《銀椅》第12章:地下世界的女王
TWO Earthmen entered, but instead of advancing into the room, they placed themselves one on each side of the door, and bowed deeply. They were followed immediately by the last person whom anyone had expected or wished to see: the Lady of the Green Kirtle, the Queen of Underland. She stood dead still in the doorway, and they could see her eyes moving as she took in the whole situation - the three strangers, the silver chair destroyed, and the Prince free, with his sword in his hand.
She turned very white; but Jill thought it was the sort of whiteness that comes over some people's faces not when they are frightened but when they are angry. For a moment the Witch fixed her eyes on the Prince, and there was murder in them. Then she seemed to change her mind.
"Leave us," she said to the two Earthmen. "And let none disturb us till I call, on pain of death." The gnomes padded away obediently, and the Witch-queen shut and locked the door.
"How now, my lord Prince," she said. "Has your nightly fit not yet come upon you, or is it over so soon? Why stand you here unbound? Who are these aliens? And is it they who have destroyed the chair which was your only safety?"
Prince Rilian shivered as she spoke to him. And no wonder: it is not easy to throw off in half an hour an enchantment which has made one a slave for ten years. Then, speaking with a great effort, he said:
"Madam, there will be no more need of that chair. And you, who have told me a hundred times how deeply you pitied me for the sorceries by which I was bound, will doubtless hear with joy that they are now ended for ever. There was, it seems, some small error in your Ladyship's way of treating them. These, my true friends, have delivered me. I am now in my right mind, and there are two things I will say to you. First - as for your Ladyship's design of putting me at the head of an army of Earthmen so that I may break out into the Overworld and there, by main force, make myself king over some nation that never did me wrong - murdering their natural lords and holding their throne as a bloody and foreign tyrant - now that I know myself, I do utterly abhor and renounce it as plain villainy. And second: I am the King's son of Narnia, Rilian, the only child of Caspian, Tenth of that name, whom some call Caspian the Seafarer. Therefore, Madam, it is my purpose, as it is also my duty, to depart suddenly from your Highness's court into my own country. Please it you to grant me and my friends safe conduct and a guide through your dark realm."
Now the Witch said nothing at all, but moved gently across the room, always keeping her face and eyes very steadily towards the Prince. When she had come to a little ark set in the wall not far from the fireplace, she opened it, and took out first a handful of a green powder. This she threw on the fire. It did not blaze much, but a very sweet and drowsy smell came from it. And all through the conversation which followed, that smell grew stronger, and filled the room, and made it harder to think. Secondly, she took out a musical instrument rather like a mandolin. She began to play it with her fingers - a steady, monotonous thrumming that you didn't notice after a few minutes. But the less you noticed it, the more it got into your brain and your blood. This also made it hard to think. After she had thrummed for a time (and the sweet smell was now strong) she began speaking in a sweet, quiet voice.
"Narnia?" she said. "Narnia? I have often heard your Lordship utter that name in your ravings. Dear Prince, you are very sick. There is no land called Narnia."
"Yes there is, though, Ma'am," said Puddleglum. "You see, I happen to have lived there all my life."
"Indeed," said the Witch. "Tell me, I pray you, where that country is?"
"Up there," said Puddleglum, stoutly, pointing overhead. "I - I don't know exactly where."
"How?" said the Queen, with a kind, soft, musical laugh. "Is there a country up among the stones and mortar of the roof?"
"No," said Puddleglum, struggling a little to get his breath. "It's in Overworld."
"And what, or where, pray is this . . . how do you call it. . . Overworld?"
"Oh, don't be so silly," said Scrubb, who was fighting hard against the enchantment of the sweet smell and the thrumming. "As if you didn't know! It's up above, up where you can see the sky and the sun and the stars. Why, you've been there yourself. We met you there."
"I cry you mercy, little brother," laughed the Witch (you couldn't have heard a lovelier laugh). "I have no memory of that meeting. But we often meet our friends in strange places when we dream. And unless all dreamed alike, you must not ask them to remember it."
