By C. S. Lewis（C. S.刘易斯）、万洁

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》第一部《狮子·女巫·魔衣橱》。

Lucy ran out of the empty room into the passage and found the other three.

“Its all right，” she repeated， “Ive come back.”

“What on earth are you talking about， Lucy？” asked Susan.

“Why？” said Lucy in amazement， “havent you all been wondering where I was？”

“So youve been hiding， have you？” said Peter. “Poor old Lu， hiding and nobody noticed！ Youll have to hide longer than that if you want people to start looking for you.”

“But Ive been away for hours and hours，” said Lucy.

The others all stared at one another.

“Batty！” said Edmund， tapping his head. “Quite batty.”

“What do you mean， Lu？” asked Peter.

“What I said，” answered Lucy. “It was just after breakfast when I went into the wardrobe， and Ive been away for hours and hours， and had tea， and all sorts of things have happened.”

“Dont be silly， Lucy，” said Susan. “Weve only just come out of that room a moment ago， and you were there then.”

“Shes not being silly at all，” said Peter， “shes just making up a story for fun， arent you， Lu？ And why shouldnt she？”

“No， Peter， Im not，” she said. “Its—its a magic wardrobe. Theres a wood inside it， and its snowing， and theres a Faun and a Witch and its called Narnia; come and see.”

The others did not know what to think， but Lucy was so excited that they all went back with her into the room. She rushed ahead of them， flung open the door of the wardrobe and cried， “Now！ Go in and see for yourselves.”

“Why， you goose，” said Susan， putting her head inside and pulling the fur coats apart， “its just an ordinary wardrobe; look！ theres the back of it.”

露茜跑出空房间，来到走廊上与其他人会合。

“我没事。”她反复说，“我回来了。”

“你到底在说些什么呀，露茜？”苏珊问。

“干吗这么问？”露茜惊讶地说，“你们难道没有着急找我吗？”

“这么说你在藏猫猫了，是吗？”彼得说，“可怜的露茜，躲起来却没人注意你！要是想让大家找你，你得藏得再久一点。”

“可是我离开了好几个小时呢！”露茜说。

其他人面面相觑。

“我看你是疯了！”爱德蒙敲着自己的脑袋说，“这简直太离谱了。”

“你什么意思啊，露茜？”彼得说。

“我是说，”露茜答道，“刚吃完早餐那会儿我就钻进衣橱了，然后在里边待了好几个小时，还喝茶来着，然后又发生了好些事情。”

“别说蠢話了，露茜。”苏珊说，“我们刚刚才从那间屋子里出来，你刚才就在那儿呢。”

“她不是在说蠢话。”彼得说，“她是在编故事逗咱们呢，我说得对吗，露茜？她就爱干这事儿。”

“不是的，彼得，我没有！”她说，“那是一个有魔力的衣橱。进去之后是片林子，而且在下雪，里面有个半人羊，还有个女巫。那地方叫纳尼亚。你们都来看看吧。”

其他人都有点不知所措，不过露茜看到他们都跟着自己回到那间房间就很是兴奋。她冲在他们前面，猛地把衣橱门打开，大叫：“就现在！你们自己进去看看吧。”

“你这个傻丫头。”苏珊说，她将头探入衣橱中，把皮大衣拨到两边，“这只是个普普通通的衣橱罢了。看！这不就是衣橱后壁嘛。”

Then everyone looked in and pulled the coats apart; and they all saw—Lucy herself saw—a perfectly ordinary wardrobe. There was no wood and no snow， only the back of the wardrobe， with hooks on it. Peter went in and rapped his knuckles on it to make sure that it was solid.

“A jolly good hoax， Lu，” he said as he came out again， “you have really taken us in， I must admit. We half believed you.”

“But it wasnt a hoax at all，” said Lucy， “really and truly. It was all different a moment ago. Honestly it was. I promise.”

“Come， Lu，” said Peter， “thats going a bit far. Youve had your joke. Hadnt you better drop it now？”

Lucy grew very red in the face and tried to say something， though she hardly knew what she was trying to say， and burst into tears.

