小说园

chater a wayide adventure（第1页）

ITwasnearlynoononthefollowingdaywhenShastawaswakenedbysomethingwarmandsoftmovingoverhisface。Heopenedhiseyesandfoundhimselfstaringintothelongfaceofahorse;itsnoseandlipswerealmosttouchinghis。Herememberedtheexcitingeventsofthepreviousnightandsatup。Butashedidsohegroaned。

"Ow，Bree，"hegasped。"I'msosore。Allover。Icanhardlymove。"

"Goodmorning，smallone，"saidBree。"Iwasafraidyoumightfeelabitstiff。Itcan'tbethefalls。Youdidn'thavemorethanadozenorso，anditwasalllovely，softspringyturfthatmusthavebeenalmostapleasuretofallon。Andtheonlyonethatmighthavebeennastywasbrokenbythatgorsebush。No，it'stheridingitselfthatcomeshardatfirst。Whataboutbreakfast?I'vehadmine。"

"Ohbotherbreakfast。Bothereverything，"saidShasta。"ItellyouIcan'tmove。"Butthehorsenuzzledathimwithitsnoseandpawedhimgentlywithahooftillhehadtogetup。Andthenhelookedabouthimandsawwheretheywere。Behindthemlayalittlecopse。Beforethemtheturf，dottedwithwhiteflowers，slopeddowntothebrowofacliff。Farbelowthem，sothatthesoundofthebreakingwaveswasveryfaint，laythesea。Shastahadneverseenitfromsuchaheightandneverseensomuchofitbefore，nordreamedhowmanycoloursithad。Oneitherhandthecoaststretchedaway，headlandafterheadland，andatthepointsyoucouldseethewhitefoamrunninguptherocksbutmakingnonoisebecauseitwassofaroff。Thereweregullsflyingoverheadandtheheatshiveredontheground;itwasablazingday。ButwhatShastachieflynoticedwastheair。Hecouldn'tthinkwhatwasmissing，untilatlastherealizedthattherewasnosmelloffishinit。Forofcourse，neitherinthecottagenoramongthenets，hadheeverbeenawayfromthatsmellinhislife。Andthisnewairwassodelicious，andallhisoldlifeseemedsofaraway，thatheforgotforamomentabouthisbruisesandhisachingmusclesandsaid:

"Isay，Bree，didn'tyousaysomethingaboutbreakfast?"

"Yes，Idid，"answeredBree。"Ithinkyou'llfindsomethinginthesaddle-bags。They'reoverthereonthattreewhereyouhungthemuplastnight—orearlythismorning，rather。"

Theyinvestigatedthesaddle-bagsandtheresultswerecheering—ameatpasty，onlyslightlystale，alumpofdriedfigsandanotherlumpofgreencheese，alittleflaskofwine，and

somemoney;aboutfortycrescentsinall，whichwasmorethanShastahadeverseen。

WhileShastasatdown-painfullyandcautiously-withhisbackagainstatreeandstartedonthepasty，Breehadafewmoremouthfulsofgrasstokeephimcompany。

"Won'titbestealingtousethemoney?"askedShasta。

"Oh，"saidtheHorse，lookingupwithitsmouthfullofgrass，"Ineverthoughtofthat。Afreehorseandatalkinghorsemustn'tsteal，ofcourse。ButIthinkit'sallright。We'reprisonersandcaptivesinenemycountry。Thatmoneyisbooty，spoil。Besides，howarewetogetanyfoodforyouwithoutit?Isuppose，likeallhumans，youwon'teatnaturalfoodlikegrassandoats。"

Icant。

"Evertried?"

"Yes，Ihave。Ican'tgetitdownatall。Youcouldn'teitherifyouwereme。"

"You'rerumlittlecreatures，youhumans，"remarkedBree。WhenShastahadfinishedhisbreakfast（whichwasbyfarthenicesthehadevereaten），Breesaid，"IthinkI'llhaveanicerollbeforeweputonthatsaddleagain。"Andheproceededtodoso。

"That'sgood。That'sverygood，"hesaid，rubbinghisbackontheturfandwavingallfourlegsintheair。"Yououghttohaveonetoo，Shasta，"hesnorted。"It'smostrefreshing。"

ButShastaburstoutlaughingandsaid，"Youdolookfunnywhenyou'reonyourback!"

"Ilooknothingofthesort，"saidBree。Butthensuddenlyherolledroundonhisside，raisedhisheadandlookedhardatShasta，blowingalittle。

"Doesitreallylookfunny?"heaskedinananxiousvoice。

"Yes，itdoes，"repliedShasta。"Butwhatdoesitmatter?"

"Youdon'tthink，doyou，"saidBree，"thatitmightbeathingtalkinghorsesneverdo—asilly，clownishtrickIvelearnedfromthedumbones?Itwouldbedreadfultofind，whenIgetbacktoNarnia，thatI'vepickedupalotoflow，badhabits。Whatdoyouthink，Shasta?Honestly，now。Don'tsparemyfeelings。Shouldyouthinkthereal，freehorses—thetalkingkind—doroll?"

"HowshouldIknow?AnywayIdon'tthinkIshouldbotheraboutitifIwereyou。Wevegottogettherefirst。Doyouknowtheway?"