《銀椅》第7章:小山上奇怪的壕溝
THERE Is no denying it was a beast of a day. Overhead was a sunless sky, muffled in clouds that were heavy with snow; underfoot, a black frost; blowing over it, a wind that felt as if it would take your skin off. When they got down into the plain they found that this part of the ancient road was much more ruinous than any they had yet seen. They had to pick their way over great broken stones and between boulders and across rubble: hard going for sore feet. And, however tired they got, it was far too cold for a halt.
At about ten o'clock the first tiny snow flakes came loitering down and settled on Jill's arm. Ten minutes later they were falling quite thickly. In twenty minutes the ground was noticeably white. And by the end of half an hour a good steady snowstorm, which looked as if it meant to last all day, was driving in their faces so that they could hardly see.
In order to understand what followed, you must keep on remembering how little they could see. As they drew near the low hill which separated them from the place where the lighted windows had appeared, they had no general view of it at all. It was a question of seeing the next few paces ahead, and, even for that, you had to screw up your eyes. Needless to say, they were not talking.
When they reached the foot of the hill they caught a glimpse of what might be rocks on each side - squarish rocks, if you looked at them carefully, but no one did. All were more concerned with the ledge right in front of them which barred their way. It was about four feet high. The Marsh-wiggle, with his long legs, had no difficulty in jumping onto the top of it, and he then helped the others up. It was a nasty wet business for them, though not for him, because the snow now lay quite deep on the ledge. They then had a stiff climb - Jill fell once - up very rough ground for about a hundred yards, and came to a second ledge. There were four of these ledges altogether, at quite irregular intervals.
As they struggled on to the fourth ledge, there was no mistaking the fact that they were now at the top of the flat hill. Up till now the slope had given them some shelter; here, they got the full fury of the wind. For the hill, oddly enough, was quite as flat on top as it had looked from a distance: a great level tableland which the storm tore across without resistance. In most places the snow was still hardly lying at all, for the wind kept catching it up off the ground in sheets and clouds, and hurling it in their faces. And round their feet little eddies of snow ran about as you sometimes see them doing over ice. And, indeed, in many places, the surface was almost as smooth as ice. But to make matters worse it was crossed and crisscrossed with curious banks or dykes, which sometimes divided it up into squares and oblongs. All these of course had to be climbed; they varied from two to five feet in height and were about a couple of yards thick. On the north side of each bank the snow already lay in deep drifts; and after each climb you came down into a drift and got wet.
Fighting her way forward with hood up and head down and numb hands inside her cloak, Jill had glimpses of other odd things on that horrible tableland - things on her right that looked vaguely like factory chimneys, and, on her left, a huge cliff, straighter than any cliff ought to be. But she wasn't at all interested and didn't give them a thought. The only things she thought about were her cold hands (and nose and chin and ears) and hot baths and beds at Harfang.
Suddenly she skidded, slid about five feet, and found herself to her horror sliding down into a dark, narrow chasm which seemed that moment to have appeared in front of her. Half a second later she had reached the bottom. She appeared to be in a kind of trench or groove, only about three feet wide. And though she was shaken by the fall, almost the first thing she noticed was the relief of being out of the wind; for the walls of the trench rose high above her. The next thing she noticed was, naturally, the anxious faces of Scrubb and Puddleglum looking down at her from the edge.
"Are you hurt, Pole?" shouted Scrubb.
"Both legs broken, I shouldn't wonder," shouted Puddleglum.
Jill stood up and explained that she was all right, but they'd have to help her out.
"What is it you've fallen into?" asked Scrubb.
"It's a kind of trench, or it might be a kind of sunken lane or something," said Jill. "It runs quite straight."
"Yes, by Jove," said Scrubb. "And it runs due north! I wonder is it a sort of road? If it was, we'd be out of this infernal wind down there. Is there a lot of snow at the bottom?"
"Hardly any. It all blows over the top, I suppose."
"What happens farther on?"