"Madam," said the Prince sternly, "I have already told your Grace that I am the King's son of Narnia."
"And shalt be, dear friend," said the Witch in a soothing voice, as if she was humouring a child, "shalt be king of many imagined lands in thy fancies."
"We've been there, too," snapped Jill. She was very angry because she could feel enchantment getting hold of her every moment. But of course the very fact that she could still feel it, showed that it had not yet fully worked.
"And thou art Queen of Narnia too, I doubt not, pretty one," said the Witch in the same coaxing, half-mocking tone.
"I'm nothing of the sort," said Jill, stamping her foot. "We come from another world."
"Why, this is a prettier game than the other," said the Witch. "Tell us, little maid, where is this other world? What ships and chariots go between it and ours?"
Of course a lot of things darted into Jill's head at once: Experiment House, Adela Pennyfather, her own home, radio-sets, cinemas, cars, aeroplanes, ration-books, queues. But they seemed dim and far away. (Thrum thrum - thrum - went the strings of the Witch's instrument.) Jill couldn't remember the names of the things in our world. And this time it didn't come into her head that she was being enchanted, for now the magic was in its full strength; and of course, the more enchanted you get, the more certain you feel that you are not enchanted at all. She found herself saying (and at the moment it was a relief to say):
"No. I suppose that other world must be all a dream."
"Yes. It is all a dream," said the Witch, always thrumming.
"Yes, all a dream," said Jill.
"There never was such a world," said the Witch.
"No," said Jill and Scrubb, "never was such a world."
"There never was any world but mine," said the Witch.
"There never was any world but yours," said they.
Puddleglum was still fighting hard. "I don't know rightly what you all mean by a world," he said, talking like a man who hasn't enough air. "But you can play that fiddle till your fingers drop off, and still you won't make me forget Narnia; and the whole Overworld too. We'll never see it again, I shouldn't wonder. You may have blotted it out and turned it dark like this, for all I know. Nothing more likely. But I know I was there once. I've seen the sky full of stars. I've seen the sun coming up out of the sea of a morning and sinking behind the mountains at night. And I've seen him up in the midday sky when I couldn't look at him for brightness."
Puddleglum's words had a very rousing effect. The other three all breathed again and looked at one another like people newly awaked.
"Why, there it is!" cried the Prince. "Of course! The blessing of Aslan upon this honest Marsh-wiggle. We have all been dreaming, these last few minutes. How could we have forgotten it? Of course we've all seen the sun."
"By Jove, so we have!" said Scrubb. "Good for you, Puddleglum! You're the only one of us with any sense, I do believe."
Then came the Witch's voice, cooing softly like the voice of a wood-pigeon from the high elms in an old garden at three o'clock in the middle of a sleepy, summer afternoon; and it said:
"What is this sun that you all speak of? Do you mean anything by the word?"
"Yes, we jolly well do," said Scrubb.
"Can you tell me what it's like?" asked the Witch (thrum, thrum, thrum, went the strings).
"Please it your Grace," said the Prince, very coldly and politely. "You see that lamp. It is round and yellow and gives light to the whole room; and hangeth moreover from the roof. Now that thing which we call the sun is like the lamp, only far greater and brighter. It giveth light to the whole Overworld and hangeth in the sky."
"Hangeth from what, my lord?" asked the Witch; and then, while they were all still thinking how to answer her, she added, with another of her soft, silver laughs: "You see? When you try to think out clearly what this sun must be, you cannot tell me. You can only tell me it is like the lamp. Your sun is a dream; and there is nothing in that dream that was not copied from the lamp. The lamp is the real thing; the sun is but a tale, a children's story."
"Yes, I see now," said Jill in a heavy, hopeless tone. "It must be so." And while she said this, it seemed to her to be very good sense.
Slowly and gravely the Witch repeated, "There is no sun." And they all said nothing. She repeated, in a softer and deeper voice. "There is no sun." After a pause, and after a struggle in their minds, all four of them said together. "You are right. There is no sun." It was such a relief to give in and say it.
