本章演播：槑贰

后期：青丘

英文文本在最下面，请往下拉

第2章 公主迷路了

我之前说过这个故事发生在艾琳公主八岁的时候。故事是这么开始的。

那是一个雨天，山顶上一如既往地雾气弥漫，雾气积聚成云，变成大雨倾泻在华丽老宅的屋顶上。雨水汇聚成水流顺着屋檐滴答滴答落在地上。公主自然也就因为下雨不能出门了。她觉得很无聊，无聊到连玩具也不能让她提起劲儿来。要知道但凡我能有足够的时间描述出公主一半的玩具你都会惊讶得合不拢嘴。你也就知道公主有多无聊了。不过你不可能有那么多玩具，因此那就是另一码事儿了：人不可能还没得到就开始厌倦。然而这景象还是值得一看的，公主坐在屋顶绘成天空的婴儿房里，在她面前大得吓死人的桌子上，摆满了各式各样的玩具。如果有哪个画家想画一画这场景，我劝他还是别对这一桌子玩具动脑筋了。我都不敢动动嘴去描述，要我说他也甭动什么心思去画了。最好是别画。他就算能做到一千件我办不到的事，也别想画得了这些玩具。不过倒是没人能比他画公主画得更好。公主弯腰倚在椅背上，小脑瓜低垂着，双手搭在膝盖上，用她自己的话说：特别凄惨。她现在满心只想跑出去淋个透，最好能漂漂亮地着个凉，然后躺在床上喝稀粥。除此以外她简直什么也不想干。她在那儿坐了没多久，奶妈就从房里走出去了。

即使这么点儿改变也让公主有了些精神，她眼瞅着奶妈出去之后，就从椅子上滑下来，跑出了门。不是从奶妈走出去的那道门，而是通往一架老旧的橡木楼梯的一个小门。那楼梯被蛀虫咬得破破烂烂的，看起来像是根本没人往上踏过脚。她有一次爬了六个台阶，于是在这样一个日子里，她觉得很有必要爬上去瞧瞧那上面到底有什么。

她一直向上跑啊跑啊——对她来说可真是漫长——她一直爬到第三段楼梯的顶上才停下来。她发现那层楼就是这段长楼梯的终点了。她一路跑进去，看见里面到处都是门。门多得都不知道该打开哪一扇才好了，她索性一直跑到头。一拐弯进了另一段廊子，可是放眼望去依然全都是门，这下她有点儿害怕了。太安静了！想到每一扇门的后面都掩藏着一间没有人的房间！太吓人了。这时雨水偏偏还在噼噼啪啪地敲打着房顶。她转回去，开始全速往回跑，跑向楼梯，跑向她安全的婴儿房，一串小小的脚步声在雨声中回荡。她虽然这么想，但她老早就迷路了。不是在她一迷路之后就发现的，不过这也正是因为她毫无察觉才会迷了路。

她跑了老远，拐了好几次弯，然后开始害怕了。她很快就意识到自己找不着回去的路了。到处都是房间，却没有楼梯！她的小心脏比她的小脚丫跑得都快，她开始哽咽起来。但却太着急或者太害怕了，所以根本来不及哭。最终她的希望还是泡汤了。除了门和长廊什么都没有！她一跤跌在地上，抽抽搭搭地放声大哭起来。

不过她也没哭太久，作为一个公主，她在这个年纪已经算是很勇敢的了。大哭一通之后，她爬起来，拍拍长裙上的尘土。哦，这些灰尘可有些年岁了！她用小手擦擦眼睛——据我所知公主也跟普通的小姑娘差不多，并不总是随身携带手绢的。然后，她才拿出一个公主真正的样子来，决意要设法找出回去的路：她要沿着长廊边走边往各个方向查找楼梯。可最终一无所获。她在这一层楼已经来来回回走了很多遍，可她自己对此却一无所知，因为所有的廊子和门都一模一样。终于，在一个半开着的门里面的角落里，她看见了楼梯。唉，可惜那楼梯根本不对：不是通往楼下，而是通往楼上的。虽然她心里怕极了，却还是情不自禁地想去看看这楼梯还能通向哪里。不过她也没哭太久，作为一个公主，她在这个年纪已经算是很勇敢的了。大哭一通之后，她爬起来，拍拍长裙上的尘土。哦，这些灰尘可有些年岁了！她用小手擦擦眼睛——据我所知公主也跟普通的小姑娘差不多，并不总是随身携带手绢的。然后，她才拿出一个公主真正的样子来，决意要设法找出回去的路：她要沿着长廊边走边往各个方向查找楼梯。可最终一无所获。她在这一层楼已经来来回回走了很多遍，可她自己对此却一无所知，因为所有的廊子和门都一模一样。终于，在一个半开着的门里面的角落里，她看见了楼梯。唉，可惜那楼梯根本不对：不是通往楼下，而是通往楼上的。虽然她心里怕极了，却还是情不自禁地想去看看这楼梯还能通向哪里。楼梯又窄又陡，她只能像个四脚的小动物一样手脚并用地往上爬。

