C. S.刘易斯（1898—1963），英国著名作家，所著儿童故事集《纳尼亚传奇》七部曲，情节动人，妙趣横生。本文选自《纳尼亚传奇》第二部《凯斯宾王子》。
　　The worst of sleeping out of doors is that you wake up so dreadfully early. And when you wake you have to get up because the ground is so hard that you are uncomfortable. And it makes matters worse if there is nothing but apples for breakfast and you have had nothing but apples for supper the night before. When Lucy had said—truly enough that it was a glorious morning， there did not seem to be anything else nice to be said. Edmund said what everyone was feeling， “We’ve simply got to get off this island.”
　　When they had drunk from the well and splashed their faces they all went down the stream again to the shore and stared at the channel which divided them from the mainland.
　　“We’ll have to swim，” said Edmund.
　　“It would be all right for Su，” said Peter （Susan had won prizes for swimming at school）. “But I don’t know about the rest of us.” By “the rest of us” he really meant Edmund who couldn’t yet do two lengths at the school baths， and Lucy， who could hardly swim at all！
　　“Anyway，” said Susan， “there may be currents. Father says it’s never wise to bathe in a place you don’t know.”
　　“But， Peter，” said Lucy， “look here. I know I can’t swim for nuts at home—in England， I mean. But couldn’t we all swim long ago—if it was long ago—when we were Kings and Queens in Narnia？ We could ride then too， and do all sorts of things. Don’t you think...”
　　“Ah， but we were sort of grown-up then，” said Peter. “We reigned for years and years and learned to do things. Aren’t we just back at our proper ages again now？”
　　“Oh！” said Edmund in a voice which made everyone stop talking and listen to him.
　　“I’ve just seen it all，” he said.
　　“Seen what？” asked Peter.
　　“Why， the whole thing，” said Edmund. “You know what we were puzzling about last night， that it was only a year ago since we left Narnia but everything looks as if no one had lived in Cair Paravel for hundreds of years？ Well， don’t you see？ You know that， however long we seemed to have lived in Narnia， when we got back through the wardrobe it seemed to have taken no time at all？”
　　“Go on，” said Susan. “I think I’m beginning to understand.”
　　露宿的痛苦在清早醒來时是最厉害的。你一睁开眼就必须起来，因为地面太硬，你觉得很不舒服。更糟糕的是，早餐完全没有着落，只有苹果。前一天晚上，大家吃的也是苹果。当露茜说这是个阳光明媚的早晨时（她的话并没有错），小伙伴们谁也没有在意。爱德蒙说“我们必须尽快离开这个小岛”，这才是大家的心里话。
　　他们在井边喝了点水，再蘸了点往脸上拍了拍，算是洗了脸，然后顺溪流而下。他们来到海岸边，久久地凝视着眼前的海峡，正是这海峡让他们与大陆完全隔绝了。 　　“我們得游过去。”爱德蒙说。
　　“苏珊没有问题（因为她在学校时就是游泳健将）。”彼得说，“可是，我不知道咱们几个怎么样。”他说的“咱们几个”是指爱德蒙和露茜。爱德蒙至今在学校的游泳池里也游不了一个来回，而露茜在水里简直就是个秤砣！
　　苏珊说：“不管怎样，海里也许有暗流。爸爸说在未知区域游泳是很不明智的。”
　　“可是，彼得，”露茜说，“在学校，我是不会游泳，可是自从来到纳尼亚，我们不是学会了很多吗？骑马、打猎……当然也包括游泳啊！你不认为……”
　　“嗯，但是在纳尼亚我们都是成年人啊。”彼得说，“我们甚至将国家治理得好好的，也的确学会了做很多事情。可那一切已时过境迁了。”
　　“哦！”爱德蒙叫了一声。所有人都停下来听他讲。
　　“我有些明白了。”爱德蒙若有所思。
　　“明白什么了？”彼得问。
　　“就是这里所发生的一切啊。”爱德蒙激动地说，“我一直在想为什么呢？为什么我们离开纳尼亚不过才一年，凯尔帕拉维尔却好像已经被废弃好几百年了？难道你还没想明白吗？也就是说，或许纳尼亚的漫长光阴在英格兰不过是弹指一挥间。”
　　“说下去，”苏珊说，“我也开始有点明白了。”
　　“And that means，” continued Edmund， “that， once you’re out of Narnia， you have no idea how Narnian time is going. Why shouldn’t hundreds of years have gone past in Narnia while only one year has passed for us in England？”
　　“By Jove， Ed，” said Peter. “I believe you’ve got it. In that sense it really was hundreds of years ago that we lived in Cair Paravel. And now we’re coming back to Narnia just as if we were Crusaders or Anglo-Saxons or Ancient Britons or someone coming back to modern England？”
　　“How excited they’ll be to see us—” began Lucy， but at the same moment everyone else said， “Hush！” or “Look！” For now something was happening.
