Sunday, November 18, 2007
Chapter 12- "Peter's First Battle"
Vocabulary:
pant- to breathe with short, quick breaths
pavilion- a tent used as a shelter outside
mane- the long hair on a horse or lion’s neck
to draw a sword- to pull a sword out of it’s holder
salute- a gesture of respect
awkward- embarrassed
blame- to hold responsible for a fault or wrong action
faint- to lose consciousness, to fall suddenly into a sleep-like state
to kneel- to be on one or both knees, usually in reverence or respect
flat of the blade- the flat (not sharp) part of a sword
Chapter 12- "Peter's First Battle"
While the dwarf and White Witch were saying this, miles away the children and the Beavers were walking in what felt like a wonderful dream. They had left their coats behind long ago. They had been just as surprised as Edmund when they saw the winter vanishing and the whole wood changing from January to May in only a few hours. They hadn’t known (as the Witch had) that this was what would happen when Aslan came to Narnia. But they all knew that it was her magic that had made the endless winter; so they knew when they saw this magic spring that something had gone very wrong with the Witch’s plans.
They left the big river and started walking more South. The sun got low in the sky and the shadows became longer.
“Not long now,” said Mr. Beaver, and began leading them uphill. The climb, after a very long hard day, made them all pant. Just as Lucy was wondering if she could get to the top without stopping to rest, they were at the top.
They were on a green open space where they could see forest in every direction except to the east. There they saw a great shining thing that they knew to be the sea. In the middle of this open hilltop was the Stone Table. It was a great piece of gray stone on four short stones. It looked very old, and it was cut with strange lines and figures that might be the letters of an unknown language. They gave you a strange feeling when you looked at them.
The next thing they saw was a pavilion set up on the side of the open space. It was a wonderful pavilion, especially with the setting sun shining on it, with sides of yellow silk. High above it a flag with a red lion floated in the breeze. While they were looking at it, they heard the sound of music to their right. Turning in that direction, they saw what they came to see.
Aslan stood in the center of a crowd of creatures. The Beavers and children didn’t know what to do or say when they saw him. People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children ever thought so, they were cured of it now. When they tried to look at Aslan’s face, they just caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the great, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they found they couldn’t look at him.
No one wanted to be the first to approach Aslan. For some time each tried to get the others to go first, and the longer they talked about it, the more awkward they felt. Finally Peter realized it was up to him. He drew his sword and raised it to salute. He stepped up to the lion and said:
“We have come – Aslan.”
“Welcome, Peter, Son of Adam,” said Aslan. “Welcome, Susan and Lucy, Daughter’s of Eve. Welcome Beavers.”
His voice was deep and rich and seemed to calm them. They all felt very glad now, and not at all awkward.
“Where is the fourth?” asked Aslan.
“He has tried to betray them and joined the White Witch, Aslan,” said Mr. Beaver. And then something made Peter say:
“That was partly my fault. I was angry with him and I think that helped him to go wrong.”
Aslan said nothing either to excuse Peter or to blame him. He simply stood looking at him with his unchanging eyes. And it seemed to all of them that there was nothing more to say.
“Please, Aslan,” said Lucy, “can anything be done to save Edmund?”
“All will be done,” said Aslan, “but it may be harder than you think.” He was silent again. Up until that moment Lucy had been thinking how strong and peaceful he looked; now she suddenly noticed that he looked sad as well. But in a moment that expression was gone and he clapped his paws and said, “Meanwhile, let the feast be prepared. Ladies, take these girls to the tent and take care of them.”
When the girls had gone, Aslan laid his paw on Peter’s shoulder (how heavy it was!) and said, “Come, Son of Adam, and I will show you the castle where you are to be King.”
And Peter went with the lion to the eastern edge of the hill and there he saw a beautiful sight. Miles and miles of forests and fields and streams led away to the sea. Just where the land of Narnia met the sea, there was something on a hill, shining. It was shining because of the sun reflecting on all the windows, but to Peter it looked like a star resting on the edge of the water.
“That,” said Aslan, “is Cair Paravel of the four thrones, where you will sit as King. I show it to you because you are the firstborn and will be High King above all the others.”
Peter said nothing, for at that moment a strange noise broke the silence suddenly. It was like a bugle, but richer.
“It is your sister’s horn,” said Aslan to Peter, in a very low voice.
For a moment Peter did not understand. But when he saw all the creatures rushing forward and heard Aslan saying, “Back! Let the prince prove himself,” he did understand, and started running as hard as he could to the pavilion. There he saw a dreadful sight.
Lucy was running toward him as fast as her short legs would carry her, and her face was as white as paper. Then he saw Susan run for a tree and swing up into it, followed by a huge wolf. Susan had not been able to get higher than the second big branch, and one of her feet hung down only inches above the wolf’s snapping teeth. Peter wondered why she did not get higher, but then he realized that she was about to faint. And if she fainted, she would fall.
Peter did not feel very brave; in fact, he felt like he was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what he had to do. He ran straight up to the wolf and swung his sword at its side. The wolf turned around and howled in anger. If it hadn’t needed to howl, it probably would have gotten him. As it was, Peter just had time to stick the sword between the wolf’s legs and directly into the its heart. There was a horrible confused moment, like something from a nightmare. The wolf seemed neither alive nor dead, and there was hair and teeth everywhere. A moment later he found that the wolf lay dead and he was straightening his back and wiping the sweat off his face. He felt tired all over. Then, after a bit, Susan came down out of the tree.
“Quick, quick!” shouted Aslan. “I see another wolf there in the trees. He has just run away. Follow him, all of you. He will be going to the Witch. Now is your chance to find her and rescue to fourth Son of Adam.” And instantly a dozen of the fastest creatures were chasing the wolf away through the woods.
Peter, still out of breath, turned and saw Aslan standing close by.
“You have forgotten to clean your sword.”
It was true. Peter blushed when he looked down and saw the sword, red with the wolf’s blood. He knelt down and wiped it clean in the grass and then dried it on his coat.
“Hand it to me and kneel, Son of Adam,” said Aslan. And when Peter had done so, he touched him with the flat of the blade and said “Rise, Sir Peter Wolf’s-Bane. And whatever happens, never forget to wipe your sword.”
Homework:
1. Describe three different ways Aslan affects the children and the Beavers.
2. Why does Aslan stop the other creatures from helping Susan?
(The answer to question #3 should be longer, at least a paragraph.)
3. The children and the armies are preparing for a war against the White Witch and her armies. This is the reason Father Christmas gave them the presents he did in Chapter 10. But even though the fighting has not begun, they have already used two of their presents. And though the armies have not yet met, this chapter is called “Peter’s First Battle.” Why do you think that it? What does that mean, considering what we discussed about the story as an allegory of the battle between good and evil?
Be ready to discuss these chapters and your answers to the questions in class on Monday/Tuesday.
Chapter 11- "Aslan is Nearer"
Vocabulary:
brat- an annoying, badly behaved child
stale- not fresh, not new, dry
ten to one- almost certain, very likely
sniff- smell
to lose one’s head- to act foolishly
slush- partly melted snow on the ground
the foot of a tree- the base of the tree, where it meets the ground
breeze- a light, gentle wind
Chapter 11- "Aslan is Nearer"
Edmund, meanwhile, had been having a very disappointing time. When the dwarf went to get the sledge ready, he expected the witch to start being nice to him, as she had been at their last meeting. But she said nothing at all. And when Edmund finally said, “Please, your Majesty, could I have some Turkish Delight? You - you – said -” she answered, “Silence, fool!” Then she seemed to change her mind and said to herself “But it will not do to have the brat fainting on the way,” and clapped her hands again. Another dwarf appeared.
“Bring the human creature food and drink,” she said.
The dwarf went away and presently bringing an iron bowl with some water in it and an iron plate with a piece of dry bread on it. He grinned as he set them down on the floor beside Edmund and said:
“Turkish Delight for the little Prince. Ha ha ha!”
“Take it away,” Edmund said sulkily. “I don’t want dry bread.” But the witch suddenly turned to him with such a terrible expression on her face that he apologized and began to eat the bread, though it was so stale that he could hardly swallow it.
While he was chewing, the first dwarf came back and announced that the sledge was ready. The White Witch went out and ordered Edmund to go with her. She made Edmund sit beside her on the sledge, but before they drove off she called Maugrim and he came running to her side like an enormous dog.
“Take your fastest wolves and go to the house of the Beavers,” said the Witch, “and kill whatever you find there. If they are already gone, go to the Stone Table, but do not be seen. Wait for me there. You may find the humans on your way. You will know what to do if you find them.”
“I hear and obey, my Queen,” growled the wolf, and immediately ran off into the darkness. In a few minutes he had called another wolf and they were at the dam, sniffing at the Beaver’s house. But of course they found it empty. It would have been a dreadful thing for the children and the Beavers if the weather had remained nice. The wolves would have been able to follow their trail and ten to one would have caught them before they reached the cave. But now that the snow had begun, their tracks were gone and the wolves could not smell their trail.
Meanwhile, the dwarf whipped the reindeer and the Witch and Edmund drove out under the archway and into the darkness and the cold. This was a terrible journey for Edmund, who had no coat. The snow was falling and soon he was wet through. O, how miserable he was! It didn’t seem now as if the Witch planned to make him a King. All the things he had said to make himself believe that she was kind and good and that her side was the right side simply sounded silly to him now. His only comfort was to imagine that it was all a dream.
They went on an on, through the night and on into the morning. At last the Witch said “What have we here? Stop!” And they did.
Edmund hoped she was going to say something about breakfast, but she stopped for a very different reason. A short distance away, at the foot of a tree, sat a very merry group; a squirrel and his wife and children, two satyrs, a dwarf, and a fox all sitting on stools around a table. Edmund couldn’t see what they were eating, but it smelled delicious. Just as the sledge drove up, the fox had just stood, holding a glass in his right paw, as if about to make a toast. But when they saw the sledge and who was in it, all the happiness went out of their faces. The father squirrel stopped eating with his fork halfway to his mouth.
