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?