《黎明踏浪號》第15章:最後一片大海的奇觀
VERY soon after they had left Ramandu's country they began to feel that they had already sailed beyond the world. All was different. For one thing they all found that they were needing less sleep. One did not want to go
to bed. nor to eat much, nor even to talk except in low voices. Another thing was the light. There was too much of it. The sun when it came up each Morning looked twice, if not; three times, its usual size. And every
morning (which gave Lucy the strangest feeling of all) the huge white birds, singing their song with human voices in a language no one knew, streamed overhead and vanished astern on their way to their breakfast at
Aslan's Table. A little later they came flying back and vanished into the east.
"How beautifully clear the water is!" said Lucy to herself, as she leaned over the port side early in the afternoon of the second day.
And it was. The first thing that she noticed was a little black object, about the size of a shoe, travelling along at the same speed as the ship. For a moment she thought it was something floating on the surface. But then
there came floating past a bit of stale bread which the cook had just thrown out of the galley. And the bit of bread looked as if it were going to collide with the black thing, but it didn't. It passed above it, and Lucy now
saw that the black thing could not be on the surface. Then the black thing suddenly got very much bigger and flicked back to normal size a moment later.
Now Lucy knew she had seen something just like that happen somewhere else - if only she could remember where. She held her hand to her head and screwed up her face and put out her tongue in the effort to
remember. At last she did. Of course! It was like what you saw from a train on a bright sunny day. You saw the black shadow of your own coach running along the fields at the same pace as the train. Then you went
into a cutting; and immediately the same shadow flicked close up to you and got big, racing :long the grass of the cutting-bank. Then you came out of the cutting and - Pick! - once more the black shadow had gone back
to its normal size and was running along the fields.
"It's our shadow! - the shadow of the Dawn Treader," said Lucy. "Our shadow running along on the bottom of the sea. That time when it got bigger it went over a hill. But in that case the water must be clearer than I
thought! Good gracious, I must he seeing the bottom of the sea; fathoms and fathoms down."
As soon as she had said this she realized that the great silvery expanse which she had been seeing (without noticing) for some time was really the sand on the sea-bed and that ail sorts of darker or brighter patches were
not lights and shadows on the surface but real things on the bottom. At present, for instance, they were passing over a mass of soft purply green with a broad, winding strip of pale grey in the middle of it But now that
she knew it was on the bottom she saw it much better. She could see that bits of the dark stuff were much higher than other bits and were waving gently. "Just like trees in a wind," said Lucy. "And do believe that's what
they are. It's a submarine forest."
They passed on above it and presently the pale streak was joined by another pale streak. "If I was down there," thought Lucy, "that streak would be just like a road through the wood. And that place where it joins the
other Would be a crossroads. Oh, I do wish I was. Hallo! the forest is coming to an end. And I do believe the streak really was a road! I can still see it going on across the open sand. It's a different colour. And it's
marked out with something at the edges - dotted lines. Perhaps they are stones. And now it's getting wider."
But it was not really getting wider, it was getting nearer. She realized this because of the way in which the shadow of the ship came rushing up towards her. And the road she felt sure it was a road now - began to go in
zigzags. Obviously it was climbing up a steep hill. And when she held her head sideways and looked back, what she saw was very like what you see when you look down a winding road from the top of a hill. She could
even see the shafts of sunlight falling through the deep water on to the wooded valley - and, in the extreme distance, everything melting away into a dim greenness. But some places - the sunny ones, she thought - were
ultramarine blue.
She could not, however, spend much time looking back; what was coming into view in the forward direction was too exciting. The road had apparently now reached the top of the hill and ran straight forward. Little
specks were moving to and fro on it. And now something most wonderful, fortunately in full sunlight - or as full as it can be when it falls through fathoms of water - flashed into sight. It was knobbly and jagged and of a
pearly, or perhaps an ivory, colour. She was so nearly straight above it that at first she could hardly make out what it was. But everything became plain when she noticed its shadow. The sunlight was falling across
Lucy's shoulders, so the shadow of the thing lay stretched out on the sand behind it. And by its shape she saw clearly that it was a shadow of towers and pinnacles, minarets and domes.
"Why! - it's a city or a huge castle," said Lucy to herself "But I wonder why they've built it on top of a high mountain?"