"There never was a sun," said the Witch.
"No. There never was a sun," said the Prince, and the Marsh-wiggle, and the children.
For the last few minutes Jill had been feeling that there was something she must remember at all costs. And now she did. But it was dreadfully hard to say it. She felt as if huge weights were laid on her lips. At last, with an effort that seemed to take all the good out of her, she said:
"There's Aslan."
"Aslan?" said the Witch, quickening ever so slightly the pace of her thrumming. "What a pretty name! What does it mean?"
"He is the great Lion who called us out of our own world," said Scrubb, "and sent us into this to find Prince Rilian."
"What is a lion?" asked the Witch.
"Oh, hang it all!" said Scrubb. "Don't you know? How can we describe it to her? Have you ever seen a cat?"
"Surely," said the Queen. "I love cats."
"Well, a lion is a little bit - only a little bit, mind you like a huge cat - with a mane. At least, it's not like a horse's mane, you know, it's more like a judge's wig. And it's yellow. And terrifically strong."
The Witch shook her head. "I see," she said, "that we should do no better with your lion, as you call it, than we did with your sun. You have seen lamps, and so you imagined a bigger and better lamp and called it the sun. You've seen cats, and now you want a bigger and better cat, and it's to be called a lion. Well, 'tis a pretty makebelieve, though, to say truth, it would suit you all better if you were younger. And look how you can put nothing into your make-believe without copying it from the real world, this world of mine, which is the only world. But even you children are too old for such play. As for you, my lord Prince, that art a man full grown, fie upon you! Are you not ashamed of such toys? Come, all of you. Put away these childish tricks. I have work for you all in the real world. There is no Narnia, no Overworld, no sky, no sun, no Aslan. And now, to bed all. And let us begin a wiser life tomorrow. But, first, to bed; to sleep; deep sleep, soft pillows, sleep without foolish dreams."
The Prince and the two children were standing with their heads hung down, their cheeks flushed, their eyes half closed; the strength all gone from them; the enchantment almost complete. But Puddleglum, desperately gathering all his strength, walked over to the fire. Then he did a very brave thing. He knew it wouldn't hurt him quite as much as it would hurt a human; for his feet (which were bare) were webbed and hard and coldblooded like a duck's. But he knew it would hurt him badly enough; and so it did. With his bare foot he stamped on the fire, grinding a large part of it into ashes on the flat hearth. And three things happened at once.
First, the sweet heavy smell grew very much less. For though the whole fire had not been put out, a good bit of it had, and what remained smelled very largely of burnt Marsh-wiggle, which is not at all an enchanting smell. This instantly made everyone's brain far clearer. The Prince and the children held up their heads again and opened their eyes.
Secondly, the Witch, in a loud, terrible voice, utterly different from all the sweet tones she had been using up till now, called out, "What are you doing? Dare to touch my fire again, mud-filth, and I'll turn the blood to fire inside your veins."
Thirdly, the pain itself made Puddleglum's head for a moment perfectly clear and he knew exactly what he really thought. There is nothing like a good shock of pain for dissolving certain kinds of magic.
"One word, Ma'am," he said, coming back from the fire; limping, because of the pain. "One word. All you've been saying is quite right, I shouldn't wonder. I'm a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won't deny any of what you said. But there's one thing more to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things - trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a playworld which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play-world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we're leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that's a small loss if the world's as dull a place as you say."
"Oh, hurrah! Good old Puddleglum!" cried Scrubb and Jill. But the Prince shouted suddenly, "Ware! Look to the Witch."
When they did look their hair nearly stood on end.
