《黎明踏浪號》第1章:臥室裏的畫
THERE was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he alMost deserved it. His parents called him Eustace Clarence and masters called him Scrubb. I can't tell you how his friends spoke to him, for he had none. He didn't call his Father and Mother "Father" and "Mother", but Harold and Alberta.
Eustace Clarence liked animals, especially beetles, if they were dead and pinned on a card. He liked books if they were books of information and had pictures of grain elevators or of fat foreign children doing exercises in model schools.
尤斯塔斯喜歡動物，尤其喜歡甲蟲，喜歡死掉而釘在厚紙板上的甲蟲。他喜歡看書，喜歡看知識性的書，書裏有插圖，畫着穀倉，或胖胖的外國孩子在模範學校裏做體操。Eustace Clarence disliked his cousins the four Pevensies, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. But he was quite glad when he heard that Edmund and Lucy were coming to stay. For deep down inside him he liked bossing
and bullying; and, though he was a puny little person who couldn't have stood up even to Lucy, let alone Edmund, in a fight, he knew that there are dozens of ways to give people a bad time if you are in your own home and they are only visitors.
尤斯塔斯;克拉倫斯不喜歡他的表兄弟姐妹，佩文西家四個孩子——彼得、蘇珊、愛德蒙和露茜。可是他聽說愛德蒙和露茜要來住一陣子倒也十分高興。因爲他內心深處就喜歡發號施令，恃強欺弱，雖然他身子弱小，打起架來連露茜也對付不了，更別提愛德蒙了，但他知道如果在自己家裏，人家只是客人，那就有幾十種法子讓人家吃苦頭。
Edmund and Lucy did not at all want to come and stay with Uncle Harold and Aunt Alberta. But it really couldn't be helped. Father had got a job lecturing in America for sixteen weeks that summer, and Mother was to go with him because she hadn't had a real holiday for ten years. Peter was working very hard for an exam and he was to spend the holidays being coached by old Professor Kirke in whose house these four children had had wonderful adventures long ago in the war years. If he had still been in that house he would have had them all to stay. But he had somehow become poor since the old days and was living in a small cottage with only one bedroom to spare. It would have cost too much money to take the other three all to America, and Susan had gone.
愛德蒙和露茜原來根本不想來哈羅德舅舅和艾貝塔舅媽家住。可是實在沒辦法。那年夏天，父親要到美國去講學，爲期十六個星期，母親要陪他去，因爲她有十年沒過上真正的假期了。彼得正在拼命用功準備考試，假期裏他要讓柯克老教授輔導。很久以前在大戰年代裏，這四個孩子曾經住在柯克家，有過一段奇遇。如果柯克仍然住在那幢房子裏，他準會讓他們全住下。不過，不知怎的，他到了老年就窮了，如今住在一所小屋裏，只勻得出一間臥室。要把那三個孩子都帶到美國去可花費太大，所以就只帶了蘇珊去。Grown-ups thought her the pretty one of the family and she was no good at school work (though otherwise very old for her age) and Mother said she "would get far more out of a trip to America than the youngsters".
Edmund and Lucy tried not to grudge Susan her luck, but it was dreadful having to spend the summer holidays at their Aunt's. "But it's far worse for me," said Edmund, "because you'll at least have a room of your own and I shall have to share a bedroom with that record stinker, Eustace."
大人們認爲她是子女中長得漂亮的一個，她的功課又不好(儘管就年紀來說她也老大不小了)，母親說她"到美國去可以比兩個小的學到更多東西"。雖然愛德蒙和露茜盡力不去妒忌蘇珊那份運氣，可是要他們到舅媽家去過暑假倒真要命。"不過，我更倒黴，"愛德蒙說，"因爲至少你自己還有一間屋子，我可得跟那個前所未有的討厭鬼尤斯塔斯合住一間臥室了。"The story begins on an afternoon when Edmund and Lucy were stealing a few precious minutes alone together. And of course they were talking about Narnia, which was the name of their own private and secret country. Most of us, I suppose, have a secret country but for most of us it is only an imaginary country. Edmund and Lucy were luckier than other people in that respect. Their secret country was real. They had already
visited it twice; not in a game or a dream but in reality. They had got there of course by Magic, which is the only way of getting to Narnia. And a promise, or very nearly a promise, had been made them in Narnia itself that they would some day get back. You may imagine that they talked about it a good deal, when they got the chance.
