It is as hard to explain how this sunlit land was different from the old Narnia as it would be to tell you how the fruits of that country taste. Perhaps you will get some idea of it if you think like this. You may have been in a room in which there was a window that looked out on a lovely bay of the sea or a green valley that wound away among mountains. And in the wall of that room opposite to the window there may have been a looking-glass. And as you turned away from thewindow you suddenly caught sight of that sea or that valley, all overagain, in the looking glass. And the sea in the mirror, or the valley in the mirror, were in one sense just the same as the real ones: yet at the same time they were somehow different-deeper, more wonderful, more like places in a story: in a story you have never heard but very much want to know.
The difference between the old Narnia and the new Narnia was like that. The new one was a deeper country: every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more. I can‘t describe it any better than that: if ever you get there you will know what I mean.
It was the Unicorn who summed up what everyone was feeling. He stamped his right fore-hoof on the ground and neighed, and then cried:
“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this. Bree-hee-hee! Come further up, come further in!”
He shook his mane and sprang forward into a great gallop-a Unicorn’s gallop which, in our world, would have carried him out of sight in a few moments. But now a most strange thing happened.
Everyone else began to run, and they found, to their astonishment, that they could keep up with him: not only the dogs and the humans but even fat little Puzzle and short-legged Poggin the Dwarf. The air flew in their faces as if they were driving fast in a car without a windscreen. The country flew past as if they were seeing it from the windows of an express train. Faster and faster they raced, but no one got hot or tired or out of breath.
中文阅读
“啊,尚武的国王们,”易米思说,“还有你们,美丽照亮寰宇的女士们,我是易米思,沙漠西边提奚班城哈发塔坎的第七个儿子。前不久,在利希达塔坎的指挥下,我和二十九名士兵一道进入了纳尼亚。我一听说要开拔到纳尼亚,就非常开心。因为我听过许多有关你们国家的传闻,迫不及待地想要同你们在战场上比试一番。可是当我发现,我们必须装扮成商人潜入(对于一名斗士,对于塔坎的儿子,那是一种羞耻的装束),必须依靠谎言和阴谋诡计,我就高兴不起来了。尤其令人不能容忍的是,我发现,我们必须服侍一只猴子。当他们胡扯塔西和阿斯兰是同一位神时,世界在我眼中变得一团漆黑。自从童年开始,我就一直在服侍塔西。我最大的愿望就是能够更多地认识他,如果可能的话,亲眼瞻仰一下他的容颜。而阿斯兰的名字则是我所憎恶的。
“正如你们所看到的,一夜又一夜,我们被召集到那个茅草窝棚外面,点燃篝火,那个猿猴从窝棚里叫出来一个四条腿的东西,我看不清楚那是什么。人和动物都向它鞠躬致敬。而我却认为,猿猴把塔坎给骗了,因为从马棚里出来的那个东西既不是塔西,也不是别的什么神。我仔细观察塔坎的脸,注意聆听他对猴子说的每一个字,于是我改变了想法。因为我看得出来,塔坎本人并不相信那个东西。我终于明白,他根本就不相信塔西。如果他相信的话,他怎么敢嘲弄塔西呢?
“一旦明白了这一点,我不禁感到怒不可遏。我很奇怪,真正的塔西为什么不降下天火烧死猴子和塔坎呢?不管怎样,我掩饰了自己的愤怒,闭口不言,等着看这一切怎么收场。最后一夜,你们中的一些人已经知道了,猴子没有把那个黄色的东西牵出来,而是说凡是想见塔西兰的——他们把两个词混在一起,硬说那是同一位神——必须单独进入那个窝棚。我告诫自己,无疑这又是某种骗局。那只猫进去之后,吓得疯狂地逃了出来。这时,我自言自语道,肯定他们不信而且愚昧地招唤来了真塔西,既然塔西已经到来,他一定要为自己报仇雪恨。想到塔西的伟大与可怕,我顿时感到不寒而栗。然而,我的强烈愿望战胜了自己的惧怕,我竭力克制着膝盖的颤抖,克制着牙齿的格格作响,下决心要进去朝见塔西,即使被他杀死也在所不惜。于是,我主动要求进入窝棚,塔坎尽管不乐意,还是放我进去了。
“一进那扇门,第一件奇异的事情就是,我发现自己置身于灿烂的阳光之下(就像我们现在这样)。尽管从外面看起来,这个窝棚里黑咕隆咚的。可是我没有时间对此表示惊奇,因为紧接着我就被迫进行自卫,跟我们那边的一个人打斗起来。一看见他,我才恍然大悟,猴子和塔坎把他安置在那儿,命令他杀死任何没有参与他们阴谋的人。所以他也是个撒谎者,一个嘲弄塔西的恶棍,而不是塔西的忠实仆人。我更加坚定地与他拼搏,杀死了这个坏人,把他从我身后的门洞里扔了出去。
“随后,我仔细地端详四周,看到了辽阔的天空与大地,闻到了芬芳的气息。我说,啊,这真是一个迷人的地方,也许我已经进入了塔西的领地。我开始在这个陌生的国度里漫游,寻找塔西。
“就这样,我徜徉在茵茵碧草和盛开的鲜花之间,行走在各种令人身心愉悦的树木之间。天哪!在岩石间一个狭窄的地方,一头巨大的狮子迎面而来。他的速度快如鸵鸟,身躯像一头大象,他的毛像是纯金的,他的眼睛明亮如炉中融化的黄金液体。他比拉格尔的火焰山更加可怕,他的美丽超过了世上的一切,正如玫瑰花远超过沙漠的尘土。