Long afterwards when she was back in England and talked all these adventures over with Edmund, they thought of a reason and I am pretty sure it is the true one. In the sea, the deeper you go, the darker and colder it
gets, and it is down there, in the dark and cold, that dangerous things live - the squid and the Sea Serpent and the Kraken. The valleys are the wild, unfriendly places. The sea-people feel about their valleys as we do about
mountains, and feel about their mountains as we feel about valleys. It is on the heights (or, as we would say, "in the shallows") that there is warmth and peace. The reckless hunters and brave knights of the sea go down
into the depths on quests and adventures, but return home to the heights for rest and peace, courtesy and council, the sports, the dances and the songs.
They had passed the city and the sea-bed was still rising. It was only a few hundred feet below the ship now. The road had disappeared. They were sailing above an open park-like country, dotted with little groves of
brightlycoloured vegetation. And then - Lucy nearly squealed aloud with excitement-she had seen People.
There were between fifteen and twenty of them, and all mounted on sea-horses - not the tiny little sea-horses which you may have seen in museums but horses rather bigger than themselves. They must be noble and
lordly people, Lucy thought, for she could catch the gleam of gold on some of their foreheads and streamers of emerald- or orange-coloured stuff fluttered from their shoulders in the current. Then:
"Oh, bother these fish!" said Lucy, for a whole shoal of small fat fish, swimming quite close to the surface, had come between her and the Sea People. But though this spoiled her view it led to the most interesting thing
of all.
Suddenly a fierce little fish of a kind she had never seen before came darting up from below, snapped, grabbed, and sank rapidly with one of the fat fish in its mouth. And all the Sea People were sitting on their horses
staring up at what had happened. They seemed to be talking and laughing. And before the hunting fish had got back to them with its prey, another of the same kind came up from the Sea People. And Lucy was almost
certain that one big Sea Man who sat on his sea-horse in the middle of the party had sent it or released it; as if he had been holdng it back till then in his hand or on his wrist.
"Why, I do declare," said Lucy, "it's a hunting party. Or more like a hawking party. Yes, that's it. They ride out with these little fierce fish on their wrists just as we used to ride out with falcons on our wrists when we
were Kings and Queens at Cair Paravel long ago. And then they fly them - or I suppose I should say swim them - at the others."
She stopped suddenly because the scene was changing. The Sea People had noticed the Dawn Treader. The shoal of fish hard scattered in every direction: the People themselves were coming up to find out the meaning
of this big, black thing which had come between them and the sun. And now they were so close to the surface that if they had been in air, instead of water, Lucy could have spoken to them. There were men and women
both. All wore coronets of some kind and many had chains of pearls. They wore no other clothes. Their bodies were the colour of old ivory, their hair dark purple. The King in the centre (no one could mistake him for
anything but the King) looked proudly and fiercely into Lucy's face and shook a spear in his hand. His knights did the same. The faces of the ladies were filled with astonishment. Lucy felt sure they had never seen a ship
or a human before - and how should they, in seas beyond the world's end where no ship ever came?
"What are you staring at, Lu?" said a voice close beside her.
Lucy had been so absorbed in what she was seeing that she started at the sound, and when she turned she found that her arm had gone "dead" from leaning so long on the rail in one position. Drinian and Edmund were
beside her.
"Look," she said.
They both looked, but almost at once Drinian said in a low voice:
"Turn round at once, your Majesties - that's right, with our backs to the sea. And don't look as if we were talking about anything important."
"Why, what's the matter?" said Lucy as she obeyed.
"It'll never do for the sailors to see all that," said Drinian. "We'll have men falling in love with a seawoman, or falling in love with the under-sea country itself, and jumping overboard. I've heard of that kind of thing
happening before in strange seas. It's always unlucky to see these people."
"But we used to know them," said Lucy. "In the old days at Cair Paravel when my brother Peter was High King. They came to the surface and sang at our coronation."
"I think that must have been a different kind, Lu," said Edmund. "They could live in the air as well as under water. I rather think these can't. By the look of them they'd have surfaced and started attacking us long ago if
they could. They seem very fierce."
"At any rate," said Drinian, but at that moment two sounds were heard. One was a plop. The other was a voice from the fighting top shouting, "Man overboard!" Then everyone was busy. Some of the sailors hurried aloft
to take in the sail: others hurried below to get to the oars; and Rhince, who was on duty on the poop, began to put the helm hard over so as to come round and back to the man who had gone overboard. But by now
everyone knew that it wasn't strictly a man. It was Reepicheep.
