CHAPTER ELEVEN
"And now!" said Aslan in a much louder voice with just a hint of roar in it, while his tail lashed his flanks. "And now, where is this little Dwarf, this famous swordsman and archer, who doesnt believe in lions? Come here, son of Earth, come HERE!" - and the last word was no longer the hint of a roar but almost the real thing.
Lucy was nearly blown when the tail and hind legs of Aslan disappeared over the top: but with one last effort she scrambled after him and came out, rather shaky- legged and breathless, on the hill they had been trying to reach ever since they left Glasswater. The long gentle slope (heather and grass and a few very big rocks that shone white in the moonlight) stretched up to where it vanished in a glimmer of trees about half a mile away. She knew it. It was the hill of the Stone Table: With a jingling of mail the others climbed up behind her. Aslan glided on before them and they walked after him.
At that moment the sun was just rising and Lucy remembered something and whispered to Susan, "I say, Su, I know who they are.”
"Yes, of course. But I say, Lu “
The sound, deep and throbbing at first like an organ beginning on a low note, rose and became louder, and then far louder again, till the earth and air were shaking with it. It rose up from that hill and floated across all Narnia. Down in Mirazs camp men woke, stared palely in one anothers faces, and grasped their weapons. Down below that in the Great River, now at its coldest hour, the heads and shoulders of the nymphs, and the great weedy-bearded head of the river-god, rose from the water. Beyond it, in every field and wood, the alert ears of rabbits rose from their holes, the sleepy heads of birds came out from under wings, owls hooted, vixens barked, hedgehogs grunted, the trees stirred. In towns and villages mothers pressed babies close to their breasts, staring with wild eyes, dogs whimpered, and men leaped up groping for lights. Far away on the northern frontier the mountain giants peered from the dark gateways of their castles.
was him tonight, when you woke us up. I mean, deep down inside. Or I could have, if Id let myself. But I just wanted to get out of the woods and - and - oh, I dont know. And what ever am I to say to him?”
whatever had happened, it was not her fault. But he couldnt help being a little annoyed with her all the same.
"I saw something," said Peter. "But its so tricky in this moonlight. On we go, though, and three cheers for Lucy. I dont feel half so tired now, either.”
Treading delicately, like a cat, Aslan stepped from stone to stone across the stream. In the middle he stopped, bent down to drink, and as he raised his shaggy head, dripping from the water, h
九_九_藏_书_网e turned to face them again. This time Edmund saw him. "Oh, Aslan!" he cried, darting forward. But the Lion whisked round and began padding up the slope on the far side of the Rush.in bed, though he did not feel so. As he came down the huge velvety paws caught him as gently as a mothers arms and set him (right way up, too) on the ground.
"Yes?" said Lucy.
The Dwarf was still speechless and neither of the boys dared to ask if Aslan would follow them. All three drew their swords and saluted, then turned and jingled away into the dusk.
Presently they came to another steep path, up the face of the farther precipices. These were far higher than the ones they had just descended, and the journey up them was a long and tedious zig-zag. Fortunately the Moon shone right above the gorge so that neither side was in shadow.
Half-way down the path Edmund caught up with her.
"Who?”
The girls watched them out of sight, standing close beside Aslan. The light was changing.
"With his shadow, of course. Cant you see him?”
"Look!" he said in great excitement. "Look! Whats that shadow crawling down in front of us?”
Because - because Ill have to go with him whether anyone else does or not.”
"I cant see anything," said Peter after he had stared his eyes sore. "Can you, Susan?”
"Well, I almost thought I did - for a moment. Its such a rum light.”
"Now," said Aslan. "The Moon is setting. Look behind you: there is the dawn beginning.
"On the march, then," said Peter, wearily fitting his arm into his shield- strap and putting his helmet on. At any other time he would have said something nice to Lucy, who was his favourite sister, for he knew how wretched she must be feeling, and he knew that,
"A little, Aslan," said Susan.
"Dont talk nonsense, Lucy," said Susan. "Of course you cant go off on your own. Dont let her, Peter. Shes being downright naughty.”
"Oh, I say nothing at all," answered the Dwarf. "If you all go, of course, Ill go with you; and if your party splits up, Ill go with the High King. Thats my duty to him and King Caspian. But, if you ask my private opinion, Im a plain dwarf who doesnt think theres much chance of finding a road by night where you couldnt find one by day. And I have no use for magic lions which are talking lions and dont talk, and friendly lions though they dont do us any good, and whopping big lions though nobody can see them. Its all bilge and beanstalks as far as I can see.”
