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"I beg your pardon," said the Owl. "I was just nabbing a bat. There's nothing so sustaining, in a small way, as a nice plump little bat. Shall I catch you one?"
“请原谅。”猫头鹰说，“我只是在抓蝙蝠。飞这么短距离，抓不到其他的东西充饥，一只肥硕的小蝙蝠是最好的食品。我为你抓一只怎么样？”
"No, thanks," said Jill with a shudder. He was flying a little lower now and a large, black looking object was looming up towards them.
“不用了，谢谢。”吉尔打了一个哆嗦。猫头鹰飞得低了些，一个巨大的黑色建筑物出现在前方。
Jill had just time to see that it was a tower—a partly ruinous tower, with a lot of ivy on it, she thought—when she found herself ducking to avoid the archway of a window,
吉尔才看清那是座塔，她想这座建筑物应该已经相当破败了，因为上面覆满了常春藤。正在她看塔的当口，
as the Owl squeezed with her through the ivied cobwebby opening, out of the fresh, grey night into a dark place inside the top of the tower.
猫头鹰带她挤进了一个被藤蔓覆盖并结满蜘蛛网的窗口，他们脱离了清爽灰色的夜空，进到一间位于塔顶的小黑屋里（吉尔不得不弯下身子，避开窗户的拱顶，以免碰到头）。
It was rather fusty inside and, the moment she slipped off the Owl's back, she knew (as one usually does somehow) that it was quite crowded.
屋子里散发着霉味，吉尔刚从猫头鹰后背下来，立马就感觉到屋子里肯定挤满了人（不知什么原因，大家都会这么觉得）。
And when voices began saying out of the darkness from every direction "Tu—whoo! Tu-whoo!" she knew it was crowded with owls.
当“呜咕”声从小黑屋的各个方向传来，她才意识到原来这里挤满了猫头鹰。
She was rather relieved when a very different voice said: "Is that you, Pole?" "Is that you, Scrubb?" said Jill.
这时，一个熟悉的声音响起，她顿时放松多了。“是你吗，吉尔？”“是你吗，斯库波？”吉尔问。
"Now," said Glimfeather, "I think we're all here. Let us hold a parliament of owls."
“现在，”高林羽说，“我想大家都到齐了。我们开个猫头鹰会议吧。”
"Tu-whoo, tu-whoo. True for you. That's the right thing to do," said several voices.
“呜咕，呜咕。你说得对，这么做很对。”几个声音附和道。
"Half a moment," said Scrubb's voice. "There's something I want to say first." "Do, do, do," said the owls, and Jill said, "Fire ahead."
“先等一会儿。”斯库波说，“我想先说个事情。”“快说，快说，快说。”猫头鹰们催促道，吉尔也跟着起哄，“快说啊。”
"I suppose all you chaps—owls, I mean," said Scrubb, "I suppose you all know that King Caspian the Tenth, in his young days, sailed to the eastern end of the world.
“猫头鹰兄弟们，我想，我的意思是，”斯库波说，“我想你们应该都知道凯斯宾十世年轻的时候曾经去过纳尼亚世界东部的尽头。
Well, I was with him on that journey: with him and Reepicheep the Mouse, and the Lord Drinian and all of them.
我是和他一起去的，除了我之外还有雷佩契普那只老鼠勇士。
I know it sounds hard to believe, but people don't grow older in our world at the same speed as they do in yours.
我知道这听上去难以置信，但在我们那个世界，人们不像在这儿衰老得那么快。
And what I want to say is this, that I'm the King's man; and if this parliament of owls is any sort of plot against the King, I'm having nothing to do with it."
我想说的是我效忠国王，如果这个猫头鹰会议是反抗国王的话，我绝不会参加。”
"Tu-whoo, tu-whoo, we're all the King's owls too," said the owls. "What's it all about then?" said Scrubb.
“呜咕，呜咕，我们是国王的猫头鹰，也都效忠他。”猫头鹰们说。“那你们这是要干什么？”斯库波问。
"It's only this," said Glimfeather. "That if the Lord Regent, the Dwarf Trumpkin, hears you are going to look for the lost Prince, he won't let you start. He'd keep you under lock and key sooner."
