It is a very funny thing that the sleepier you are, the longer you take about getting to bed; especially if you are lucky enough to have a fire in your room. Jill felt she couldn’t even start undressing unless she sat down in front of the fire for a bit first.And once she had sat down, she didn’t want to get up again. She had already said to herself about five times, “I must go to bed”,when she was startled by a tap on the window.

She got up, pulled the curtain, and at first saw nothing but darkness. Then she jumped and started backwards, for something very large had dashed itself against the window, giving a sharp tap on the glass as. it did so. A very unpleasant idea came into her head “Suppose they have giant moths in this country! Ugh!”But then the thing came back, and this time she was almost sure she saw a beak, and that the beak had made that tapping noise.“It’s some huge bird,” thought Jill. “Could it be an eagle?” She didn’t very much want a visit even from an eagle, but she opened the window and looked out. Instantly, with a great whirring noise, the creature alighted on the window-sill and stood there filling up the whole window, so that Jill had to step back to make room for it. It was the Owl.

“Hush, hush! Tu-whoo, tu-whoo,” said the Owl. “Don’t make a noise. Now, are you two really in earnest about what you’ve got to do?”

“About the lost Prince, you mean?” said Jill. “Yes, we’ve got to be.” For now she remembered the Lion’s voice and face,which she had nearly forgotten during the feasting and storytelling in the hall.

“Good!” said the Owl. “Then there’s no time to waste.You must get away from here at once. I’ll go and wake the other human.Then I’ll come back for you. You’d better change those court clothes and put on something you can travel in. I’ll be back in two twos. Tu-whoo!” And without waiting for an answer, he was gone.

If Jill had been more used to adventures, she might have doubted the Owl’s word, but this never occurred to her: and in the exciting idea of a midnight escape she forgot her sleepiness.She changed back into sweater and shorts there was a guide’s knife on the belt of the shorts which might come in useful and added a few of the things that had been left in the room for her by the girl with the willowy hair. She chose a short cloak that came down to her knees and had a hood (“just the thing, if it rains,” she thought), a few handkerchiefs and a comb. Then she sat down and waited.

She was getting sleepy again when the Owl returned.

“Now we’re ready,” it said.

“You’d better lead the way,” said Jill. “I don’t know all these passages yet.”

“Tu-whoo!” said the Owl. “We’re not going through the castle. That would never do. You must ride on me. We shall fly.”

“Oh!” said Jill, and stood with her mouth open, not much liking the idea. “Shan’t I be too heavy for you?”

“Tu-whoo, tu-whoo! Don’t you be a fool. I’ve already carried the other one. Now. But we’ll put out that lamp first.”

As soon as the lamp was out, the bit of the night which you saw through the window looked less dark no longer black, but grey. The Owl stood on the window-sill with his back to the room and raised his wings. Jill had to climb on to his short fat body and get her knees under the wings and grip tight. The feathers felt beautifully warm and soft but there was nothing to hold on by. “I wonder how Scrubb liked his ride!” thought Jill. And just as she was thinking this, with a horrid plunge they had left the windowsill, and the wings were making a flurry round her ears, and the night air, rather cool and damp, was flying in her face.

It was much lighter than she expected, and though the sky was overcast, one patch of watery silver showed where the moon was hiding above the clouds. The fields beneath her looked grey,and the trees black. There was a certain amount of wind a hushing,ruffling sort of wind which meant that rain was coming soon.

The Owl wheeled round so that the castle was now ahead of them. Very few of the windows showed lights. They flew right over it, northwards, crossing the river: the air grew colder, and Jill thought she could see the white reflection of the Owl in the water beneath her. But soon they were on the north bank of the river, flying above wooded country.

The Owl snapped at something which Jill couldn’t see.

“Oh, don’t, please!” said Jill. “Don’t jerk like that. You nearly threw me off.”

“I beg your pardon,” said the Owl. “I was just nabbing a bat. There’s nothing so sustaining, in a small way, as a nice plump little bat. Shall I catch you one?”

“No, thanks,” said Jill with a shudder.

He was flying a little lower now and a large, black looking object was looming up towards them. Jill had just time to see that it was a tower a partly ruinous tower, with a lot of ivy on it, she thought when she found herself ducking to avoid the archway of a window, as the Owl squeezed with her through the ivied cobwebby opening, out of the fresh, grey night into a dark place inside the top of the tower. It was rather fusty inside and, the moment she slipped off the Owl’s back, she knew (as one usually does somehow) that it was quite crowded And when voices began saying out of the darkness from every direction“Tuwhoo! Tu-whoo!” she knew it was crowded with owls. She was rather relieved when a very different voice said:

“Is that you, Pole?”

“Is that you, Scrubb?” said Jill.

“Now,” said Glimfeather, ‘I think we’re all here. Let us hold a parliament of owls.’

“Tu-whoo, tu-whoo. True for you. That’s the right thing to do,” said several voices.

“Half a moment,” said Scrubb’s voice. “There’s something I want to say first.”

“Do, do, do,” said the owls; and Jill said, “Fire ahead.”

“I suppose all you chaps-owls, I mean,” said Scrubb, “I suppose you all know that King Caspian the Tenth, in his young days, sailed to the eastern end of the world. Well, I was with him on that journey: with him and Reepicheep the Mouse, and the Lord Drinian and all of them. I know it sounds hard to believe,but people don’t grow older in our world at the same speed as they do in yours. And what I want to say is this, that I’m the King’s man; and if this parliament of owls is any sort of plot against the King, I’m having nothing to do with it.”

“Tu-whoo, tu-whoo, we’re all the King’s owls too,” said the owls.

“What’s it all about then?” said Scrubb.

“It’s only this,” said Glimfeather. “That if the Lord Regent,the Dwarf Trumpkin, hears you are going to look for the lost Prince, he won’t let you start. He’d keep you under lock and key sooner.”

“Great Scott!” said Scrubb. “You don’t mean that Trumpkin is a traitor? I used to hear a lot about him in the old days, at sea.Caspian the King, I mean trusted him absolutely.”

