caspian's adventure in the mountains

after this, caspian and his tutor had many more secret conversations on the top of the great tower, and at each conversation caspian learned more about old narnia, so that thinking and dreaming about the old days, and longing that they might come back, filled nearly all his spare hours. but of course he had not many hours to spare, for now his education was beginning in earnest. he learned sword-fighting and riding, swimming and diving, how to shoot with the bow and play on the recorder and the theorbo, how to hunt the stag and cut him up when he was dead, besides cosmography, rhetoric, heraldry, versification, and of course history, with a little law, physic, alchemy, and astronomy. of magic he learned only the theory, for doctor cornelius said the practical part was not proper study for princes. "and i myself," he added, "am only a very imperfect magician and can do only the smallest experiments." of navigation ("which is a noble and heroical art," said the doctor) he was taught nothing, because king miraz disapproved of ships and the sea.

he also learned a great deal by using his own eyes and ears. as a little boy he had often wondered why he disliked his aunt, queen prunaprismia; he now saw that it was because she disliked him. he also began to see that narnia was an unhappy country. the taxes were high and the laws were stern and miraz was a cruel man.

after some years there came a time when the queen seemed to be ill and there was a great deal of bustle and pother about her in the castle and doctors came and the courtiers whispered. this was in early summertime. and one night, while all this fuss was going on, caspian was unexpectedly wakened by doctor cornelius after he had been only a few hours in bed.

"are we going to do a little astronomy, doctor?" said caspian.

"hush!" said the doctor. "trust me and do exactly as i tell you. put on all your clothes; you have a long journey before you."

caspian was very surprised, but he had learned to have confidence in his tutor and he began doing what he was told at once. when he was dressed the doctor said, "i have a wallet for you. we must go into the next room and fill it with victuals from your highness's supper table."

"my gentlemen-in-waiting will be there," said caspian.

"they are fast asleep and will not wake," said the doctor. "i am a very minor magician but i can at least contrive a charmed sleep."

they went into the antechamber and there, sure enough, the two gentlemen-in-waiting were, sprawling on chairs and snoring hard. doctor cornelius quickly cut up the remains of a cold chicken and some slices of venison and put them, with bread and an apple or so and a little flask of good wine, into the wallet which he then gave to caspian. it fitted on by a strap over caspian's shoulder, like a satchel you would use for taking books to school.

"have you your sword?" asked the doctor.

"yes," said caspian.

"then put this mantle over all to hide the sword and the wallet. that's right. and now we must go to the great tower and talk."

when they had reached the top of the tower (it was a cloudy night, not at all like the night when they had seen the conjunction of tarva and alambil) doctor cornelius said,

"dear prince, you must leave this castle at once and go to seek your fortune in the wide world. your life is in danger here."

"why?" asked caspian.

"because you are the true king of narnia: caspian the tenth, the true son and heir of caspian the ninth. long life to your majesty' - and suddenly, to caspian's great surprise, the little man dropped down on one knee and kissed his hand.

"what does it all mean? i don't understand," said caspian.

"i wonder you have never asked me before," said the doctor, "why, being the son of king caspian, you are not king caspian yourself. everyone except your majesty knows that miraz is a usurper. when he first began to rule he did not even pretend to be the king: he called himself lord protector. but then your royal mother died, the good queen and the only telmarine who was ever kind to me. and then, one by one, all the great lords, who had known your father, died or disappeared. not by accident, either. miraz weeded them out. belisar and uvilas were shot with arrows on a hunting party: by chance, it was pretended. all the great house of the passarids he sent to fight giants on the northern frontier till one by one they fell. arlian and erimon and a dozen more he executed for treason on a false charge. the two brothers of beaversdam he shut up as madmen. and finally he persuaded the seven noble lords, who alone among all the telmarines did not fear the sea, to sail away and look for new lands beyond the eastern ocean, and, as he intended, they never came back. and when there was no one left who could speak a word for you, then his flatterers (as he had instructed them) begged him to become king. and of course he did."

"do you mean he now wants to kill me too?" said caspian.

"that is almost certain," said doctor cornelius.

"but why now?" said caspian. "i mean, why didn't he do it long ago if he wanted to? and what harm have i done him?"

"he has changed his mind about you because of something that happened only two hours ago. the queen has had a son."

"i don't see what that's got to do with it," said caspian.

