ATfirstShastacouldseenothinginthevalleybelowhimbutaseaofmistwithafewdomesandpinnaclesrisingfromit;butasthelightincreasedandthemistclearedawayhesawmoreandmore。AbroadriverdivideditselfintotwostreamsandontheislandbetweenthemstoodthecityofTashbaan,oneofthewondersoftheworld。Roundtheveryedgeoftheisland,sothatthewaterlappedagainstthestone,ranhighwallsstrengthenedwithsomanytowersthathesoongaveuptryingtocountthem。Insidethewallstheislandroseinahillandeverybitofthathill,uptotheTisroc'spalaceandthegreattempleofTashatthetop,wascompletelycoveredwithbuildings-terraceaboveterrace,streetabovestreet,zigzagroadsorhugeflightsofstepsborderedwithorangetreesandlemontrees,roof-gardens,balconies,deeparchways,pillaredcolonnades,spires,battlements,minarets,pinnacles。Andwhenatlastthesunroseoutoftheseaandthegreatsilver-plateddomeofthetempleflashedbackitslight,hewasalmostdazzled。
"Geton,Shasta,"Breekeptsaying。
Theriverbanksoneachsideofthevalleyweresuchamassofgardensthattheylookedatfirstlikeforest,untilyougotcloserandsawthewhitewallsofinnumerablehousespeepingoutfrombeneaththetrees。Soonafterthat,Shastanoticedadelicioussmellofflowersandfruit。Aboutfifteenminuteslatertheyweredownamongthem,ploddingonalevelroadwithwhitewallsoneachsideandtreesbendingoverthewalls。
"Isay,"saidShastainanawedvoice。,Thisisawonderfulplace!"
"Idaresay,"saidBree。,ButIwishweweresafelythroughitandoutattheotherside。NarniaandtheNorth!"
Atthatmomentalow,throbbingnoisebeganwhichgraduallyswelledlouderandloudertillthewholevalleyseemedtobeswayingwithit。Itwasamusicalnoise,butsostrongandsolemnastobealittlefrightening。
"That'sthehornsblowingforthecitygatestobeopen,"saidBree。,Weshallbethereinaminute。Now,Aravis,dodroopyourshouldersabitandstepheavierandtrytolooklesslikeaprincess。Trytoimagineyou'vebeenkickedandcuffedandcallednamesallyourlife。"
"Ifitcomestothat,"saidAravis,,whataboutyoudroopingyourheadabitmoreandarchingyourneckabitlessandtryingtolooklesslikeawarhorse?"
"Hush,"saidBree。Hereweare。"
Andtheywere。Theyhadcometotheriver'sedgeandtheroadaheadofthemranalongamany—archedbridge。Thewaterdancedbrightlyintheearlysunlight;awaytotherightnearertheriver'smouth,theycaughtaglimpseships'masts。Severalothertravellerswerebeforethemonthebridge,mostlypeasantsdrivingladendonkeysandmulesorcarryingbasketsontheirheads。Thechildrenandhorsesjoinedthecrowd。
"Isanythingwrong?"whisperedShastatoAravis,whohadanoddlookonherface。
"Ohit'sallverywellforyou,"whisperedAravisrathersavagely。,WhatwouldyoucareaboutTashbaan?ButIoughttoberidinginonalitterwithsoldiersbeforemeandslavesbehind,andperhapsgoingtoafeastintheTisroc'spalace(mayheliveforever)—notsneakinginlikethis。It'sdifferentforyou。"
Shastathoughtallthisverysilly。
