Two underground men entered, but they stood on either side of the door, did not go inside, and bowed deeply.They immediately stared at the last person to enter, the one no one expected to come, or rather, the Lady in the Green Dress, the queen of the underworld.She stood motionless in the doorway, and they could see her eyes looking around, as if to know the whole situation, the three strangers, the ruined silver chair, and the freed prince, who still had his sword in his hand.Her face turned pale, but Jill believed that when some people's faces turned so pale, it was not because they were frightened, but because they were angry and angry.The witch's gaze was firmly fixed on the prince, and she stared at him with murderous eyes for a moment, but then she seemed to change her mind."
Go away," she said to the two underground, "and no one is to disturb us unless I call you, and those who disobey the order will die." ”The goblins whispered obediently away, and the Witch Queen closed and locked the door."
My Royal Highness," she said, "hasn't the nightly seizure yet come to you, or is it over so soon, why are you standing here, who are these outsiders, who are they who have destroyed your only security?"
It's no surprise that getting rid of the magic that has made people slaves for ten years in half an hour is not an easy task.So, with great difficulty, he spoke, "Madam, I don't need that chair anymore.You have told me a hundred times how deeply you sympathize with me and pity me because I am bound by witchcraft, and there is no doubt that you should be happy to hear the news that magic is over forever.However, it seems that there is a slight gap in the way Madame treats this matter.These are my true friends, and they are the ones who saved me.I am now very sober-minded, and I have two things to say to you: First, Madame had planned for me to lead the army of the underground people out of the ground into the land world, where I would use force to conquer some countries that had never done anything wrong to me, and make myself king to defeat their original monarch and usurp their throne by bloody means like a foreign tyrant, and now that I am completely sober, I resolutely reject this outright evil act.Second, I am the son of King Narnia, the only son of King Kespen X, known as Caspian the Navigator.Therefore, Madame, this is my purpose, and it is my duty, to leave your court at once and return to my own country.Please grant me and my friends safe passage and send a guide to guide us through your dark kingdom. ”The witch said nothing, but walked softly through the room, her face and eyes firmly in the direction of the prince at all times.When she came to a small cabinet embedded in the wall very close to the fireplace, she opened it, and the first thing she took out of it was a small pinch of green powder.She sprinkled the powder on the fire.It didn't emit much brilliance, but it wafted a very sweet, lethargic smell.Then, the smell grew stronger and stronger, wafting throughout the room, making it difficult to concentrate and think clearly.Next, she pulled out an instrument that resembled a mandolin 6.She began to play with her fingers a constant, uninhibited, monotonous finger stroke, and for a few minutes you didn't pay any attention to it, but the more you didn't pay attention, the more it got into your brain, your blood, and it made it hard for you to think.After playing for a while, and the sweet smell was now strong, she spoke in a calm, sweet and gentle voice."
Narnia," she asked, "Narnia, I often hear His Royal Highness the Prince utter this name while he is babbling nonsense.Dear Prince, you are so sick that you don't have any country called Narnia. ”"Ah, ma'am, there is indeed this place," said Pudgren, "you know, I happen to have lived there all my life. ”"Indeed," said the witch, "then I beg of you, tell me where this country is" "On the top of this place," said Pudgren, pointing firmly in the direction above his head, "I don't know exactly where it is. ”"How so," said the Queen, and then burst into a friendly, gentle, pleasant laugh, "is it a country among the stones and mortar on the roof?"
said Pudgren, who struggled a little to breathe, "in the land world. ”"And what does it look like, or where is it, can you please tell me this land world as you call it" "Oh, don't be stupid," said Eustace, who was desperately battling the magic of the pervasive sweet smell and the sound of the piano, "as if you didn't even know that it was up there, above where you could see the blue sky, the sun, and the stars."
Gee, haven't you been there yourself, and that's where we met you. ”"I ask your forgiveness, little brother," the witch laughed and said that you would never hear such a lovely laugh, "I don't remember that meeting at all."
