《銀椅》第2章:吉爾接受任務
WITHOUT a glance at Jill the lion rose to its feet and gave one last blow. Then, as if satisfied with its work, it turned and stalked slowly away, back into the forest.
"It must be a dream, it must, it must," said Jill to herself. "I'll wake up in a moment." But it wasn't, and she didn't.
"I do wish we'd never come to this dreadful place," said Jill. "I don't believe Scrubb knew any more about it than I do. Or if he did, he had no business to bring me here without warning me what it was like. It's not my fault he fell over that cliff. If he'd left me alone we should both be all right." Then she Remembered again the scream that Scrubb had given when he fell, and burst into tears.
Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do. When Jill stopped, she found she was dreadfully thirsty. She had been lying face downward, and now she sat up. The birds had ceased singing and there was perfect silence except for one small, persistent sound, which seemed to come from a good distance away. She listened carefully, and felt almost sure it was the sound of running water.
Jill got up and looked round her very carefully. There was no sign of the lion; but there were so many trees about that it might easily be quite close without her seeing it. For all she knew, there might be several lions. But her thirst was very bad now, and she plucked up her courage to go and look for that running water. She went on tiptoes, stealing cautiously from tree to tree, and stopping to peer round her at every step.
The wood was so still that it was not difficult to decide where the sound was coming from. It grew clearer every moment and, sooner than she expected, she came to an open glade and saw the stream, bright as glass, running across the turf a stone's throw away from her. But although the sight of the water made her feel ten times thirstier than before, she didn't rush forward and drink. She stood as still as if she had been turned into stone, with her mouth wide open. And she had a very good reason; just on this side of the stream lay the lion.
It lay with its head raised and its two fore-paws out in front of it, like the lions in Trafalgar Square. She knew at once that it had seen her, for its eyes looked straight into hers for a moment and then turned away - as if it knew her quite well and didn't think much of her.
"If I run away, it'll be after me in a moment," thought Jill. "And if I go on, I shall run straight into its mouth." Anyway, she couldn't have moved if she had tried, and she couldn't take her eyes off it. How long this lasted, she could not be sure; it seemed like hours. And the thirst became so bad that she almost felt she would not mind being eaten by the lion if only she could be sure of getting a mouthful of water first.
"If you're thirsty, you may drink."
They were the first words she had heard since Scrubb had spoken to her on the edge of the cliff. For a second she stared here and there, wondering who had spoken. Then the voice said again, "If you are thirsty, come and drink," and of course she remembered what Scrubb had said about animals talking in that other world, and realized that it was the lion Speaking. Anyway, she had seen its lips move this time, and the voice was not like a man's. It was deeper, wilder, and stronger; a sort of heavy, golden voice. It did not make her any less frightened than she had been before, but it made her frightened in rather a different way.
"Are you not thirsty?" said the Lion.
"I'm dying of thirst," said Jill.
"Then drink," said the Lion.
"May I - could I - would you mind going away while I do?" said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience.
The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
"Will you promise not to - do anything to me, if I do come?" said Jill.
"I make no promise," said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.
"Do you eat girls?" she said.
"I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
"I daren't come and drink," said Jill.
"Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion.
"Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go and look for another stream then."
"There is no other stream," said the Lion.
It never occurred to Jill to disbelieve the Lion - no one who had seen his stern face could do that - and her mind suddenly made itself up. It was the worst thing she had ever had to do, but she went forward to the stream, knelt down, and began scooping up water in her hand. It was the coldest, most refreshing water she had ever tasted. You didn't need to drink much of it, for it quenched your thirst at once. Before she tasted it she had been intending to make a dash away from the Lion the moment she had finished. Now, she realized that this would be on the whole the most dangerous thing of all. She got up and stood there with her lips still wet from drinking.
"Come here," said the Lion. And she had to. She was almost between its front paws now, looking straight into its face. But she couldn't stand that for long; she dropped her eyes.
"Human Child," said the Lion. "Where is the Boy?"
"He fell over the cliff," said Jill, and added, "Sir." She didn't know what else to call him, and it sounded cheek to call him nothing.