“Oh no,” said a voice. “Trumpkin’s no traitor. But more than thirty champions (knights, centaurs, good giants, and all sorts) have at one time or another set out to look for the lost Prince, and none of them have ever come back. And at last the King said he was not going to have all the bravest Narnians destroyed in the search for his son. And now nobody is allowed to go.”

“But surely he’d let us go,” said Scrubb. “When he knew who I was and who had sent me.”

(“Sent both of us,” put in Jill.)

“Yes,” said Glimfeather, “I think, very likely, he would. But the King’s away. And Trumpkin will stick to the rules. He’s as true as steel, but he’s deaf as a post and very peppery. You could never make him see that this might be the time for making an exception to the rule.”

“You might think he’d take some notice of us, because we’re owls and everyone knows how wise owls are,” said someone else. “But he’s so old now he’d only say, ‘You’re a mere chick. I remember you when you were an egg. Don’t come trying to teach me, Sir. Crabs and crumpets!’”

This owl imitated Trumpkin’s voice rather well, and there were sounds of owlish laughter all round. The children began to see that the Narnians all felt about Trumpkin as people feel at school about some crusty teacher, whom everyone is a little afraid of and everyone makes fun of and nobody really dislikes.

“How long is the King going to be away?” asked Scrubb.

“If only we knew!” said Glimfeather. “You see, there has been a rumour lately that Aslan himself has been seen in the islands in Terebinthia, I think it was. And the King said he would make one more attempt before he died to see Aslan face to face again, and ask his advice about who is to be King after him. But we’re all afraid that, if he doesn’t meet Aslan in Terebinthia,he’ll go on east, to Seven Isles and Lone Islands and on and on.He never talks about it, but we all know he has never forgotten that voyage to the world’s end. I’m sure in his heart of hearts he wants to go there again.”

“Then there’s no good waiting for him to come back?” said Jill.

“No, no good,” said the Owl. “Oh, what a to-do! If only you two had known and spoken to him at once! He’d have arranged everything probably given you an army to go with you in search of the Prince.”

Jill kept quiet at this and hoped Scrubb would be sporting enough not to tell all the owls why this hadn’t happened. He was, or very nearly. That is, he only muttered under his breath,“Well, it wasn’t my fault,” before saying out loud:

“Very well. We’ll have to manage without it. But there’s just one thing more I want to know. If this owls’ parliament, as you call it, is all fair and above board and means no mischief,why does it have to be so jolly secretmeeting in a ruin in dead of night, and all that?”

“Tu-whoo! Tu-whoo!” hooted several owls. “Where should we meet? When would anyone meet except at night?”

“You see,” explained Glimfeather, “most of the creatures in Narnia have such unnatural habits. They do things by day, in broad blazing sunlight (ugh!) when everyone ought to be asleep.And, as a result, at night they’re so blind and stupid that you can’t get a word out of them. So we owls have got into the habit of meeting at sensible hours, on our own, when we want to talk about things.”

“I see,” said Scrubb. “Well now, let’s get on. Tell us all about the lost Prince.” Then an old owl, not Glimfeather, related the story.

About ten years ago, it appeared, when Rilian, the son of Caspian, was a very young knight, he rode with the Queen his mother on a May morning in the north parts of Narnia. They had many squires and ladies with them and all wore garlands of fresh leaves on their heads, and horns at their sides; but they had no hounds with them, for they were maying, not hunting. In the warm part of the day they came to a pleasant glade where a fountain flowed freshly out of the earth, and there they dismounted and ate and drank and were merry. After a time the Queen felt sleepy, and they spread cloaks for her on the grassy bank, and Prince Rilian with the rest of the party went a little way from her, that their tales and laughter might not wake her. And so, presently, a great serpent came out of the thick wood and stung the Queen in her hand. All heard her cry out and rushed towards her, and Rilian was first at her side. He saw the worm gliding away from her and made after it with his sword drawn. It was great, shining, and as green as poison, so that he could see it well: but it glided away into thick bushes and he could not come at it. So he returned to his mother,and found them all busy about her.

But they were busy in vain, for at the first glance of her face Rilian knew that no physic in the world would do her good. As long as the life was in her she seemed to be trying hard to tell him something. But she could not speak clearly and, whatever her message was, she died without delivering it. It was then hardly ten minutes since they had first heard her cry.

They carried the dead Queen back to Cair Paravel, and she was bitterly mourned by Rilian and by the King, and by all Narnia. She had been a great lady, wise and gracious and happy, King Caspian’s bride whom he had brought home from the eastern end of the world. And men said that the blood of the stars flowed in her veins. The Prince took his mother’s death very hardly, as well he might. After that, he was always riding on the northern marches of Narnia, hunting for that venomous worm, to kill it and be avenged. No one remarked much on this,though the Prince came home from these wanderings looking tired and distraught. But about a month after the Queen’s death,some said they could see a change in him. There was a look in his eyes as of a man who has seen visions, and though he would be out all day, his horse did not bear the signs of hard riding. His chief friend among the older courtiers was the Lord Drinian, he who had been his father’s captain on that great voyage to the east parts of the earth.

One evening Drinian said to the Prince, “Your Highness must soon give over seeking the worm. There is no true vengeance on a witless brute as there might be on a man. You weary yourself in vain.” The Prince answered him, “My Lord, I have almost forgotten the worm this seven days.” Drinian asked him why, if that were so, he rode so continually in the northern woods. “My lord,” said the Prince, “I have seen there the most beautiful thing that was ever made.” “Fair Prince,” said Drinian,“of your courtesy let me ride with you tomorrow, that I also may see this fair thing.” “With a good will,” said Rilian.

Then in good time on the next day they saddled their horses and rode a great gallop into the northern woods and alighted at that same fountain where the Queen got her death. Drinian thought it strange that the Prince should choose that place of all places, to linger in. And there they rested till it came to high noon: and at noon Drinian looked up and saw the most beautiful lady he had ever seen; and she stood at the north side of the fountain and said no word but beckoned to the Prince with her hand as if she bade him come to her. And she was tall and great, shining, and wrapped in a thin garment as green as poison. And the Prince stared at her like a man out of his wits. But suddenly the lady was gone,Drinian knew not where; and the two returned to Cair Paravel. It stuck in Drinian’s mind that this shining green woman was evil.