　　There was a wooded point on the mainland a little to their right， and they all felt sure that just beyond that point must be the mouth of the river. And now， round that point there came into sight a boat. When it had cleared the point， it turned and began coming along the channel towards them. There were two people on board， one rowing， the other sitting in the stern and holding a bundle that twitched and moved as if it were alive. Both these people seemed to be soldiers. They had steel caps on their heads and light shirts of chain-mail. Their faces were bearded and hard. The children drew back from the beach into the wood and watched without moving a finger.
　　“This’ll do，” said the soldier in the stern when the boat had come about opposite to them.
　　“What about tying a stone to his feet， Corporal？” said the other， resting on his oars.
　　“Garn！” growled the other. “We don’t need that， and we haven’t brought one. He’ll drown sure enough without a stone， as long as we’ve tied the cords right.” With these words he rose and lifted his bundle. Peter now saw that it was really alive and was in fact a Dwarf， bound hand and foot but struggling as hard as he could. Next moment he heard a twang just beside his ear， and all at once the soldier threw up his arms， dropping the Dwarf into the bottom of the boat， and fell over into the water. He floundered away to the far bank and Peter knew that Susan’s arrow had struck on his helmet. He turned and saw that she was very pale but was already fitting a second arrow to the string. But it was never used. As soon as he saw his companion fall， the other soldier， with a loud cry， jumped out of the boat on the far side， and lie also floundered through the water （which was apparently just in his depth） and disappeared into the woods of the mainland. 　　“Quick！ Before she drifts！” shouted Peter. He and Susan， fully dressed as they were， plunged in， and before the water was up to their shoulders their hands were on the side of the boat. In a few seconds they had hauled her to the bank and lifted the Dwarf out， and Edmund was busily engaged in cutting his bonds with the pocket knife. （Peter’s sword would have been sharper， but a sword is very inconvenient for this sort of work because you can’t hold it anywhere lower than the hilt.） When at last the Dwarf was free， he sat up， rubbed his arms and legs， and exclaimed： “Well， whatever they say， you don’t feel like ghosts.”
　　Like most Dwarfs he was very stocky and deep-chested. He would have been about three feet high if he had been standing up， and an immense beard and whiskers of coarse red hair left little of his face to be seen except a beak-like nose and twinkling black eyes.
　　“Anyway，” he continued， “ghosts or not， you’ve saved my life and I’m extremely obliged to you.”
　　“这就是说，”爱德蒙继续说道，“一旦我们离开纳尼亚，原来的时间概念就不存在了。虽然我们在英格蘭才一年时间，但这一年完全有可能就是纳尼亚的好几百年呢！”
　　“真棒，爱德蒙！”彼得兴奋起来，“我相信你说得对。”“这一切已经是好几百年前的事情了！我们现在重返纳尼亚，就像是十字军，或盎格鲁-撒克逊人或古英国人回到今天的英国一样！”
　　“过去的朋友如果还在，见到我们会惊呆的！”露茜激动地说。“嘘！看！”三个伙伴打断了露茜的话，因为这时发生了新的情况。
　　海峡对面，他们的右前方，是一片树林，而他们都能肯定的是，河口就隐藏在那片林子的另一侧。此刻，从树林后面划出来一条小船，横穿海峡朝他们驶来。船上坐着两个人，一个划桨，另一个坐在船尾，一直使劲按着什么，被按着的东西似乎在拼命地挣扎着，应该是个活物。坐的两人应该是士兵身穿盔甲，胡子拉碴，长相彪悍凶恶。孩子们赶紧在林中隐蔽起来，紧张地注视着那条船。
　　“就这儿吧。”坐在船尾的那个人说。这时候小船正好停在孩子们对面。
　　“老大，要不要在他脚上捆一块大石头？”划桨的人停下了手中的桨。