We often see our friends in strange places in our dreams, and you can't ask someone to remember it unless all dreams are the same. ”"Madame," said the prince flatly, "I have already told Your Majesty that I am the son of King Narnia. ”"It will come true, my dear friend," said the witch in a soothing tone, as if accommodating a child, "and in your fantasies you will be the king of many imaginary nations." ”"We've been to that place too."
Jill snapped.She was furious because she could feel the magic controlling her every second, but of course, she could still feel that the magic wasn't quite working."
Pretty little girl, I have no doubt, then, you are also the queen of Narnia," the queen said in the same half-coaxing, half-mocking tone."
I'm not one of those people," Jill said, stomping her foot in exasperation, "we're from another world. ”"Gee, this game is more fun than that.""
Tell us, little girl," said the witch, "where is the other world, and what ships and open-top carriages are between that world and ours?"
immediately a lot of things came to Jill's mind at once: the experimental school, Adrapeniface, her own home, the radio, the cinema, the cars, the planes, the rationing, the long queues.But it all seemed to be getting blurred, and it was getting farther and farther away from her.The sound of the Queen's instruments kept ringing, and Jill couldn't remember the names of the things in our world, and at this time, the thought of her being bewitched by magic did not enter her mind, because now her brain was completely filled with the power of magic.And that's the thing, the more you get bewitched by magic, the less you feel like you're being bewitched by it at all.She unconsciously said with a sense of relief when she said it: "No, I think the other world must be a complete dream. ”"yes, it was a complete dream."
The witch said, blinking and blinking."
Yes, it was all a dream."
Jill said with a glazed gaze."
There has never been a world like this."
The witch said."
Yes," Jill and Eustace repeated the witch's words together, "there has never been such a world. ”"There is no other world but mine."
The witch said."
There is no other world but yours."
They said in unison.Pudgren was still battling hard and hard against magic."
I'm sure I don't know what you all mean by one world," it said, like someone who can't breathe enough air, "you can play that harp until your fingers fall off, but you still don't want me to forget Narnia, and you don't want me to forget the whole land world."
Even if we never see it again, I don't think it's surprising.As far as I know, you might be able to smear it and make it as dark as it is here.No more.But I know that I've been there, I've seen the starry night sky, I've seen the sun rise over the sea in the early morning, and then sink behind the mountains at night, and I've seen the sun in the sky, and the sun is so bright and dazzling that I can't look at it directly. ”Pudgren's words had an uplifting effect, and the other three regained their breath once more, looking at each other as if they had just woken up."
Well, yes," cried the prince, "of course, Aslan bless the honest and frank swamp monster, and we were all dreaming for the first few minutes.How can we forget about it, of course we've all seen the sun. ”"Ah, we have seen," said Eustace, "that you are the only sane of our men, I believe you are the only one of us who is sane. ”Then came the voice of the witch, as soft as the cry of a bar-tailed forest pigeon from the tall elm trees of the old garden on a sleepy summer afternoon, and she said, "What does the sun look like in your mouth?"
”Eustace replied."
Can you tell me what the sun looks like," the witch asked, oops, oops, as she continued to pluck the strings."
As Your Majesty wishes," said the prince politely and coldly, "look at the lamp, which is round and yellow, and illuminates the whole room.In addition, it is suspended from the roof.What we call the sun at the moment is similar to this lamp, except that it is much bigger and brighter than this lamp.It hangs above the sky and illuminates the entire land world. ”"On what, noble lord," asked the witch.By this time they were all still, trying to figure out what to do with her: she let out a soft silver bell-like laugh again, and then added, "You see, you're all trying to figure out what this sun is, and you can't tell me at all."
All you can tell me is that it's a lot like a lamp.Your sun is a dream, and everything in that dream imitates the shape of this lamp.The lamp is a real thing, and the sun is nothing more than a legend, a fairy tale for children. ”"Yes, now I understand," said Jill in a heavy, hopeless voice, "that it must be so. ”And when she said that, it seemed to make sense to her.The witch solemnly and slowly repeated: "There is no sun at all. ”None of them said a word.Again, she said in a deeper, gentler voice: "There is no sun at all. ”After a slight pause, they all struggled inside, and finally the four of them said in unison, "You're right, there is no sun at all." ”It seemed like a great relief to them that they had given in to the witch and said it."
