《魔法師的外甥》第23期:滅絕咒(5)

Polly and Digory looked at each other, aghast. Polly had disliked the Queen from the first; and even Digory, now that he had heard the story, felt that he had seen quite as much of her as he wanted. Certainly, she was not at all the sort of person one would like to take home. And if they did like, they didn't know how they could. What they wanted was to get away themselves: but Polly couldn't get at her ring and of course Digory couldn't go without her. Digory got very red in the face and stammered.
"Oh - oh - our world. I d-didn't know you wanted to go there."
"What else were you sent here for if not to fetch me?" asked Jadis.
"I'm sure you wouldn't like our world at all," said Digory. "It's not her sort of place, is it Polly? It's very dull; not worth seeing, really."
"It will soon be worth seeing when I rule it," answered the Queen.
"Oh, but you can't," said Digory. "It's not like that. They wouldn't let you, you know."
The Queen gave a contemptuous smile. "Many great kings," she said, "thought they could stand against the House of Charn. But they all fell, and their very names are forgotten. Foolish boy! Do you think that I, with my beauty and my Magic, will not have your whole world at my feet before a year has passed? Prepare your incantations and take me there at once."
"This is perfectly frightful," said Digory to Polly.
"Perhaps you fear for this Uncle of yours," said Jadis. "But if he honours me duly, he shall keep his life and his throne. I am not coming to fight against him. He must be a very great Magician, if he has found how to send you here. Is he King of your whole world or only of part?"
"He isn't King of anywhere," said Digory.
"You are lying," said the Queen. "Does not Magic always go with the royal blood? Who ever heard of common people being Magicians? I can see the truth whether you speak it or not. Your Uncle is the great King and the great Enchanter of your world. And by his art he has seen the shadow of my face, in some magic mirror or some enchanted pool; and for the love of my beauty he has made a potent spell which shook your world to its foundations and sent you across the vast gulf between world and world to ask my favour and to bring me to him. Answer me: is that not how it was?"
"Well, not exactly," said Digory.
"Not exactly," shouted Polly. "Why, it's absolute bosh from beginning to end."
"Minions!" cried the Queen, turning in rage upon Polly and seizing her hair, at the very top of her head where it hurts most. But in so doing she let go of both the children's hands. "Now," shouted Digory; and "Quick! shouted Polly. They plunged their left hands into their pockets. They did not even need to put the rings on. The moment they touched them, the whole of that dreary, world vanished from their eyes. They were rushing upward and a warm green light was growing nearer over head.

波莉和迪格雷迷惑不解地對望了一眼。波莉一開始就討厭女王，而迪格雷呢，在聽了那段故事以後，也覺得對她的瞭解已經夠了。顯然，沒有誰願意帶她那種人同家。即使願意，不知道怎麼才能帶她回家。他們只想着自己逃走；但波莉摸不到戒指，迪格雷自然也不能丟下她單獨離去。他滿臉通紅，結結巴巴地說
“噢——噢——我們的份界，我——我不知道你想去那兒。”
“你們不是來接我的，又是來幹什麼的呢。”簡蒂絲問。

“我敢說，你一點兒也不會喜歡我們的世界。”迪格雷說，“那地方不適合她，你說對嗎，波莉？那兒沒意思，不值得看，真的。”
“我去統治的時候就值得看了。”女王回答。
“啊，但你不能，”迪格雷說，“不是那麼回事。他們不會允許的，你知道。”
女王傲慢地一笑。“很多高貴的國王，”她說，“都以爲能和恰恩王朝作對，但他們全都失敗了，連名字也被人遺忘了。愚獲的孩子！你認爲，以我的美貌和魔力不會在一年之內使整個你們的世界都拜倒在我的腳下嗎？準備施展魔法，立即帶我去那兒。”
“這實在太可怕了。”迪格雷對波莉說。
“也許你害怕你的舅舅，”簡蒂絲說，“只要他適當地對我表示尊敬，他就會保住性命和王位，我不會跟他作對的。如果他知道怎麼把你們送到這兒來，他一定是個非常了不起的魔法師。他是你們整個世界的王呢，還是隻統治部分？”
“他哪兒的王都不是。”迪格雷說。
“你在說謊，”女王說，“只有掌家血統的人才會魔法，不是嗎，誰聽說過普通人也能當魔法師？不管你說不說，我都知道，事情的真相是你的舅舅是你們那個世界一個偉大的國王，了不起的魔法師。他已經在某個魔鏡或魔池裏，靠他的魔法看到了我的頭影。他愛上了我的美貌，施加了一種能讓你們的世界徹底動搖的強大魔咒，讓你們穿過各個世界之間的鴻溝，到這裏來請我去幫忙，並將我帶回他的身邊。回答我：難道不是這麼回事嗎，”
“嗯，不完全是。”迪格雷說。
“根本不是，”波莉叫起來，“從頭到尾就是胡說八道。”
“奴才！”女工喊到，她怒火沖天地揪住波莉的頭髮，剛好抓在最容易扯痛的頭頂。但這樣一來，她鬆開了孩子們的手。“好，”迪格雷大叫；波莉也喊了一聲，“快！”他們把左手伸進口袋，根本不用戴上戒指，存觸到戒指的一剎那間，那個可怕的世界就從他們眼前完完全全地消失了。他們向上衝去，頭上，一縷溫暖的綠光越來越近。