"How did he come to do that, Human Child?"
"He was trying to stop me from falling, Sir."
"Why were you so near the edge, Human Child?"
"I was showing off, Sir."
"That is a very good answer, Human Child. Do so no more. And now" (here for the first time the Lion's face became a little less stern) "the boy is safe. I have blown him to Narnia. But your task will be the harder because of what you have done."
"Please, what task, Sir?" said Jill.
"The task for which I called you and him here out of your own world."
This puzzled Jill very much. "It's mistaking me for someone else," she thought. She didn't dare to tell the Lion this, though she felt things would get into a dreadful muddle unless she did.
"Speak your thought, Human Child," said the Lion.
"I was wondering - I mean - could there be some mistake? Because nobody called me and Scrubb, you know. It was we who asked to come here. Scrubb said we were to call to - to Somebody - it was a name I wouldn't know - and perhaps the Somebody would let us in. And we did, and then we found the door open.'
"You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you," said the Lion.
"Then you are Somebody, Sir?" said Jill.
"I am. And now hear your task. Far from here in the land of Narnia there lives an aged king who is sad because he has no prince of his blood to be king after him. He has no heir because his only son was stolen from him many years ago, and no one in Narnia knows where that prince went or whether he is still alive. But he is. I lay on you this command, that you seek this lost prince until either you have found him and brought him to his father's house, or else died in the attempt, or else gone back into your own world."
"How, please?" said Jill.
"I will tell you, Child," said the Lion. "These are the signs by which I will guide you in your quest. First; as soon as the Boy Eustace sets foot in Narnia, he will meet an old and dear friend. He must greet that friend at once; if he does, you will both have good help. Second; you must journey out of Narnia to the north till you come to the ruined city of the ancient giants. Third; you shall find a writing on a stone in that ruined city, and you must do what the writing tells you. Fourth; you will know the lost prince (if you find him) by this, that he will be the first person you have met in your travels who will ask you to do something in my name, in the name of Aslan."
As the Lion seemed to have finished, Jill thought she should say something. So she said, "Thank you very much. I see."
"Child," said Aslan, in a gentler voice than he had yet used, "perhaps you do not see quite as well as you think. But the first step is to remember. Repeat to me, in order, the four signs."
Jill tried, and didn't get them quite right. So the Lion corrected her, and made her repeat them again and again till she could say them perfectly. He was very patient over this, so that, when it was done, Jill plucked up courage to ask:
"Please, how am I to get to Narnia?"
"On my breath," said the Lion. "I will blow you into the west of the world as I blew Eustace."
"Shall I catch him in time to tell him the first sign? But I suppose it won't matter. If he sees an old friend, he's sure to go and speak to him, isn't he?"
"You will have no time to spare," said the Lion. "That is why I must send you at once. Come. Walk before me to the edge of the cliff."
Jill remembered very well that if there was no time to spare, that was her own fault. "If I hadn't made such a fool of myself, Scrubb and I would have been going together. And he'd have heard all the instructions as well as me," she thought. So she did as she was told. It was very alarming walking back to the edge of the cliff, especially as the Lion did not walk with her but behind her - making no noise on his soft paws.
But long before she had got anywhere near the edge, the voice behind her said, "Stand still. In a moment I will blow. But, first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters. And now, daughter of Eve, farewell -"
The voice had been growing softer towards the end of this speech and now it faded away altogether. Jill looked behind her. To her astonishment she saw the cliff already more than a hundred yards behind her, and the Lion himself a speck of bright gold on the edge of it. She had been setting her teeth and clenching her fists for a terrible blast of lion's breath; but the breath had really been so gentle that she had not even noticed the moment at which she left the earth. And now, there was nothing but air for thousands upon thousands of feet below her.
She felt frightened only for a second. For one thing, the world beneath her was so very far away that it seemed to have nothing to do with her. For another, floating on the breath of the Lion was so extremely comfortable. She found she could lie on her back or on her face and twist any way she pleased, just as you can in water (if you've learned to float really well). And because she was moving at the same pace as the breath, there was no wind, and the air seemed beautifully warm. It was not in the least like being in an aeroplane, because there was no noise and no vibration. If Jill had ever been in a balloon she might have thought it more like that; only better.