本書故事開頭說的是，有一天下午，愛德蒙和露茜偷偷單獨在一起過上寶貴的片刻工夫。他們談的當然是納尼亞了，這是他們專有的祕密地方的名字。我看，我們多半人都有一個祕密的地方，不過，就我們來說，那隻不過是個想象中的地方罷了。這一點上，愛德蒙和露茜可比別人幸運。他們的祕密地方是真的。他們已經去過兩回了;不是在遊戲中去的，也不是在睡夢中去的，而是在現實中去的。他們到那裏去當然是靠魔法，因爲這是到納尼亞去的惟一辦法。他們在納尼亞時就有約在先，或者近乎約定，今後總有一天他們要回去。讀者可以想象，他們一有機會自然就大談特談納尼亞了。They were in Lucy's room, sitting on the edge of her bed and looking at a picture on the opposite wall. It was the only picture in the house that they liked. Aunt Alberta didn't like it at all (that was why it was put away in a little back room upstairs), but she couldn't get rid of it because it had been a wedding present from someone she did not want to offend.
他們在露茜屋裏，坐在她牀邊，瞧着對面牆上一幅畫。 這是屋裏他們惟一喜歡的一幅畫。艾貝塔舅媽根本不喜歡這幅畫(所以才把這畫放到樓上一間小後房裏)，可是她又沒法扔掉這幅畫，因爲這是她不想得罪的某人送給她的一份結婚禮物。It was a picture of a ship - a ship sailing straight towards you. Her prow was gilded and shaped like the head of a dragon with wide-open mouth. She had only one mast and one large, square sail which was a rich purple. The sides of the ship - what you could see of them where the gilded wings of the dragon ended-were green. She had just run up to the top of one glorious blue wave, and the nearer slope of that wave came down towards you, with streaks and bubbles on it. She was obviously running fast before a gay wind, listing over a little on her port side. (By the way, if you are going to read this story at all, and if you don't know already, you had better get it into your head that the left of a ship when you are looking ahead, is port, and the right is starboard.) All the sunlight fell on her from that side, and the water on that side was full of greens and purples. On the other, it was darker blue from the shadow of the ship.
這幅畫畫的是一條船——一條几乎筆直向你迎面駛來的船。船頭是鍍金的，像個張大嘴巴的龍頭。船上只有一根槍桿，張着一面很大的方帆，帆布是一片豔麗的紫色。從鍍金的龍翼兩端處看得出兩邊舷側是綠色的。這船正衝到一陣絢麗的碧浪頂峯上，近處那面浪坡挾着串串海水和星星泡沫向你直瀉而來。分明這條船正乘風破浪，快速行進，左舷略爲傾斜。(順便說一下，要是你打算把這個故事好好看到底，而你還弄不明白，那你最好先在腦子裏有個概念，你朝前看時，船身左面叫左舷，右面叫右舷。)陽光全從那一面照在船身上，所以那一面的海水一片碧綠和紫色。另一面海水給船身陰影遮住了，所以是深藍色。"The question is," said Edmund, "whether it doesn't make things worse, looking at a Narnian ship when you can't get there."
"問題是，"愛德蒙說，"眼巴巴瞧着一條納尼亞的船，可叉上不去，事情是否反而更糟糕。""Even looking is better than nothing," said Lucy. "And she is such a very Narnian ship."
