C. S. 刘易斯 （万洁译）

如果这间屋里真的有一扇门通向某一个别的世界，那个世界一定有它自己的一套时间规则，所以不管你在那儿逗留了多久，也不会占去我们这个世界的任何一点时间。

BECAUSE the game of hide-and-seek was still going on， it took Edmund and Lucy some time to find the others. But when at last they were all together （which happened in the long room， where the suit of armour was） Lucy burst out：

“Peter！ Susan！ Its all true. Edmund has seen it too. There is a country you can get to through the wardrobe. Edmund and I both got in. We met one another in there， in the wood. Go on， Edmund; tell them all about it.”

“Whats all this about， Ed？” said Peter.

And now we come to one of the nastiest things in this story. Up to that moment Edmund had been feeling sick， and sulky， and annoyed with Lucy for being right， but he hadnt made up his mind what to do. When Peter suddenly asked him the question he decided all at once to do the meanest and most spiteful thing he could think of. He decided to let Lucy down.

“Tell us， Ed，” said Susan.

因為彼得和苏珊还在藏猫猫，所以爱德蒙和露茜花了好长时间才找到他俩。当大家聚集到放盔甲的那间屋子里以后，露茜大声说：

“彼得！苏珊！我说的是真的，爱德蒙也看见了，那里有一个国家，可以通过衣橱进去。爱德蒙和我进去过了，我们在那边的树林里见到了彼此。爱德蒙，快把你看到的告诉他们。”

“爱德蒙，到底怎么回事？”彼得问。

现在我们写到这个故事中最令人不快的一部分。在这以前，爱德蒙一直感到很不舒服，还挺生气的，心里为露茜确实是对的而感到很烦恼，但他一时还没想好要做些什么。现在彼得突如其来地问起他这个问题，他立刻决定要做一件他所能想到的最卑劣最招人恨的事情，让露茜下不来台。

“告诉我们吧，爱德蒙。”苏珊说。

And Edmund gave a very superior look as if he were far older than Lucy （there was really only a years difference） and then a little snigger and said， “Oh， yes， Lucy and I have been playing—pretending that all her story about a country in the wardrobe is true， just for fun， of course. Theres nothing there really.”

Poor Lucy gave Edmund one look and rushed out of the room.

Edmund， who was becoming a nastier person every minute， thought that he had scored a great success， and went on at once to say， “There she goes again. Whats the matter with her？ Thats the worst of young kids， they always—”

“Look here，” said Peter， turning on him savagely， “shut up！ Youve been perfectly beastly to Lu ever since she started this nonsense about the wardrobe， and now you go playing games with her about it and setting her off again. I believe you did it simply out of spite.”

“But its all nonsense，” said Edmund， very taken aback.

“Of course its all nonsense，” said Peter， “thats just the point. Lu was perfectly all right when we left home， but since weve been down here she seems to be either going queer in the head or else turning into a most frightful liar. But whichever it is， what good do you think youll do by jeering and nagging at her one day and encouraging her the next？”

“I thought—I thought，” said Edmund; but he couldnt think of anything to say.

“You didnt think anything at all，” said Peter， “its just spite. Youve always liked being beastly to anyone smaller than yourself; weve seen that at school before now.”

爱德蒙装出很老成的样子，就好像他比露茜要大得多（实际上两人只相差一岁）。他扑哧一笑说：“噢，是的，露茜和我一直在做游戏，假装她上次讲的衣橱里有个国家的故事是真的。当然喽，我们只是在找乐子，其实，那儿什么东西也没有。”

露茜委屈地看了爱德蒙一眼，便扭头跑了出去。

爱德蒙现在变得越来越不像话了，他自以为已经取得了极大的成功，立刻接下去说道：“她又来这一套，她到底是出了什么问题？小孩子就是这样，老是……”

“听我说！”彼得转过身来对着他，十分气愤地说，“住口！自从她上次瞎编了一些有关衣橱的事之后，你对她总是冷嘲热讽的。现在你跟她一起躲进了衣橱里做游戏，又把她气走了。我觉得你这样做完全是不怀好意！”

“但她讲的通通都是鬼扯。”爱德蒙说，彼得让他吃了一惊。

“当然是鬼扯，”彼得说，“这才是问题的关键。离开家的时候，露茜還是好好的，但到了乡下以后，看起来她要么精神有点问题，要么就是谎话连篇。但无论是哪种情况，你想想看，你今天讥讽她，对她喋喋不休说个不停，明天你又去怂恿她，这对她有什么帮助？”

“我原本想，我原本……”爱德蒙说，可是他又想不出说什么好。

“你想什么想！”彼得说，“你老是想坏主意。你总喜欢对比你小的孩子来这一套，以前在学校里我们就经常看到你这样！”

Word Study

annoy /?'n??/ v. 使恼怒;使生气

It really annoys me when people forget to say thank you.

spiteful /'spa?tfl/ adj. 恶意的;居心不良的

superior /su?'p??ri?（r）/ adj. 有优越感的;高傲的

He always looks so superior.

pretend /pr?'tend/ v. 假装;佯装

Im tired of having to pretend all the time.

out of spite 为泄恨，为出气

She broke her elder brothers watch out of spite.

take aback 使……震惊;使……大吃一惊

“Do stop it，” said Susan， “it wont make things any better having a row between you two. Lets go and find Lucy.”