When she looked back now she could take in for the first time the real size of the mountain she was leaving. She wondered why a mountain so huge as that was not covered with snow and ice - "but I suppose all that sort of thing is different in this world," thought Jill. Then she looked below her; but she was so high that she couldn't make out whether she was floating over land or sea, nor what speed she was going at.
"By Jove! The signs!" said Jill suddenly. "I'd better repeat them." She was in a panic for a second or two, but she found she could still say them all correctly. "So that's all right," she said, and lay back on the air as if it was a sofa, with a sigh of contentment.
"Well, I do declare," said Jill to herself some hours later, "I've been asleep. Fancy sleeping on air. I wonder if anyone's done it before. I don't suppose they have. Oh bother - Scrubb probably has! On this same journey, a little bit before me. Let's see what it looks like down below."
What it looked like was an enormous, very dark blue plain. There were no hills to be seen; but there were biggish white things moving slowly across it. "Those must be clouds," she thought. "But far bigger than the ones we saw from the cliff. I suppose they're bigger because they're nearer. I must be getting lower. Bother this sun."
The sun which had been high overhead when she began her journey was now getting into her eyes. This meant that it was getting lower, ahead of her. Scrubb was quite right in saying that Jill (I don't know about girls in general) didn't think much about points of the compass. Otherwise she would have known, when the sun began getting in her eyes, that she was travelling pretty nearly due west.
Staring at the blue plain below her, she presently noticed that there were little dots of brighter, paler colour in it here and there. "It's the sea!" thought Jill. "I do believe those are islands." And so they were. She might have felt rather jealous if she had known that some of them were islands which Scrubb had seen from a ship's deck and even landed on; but she didn't know this. Then, later on, she began to see that there were little wrinkles on the blue flatness: little wrinkles which must be quite big ocean waves if you were down among them. And now, all along the horizon there was a thick dark line which grew thicker and darker so quickly that you could see it growing. That was the first sign she had had of the great speed at which she was travelling. And she knew that the thickening line must be land.
Suddenly from her left (for the wind was in the south) a great white cloud came rushing towards her, this time on the same level as herself. And before she knew where she was, she had shot right into the middle of its cold, wet fogginess. That took her breath away, but she was in it only for a moment. She came out blinking in the sunlight and found her clothes wet. (She had on a blazer and sweater and shorts and stockings and pretty thick shoes; it had been a muddy sort of day in England.) She came out lower than she had gone in; and as soon as she did so she noticed something which, I suppose, she ought to have been expecting, but which came as a surprise and a shock. It was Noises. Up till then she had travelled in total silence. Now, for the first time, she heard the noise of waves and the crying of seagulls. And now, too, she smelled the smell of the sea. There was no mistake about her speed now. She saw two waves meet with a smack and a spout of foam go up between them; but she had hardly seen it before it was a hundred yards behind her. The land was getting nearer at a great pace. She could see mountains far inland, and other nearer mountains on her left. She could see bays and headlands, woods and fields, stretches of sandy beach. The sound of waves breaking on the shore was growing louder every second and drowning the other sea noises.
Suddenly the land opened right ahead of her. She was coming to the mouth of a river. She was very low now, only a few feet above the water. A wave-top came against her toe and a great splash of foam spurted up, drenching her nearly to the waist. Now she was losing speed. Instead of being carried up the river she was gliding in to the river bank on her left. There were so many things to notice that she could hardly take them all in; a smooth, green lawn, a ship so brightly coloured that it looked like an enormous piece of jewellery, towers and battlements, banners fluttering in the air, a crowd, gay clothes, armour, gold, swords, a sound of music. But this was all jumbled. The first thing that she knew clearly was that she had alighted and was standing under a thicket of trees close by the river side, and there, only a few feet away from her, was Scrubb.
The first thing she thought was how very grubby and untidy and generally unimpressive he looked. And the second was "How wet I am!"