　　“狗屁，”船尾那人暴躁地说，“我们没带，也不需要。咱们把绳子绑紧些，还能淹不死他！”他一边阴阳怪气地说着，一边立起身提起了一团东西。彼得看得清清楚楚，那是一个小矮人，他手脚被缚，仍在挣扎。突然，耳边嗖的一声，只见那家伙手一松，身子一歪，落入水中，挣扎着朝对岸游去。小矮人被重重地摔在小船的底板上。原来苏珊放箭射中了那个“老大”的头盔。彼得刚反应过来，虽然苏珊面色苍白，但她已经搭上了第二支箭，可这支箭没派上用场。另一个士兵看到同伴的遭遇，惊叫一声立即从小船的另一端跳入水中，没命地游到对岸，两人很快消失在树林中。
　　“快，别让小船顺水漂走了！”彼得着急地喊道。他和苏珊没来得及脱下衣服，就扑通跳进水里，没费多大劲儿，便将小船拖到岸边，小矮人还在里面，爱德蒙赶紧用小刀割断他身上的绳索（彼得的剑应该更锋利，但用剑来割的话更不方便，因为没有比剑柄更低的位置给人握）。小矮人站起来，活动活动四肢，然后大声说：“无论他们怎么说，我看你们……你们并不像是妖魔鬼怪。”
　　和绝大多数小矮人一样，他又矮又小、鸡胸，身高不足一米，粗重的红色大胡子垂到胸前，脸显得很小，有着山峰般耸立的高鼻子和一双炯炯发亮的黑眼睛。
　　“不管怎样，”他继续说，“无论你们是人是鬼，救命之恩，我都不胜感激。”
　　“But why should we be ghosts？” asked Lucy.
　　“I’ve been told all my life，” said the Dwarf， “that these woods along the shore were as full of ghosts as they were of trees. That’s what the story is. And that’s why， when they want to get rid of anyone， they usually bring him down here （like they were doing with me） and say they’ll leave him to the ghosts. But I always wondered if they didn’t really drown ’em or cut their throats. I never quite believed in the ghosts. But those two cowards you’ve just shot believed all right. They were more frightened of taking me to my death than I was of going！” 　　“Oh，” said Susan. “So that’s why they both ran away.”
　　“Eh？ What’s that？” said the Dwarf.
　　“They got away，” said Edmund. “To the mainland.”
　　“I wasn’t shooting to kill， you know，” said Susan. She would not have liked anyone to think she could miss at such a short range.
　　“Hm，” said the Dwarf. “That’s not so good. That may mean trouble later on， unless they hold their tongues for their own sake.”
　　“What were they going to drown you for？” asked Peter.
　　“Oh， I’m a dangerous criminal， I am，” said the Dwarf cheerfully. “But that’s a long story. Meantime， I was wondering if perhaps you were going to ask me to breakfast？ You’ve no idea what an appetite it gives one， being executed.”
　　“There’s only apples，” said Lucy dolefully.
　　“Better than nothing， but not so good as fresh fish，” said the Dwarf. “It looks as if I’ll have to ask you to breakfast instead. I saw some fishing tackle in that boat. And anyway， we must take her round to the other side of the island. We don’t want anyone from the mainland coming down and seeing her.”
　　“I ought to have thought of that myself，” said Peter.
　　The four children and the Dwarf went down to the water’s edge， pushed off the boat with some difficulty， and scrambled aboard. The Dwarf at once took charge. The oars were of course too big for him to use， so Peter rowed and the Dwarf steered them north along the channel and presently eastward round the tip of the island. From here the children could see right up the river， and all the bays and headlands of the coast beyond it. They thought they could recognize bits of it， but the woods， which had grown up since their time， made everything look very different.
　　When they had come round into open sea on the east of the island， the Dwarf took to fishing. They had an excellent catch of pavenders， a beautiful rainbow-coloured fish which they all remembered eating in Cair Paravel in the old days. When they had caught enough they ran the boat up into a little creek and moored her to a tree.
　　The Dwarf， who was a most capable person （and， indeed， though one meets bad Dwarfs， I never heard of a Dwarf who was a fool）， cut the fish open， cleaned them， and said， “Now， what we want next is some firewood.”
　　“We’ve got some up at the castle，” said Edmund.
