本集演播：槑贰 

后期：荆溪

英文对照文本在最底下，请往下拉到底。

第2节

他站了一会儿，掂了掂手里的武器，仿佛那是世上最珍贵的一块金属——不过说实在的，在这个时候，就算是一块那么大的金子也没有这柄普通的工具那么珍贵。他解开镐柄上的绳子，把线团揣在口袋里，然后站在那儿思量。显然，地精养的牲口发现了他的镐头，把它叼走了，结果把科迪领到了一个连他自己都不知道的地方。

不过，他还是想不出自己应该怎么做。就在这个时候，科迪发现远处有点点微光。他毫不犹豫地朝光亮处走去，在崎岖不平的陌生通道里拼命往前跑。他顺着光亮又转过一个拐角，结果发现有个小巧的玩意儿在闪闪发亮，那玩意儿的样子很不规则，科迪以前从没在地底下见到过。他走了过去，发现那玩意儿原来是一块云母石，或者叫玻璃蛋白石。这种石头在苏格兰叫做绵羊白银，这枚石头后面似乎有一团火，摇曳的光亮就是从那里头透出来的。科迪找了好久，可一直没发现要从哪儿才能进入发出光亮的地方。最后，他走进一间小屋，墙上有一个高高的开口，口子里照进一抹光亮。他费力爬到开口的地方，结果看见了一幅奇怪的景象。

一群地精围着火堆坐成一圈，烟雾袅袅升起，消失在上方的黑暗中。山洞里摆满了闪闪发亮的石头，宛若宫殿的厅堂；那群地精显然颇有身份，因为每个家伙都戴着宝石——要么戴在头上，要么戴在胳膊上，要么别在腰上——这些宝石在火光中黯淡地闪着五彩光芒。科迪没观察多久，就发现了地精国王，他知道自己一定是到了皇室的寝宫。他还从没遇到过那么好的机会，可以打听到一些事情呢。科迪尽量静悄悄地从洞里爬出来，沿着墙壁往下爬了好长一段也没被地精们发现，然后他坐下来听它们讲话。有一个地精显然就是王后，有一个可能是戴着王冠的王子，另外一个可能是地精首相，它们三个加上地精国王，都在讲话。科迪是从鞋子认出王后的，因为她正把双脚伸在火边取暖，科迪看得一清二楚。

“那一定很好玩！”根据王冠判断，科迪觉得说话的那个应该是王子，这是他听到的第一句完整的话。

“我不知道你为什么把它当成一件不得了的事！”地精王子的继母边说边把脑袋往后一甩。

“你要记住，夫人，”国王陛下似乎是要为自己的儿子开脱，所以插嘴说道，“他的身体里流着和他母亲相同的血。他母亲——”

“别和我提他母亲！你肯定是在鼓励他那些不合常理的念头。他得彻底摆脱跟他母亲有关的一切。”

“亲爱的，你忘记自己的身份了！”国王说道。

“我没有，”王后回答，“你也别忘了。要是你指望我会赞成这些粗俗的品味，那可就大错特错了。我不是无缘无故穿鞋的。”

PART II

He stood for a little, weighing his battle-axe in his hand as if it had been the most precious lump of metal—but indeed no lump of gold itself could have been so precious at the time as that common tool—then untied the end of the string from it, put the ball in his pocket, and still stood thinking. It was clear that the cobs' creatures had found his axe, had between them carried it off, and had so led him he knew not where.

 But for all his thinking he could not tell what he ought to do, until suddenly he became aware of a glimmer of light in the distance. Without a moment's hesitation he set out for it, as fast as the unknown and rugged way would permit.   Yet again turning a corner, led by the dim light, he spied something quite new in his experience of the underground regions—a small irregular shape of something shining. Going up to it, he found it was a piece of mica, or Muscovy glass, called sheep-silver in Scotland, and the light flickered as if from a fire behind it. After trying in vain for some time to discover an entrance to the place where it was burning, he came at length to a small chamber in which an opening, high in the wall, revealed a glow beyond. To this opening he managed to scramble up, and then he saw a strange sight.

Below sat a little group of goblins around a fire, the smoke of which vanished in the darkness far aloft. The sides of the cave were full of shining minerals like those of the palace hall; and the company was evidently of a superior order, for every one wore stones about head, or arms, or waist, shining dull gorgeous colours in the light of the fire. Nor had Curdie looked long before he recognized the king himself, and found that he had made his way into the inner apartment of the royal family. He had never had such a good chance of hearing something. He crept through the hole as softly as he could, scrambled a good way down the wall towards them without attracting attention, and then sat down and listened. The king, evidently the queen, and probably the crown prince and the Prime Minister were talking together. He was sure of the queen by her shoes, for as she warmed her feet at the fire, he saw them quite plainly.

'That will be fun!' said the one he took for the crown prince. It was the first whole sentence he heard.

'I don't see why you should think it such a grand affair!' said his stepmother, tossing her head backward.

'You must remember, my spouse,' interposed His Majesty, as if making excuse for his son, 'he has got the same blood in him. His mother—'

'Don't talk to me of his mother! You positively encourage his unnatural fancies. Whatever belongs to that mother ought to be cut out of him.'

'You forget yourself, my dear!' said the king.

'I don't,' said the queen, 'nor you either. If you expect me to approve of such coarse tastes, you will find yourself mistaken. I don't wear shoes for nothing.'