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"Sire," he said. "You know how long I have lived and studied the stars; for we Centaurs live longer than you Men, and even longer than your kind, Unicorn. Never in all my days have I seen such terrible things written in the skies as there have been nightly since this year began. The stars say nothing of the coming of Aslan, nor of peace, nor of joy. I know by my art that there have not been such disastrous conjunctions of the planets for five hundred years. It was already in my mind to come and warn your Majesty that some great evil hangs over Narnia. But last night the rumour reached me that Aslan is abroad in Narnia. Sire, do not believe this tale. It cannot be. The stars never lie, but Men and Beasts do. If Aslan were really coming to Narnia the sky would have foretold it. If he were really come, all the most gracious stars would be assembled in his honour. It is all a lie."
“陛下，”他说道，“你知道我已经有多大年纪了，研究星相又有多久了；因为我们人头马比你们人类寿长，也比你们独角兽类寿长。在我以往的日子里，我从未像今年开始以来那样，夜夜见到写在星空里的那么可怕的不祥之兆。星相压根儿没有说到阿斯兰光临，既没有说到和平，也没有说到欢乐。我凭我的法术知道，五百年来没有出现过灾难性的’行星会合’现象。我脑子里已经有这么个想法，要来向陆下报警：有某种大灾大难笼罩着纳尼亚王国。但，昨天夜间我听到谣言，说是阿斯兰来临了。陛下，不要相信这种鬼话。这是不可能的。星象从不撒谎，但人和野兽都会撒谎的。如果阿斯兰已经来到纳尼亚王国，天上的星象便会有预兆了。如果狮王真的光临了，一切有礼貌的星星都会集拢来向狮王致敬的。这可是个彻头彻尾的谎言。”
"A lie!" said the King fiercely. "What creature in Narnia or all the world would dare to lie on such a matter?" And, without knowing it, he laid his hand on his sword hilt.
“谎言！”国王情绪激烈地说道，在这么重大的事件上，纳尼亚王国或者全世界有什么人竟敢撒谎？他不知不觉地把自己的手按在剑柄上。
"That I know not, Lord King," said the Centaur. "But I know there are liars on earth; there are none among the stars."
“国王啊，这我不知道，”人头马说道，“但我知道世界上有不少撒谎的骗子；天上的星星中可一个撒谎的骗子也没有。”
"I wonder," said Jewel, "whether Aslan might not come though all the stars foretold otherwise. He is not the slave of the stars but their Maker. Is it not said in all the old stories that He is not a tame lion."
“我心中纳罕，”珍宝说道，“尽管一切星相的征兆不是这么说，阿斯兰是否就可能不来了呢？狮王不是众星的奴隶，而是众星的创造者。一切古老的故事里不是都说他并不是驯服的狮子吗？”
"Well said, well said, Jewel," cried the King. "Those are the very words: not a tame lion. It comes in many tales."
“说得好，说得好，珍宝。”国王大声说道，“就是这么一句话。并不是驯服的狮子。有许多故事里都那么说的。”
Roonwit had just raised his hand and was leaning forward to say something very earnestly to the King when all three of them turned their heads to listen to a wailing sound that was quickly drawing nearer. The wood was so thick to the West of them that they could not see the newcomer yet. But they could soon hear the words.
龙威特刚抬起头来，正要向前伸过去跟国王十分认真地说话时，他们三个都转过头来谛听一个正愈传愈近的、号啕大哭的声音。他们西边的树林很稠密，所以他们还看不见新来的人物。但他们不久就能听清楚号哭的词儿了。
"Woe, woe, woe!" called the voice. "Woe for my brothers and sisters! Woe for the holy trees! The woods are laid waste. The axe is loosed against us. We are being felled. Great trees are falling, falling, falling."
“灾难，灾难，灾难！”这声音号啕道，“我的姐妹兄弟灾难临头了！神圣的树木灾难临头了！森林被损坏了。斧头砍到我们身上来了。我们正在被砍伐。大树正在倒下，倒下，倒下。”
With the last "falling" the speaker came in sight. She was like a woman but so tall that her head was on a level with the Centaur's yet she was like a tree too. It is hard to explain if you have never seen a Dryad but quite unmistakable once you have - something different in the colour, the voice, and the hair. King Tirian and the two Beasts knew at once that she was the nymph of a beech tree.
随着最后一个“倒下”的声音，说话的人便看得见了。她像一个女人，但是高高大大，头跟人头马的脑袋一般儿高；然而她也很像个女人。如果你从未见过树精，那就很难给你解释；如果你见过，那就可以毫无错误地从颜色、声音、头发上辨别出来某些不同之处。国王蒂莲和两头野兽立刻就认出她是山毛榉的精灵。
"Justice, Lord King!" she cried. "Come to our aid. Protect your people. They are felling us in Lantern Waste."
“国王陛下，你要主持正义——”她大声喊道，“你要来帮助我们。你要保护你的子民。他们正在灯柱野林上砍伐我们。
"Forty great trunks of my brothers and sisters are already on the ground."
“我的兄弟姐妹们的四十棵巨大树干已经倒在地上了。”
"What, Lady! Felling Lantern Waste? Murdering the talking trees?" cried the King, leaping to his feet and drawing his sword. "How dare they? And who dares it? Now by the Mane of Aslan-"
“啊，夫人！砍伐灯柱野林吗？谋害说人话的树木吗。”国王大声喊道，跳起身来，拔出剑来，“他们竟胆大妄为？是谁这么胆大妄为？凭阿斯兰的鬃毛——”
"A-a-a-h," gasped the Dryad shuddering as if in pain - shuddering time after time as if under repeated blows. Then all at once she fell sideways as suddenly as if both her feet had been cut from under her. For a second they saw her lying dead on the grass and then she vanished. They knew what had happened. Her tree, miles away, had been cut down.
“啊——啊——啊——赫！”树精气喘吁吁地说道，她浑身发抖，仿佛疼痛万分——她一阵又一阵地发抖，仿佛再三受到打击似的。接着，在片刻之间她突然往斜刺里倒下去，倒像是她的双脚给砍掉了似的。国王他们看见她死了，躺在草地上短短一忽儿随即消失得无影无踪了。他们知道发生了。什么事。几英里之外，她那棵树木，被人砍倒了。
For a moment the King's grief and anger were so great that he could not speak. Then he said:
国王悲愤交集，半晌说不出话来。后来，他开言道。
"Come, friends. We must go up river and find the villains who have done this, with all the speed we may. I will leave not one of them alive."
“朋友们，来吧。我们必须赶到河流的上游，找到这些干坏事的恶棍们，我们要尽力全速赶去。我决不放过他们，哪一个也休想活着回去。”
"Sire, with a good will," said Jewel.
“陛下，衷心祝愿您成功。”珍宝说。
But Roonwit said, "Sire, be wary in your just wrath. There are strange doings on foot. If there should be rebels in arms further up the valley, we three are too few to meet them. If it would please you to wait while ..."
然而龙威特却说“陛下，即使是出于义愤，也要谨慎小心。奇怪的活动正在出现口山谷里如果有武装的叛徒，我们三个就势单力薄，无法应战。你是否愿意等待一下，当……”