Drinian doubted very much whether he ought not to tell this adventure to the King, but he had little wish to be a blab and a tale-bearer and so he held his tongue. But afterwards he wished he had spoken. For next day Prince Rilian rode out alone. That night he came not back, and from that hour no trace of him was ever found in Narnia nor any neighbouring land, and neither his horse nor his hat nor his cloak nor anything else was ever found. Then Drinian in the bitterness of his heart went to Caspian and said,“Lord King, slay me speedily as a great traitor: for by my silence I have destroyed your son.” And he told him the story. Then Caspian caught up a battle-axe and rushed upon the Lord Drinian to kill him, and Drinian stood still as a stock for the death blow.But when the axe was raised, Caspian suddenly threw it away and cried out, “I have lost my queen and my son: shall I lose my friend also?” And he fell upon the Lord Drinian’s neck and embraced him and both wept, and their friendship was not broken.

Such was the story of Rilian. And when it was over, Jill said, “I bet that serpent and that woman were the same person.”

“True, true, we think the same as you,” hooted the owls.

“But we don’t think she killed the Prince,” said Glimfeather,“because no bones -”

“We know she didn’t,” said Scrubb. “Aslan told Pole he was still alive somewhere.”

“That almost makes it worse,” said the oldest owl. “It means she has some use for him, and some deep scheme against Narnia. Long, long ago, at the very beginning, a White Witch came out of the North and bound our land in snow and ice for a hundred years. And we think this may be some of the same crew.”

“Very well, then,” said Scrubb. “Pole and I have got to find this Prince. Can you help us?”

“Have you any clue, you two?” asked Glimfeather.

“Yes,” said Scrubb. “We know we’ve got to go north. And we know we’ve got to reach the ruins of a giant city.”

At this there was a greater tu-whooing than ever, and noise of birds shifting their feet and ruffling their feathers, and then all the owls started speaking at once. They all explained how very sorry they were that they themselves could not go with the children on their search for the lost Prince “You’d want to travel by day, and we’d want to travel by night,” they said. “It wouldn’t do, wouldn’t do.” One or two owls added that even here in the ruined tower it wasn’t nearly so dark as it had been when they began, and that the parliament had been going on quite long enough. In fact, the mere mention of a journey to the ruined city of giants seemed to have damped the spirits of those birds. But Glimfeather said:

“If they want to go that way into Ettinsmoor we must take them to one of the Marsh-wiggles. They’re the Only people who can help them much.”

“True, true. Do,” said the owls.

“Come on, then,” said Glimfeather. “I’ll take one. Who’ll take the other? It must be done tonight.”

“I will, as far as the Marsh-wiggles,” said another owl.

“Are you ready?” said Glimfeather to Jill.

“I think Pole’s asleep,” said Scrubb. ny8TC5yYG0cuV+9+aX04WtqpvC8jeVBStUwfmSdN+xEdzfgXNiIHqrbHUaDVeZdh

有趣的是，你越困就越晚上床睡觉，尤其屋子里还有温暖的炉火。吉尔觉得，她必须得在炉火前坐一会儿才能脱衣服睡觉。可她一坐下来就不想动了。她跟自己说了五遍：“我必须得上床睡觉了。”就在这时，窗户上传来一阵拍打声，把她吓了一跳。

她站起身，走到窗户前，拉开窗帘。外面漆黑一片，什么都没有。这时，一个巨大的黑影冲向了窗子，撞在玻璃上，发出刺耳的声音。吉尔被吓了一跳，忙往后退了几步。她脑中顿时闪出了一个不好的念头：“这里该不会有那种巨大的蛾子吧！好恶心！”窗外的那个东西又回来了，这回，吉尔隐约看见那个东西长了个鸟嘴，正在用嘴敲窗户。“可能是一只大鸟吧，”吉尔想，“没准儿是只老鹰。”可她一点儿都不喜欢这么晚了还有人来拜访，哪怕是老鹰。不过，她还是打开了窗户向外张望。一阵呼啦啦的声音传来，那个东西落到窗台上，巨大的身躯挤满了窗口。吉尔后退了几步让出一些空间，原来是那只猫头鹰。

“嘘！咕咕——咕咕——”猫头鹰说，“别出声。告诉我，你们俩真的很想去做你们要做的那件事吗？”

“你是说寻找失踪的王子？”吉尔问，“当然啦！我们必须得去。”现在，她又回想起雄狮的声音和那张严肃的面庞。刚才在宴会上听故事的时候，她差点儿忘了自己的任务。

“很好！”猫头鹰说，“那就别浪费时间了。你们必须马上离开这里跟我走。我去叫醒另外一个人类，然后回来接你。你最好换下这身华服，换上一些普通的便于行走的衣服。我一会儿就回来！咕咕！”还没等吉尔说话，它就飞走了。

如果吉尔有很多探险的经历，她一定会对猫头鹰说的这番话有所怀疑。可这是她第一次探险，想着半夜可以溜出去，她瞬间就没有了睡意。她换上了之前的运动衫和短裤，还带上了一把小刀——很可能用得上。那个有着柳枝般的头发的侍女还给她留下了好多东西，她从里面选了几样：一件垂到膝盖的、带帽子的披风，要是下雨了，一定能派上用场。还有几块手绢和一把梳子。然后，她坐了下来，等着猫头鹰回来。

等到猫头鹰回来时，她都快睡着了。

猫头鹰说：“一切都准备好了吗？”

“你最好在前头带路，”吉尔说，“我可分不清哪儿是哪儿。”

“咕咕！”猫头鹰叫了一声，“我们不从城堡里穿出去，这条路行不通。你得骑到我身上，我们飞过去。”

吉尔站在那里，惊讶地叫了一声，显然，她并不是很喜欢这个主意。她说：“你能驮动我吗？”