"Our side dont keep very good watch," muttered Trumpkin. "We ought to have been challenged before now -”
Low down in the east, Aravir, the morning star of Narnia, gleamed l
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ike a little moon.The crowd and the dance round Aslan (for it had become a dance once more) grew so thick and rapid that Lucy was confused. She never saw where certain other people came from who were soon capering about among the trees. One was a youth, dressed only in a fawn-skin, with vine-leaves wreathed in his curly hair. His face would have been almost too pretty for a boys, if it had not looked, so extremely wild. You felt, as Edmund said when he saw him a few days later, "Theres a chap who might do anything absolutely anything." He seemed to have a great many names - Bromios, Bassareus, and the Ram were three of them. There were a lot of girls with him, as wild as he. There was even, unexpectedly, someone on a donkey. And everybody was laughing: and everybody was shouting out, "Euan, euan, eu-oi-oi-oi.”
Susan was the worst. "Supposing I started behaving like Lucy," she said. "I might threaten to stay here whether the rest of you went on or not. I jolly well think I shall.”
Then he turned and welcomed Edmund. "Well done," were his words.
"Refreshments! Refreshments," roared the old man.
"What?”
Lucy noticed that there was no sign of weariness in their faces: both the High King and King Edmund looked more like men than boys.
"Youve no right to try to force the rest of us like that. Its four to one and youre the youngest," said Susan.
"I do believe youre right, Lu," said Edmund. "I cant think how I didnt see it before. But where is he?”
"Is it a Romp, Aslan?" cried the youth. And apparently it was. But nearly everyone seemed to have a different idea as to what they were playing. It may have been Tig, but Lucy never discovered who was It. It was rather like Blind Mans Buff, only everyone behaved as if they were blindfolded. It was not unlike Hunt the Slipper, but the slipper was never found. What made it more complicated was that the man on the donkey, who was old and enormously fat, began calling out at once, "Refreshments! Time for refreshments," and falling off his donkey and being bundled on to it again by the others, while the donkey was under the impression that the whole thing was a circus and tried to give a display of walking on its hind legs. And all the time there were more and more vine leaves everywhere. And soon not only leaves but vines. They were climbing up everything. They were running up the legs of the tree people and circling round their necks. Lucy put up her hands to push back her hair and found she was pushing back vine branches. The donkey was a mass of them. His tail was completely entangled and something dark was nodding between his ears. Lucy looked again and
九九藏书saw it was a bunch of grapes. After that it was mostly grapes overhead and underfoot and all around."I see him now. Im sorry.”
"But Ive been far worse than you know. I really believed it was him - he, I mean - yesterday. When he warned us not to go down to the fir wood. And I really believed it
"Wraiths and wreckage!" gasped Trumpkin in the ghost of a voice. The children, who knew Aslan well enough to see that he liked the Dwarf very much, were not disturbed; but it was quite another thing for Trumpkin, who had never seen a lion before, let alone this Lion. He did the only sensible thing he could have done; that is, instead of bolting, he tottered towards Aslan.
"Thats all right.”
What Lucy and Susan saw was a dark something coming to them from almost every direction across the hills. It looked first like a black mist creeping on the ground, then like the stormy waves of a black sea rising higher and higher as it came on, and then, at last, like what it was woods on the move. All the trees of the world appeared to be rushing towards Aslan. But as they drew nearer they looked less like trees; and when the whole crowd, bowing and curtsying and waving thin long arms to Aslan, were all around Lucy, she saw that it was a crowd of human shapes. Pale birch-girls were tossing their heads, willowwomen pushed back their hair from their brooding faces to gaze on Aslan, the queenly beeches stood still and adored him, shaggy oak-men, lean and melancholy elms, shockheaded hollies (dark themselves, but their wives all bright with berries) and gay rowans, all bowed and rose again, shouting, "Aslan, Aslan!" in their various husky or creaking or wave-like voices.
"Ye - he - he - hes," panted the Dwarf, for it had not yet got its breath back.
Soon they reached the trees and through them the children could see the Great Mound, Aslans How, which had been raised over the Table since their days.
"Its his shadow," said Lucy.
THE LION ROARS WHEN the whole party was finally awake Lucy had to tell her story for the fourth time.
"Peter, Peter," cried Edmund. "Did you see?”
Lucy held her breath, for it looked as if he had plunged over the cliff; but she was too busy keeping him in sight to stop and think about this. She quickened her pace and was soon among the trees herself. Looking down, she could see a steep and narrow path going slantwise down into the gorge between rocks, and Aslan descending it. He turned and looked at her with his happy eyes. Lucy clapped her hands and began to scramble down after him. From behind her she heard the voices of the others shouting, "Hi! Lucy! Look out, for goodness sake. Youre right on the edge of the gorge. Come back
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- "and then, a moment later, Edmunds voice saying, "No, shes right. There is a way down.”Aslan pounced. Have you ever seen a very young kitten being carried in the mother cats mouth? It was like that. The Dwarf, hunched up in a little, miserable ball, hung from Aslans mouth. The Lion gave him one shake and all his armour rattled like a tinkers pack and then - heypresto - the Dwarf flew up in the air. He was as safe as if he had been
"Oh, come on," growled Edmund. "Weve got to go. Therell be no peace till we do." He fully intended to back Lucy up, but he was annoyed at losing his nights sleep and was making up for it by doing everything as sulkily as possible.