CHAPTER 2

The Princess Loses Herself

I have said the Princess Irene was about eight years old when my story begins. And this is how it begins.

One very wet day, when the mountain was covered with mist which was constantly gathering itself together into raindrops, and pouring down on the roofs of the great old house, whence it fell in a fringe of water from the eaves all round about it, the princess could not of course go out. She got very tired, so tired that even her toys could no longer amuse her. You would wonder at that if I had time to describe to you one half of the toys she had. But then, you wouldn't have the toys themselves, and that makes all the difference: you can't get tired of a thing before you have it. It was a picture, though, worth seeing—the princess sitting in the nursery with the sky ceiling over her head, at a great table covered with her toys. If the artist would like to draw this, I should advise him not to meddle with the toys. I am afraid of attempting to describe them, and I think he had better not try to draw them. He had better not. He can do a thousand things I can't, but I don't think he could draw those toys. No man could better make the princess herself than he could, though—leaning with her back bowed into the back of the chair, her head hanging down, and her hands in her lap, very miserable as she would say herself, not even knowing what she would like, except it were to go out and get thoroughly wet, and catch a particularly nice cold, and have to go to bed and take gruel. The next moment after you see her sitting there, her nurse goes out of the room.

Even that is a change, and the princess wakes up a little, and looks about her. Then she tumbles off her chair and runs out of the door, not the same door the nurse went out of, but one which opened at the foot of a curious old stair of worm-eaten oak, which looked as if never anyone had set foot upon it. She had once before been up six steps, and that was sufficient reason, in such a day, for trying to find out what was at the top of it.

Up and up she ran—such a long way it seemed to her!—until she came to the top of the third flight. There she found the landing was the end of a long passage. Into this she ran. It was full of doors on each side. There were so many that she did not care to open any, but ran on to the end, where she turned into another passage, also full of doors. When she had turned twice more, and still saw doors and only doors about her, she began to get frightened. It was so silent! And all those doors must hide rooms with nobody in them! That was dreadful. Also the rain made a great trampling noise on the roof. She turned and started at full speed, her little footsteps echoing through the sounds of the rain—back for the stairs and her safe nursery. So she thought, but she had lost herself long ago. It doesn't follow that she was lost, because she had lost herself, though.

She ran for some distance, turned several times, and then began to be afraid. Very soon she was sure that she had lost the way back. Rooms everywhere, and no stair! Her little heart beat as fast as her little feet ran, and a lump of tears was growing in her throat. But she was too eager and perhaps too frightened to cry for some time. At last her hope failed her. Nothing but passages and doors everywhere! She threw herself on the floor, and burst into a wailing cry broken by sobs.

She did not cry long, however, for she was as brave as could be expected of a princess of her age. After a good cry, she got up, and brushed the dust from her frock. Oh, what old dust it was! Then she wiped her eyes with her hands, for princesses don't always have their handkerchiefs in their pockets, any more than some other little girls I know of. Next, like a true princess, she resolved on going wisely to work to find her way back: she would walk through the passages, and look in every direction for the stair. This she did, but without success. She went over the same ground again an again without knowing it, for the passages and doors were all alike. At last, in a corner, through a half-open door, she did see a stair. But alas! it went the wrong way: instead of going down, it went up. Frightened as she was, however, she could not help wishing to see where yet further the stair could lead. It was very narrow, and so steep that she went on like a four-legged creature on her hands and feet.