然后，大家依次撥开衣服向里看了看，他们都见到了，包括露茜自己也看见了，这完完全全就是个普通的衣橱。既没有什么树林，也没有在下雪，只是衣橱的后壁而已，上面还钉有挂衣钩。彼得走进去用手敲了敲，确定板子后面是实心的。

“你可真会骗人，露茜。”他一边往衣橱外面走一边说，“你这回真的骗到我们了，我得承认，我几乎就相信你了！”

“可我没有骗你们啊。”露茜说，“我说的是真的。刚才还不是这样的。我发誓我讲的都是真的！”

“好了，露茜，”彼得说，“别太过了。你的诡计已经得逞了，现在还是别闹了好不好？”

露茜的脸涨得很红，想说些什么，却压根儿不知道说什么好，结果最后竟哭了起来。

For the next few days she was very miserable. She could have made it up with the others quite easily at any moment if she could have brought herself to say that the whole thing was only a story made up for fun. But Lucy was a very truthful girl and she knew that she was really in the right; and she could not bring herself to say this. The others who thought she was telling a lie， and a silly lie too， made her very unhappy. The two elder ones did this without meaning to do it， but Edmund could be spiteful， and on this occasion he was spiteful. He sneered and jeered at Lucy and kept on asking her if shed found any other new countries in other cupboards all over the house. What made it worse was that these days ought to have been delightful. The weather was fine and they were out of doors from morning to night， bathing， fishing， climbing trees， and lying in the heather. But Lucy could not properly enjoy any of it. And so things went on until the next wet day.

That day， when it came to the afternoon and there was still no sign of a break in the weather， they decided to play hide-and-seek. Susan was “It” and as soon as the others scattered to hide， Lucy went to the room where the wardrobe was. She did not mean to hide in the wardrobe， because she knew that would only set the others talking again about the whole wretched business. But she did want to have one more look inside it; for by this time she was beginning to wonder herself whether Narnia and the Faun had not been a dream. The house was so large and complicated and full of hiding-places that she thought she would have time to have one look into the wardrobe and then hide somewhere else. But as soon as she reached it she heard steps in the passage outside， and then there was nothing for it but to jump into the wardrobe and hold the door closed behind her. She did not shut it properly because she knew that it is very silly to shut oneself into a wardrobe， even if it is not a magic one.

接下來的几天里，她很受煎熬。本来，她只要说整件事情都是她编出来逗大家的，随时都可以和大家和好。可露茜是个诚实的女孩，她坚信自己是对的，所以不能允许自己说那种谎话。其他人都觉得她在说谎，而且编的是个并不太高明的谎言，这让她一直闷闷不乐。如果说苏珊和彼得批评她说谎并不是有意地，那爱德蒙就属于故意找碴。这回，他抓住露茜的小辫子不放了，总是带着嘲笑的口吻一次次地问露茜，是不是又在房子里的什么橱柜中发现其他新国家了。那几天本该是愉快的好日子，天气不错，他们从早到晚都在外边玩耍，游泳啦，钓鱼啦，爬树啦，掏鸟窝啦，躲在石楠树丛中玩啦，可露茜却对这些一点兴趣都提不起来。后来，日子就这样一天天过去，直到又一个阴雨天的到来。

那一天，直到下午天空也没有放晴的迹象，于是大家决定来玩藏猫猫。苏珊来找，其他人四散开来藏在各处，露茜直奔放着衣橱的那个房间。她并非有意往衣橱里藏，因为她知道那会让其他人再次谈起令她难堪的事情。不过，她确实想要再进去探一探。而这一次，她自己已经开始动摇了。她在想：纳尼亚和半人羊是否都只是自己的一场梦而已？这座房子大得不得了，布局也错综复杂，哪儿都是躲藏的好地方，所以她想自己应该有时间去看一眼那个衣橱，然后再躲到其他地方去的。但就当她走到衣橱前时，外面走廊上传来了一阵脚步声，她没有别的选择，只能跳进衣橱然后把门掩上。她并没有将门完全合上，因为她知道，把自己关在衣橱里是件很蠢的事，即便是关在没有魔法的衣橱里也一样。

Now the steps she had heard were those of Edmund; and he came into the room just in time to see Lucy vanishing into the wardrobe. He at once decided to get into it himself—not because he thought it a particularly good place to hide but because he wanted to go on teasing her about her imaginary country. He opened the door. There were the coats hanging up as usual， and a smell of mothballs， and darkness and silence， and no sign of Lucy. “She thinks Im Susan come to catch her，” said Edmund to himself， “and so shes keeping very quiet in at the back.” He jumped in and shut the door， forgetting what a very foolish thing this is to do. Then he began feeling about for Lucy in the dark. He had expected to find her in a few seconds and was very surprised when he did not. He decided to open the door again and let in some light. But he could not find the door either. He didnt like this at all and began groping wildly in every direction; he even shouted out， “Lucy！ Lu！ Where are you？ I know youre here.”

