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·Jill Is Given A Task·吉尔得到一个任务
Without a glance at Jill, the lion rose to its feet and gave one last blow. Then, as if satisfied with its work, it turned and stalked slowly away, back into the forest.
“It must be a dream, it must, it must,” said Jill to herself. “I’ll wake up in a moment.” But it wasn’t, and she didn’t.
“I do wish we’d never come to this dreadful place,” said Jill. “I don’t believe Scrubb knew any more about it than I do. Or if he did, he had no business to bring me here without warning me what it was like. It’s not my fault he fell over that cliff. If he’d left me alone we should both be all right.” Then she remembered again the scream that Scrubb had given when he fell, and burst into tears.
Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do. When Jill stopped, she found she was dreadfully thirsty. She had been lying face downward, and now she sat up. The birds had ceased singing and there was perfect silence except for one small, persistent sound, which seemed to come from a good distance away. She listened carefully, and felt almost sure it was the sound of running water.
Jill got up and looked round her very carefully. There was no sign of the lion; but there were so many trees about that it might easily be quite close without her seeing it. For all she knew, there might be several lions. But her thirst was very bad now, and she plucked up her courage to go and look for that running water. She went on tiptoes, stealing cautiously from tree to tree, and stopping to peer round her at every step.
The wood was so still that it was not difficult to decide where the sound was coming from. It grew clearer every moment and, sooner than she expected, she came to an open glade and saw the stream, bright as glass, running across the turf a stone’s throw away from her. But although the sight of the water made her feel ten times thirstier than before, she didn’t rush forward and drink. She stood as still as if she had been turned into stone, with her mouth wide open. And she had a very good reason; just on this side of the stream lay the lion.
It lay with its head raised and its two fore—paws out in front of it, like the lions in Trafalgar Square. She knew at once that it had seen her, for its eyes looked straight into hers for a moment and then turned away—as if it knew her quite well and didn’t think much of her.
“If I run away, it’ll be after me in a moment,” thought Jill. “And if I go on, I shall run straight into its mouth.” Anyway, she couldn’t have moved if she had tried, and she couldn’t take her eyes off it. How long this lasted, she could not be sure; it seemed like hours. And the thirst became so bad that she almost felt she would not mind being eaten by the lion if only she could be sure of getting a mouthful of water first.
“If you’re thirsty, you may drink.”
They were the first words she had heard since Scrubb had spoken to her on the edge of the cliff. For a second she stared here and there, wondering who had spoken. Then the voice said again, “If you are thirsty, come and drink,” and of course she remembered what Scrubb had said about animals talking in that other world, and realized that it was the lion speaking. Anyway, she had seen its lips move this time, and the voice was not like a man’s. It was deeper, wilder, and stronger; a sort of heavy, golden voice. It did not make her any less frightened than she had been before, but it made her frightened in rather a different way.
“Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion.
“I’m dying of thirst,” said Jill.
“Then drink,” said the Lion.
“May I—could I—would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience.
The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
“Will you promise not to—do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill.
“I make no promise,” said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.
“Do you eat girls?” she said.
“I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
“I daren’t come and drink,” said Jill.
“Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion.
“Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”
“There is no other stream,” said the Lion.
It never occurred to Jill to disbelieve the Lion—no one who had seen his stern face could do that—and her mind suddenly made itself up. It was the worst thing she had ever had to do, but she went forward to the stream, knelt down, and began scooping up water in her hand. It was the coldest, most refreshing water she had ever tasted. You didn’t need to drink much of it, for it quenched your thirst at once. Before she tasted it she had been intending to make a dash away from the Lion the moment she had finished. Now, she realized that this would be on the whole the most dangerous thing of all. She got up and stood there with her lips still wet from drinking.
“Come here,” said the Lion. And she had to. She was almost between its front paws now, looking straight into its face. But she couldn’t stand that for long; she dropped her eyes.
“Human Child,” said the Lion. “Where is the Boy?”
“He fell over the cliff,” said Jill, and added, “Sir.” She didn’t know what else to call him, and it sounded cheek to call him nothing.
“How did he come to do that, Human Child?”
