“Daughter，” said the Hermit， “I have now lived a hundred and nine winters in this world and have never yet met any such thing as Luck. Them is something about all this that I do not understand： but if ever we need to know it， you may be sure that we shall.”
“And what about Rabadash and his two hundred horse？” asked Aravis.
“They will not pass this way， I think，” said the Hermit. “They must have found a ford by now well to the east of us. From there they will try to ride straight to Anvard.”
“Poor Shasta！” said Aravis. “Has he far to go？ Will he get there first？”
“There is good hope of it，” said the old man.
Aravis lay down again （on her side this time） and said， “Have I been asleep for a long time？ It seems to be getting dark.”
The Hermit was looking out of the only window， which faced north. “This is not the darkness of night，” he said presently. “The clouds are falling down from Stormness Head. Our foul weather always comes from there in these parts. There will be thick fog tonight.”
Next day， except for her sore back， Aravis felt so well that after breakfast （which was porridge and cream） the Hermit said she could get up. And of course she at once went out to speak to the Horses.
The weather had changed and the whole of that green enclosure was filled， like a great green cup， with sunlight. It was a very peaceful place， lonely and quiet.
Hwin at once trotted across to Aravis and gave her a horse-kiss. “But where‘s Bree？” said Aravis when each had asked after theother’s health and sleep.
“Over there，” said Hwin， pointing with her nose to the far side of the circle. “And I wish you‘d come and talk to him. There’s something wrong， I can‘t get a word out of him.”
They strolled across and found Bree lying with his face towards the wall， and though he must have heard them coming， he never turned his head or spoke a word.
“Good morning， Bree，” said Aravis. “How are you this morning？” Bree muttered something that no one could hear.
“The Hermit says that Shasta probably got to King Lune in time，” continued Aravis， “so it looks as if all our troubles are over. Narnia， at last， Bree！”
“I shall never see Narnia，” said Bree in a low voice. “Aren’t you well， Bree dear？” said Aravis.
Bree turned round at last， his face mournful as only a horse‘s can be. “I shall go back to Calormen，” he said.
“What？” said Aravis. “Back to slavery！”
“Yes，” said Bree. “Slavery is all I’m fit for. How can I ever show my face among the free Horses of Narnia？-I who left a mare and a girl and a boy to be eaten by lions while I galloped all I could to save my own wretched skin！”
“We all ran as hard as we could，” said Hwin.
“Shasta didn‘t！” snorted Bree. “At least he ran in the right direction： ran back. And that is what shames me most of all. I， who called myself a war-horse and boasted of a hundred fights， to be beaten by a little human boy-a child， a mere foal， who had never held a sword nor had any good nurture or example in his life！”
“I know，” said Aravis. “I felt just the same. Shasta was marvellous. I’m just as bad as you， Bree. I‘ve been snubbing him and looking downon him ever since you met us and now he turns out to be the best of us all. But I think it would be better to stay and say we’re sorry than to go back to Calormen.”
“It‘s all very well for you，” said Bree. “You haven’t disgraced yourself. But I‘ve lost everything.”
“My good Horse，” said the Hermit， who had approached them unnoticed because his bare feet made so little noise on that sweet， dewy grass. “My good Horse， you’ve lost nothing but your self-conceit. No， no， cousin. Don‘t put back your ears and shake your mane at me. If you are really so humbled as you sounded a minute ago， you must learn to listen to sense. You’re not quite the great Horse you had come to think， from living among poor dumb horses. Of course youwere braver and cleverer than them. You could hardly help being that. It doesn‘t follow that you’ll be anyone very special in Narnia. But as long as you know you‘re nobody special， you’ll be a very decent sort of Horse， on the whole， and taking one thing with another. And now， if you and my other four-footed cousin will come round to the kitchen door we‘ll see about the other half of that mash.”
中文阅读
他们骑马在峡谷中行进了几个小时，峡谷逐渐变得开阔起来，可以看出前面的道路。他们一直沿着河岸行走，这条河现在汇入了另一条更加宽阔而湍急的河流。那条河是从左往右流的，向着东方奔涌而去。在那条新河流的对岸，一片美丽的原野缓缓隆起，形成彼此相连的低矮的丘陵，一直绵延到北方的崇山峻岭。他们右边矗立着尖尖的石岭，有一两个山头上还堆积着皑皑白雪。左边是覆盖着松林的山坡、狰狞的悬崖峭壁、狭窄的峡谷，以及连绵不断的蓝色山峰。这会儿，夏斯塔再也认不出琵尔山了。正前方的山脉是马鞍形状，郁郁葱葱的，这一定是从阿陳兰通往纳尼亚的关隘。
“卜噜－唿－唿，北方，绿色的北方！”布里萧萧嘶鸣起来。阿拉维斯和夏斯塔在南方长大，在他们的眼中，低矮的丘陵要比他们想象的更加青翠欲滴。大家振作起精神，纵马奔向两条河流的交汇处。
向东奔流的那条河从西部的高山上倾泻而下，挟裹着一股股急流，没有人敢游过去。他们沿着河岸搜寻了一番，发现一处可以涉水过去的浅滩。喧嚣的水声隆隆作响，巨大的漩涡在马蹄子周围直打转；颤动的凉爽空气，飞来飞去的蜻蜓，使夏斯塔充满了新奇的激动。
“朋友们，我们到阿陳兰了！”布里踏水前进，激得水花四溅。登上北边河岸时，它自豪地喊道，“我想，我们刚渡过的这条河名叫弯曲的箭。”
“但愿我们还来得及。”和文喃喃低语。接下去，他们开始爬坡。由于这些丘陵很陡，他们缓慢而曲折地走了好久。这片原野风景如画，就像是一个开放的公园，看不见道路和房舍。一丛丛树木，虽然不像森林那么茂密，却也生长得满山遍野。夏斯塔有生以来，一直住在树木稀少的草原上，从未见到过这么多的树木，或者说种类这么多的树木。如果你在那里，也许会知道（他可不知道）他所看见的是橡树、山毛榉、白桦、花楸、甜栗树。他们经过的时候，兔子四下里奔逃。不一会儿，他们又看到一群淡黄色的鹿消失在树林之中。
“这里实在是令人心旷神怡！”阿拉维斯感叹道。
在第一座山脊上，夏斯塔从马鞍上转身向后望去，塔西班已经杳无踪迹。除了他们刚经过的那道狭窄的绿色峡谷，就是浩瀚的大沙漠，一直延伸到天边。
“喂！”他突然叫了起来，“那是什么？”“什么是什么？”布里说着，转过身来。和文和阿拉维斯也转过身来。
“那个，”夏斯塔一边说，一边用手指点着，“看上去像是烟。那是火吗？”