她刚才听到的是爱德蒙的脚步声。爱德蒙走进屋的时候刚巧看见露茜闪进衣橱里，于是他立刻决定跟进去，不仅是因为他觉得这是个可以藏身的绝好地方，他还想拿她想象出来的国度取笑她一番。他打开门，和往常一样，衣橱里挂着大衣，还有一股樟脑球味儿，一样的黑暗寂静，没有露茜的踪影。她肯定以为我是来找她和苏珊的，爱德蒙想，所以她才安安静静地躲在后面。他跳进衣橱，关上了门，全然不知他干了一件多蠢的事情。接着，他开始在黑暗中摸索露茜。他原想只消几秒就能找到她，结果没有。这让他很吃惊，于是决定重新把门打开，透进些光来，可竟然连门也找不到了。他很烦躁，开始疯狂地向各个方向摸索，甚至大喊：“露茜！露茜！你在哪儿？我知道你在这儿。”

There was no answer and Edmund noticed that his own voice had a curious sound—not the sound you expect in a cupboard， but a kind of open-air sound. He also noticed that he was unexpectedly cold; and then he saw a light.

“Thank goodness，” said Edmund， “the door must have swung open of its own accord.” He forgot all about Lucy and went towards the light， which he thought was the open door of the wardrobe. But instead of finding himself stepping out into the spare room he found himself stepping out from the shadow of some thick dark fir trees into an open place in the middle of a wood.

There was crisp， dry snow under his feet and more snow lying on the branches of the trees. Overhead there was pale blue sky， the sort of sky one sees on a fine winter day in the morning. Straight ahead of him he saw between the tree-trunks the sun， just rising， very red and clear. Everything was perfectly still， as if he were the only living creature in that country. There was not even a robin or a squirrel among the trees， and the wood stretched as far as he could see in every direction. He shivered.

He now remembered that he had been looking for Lucy; and also how unpleasant he had been to her about her “imaginary country” which now turned out not to have been imaginary at all. He thought that she must be somewhere quite close and so he shouted，

“Lucy！ Lucy！ Im here too—Edmund.”

There was no answer.

沒有人回答，爱德蒙发现自己的声音有点奇怪，感觉不像是在衣橱里，更像在一片空旷的地方。他还注意到周围出乎意料地冷，然后，他看到了一束光。

“谢天谢地，”爱德蒙说，“一定是柜门自己荡开了。”他这时候已经把露茜忘到一边了，只顾朝着光亮走去，他以为那是衣橱的门打开了。可很快，他发现自己并没有走出衣橱回到那间空荡荡的大房子里，而是走出一片幽暗的冷杉树浓荫来到了树林间的一片开阔地上。

爱德蒙的脚下踩着又干又脆的雪，树杈上堆着更多积雪，头顶上是一片浅蓝色的天空，就像冬季晴朗的早晨看到的那种天空的颜色。太阳刚从正前方的树干间升起，鲜红明艳。四周一片寂静，好像在这个国度除了他什么生灵都不存在一样。林间连一只知更鸟和松鼠也没有，目之所及，四面八方都是森林，一望无际。他不禁打起了寒战。

他现在才记起自己是来找露茜的，也想起那“想象中的国度”，现在看来那根本不是露茜想象出来的。他觉得她肯定就在附近什么地方，所以开始大声喊她的名字：“露茜！露茜！我也在这儿呢，我是爱德蒙。”

没人回答。

“Shes angry about all the things Ive been saying lately，” thought Edmund. And though he did not like to admit that he had been wrong， he also did not much like being alone in this strange， cold， quiet place; so he shouted again.

“I say， Lu！ Im sorry I didnt believe you. I see now you were right all along. Do come out. Make it Pax.”

Still there was no answer.

“Just like a girl，” said Edmund to himself， “sulking somewhere， and wont accept an apology.” He looked round him again and decided he did not much like this place， and had almost made up his mind to go home， when he heard， very far off in the wood， a sound of bells. He listened and the sound came nearer and nearer and at last there swept into sight a sledge drawn by two reindeer.