“He was trying to stop me from falling, Sir.”
“Why were you so near the edge, Human Child?”
“I was showing off, Sir.”
“That is a very good answer, Human Child. Do so no more. And now” (here for the first time the Lion’s face became a little less stern) “the boy is safe. I have blown him to Narnia. But your task will be the harder because of what you have done.”
“Please, what task, Sir?” said Jill.
“The task for which I called you and him here out of your own world.”
This puzzled Jill very much. “It’s mistaking me for someone else,” she thought. She didn’t dare to tell the Lion this, though she felt things would get into a dreadful muddle unless she did.
“Speak your thought, Human Child,” said the Lion.
I was wondering—I mean—could there be some mistake? Because nobody called me and Scrubb, you know. It was we who asked to come here. Scrubb said we were to call to—to Somebody—it was a name I wouldn’t know—and perhaps the Somebody would let us in. And we did, and then we found the door open.’
“You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you,” said the Lion.
“Then you are Somebody, Sir?” said Jill.
“I am. And now hear your task. Far from here in the land of Narnia there lives an aged king who is sad because he has no prince of his blood to be king after him. He has no heir because his only son was stolen from him many years ago, and no one in Narnia knows where that prince went or whether he is still alive. But he is. I lay on you this command, that you seek this lost prince until either you have found him and brought him to his father’s house, or else died in the attempt, or else gone back into your own world.”
“How, please?” said Jill.
“I will tell you, child,” said the Lion. “These are the signs by which I will guide you in your quest. First; as soon as the Boy Eustace sets foot in Narnia, he will meet an old and dear friend. He must greet that friend at once; if he does, you will both have good help. Second; you must journey out of Narnia to the north till you come to the ruined city of the ancient giants. Third; you shall find a writing on a stone in that ruined city, and you must do what the writing tells you. Fourth; you will know the lost prince (if you find him) by this, that he will be the first person you have met in your travels who will ask you to do something in my name, in the name of Aslan.”
As the Lion seemed to have finished, Jill thought she should say something. So she said, “Thank you very much. I see.”
“Child,” said Aslan, in a gentler voice than he had yet used, “perhaps you do not see quite as well as you think. But the first step is to remember. Repeat to me, in order, the four signs.”
Jill tried, and didn’t get them quite right. So the Lion corrected her, and made her repeat them again and again till she could say them perfectly. He was very patient over this, so that when it was done, Jill plucked up courage to ask:
“Please, how am I to get to Narnia?”
“On my breath,” said the Lion. “I will blow you into the west of the world as I blew Eustace.”
“Shall I catch him in time to tell him the first sign? But I suppose it won’t matter. If he sees an old friend, he’s sure to go and speak to him, isn’t he?”
“You will have no time to spare,” said the Lion. “That is why I must send you at once. Come. Walk before me to the edge of the cliff.”
Jill remembered very well that if there was no time to spare, that was her own fault. “If I hadn’t made such a fool of myself, Scrubb and I would have been going together. And he’d have heard all the instructions as well as me,” she thought. So she did as she was told. It was very alarming walking back to the edge of the cliff, especially as the Lion did not walk with her but behind her—making no noise on his soft paws.
But long before she had got anywhere near the edge, the voice behind her said, “Stand still. In a moment I will blow. But first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters. And now, Daughter of Eve, farewell—”
The voice had been growing softer towards the end of this speech and now it faded away altogether. Jill looked behind her. To her astonishment she saw the cliff already more than a hundred yards behind her, and the Lion himself a speck of bright gold on the edge of it. She had been setting her teeth and clenching her fists for a terrible blast of lion’s breath; but the breath had really been so gentle that she had not even noticed the moment at which she left the earth. And now, there was nothing but air for thousands upon thousands of feet below her.
She felt frightened only for a second. For one thing, the world beneath her was so very far away that it seemed to have nothing to do with her. For another, floating on the breath of the Lion was so extremely comfortable. She found she could lie on her back or on her face and twist any way she pleased, just as you can in water (if you’ve learned to float really well). And because she was moving at the same pace as the breath, there was no wind, and the air seemed beautifully warm. It was not in the least like being in an aeroplane, because there was no noise and no vibration. If Jill had ever been in a balloon she might have thought it more like that; only better.