“What is this?” asked the Witch. Nobody answered.
“Speak! What is the meaning of all this? Where did you get these things?”
“Please, your Majesty,” said the fox, “we were given them.”
“Who gave them to you?” said the Witch.
“F-F-F-Father Christmas.” stammered the fox.
“What!” roared the Witch, jumping out of the sledge and taking a few steps closer to the animals. “He has not been here! He cannot have been here! Say you have been lying and you will be forgiven.”
At that moment, on of the young squirrels lost its head completely. “He has – he has – he has!”
Edmund saw the White Witch bite her lip and raise her wand. “Oh, don’t, don’t! Please don’t!” But even while he was shouting, she waved her wand instantly there were only statues of creatures (one with a stone fork held forever halfway to his stone mouth) where the happy animals had been.
“As for you,” said the Witch, slapping Edmund on the face, “let that teach you to ask favor for spies and traitors. Drive on!” And for the first time in this story, Edmund felt sorry for someone besides himself. It seemed so sad to think of those little stone figures sitting there through all the silent days and dark nights, year after year.
Now they were racing on again. Soon Edmund noticed that the snow seemed much wetter than it had the night before, and he was feeling much less cold. The sledge was not running nearly as well as it had before. At first he thought that this was because the reindeer were tired, but he soon realized that that could not be the reason. The sledge kept hitting rocks. Finally the sledge came to a complete stop, and in the silence that followed, Edmund heard a strange sound – a strange, sweet, familiar sound. It was the sound of running water! His heart jumped when he realized that the frost was finally over.
“Stop staring, fool! Get out and help!”
And of course Edmund had to obey. He stepped out into the snow, though it was really only slush by now, and began helping the dwarf get the sledge out of the mud. They finally got it out, and by being very cruel to the reindeer, the dwarf got the sledge to move again. The snow was really melting by then, and patches of green grass could be seen everywhere. Then the sledge stopped again.
“It’s no good, your Majesty. We cannot sledge in this.”
“Then we shall have to walk. Tie the human’s hands behind his back and hold the end of the rope.”
Every moment the patches of grass grew larger and the patches of snow grew smaller. The sun shone through to the forest floor and through the trees you could see blue sky. Soon more wonderful things were happening. Coming around a corner, Edmund suddenly saw the ground covered in little yellow flowers.
“Mind your own business!” yelled the dwarf, when he saw that Edmund had turned his head to
look at them. But this didn’t stop Edmund from seeing. Five minutes later he saw a dozen crocuses growing at the foot of an old tree, purple and white and gold. Then came a sound even better than the flowing water. Close to the path they were following, a bird suddenly chirped from a tree. It was answered by another bird a little farther away. Then, as if it had been a signal, the wood was suddenly filled with the sound of birdsong.
“Faster! Faster!” said the Witch.
The sky became bluer and bluer and several white clouds floated across it. In the openings there were flowers of all kinds, and a light breeze blew in the faces of the travelers. Soon the trees were covered in green and the light underneath them was green as well. A bee buzzed across their path.
“This is no thaw,” said the dwarf, suddenly stopping. “This is spring. What are we to do? Your winter has been destroyed. This is Aslan’s doing!”
“If either of you mentions that name again,” said the Witch, “he shall be instantly killed.”
Homework:
1. Name three signs that the Witch’s power is weaker.
2. Why are these things happening?
brat- an annoying, badly behaved child
stale- not fresh, not new, dry
ten to one- almost certain, very likely
sniff- smell
to lose one’s head- to act foolishly
slush- partly melted snow on the ground
the foot of a tree- the base of the tree, where it meets the ground
breeze- a light, gentle wind
Chapter 11- "Aslan is Nearer"
Edmund, meanwhile, had been having a very disappointing time. When the dwarf went to get the sledge ready, he expected the witch to start being nice to him, as she had been at their last meeting. But she said nothing at all. And when Edmund finally said, “Please, your Majesty, could I have some Turkish Delight? You - you – said -” she answered, “Silence, fool!” Then she seemed to change her mind and said to herself “But it will not do to have the brat fainting on the way,” and clapped her hands again. Another dwarf appeared.
“Bring the human creature food and drink,” she said.
The dwarf went away and presently bringing an iron bowl with some water in it and an iron plate with a piece of dry bread on it. He grinned as he set them down on the floor beside Edmund and said:
“Turkish Delight for the little Prince. Ha ha ha!”
“Take it away,” Edmund said sulkily. “I don’t want dry bread.” But the witch suddenly turned to him with such a terrible expression on her face that he apologized and began to eat the bread, though it was so stale that he could hardly swallow it.
While he was chewing, the first dwarf came back and announced that the sledge was ready. The White Witch went out and ordered Edmund to go with her. She made Edmund sit beside her on the sledge, but before they drove off she called Maugrim and he came running to her side like an enormous dog.
“Take your fastest wolves and go to the house of the Beavers,” said the Witch, “and kill whatever you find there. If they are already gone, go to the Stone Table, but do not be seen. Wait for me there. You may find the humans on your way. You will know what to do if you find them.”
“I hear and obey, my Queen,” growled the wolf, and immediately ran off into the darkness. In a few minutes he had called another wolf and they were at the dam, sniffing at the Beaver’s house. But of course they found it empty. It would have been a dreadful thing for the children and the Beavers if the weather had remained nice. The wolves would have been able to follow their trail and ten to one would have caught them before they reached the cave. But now that the snow had begun, their tracks were gone and the wolves could not smell their trail.
Meanwhile, the dwarf whipped the reindeer and the Witch and Edmund drove out under the archway and into the darkness and the cold. This was a terrible journey for Edmund, who had no coat. The snow was falling and soon he was wet through. O, how miserable he was! It didn’t seem now as if the Witch planned to make him a King. All the things he had said to make himself believe that she was kind and good and that her side was the right side simply sounded silly to him now. His only comfort was to imagine that it was all a dream.
They went on an on, through the night and on into the morning. At last the Witch said “What have we here? Stop!” And they did.
Edmund hoped she was going to say something about breakfast, but she stopped for a very different reason. A short distance away, at the foot of a tree, sat a very merry group; a squirrel and his wife and children, two satyrs, a dwarf, and a fox all sitting on stools around a table. Edmund couldn’t see what they were eating, but it smelled delicious. Just as the sledge drove up, the fox had just stood, holding a glass in his right paw, as if about to make a toast. But when they saw the sledge and who was in it, all the happiness went out of their faces. The father squirrel stopped eating with his fork halfway to his mouth.
“What is this?” asked the Witch. Nobody answered.
“Speak! What is the meaning of all this? Where did you get these things?”
“Please, your Majesty,” said the fox, “we were given them.”
“Who gave them to you?” said the Witch.
“F-F-F-Father Christmas.” stammered the fox.
“What!” roared the Witch, jumping out of the sledge and taking a few steps closer to the animals. “He has not been here! He cannot have been here! Say you have been lying and you will be forgiven.”
At that moment, on of the young squirrels lost its head completely. “He has – he has – he has!”
Edmund saw the White Witch bite her lip and raise her wand. “Oh, don’t, don’t! Please don’t!” But even while he was shouting, she waved her wand instantly there were only statues of creatures (one with a stone fork held forever halfway to his stone mouth) where the happy animals had been.
“As for you,” said the Witch, slapping Edmund on the face, “let that teach you to ask favor for spies and traitors. Drive on!” And for the first time in this story, Edmund felt sorry for someone besides himself. It seemed so sad to think of those little stone figures sitting there through all the silent days and dark nights, year after year.
Now they were racing on again. Soon Edmund noticed that the snow seemed much wetter than it had the night before, and he was feeling much less cold. The sledge was not running nearly as well as it had before. At first he thought that this was because the reindeer were tired, but he soon realized that that could not be the reason. The sledge kept hitting rocks. Finally the sledge came to a complete stop, and in the silence that followed, Edmund heard a strange sound – a strange, sweet, familiar sound. It was the sound of running water! His heart jumped when he realized that the frost was finally over.
“Stop staring, fool! Get out and help!”
And of course Edmund had to obey. He stepped out into the snow, though it was really only slush by now, and began helping the dwarf get the sledge out of the mud. They finally got it out, and by being very cruel to the reindeer, the dwarf got the sledge to move again. The snow was really melting by then, and patches of green grass could be seen everywhere. Then the sledge stopped again.
“It’s no good, your Majesty. We cannot sledge in this.”
“Then we shall have to walk. Tie the human’s hands behind his back and hold the end of the rope.”
Every moment the patches of grass grew larger and the patches of snow grew smaller. The sun shone through to the forest floor and through the trees you could see blue sky. Soon more wonderful things were happening. Coming around a corner, Edmund suddenly saw the ground covered in little yellow flowers.
“Mind your own business!” yelled the dwarf, when he saw that Edmund had turned his head to
look at them. But this didn’t stop Edmund from seeing. Five minutes later he saw a dozen crocuses growing at the foot of an old tree, purple and white and gold. Then came a sound even better than the flowing water. Close to the path they were following, a bird suddenly chirped from a tree. It was answered by another bird a little farther away. Then, as if it had been a signal, the wood was suddenly filled with the sound of birdsong.
“Faster! Faster!” said the Witch.
The sky became bluer and bluer and several white clouds floated across it. In the openings there were flowers of all kinds, and a light breeze blew in the faces of the travelers. Soon the trees were covered in green and the light underneath them was green as well. A bee buzzed across their path.
“This is no thaw,” said the dwarf, suddenly stopping. “This is spring. What are we to do? Your winter has been destroyed. This is Aslan’s doing!”
“If either of you mentions that name again,” said the Witch, “he shall be instantly killed.”