Atthefarendofthebridgethewallsofthecitytoweredhighabovethemandthebrazengatesstoodopeninthegatewaywhichwasreallywidebutlookednarrowbecauseitwassoveryhigh。Halfadozensoldiers,leaningontheirspears,stoodoneachside。Araviscouldn'thelpthinking,,They'dalljumptoattentionandsalutemeiftheyknewwhosedaughterIam。"Buttheotherswereonlythinkingofhowthey'dgetthroughandhopingthesoldierswouldnotaskanyquestions。Fortunatelytheydidnot。Butoneofthempickedacarrotoutofapeasant'sbasketandthrewitatShastawitharoughlaugh,saying:"Hey!Horse-boy!You'llcatchitifyourmasterfindsyou'vebeenusinghissaddle-horseforpackwork。"
ThisfrightenedhimbadlyforofcourseitshowedthatnoonewhoknewanythingabouthorseswouldmistakeBreeforanythingbutacharger。
"It'smymaster'sorders,sothere!"saidShasta。Butitwouldhavebeenbetterifhehadheldhistongueforthesoldiergavehimaboxonthesideofhisfacethatnearlyknockedhimdownandsaid,,Takethat,youyoungfilth,toteachyouhowtotalktofreemen。"Buttheyallslunkintothecitywithoutbeingstopped。Shastacriedonlyaverylittle;hewasusedtohardknocks。
InsidethegatesTashbaandidnotatfirstseemsosplendidasithadlookedfromadistance。Thefirststreetwasnarrowandtherewerehardlyanywindowsinthewallsoneachside。ItwasmuchmorecrowdedthanShastahadexpected:crowdedpartlybythepeasants(ontheirwaytomarket)whohadcomeinwiththem,butalsowithwatersellers,sweetmeatsellers,porters,soldiers,beggars,raggedchildren,hens,straydogs,andbare-footedslaves。Whatyouwouldchieflyhavenoticedifyouhadbeentherewasthesmells,whichcamefromunwashedpeople,unwasheddogs,scent,garlic,onions,andthepilesofrefusewhichlayeverywhere。
ShastawaspretendingtoleadbutitwasreallyBree,whoknewthewayandkeptguidinghimbylittlenudgeswithhisnose。Theysoonturnedtotheleftandbegangoingupasteephill。Itwasmuchfresherandpleasanter,fortheroadwasborderedbytreesandtherewerehousesonlyontherightside;ontheothertheylookedoutovertheroofsofhousesinthelowertownandcouldseesomewayuptheriver。Thentheywentroundahairpinbendtotheirrightandcontinuedrising。TheywerezigzagginguptothecentreofTashbaan。Soontheycametofinerstreets。GreatstatuesofthegodsandheroesofCalormen—whoaremostlyimpressiveratherthanagreeabletolookat—roseonshiningpedestals。Palmtreesandpillaredarcadescastshadowsovertheburningpavements。AndthroughthearchedgatewaysofmanyapalaceShastacaughtsightofgreenbranches,coolfountains,andsmoothlawns。Itmustbeniceinside,hethought。
AteveryturnShastahopedtheyweregettingoutofthecrowd,buttheyneverdid。Thismadetheirprogressveryslow,andeverynowandthentheyhadtostopaltogether。Thisusuallyhappenedbecausealoudvoiceshoutedout,Way,way,way,fortheTarkaan",or,fortheTarkheena",or,forthefifteenthVizier",,orfortheAmbassador",andeveryoneinthecrowdwouldcrushbackagainstthewalls;andabovetheirheadsShastawouldsometimesseethegreatlordorladyforwhomallthefusswasbeingmade,lollinguponalitterwhichfourorevensixgiganticslavescarriedontheirbareshoulders。ForinTashbaanthereisonlyonetrafficregulation,whichisthateveryonewhoislessimportanthastogetoutofthewayforeveryonewhoismoreimportant;unlessyouwantacutfromawhiporpunchfromthebuttendofaspear。
Itwasinasplendidstreetverynearthetopofthecity(theTisroc'spalacewastheonlythingaboveit)thatthemostdisastrousofthesestoppagesoccurred。
Way!Way!Way!"camethevoice。,WayfortheWhiteBarbarianKing,theguestoftheTisroc(mayheliveforever)!WayfortheNarnianlords。"