“是这样的，”高林羽说，“如果摄政王，矮人杜普鲁金知道你们要寻找王子的话，他绝对会阻止你们的。他会将你俩严格监视起来。”
"Great Scott!" said Scrubb. "You don't mean that Trumpkin is a traitor? I used to hear a lot about him in the old days, at sea. Caspian—the King, I mean—trusted him absolutely."
“天啊！”斯库波说，“别告诉我杜普鲁金是叛徒。我过去在海上可是听说了很多关于他的故事。凯斯宾，我是说国王陛下，非常信任他。”
"Oh no," said a voice. "Trumpkin's no traitor. But more than thirty champions (knights, centaurs, good giants, and all sorts) have at one time or another set out to look for the lost Prince, and none of them have ever come back.
“哦，不是。”一个声音说，“杜普鲁金不是叛徒。但是到现在为止，已经有30多位勇士（骑士、半人马、巨人等种族）出发去寻找王子，但没有一个回来过。
And at last the King said he was not going to have all the bravest Narnians destroyed in the search for his son. And now nobody is allowed to go."
最后，国王说他不会让所有纳尼亚勇士都为寻找他的儿子而牺牲，所以寻找王子的事情就被禁止了。”
"But surely he'd let us go," said Scrubb. "When he knew who I was and who had sent me." ("Sent both of us," put in Jill.)
“但他一定会让我俩去。”斯库波说，“如果他知道我是谁，是谁派我来的话。”“派咱俩来的好不好。”吉尔赶忙插嘴。
"Yes," said Glimfeather, "I think, very likely, he would. But the King's away. And Trumpkin will stick to the rules. He's as true as steel, but he's deaf as a post and very peppery. You could never make him see that this might be the time for making an exception to the rule."
“是的。”高林羽说，“我认为非常可能。但国王如今不在，杜普鲁金又墨守成规。他虽绝对可靠，但耳朵背得和邮筒似的，脾气还非常暴躁。你永远无法让他明白，现在是打破常规的时候了。”
"You might think he'd take some notice of us, because we're owls and everyone knows how wise owls are," said someone else.
“你可能认为他会注意到我们，因为我们是猫头鹰，谁都知道猫头鹰有多聪明。”其中一只说，
"But he's so old now he'd only say, 'You're a mere chick. I remember you when you were an egg. Don't come trying to teach me, Sir. Crabs and crumpets!'"
“但他太老了，只会说，你们不过是些小雏鸟，在你们还是鸟蛋的时候，我就见过你们。别想来教训我，先生。多嘴多舌的家伙们！”
This owl imitated Trumpkin's voice rather well, and there were sounds of owlish laughter all round.
这只猫头鹰把杜普鲁金的声音模仿得惟妙惟肖，周围传来它同伴们的笑声。
The children began to see that the Narnians all felt about Trumpkin as people feel at school about some crusty teacher, whom everyone is a little afraid of and everyone makes fun of and nobody really dislikes. "How long is the King going to be away?" asked Scrubb.
两个孩子感觉杜普鲁金在纳尼亚的处境就像他们那个世界的一些老师似的，虽然脾气暴躁，有点可怕，但人人都喜欢拿他找乐子，大家从没真正讨厌过他。“国王要去多久啊？”斯库波问。
"If only we knew!" said Glimfeather. "You see, there has been a rumour lately that Aslan himself has been seen in the islands—in Terebinthia, I think it was.
“我们要知道就好了！”高林羽说，“你瞧，最近有传言，阿斯兰曾在泰瑞宾西亚的七岛国出没。我觉得这很可能属实。
And the King said he would make one more attempt before he died to see Aslan face to face again, and ask his advice about who is to be King after him.
国王也提过自己死之前想再和阿斯兰见一面，并征询他的意见，看谁适合继承王位。
But we're all afraid that, if he doesn't meet Aslan in Terebinthia, he'll go on east, to Seven Isles and Lone Islands—and on and on.
然而，我们害怕如果他不去泰瑞宾西亚见阿斯兰，没准就会一路往东，抵达七国岛和寂岛，可能还会继续向东。
He never talks about it, but we all know he has never forgotten that voyage to the world's end. I'm sure in his heart of hearts he wants to go there again."
国王从没提过这事儿，但我们都明白他从没忘记过那次开往边境的东进之旅。我确信在他内心深处，东边是一定要再去一次的。
