About three weeks later, the last king of Narnia was sitting under the great oak tree by the edge of his little hunting house, where he often stayed for ten days or so in this delightful spring.It is a low, thatched-roofed building, not too far from the eastern boundary of the lamppost field, a short walk up the confluence of two rivers.He liked to live a simple, free life there, away from the hectic government affairs and glitzy court life of the royal city of Kelpalaville.His name was Tillian and he was between twenty and twenty-five years old.His shoulders are quite broad and strong, and his limbs are muscular and full of strength.Still, his beard was very thin.He had bright blue eyes and a brave and honest face from Daniel Zhang.On that spring morning, no one was with him except his dearest friend, the Unicorn Jewel, who loved each other as brothers and saved each other's lives in the war.The haughty beast stood next to the king's chair, its neck bent over and rubbing its blue horn against its creamy, smooth belly."
Treasure, I am not able to arrange any work or exercise for myself to-day," said the king, "and I have no mind to think about anything but this peculiar news.Do you think we're going to hear more about it today?"
"It's the most peculiar news we've ever heard from my generation, or from our father's generation, or from our grandfather's generation," Jumbo said, adding "if it's true." ”"How could this not be true," said the king, "and more than a week ago, the first bird flew up to us and told us that Aslan was here, and that Aslan had returned to Narnia again.After that, the squirrels also came.They didn't see it, but they said they were absolutely sure Aslan was in the woods.Then the stag came, and said that it had seen Aslan with its own eyes, in the lamppost field, in the moonlight, and there was a long distance between the two.Then the bearded, dark-skinned man from the Kalemen merchant came, and the Calemins were not like us, they didn't care about Aslan at all, but the man said there was no doubt about it.Last night, a badger arrived, and it also claimed to have seen Aslan. ”"Your Majesty, it is true," replied Jumbo, "that I believe all this information.If I don't seem to believe it, it's because I'm so happy in my heart that I feel unbelievable.It's so wonderful, it's hard to believe. ”"That's true."
The king let out a long sigh.Immediately, he said in a voice full of joy that almost trembled: "This has completely exceeded all my expectations in this life. ”"Listen," Jumbo said suddenly.Immediately afterward, it tilts its head to the side, and its ears are tilted forward and erected."
Is there any movement?"
asked the king."
Your Majesty, it's the sound of hooves," replied Jumbo, "a galloping horse."
A very large horse, certainly one of the Rémy Martins.Look, it's coming this way. ”A fine, golden-bearded Centaureus horse, with human sweat on its forehead and chestnut-colored belly flanked by horse sweat, hurried before the king, stopped, and bowed his head."
Long live the king," it shouted in a deep, almost bull-like voice."
Oh, come on," ordered the king, turning back to the door of the hunting lodge, "bring a bowl of wine to the noble Rémy Martin."
Welcome to Longwitt.Wait until you're breathing well and then tell us the message you brought. ”A waiter came out of the hut with a large wooden bowl with a strange carving in his hand, and handed it to Remy Martin in both hands.Rémy Martin raised the wooden bowl and said, "Your Majesty, I will first salute Aslan and Truth in this cup, and then I will salute Your Majesty." ”Then it drank enough wine from the bowl to drink for six strong men, and returned the empty bowl to the male attendant."
Hey, Dragonwit," said the King, "have you brought us more news about Aslan" Dragonwit looked very serious, frowning slightly."
Your Majesty," it said, "you know how long I have lived, and how many years I have studied the stars; Our Rémy Martin has a much longer lifespan than you humans, even longer than a unicorn.Never in my life have I seen such terrible signs in the night sky every night as I have seen since the beginning of this year, and the stars have not mentioned the arrival of Aslan, nor of peace, nor of joy.With my mastery of astrology, I have deduced that there has not been such a catastrophic planetary union for five hundred years, and this thought has already come to me in my head, so I have come to warn Your Majesty that some great calamity has befallen the kingdom of Narnia.Rumors came to me last night that Aslan had come to Narnia.Your Majesty, please don't believe these gossips, that's impossible.The stars in the sky will never lie, but humans and beasts will.If Aslan does come to Narnia, then the stars will have a prophecy.If it does come, all the kind, noble and elegant stars will gather together to pay homage to it.So, those rumors are simply lies. ”"Lies," roared the King with emotion, "what brute in Narnia or in the whole world would dare to make up such a lie" Before he knew it, his hand was pressed on the hilt of his sword."
