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He was standing out in the grassy place before the cottage while he thought these things. Twilight was coming on apace and a star or two was already out, but the remains of the sunset could still be seen in the west. Not far away the stranger's horse, loosely tied to an iron ring in the wall of the donkey's stable, was grazing. Shasta strolled over to it and patted its neck. It went on tearing up the grass and took no notice of him.
他心中想着这些事情时，正站在屋子外的草地上。暮色迅速降临，有—两颗星星已经出现了，而西方夕照的余霞依稀可见。不远处，陌生人的马儿正在吃草，它被松松地系在驴棚墙上的一个铁圈里。沙斯塔踅过去，拍拍马儿的颈子。马儿继续把青草拉起来咬嚼，没注意沙斯塔。
Then another thought came into Shasta's mind. "I wonder what sort of a man that Tarkaan is," he said out loud. "It would be splendid if he was kind. Some of the slaves in a great lord's house have next to nothing to do. They wear lovely clothes and eat meat every day. Perhaps he'd take me to the wars and I'd save his life in a battle and then he'd set me free and adopt me as his son and give me a palace and a chariot and a suit of armour. But then he might be a horrid cruel man. He might send me to work on the fields in chains. I wish I knew. How can I know? I bet this horse knows, if only he could tell me."
接着，沙斯塔又想到了一个念头。“我不知道这泰坎是哪一种人，”他大声说道，“如果他是仁慈和蔼的，那就好极了。在大王爷的王府里，有些奴隶几乎是不干什么活儿的。他们穿上漂亮的衣服，天天吃肉。也许他会带我去打仗，我又在一场战斗中救了他的命，他就会解除我的奴隶身份，收我做他的义子，赐给我一个王宫，一辆战车，一套盔甲。不过他也可能是个可怕的残酷的人。他会叫我戴上锁链到田里去干活，我希望我知道他是个怎样的人。我怎么才能知道呢，我敢打赌，这马儿是知道的，如果它能告诉我就好了。”
The Horse had lifted its head. Shasta stroked its smooth—as—satin nose and said, "I wish you could talk, old fellow."
马儿抬起头来。沙斯塔抚摩着它那光滑得像缎子一样的鼻子，说道：“老人家，我但愿你能说话啊。”
And then for a second he thought he was dreaming, for quite distinctly, though in a low voice, the Horse said, "But I can."
接着，他一时间认为他是在做梦，因为，尽管声音低沉，马儿十分清晰地开口道：“我是能够说话的。”
Shasta stared into its great eyes and his own grew almost as big, with astonishment.
沙斯塔盯住马儿的大眼睛直瞧，他自己的眼睛也惊讶得睁大了，几乎跟马眼一般大。
"How ever did you learn to talk?" he asked.
“你究竟怎么学会说话的呀?”他问。
"Hush! Not so loud," replied the Horse. "Where I come from, nearly all the animals talk."
“别嚷嚷！嗓门儿不用这么大，”马儿回答道，“我原来住的地方，几乎所有的动物都说话。”
"Wherever is that?" asked Shasta.
“那个地方究竟在哪儿?”沙斯塔问。
"Narnia," answered the Horse. "The happy land of Narnia — Narnia of the heathery mountains and the thymy downs, Narnia of the many rivers, the plashing glens, the mossy caverns and the deep forests ringing with the hammers of the Dwarfs. Oh the sweet air of Narnia! An hour's life there is better than a thousand years in Calormen." It ended with a whinny that sounded very like a sigh.
“在纳尼亚，”马儿答道，“纳尼亚乐土——纳尼亚有着石南茂盛的山岭和百里香遍地的丘陵。纳尼亚河流众多，峡谷水声温湿，山洞长满苍苔，幽深的树林里响彻小矮人的锤声。纳尼亚的空气多么芬芳啊！纳尼亚生活一小时胜过在卡乐门生活一千年。”结尾是一声马嘶，听上去很像一声长叹。
"How did you get here?" said Shasta.
“你怎么上这儿来的?”沙斯塔问。
"Kidnapped," said the Horse. "Or stolen, or captured whichever you like to call it. I was only a foal at the time. My mother warned me not to range the Southern slopes, into Archenland and beyond, but I wouldn't heed her. And by the Lion's Mane I have paid for my folly. All these years I have been a slave to humans, hiding my true nature and pretending to be dumb and witless like their horses."
“给绑架来的，”马儿说道，“也可以说是给偷来或俘虏来的——你爱怎么说都行。我那时不过是一头小马驹。我的母亲警告过我，叫我别逛到南边的山坡去，别闯进阿钦兰或阿钦兰之外的地方去，可是我不肯听它的话。天哪，我为我的愚蠢付出了代价。所有这些年月，我一直是人的奴隶，隐藏我真正的本性，假装哑巴，假装愚蠢，假装就像他们的马儿那样。”
"Why didn't you tell them who you were?"
“为什么你不告诉他们你是谁呢?”
"Not such a fool, that's why. If they'd once found out I could talk they would have made a show of me at fairs and guarded me more carefully than ever. My last chance of escape would have been gone."
“我才不是那种傻瓜呢。一旦他们发现了我是谁，他们就会送我到市场上去展览，比过去更加小心地看管我。我逃走的最后机会也就完蛋了。”
"And why —" began Shasta, but the Horse interrupted him.
“那又为什么——”沙斯塔开始说道，可是马儿打断了他的话。
"Now look," it said, "we mustn't waste time on idle questions. You want to know about my master the Tarkaan Anradin. Well, he's bad. Not too bad to me, for a war horse costs too much to be treated very badly. But you'd better be lying dead tonight than go to be a human slave in his house tomorrow."
“注意啰，”马儿说，“我们千万不要把时间浪费在不相干的问题上了。你要打听我的主人泰坎安拉丁?哦，他是个坏人，他对待我可不太坏，因为过分亏待一匹战马，后果就太严重了。然而，你与其明天到他王府里去做一个奴隶，还不如今天夜里躺下去死掉的好。”
"Then I'd better run away," said Shasta, turning very pale.
“那么我还是逃跑的好。”沙斯塔说道，脸色都急得煞白了。
"Yes, you had," said the Horse. "But why not run away with me?"
“是的，你还是逃跑的好，”马儿说，“可你为什么不跟我一起逃跑呢?”
"Are you going to run away too?" said Shasta.
“你也要逃跑吗?。沙斯塔说。
