Chapter 2 Chapter 2 The Ancient Treasure

This doesn't look like a garden," Susan thought for a while, "it must be a castle, and the place we're standing is the castle yard. "" "I see what you mean," said Peter, "yes, that's the ruins of the tower, and that's the stairs, leading up to the top floor. And look at those wide, shallow steps leading up to the porch, and the door must be leading to the to the lobby." It looks really old. said Edmund. "Yes," continued Peter, "if we could find out who lived here, and how long ago." "I think it's all very queer," said Lucy.

"Really, Lou?" Peter turned, looking at her. "I feel the same way. It's the strangest thing that's ever happened on this strange day. I wonder where we are." ,So what happened." As they talked, they crossed the yard and entered another doorway.This used to be a hall, but now, it is almost the same as the courtyard outside, the roof has long since disappeared, and there is only an open space overgrown with weeds and daisies, but it is narrower and shorter, and the walls are higher than the courtyard walls.There's a platform at the other end, than elsewhere-

About three feet tall. "Strange, was this really a hall before?" Susan said, "What's the platform for?" "Hey, you fool," Peter suddenly became inexplicably excited, "you can't see that's where kings and nobles sit. Have you forgotten that we were once kings and queens ourselves, sitting in palaces on the high platform, which is similar to this one."! "Our Castle Cair Paravel," said Susan, dreamily, "is at the mouth of the River Narnia. How could I forget?" "It would be nice to see all this again!" said Lucy. "Let's take this as Cair Paravel. This hall is very similar to the palace where we used to hold our banquets."

"It's a pity that there is no banquet." Edmund was always practical. "It's getting late, you see, the shadows are so long, and the weather is not so hot." "If we have to spend the night here, we must have a fire ready," said Peter. "I have matches, and we will go find them separately, and see if we can gather some dry sticks." Everyone realized that this was wise and acted immediately.There were not many dead branches in the orchard, so they had to go across the hall and through a small side door to try their luck at the other end of the castle.It was like a labyrinth, with many stone piles and open spaces.They guessed that these were small connected rooms before, but now they are overgrown with weeds and desolate everywhere.Further on, they saw a large gap in the wall.Pass through the gap and come to a small forest. The trees here are very dark and tall.Here they found great quantities of dry sticks, dead wood, dead leaves, and fir-tree cones.They carried them back and forth, holding bundles and bundles, and made a huge pile on the castle platform.Fortunately, they also found a well outside the hall, which was buried in the grass.They cleaned the weeds from the well, and found that the water was cool, sweet, and deep.Then the girls ran off to pick some apples, and the two boys made a campfire.They used many matches, and finally the bonfire was lit.At this time, they believe that there is simply no place in the world that is more comfortable and warm.Then they put the apples on the tips of the sticks and tried to bake the apples, but the taste of baked apples was really not very good without sugar.It's too hot to eat with your hands, and by the time you can, it's too cold to taste at all.As a result, they had to eat raw apples to satisfy their hunger.Edmund was right that dinner in the school cafeteria wasn't so bad—"I wouldn't mind a thick slice of bread and butter now," he added.However, a passion for adventure was stirring everyone, and no one really wanted to go back to school. 8

After eating the last apple, Susan ran to the well to drink again, and came back with something in her hand. "Look," there was something in her voice, "I picked it up at the well." She handed it to Peter and sat down.From her expression and voice, the others thought she was about to cry.Ed, Mun, and Lucy bent over with great interest, and looked into Peter's hand--it was a small, shiny thing, gleaming in the light of the campfire. "What a strange thing!" Peter's voice also sounded a little strange.He casually handed it to the others. Now everyone can see clearly that it is a horse in chess. It is the same size as an ordinary chess piece, but it is very heavy because it is made of pure gold.The little eyes on the horse's head were two little jewels, or rather one eye, for the other had been lost. #

"Huh?" Startled Lucy. "It's like the way we used to play at Cair Paravel when we were king and queen!" "What's the matter with you, Sue?" Peter noticed that Susan was in a daze. "Somehow," murmured Susan, "this piece brings me back to... oh, what a charming day. I remember playing chess with the dwarfs and those kind giants , and the friends of the aquarium singing in the sea, and my handsome pony, and... and... "Now," said Peter's voice agitated, "it's time for us to think about it. "Thinking of what?" asked Edmund.

