CHAPTER TWELVE THE QUEEN OF UNDERLAND(第1页)
CHAPTERTWELVETHEQUEENOFUNDERLAND
&hmeinsteadofadvan,theyplacedthemselvesoneoneachsideofthedoor,andboweddeeply。Theywerefollowedimmediatelybythelastpersonwhomanyoedorwishedtosee:theLadyoftheGreeheQueenofUnderlaooddeadstillinthedoorway,andtheycouldseehereyesmoviookinthewholesituatiers,thesilverchairdestroyed,andthePrihhisswordinhishand。
&ure;butJillthoughtitwasthesortofwhiteepeople'sfaotwheewhentheyareangry。ForamomechfixedhereyesonthePriherewasmurderiheogehermind。
“Leaveus,”shesaidtothetwoEarthmeurbustillIpaihegnomespaddedawayobediently,ashutahedoor。
“Hownow,mylordPrince,”shesaid。“Hasyhtlyfiteuponyou,orisitoversosoon?Whystandyouhereunbound?Whoarethesealiens?Andisittheywhohavedestroyedthechairwhichwasyouroy?”
Prinshiveredasshespoketohim。Andishrowoffinhalfanhouramentwhichhasmadeoehehagreateffort,hesaid:
“Madam,therewillbehatdyou,whohavetoldmeahuimeshowdeeplyyoupitiedmeforthesorceriesbywhichIwasbound,willdoubtlesshearwithjoythattheyarenoweherewas,itseems,somesmallerrorinyourLadyship'swaythem。These,mytruefriends,havedeliveredme。Iamnhtmind,awothingsIwillsaytoyou。First—asforyourLadyship'sdesignofputtiheheadofanarmyofEarthmensothatImaybreakoutintotheOverworldandthere,bymainforce,makemyselfkingoversomenationthatneverdidmewrtheirnaturallordsandholdihroneasabloodyayrant—nowthatIknowmyself,Idoutterlyabhoraasplainvillainy。AndsetheKing'ssonofNarnia,Rilian,theonlychildof,Tenthofthatname,whomsomecalltheSeafarer。Therefore,Madam,itismypurpose,asitisalsomyduty,todepartsuddenlyfrhness'syowntry。Pleaseityoutograntmeandmyfrieahroughyourdarkrealm。”
othingatall,butmovedgentlyacrosstheroom,alingherfadeyesverysteadilytorinshehadetoalittlearksetifarfromthefireplace,sheope,andtookoutfirstahandfulofagreehisshethrewodidnotblazemuch,butaverysweetanddrowsysmellit。Andallthroughtheversationwhichfollowed,thatsmellgrewstronger,aheroom,ahardertothink。Sedly,shetookoutamusistrumentratherlikeamandolioplayitwithherfieady,monotthatyoudidn'terafewmihelessyouhemotintoyourbrainandyourblood。Thisalsomadeithardtothink。Aftershehadthrummedforatime(asmellwasn)shebeganspeakingivoice。
“Narnia?”shesaid。“Narnia?IhaveoftenheardyourLordshiputterthatnameinys。DearPrince,youareverysick。Thereisnolandarnia。”
&hereis,though,Ma'am,”saidPuddleglum。“Yousee,Ihappehereallmylife。”
“Indeed,”saidtheWitch。“Tellme,Iprayyou,wherethattryis?”
“Upthere,”saidPuddleglum,stoutly,pointingoverhead。“I—Idon'tklywhere。”
“How?”saidtheQueen,withakind,soft,musicallaugh。“Isthereatryupamoonesandmortaroftheroof?”
“No,”saidPuddleglum,strugglingalittletogethisbreath。“It'sinOverworld。”
“Andwhat,orwhere,prayisthis。。。howdoyoucallit。。。Overworld?”
“Oh,don'tbesosilly,”saidScrubb,whowasfightinghardagaimesmellahrumming。“Asifyoudidn'tknow!It'supabove,upwhereyouseetheskyandthesuars。Why,you'vebeenthereyourself。Wemetyouthere。”
“Iercy,littlebrhedtheWitch(you'thaveheardalh)。“Ihavehatmeetieourfriendsinstrangeplawedream。Andunlessalldreamedalike,youmustnotaskthemtorememberit。”
“Madam,”saidthePriernly,“IhavealreadytracethatIamtheKing'ssonofNarnia。”
“Andshaltbe,dearfriend,”saidtheWitasoothingvoice,asifshewashumachild,“shaltbekingofmanyimaginedlandsinthyfancies。”
“We'vebeeoo,”snappedJill。Shewasveryangrybecauseshecouldfeeleingholdofhereverymoment。Butofcoursetheveryfactthatshecouldstillfeelit,showedthatithadfullyworked。
“AndthouartQueenofNarniatoo,Idoubtyone,”saidtheWitthesameg,half-moe。
“I'mnothi,”saidJill,stampi。“Weanotherworld。”
“Why,thisisaprettiergamethaher,”saidtheWitch。“Tellus,littlemaid,whereisthisothersandchariotsgobetweenitandours?”
OfcoursealotofthioJill'sheadatoHouse,AdelaPennyfather,herownhome,radio-sets,emas,cars,aeroplaion-books,queues。Buttheyseemeddimandfaraway。(Thrumthrum—thrum—werich'si。)Jillemberthehethingsinourworld。Andthistimeitdidn'teishewasbeied,fornowthemagiitsfullstrength;andofcourse,themoree,themoreyoufeelthatyouareedatall。Shefoundherselfsaying(aitwasarelieftosay):
“No。Isupposethatotherworldmustbealladream。”
&isalladream,”saidtheWitch,alwaysthrumming。
“Yes,alladream,”saidJill。
“Thereneverwassuchaworld,”saidtheWitch。
“No,”saidJillandSeverwassuchaworld。”
“Thereneverwasanyworldbutmine,”saidtheWitch。
“Thereneverwasanyworldbutyours,”saidthey。
Puddleglumwasstillfightinghard。“Idon'tknhtlywhatyouallmeanbyaworld,”hesaid,talkinglikeamanwhohasn'tenoughair。“Butyouplaythatfiddletillyersdropoff,andstillyouwon'tmakemefetNarnia;andthewholeOverworldtoo。We'llagain,Ishouldn'twonder。Youmayhaveblotteditoutadarklikethis,forallIknow。Nothingmorelikely。ButIknowIwasthereonce。I'veseentheskyfullofstars。I'veseenthesuningupoutoftheseaandsihemountainsatnight。AndI'veseenhimupinthemiddayskywhenI'tlookathimfhtness。”
Puddleglum'swordshadaveryrousiheotherthreeallbreathedagainaoherlikepeoplene>
“Why,thereitis!”criedthePrince。“Ofcourse!TheblessingofAslanuponthishle。Wehaveallbeeheselastfewminutes。Howcouldwehavefottenit?Ofcoursewe'veallseenthesun。”