《魔法師的外甥》第63期:不期而遇(2)

They were three-quarters of the way up the hill, and set out at once to climb to the top. (I don't think Fledge could have managed this without his wings to balance him and to give him the help of aflutter now and then.) All round the very top of the hill ran a high wall of green turf. Inside the wall trees were growing. Their branches hung out over the wall; their leaves showed not only green but also blue and silver when the wind stirred them. When the travellers reached the top they walked nearly all the way round it outside the green wall before they found the gates: high gates of gold, fast shut, facing due east.

Up till now I think Fledge and Polly had had the idea that they would go in with Digory. But they thought so no longer. You never saw a place which was so obviously private. You could see at a glance that it belonged to someone else. Only a fool would dream of going in unless he had been sent there on very special business. Digory himself understood at once that the others wouldn't and couldn't come in with him. He went forward to the gates alone.

When he had come close up to them he saw words written on the gold with silver letters; something like this:

Come in by the gold gates or not at all, Take of my fruit for others or forbear, For those who steal or those who climb my wall Shall find their heart's desire and find despair.

"Take of my fruit for others," said Digory to himself. "Well, that's what I'm going to do. It means I mustn't eat any myself, I suppose. I don't know what all that jaw in the last line is about. Come in by the gold gates. Well who'd want to climb a wall if he could get in by a gates.` But how do the gates open?" He laid his hand on them: and instantly they swung apart, opening inwards, turning on their hinges without the least noise.

Now that he could see into the place it looked more private than ever. He went in very solemnly, looking about him. Everything was very quiet inside. Even the fountain which rose near the middle of the garden made only the faintest sound. The lovely smell was all round him: it was a happy place but very serious.

He knew which was the right tree at once, partly because it stood in the very centre and partly because the great silver apples with which it was loaded shone so and cast a light of their own down on the shadowy places where the sunlight did not reach. He walked straight across to it, picked an apple, and put it in the breast pocket of his Norfolk jacket. But he couldn't help looking at it and smelling it before he put it away.

It would have been better if he had not. A terrible thirst and hunger came over him and a longing to taste that fruit. He put it hastily into his pocket; but there were plenty of others. Could it be wrong to taste one? After all, he thought, the notice on the gate might not have been exactly an order; it might have been only a piece of advice - and who cares about advice? Or even if it were an order, would he be disobeying it by eating an apple? He had already obeyed the part about taking one "for others".

While he was thinking of all this he happened to look up through the branches towards the top of the tree. There, on a branch above his head, a wonderful bird was roosting. I say "roosting" because it seemed almost asleep; perhaps not quite. The tiniest slit of one eye was open. It was larger than an eagle, its breast saffron, its head crested with scarlet, and its tail purple.

離山頂還有四分之一的路，他們立即出發向上爬去。（我認爲弗蘭奇如果沒有那對翅膀時不時地扇動一下幫助它維持平衡的話，它是很難上去的。）山的最高處被一圈綠色的草牆圍了起來。牆內密密地栽着樹，樹枝伸出牆外。葉子在風中閃出綠色、藍色和銀色的光芒。當三位旅行者到達山頂時，他們在綠牆外繞了幾乎整整一圈，才找到面向正東、緊閉着的高大金門。

直到現在，我還認爲弗蘭奇和波莉曾經想過和迪格雷一起進去，但他們很快就打消了這個念頭。你從未見過如此幽寂的地方，一看就知道是私人所有。除非負有特殊使命，只有傻瓜纔會夢想走進去。迪格雷馬上就明白別人不會也不能和他一起進去。他獨自向門走去。

來到門前，他看見金門上寫着一些銀色的字，大意是這樣的：

從金門走進，或者留在外面， 爲他人摘取果實，或者剋制慾望。因爲那些偷竊和跳牆的人會如願以償，也會喪氣絕望。

“爲他人摘取果實，”迪格雷對自己說，“好，這就是我要做的事。就是說，我自己一點兒也不能吃。我想，我不懂後面兩行字是什麼道理。要是可以從門進來誰願意爬牆呢?但這門怎麼開?”他把手放在上面，門一下子朝裏面打開了，鉸鏈轉動時沒發出一點兒響聲。

現在他可以看到這地方的內部了，它比先前更顯得幽寂。他環顧四周，莊嚴地走了進去。裏面悄無聲息，豎立在花園中心的那座噴泉也只發出微弱的聲音。他的周圍瀰漫着一股香味。那是個令人愉快但十分嚴肅的地方。

他立刻就認出要找的樹，因爲那棵樹就在正中，樹上銀色的大蘋果將光投射到陽光照射不到的陰暗處。他徑直走過去，摘下一個蘋果放在他諾福克上衣貼胸的口袋裏，但他在放進去之前又情不自禁地看了看，聞了聞。

這一看一聞不要緊，一陣極度的飢渴朝他襲來，他突然非常想嘗一嘗那個蘋果。他趕緊放進口袋；但樹上還有那麼多，嘗一個有什麼錯呢?他想，門上的告示不一定就是禁令，可能只是一個勸告，誰在乎勸告呢?或者即使是禁令，他吃了一個蘋果就不對嗎?他已經做到“爲他人”取蘋果了。

他想着想着，不經意地拾起頭，透過樹枝一直看到樹頂。一隻神奇的鳥兒正棲息在他頭上的一根樹枝上。說“棲息”，是因爲它似乎睡着了，但也許並沒有真正睡着。一隻眼睛睜開一條細得不能再細的縫隙。那隻鳥比鷹還大，胸部呈橘黃色，頭上的冠毛雜有猩紅，尾巴是紫色的。