为什么第一胎一般是男孩 《能言马与男孩》第15期:在塔什班城门口(4)

《能言马与男孩》第15期:在塔什班城门口(4)  

"Doubtless she was beaten for sleeping late
" said Aravis coolly. "But she was a tool and spy of my stepmother's. I am very glad they should beat her."
"I say
that was hardly fair
" said Shasta.
"I did not do any of these things for the sake of pleasing you
" said Aravis.
“我做的这些事情，哪一件也不是为了取悦于你才做的。”阿拉维斯道。
"And there's another thing I don't understand about that story
" said Shasta. "You're not grown up
I don't believe you're any older than I am. I don't believe you're as old. How could you be getting married at your age?"
Aravis said nothing
but Bree at once said
"Shasta
don't display your ignorance. They're always married at that age in the great Tarkaan families."
Shasta turned very red (though it was hardly light enough for the others to see this) and felt snubbed. Aravis asked Bree for his story. Bree told it
and Shasta thought that he put in a great deal more than he needed about the falls and the bad riding. Bree obviously thought it very funny
but Aravis did not laugh. When Bree had finished they all went to sleep.
Next day all four of them
o horses and o humans
continued their journey together. Shasta thought it had been much pleasanter when he and Bree were on their own. For now it was Bree and Aravis who did nearly all the talking. Bree had lived a long time in Calormen and had always been among Tarkaans and Tarkaans' horses
and so of course he knew a great many of the same people and places that Aravis knew. She would always be saying things like
"But if you were at the fight of Zulindreh you would have seen my cousin Alimash
" and Bree would answer
"Oh
yes
Alimash
he was only captain of the chariots
you know. I don't quite hold with chariots or the kind of horses who draw chariots. That's not real cavalry. But he is a worthy nobleman. He filled my nosebag with sugar after the taking of Teebeth." Or else Bree would say
"I was down at the lake of Mezreel that summer
" and Aravis would say
"Oh
Mezreel! I had a friend there
Lasaraleen Tarkheena. What a delightful place it is. Those gardens
and theValley of the Thousand Perfumes!" Bree was not in the least trying to leave Shasta out of things
though Shasta sometimes nearly thought he was. People who know a lot of the same things can hardly help talking about them
and if you're there you can hardly help feeling that you're out of it.
Hwin the mare was rather shy before a great war-horse like Bree and said very little. And Aravis never spoke to Shasta at all if she could help it.