“一定是個夢，一定是的，一定是的，”吉爾自言自語說，”我一會兒就會醒過來了。”但這不是夢，她也沒醒過來。
“我們要是沒到這個可怕的地方來就好了，”吉爾說，”我相信斯克羅布跟我一樣，對這個地方也不瞭解。要是他了解的話，事先不告誡我這是個什麼鬼地方，就不該把我帶到這兒來。他摔下懸崖可不是我的錯。要是他別管我，我們倆就都沒事了。”後來她又想起斯克羅布摔下去時尖聲叫喊，不由哇的一聲大哭起來。
大哭一場固然痛快。不過你早晚還得停下來，然後還得決定怎麼辦。等吉爾不哭了，她覺得自己渴得要命。她原來一直臉朝下趴着，現在就坐了起來。鳥兒都不唱歌了，四下一片寂靜，只有遠處似乎傳來一種連續不斷的小聲音。她仔細傾聽，幾乎肯定這就是流水的聲音。
吉爾站起來，小心翼翼地朝四周張望。獅子早沒影了;不過周圍有那麼多樹，它很可能就待在附近，只是她看不見罷了。說不定那兒可能有好幾頭獅子呢。但她這會兒實在是口乾舌燥，於是她鼓起勇氣去尋找流水。她踞起腳，小心地偷偷從一棵樹溜到另一棵樹，每走一步都停下四處張望。
森林裏一片寂靜，要肯定聲音從哪兒來並不困難。水聲越來越清晰，沒想到一下子就來到一片林間空地，看到了那條小溪，像玻璃似的亮晶晶，就在離她不遠的地方流過草地。雖然看到了水反而比剛纔更渴上十倍，但她並沒有衝上前去喝上一口。她就站在那兒，張大嘴巴，一動也不動，像變成了石頭人似的。而且她還有充分理由:那頭獅子就躺在小溪的這一邊。
獅子昂起頭，兩隻前爪伸在前面，躺着的姿勢就像特拉法爾加廣場的獅像。她立刻就知道它已經看見她了，因爲它眼睛直勾勾地盯着她眼睛看了一會兒，這才掉轉眼光——它似乎已經相當瞭解她，不大看重她了。
“如果我跑開呢，它馬上就會來追我，”吉爾想道，”如果我繼續往前走呢，我就會一直走到它嘴裏去。”不管怎麼說，要是她想動，她也動不了，而且她眼光也離不開它。這樣僵持了多久，她可無法確定;似乎有好幾個小時吧。再說，口越來越渴，渴得她幾乎感到只要能保證先喝上一口水，即使被獅子吃了也不在乎。
“要是你渴了，儘管喝吧。”
自從斯克羅布在懸崖邊上跟她說話以來，這可是她聽到的第一句話。一時間她睜大眼睛到處張望，不知是誰在說話。接着那聲音又說了”要是你渴了，過來喝吧。”她當然想起斯克羅布說過另外那個世界的動物會說話的事，心裏明白就是那頭獅子在說話。不管怎麼說，這回她看見獅子的嘴脣在動，而且這聲音也不像是男人的聲音。這聲音更加深沉，更加粗野，更加有力，是一種凝重、洪亮的聲音。這聲音並沒有使她比剛纔少害怕一點，只是害怕的程度不同罷了。
“你不渴嗎?”獅子說。
“我渴得要命。”吉爾說。
”那就喝吧。”獅子說。
“我可不可以——我能不能——我喝的時候能不能請你走開一下?”吉爾說。
獅子只看了她一眼，低低吼了一聲，算是回答。吉爾久久望着它那一動不動的巨大軀體，明白自己還不如要求整座大山爲了她的方便挪到一邊去呢。
溪水津津，聽得她差點發瘋。
“如果我真的來了，你能答應不——對我怎麼樣嗎?”吉爾說。
“我什麼也不答應。”獅子說。
吉爾很渴，竟然不知不覺就走近了一步。
“你吃女孩嗎?”她說。
“我吞沒過女孩和男孩，女人和男人，國王和皇帝，城市和王國。”獅子說。它說話的樣子既不像是吹牛皮，也不像感到遺憾，也不像感到憤怒口它只是這麼說說罷了。
“我不敢過來喝。”吉爾說。
“那你就會渴死。”獅子說。
“啊呀，天哪!”吉爾說，一邊又走近了一步，”我看那就一定得去另找一條小溪了。”
“沒有別的小溪了。”獅子說。