Homework:
1. Name three signs that the Witch’s power is weaker.
2. Why are these things happening?
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Chapter 10- The Spell Begins to Break
Now we must go back to Mr. and Mrs. Beaver and the other three children. As soon as Mr. Beaver said “There’s no time to lose,” everyone began to put their coats on except Mrs. Beaver, who started packing sacks for them all to carry. Finally they got outside and Mr. Beaver locked the door and they all set off, carrying their loads over their shoulders.
It would have been a pretty enough scene to look at through a window from a comfortable armchair. Even as it was, Lucy did enjoy it at first. But as they went on walking and walking and walking, and the sack she was carrying felt heavier and heavier, she began to wonder how she was going to keep up at all. She stopped looking at the dazzling brightness of the frozen river and the whiteness of the treetops and the great moon and countless stars, and could only watch the short legs of Mr. Beaver in front of her, going as if they would never stop. At last Lucy was so tired that she was almost asleep and walking at the same time. Suddenly she saw that Mr. Beaver had turned to the right and was leading them up a steep hill into the thickest bushes. As she came fully awake, she saw Mr. Beaver vanishing into a little hole which was almost hidden under the bushes.
Lucy immediately stooped down and crawled in after him. She heard noises behind her and in a moment all five of them were inside.
“Where is this?” said Peter’s voice, sounding tired in the darkness.
It’s an old hiding place for beavers in hard times,” said Mr. Beaver, “and a great secret. It’s not much of a place, but we must get a few hours’ sleep.”
It wasn’t nearly as nice as Mr. Tumnus’ cave, Lucy thought, just a hole in the ground. But it was dry. It was very small so that when they all lay down they were a pile of clothes together. What with that and being all warmed up from their long walk, they were really quite snug. Then Mrs. Beaver handed around in the dark a flask of something from which everyone drank. It made you cough a bit at first, but then it made you feel wonderfully warm after you swallowed it, and then they all went straight to sleep.
It seemed to Lucy only the next minute (though really it was hours and hours later) when she woke up feeling a little cold, dreadfully stiff, and thinking she would like a hot bath. But immediately after that she was very wide awake, and so was everyone else. In fact they were all sitting up with their mouths and eyes wide open listening. It was the very sound they had all been thinking of (and imagining they heard) during their walk last night. It was the sound of bells.
Mr. Beaver was out of the cave like a flash the moment he heard it. Maybe you think, as Lucy thought for a moment, that this was a very silly thing to do? But it was really a very sensible one. He knew he could move under the bushes without being seen and he wanted above all things to see which way the Witch’s sledge went. The others sat in the cave waiting and wondering. They waited nearly five minutes. Then they heard something that frightened them very much. They heard voices. “Oh,” thought Lucy, “he’s been seen. She’s caught him!” Great was their surprise when, a little later, they heard Mr. Beaver’s voice calling to them from outside the cave.
“It’s all right!” he was shouting. “Come out, Mrs. Beaver. Come out Sons and Daughters of Adam. It’s all right! It isn’t Her!”
So Mrs. Beaver and the children climbed out of the cave, blinking in the daylight with dirt all over them.
“Come on!” said Mr. Beaver, who was almost dancing with delight. “Come and see! This is bad news for the Witch! It looks as if her power is already crumbling.”
“What do you mean, Mr. Beaver” said Peter as they all climbed up the steep bank of the valley.
“Didn’t I tell you,” answered Mr. Beaver, “that she’d made it always winter and never Christmas? Didn’t I tell you? Well, just come and see!” And then they were all at the top and did see.
It was a sledge, and it was reindeer with bells on their harness. But they were much bigger than the Witch’s reindeer and they were not white but brown. And on the sledge sat someone everyone knew the moment they set eyes on him. He was a huge man in a bright red robe with a hood that had fur on the inside and a long white beard all over his chest. Everyone knew him because, though you see people like him only in Narnia, you often see pictures of them in our world, the world on this side of the wardrobe door. But when you really see them in Narnia it is different. Some of the pictures of Father Christmas in our world make him look only funny and jolly. But now that the children actually stood looking at him, it wasn’t like that. He was so big, and so glad, and so real, that they all became very still. They felt very glad, but also very solemn.
“I’ve come at last,” he said, “She has kept me out for a long time, but I have got in at last. Aslan is on the move. The Witch’s power is weakening.”
And Lucy felt that deep feeling of gladness that you only get when you are being solemn and still.
“And now,” said Father Christmas, “for your presents. There is a new and better sewing machine for you, Mrs. Beaver. I’ll leave it at your house for you. And for you, Mr. Beaver, when you get home you will find your dam all finished and repaired.”
Mr. Beaver was so happy that he opened his mouth very wide and then found he couldn’t say anything at all.
“Peter, Adam’s Son,” said Father Christmas.
“Here, sir,” said Peter.
“These are your presents,” was the answer, “and they are tools, not toys. The time to use them is perhaps very soon. Use them well.” With these words he handed to Peter a shield and a sword. The shield was silver, with a red lion, as bright as a new strawberry. The handle of the sword was gold, and it had a sword belt and everything else it needed, and it was the perfect size and weight for Peter to use. Peter was very silent and solemn, for he felt that they were a very serious kind of present.
“Susan, Eve’s Daughter,” said Father Christmas, “these are for you,” and he handed her a bow and a quiver full of arrows and a little ivory horn. “You must use the bow only in great need,” he said, “for I do not want you to fight in the battle. It does not easily miss. And when you put the horn to your lips and blow it, then wherever you are, I think help of some kind will come to you.”
Last of all he said, “Lucy, Eve’s Daughter,” and Lucy came forward. He gave her a little bottle and a small dagger. “In this bottle,” he said, “is a medicine made from the juice of the fire-flowers that grow in the mountains of the sun. If you or any of your friends is hurt, a few drops will heal them. And the dagger is to defend yourself in great need, for I don’t want you in the battle either. And now” – here he suddenly looked less serious- “here is something for the moment for you all!” and he pulled out a large tray with five cups, a bowl of sugar, some cream, and a big teapot, hot and steaming. Then he cried out “Merry Christmas! Long live the true King!” and he and the reindeer were gone from sight before anyone realized he had started.
So down the steep hill they went and back into the cave. Mr. Beaver cut some of the bread and ham into sandwiches and Mrs. Beaver poured tea, and everyone enjoyed themselves. But long before they had finished enjoying themselves, Mr. Beaver said, “Time to be moving on now.”
It would have been a pretty enough scene to look at through a window from a comfortable armchair. Even as it was, Lucy did enjoy it at first. But as they went on walking and walking and walking, and the sack she was carrying felt heavier and heavier, she began to wonder how she was going to keep up at all. She stopped looking at the dazzling brightness of the frozen river and the whiteness of the treetops and the great moon and countless stars, and could only watch the short legs of Mr. Beaver in front of her, going as if they would never stop. At last Lucy was so tired that she was almost asleep and walking at the same time. Suddenly she saw that Mr. Beaver had turned to the right and was leading them up a steep hill into the thickest bushes. As she came fully awake, she saw Mr. Beaver vanishing into a little hole which was almost hidden under the bushes.
Lucy immediately stooped down and crawled in after him. She heard noises behind her and in a moment all five of them were inside.
“Where is this?” said Peter’s voice, sounding tired in the darkness.
It’s an old hiding place for beavers in hard times,” said Mr. Beaver, “and a great secret. It’s not much of a place, but we must get a few hours’ sleep.”
It wasn’t nearly as nice as Mr. Tumnus’ cave, Lucy thought, just a hole in the ground. But it was dry. It was very small so that when they all lay down they were a pile of clothes together. What with that and being all warmed up from their long walk, they were really quite snug. Then Mrs. Beaver handed around in the dark a flask of something from which everyone drank. It made you cough a bit at first, but then it made you feel wonderfully warm after you swallowed it, and then they all went straight to sleep.
It seemed to Lucy only the next minute (though really it was hours and hours later) when she woke up feeling a little cold, dreadfully stiff, and thinking she would like a hot bath. But immediately after that she was very wide awake, and so was everyone else. In fact they were all sitting up with their mouths and eyes wide open listening. It was the very sound they had all been thinking of (and imagining they heard) during their walk last night. It was the sound of bells.
Mr. Beaver was out of the cave like a flash the moment he heard it. Maybe you think, as Lucy thought for a moment, that this was a very silly thing to do? But it was really a very sensible one. He knew he could move under the bushes without being seen and he wanted above all things to see which way the Witch’s sledge went. The others sat in the cave waiting and wondering. They waited nearly five minutes. Then they heard something that frightened them very much. They heard voices. “Oh,” thought Lucy, “he’s been seen. She’s caught him!” Great was their surprise when, a little later, they heard Mr. Beaver’s voice calling to them from outside the cave.
“It’s all right!” he was shouting. “Come out, Mrs. Beaver. Come out Sons and Daughters of Adam. It’s all right! It isn’t Her!”
So Mrs. Beaver and the children climbed out of the cave, blinking in the daylight with dirt all over them.
“Come on!” said Mr. Beaver, who was almost dancing with delight. “Come and see! This is bad news for the Witch! It looks as if her power is already crumbling.”
“What do you mean, Mr. Beaver” said Peter as they all climbed up the steep bank of the valley.
“Didn’t I tell you,” answered Mr. Beaver, “that she’d made it always winter and never Christmas? Didn’t I tell you? Well, just come and see!” And then they were all at the top and did see.
It was a sledge, and it was reindeer with bells on their harness. But they were much bigger than the Witch’s reindeer and they were not white but brown. And on the sledge sat someone everyone knew the moment they set eyes on him. He was a huge man in a bright red robe with a hood that had fur on the inside and a long white beard all over his chest. Everyone knew him because, though you see people like him only in Narnia, you often see pictures of them in our world, the world on this side of the wardrobe door. But when you really see them in Narnia it is different. Some of the pictures of Father Christmas in our world make him look only funny and jolly. But now that the children actually stood looking at him, it wasn’t like that. He was so big, and so glad, and so real, that they all became very still. They felt very glad, but also very solemn.