"Don't you think where we are?" said Peter. "Go on, go on!" cried Lucy eagerly. "I've been feeling this mysterious place for hours." "Go on, Peter," said Edmund, "and we are all listening." "We're on the ruins of Cair Paravel," Peter declared confidently. "But," said I, blinking Edmund, "how do you explain all this? The place was destroyed a long time ago. Look at the big trees that grow all the way up the gate, and then Look at these stones. Anyone can tell that this place has not been lived in for hundreds of years."2

"I've thought about it," said Peter. "That's the problem. Let's put that aside for a moment. I want to lay out my arguments. First, this hall is the same shape and size as Cair Paravel. It's exactly the same as the one you saw. You just have to imagine a dome over it, and turn the grass into colored pavements, and hang tapestries on the walls. Well, now we're in the palace banquet hall. Isn't it?" No one spoke. The second point," continued Peter, "is that the castle well is in exactly the same location as ours, a little to the south of the hall, and it is the same size and shape. "

The others remained silent. "Third point: Susan just discovered the chess pieces, which are exactly the same as the chess pieces we used to play." Still no answer. "Fourth point. Do you remember - just the day before the arrival of Calormene's ambassador - that we planted many fruit trees outside the north gate of Cair Paravel Castle. The most noble of all the elves in the forest Pomona, the goddess of the fruit tree, came to pray for our orchard, and it was the very well-dressed little dormouse who was digging the hole. Do you remember their leader, the elderly mile Graham? It leaned on the shovel and said, "Believe me, Your Majesty, these fruit trees will bring you joy one day. 'Look, it really hit the spot. "*

"I remember it all, I remember it all!" Lucy clapped. "But look here, Peter," said Edmund hesitantly, "we can't plant fruit trees right next to the gate—we wouldn't be so foolish."2 "Of course," said Peter, "it may have been that the orchard gradually extended to the gate." "Besides," said Edmund, "Cair Paravel is not really an island." "Yes, I've always wondered about that too, but it depends what you call it. It's probably a peninsula, much like an island. Perhaps in our later years, someone dug a strait to make it became what it is now."