吉爾根本沒想過不相信這隻獅子——看見過它那張神色嚴峻的臉的人，沒一個能不相信它——於是她突然下了決心。她雖從來沒挺而走險過，但她還是向前走到溪邊，跪下，用手百起水來。她從來沒喝過這麼涼爽、這麼提神的水。你用不着多喝，因爲喝了這水立刻就解渴了。沒喝水以前，她一直打算一喝完就飛快地從獅子身邊奔開。這會兒，她看出這樣做是件最最危險的事。她剛喝過水，嘴脣還是溼的，就那麼直起身子，站在那兒。
“過來。”獅子說。她只好去了。如今她幾乎走到它那兩隻前爪當中了，一面直望着它的臉。但她望不了多久就垂下了眼睛。
“人類的孩子，”獅子說，”那個男孩上哪兒去了?”
“他從懸崖上摔下去了，”吉爾說，又加了一句，”閣下。她不知道此外還有什麼可以稱呼它，要是不加稱呼又顯得沒禮貌。
“他怎麼會摔下去的，人類的孩子?”
“他想法不讓我掉下去，閣下。”
“你爲什麼要那麼靠近懸崖邊緣呢，人類的孩子。”
“我在賣弄呢，閣下。”
“回答得好，人類的孩子。可別再賣弄了。好了，”(說到這兒，獅子的臉色才頭一回變得略爲緩和一點。)”那個男孩安然無事。我已經把他吹到納尼亞去了。但由於你剛纔的行爲，你的任務要比他難一些。”
“請問是什麼任務，閣下?”吉爾說。
“就是我把你們從你們自己的世界召到這兒來，叫你們辦的任務。”
這下吉爾可搞得稀裏糊塗了。”它把我錯當成另外什麼人了。”她想。她不敢對獅子說這事，雖然她覺得除非她說出來，否則事情將會弄得一團糟。
“把你的想法說出來，人類的孩子。”獅子說。
“我想——我的意思是——會不會搞錯了?要知道，因爲沒人叫過我和斯克羅布。是我們要求上這兒來的。斯克羅布說我們要呼喚——向某某呼喚——那名字我不記得了——也許某某就會讓我們來。於是我們就呼喚了，後來我們就發現門開了。”
“要是我沒有向你們呼喚，你們是不會向我呼喚的。”獅子說。
“那麼說你就是某某了，閣下?”吉爾說。
“我就是。現在聽好你的任務。離開這兒很遠的納尼亞國，有一個上了年紀的國王，他很傷心，因爲他沒有親生的王子來繼承他的王位。他之所以沒有繼承人，就因爲他的獨生子多年前就被人從他身邊偷走了，在納尼亞沒人知道王子上哪兒去了，也沒人知道他是否還活着。不過他還活着。
我給你下這道命令，你去尋找這個失蹤的王子，找到他就把他帶回他父王王宮，找不到就在半路上送掉命，再不然就回到你自己的世界裏去。
“請問，怎麼找呢?”吉爾說。
“我會告訴你的，孩子，”獅子說，”這幾點就是我指點你們尋找王子的指示。第一，尤斯塔斯那孩子一踏進納尼亞，他就會遇見一位要好的老朋友。他一定得馬上去跟那個朋友打招呼，如果他打了招呼，對你們倆就大有幫助。第二，你們必須出了納尼亞就朝北方走，一直走到古代巨人那個已成廢墟的城市。第三，在那個已成廢墟的城市裏你們會找到一塊石頭，上有文字，一定得照石頭上的文字去做。第四，你們會由此認識那個失蹤的王子(如果你們找到他的話)，因爲他是你們這一路上遇見的第一個要求你們以我的名義、以阿斯蘭的名義去幹一件事的人。”
看來獅子的話似乎說完了，吉爾心想她也應該說點什麼。因此就說”非常感謝，我懂了。”
“孩子，”阿斯蘭說，口氣比以前溫和多了，”也許你並不像自己所想的那麼懂。不過第一步是要記住。你把那四點按順序再說給我聽聽。”
吉爾試了一下，但說得不大對。獅子就糾正她，讓她說了一遍又一遍，直到說得全對爲止。他教得非常耐心，因此，學完以後，吉爾就鼓起勇氣問道
“請問，我怎麼上納尼亞去呢?”
