"Well," said Lucy rather slowly (for she wanted to be truthful (诚实的) and yet not be too hard on him), "well, that was pretty bad. But you're so sorry for it that I'm sure you will never do it again."
"Daughter of Eve, don't you understand?" said the Faun. "It isn't something I have done. I'm doing it now, this very moment."{1}
"What do you mean?" cried Lucy, turning very white.
"You are the child," said Tumnus. "I had orders from the White Witch that if ever I saw a Son of Adam or a Daughter of Eve in the wood, I was to catch them and hand them over to her. And you are the first I've ever met.
And I've pretended to be your friend an asked you to tea, and all the time I've been meaning to wait till you were asleep and then go and tell Her."
"Oh, but you won't, Mr. Tumnus," said Lucy. "You won't, will you? Indeed, indeed you really mustn't."
"And if I don't," said he, beginning to cry again "she's sure to find out. And she'll have my tail cut off and my horns sawn (锯) off, and my beard plucked (拔) out, and she'll wave her wand over my beautiful clove (劈开) hoofs and turn them into horrid solid hoofs like wretched (可怜的) horse's.
And if she is extra and specially angry she'll turn me into stone and I shall be only statue of a Faun in her horrible house until the four thrones at Cair Paravel are filled and goodness knows when that will happen, or whether it will ever happen at all."{2}
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Tumnus," said Lucy. "But please let me go home."
"Of course I will," said the Faun. "Of course I've got to. I see that now. I hadn't known what Humans were like before I met you. Of course I can't give you up to the Witch; not now that I know you.
But we must be off at once. I'll see you back to the lamp-post. I suppose you can find your own way from there back to Spare Oom and War Drobe?"{3}
"I'm sure I can," said Lucy.
"We must go as quietly as we can," said Mr. Tumnus. "The whole wood is full of her spies (间谍). Even some of the trees are on her side."
They both got up and left the tea things on the table, and Mr. Tumnus once more put up his umbrella and gave Lucy his arm, and they went out into the snow.
The journey back was not at all like the journey to the Faun's cave; they stole along as quickly as they could, without speaking a word, and Mr. Tumnus kept to the darkest places. Lucy was relieved (放心) when they reached the lamp-post again.
"Do you know your way from here, Daughter of Eve?" said Tumnus.
Lucy looked very hard between the trees and could just see in the distance a patch of light that looked like daylight. "Yes," she said, "I can see the wardrobe door."
"Then be off home as quick as you can," said the Faun, "and - c-can you ever forgive me for what meant to do?"
"Why, of course I can," said Lucy, shaking him heartily (真诚地) by the hand. "And I do hope you won't get into dreadful trouble on my account."
"Farewell (告别), Daughter of Eve," said he. "Perhaps I may keep the handkerchief?"
"Rather (当然)!" said Lucy, and then ran towards the far off patch of daylight as quickly as her legs would carry her. And presently instead of rough branch brushing past her she felt coats, and instead of crunching (嘎吱嘎吱) snow under her feet she felt wooden board and all at once she found herself jumping out of the wardrobe into the same empty room from which the whole adventure had started.
She shut the wardrobe door tightly behind her and looked around, panting for breath. It was still raining and she could hear the voices of the others in the passage.
"I'm here," she shouted. "I'm here. I've come back I'm all right."
Lucy ran out of the empty room into the passage and found the other three.
"It's all right," she repeated, "I've comeback."
"What on earth are you talking about, Lucy?" asked Susan.
"Why? said Lucy in amazement (惊讶), "haven't you all been wondering where I was?"
"So you've been hiding, have you?" said Peter. "Poor old Lu, hiding and nobody noticed! You'll have to hide longer than that if you want people to start looking for you."
"But I've been away for hours and hours," said Lucy.
The others all stared at one another.
"Batty (古怪)!" said Edmund, tapping his head. "Quite batty."
"What do you mean, Lu?" asked Peter.
"What I said," answered Lucy. "It was just after breakfast when I went into the wardrobe, and I've been away for hours and hours, and had tea, and all sorts of things have happened."
"Don't be silly, Lucy," said Susan. "We've only just come out of that room a moment ago, and you were there then."
"She's not being silly at all," said Peter, "she's just making up a story for fun, aren't you, Lu? And why shouldn't she?"
"No, Peter, I'm not," she said. "It's - it's a magic wardrobe. There's a wood inside it, and it's snowing, and there's a Faun and a Witch and it's called Narnia; come and see."
The others did not know what to think, but Lucy was so excited that they all went back with her into the room. She rushed ahead of them, flung (挥动)open the door of the wardrobe and cried, "Now! go in and see for yourselves."
"Why, you goose (笨蛋)," said Susan, putting her head inside and pulling the fur coats apart, "it's just an ordinary (普通的) wardrobe; look! there's the back of it."
Then everyone looked in and pulled the coats apart; and they all saw - Lucy herself saw - a perfectly ordinary wardrobe.
There was no wood and no snow, only the back of the wardrobe, with hooks (挂钩) on it. Peter went in and rapped his knuckles on it to make sure that it was solid (坚固的).