“I’ve come at last,” he said, “She has kept me out for a long time, but I have got in at last. Aslan is on the move. The Witch’s power is weakening.”
And Lucy felt that deep feeling of gladness that you only get when you are being solemn and still.
“And now,” said Father Christmas, “for your presents. There is a new and better sewing machine for you, Mrs. Beaver. I’ll leave it at your house for you. And for you, Mr. Beaver, when you get home you will find your dam all finished and repaired.”
Mr. Beaver was so happy that he opened his mouth very wide and then found he couldn’t say anything at all.
“Peter, Adam’s Son,” said Father Christmas.
“Here, sir,” said Peter.
“These are your presents,” was the answer, “and they are tools, not toys. The time to use them is perhaps very soon. Use them well.” With these words he handed to Peter a shield and a sword. The shield was silver, with a red lion, as bright as a new strawberry. The handle of the sword was gold, and it had a sword belt and everything else it needed, and it was the perfect size and weight for Peter to use. Peter was very silent and solemn, for he felt that they were a very serious kind of present.
“Susan, Eve’s Daughter,” said Father Christmas, “these are for you,” and he handed her a bow and a quiver full of arrows and a little ivory horn. “You must use the bow only in great need,” he said, “for I do not want you to fight in the battle. It does not easily miss. And when you put the horn to your lips and blow it, then wherever you are, I think help of some kind will come to you.”
Last of all he said, “Lucy, Eve’s Daughter,” and Lucy came forward. He gave her a little bottle and a small dagger. “In this bottle,” he said, “is a medicine made from the juice of the fire-flowers that grow in the mountains of the sun. If you or any of your friends is hurt, a few drops will heal them. And the dagger is to defend yourself in great need, for I don’t want you in the battle either. And now” – here he suddenly looked less serious- “here is something for the moment for you all!” and he pulled out a large tray with five cups, a bowl of sugar, some cream, and a big teapot, hot and steaming. Then he cried out “Merry Christmas! Long live the true King!” and he and the reindeer were gone from sight before anyone realized he had started.
So down the steep hill they went and back into the cave. Mr. Beaver cut some of the bread and ham into sandwiches and Mrs. Beaver poured tea, and everyone enjoyed themselves. But long before they had finished enjoying themselves, Mr. Beaver said, “Time to be moving on now.”
Chapter 9- In the Witch's House
And now, of course, you want to know what happened to Edmund. He had eaten dinner but he hadn’t really enjoyed it because the whole time he was thinking about Turkish Delight- and nothing spoils the taste of good ordinary food as much as the memory of bad magic food. He had heard the conversation and hadn’t enjoyed it much either because he kept thinking that the others were not paying attention to him and trying to give him the cold shoulder. They weren’t, but he imagined it. Then he listened until Mr. Beaver had told them about Aslan and he heard the arrangement to meet Aslan at the Stone Table. Then he started working his way under the curtain that hung over the door. Just as Mr. Beaver was telling them that the White Witch wasn’t really human at all, but half Jinn and half giantess, Edmund got out into the snow and cautiously closed the door behind him.
You musn’t think, even now, that Edmund was quite so bad that he wanted his brother and sisters to be turned into stone. He did want Turkish Delight and to be a prince (and later a king) and to pay Peter for calling him a beast. He didn’t want the Witch to be very nice to them, certainly not to put them on the same level as himself. But he believed, or pretended to believe, that she wouldn’t do anything very bad to them. “Because,” he said to himself, “all these people who say nasty things about her are her enemies and probably half of it isn’t true. She was really nice to me, anyway, much nicer than they are. I bet she is the rightful Queen really. Anyway, she’ll be better than that awful Aslan!” At least, that was the excuse he made in his own mind for what he was doing. It wasn’t a very good excuse, however, because deep down inside he really knew that the White Witch was bad and cruel.
The first thing he realized when he got out into the snow was that he had forgotten his coat. And of course there was no chance of going back to get it now. The next thing he realized was that the daylight was almost gone, because it had been almost three o’clock when they had started dinner and the winter days were short. He hadn’t planned on this, but he pulled up his collar and tried to make the best of it.
It was pretty bad by the time he reached the far end of the dam. It was getting darker every minute, and what with that and the snowflakes blowing all around him he could hardly see three feet in front of him. And then too there was no road. He kept falling into deep drifts of snow, slipping on frozen puddles, and tripping over fallen tree trunks, and hitting his shins against rocks, until he was wet and cold and bruised all over. The silence and loneliness were dreadful. In fact, I really think he might have given up the whole plan and gone back and owned up and made friends with the others if he hadn’t said to himself, “When I’m king of Narnia, the first thing I shall do will be to make some decent roads.” And of course that set him off thinking about all the things he would do as king and that cheered him up a good deal.
He would never have found his way if the weather hadn’t finally changed. The snow stopped and the wind started blowing so that it became freezing cold. Then the moon came out. The valley he had to go through next was much steeper and rockier than the one he had just left. There were so many rocks and bushes that he never could have managed it in the dark. Even so, he got wet through, because he had to climb under branches and every time he did lots of snow came sliding off onto his back. And every time that happened he thought more and more how he hated Peter – as if all this had been Peter’s fault.
But at last he came to a part that was more level and there, on the other side of the river, he saw what must be the White Witch’s house. The house was really a small castle. It seemed to be made only of towers; little towers with long pointed spires on them, as sharp as needles. They shone in the moonlight and their long shadows looked strange on the snow. Edmund began to be afraid of the house.
But it was too late to think of turning back now. He crossed the river on the ice and walked up to the house. All was silent. Even his own feet made no sound on the deep snow. He had to walk around to the other side of the house to find the door. It was a huge arch, but the great iron gates stood open.
Edmund walked up to the arch and looked into the courtyard, and there he saw something that nearly made his heart stop beating. Just inside the gate, with the moonlight shining on it, stood an enormous lion, crouched as if ready to jump. Edmund stood in the doorway, afraid to go on and afraid to go back. He stood there so long that his teeth would have been chattering with cold if they hadn’t already been chattering with fear. I don’t know how long it really lasted, but it seemed to Edmund to last for hours.
Then at last he began to wonder why the lion was standing so still – for it hadn’t moved an inch since he first set eyes on it. And now at last Edmund remembered what the others had said about the White Witch turning people into stone. Perhaps this was only a stone lion. As soon as he had thought of that he noticed that the lion’s back and the top of its head were covered with snow. Of course it must be a statue! No living animal would let itself get covered in snow. Then very slowly, with his heart beating as if it would burst, Edmund walked up to the lion. Even now he hardly dared to touch it, but at last he put out his hand very quickly and did. It was cold stone. He had been frightened of a statue!
The relief Edmund felt was so great that in spite of the cold he suddenly got warm all over, and there came into his head what seemed a perfectly lovely thought. “Probably,” he thought, “this is the great lion Aslan they were all talking about. She’s caught him already and turned him into stone. So that’s the end of all their plans with him!”
He stood there gloating over the stone lion, and presently he did something very silly and childish. He took a pencil out of his pocket and drew a mustache on the lion’s upper lip and a pair of spectacles on his eyes. Then he said “Hah! Silly old Aslan! How do you like being a stone! You thought you were pretty great, didn’t you?” But in spite of the marks on it, the face of the great stone beast still looked so terrible, and sad, and noble that Edmund didn’t really enjoy jeering at it. He turned away and began to cross the courtyard.
As he got to the middle of it he saw that there were dozens of statues all around – standing here and there like pieces on a chessboard There were stone satyrs and stone wolves, and foxes and cats. There were lovely stone shapes that looked like women but who were really the spirits of trees. There was the great shape of a centaur and a winged horse and a long creature Edmund thought must be a dragon. They all looked so strange standing there, so perfectly life-like and so perfectly still in the cold moonlight, that it was eerie work crossing the courtyard. In the very middle stood a huge shape like a man, but as tall as a tree, with a great club in its right hand. Even though he knew it was only a stone giant, Edmund did not like going past it.
He saw that there was a dim light on the other side of the courtyard. He went up to it and there were stairs leading up to an open door. Edmund went up them. Across the threshold lay a huge wolf.
“It’s all right, it’s all right.” he kept saying to himself, “It’s only a stone wolf. It can’t hurt me,” and he began to step over it. Instantly the animal rose, opened a great, red mouth and said in a growling voice:
“Who’s there? Who’s there? Stand still, stranger, and tell me who you are.”
“My name is Edmund” he said, shaking so that he could hardly speak, “and I’m the Son of Adam that Her Majesty met in the wood the other day and I’ve come to bring her the news that my brother and sisters are in Narnia. She - she wanted to see them.”
“I will tell Her Majesty. Meanwhile, stand still on the threshold if you value your life.” Then it vanished into the house.
Edmund stood and waited, his fingers aching with the cold and his heart pounding in his chest, and soon the grey wolf, Maugrim, the Captain of the Witch’s Secret Police, came back and said “Come in, come in, fortunate favorite of the Queen.”
He found himself in a long, gloomy hall, full of statues like the courtyard had been. The one nearest the door was a little faun with a very sad look on its face, and Edmund couldn’t help wondering if this was Lucy’s friend. The only light came from a single lamp, and close to this sat the White Witch.
“I’ve come, your Majesty” said Edmund, running forward excitedly.
“How dare you come alone!” said the Witch in a terrible voice. “Did I not tell you to bring the others with you?”
“Please, your Majesty, I’ve done the best I can. I’ve brought them quite close. They’re in the little house on top of the dam just up the river – with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver.”
A slow cruel smile came over the Witch’s face.
“Is that all your news?” she asked.
“No, your Majesty,” said Edmund, and told her all that he had heard before leaving the Beavers’ house that night.
