“Your Majesty says is，” replied the Dwarf， “but oughtn‘t you to say was？ You knew this country hundreds-it may be a thousand-years ago. Mayn’t it have changed？ A landslide might have pulled off half the side of that hill， leaving bare rock， and there are your precipices beyond the gorge. Then the Rush might go on deepening its course year after year till you get the little precipices this side. Or there might have been an earthquake， or anything.”
“I never thought of that，” said Peter.
“And anyway，” continued Trumpkin， “even if this is not the Rush， it‘s flowing roughly north and so it must fall into the Great River anyway. I think I passed something that might have been it， on my way down. So if we go downstream， to our right， we’ll hit the Great River. Perhaps not so high as we‘d hoped， but at least we’ll be no worse off than if you‘d come my way.”
“Trumpkin， you’re a brick，” said Peter. “Come on， then. Down this side of the gorge.”
“Look！ Look！ Look！” cried Lucy. “Where？ What？” said everyone.
“The Lion，” said Lucy. “Aslan himself. Didn‘t you see？” Her face had changed completely and her eyes shone.
“Do you really mean-？” began Peter.
“Where did you think you saw him？” asked Susan.
“Don’t talk like a grown-up，” said Lucy， stamping her foot. “I didn‘tthink I saw him. I saw him.” “Where， Lu？” asked Peter.
“Right up there between those mountain ashes. No， this side of the gorge. And up， not down. Just the opposite of the way you want to go. And he wanted us to go where he was-up there.”
“How do you know that was what he wanted？” asked Edmund.
“He-I-I just know，” said Lucy， “by his face.”
The others all looked at each other in puzzled silence.
“Her Majesty may well have seen a lion，” put in Trumpkin. “There are lions in these woods， I’ve been told. But it needn‘t have been a friendly and talking lion any more than the bear was a friendly and talking bear.”
“Oh， don’t be so stupid，” said Lucy. “Do you think I don‘t know Aslan when I see him？”
“He’d be a pretty elderly lion by now，” said Trumpkin， “if he‘s one you knew when you were here before！ And if it could be the same one， what’s to prevent him having gone wild and witless like so many others？”
Lucy turned crimson and I think she would have flown at Trumpkin， if Peter had not laid his hand on her arm. “The DLF doesn‘t understand. How could he？ You must just take it， Trumpkin， that we do really know about Aslan； a little bit about him， I mean. And you mustn’t talk about him like that again. It isn‘t lucky for one thing， and it’s all nonsense for another. The only question is whether Aslan was really there.”
“But I know he was，” said Lucy， her eyes filling with tears. “Yes， Lu， but we don‘t， you see，” said Peter.
“There’s nothing for it but a vote，” said Edmund.
“All right，” replied Peter. “You‘re the eldest， DLF What do you vote for？ Up or down？”
“Down，” said the Dwarf. “I know nothing about Aslan. But I do know that if we turn left and follow the gorge up， it might lead us all day before we found a place where we could cross it. Whereas if we turn right and go down， we’re bound to reach the Great River in about a couple of hours. And if there are any real lions about， we want to go away from them， not towards them.”
“What do you say， Susan？”
“Don‘t be angry， Lu，” said Susan， “but I do think we should go down. I’m dead tired. Do let‘s get out of this wretched wood into the open as quick as we can. And none of us except you saw anything.”
“Edmund？” said Peter.
“Well， there’s just this，” said Edmund， speaking quickly and turning a little red. “When we first discovered Narnia a year ago-or a thousand years ago， whichever it is-it was Lucy who discovered it first and none of us would believe her. I was the worst of the lot， I know. Yet she was right after all. Wouldn‘t it be fair to believe her this time？ I vote for going up.”
“Oh， Ed！” said Lucy and seized his hand.
“And now it’s your turn， Peter，” said Susan， “and I do hope-”
“Oh， shut up， shut up and let a chap think，” interrupted Peter. “I‘d much rather not have to vote.”
“You’re the High King，” said Trumpkin sternly.
“Down，” said Peter after a long pause. “I know Lucy may be right after all， but I can‘t help it. We must do one or the other.”
So they set off to their right along the edge， downstream. And Lucy came last of the party， crying bitterly.
中文阅读
尚未绕过最后一个海岬，尚未把船停靠在镜水湾，苏珊和两个男孩子就已经累得没有力气划船了。长时间的日晒，加上海水的反光，露西感到一阵头痛。就连特伦普金也盼着航行早点结束。他坐在船尾掌舵的地方，是为人类而不是为矮人设计的，因此他的两只脚悬在那里，根本使不上劲儿。大家知道，像这样哪怕坐上十分钟，也会让人觉得难受。随着疲劳程度的增加，他们的精神也逐渐消沉了。到目前为止，孩子们一心想的都是如何赶到卡斯宾那里。如今，他们的心里产生了疑虑，就算找到了卡斯宾，自己又能够做些什么？靠着几个小矮人和林中动物，又怎么可能战胜一支成年人的大部队呢？
等他们把船缓缓地划进曲折的镜水湾时，四周早已是暮霭沉沉--低垂的树枝几乎伸到了头顶，暮色也越来越浓重了。大海的声音在他们身后逐渐消失，一切都显得静悄悄的，他们甚至能够听到林中小溪汇入镜水湾的潺潺水声。终于上岸了，他们累得筋疲力尽，宁愿以生苹果作为晚餐（尽管大部分人早已厌倦了苹果），也懒得再去生火或者捕猎。他们默默地啃了几个苹果，就蜷缩在四棵高大的山毛榉树下的青苔和枯叶上休息了。
大家倒头便睡，只有露西不太劳累，她翻来覆去，怎么躺都觉得不舒服。再加上特伦普金如雷的鼾声，她更是无论如何也睡不着。她这会儿才想起来，所有的矮人睡觉都爱打呼噜。她明白，入眠的最好方法是不再去努力尝试。于是，她睁开了眼睛。透过欧洲蕨和树枝的空隙，她能够看见海湾的一小片水域和上面的天空。过去了这么多年，她再次看到了纳尼亚明亮的星辰。这唤醒了她的记忆。她对这些星星要比对我们这个世界的星星更加熟悉。作为纳尼亚的女王，她上床睡觉的时间可要比英国的小女孩晚得多。啊，看到了--从她躺的地方至少可以看到夏天的三个星座：轮船星座、锤子星座和豹子星座。“亲爱的老豹子。”她快活地喃喃自语。
就这样，她非但没有睡意，反而更加清醒了--一种奇怪的、夜间梦幻般的清醒。这时，海湾越发明亮起来。虽然看不到月亮，但她知道，月光此刻正映照在水面上。她开始感到，整个森林都像她一样苏醒了过来。虽然不明白为什么要这么做，她还是迅速地爬起身来，离开了他们的临时宿营地。