《凱斯賓王子》第3章:小矮人

THE worst of sleeping out of doors is that you wake up so dreadfully early. And when you wake you have to get up because the ground is so hard that you are uncomfortable. And it makes matters worse if there is

nothing but apples for breakfast and you have had nothing but apples for supper the night before. When Lucy had said - truly enough that it was a glorious morning, there did not seem to be anything else nice to be said. Edmund said what everyone was feeling, "We've simply got to get off this island."

When they had drunk from the well and splashed their faces they all went down the stream again to the shore and stared at the channel which divided them from the mainland.

"We'll have to swim," said Edmund.

"It would be all right for Su," said Peter (Susan had won prizes for swimming at school). "But I don't know about the rest of us." By "the rest of us" he really meant Edmund who couldn't yet do two lengths at the school baths, and Lucy, who could hardly swim at all.

"Anyway," said Susan, "there may be currents. Father says it's never wise to bathe in a place you don't know."

"But, Peter," said Lucy, "look here. I know I can't swim for nuts at home - in England, I mean. But couldn't we all swim long ago - if it was long ago - when we were Kings and Queens in Narnia? We could ride then too, and do all sorts of things. Don't you think -?"

"Ah, but we were sort of grown-up then," said Peter.

"We reigned for years and years and learned to do things. Aren't we just back at our proper ages again now?"

"Oh!" said Edmund in a voice which made everyone stop talking and listen to him.

"I've just seen it all," he said.

"Seen what?" asked Peter.

"Why, the whole thing," said Edmund. "You know what we were puzzling about last night, that it was only a year ago since we left Narnia but everything looks as if no one had lived in Cair Paravel for hundreds of years?

Well, don't you see? You know that, however long we seemed to have lived in Narnia, when we got back through the wardrobe it seemed to have taken no time at all?"

"Go on," said Susan. "I think I'm beginning to understand."

"And that means," continued Edmund, "that, once you're out of Narnia, you have no idea how Narnian time is going. Why shouldn't hundreds of years have gone past in Narnia while only one year has passed for us in

England?"

"By Jove, Ed," said Peter. "I believe you've got it. In that sense it really was hundreds of years ago that we lived in Cair Paravel. And now we're coming back to Narnia just as if we were Crusaders or Anglo-Saxons or

Ancient Britons or someone coming back to modern England?"

"How excited they'll be to see us -" began Lucy, but at the same moment everyone else said, "Hush!" or "Look!" For now something was happening.

There was a wooded point on the mainland a little to their right, and they all felt sure that just beyond that point must be the mouth of the river. And now, round that point there came into sight a boat. When it had cleared the point, it turned and began coming along the channel towards them. There were two people on board, one rowing, the other sitting in the stern and holding a bundle that twitched and moved as if it were alive. Both these people seemed to be soldiers. They had steel caps on their heads and light shirts of chain-mail. Their faces were bearded and hard. The children drew back from the beach into the wood and watched without moving a finger.

"This'll do," said the soldier in the stern when the boat had come about opposite to them.

"What about tying a stone to his feet, Corporal?" said the other, resting on his oars.

"Garn!" growled the other. "We don't need that, and we haven't brought one. He'll drown sure enough without a stone, as long as we've tied the cords right." With these words he Rose and lifted his bundle. Peter now saw that it was really alive and was in fact a Dwarf, bound hand and foot but struggling as hard as he could. Next moment he heard a twang just beside his ear, and all at once the soldier threw up his arms, dropping the Dwarf into the bottom of the boat, and fell over into the water. He floundered away to the far bank and Peter knew that Susan's arrow had struck on his helmet. He turned and saw that she was very pale but was already fitting a second arrow to the string. But it was never used. As soon as he saw his companion fall, the other soldier, with a loud cry, jumped out of the boat on the far side, and lie also floundered through the water (which was apparently just in his depth) and disappeared into the woods of the mainland.

"Quick! Before she drifts!" shouted Peter. He and Susan, fully dressed as they were, plunged in, and before the water was up to their shoulders their hands were on the side of the boat. In a few seconds they had hauled her to the bank and lifted the Dwarf out, and Edmund was busily engaged in cutting his bonds with the pocket knife. (Peter's sword would have been sharper, but a sword is very inconvenient for this sort of work because you can't hold it anywhere lower than the hilt.) When at last the Dwarf was free, he sat up, rubbed his arms and legs, and exclaimed:

"Well, whatever they say, you don't feel like ghosts."