“What! Aslan!” Said the Queen, “Is this true? If I find that you have lied to me -”
“Please, I’m only repeating what they said,” said Edmund, but the Queen was no longer paying attention to him. She clapped her hands and the same dwarf Edmund had seen with her before appeared.
“Make ready our sledge,” ordered the Witch, “and use the harness without bells.”
You musn’t think, even now, that Edmund was quite so bad that he wanted his brother and sisters to be turned into stone. He did want Turkish Delight and to be a prince (and later a king) and to pay Peter for calling him a beast. He didn’t want the Witch to be very nice to them, certainly not to put them on the same level as himself. But he believed, or pretended to believe, that she wouldn’t do anything very bad to them. “Because,” he said to himself, “all these people who say nasty things about her are her enemies and probably half of it isn’t true. She was really nice to me, anyway, much nicer than they are. I bet she is the rightful Queen really. Anyway, she’ll be better than that awful Aslan!” At least, that was the excuse he made in his own mind for what he was doing. It wasn’t a very good excuse, however, because deep down inside he really knew that the White Witch was bad and cruel.
The first thing he realized when he got out into the snow was that he had forgotten his coat. And of course there was no chance of going back to get it now. The next thing he realized was that the daylight was almost gone, because it had been almost three o’clock when they had started dinner and the winter days were short. He hadn’t planned on this, but he pulled up his collar and tried to make the best of it.
It was pretty bad by the time he reached the far end of the dam. It was getting darker every minute, and what with that and the snowflakes blowing all around him he could hardly see three feet in front of him. And then too there was no road. He kept falling into deep drifts of snow, slipping on frozen puddles, and tripping over fallen tree trunks, and hitting his shins against rocks, until he was wet and cold and bruised all over. The silence and loneliness were dreadful. In fact, I really think he might have given up the whole plan and gone back and owned up and made friends with the others if he hadn’t said to himself, “When I’m king of Narnia, the first thing I shall do will be to make some decent roads.” And of course that set him off thinking about all the things he would do as king and that cheered him up a good deal.
He would never have found his way if the weather hadn’t finally changed. The snow stopped and the wind started blowing so that it became freezing cold. Then the moon came out. The valley he had to go through next was much steeper and rockier than the one he had just left. There were so many rocks and bushes that he never could have managed it in the dark. Even so, he got wet through, because he had to climb under branches and every time he did lots of snow came sliding off onto his back. And every time that happened he thought more and more how he hated Peter – as if all this had been Peter’s fault.
But at last he came to a part that was more level and there, on the other side of the river, he saw what must be the White Witch’s house. The house was really a small castle. It seemed to be made only of towers; little towers with long pointed spires on them, as sharp as needles. They shone in the moonlight and their long shadows looked strange on the snow. Edmund began to be afraid of the house.
But it was too late to think of turning back now. He crossed the river on the ice and walked up to the house. All was silent. Even his own feet made no sound on the deep snow. He had to walk around to the other side of the house to find the door. It was a huge arch, but the great iron gates stood open.
Edmund walked up to the arch and looked into the courtyard, and there he saw something that nearly made his heart stop beating. Just inside the gate, with the moonlight shining on it, stood an enormous lion, crouched as if ready to jump. Edmund stood in the doorway, afraid to go on and afraid to go back. He stood there so long that his teeth would have been chattering with cold if they hadn’t already been chattering with fear. I don’t know how long it really lasted, but it seemed to Edmund to last for hours.
Then at last he began to wonder why the lion was standing so still – for it hadn’t moved an inch since he first set eyes on it. And now at last Edmund remembered what the others had said about the White Witch turning people into stone. Perhaps this was only a stone lion. As soon as he had thought of that he noticed that the lion’s back and the top of its head were covered with snow. Of course it must be a statue! No living animal would let itself get covered in snow. Then very slowly, with his heart beating as if it would burst, Edmund walked up to the lion. Even now he hardly dared to touch it, but at last he put out his hand very quickly and did. It was cold stone. He had been frightened of a statue!
The relief Edmund felt was so great that in spite of the cold he suddenly got warm all over, and there came into his head what seemed a perfectly lovely thought. “Probably,” he thought, “this is the great lion Aslan they were all talking about. She’s caught him already and turned him into stone. So that’s the end of all their plans with him!”
He stood there gloating over the stone lion, and presently he did something very silly and childish. He took a pencil out of his pocket and drew a mustache on the lion’s upper lip and a pair of spectacles on his eyes. Then he said “Hah! Silly old Aslan! How do you like being a stone! You thought you were pretty great, didn’t you?” But in spite of the marks on it, the face of the great stone beast still looked so terrible, and sad, and noble that Edmund didn’t really enjoy jeering at it. He turned away and began to cross the courtyard.
As he got to the middle of it he saw that there were dozens of statues all around – standing here and there like pieces on a chessboard There were stone satyrs and stone wolves, and foxes and cats. There were lovely stone shapes that looked like women but who were really the spirits of trees. There was the great shape of a centaur and a winged horse and a long creature Edmund thought must be a dragon. They all looked so strange standing there, so perfectly life-like and so perfectly still in the cold moonlight, that it was eerie work crossing the courtyard. In the very middle stood a huge shape like a man, but as tall as a tree, with a great club in its right hand. Even though he knew it was only a stone giant, Edmund did not like going past it.
He saw that there was a dim light on the other side of the courtyard. He went up to it and there were stairs leading up to an open door. Edmund went up them. Across the threshold lay a huge wolf.
“It’s all right, it’s all right.” he kept saying to himself, “It’s only a stone wolf. It can’t hurt me,” and he began to step over it. Instantly the animal rose, opened a great, red mouth and said in a growling voice:
“Who’s there? Who’s there? Stand still, stranger, and tell me who you are.”
“My name is Edmund” he said, shaking so that he could hardly speak, “and I’m the Son of Adam that Her Majesty met in the wood the other day and I’ve come to bring her the news that my brother and sisters are in Narnia. She - she wanted to see them.”
“I will tell Her Majesty. Meanwhile, stand still on the threshold if you value your life.” Then it vanished into the house.
Edmund stood and waited, his fingers aching with the cold and his heart pounding in his chest, and soon the grey wolf, Maugrim, the Captain of the Witch’s Secret Police, came back and said “Come in, come in, fortunate favorite of the Queen.”
He found himself in a long, gloomy hall, full of statues like the courtyard had been. The one nearest the door was a little faun with a very sad look on its face, and Edmund couldn’t help wondering if this was Lucy’s friend. The only light came from a single lamp, and close to this sat the White Witch.
“I’ve come, your Majesty” said Edmund, running forward excitedly.
“How dare you come alone!” said the Witch in a terrible voice. “Did I not tell you to bring the others with you?”
“Please, your Majesty, I’ve done the best I can. I’ve brought them quite close. They’re in the little house on top of the dam just up the river – with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver.”
A slow cruel smile came over the Witch’s face.
“Is that all your news?” she asked.
“No, your Majesty,” said Edmund, and told her all that he had heard before leaving the Beavers’ house that night.
“What! Aslan!” Said the Queen, “Is this true? If I find that you have lied to me -”
“Please, I’m only repeating what they said,” said Edmund, but the Queen was no longer paying attention to him. She clapped her hands and the same dwarf Edmund had seen with her before appeared.
“Make ready our sledge,” ordered the Witch, “and use the harness without bells.”
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Chapter 8- What Happened After Dinner
“And now,” said Lucy, “please tell us what’s happened to Mr. Tumnus.”
“Ah, that’s bad,” said Mr. Beaver, shaking his head. “That’s a very, very bad business. There’s no doubt he was taken off by the police. I heard that from a bird who saw it happen.”
“But where has he been taken to?” asked Lucy.
“Well they were heading northwards when they were last seen, and we all know what that means.”
“No, we don’t,” said Susan. Mr. Beaver shook his head in a very gloomy way.
“I’m afraid it means they were taking him to her house,” he said.
“But what’ll they do to him, Mr. Beaver?” gasped Lucy.
“Well,” said Mr. Beaver, “you can’t really say for sure. But there are not many who are taken in there that ever come out again. Statues. They say it is all full of statues- in the courtyard and up the stairs and in the hall. People she’s turned” – he paused and shuddered – “turned into stone.”
“But, Mr. Beaver,” said Lucy, “can’t we – I mean, we must do something to save him. It’s too dreadful and it’s all on my account.”
“I believe you’d save him if you could, dearie,” said Mrs. Beaver, “but you have no chance of getting into that house against her will and ever coming out alive.”
“Couldn’t we have some plan?” said Peter, “I mean, couldn’t we dress up as something and wait until she went out – or – oh, there must be some way. This Faun saved my sister, Mr. Beaver. We can’t just leave him to be – to have that done to him.”
“It’s no good, Son of Adam,” said Mr. Beaver, “no good your trying, of all people. But now that Aslan is on the move -”
“Oh, yes! Tell us about Aslan!” said several voices at once, for once again that strange feeling, like the first signs of spring, like good news – had come over them.
“Who is Aslan?” asked Susan.
“Aslan?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you know? He’s the King. He’s the Lord of the whole wood, but he’s not here very often. Never in my life or my father’s. But we’ve heard that he’s come back. He’s in Narnia at this moment. He’ll get the White Witch. It is him, not you, who will save Mr. Tumnus.”
“She won’t turn him into stone too?” said Edmund.
“What a simple thing to say, Son of Adam!” answered Mr. Beaver with a great laugh. “Turn him into stone! I’ll be surprised if she can even stand on her own feet in front of him. No, no. He make it all right, like it says in an old rhyme from around here:
Wrong will be right when Aslan comes in sight.
At the sound of his roar, sadness will be no more.
When he shows his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we’ll have spring again.
You’ll understand when you see him.”
“But will we see him?” asked Susan.
“Daughter of Eve, that’s what I brought you here for. I’m supposed to take you to where you’ll meet him,” said Mr. Beaver.
