纳尼亚传奇1在线阅读 《魔法师的外甥》第60期:草莓远征(4)

《魔法师的外甥》第60期:草莓远征(4)  

Now they were over the top of the cliffs and in a few minutes the valley land of Narnia had sunk out of sight behind them. They were flying over a wild country of steep hills and dark forests
still following the course of the river. The really big mountains loomed ahead. But the sun was now in the travellers' eYes and they couldn't see things very clearly in that direction. For the sun sank lower and lower till the western sky was all like one great furnace full of melted gold; and it set at last behind a jagged peak which stood up against the brightness as sharp and flat as if it were cut out of cardboard.
"It's none too warm up here
" said Polly.
"And my wings are beginning to ache
" said Fledge. There's no sign of the valley with a Lake in it
like what Aslan said. What about ing down and looking out for a decent spot to spend the night in? We shan't reach that place tonight."
"Yes
and surely it's about time for supper?" said Digory.
So Fledge came lower and lower. As they came down nearer to the earth and among the hills
the air grew warmer and after travelling so many hours with nothing to listen to but the beat of Fledge's wings
it was nice to hear the homely and earthy noises again - the chatter of the river on its stony bed and the creaking of trees in the light wind. A warm
good smell of sun-baked earth and grass and flowers came up to them. At last Fledge alighted. Digory rolled off and helped Polly to dismount. Both were glad to stretch their stiff legs.
The valley in which they had e down was in the heart of the mountains; snowy heights
one of them looking rosered in the reflections of the sunset
towered above them.
"I am hungry
" said Digory.
"Well
tuck in
" said Fledge
taking a big mouthful of grass. Then he raised his head
still chewing and with bits of grass sticking out on each side of his mouth like whiskers
and said
"Come on
you o. Don't be shy. There's plenty for us all."
"But we can't eat grass
" said Digory.
"H'm
h'm
" said Fledge
speaking with his mouth full. "Well - h'm - don't know quite what you'll do then. Very good grass too."
Polly and Digory stared at one another in dismay.
"Well
I do think someone might have arranged about our meals
" said Digory.
"I'm sure Aslan would have
if you'd asked him
" said Fledge.
"Wouldn't he know without being asked?" said Polly.
"I've no doubt he would
" said the Horse (still with his mouth full). "But I've a sort of idea he likes to be asked."
"But what on earth are we to do?" asked Digory.
"I'm sure I don't know
" said Fledge. "Unless you try the grass. You might like it better than you think."
"Oh
don't be silly
" said Polly
stamping her foot. "Of course humans can't eat grass
any more than you could eat a mutton chop."
"For goodness' sake don't talk about chops and things
" said Digory. "It only makes it worse."
他们已经飞上了悬崖之巅，几分钟后，纳尼亚谷地就从后面的视野中消失了。他们沿着河流，飞行在一片蛮荒的土地上，下面是陡峭的山坡和黑魃魃的森林。前面隐隐出现雄伟的高山。阳光从正前方射来，使他们看不清前面的景物。这时，太阳正在落山，西边的天空像一个巨大的熔炉，装满了熔化的黄金。终于，夕阳沉匿在锯齿状的山峯背后，一片辉煌映衬着仿佛从纸片上剪下的、清晰而失去了立体感的羣山。
“这儿一点也不暖和。”波莉说。
“我的翅膀开始痛了，”弗兰奇说，“阿斯兰说的那个有湖的山谷还看不见呢。下去找一个舒服的地方过夜怎么样？我们今天晚上到不了目的地。”
“好的，现在一定是晚饭时间了吧？”迪格雷说。
弗兰奇越飞越低，当他们降到离地面很近的小山中时，天气暖和起来。在那漫长的飞行中，除了弗兰奇翅膀的扇动外什么也听不见。现在，又听到地面上传来各种亲切的声音，多么令人愉快啊！水从石头河牀上潺潺地流过，微风沙沙地拂过树林。太阳炙烤下，泥土、青草和鲜花发出的沁人心脾的温暖气息扑面而来。弗兰奇终于落地。迪格雷下来后又帮助波莉下了马。两人都很高兴能舒展僵硬的腿了。
他们降落的山谷正好在羣山中心，两边的雪山俯瞰着他们，夕阳将其中的一座镀上了一层玫瑰红。
“我饿了。”迪格雷说。
“来，美美地吃上一顿。”弗兰奇说着，咬下一大口草。然后它擡起头，嚼着，嘴角边像胡须一样支出几根草节。“你们两个快来吃。别不好意思，够我们三人吃的。”
“可是我们不会吃草。”迪格雷说。
“嗯，嗯，”弗兰奇嚼着满口的草，说道，“哦，嗯，那么，不知道你们要干什么。这么好的草。”
波莉和迪格雷神情沮丧地面面相觑。
“我想一定有人已经给我们安排好了晚餐。”迪格雷说。
“我敢说，如果你恳求阿斯兰，它会为你想到的。”
“不恳求它就想不到吗？”波莉说。
“毫无疑问它会的，”马说(仍然嚼着满口的草)，“但我认为它喜欢别人请求它。”
“那我们到底该怎么办？”迪格雷问。
“我肯定不知道，”弗兰奇说，“除非你们试着吃点儿草。可能会比你们想像的要好一些。”
“唉，别说傻话了，”波莉跺着脚说，“人当然没法儿吃草，就像你不吃羊排一样。”
“看在上帝分上，别提什么羊排了。”迪格雷说，“这样只会更糟。”