"Half a sec. I'll go and see," said Jill. She got up and walked along the trench; but before she had gone far, it turned sharply to the right. She shouted this information back to the others.
"What's round the corner?" asked Scrubb.
Now it happened that Jill had the same feeling about twisty passages and dark places underground, or even nearly underground, that Scrubb had about the edges of cliffs. She had no intention of going round that corner alone; especially when she heard Puddleglum bawling out from behind her:
"Be careful, Pole. It's just the sort of place that might lead to a dragon's cave. And in a giant country, there might be giant earth-worms or giant beetles."
"I don't think it goes anywhere much," said Jill, coming hastily back.
"I'm jolly well going to have a look," said Scrubb. "What do you mean by anywhere much, I should like to know?" So he sat down on the edge of the trench (everyone was too wet by now to bother about being a bit wetter) and then dropped in. He pushed past Jill and, though he didn't say anything, she felt sure that he knew she had funked it. So she followed him close, but took care not to get in front of him.
It proved, however, a disappointing exploration. They went round the right-hand turn and straight on for a few paces. Here there was a choice of ways: straight on again, or sharp to the right. "That's no good," said Scrubb, glancing down the right-hand turn, "that would be taking us back - south." He went straight on, but once more, in a few steps, they found a second turn to the right. But this time there was no choice of ways, for the trench they had been following here came to a dead end.
"No good," grunted Scrubb. Jill lost no time in turning and leading the way back. When they returned to the place where Jill had first fallen in, the Marsh-wiggle with his long arms had no difficulty in pulling them out.
But it was dreadful to be out on top again. Down in those narrow slits of trenches, their ears had almost begun to thaw. They had been able to see clearly and breathe easily and hear each other speak without shouting. It was absolute misery to come back into the withering coldness. And it did seem hard when Puddleglum chose that moment for saying:
"Are you still sure of those signs, Pole? What's the one we ought to be after, now?"
"Oh, come on! Bother the signs," said Pole. "Something about someone mentioning Aslan's name, I think. But I'm jolly well not going to give a recitation here."
As you see, she had got the order wrong. That was because she had given up saying the signs over every night. She still really knew them, if she troubled to think: but she was no longer so "pat" in her lesson as to be sure of reeling them off in the right order at a moment's notice and without thinking. Puddleglum's question annoyed her because, deep down inside her, she was already annoyed with herself for not knowing the Lion's lesson quite so well as she felt she ought to have known it. This annoyance, added to the misery of being very cold and tired, made her say, "Bother the signs." She didn't perhaps quite mean it.
"Oh, that was next, was it?" said Puddleglum. "Now I wonder, are you right? Got 'em mixed, I shouldn't wonder. It seems to me, this hill, this flat place we're on, is worth stopping to have a look at. Have you noticed -"
"Oh Lor!" said Scrubb, "is this a time for stopping to admire the view? For goodness' sake let's get on."
"Oh, look, look, look," cried Jill and pointed. Everyone turned, and everyone saw. Some way off to the north, and a good deal higher up than the tableland on which they stood, a line of lights had appeared. This time, even more obviously than when the travellers had seen them the night before, they were windows: smaller windows that made one think deliciously of bedrooms, and larger windows that made one think of great halls with fires roaring on the hearth and hot soup or juicy sirloins smoking on the table.
"Harfang!" exclaimed Scrubb.
"That's all very well," said Puddleglum. "But what I was saying was -"
"Oh, shut up," said Jill crossly. "We haven't a moment to lose. Don't you remember what the Lady said about their locking up so early? We must get there in time, we must, we must. We'll die if we're shut out on a night like this."
"Well, it isn't exactly a night, not yet," began Puddleglum; but the two children both said, "Come on," and began stumbling forward on the slippery tableland as quickly as their legs would carry them. The Marsh-wiggle followed them: still talking, but now that they were forcing their way into the wind again, they could not have heard him even if they had wanted to. And they didn't want. They were thinking of baths and beds and hot drinks; and the idea of coming to Harfang too late and being shut out was almost unbearable.
