There was no reason， of course， why one should not meet a Calormene or two in Narnia-a merchant or an ambassador-for there was peace between Narnia and Calormen in those days. But Tirian could not understand why there were so many of them： nor why they were cutting down a Narnian forest. He grasped his sword tighter and rolled his cloak round his left arm. They came quickly down among the men.
Two Calormenes were driving a horse which was harnessed to a log. Just as the King reached them the log had got stuck in a bad muddy place.
“Get on， son of sloth！ Pull， you lazy pig！” cried the Calormenes， cracking their whips. The horse was already straining himself as hard as he could； his eyes were red and he was covered with foam.
“Work， lazy brute，” shouted one of the Calormenes： and as he spoke he struck the horse savagely with his whip. It was then that the really dreadful thing happened.
Up till now Tirian had taken it for granted that the horses which the Calormenes were driving were their own horses； dumb， witless animals like the horses of our own world. And though he hated to see even a dumb horse overdriven， he was of course thinking more about the murder of the Trees. It had never crossed his mind that anyone would dare to harness one of the free Talking Horses of Narnia， much less to use a whip on it. But as that savage blow fell the horse reared up and said， half screaming：
“Fool and tyrant！ Do you not see I am doing all I can？”
When Tirian knew that the Horse was one of his own Narnians，there came over him and over Jewel such a rage that they did not know what they were doing. The King‘s sword went up， the Unicorn’s horn went down. They rushed forward together. Next moment both the Calormenes lay dead， the one beheaded by Tirian‘s sword and the other gored through the heart by Jewel’s horn.
中文阅读
大约三周之后，纳尼亚最后一位国王正坐在他的小猎屋门旁的一棵大橡树下。每逢春暖花开、气候宜人的时节，他总会到这里住上十来天。猎屋是一个低矮的茅草房顶的建筑，离灯柱旷野东边不远，位于两河交汇处之外的某个地方。他喜欢在那里过一段简朴安逸的日子，远离开都城凯尔帕拉维尔的奢华与威严。人们称呼他为国王提里安。提里安王的年纪在二十到二十五之间，他的肩膀宽阔有力，四肢肌肉发达，只是胡须还很稀疏。他长着一双蓝色的眼睛和一张勇敢诚实的面孔。
在那个春天的早晨，只有国王最亲爱的朋友独角兽珠宝陪伴着他。他们像亲兄弟般彼此相爱，在战斗中都曾经救过对方的性命。高贵的独角兽站在国王的椅子旁边，正弯着脖子，把蓝色的独角在自己白色的肋旁摩擦着。
“珠宝，今天我没有心情去工作或者娱乐，”国王说，“因为我满脑子装的都是这个大好消息，别的什么都顾不上考虑了。你觉得，今天我们是否能得到更多的信息？”
“陛下，如果那些传言是真的，那将是从祖辈直到我们这个时代所听到的最大的福音了！”珠宝说。
“怎么可能不是真的呢？”国王说，“一个多星期以前，就有鸟儿从我们的上空飞过，叽叽喳喳地叫着：阿斯兰来了，阿斯兰又回到了纳尼亚。接着是松鼠，它们没有见到阿斯兰，却信誓旦旦地说，阿斯兰就在树林中。接下去是牡赤鹿。它说自己亲眼看到了他，在月光之下的灯柱旷野，尽管离得很远。再往后是那个长着胡须的、来自卡罗门的黑皮肤商人。卡罗门人不像我们，他们对阿斯兰漠不关心。就连那个人也说得有鼻子有眼儿的。还有昨天晚上的那只獾，它也见到了阿斯兰。”
“一点不错，陛下，”珠宝答道，“我相信他们的话。如果我显得有点疑心，那只是由于我太高兴的原故。这消息好得简直令人难以置信。”
“是啊，”国王说着，深深地叹了一口气，兴奋地差点儿颤抖起来，“这超过了我这一生的所求所想。”
“听！”珠宝说着，把脑袋歪向一边，支楞起两只耳朵。“那是什么声音？”国王问道。
“马蹄声，陛下，”珠宝说，“是一匹马在急速奔驰。这匹马身躯魁伟，一定是个半人马。看哪，他在那儿。”
一个高大的、长着金色胡须的半人马冲到国王面前，停了下来。他前额上挂满了人类的汗珠，而在他栗色的两肋上则流淌着马的汗水。半人马深深地鞠了个躬：“向您致敬，国王！”他声音低沉，像是公牛的哞哞声。
“嗬，来人哪！”国王扭头朝着猎屋的门，吩咐道，“给高贵的半人马端碗酒来。欢迎，卢恩维特。你先喘口气，再报告你来此有何公干。”
一个侍童从屋里走了出来，手里端着一只雕刻奇特的大木碗，递给了半人马。半人马举起碗来，说道：
“陛下，我先为阿斯兰和真理干杯，再为您干杯。”他把酒一饮而尽（足够六个大汉喝一壶了），将空碗交还给侍童。
“好吧，卢恩维特，”国王说，“你是否给我们带来有关阿斯兰的新消息？”
卢恩维特的表情非常严肃，皱了皱眉头。“陛下，”他说，“你知道，我在世上活了很久，多年来一直在研究星象。我们半人马比人类的寿命长，甚至比独角兽的寿命还要长。在以往的岁月中，我从未见过今年天空中出现的那些可怕征兆。对于阿斯兰的到来、和平与喜乐，星星们全都缄默不语。通过观星术，我了解到，五百年来，还从来没有见过行星间出现这样一些灾难性的会合。
“我心里不安，想来警告陛下，某种大邪恶已经笼罩在纳尼亚的上空。昨夜，谣言也传到了我的耳朵里，说是阿斯兰来到了纳尼亚。陛下，不要相信这个谎言。那绝对不可能。星星们从不撒谎，而人类和动物却会编造谎言。如果阿斯兰真的要来纳尼亚，天空会预先告知此事。如果他真的来了，所有最璀璨的星星将会聚集在一起，向他表示敬意。所以，这完全是个谎言。”
“谎言！”国王厉声说道，“在纳尼亚或者在全世界，有谁敢编造这样的谎言？”无意中，他把手按在了剑柄上。
“那我可不清楚，陛下，”半人马说，“可是我知道，世界上有骗子，而星星决不会撒谎。”