“我吹口氣送你，”獅子說，”我會像吹尤斯塔斯一樣，
把你吹到這世界的西面去。”
“我來得及趕上他，告訴他第一點指示嗎?不過我看這沒什麼關係。要是他看見一個老朋友，他準會過去跟那人打招呼的吧?”
“你已經沒有閒工夫了，”獅子說，”所以我必須馬上把你送去。來吧，走在我前面，到懸崖邊上去。”
吉爾記得清清楚楚，要是說沒有工夫，那都是她自己不好。”要是我沒幹蠢事，我和斯克羅布早就一起去了。而且他還可以跟我一起聽到全部指示。”她想。所以她就按照吩咐做了。走回懸崖邊是非常令人驚慌的，尤其是獅子不走在她身邊，而走在她後面——他那柔軟的爪子一點聲音也沒有。
但她還沒走近懸崖邊，後面的聲音就說道”站着別動，我一會兒就要吹了。但首先你要牢記，牢記，牢記那些指示。每天早上醒來要自言自語地背指示，晚上睡下時，半夜醒來時也要背。不管你碰到什麼希奇古怪的事，也別讓任何事分心，忘了遵照指示辦事。其次，我要警告你，在這兒高山上，我已經對你說得很清楚了:在納尼亞我可不會經常這麼說了。在這兒高山上，空氣清新，你腦子也清楚;等你落到下邊納尼亞去了，空氣就渾濁了。你要多加小心，別就此腦子迷迷糊糊。你在這兒學過的指示，等你在那兒碰到具體情況時，看上去會跟你想像中完全不一樣。所以心裏牢牢記住指示，別看事物的外表，這才至關重要。牢記指示，相信指示。其他什麼都無關緊要。好了，夏娃的女兒，別了……”
這番話說到末了，聲音越來越柔和，這會兒已經完全消失了。吉爾往身後看看口令她大吃一驚的是，只見那座懸崖已經在她後面一百多碼以外了，獅子已成了懸崖上金光閃閃的一小點。她本來一直咬緊牙關，握緊拳頭，準備承受獅子那口氣的可怕威力，但這口氣其實十分柔和，她甚至沒注意到自己離開地面的那一時刻。眼前，只有身子下的萬丈高空而已。
她只有一瞬間覺得害怕，一來在她下面的世界是那麼遙遠，似乎跟她沒有關係;二來，在獅子吹的氣上飄浮真是舒服極了。她發覺自己可以仰臥，也可以俯臥，愛怎麼轉身都行，就像你能在水中隨意活動一樣(如果你的浮水功夫學得很好的話)。而且因爲她轉動的速度跟獅子呼的氣同步，天上沒有鳳，空氣也似乎暖和極了。這完全不像乘在飛機上，因爲既沒有聲音也沒有振動。要是吉爾乘過氣球，她可能會覺得這更像乘氣球，不過更妙。
這時她回頭一看，才頭一回看清剛纔離開的那座山頭的真正規模。不知爲什麼像這麼雄偉的一座大山竟沒有冰雪覆蓋——”不過我想在這個世界裏一切事物都不一樣了。”吉爾想道。接着她朝下面望望;但她飄得太高了，所以她弄不清自己是在陸地還是在海洋上飄，也弄不清自己的飄行速度。
“天哪，指示”吉爾突然說，”我最好還是再背背吧。”
她一時驚慌失措，但她發現自己竟還能一字不差地全都背出來。”這就沒事了。”她說。她像躺在沙發上一樣仰臥在空中，滿意地嘆了口氣。
“嘿，真怪!II過了幾小時，吉爾自言自語說，”我睡着了。想想真怪，在空中睡覺。我真想知道以前有沒有人睡過。我想沒人睡過。唉，討厭——斯克羅布也許睡過!他跟我走的是同一條路，比我早一點。讓我瞧瞧下面是什麼樣子。”