“咕咕——咕咕——别犯傻了，我已经把另一个人类送过去了。不过走之前，得先把灯灭了。”

灯刚一熄灭，漆黑一片的窗外似乎变得明亮了一些，不再是黑漆漆的了，而是有些发灰的感觉。猫头鹰站在窗台上，背对着屋子，张开翅膀。吉尔爬上它短小而圆润的背脊，将膝盖放到它的翅膀下，紧紧抓牢。它的羽毛美丽温暖，而且很柔软，可是没有地方可抓。“尤斯塔斯是怎么骑上来的呀？！”吉尔正想着，猫头鹰向外纵身一跃，他们便离开了窗台，挥舞的翅膀带起的风在她耳边呼呼地响，夜晚冰凉而潮湿的空气迎面扑来。

夜色比她想象当中要亮很多。虽然天空阴沉，可那水汪汪的银光意味着月亮就藏在云彩背后。下面的田野看上去灰蒙蒙一片，树林则是黑压压的一片。空中呼呼地吹着大风，看来就要下雨了。

猫头鹰在空中转了个弯，城堡出现在正前方。城堡里只有几间屋子的灯还亮着，其余的一片漆黑。他们飞过城堡，向北又飞过了大河。空气越来越清冷，吉尔可以看见下面河水中猫头鹰白色的倒影。不一会儿，他们飞到了河北岸，飞过了一片树林。

猫头鹰突然在空中，冲着什么东西伸了一下头，可她没看清楚。

“哦，拜托！别再突然一下子伸脖子，我差点被你抖下去。”吉尔说。

“抱歉，”猫头鹰回答，“我刚刚抓了一只蝙蝠。我得吃点东西补充体力，没有什么比小蝙蝠更合适了。要不要我给你也抓一只？”

“谢了，你还是自己吃吧。”吉尔打了个寒战。

此刻，猫头鹰飞得比之前低了很多。眼前出现了一个黑色的庞然大物，那是一座坍塌了一半的高塔，塔上爬满了常春藤。吉尔刚看清这些，猫头鹰一个俯冲，带着她嗖地一下飞过了满是常春藤的拱窗，告别空气清新的灰色夜空，来到了塔顶——一个黑咕隆咚的地方。这里散发着一股霉味，她滑下猫头鹰的后背，凭着直觉，感觉这里很挤。说话声从四面八方传来：“咕咕——咕咕——”原来，她正和一群猫头鹰挤在一起。这时，一个与众不同的声音在耳边响起，让她紧张的心放松下来。

“波尔，是你吗？”

“斯克罗布，是你吗？”吉尔问道。

“好啦好啦，”格林姆菲德说，“大家都到齐了。我们正式召开猫头鹰议会。”

“咕咕——咕咕——没错，这才是正事。”几个声音齐声说道。

“等一下！”斯克罗布说，“有一件事情我要先说一下。”

“说吧说吧，”猫头鹰们说，“你快说。”吉尔也随声附和。

“伙计们……我是说猫头鹰们，”斯克罗布说，“我想，你们都知道凯斯宾十世在年轻的时候，曾经乘船前往东方的世界尽头。我当时是和他一起去的，同去的还有老鼠将军雷佩契普、德里宁爵士还有其他一些人。我知道，这听起来叫人难以置信，不过，在我们的世界里，人的衰老速度和这里不一样。我想说的是，我是国王的人。如果这个猫头鹰议会想要商讨任何反对国王的阴谋，我绝不参与。”

“咕咕——咕咕——我们也是国王的猫头鹰。”猫头鹰说。

“好吧，你们在这里集会有什么事吗？”斯克罗布问。

“事情是这样的，”格林姆菲德说，“摄政王，就是矮人杜鲁普金，如果他听你们说要去找失踪的王子，他肯定不会让你们去，没准儿还会把你们给关起来。”

“我的天！”斯克罗布说，“你不会是想说，杜鲁普金是叛徒？过去航海的时候，我听过很多关于他的事。凯斯宾——我是说国王，非常信任他。”

“不是，杜鲁普金怎么可能是叛徒。”有个声音说，“之前，有30位勇士，主要是骑士、人马和善良的巨人，他们一个接一个地出去寻找失踪的王子，但一个都没回来。最后，国王说，不能因为寻找他的儿子就白白牺牲纳尼亚英勇的战士。现在，他下令任何人都不许去找王子。”

“不过，当他知道我是谁，知道是谁派我们来的，就一定会让我去的。”斯克罗布说。

“是让我们去。”吉尔补充道。

“他当然会，毋庸置疑。”格林姆菲德说，“可是现在国王远航了，杜鲁普金一定会坚持原则。他对国王忠心耿耿，一切事情都照章办理，但他耳朵完全聋了，而且脾气又很暴躁。你永远都无法让他明白——凡事都有例外。”

“或许，你认为他会考虑我们的意见，毕竟我们是聪明的猫头鹰。”另一个接着说，“可他现在太老了，只会说，‘你只不过是一只小鸟，我还记得你们没孵出来的样子。好了，阁下们，别跟我说教了，你们说的都是没意义的废话。’”

这只猫头鹰把杜鲁普金的语气模仿得惟妙惟肖，周围响起猫头鹰们的大笑声。两个孩子都觉得，大家对杜鲁普金的态度就好像学生们对待学校里脾气暴躁的老师一样——大家都有点怕他，都会取笑他，可没人讨厌他。

“国王要离开多久？”斯克罗布问。

“我们要是知道就好了！”格林姆菲德说，“最近有传闻说，阿斯兰出现在一座小岛上，我想应该是特里宾西亚岛。国王说，在他死之前要见阿斯兰最后一面，问问它关于谁来继承王位的事情。不过，我们都担心，如果他在特里宾西亚岛见不到阿斯兰，就会继续向东前往七群岛和孤独群岛，然后继续向东。虽然他不说，不过我们都知道，他永远都忘不了当年航海到世界尽头的事情。我确定，他一定非常想再去看一看。”

“这么说的话，咱们在这里等他就毫无意义了。”吉尔说。

“的确没什么意义。”猫头鹰回答，“这该如何是好！要是当时你认出他来，立刻上前跟他打招呼就好了！他一定会安排好一切，或许还会给你们一支军队，一起去寻找王子。”

吉尔默不作声，希望斯克罗布可以表现得像男子汉一样，不要告诉猫头鹰为什么他们没来得及和国王打招呼。尤斯塔斯也基本上做到了，他只是很小声地嘟囔了一句：“反正不是我的错。”

随后，他大声地说：“既然这样，我们就只能自己想办法了。不过，在此之前，我还有一件事要弄清楚。如果这个猫头鹰议会如你们所说，是公正的、光明正大的、没有任何阴谋诡计的议会，为什么要搞得如此神秘，将会议时间定在深更半夜，还在这么一个废墟里进行呢？”

“咕咕——咕咕——”几个猫头鹰一起叫了起来，“那我们应该在哪里开呢？除了晚上，谁要在白天开会呢？”

“你要知道，纳尼亚的许多动物都有很多违背自然的习惯。”格林姆菲德说，“它们非要在白天做事，要顶着明亮的大太阳，哼！白天明明应该是睡觉的时间。结果，到了晚上它们就会头脑不清醒，眼睛也看不清楚，一个字都说不出来。我们猫头鹰必须遵守自然规律。当我们想开会讨论事情的时候，就会选择合适我们自己的时间和地点。”

“我明白了。”斯克罗布说，“咱们继续，还请告诉我们所有的关于失踪王子的事情。”然后，一只老猫头鹰（不是格林姆菲德）给他们讲了这个故事。

大概十年前，瑞廉王子还是一个年轻的骑士。一个五月的清晨，他和王后骑马前往纳尼亚北部。与他们同行的还有很多王公大臣和贵妇，他们头戴新鲜枝叶编织成的花环，身上挂着号角——他们此行是去赏花，不是打猎，所以，并没有带着猎狗。在温暖的中午时分，他们来到一处空地，空地中间有一汪清澈的泉水，汩汩地往外冒。他们下马在这里休息，吃午餐，大家都非常开心。过了一会儿，王后困了，人们就在草地上铺开披风让她休息。瑞廉王子则和其他人悄悄地走到一旁，怕他们的说笑声吵醒了王后。就在这时，突然从密林中蹿出一条大蛇，在王后的手上咬了一口。所有人听到王后的呼喊之后，立即跑了过来，瑞廉王子第一个冲到她身边。他看到那条大蛇正从王后身边溜走，于是提剑便追。那条大蛇又长又粗，浑身闪着诡异的绿光，就好像致命的毒药一般。然而，一转眼，毒蛇就钻进茂密的灌木丛中不见了踪影。王子回到母亲身边，发现大家都围了上来，正为了王后忙个不停。

可是，一切都太晚了，瑞廉王子看了王后一眼，就知道这世界上任何的灵丹妙药都没用了。临终之际，王后好像要对王子说些什么。可是，她那时已经口齿不清了，大家还没听清楚她说的是什么，王后就气绝身亡了——从听到她的呼喊到她死亡，前后不过十分钟。

他们将王后的遗体带回凯尔·帕拉维尔，国王和王子，乃至所有纳尼亚人都十分悲痛。她是一位德才兼备的王后，睿智而优雅，性格乐观，是凯斯宾国王从世界尽头娶回来的。人们都说，她身上流淌着星辰的血液。王子承受不了母亲猝然离世的现实，此后，他总是骑马前往纳尼亚北方，四处搜寻那条毒蛇，发誓要为母亲报仇。尽管每次王子回来时都心情沮丧、疲惫不堪，不过，人们并没有过多评论或加以留意。可是，王后死后一个月，有人说王子变了。他的眼神变得迷离，就好像看见了幻境一样。尽管他每天还是往外跑，可是，王子的坐骑身上并没有太多奔跑的痕迹。在那些老臣里面，德里宁爵士一直和王子相交甚笃。当年，凯斯宾国王乘着黎明踏浪号远航东方时，德里宁曾担任船长。

有一天晚上，德里宁对王子说：“王子殿下必须停止寻找毒蛇的行为。杀死一只无知的畜生和杀死一个人不同，并不能算是真正的复仇。您所做的一切只是徒劳，只能徒然地耗尽自己。”然而，王子回答说：“大人，其实母后去世七天后，我就忘了毒蛇这回事了。”德里宁问他，既然这样，为何还要频繁地前往北部森林？王子回答：“大人，我在那里见到了世间最美的事物。”德里宁问道：“王子殿下，明天可否允许我与您一起同行，我也想见识一下。”“没问题。”瑞廉王子答应他。

第二天一早，二人骑着马，一路小跑地奔向北方森林，在王后遇害的泉水那里停了下来。德里宁很奇怪，这里有这么多地方，王子为何偏偏在这里徘徊？他们在这里下马休息，直到正午，德里宁抬起头，看到了一位他这辈子见过的最美丽的美女。她站在泉水北边，不停地向王子招手，仿佛在召唤他过去。她身材高挑，身着一条闪光的绿色长裙，看上去充满致命的诱惑。王子失魂落魄地盯着她。突然，那个美女消失了，德里宁也不知道她去了哪里。两个人就这样返回了凯尔·帕拉维尔。德里宁的脑中忽然闪过一个念头——那个身着绿衣的绝色美女一定是魔鬼的化身。

德里宁一直犹豫着，不确定要不要将这件事告诉国王。他并不想被人认为是一个多嘴多舌的人，所以始终也没有说。不过，后来，他十分后悔没有及时告诉国王。第二天，瑞廉王子一个人骑马跑出城堡，那晚没有回来。之后，王子就好像人间蒸发了一样——整个纳尼亚，乃至邻国都没有人再见到他的踪迹，连他的马和斗篷都一起消失了。德里宁非常内疚，他找到凯斯宾说：“国王陛下，请将我视为叛国贼，即刻处死。因为我的沉默，结果导致您失去了儿子。”然后，德里宁告诉了国王整件事情。凯斯宾怒不可遏，抄起一把斧子就要杀了德里宁。德里宁默默地站在那里，也不躲闪。凯斯宾刚举起斧子，就把它扔到地上，大声痛哭起来。他说：“我已经失去了王后和王子，难道还要再失去挚友吗？”随即他一把搂住德里宁，两个人抱头痛哭——他们还是生死不离的好朋友。这就是瑞廉王子的故事。

