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the horse and his boy_c·s·刘易斯-第18部分

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e cuts of a whip。 it must have been a very strange lion; for  instead…of catching you out of the saddle and getting his teeth into you; he has only drawn his  claws across your back。 ten scratches: sore; but not deep or dangerous。鈥

〃i say!〃 said aravis。 〃i have had luck。鈥

〃daughter;〃 said the hermit; 〃i have now lived a hundred and nine winters  in this world and have never yet met any such thing as luck。 them is something about all  this that i do not understand: but if ever we need to know it; you may be sure that we  shall。鈥

〃and what about rsh and his two hundred horse?〃 asked aravis。

〃they will not pass this way; i think;〃 said the hermit。 〃they must have  found a ford by now well to the east of us。 from there they will try to ride straight to  anvard。鈥

〃poor shasta!〃 said aravis。 〃has he far to go? will he get there first?鈥

〃there is good hope of it;〃 said the old man。

aravis lay down again (on her side this time) and said; 〃have i been asleep  for a long time? it seems to be getting dark。鈥

the hermit was looking out of the only window; which faced north。 〃this is  not the darkness of night;〃 he said presently。 〃the clouds are falling down from  stormness head。

our foul weather always es from there in these parts。 there will be  thick fog tonight。鈥

next day; except for her sore back; aravis felt so well that after  breakfast (which was porridge and cream) the hermit said she could get up。 and of course she at  once went out to speak to the horses。 the weather had changed and the whole of that green  enclosure was filled; like a great green cup; with sunlight。 it was a very peaceful  place; lonely and quiet。

hwin at once trotted across to aravis and gave her a horse…kiss。

〃but wheres bree?〃 said aravis when each had asked after the others  health and sleep。

〃over there;〃 said hwin; pointing with her nose to the far side of the  circle。 〃and i wish youd e and talk to him。 theres something wrong; i cant get a word out  of him。鈥

they strolled across and found bree lying with his face towards the wall;  and though he must have heard them ing; he never turned his head or spoke a word。

〃good morning; bree;〃 said aravis。 〃how are you this morning?鈥

bree muttered something that no one could hear。

〃the hermit says that shasta probably got to king lune in time;〃 continued  aravis; 〃so it looks as if all our troubles are over。 narnia; at last; bree!鈥

〃i shall never see narnia;〃 said bree in a low voice。

〃arent you well; bree dear?〃 said aravis。

bree turned round at last; his face mournful as only a horses can be。

〃i shall go back to calormen;〃 he said。

〃what?〃 said aravis。 〃back to slavery!鈥

〃yes;〃 said bree。 〃slavery is all im fit for。 how can i ever show my face  among the free horses of narnia? … i who left a mare and a girl and a boy to be eaten by  lions while i galloped all i could to save my own wretched skin!鈥

〃we all ran as hard as we could;〃 said hwin。

〃shasta didnt!〃 snorted bree。 〃at least he ran in the right direction: ran  back。 and that is what shames me most of all。 i; who called myself a war…horse and boasted of  a hundred fights; to be beaten by a little human boy … a child; a mere foal; who had  never held a sword nor had any good nurture or example in his life!鈥

〃i know;〃 said aravis。 〃i felt just the same。 shasta was marvellous。 im  just as bad as you; bree。 ive been snubbing him and looking down on him ever since you met us  and now he turns out to be the best of us all。 but i think it would be better to  stay and say were sorry than to go back to calormen。鈥

〃its all very well for you;〃 said bree。 〃you havent disgraced yourself。  but ive lost everything。鈥

〃my good horse;〃 said the hermit; who had approached them unnoticed because  his bare feet made so little noise on that sweet; dewy grass。 〃my good horse; youve  lost nothing but your self…conceit。 no; no; cousin。 dont put back your ears and shake  your mane at me。 if you are really so humbled as you sounded a minute ago; you must  learn to listen to sense。 youre not quite the great horse you had e to think; from living  among poor dumb horses。 of course you were braver and cleverer than them。 you could  hardly help being that。 it doesnt follow that youll be anyone very special in narnia。  but as long as you know youre nobody special; youll be a very decent sort of horse; on  the whole; and taking one thing with another。 and now; if you and my other four…footed  cousin will e round to the kitchen door well see about the other half of that  mash。鈥

xi锛shuotx锛础锛辑



CHAPTER ELEVEN

灏彙h。t。xt。澶e爞
the unwele fellow traveller  

when shasta went through the gate he found a slope of grass and a little  heather running up before him to some trees。 he had nothing to think about now and  no plans to make: he had only to run; and that was quite enough。 his limbs were  shaking; a terrible stitch was beginning in his side; and the sweat that kept dropping into his  eyes blinded them and made them smart。 he was unsteady on his feet too; and more than  once he nearly turned his ankle on a loose stone。