In spite of their haste, it took them a long time to cross the flat top of that hill. And even when they had crossed it, there were still several ledges to climb down on the far side. But at last they reached the bottom and could see what Harfang was like.
It stood on a high crag, and in spite of its many towers was more a huge house than a castle. Obviously, the Gentle Giants feared no attack. There were windows in the outside wall quite close to the ground - a thing no one would have in a serious fortress. There were even odd little doors here and there, so that it would be quite easy to get in and out of the castle without going through the courtyard. This raised the spirits of Jill and Scrubb. It made the whole place look more friendly and less forbidding.
At first the height and steepness of the crag frightened them, but presently they noticed that there was an easier way up on the left and that the road wound up towards it. It was a terrible climb, after the journey they had already had, and Jill nearly gave up. Scrubb and Puddleglum had to help her for the last hundred yards.
But in the end they stood before the castle gate. The portcullis was up and the gate open.
However tired you are, it takes some nerve to walk up to a giant's front door. In spite of all his previous warnings against Harfang, it was Puddleglum who showed most courage.
"Steady pace, now," he said. "Don't look frightened, whatever you do. We've done the silliest thing in the world by coming at all: but now that we are here, we'd best put a bold face on it."
With these words he strode forward into the gateway, stood still under the arch where the echo would help his voice, and called out as loud as he could.
"Ho! Porter! Guests who seek lodging."
And while he was waiting for something to happen, he took off his hat and knocked off the heavy mass of snow which had gathered on its wide brim.
"I say," whispered Scrubb to Jill. "He may be a wet blanket, but he has plenty of pluck - and cheek."
A door opened, letting out a delicious glow of firelight, and the Porter appeared. Jill bit her lips for fear she should scream. He was not a perfectly enormous giant; that is to say, he was rather taller than an apple tree but nothing like so tall as a telegraph pole. He had bristly red hair, a leather jerkin with metal plates fastened all over it so as to make a kind of mail shirt, bare knees (very hairy indeed) and things like puttees on his legs. He stooped down and goggled at Puddleglum.
"And what sort of creature do you call yourself," he said.
Jill took her courage in both hands. "Please," she said, shouting up at the giant. "The Lady of the Green Kirtle salutes the King of the Gentle Giants, and has sent us two Southern children and this Marsh-wiggle (his name's Puddleglum) to your Autumn Feast. - If it's quite convenient, of course," she added.
"Oho!" said the Porter. "That's quite a different story. Come in, little people, come in. You'd best come into the lodge while I'm sending word to his Majesty." He looked at the children with curiosity. "Blue faces," he said. "I didn't know they. were that colour. Don't care about it myself. But I dare say you look quite nice to one another. Beetles fancy other beetles, they do say."
"Our faces are only blue with cold," said Jill. "We're not this colour really."
"Then come in and get warm. Come in, little shrimps," said the Porter. They followed him into the lodge. And though it was rather terrible to hear such a big door clang shut behind them, they forgot about it as soon as they saw the thing they had been longing for ever since supper time last night - afire. And such a fire! It looked as if four or five whole trees were blazing on it, and it was so hot they couldn't go within yards of it. But they all flopped down on the brick floor, as near as they could bear the heat, and heaved great sighs of relief.
"Now, youngster," said the Porter to another giant who had been sitting in the back of the room, staring at the visitors till it looked as if his eyes would start out of his head, "run across with this message to the House." And he repeated what Jill had said to him. The younger giant, after a final stare, and a great guffaw, left the room.
"Now, Froggy," said the Porter to Puddleglum, "you look as if you wanted some cheering up." He produced a black bottle very like Puddleglum's own, but about twenty times larger. "Let me see, let me see," said the Porter. "I can't give you a cup or you'll drown yourself. Let me see. This salt-cellar will be just the thing. You
needn't mention it over at the House. The silver will keep on getting over here, and it's not my fault."