　　The Dwarf gave a low whistle. “Beards and bedsteads！" he said. "So there really is a castle， after all？”
　　“It’s only a ruin，” said Lucy. 　　“但為什么说我们是鬼？”露茜好奇地问。
　　“一直以来大家都这么说啊，”小矮人说，“都说海岸这边鬼怪横行，多如树叶。所以要被干掉的人常常被带到这个地方来（正像我一样），说是要交给鬼怪去处理。我总是在想鬼怪是不是真把人活活淹死，或者割断谁的喉咙。我并不惧怕鬼神，可是刚才那两个胆小鬼却怕得要命。他们送我去死，而面对死亡时，却比我懦弱一千倍！”
　　“哦，”苏珊笑着说，“难怪他俩逃得那么快。”
　　“什么？逃走了？”小矮人立即紧张起来。
　　“是的，”爱德蒙说，“逃到大陆上去了。”
　　“我本来也不打算伤害他们的，请原谅。”苏珊赶忙解释，她怕被说箭法不精。
　　“嗯，”小矮人说，“那确实不太好。因为意味着恐怕我们要有麻烦了，除非他们为了逃避失职的责任而守口如瓶。”
　　“他们为什么要淹死你？”彼得问。
　　“我是一个危险的罪犯，真的！”小矮人神气活现地说，“说起来话就长了。不过，我现在脑子里想的是也许你们会邀请我共进早餐？你们无法想象，一个刚死里逃生的人，胃口有多么好。”
　　“这儿只有苹果。”露茜面露愧色。
　　“总比什么都没有强，当然，能有几条鲜鱼做早餐就更好了。”小矮人咂咂嘴，“看来我只好反客为主，请你们吃早餐啰。喏，那小船上有些钓具，不过大家还是先把小船挪到岛的那边去，可不能再让对面大陆上的人瞧见它！”
　　“怎么我就没想到抓点鱼虾呢？”彼得有些惭愧。
　　四个孩子和小矮人一道来到水边，费了好大力气才把小船推进水里，然后一个个爬上船。由小矮人掌舵，他最为老练。可因为船桨对他来说太大了，根本操控不了，所以彼得操桨，小船缓缓朝北驶去。划了没多久，船从东边转过小岛，极目远眺，整片海湾以及对岸的土地尽收眼底。他们一直在搜索纳尼亚的遗迹，但几百年来形成的茂密树林已使一切面目全非。
　　当他们来到小岛位于东侧的宽阔海域时，小矮人已经开始钓鱼了。让人欣喜不已的是，许多像彩虹一样美丽的鳟鱼上钩了，这使孩子们的思绪不禁又回到了在纳尼亚的那些日子，这种鱼是那时他们常吃的。鱼钓得足够吃了，大家便把小船逆水划进一条小溪，拴在一棵树上。
　　小矮人真能干（尽管小矮人里也有坏蛋，可他们个个都很聪明），他麻利地把鱼剖洗干净，然后说：“孩子们，得上岸去生一堆火。”
　　“城堡的平台上有现成的篝火。”爱德蒙说。
　　小矮人轻轻地吹了一声口哨：“所以的确有一个城堡，对吧？”
　　“只不过是一堆废墟。”露茜弱弱地说。
　　The Dwarf stared round at all four of them with a very curious expression on his face. “And who on earth...？” he began， but then broke off and said， “No matter. Breakfast first. But one thing before we go on. Can you lay your hand on your hearts and tell me I’m really alive？ Are you sure I wasn’t drowned and we’re not all ghosts together？”
　　When they had all reassured him， the next question was how to carry the fish. They had nothing to string them on and no basket. They had to use Edmund’s hat in the end because no one else had a hat. He would have made much more fuss about this if he had not by now been so ravenously hungry.
　　At first the Dwarf did not seem very comfortable in the castle. He kept looking round and sniffing and saying， “H’m. Looks a bit spooky after all. Smells like ghosts， too.” But he cheered up when it came to lighting the fire and showing them how to roast the fresh pavenders in the embers. Eating hot fish with no forks， and one pocket knife between five people， is a messy business and there were several burnt fingers before the meal was ended; but， as it was now nine o’clock and they had been up since five， nobody minded the burns so much as you might have expected. When everyone had finished off with a drink from the well and an apple or so， the Dwarf produced a pipe about the size of his own arm， filled it， lit it， blew a great cloud of fragrant smoke， and said， “Now.” 　　“You tell us your story first，” said Peter. “And then we’ll tell you ours.”
　　“Well，” said the Dwarf， “as you’ve saved my life it is only fair you should have your own way. But I hardly know where to begin. First of all I’m a messenger of King Caspian’s.”
　　“Who’s he？” asked four voices all at once.
　　“Caspian the Tenth， King of Narnia， and long may he reign！” answered the Dwarf. “That is to say， he ought to be King of Narnia and we hope he will be. At present he is only King of us Old Narnians.”