"Drat that mouse!" said Drinian. "It's more trouble than all the rest of the ship's company put together. If there is any scrape to be got into, in it will get! It ought to be put in irons - keel-hauled - marooned - have its
whiskers cut off. Can anyone see the little blighter?"
All this didn't mean that Drinian really disliked Reepicheep. On the contrary he liked him very much and was therefore frightened about him, and being frightened put him in a bad temper - just as your mother is much
angrier with you for running out into the road in front of a car than a stranger would be. No one, of course, was afraid of Reepicheep's drowning, for he was an excellent swimmer; but the three who knew what was
going on below the water were afraid of those long, cruel spears in the hands of the Sea People.
In a few minutes the Dawn Treader had come round and everyone could see the black blob in the water which was Reepicheep. He was chattering with the greatest excitement but as his mouth kept on getting filled with
water nobody could understand what he was saying.
"He'll blurt the whole thing out if we don't shut him up," cried Drinian. To prevent this he rushed to the side and lowered a rope himself, shouting to the sailors, "All right, all right. Back to your places. I hope I can heave
a mouse up without help." And as Reepicheep began climbing up the rope not very nimbly because his wet fur made him heavy - Drinian leaned over and whispered to him,
"Don't tell. Not a word."
But when the dripping Mouse had reached the deck it turned out not to be at all interested in the Sea People.
"Sweet!" he cheeped. "Sweet, sweet!"
"What are you talking about?" asked Drinian crossly. "And you needn't shake yourself all over me, either."
"I tell you the water's sweet," said the Mouse. "Sweet, fresh. It isn't salt."
For a moment no one quite took in the importance of this. But then Reepicheep once more repeated the old prophecy:
"Where the waves grow sweet, Doubt not, Reepicheep, There is the utter East."
Then at last everyone understood.
"Let me have a bucket, Rynelf," said Drinian.
It was handed him and he lowered it and up it came again. The water shone in it like glass.
"Perhaps your Majesty would like to taste it first," said Drinian to Caspian.
The King took the bucket in both hands, raised it to his lips, sipped, then drank deeply and raised his head. His face was changed. Not only his eyes but everything about him seemed to be brighter.
"Yes," he said, "it is sweet. That's real water, that. I'm not sure that it isn't going to kill me. But it is the death I would have chosen - if I'd known about it till now."
"What do you mean?" asked Edmund.
"It - it's like light more than anything else," said Caspian.
"That is what it is," said Reepicheep. "Drinkable light. We must be very near the end of the world now."
There was a moment's silence and then Lucy knelt down on the deck and drank from the bucket.
"It's the loveliest thing I have ever tasted," she said with a kind of gasp. "But oh - it's strong. We shan't need to eat anything now."
And one by one everybody on board drank. And for a long time they were all silent. They felt almost too well and strong to bear it; and presently they began to notice another result. As I have said before, there had been
too much light ever since they left the island of Ramandu - the sun too large (though not too hot), the sea too bright, the air too shining. Now, the light grew no less - if anything, it increased - but they could bear it. They
could look straight up at the sun without blinking. They could see more light than they had ever seen before. And the deck and the sail and their own faces and bodies became brighter and brighter and every rope shone.
And next morning, when the sun rose, now five or six times its old size, they stared hard into it and could see the very feathers of the birds that came flying from it.
Hardly a word was spoken on board all that day, till about dinner-time (no one wanted any dinner, the water was enough for them) Drinian said:
"I can't understand this. There is not a breath of wind. The sail hangs dead. The sea is as flat as a pond. And yet we drive on as fast as if there were a gale behind us."
"I've been thinking that, too," said Caspian. "We must be caught in some strong current."
"H'm," said Edmund. "That's not so nice if the World really has an edge and we're getting near it."
"You mean," said Caspian, "that we might be just well, poured over it?"
"Yes, yes," cried Reepicheep, clapping his paws together. "That's how I've always imagined it - the World like a great round table and the waters of all the oceans endlessly pouring over the edge. The ship will tip up stand
on her head - for one moment we shall see over the edge - and then, down, down, the rush, the speed -"
"And what do you think will be waiting for us at the bottom, eh?" said Drinian.
