What woke him was a loud crash. He jumped up off the sofa， staring. He saw at once from the mere look of the room-the lights and shadows all looked different-that he must have slept for several hours. He saw also what had made the crash： a costly porcelain vase which had been standing on the window-sill lay on the floor broken into about thirty pieces. But he hardly noticed all these things. What he did notice was two hands gripping the window-sill from outside. They gripped harder and harder （getting white at the knuckles） and then up came a head and a pair of shoulders. A moment later there was a boy of Shasta’s own age sitting astride the sill with one leg hanging down inside the room.
Shasta had never seen his own face in a looking-glass. Even if he had， he might not have realized that the other boy was （at ordinary times） almost exactly like himself. At the moment this boy was not particularly like anyone for he had the finest black eye you ever saw， and a tooth missing， and his clothes （which must have been splendidones when he put them on） were torn and dirty， and there was both blood and mud on his face.
“Who are you？” said the boy in a whisper. “Are you Prince Corin？” said Shasta.
“Yes， of course，” said the other. “But who are you？”
“I‘m nobody， nobody in particular， I mean，” said Shasta. “King Edmund caught me in the street and mistook me for you. I suppose we must look like one another. Can I get out the way you’ve got in？”
“Yes， if you‘re any good at climbing，” said Corin. “But why are you in such a hurry？ I say： we ought to be able to get some fun out of this being mistaken for one another.”
“No， no，” said Shasta. “We must change places at once. It’ll be simply frightful if Mr Tumnus comes back and finds us both here. I‘ve had to pretend to be you. And you’re starting tonight-secretly. And where were you all this time？”
“A boy in the street made a beastly joke about Queen Susan，” said Prince Corin， “so I knocked him down. He ran howling into a house and his big brother came out. So I knocked the big brother down. Then they all followed me until we ran into three old men with spears who are called the Watch. So I fought the Watch and they knocked me down. It was getting dark by now. Then the Watch took me along to lock me up somewhere. So I asked them if they‘d like a stoup of wine and they said they didn’t mind if they did. Then I took them to a wine shop and got them some and they all sat down and drank till they feel asleep. I thought it was time for me to be off so I came out quietly and then I found the first boy-the one who had started all thetrouble-still hanging about. So I knocked him down again. After thatI climbed up a pipe on to the roof of a house and lay quiet till it began to get light this morning. Ever since that I‘ve been finding my way back. I say， is there anything to drink？”
“No， I drank it，” said Shasta. “And now， show me how you got in. There’s not a minute to lose. You‘d better lie down on the sofa and pretend-but I forgot. It’ll be no good with all those bruises and black eye. You‘ll just have to tell them the truth， once I’m safely away.”
“What else did you think I‘d be telling them？” asked the Prince with a rather angry look. “And who are you？”
“There’s no time，” said Shasta in a frantic whisper. “I‘m a Narnian， I believe； something Northern anyway. But I’ve been brought up all my life in Calormen. And I‘m escaping： across the desert； with a talking Horse called Bree. And now， quick！ How do I get away？”
“Look，” said Corin. “Drop from this window onto the roof of the verandah. But you must do it lightly， on your toes， or someone will hear you. Then along to your left and you can get up to the top of that wall if you’re any good at all as a climber. Then along the wall to the corner. Drop onto the rubbish heap you will find outside， and there you are.”
“Thanks，” said Shasta， who was already sitting on the sill. The two boys were looking into each other‘s faces and suddenly found that they were friends.
“Good-bye，” said Corin. “And good luck. I do hope you get safe away.”
“Good-bye，” said Shasta. “I say， you have been having some adventures.”
“Nothing to yours，” said the Prince. “Now drop； lightly-I say，” he added as Shasta dropped. “I hope we meet in Archenland. Go to my father King Lune and tell him you’re a friend of mine. Look out！ I hear someone coming.”
中文阅读
“亲爱的御姐，可敬的女士，”埃德蒙说，“眼下你必须表现出你的勇气来。我坦率地告诉你，我们正处于极大的危难之中。”
“什么危难，埃德蒙？”女王追问道。“是这样，”埃德蒙说，“我不认为我们可以轻而易举地离开塔西班。
当王子期盼你嫁给他时，我们大家还是座上宾。但凭着狮子的鬃毛起誓，一旦你拒绝了他，我想，我们都将沦为阶下囚。”
一个矮人低低地吹了声口哨。
“我警告过两位陛下，我警告过你们，”渡鸦沙罗帕德说，“进来容易出去难，正如龙虾在锅里所说的！”
“今天早上，我与王子在一起，”埃德蒙继续说道。“他不允许（因此更加可悲）自己的意志受到丝毫阻挠。对于你长时间的拖延与犹豫不决，他非常恼火。今天早上，他一再追问你的想法。我避而不答——想给他的热切希望降降温——只是开一些轻松而又众所周知的玩笑，说女人的心思令人无法捉摸，并暗示他的追求很有可能会冷下来。他勃然大怒，变得很危险。他说出的每一个字都包含着威胁，尽管外表还很客气。”
“是的，”图姆纳斯说，“昨晚我与宰相共进晚餐，情形也大致如此。他问我对塔西班的观感。于是我（我不能告诉他，我厌恶这里的每一块石子，而我又不愿意撒谎）告诉他，快到盛夏时节了，我的心怀念纳尼亚凉爽的树林和带着露水的山坡。他别有用心地笑了一下，说，‘没有什么阻拦你回到那里翩翩起舞，小羊蹄子，作为交换的条件是，你们要为我们的王子留下一位新娘。’”
“你的意思是，他会用暴力强迫我做他的妻子？”苏珊惊叫道。“这正是我所惧怕的，苏珊，”埃德蒙说，“妻子，或者是奴隶，那将会更加可怕。”“可是他怎么能够这样？难道提斯洛克认为我们的兄长大帝能够容忍这样的暴行？”
“陛下，”皮里丹对国王说，“他们不会这么狂妄。难道他们以为纳尼亚没有刀剑和长矛吗？”
“哎，”埃德蒙说，“我想，提斯洛克并不怎么惧怕纳尼亚。我们是个小国。大帝国的君主总是敌视觊觎周边的小国。他渴望把这些小国摧毁吞并。起初，他允许王子到凯尔帕拉维尔来追求你，御姐，说不定只是想找个机会来进攻我们。很有可能，他希望一口吞掉纳尼亚和阿陳兰两个小国。”
“让他试试看，”另一个矮人说，“在海上，我们同他一样强大。如果他从陆地来进攻我们，他必须要穿越沙漠。”
“说得对，朋友，”埃德蒙接着说，“但沙漠是个可靠的屏障吗？沙罗帕德有什么话要说吗？”