The instrument dropped from her hands. Her arms appeared to be fastened to her sides. Her legs were intertwined with each other, and her feet had disappeared. The long green train of her skirt thickened and grew solid, and seemed to be all one piece with the writhing green pillar of her interlocked legs. And that writhing green pillar was curving and swaying as if it had no joints, or else were all joints. Her head was thrown far back and while her nose grew longer and longer, every other part of her face seemed to disappear, except her eyes. Huge flaming eyes they were now, without brows or lashes. All this takes time to write down; it happened so quickly that there was only just time to see it. Long before there was time to do anything, the change was complete, and the great serpent which the Witch had become, green as poison, thick as Jill's waist, had flung two or three coils of its loathsome body round the Prince's legs. Quick as lightning another great loop darted round, intending to pinion his sword-arm to his side. But the Prince was just in time. He raised his arms and got them clear: the living knot closed only round his chest - ready to crack his ribs like firewood when it drew tight.
The Prince caught the creature's neck in his left hand, trying to squeeze it till it choked. This held its face (if you could call it a face) about five inches from his own. The forked tongue flickered horribly in and out, but could not reach him. With his right hand he drew back his sword for the strongest blow he could give. Meanwhile Scrubb and Puddleglum had drawn their weapons and rushed to his aid. All three blows fell at once: Scrubb's (which did not even pierce the scales and did no good) on the body of the snake below the Prince's hand, but the Prince's own blow and Puddleglum's both on its neck. Even that did not quite kill it, though it began to loosen its hold on Rilian's legs and chest. With repeated blows they hacked off its head. The horrible thing went on coiling and moving like a bit of wire long after it had died; and the floor, as you may imagine, was a nasty mess.
The Prince, when he had breath, said, "Gentlemen, I thank you." Then the three conquerors stood staring at one another and panting, without another word, for a long time. Jill had very wisely sat down and was keeping quiet; she was saying to herself, "I do hope I don't faint or blub - or do anything idiotic."
"My royal mother is avenged," said Rilian presently. "This is undoubtedly the same worm that I pursued in vain by the fountain in the forest of Narnia, so many years ago. All these years I have been the slave of my mother's slayer. Yet I am glad, gentlemen, that the foul Witch took to her serpent form at the last. It would not have suited well either with my heart or with my honour to have slain a woman. But look to the lady." He meant Jill.
"I'm all right, thanks," said she.
"Damsel," said the Prince, bowing to her. "You are of a high courage, and therefore, I doubt not, you come of a noble blood in your own world. But come, friends. Here is some wine left. Let us refresh ourselves and each pledge his fellows. After that, to our plans."
"A jolly good idea, Sir," said Scrubb.
她臉色發白，但吉爾認爲這種白不是有些人受驚時那種白，而是憤怒時的那種白。女巫盯着王子看了一會兒，眼神殺氣騰騰，隨後她似乎改了主意。“下去吧，”她對兩個地下人說。“不準讓人來打擾我們，違反命令一律處死。”小精靈乖乖地輕輕走掉了，巫婆女王把門關上，鎖好。“怎麼回事，王子殿下，”她說，“你每晚都要發作，現在還沒發作嗎?還是一下子發過就好了?你怎麼沒綁上就站在這兒?這些外人是誰呀?是他們把你惟一的救命椅子毀了嗎?”
