《魔法師的外甥》第24期:安德魯舅舅的麻煩開始了(1)

Chapter 6 The Beginning of Uncle Andrew's Troubles

"LET go! Let go!" screamed Polly.

"I'm not touching you!" said Digory.

Then their heads came out of the pool and, once more, the sunny quietness of the Wood between the Worlds was all about them, and it seemed richer and warmer and more peaceful than ever after the staleness and ruin of the place they had just left. I think that, if they had been given the chance, they would again have forgotten who they were and where they came from and would have lain down and enjoyed themselves, half asleep, listening to the growing of the trees. But this time there was something that kept them as wide-awake as possible: for as soon as they had got out on to the grass, they found that they were not alone. The Queen, or the Witch (whichever you like to call her) had come up with them, holding on fast by Polly's hair. That was why Polly had been shouting out "Let go!"

This proved, by the way, another thing about the rings which Uncle Andrew hadn't told Digory because he didn't know it himself. In order to jump from world to world by one of those rings you don't need to be wearing or touching it yourself; it is enough if you are touching someone who is touching it. In that way they work like a magnet; and everyone knows that if you pick up a pin with a magnet, any other pin which is touching the first pin will come too.

Now that you saw her in the wood, Queen Jadis looked different. She was much paler than she had been; so pale that hardly any of her beauty was left. And she was stooped and seemed to be finding it hard to breathe, as if the air of that place stifled her. Neither of the children felt in the least afraid of her now.

"Let go! Let go of my hair," said Polly. "What do you mean by it?"

"Here! Let go of her hair. At once," said Digory.

They both turned and struggled with her. They were stronger than she and in a few seconds they had forced her to let go. She reeled back, panting, and there was a look of terror in her eyes.

第6章 安德魯舅舅的麻煩開始了

“放開！放開！”，波莉尖聲喊着。

“我沒碰你。”迪格雷說。

腦袋一出水潭，他們便再次來到各個世界之間的樹林，置身於陽光明媚的寧靜之中。剛剛離開那個陳腐、荒蕪的地方，這片樹林似乎比以前更顯得青翠、溫暖和安詳。我想，如果可能的話，他們又會忘記自己是誰，從哪兒來，然後躺下，聆聽樹木的生長，朦朦朧朧地享受快樂。然而．這次，他們不得不努力保持着清醒：因爲一到草地上，他們就發現，不光是他們兩人，那個女王，或女巫（不管你叫她什麼），也跟着來了，仍然緊緊地抓住波莉的頭髮。怪不得剛纔波莉大喊“放開！”

順便說說，這也證明了戒指的另一種作用，安德魯舅舅沒有告訴迪格雷，他自己也不知道。要想靠那些戒指從一個世界到另一個世界，不需要戴上或親手觸摸戒指，只要觸摸一個能觸摸到戒指的人就行了。這很像磁鐵。人人都知道，如果用一塊磁鐵拾一根別針，碰到這根別針的其他別針也會被吸起來。

現在，樹林中的簡蒂絲女王完全變了。臉色比以前蒼白得多，她的美貌幾乎一點兒也不存在了。她好像呼吸困難似的彎卜腰去，那畢的空氣彷彿使她感到窒息。兩個孩子一點兒也不怕她了。

“放開！放開我的頭髮。”波莉說，“你想幹什麼？”

“聽着！放開她的頭髮，馬上放開！”迪格雷說。

兩人轉過身，與她廝打起來。他們比她強壯，很快就迫使她鬆開了手。她喘着氣，搖晃若向後退去，眼晴裏露出恐懼的神色。