“Is – is he a man?” asked Lucy.
“Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. He is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh!” said Susan. “I thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I’ll feel quite nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver. “If anyone can stand before Aslan without being afraid, they are either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver, “didn’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver told you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King.”
“I really want to see him,” said Peter, “even if I do feel frightened.”
“That’s right, Son of Adam,” said Mr. Beaver, “and you will. You are to meet him tomorrow if you can, at the Stone Table.”
“Where’s that?” said Lucy.
“I’ll show you,” said Mr. Beaver. “It’s down the river, a good distance from here. I’ll take you to it!”
“But what about poor Mr. Tumnus?” said Lucy.
“The quickest way to help him is by going to meet Aslan,” said Mr. Beaver. “Once he’s with us, then we can begin doing things. Not that we don’t need you too. That’s another of the old rhymes:
When Adam’s flesh and Adam’s bone
Sits at Cair Paravel in throne
The evil time will be over and done
So it must be getting to the end now that he’s come and you’ve come. We’ve heard of Aslan coming into these parts before – long ago. But there’s never been any of your race here before.”
“That’s what I don’t understand, Mr. Beaver,” said Peter. “I mean isn’t the Witch human?”
“She’d like us to believe it,” said Mr. Beaver, “and that’s how she is trying to call herself Queen. But she’s no Daughter of Eve. She comes from your father Adam’s first wife, Lilith. She was one of the Jinn. On the other side she comes from the giants. No, there isn’t a drop of real human blood in the Witch.”
“That’s why she’s so bad, Mr. Beaver,” said Mrs. Beaver.
“True enough, Mrs. Beaver,” he replied. “And that’s why the Witch is always on the lookout for any humans in Narnia. She’s been watching for you many years, and if she knew there were four of you she’d be even more dangerous.”
“Why?”
“Because of another prophesy,” said Mr. Beaver. “Down at Cair Paravel – that’s the castle on the sea coast that ought to be the capital – there are four thrones, and it’s a saying in Narnia that when two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve sit on those four thrones, then it will be the end of the White Witch’s rule and her life.”
All the children had been listening so closely to Mr. Beaver that they had noticed nothing else for a long time. Then Lucy suddenly said:
“Where’s Edmund?”
There was a dreadful pause, and then everyone began asking, “Who saw him last? How long has he been missing? Is he outside?” and they all rushed to the door to look out. The snow was falling everywhere. They all ran out and around the house in every direction. “Edmund! Edmund!” they called. But there was not even an echo to answer them.
“How dreadful!” said Susan as they finally went back to the house. “Oh, how I wish we’d never come.”
“What should we do, Mr. Beaver?” said Peter.
“Do?” said Mr. Beaver, who was already putting on his snow-boots. “Do? We must leave at once. We haven’t a moment to spare!”
“We’d better make four search-parties,” said Peter, “and all go in different directions. Whoever finds him must come back here and -”
“Search parties, Son of Adam?” said Mr. Beaver, “Why?”
“To look for Edmund, of course!”
“There’s no point looking for him,” said Mr. Beaver.
“What do you mean?” said Susan. “He can’t be very far away yet, and we’ve got to find him. What do you mean there’s no use looking for him?”
“The reason,” said Mr. Beaver, “is that we already know where he’s gone!” Everyone stared in amazement. “Don’t you understand?” said Mr. Beaver. “He’s gone to her, to the White Witch. He has betrayed us all.”
“What!” said Susan. “He can’t have done that!”
“Can’t he?” said Mr. Beaver, looking very hard at the three children, and each felt suddenly very sure that this was exactly what Edmund had done.
“But will he know the way?” said Peter.
“Has he been in this country before?” asked Mr. Beaver. “Has he ever been here alone?”
“Yes,” said Lucy, almost in a whisper. “I’m afraid he has.”
“And did he tell you what he’d done or who he’d met?”
“Well, no, he didn’t,” said Lucy.
“Then trust me,” said Mr. Beaver, “he has already met the White Witch and joined her side,
and been told where she lives. I didn’t want to say it before, since he is your brother, but the moment I set eyes on him I said to myself ‘untrustworthy’. He had the look of someone who has been with the Witch and eaten her food.”
“Even so,” said Peter in a small voice, “we’ll still have to go and look for him. He is our brother, after all, even if he is a bit of a beast. And he’s only a kid.”
“Go to the Witch’s house?” said Mrs. Beaver. “The only chance of saving him or you is to stay away from her!”
“Why?” said Lucy.
“All she wants is to get the four of you (she’s always thinking of the four thrones at Cair Paravel). Once you were all in her house it would be over, and there would be four new statues in her collection. But she’ll keep him alive as long as he’s the only one she has. She’ll want to use him as bait, to catch the rest of you with.”
“Oh, can no one help us?” cried Lucy.
“Only Aslan,” said Mr. Beaver. “We must go and meet him. That’s our only chance now.”
“It seems to me, my dears,” said Mrs. Beaver, “that it is very important to know when he left. How much he can tell her depends on how much he heard. Had we started talking about Aslan before he left? If not, then she won’t know Aslan has come to Narnia, and she’ll be off her guard as far as that is concerned.”
“I don’t remember him being here when we were talking about Aslan -” began Peter, but Lucy interrupted him.
“Oh yes, he was,” she said miserably. “Don’t you remember, he asked if the Witch could turn Aslan to stone too?”
“Worse and worse,” said Mr. Beaver, “Was he still here when I told you that we were meeting Aslan at the Stone Table?”
Of course no one knew the answer to this question.
“Because if he was,” continued Mr. Beaver, “then she’ll simply go down in that direction and get between us and the Stone Table and catch us on our way. We’ll be cut off from Aslan.”
“But that isn’t what she’ll do first,” said Mrs. Beaver. “The moment that Edmund tells her that we’re here, she’ll set out to catch us tonight. If he’s been gone about half an hour, she’ll be here in another twenty minutes.”
“You’re right, Mrs. Beaver, said her husband, “we must all get away from here. There’s not a moment to lose.”
“Ah, that’s bad,” said Mr. Beaver, shaking his head. “That’s a very, very bad business. There’s no doubt he was taken off by the police. I heard that from a bird who saw it happen.”
“But where has he been taken to?” asked Lucy.
“Well they were heading northwards when they were last seen, and we all know what that means.”
“No, we don’t,” said Susan. Mr. Beaver shook his head in a very gloomy way.
“I’m afraid it means they were taking him to her house,” he said.
“But what’ll they do to him, Mr. Beaver?” gasped Lucy.
“Well,” said Mr. Beaver, “you can’t really say for sure. But there are not many who are taken in there that ever come out again. Statues. They say it is all full of statues- in the courtyard and up the stairs and in the hall. People she’s turned” – he paused and shuddered – “turned into stone.”
“But, Mr. Beaver,” said Lucy, “can’t we – I mean, we must do something to save him. It’s too dreadful and it’s all on my account.”
“I believe you’d save him if you could, dearie,” said Mrs. Beaver, “but you have no chance of getting into that house against her will and ever coming out alive.”
“Couldn’t we have some plan?” said Peter, “I mean, couldn’t we dress up as something and wait until she went out – or – oh, there must be some way. This Faun saved my sister, Mr. Beaver. We can’t just leave him to be – to have that done to him.”
“It’s no good, Son of Adam,” said Mr. Beaver, “no good your trying, of all people. But now that Aslan is on the move -”
“Oh, yes! Tell us about Aslan!” said several voices at once, for once again that strange feeling, like the first signs of spring, like good news – had come over them.
“Who is Aslan?” asked Susan.
“Aslan?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you know? He’s the King. He’s the Lord of the whole wood, but he’s not here very often. Never in my life or my father’s. But we’ve heard that he’s come back. He’s in Narnia at this moment. He’ll get the White Witch. It is him, not you, who will save Mr. Tumnus.”
“She won’t turn him into stone too?” said Edmund.
“What a simple thing to say, Son of Adam!” answered Mr. Beaver with a great laugh. “Turn him into stone! I’ll be surprised if she can even stand on her own feet in front of him. No, no. He make it all right, like it says in an old rhyme from around here:
Wrong will be right when Aslan comes in sight.
At the sound of his roar, sadness will be no more.
When he shows his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we’ll have spring again.
You’ll understand when you see him.”
“But will we see him?” asked Susan.
“Daughter of Eve, that’s what I brought you here for. I’m supposed to take you to where you’ll meet him,” said Mr. Beaver.
“Is – is he a man?” asked Lucy.
“Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. He is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh!” said Susan. “I thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I’ll feel quite nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver. “If anyone can stand before Aslan without being afraid, they are either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver, “didn’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver told you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King.”
“I really want to see him,” said Peter, “even if I do feel frightened.”
“That’s right, Son of Adam,” said Mr. Beaver, “and you will. You are to meet him tomorrow if you can, at the Stone Table.”
“Where’s that?” said Lucy.
“I’ll show you,” said Mr. Beaver. “It’s down the river, a good distance from here. I’ll take you to it!”
“But what about poor Mr. Tumnus?” said Lucy.
“The quickest way to help him is by going to meet Aslan,” said Mr. Beaver. “Once he’s with us, then we can begin doing things. Not that we don’t need you too. That’s another of the old rhymes:
When Adam’s flesh and Adam’s bone
Sits at Cair Paravel in throne
The evil time will be over and done
So it must be getting to the end now that he’s come and you’ve come. We’ve heard of Aslan coming into these parts before – long ago. But there’s never been any of your race here before.”
“That’s what I don’t understand, Mr. Beaver,” said Peter. “I mean isn’t the Witch human?”
“She’d like us to believe it,” said Mr. Beaver, “and that’s how she is trying to call herself Queen. But she’s no Daughter of Eve. She comes from your father Adam’s first wife, Lilith. She was one of the Jinn. On the other side she comes from the giants. No, there isn’t a drop of real human blood in the Witch.”
