为什么第一胎都想要男孩 《能言马与男孩》第22期:在塔什班城门口(4)

《能言马与男孩》第22期:在塔什班城门口(4)  

Of course his first impulse was to say that he was only poor Arsheesh the fisherman's son and that the foreign lord must have mistaken him for someone else. But then
the very last thing he wanted to do in that crowded place was to start explaining who he was and what he was doing. If he started on that
he would soon be asked where he had got his horse from
and who Aravis was - and then
goodbye to any chance of getting through Tashbaan. His next impulse was to look at Bree for help. But Bree had no intention of letting all the crowd know that he could talk
and stood looking just as stupid as a horse can. As for Aravis
Shasta did not even dare to look at her for fear of drawing attention. And there was no time to think
for the leader of the Narnians said at once:
"Take one of his little lordship's hands
Peridan
of your courtesy
and I'll take the other. And now
on. Our royal sister's mind will be greatly eased when she sees our young scapegrace safe in our lodging."
And so
before they were half-way through Tashbaan
all their plans were ruined
and without even a chance to say good-bye to the others Shasta found himself being marched off among strangers and quite unable to guess what might be going to happen next. The Narnian King - for Shasta began to see by the way the rest spoke to him that he must be a king - kept on asking him questions; where he had been
how he had got out
what he had done with his clothes
and didn't he know that he had been very naughty. Only the king called it "naught" instead of naughty.
And Shasta said nothing in answer
because he couldn't think of anything to say that would not be dangerous.
"What! All mum?" asked the king. "I must plainly tell you
prince
that this hangdog silence bees one of your blood even less than the scape itself. To run away might pass for a boy's frolic with some spirit in it. But the king's son of Archenland should avouch his deed; not hang his head like a Calormene slave."
This was very unpleasant
for Shasta felt all the time that this young king was the very nicest kind of grown-up and would have liked to make a good impression on him.
The strangers led him-held tightly by both hands-along a narrow street and down a flight of shallow stairs and then up another to a wide doorway in a white wall with o tall
dark cypress trees
one on each side of it. Once through the arch
Shasta found himself in a courtyard which was also a garden. A marble basin of clear water in the centre was kept continually rippling by the fountain that fell into it. Orange trees grew round it out of smooth grass
and the four white walls which surrounded the lawn were covered with climbing roses. The noise and dust and crowding of the streets seemed suddenly fad away. He was led rapidly across the garden and then into a dark doorway. The crier remained outside. After that they took him along a corridor
where the stone floor felt beautifully cool to his hot feet
and up some stairs. A moment later he found himself blinking in the light of a big
airy room with wide open windows
all looking North so that no sun came in. There was a carpet on the floor more wonderfully coloured than anything he had ever seen and his feet sank down into it as if he were treading in thick moss. All round the walls there were low sofas with rich cushions on them
and the room seemed to be full of people; very queer people some of them
thought Shasta. But he had no time to think of that before the most beautiful lady he had ever seen rose from her place and threw her arms round him and kissed him
saying:
就这样，他们在塔什班城还没有走到一半路，所有的计划便全毁了，甚至连向其他人道别一声的机会也没有了。沙斯塔发觉自己被迫在陌生人之间大步走着，却毫无办法去猜测下一步会发生刊么事惰。纳尼亚国王——从其余的人跟他说话的方式看来，沙斯塔开始断定他僻定是个国王——问他许多问题：他到哪儿去了？他怎么跑出来的？他的衣服又弄到哪儿去了？他是否认识到他一直十分顽皮？只是国王不说他顽皮，只说他”皮”。
沙斯塔啥也没有回答，因为他想不出什么不会惹出祸殃的答案。
“怎么'装聋作哑吗？”国王问道，”我必须明明白白地告诉你，王子，这种卑鄙的沉默，对于你这种血统和地位的人，较之对于淘气捣蛋的家伙，叫是更加不相称不合适了。平白无故地溜掉，可以看做是一个孩子晕头晕脑地闹着玩儿。但阿钦兰国王的儿子应该公开承认事实，可不应耷拉着脑袋像个卡乐门国的奴隶啊。”
这话听起来十分不愉快，因为沙斯塔始终觉得这位年轻的国王是大人之中最和善的，他很想给对方个好印象。
陌生人带着他——紧紧地揪住他的双手——沿一条狭窄的街道走去，走下一列小台阶，再从另一列台阶向上走去，到了一道雪白墙垣单一个宽阔的大门口，大门左右两边各有一棵黑苍苍的高大柏树。踏进拱门，沙斯塔发觉自己进了一个院子，那也是个花园。中央是个人理石清水盆，泉水涓滴不绝地落入盆内。水盆周围，平整的草坪上长着橘子树。围着草坪的四垛雪白墙垣上爬满了蔷薇花。街道上的尘土和拥挤似乎突然消失了。他被人迅速地带过花园，然后进入个黑暗的门口。传呼员待在门外。这之后，他们带着他走过一道走廊(走廊里的石头地面使他感到股凉意舒适地直透他炎热的双足)，走上一道楼梯。不一会儿，他便在一个巨大、轩敞的房间的亮光里眨巴着眼睛了。房间里的窗子大开着，都是朝北的，所以没有阳光照进房间里来。地板上铺着一条地毯，色彩之艳丽，是他从来没有见过的，他的双脚窝进了地毯里去，仿佛踩在厚实的替苔上。绕着墙壁摆满了低矮的沙发，沙发上又摆了许多靠垫，房间里似乎都是人，沙斯塔觉得有几个人很古怪。但他无暇考虑这个问题，一位他从未见过的最最美丽的女士从座位上站了起来，伸出手臂抱住他，亲吻他，口中说道，