The salt-cellar was not very like one of ours, being narrower and more upright, and made quite a good cup for Puddleglum, when the giant set it down on the floor beside him. The children expected Puddleglum to refuse it, distrusting the Gentle Giants as he did. But he muttered, "It's rather late to be thinking of precautions now that we're inside and the door shut behind us." Then he sniffed at the liquor. "Smells all right," he said. "But that's nothing to go by. Better make sure," and took a sip. "Tastes all right, too," he said. "But it might do that at the first sip. How does it go on?" He took a larger sip. "Ah!" he said. "But is it the same all the way down?" and took another. "There'll be something nasty at the bottom, I shouldn't wonder," he said, and finished the drink. He licked his lips and remarked to the children, "This'll be a test, you see. If I curl up, or burst, or turn into a lizard, or something, then you'll know not to take anything they offer you." But the giant, who was too far up to hear the things Puddleglum had been saying under his breath, roared with laughter and said, "Why, Froggy, you're a man. See him put it away!"
"Not a man . . . Marsh-wiggle," replied Puddleglum in a somewhat indistinct voice. "Not frog either: Marshwiggle."
At that moment the door opened behind them and the younger giant came in saying, "They're to go to the throne-room at once."
The children stood up but Puddleglum remained sitting and said, "Marsh-wiggle. Marsh-wiggle. Very respectable Marsh-wiggle. Respectowiggle."
"Show them the way, young 'un," said the giant Porter. "You'd better carry Froggy. He's had a drop more than's good for him."
