《最後一戰》第70期:更高更深路(3)

"Look!" said Jill suddenly. Someone was coming, rather timidly, to meet them; a graceful creature on four feet, all silvery-grey. And they stared at him for a whole ten seconds before five or six voices said all at once, "Why, it's old Puzzle!" They had never seen him by daylight with the lion-skin off, and it made an extraordinary difference. He was himself now: a beautiful donkey with such a soft, grey coat and such a gentle, honest face that if you had seen him you would have done just what Jill and Lucy did - rushed forward and put your arms round his neck and kissed his nose and stroked his ears.

When they asked him where he had been he said he had come in at the door along with all the other creatures but he had - well, to tell the truth, he had been keeping out of their way as much as he could; and out of Aslan's way. For the sight of the real Lion had made him so ashamed of all that nonsense about dressing up in a lion-skin that he did not know how to look anyone in the face. But when he saw that all his friends were going away Westward, and after he had had a mouthful of grass ("And I've never tasted such good grass in my life," said Puzzle), he plucked up his courage and followed. "But what I'll do if I really have to meet Aslan, I'm sure I don't know," he added.

"You'll find it will be all right when you really do," said Queen Lucy.

Then they went forward together, always Westward, for that seemed to be the direction Aslan had meant when he cried out, "Further up and futher in." Many other creatures were slowly moving the same way, but that grassy country was very wide and there was no crowding.

It still seemed to be early, and the morning freshness was in the air. They kept on stopping to look round and to look behind them, partly because it was so beautiful but partly also because there was something about it which they could not understand.

"Peter," said Lucy, "where is this, do you suppose?"

"I don't know," said the High King. "It reminds me of somewhere but I can't give it a name. Could it be somewhere we once stayed for a holiday when we were very, very small?"

"It would have to have been a jolly good holiday," said Eustace. "I bet there isn't a country like this anywhere in our world. Look at the colours! You couldn't get a blue like the blue on those mountains in our world."

"Is it not Aslan's country?" said Tirian.

"Not like Aslan's country on top of that mountain beyond the Eastern end of the world," said Jill. "I've been there."

“瞧！”吉爾突然說道。有條牲口在走過來，怯生生地，來和他們相會；四條腿，風度優雅，渾身銀灰色。他們瞪着眼睛看了它整整十秒鐘，纔有五六個聲音突然說道：“呀，這是老迷惑啊！”他們從未在白晝的光線裏看見過它卸掉獅子毛皮的模樣兒，這可大不一樣了。現在它恢復了它的本色：一頭美麗的驢子，穿着柔和灰色的外套，生着溫和誠實的臉。如果你看見它，你也會像吉爾和露茜一樣——衝上前去，用手臂抱住它的脖子，吻它的鼻子，撫摩它的耳朵。

他們問它一直在哪兒，它說它跟其他動物一同走進門來的，但它曾經——咳，說句老實話，它曾經儘可能躲開他們，躲開阿斯蘭。因爲，見到真正的獅王，使它對於披上獅子毛皮的荒唐把戲深感羞恥，它不知道有什麼面目去跟大家見面相會。但是，當它看見它所有的朋友都朝西跑掉了，它吃了一兩口青草後（“我生平從來沒有吃到過這樣鮮美的青草。”迷惑說道。）便鼓起勇氣，跟着大家進來了。“但，如果我真的不得不遇見阿斯蘭，我相信我自己是不知如何是好的。”它補充道。

“你真的見到阿斯蘭時，你會發現結果挺圓滿的。”露茜女王說。

於是他們一起向前走去，始終是朝西走去，因爲阿斯蘭大喊“朝更高更深處走去”時，他的言下之意似乎就是朝着這個方向走去。許多其他動物也慢慢地在同一條道路上行走，但芳草萋萋的國土是很遼闊的，並不擁擠。

時間似乎仍舊很早，空中有着早晨的清新之氣。他們老是停下步來，向四周看看，回頭望望，一部分是由於景色秀麗，一部分也是由於其中有些東西他們搞不明白。

“彼得，”露茜說，“這兒是什麼地方，你琢磨是什麼地方？”

“我不知道，”至尊王說道，“它使我想起某一個地方，可我說不出地方來。可能是我們在很小很小的時候在那兒度過一天假的地方吧？”

“那就必定是個挺好玩挺開心的假日，”尤斯塔斯說道，“我敢打賭，在我們的世界裏，哪兒也找不到像這樣的國土。仔細瞧過這些色彩嗎？在我們的世界裏那些崇山峻嶺上，你可找不到這麼一種藍色。”

“難道這不是阿斯蘭的國土嗎？”蒂蓮問道。

“可不像世界東端外高山頂上阿斯蘭的國土，”吉爾說，“我在那兒待過。”