Like most Dwarfs he was very stocky and deep-chested. He would have been about three feet high if he had been standing up, and an immense beard and whiskers of coarse red hair left little of his face to be seen except a beak-like nose and twinkling black eyes.

"Anyway," he continued, "ghosts or not, you've saved my life and I'm extremely obliged to you."

"But why should we be ghosts?" asked Lucy.

"I've been told all my life," said the Dwarf, "that these woods along the shore were as full of ghosts as they were of trees. That's what the story is. And that's why, when they want to get rid of anyone, they usually bring him down here (like they were doing with me) and say they'll leave him to the ghosts. But I always wondered if they didn't really drown 'em or cut their throats. I never quite believed in the ghosts. But those two cowards you've just shot believed all right. They were more frightened of taking me to my death than I was of going!"

"Oh," said Susan. "So that's why they both ran away."

"Eh? What's that?" said the Dwarf.

"They got away," said Edmund. "To the mainland."

"I wasn't shooting to kill, you know," said Susan. She would not have liked anyone to think she could miss at such a short range.

"Hm," said the Dwarf. "That's not so good. That may mean trouble later on. Unless they hold their tongues for their own sake."

"What were they going to drown you for?" asked Peter.

"Oh, I'm a dangerous criminal, I am," said the Dwarf cheerfully. "But that's a long story. Meantime, I was wondering if perhaps you were going to ask me to breakfast? You've no idea what an appetite it gives one, being executed."

"There's only apples," said Lucy dolefully.

"Better than nothing, but not so good as fresh fish," said the Dwarf. "It looks as if I'll have to ask you to breakfast instead. I saw some fishing tackle in that boat. And anyway, we must take her round to the other side of the island. We don't want anyone from the mainland coming down and seeing her."

"I ought to have thought of that myself," said Peter.

The four children and the Dwarf went down to the water's edge, pushed off the boat with some difficulty, and scrambled aboard. The Dwarf at once took charge. The oars were of course too big for him to use, so Peter rowed and the Dwarf steered them north along the channel and presently eastward round the tip of the island. From here the children could see right up the river, and all the bays and headlands of the coast beyond it.

They thought they could recognize bits of it, but the woods, which had grown up since their time, made everything look very different.

When they had come round into open sea on the east of the island, the Dwarf took to fishing. They had an excellent catch of pavenders, a beautiful rainbow-coloured fish which they all remembered eating in Cair Paravel in the old days. When they had caught enough they ran the boat up into a little creek and moored her to a tree. The Dwarf, who was a most capable person (and, indeed, though one meets bad Dwarfs, I never heard of a Dwarf who was a fool), cut the fish open, cleaned them, and said:

"Now, what we want next is some firewood."

"We've got some up at the castle," said Edmund.

The Dwarf gave a low whistle. "Beards and bedsteads!" he said. "So there really is a castle, after all?"

"It's only a ruin," said Lucy.

The Dwarf stared round at all four of them with a very curious expression on his face. "And who on earth - ?" he began, but then broke off and said, "No matter. Breakfast first. But one thing before we go on. Can you lay your hand on your hearts and tell me I'm really alive? Are you sure I wasn't drowned and we're not all ghosts together?"

When they had all reassured him, the next question was how to carry the fish. They had nothing to string them on and no basket. They had to use Edmund's hat in the end because no one else had a hat. He would have

made much more fuss about this if he had not by now been so ravenously hungry.

At first the Dwarf did not seem very comfortable in the castle. He kept looking round and sniffing and saying, "H'm. Looks a bit spooky after all. Smells like ghosts, too." But he cheered up when it came to lighting the fire and showing them how to roast the fresh pavenders in the embers. Eating hot fish with no forks, and one pocket knife between five people, is a messy business and there were several burnt fingers before the meal was ended; but, as it was now nine o'clock and they had been up since five, nobody minded the burns so much as you might have expected. When everyone had finished off with a drink from the well and an apple or so, the Dwarf produced a pipe about the size of his own arm, filled it, lit it, blew a great cloud of fragrant smoke, and said, "Now."

"You tell us your story first," said Peter. "And then we'll tell you ours."

"Well," said the Dwarf, "as you've saved my life it is only fair you should have your own way. But I hardly know where to begin. First of all I'm a messenger of King Caspian's."

"Who's he?" asked four voices all at once.

