"Good morning," said Shasta. "But I'm not a neighbour. In fact I'm a stranger in these parts."
“早安,”沙斯塔说道,”但我不是你的邻居。事实上,我是这地方的一个陌生人。”
"Ah?" said the Hedgehog inquiringly.
“啊?”刺猬询问地说道。
"I've come over the mountains - from Archenland, you know."
“我越过大山而来——你要知道,我是从阿钦兰来的。”
"Ha, Archenland," said the Hedgehog. "That's a terrible long way. Never been there myself."
“呀,阿钦兰,”刺猬说道,”离这儿远得可怕。我自己从没去过。”
"And I think, perhaps," said Shasta, "someone ought to be told that there's an army of savage Calormenes attacking Anvard at this very moment."
“而且我认为,”沙斯塔说道,”也许应该告诉人们:此时此刻,有一支野蛮的卡乐门军队正在进攻安瓦德城。”
"You don't say so!" answered the Hedgehog. "Well, think of that. And they do say that Calormen is hundreds and thousands of miles away, right at the world's end, across a great sea of sand."
“不会这样吧!”刺猬答道,”哦,想想吧。不是据说卡乐门在几百、几千里之外,在世界的尽头,跟这儿还隔着一个大沙漠吗?”
"It's not nearly as far as you think," said Shasta. "And oughtn't something to be done about this attack on Anvard? Oughtn't your High King to be told?"
“不像你所想像的那么遥远,”沙斯塔说道,”关于这次对安瓦德的进攻,总该做点儿事吧。总该禀告你们的至尊王吧?”
"Certain sure, something ought to be done about it," said the Hedgehog. "But you see I'm just on my way to bed for a good day's sleep. Hullo, neighbour!"
“确实如此,总该为此干点儿事情。”刺猬说道,”但,你瞧,我正要到床上去,美美地睡它一个白昼啊。哈啰,邻居!”
The last words were addressed to an immense biscuitcoloured rabbit whose head had just popped up from somewhere beside the path. The Hedgehog immediately told the Rabbit what it had just learned from Shasta. The Rabbit agreed that this was very remarkable news and that somebody ought to tell someone about it with a view to doing something.
最后一句话是对一只巨大的淡褐色兔子说的,兔子的脑袋刚从小径旁的地底下突然冒出来。刺猬立刻把它从沙斯塔那里听来的事情告诉兔子。兔子同意这是个惊人的消息,应该有人去告诉别人,以便为此干点儿事。
And so it went on. Every few minutes they were joined by other creatures, some from the branches overhead and some from little underground houses at their feet, till the party consisted of five rabbits, a squirrel, two magpies, a goat-foot faun, and a mouse, who all talked at the same time and all agreed with the Hedgehog. For the truth was that in that golden age when the Witch and the Winter had gone and Peter the High King ruled at Cair Paravel, the smaller woodland people of Narnia were so safe and happy that they were getting a little careless.
于是就这样纷纷传开去了。每隔几分钟,就有别的生物参加进来,有的来自头上的树枝,有的来自脚下的地底小屋:这一帮子,终于包含了五只兔子、一只松鼠、两只喜鹊、一个羊脚怪物以及一只耗子,它们大家同时说着话儿,大家都同意刺猬的意见。因为,事情的真相是:在那黄金时代里,女巫和冬天已经被赶走,至尊王彼得治理着凯尔帕拉维尔,纳尼亚较小林地里的居民们是那么安宁和幸福,所以它们有点儿麻痹大意了。
Presently, however, two more practical people arrived in the little wood. One was a Red Dwarf whose name appeared to be Duffle. The other was a stag, a beautiful lordly creature with wide liquid eyes, dappled flanks and legs so thin and graceful that they looked as if you could break them with two fingers.
不过,又有两个小树林里比较实际的居民来了。一个是红色小矮人,名叫德夫尔。另一个是一头牡鹿,一只美丽华贵的生物,眼睛大大的水汪汪的,两胁斑斑点点,两腿又纤细又雅致,看上去仿佛用两个手指就能把那腿折断似的。