"Wait a minute!" said Edmund, "you said in our later years, but we have only been back from Narnia for a year. How could the castle fall down in just one year, and the huge A forest formed, and we watch our planted saplings turn into old, tall fruit trees? God knows what other miracles. But it's all impossible!"* "One thing comes to mind that will prove whether this is our castle or not." Lucy said excitedly, "If this is Cair Paravel, then there should be a door at this end of the dais. In fact, it should be right behind us. You all know - it leads to our treasure house." "I can't tell," Peter said, standing up. Vine leaves hung from the wall behind them. "We'll find out in a minute," said Edmund, picking up a thick branch for the fire, and began beating on the ivy-covered wall.Tap, tap, the stick made a solid sound when it hit the wall, and it continued to hit, it was still tap, tap, tap.Suddenly, Tong, Yu, Tong, the knocking sound changed, it was a sound of hitting on wood. "Listen!" Edmund was stunned. "We have to get rid of the vines first," Peter said. "Oh, don't touch it," said Susan. "Let's open the door again tomorrow morning. If we're going to spend the night here tonight, I don't want to have an open door behind me, with the darkness coming out and the air coming out." With the cool wind and the damp, anything dreadful could come out of the hole! Besides, it's going to be dark soon."— "Susan! How do you say such deflated words?" Lucy glanced at her reproachfully.The two boys were so excited that they didn't even notice what Susan said.They began to cut off the ivy mouth with a knife, and in a blink of an eye, their "comfort nest" just now was messed up.After a while of busy work, the door was completely exposed. 5 "It must be locked," said Peter. "Never mind, the wood is rotten," said Edmund confidently, "and we can smash it to pieces without trouble, so we can have more wood to chop. Come on." Things are not as easy as they imagined.At this time, dusk had enveloped the earth, and a few stars appeared in the sky.The children stood on a heap of rough-split wood chips, looking into the eerie and dark hole that had just opened, and couldn't help trembling slightly. + "Okay, bring a torch." Peter told his sister. ) "Oh, don't go down now," said Susan hastily, "said Edmund..." "I don't say that now," interrupted Edmund, "I don't understand it yet, but we'll find out how it happened. Will you come down, too, Peter?" "Let's all go down," said Peter, "be brave, Susan. We're back in Narnia now, and it's no use being children. You're queen here. And, anyway, pretend secrets, no one can sleep." They lit torches with twigs, but that didn't work.Turn the burning end up and the fire will go out; switch the other end and the flames will burn your hands and the smoke will burn your eyes.In the end they had to use Edmund's torch.Fortunately Edmund had received a flashlight for his birthday a week before, and the batteries were still almost new.He went down first with the flashlight, followed by Lucy and Susan, and Peter last. "I have come to the steps," reported Edmund loudly. "Count it and see how many levels there are," said Peter. One—two—three—" Edmund counted, walking cautiously down. Counting to the sixteenth step. "At the end. ' he yelled behind him. "Then this is really Cair Paravel," said Lucy, "there were sixteen steps before." No one said another word.Until they descended the last step and stood close together.Edmund turned on the flashlight, and the beam of light moved slowly. ( "Wow!" The children immediately burst into cheers. There is no doubt now that this is the ancient vault of Cair Paravel.As King and Queen of Narnia, they had been masters here.There is a south road in the middle of the house (like in a greenhouse), and a set of splendid armor stands on both sides at a short distance, like guards guarding those treasures.On the shelves on either side of the South Road, between the armour, were filled with rare treasures—necklaces, bracelets, rings, and solid gold tableware and long tusks, and heaps of unset gems, like pebbles or potatoes. The same scattered heap--diamonds, rubies, emeralds, rubies, topaz, and amethysts.Under the shelf are standard wooden boxes lined with steel sheets, with large locks on them.It was freezing cold and eerily quiet in here, and the children could almost hear their own hearts beating.The treasures were covered with so much dust that they would not have believed they were jewels had they not known where it was, and recalled all that had happened in the past.Gradually, the children's excitement caused by the novelty disappeared, replaced by a trace of sadness and melancholy, and even a little horror, because this place looks like a place that was abandoned long, long ago.So for several minutes, no one spoke. They walked forward slowly, picking up the things at hand from time to time to take a closer look, as if meeting an old friend who had not been seen for a long time, and exclaimed "Oh, look! Our coronation ring - do you remember wearing it for the first time?" When it was worn?—Well, isn't that the brooch we all thought was lost?—Look, isn't that the armor you wore at that tourney on the Lonely Isle? I made it special!--Do you remember we used to drink with that horn?--Do you remember... Suddenly, Edmund stopped in his tracks. "Listen, there's no need to waste the battery. Maybe we'll need it later. Shall we grab what we need and get out?" "We have to get those presents first," Peter said.Long, long ago, one Christmas Eve in Narnia, he, Susan, and Lucy had been given presents which they valued more than the whole kingdom.Edmund had no presents, because he was not with the others at the time. (This was his own fault, as you can read in another story.) Everyone agreed with Peter's words, so they walked straight along the corridor to the other end of the treasure house.As expected, those things are still hanging on the wall.Lucy's gift was the smallest. It was a small gemstone bottle, and there was still half a bottle of multi-spirited water in it: this magical water could instantly heal all wounds and diseases.Lucy took it off the wall very solemnly and silently, and slung it over her shoulder by the strap.Susan's presents were a bow, a pot of arrows and a horn.The bow is still intact, and next to it is the ivory quiver full of feathered arrows.However, the number is not there. "Hey Susan," Lucy asked, "where's your number? " "Oh, how awful!" said Susan, after a moment's thought. "I remembered that I took it with me on the last day, the day we went hunting white stag. It must have been lost on our way back to the human world." gone." Edmund whistled regretfully.This is a magical number.No matter when and where, as long as you blow it, you will get help in time. "In a place like this, we need this baby," he said. "Don't worry, I still have a bow and arrow." Susan said, taking the bow and arrow off the wall. "Isn't the bowstring dead, Sue?" asked Peter. Maybe there's something odd about the air in the vault, but that bow still works great.Susan was a good archer and swimmer at school, and she immediately drew her bow and flicked the bowstring lightly.Buzz.The shocking sound of the bowstring echoed throughout the room.This soft sound brings the children back to the good old days.Fighting, hunting, feasting... Scenes and scenes all came to their minds. ' Then, she relaxed the bowstring, carrying the quiver by her side. Then Peter took down his presents—the shield with a great red lion on it, and the holy sword.He blew the dust off the scabbard, wiped it on the carpet, and put it beside him.Then take that shield in your hand and try it out.At first he worried that the sword would be rusted in the scabbard and could not be pulled out.But to his great joy, the sword came out of its sheath with a light pull, emitting a cold light in the darkness. , "This is my sword. I killed the wolf with it." He said proudly, his voice full of confidence and courage.At this moment, the others felt that standing in front of them was no longer an ordinary boy, but the majestic King Peter.It suddenly occurred to everyone that they had to save the battery. ' They descended the steps to the ground, rekindled the roaring fire, and clung close together to keep each other warm.The ground was hard and uncomfortable, but they were so tired that they soon fell asleep.