"哪怕瞧瞧也好啊，"露茜說，"這條船是地地道道的納尼亞船呢。""Still playing your old game?" said Eustace Clarence, who had been listening outside the door and now came grinning into the room. Last year, when he had been staying with the Pevensies, he had managed to hear them all talking of Narnia and he loved teasing them about it. He thought of course that they were making it all up; and as he was far too stupid to make anything up himself, he did not approve of that.
"還在玩你們的老把戲啊？"尤斯塔斯說，原來他一直在門外偷聽，這會兒正咧嘴笑着進屋。去年，他在佩文西家住過一陣子，那時他竟然聽到他們都在談論納尼亞的事，就愛拿這事取笑他們。他當然以爲他們全都是編造出來的，因爲他自己什麼都編造不出來，所以他不以爲然"You're not wanted here," said Edmund curtly.
"這裏不歡迎你。"愛德蒙粗魯地說。"I'm trying to think of a limerick," said Eustace. "Something like this:
"我正在動腦筋語一首打油詩，"尤斯塔斯說，"大致是這樣有些玩着納尼亞遊戲的孩子""Some kids who played games about Narnia Got gradually balmier and balmier-"
變得越來越愚蠢，越來越愚蠢……"Well Narnia and balmier don't rhyme, to begin with," said Lucy.
"哼，首先，孩子和愚蠢兩個詞就並不押韻。"露茜說。"It's an assonance," said Eustace.
"這是首押元音的詩。"尤斯塔斯說。"Don't ask him what an assy-thingummy is," said Edmund. "He's only longing to be asked. Say nothing and perhaps he'll go away."
"別去問他押元音狗屁是什麼東西，"愛德蒙說，"他就巴不得人家問他呢。什麼也別說，不定他就會走掉。"Most boys, on meeting a reception like this, would either have cleared out or flared up. Eustace did neither. He just hung about grinning, and presently began talking again.
多半孩子碰到這麼一鼻子灰，不是一走了之就是一跳八丈高。尤斯塔斯偏偏不是這樣。他就是嬉皮笑臉賴着不走，不一會兒叉開口說話了。"Do you like that picture?" he asked.
"你們喜歡那幅畫嗎？”他問。"For heaven's sake don't let him get started about Art and all that," said Edmund hurriedly, but Lucy, who was very truthful, had already said, "Yes, I do. I like it very much."
"天哪，別讓他扯上藝術啊什麼的那一套。"愛德蒙急忙說。可是露茜爲人非常真誠，她已經說話了"是啊，我喜歡。我非常喜歡這幅畫。""It's a rotten picture," said Eustace.
"這是幅爛畫。"尤斯塔斯說。"You won't see it if you step outside," said Edmund.
"你到門外去就看不見這幅畫了。"愛德蒙說。"Why do you like it?" said Eustace to Lucy.
"你爲什麼喜歡這幅畫。"尤斯塔斯對露茜說。"Well, for one thing," said Lucy, "I like it because the ship looks as if it was really moving. And the water looks as if it was really wet. And the waves look as if they were really going up and down."
"說起來，我喜歡這幅畫，"露茜說，"一來嘛，因爲這條船看上去真的像在開動，海水看上去真的像溼的。而且海浪看上去真的像在一起一伏。"Of course Eustace knew lots of answers to this, but he didn't say anything. The reason was that at that very moment he looked at the waves and saw that they did look very much indeed as if they were going up and
down. He had only once been in a ship (and then only as far as the Isle of Wight) and had been horribly seasick. The look of the waves in the picture made him feel sick again. He turned rather green and tried another look. And then all three children were staring with open mouths.