"don't see!" exclaimed the doctor. "have all my lessons in history and politics taught you no more than that? listen. as long as he had no children of his own, he was willing enough that you should be king after he died. he may not have cared much about you, but he would rather you should have the throne than a stranger. now that he has a son of his own he will want his own son to be the next king. you are in the way. he'll clear you out of the way."

"is he really as bad as that?" said caspian. "would he really murder me?"

"he murdered your father," said doctor cornelius.

caspian felt very queer and said nothing.

"i can tell you the whole story," said the doctor. "but not now. there is no time. you must fly at once."

"you'll come with me?" said caspian.

"i dare not," said the doctor. "it would make your danger greater. two are more easily tracked than one. dear prince, dear king caspian, you must be very brave. you must go alone and at once. try to get across the southern border to the court of king nain of archenland. he will be good to you."

"shall i never see you again?" said caspian in a quavering voice.

"i hope so, dear king," said the doctor. "what friend have i in the wide world except your majesty? and i have a little magic. but in the meantime, speed is everything. here are two gifts before you go. this is a little purse of gold alas, all the treasure in this castle should be your own by rights. and here is something far better."

he put in caspian's hands something which he could hardly see but which he knew by the feel to be a horn.

"that," said doctor cornelius, "is the greatest and most sacred treasure of narnia. many terrors i endured, many spells did i utter, to find it, when i was still young. it is the magic horn of queen susan herself which she left behind her when she vanished from narnia at the end of the golden age. it is said that whoever blows it shall have strange help - no one can say how strange. it may have the power to call queen lucy and king edmund and queen susan and high king peter back from the past, and they will set all to rights. it may be that it will call up asian himself. take it, king caspian: but do not use it except at your greatest need. and now, haste, haste, haste. the little door at the very bottom of the tower, the door into the garden, is unlocked. there we must part."

"can i get my horse destrier?" said caspian.

"he is already saddled and waiting for you just at the corner of the orchard."

during the long climb down the winding staircase cornelius whispered many more words of direction and advice. caspian's heart was sinking, but he tried to take it all in. then came the fresh air in the garden, a fervent handclasp with the doctor, a run across the lawn, a welcoming whinny from destrier, and so king caspian the tenth left the castle of his fathers. looking back, he saw fireworks going up to celebrate the birth of the new prince.

all night he rode southward, choosing by-ways and bridle paths through woods as long as he was in country that he knew; but afterwards he kept to the high road. destrier was as excited as his master at this unusual journey, and caspian, though tears had come into his eyes at saying good-bye to doctor cornelius, felt brave and, in a way, happy, to think that he was king caspian riding to seek adventures, with his sword on his left hip and queen susan's magic horn on his right. but when day came, with a sprinkle of rain, and he looked about him and saw on every side unknown woods, wild heaths, and blue mountains, he thought how large and strange the world was and felt frightened and small.

as soon as it was full daylight he left the road and found an open grassy place amid a wood where he could rest. he took off destrier's bridle and let him graze, ate some cold chicken and drank a little wine, and presently fell asleep. it was late afternoon when he awoke. he ate a morsel and continued his journey, still southward, by many unfrequented lanes. he was now in a land of hills, going up and down, but always more up than down. from every ridge he could see the mountains growing bigger and blacker ahead. as the evening closed in, he was riding their lower slopes. the wind rose. soon rain fell in torrents.

destrier became uneasy; there was thunder in the air. and now they entered a dark and seemingly endless pine forest, and all the stories caspian had ever heard of trees being unfriendly to man crowded into his mind. he remembered that he was, after all, a telmarine, one of the race who cut down trees wherever they could and were at war with all wild things; and though he himself might be unlike other telmarines, the trees could not be expected to know this.

nor did they. the wind became a tempest, the woods roared and creaked all round them. there came a crash. a tree fell right across the road just behind him. "quiet, destrier, quiet!" said caspian, patting his horse's neck; but he was trembling himself and knew that he had escaped death by an inch. lightning flashed and a great crack of thunder seemed to break the sky in two just overhead.

destrier bolted in good earnest. caspian was a good rider, but he had not the strength to hold him back. he kept his seat, but he knew that his life hung by a thread during the wild career that followed. tree after tree rose up before them in the dusk and was only just avoided. then, almost too suddenly to hurt (and yet it did hurt him too) something struck caspian on the forehead and he knew no more.

when he came to himself he was lying in a firelit place with bruised limbs and a bad headache. low voices were speaking close at hand.

