"Look at that ship!" said Scrubb. "Why's it coming on so quickly? No one's rowing it."
“看那有艘船!”斯库波说,“它怎么走那么快?根本没人划啊。”
"Look, look!" said the Prince. "The ship is already far this side of the harbour—it is in the street. Look! All the ships are driving into the city! By my head, the sea's rising.
“快看!快看!”王子说,“船已经开到港口这边来了——它在大街上走!看!所有船都朝这里驶来!上帝,海平面上升了。
The flood is upon us. Aslan be praised, this castle stands on high ground. But the water comes on grimly fast."
洪水立马就要到来。阿斯兰保佑,这座城堡幸亏坐落于高地。但水来得也太快了。”
"Oh, what can be happening?" cried Jill. "Fire and water and all those people dodging about the streets."
“哦,究竟会发生什么?”吉尔喊道,“又是火又是水,还有那些在街上躲来躲去的人。”
"I'll tell you what it is," said Puddleglum."That Witch has laid a train of magic spells so that whenever she was killed, at that same moment her whole kingdom would fall to pieces.
“让我来告诉你会发生什么。”帕德格莱姆说,“女巫施了一连串咒语,只要自己被杀,地下王国就会崩裂成碎片。
She's the sort that wouldn't so much mind dying herself if she knew that the chap who killed her was going to be burned, or buried, or drowned five minutes later."
她就是这种人,只要敌人在五分钟内被烧死、活埋或淹死,她觉得死也值了。”
"Hast hit it, friend wiggle," said the Prince. "When our swords hacked off the Witch's head, that stroke ended all her magic works, and now the Deep Lands are falling to pieces. We are looking on the end of Underworld."
“你猜对了,沼泽人朋友。”王子说,“当我们用剑砍掉女巫的头颅时,已经破解了她所有的魔力。现在地下王国正在崩塌,这里的末日来临了。”
"That's it, Sir," said Puddleglum. "Unless it should happen to be the end of the whole world." "But are we just going to stay here and—wait?" gasped Jill.
“没错,先生。”帕德格莱姆说,“这儿的世界就要毁灭了。”“但我们就待在这,一直等吗?”吉尔深吸了一口气。
"Not by my counsel," said the Prince. "I would save my horse, Coalblack, and the Witch's Snowflake (a noble beast and worthy of a better mistress) which are both stabled in the courtyard.
“不。”王子说,“我要把我的马——煤黑救出来,还有女巫的马——雪花(这是匹神圣的马,需要一位更好的女主人),它们都关在院中的马厩里。
After that, let us make shift to get out to high ground and pray that we shall find an outlet. The horses can carry two each at need, and if we put them to it they may outstrip the flood."
然后,我们赶快骑马撤到高地,希望我们能在那儿找到出口。有需要时,一匹马能同时载两个人,如果顺利的话,马的速度应该快过洪水。
"Will your Highness not put on armour?" asked Puddleglum. "I don't like the look of those" —and he pointed down to the street. Everyone looked down.
“殿下还穿盔甲吗?”帕德格莱姆问,“我不喜欢那些家伙。”他指了指下面的街道。大家都向下望去,
Dozens of creatures (and now that they were close, they obviously were Earthmen) were coming up from the direction of the harbour.
好几十个人(走近了才看清他们是洞穴人)从港口方向拥来。
But they were not moving like an aimless crowd. They behaved like modern soldiers in an attack, making rushes and taking cover, anxious not to be seen from the castle windows.
队伍杂乱无章,漫无目的。他们像现代士兵一样,边奔跑边寻找掩体,不想让城堡窗户里的人看见。
"I dare not see the inside of that armour again," said the Prince. "I rode in it as in a movable dungeon, and it stinks of magic and slavery. But I will take the shield."
“我不敢再看那件盔甲的里面。”王子说,“穿着它骑马就像待在会移动的地牢里一样,上面沾满了魔法和奴役的味道。但我要把盾牌拿上。”
He left the room and returned with a strange light in his eyes a moment later.
他离开房间,一会儿又回来了,眼睛里闪着奇特的光芒。
"Look, friends," he said, holding out the shield towards them. "An hour ago it was black and without device; and now, this."
“快看,朋友们。”他边说边把盾牌举向他们,“一小时前,它还是黑色的,上面没有图案,但如今变成了这样。”
The shield had turned bright as silver, and on it, redder than blood or cherries, was the figure of the Lion.
盾牌如银子般闪着光,那个比血液或樱桃还红的图案是狮子头像。
"Doubtless," said the Prince, "this signifies that Aslan will be our good lord, whether he means us to live or die. And all's one, for that.
“毋庸置疑,”王子说,“这表明无论我们生或死,阿斯兰将是我们伟大的主宰。因为这样,我们才能团结一致。
Now, by my counsel, we shall all kneel and kiss his likeness, and then all shake hands one with another, as true friends that may shortly be parted. And then, let us descend into the city and take the adventure that is sent us."
现在听我的,大家先跪下来亲吻他的头像,再将我们手握在一起,如同好朋友即将短暂分别一样。最后,大家一起朝上面的城市进发,完成属于我们的冒险。”
And they all did as the Prince had said. But when Scrubb shook hands with Jill, he said, "So long, Jill. Sorry I've been a funk and so ratty. I hope you get safe home," and Jill said, "So long, Eustace. And I'm sorry I've been such a pig."
他们都按王子说的做了。但斯库波和吉尔握手时,他说:“再见,吉尔。抱歉,我一直是个脾气暴躁的胆小鬼。希望你能平安回家。”吉尔说:“再见,尤斯塔斯。抱歉,我一直是拖后腿的那个人。”
And this was the first time they had ever used Christian names, because one didn't do it at school.
这是他们第一次称呼对方的教名,在学校他们从不这么称呼对方。
The Prince unlocked the door and they all went down the stairs: three of them with drawn swords, and Jill with drawn knife.
王子把门锁好,他们开始下楼梯:三位男士拿着剑,吉尔拿着刀。
The attendants had vanished and the great room at the foot of the Prince's stairs was empty.
侍从统统消失了,楼梯下的大房子里一个人都没有。
The grey, doleful lamps were still burning and by their light they had no difficulty in passing gallery after gallery and descending stairway after stairway.
灰色晦暗的灯光依旧亮着,他们借助灯光轻松地穿过一个接一个的走廊,走下一级又一级的楼梯。
The noises from outside the castle were not so easily heard here as they had been in the room above. Inside the house all was still as death, and deserted.
在这里和楼上的房间不一样,听不见太多噪音。一切都是死寂,荒凉至极。
It was as they turned a corner into the great hall on the ground floor that they met their first Earthman-a fat, whitish creature with a very piglike face who was gobbling up all the remains of food on the tables.
他们拐进一楼大厅时撞见了他们来此后碰到的第一位洞穴人——一个白胖白胖的家伙,脸长得和猪差不多,他正在消灭桌上的食物。
It squealed (the squeal also was very like a pig's) and darted under a bench, whisking its long tail out of Puddleglum's reach in the nick of time.
他尖叫着朝长凳下冲去(连叫声都和猪一样),尾巴一挥,没让帕德格莱姆抓住。