尤斯塔斯當然知道不少話來回答，可是他一言不發。原因是就在他望着海浪的這工夫，他看到海浪確確實實很像在一起一伏。他只乘過一次船(而且只乘到懷特島①)，還暈了船，鬧得可慘呢。一看到畫上海浪的樣子他又暈了。他臉色發青，想再看一眼。於是三個孩子都看得目瞪口呆。What they were seeing may be hard to believe when you read it in print, but it was almost as hard to believe when you saw it happening. The things in the picture were moving. It didn't look at all like a cinema either; the colours were too real and clean and out-of-doors for that. Down went the prow of the ship into the wave and up went a great shock of spray. And then up went the wave behind her, and her stern and her deck became visible for the first time, and then disappeared as the next wave came to meet her and her bows went up again. At the same moment an exercise book which had been lying beside Edmund on the bed flapped, rose and sailed through the air to the wall behind him, and Lucy felt all her hair whipping round her face as it does on a windy day. And this was a windy day; but the wind was blowing out of the picture towards them. And suddenly with the wind came the noises-the swishing of waves and the slap of water against the ship's sides and the creaking and the overall high steady roar of air and water. But it was the smell, the wild, briny smell, which really convinced Lucy that she was not dreaming.
你們看到白紙黑字印着的故事時，也許很難相信他們看到的情景，不過你們親眼看到這事時，幾乎也同樣很難相信。畫上的景物竟在活動呢。看上去也根本不像電影;色彩過於逼真，過於明淨，簡直在露天下，電影沒這麼着的。船頭衝進浪裏，激起一大片浪花，然後又衝上來，把海浪甩在船後，這時才頭一回看見船尾和甲板，可第二個浪頭迎面打過來時，船頭又翹上來，船尾和甲板又看不見了。就在這時，原來一直放在牀上愛德蒙身邊的一本練習本啪喇喇翻動，飄了起來，在他身後憑空飛向牆邊，露茜覺得滿頭髮絲都飄拂到臉上，就跟颳風天時一樣。而且這會兒就是颳風天，不過這風正從畫上向他們刮來。忽然一下子這陣風還刮來了種種聲響——海浪沙沙沖刷，海水嘩嘩拍打船舷，船身嘎嘎呻吟，還有空中和海水那壓倒一切的、有規律的高聲怒號。不過，真正讓露茜相信她不是在做夢的倒是那股味兒，那股強烈的鹹澀的海水味。"Stop it," came Eustace's voice, squeaky with fright and bad temper. "It's some silly trick you two are playing. Stop it. I'll tell Alberta - Ow!"
"住手，"傳來尤斯塔斯的聲音，聲音尖銳刺耳，透着害怕和暴躁，"你們兩個又在玩什麼荒唐的把戲了。快住手口我要告訴艾貝塔去了——哎唷！"The other two were much more accustomed to adventures, but, just exactly as Eustace Clarence said "Ow," they both said "Ow" too. The reason was that a great cold, salt splash had broken right out of the frame and
they were breathless from the smack of it, besides being wet through.
那兩兄妹對冒險的事可習慣得多，誰知，就在尤斯塔斯叫"哎唷"的時刻，他們也一齊叫"哎唷"了。因爲一大片又涼又鹹的海水已經從畫面上破框而出，打得他們渾身透溼不算，而且連氣也透不過來。."I'll smash the rotten thing," cried Eustace; and then several things happened at the same time. Eustace rushed towards the picture. Edmund, who knew something about magic, sprang after him, warning him to look out and not to be a fool. Lucy grabbed at him from the other side and was dragged forward. And by this time either they had grown much smaller or the picture had grown bigger. Eustace jumped to try to pull it off the wall and found himself standing on the frame; in front of him was not glass but real sea, and wind and waves rushing up to the frame as they might to a rock. He lost his head and clutched at the other two who had jumped up beside him. There was a second of struggling and shouting, and just as they thought they had got their balance a great blue roller surged up round them, swept them off their feet, and drew them down into the sea. Eustace's despairing cry suddenly ended as the water got into his mouth.