下面是一片其大無比的深藍色平原口看不見山丘，只有一些又大又白的東西慢慢穿過上面。”那些一定是雲，”她想，”但比我們在懸崖上看到的大多了。我想，雲變大了，就是離得近了。我一定是飄得低些了。太陽真討厭。”
她開始上路時太陽是當頭照的，如今已照進她眼睛了。
這就意味着太陽已經在她前面，要下山了。斯克羅布說得不錯，他說吉爾(我不瞭解一般女孩子)不大重視指南針的方位。否則她就該知道，當太陽照進她眼睛時，她就大致是朝正西方向飄行。
她凝視着下面那片藍色的平原，不久就注意到其中到處都是色彩淡些亮些的小點。”原來是海，”吉爾想，”我相信那些是島嶼。”事實上果然如此。要是她知道斯克羅布曾經在一艘船的甲板上看到過其中幾個島，甚至還到島上去過，她早就妒忌死了，但她並不知道。後來，又過了一會兒，她纔開始看出那一片藍色中有些小小的皺紋•要是你在下面身歷其境，這些小小的皺紋一定是很大的海浪了。這會兒，天邊出現了一道粗粗的黑線，這道線很快就變得更粗，更黑，快得你都看得見那道線在變化。這是她正飛速行進的第一個跡象。她知道這越來越粗的線一定就是陸地了。
突然間，從她的左面(因爲風是南面來的)一大朵白雲直向她衝來，這次跟她在同一高度。她還不知道自己身在何方，就一下子鑽到冷冰冰、溼漉漉、霧濛濛的雲中去了。這使她大吃一驚，但她在雲層裏只待了一會兒。出來時她對着陽光直眨眼睛，而且身上衣服都溼了。(她穿着運動衣、羊毛衫、短褲、長襪和很厚的鞋，英國那時節正是泥濘天。)她出雲層時比進去時飄得更低一些——她一出來就注意到有動靜，我看這應該是她一直在盼望的，然而竟使她大爲驚訝和震動。原來是聲音。迄今爲止，她是在完全寂靜中飄行的。如今，她第一次聽見了海浪聲和海鷗叫。同時她也聞到了海洋的氣息。如今她飄行速度之快是絕對錯不了的。她剛看見兩股海浪啪的一下匯合在一起，中間冒起一股泡沫;但她還沒看清，這些己落在她身後一百碼的地方了。陸地正高速離她越來越近。她看得見遠在內陸的山巒，以及近在她左面的其他山頭。她看得見海灣和海師，樹林和田野，綿延不斷的海濱沙灘。海浪撲打岸邊的聲音越來越響，淹沒了海洋其他的聲音。
突然間，陸地展現在她的正前方。她來到了一個河口。
這會兒她飄得很低，離水面只有幾英尺高了。一股浪峯濺到她腳趾上，濺起一大片泡沫，幾乎把她腰以下都打得溼透了。這會兒她速度慢下來了，她沒有被送到河面上，而是滑翔到她左面的河岸上。那兒要看的景物有好多好多，她簡直都看不過來了，一片柔嫩的綠草地，一艘船，色彩鮮豔，看上去就像一大塊珠寶，高塔和城牆，旗幟迎風招展，一大羣人，衣着華麗，盔甲，金飾，刀劍，還有音樂聲。但這些全都亂成一團。她首先清楚地知道的是她已經降落了，正站在靠近河邊的一片灌木叢下，離她只有幾英尺的地方就是斯克羅布。'
她首先想到的就是他看上去非常邋遢，衣冠不整，而且絲毫不起眼。其次纔想到”我身上多麼溼啊！