"Aslan's country perhaps," said the Mouse, its eyes shining. "Or perhaps there isn't any bottom. Perhaps it goes down for ever and ever. But whatever it is, won't it be worth anything just to have looked for one moment
beyond the edge of the world."
"But look -here," said Eustace, "this is all rot. The world's round - I mean, round like a ball, not like a table."
"Our world is," said Edmund. "But is this?"
"Do you mean to say," asked Caspian, "that you three come from a round world (round like a ball) and you've never told me! It's really too bad of you. Because we have fairy-tales in which there are round worlds and I
always loved them. I never believed there were any real ones. But I've always wished there were and I've always longed to live in one. Oh, I'd give anything - I wonder why you can get into our world and we never get
into yours? If only I had the chance! It must be exciting to live on a thing like a ball. Have you ever been to the parts where people walk about upside-down?"
Edmund shook his head. "And it isn't like that," he added. "There's nothing particularly exciting about a round world when you're there.
。真是太亮太亮了。每天早晨太陽出來看上去即使沒有通常三倍那麼大，也有兩倍那麼大。而且每天早晨(這點給露茜的感受最奇特)那些大白鳥用人類的聲音唱著歌，誰也聽不懂唱的是什麼語言，它們川
流不息地飛過頭頂，飛去阿斯蘭的餐桌吃早餐，飛到船尾處就不見蹤影了。不一會兒，它們又飛回來，飛到東邊又不見了。
“海水清澈得多美啊!”第二天剛到午後，露茜就趴在左舷側自言自語道。
果然如此，她注意到的第一樣東西是個小小的黑物件，像一隻鞋那麼大小，同船速一樣快地跟著船一路過來。一時間她還以為那東西是漂在水面上的。可是這時廚子剛從廚房裡扔出一塊陳麵包，麵包在水
面上漂過，看起來好像要跟那東西相撞了，誰知競沒撞上。麵包在那東西上面掠過了，露茜這才明白那黑東西不可能在水面上。然後那黑東西一下子大得不得了，過一會兒又閃回原來的大小。
露茜馬上知道自己在別處也看見過同樣的情景——只要她記得在哪兒就好了。她一手撐著頭，板著臉，伸出舌頭，拼命地想。終於想出來了。不用說!就像你在陽光明媚的好天，乘在火車裡看出來的情景
一樣。你看見的是自己那列客車的黑影同車速一樣快地在田野上一路賓士。等到火車開進路塹，那影子頓時就一閃貼近火車，變大，順著路塹的草坡一路飛跑。再等到開出路塹——一下子!——那黑影又
變回原來的大小，在田野間一路飛馳。
“原來是我們這條船的影子!——黎明踏浪號的影子，”露茜說，“我們的船影在海底賓士。開過海底的山頂時船影就大了。這樣的話，海水一定比我想像中還要清!老天哪，我一定看見好深好深的海底了。”
她說完這句話，心裡已明白自己不知不覺一直看了好一陣子的那一大片粼粼銀光實際上是海底的沙灘，各種深一片淡一片的不是海面上的光影，而是水底的實物。比如說，眼下他們的船開過一大叢軟軟的
綠中帶紫的東西，當中還有一條彎彎繞繞的淡灰色闊帶子。不過既然她知道這是在海底下，她看起來就更清楚了。她能看見那一小片黑乎乎的東西比另一片高，而且輕輕在飄動。“正像風中樹木一樣，”露
茜說，“我相信這些是樹。是海底森林。”
他們開過了這片森林上面，不一會兒那條灰帶子就和另一條灰帶子匯合了。“假如我在下面，”露茜心裡想，“那條帶子就像林間一條路。兩條帶子的匯合點就是十字路口了。啊呀，我真希望在下面啊。嗨!