We have no time to lose. You three, you sons of Adam and son of Earth, hasten into the Mound and deal with what you will find there.”
"Obey the High King, your Majesty," said Trumpkin, "and lets be off. If Im not to be allowed to sleep, Id as soon march as stand here talking.”
"Son of Earth, shall we be friends?" asked Aslan.
"Hes beating his paw on the ground for us to hurry," said Lucy. "We must go now. At least I must.”
"Lucy," said Susan in a very small voice.
"Hush!" said the other four, for now Aslan had stopped and turned and stood facing them, looking so majestic that they felt as glad as anyone can who feels afraid, and as afraid as anyone can who feels glad. The boys strode forward: Lucy made way for them: Susan and the Dwarf shrank back.
Everyone began eating, and whatever hothouses your people may have, you have never tasted such grapes. Really good grapes, firm and tight on the outside, but bursting into cool sweetness when you put them into your mouth, were one of the things the girls had never had quite enough of before. Here, there were more than anyone could possibly want, and rib table-manners at all. One saw sticky and stained fingers everywhere, and, though mouths were full, the laughter never ceased nor the yodelling cries of Euan, euan, eu-oi-oi-oi-oi, till all of a sudden everyone felt at the same moment that the game (whatever it was), and the feast, ought to be over, and everyone flopped down breathless on the ground and turned their faces to Aslan to hear what he would say next.
Give me your hand. Why, a baby could get down here. And do stop grousing.”
The blank silence which followed it was as discouraging as anything could be.
In a few minutes they were at the bottom and the roaring of water filled their ears.
He led them to the right of the dancing trees - whether they were still dancing nobody knew, for Lucy had her eyes on the Lion and the rest had their eyes on Lucy - and nearer the edge of the gorge. "Cobbles and kettledrums!" thought Trumpkin. "I hope this madness isnt going to end in a moonlight climb and broken necks.”
"I know she has," said Peter. "And she may have been right this morning. We certainly had no luck going down the gorge. Still - at this hour of the night. And why should Aslan be invisible to us? He never used to be. Its not like him. What does the D.L.F. say?”
Then, after an awful pause, the deep voice said, "Susan." Susan made no answer but the others thought she was crying. "You have listened to fears, child," said Aslan. "Come, let me breathe on you. Forget them. Are you brave again?”
Everyone except Susan and the Dwarf could see him now.
"The boy with the wild face is Bacchus and the old one on the donkey is Silenus. Dont you remember Mr Tumnus telling us about them long ago?”
"No, of course I cant," snapped Susan. "Because there isnt anything to see. Shes been dreaming. Do lie down and go to sleep, Lucy.”
"My dear son," said Aslan.
And so at last they got on the move. Lucy went first, biting her lip and trying not to say all the things she thought of saying to Susan. But she forgot them when she fixed her eyes on Aslan. He turned and walked at a slow pace about thirty yards ahead of them. The others had only Lucys directions to guide them, for Aslan was not only invisible to them but silent as well. His big cat-like paws made no noise on the grass.
"I wouldnt have felt safe with Bacchus and all his wild girls if wed met them without Aslan.”
"And I do hope," said Lucy in a tremulous voice, "that you will all come with me.
"Perhaps you wont need to say much," suggested Lucy.
"I should think not," said Lucy.
"Get on, King Edmund, get on," came Trumpkins voice from behind and above: and then, farther behind and still nearly at the top, Peters voice saying, "Oh, buck up, Susan.
"Oh, Aslan," said King Peter, dropping on one knee and raising the Lions heavy paw to his face, "Im so glad. And Im so sorry. Ive been leading them wrong ever since we started and especially yesterday morning.”
Aslan, who seemed larger than before, lifted his head, shook his mane, and roared.
"Ill go with her, if she must go," said Edmund. "Shes been right before.”
For a long way Aslan went along the top of the precipices. Then they came to a place where some little trees grew right on the edge. He turned and disappeared among them.
Aslan without hesitation led them to their left, farther up the gorge. The whole journey was odd and dream-like the roaring stream, the wet grey grass, the glimmering cliffs which they were approaching, and always the glorious, silently pacing Beast ahead.