It was not surprising that when they found Lucy， a good deal later， everyone could see that she had been crying. Nothing they could say to her made any difference. She stuck to her story and said：

“I dont care what you think， and I dont care what you say. You can tell the Professor or you can write to Mother or you can do anything you like. I know Ive met a Faun in there and—I wish Id stayed there and you are all beasts， beasts.”

It was an unpleasant evening. Lucy was miserable and Edmund was beginning to feel that his plan wasnt working as well as he had expected. The two older ones were really beginning to think that Lucy was out of her mind. They stood in the passage talking about it in whispers long after she had gone to bed.

The result was the next morning they decided that they really would go and tell the whole thing to the Professor. “Hell write to Father if he thinks there is really something wrong with Lu，” said Peter， “its getting beyond us.” So they went and knocked at the study door， and the Professor said “Come in，” and got up and found chairs for them and said he was quite at their disposal. Then he sat listening to them with the tips of his fingers pressed together and never interrupting， till they had finished the whole story. After that he said nothing for quite a long time. Then he cleared his throat and said the last thing either of them expected：

“How do you know，” he asked， “that your sisters story is not true？”

“别说了，”苏珊说，“你们互相埋怨有什么用？我们还是去找找露茜吧。”

他们找了好长一段时间才找到了露茜。果然不出大家所料，她哭得正伤心。无论他们怎么说，露茜都坚持她说的是真的。她说道：

“不管你们怎么想，也不管你们怎么说，我都无所谓。你们可以去教授那儿告状，也可以写信告诉妈妈，随便你们怎么做都行。我只知道我在那里碰见了一个半人羊。我真希望能留在那里！你们净出口伤人。”

这是一个十分不愉快的夜晚。露茜感到很委屈，爱德蒙也开始觉得自己的计划并没有像他预料的那样奏效。而那两个大点的孩子却真以为露茜的精神不大正常。在她入睡以后很久，他们还站在走廊里小声议论着。

结果第二天一早，他们决定把全部事情都告诉教授。“假如他也认为露茜真的有什么问题，他就会写信告诉爸爸的，”彼得说，“我们可管不了这样的事。”于是，他们就去敲老教授书房的门。教授说了声“请进”，站起身，让他们坐下，告诉他们有事尽管来找他，不用客气。然后他坐下来，手指尖对在一起，静静地听他们把整个事情讲完。听完以后，他好长时间没有吭声，最后他清了清嗓子，说了句他们怎么也没想到的话：

“你们怎能断定，”他问，“露茜讲的故事就不是真的呢？”

“Oh， but—” began Susan， and then stopped. Anyone could see from the old mans face that he was perfectly serious. Then Susan pulled herself together and said， “But Edmund said they had only been pretending.”

“That is a point，” said the Professor， “which certainly deserves consideration; very careful consideration. For instance—if you will excuse me for asking the question—does your experience lead you to regard your brother or your sister as the more reliable？ I mean， which is the more truthful？”

“Thats just the funny thing about it， sir，” said Peter. “Up till now， Id have said Lucy every time.”

“And what do you think， my dear？” said the Professor， turning to Susan.

“Well，” said Susan， “in general， Id say the same as Peter， but this couldnt be true—all this about the wood and the Faun.”

“That is more than I know，” said the Professor， “and a charge of lying against someone whom you have always found truthful is a very serious thing; a very serious thing indeed.”

“We were afraid it mightnt even be lying，” said Susan， “we thought there might be something wrong with Lucy.”

“Madness， you mean？” said the Professor quite coolly. “Oh， you can make your minds easy about that. One has only to look at her and talk to her to see that she is not mad.”

“But then，” said Susan， and stopped. She had never dreamed that a grown-up would talk like the Professor and didnt know what to think.

“哦，但是……”苏珊刚想开口又停住了。谁都能看出老人没开玩笑。过了一会儿，苏珊理了理思绪说：“但是爱德蒙说他们只是假装这是真的。”

“有一个关键问题，”教授说，“你们得考虑一下，而且要慎重考虑。这样说吧，请原谅我提出这个问题，但是根据你们的经验来讲，你们认为谁更诚实一些，是你们的弟弟，还是你们的妹妹？”

“这个问题确实点到了关键，先生，”彼得说，“直到现在为止，我得说，露茜每次都要比爱德蒙诚实。”

“你又是怎么认为的呢，我亲爱的孩子？”教授转过头来问苏珊。

“嗯，”苏珊说，“我嘛，基本上和彼得的看法相同。但关于森林和半人羊的故事总不可能是真的吧？”

“这个我就不清楚了，”教授说，“但是，随便怀疑一个你们一直以来都认为诚实的人说谎，这倒是一个非常严重的问题，真的非常严重！”

“我们担心的倒不是露茜说谎，”苏珊说，“我们觉得很可能露茜精神上出了毛病。”

“你的意思是她发了疯？”教授非常冷静地说，“嗯，这个你们很容易判断。你们只要观察观察她的行为举止，再和她说说话，就可以得出结论。”

“但是……”苏珊欲言又止。她做梦也没想到，像教授这样的大人会说出这种话来，她被搞糊涂了。

Word Study

at ones disposal 任某人处理;由某人自行支配

Well， Im at your disposal.

interrupt /'?nt?'r?pt/ v. 插嘴;打扰;打岔

Sorry to interrupt， but theres someone to see you.

pull oneself together 使自己鎮定自若（或冷静）

Stop crying and pull yourself together！

deserve /d?'z??v/ v. 值得;应得;应受

You deserve a rest after all that hard work.