The sun has never been there."
The witch said."
Yes, the sun has never been there."
The prince said, along with the swamp monster and the two children.For the past few minutes, Jill had been feeling like she had to do whatever it took to remember something.And now she remembers.But it was terrible to say it, and she felt like the weight was all weighing on her lips.Finally, she struggled and said with all her might, "There's Aslan." ”"Aslan," the witch asked, "what a nice name, does that mean?"
"It is the great Lion King, it is the one who summons us from its own world," said Eustace, "and sent us into this world to find Prince Rylian." ”"What does a lion look like," the witch asked."
Oh,," said Eustace, "don't you know how we are going to describe Aslan to her, have you seen cats before?"
said the witch, "I love cats." ”"Very well, the lion is a little bigger, only a little bigger, you can imagine a giant cat with a mane.At least not like a horse's mane, you know, its mane is more like a wig on a judge's hat, yellow.It is extremely strong. ”The witch shook her head."
I see," she said, "but we don't feel much better about what you call lions, than what you call the sun."
You have seen a lamp, so you have imagined something bigger and brighter than it, and called it the sun; You've seen cats, and now you want a bigger and better cat, and you're calling it a lion.It's a great hypothesis.But, let's be honest, if you're both very young, it's more appropriate and appropriate to say something like that.See, what can you imagine except to copy something from the real world into your imaginary world, and this real world is my world, a unique world.But even if you two kids were to play this trick, it would be a bit too big.So, as for you, my Royal Highness, you're a complete adult, don't you feel embarrassed to play with such childish things, come here, you guys, put these childish tricks aside, I've arranged things for you in this real world.There is no Narnia, no land world, no sky, no sun, no Aslan in this world.Now, let's all go to bed.Let's live wiser, starting tomorrow.But the first thing to do is to go to bed, go to sleep, sleep sweetly, pillow with soft pillows, don't have any ridiculous dreams, and sleep peacefully. ”The prince and the two children stood there, their heads bowed, their cheeks flushed, their eyes half-open and half-closed, their whole body as if they had been drained of their strength, and the magic was almost finished.However, Pudgren desperately gathered all his strength and walked to the fire.Then it did something valiant, and it knew that the fire would not hurt it as much as it did to humans, for its feet were now barefoot, webbed like ducks, and hard and cold-blooded.But it knew that the fire would still burn it badly, and it did.When it stepped on the fire with one of its outstretched feet, it crushed most of the fire in the fireplace, turning it to ashes.In this way, three things happened at once.First of all, the sweet, thick scent was greatly diluted, for although the fire had not been completely extinguished, it had been mostly extinguished, and the whole room began to permeate the room with the smell of the swamp monster Pudgren's burns, which was not at all magical.In this way, everyone's mind immediately becomes much clearer.The prince and the children looked up again and opened their eyes.The second thing, the witch shouted in a loud and terrible voice that was completely different from all the sweet tones she had been using until now: "What are you doing to dare to touch my fire again, mud, I'm going to put the blood in your veins on fire" Third, the pain cleared Pudgren's mind for a moment, and it knew its true thoughts clearly.Nothing removes some kind of magical control as quickly and effectively as severe pain."