她跟瑞廉王子說話的時候，他打了個哆嗦。這也難怪，要在半小時之內擺脫一種使人當了十年奴隸的魔法可不容易。因此，他費了好大的勁才說：
“夫人，那把椅子已經用不着了。你曾經幹百次告訴過我，你是多麼深切地憐憫我受到魔法禁錮，你聽到這魔法如今已經永遠完蛋，無疑也會高興的。看來，夫人對待這消息的方式似乎有點不大對頭。是我這些真誠的朋友解救了我。我現在頭腦清醒了，有兩件事我要告訴你。首先——說到夫人設計的讓我率領一支地下人的軍隊，以便破土而出到上面世界去，全靠武力讓我在一個從來沒有對不起我的國家裏當國王——殺害他們原來的貴族，像個殘忍的外國暴君那樣霸佔他們的王位——如今我清醒了，我絕對憎惡和放棄這種十足的罪惡勾當。其次，我是納尼亞國王的兒子，瑞廉，人稱航海家凱斯賓，凱斯賓十世的獨子。夫人，因此，突然離開陛下的宮廷回到我自己的國家是我的目的，也是我的責任。請你授予我和我的朋友安全通行證，並派一個嚮導領我們通過你的黑暗王國。”
這會兒女巫一言不發，只是輕輕穿過房間，臉和眼睛始終牢牢對着王子。她來到火爐邊不遠，牆上一套小櫃子旁邊，打開櫃子，拿出一把綠色的粉末，把粉末撒在火上。那粉末不大發光，只發出一股讓人昏昏欲睡的香味。接下來大家談話時，那股氣味一直越來越濃，瀰漫在整個房間裏，使人動不了腦筋。其次，她拿出一件類似曼陀林的樂器。開始用手指彈着樂器——一種沒有變化、單調的噔噔聲，開頭一會兒你並不在意，但你越不去注意這聲音，這聲音卻越鑽到你腦子裏和血液裏。這也使你動不了腦筋。她這麼彈了一陣子(那股香味兒也更濃了)，就開始用一副甜蜜、沉着的嗓音說話。
“納尼亞?”她說，
“納尼亞?我常常聽見殿下說胡話時提到那個名字。親愛的王子，你病重了。根本沒有叫納尼亞的地方。”
“可是，夫人，有這塊地方，”普德格倫說，“你瞧，我恰巧一輩子都住在那兒。”
“真的啊，”女巫說，“那麼請你告訴我，那個國家在什麼地方?”
“在上面，”普德格倫說着頑強地指着頭頂上，“我——我不知道究竟在哪兒。”
“怎麼?”女王說着發出一串親切、柔和、美妙動聽的笑聲，“在上面的石頭和屋頂的灰泥當中有個國家?”
“不，”普德格倫掙扎了一陣才恢復正常，“是在上面世界。”
“那麼請告訴我……你怎麼叫它上面世界，是怎麼回事，在哪兒?”
“哦，別犯傻了，”斯克羅布說，他一直在拼命跟那股香味和噔噔聲的魔法鬥，“好像你不知道似的!那世界在上面，在你能看得見天，看得見太陽和星星的地方。咦，你自己也到上面去過，我們在那兒遇見過你。”
“請原諒，小兄弟，”女巫笑了(你從來沒聽到過比這更可愛的笑聲)，“我可記不得這次見面。但我們做夢時常常在希奇古怪的地方遇見我們的朋友。除非所有的夢全都一樣，你不能要求人家記住夢。”
“夫人，”王子堅定地說，“我已經告訴你了，我就是納尼亞國王的兒子。”
“將來會的，親愛的朋友，”女巫用安慰的聲音說話，像是在哄孩子，“在你幻想中會成爲很多想像中地方的國王。”
“我們也到過那兒。”吉爾厲聲說。她能感覺到魔法正逐漸在控制她，所以很生氣。但從她還能感覺到這事實來看，當然說明魔法還沒有完全起作用。
“那麼我確信你也是納尼亞的女王了，小美人。”女巫用同樣哄騙、半帶嘲弄的口氣說。
“我可不是那種人，”吉爾頓着腳說，“我們是另一個世界的人。”
“咦，這個遊戲比另一個遊戲更有趣了，”女巫說，“告訴我們，小姑娘，另一個世界在哪兒?你們的世界和我們的世界之間來往乘什麼船和車?”