讲完之后，吉尔说：“我敢说，那个绿衣女子就是毒蛇。”

“对的，对的，我们也这么认为。”猫头鹰叫着。

“不过我们觉得，那个女子并没有杀死王子。”格林姆菲德说，“因为没有人发现王子的尸骨。”

“我们也知道王子没死，”斯克罗布说，“阿斯兰跟波尔说他还活着。”

“这么说，情况就更糟糕了。”那只最老的猫头鹰说，“王子对于她来说还有利用价值，她肯定针对纳尼亚策划了一个大阴谋。很久很久以前，北方曾经出现过一个白女巫，她将这片土地变成冰天雪地达百年之久。我想，这次出现的这个女人可能和白女巫是一伙儿的。”

“那好吧，波尔和我更得找到这位失踪的王子了。你们能帮助我们吗？”斯克罗布问。

“你们两个现在有什么线索？”格林姆菲德说。

“有，我们必须要前往北方，”斯克罗布说，“找到一片巨人城市的废墟。”

听到这里，所有猫头鹰全都大声地咕咕叫，它们跺着脚，呼扇着翅膀，发出哗啦哗啦的声音，同时七嘴八舌地叫嚷着，房间里面好像炸了锅一样。猫头鹰们都说，不能和孩子们一起去寻找失踪的王子，简直太遗憾了。“你们肯定要在白天往北走，而我们只能在夜晚行动。”它们说，“这不行，肯定不行。”还有一两只猫头鹰说，现在塔里面的光线已经比他们刚到的时候亮多了，说明这次会议已经进行了很久。

实际上，一听到要去巨人的废墟城市，一度激情飞扬的猫头鹰们一下子就泄气了。不过，格林姆菲德说：“如果他们选择从艾丁森荒原那条路走的话，我们必须带他们去见一位沼泽族人——只有沼泽族人才能够帮助他们。”

“没错，没错，我们就这么做。”猫头鹰们说。

“那好，我可以驮一个，谁来驮另一个？咱们今晚必须出发。”格林姆菲德说。

“要是只到沼泽族人那里的话，我去。”有一只猫头鹰说。

“准备好了吗？”格林姆菲德问吉尔。

“我想，她睡着了。”斯克罗布说。 dvtsYTX/jtsoE7QPxSvbSZguilNG+WiRlD4yV2Du8iUZq6bPW6So0PWE1sVpDmpd

Jill was asleep. Ever since the owls’ parliament began she had been yawning terribly and now she had dropped off. She was not at all pleased at being waked again, and at finding herself lying on bare boards in a dusty belfry sort of place, completely dark, and almost completely full of owls. She was even less pleased when she heard that they had to set off for somewhere else and not, apparently, for bed on the Owl’s back.

“Oh, come on, Pole, buck up,” said Scrubb’s voice. “After all, it is an adventure.”

“I’m sick of adventures,” said Jill crossly.

She did, however, consent to climb on to Glimfeather’s back, and was thoroughly waked up (for a while) by the unexpected coldness of the air when he flew out with her into the night. The moon had disappeared and there were no stars.Far behind her she could see a single lighted window well above the ground; doubtless, in one of the towers of Cair Paravel. It made her long to be back in that delightful bedroom, snug in bed, watching the firelight on the walls. She put her hands under her cloak and wrapped it tightly round her. It was uncanny to hear two voices in the dark air a little distance away; Scrubb and his owl were talking to one another. “He doesn’t sound tired,” thought Jill. She did not realize that he had been on great adventures in that world before and that the Narnian air was bringing back to him a strength he had won when he sailed the Eastern Seas with King Caspian.

Jill had to pinch herself to keep awake, for she knew that if she dozed on Glimfeather’s back she would probably fall off.When at last the two owls ended their flight, she climbed stiffly off Glimfeather and found herself on flat ground. A chilly wind was blowing and they appeared to be in a place without trees.“Tu-whoo, tu-whoo!” Glimfeather was calling. “Wake up,Puddleglum. Wake up. It is on the Lion’s business.”

For a long time there was no reply. Then, a long way off,a dim light appeared and began to come nearer. With it came a voice.

“Owls ahoy!” it said. “What is it? Is the King dead? Has an enemy landed in Narnia? Is it a flood? Or dragons?”

When the light reached them, it turned out to be that of a large lantern. She could see very little of the person who held it. He seemed to be all legs and arms. The owls were talking to him, explaining everything, but she was too tired to listen. She tried to wake herself up a bit when she realized that they were saying goodbye to her. But she could never afterwards remember much except that, sooner or later, she and Scrubb were stooping to enter a low doorway and then (oh, thank heavens) were lying down on something soft and warm, and a voice was saying:

“There you are. Best we can do. You’ll lie cold and hard.Damp too, I shouldn’t wonder. Won’t sleep a wink, most likely;even if there isn’t a thunderstorm or a flood or the wigwam doesn’t fall down on top of us all, as I’ve known them do. Must make the best of it -” But she was fast asleep before the voice had ended.

When the children woke late next morning they found that they were lying, very dry and warm, on beds of straw in a dark place. A triangular opening let in the daylight.

“Where on earth are we?” asked Jill.

“In the wigwam of a Marsh-wiggle,” said Eustace.

“A what?”

“A Marsh-wiggle. Don’t ask me what it is. I couldn’t see it last night. I’m getting up. Let’s go and look for it.”

“How beastly one feels after sleeping in one’s clothes,” said Jill, sitting up.

“I was just thinking how nice it was not to have to dress,”said Eustace.

“Or wash either, I suppose,” said Jill scornfully. But Scrubb had already got up, yawned, shaken himself, and crawled out of the wigwam. Jill did the same.