In a word, ma'am," said it, as it came back from the fire, limping with great difficulty because of the pain.Even if what you've said is absolutely true, I don't think it's surprising.I'm a guy who always likes to know the worst and try to do the best.So I won't deny everything you say.Even so, there is one thing to say.Suppose we are just dreaming, or making up these things: trees, grass, sun, moon, stars, and Aslan deities, then all I can say is that in this case, the things that are made up seem to be more remarkable than the real thing.Assuming that the black hole in your kingdom is the only world, well, then I think it's a terrible world.When you think about it, you think it's a funny thing.If you're right, then we're just a bunch of kids playing games.But playing games with four little kids can create a game world and defeat your hypocritical real world.That's why I'm loyal to the gaming world.Even if there is no Aslan to lead that world, I will always be on Aslan's side.Even if there is no such thing as Narnia, I have to live like a Narnia.Thank you, therefore, for your kindness in hospitality, and if these two gentlemen and young ladies are ready, we will leave your court at once, and set out in the darkness to spend our lives searching for the land world.I don't think that's to say that our lives will be long, but if the world is such a dreary place as you say, then it's just a small loss. ”"Oh, well said, old Pudgren," Eustace and Jill cheered for it.But the prince suddenly shouted, "Watch out for that witch," and when they looked over, their hair stood on end, and they were terrified.The instrument had fallen from her hands, her arms clinging to her side, her legs intertwined, her feet gone.Her long green skirt grew thicker and thicker, eventually becoming a solid solid, as if twisted into a writhing green pillar with her legs joined together.And the writhing green pillar was crooked and swaying as if it had no joints, or if it weren't, it was full of joints.Her head was thrown back far away, her nose was getting longer and longer, and all parts of her face seemed to disappear except for her eyes.Right now, I saw that her big fiery red eyes were like burning flames, and there were neither eyebrows nor eyelashes.It takes quite a while to describe all the changes, but in fact, everything is happening so fast that it's almost impossible to see.Long before they could do anything, the witch's transformation was complete, and now she had become a serpent, the color of a poisonous object, as thick as Jill's waist, and its disgusting, disgusting body circled around the prince's legs in two or three circles, and another circle came up as fast as lightning to wrap around the arm where he held the sword.But the prince raised his arm just in time, and let her pounce on her.But the slipknot was just wrapped around his chest, ready to stranch his ribs like wood when it tightened.The prince grabbed the serpent by the neck with his left hand and tried to strangle it, thus lifting the ugly serpent's face to a distance of only about five inches, if you may call it a face.The forked tongue went in and out, spitting out the terrible serpent's core, but it couldn't reach the prince.The prince drew his sword with his right hand and slashed the most powerful blow with all his might.At the same time, both Pudgren and Eustace drew their weapons and rushed forward to help the prince.The attack of the three men fell on the snake at the same time, and Eustace's did not even pierce the scales of the snake, but to no avail, the sword stabbed the snake under the prince's hand, but both the prince's own sword and Pudgren's sword stabbed the snake in the neck.Even if it wasn't killed completely, the snake body that wrapped around Prince Ruilian's legs and chest began to loosen.They cut it off many more times, one after the other, until finally it was cut off.The terrible serpent continued to bend and twist and twist like a wire rope after it died.As for the floor, as you can imagine, it was already dirty, messy, and a mess.The prince breathed through and said, "Gentlemen, I thank you very much. ”Then, the three victors stood there panting, staring at each other with wide eyes, you look at me, I look at you, and they didn't say a word for a long time.At this moment, Jill had wisely sat down and remained silent.She said to herself: "I hope I don't faint or cry, and I don't do anything stupid." ”"My mother's vengeance has been avenged," said Prince Rylian a little later, "and this snake is undoubtedly the one I hunted down near the fountain of Narnia Forest many years ago."
For so many years, I became a slave to the killer who killed my mother.However, I am glad, gentlemen, that the wicked witch has at last revealed her serpentine form, otherwise neither my conscience nor my honour would have allowed me to kill a woman.Now, take care of the young lady. ”He was referring to Jill."
I'm fine, thank you."
She said."
Young lady," said the prince, bowing to her, "you have a high degree of courage, and therefore, I have no doubt that you are from a noble family of your own world.Ah, come here, my friends, and here are some leftovers, so let's cheer up and have a toast to the guys.After that, let's arrange our plans. ”"Your Highness, this is a brilliant idea."
Eustace shouted.t1706231537: