迪文小说

chater fur a arliant f wl（第1页）

ITisaveryfunnythingthatthesleepieryouare，thelongeryoutakeaboutgettingtobed；especiallyifyouareluckyenoughtohaveafireinyourroom。Jillfeltshecouldn’tevenstartundressingunlessshesatdowninfrontofthefireforabitfirst。Andonceshehadsatdown，shedidn’twanttogetupagain。Shehadalreadysaidtoherselfaboutfivetimes，“Imustgotobed”，whenshewasstartledbyataponthewindow。

Shegotup，pulledthecurtain，andatfirstsawnothingbutdarkness。Thenshejumpedandstartedbackwards，forsomethingverylargehaddasheditselfagainstthewindow，givingasharptapontheglassas。itdidso。Averyunpleasantideacameintoherhead—“Supposetheyhavegiantmothsinthiscountry！Ugh！”Butthenthethingcameback，andthistimeshewasalmostsureshesawabeak，andthatthebeakhadmadethattappingnoise。“It’ssomehugebird，”thoughtJill。“Coulditbeaneagle？”Shedidn’tverymuchwantavisitevenfromaneagle，butsheopened

thewindowandlookedout。Instantly，withagreatwhirringnoise，thecreaturealightedonthewindow-sillandstoodtherefillingupthewholewindow，sothatJillhadtostepbacktomakeroomforit。ItwastheOwl。

“Hush，hush！Tu-whoo，tu-whoo，”saidtheOwl。“Don’tmakeanoise。Now，areyoutworeallyinearnestaboutwhatyou’vegottodo？”

“AboutthelostPrince，youmean？”saidJill。“Yes，we’vegottobe。”FornowsherememberedtheLion’svoiceandface，whichshehadnearlyforgottenduringthefeastingandstory-tellinginthehall。

“Good！”saidtheOwl。“Thenthere’snotimetowaste。Youmustgetawayfromhereatonce。I’llgoandwaketheotherhuman。ThenI’llcomebackforyou。You’dbetterchangethosecourtclothesandputonsomethingyoucantravelin。I’llbebackintwotwos。Tu-whoo！”Andwithoutwaitingforananswer，hewasgone。

IfJillhadbeenmoreusedtoadventures，shemighthavedoubtedtheOwl’sword，butthisneveroccurredtoher：andintheexcitingideaofamidnightescapesheforgothersleepiness。Shechangedbackintosweaterandshorts—therewasaguide’sknifeonthebeltoftheshortswhichmightcomeinuseful—andaddedafewofthethingsthathadbeenleftintheroomforherbythegirlwiththewillowyhair。Shechoseashortcloakthatcamedowntoherkneesandhadahood（“justthething，ifitrains，”shethought），afewhandkerchiefsandacomb。Thenshesatdownandwaited。

ShewasgettingsleepyagainwhentheOwlreturned。

“Nowwe’reready，”itsaid。

“You’dbetterleadtheway，”saidJill。“Idon’tknowallthesepassagesyet。”

“Tu-whoo！”saidtheOwl。“We’renotgoingthroughthecastle。Thatwouldneverdo。Youmustrideonme。Weshallfly。”

“Oh！”saidJill，andstoodwithhermouthopen，notmuchlikingtheidea。“Shan’tIbetooheavyforyou？”

“Tu-whoo，tu-whoo！Don’tyoubeafool。I’vealreadycarriedtheotherone。Now。Butwe’llputoutthatlampfirst。”

Assoonasthelampwasout，thebitofthenightwhichyousawthroughthewindowlookedlessdark—nolongerblack，butgrey。TheOwlstoodonthewindow-sillwithhisbacktotheroomandraisedhiswings。Jillhadtoclimbontohisshortfatbodyandgetherkneesunderthewingsandgriptight。Thefeathersfeltbeautifullywarmandsoftbuttherewasnothingtoholdonby。“IwonderhowScrubblikedhisride！”thoughtJill。Andjustasshewasthinkingthis，withahorridplungetheyhadleftthewindow-sill，andthewingsweremakingaflurryroundherears，andthenightair，rathercoolanddamp，wasflyinginherface。

Itwasmuchlighterthansheexpected，andthoughtheskywasovercast，onepatchofwaterysilvershowedwherethemoonwashidingabovetheclouds。Thefieldsbeneathherlookedgrey，andthetreesblack。Therewasacertainamountofwind—ahushing，rufflingsortofwindwhichmeantthatrainwascomingsoon。

TheOwlwheeledroundsothatthecastlewasnowaheadofthem。Veryfewofthewindowsshowedlights。Theyflewrightoverit，northwards，crossingtheriver：theairgrewcolder，andJillthoughtshecouldseethewhitereflectionoftheOwlinthewaterbeneathher。Butsoontheywereonthenorthbankoftheriver，flyingabovewoodedcountry。

TheOwlsnappedatsomethingwhichJillcouldn’tsee。

“Oh，don’t，please！”saidJill。“Don’tjerklikethat。Younearlythrewmeoff。”

“Ibegyourpardon，”saidtheOwl。“Iwasjustnabbingabat。There’snothingsosustaining，inasmallway，asaniceplumplittlebat。ShallIcatchyouone？”

“No，thanks，”saidJillwithashudder。

Hewasflyingalittlelowernowandalarge，blacklookingobjectwasloominguptowardsthem。Jillhadjusttimetoseethatitwasatower—apartlyruinoustower，withalotofivyonit，shethought—whenshefoundherselfduckingtoavoidthearchwayofawindow，astheOwlsqueezedwithherthroughtheiviedcobwebbyopening，outofthefresh，greynightintoadarkplaceinsidethetopofthetower。Itwasratherfustyinsideand，themomentsheslippedofftheOwl’sback，sheknew（asoneusuallydoessomehow）thatitwasquitecrowdedAndwhenvoicesbegansayingoutofthedarknessfromeverydirection“Tu—whoo！Tu-whoo！”sheknewitwascrowdedwithowls。Shewasratherrelievedwhenaverydifferentvoicesaid：

“Isthatyou，Pole？”

“Isthatyou，Scrubb？”saidJill。