chater thirteen an unexected etg (第3/5页)
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While he was thinking of all this he happened to look up through the branches towards the top of the tree．There， on a branch above his head，a wonderful bird was roosting．I say“roosting”because it seemed almost asleep；perhaps not quite． The tiniest slit of one eye was open．It was larger than an eagle，its breast saffron，its head crested with scarlet，and its tail purple．
“And it just shows，”said Digory afterward when he was telling the story to the others，“that you can’t be too careful in these magical places．You never know what may be watching you．”But I think Digory would not have taken an apple for himself in any case． Things like Do Not Steal were，I think，hammered into boys’ heads a good deal harder in those days than they are now．Still，we can never be certain．
Digory was just turning to go back to the gates when he stopped to have one last look around．He got a terrible shock．He was not alone．There，only a few yards away from him，stood the Witch． She was just throwing away the core of an apple which she had eaten． The juice was darker than you would expect and had made a horrid stain round her mouth．Digory guessed at once that she must have climbed in over the wall．And he began to see that there might be some sense in that last line about getting your heart’s desire and getting despair along with it．For the Witch looked stronger and prouder than ever，and even，in a way，triumphant；but her face was deadly white，white as salt．
All this flashed through Digory’s mind in a second；then he took to his heels and ran for the gates as hard as he could pelt；the Witch after him．As soon as he was out，the gates closed behind him of their own accord．That gave him the lead but not for long． By the time he had reached the others and was shouting out“Quick， get on，Polly ！ Get up，Fledge”，the Witch had climbed the wall， or vaulted over it，and was close behind him again．
“Stay where you are，”cried Digory，turning round to face her，“or we’ll all vanish．Don’t come an inch nearer．”
“Foolish boy，”said the Witch．“Why do you run from me ？ I mean you no harm．If you do not stop and listen to me now，you will miss some knowledge that would have made you happy all your life．”
“Well I don’t want to hear it，thanks，”said Digory．But he did．
“I know what errand you have come on，”continued the Witch． “For it was I who was close beside you in the woods last night and heard all your counsels．You have plucked fruit in the garden yonder． You have it in your pocket now．And you are going to carry it back，untasted，to the Lion；for him to eat，for him to use．You simpleton ！ Do you know what that fruit is ？ I will tell you．It is the apple of youth，the apple of life．I know，for I have tasted it；and I feel already such changes in myself that I know I shall never grow old or die．Eat it，Boy，eat it；and you and I will both live forever and be king and queen of this whole world-or of your world，if we decide to go back there．”
“No thanks，”said Digory，“I don’t know that I care much about living on and on after everyone I know is dead．I’d rather live an ordinary time and die and go to Heaven．”
“But what about this Mother of yours whom you pretend to love so ？”