When she looked back now she could take in for the first time the real size of the mountain she was leaving. She wondered why a mountain so huge as that was not covered with snow and ice— “but I suppose all that sort of thing is different in this world,” thought Jill. Then she looked below her; but she was so high that she couldn’t make out whether she was floating over land or sea, nor what speed she was going at.
“By Jove! The signs!” said Jill suddenly. “I’d better repeat them.” She was in a panic for a second or two, but she found she could still say them all correctly. “So that’s all right,” she said, and lay back on the air as if it was a sofa, with a sigh of contentment.
“Well, I do declare,” said Jill to herself some hours later, “I’ve been asleep. Fancy sleeping on air. I wonder if anyone’s done it before. I don’t suppose they have. Oh bother—Scrubb probably has! On this same journey, a little bit before me. Let’s see what it looks like down below.”
What it looked like was an enormous, very dark blue plain. There were no hills to be seen, but there were biggish white things moving slowly across it. “Those must be clouds,” she thought. “But far bigger than the ones we saw from the cliff. I suppose they’re bigger because they’re nearer. I must be getting lower. Bother this sun.”
The sun which had been high overhead when she began her journey was now getting in her eyes. This meant that it was getting lower, ahead of her. Scrubb was quite right in saying that Jill (I don’t know about girls in general) didn’t think much about points of the compass. Otherwise she would have known, when the sun began getting in her eyes, that she was travelling pretty nearly due west.
Staring at the blue plain below her, she presently noticed that there were little dots of brighter, paler colour in it here and there. “It’s the sea!” thought Jill. “I do believe those are islands.” And so they were. She might have felt rather jealous if she had known that some of them were islands which Scrubb had seen from a ship’s deck and even landed on; but she didn’t know this. Then, later on, she began to see that there were little wrinkles on the blue flatness; little wrinkles which must be quite big ocean waves if you were down among them. And now, all along the horizon there was a thick dark line which grew thicker and darker so quickly that you could see it growing. That was the first sign she had had of the great speed at which she was travelling. And she knew that the thickening line must be land.
Suddenly from her left (for the wind was in the south) a great white cloud came rushing towards her, this time on the same level as herself. And before she knew where she was, she had shot right into the middle of its cold, wet fogginess. That took her breath away, but she was in it only for a moment. She came out blinking in the sunlight and found her clothes wet. (She had on a blazer and sweater and shorts and stockings and pretty thick shoes; it had been a muddy sort of day in England.) She came out lower than she had gone in; and as soon as she did so she noticed something which, I suppose, she ought to have been expecting, but which came as a surprise and a shock. It was Noises. Up till then she had travelled in total silence. Now, for the first time, she heard the noise of waves and the crying of seagulls. And now, too, she smelled the smell of the sea. There was no mistake about her speed now. She saw two waves meet with a smack and a spout of foam go up between them; but she had hardly seen it before it was a hundred yards behind her.
The land was getting nearer at a great pace. She could see mountains far inland, and other nearer mountains on her left. She could see bays and headlands, woods and fields, stretches of sandy beach. The sound of waves breaking on the shore was growing louder every second and drowning the other sea noises.
Suddenly the land opened right ahead of her. She was coming to the mouth of a river. She was very low now, only a few feet above the water. A wave—top came against her toe and a great splash of foam spurted up, drenching her nearly to the waist. Now she was losing speed. Instead of being carried up the river she was gliding in to the river bank on her left. There were so many things to notice that she could hardly take them all in; a smooth, green lawn, a ship so brightly coloured that it looked like an enormous piece of jewellery, towers and battlements, banners fluttering in the air, a crowd, gay clothes, armour, gold, swords, a sound of music. But this was all jumbled. The first thing that she knew clearly was that she had alighted and was standing under a thicket of trees close by the river side, and there, only a few feet away from her, was Scrubb.
The first thing she thought was how very grubby and untidy and generally unimpressive he looked. And the second was “How wet I am!”