"and now," said one, "before it wakes up we must decide what to do with it."

"kill it," said another. "we can't let it live. it would betray us."

"we ought to have killed it at once, or else let it alone," said a third voice. "we can't kill it now. not after we've taken it in and bandaged its head and all. it would be murdering a guest."

"gentlemen," said caspian in a feeble voice, "whatever you do to me, i hope you will be kind to my poor horse."

"your horse had taken flight long before we found you," said the first voice - a curiously husky, earthy voice, as caspian now noticed.

"now don't let it talk you round with its pretty words," said the second voice. "i still say-"

"horns and halibuts!" exclaimed the third voice. "of course we're not going to murder it. for shame, nikabrik. what do you say, trufflehunter? what shall we do with it?"

"i shall give it a drink," said the first voice, presumably trufflehunter's. a dark shape approached the bed. caspian felt an arm slipped gently under his shoulders - if it was exactly an arm. the shape somehow seemed wrong. the face that bent towards him seemed wrong too. he got the impression that it was very hairy and very long nosed, and there were odd white patches on each side of it. "it's a mask of some sort," thought caspian. "or perhaps i'm in a fever and imagining it all." a cupful of something sweet and hot was set to his lips and he drank. at that moment one of the others poked the fire. a blaze sprang up and caspian almost screamed with the shock as the sudden light revealed the face that was looking into his own. it was not a man's face but a badger's, though larger and friendlier and more intelligent than the face of any badger he had seen before. and it had certainly been talking. he saw, too, that he was on a bed of heather, in a cave. by the fire sat two little bearded men, so much wilder and shorter and hairier and thicker than doctor cornelius that he knew them at once for real dwarfs, ancient dwarfs with not a drop of human blood in their veins. and caspian knew that he had found the old narnians at last. then his head began to swim again.

in the next few days he learned to know them by names. the badger was called trufflehunter; he was the oldest and kindest of the three. the dwarf who had wanted to kill caspian was a sour black dwarf (that is, his hair and beard were black, and thick and hard like horsehair). his name was nikabrik. the other dwarf was a red dwarf with hair rather like a fox's and he was called trumpkin.

"and now," said nikabrik on the first evening when caspian was well enough to sit up and talk, "we still have to decide what to do with this human. you two think you've done it a great kindess by not letting me kill it. but i suppose the upshot is that we have to keep it a prisoner for life. i'm certainly not going to let it go alive - to go back to its own kind and betray us all."

"bulbs and bolsters! nikabrik," said trumpkin. "why need you talk so unhandsomely? it isn't the creature's fault that it bashed its head against a tree outside our hole. and i don't think it looks like a traitor."

"i say," said caspian, "you haven't yet found out whether i want to go back. i don't. i want to stay with you - if you'll let me. i've been looking for people like you all my life."

"that's a likely story," growled nikabrik. "you're a telmarine and a human, aren't you? of course you want to go back to your own kind."

"well, even if i did, i couldn't," said caspian. "i was flying for my life when i had my accident. the king wants to kill me. if you'd killed me, you'd have done the very thing to please him."

"well now," said trufflehunter, "you don't say so!"

"eh?" said trumpkin. "what's that? what have you been doing, human, to fall foul of miraz at your age?"

"he's my uncle," began caspian, when nikabrik jumped up with his hand on his dagger.

"there you are!" he cried. "not only a telmarine but close kin and heir to our greatest enemy. are you still mad enough to let this creature live?" he would have stabbed caspian then and there, if the badger and trumpkin had not got in the way and forced him back to his seat and held him down.

"now, once and for all, nikabrik," said trumpkin. "will you contain yourself, or must trufflehunter and i sit on your head?"

nikabrik sulkily promised to behave, and the other two asked caspian to tell his whole story. when he had done so there was a moment's silence.

"this is the queerest thing i ever heard," said trumpkin.

"i don't like it," said nikabrik. "i didn't know there were stories about us still told among the humans. the less they know about us the better. that old nurse, now. she'd better have held her tongue. and it's all mixed up with that tutor: a renegade dwarf. i hate 'em. i hate 'em worse than the humans. you mark my words - no good will come of it.

"don't you go talking about things you don't understand, nikabrik," said trufflehunter. "you dwarfs are as forgetful and changeable as the humans themselves. i'm a beast, i am, and a badger what's more. we don't change. we hold on. i say great good will come of it. this is the true king of narnia we've got here: a true king, coming back to true narnia. and we beasts remember, even if dwarfs forget, that narnia was never right except when a son of adam was king."