森林到頭啦。我相信那帶子真是一條路!我還能看見它一直穿過空曠的沙灘呢。顏色也不同了。邊上還畫著什麼——虛線。也許是石頭吧。現在變寬了。”
不過這並不是真的寬了，而是近了。她知道這點，因為船影經過時，這條路朝船身衝過來了。而這條路——她拿準這是條路了——開始彎彎曲曲了。顯然這條路是爬上一座陡峭小山的路。當她側著頭，回
頭看時，覺得很像在山頂俯看一條彎彎曲曲的道路那樣。她甚至看得見陽光一直透過深水，照在樹木繁茂的山谷上：而在最遠處，一切景物都融入模模糊糊一片綠色中。但有些地方——據她看，是照著陽
光的地方——倒是深藍色的。
但是，她不能多花時間回頭看；前方映入眼簾的景觀太令人激動了。現在那條路分明通到山頂，筆直向前了。上面還有小小的斑點在動來動去。眼下，幸虧陽光充足——陽光照進深深的海底能有多亮就有
多亮——有樣最奇妙的東西閃現在眼前。這東西是小圓丘形，參差不齊，顏色像珍珠，或者說像象牙。開頭她幾乎恰的正在這東西上面，所以簡直分辨不出是什麼。但等她看到這東西的影子才一清二楚。
陽光正照過露茜的肩膀，所以那東西的影子直躺在它後面的沙地上。看形狀她才明白那原來是高塔、尖塔、叫拜樓和圓頂的影子。
“哎呀!——原來是座城市，要不就是座大城堡。”露茜自言自語說，“可是不知道為什麼他們要把這造在高山頂上?”
她回到英國很久以後，跟愛德蒙談起這一切奇遇，他們想出一條理由，我相信這理由一點不錯。在海里，越深越黑，越深越冷，危險的怪物——大烏賊啊、大海蛇啊、海怪啊，就住在下面又黑又冷的地方
。山谷都是荒野凶險的地方。海人對他們山谷的看法就跟我們對高山的看法一樣，對他們高山的看法又跟我們對山谷的看法一樣。在高處(或者，按我們的說法是“在淺處”)才又暖和又寧靜。海底那些魯莽
的獵人和勇敢的騎士到深處去探險獵奇，然後回到高處家裡安心休息，跟別人禮尚往來，開會議事，娛樂玩耍，唱歌跳舞。
他們這條船開過城市，海底不斷在升高。現在海底離船下只有幾百英尺了。那條路也不見了。他們這條船現在正在一片公園般空曠的地方上面航行，地上點綴著一簇簇色彩鮮豔的草木。於是——露茜差點
興奮得高聲尖叫起來——她看見人了。
一共有十五個到二十個左右，全騎在海馬上——不是你在博物館裡看到的那種小海馬，而是比他們身材高大得多的海馬。露茜心想，他們一定是些王公貴族，因為她能一眼看見水裡有些人的腦門上金光閃
閃，翠綠色的飄帶或橙紅色的織物在他們肩上飄動。
忽然間，露茜說：“啊呀，這些魚真討厭!”因為一群肥肥的小魚正遊得貼近水面，擋在她和海人之間。可是雖然這一來使她大為掃興，卻讓她看到一幕最有趣的事。有一條她從來沒見過的凶狠的小魚冷不
防從水底跳起來，猛地張口咬住一條肥魚不放，銜在嘴裡迅速沉到水下。海人都騎在海馬上，抬眼看著這一幕。他們似乎有說有笑。那條獵魚還沒帶著捕獲物回到他們身邊，另一條同樣的獵魚又從海人身
邊跳上水面。露茜幾乎肯定就是這一夥中間那個騎著海馬的大個子把獵魚放出去的；似乎剛才他一直把獵魚抓在手裡或架在手腕上。
“哎呀，那可真怪，”露茜說，“這是一支狩獵隊啊。不過倒更像一支放鷹打獵隊。對了，準是的。他們手腕上架著這些凶猛的小魚，騎海馬出來，正如我們很久以前在凱爾帕拉維爾當國王和女王那陣子，
經常手腕上架著獵鷹，騎馬出去一樣。見到獵物就放獵魚飛——我看，該說放獵魚遊——向獵物。怎麼……”
她突然住口了，因為景象變了。海人看到了黎明踏浪號。那群魚向四處逃竄，海人也親自冒出來檢視這個擋在太陽和他們之間的黑乎乎的龐然大物是什麼玩意兒。眼下他們快貼近水面了，如果他們在露天
，不是在水裡，露茜倒會跟他們說話呢。他們有男有女，頭上都戴著某種王冠，許多人還戴著珍珠項鍊。他們沒穿別的衣服。身體是陳年象牙的顏色，頭髮是深紫紅色。國王在當中(沒人會認錯他)高傲而
凶狠地注視著露茜的臉，手裡揮舞一枝長矛。手下的騎士也跟他一致行動。幾位女的臉上滿是驚訝的神色。露茜相信他們以前根本沒見過船或人——他們身處世界盡頭外邊的海洋裡，從來沒有船到過那兒
，怎麼見識得到呢?