"Nothing wrong with me," said Puddleglum. "Not a frog. Nothing frog with me. I'm a respectabiggle."
But the young giant caught him up by the waist and signed to the children to follow. In this undignified way they crossed the courtyard. Puddleglum, held in the giant's fist, and vaguely kicking the air, did certainly look very like a frog. But they had little time to notice this, for they soon entered the great doorway of the main castle - both their hearts beating faster than usual - and, after pattering along several corridors at a trot to keep up with the giant's paces, found themselves blinking in the light of an enormous room, where lamps glowed and a fire roared on the hearth and both were reflected from the gilding of roof and cornice. More giants than they could count stood on their left and right, all in magnificent robes; and on two thrones at the far end, sat two huge shapes that appeared to be the King and Queen.
About twenty feet from the thrones, they stopped. Scrubb and Jill made an awkward attempt at a bow (girls are not taught how to curtsey at Experiment House) and the young giant carefully put Puddleglum down on the floor, where he collapsed into a sort of sitting position. With his long limbs he looked, to tell the truth, uncommonly like a large spider.
大約十點左右，第一陣小雪花慢慢飄下來了，正落在吉爾的手臂上。十分鐘以後，雪就密密麻麻漫天飛舞。過了二十分鐘，大地明顯成了銀白世界。過了半小時，來了一場持續不斷的暴風雪，看樣子要下個一整天，暴風雪撲面而來，他們幾乎什麼也看不見。
爲了弄清接下來發生的事，你們一定要記住，他們幾乎什麼也看不見了。當他們走近低矮的小山時，那座小山把昨天晚上窗戶亮着燈的那地方擋住了，所以他們一點也看不見。只看得見前面幾步路的地方，即使這麼着，也還得眯起眼睛。不用說，他們大家都不說話。
等他們到達山腳下，他們往兩邊那些可能是岩石的東西看了一眼——仔細瞧瞧的話，就知道這是近似方形的岩石，但誰也沒好好看。大家更關心的是正前方擋住他們路的那塊突出的石頭。約有四英尺高。沼澤怪腿長，毫不費力就跳了上去，接着就幫另外兩個上來。對他們兩個來說，爬上去弄得溼漉漉可真夠嗆，因爲那塊石頭上的積雪已經很深了，不過沼澤怪倒不當一回事。後來他們又在崎嶇不平的地上往上爬了大約一百碼——吉爾還摔下來一回——才爬上第二塊突出的石頭。一共有四塊這種石頭，距離都不相等。,