狮子站起身来，看也没看吉尔一眼，又吹了最后一口气。看来，它对自己的工作似乎很满意，接着转过身去，昂首阔步慢慢地走开，回到了森林中间。
“这一定是一场梦，一定是的，一定是这样，”吉尔自言自语道，“我马上就会醒来。”但那并不是梦，她也无法从梦中醒来。
“我真希望，我们没有来这个恐怖的地方，”吉尔说，“我认为，斯克拉布对这里并不比我知道得更多。即便知道，他也没有权利把我带到这儿，事先也不警告我这是个什么地方。他跌下了悬崖，那不是我的错。如果他不来干涉我，我们两个都会平安无事的。”这时，她又一次想起了斯克拉布摔下时的那声惨叫，便放声大哭起来。
哭泣的时候可以不顾一切。可是早晚你总要停止哭泣，到那时你仍然需要决定应该怎么办。等吉尔哭够了，她发现自己口干得厉害。她原本脸朝下趴在那里，这会儿坐了起来。鸟儿的歌唱已经停歇，四周一片沉寂，只有很远的地方传来一个细微的、持续不断的声音。她侧耳静听，几乎可以确定那是潺潺流水的声音。
吉尔站起身来，小心地向四周打量了一番。看不到狮子的踪迹，但周围有那么多的树木，它可以轻而易举地躲在附近，而不被她觉察。说不定有好几头狮子呢。可是她实在渴得难受，只好鼓起勇气，前去寻找那条溪水。她蹑足前行，小心翼翼地从一棵树走到另一棵树，每走一步都停下来四处张望。
树林里静悄悄的，很容易辨别溪水的位置。每时每刻，流水声都变得更加清晰。远比她预料的要快，没用多长时间，她就来到了一个开阔的林中空地，看见了那条溪流。那条溪流像玻璃一样明亮，在不远的草地上流淌着。看到了水，她感到自己的干渴比先前增加了十倍。可是，她非但没有冲上前去畅饮一通，反而一动不动地站在那里，大张着嘴巴，好像变成了一块石头。她这个样子实在情有可原，原来那头狮子就卧在溪水边。
狮子卧在那里，昂着脑袋，两只前爪伸在前面，就像特拉法尔加广场上的狮子雕像。她一下子就明白，狮子看见她了，因为有那么一小会儿，狮子的两眼一眨不眨地正视着她的眼睛，然后就把目光移开了——似乎跟她非常熟悉，对她毫不在意。
“我如果跑开，它马上就会在后面追来，”吉尔心想，“假如我继续往前走，就把自己直接送进了它的口中。”不管怎样，就算她想要逃跑，她也挪不动脚步。她完全无法从狮子身上移开自己的目光。她无法确定，这种状态持续了多久，她感觉仿佛过去了好几个小时。而口渴是那么的痛苦，她几乎觉得，只要能够先喝上一口水，即使被被狮子吃掉也没有多大关系。
“你要是口渴的话，可以过来喝水。”
自打斯克拉布在悬崖上跟她说过话之后，这是她第一次听到有人说话。有一瞬间，她东张西望，心中猜测是谁在讲话。接着，那个声音又一次说道：“你要是口渴的话，就过来喝吧。”当然，她还记得，斯克拉布曾经提到在另一个世界里，动物都会说话，她这才意识到是狮子在讲话。不管怎样，这一次她看到它的嘴唇在动。那声音和人的声音不同，显得更加低沉，更加野性，更加有力，是一种洪亮而圆润的声音。这丝毫没有减轻她的恐惧，只不过是以一种不同的方式使她惧怕。
“你难道不渴吗？”狮子问道。
“我渴得要死。”吉尔答道。
“那就喝吧。”狮子说。
“我可以——我能够——我喝的时候，你可以离开一下吗？”吉尔问道。
狮子只是看了她一眼，并轻轻地咆哮了一声。吉尔盯着它纹丝不动的身躯，意识到，这简直就像是为了自己的方便，而要求整座大山挪移。
令人愉悦的汩汩水声使她近乎发狂。
“你能否承诺不要——我若是过去，你不对我做任何事情？”吉尔说。
“我什么也不承诺。”狮子说。