What they found outside was quite unlike the bit of Narnia they had seen on the day before. They were on a great flat plain which was cut into countless little islands by countless channels of water. The islands were covered with coarse grass and bordered with reeds and rushes. Sometimes there were beds of rushes about an acre in extent. Clouds of birds were constantly alighting in them and rising from them again-duck, snipe, bitterns, herons. Many wigwams like that in which they had passed the night could be seen dotted about, but all at a good distance from one another; for Marsh-wiggles are people who like privacy. Except for the fringe of the forest several miles to the south and west of them, there was not a tree in sight. Eastward the flat marsh stretched to low sand-hills on the horizon, and you could tell by the salt tang in the wind which blew from that direction that the sea lay over there. To the North there were low pale-coloured hills, in places bastioned with rock.The rest was all flat marsh. It would have been a depressing place on a w et evening. Seen under a morning sun, with a fresh wind blowing, and the air filled with the crying of birds, there was something fine and fresh and clean about its loneliness. The children felt their spirits rise.

“Where has the thingummy got to, I wonder?” said Jill.

“The Marsh-wiggle,” said Scrubb, as if he were rather proud of knowing the word. “I expect-hullo, that must be him.”And then they both saw him, sitting with his back to them,fishing, about fifty yards away. He had been hard to see at first because he was nearly the same colour as the marsh and because he sat so still.

“I suppose we’d better go and speak to him,” said Jill.Scrubb nodded. They both felt a little nervous.

As they drew nearer, the figure turned its head and showed them a long thin face with rather sunken cheeks, a tightly shut mouth, a sharp nose, and no beard. He was wearing a high,pointed hat like a steeple, with an enormously wide flat brim.The hair, if it could be called hair, which hung over his large ears was greeny-grey, and each lock was flat rather than round,so that they were like tiny reeds. His expression was solemn,his complexion muddy, and you could see at once that he took a serious view of life.

“Good morning, Guests,” he said. “Though when I say good I don’t mean it won’t probably turn to rain or it might snow, or fog, or thunder. You didn’t get any sleep, I dare say.”

“Yes we did, though,” said Jill. “We had a lovely night.”

“Ah,” said the Marsh-wiggle, shaking his head. “I see you’re making the best of a bad job. That’s right. You’ve been well brought up, you have. You’ve learned to put a good face on things.”

“Please, we don’t know your name,” said Scrubb.

“Puddleglum’s my name. But it doesn’t matter if you forget it. I can always tell you again.”

The children sat down on each side of him. They now saw that he had very long legs and arms, so that although his body was not much bigger than a dwarf’s, he would be taller than most men when he stood up. The fingers of his hands were webbed like a frog’s, and so were his bare feet which dangled in the muddy water. He was dressed in earthcoloured clothes that hung loose about him.

“I’m trying to catch a few eels to make an eel stew for our dinner,” said Puddleglum. “Though I shouldn’t wonder if I didn’t get any. And you won’t like them much if I do.”

“Why not?” asked Scrubb.

“Why, it’s not in reason that you should like our sort of victuals, though I’ve no doubt you’ll put a bold face on it. All the same, while I am a catching of them, if you two could try to light the fire no harm trying! The wood’s behind the wigwam. It may be wet. You could light it inside the wigwam, and then we’d get all the smoke in our eyes. Or you could light it outside, and then the rain would come and put it out. Here’s my tinder-box. You won’t know how to use it, I expect.”

But Scrubb had learned that sort of thing on his last adventure. The children ran back together to the wigwam, found the wood (which was perfectly dry) and succeeded in lighting a fire with rather less than the usual difficulty. Then Scrubb sat and took care of it while Jill went and had some sort of wash not a very nice one in the nearest channel. After that she saw to the fire and he had a wash. Both felt a good deal fresher, but very hungry.

Presently the Marsh-wiggle joined them. In spite of his expectation of catching no eels, he had a dozen or so, which he had already skinned and cleaned. He put a big pot on, mended the fire, and lit his pipe. Marsh-wiggles smoke a very strange,heavy sort of tobacco (some people say they mix it with mud) and the children noticed the smoke from Puddleglum’s pipe hardly rose in the air at all. It trickled out of the bowl and downwards and drifted along the ground like a mist. It was very black and set Scrubb coughing.

“Now,” said Puddleglum. “Those eels will take a mortal long time to cook, and either of you might faint with hunger before they’re done. I knew a little girl but I’d better not tell you that story. It might lower your spirits, and that’s a thing I never do. So, to keep your minds off your hunger, we may as well talk about our plans.”

“Yes, do let’s,” said Jill. “Can you help us to find Prince Rilian?”

The Marsh-wiggle sucked in his cheeks till they were hollower than you would have thought possible. “Well, I don’t know that you’d call it help,” he said. “I don’t know that anyone can exactly help. It stands to reason we’re not likely to get very far on a journey to the North, not at this time of the year, with the winter coming on soon and all. And an early winter too, by the look of things. But you mustn’t let that make you downhearted. Very likely, what with enemies, and mountains, and rivers to cross, and losing our way, and next to nothing to eat,and sore feet, we’ll hardly notice the weather. And if we don’t get far enough to do any good, we may get far enough not to get back in a hurry.”

Both children noticed that he said “we”, not “you”, and both exclaimed at the same moment. “Are you coming with us?”

“Oh yes, I’m coming of course. Might as well, you see. I don’t suppose we shall ever see the King back in Narnia, now that he’s once set off for foreign parts; and he had a nasty cough when he left. Then there’s Trumpkin. He’s failing fast. And you’ll find there’ll have been a bad harvest after this terrible dry summer. And I shouldn’t wonder if some enemy attacked us.Mark my words.”

“And how shall we start?” said Scrubb.

“Well,” said the Marsh-wiggle very slowly, “all the others who ever went looking for Prince Rilian started from that same fountain where the Lord Drinian saw the lady. They went north,mostly. And as none of them ever came back, we can’t exactly say how they got on.”

“We’ve got to start by finding a ruined city of giants,” said Jill. “Aslan said so.”