他們好不容易纔爬上了第四塊石頭，事實擺明他們這會兒已經在這扁平的小山頂上了。到現在爲止，那山坡總算給了他們個避風的地方；在這兒，他們可領教了暴風的威力。說也奇怪，這座小山頂上居然相當平坦，就跟在遠處看時一樣。暴風就在這一大片高地上無遮無攔地呼嘯而過。多半地方仍然不大有積雪，因爲風不斷把雪卷離地面，成片成團地拋到他們臉上。還有一股股風雪交加的小旋渦在他們腳邊打轉轉，就像有時候看到暴風雪刮過冰上那樣。而多地方的表面確實也像冰一樣光溜溜。但更糟的是，這地方還佈滿了縱橫交錯、奇奇怪怪的堤壩，把這地方分割成一塊塊正方形和長方形。所有這些堤壩當然都要爬上去，高度從二英尺到五英尺不等，厚度也有兩三碼。每道堤壩的北側都已積起厚厚的雪；每爬過一道堤壩，就陷到積雪裏，弄得渾身溼漉漉。
吉爾拉起風帽，低着頭，麻木的雙手藏在斗篷裏，一路掙扎着向前，她在這可怕的高地上還看見了其他一些古怪的東西。她右邊那些東西看上去隱約像是工廠的煙囪，她左邊有一大塊懸崖比任何懸崖都陡直。但她絲毫不感興趣，沒把這些放在心上。她只想一件事，就是她那雙冰涼的手(還有冰涼的鼻子、下巴和耳朵)，還想到哈方的熱水澡和牀。
突然她腳下一滑，就此滑出去約有五英尺，她發現自己滑進了一個又黑又狹的坑，不由嚇得半死。這坑似乎剛剛出現在她眼前，轉眼間，她已滑到底了。她似乎是掉在溝溝槽槽之類的裏邊了，只有三英尺寬。雖然這次摔倒使她大爲震驚，但她首先注意到的就是吹不到風了，總算鬆了口氣，因爲溝壁比她高出一截。其次她注意到的，自然是斯克羅布和普德格倫那兩張焦急的臉正從溝邊上往下望着她。
“你受傷了嗎，波爾？”斯克羅布大聲道。
“兩條腿全摔斷我都不奇怪。”普德格倫大聲道。
吉爾站起來說明她沒事兒，但他們得幫她出去。
“你掉進去的是個什麼地方？”斯克羅布問。
“是一種溝吧，也可能是一種暗巷之類，”吉爾說，”是筆直的。”
“是啊，天哪，”斯克羅布說，”而且通往正北。不知道這是不是一種路？要是的話，我們在下面就吹不到該死的風了。底下有雪嗎？”
“幾乎沒有。我看雪全從頂上吹過去了。”
“再往裏頭還有什麼？”
“等一下，我去看看。”吉爾說。她站起來，沿着溝走去；但沒走出多遠，溝就向右來了個急轉彎。她把這情況大聲告訴另外兩個。
“拐角上有什麼？”斯克羅布問。
恰巧這會兒吉爾對地下，或者說近乎地下的這些轉彎抹角的通道和那些黑咕隆咚的地方的感想和斯克羅布對懸崖邊上的感想是一樣的。她可不打算一個人拐過那個角去，尤其是她聽見普德格倫在後面大聲叫道
“小心點，波爾。這正是那種可能通往龍洞的地方。在巨人國裏，還可能有巨大的蚯蚓和巨大的甲蟲呢。”
“我想這兒到哪兒也不通。”吉爾說着，趕緊往回走。
“我最好去看一看，”斯克羅布說，”我倒想知道哪兒也不通是什麼意思？”於是他坐在溝邊上(如今大家都渾身透溼，再溼一點也無所謂了)，接着就落在溝裏。他從吉爾身邊擠過去，儘管他嘴上沒說什麼，她心裏確信他知道她是因爲害怕纔不去的。因此她就緊緊跟着他，只是小心翼翼別走在他頭裏。'
然而，這次探險結果真令人失望。他們往右拐彎後朝前只走了幾步，就碰到有兩條路可走，要麼再往前一直走，要麼朝右急轉彎。”不行，”斯克羅布看了右轉彎那條路一眼說，”那樣又走回去——到南面了。”他就一直往前走，但只走了幾步，他們又一次發現了第二條往右拐的路，但這回沒有其他路好走了，因爲他們走的這條溝到這兒就到頭了。
“不行。”斯克羅布咕噥說。吉爾立刻轉身帶路回去。等他們回到吉爾掉下來的地方，沼澤怪的長胳膊毫不費力就把他們拉了出來。
但回到上面實在太可怕了。在下面那些狹長的溝裏，他們的耳朵幾乎都開始回暖了。他們眼睛也看得清，呼吸也輕鬆，對方說話不用嚷嚷也聽得清。回到這刺骨的寒冷中簡直是活受罪。令人難堪的是，普德格倫竟挑了這麼個時候說:
“你仍然確信那些指示嗎，波爾？現在我們該照哪一條辦呢？”