吉爾腦子裏當然立刻就出現了好多東西：實驗學校、阿黛拉;潘尼法瑟、她自己的家、收音機、電影院、汽車、飛機、配給供應車、排隊。但這些事都模模糊糊，在很遠很遠的地方(噔——噔——噔，那女巫的樂器一直響個不停)，吉爾想不起我們世界裏那些東西的名字了。這回她沒想到自己中了魔法，因爲魔法已經充分發揮作用。當然，你入魔越深，你就根本感覺不到自己中了魔法。她不知不覺中竟說(當時那麼說了，倒鬆了一口氣)：;
“不。我猜想那另外的世界一定完全是個夢。”
“是啊。那完全是個夢。”女巫說着手裏一直噔噔地彈着。
“是啊，完全是個夢。”吉爾說。
“從來沒有那麼個世界。”女巫說。
“對，”吉爾和斯克羅布說，“從來沒有那麼個世界。”
“除了我的世界根本沒有任何別的世界。”女巫說。
“除了你的世界根本沒有任何別的世界。”他們說。
普德格倫仍然在苦苦搏鬥。“我不大明白你們大家說的只有一個世界是什麼意思，”它說，說話那模樣就像一個人得不到充足的空氣一樣，“但你儘管把那琴彈到手指掉下來，還是不能讓我忘記納尼亞和整個的上面世界。我們再也看不見這些了，這我不奇怪。你不妨把這些一筆抹殺，讓這些都變得這麼黑，誰知道呢。很有可能吧。但我知道我曾經到過那兒。我看到過滿是星星的天空。我看到過早上太陽從海上升起，晚上在羣山後面落下。我還看見過正午天空的太陽，亮得我不敢正眼看着它。”
普德格倫的話起到令人十分振奮的效果。另外三個人全都重新呼吸，彼此對望着，就像人們剛剛醒來一樣。
“咦，是啊，”王子叫道，“阿斯蘭保佑這個正直的沼澤怪。剛纔這幾分鐘，我們全在做夢。我們怎麼能忘記呢?當然我們全見過太陽。”“天哪，我們都見過的，”斯克羅布說，“好樣的，普德格倫!我真的相信你是我們當中惟一有點頭腦的。”'
接着女巫開口了，聲音很柔，同寂靜的夏日下午三點鐘，從老花園裏高高的榆樹上發出的野鴿子叫聲一樣低柔：
她說：
“你們大家說到的太陽是什麼呀?你們那個字眼是有什麼意思的吧?”
“是啊，完全有的。”斯克羅布說。
“你能告訴我那是什麼樣子的嗎?”女巫問道(噔，噔，噔，琴絃還在響)。
“遵命，陛下，”王子十分冷淡而有禮貌地說，“你看看那盞燈。燈是圓的，黃色的，給整個房間帶來了光。而且是在屋頂上掛着。這會兒我們稱之爲太陽的東西正像這盞燈，只是太陽大得多，也亮得多。它照亮整個上面世界，而且在天上掛着。”
“在什麼地方掛着，殿下?”女巫問道，隨後，在他們大家還在想着怎麼回答她的時候，她又發出一陣銀鈴似的柔和笑聲，加了一句，“瞧，你們都在拼命想弄明白這個太陽該是個什麼東西，可你們卻說不出來。你們只能告訴我太陽就像燈。你們的太陽是個夢；夢裏的東西沒一樣不是模仿這燈的。燈是件真正的東西；太陽只是個故事，是童話。”
“是啊，現在我明白了，”吉爾說話聲調沉重，絕望，“一定是這麼回事。”她這麼說的時候，似乎這話對她還是很有道理的。
女巫沉着地慢慢重複說道：“沒有太陽。”他們都一聲不吭。她聲音更柔和更深沉地重複着。“沒有太陽。”歇了一會兒，他們四個心裏掙扎了一番之後一起說道，“你說得對，沒有太陽。”他們屈服了，說了這句話好像鬆了一口氣。
“從來就沒有過太陽。”女巫說。
“對，從來就沒有太陽。”王子、沼澤怪和兩個孩子說道。
剛纔這幾分鐘裏吉爾一直覺得有什麼事她無論如何得想出來。如今她想起來了。但要說出口可真難哪。她只覺得嘴脣上好沉好沉。她終於用盡全身力量說道：
“有阿斯蘭。”
“阿斯蘭?”女巫說着稍稍加快了噔噔噔的拍子，“多好聽的名字!那是什麼意思?”