"我要把這幅爛畫砸了。"尤斯塔斯大聲叫道;就在這會兒，好幾件事都湊在一起了。尤斯塔斯衝到畫前。愛德蒙對魔法的厲害早已領教過一二，趕緊跳起來追他，警告他留神，別幹傻事。露茜從另一邊抓住他，卻被拽着向前衝。這時刻，不是他們的身子變得越來越小，就是畫變得越來越大了。尤斯塔斯跳起身，想把畫從牆上扯下來，不知不覺間竟站到畫框上了;在他面前的不是鏡面，而是真正的大海，海風和海浪向畫框迎面衝來，勢如衝拍岩石。他嚇昏了頭，抓住身邊那兩個跳起身來的人。他們又是掙扎，又是喊叫，鬧了一會兒，正以爲身體已經保持平衡，一個藍藍的巨浪在他們四下涌起，把他們拖到海里。海水灌進尤斯塔斯的嘴巴，他那絕望的喊叫頓時中止了。Lucy thanked her stars that she had worked hard at her swimming last summer term. It is true that she would have got on much better if she had used a slower stroke, and also that the water felt a great deal colder than it had looked while it was only a picture. Still, she kept her head and kicked her shoes off, as everyone ought to do who falls into deep water in their clothes. She even kept her mouth shut and her eyes open. They were still quite near the ship; she saw its green side towering high above them, and people looking at her from the deck. Then, as one might have expected, Eustace clutched at her in a panic and down they both went. When they came up again she saw a white figure diving off the ship's side. Edmund was close beside her now, treading water, and had caught the arms of the howling Eustace. Then someone else, whose face was vaguely familiar, slipped an arm under her from the other side. There was a lot of shouting going on from the ship, heads crowding together above the bulwarks, ropes being thrown. Edmund and the stranger were fastening ropes round her. After that followed what seemed a very long delay during which her face got blue and her teeth began chattering. In reality the delay was not very long; they were waiting till the moment when she could be got on board the ship without being dashed against its side. Even with all their best endeavours she had a bruised knee when she finally stood, dripping and shivering, on the deck. After her Edmund was heaved up, and then the miserable Eustace. Last of all came the stranger - a golden-headed boy some years older than herself.
露茜暗自謝天謝地，幸虧去年夏天她拚命學游泳。說真的，如果她用慢一些的划水動作，的確會遊得好得多，而且海水比起只在畫面上看到的確要涼得多。不過，她還是按照任何穿着衣服掉進深水裏的人應該採取的做法，保持鎮定，踢掉鞋子。她甚至還閉緊嘴巴，睜開眼睛。他們離開船身很近了，她看見綠色的舷側高聳在他們上面，船上人從甲板上看着她。這時，不出所料，尤斯塔斯慌亂中竟把抓住她，兩人就此一起沉下去了。 他們重新浮上水面時，她看見一個白色的人影從舷側跳入水中。眼下愛德蒙緊靠着她，踩着水，揪住還在號叫的尤斯塔斯兩條胳膊。接着，又有個人從另一邊悄悄伸出胳膊托住她，這人的臉隱隱有些面熟。船上好多人七嘴八舌地叫喊着，舷牆上人頭擠動，上面拋下了纜繩。愛德蒙和那陌生人把纜繩在她身上繞緊。繞好後似乎耽擱了好久好久，她都急得臉色發青，牙齒喀嗒喀嗒打架了。實際上可沒耽擱多長時間他們是在等待纜繩穩當，把她吊上船去時身體不致跟舷側磕碰。儘管他們費盡心機，但等她終於渾身溼淋淋，簇簇抖地站到甲板上，一隻膝蓋還是磕得青腫了。接着，愛德蒙也給吊上船來，然後，可憐的尤斯塔斯也上來了。最後上來的是那陌生人——一個比她大幾歲的金髮男孩。""Ca - Ca - Caspian!" gasped Lucy as soon as she had breath enough. For Caspian it was; Caspian, the boy king of Narnia whom they had helped to set on the throne during their last visit. Immediately Edmund recognized him too. All three shook hands and clapped one another on the back with great delight.