“啊呀，行了，去他的指示吧，”波爾說，”我想是什麼人提到阿斯蘭名字的什麼事吧。不過我決不在這兒背誦指示。”
你們大概看得出，她已經把指示的次序搞錯了。那是因爲她已經放棄了每天晚上把指示背一遍的習慣。要是她肯費心想一想，她其實還是知道的，但她對自己的功課已不再背得滾瓜爛熟，遇到人家一問，未能不假思索一字不差地背出來。普德格倫這一問惹惱了她，因爲在她內心深處，她已經對自己不那麼熟悉獅王的功課很惱火了，她覺得自己本來應該熟悉的。心裏惱火，加上又冷又累，痛苦不堪，她竟說出了”去他的指示”。也許她並不是有意的。
“哦，那是下一句吧？”普德格倫說，”現在我真想知道你是不是對？你把指示弄混了，我也不會奇怪的。在我看來，這小山，我們待的這塊平地似乎值得我們停下來看一看。你們有沒有注意……”
“哦，天哪，”斯克羅布說，”難道這是停下來欣賞風景的時候嗎？看在老天的分上，我們走吧。”
“哦，瞧，瞧，瞧！”吉爾叫着，用於一指。大家都回過身來，都看見了。朝北再過去一點，比他們站着的這塊高地還要高得多的地方，已經出現了一排燈。這一回，比這三個旅客昨晚看見的甚至更明顯了。那些都是窗戶：小點兒的窗戶使人美美地想起臥室，大點兒的窗戶使人想起壁爐裏火光熊熊的柴堆，餐桌上熱湯和油汪汪的牛腰肉正冒着熱氣。
“哈方！”斯克羅布歡呼道。
“好極了，”普德格倫說，”但我剛纔說的是……”
“哦，住口，”吉爾發着脾氣說，”我們沒時間了。你不記得那夫人說過他們很早就鎖上門嗎？我們一定得及時趕到那兒，我們一定得去，一定得去。要是我們在這種晚上給關在門外，我們會死的。”
“得了，這還不是晚上，還沒到呢。”普德格倫開口說，但兩個孩子都說”來吧”，就開始在清溜溜的高地上跌跌沖沖，儘快向前奔去。沼澤怪跟着他們，嘴裏還在說話，不過這會兒他們已經再次衝進風裏，即使他們想聽它說話也聽不見了。而且他們也不想聽。他們想的是洗澡和牀鋪以及熱飲料；想起趕到哈方太晚，被關在門外就叫人受不了。
儘管他們急忙趕路，要穿過那小山的平頂卻花了他們很長時間。即使他們已經穿過了山頂，遠處也還有幾塊突出的石頭要爬下去。最後他們終於到了山下，這纔看得見哈方是什麼樣子。
城堡矗立在高高的巉崖上，儘管有好多尖塔，看上去只是大宅，而不像一座城堡。顯然斯文的巨人是不怕攻擊的。房子外牆上就有好多離地面很近的窗——在正兒八經的堡壘裏就不會有這種事。到處還有一扇扇奇特的小門，這樣進出城堡就不用穿過院子，十分方便。吉爾和斯克羅布一看，又來了勁兒。這下子整個城堡看上去也更友好了，不那麼陰森可怕了。
開始時，巉崖的高峻讓他們害怕，但不久他們就注意到左面有一條比較容易上去的路，而那條路就朝這城堡盤旋而上。他們已經走了那麼遠的路再要爬上去可真夠嗆。吉爾差點要放棄了。斯克羅布和普德格倫在最後幾百碼時只好幫她一把。不過他們到底還是站在城堡大門口了。城堡的吊閘吊上去了，大門開着。"
不管你有多麼疲倦，要走到一個巨人的大門口總是需要一點勇氣的。儘管普德格倫以前多次警告他們別來哈方，結果還是它顯得最勇敢。
“好了，步子放穩點，”它說，”不管你幹什麼，別露出驚慌失措的樣子。我們到這兒來就是幹了一件頭號大傻事。但既然我們已經到了這兒，最好還是裝出一副滿不在子的樣子。”
說了這些話，它就大步走到大門口，一動不動地站在拱門下，然後儘量大聲叫喊，那兒的回聲可以給它壯壯聲勢。
“響，看門的！有客想借宿！”
它在等着聽迴音的時候，就脫下帽子，撲打那寬寬的帽檐上的大片積雪。
“啊呀，”斯克羅布悄悄對吉爾說，”雖然它也許專愛掃人家興，但它勇氣倒不小，臉皮也厚。”
一扇門開了，漏出一抹誘人的爐火火光，看門的出來了。吉爾嚇得咬住嘴脣生怕自己尖叫起來。他並不完全是個大個子巨人；就是說他比一棵蘋果樹高些，但還沒有一根電線杆那麼高。他長着一頭又短又硬的頭髮，一件無袖短皮上衣，上面釘着好多金屬片，像是要把上衣變成一件鎧甲；雙膝光着(當然上面有好多汗毛)，腿上像是打着綁腿。他彎下腰，瞪大眼望着普德格倫。
“你說說看，你自己是哪種動物。”他說。
