《能言馬與男孩》第15期:在塔什班城門口(4)

"Doubtless she was beaten for sleeping late," said Aravis coolly. "But she was a tool and spy of my stepmother's. I am very glad they should beat her."

“毫無疑問，她因爲醒得太晚便捱打了。”阿拉維斯冷冷地答道，”不過，她是我後母的一個工具，一個密探。他們要是打了她，我才高興哩。”

"I say, that was hardly fair," said Shasta.

“我說，那可不大公平。”沙斯塔說。

"I did not do any of these things for the sake of pleasing you," said Aravis.

“我做的這些事情，哪一件也不是爲了取悅於你才做的。”阿拉維斯道。

"And there's another thing I don't understand about that story," said Shasta. "You're not grown up, I don't believe you're any older than I am. I don't believe you're as old. How could you be getting married at your age?"

“故事裏還有件事情我不太明白，’沙斯塔說，”你還沒有長大成人，我不相信你的年齡會比我大。我不相信你有我一般大。以你這種年齡，你怎麼能結婚呢？”

Aravis said nothing, but Bree at once said, "Shasta, don't display your ignorance. They're always married at that age in the great Tarkaan families."

阿拉維斯啥也不說，但布里立刻回答道，”沙斯塔，別賣弄你的愚蠢了。在大泰坎家族裏，他們總是在這種年齡結婚的。”

Shasta turned very red (though it was hardly light enough for the others to see this) and felt snubbed. Aravis asked Bree for his story. Bree told it, and Shasta thought that he put in a great deal more than he needed about the falls and the bad riding. Bree obviously thought it very funny, but Aravis did not laugh. When Bree had finished they all went to sleep.

沙斯塔臉變得通紅通紅(儘管光線太暗淡了，其他的人看不大見)，覺得自己被怠慢了。阿拉維斯請布里講它的故事，布里講了。沙斯塔認爲它無需在跌跤和騎術拙劣方面添油加醋地說上一大堆。布里顯然覺得這很有趣，但阿拉維斯並沒有哈哈大笑。布里講完故事，他們大家都去睡覺了。

Next day all four of them, two horses and two humans, continued their journey together. Shasta thought it had been much pleasanter when he and Bree were on their own. For now it was Bree and Aravis who did nearly all the talking. Bree had lived a long time in Calormen and had always been among Tarkaans and Tarkaans' horses, and so of course he knew a great many of the same people and places that Aravis knew. She would always be saying things like, "But if you were at the fight of Zulindreh you would have seen my cousin Alimash," and Bree would answer, "Oh, yes, Alimash, he was only captain of the chariots, you know. I don't quite hold with chariots or the kind of horses who draw chariots. That's not real cavalry. But he is a worthy nobleman. He filled my nosebag with sugar after the taking of Teebeth." Or else Bree would say, "I was down at the lake of Mezreel that summer," and Aravis would say, "Oh, Mezreel! I had a friend there, Lasaraleen Tarkheena. What a delightful place it is. Those gardens, and theValley of the Thousand Perfumes!" Bree was not in the least trying to leave Shasta out of things, though Shasta sometimes nearly thought he was. People who know a lot of the same things can hardly help talking about them, and if you're there you can hardly help feeling that you're out of it.

第二天，他們四位，兩匹馬和兩個人，一起繼續趕路。沙斯塔認爲光是他和布里一起走時要愉快得多，因爲現在是布里和阿拉維斯幾乎包攬了全部談話。布里在卡樂門生活了好長段時間，而且總是同泰坎及他們的馬兒在起，所以它當然知道阿拉維斯所知道的人和地方。她總是提起類似這樣的事情：”如果你參加過齊尤林德雷之戰，你就會看見過我的堂兄阿里馬什了。”於是布里答道：”噢，是的，阿里馬什，他是戰車隊惟一的上尉，不是嗎？我不大讚成戰車或是拉戰車的那種馬兒。那可不是真正的騎兵。不過阿里馬什是一位可尊敬的貴族。攻克蒂貝思之後，他在我草料袋裏放滿了糖。”此外布里還會說”那年夏天我到了米茲里爾湖。”於是阿拉維斯便接口道，”噢，米茲里爾湖我在那兒有個朋友，泰克希娜拉沙扣裏恩。好個賞心悅目的地方。那些花園，還有那千香幽谷！”布里決不想把沙斯塔丟在一邊，儘管沙斯塔有時差不多認爲自己是被丟在一邊了。見識過許許多多同樣的事物的人們，情不自禁地要講起這些事物，如果你也在場，你就不由得感到自己被丟在一邊了。

Hwin the mare was rather shy before a great war-horse like Bree and said very little. And Aravis never spoke to Shasta at all if she could help it.

母馬赫溫在布里這樣一匹了不得的戰馬面前怯生生的，它很少說話。而阿拉維斯呢，如果她能避免的話，她就壓根兒不跟沙斯塔說話。