《魔法师的外甥》第46期:第一个笑柄及其他(2)

"No, little friend," said the Lion. "You have not made the first joke; you have only been the first joke." Then everyone laughed More than ever; but the Jackdaw didn't mind and laughed just as loud till the horse shook its head and the Jackdaw lost its balance and fell off, but remembered its wings (they were still new to it) before it reached the ground.

"And now," said Aslan, "Narnia is established. We must next take thought for keeping it safe. I will call some of you to my council. Come hither to me, you the chief Dwarf, and you the River-god, and you Oak and the Owl, and both the Ravens and the Bull-Elephant. We must talk together. For though the world is not five hours old an evil has already entered it."

The creatures he had named came forward and he turned away eastward with them. The others all began talking, saying things like "What did he say had entered the world? - A Neevil - What's a Neevil? - No, he didn't say a Neevil, he said a weevil - Well, what's that?"

"Look here," said Digory to Polly, "I've got to go after him - Aslan, I mean, the Lion. I must speak to him."

"Do you think we can?" said Polly. "I wouldn't dare."

"I've got to," said Digory. "It's about Mother. If anyone could give me something that would do her good, it would be him."

"I'll come along with you," said the Cabby. "I liked the looks of 'im. And I don't reckon these other beasts will go for us. And I want a word with old Strawberry."

So all three of them stepped out boldly - or as boldly as they could - towards the assembly of animals. The creatures were so busy talking to one another and making friends that they didn't notice the three humans until they were very close; nor did they hear Uncle Andrew, who was standing trembling in his buttoned boots a good way off and shouting (but by no means at the top of his voice).

"Digory! Come back! Come back at once when you're told. I forbid you to go a step further."

When at last they were right in among the animals, the animals all stopped talking and stared at them.

"Well?" said the He-Beaver at last, "what, in the name of Aslan, are these?"

"Please," began Digory in rather a breathless voice, when a Rabbit said, "They're a kind of large lettuce, that's my belief."

"No, we're not, honestly we're not," said Polly hastily. "We're not at all nice to eat."

"There!" said the Mole. "They can talk. Who ever heard of a talking lettuce?"

"Perhaps they're the Second joke," suggested the Jackdaw.

“不，小朋友，”狮子说，“你没有开第一个玩笑，你成了第一个笑柄。”其他的动物比刚才笑得更厉害了。但寒鸦满不在乎，也跟着大声地笑，直到马一摇头，它站立不稳掉了下来。但在落地之前想起了翅膀，便飞了起来（对它来说，翅膀还没用过呢）。

“现在，”阿斯兰说，“纳尼亚建立了。下一步，我们就要想方设法保卫它的安全。我将从你们中挑选一些组成我的顾问班子。过来，你，小矮人头领。你，河神，你，橡树神和雄猫头鹰，你们两只渡鸦，还有公象。我们必须一起议事。虽然这个世界的成立还没有五小时，一个恶魔已经进来了。”

它选出的动物走上前来，随着它向东走去。其余的则开始议论：“它说什么已经进入我们这个世界了？什么‘镆’？到底是啥？——不，它没说什么‘镆’。它说的是什么‘果’。到底是什么？”

“唉呀，”迪格雷对波莉说，“我得跟着去——阿斯兰，就是那狮子。我必须和它谈谈。”

“你认为我们能去吗？”波莉说，“我不敢。”

“我不能不去，”迪格雷说，“为了妈妈。如果谁能提供给她治病的东西，那么肯定是它。”

“我和你们一起去吧，”马车夫说，“我很喜欢它的样子。我想和老草莓说句话。我不指望别的那些动物会来邀请我们。”

他们三人大胆地——或者说，壮着胆子——向动物群中走去。动物们正忙着互相谈话和交朋友，直到这三人走近才发现。它们当然也没有听见安德鲁舅舅；他穿着扣得紧紧的鞋子在发抖，站在远处大叫（但并没有使出最大的劲）。

“迪格雷！回来，听我的话立即回来。我不许你再往前走一步。”

当他们最后走到动物中时，动物们全都停止说话，注视着他们：

“唔，”雄河狸终于说，“以阿斯兰的名义，这些是什么？”

“对不起。”迪格雷呼吸急促地刚想说下去，一只兔子接嘴道，“他们是一种大篱昔，我相信。”

“不，我们不是，确实不是。”波莉急忙说，“我们不是可以吃的东西。”

“哈！”鼹鼠说，”“他们能说话！谁听说过莴苣能说话？”

“也许他们是第二个笑柄。”寒鸦说。