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No, Digory. Men like me, who possess hidden wisdom, are freed from common rules just as we are cut off from common pleasures. Ours, my boy, is a high and lonely destiny."[qh]
不适合，迪格雷。像我这样有神秘智慧的人不受普通规矩的约束，正如我们跟普通人的乐趣无缘一样。孩子，我们注定是高贵而孤独的。”[qh]
As he said this he sighed and looked so grave and noble and mysterious that for a second Digory really thought he was saying something rather fine.[qh]
他边说边叹气，看上去那么一本正经，那么高尚，那么神秘．以至有一秒钟，迪格雷真的以为他在高谈阔论美好的事情。[qh]
But then he remembered the ugly look he had seen on his Uncle's face the moment before Polly had vanished: and all at once he saw through Uncle Andrew's grand words.[qh]
但他想起波莉失踪前从他脸上看到的丑恶神态，马上就明白了他那些大话的真实含义。[qh]
"All it means," he said to himself, "Is that he thinks he can do anything he likes to get anything he wants?"[qh]
“他的意思就是，”他对自己说，“可以不择手段地得到他想要的任何东西。”[qh]
"Of course," said Uncle Andrew, "I didn't dare to open the box for a long time, for I knew it might contain something highly dangerous. For my godmother was a very remarkable woman.[qh]
“当然，”安德鲁舅舅说，“我好长时间没敢打开盒子，我知道，里面可能装着非常危险的东西，因为我的教母太与众不同了。[qh]
The truth is, she was one of the last mortals in this country who had fairy blood in her.[qh]
其实她是这个国家有神仙血统的最后几个凡人之一。[qh]
(She said there had been two others in her time. One was a duchess and the other was a charwoman.)[qh]
（据她所说，与她同时代的还有两位，一位是公爵夫人，一位是女魔法师。）[qh]
In fact, Digory, you are now talking to the last man (possibly) who really had a fairy godmother.[qh]
其实，迪格雷，你正在跟也许是最后一个有神仙教母的人谈话。[qh]
There! That'll be something for you to remember when you are an old man yourself."[qh]
啊，有些事留给你自己老了再回忆吧。”[qh]
"I bet she was a bad fairy," thought Digory; and added out loud. "But what about Polly?"[qh]
“我敢扫赌她是个鳌脚的神仙。”迪格雷想；接着高声说，“那么波莉呢？”[qh]
"How you do harp on that!" said Uncle Andrew. "As if that was what mattered! My first task was of course to study the box itself. It was very ancient.[qh]
“你总是唠唠叨叨的，”安德鲁舅舅说，“好像那件事有什么要紧似的。我的首要任务当然是研究盒子木身。那是个古老的盒子。[qh]
And I knew enough even then to know that it wasn't Greek, or Old Egyptian, or Babylonian, or Hittite, or Chinese. It was older than any of those nations.[qh]
那时，我就清楚，它不是希腊的、古埃及的、巴比伦的、赫梯族的或中国的，它的年代比那些民族还要久远。[qh]
Ah-that was a great day when I at last found out the truth. The box was Atlantean; it came from the lost island of Atlantis.[qh]
我最终弄明白事实的那一天是多么了不起。这盒子是阿特兰蒂斯的，出自消失了的岛国阿特兰蒂斯。[qh]
That meant it was centuries older than any of the stone-age things they dig up in Europe.[qh]
这表明，这比欧洲出土的石器时代的文物要古老几百年；[qh]
And it wasn't a rough, crude thing like them either. For in the very dawn of time Atlantis was already a great city with palaces and temples and learned men."[qh]
而且也不像那些文物粗糙而原始。因为阿特兰蒂斯很早就是个伟大的城市，有宫殿、寺庙和学者。”[qh]
He paused for a moment as if he expected Digory to say something. But Digory was disliking his Uncle more every minute, so he said nothing.[qh]
他停了一下，似乎等着迪格雷开口。但每过一分钟，迪格雷就更加讨厌他的安德鲁舅舅，所以，他一言不发。[qh]
"Meanwhile," continued Uncle Andrew, "I was learning a good deal in other ways (it wouldn't be proper to explain them to a child) about Magic in general.[qh]
“同时，”安德鲁舅舅继续说，“我靠其他手段学到不少魔法常识（对一个孩子解说那些手段是不合适的）。[qh]
That meant that I came to have a fair idea what sort of things might be in the box. By various tests I narrowed down the possibilities.[qh]
这样，对盒子里装的东西我就有了一个合理的估计。通过各种试验，我缩小了范围。[qh]
I had to get to know some-well, some devilish queer people, and go through some very disagreeable experiences. That was what turned my head gray.[qh]
我不得不结识了一些极端古怪的人，做了一些难受的试验，我的头发也就这样变白了。[qh]
One doesn't become a magician for nothing. My health broke down in the end. But I got better. And at last I actually knew."[qh]
一个人不付出代价是不可能成为魔法师的。到后来，我的身体完全垮了，但我有了进步，最后，我真的懂了。”[qh]
Although there was not really the least chance of anyone overhearing them, he leaned forward and almost whispered as he said:[qh]
虽然根本不可能有人偷听．他还是斜着身子，几乎耳语一般地说：[qh]
"The Atlantean box contained something that had been brought from another world when our world was only just beginning."[qh]
“阿特兰蒂斯盒子里装着来自另一个世界的东西，那时，我们的世界才混沌初开。”[qh]
"What?" asked Digory, who was now interested in spite of himself.[qh]
“是什么？”迪格雷问，他这下不由自主地有了兴趣。[qh]
"Only dust, "said Uncle Andrew. "Fine, dry dust. Nothing much to look at. Not much to show for a lifetime of toil, you might say.[qh]
“只是土，”安德各舅舅说，“细腻、纯净、干燥的土。没什么好看的，你可能会说，辛苦一辈子就得到这些土，实在不值得。[qh]
Ah, but when I looked at that dust (I took jolly good care not to touch it) and thought that every grain had once been in another world-[qh]
然而，当我看着这些土时（我尽量小心，不去碰它），我想，每一粒土都来自另一世界——[qh]
I don't mean another planet, you know; they're part of our world and you could get to them if you went far enough-but a really Other World-another Nature-another universe-[qh]
我不是说另一星球，而是我们这个星球的一部分，你走得够远就能到达——但的确是另一个世界——另一种大自然——另一个字宙——[qh]
somewhere you would never reach even if you traveled through the space of this universe for ever and ever-a world that could be reached only by Magic-well!"[qh]
你即使在这个宇宙的空间不停地走下去也无法到达——是只能用魔法才去得了的世界——啊！”[qh]
Here Uncle Andrew rubbed his hands till his knuckles cracked like fireworks.[qh]
说到这里，安德鲁舅舅把手关节弄得木柴似的劈啪作响。[qh]
"I knew," he went on, "that if only you could get it into the right form, that dust would draw you back to the place it had come from. But the difficulty was to get it into the right form.[qh]
“我明白，”他继续道，”如果找到正确的方法，这些土就会把你带往它的世界。但正确方法却很难找。[qh]