"Caspian the Tenth, King of Narnia, and long may he reign!" answered the Dwarf. "That is to say, he ought to be King of Narnia and we hope he will be. At present he is only King of us Old Narnians - "

"What do you mean by old Narnians, please?" asked Lucy.

"Why, that's us," said the Dwarf. "We're a kind of rebellion, I suppose."

"I see," said Peter. "And Caspian is the chief Old Narnian."

"Well, in a manner of speaking," said the Dwarf, scratching his head. "But he's really a New Narnian himself, a Telmarine, if you follow me."

"I don't," said Edmund.

"It's worse than the Wars of the Roses," said Lucy.

"Oh dear," said the Dwarf. "I'm doing this very badly. Look here: I think I'll have to go right back to the beginning and tell you how Caspian grew up in his uncle's court and how he comes to be on our side at all. But it'll be a long story."

"All the better," said Lucy. "We love stories."

So the Dwarf settled down and told his tale. I shall not give it to you in his words, putting in all the children's questions and interruptions, because it would take too long and be confusing, and, even so, it would leave out some points that the children only heard later. But the gist of the story, as they knew it in the end, was as follows.

露宿最糟糕的是一大清早你就醒過來了，而且一旦醒來就非得起身不可，因爲地面太硬，你覺得很不舒服。可是，早餐除了蘋果之外什麼也沒有，在前一天的晚餐也只是蘋果的情況下，這就更糟。當露茜說這是個燦爛的早晨時(她的話完全正確)，似乎沒有什麼別的恰當的話可說了。還是愛德蒙說出了大夥兒的心裏話……我們必須儘快離開這個小島。"
他們在井邊喝足了水，草草地洗了把臉，然後便順着小溪走向下游。他們來到海岸邊，久久地凝視着海峽，正是這海峽把他們與大陸分開了。
"我們只有游過去。"愛德蒙說。
"蘇沒有問題。"彼得說。(她在學校時就曾獲得游泳獎牌。)……可是，我不知道咱們幾個怎麼樣。"他說的"咱們幾個"其實是指愛德蒙和露茜。愛德蒙至今在學校的游泳池裏遊不了一個來田，而露茜簡直就不會遊。!
蘇珊說"海里也許有漩渦爸爸說在一個不熟悉的地方游泳是危險的。"
"可是，彼得，"露茜說，"在家裏我的確不會游泳，可是在納尼亞我們不是都已學會了嗎？——那時我們還會騎馬，還學會了做其他的事情。你不認爲…？
"啊，那時我們都是成年人。"彼得說，"我們治理國家許多年，的確學會了做很多事情。可現在已經時過境遷了。"