Your Majesty, I don't know that," said Rémy Martin Witt, "but I know that all liars are all over the land, and never appear in the stars. ”"I wonder," said Jumbo, "that though all the stars predicted that it would not come, then that Aslan would not come, knowing that it was not a slave of the stars, but their creator."
In all the ancient legends, it is not a tamed lion. ”"You speak very well, Treasure, you speak very well," cried the king, "and it is the unusual remark: not a tamed lion.This phrase is circulated in many stories. ”No sooner had Longwit raised his hand, and was about to lean forward to say something very serious to the king, when all three of them turned their heads, for there was a cry that was rapidly approaching.The woods to the west were so dense and leafy that they couldn't see the newcomer, but they soon heard each other's shouts."
Woe calamity, calamity, calamity has befallen the sacred trees," the voice cried, "calamity has befallen my brothers and sisters, calamity has befallen the sacred trees."
The trees were all brought down.The axe kept slashing at us, and we all fell.The trees are all down, down, down. ”With the last "fall", they saw that the speaker had come into their sight.She looked like a woman, but she was so tall that her head was almost at the same height as the head of a Rémy Martin, and of course, she looked like a tree.If you've never seen a tree god, it's hard to explain.But once you've seen it, you'll never be mistaken for some of the colors, sounds, and hair.King Tillian and the two beasts immediately recognized her as the beech tree god."
Your Majesty, do justice," she cried, "please help us, and protect your people, who are cutting us down in the lamppost wilderness."
We've had forty of our brothers and sisters fall to the ground. ”"What are you talking about, ma'am, someone is cutting down trees in the lamppost wilderness and murdering talking trees," the country exclaimed, and he immediately jumped to his feet and drew his sword, "How dare you be so presumptuous, what kind of person dares to do such a thing, swearing by Aslan's mane" "AhhhShe trembled three times, as if her body had been hit repeatedly.Then, as if her feet had been cut off from her, she suddenly fell down diagonally.In a matter of moments, they watched as she fell to the grass and died, and soon disappeared without a trace.They knew what had happened, it must have been her tree that had been cut down miles away.After a long silence, the grief-stricken king was so angry that he could hardly speak.Later, he said: "Come, my friends, we must go to the upper reaches of the river and find out all the villains who have done these bad things, and we must rush over as fast as possible, and I will not let any of them leave alive" "Your Majesty, as you wish. ”Jumbo said.However, Long Wit dissuaded quite rationally: "Your Majesty, be cautious and alert in your anger, some strange acts and actions are going on, if any rebels appear in the valley in full arms, then once the three of us encounter them, it will be too lonely, I beg your Majesty if you can wait for a while" "I don't want to wait even a tenth of a second" The king said, "I will take the lead with Jumbo, and you will do everything you can to gallop to Kelpalaville as soon as possible."
This is my ring, and you hold it as a token.By my orders, bring twenty heavily armed warriors, all skilled in horsemanship, twenty talking dogs, ten dwarfs all marksmen, and a leopard or two, and the Stonefoot Giants with this group to come to our aid as quickly as possible. ”"Your Majesty, as you wish."
Longwit said, and then immediately turned around and sped towards the east, quickly running down the valley.The king walked forward with great steps, sometimes muttering to himself, sometimes clenching his fists.Jumbo walked beside him, not saying a word.The two of them walked silently, save for the faint clanging of the heavy gold chain that hung around the unicorn's neck, and the sound of two feet and four hooves.Soon they reached the river, and followed a green path upwards: now the river was on their left, and the forest was on their right.Soon after, they came to a place.The ground here becomes uneven, and the dense trees continue to spread down to the edge of the river.The road had now turned to the south bank, and they had to wade through the river to get there.The water was as deep as King Tilian's armpits, but Jumbo had four legs, so he stood firmer on his right side, helping him to block the impact of the current, and Tilian put his strong arms around Jumbo's strong neck, and they both went ashore safely.The king was still so angry that he could hardly notice the cold of the river.But, of course, as soon as he landed on the riverbank, he immediately carefully dried his sword on his shoulder, the only dry part of his body at the moment.Now they were heading west, the river on their right, and the lamppost field in front of them straight.Before they had gone a mile, the two of them stopped at the same time and spoke at the same moment.King Tillian said, "What is this?"
and Jewel said: "Look," "It's a raft." ”King Tillian said.It was indeed a raft, six wonderful, shiny trunks, all freshly cut and the branches freshly pruned, six brand-new trunks tied side by side to make a raft, which was drifting swiftly downstream with the current.At the head of the raft, a river rat steers it with a prick."