“Got to start by finding it, have we?” answered Puddleglum.“Not allowed to start by looking for it, I suppose?”

“That’s what I meant, of course,” said Jill. “And then, when we’ve found it -”

“Yes, when!” said Puddleglum very drily.

“Doesn’t anyone know where it is?” asked Scrubb.

“I don’t know about Anyone,” said Puddleglum. “And I won’t say I haven’t heard of that Ruined City. You wouldn’t start from the fountain, though. You’d have to go across Ettinsmoor.That’s where the Ruined City is, if it’s anywhere. But I’ve been as far in that direction as most people and I never got to any ruins, so I won’t deceive you.”

“Where’s Ettinsmoor?” said Scrubb.

“Look over there northward,” said Puddleglum, pointing with his pipe. “See those hills and bits of cliff? That’s the beginning of Ettinsmoor. But there’s a river between it and us;the river Shribble. No bridges, of course.”

“I suppose we can ford it, though,” said Scrubb.

“Well, it has been forded,” admitted the Marsh-wiggle.

“Perhaps we shall meet people on Ettinsmoor who can tell us the way”, said Jill.

“You’re right about meeting people,” said Puddleglum.

“What sort of people live there?” she asked.

“It’s not for me to say they aren’t all right in their own way,” answered Puddleglum. “If you like their way.”

“Yes, but what are they?” pressed Jill. “There are so many queer creatures in this country. I mean, are they animals, or birds, or dwarfs, or what?”

The Marsh-wiggle gave a long whistle. “Phew!” he said.“Don’t you know? I thought the owls had told you. They’re giants.”

Jill winced. She had never liked giants even in books, and she had once met one in a nightmare. Then she saw Scrubb’s face, which had turned rather green, and thought to herself, “I bet he’s in a worse funk than I am.” That made her feel braver.

“The King told me long ago,” said Scrubb “that time when I was with him at sea-that he’d jolly well beaten those giants in war and made them pay him tribute.”

“That’s true enough,” said Puddleglum. “They’re at peace with us all right. As long as we stay on our own side of the Shribble, they won’t do us any harm. Over on their side, on the Moor Still, there’s always a chance. If we don’t get near any of them, and if none of them forget themselves, and if we’re not seen, it’s just possible we might get a long way.”

“Look here!” said Scrubb, suddenly losing his temper, as people so easily do when they have been frightened. “I don’t believe the whole thing can be half as bad as you’re making out;any more than the beds in the wigwam were hard or the wood was wet. I don’t think Aslan would ever have sent us if there was so little chance as all that.”

He quite expected the Marsh-wiggle to give him an angry reply, but he only said, “That’s the spirit, Scrubb. That’s the way to talk. Put a good face on it. But we all need to be very careful about our tempers, seeing all the hard times we shall have to go through together. Won’t do to quarrel, you know. At any rate, don’t begin it too soon. I know these expeditions usually end that way: knifing one another, I shouldn’t wonder, before all’s done.But the longer we can keep off it -”

“Well, if you feel it’s so hopeless,” interrupted Scrubb, “I think you’d better stay behind. Pole and I can go on alone, can’t we, Pole?”

“Shut up and don’t be an ass, Scrubb,” said Jill hastily,terrified lest the Marsh-wiggle should take him at his word.

“Don’t you lose heart, Pole,” said Puddleglum. “I’m coming, sure and certain. I’m not going to lose an opportunity like this. It will do me good. They all say I mean, the other wiggles all say-that I’m too flighty; don’t take life seriously enough. If they’ve said it once, they’ve said it a thousand times. ‘Puddleglum,’ they’ve said, ‘you’re altogether too full of bobance and bounce and high spirits. You’ve got to learn that life isn’t all fricasseed frogs and eel pie. You want something to sober you down a bit. We’re only saying it for your own good,Puddleglum.’ That’s what they say. Now a job like this a journey up north just as winter’s beginning, looking for a Prince that probably isn’t there, by way of a ruined city that no one has ever seen will be just the thing. If that doesn’t steady a chap, I don’t know what will.” And he rubbed his big frog-like hands together as if he were talking of going to a party or a pantomime. “And now,” he added, “let’s see how those eels are getting on.”

When the meal came it was delicious and the children had two large helpings each. At first the Marsh-wiggle wouldn’t believe that they really liked it, and when they had eaten so much that he had to believe them, he fell back on saying that it would probably disagree with them horribly. “What’s food for wiggles may be poison for humans, I shouldn’t wonder,” he said. After the meal they had tea, in tins (as you’ve seen men having it who are working on the road), and Puddleglum had a good many sips out of a square black bottle. He offered the children some of it, but they thought it very nasty.

The rest of the day was spent in preparations for an early start tomorrow morning. Puddleglum, being far the biggest, said he would carry three blankets, with a large bit of bacon rolled up inside them. Jill was to carry the remains of the eels, some biscuit, and the tinder-box. Scrubb was to carry both his own cloak and Jill’s when they didn’t want to wear them. Scrubb (who had learned some shooting when he sailed to the East under Caspian) had Puddleglum’s secondbest bow, and Puddleglum had his best one; though he said that what with winds, and damp bowstrings, and bad light, and cold fingers, it was a hundred to one against either of them hitting anything. He and Scrubb both had swords Scrubb had brought the one which had been left out for him in his room at Cair Paravel, but Jill had to be content with her knife. There would have been a quarrel about this, but as soon as they started sparring the wiggle rubbed his hands and said, “Ah, there you are. I thought as much. That’s what usually happens on adventures.” This made them both shut up.

All three went to bed early in the wigwam. This time the children really had a rather bad night. That was because Puddleglum, after saying, “You’d better try for some sleep, you two; not that I suppose any of us will close an eye tonight,”instantly went off into such a loud, continuous snore that, when Jill at last got to sleep, she dreamed all night about road-drills and waterfalls and being in express trains in tunnels. dvtsYTX/jtsoE7QPxSvbSZguilNG+WiRlD4yV2Du8iUZq6bPW6So0PWE1sVpDmpd