"whistles and whirligigs! trufflehunter," said trumpkin. "you don't mean you want to give the country to humans?"

"i said nothing about that," answered the badger. "it's not men's country (who should know that better than me?) but it's a country for a man to be king of. we badgers have long enough memories to know that. why, bless us all, wasn't the high king peter a man?"

"do you believe all those old stories?" asked trumpkin.

"i tell you, we don't change, we beasts," said trufflehunter. "we don't forget. i believe in the high king peter and the rest that reigned at cair paravel, as firmly as i believe in aslan himself."

"as firmly as that, i dare say," said trumpkin. "but who believes in aslan nowadays?"

"i do," said caspian. "and if i hadn't believed in him before, i would now. back there among the humans the people who laughed at aslan would have laughed at stories about talking beasts and dwarfs. sometimes i did wonder if there really was such a person as aslan: but then sometimes i wondered if there were really people like you. yet there you are."

"that's right," said trufflehunter. "you're right, king caspian. and as long as you will be true to old narnia you shall be my king, whatever they say. long life to your majesty."

"you make me sick, badger," growled nikabrik. "the high king peter and the rest may have been men, but they were a different sort of men. this is one of the cursed telmarines. he has hunted beasts for sport. haven't you, now?" he added, rounding suddenly on caspian.

"well, to tell you the truth, i have," said caspian. "but they weren't talking beasts."

"it's all the same thing," said nikabrik.

"no, no, no," said trufflehunter. "you know it isn't. you know very well that the beasts in narnia nowadays are different and are no more than the poor dumb, witless creatures you'd find in calormen or telmar. they're smaller too. they're far more different from us than the half-dwarfs are from you."

there was a great deal more talk, but it all ended with the agreement that caspian should stay and even the promise that, as soon as he was able to go out, he should be taken to see what trumpkin called "the others"; for apparently in these wild parts all sorts of creatures from the old days of narnia still lived on in hiding.

5凯斯宾深山探险

从这以后，凯斯宾和他的老师在塔顶上又有过好多次这样的密谈，每一次都使得凯斯宾对古代纳尼亚有更多的了解，结果他脑子里几乎装满了对那奇妙世界的憧憬和向往，以及对好时光重返纳尼亚的渴望。可是，他并没有多少空余的时间。因为这时他已开始接受正规的教育了，他学会了击剑、骑马、游泳和潜水，以及如何使用弓箭，如何捋猎，还学会了宇宙结构学、修辞学、纹章学、诗体韵律，当然还有历史、法律、物理、炼金术和天文学；关于占星术，他只学了一些基础理论，因为博士说实际操作不宜教授给王子。,

"而我自己，"他补充道，"也只是一个很不成熟的占星家，只能做最简单的试验。"他没有上航海课，(“这是一门高尚而又富有英雄色彩的学问。"博士说。)这是因为国王弥若兹反对提到船舶和大海。,

他凭着自己的聪慧敏锐与细心的观察，还学会了不少其他知识。当他还是个孩子的时候，他就不喜欢自己的婶婶——普鲁娜普瑞丝弥尔王后，现在他明白了，那是因为她不喜欢他。同时他渐渐发现，纳尼亚是一个不幸福的国家，

税收过重，法律严酷，而弥若兹更是一个极其残忍的君王。

岁月如梭，一晃几年过去了。有一段时间里，王后好像是害了什么病，整个城堡都为她忙碌和不安，医生们往返如梭，全国上下都在议论纷纷。这时已是初夏，一天夜里，凯斯宾躺下不过几个钟头，便意外地被克奈尔斯博士摇醒了。

"我们要讲一点儿天文学吗，博士？"凯斯宾问。

"嘘！”博士低声说，"别说话，你要相信我，按照我的盼咐去做。穿上衣服，你就要进行一次长途跋涉了。"

凯斯宾感到十分诧异，可现在他已完全信任自己的老师，便立刻照他的吩咐做了。穿好衣服之后，博士递给他一件什么东西"我这儿给你准备了一个旅行袋，我们马上到隔壁房间，从餐桌上取些吃的，把袋子装满。"

"那儿有我的仆人，他们总是寸步不离的。"

"他们都睡着了，放心好了，"博士说，"我虽是个微不足道的魔法师，但要使人昏睡还是办得到的。"