“凱——凱——凱斯賓！"露茜一緩過氣來，馬上氣喘吁吁地叫道。原來是凱斯賓——他們上回到納尼亞去時出過力扶上王位的納尼亞小國王凱斯賓。愛德蒙也立刻認出他了。三個人都歡天喜地，握手拍肩。"But who is your friend?" said Caspian almost at once, turning to Eustace with his cheerful smile. But Eustace was crying much harder than any boy of his age has a right to cry when nothing worse than a wetting has happened to him, and would only yell out, "Let me go. Let me go back. I don't like it."
"可你們這位朋友是什麼人啊？"凱斯賓笑容滿面地回頭對着尤斯塔斯，同時問道。誰知尤斯塔斯哭得更厲害了，任何跟他同年的男孩碰上大不了是渾身溼透這種事，有權利哭一場，可也沒哭得這麼厲害的，他只是一味乾號道:"讓我走。讓我回去。我不喜歡這種事。""Let you go?" said Caspian. "But where?"
"讓你走？"凱斯賓說，"可是上哪兒去呢？”Eustace rushed to the ship's side, as if he expected to see the picture frame hanging above the sea, and perhaps a glimpse of Lucy's bedroom. What he saw was blue waves flecked with foam, and paler blue sky, both
spreading without a break to the horizon. Perhaps we can hardly blame him if his heart sank. He was promptly sick.
尤斯塔斯衝到舷側，彷彿想看看掛在海面上的畫框似的，或者看一眼露茜的臥室也好。可他看到的是泛着星星泡沫的碧浪，淺藍色的天空，海天都一望無際。他嚇得魂不附體，也許我們倒不大好怪他。他頓時感到不舒服了"Hey! Rynelf," said Caspian to one of the sailors. "Bring spiced wine for their Majesties. You'll need something to warm you after that dip." He called Edmund and Lucy their Majesties because they and Peter and Susan had all been Kings and Queens of Narnia long before his time. Narnian time flows differently from ours. If you spent a hundred years in Narnia, you would still come back to our world at the very same hour of the very same day on which you left. And then, if you went back to Narnia after spending a week here, you might find that a thousand Narnian years had passed, or only a day, or no time at all. You never know till you get there. Consequently, when the Pevensie children had returned to Narnia last time for their second visit, it was (for the Narnians) as if King Arthur came back to Britain, as some people say he will. And I say the sooner the better.
“嗨！賴尼夫，"凱斯賓對一個水手說，"給兩位陛下送上香料酒。你們在水裏浸了一會以後，需要點東西暖暖身子。"他稱愛德蒙和露茜爲兩位陸下，因爲他們同彼得和蘇珊早在他即位之前好久就當上納尼亞的國王和女王了。納尼亞的時間過得跟我們這裏不一樣。如果你在納尼亞過上一百年，你回到我們這世界裏還是你離開的那一天的同一時辰。如果你在我們這世界裏過上一星期，或者只過上一天，或者只過上一會兒，再回到納尼亞去，你興許發現納尼亞已經過了一千年呢。你不到那兒就不知道。因此，佩文西家兩兄妹自從上回第二回到納尼亞去過以後，這回回來(在納尼亞人看來)就彷彿傳說中所說，總有一天會重返英國的亞瑟王終於重返了一樣。我說越快越好。Rynelf returned with the spiced wine steaming in a flagon and four silver cups. It was just what one wanted, and as Lucy and Edmund sipped it they could feel the warmth going right down to their toes. But Eustace
made faces and spluttered and spat it out and was sick again and began to cry again and asked if they hadn't any Plumptree's Vitaminized Nerve Food and could it be made with distilled water and anyway he insisted on being put ashore at the next station.
賴尼夫端來一瓶冒着氣的香料酒和四個銀盃。這酒來得正好，露茜和愛德蒙呻上一口頓時感到一股暖流直貫腳趾。可是尤斯塔斯卻苦着臉，吐啊啐啊，又嘔了起來，又放聲大哭，還問人家有沒有豐樹牌加維生素的營養食品，能不能用蒸餾水來調製，他還死乞白賴硬要人家到下一站就把他送上岸去。"This is a merry shipmate you've brought us, Brother," whispered Caspian to Edmund with a chuckle; but before he could say anything more Eustace burst out again.