吉尔实在是渴坏了，她不知不觉朝前迈出了一步。
“你是否吃女孩子呢？”她说。
“我曾经吞噬过女孩和男孩、女人和男人、国王和皇帝、城市和王国，”狮子说道。它平静地说着，看上去并不是在吹嘘，它既没有显示出悲哀，也没有显示出愤怒。
“我不敢上前去喝水。”吉尔说。
“那你就会渴死。”狮子说。
“天哪！”吉尔说着，向前又跨出了一步，“我猜想，我必须去寻找另外一条溪流。”
“没有其他的溪流。”狮子说。
吉尔从来没有想到过要怀疑狮子——看着它严厉的面孔，没有人会怀疑它——她突然下定了决心。这是她必须要做的最可怕的事情，但她还是走到了溪水边，跪下来，用手捧起一捧水。这是她所喝过的最清凉、最解渴的水。不需要喝很多，你的干渴顿时就消解了。在喝水之前，她还打算喝完水后，就赶紧从狮子身边逃走。此刻，她意识到，那是最危险不过的一件事情。她起身站在那里，嘴唇还是湿的。
“过来。”狮子说。她只好照办。这时，她几乎站到了狮子的两只前爪之间，直视着它的面孔。但她还没看上多久，就垂下了两眼。
“人类的孩子，”狮子说。“那个男孩儿在哪里？”
“他跌下了悬崖，”吉尔说，马上又补充道，“先生。”除此之外，她不知道应该怎么称呼他，若不加称呼听起来有点儿无礼。
“他怎么会跌下去呢，人类的孩子？”
“他想要阻止我，以免我摔下去，先生。”
“你为什么要离悬崖边那么近呢，人类的孩子？”
“我在炫耀自己，先生。”
“这个回答还差不多，人类的孩子。再也不要那样做了。现在，（说到这儿，狮子的神情头一次显得不再那么严厉）男孩子很安全。我把他吹到了纳尼亚。由于你的错误行为，你的任务将变得更加艰巨。”
“先生，请告诉我，是什么任务？”吉尔问道。
“就是由于这个任务，我才把你和他从你们的世界召唤过来。”
这话使得吉尔非常困惑。“他一定把我错当做另一个人了。”她想道。她不敢把这个想法告诉狮子，尽管她觉得，如果不说的话，事情将会变得一团糟。
“把你的想法说出来，人类的孩子。”狮子说。
“我心里在想——我是说——是不是搞错了？你要知道，并没有人召唤我和斯克拉布，是我们祈求到这里来的。斯克拉布说，我们应该呼叫——某个人——我不知道的一个名字——也许那个人就会让我们进来。我们呼叫了，于是我们发现门是开着的。”
“除非我先呼唤你们，你们才会呼求我，”狮子说。
“你就是那个大人物吗，先生？”吉尔问道。
“我就是。现在听一下你的任务。离这里很远的纳尼亚国土上，住着一位年老的国王，他很忧伤，因为他没有亲生的王子来继承他的王位。他之所以没有子嗣，是因为多年前他的独生子被人拐走了。在纳尼亚，没有人知道王子去了什么地方，甚至不知道他是否还活着。其实，他依然活着。我命令你前去寻找失踪的王子，直至找到他，并把他带回到他父王的宫庭；你或许会在执行任务中丧命；或者就此返回你自己的世界。”
“请问，我该怎么做呢？”吉尔问道。
“我会告诉你的，孩子，”狮子说，“在寻访的路上，这些就是我引导你的标记。首先，那个男孩尤斯塔斯的脚刚一踏上纳尼亚的土地，他就会遇到一位亲密的老朋友。他必须立即跟那位朋友打招呼。如果他这样做了，你们两人都会得到很大的帮助。其次，你们必须离开纳尼亚，向北行进，一直走到古代巨人城的废墟。接下去，你们会发现废墟的一块石头上刻着字，你们必须按照那些字所说的去做。第四，这样做的话，你们将会认出失踪的王子（你们如果找到了他），在你们的行程中，他将是你们所遇到的第一个以我的名义，即以阿斯兰的名义，要求你们做事的人。”