"現在我纔算明白過來了。""明白什麼了？”彼得問。
"當然是明白所發生的這一切啦。"愛德蒙激動地說，
"你們說昨天晚上最使我感到迷惑不解的是什麼？我們離開納尼亞纔不過一年，凱爾帕拉維爾卻好像已經有幾百年沒人住過了。怎麼，還沒明白過來？你們知道，無論在納尼亞住多麼久，對我們自己那個世界來說，都不過是一瞬間的事。"
"說下去，"蘇珊說，"我想我已經開始明白了。"
"這就是說，"愛德蒙繼續說道，"一旦你離開了納尼亞，你就失去了那裏的時間概念。我們在英國過了一年，而在納尼亞就可能已經過了幾百年呢！”
"好傢伙，愛德，"彼得興奮起來，"我相信你說得對。
這麼說來，我們住在凱爾帕拉維爾竟是幾百年以前的事情了！現在我們重返納尼亞，就像是十字軍的戰士，或者盎格魯－撒克遜人，或者古代的英國人重返現代的英國一樣！”
"要是過去的朋友看到我們，該會多麼激動，多麼——"露茜話沒說完，就被打斷了。"噓！”“看！”三個夥伴說，因爲這時發生了一件事情。
海峽對面，在他們現在的位置稍微向右一點兒，有一隻樹林，他們都確信河口就在那片林子的另一側。這時，從權林後面劃出一條小船，順着海峽朝他們這個方向駛來。船上有兩個人，一個划槳，另一個坐在船尾，用於使勁抓着一個什麼東西，那東西一個勁地扭動着，好像是活的。那兩個人看樣子是大兵：他們身穿盔甲，滿臉鬍鬚，相貌兇悍冷酷。孩子們從海岸上退回到樹林中，緊張地注視着他們。'
"這兒就行。"坐在船尾的那個人說。這時候小船正好停在孩子們對面。
"在他腳上捆一塊石頭怎麼樣，頭兒？"另一個停下了手中的槳。
"混蛋，"船尾那人粗魯地怪聲說，"用不着口再說咱們也沒帶石頭來。沒問題，只要咱們把繩子綁緊些，不用石頭也能淹死他。"說着，他站起身來，提起了那捆東西。彼得這時看清了，那是一個小矮人，他的手腳都被捆住了，但仍在不停地奮力掙扎。突然，彼得聽到耳邊。翁的一聲響，只見那領頭的揚起雙臂，把小矮人摔在小船的底板上，他自己卻翻身落入水中，掙扎着朝對岸游去。彼得清楚地看到，蘇珊一箭正射在他的頭盔上。他轉過身來，只見蘇珊臉色蒼白，已經把第二支箭搭在弦上了，可這支箭沒有射出去。另一個士兵看到自己的同伴遭到襲擊，立即驚叫一聲，從小船的另一端跳下水去，沒命地一口氣游到對岸，一會兒便消失在樹林之中。
"快l別讓小船順水漂走了！"彼得喊道。他和蘇珊顧不得脫下衣服便一齊跳進水裏，沒費多大勁兒，他們便把那小船拖到岸邊，把小矮人從船裏擡了出來。愛德蒙忙着用小刀割斷他身上的繩索。(彼得的劍應該說比小刀鋒利，但是長劍在這種情況下很不方便，因爲在劍柄以下的部位沒有抓手的地方。)小矮人鬆了綁之後，立即坐起身來，活動一下四肢，然後大聲說"你們是……不管他們怎麼說，我看你們並不像是妖魔鬼怪。"
和絕大多數小矮人一樣，他矮胖、雞胸，身高不足一來，又粗又紅的大鬍子，使他的臉顯得很小，只剩下一隻山峯一般的高鼻子，和那雙閃閃發光的黑眼睛。
"不管是不是鬼，"他繼續說，"你們救了我的命，我感激萬分。"
"我們怎麼會是鬼呢？"露茜好奇地問。
"這話我可聽了一輩子了，"小矮人說，"都說海岸這邊樹林裏的鬼就和樹葉一樣多。大家一直是這麼傳說的。所以當他們想幹掉誰的時候，就把他送到這個地方來(正像他們對付我一樣)，說是把他留給那些鬼怪去”處理'。可是，那些鬼怪真會把人活活淹死，或者割斷他的喉嚨嗎？人們對此一直將信將疑。我並不怎麼相信鬼神，可是剛纔那兩個膽小鬼卻深信不疑，他們送我去死，而面對死亡時，卻比我更感到害怕！”
"真有意思，"蘇珊笑着說，"難怪他倆逃命時跑得飛快。"
"什麼？他們逃走了？"小矮人有些緊張起來。"是的，"愛德蒙說，"逃到大陸上去了。"
"我射他們，但並不打算傷害他們，你知道。"蘇珊解釋說。她怕別人誤以爲她在這麼近的距離還射不中。
"嗯，"小矮人說，"那可不太妙，那意味着今後將會有麻煩，除非他們爲了自己的利益而守口如瓶。"
"他們爲什麼要淹死你？"彼得問口
"我是一個危險的罪犯，真的！"小矮人不無自豪地說，"那可是說來話長了。不過，我現在腦子裏想的是……也許你們會邀請我共進早餐？你們簡直想象不出來，一個人死裏逃生之後，他的胃口是多麼好。"