"這位可是你們給我們帶來的可愛的夥伴，王兄。"凱斯賓格格笑着對愛德蒙咬着耳朵說，可是他還來不及再說什麼，尤斯塔斯又發作了。""Oh! Ugh! What on earth's that! Take it away, the horrid thing." .
"啊呀！哇！那到底是什麼啊！快把這討厭的東西帶走。"He really had some excuse this time for feeling a little surprised. Something very curious indeed had come out of the cabin in the poop and was slowly approaching them. You might call it - and indeed it was - a Mouse. But then it was a Mouse on its hind legs and stood about two feet high. A thin band of gold passed round its head under one ear and over the other and in this was stuck a long crimson feather. (As the Mouse's fur was very dark, almost black, the effect was bold and striking.) Its left paw rested on the hilt of a sword very nearly as long as its tail. Its balance, as it paced gravely along the swaying deck, was perfect, and its manners courtly. Lucy and Edmund recognized it at once Reepicheep, the most valiant of all the Talking Beasts of Narnia, and the Chief Mouse. It had won undying glory in the second Battle of Beruna. Lucy longed, as she had always done, to take Reepicheep up in her arms and cuddle him. But this, as she well knew, was a pleasure she could never have: it would have offended him deeply. Instead, she went down on one knee to talk to him.
原來這一回他感到有點吃驚倒是真有理由了。船尾樓的房艙裏果然出來了一個非常古怪的東西，向他們慢慢走來。你不妨管這叫作老鼠——的確是只老鼠。可這隻老鼠竟然兩條後腿站着，約莫有兩英尺高。一條細細的金箍箍着腦袋，戴在一隻耳朵下面，另一隻耳朵上面，箍裏還插着一根長長的深紅色羽毛。(因爲老鼠皮毛的顏色很深，幾乎是黑的，所以這樣打扮的效果非常醒目。)老鼠的左爪擱在一把幾乎跟尾巴一樣長的寶劍的柄上。它在晃盪的甲板上莊嚴地慢慢走來，居然四平八穩，態度也很優雅。露茜和愛德蒙一下子就認出它來了——雷佩契普，納尼亞王國會說話的獸類中最英勇善戰的老鼠大軍的頭頭。在柏盧納的第二次戰役中，它贏得了不朽的殊榮。露茜巴不得把雷佩契普摟在懷裏，抱抱它。過去她一直都想這樣做。可是她也很清楚，這種樂趣她可休想享受得到，因爲這樣做會深深得罪它的。所以她就單腿跪下跟它說話。Reepicheep put forward his left leg, drew back his right, bowed, kissed her hand, straightened himself, twirled his whiskers, and said in his shrill, piping voice:
雷佩契普伸出左腿，縮回右腿，鞠了一躬，吻吻她的手，再挺直身子，捻着鬍鬚，嗓子尖厲刺耳地說："My humble duty to your Majesty. And to King Edmund, too." (Here he bowed again.) "Nothing except your Majesties' presence was lacking to this glorious venture."
"臣謹向女王佳下致敬，並向愛德蒙國王陸下致敬。"(說到這兒它又鞠了一躬。)。。承蒙兩位陛下光臨，這次輝煌的遠航可說十全十美了。""Ugh, take it away," wailed Eustace. "I hate mice. And I never could bear performing animals. They're silly and vulgar and-and sentimental."
"啊唷，把它帶走，"尤斯塔斯哭叫道，"我恨老鼠。我一向受不了動物表演。又無聊，又粗俗——而且自作多情。""Am I to understand," said Reepicheep to Lucy after a long stare at Eustace, "that this singularly discourteous person is under your Majesty's protection? Because, if not-"
"敢情這位特別無禮的人是受你陛下保護的吧？"雷佩契普對尤斯塔斯盯了好一會兒才說，"因爲，要不是——At this moment Lucy and Edmund both sneezed.