ShastatriedtogetoutofthewayandtomakeBreegoback。Butnohorse,notevenaTalkingHorsefromNarnia,backseasily。Andawomanwithaveryedgybasketinherhands,whowasjustbehindShasta,pushedthebaskethardagainsthisshoulders,andsaid,,Nowthen!Whoareyoushoving!"AndthensomeoneelsejostledhimfromthesideandintheconfusionofthemomenthelostholdofBree。Andthenthewholecrowdbehindhimbecamesostiffenedandpackedtightthathecouldn'tmoveatall。Sohefoundhimself,unintentionally,inthefirstrowandhadafinesightofthepartythatwascomingdownthestreet。
Itwasquiteunlikeanyotherpartytheyhadseenthatday。Thecrierwhowentbeforeitshouting,Way,way!"wastheonlyCalormeneinit。Andtherewasnolitter;everyonewasonfoot。TherewereabouthalfadozenmenandShastahadneverseenanyonelikethembefore。Foronething,theywereallasfair-skinnedashimself,andmostofthemhadfairhair。AndtheywerenotdressedlikemenofCalormen。Mostofthemhadlegsbaretothekneee。Theirtunicswereoffine,bright,hardycolours—woodlandgreen,orgayyellow,orfreshblue。Insteadofturbanstheyworesteelorsilvercaps,someofthemsetwithjewels,andonewithlittlewingsoneachsideofit。Afewwerebare-headed。Theswordsattheirsideswerelongandstraight,notcurvedlikeCalormenescimitars。AndinsteadofbeinggraveandmysteriouslikemostCalormenes,theywalkedwithaswingandlettheirarmsandshouldersfree,andchattedandlaughed。Onewaswhistling。Youcouldseethattheywerereadytobefriendswithanyonewhowasfriendlyanddidn'tgiveafigforanyonewhowasn't。Shastathoughthehadneverseenanythingsolovelyinhislife。
Buttherewasnottimetoenjoyitforatonceareallydreadfulthinghappened。Theleaderofthefair-headedmensuddenlypointedatShasta,criedout,,Thereheis!There'sourrunaway!"andseizedhimbytheshoulder。NextmomenthegaveShastaasmack-notacruelonetomakeyoucrybutasharponetoletyouknowyouareindisgraceandadded,shaking:
"Shameonyou,mylord!Fieforshame!QueenSusan'seyesareredwithweepingbecauseofyou。What!Truantforawholenight!Wherehaveyoubeen?"
ShastawouldhavedartedunderBree'sbodyandtriedtomakehimselfscarceinthecrowdifhehadhadtheleastchance;butthefair-hairedmenwereallroundhimbynowandhewasheldfirm。
OfcoursehisfirstimpulsewastosaythathewasonlypoorArsheeshthefisherman'ssonandthattheforeignlordmusthavemistakenhimforsomeoneelse。Butthen,theverylastthinghewantedtodointhatcrowdedplacewastostartexplainingwhohewasandwhathewasdoing。Ifhestartedonthat,hewouldsoonbeaskedwherehehadgothishorsefrom,andwhoAraviswas—andthen,goodbyetoanychanceofgettingthroughTashbaan。HisnextimpulsewastolookatBreeforhelp。ButBreehadnointentionoflettingallthecrowdknowthathecouldtalk,andstoodlookingjustasstupidasahorsecan。AsforAravis,Shastadidnotevendaretolookatherforfearofdrawingattention。Andtherewasnotimetothink,fortheleaderoftheNarnianssaidatonce:
https://www.cwzww.com https://www.du8.org https://www.shuhuangxs.comabxsw.net dingdianshu.com bxwx9.net
kenshu.tw pashuba.com quanshu.la
tlxsw.cc qudushu.net zaidudu.org
duyidu.org baquge.cc kenshuge.cc
qushumi.com xepzw.com 3dllc.net