“他是偉大的獅王，他把我們從我們自己的世界裏叫出來，”斯克羅布說，“派我們到這兒來找瑞廉王子。”
“獅子是什麼?”女巫問。
“啊呀，見鬼!”斯克羅布說，“難道你不知道?我們怎麼才能對她形容獅子呢?你見過貓嗎?”
“當然，”女王說，“我喜歡貓。”
“好吧，一隻獅子就有點——聽着，只有一點兒——像一隻大貓——還有鬃毛。至少，它不像馬鬃，你知道，更像法官的假髮。鬃毛是黃的。而且非常強壯。”
女巫搖搖頭。“我明白了，”她說，“我們看你們稱之爲獅子跟你們的太陽都是一回事。你們看見過燈，於是你們想像出一個更大更好的燈，把它叫做太陽。你們見過貓，現在你們想要一隻更大更好的貓，你們就叫它做獅子。好了，這都是有趣的想像。不過，老實說，要是你們年紀小一點，這樣說說會更合適些。瞧你們不從我這個真正的世界裏偷學些什麼，你們又怎麼能想像得出呢，我這個世界纔是惟一的世界。但即使是你們兩個孩子玩這套遊戲也太大了。至於你，王子殿下，你是個成年人了，真虧你做得出!你玩這種玩意兒就不害臊嗎?來吧，你們大夥兒。把這套孩子氣的把戲收起來。在真正的世界裏，我有活兒給你們大家幹。沒有什麼納尼亞，沒有上面的世界，沒有天空，沒有太陽，沒有阿斯蘭。現在大家都上牀去吧。讓我們明天開始過得更懂事吧。
但首先是上牀、睡覺，睡得熟熟的，軟軟的枕頭，好好睡一覺，不做荒唐的夢。”
王子和兩個孩子站在那兒，搭拉着腦袋，臉蛋紅紅的，眼睛半開半閉；他們渾身無力，魔法幾乎就大功告成了。不料普德格倫拼命鼓起全身力量，走到火爐邊。接着它幹了一件非常勇敢的事。它知道火會燒傷它，但不會像燒傷人那麼嚴重。因爲它光着的腳像鴨子一樣有蹼，又硬，而且又是冷血的。但它知道火也會把它燒得夠嗆；果然如此。它光着腳就去踩火，把淺淺的爐牀裏的大部分火都碾成了灰。這一來立刻就發生了三件事。
第一，那股又香又濃的味道大爲減少。因爲儘管火還沒完全撲滅，也已經滅了一大半，而且留下了沼澤怪燒傷的濃烈焦臭味，那就完全不是魔法的氣味了。這一下頓時使每個人的腦子都清醒多了。王子和兩個孩子又擡起頭，睜開了眼睛。
第二，女巫一反剛纔一直用的甜言蜜語聲調，扯起嗓門，怪嚇人地大聲叫道，“你幹什麼?再敢碰碰我的火，髒泥巴，我要把你血管裏的血燒起來。”
第三，疼痛使普德格倫的頭腦一時完全清醒了，它完全知道自己真正的想法。要解除一種魔法，沒有比疼痛的強烈刺激更管用的了。
“再說一句，夫人，”它說着從火爐邊走回來，因爲腳痛，走路一瘸一拐，“再說一句。你剛纔說的一切都很對，這我不奇怪。但我這傢伙一向喜歡知道最壞的情況，然後儘量往好處想。因此我不否認你說的一切。但即使如此，也還得再說上一句。假定我們只是夢見，或者說捏造出了那一切——樹木啊，草地啊，太陽啊，月亮啊，星星啊，還有阿斯蘭本身。假定這都是我們夢見的。那麼我能說的一切就是，既然那樣，那捏造出來的東西似乎比真正的東西重要得多。假定你這個王國的黑洞就是惟一世界的話。咳，那我可覺得是一個挺可憐的世界。想起這點來倒也有趣。要是你說得對，我們只是些小娃娃，湊起來玩遊戲。但四個小娃娃玩的遊戲能成爲一個遊戲世界，把你那真正的世界打得落花流水。那就是我忠於遊戲世界的原因。即使沒有阿斯蘭來領導這個世界，我也站在阿斯蘭一邊。即使沒有納尼亞這個地方，我也要儘量像一個納尼亞人那樣生活。所以，感謝你好意招待我們吃晚飯，要是這兩位先生和小姐準備好了，我們立刻就離開你的王宮，在黑暗中出發，去爲尋找上面的世界奉獻一生。我想，這並不是說我們的一生會過得很長，但要是這個世界就像你說的這樣沉悶，那麼這也不是什麼大損失。”
“哦，好哇，普德格倫真是好樣的!”斯克羅布和吉爾大聲叫道。但王子突然嚷起來：“小心!看那女巫!”