看来狮子已经讲完了，吉尔觉得自己应该说些什么，于是她说：“多谢了，我明白啦。”
“孩子，”阿斯兰说，语调比先前和缓了一些，“也许你并不像自己想的那么明白。第一步是要牢记在心。按着顺序，向我复述一遍那四个标记。”
吉尔试了一下，并没有完全说对。于是狮子纠正她，让她一遍遍地重复，直到她能够说得一字不差。在整个过程中，他显得非常有耐心。到最后结束时，吉尔鼓起勇气问道：
“请问，我怎么去纳尼亚呢？”
“靠我的气息，”狮子说，“我将把你吹到这个世界的西部，就像吹送尤斯塔斯一样。”
“我能够及时赶上他，告诉他第一个标记吗？我猜那无关紧要。他如果见到一位老朋友，肯定会上前去跟他说话，不是吗？”
“你没有时间再耽搁了，”狮子说，“这正是我必须立即打发你前去的原因。来吧。走在我的前边，一直走到悬崖边上。”
吉尔清楚地记得，如果说时间紧迫，那也是由于自己的过错。“若不是我自己做了那样的蠢事，斯克拉布将会和我一同前去。他就会像我一样听到所有的指令。”她想。于是她遵命而行。走回悬崖边是一件令人心悸的事情，尤其是狮子没有与她同行，而是走在了她的后面——他那柔软的脚掌行走起来悄无声息。
不一会儿，她就来到了悬崖边上，后面那个声音对她说道：“站着别动。马上我就要吹气了。但首先要记住，记住，记住那些标记。早上起床，夜晚躺下，以及半夜醒来，都要向自己复述一遍。不管你遇到什么稀奇古怪的事情，都不要让它转移你的注意力，忘记按标记行动。第二点，我给你一个警告。在这个山上，我清楚地对你讲话。在下面的纳尼亚，我不会经常这样做。在这里的山上，空气清新，你的头脑也很清醒。当你在纳尼亚降落之后，空气就会变得浑浊。要格外小心，不要让你的头脑也随之变得混乱起来。你在这里所牢记的标记，在下面遇到时，会和你所期待的样子截然不同。所以要把这些标记牢记在心，不要被外表所迷惑，这是最要紧的。牢记标记，相信标记。其他都无关紧要。现在，夏娃的女儿，再见——”
说到后来，那个声音变得越来越小，到这会儿完全消失了。吉尔朝身后望去。她惊诧地看到，悬崖已经在她身后一百多米的地方，狮子变成了崖边上的一个金色亮点。她本来咬紧牙关，握紧拳头，准备承受狮子吹出的可怕气息。不料，那个气息却是这般轻柔，她完全没有觉察到自己什么时候离开了地面。眼下，她飘浮在万里高空之上，除了空气，脚下一无所有。
她的惧怕转瞬即逝。一个原因是下面的世界十分遥远，似乎与她毫不相干。另一个原因呢，是由于漂浮在狮子的气息之上舒适无比。她发现自己可以躺着，也可以趴着，甚至可以随意地扭来扭去，就像是在水中一样（如果你懂得如何在水面漂浮）。因为她与气息以同样的速度前行，所以完全感觉不到风，空气也显得暖洋洋的。这跟坐在飞机上的感受完全不同，因为飞机有噪音和震动。如果吉尔曾经乘坐过热气球的话，她也许会觉得这跟乘坐热气球有些相似，只是要比那更加美妙。
她回首望去，这时才第一次看清楚自己离开的那座山有多么巍峨。她心里暗暗称奇，这么高大的一座山，山顶上为什么没有冰雪覆盖——“我猜想，在这个世界里，一切事物都有所不同。”吉尔心想。这时，她朝下面望去，由于太高，她根本分辨不出来自己是漂浮在陆地还是大海的上空，也搞不清楚自己的速度到底是快还是慢。
“天哪！标记！”吉尔突然说道，“我最好把它们再背一遍。”有一两秒钟，她感到有些惊慌失措，然而她发现自己还能够正确无误地背诵出来。“看来没有问题。”说着，似乎空气就是一个沙发，她躺卧下来，满意地长吁了一口气。