這時露茜和愛德蒙兩人都打噴嚏了。"What a fool I am to keep you all standing here in your wet things," said Caspian. "Come on below and get changed. I'll give you my cabin of course, Lucy, but I'm afraid we have no women's clothes on board. You'll have to make do with some of mine. Lead the way, Reepicheep, like a good fellow."
"我多胡塗，竟讓你們渾身透溼的老站在這兒。"凱斯賓說，"快到下面去，換換衣服。露茜，我當然會把自己的房艙讓給你，不過，恐怕船上沒有女人穿的衣服。你只好將就一下穿我的了。雷佩契普，好好帶路。""To the convenience of a lady," said Reepicheep, "even a question of honour must give way - at least for the moment -" and here he looked very hard at Eustace. But Caspian hustled them on and in a few minutes Lucy found herself passing through the door into the stern cabin. She fell in love with it at once - the three square windows that looked out on the blue, swirling water astern, the low cushioned benches round three sides of the table, the swinging silver lamp overhead (Dwarfs' work, she knew at once by its exquisite delicacy) and the flat gold image of Aslan the Lion on the forward wall above the door. All this she took in in a flash, for Caspian immediately opened a door on the starboard side, and said, "This'll be your room, Lucy. I'll just get some dry things for myself-" he was rummaging in one of the lockers while he spoke - "and then leave you to change. If you'll fling your wet things outside the door I'll get them taken to the galley to be dried."
"看在女王的分上，"雷佩契普說。 "即使是榮譽的問題也只好放棄了，至少暫時只好如此。"說到這兒它向尤斯塔斯狠狠盯了一眼。可是凱斯賓催他們走，轉眼工夫，露茜就不知不覺穿過艙門，走進船尾艙了。她立刻就喜歡上這間房艙——三扇方窗，面臨船尾外打旋的碧藍海水，桌子三邊擺着軟墊矮凳，當頭吊着盞搖搖晃晃的銀燈(她看了精巧的做工就知道這是小矮人的手藝)，還有門上方牆壁上獅王阿斯蘭的平面金像。房艙裏的這一切她剛纔一眼就全看清了，因爲凱斯賓下子打開右舷一扇門，說道"這就是你的房間，露茜。我自己先拿幾件乾爽的衣物。"他說着就在一個貯藏箱裏翻找着，"找好了就讓你換衣服。如果你把溼衣物扔到門外，我就叫人拿到伙房裏去烘乾。"Lucy found herself as much at home as if she had been in Caspian's cabin for weeks, and the motion of the ship did not worry her, for in the old days when she had been a queen in Narnia she had done a good deal of voyaging. The cabin was very tiny but bright with painted panels (all birds and beasts and crimson dragons and vines) and spotlessly clean. Caspian's clothes were too big for her, but she could manage. His shoes, sandals and sea-boots were hopelessly big but she did not mind going barefoot on board ship. When she had finished dressing she looked out of her window at the water rushing past and took a long deep breath. She felt quite sure they were in for a lovely time.
露茜覺得悠閒自在，彷彿她在凱斯賓房艙裏已經住了好幾個星期似的，船身搖動她可一點不在乎，因爲當初她在納尼亞當女王那時，曾多次出海航行呢。這間房艙雖然很小，但很明亮，並有一幅幅鑲版畫(畫的都是飛禽走獸，硃紅色的龍和藤蔓)，而且纖塵不染。凱斯賓的衣服給她穿太大了，可她好歹能湊合着穿。他的鞋子、拖鞋和長統靴都太大，但光着腳在甲板上走她倒不在乎。她穿戴整齊後就眺望窗外沖刷而過的海水，並深深吸了口氣。她深信他們趕上一個好時光了。