吉爾鼓起勇氣。”對不起，”她對巨人大聲嚷道，”綠衣夫人向斯文的巨人國王致敬，她派我們兩個南方孩子和這個沼澤怪(它名叫普德格倫)參加你們的秋季盛宴——當然，要是方便的話。”她又加了一句。
“哦嗬，”看門人說，”那就是另一回事了。進來吧，小不點兒，進來吧。我傳話給陸下的時候，你們最好到門房裏來。”他好奇地瞧瞧兩個孩子。”青面孔，”他說，”我不知道他們竟是這種顏色。我本人對此倒不在乎。但我敢說，你們彼此間看看都挺好的。人家都說物以類聚嘛。”
“我們的臉只是凍得發青的，”吉爾說，”其實我們不是這種顏色。”
“那麼進來取取暖吧。進來，小蝦米。”看門人說。他們跟着他進了門房。儘管聽見那麼大一扇門在他們身後砰地關上，挺嚇人的，但他們一看見從昨天晚飯時就一直想望的東西——一堆火，也就把這事忘了。多旺的一堆火啊！看上去似乎有四五棵樹在熊熊燃燒，火堆那麼熱，他們在好幾碼以外就不能走近。不過他們全都撲通一下坐在磚地上，儘量靠近到受得了熱氣的地方，發出聲聲寬慰的嘆息。
“好了，小子。”看門人對另一個巨人說，這人一直坐在房間後半部，眼睛瞪得像要掉下來似的，直盯着這些客人看。”跑去把這個信息報給王上。”他把吉爾對他說的話又重說了一遍。那個年輕點的巨人，臨走還盯了他們一眼，喃喃大笑一陣，才離開了房間。
“嗨，青蛙兒，”看門人對普德格倫說，”看上去你需要點提神的。”他拿了一個黑瓶子，樣子很像普德格倫自己那個，但比那個約大二十倍。”讓我瞧瞧，讓我瞧瞧。”看門人說，”我不能給你杯子，否則你會淹死。讓我瞧瞧，那個鹽瓶大概正合適。你到了王上那兒可不必提到這事。銀器今後還會繼續弄到這兒來的，而這可不是我的錯。”
那個鹽瓶不大像我們的鹽瓶，它比較窄，比較直，巨人把鹽瓶放在普德格倫身邊地上，竟成了它一個挺合適的酒杯。兩個孩子以爲普德格倫原來就不信任斯文的巨人，會不肯喝，誰知它喃喃自語說”既然我們已經進來了，門也關上了，再想提防也來不及了。”接着它聞聞那酒。”味兒不錯，”它說，”不過那也不足爲憑，最好嚐個明白。”於是它喝了一小口。”口味也不錯，”它說，”不過初次上口可能不錯。再喝下去又怎麼樣呢？”它喝了一大口。”啊！”它說，”但是不是全都一個味兒呢？”又喝了一大口。”要是底下有什麼叫人噁心的東西，我是不會奇怪的。”它說着就把酒喝完了，舔舔嘴脣對兩個孩子說”這是試驗，你們懂嗎？要是我倒下來，或是發作了，或是變成一條晰蹋什麼的，那麼你們就知道凡是他們給你們的東西都別碰。”不過那個巨人高高在上，聽不見普德格倫一直在悄聲說什麼，卻哈哈大笑說”喂，青蛙兒，你真是個男子漢。瞧瞧它把酒都喝光了！”
“不是男子漢……沼澤怪，”普德格倫回答時聲音含含糊糊的，”也不是青蛙，是沼澤怪。”
正在這時，他們身後的門開了，那個年輕的巨人進來說”要他們立刻到覲見室去。”
兩個孩子站了起來，但普德格倫仍然坐着，嘴裏說着：”沼澤怪，沼澤怪。值得尊敬的沼澤怪，尊敬的怪。”
“給他們帶路，小子，”看門的巨人說，”你最好帶上青蛙兒。它喝多了一點。”
“我沒事兒，”普德格倫說，”不是青蛙。我不是青蛙。我是個尊敬的怪。”
但那個年輕的巨人攔腰把它一把抓起，再做個手勢叫兩個孩子跟着走。他們就這樣不成體統地穿過院子。抓在巨人手裏的普德格倫神志不清地在空中蹬着腿，看上去倒確實像只青蛙了。不過他們也沒工夫注意這事，因爲他們一下子就走進了主城堡的大門口——他倆的心都比平時跳得更快了——爲了趕上巨人的步伐，他們一路小跑，嘚嘚地跑過好幾條走廊，不知不覺中就到了一間宏偉的屋子，給裏面的亮光照得直眨眼睛，屋裏燈火輝煌，爐火熊熊，燈火爐火都反射在鍍金的屋頂和飛檐上。數不清的巨人都穿着華麗的袍子分站在左右兩邊。屋子盡頭有兩個寶座，坐着兩個龐然大物，看來是國王和王后了。
走到離寶座約二十英尺的地方，他們就停下了。斯克羅布和吉爾尷尬地試着鞠了一躬(實驗學校裏沒教過女孩子怎樣行屈膝禮)，那年輕的巨人小心地把普德格倫放在地板上，它就癱坐在那兒。說老實話，看着它長長的四肢，非常像只大蜘蛛。
