"And now," said Aslan, "Narnia is established (建立). We must take thought for keeping it safe.
"I will call some of you to my council (顾问班子；会议). Come hither to me, you the chief (首领的) Dwarf (矮人), and you the River-god, and you Oak and the Owl, and both the Ravens and the Bull-Elephant. We must talk together.
"For though the world is not five hours old an evil has already entered it."
The creatures he had named came forward and he turned away eastward with them.
The others all began talking, saying things like "What did he say had entered the world? - A Neevil - What's a Neevil? - No, he didn't say a Neevil, he said a weevil - Well, what's that?"
"Look here," said Digory to Polly, "I've got to go after him - Aslan, I mean, the Lion. I must speak to him."
"Do you think we can?" said Polly. "I wouldn't dare (胆敢)."
"I've got to," said Digory. "It's about Mother. If anyone could give me something that would do her good, it would be him."
"I'll come along with you," said the Cabby. "I liked the looks of 'im. And I don't reckon (认为) these other beasts will go for us. And I want a word with old Strawberry."
So all three of them stepped out boldly (大胆地) - or as boldly as they could - towards the assembly (聚集在一起的动物) of animals.
The creatures were so busy talking to one another and making friends that they didn't notice the three humans until they were very close;
nor did they hear Uncle Andrew, who was standing trembling in his buttoned boots (靴子) a good way off and shouting (but by no means at the top of his voice).
"Digory! Come back! Come back at once when you're told. I forbid (不允许) you to go a step further."
When at last they were right in among the animals, the animals all stopped talking and stared at them.
"Well?" said the He-Beaver (雄海狸) at last, "what, in the name of Aslan, are these?"
"Please," began Digory in rather a breathless voice, when a Rabbit said, "They're a kind of large lettuce (莴苣), that's my belief."
"No, we're not, honestly we're not," said Polly hastily (匆忙地). "We're not at all nice to eat."
"There!" said the Mole (鼹鼠). "They can talk. Who ever heard of a talking lettuce?"
"Perhaps they're the Second joke," suggested the Jackdaw.
A Panther (黑豹), which had been washing its face, stopped for a moment to say, "Well, if they are, they're nothing like so good as the first one. At least, I don't see anything very funny about them."
It yawned (打哈欠) and went on with its wash.
"Oh, please," said Digory. "I'm in such a hurry. I want to see the Lion."
All this time the Cabby had been trying to catch Strawberry's eye. Now he did. "Now, Strawberry, old boy," he said. "You know me. You ain't going to stand there and say as you don't know me."
"What's the Thing talking about, Horse?" said several voices.
"Well," said Strawberry very slowly, "I don't exactly know, I think most of us don't know much about anything yet. But I've a sort of idea I've seen a thing like this before.
"I've a feeling I lived somewhere else - or was something else - before Aslan woke us all up a few minutes ago. It's all very muddled (头脑昏昏然的). Like a dream. But there were things like these three in the dream."
"What?" said the Cabby. "Not know me? Me what used to bring you a hot mash (饲料) of an evening when you was out of sorts? Me what rubbed (按摩) you down proper?
"Me what never forgot to put your cloth on you if you was standing in the cold? I wouldn't 'ave thought it of you, Strawberry."
"It does begin to come back," said the Horse thoughtfully. "Yes. Let me think now, let me think. Yes, you used to tie a horrid (可怕的) black thing behind me and then hit me to make me run, and however far I ran this black thing would always be coming rattle-rattle (咯咯声) behind me."
"We 'ad our living to earn, see," said the Cabby. "Yours the same as mine. And if there 'adn't been no work and no whip (鞭子) there'd 'ave been no stable, no hay (干草), no mash, and no oats (燕麦).
"For you did get a taste of oats when I could afford 'em, which no one can deny."
"Oats?" said the Horse, pricking (竖起) up his ears. "Yes, I remember something about that. Yes, I remember more and more.
"You were always sitting up somewhere behind, and I was always running in front, pulling you and the black thing. I know I did all the work."
"Summer, I grant you," said the Cabby. " 'Ot work for you and a cool seat for me. But what about winter, old boy, when you was keeping yourself warm and I was sitting up there with my feet like ice and my nose fair pinched off me with the wind, and my 'ands that numb I couldn't 'ardly 'old the reins (缰绳)?"
"It was a hard, cruel country," said Strawberry. "There was no grass. All hard stones."
"Too true, mate (伙伴), too true!" said the Cabby. "A 'ard world it was. I always did say those paving-stones weren't fair on any 'oss. That's Lunn'on, that is. I didn't like it no more than what you did.
"You were a country 'oss (乡下的马), and I was a country man. Used to sing in the choir (唱诗班), I did, down at 'ome. But there wasn't a living for me there."
"Oh please, please," said Digory. "Could we get on? The Lion's getting further and further away. And I do want to speak to him so dreadfully badly."
"Look 'ere, Strawberry," said the Cabby. "This young gen'leman 'as something on his mind that he wants to talk to the Lion about; 'im you call Aslan.
Suppose you was to let 'im ride on your back (which 'e'd take it very kindly) and trot 'im over to where the Lion is. And me and the little girl will be following along."
"Ride?" said Strawberry. "Oh, I remember now. That means sitting on my back. I remember there used to be a little one of you two-leggers who used to do that long ago. He used to have little hard, square lumps (块) of some white stuff that he gave me.
They tasted - oh, wonderful, sweeter than grass."
