CHAPTER THIRTEEN AN UNEXPECTED MEETING（第2/3页）

Now that he could see into the place it looked more private than ever．He went in very solemnly，looking about him．Everything was very quiet inside．Even the fountain which rose near the middle of the garden made only the faintest sound．The lovely smell was all round him ！ it was a happy place but very serious．

He knew which was the right tree at once，partly because it stood in the very centre and partly because the great silver apples with which it was loaded shone so and cast a light of their own down on the shadowy places where the sunlight did not reach． He walked straight across to it，picked an apple，and put it in the breast pocket of his Norfolk jacket．But he couldn’t help looking at it and smelling it before he put it away．

It would have been better if he had not．A terrible thirst and hunger came over him and a longing to taste that fruit．He put it hastily into his pocket；but there were plenty of others．Could it be wrong to taste one ？ After all，he thought，the notice on the gate might not have been exactly an order；it might have been only a piece of advice-and who cares about advice ？ Or even if it were an order，would he be disobeying it by eating an apple ？ He had already obeyed the part about taking one“for others”．

While he was thinking of all this he happened to look up through the branches towards the top of the tree．There， on a branch above his head，a wonderful bird was roosting．I say“roosting”because it seemed almost asleep；perhaps not quite． The tiniest slit of one eye was open．It was larger than an eagle，its breast saffron，its head crested with scarlet，and its tail purple．

“And it just shows，”said Digory afterward when he was telling the story to the others，“that you can’t be too careful in these magical places．You never know what may be watching you．”But I think Digory would not have taken an apple for himself in any case． Things like Do Not Steal were，I think，hammered into boys’ heads a good deal harder in those days than they are now．Still，we can never be certain．

Digory was just turning to go back to the gates when he stopped to have one last look around．He got a terrible shock．He was not alone．There，only a few yards away from him，stood the Witch． She was just throwing away the core of an apple which she had eaten． The juice was darker than you would expect and had made a horrid stain round her mouth．Digory guessed at once that she must have climbed in over the wall．And he began to see that there might be some sense in that last line about getting your heart’s desire and getting despair along with it．For the Witch looked stronger and prouder than ever，and even，in a way，triumphant；but her face was deadly white，white as salt．

All this flashed through Digory’s mind in a second；then he took to his heels and ran for the gates as hard as he could pelt；the Witch after him．As soon as he was out，the gates closed behind him of their own accord．That gave him the lead but not for long． By the time he had reached the others and was shouting out“Quick， get on，Polly ！ Get up，Fledge”，the Witch had climbed the wall， or vaulted over it，and was close behind him again．

“Stay where you are，”cried Digory，turning round to face her，“or we’ll all vanish．Don’t come an inch nearer．”

“Foolish boy，”said the Witch．“Why do you run from me ？ I mean you no harm．If you do not stop and listen to me now，you will miss some knowledge that would have made you happy all your life．”

“Well I don’t want to hear it，thanks，”said Digory．But he did．

“I know what errand you have come on，”continued the Witch． “For it was I who was close beside you in the woods last night and heard all your counsels．You have plucked fruit in the garden yonder． You have it in your pocket now．And you are going to carry it back，untasted，to the Lion；for him to eat，for him to use．You simpleton ！ Do you know what that fruit is ？ I will tell you．It is the apple of youth，the apple of life．I know，for I have tasted it；and I feel already such changes in myself that I know I shall never grow old or die．Eat it，Boy，eat it；and you and I will both live forever and be king and queen of this whole world-or of your world，if we decide to go back there．”

“No thanks，”said Digory，“I don’t know that I care much about living on and on after everyone I know is dead．I’d rather live an ordinary time and die and go to Heaven．”

“But what about this Mother of yours whom you pretend to love so ？”

“What’s she got to do with it ？”said Digory．

“Do you not see，Fool，that one bite of that apple would heal her ？ You have it in your pocket．We are here by ourselves and the Lion is far away．Use your Magic and go back to your own world．A minute later you can be at your Mother’s bedside，giving her the fruit． Five minutes later you will see the colour coming back to her face．She will tell you the pain is gone．Soon she will tell you she feels stronger． Then she will fall asleep-think of that；hours of sweet natural sleep， without pain，without drugs．Next day everyone will be saying how wonderfully she has recovered．Soon she will be quite well again． All will be well again．Your home will be happy again．You will be like other boys．”