他们一齐来到隔壁。果然，两个仆人仰靠在椅子上，鼻平声如雷。克奈尔斯博士迅速地收拾起剩下的凉鸡和几片鹿肉，连同面包、一只苹果等其他的食物，以及一小瓶好酒一齐放进那旅行袋里，让王子背在身上。

"宝剑带上了吗？"博士问。"带着呢。"

"那就快披上这件斗篷，把宝剑和旅行袋都遮住。嗯，好。咱们现在到塔顶上去，我有几句话对你讲。"

这时已是深夜，塔顶上漆黑一片，寒气袭人，仿佛笼罩在不祥的恐怖之中，点儿也不像他们一起来看塔瓦星和阿拉姆毕尔星相会那天晚上的样子。克奈尔斯博士说,

"亲爱的王子，马上离开这个城堡，到广大的世界里去寻求你的幸福吧。在这里你随时都会有生命危险。"

"为什么？”凯斯宾惊愕地问。

"因为你是纳尼亚真正的国王:凯斯宾十世——凯斯宾九世的亲生儿子和继承人。陛下万岁——"说着，这小人儿突然跪下一条腿来，吻了一下他的手，这使凯斯宾大吃一惊口.

"博士，你怎么啦？我都糊涂了。"

"你好像从来没有想过，"博士说，"为什么作为凯斯宾国王的儿子、法定的继承人，你却不是纳尼亚的国王。除了你以外，人人都知道弥若兹是个篡位夺权的小人。他开始统治的时候，并没有以国王的身分出现，他称自己是君王的保护人。后来，你的母后去世了。她是一位贤慧的王后，也是惟——位待我仁慈的台尔马人。接着，所有那些刚正的大臣，那些对你父亲忠心耿耿的人，也一个个相继死去，或者失踪了，而且都死得很奇怪，没有一个是正常死亡。无疑是心狠手辣的弥若兹把他们都干掉了。比如，伯力沙和犹威拉思在一场捋猎中被箭射死了，说是失手误伤：他还把所有伯萨瑞德的望族都派到北边战场上，与巨人作战，直到他们一个个战死疆场，阿康和艾瑞蒙还有其他的十几个人，被他以莫须有的叛国罪处决了，海狸大坝的两兄弟也被他作为疯子关了起来。最后，他说服了台尔马人中惟独不怕大海的七位爵爷，航行到东海彼岸去寻找新大陆，正如他所希望的那样，他们一去便再也没有回来。终于，能够替你说话的人一个都不剩了，在他的指使下，那些阿谀奉承之辈便出面请求他做纳尼亚的国王。当然，他欣然接受了这请求。"

"你的意思是他现在又想除掉我吗？""毫无疑问。"

"可是为什么要等到现在？要是他想这么干，早就可以下手的。我做了什么伤害他的事情？"

"两个小时前发生的一件事彻底改变了你的命运——王后生了个儿子。""

"我不明白那与我有什么关系。"凯斯宾迷惑不解地说。

"还不明白！"博士叫道，"我给你上的那些历史课和政治课，就没有让你更加聪明一些吗？听着，在他还没有自己的儿子时，只好由你来继承王位，虽然他并不爱你，但他宁可把王位传给你，而不愿传给一个外人。现在他有了儿子，自然希望自己的儿子来继承王位。这时你就变得碍事了，是吧？他当然要把你这障碍除掉。"

"他真的那么坏吗？"凯斯宾感到震惊，"他真的会谋害我？"

"他已经谋杀了你的父亲！”克奈尔斯博士回答。凯斯宾心里十分难受，半天没开口。

"我可以把整个事情的经过告诉你，"博士说，"但不是现在，时间来不及了，你必须赶紧离开这里。"

"你和我一起走吗？”

"不行，那会使你的处境更加危险。两个人比一个人的目标更大。亲爱的王子，亲爱的凯斯宾国王，勇敢些！你必须一个人走，马上就走口设法越过南部边境，找到阿钦兰国的国王奈恩。他会仁慈地接待你的。""

"我再也见不着你了吗？"凯斯宾的声音有些颤抖。

"我衷心希望我们还有再见的那天，亲爱的国王。"博士也有些神色黯然，"在这苍茫大地上，除了陪下你，我已没有其他朋友！我会一些小小的法术，可是现在速度就是一切。你走以前，请收下我这两件微不足道的礼物。这是一小袋金子——啊，这个城堡里所有的财宝都理应是你的财产。这儿有一件比金子珍贵百倍的东西。"

