《魔法師的外甥》第40期:納尼亞的誕生(1)
Chapter 9 The Founding of Narnia
THE Lion was pacing to and fro about that empty land and singing his new song. It was softer and more lilting than the song by which he had called up the stars and the sun; a gentle, rippling music. And as he walked and sang the valley grew green with grass. It spread out from the Lion like a pool. It ran up the sides of the little hills like a wave. In a few minutes it was creeping up the lower slopes of the distant mountains, making that young world every moment softer. The light wind could now be heard ruffling the grass. Soon there were other things besides grass. The higher slopes grew dark with heather. Patches of rougher and more bristling green appeared in the valley. Digory did not know what they were until one began coming up quite close to him. It was a little, spiky thing that threw out dozens of arms and covered these arms with green and grew larger at the rate of about an inch every two seconds. There were dozens of these things all round him now. When they were nearly as tall as himself he saw what they were. "Trees!" he exclaimed.
The nuisance of it, as Polly said afterwards, was that you weren't left in peace to watch it all. Just as Digory said "Trees!" he had to jump because Uncle Andrew had sidled up to him again and was going to pick his pocket. It wouldn't have done Uncle Andrew much good if he had succeeded, for he was aiming at the right-hand pocket because he still thought the green rings were "homeward" rings. But of course Digory didn't want to lose either.
"Stop!" cried the Witch. "Stand back. No, further back. If anyone goes within ten paces of either of the children, I will knock out his brains." She was poising in her hand the iron bar that she had torn off the lamp-post, ready to throw it. Somehow no one doubted that she would be a very good shot.
"So!" -she said. "You would steal back to your own world with the boy and leave me here."
Uncle Andrew's temper at last got the better of his fears. "Yes, Ma'am, I would," he said. "Most undoubtedly I would. I should be perfectly in my rights. I have been most shamefully, most abominably treated. I have done my best to show you such civilities as were in my power. And what has been my reward? You have robbed - I must repeat the word robbed a highly respectable jeweller. You have insisted on my entertaining you to an exceedingly expensive, not to say ostentatious, lunch, though I was obliged to pawn my watch and chain in order to do so (and let me tell you, Ma'am, that none of our family have been in the habit of frequenting pawnshops, except my cousin Edward, and he was in the Yeomanry). During that indigestible meal - I'm feeling the worse for it at this very moment - your behaviour and conversation attracted the unfavourable attention of everyone present. I feel I have been publicly disgraced. I shall never be able to show my face in that restaurant again. You have assaulted the police. You have stolen -"
"Oh stow it, Guv'nor, do stow it," said the Cabby. "Watchin' and listenin's the thing at present; not talking."
There was certainly plenty to watch and to listen to. The tree which Digory had noticed was now a full-grown beech whose branches swayed gently above his head. They stood on cool, green grass, sprinkled with daisies and buttercups. A little way off, along the river bank, willows were growing. On the other side tangles of flowering currant, lilac, wild rose, and rhododendron closed them in. The horse was tearing up delicious mouthfuls of new grass.
第9章 納尼亞的誕生
獅子唱着新歌，在空曠的大地上走來走去。這歌聲比剛纔喚起星星和太陽的歌聲更柔和，更輕快活潑，是一曲如潺潺流水般溫暖的樂聲。隨着它的移動和歌唱，河谷里長出青青碧草，從獅子身邊像水潭一樣蔓延開去，又如浪花一般爬到小山坡上。一會兒，青草就長上了遠處大山的斜坡，年輕的世界每一瞬間都變得更加柔美。徽風沙沙地拂動青草。很快，除了草，又出現了別的東西。高高的山坡上長出了顏色暗淡的石南屬植物，河谷裏旨出了一片片毛茬茬的粗糙不平的綠色。迪格雷剛開始不知道是什麼，直到其中一個來到離他很近的地方。那是一種長而尖的小東西，身上長出幾十支手臂，上面班蓋着綠色之物，而且以每兩秒鐘一寸的速度增大。現在他的周圍到處都有這樣的東西。等它們長到與他高度相似時，他才恍然大悟地喊道“樹！”
令人沮喪的是，正如波莉以後說的，你無法安安靜靜地觀賞這一切。迪格雷說“樹”的同時，他不得不跳到一邊，因爲安德魯舅舅又悄悄溜到他身旁，企圖偷他的戒指。即使他偷到手也沒有多大好處，因爲他一直以爲綠戒指管返回，便把目標對準右邊口袋。當然，迪格雷也不想讓他得逞。
“住手” 女巫大叫，“站回去。不準往前走。誰要是走到離這兩個小孩中的任何一個十步遠的地方，我就敲碎他的腦袋。”她揮舞着那根從燈柱上扭下來的鐵棒，隨時準備扔出去。不管怎麼說，人人都相信她會扔得很準。
“好哇，”她說，“你想帶着這男孩偷偷跑回你們的世界，而把我留在這兒。”
安德魯舅舅終於不怕她了，忍不住發了火。“是的，夫人，”他說，“豪無疑問，我就想這麼幹。這完全是我的權力。我蒙受了最大的羞辱，受到了最低等的待遇。我曾經盡全力尊敬你，討好你，但我得到的報答是什麼呢？你搶劫……我一定要重複這兩個字……搶劫了受人尊敬的珠寶商。你堅持要我招待你最昂貴（不用說也是最鋪張）的午餐。這樣一來，我不得不當掉手錶和錶鏈（告訴你，夫人，我們家還沒誰有經常光顧當鋪的習慣，除了我的表哥愛德華，他參加過義勇騎兵隊）。吃那頓消化不了的午飯時…… 現在想起來我更難受了…… 你的言行騷擾了在座的每一個人。我覺得自己在公衆場合丟了臉。以後，我再沒有臉去那個飯店了。你襲擊警察察，還愉了……”
“別說了，先生，請別說了。”馬車伕說，“看一看、聽一聽眼前發生的事吧，不要講話。”
值得看和值得聽的實在太多了。迪格雷最先看見的那棵樹己經長成一棵粗壯的山毛櫸，枝丫優美地在他頭頂上舒展。他們站立的那片涼爽的青草地上散佈着雛菊和毛莨屬植物。稍遠的地方，沿河生長着柳樹。河的對岸，綻放着一叢叢茶藨子、丁香花、野玫瑰和杜鵑花。那匹馬大口大口地撕咬着新鮮的草。