“你在盯著看什麼啊，露?”身邊有個聲音說。
露茜原來一心看著，聽到聲音嚇了一跳，她回過頭來，才發現因為全身重心壓在欄杆一邊，一條手臂早發麻了。德里寧和愛德蒙在她身邊。
“瞧。”她說。
他們兩個都瞧了，可是德里寧幾乎馬上低聲說：
“兩位陛下，馬上掉過頭來——對了，背對著大海。別像在談論什麼重要大事似的。”
“啊呀，怎麼回事啊?”露茜聽從他的話後說道。
“水手是絕對不該看這一切的，”德里寧說，“看了以後，我們就有人會愛上海女，或者愛上海底世界，跳下水去。我聽說過以前在陌生的海域裡出過這種事。看見這些人總是倒黴的。”
“可是我們過去在凱爾帕拉維爾那年月認識他們，”露茜說，“當時我哥哥彼得正當上至尊王，他們來到水面上，唱歌祝賀我們加冕。”
“我看那一定是另外一種海人，露，”愛德蒙說，“他們又可以在水下生活，又可以在露天生活。我倒認為這些人無法在露天裡生活。看他們樣子，如果辦得到的話，早就冒出水面攻擊我們了。他們樣子似
乎很凶狠。”
“總而言之——”德里寧開口說。誰知正在這時，忽然聽到兩種聲響。一是撲通一聲。二是觀測臺上傳來一聲吼，“有人落水了!”於是人人都忙著了。有些水手匆匆爬上去落篷，有些水手匆匆跑下去划槳；在
船尾樓值班的賴因斯開始拼命轉舵，把船掉過頭來開回那人落水的地方。可是這時大家都知道落水的根本不是人，而是雷佩契普。
“那老鼠真該死!”德里寧說，“船上其餘人加在一起也沒它那麼多的麻煩。如果有什麼倒黴事，準有它一份!應當把它戴上腳鐐手銬——用繩子把它綁在船的龍骨底下拖——把它放逐到荒島上去——把它的胡
子剃掉。誰看得見這個小混蛋?”
說了這麼一大套話並不意味著德里寧當真不喜歡雷佩契普。恰恰相反，他很喜歡它，因此害怕它出事，而由於害怕，德里寧才發脾氣——正如你母親為了你跑出去在路上迎面碰到了汽車而大為生氣，而一
個陌生人就決不會這樣。當然，雷佩契普掉進水裡，誰也不怕，因為它是個游泳好手：可是知道水下將有什麼事發生的三個人卻害怕海人手中那些殺氣騰騰的長矛。
一會兒，黎明踏浪號繞過彎來了，大家都看得見水裡那個黑乎乎的東西就是雷佩契普。它正興高采烈地吱吱喳喳說話，可是嘴裡灌滿了水，所以沒人聽得懂它在說什麼。
“如果我們不讓它閉上嘴，它可要把什麼事情都捅出去了。”德里寧叫道。為了阻止它，他奔向舷側，親自放下一根纜繩，對水手們喊著說：“行了，行了。回到你們的崗位上去。希望我不要人幫忙就能把
一隻老鼠拉上來。”雷佩契普從纜繩上爬上來了——行動不是很利索，因為渾身皮毛都溼透，身子也沉了——德里寧彎下腰，對它悄聲說：
“別說。一句話也別說。”
誰知溼淋淋的老鼠踏上甲板後，原來對海人竟絲毫不感興趣。
“甜啊!”它吱吱叫道，“甜啊，甜啊!”