说着，他把一件东西放在凯斯宾的于上。凯斯宾看不清楚那是什么，但凭触觉他知道那是一只号。

"这是纳尼亚最宝贵、最神圣的一件东西，为了找到它，我忍受了种种的恐怖，念了无数遍的咒语，那时候我还很年轻。这是苏珊女王的一只神号，是在纳尼亚消失之前她留在这里的。据说，无论是谁吹响了它，这号角都会带来神灵的帮助——谁也说不出那将是怎样的帮助，也许它能把女王露茜、国王爱德蒙、女王苏珊和至尊王彼得召唤回来。他们将为我们这片苦难的土地伸张正义。也许这只号甚至能把阿斯兰唤回来。带着它吧，凯斯宾国王！但是，记住|不到最紧急的关头不要使用它。赶快走吧，快！高塔底层那扇通往花园的小门没有锁，在那里我们就必须分手了。"

"可以带着我的马戴思特里尔吗？"凯斯宾有些茫然不知所措。

"全都准备好了，它正在果园边上等着你呢。"

一边走下那长长的旋转楼梯，克奈尔斯一边又轻声讲了许多指示和建议的话。凯斯宾心乱如麻，可是他努力把这些话全都记在心里。不久，他们呼吸到了花园里新鲜的空气，小道上传来戴思特里尔的蹄声和亲热的嘶叫声，老少两人终于依依不舍地告别。就这样，凯斯宾十世离开了他父亲的城堡。当他回过身来时，他看到天上升起无数的礼花，那是在庆祝新王子的诞生。

在他所熟悉的土地上，他整夜马不停蹄地奔向南方。开始他只敢走小路或便道，后来，当他确信没有伏兵时，索性纵马在大路上飞奔起来。戴思特里尔对这不寻常的旅行同样激动万分，而凯斯宾尽管在同克奈尔斯博士告别时眼泪汪汪，现在则勇气十足，甚至感到有些快乐，因为他获得了真正的自由，并且将像传说中的那些游侠骑士一样，在探险的路上披荆斩棘，一往无前。黎明时分，天上落下一阵毛毛细雨，凯斯宾勒住马，四下望去，只见周围都是陌生的森林、茂密的野菊和青色的群山。看到这世界是这样的辽阔壮观，他感到自己是这样的渺小，心里不禁有些紧张。"

天光大亮后，凯斯宾离开大路，在森林中找到一片草地，打算在这里好好休息一下。他卸下戴思特里尔身上的鞍子，让它在一旁吃草，自己则坐下来，吃些冷鸡，喝点儿酒，然后舒舒服服地躺在草地上，很快就进入了梦乡——他实在累极了。一觉醒来，天色已近黄昏，他草草吃了点儿东西，便又上路，依然是朝着南方。穿过大片荒芜的原野，不久便来到一片山地。这儿道路崎岖，时上时下，而且仿佛上山的路比下山的路要多。每登上一个山脊，他便注意到前面那些山峦显得越来越近，色调也越来越深。当夜幕降临时，他已经走在那座大山的山坡上了。突然，天上刮起了大风，接着便是雷声隆隆，暴雨如注。戴思特里尔变得焦躁不安起来。这时，他们走进一个漆黑一团、似乎没有尽头的松树林。凯斯宾一下子想起了他曾听过的那些故事。故事里的树林对人类总是很不友善。他的家族曾经到处砍伐树木，还和所有山林家族打仗，滥杀无辜。虽然他本人和那些台尔马人不同，可树木哪里知道这个？8

它们的确不知道。风越刮越猛，狂风暴雨摇撼着整个树林，发出一阵阵呼啸。突然一声巨响，一棵大树倒在他身后的路上。"安静些，戴思特里尔，安静些！"凯斯宾拍拍马的脖子，可自己却难以克制地哆嗦起来。他庆幸自己从死神手里逃了出来——因为只差那么一点儿，那棵大树就会把他们都砸死。天上的闪电令人目眩，一声巨大的响雷好像要把天空劈成两半，戴思特里尔拼命地奔跑起来，凯斯宾是个很不错的骑于，但此时他却无法拉住缰绳。他紧紧地贴在马背上，心里明白这样疯狂地奔跑对他是多么危险。黑暗中，一棵接一棵的大树向他迎面扑来，又从身边一闪而过。突然，他感到前额被什么东西猛击了一下，以后便什么也不知道了。5

