《能言馬與男孩》第2期:沙斯塔出奔(5)

"I was getting your things out of the stable," replied Shasta. "And now, can you tell me how to put them on?"

“我從驢棚裏把你的東西拿了出來，”沙斯塔答道，“你能告訴我怎樣把它們放到你身上去嗎?”

For the next few minutes Shasta was at work, very cautiously to avoid jingling, while the Horse said things like, "Get that girth a bit tighter," or "You'll find a buckle lower down," or "You'll need to shorten those stirrups a good bit." When all was finished it said: "Now; we've got to have reins for the look of the thing, but you won't be using them. Tie them to the saddle—bow: very slack so that I can do what I like with my head. And, remember — you are not to touch them."

接下來的幾分鐘沙斯塔就忙着幹活了，小心翼翼地避免發出丁丁當當的聲音，馬兒則說些類似這樣的話：“把肚帶收緊一點兒”，或是“再往下一點你就找到帶扣了”，或是“你必須把馬鐙縮短一點才行。。當一切都裝配好了，馬兒說道：“好了，爲了裝門面，咱們得配上繮繩，但你可用不着經繩。縛在鞍子的前彎上好了；要縛得十分寬鬆，讓我的腦袋可以自由活動。而且記住了——你可別去碰那繮繩。”

"What are they for, then?" asked Shasta.

“那麼繮繩有什麼用處呢?”沙斯塔問道。

"Ordinarily they are for directing me," replied the Horse. "But as I intend to do all the directing on this journey, you'll please keep your hands to yourself. And there's another thing. I'm not going to have you grabbing my mane."

“尋常是用來給我指引方向的，”馬兒道，“然而這次行我要由我自己來指引方向，所以就請你袖手旁觀吧。還有一件事，我可不要你揪住我的鬃毛。”

"But I say," pleaded Shasta. "If I'm not to hold on by the reins or by your mane, what am I to hold on by?"

“可是，請問，”沙斯塔懇求道，“如果我不抓住繮繩也不揪住你的鬃毛，我怎麼能坐穩身體呢?”

"You hold on with your knees," said the Horse. "That's the secret of good riding. Grip my body between your knees as hard as you like; sit straight up, straight as a poker; keep your elbows in. And by the way, what did you do with the spurs?"

“用你的雙膝夾住我。”馬兒道，“那纔是騎馬騎得高明的訣竅，用你的雙膝把我的身體夾住，你愛夾多緊就夾多緊；你要坐得筆直，像根拔火棒，肘拐兒要收攏。順便問一句，你怎麼處理馬刺呢?”

"Put them on my heels, of course," said Shasta. "I do know that much."

“當然裝在我的腳後跟上啦，”沙斯塔說，“我就知道這麼點兒。”

"Then you can take them off and put them in the saddlebag. We may be able to sell them when we get to Tashbaan. Ready? And now I think you can get up."

“那你不妨把馬刺卸下來，擱在鞍囊裏。我們到達塔什班時，也許能把馬刺賣了。準備好了?那麼我想現在你可以跳上來了。”

"Ooh! You're a dreadful height," gasped Shasta after his first, and unsuccessful, attempt.

“啊！你高大得好可怕啊！”第一次試圖跳上馬去，卻沒有成功，他氣喘吁吁地說道。

"I'm a horse, that's all," was the reply. "Anyone would think I was a haystack from the way you're trying to climb up me! There, that's better. Now sit up and remember what I told you about your knees. Funny to think of me who has led cavalry charges and won races having a potato—sack like you in the saddle! However, off we go." It chuckled, not unkindly.

“我是一匹馬，不過是一匹馬罷了。”這是馬兒的回答，“從你竭力爬到我背亡來的模樣兒看來，隨便什麼人都會認爲我是個高高的乾草堆了。行，這回好多了。身體坐直，牢記我講過的夾緊雙膝的話。我當年在騎兵隊衝鋒時—馬當先，在賽馬時獲得勝利，如今卻在背上馱了個像袋土豆似的你，想想也覺得好笑！不管怎麼樣，咱們還是出發吧。”馬兒並無惡意地偷偷暗笑。

And it certainly began their night journey with great caution. First of all it went just south of the fisherman's cottage to the little river which there ran into the sea, and took care to leave in the mud some very plain hoof—marks pointing South. But as soon as they were in the middle of the ford it turned upstream and waded till they were about a hundred yards farther inland than the cottage. Then it selected a nice gravelly bit of bank which would take no footprints and came out on the Northern side. Then, still at a walking pace, it went Northward till the cottage, the one tree, the donkey's stable, and the creek — everything, in fact, that Shasta had ever known — had sunk out of sight in the grey summer—night darkness. They had been going uphill and now were at the top of the ridge — that ridge which had always been the boundary of Shasta's known world. He could not see what was ahead except that it was all open and grassy. It looked endless: wild and lonely and free.

馬兒確實十分小心翼翼地開始了夜間跋涉。它首先朝漁夫屋子的南邊走去，一直走到小河邊，(小河在那兒奔流人海，)故意在泥沙上留下一些十分明顯的往南而去的蹄痕。但當他們到了小河中可以涉水而過的地方時，便轉過身來逆流而上，涉水走去，走得比漁夫的屋子還要深入內陸一百碼光景，然後選定一小塊適宜的、不會留下足跡的礫石河岸，登上了河流的北岸。接着、仍舊慢步向北走去，一直走到那漁夫的屋子，那一棵樹，那驢棚，那河流—事實上，沙斯塔熟悉的一切——都融入夏夜蒼茫的黑暗之中，看也看不見了。他們走的是上坡路，現在他們來到山脊的頂上了——就是這個山脊，曾經是沙斯塔所知道的世界的邊界。沙斯培看不清前邊是什麼，只看見這地方十分開闊，青草萋萋。這地方一望無際；荒野、寂寞、自由自在。

"I say!" observed the Horse. "What a place for a gallop, eh!"

馬兒評論道，“好一個放馬馳騁的地方！可不是嗎？”

"Oh don't let's," said Shasta. "Not yet. I don't know how to — please, Horse. I don't know your name."

“啊，可別跑快了，”沙斯塔說，“還不能飛跑，我不知道怎樣——請你告訴我，馬兒，我不知道你的名字。”

"Breehy—hinny—brinny—hooky—hah," said the Horse.

“布里海一希尼一布林尼一霍海一哈。”馬兒說。

"I'll never be able to say that," said Shasta. "Can I call you Bree?"

“我永遠說不了那麼長長的名字，”沙斯塔說，“我能管你叫布里嗎?”

"Well, if it's the best you can do, I suppose you must," said the Horse. "And what shall I call you?"

“行，如果你竭盡全力也只能叫我布里的話。”馬兒說，“那麼我叫你什麼呢?”

"I'm called Shasta."

“我叫沙斯塔。”

"H'm," said Bree. "Well, now, there's a name that's really hard to pronounce. But now about this gallop. It's a good deal easier than trotting if you only knew, because you don't have to rise and fall. Grip with your knees and keep your eyes straight ahead between my ears. Don't look at the ground. If you think you're going to fall just grip harder and sit up straighter. Ready? Now: for Narnia and the North."

“嗯，”布里說道，“啊，那倒是個真正難以發音的名字。可是，談談馳騁飛跑吧。那可比你所知道的小跑容易得多哩，因爲你用不到起伏顛簸。你用雙膝夾住，眼睛從我兩耳之間筆直望着前方。別看地面。如果你覺得你快要摔下來了，你就夾得更緊、坐得更直。準備好了?現在直奔納尼亞，直奔北方。