“你在說些什麼啊?”德里寧生氣地問，“你也用不著把水全抖在我身上。”
“水真的是甜的，”老鼠說，“甜美、新鮮，不是成的。”
一時間，沒人完全領會這番話的重要意義。可是這時雷佩契普又重複那段老預言了：
海水變得甜又香，
雷佩契普，把心放，
那裡就是極東方。
大家一聽才終於明白過來。
“給我一個水桶，賴尼夫。”德里寧說。
水桶遞到他手裡，他就把水桶放下去，再吊上來。那水果然像玻璃一樣閃閃發光。
“也許陛下願意先嚐一口吧?”德里寧對凱斯賓說。
國王雙手捧住水桶，舉到脣邊，淺淺啜了一口，又深深喝了一大口，再抬起頭。他的臉色變了。不僅眼睛似乎更亮，而且精神煥發。
“是啊，”他說，“果然甜。這才是真正的水啊。我不敢肯定喝了這水不會送命。不過如果現在才知道這水的味道，我倒願意這樣死掉。”
“你這是什麼意思?”愛德蒙問。
“這——這比任何東西更像光。”凱斯賓說。
“說得一點不錯，”雷佩契普說，“可以喝的光。我們現在一定貼近世界盡頭了。”
大家沉默了片刻，於是露茜在甲板上跪下，就著水桶喝水。
“我生來還從沒嚐到這麼香的東西呢。”她喘著氣說，“不過，啊呀——真有勁。我們現在什麼都不需要吃了。”
船上的人一個個都喝了一通，全都久久默不作聲。他們都感到這水簡直太妙了，太有勁了，未免受不了；不一會兒，他們又開始看出另一種效果。我前文說過，自從他們離開拉曼杜的島以來，光線很強—
—太陽很大(雖然還不太熱)，海面很亮，天空很燦爛。這時，亮光不見減弱——要說嗎，反而增強了——可是他們倒受得了啦。他們可以一眼也不眨地筆直仰望著太陽，他們能看著比以前見過的更強烈的
亮光。甲板上、船帆上、他們自己的臉上、身體上都變得越來越明亮，越來越明亮，每根纜繩都閃閃發光。第二天早晨，太陽升起時比平時大了五六倍，他們使勁盯著太陽，看得見從太陽上飛起的鳥的羽
毛。
那天整整一天，船上簡直沒人說過一句話。直到午餐時間(誰也不想進餐，喝了這水大家就夠受用的了)，德里寧說：
“這點我弄不明白，一絲風都沒有，船帆掛著不動。海面平靜得像小池塘。可是我們的船還是開得一帆風順。”
“我也一直在琢磨這事，”凱斯賓說，“我們一定是碰上什麼強大的水流了。”
“嗯，”愛德蒙說，“如果世界真有個邊緣的話，我們這條船又正在接近邊緣，那可不妙啊。”
“你是說，”凱斯賓說，“我們這條船可能會——呃，就這樣從邊上流出去?”
“是啊，是啊，”雷佩契普拍著兩個爪子說，“我就是始終這麼想像的——世界像個大圓桌，各大洋的水無窮無盡地從邊上流下去。這條船會翻倒，來個倒栽蔥——一會兒工夫我們翻過邊緣就明白了——接
著就往下扎，往下飛速猛衝——”
“呃，你看底下有什麼在等著我們呢?”德里寧說。
“也許是阿斯蘭的國土吧，”雷佩契普眼睛閃閃發光說，“或許沒什麼底。也許一直衝下去，衝下去，沒個頭。可是不管是什麼，只要看一會兒世界盡頭外邊是什麼景象，豈不是也值得嗎?”
“不過聽我說，”尤斯塔斯說，“這簡直是荒唐!世界是圓的——我是說，圓得像個球，不是像張桌子。”
“我們的世界是圓的，”愛德蒙說，“可這個世界是不是圓的呢?”
“你們意思是說，”凱斯賓問，“你們三位都來自一個圓圓的世界(圓得像個球)，而你們從來沒跟我說起過!你們真是太不像話了。因為我們的童話裡就有圓圓的世界，我一直很喜歡這種世界。我根本不相信
有什麼真正的圓世界。不過我總是希望有這種世界，而且總是嚮往在一個這種世界裡生活。啊呀，我願意拿一切來換——我不知你們為什麼可以進入我們的世界，而我們就根本不能進入你們的世界?只要
有這麼個機會就好了!生活在一個球上一定夠刺激的。你們到過人們顛倒走路的地方嗎?”愛德蒙搖搖頭，“事情並不是這樣的，”他又加了一句。“一旦你到了那兒，圓圓的世界就沒什麼特別刺激了。”