大家一看頓時毛骨悚然。
那個樂器已經從她手裏掉了下來。她兩條胳臂似乎緊緊貼在身體兩側。兩條腿纏在一起，腳已經不見了。長長的綠裙裙襬變厚，變成了實心的，似乎跟兩根連在一起的腿擰成一根蠕動的綠柱子。而那根蠕動的綠柱子正歪歪扭扭，搖搖擺擺，彷彿渾身沒有關節，要不然就是渾身都是關節。她的腦袋遠遠朝後仰着，鼻子變得越來越長，臉上除了眼睛以外，其他部分似乎都不見了。這會兒只見兩隻火紅的大眼晴，沒有眉毛也沒有睫毛。所有這一切寫下來雖很費時間，但事情發生得那麼快，差點看都來不及看。他們還沒工夫動手幹什麼，女巫早就變成了一條大毒蛇，像毒藥一樣綠幽幽，有吉爾的腰那麼粗，已經把它那令人噁心的身體在王子腿上繞了兩三圈。另外一大圈也像閃電般衝上來，打算把王子拿劍的那條胳臂貼身捆住。但王子正好及時舉起了雙臂，沒給纏上。那活結只纏到他胸脯——準備收緊後把王子的肋骨當木柴般弄斷。
王子左手抓住蛇頸，拼命想把它掐悶。這一下抓得蛇臉(要是能稱作臉的話)離他的臉大約只有五英寸了。那根開叉的舌頭嚇人地不停吐出縮進，但夠不着王子。他又舉起右手，抽出劍，使勁劈下去。同時普德格倫和斯克羅布也都抽出武器，衝上去幫助他。一下子就向蛇刺了三下。斯克羅布那一下刺在王子手下面的蛇身上(他連蛇鱗也沒刺穿，毫無用處)，不過王子本人和普德格倫那一下都刺中了蛇頸。
即使如此，也還沒有殺死它，可是繞在瑞廉腿上和胸脯上的蛇身卻開始鬆動了。他們接連又刺了好多下，才把蛇頭砍掉。那可怕的怪物死後還在繼續盤繞扭動，就像一根電線一樣。你們也不難想像地板上已經弄得一團糟了。9
但等王子緩過氣來，才說：“感謝諸位。”於是這三個勝利者站在那兒，面面相覷，喘着粗氣，久久說不出一句話。吉爾已經很聰明地坐下了，一聲不吭。她心裏正在嘀咕：“我真希望自己別昏過去——也別哭——別幹什麼傻事。”.
“我母后的仇報了，”一會兒瑞廉說，“這條蛇無疑就是我多年前在納尼亞森林噴泉邊白白追捕的那條。這些年來我競成了殺害我母親的兇手的奴隸。可是我很高興，諸位，這惡毒的女巫終於現出了她毒蛇的原形。否則殺掉一個女人跟我的良心或榮譽都不大相稱。不過照料一下這位小姐吧。”他指的是吉爾。
“我沒事兒，謝謝。”她說。
“小姐，”王子說着對她鞠了一躬，“你非常勇敢，因此，我深信你出身於你們自己的世界裏的高貴門第。啊，來吧，朋友們，這兒還剩下一點酒，我們喝一點，爲大夥兒乾杯。過後我們再想想辦法。”
“好主意，殿下。”斯克羅布說。
