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第3章

the horse and his boy_c·s·刘易斯-第3章

小说: the horse and his boy_c·s·刘易斯 字数: 每页3500字

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or 〃youll need to shorten those stirrups a good bit。〃 when all was  finished it said:  〃now; weve got to have reins for the look of the thing; but you wont 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。鈥

〃what are they for; then?〃 asked shasta。

〃ordinarily they are for directing me;〃 replied the horse。 〃but as i intend  to do all the directing on this journey; youll please keep your hands to yourself。 and  theres another thing。 im not going to have you grabbing my mane。鈥

〃but i say;〃 pleaded shasta。 〃if im not to hold on by the reins or by your  mane; what am i to hold on by?鈥

〃you hold on with your knees;〃 said the horse。 〃thats 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?鈥

〃put them on my heels; of course;〃 said shasta。 〃i do know that much。鈥

〃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。鈥

〃ooh! youre a dreadful height;〃 gasped shasta after his first; and  unsuccessful; attempt。

〃im a horse; thats all;〃 was the reply。 〃anyone would think i was a  haystack from the way youre trying to climb up me! there; thats 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。

and it certainly began their night journey with great caution。 first of all  it went just south of the fishermans 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 donkeys 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 shastas 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。

〃i say!〃 observed the horse。 〃what a place for a gallop; eh!鈥

〃oh dont lets;〃 said shasta。 〃not yet。 i dont know how to … please;  horse。 i dont know your name。鈥

〃breehy…hinny…brinny…hooky…hah;〃 said the horse。

〃ill never be able to say that;〃 said shasta。 〃can i call you bree?鈥

〃well; if its the best you can do; i suppose you must;〃 said the horse。  〃and what shall i call you?鈥

〃im called shasta。鈥

〃hm;〃 said bree。 〃well; now; theres a name thats really hard to  pronounce。 but now about this gallop。 its a good deal easier than trotting if you only knew;  because you dont have to rise and fall。 grip with your knees and keep your eyes straight  ahead between my ears。 dont look at the ground。 if you think youre going to fall just grip  harder and sit up straighter。 ready? now: for narnia and the north。鈥

xiaoshuot锛竧锛宑o锛



CHAPTER TWO

锛诲皬。璇础。xt锛惧ぉ锛夊爞锛
a wayside adventure  it was nearly noon on the following day when shasta was wakened by  something warm and soft moving over his face。 he opened his eyes and found himself staring  into the long face of a horse; its nose and lips were almost touching his。 he remembered  the exciting events of the previous night and sat up。 but as he did so he groaned。

〃ow; bree;〃 he gasped。 〃im so sore。 all over。 i can hardly move。鈥

〃good morning; small one;〃 said bree。 〃i was afraid you might feel a bit  stiff。 it cant be the falls。 you didnt have more than a dozen or so; and it was all lovely;  soft springy turf that must have been almost a pleasure to fall on。 and the only one that  might have been nasty was broken by that gorse bush。 no: its the riding itself that es  hard at first。

what about breakfast? ive had mine。鈥

〃oh bother breakfast。 bother everything;〃 said shasta。 〃i tell you i cant  move。〃 but the horse nuzzled at him with its nose and pawed him gently with a hoof till he  had to get up。

and then he looked about him and saw where they were。 behind them lay a  little copse。

before them the turf; dotted with white flowers; sloped down to the brow of  a cliff。 far below them; so that the sound of the breaking waves was very faint; lay the  sea。 shasta had never seen it from such a height and never seen so much of it before;  nor dreamed how many colours it had。 on either hand the coast stretched away; headland  after headland; and at the points you could see the white foam running up the  rocks but making no noise because it was so far off。 there were gulls flying overhead and  the heat shivered on the ground; it was a blazing day。 but what shasta chiefly noticed was  the air。 he couldnt think what was missing; until at last he realized that there was  no smell of fish in it。 for of course; neither in the cottage nor among the nets; had he ever  been away from  

that smell in his life。 and this new air was so delicious; and all his old  life seemed so far away; that he forgot for a moment about his bruises and his aching muscles  and said:  〃i say; bree; didnt you say something about breakfast?鈥

〃yes; i did;〃 answered bree。 〃i think youll find something in the saddle… bags。 theyre over there on that tree where you hung them up last night … or early this  morning; rather。鈥

they investigated the saddle…bags and the results were cheering… a meat  pasty; only slightly stale; a lump of dried figs and another lump of green cheese; a  little flask of wine; and some money; about forty crescents in all; which was more than shasta  had ever seen。

while shasta sat down … painfully and cautiously … with his back against a  tree and started on the pasty; bree had a few more mouthfuls of grass to keep him pany。

〃wont it be stealing to use the money?〃 asked shasta。

〃oh;〃 said the horse; looking up with its mouth full of grass; 〃i never  thought of that。 a free horse and a talking horse mustnt steal; of course。 but i think its  all right。 were prisoners and captives in enemy country。 that money is booty; spoil。  besides; how are we to get any food for you without it? i suppose; like all humans; you  wont eat natural food like grass and oats。鈥

〃i cant。鈥

〃ever tried?鈥

〃yes; i have。 i cant get it down at all。 you couldnt either if you were  me。鈥

〃youre rum little creatures; you humans;〃 remarked bree。

when shasta had finished his breakfast (which was by far the nicest he had  ever eaten); bree said; 〃i think ill have a nice roll before we put on that saddle  again。〃 and he proceeded to do so。 〃thats good。 thats very good;〃 he said; rubbing his  back on the turf and waving all four legs in the air。 〃you ought to have one too; shasta;〃  he snorted。 〃its most refreshing。鈥

but shasta burst out laughing and said;〃you do look funny when youre on  your back!鈥

〃i look nothing of the sort;〃 said bree。 but then suddenly he rolled round  on his side; raised his head and looked hard at shasta; blowing a little。

〃does it really look funny?〃 he asked in an anxious voice。

〃yes; it does;〃 replied shasta。 〃but what does it matter?鈥

〃you dont think; do you;〃 said bree; 〃that it might be a thing talking  horses never do … a silly; clownish trick ive learned from the dumb ones? it would be dreadful  to find; when i get back to narnia; that ive picked up a lot of low; bad habits。 what do  you think; shasta? honestly; now。 dont spare my feelings。 should you think the real;  free horses … the talking kind … do roll?鈥

〃how should i know? anyway i dont think i should bother about it if i were  you。 weve got to get there first。 do you know the way?鈥

〃i know my way to tashbaan。 after that es the deser

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