本章演播：槑贰

后期：青丘

英文文本在最下面，请往下拉

第2节

不过，现在还没到有露水的时候，而且艾琳很快就发现，她看见的这条闪闪发亮的丝线就是自己手里的那根。她不知道丝线要把自己带到哪里去，但她还从没在太阳出来之前到屋子外面去过呢。空气清新凉爽，万物生机勃勃，充满活力，艾琳太高兴了，什么都不会害怕了。

丝线又带着艾琳走了一段，然后朝左边转弯，顺着她和洛蒂遇到科迪的那条小路延伸。在晨曦中，公主可以从那条小路上眺望整个王国，她从没想过，还有哪条小路能像这样视野开阔，叫人神清气爽、心情愉快的。她能看见地平线边的大道，她总是能从那里看到父王和他的骑兵们身披闪闪发亮的盔甲归来，嘹亮的军号声划破长空，为他们开道。那条大道就像艾琳的朋友一样。

小路一直向下延伸，接着向上弯，然后又向下走，再向上弯。山路越来越崎岖，但银色的丝线仍旧沿着小路向前，艾琳粉嘟嘟的小手也始终抓住这根丝线。不一会儿，她就来到一条小溪跟前。

叮叮咚咚的溪水从山上往下奔腾，小路和丝线都顺着溪水逆流而上。山路还是越来越崎岖，越来越陡峭，大山越来越近，艾琳觉得自己已经离家好远好远了。她回头一看，发现平原上自己的国家已经不见踪影，而光秃秃的崎岖大山就近在眼前。丝线还是往前延伸，公主也顺着丝线继续往前走。太阳越升越高，周围的一切都渐渐明亮起来。终于，第一缕阳光落在艾琳面前的一块岩石上，就像刚刚从天上落下来的用金子做成的玩意儿。

然后，艾琳发现那条小溪是从岩石上的一个洞里涌出来的，山路没有从岩石旁绕过，丝线领着她径直走到岩石哪里。艾琳不禁浑身哆嗦起来，因为她发现，那条丝线事实上正指引她穿过涌出溪水的洞口。溪水咕嘟咕嘟地往外冒，但她不得不往里走。

她毫不犹豫就钻了进去。山洞很高，她不用猫着腰走路。艾琳走了一会儿，发现前面有一点微弱的光亮，不过转了个弯以后，那个光亮就消失不见了。山洞里一片漆黑，艾琳在黑暗中走了好久好久，真的有点儿害怕起来。

她时时刻刻都不停摸索手中的丝线，在空空荡荡的山洞里越走越远。她越是往前走，就愈发想起奶奶和奶奶说的话，想起奶奶是多么慈祥、多么美丽，想起奶奶那间可爱的屋子和火焰一般的玫瑰，想起那盏巨大的圆灯，想起它那透过石墙照到外面的光芒。艾琳越发确信，一定是奶奶让丝线往那里延伸的，否则它不会无缘无故地自己这么做。不过，越往前走，路面越陡，有时候，，她得爬过一段崎岖的台阶才能往下走，有时候，她还得爬下一个梯子。

PART II

It was not the time for gossamers though; and Irene soon discovered that it was her own thread she saw shining on before her in the light of the morning. It was leading her she knew not whither; but she had never in her life been out before sunrise, and everything was so fresh and cool and lively and full of something coming, that she felt too happy to be afraid of anything.

After leading her up a good distance, the thread turned to the left, and down the path upon which she and Lootie had met Curdie. But she never thought of that, for now in the morning light, with its far outlook over the country, no path could have been more open and airy and cheerful. She could see the road almost to the horizon, along which she had so often watched her king-papa and his troop come shining, with the bugle-blast cleaving the air before them; and it was like a companion to her.

Down and down the path went, then up, and then down and then up again, getting rugged and more rugged as it went; and still along the path went the silvery thread, and still along the thread went Irene's little rosy-tipped forefinger.

By and by she came to a little stream that jabbered and prattled down the hill, and up the side of the stream went both path and thread. And still the path grew rougher and steeper, and the mountain grew wilder, till Irene began to think she was going a very long way from home; and when she turned to look back she saw that the level country had vanished and the rough bare mountain had closed in about her. But still on went the thread, and on went the princess. Everything around her was getting brighter and brighter as the sun came nearer; till at length his first rays all at once alighted on the top of a rock before her, like some golden creature fresh from the sky.

Then she saw that the little stream ran out of a hole in that rock, that the path did not go past the rock, and that the thread was leading her straight up to it. A shudder ran through her from head to foot when she found that the thread was actually taking her into the hole out of which the stream ran. It ran out babbling joyously, but she had to go in.

She did not hesitate. Right into the hole she went, which was high enough to let her walk without stooping. For a little way there was a brown glimmer, but at the first turn it all but ceased, and before she had gone many paces she was in total darkness. Then she began to be frightened indeed.

Every moment she kept feeling the thread backwards and forwards, and as she went farther and farther into the darkness of the great hollow mountain, she kept thinking more and more about her grandmother, and all that she had said to her, and how kind she had been, and how beautiful she was, and all about her lovely room, and the fire of roses, and the great lamp that sent its light through stone walls. And she became more and more sure that the thread could not have gone there of itself, and that her grandmother must have sent it. But it tried her dreadfully when the path went down very steep, and especially When she came to places where she had to go down rough stairs, and even sometimes a ladder.