　　“What do you mean by old Narnians， please？” asked Lucy.
　　“Why， that’s us，” said the Dwarf. “We’re a kind of rebellion， I suppose.”
　　“I see，” said Peter. “And Caspian is the chief Old Narnian.”
　　“Well， in a manner of speaking，” said the Dwarf， scratching his head. “But he’s really a New Narnian himself， a Telmarine， if you follow me.”
　　“I don’t，” said Edmund.
　　“It’s worse than the Wars of the Roses，” said Lucy.
　　“Oh dear，” said the Dwarf. “I’m doing this very badly. Look here： I think I’ll have to go right back to the beginning and tell you how Caspian grew up in his uncle’s court and how he comes to be on our side at all. But it’ll be a long story.”
　　“All the better，” said Lucy. “We love stories.”
　　So the Dwarf settled down and told his tale. I shall not give it to you in his words， putting in all the children’s questions and interruptions， because it would take too long and be confusing， and， even so， it would leave out some points that the children only heard later. But the gist of the story， as they knew it in the end， was as follows.
　　小矮人一脸狐疑，仔细打量着孩子们。“那你们到底是……”他嘟囔着，显得紧张而不安，不过马上自解道，“管他呢，来来来，先吃早饭。但你们能先把手放在心口，对我说‘你还活着’吗？你们真的肯定我没有被淹死，你们真的不是一群鬼？”
　　孩子们发誓说自己不是鬼，小矮人终于将心放回肚子里。现在最大的问题是找不到一根铁丝把鱼穿起来，更没有篓子装这些鱼。最后只能牺牲爱德蒙的帽子了。要不是为了填饱肚子，爱德蒙可不会同意这个糟糕的决定。
　　来到城堡，小矮人一开始心神不定。他东张西望，用鼻子嗅来嗅去，嘴里嘟囔道：“什么味道，像是鬼窟里散发出来的……”当篝火生起的一刹那，他又来了精神，开始像模像样地教孩子们制作烤鱼。篝火暖暖的，鱼很烫手，没有叉子，只有一把小刀供五个人用。大家太饿了，顾不得那么多，以致还没吃完几个人的手指都烫伤了。但因为现在已经九点了且大家五点就起来了，所以谁也顾不上手被烫伤了。最后，每个人喝了些井水，再吃了一个苹果后，一顿美餐才宣告结束。小矮人不知什么时候做了一只足有他胳膊那么粗的大烟斗，装满烟丝，把烟点着，惬意地吐出了一口清香的灰色烟雾，满足地说：“终于没事了。”
　　“你先讲讲你的故事吧，”彼得说，“然后我們也给你讲我们的故事。”
　　“好吧，”小矮人说，“既然你们救了我的命，当然应该满足你们的要求，才算公开合理。不过从何说起呢？首先我要告诉你们，我是凯斯宾国王的信使。”
　　“谁是凯斯宾？”孩子们异口同声地问。
　　“凯斯宾十世，纳尼亚的国王，寿与天齐！”小矮人显得极其虔诚和庄重，“我是说，他应该是整个纳尼亚的统治者，这是我们的希望。不过，眼下他还只是我们纳尼亚旧臣的国王。”
　　“请问纳尼亚旧臣是指哪些人？”露茜满脸疑惑。
　　“旧臣就是指我们。”小矮人说，“我们这些被称为‘怪逆’的土生土长的纳尼亚人。”
　　“我懂了，”彼得推测道，“凯斯宾是过去的纳尼亚的首领。”
　　“可以这么说，”小矮人用手挠挠头，“可他自己却是个新纳尼亚人，一个台尔马人。你们能够听明白我的意思吗？”
　　“我都听糊涂了。”爱德蒙说。
　　“这比玫瑰战争还令人费解。”露茜也迷茫了。
　　“哦，亲爱的，”小矮人抱歉地说，“我嘴太笨，我想最好还是从头讲起吧——从凯斯宾是怎样在他叔父的王宫成长起来，以后又是怎样完全站在了我们一边。那可得讲上好一段时间呢。”
　　“那样更好，”露茜高兴极了，“我们都喜欢听故事。”
　　于是，小矮人坐下来，讲了下面的故事。我不准备照他的原话把这故事复述给你们听，因为，那就要把孩子们在听故事过程中的提问和插话也都写出来，篇幅就会太长，情节就会太复杂，而且仍然不得不舍去孩子们只是在后来才听说的一些内容。不过，故事的要点，与孩子们最终所了解的完全一致，是下面这样的。