The reindeer were about the size of Shetland ponies and their hair was so white that even the snow hardly looked white compared with them; their branching horns were gilded and shone like something on fire when the sunrise caught them. Their harness was of scarlet leather and covered with bells. On the sledge， driving the reindeer， sat a fat dwarf who would have been about three feet high if he had been standing. He was dressed in polar bears fur and on his head he wore a red hood with a long gold tassel hanging down from its point; his huge beard covered his knees and served him instead of a rug. But behind him， on a much higher seat in the middle of the sledge sat a very different person—a great lady， taller than any woman that Edmund had ever seen. She also was covered in white fur up to her throat and held a long straight golden wand in her right hand and wore a golden crown on her head. Her face was white—not merely pale， but white like snow or paper or icing-sugar， except for her very red mouth. It was a beautiful face in other respects， but proud and cold and stern.

The sledge was a fine sight as it came sweeping towards Edmund with the bells jingling and the dwarf cracking his whip and the snow flying up on each side of it.

她肯定在因为我之前说的那些话生我的气。爱德蒙想。他虽然不想承认他之前做错了，可更不想独自一人在这个陌生、冰冷又安静的地方待着，于是他接着喊露茜。

“嘿，露茜！我之前没相信你，真对不起！我现在知道你说的都是真的。快出来吧。我们和好吧。”

还是没人回答。

“真是个小女孩，”爱德蒙自言自语道，“就知道躲在一旁生闷气，向她道歉她都不接受。”他再次向周围看了看，觉得并不喜欢这个地方，有点想往回走。这时，他听到林子那头传来一阵铃声。他仔细听着，铃声越来越近了，最后，两只驯鹿拉着雪橇出现在他面前。

这两只驯鹿的大小和设得兰群岛的矮种马差不多，身上的毛比雪还白，头上的鹿角在红日的映照下像是镀了一层金，又像是沐浴在火中。它们脖子上的套具是用深红色的皮革制成的，上面带着铃铛。坐在雪橇上驭鹿的是个胖胖的小矮人，就算站直了也只有三英尺左右高。他穿着白色的毛皮大衣，头上罩着红风帽，长长的金黄色的穗子从帽顶垂下来;他的大胡子一直垂到膝盖上，简直可以当围巾用。他身后的雪橇中间是一个高得多的座位，上面坐着一个与众不同的女人，她比爱德蒙以前见过的任何一个女人都要高大。她也全身穿着雪白的毛皮大衣，右手握著一根又长又直的金色权杖，头上戴着一顶金冠。她的脸很白，不是普通的那种苍白，而是像雪、纸或冰糖一样白，只有她的嘴唇是血红的。她的脸还算漂亮，但却显得十分骄横和冷酷。

雪橇向着爱德蒙疾驰而来，铃铛丁零零地响，小矮人啪啪地舞着鞭子，地上的雪向两侧飞溅，看上去是个挺美的画面。

“Stop！” said the Lady， and the dwarf pulled the reindeer up so sharp that they almost sat down. Then they recovered themselves and stood champing their bits and blowing. In the frosty air the breath coming out of their nostrils looked like smoke.

“And what， pray， are you？” said the Lady， looking hard at Edmund.

“Im—Im—my names Edmund，” said Edmund rather awkwardly. He did not like the way she looked at him.

The Lady frowned， “Is that how you address a Queen？” she asked， looking sterner than ever.

“I beg your pardon， your Majesty， I didnt know，” said Edmund.

“Not know the Queen of Narnia？” cried she. “Ha！ You shall know us better hereafter. But I repeat—what are you？”

“Please， your Majesty，” said Edmund， “I dont know what you mean. Im at school—at least I was. Its the holidays now.”

“停！”雪橇上的女人说，小矮人猛地拉住驯鹿，它们差点被拉得坐在地上。然后它们又恢复了原状，站起来格格地咬着嚼子，呼呼地喘气。在寒冷的空气里，它们喷出的鼻息看起来就像烟雾一样。

“你是什么？”女人盯着爱德蒙问。

“我……我……我叫爱德蒙。”爱德蒙局促不安地说。他不喜欢她打量自己时的那种神情。

女人眉头一皱，“你就这样回答女王的问话吗？”她问道，用格外严厉的眼神盯着他。

“请原谅我，女王陛下，我不知道您是女王。”爱德蒙说。

“竟然连纳尼亚的女王都不认识？”她厉声说，“哈！以后让你好好认识一下。我再问一遍，你是什么？”

“女王陛下，”爱德蒙说，“我不懂您问的意思，我是个学生，至少前段时间还在上学，陛下，这几天学校放假。”