评论
打印
Hwin the mare was rather shy before a great warhorse like Bree and said very little. And Aravis never spoke to Shasta at all if she could help it.
母马赫温在像布里这样的战马面前是害羞沉默多了。至于阿拉维斯呢，她根本就不想跟沙斯塔说话。
Soon, however, they had more important things to think of. They were getting near Tashbaan. There were more, and larger, villages, and more people on the roads.
不过呢，他们很快就得考虑一些更重要的问题。他们越来越接近塔什班了。途中经过的村庄变得越来越多，规模也越来越大，而路上遇见人的概率也随之大幅增加。
They now did nearly all their travelling by night and hid as best they could during the day. And at every halt they argued and argued about what they were to do when they reached Tashbaan.
于是，他们白天就尽量躲起来，等到天黑以后才继续赶路。每次一停下来休息，他们就开始你一言我一语地说个不停，争论到了塔什班以后究竟该怎么做。
Everyone had been putting off this difficulty, but now it could be put off no longer.
在这之前，每个人都刻意避开这个难题，但现在已没办法再逃避下去了。
During these discussions Aravis became a little, a very little, less unfriendly to Shasta; one usually gets on better with people when one is making plans than when one is talking about nothing in particular.
大家在进行讨论的时候，阿拉维斯对沙斯塔的态度会稍稍地好一些。人通常是在讨论重要的事情时比漫无目的地闲聊时要容易相处。
Bree said the first thing now to do was to fix a place where they would all promise to meet on the far side of Tashbaan even if, by any ill luck, they got separated in passing the city.
布里表示，他们现在的首要要务，就是约好一个地点，万一大家不幸在通过城市时失散了的话，都可以各自按照约定到塔什班另一端去跟其他人会合。
He said the best place would be the Tombs of the Ancient Kings on the very edge of the desert.
他认为最适当的地点，就是位于沙漠边缘的“古帝王墓”。
"Things like great stone beehives” he said, "you can't possibly miss them. And the best of it is that none of the Calormenes will go near them because they think the place is haunted by ghouls and are afraid of it."
“那儿就像是巨大的石头蜂窝，”他说，“一眼就会注意到那儿。而那儿最大的优点就是卡乐门王国的人绝对不敢靠近那儿，他们认为那儿有恶灵作祟，怕得要死呢。”
Aravis asked if it wasn't really haunted by ghouls. But Bree said he was a free Narnian horse and didn't believe in these Calormene tales.
阿拉维斯问布里，那里是否真的闹鬼。布里却很了不起地表示，他可是自由的纳尼亚马儿，才不信卡乐门这一套呢。
And then Shasta said he wasn't a Calormene either and didn't care a straw about these old stories of ghouls.
接着沙斯塔也表示，他也不是卡乐门王国的人，才不会相信什么恶灵作祟的无稽之谈。
This wasn't quite true. But it rather impressed Aravis (though at the moment it annoyed her too) and of course she said she didn't mind any number of ghouls either.
这当然不是实话，但这句宣言让阿拉维斯对沙斯塔感到相当佩服，但同时也觉得很不高兴，所以只好硬着头皮说，不管那儿有多少恶灵，她全都不放在心上。
So it was settled that the Tombs should be their assembly place on the other side of Tashbaan,
于是事情就这么决定了，大家把“古帝王墓”定为到达塔什班另一端以后的会合地点，
and everyone felt they were getting on very well till Hwin humbly pointed out that the real problem was not where they should go when they had got through Tashbaan but how they were to get through it.
然后他们一下子全都觉得轻松了许多，感到事情几乎全都解决了。但接着赫温就用十分谦逊的态度指出，他们真正的问题，并不是他们通过塔什班以后该到哪里会合，而是该如何通过那个城市。
"We'll settle that tomorrow,Ma'am," said Bree. "Time for a little sleep now."
“这等明天再想办法，夫人，”布里说，“现在该睡了。”
But it wasn't easy to settle. Aravis's first suggestion was that they should swim across the river below the city during the night and not go into Tashbaan at all.
但这个办法并不好想。阿拉维斯最初的提议是，他们干脆趁夜摸黑跳进河里，从城市下方游过去，这样就根本不用踏入塔什班一步。
But Bree had two reasons against this. One was that the river-mouth was very wide and it would be far too long a swim for Hwin to do,especially with a rider on her back.
但布里提出两个理由反驳她。首先呢，河口实在太宽阔，赫温本来就没办法游那么远，而且背上还得载一个人。
(He thought it would be too long for himself too, but he said much less about that).
其实连他自己也没办法游那么远，但他却刻意避开这一点不提。
The other was that it would be full of shipping and of course anyone on the deck of a ship who saw two horses swimming past would be almost certain to be inquisitive.
还有呢，河面上到处都是船只，只要有人在甲板上看到，居然有两匹马游过河面，必定会起疑，非得追究个水落石出不可。
Shasta thought they should go up the river above Tashbaan and cross it where it was narrower.
沙斯塔则认为，他们应该沿着河流走到塔什班上方，找个河面较窄的地方游过去。
But Bree explained that there were gardens and pleasure houses on both banks of the river for miles and that there would be Tarkaans and Tarkheenas living in them and riding about the roads and having water parties on the river.
但布里对他解释，那儿的河流两岸，有着长达数里的花园和游乐中心，有许多泰坎和泰坎希娜在那里寻欢作乐，他们常常会骑马在道路上奔驰，要不然就是在河面上举行水上宴会。
In fact it would be the most likely place in the world for meeting someone who would recognize Aravis or even himself. "We'll have to have a disguise," said Shasta.
事实上，那里可算是阿拉维斯和他最容易被人认出来的地方。“那我们就得乔装打扮了。”沙斯塔说。
Hwin said it looked to her as if the safest thing was to go right through the city itself from gate to gate because one was less likely to be noticed in the crowd.
赫温表示，在她看来最安全的方法就是直接从城门走过去，因为挤在人群中，比较不容易引起注意。
But she approved of the idea of disguise as well. She said, "Both the human will have to dress in rags and look like peasants or slaves.
但她也觉得乔装打扮是个好主意。她说：“他们两个人都得穿得破破烂烂的，打扮成乡下人或是奴隶的模样。
And all Aravis's armour and our saddles and things must be made into bundles and put on our backs, and the children must pretend to drive us and people will think we're on pack-horses."
而阿拉维斯的盔甲、我们的鞍具和其他配备，都得装进包裹里，放在我们背上，这样孩子们只要假装牵着我们走，别人就会以为我们只是运货的驮马了。”
"My dear Hwin!" said Aravis rather scornfully. "As if anyone could mistake Bree for anything but a warhors however you disguised him!"
“我亲爱的赫温！”阿拉维斯用一种相当不屑的语气说，“不管你怎么替布里乔装改扮，大家还是一眼就可以看出他是一匹战马！”
"I should think not, indeed," said Bree, snorting an letting his ears go ever so little back.
“老实说，我也觉得这主意行不通，”布里喷着鼻息说，耳朵微微倾向后方。