the trees were thicker now than they had yet been and in the more open  spaces there was bracken。 the sun had gone in without making it any cooler。 it had bee  one of those hot; grey days when there seem to be twice as many flies as usual。 shastas  face was covered with them; he didnt even try to shake them off … he had too much  else to do。

suddenly he heard a horn … not a great throbbing horn like the horns of  tashbaan but a merry call; ti…ro…to…to…ho! next moment he came out into a wide glade and  found himself in a crowd of people。

at least; it looked a crowd to him。 in reality there were about fifteen or  twenty of them; all gentlemen in green huntingdress; with their horses; some in the saddle  and some standing by their horses heads。 in the centre someone was holding the  stirrup for a man to mount。 and the man he was holding it for was the jolliest; fat;  applecheeked; twinkling eyed king you could imagine。

as soon as shasta came in sight this king forgot all about mounting his  horse。 he spread out his arms to shasta; his face lit up; and he cried out in a great; deep  voice that seemed to e from the bottom of his chest:  〃corin! my son! and on foot; and in rags! what…鈥

〃no;〃 panted shasta; shaking his head。 〃not prince corin。 i … i … know im  like him。。。 saw his highness in tashbaan。。。 sent his greetings。鈥

the king was staring at shasta with an extraordinary expression on his  face。

〃are you k…king lune?〃 gasped shasta。 and then; without waiting for an  answer; 〃lord king … fly … anvard shut the gates … enemies upon you … rsh and two  hundred horse。鈥

〃have you assurance of this; boy?〃 asked one of the other gentlemen。

〃my own eyes;〃 said shasta。 〃ive seen them。 raced them all the way from  tashbaan。鈥

〃on foot?〃 said the gentleman; raising his eyebrows a little。

horses…with the hermit;〃 said shasta。

〃question him no more; darrin;〃 said king lune。 〃i see truth in his face。  we must ride for it; gentlemen。 a spare horse there; for the boy。 you can ride fast;  friend?鈥

for answer shasta put his foot in the stirrup of the horse which had been  led towards him and a moment later he was in the saddle。 he had done it a hundred times  with bree in the last few weeks; and his mounting was very different now from what it had  been on that first night when bree had said that he climbed up a horse as if he were  climbing a haystack。

he was pleased to hear the lord darrin say to the king; 〃the boy has a true  horsemans seat; sire。 ill warrant theres noble blood in him。鈥

〃his blood; aye; theres the point;〃 said the king。 and he stared hard at  shasta again with that curious expression; almost a hungry expression; in his steady; grey  eyes。

but by now …the whole party was moving off at a brisk canter。 shastas seat  was excellent but he was sadly puzzled what to do with his reins; for he had never  touched the reins while he was on brees back。 but he looked very carefully out of the  corners of his eyes to see what the others were doing (as some of us have done at parties when  we werent quite sure which knife or fork we were meant to use) and tried to get his  fingers right。 but he didnt dare to try really directing the horse; he trusted it would  follow the rest。 the horse was of course an ordinary horse; not a talking horse; but it had  quite wits enough to realize that the strange boy on its back had no whip and no spurs and  was not really master of the situation。 that was why shasta soon found himself at the tail  end of the procession。

even so; he was going pretty fast。 there were no flies now and the air in  his face was delicious。 he had got his breath back too。 and his errand had succeeded。  for the first time since the arrival at tashbaan (how long ago it seemed!) he was  beginning to enjoy himself。

he looked up to see how much nearer the mountain tops had e。 to his disappointment he could not see them at all: only a vague greyness; rolling  down towards them。 he had never been in mountain country before and was surprised。 〃its  a cloud;〃 he said to himself; 〃a cloud ing down。 i see。 up here in the hills one is  really in the sky。

i shall see what the inside of a cloud is like。 what fun! ive often  wondered。〃 far away on his left and a little behind him; the sun was getting ready to set。

they had e to a rough kind of road by now and were making very good  speed。 but shastas horse was still the last of the lot。 once or twice when the road  made a bend (there was now continuous forest on each side of it) he lost sight of the  others for a second or two。

then they plunged into the fog; or else the fog rolled over them。 the world  became grey。

shasta had not realized how cold and wet the inside of a cloud would be;  nor how dark。

the grey turned to black with alarming speed。

someone at the head of the column winded the horn every now and then; and  each time the sound came from a little farther off。 he couldnt see any of the others  now; but of course hed be able to as soon as he got round the next bend。 but when he  rounded it he still couldnt see them。 in fact he co
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