醒来之后，他发现自己躺在明亮温暖的篝火旁，胳膊和腿上伤痕累累，而且头痛得厉害。这时，身边传来低低的讲话声。

"现在，"一个声音说，"在他醒来之前，我们必须商定一个处置他的办法。"

"干掉他！"另个声音说，"咱们不能让他活着，他会出卖我们的。"

"咱们本来就该当场下手干掉他的，或者是放他过去。"这是第三个声音，"可是我们把他带了回来，给他包扎好头上的伤口，并细心地照料他，现在却要杀他，这算怎么一回事啊。"

"先生们，"凯斯宾说，声音很微弱，"你们怎样对待我都可以，只希望你们能仁慈地对待我那匹可怜的马。"

惊愕中一阵长时间的沉默。

"我们发现你的时候，那匹马早就跑掉了。"第一个声音说——这声音沙哑而憨厚，听起来有些古怪。

"别听他对你甜言蜜语，"这是第二个声音，"我还是坚持……

"尼克布瑞克！"第三个声音高声说，"咱们决不能杀掉他，真可耻！特鲁佛汉特，你说我们该怎么办？"

"先给他喝点儿水。"又是第一个声音，也许是特鲁佛汉特。一个黑影朝床边走来，凯斯宾感到有一条胳膊轻轻渭到他的肩上——但愿这是一条人的胳膊，但不完全像。俯向他的那张脸似乎也不对劲，那是一张毛茸茸的脸，正中一只长长的鼻子，两颊上还有古怪的白斑。"这准是一种特殊的口罩，"凯斯宾思忖，"要不然就是我发烧产生的幻觉。"一杯又甜又热的东西放到他的嘴边，他一口气喝了下去。这时，篝火被拨得更旺了一些，凯斯宾几乎失声叫起来，因为他借着篝火的光亮，一下子看清了正对着他的那张脸。那不是一个人！那是一只灌。尽管它远比他以前见过的任何一只灌都大，却更加友善，也更加聪明。而且可以肯定，刚才一直在讲话的就是它。他还看出，自己是在一个山洞里，正躺在用石南草铺成的床上。在火堆旁边，坐着两个长着长胡须的小个子，他们比克奈尔斯博士更显得粗胖矮小，毛发也更浓密粗硬。他立即断定他们是小矮人——真正的纯种小矮人。凯斯宾意识到，他终于发现了古老的纳尼亚。激动之中，他又感到一阵眩晕。

以后的几天里，凯斯宾渐渐熟悉了他们的名字：那灌叫特鲁佛汉特，年纪最大，也最忠厚，主张杀掉他的，是一个脾气很坏的黑小矮人，他的头发和胡须都是黑色的，像马鬃一样，又粗又硬，他叫尼克布瑞克：另一位是个红小矮人，长着狐狸般火红的头发，他的名字叫杜鲁普金。

"无论如何，"在凯斯宾能够坐起来说话的第一天晚上，尼克布瑞克对他的同伴们说，"我们要商定一个办法来处置这个人。你们两个拦着不让我杀他，还以为是做了一件大好事。我看，这件事情的最终结局，是我们不得不把他囚禁终身。我决不让他活着离开这里——回到他的同类那里，把我们的秘密都泄露出去。"

"嘿，嘿，嘿！尼克布瑞克！"杜鲁普金皱了皱眉头说，

"你为什么讲话这么粗野？这家伙的头撞在了我们洞外的树上，但这并不是他的过错。我看他不像是个奸细。"

"在决定放不放我之前，"凯斯宾说，"你们首先应该搞清楚，我是不是想走。说实话，我并不打算离开这里。假如你们允许的话，我想和你们在一起。这些年来，我一直都在寻找你们。"

"说得好听！"尼克布瑞克咆哮起来，"你是一个台尔马人，人类的一分子，对不对？你怎么会不想回到你的同类那里去呢引"

"可是，即使想回去，我也回不去了，"凯斯宾忧郁地说，"我是因为逃命才撞在了你们的树上。国王想杀掉我，假如你们把我杀了，那正是帮他做了件好事。"

"在我们这里，"特鲁佛汉特安慰道，"你不必害怕！"

"嗯？"杜鲁普金很感兴趣地问"你说什么？你做了什么错事，小小年纪就成了弥若兹的对头？"