“That’s why she’s so bad, Mr. Beaver,” said Mrs. Beaver.
“True enough, Mrs. Beaver,” he replied. “And that’s why the Witch is always on the lookout for any humans in Narnia. She’s been watching for you many years, and if she knew there were four of you she’d be even more dangerous.”
“Why?”
“Because of another prophesy,” said Mr. Beaver. “Down at Cair Paravel – that’s the castle on the sea coast that ought to be the capital – there are four thrones, and it’s a saying in Narnia that when two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve sit on those four thrones, then it will be the end of the White Witch’s rule and her life.”
All the children had been listening so closely to Mr. Beaver that they had noticed nothing else for a long time. Then Lucy suddenly said:
“Where’s Edmund?”
There was a dreadful pause, and then everyone began asking, “Who saw him last? How long has he been missing? Is he outside?” and they all rushed to the door to look out. The snow was falling everywhere. They all ran out and around the house in every direction. “Edmund! Edmund!” they called. But there was not even an echo to answer them.
“How dreadful!” said Susan as they finally went back to the house. “Oh, how I wish we’d never come.”
“What should we do, Mr. Beaver?” said Peter.
“Do?” said Mr. Beaver, who was already putting on his snow-boots. “Do? We must leave at once. We haven’t a moment to spare!”
“We’d better make four search-parties,” said Peter, “and all go in different directions. Whoever finds him must come back here and -”
“Search parties, Son of Adam?” said Mr. Beaver, “Why?”
“To look for Edmund, of course!”
“There’s no point looking for him,” said Mr. Beaver.
“What do you mean?” said Susan. “He can’t be very far away yet, and we’ve got to find him. What do you mean there’s no use looking for him?”
“The reason,” said Mr. Beaver, “is that we already know where he’s gone!” Everyone stared in amazement. “Don’t you understand?” said Mr. Beaver. “He’s gone to her, to the White Witch. He has betrayed us all.”
“What!” said Susan. “He can’t have done that!”
“Can’t he?” said Mr. Beaver, looking very hard at the three children, and each felt suddenly very sure that this was exactly what Edmund had done.
“But will he know the way?” said Peter.
“Has he been in this country before?” asked Mr. Beaver. “Has he ever been here alone?”
“Yes,” said Lucy, almost in a whisper. “I’m afraid he has.”
“And did he tell you what he’d done or who he’d met?”
“Well, no, he didn’t,” said Lucy.
“Then trust me,” said Mr. Beaver, “he has already met the White Witch and joined her side,
and been told where she lives. I didn’t want to say it before, since he is your brother, but the moment I set eyes on him I said to myself ‘untrustworthy’. He had the look of someone who has been with the Witch and eaten her food.”
“Even so,” said Peter in a small voice, “we’ll still have to go and look for him. He is our brother, after all, even if he is a bit of a beast. And he’s only a kid.”
“Go to the Witch’s house?” said Mrs. Beaver. “The only chance of saving him or you is to stay away from her!”
“Why?” said Lucy.
“All she wants is to get the four of you (she’s always thinking of the four thrones at Cair Paravel). Once you were all in her house it would be over, and there would be four new statues in her collection. But she’ll keep him alive as long as he’s the only one she has. She’ll want to use him as bait, to catch the rest of you with.”
“Oh, can no one help us?” cried Lucy.
“Only Aslan,” said Mr. Beaver. “We must go and meet him. That’s our only chance now.”
“It seems to me, my dears,” said Mrs. Beaver, “that it is very important to know when he left. How much he can tell her depends on how much he heard. Had we started talking about Aslan before he left? If not, then she won’t know Aslan has come to Narnia, and she’ll be off her guard as far as that is concerned.”
“I don’t remember him being here when we were talking about Aslan -” began Peter, but Lucy interrupted him.
“Oh yes, he was,” she said miserably. “Don’t you remember, he asked if the Witch could turn Aslan to stone too?”
“Worse and worse,” said Mr. Beaver, “Was he still here when I told you that we were meeting Aslan at the Stone Table?”
Of course no one knew the answer to this question.
“Because if he was,” continued Mr. Beaver, “then she’ll simply go down in that direction and get between us and the Stone Table and catch us on our way. We’ll be cut off from Aslan.”
“But that isn’t what she’ll do first,” said Mrs. Beaver. “The moment that Edmund tells her that we’re here, she’ll set out to catch us tonight. If he’s been gone about half an hour, she’ll be here in another twenty minutes.”
“You’re right, Mrs. Beaver, said her husband, “we must all get away from here. There’s not a moment to lose.”
Chapter 7- A Day With the Beavers
While the two boys were whispering behind, both girls suddenly cried “Oh!” and stopped.
“The robin!” cried Lucy. “The robin. It’s flown away.” And so it had- right out of sight.
“And now what will we do?” said Edmund, giving Peter a look as if to say “What did I tell you?”
“Sh! Look!” said Susan.
“What?” said Peter.
“There’s something moving among the trees over there to the left.”
They all stared as hard as they could, and no one felt very comfortable.
“There it goes again,” Susan said soon.
“I saw it that time too” said Peter. “It’s still there. It’s just gone behind that big tree.”
“What is it?” asked Lucy, trying very hard not to sound nervous.
“Whatever it is,” said Peter, “it’s avoiding us. It’s something that doesn’t want to be seen.”
“Let’s go home,” said Susan. And then, though nobody said it out loud, everyone suddenly realized the same fact that Edmund had whispered to Peter at the end of the last chapter. They were lost.
“What’s it like?” said Lucy.
“It’s a kind of animal,” said Susan, and then “Look! Look! Quick! There it is.”
`
They all saw it this time, a whiskered furry face which had looked out at them from behind a tree. But this time it didn’t disappear immediately. Instead, the animal put it’s paw against its mouth just as humans put their finger on their lips when they want you to be quiet. Then it disappeared again. The children all stood holding their breath.
A moment later the stranger came out from behind the tree, looked all around as if it were afraid someone was watching, said “Hush,” made signs to them to follow it into the thicker bit of wood where it was standing, and then disappeared again.
“I know what it is,” said Peter, “it’s a beaver. I saw the tail.”
“It wants us to go to it,” said Susan, “and it is warning us not to make a noise.”
“I know,” said Peter. “The question is, are we going to go to it or not? What do you think, Lu?”
“I think it’s a nice beaver,” said Lucy.
“Yes, but how do we know?” said Edmund.
“Won’t we have to risk it?” said Susan. “I mean, it’s no good just standing here and I want some dinner.”
At this moment the Beaver again looked out from behind the tree and beckoned earnestly to them.
“Come on,” said Peter, “let’s give it a try. Keep close together. We should be a match for one beaver if it turns out to be an enemy.”
So the children all got close together and walked up to the tree and behind it. But the Beaver still drew back, whispering “Further in, come further in. Right in here. We’re not safe in the open!” Only when it had led them into a dark spot where four trees grew so close together that their boughs met and the brown earth could be seen because no snow had been able to fall there, did it begin to talk to them.
“Are you the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve?” it said.
“We’re some of them,” said Peter.
“Ssshh!” said the Beaver, “not so loud, please. We’re not safe, even here.”
“Who are you afraid of?” said Peter. “There’s no one here but us.”
“There are the trees,” said the Beaver. “They’re always listening. Most of them are on our side, but there are trees that would betray us to her; you know who I mean,” and it nodded its head several times.
“If we’re speaking of sides,” said Edmund, “how do we know you’re a friend?”
“We don’t mean to be rude, Mr. Beaver,” added Peter, “but we’re strangers here.”
“Quite right, quite right,” said the Beaver. “Here is my token.” With these words he held up a little white object. Lucy said “It’s my handkerchief- the one I gave to poor Mr. Tumnus.”
“That’s right,” said the Beaver. “Poor fellow, he got wind of the arrest before it actually happened and handed this over to me. He said that if anything happened to him I must meet you here and take you on to-” the Beaver became silent and it gave one or two very mysterious nods. Then, signaling the children to stand as close as they possibly could, he added in a low whisper-
“They say Aslan is on the move- maybe he is already here.”
And now a very strange thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was, but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt very different. It was like in a dream, when someone says something you don’t understand but in the dream it feels like it is very important. Either it is a terrible thing that turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else it is a beautiful one, that makes the dream so wonderful that you remember it all your life. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan, each of the children felt something jump inside them. Edmund felt a sense of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if a delicious smell or a beautiful bit of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.
“And what about Mr. Tumnus,” said Lucy, “where is he?”
“Ssshhh,” said the Beaver, “not here. I must bring you where we can have a real talk, and also dinner.”
No one except Edmund had any trouble trusting the Beaver now, and everyone, including Edmund, was very glad to hear the word ‘dinner.’ So they all hurried along behind their new friend who led them very quickly through the thickest parts of the forest for over an hour. Everyone was feeling very tired and hungry before they finally got out of the woods and found themselves looking down on a beautiful sight.
Below them was a valley, at the bottom of which was a fairly large river. Just below them a dam had been built across the river and at that moment everyone suddenly remembered that of course beavers are always making dams and felt quite sure that Mr. Beaver had made this one. So it was only common politeness when Susan said, “What a lovely dam!” And Mr. Beaver didn’t say “Hush,” this time but “Oh, it’s nothing, really! It isn’t even finished yet!”
Above the dam there was a level floor of dark green ice. And below the dam, much lower down, was more ice. But instead of being smooth this was all frozen into the wavy shapes the water had been in at the moment it was frozen. Where the water had been flowing over and coming through the dam, there was now a glittering wall of icicles, as if the wall of the dam had been covered with flowers and wreaths of pure sugar. Out in the middle was a funny little house shaped like an enormous beehive.