“哦，我敢说，”几个小时后，吉尔自言自语道，“我睡着了。真想不到居然能够在空气上睡觉。我很想知道，以前有没有人这样做过。我想，谁都没有这样做过。啊，讨厌——斯克拉布也许有过这样的体验！同样的旅程，不过他比我先行了一步。让我看看，下面是什么景象。”
下面看上去是一片深蓝色的大平原。看不见山丘，但有一些大块的白色东西在上面缓缓移动。“那些一定是云朵，”她想，“但比我们在悬崖上看到的要大上很多。我想，之所以更大，那是由于距离缩短了。我一定是在下降。可恶的太阳。”
她启程时，太阳还高高地挂在头顶上，这时阳光直射着她的眼睛。这说明太阳向下落了一些，位于她的正前方。斯克拉布说得对，吉尔（我不认为女孩子们都是这样）读不懂罗盘的指针。否则她就会知道，当阳光直射着她的眼睛时，她差不多是朝着正西方向行进。
凝视着下面的蓝色平原，她很快就注意到，上面散落着一些浅色的明亮小光点。“是蓝色的大海！”吉尔想，“我确信那些光点是岛屿。”事实的确如此。如果她知道，斯克拉布曾经从船的甲板上眺望过这个大海，甚至还登上其中一些岛屿的话，她准会嫉妒得要命。可是她并不知情。不久，她开始看到，在波平如镜的蓝色海面上出现了一些浅浅的波纹，假若你身陷在这些波纹之中，就会知道那一定是些滔天巨浪。此刻，天边出现了一道粗黑的线条，你亲眼看着它快速地变粗变黑。这是表明她前进速度其快无比的第一个证据。她知道，那个逐渐变粗的线条一定就是陆地。
突然，从她的左边（因为是南风），一朵巨大的白云朝着她迅速漂浮过来，与她位于同一个平面上。她还在那里腾云驾雾，就一头冲进了那团冰冷潮湿的雾气之中。这使她几乎透不过气来，但她在云里面并没有呆多久。出来之后，她在阳光下眨着眼睛，发现自己的衣服都湿了（她穿着一件轻薄的运动上衣、一件羊毛衫、短裤、长袜和一双相当厚的鞋子。那一天是英国典型的湿漉漉的天气）。她从云中出来时比她进去时的高度有所下降。她刚一脱离那朵云团，就注意到了一件事。我猜，这是她一直在期盼着的，但事到临头还是大吃了一惊。那就是声音。到目前为止，她都是在完全的宁静中行进的。现在，她头一次听到了波浪翻腾的声音，以及海鸥的叫声，还闻到了大海的气息。这会儿，她对于自己飞快的速度已经毫无疑问。她看到两个大浪“砰”的一声撞在了一起，溅起了一股水柱和泡沫。她还没来得及看清楚，这些就已经落在了她身后一百米之处。
陆地正在以极快的速度向她靠拢。她可以看见远处内陆的群山，还有自己左边近处的山岭。她可以看见海湾和陆岬、树林和田野、以及一块块的海滨沙滩。每时每刻，大浪击打海岸的声音都变得越来越响亮，淹没了海上其他的声音。
突然，陆地出现在了她的正前方。她正在进入一个河口。这时，她距离水面只有几英尺了。一个浪尖扑向她的脚趾，哗啦一声，飞沫四溅，她腰部以下几乎全部打湿了。她的速度正在减缓。她并没有被吹送着顺流而下，而是滑落到了左边的河岸上。那里有许多值得观看的事物，使她忙得简直目不暇接。一片绿茵茵的平坦草地，一艘看上去就像是一大块珠宝的色彩鲜艳的大船，塔楼和城垛，随风飘舞的旗子；还有一大群人，五光十色的衣服、铠甲、黄金、宝剑、音乐。所有这一切混杂在一起。她清楚知道的第一件事，就是自己降落在了陆地上，站在河边的一个树丛之下。在那里，距离她仅仅几步开外，站着斯克拉布。
他给她的第一个印象是异常邋遢不洁，看起来毫不起眼。她的第二个念头则是“我身上好湿啊”。