《能言馬與男孩》第59期:南征隱士(6)
Next day, except for her sore back, Aravis felt so well that after breakfast (which was porridge and cream) the Hermit said she could get up. And of course she at once went out to speak to the Horses. The weather had changed and the whole of that green enclosure was filled, like a great green cup, with sunlight. It was a very peaceful place, lonely and quiet.
Hwin at once trotted across to Aravis and gave her a horse-kiss.
"But where's Bree?" said Aravis when each had asked after the other's health and sleep.
"Over there," said Hwin, pointing with her nose to the far side of the circle. "And I wish you'd come and talk to him. There's something wrong, I can't get a word out of him."
They strolled across and found Bree lying with his face towards the wall, and though he must have heard them coming, he never turned his head or spoke a word.
"Good morning, Bree," said Aravis. "How are you this morning?"
Bree muttered something that no one could hear.
"The Hermit says that Shasta probably got to King Lune in time," continued Aravis, "so it looks as if all our troubles are over. Narnia, at last, Bree!"
"I shall never see Narnia," said Bree in a low voice.
"Aren't you well, Bree dear?" said Aravis.
Bree turned round at last, his face mournful as only a horse's can be.
"I shall go back to Calormen," he said.
"What?" said Aravis. "Back to slavery!"
"Yes," said Bree. "Slavery is all I'm fit for. How can I ever show my face among the free Horses of Narnia? - I who left a mare and a girl and a boy to be eaten by lions while I galloped all I could to save my own wretched skin!"
"We all ran as hard as we could," said Hwin.
"Shasta didn't!" snorted Bree. "At least he ran in the right direction: ran back. And that is what shames me most of all. I, who called myself a war-horse and boasted of a hundred fights, to be beaten by a little human boy - a child, a mere foal, who had never held a sword nor had any good nurture or example in his life!"
"I know," said Aravis. "I felt just the same. Shasta was marvellous. I'm just as bad as you, Bree. I've been snubbing him and looking down on him ever since you met us and now he turns out to be the best of us all. But I think it would be better to stay and say we're sorry than to go back to Calormen."
"It's all very well for you," said Bree. "You haven't disgraced yourself. But I've lost everything."
"My good Horse," said the Hermit, who had approached them unnoticed because his bare feet made so little noise on that sweet, dewy grass. "My good Horse, you've lost nothing but your self-conceit. No, no, cousin. Don't put back your ears and shake your mane at me. If you are really so humbled as you sounded a minute ago, you must learn to listen to sense. You're not quite the great Horse you had come to think, from living among poor dumb horses. Of course you were braver and cleverer than them. You could hardly help being that. It doesn't follow that you'll be anyone very special in Narnia. But as long as you know you're nobody special, you'll be a very decent sort of Horse, on the whole, and taking one thing with another. And now, if you and my other four-footed cousin will come round to the kitchen door we'll see about the other half of that mash."
第二天，除了背上疼痛外，阿拉維斯覺得身體很好，所以，早餐(吃的是粥和奶油)以後，隱士說她可以起牀了。當然囉，她立刻就去和兩匹馬兒說話。天氣轉晴，整個圍場像只蒼翠的巨大杯子，裏面盛滿了陽光。這是個十分安寧的地方，寂寞而又寧靜。
赫溫立刻小跑着過來，給了她一個馬兒的接吻。
互相問候過健康和睡得好不好後，阿拉維斯說道“可布里在哪兒呢？”
“在那一邊。”赫溫說，用它的鼻子指點着圓圓另一邊，”我希望你來跟它說說話；它有點兒鬧情緒，我沒法從它嘴裏擠出一言半語來。”
她們慢步走過去，發現布里面壁躺着，雖然它明明聽見她們來了，卻根本不回過頭來或說句話兒。
“早晨好，布里，”阿拉維斯說，”今天早晨你身體可好？”
布里喃喃而語，可誰也聽不清楚。
“隱士說，沙斯塔可能及時趕到了國王倫恩那兒，”阿拉維斯繼續說道，”所以，看來咱們的一切困難都解決了。終於要到納尼亞去了，布里！”
“我將永遠見不到納尼亞了。”布里用低沉的聲音說道。
“你身體不好嗎，我親愛的布里？'阿拉維斯說。
布里終於轉過身來，它一臉哀痛的神色，只有馬兒才能這樣。
“我要回卡樂門去。”它說。
“什麼？”阿拉維斯說道，”回去做奴隸嗎？”
“是的，”布里說，”我只配做奴隸。我有何面目去見納尼亞的自由的馬兒啊？我，丟下一匹母馬，一個女孩，一個男孩，讓他們去被獅子吃掉，自己卻爲了活命，使出渾身力氣逃跑了！”
“我們大家都是拼命飛跑的啊。”赫溫說。
“沙斯塔沒有逃跑！”布里噴着鼻息，”至少他是按照正確的方向飛跑的他跑回去了。這是最使我感到羞愧的了。我，自稱是一匹戰馬，誇口身經百戰，卻被一個乳臭小兒比下去了——一個孩子，不過是一頭駒子，生平從沒有拿過劍，也沒有受過任何良好的教育或見過任何典範？”
“我明白，”阿拉維斯說，”我有同樣的感想。沙斯塔是了不得的。我同你一樣的糟糕，布里。自從你們遇到我們以來，我一直怠慢他，瞧不起他，如今他可一變而爲我們之中最出色的人了。但我認爲。還是待下來表示歉意，要比回到卡樂門去好得多。”
“這辦法對你是挺好的，”布里說，”你沒有給自己丟臉。我卻把什麼都丟光了。”
“我的好馬兒，”隱士說道，大家沒有察覺他的悄悄到來，因爲他的光腳板踏在清香的沾露青草上是沒有什麼聲音的，”我的好馬兒，你除了自命不凡，沒有丟失什麼東西。不，不，我的老夥計。別對我把耳朵向後貼去，也別抖動你的崇毛。如果你確實像你一分鐘以前所說的那樣謙虛，那麼你就應該聽聽理智的聲音。你一直生活在可憐的啞巴馬兒中間，便自以爲是了不得的馬兒；其實不然。當然，你比它們要勇敢、聰明些。你是不由自主地成了比它們高明的馬兒的。但這種情況不能引伸爲你將在納尼亞成爲什麼特別出類拔萃的馬兒。然而，只要你認識到你並不是出類拔萃的，那麼，總的看來，你就基本上屬於一種挺不錯的馬兒。現在，如果你和我的另一位四足老夥計願意繞到廚房門口去，我們就將瞧瞧另外半份飼料了。”
