“Easy， isn’t it？” said Puddleglum. “We might try opening that door to begin with.” And they all looked at the door and saw that none of them could reach the handle， and that almost certainly no one could turn it if they did.
“Do you think they won‘t let us out if we ask？” said Jill. And nobody said， but everyone thought， “Supposing they don’t.”
It was not a pleasant idea. Puddleglum was dead against any idea of telling the giants their real business and simply asking to be let out； and of course the children couldn‘t tell without his permission， because they had promised. And all three felt pretty sure that there would be no chance of escaping from the castle by night. Once they were in their rooms with the doors shut， they would be prisoners till morning. They might， of course， ask to have their doors left open， but that would rouse suspicions.
“Our only chance，” said Scrubb， “is to try to sneak away by daylight. Mightn’t there be an hour in the afternoon when most of the giants are asleep？ -and if we could steal down into the kitchen， mightn‘t there be a back door open？”
“It’s hardly what I call a Chance，” said the Marsh-wiggle. “But it‘s all the chance we’re likely to get.” As a matter of fact， Scrubb‘s plan was not quite so hopeless as you might think. If you want to get out of a house without being seen， the middle of the afternoon is in some ways a better time to try it than the middle of the night. Doors and windows are more likely to be open； and if you are caught， you can always pretend you weren’t meaning to go far and had no particular plans. （It is veryhard to make either giants or grown-ups believe this if you‘re found climbing out of a bedroom window at one o’clock in the morning.）
“We must put them off their guard， though，” said Scrubb. “We must pretend we love being here and are longing for this Autumn Feast.”
“That‘s tomorrow night，” said Puddleglum. “I heard one of them say so.”
“I see，” said Jill. “We must pretend to be awfully excited about it， and keep on asking questions. They think we’re absolute infants anyway， which will make it easier.”
“Gay，” said Puddleglum with a deep sigh. “That‘s what we’ve got to be. Gay. As if we hadn‘t a care in the world. Frolicsome. You two youngsters haven’t always got very high spirits， I‘ve noticed. You must watch me， and do as I do. I’ll be gay. Like this” -and he assumed a ghastly grin. “And frolicsome” -here he cut a most mournful caper. “You‘ll soon get into it， if you keep your eyes on me. They think I’m a funny fellow already， you see. I dare say you two thought I was a trifle tipsy last night， but I do assure you it was-well， most of it was-put on. I had an idea it would come in useful， somehow.”
The children， when they talked over their adventures afterwards， could never feel sure whether this last statement was quite strictly true； but they were sure that Puddleglum thought it was true when he made it.
“All right. Gay‘s the word，” said Scrubb. “Now， if we could only get someone to open this door. While we’re fooling about and being gay， we‘ve got to find out all we can about this castle.”
Luckily， at that very moment the door opened， and the giant Nurse bustled in saying， “Now， my poppets. Like to come and see the King and all the court setting out on the hunting？ Such a pretty sight！”
They lost no time in rushing out past her and climbing down the first staircase they came to. The noise of hounds and horns and giant voices guided them， so that in a few minutes they reached the courtyard. The giants were all on foot， for there are no giant horses in that part of the world， and the giants’ hunting is done on foot； like beagling in England. The hounds were also of normal size.
When Jill saw that there were no horses she was at first dreadfully disappointed， for she felt sure that the great fat Queen would never go after hounds on foot； and it would never do to have her about the house all day. But then she saw the Queen in a kind of litter supported on the shoulders of six young giants. The silly old creature was all got up in green and had a horn at her side. Twenty or thirty giants， including the King， were assembled， ready for the sport， all talking and laughing fit to deafen you： and down below， nearer Jill‘s level， there were wagging tails， and barking， and loose， slobbery mouths and noses of dogs thrust into your hand.
Puddleglum was just beginning to strike what he thought a gay and gamesome attitude （which might have spoiled everything if it had been noticed） when Jill put on her most attractively childish smile， rushed across to the Queen’s litter and shouted up to the Queen.
“Oh， please！ You‘re not going away， are you？ You will come back？” “Yes， my dear，” said the Queen. “I’ll be back tonight.”
“Oh， good. How lovely！” said Jill. “And we may come to the feast tomorrow night， mayn‘t we？ We’re so longing for tomorrow night！ And we do love being here. And while you‘re out， we may run over the whole castle and see everything， mayn’t we？ Do say yes.”
The Queen did say yes， but the laughter of all the courtiers nearly drowned her voice.
中文阅读
“说话呀，珀尔，秀一下你的口才。”斯克拉布低声催促道。吉尔发现自己口干舌燥，连一个字也说不出来，只好使劲儿地冲着斯克拉布点头。
斯克拉布心中暗想，自己将永远也不会饶恕她（还有浦都格伦）。他抿了抿嘴唇，朝上对着巨人国王大声喊道：
“请听我说，陛下，绿衣女士让我们向您致敬，她说，你想让我们参加你们的秋季宴会。”
巨人国王和王后互相对视了一眼，朝对方点了点头，然后用一种吉尔不太喜欢的方式呲牙一笑。与王后相比，她更喜欢国王。国王长着漂亮而弯曲的胡子，笔挺的鹰钩鼻子，就巨人而言，他长得还挺耐看。王后则臃肿不堪，双下巴，大胖脸上还搽着粉--在正常比例下也不见得怎么样，何况又放大了十倍，当然是更加惨不忍睹。这时，国王伸出舌头来，舔了舔嘴唇。任何人都会这么做，但他的舌头肥大鲜红，加上出人意料地突然伸了出来，把吉尔吓了一大跳。
“喔，多么好的孩子啊！”王后说道。（“也许她倒是一个好人，”吉尔心中暗想。）“的确如此。”国王附和道，“非常优秀的孩子们。欢迎你们来到我们的宫廷。把你们的手伸给我。”
他伸出了巨大的右手--非常干净的手，手指上带着许多戒指，还留着尖利的指甲。他的手太大了，无法握住孩子们向他伸出来的小手，于是就挨个摇了摇他们的手臂。
“那是什么？”国王指着浦都格伦问道。“可敬银。”浦都格伦说。
“噢！”王后尖叫了一声，忙用裙摆裹住自己的脚踝，“怪兽！它是活的。”
“他没有危险，陛下，真的，他是个好人。”斯克拉布连忙说道，“等你们了解他之后，你们慢慢会喜欢他的。我保证你们会的。”
如果我告诉你们，就在这时吉尔哭了起来，希望你们在故事的下半部分不要对吉尔失去兴趣。她有许多理由哭天抹泪。她的双脚、双手、耳朵、鼻子逐渐开始变暖，溶化的雪水从她的衣服上流淌下来；那一天她几乎水米未进；她的双腿疼痛难忍，感到再也无法站立。不管怎么说，此刻她的哭泣起到了很好的作用，远胜过其他任何的言行，因为女王说道：
