊聊天。尤斯塔斯到底为什么昏头昏脑地、跌跌撞撞地溜到前甲板上（他还不能在晃动的甲板上行走自如），我实在无可奉告。也许他希望能够看到陆地，也许他想在船上随便走走，顺手牵羊拿点什么东西。无论如何，看见那条垂下来的长尾巴——可能那相当具有诱惑力——他心里想道，如果能一把抓住这条尾巴，将雷匹奇普头朝下甩上一两圈，自己再大笑着跑开，那可就太妙了。一开始，这个计划似乎非常奏效。老鼠并不比一只大猫重多少，一眨眼的工夫，尤斯塔斯就把它从舷墙上拽了下来，嘴巴张着，四条腿伸开，看上去显得很傻（尤斯塔斯是这样认为的）。不幸的是，雷匹奇普曾经多次为了生存而战斗，因此它处变不惊，更没有忘记自己的武艺。当一只老鼠被人抓住尾巴在空中旋转时，抽出佩剑绝非易事，而它却做到了。随即，尤斯塔斯感到手上被什么刺了两下，火辣辣的痛，不由得松开了手中的尾巴。老鼠像个球似的在甲板上弹了一下，迅速爬起身来，面对着他，将一个又长又亮又尖像烤肉叉一样的东西对着他的腹部，来回舞动。（对于纳尼亚的老鼠来说，击打对方皮带以下的部位并不算犯规，因为它们够不着更高的部位。）
“住手，”尤斯塔斯唾沫四溅地嚷道，“走开。把那个东西拿走。那不安全。住手，听着。我要去告诉卡斯宾。我要让人给你套上个笼头，把你绑起来。”
“你为什么不拔出剑来，胆小鬼？”老鼠吱吱叫着，“亮出剑来比试一下，否则我要用剑身把你打成个染料铺。”
“我没有剑，”尤斯塔斯说，“我是个反战人士。我不主张打斗。”
“我能不能这样理解，”雷匹奇普说着，收起剑来，严厉地说，“你不打算给我一个满意的答复，对吗？”
“我不明白你的意思，”尤斯塔斯一边说着，一边捂着自己的手，“如果你连个玩笑都不懂的话，我再也不劳神跟你打交道了。”
“那你就挨一下，” 雷匹奇普嘴里数落着，“再来一下——教你懂礼貌——这一下是教你懂得尊重骑士——尊重老鼠——还有老鼠的尾巴——”每说一句，它就用剑身抽打尤斯塔斯一下。这把剑是矮人用钢铸造的，细长精巧，像桦树条一般柔韧坚实。尤斯塔斯（当然了）读书的学校没有体罚，所以这对于他是一种全新的体验。正是由于这个原故，虽然他晕船走路不稳当，却能一下子冲过前甲板，逃了出来，闯进船舱门——雷匹奇普在后面紧追不舍。的确，在尤斯塔斯看来，不论是那把剑，还是这番穷追猛打，都可以用如火如荼来形容，自己身上的感觉也可以说是火烧火燎。
解决这场纠纷并没有费多大劲儿。大家都以为，真的会有一场决斗。卡斯宾主动提出来，要借给尤斯塔斯一把剑；而德利尼安和埃德蒙则在商量，是否要以某种方式把他限制一下，因为他的个头比雷匹奇普占了很大的优势。这时，尤斯塔斯才面带愠色地表示了歉意，跟随着露西去把手洗干净，包扎起来，然后回到自己的铺位，小心翼翼地侧身躺下。
即一千二百多海里。——译者注