"可是，這兒只有蘋果。"露茜泄氣地說。
"總比什麼都沒有強。當然，能有幾條鮮魚做早餐就更好了，"小矮人咂咂嘴，"看來我只好反客爲主，請你們吃早餐口羅。我看見那船上有些釣魚用具。可是無論如何，我們必須先把小船弄到島的另一邊去，不能讓對面大陸上的任何人看到它。"
"這一點我本該先想到的。"彼得有些慚愧地說。
四個孩子和小矮人一道來到水邊，費了好大力氣才託小船推進水裏，然後一個個爬了上去。小矮人立即老練地指揮起來。船槳對他來說顯然太大了。於是他來掌舵，彼得主槳，小船緩緩朝北駛去。一會兒，他們便繞過小島的拐角，轉向東方。從這裏，孩子們舉目望去，看到了整個海灣和對西海岸的土地。他們原以爲舊日的納尼亞總要留下些什麼痕跡的，但那些樹林，那些自他們的時代往後生長起來的松林，使得一切都面目全非了。
在小島東邊的海面上，小矮人開始釣魚。他們釣到了詞多鱔魚，這是一種像彩虹一樣美麗的魚。這使孩子們又回想起在凱爾帕拉維爾的那些日子，那時他們也吃這種魚。當他們認爲釣到的魚已經足夠吃了，便把小船逆水划進一條小溪，拴在一棵樹上。那小矮人十分能幹(儘管小矮人裏有壞蛋，可他們個個都很聰明)，他麻利地把魚剖開、洗淨，然後說：!
"好了，現在需要的是一堆篝火。"
"我們已經在城堡裏架起了火堆。"愛德蒙說。
小矮人輕輕地吹了一聲口哨，"果然有一個城堡！""只不過是一堆廢墟。"露茜並沒有介意。
小矮人滿臉疑慮，仔細地依次打量着他們。"那你們究竟是……"他囁嚅着說，但馬上又改口道，"沒事兒，沒事兒，咱們先吃早飯。可是，讓我們先來做一件事：請你們把手放在心口上，然後對我連說三遍’你現在的確還活着'。你們真的有把握，我沒有淹死，而你們不是一羣鬼？"
他們一齊向他保證，直到這小傢伙放心爲止。下面一個問題是，怎麼拿走這些魚。既沒有鐵絲把它們穿成一串，也沒有籠子，最後，他們只好用愛德蒙的帽子，這是他們惟一的一頂帽子，要不是他實在餓得發慌，他是決不會同意的。
在城堡裏，小矮人起先好像渾身都不自在，他不停地東張西望，使勁用鼻子嗅來嗅去，嘴裏不停地嘟囔着，"真奇怪，真奇怪。這味道好像是從鬼穴裏發出來的。"可是當篝火點燃時，他精神來了，指手畫腳地教幾個孩子如何用炭火烤新鮮蹲魚。魚很燙手，沒有叉子，惟一的一把小刀要供五個人用，飯還沒有吃完，幾個人的手指都燙傷了。可是，孩子們早已飢餓難忍，所以對這點兒小小的燙傷並不十分在意。最後，大家喝了些井水，再吃一個蘋果，就結束了這頓美餐。.
小矮人不知在什麼時候做成了一根足有他胳膊那麼粗的大煙鬥，裝滿菸絲，湊在篝火上把煙點着，愜意地吐出了一口清香的灰色煙霧，心滿意足地說"好了。"
"給我們講講你的故事好嗎？"彼得說，"然後我們給你講我們的故事。"
"好吧，"小矮人說，"既然你們救了我的命，當然應該滿足你們的要求，纔算是公平合理。從哪兒說起呢？首先我該告訴你們，我是凱斯賓國王的信使。"
"誰是凱斯賓？"四個聲音同時問道。
"凱斯賓十世，納尼亞的國王，祝他統治長久！"小矮人極其虔誠而莊嚴地祈禱着，"我是說，他應該是整個納尼亞的統治者，這是我們的希望。可是眼下他還只是我們納尼亞舊臣的國王。
"請問，”納尼亞舊臣'是指哪些人？”露茜插了一句口,
"哦，那就是指我們，"小矮人說，"我們這些被稱爲”叛逆'的土生土長的納尼亞人。"
"你是說，"彼得猜測道，"凱斯賓是過去的納尼亞的首領？"
"對了，可以這麼說，"小矮人用手搔搔頭，"可他自己卻是個新納尼亞人，一個臺爾馬人。你們能夠聽明白我的意思嗎？"
"我不明白。"愛德蒙說。
"我簡直都糊塗了。"露茜說。
"哦，親愛的，"小矮人抱歉地說，"我講得很不好，我想最好還是從頭講起吧——從凱斯賓是怎樣在他叔父的王宮裏成長起來，以後又是怎樣完全站在了我們一邊。可這是個很長的故事。"
"長些更好，"露茜高興極了，"我們都喜歡聽故事。"
於是，那小矮人坐下來，講了下面的故事。我不準備照他的原話把這故事複述給你們聽，因爲，那就要把孩子們在聽故事過程中的提問和插話也都寫出來，篇幅就會太長，情節就會太複雜，而且仍然不得不捨去孩子們只是在後來才聽說的一些內容。不過，故事的要點，與孩子們最終所瞭解的完全一致，是下面這樣的。