"他是我的叔父。"凯斯宾话音未落，尼克布瑞克已经跳了起来，右手握住了他的宝剑。

"好哇！"他叫道，"不仅仅是一个台尔马人，而且是我们最大敌人的侄子和继承人。你们现在还发傻吗？还想留这家伙一条活命吗？"多亏灌和杜鲁普金及时挡住了他，使劲把他推回到他的座位上去，否则，凯斯宾也许当场就被刺死了。+

"我最后一次警告你，尼克布瑞克，"杜鲁普金咬牙切齿地说，"你要是再不老实，我和特鲁佛汉特就要一齐惩罚你了！"

尼克布瑞克悻悻地坐了下去。于是，另外两个开始要求凯斯宾把他的经历全部讲出来。当凯斯宾讲完了他的故事，山洞里出现了一刻寂静。

"我从来没有听到过这样的怪事儿。"杜鲁普金说。

"我不喜欢这故事，"尼克布瑞克说，"想不到在人类中，还有那么多关于我们的传说。其实，他们知道得越少越好，那个多嘴的老保姆，应该绑住她的舌头！而那个什么博士更是把事情都搞得乱七八糟，该死的混血小矮人！我憎恨他们！我恨他们胜过恨那些人类！你们记着我的话，这些人将给我们带来无穷的后患！”

"你不要再不懂装懂了，尼克布瑞克，"特鲁佛汉特说，

"你们这些小矮人和人类一样健忘，让人捉摸不透。我是个动物，一只灌而已。我们从不朝三暮四，总是一如既往。我认为事情发展下去，将对我们大有好处。在我们前面的是纳尼亚真正的君主，一位真正的国王。他回到了真正的纳尼亚，尽管你们小矮人已经忘记了，可我们动物们却依然记得:只有亚当的儿子做国王，纳尼亚才能得安宁。"

"喂，特鲁佛汉特！”杜鲁普金冷笑道，"你是想把这个国家拱手送给人类吧？"

"我并不是那个意思，"灌回答说，"这不是人类的国家(这一点我比谁都知道得更清楚)，但这是一个要由人来统治的国家。我们灌有足够的记性来记住这一点，不是吗？上苍保佑，那至尊王彼得不就是个人吗？"

"难道你真的相信那些古老的传说？"杜鲁普金问。

"告诉你，我们动物坚信不移，我们动物！”特鲁佛汉特提高声音，"我们没有忘记过去，我们相信曾经在凯尔帕拉维尔治理纳尼亚的至尊王彼得和其他几个人，正如我们相信阿斯兰一样，决不动摇！"

"恕我冒昧，"杜鲁普金尖刻地说，"恐怕当今世上相信阿斯兰的只有你一个了吧！”

"我也相信，"凯斯宾激动地插嘴道，"也许从前我只是半信半疑，但现在我相信了。那些嘲笑阿斯兰的人同样也从来不相信关于会讲话的动物和小矮人的传说。有时候，我的确也感到迷惑，世上到底有没有这么个阿斯兰，有没有你们这样的生灵。瞧|你们就在这里。",

"说得对，"特鲁佛汉特说，"千真万确，凯斯宾国王，只要你忠实于古老的纳尼亚，你就是我的国王，不管别人说什么，国王陛下万岁！"

"你真让我觉得肉麻，灌。"尼克布瑞克哼哼说，"不错，至尊王彼得和他的弟妹是人，可他们是不同种类的人，我们面前的却是一个该诅咒的台尔马人。他们曾经把围猎屠杀我们当作游戏。老实说，你有没有过？"他猛地把身子转向凯斯宾。!

"好吧，说实话，我是那么做过，"凯斯宾诚实地说，"可那些完全是普通的不会讲话的动物。"

"反正全一样。"尼克布瑞克说。

"不，不，不，"特鲁佛汉特争辩说，"那可不一样，你明明知道，先生！如今生活在纳尼亚的动物与我们是不同的，那不过是些可怜的哑巴，毫无理性的生灵。这样的动物在卡乐门和台尔马，以及在世界各个地方都不难找到。它们个子比较小，长相、颜色也不相同，与我们之间的差距，比起混血小矮人与你们的差距真是大多了。"

他们就这样争论了很久，最后致决定让凯斯宾留下来。他们甚至还答应，一旦他完全康复，便马上领他去见其他那些"自己人"。显然，在这荒山野林之中，纳尼亚的老住户们至今还躲躲藏藏地生活着。'