That was what the others mainly noticed, but Edmund noticed something else. A little lower down the river, Edmund could see two small hills, and he was almost sure they were the two hills the White Witch had showed him from the lamp-post that other day. And then between them, he thought, must be her palace, only a mile away or less. And he thought about Turkish Delight and about being a King (“And I wonder how Peter will like that?” he asked himself) and horrible ideas came into his head.
“Here we are,” said Mr. Beaver, “and it looks as if Mrs. Beaver is expecting us. I’ll lead the way. But be careful and don’t slip.”
The top of the dam was wide enough to walk on, though not (for humans) a very nice place to walk because it was covered with ice. And though the ice was level with it on one side, there was a nasty drop to the lower river on the other. Mr. Beaver led them right out to the middle, where they reached the door of the house.
“Here we are, Mrs. Beaver,” said Mr. Beaver, “I’ve found them. Here are the Sons and Daughters of Adam and Eve” – and they all went in.
The first thing Lucy saw was a kind-looking old she-beaver sitting in the corner working at a sewing machine. She stopped her work and got up as soon as the children came in.
“So you’ve come at last!” she said, holding out both her wrinkled old paws. “At last! To think that I should live to see this day! The potatoes are nearly ready and I’m sure Mr. Beaver will get us some fish.”
“That I will,” said Mr. Beaver, and he went out of the house (Peter went with him) and across the ice to a hole. He sat down at the edge of the hole and looked hard into the water. Suddenly he shot his paw into the water and in a moment he had pulled out a beautiful trout. Then he did it all over again until they had a nice catch of fish.
Meanwhile the girls were helping Mrs. Beaver fill the kettle, cut the bread, and put on the frying pan. Lucy thought the Beavers had a very nice little home, though it was nothing like Mr. Tumnus’s cave. There were no books or paintings, and it was rather more like a hunting lodge, with fishing nets, hatchets, and strings of onions and ham hanging from the roof. But everything was clean and pleasant.
Finally the food was ready and the children thought that it was the best meal they had ever eaten. And when they had finished the meal, Mrs. Beaver brought out a wonderfully sticky marmalade roll and moved the kettle onto the fire so that when they had finished there was tea ready to be poured. When they had all finally eaten all they could, each person pushed back his or her chair to lean against the wall and gave a long sigh of contentment.
“And now,” said Mr. Beaver, “we can get to business. It’s snowing again,” he added, looking at the window. “That’s all the better, because it means that we won’t have any visitors. And if anyone was trying to follow you, he won’t find any tracks.”
“The robin!” cried Lucy. “The robin. It’s flown away.” And so it had- right out of sight.
“And now what will we do?” said Edmund, giving Peter a look as if to say “What did I tell you?”
“Sh! Look!” said Susan.
“What?” said Peter.
“There’s something moving among the trees over there to the left.”
They all stared as hard as they could, and no one felt very comfortable.
“There it goes again,” Susan said soon.
“I saw it that time too” said Peter. “It’s still there. It’s just gone behind that big tree.”
“What is it?” asked Lucy, trying very hard not to sound nervous.
“Whatever it is,” said Peter, “it’s avoiding us. It’s something that doesn’t want to be seen.”
“Let’s go home,” said Susan. And then, though nobody said it out loud, everyone suddenly realized the same fact that Edmund had whispered to Peter at the end of the last chapter. They were lost.
“What’s it like?” said Lucy.
“It’s a kind of animal,” said Susan, and then “Look! Look! Quick! There it is.”
`
They all saw it this time, a whiskered furry face which had looked out at them from behind a tree. But this time it didn’t disappear immediately. Instead, the animal put it’s paw against its mouth just as humans put their finger on their lips when they want you to be quiet. Then it disappeared again. The children all stood holding their breath.
A moment later the stranger came out from behind the tree, looked all around as if it were afraid someone was watching, said “Hush,” made signs to them to follow it into the thicker bit of wood where it was standing, and then disappeared again.
“I know what it is,” said Peter, “it’s a beaver. I saw the tail.”
“It wants us to go to it,” said Susan, “and it is warning us not to make a noise.”
“I know,” said Peter. “The question is, are we going to go to it or not? What do you think, Lu?”
“I think it’s a nice beaver,” said Lucy.
“Yes, but how do we know?” said Edmund.
“Won’t we have to risk it?” said Susan. “I mean, it’s no good just standing here and I want some dinner.”
At this moment the Beaver again looked out from behind the tree and beckoned earnestly to them.
“Come on,” said Peter, “let’s give it a try. Keep close together. We should be a match for one beaver if it turns out to be an enemy.”
So the children all got close together and walked up to the tree and behind it. But the Beaver still drew back, whispering “Further in, come further in. Right in here. We’re not safe in the open!” Only when it had led them into a dark spot where four trees grew so close together that their boughs met and the brown earth could be seen because no snow had been able to fall there, did it begin to talk to them.
“Are you the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve?” it said.
“We’re some of them,” said Peter.
“Ssshh!” said the Beaver, “not so loud, please. We’re not safe, even here.”
“Who are you afraid of?” said Peter. “There’s no one here but us.”
“There are the trees,” said the Beaver. “They’re always listening. Most of them are on our side, but there are trees that would betray us to her; you know who I mean,” and it nodded its head several times.
“If we’re speaking of sides,” said Edmund, “how do we know you’re a friend?”
“We don’t mean to be rude, Mr. Beaver,” added Peter, “but we’re strangers here.”
“Quite right, quite right,” said the Beaver. “Here is my token.” With these words he held up a little white object. Lucy said “It’s my handkerchief- the one I gave to poor Mr. Tumnus.”
“That’s right,” said the Beaver. “Poor fellow, he got wind of the arrest before it actually happened and handed this over to me. He said that if anything happened to him I must meet you here and take you on to-” the Beaver became silent and it gave one or two very mysterious nods. Then, signaling the children to stand as close as they possibly could, he added in a low whisper-
“They say Aslan is on the move- maybe he is already here.”
And now a very strange thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was, but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt very different. It was like in a dream, when someone says something you don’t understand but in the dream it feels like it is very important. Either it is a terrible thing that turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else it is a beautiful one, that makes the dream so wonderful that you remember it all your life. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan, each of the children felt something jump inside them. Edmund felt a sense of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if a delicious smell or a beautiful bit of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.
“And what about Mr. Tumnus,” said Lucy, “where is he?”
“Ssshhh,” said the Beaver, “not here. I must bring you where we can have a real talk, and also dinner.”
No one except Edmund had any trouble trusting the Beaver now, and everyone, including Edmund, was very glad to hear the word ‘dinner.’ So they all hurried along behind their new friend who led them very quickly through the thickest parts of the forest for over an hour. Everyone was feeling very tired and hungry before they finally got out of the woods and found themselves looking down on a beautiful sight.
Below them was a valley, at the bottom of which was a fairly large river. Just below them a dam had been built across the river and at that moment everyone suddenly remembered that of course beavers are always making dams and felt quite sure that Mr. Beaver had made this one. So it was only common politeness when Susan said, “What a lovely dam!” And Mr. Beaver didn’t say “Hush,” this time but “Oh, it’s nothing, really! It isn’t even finished yet!”
Above the dam there was a level floor of dark green ice. And below the dam, much lower down, was more ice. But instead of being smooth this was all frozen into the wavy shapes the water had been in at the moment it was frozen. Where the water had been flowing over and coming through the dam, there was now a glittering wall of icicles, as if the wall of the dam had been covered with flowers and wreaths of pure sugar. Out in the middle was a funny little house shaped like an enormous beehive.
That was what the others mainly noticed, but Edmund noticed something else. A little lower down the river, Edmund could see two small hills, and he was almost sure they were the two hills the White Witch had showed him from the lamp-post that other day. And then between them, he thought, must be her palace, only a mile away or less. And he thought about Turkish Delight and about being a King (“And I wonder how Peter will like that?” he asked himself) and horrible ideas came into his head.
“Here we are,” said Mr. Beaver, “and it looks as if Mrs. Beaver is expecting us. I’ll lead the way. But be careful and don’t slip.”
The top of the dam was wide enough to walk on, though not (for humans) a very nice place to walk because it was covered with ice. And though the ice was level with it on one side, there was a nasty drop to the lower river on the other. Mr. Beaver led them right out to the middle, where they reached the door of the house.
“Here we are, Mrs. Beaver,” said Mr. Beaver, “I’ve found them. Here are the Sons and Daughters of Adam and Eve” – and they all went in.
The first thing Lucy saw was a kind-looking old she-beaver sitting in the corner working at a sewing machine. She stopped her work and got up as soon as the children came in.
“So you’ve come at last!” she said, holding out both her wrinkled old paws. “At last! To think that I should live to see this day! The potatoes are nearly ready and I’m sure Mr. Beaver will get us some fish.”
“That I will,” said Mr. Beaver, and he went out of the house (Peter went with him) and across the ice to a hole. He sat down at the edge of the hole and looked hard into the water. Suddenly he shot his paw into the water and in a moment he had pulled out a beautiful trout. Then he did it all over again until they had a nice catch of fish.
Meanwhile the girls were helping Mrs. Beaver fill the kettle, cut the bread, and put on the frying pan. Lucy thought the Beavers had a very nice little home, though it was nothing like Mr. Tumnus’s cave. There were no books or paintings, and it was rather more like a hunting lodge, with fishing nets, hatchets, and strings of onions and ham hanging from the roof. But everything was clean and pleasant.
Finally the food was ready and the children thought that it was the best meal they had ever eaten. And when they had finished the meal, Mrs. Beaver brought out a wonderfully sticky marmalade roll and moved the kettle onto the fire so that when they had finished there was tea ready to be poured. When they had all finally eaten all they could, each person pushed back his or her chair to lean against the wall and gave a long sigh of contentment.
“And now,” said Mr. Beaver, “we can get to business. It’s snowing again,” he added, looking at the window. “That’s all the better, because it means that we won’t have any visitors. And if anyone was trying to follow you, he won’t find any tracks.”
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