Hey, river rat, what are you doing here," called King Tilian."
Your Majesty, transport these logs downstream and sell them to the Kalemen."
The river rat said, touching its ears as a sign of respect, and if it had a hat, it might have touched the brim of its hat."
Calmen," roared King Tilian, "what do you mean by this who ordered the felling of these trees?"
At this time of year, the river flows so fast that the raft has passed by the king and the treasure, but the river rat still turns around and cries out, "It is on the order of the lion king, your majesty, the lion king himself." ”It also added some words, but they were no longer audible.The king and the unicorn stared at each other wide-eyed, and the two of them looked more terrified than they had ever been in any war."
Aslan," the king said at last, in a very deep voice, "Aslan."
Could this be true, would it order these sacred trees to be cut down and murdered by these tree gods?"
"Unless all the tree gods are guilty of unpardonable sins," Treasure muttered."
But to sell them to the Calmen," King Tillian could not believe it, "how is this possible?"
and "I do not know," said Treasure bitterly, "that it is not a tamed lion. ”"Well," said the king, after a moment of contemplation, "we must go on and take the plunge anyway. ”"Your Majesty, this is the only thing left for us to do."
Jumbo said.At this point, it was completely unaware of the folly of going alone with the two of them, and the king, like him, did not think of the question.They didn't think it through at all.Both of them were so angry that they lost their minds, so that later on, their reckless actions brought untold disaster to themselves.Suddenly, King Tillian leaned against his friend's neck and leaned over and bowed his head."
Treasure," he said, "what will be before us, terrible thoughts welled up in my heart.If we die before today, we will be happy. ”"That's right," said Jumbo, "we've lived too long.The worst things in the world have befallen us. ”They stood like that for a minute or two, and then continued on their way.Soon after, they heard the ping-pong sound of axes slashing at the trees and the sound of trees falling to the ground, but they could not see anything because there was a bulge in the ground in front of them.When they reached the top of the bulge, they could just see the lamppost forest.When he saw the scene in front of him, King Tillian instantly turned pale with anger.The forest in the middle of the ancient forest was once home to gold and silver trees, and a child from our world once planted a "tree of protection" there, which has been opened up in a wide passageway.It was an extremely ugly passageway, like a deep wound in the land, full of muddy marks from felled trees being dragged to the river.There was a large crowd of people working, the whips crackling, and the horses dragging the timbers desperately forward, using all their strength.The first thing that caught the king's and the unicorn's attention was that more than half of the herd was not the talkative horses, but the humans.The other thing is that none of these people are blonde and white-skinned Narnians, they are all dark-skinned bearded men from Calmen.It was a ruthless and prosperous country, located behind Achinlan, in the southern part of the Great Desert.Of course, there is no reason for this, and there is nothing wrong with meeting a Carman or two in Narnia, whether it is a merchant or an ambassador, because it is a time of peace between Narnia and Calmen.What King Tillian didn't understand, however, was why there were so many Calmen, or why they were cutting down the Narnia forest.He clenched the sword in his hand and wrapped the cloak around his left arm.The two of them quickly came to the midst of these people.Two Calmen were driving together a horse with a harness and a piece of wood.When the king reached them, a log was stuck in a rather muddy place, unable to move."
Pull forward, lazy fellow, you lazy pig," the Calemon shouted, whipping the whip in his hand as he whipped it desperately.The horse had pulled forward as hard as he could, its eyes red and sweat all over its body."
Hard, lazy brute," shouted a Calemon man.When he said this, he whipped his whip and whipped the horse ferociously.That's when something truly terrible happened.Until now, King Tillian had assumed that the Calemon soldier was driving his own horse, and like the horses of our world, they were some non-talking, mindless creatures.As much as he hated to see even a non-verbal horse abused, he was rightfully thinking more about the murder of sacred trees.He never expected anyone to dare to use a free, talking Narniama as a coolie, let alone whip it so hard.But when the cruel whipping fell on the horse, the horse immediately stood upright, half neighing and half screaming, "Fool tyrant, don't you see that I am pulling desperately" When King Tillian knew that the horse was his Narnia people, he and Treasure both swelled up with a wave of rage, and they had no idea what they were doing.The king raised his sword, and the unicorn's horn went down.The two of them rushed forward together, and in the blink of an eye, both Calemens fell to the ground and died, one beheaded by King Tilian's sword, and the other pierced through the heart by the jewel's horn.t1706231537: