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CHAPTER SIXTEEN THE VERY END OF THE WORLD（第2页）

'shandhadgoohisswordhilt，whenLucysaid，“Andyou'vealmostpromisedRamandu'sdaughtertogoback。”

paused。“Well，yes。Thereisthat，”hesaid。Hestoodirresoluteforamomeedouttotheshipingeneral。“Well，haveyourway。Thequestiseurupagain。”

“Sire，”saidReepicheep，“wedourn。I，asIexplainedbefore—”

&hundered。“I'vebeeI'lled。WillnooMouse?”

“YourMajestypromised，”saidReepicheep，“tobegoodlordtotheTalkisofNarnia。”

“Talkis，yes，”said。“Isaidnothingaboutbeaststhatalking。”Andheflungdowntheladderinatemperahe，slammingthedoor。

Butwhehersrejoinedhimalittlelatertheyfoundhimged;hewaswhiteaearsinhiseyes。

“It'snogood，”hesaid。“ImightaswellhavebehaveddetlyforallthegoodIdidwithmytemperandswagger。Aslanhasspokentome。No—Idon'tmeauallyhere。Hewouldn'tfitintothe，forohing。Butthatgoldlion'sheadonthewallcametolifeaome。Itwasterriblehiseyes。Notthathewasatallroughwithme—onlyabitsternatfirst。Butitwasterribleallthesame。Andhesaid—hesaid—oh，I'tbearit。Thewhecouldhavesaid。Yoon—ReepandEdmund，andLudEustadI'mtogobae。Andatondwhatisthegoodofanything?”

“，dear，”saidLucy。“Youknewwe'dhavetogobacktoourownworldsooer。”

“Yes，”saidwithasob，“butthisissooner。”

“You'llfeelbetterwheoRamandu'sIsland，”saidLucy。

Hecheeredupalittlelateron，butitwasagrievoobothsidesandIwill。Abouttwoo'theafterualledahoughtheythoughttheywouldherfoodnordrink）andwithReepicheep'sboard，theboatpulledawayfromtheDawhtheeoflilies。TheDawnTraderflewallherflagsandhungouthershieldstohoure。Tallandbigandhomelikeshelookedfromtheirlowpositionwiththeliliesallroundthem。Andbeforeshewasoutofsighttheysawherturnandbeginroard。YetthoughLucyshedafewtears，sheotfeelitasmuighthaveexpected。Thelight，thesileiheSilverSea，even（insomeoddway）theloself，weretooexg。

Therewasorow，forthetdriftedthemsteadilytotheeast。hemsleptorate。Allthatnightaheyglidedeastward，ahirddaydawhabrightnessyouorIotbearevenifwehaddarkglasseson—theysawawowasasifawallstoodupbetweehesky，agreenish-gray，trembling，shimmeringwall。Thehesun，andatitsfirstrisithroughthewallanditturowonderfulrainbowcolors。Thehewallwasreallyalong，tallwave—awaveendlesslyfixedinoneplaayofteheedgeofawaterfall。Itseemedtobeaboutthirtyfeethigh，awasglidilytowardit。Youmighthavesupposedtheywouldhavethoughter。Theydidn't。Idon'tthinkanyonecouldhaveiion。FornowtheysawsomethingnotohewavebutbehiheyothaveseeheireyeshadheeroftheLastSea。Butnowtheycouldlookattherisingsudseethi。Whattheysaw—eastward，beyondthesun—wasaraains。Itwassohighthateithertheyhetopofitortheyfotit。hemremembersseeinganyskyinthatdiredthemountainsmustreallyhavebeeheworld。Foranymouerofatwehatheightoughttohavehadi。Butthesewerewarmandgreenandfull，offorestsandwaterfallshhyoulooked。Aherecameabreezefromtheeast，tossihewaveintofoamyshapesandrufflihwaterallroulastedonlyasedorsobutwhatitbroughttheminthatseeofthosethreewilleverfet。Itbroughtbothasmellandasound，amusiuaevertalkaboutitafterward。Lucylysay，“Itwouldbreakyourheart。”“Why，”saidI，“wasitsosad?”“Sad!!No，”saidLucy。

boatdoubtedchattheywereseeiheEndoftheWorldintoAslan'stry。

Atthatmoment，withach，thebrouerwastooshallownowforit。“This，”saidReepicheep，“iswhereIgoonalone。”

&eventrytostopdim，fasifithadbeenfatedorhadhappeheyhelpedhimtolowerhislittlecorahetookoffhissword（“Ishallnomore，”hesaid）andflungitfarawayacrosstheIdledsea。Whereitfellitsthtwiththehiltabovethesurfahebadethemgtobesadfortheirsakesbuthewasquiveringiness。Lucy，forthefirstandlasttime，didwhatshehadalwayswaodo，takinghiminherarmsandghim。Thenhastilyhegotintohisdtookhispaddle，acaughtita，veryblastthelilies。Butnoliliesgreasasmoothgreehecoratmoreandmorequidbeautifullyitrushedupthewave'sside。ForosedtheysaeandReepicheep'sohenitvanished，amomerulyclaimtohaveseeheMouse。ButmybeliefisthathecamesafetoAslan'sdisalivetheretothisday。

Asthesuofthosemountaiheworldfadedaway。Thewaveremaiherewasonlyblueskybehindit。

Thegotoutoftheboataowardthewavebutsouthallofwateroheyothavetoldyouwhytheydidthis;itwastheirfate。Andthoughtheyhadfelt—andbeenverygrown-uporeader，theyheoppositeandheldhahroughthelilies。Theyired。Thearmagotshallower。Atlasttheywereondrysand，andtheneplainofveryfigrass，almostlevelwiththeSilverSeaandspreadiionwithoutsomuchasamolehill。

Andofcourse，asitalwaysdoesiplacewithouttrees，itlookedasiftheskyeetthegrassinfroastheywehestraimpressiolasttheskydidreallyedownandjoih—abluewall，verybright，butrealandslassthananythingelse。Andsooesureofit。Itwasverynearnow。

Butbetweehefootoftheskytherewassomethingsowhiterassthatevenwiththeireagles'eyestheycouldhardlylookatit。Theydsawthatit>

“eandhavebreakfast，”saidtheLambimilkyvoice。

&heyhefirsttimethattherewasafirelitonthegrassandfishroastingodowhefish，hungrynowforthefirsttimeformanydays。Anditwasthemostdeliciousfoodtheyhadevertasted。

“Please，Lamb，”saidLucy，“isthisthewaytoAslan'stry?”

“Notforyou，”saidtheLamb。“ForyouthedoorintoAslan'stryisfromyourownworld。”

“What!”saidEdmund。“IsthereawayintoAslan'stryfromourworldtoo?”

“Thereisawayintomytryfromalltheworlds，”saidtheLamb;butashespokehissnowywhiteflushedintotawnygoldandhissizedhewasAslaabovethemandsglightfromhismane。

“Oh，Aslan，”saidLucy。“Willyoutellushowtogetintoyourtryfromourworld?”

“Ishallbetellingyouallthetime，”saidAslan。“ButIwillnottellyouhowlongorshortthewaywillbe;onlythatitliesacrossariver。Butdo，forIamthegreatBridgeBuilder。Andnowe;Iwillopenthedoorintheskyaoyouro>

“Please，Aslan，”saidLucy。“Befo，willyoutelluswhenweebaiaagain?Please。Andoh，do，do，domakeitsoon。”'

&，”saidAslaly，“youandyourbrotherwilloNarnia。”

“Oh，Aslan!!”saidEdmundandLucybothtogetherindespairingvoices。

“Youaretooold，，”saidAslan，“andyoumustbegioyouro。”

“Itisn'tNarnia，youknow，”sobbedLucy。“It'syou。Weshan'tmeetyouthere。Andhowwelive，ingyou?”

“Butyoushallmeetme，dearone，”saidAslan。

“Areareyoutheretoo，Sir?”saidEdmund。

“Iam，”saidAslan。“ButthereIhaveanothername。YoumustlearntokhiswastheveryreasonwhyyhttoNarnia，thatbyknowingmehereforalittle，youmaykhere。”

“Aaevertoebackhereeither?”saidLucy。

“Child，”saidAslan，“doyoureallyoknowthat?openingthedoorihenalliherewasarendingofthebluewall（likeabeingtorn）andaterriblewhitelightfrombeyondthesky，andthefeelofAslan'smaneandaLion'skissontheirforeheadsahebarkbedroominAua'shomeinCambridge。

Onlytwsold。Odhismenallcamesafelybaandu'sIsland。Ahreelordswokefromtheirsleep。marriedRamandu'sdaughterandtheyallreaiaintheend，andshebecameagreatqueeherandgrandmreatkiheristhatbaourownworldeveryoartedsayiacehadimproved，andhow“You'dneverknowhimforthesameboy”:everyoAlberta，whosaidhehadbeeveryoiresomeanditmusthavebeentheihosePevensie。