CHAPTERFOURTEEIREE
“WELLdone,”saidAslanimadetheearthshake。ThenDigorykalltheNarniahosewordsandthatthestoryofthemwouldbehandeddownfromfathertosoninthatnewworldforhundredsofyearsandperhapsforever。Buthewasinnodangeroffeeliedforhedidn'tthinkaboutitatallnowthathewasfacetofacewithAslan。ThistimehefoundhecouldlhtintotheLion'seyes。Hehadfottenhistroublesaabsolutelyt。
“Welldone,sonofAdam,”saidtheLionagain。“Forthisfruityouhavehuhirsteda。NohandbutyoursshallsowtheseedoftheTreethatistobetheprotearnia。Throletowardtheriverbahegroundissoft。”
Digorydidashewastold。Everyonehadgrowyoucouldhearthesoftthumpwhereitfellintothemud。
“Itiswellthrown,”saidAslausheofKingFrankofNarniaandHelenhisQueen。”
Theowwoforthefirsttime。Theyweredressedinstraifulclothes,andfromtheirshouldersrichrobesflowedoutbehiowherefourdwarfshelduptheKing'strainandfourrivernymphstheQueen's。Theirheadswerebare;butHeleherhairdownaimprovementinherappearawasherhairmadethemlooksodifferentfromtheiroldselves。TheirfaceshadanewexpressioheKing's。AllthesharpnessanddquarrelsomenesswhichhehadpickedupasaLondoohavebeenwashedaway,andthedkindnesswhichhehadalwayshadwereeasiertosee。PerhapsitwastheairoftheyoungworldthathaddwithAslan,orboth。
“Uponmyword,”whisperedFledgetoPolly。“Myoldmaster'sbeenearlyasmuchasIhave!Why,he'sarealmasternow。”
&don'tbuzzihat,”saidPolly。“Itticklesso。”
“Now,”saidAslan,“someofyouundothattangleyouhavemadewiththosetreesausseewhatweshallfindthere。”
Digorynoherefrewclosetogethertheirbrancheshadallbeeheretherwithswitakease。ThetwoElephantswiththeirtrunksandafeiththeirlittleaxessoongotitalluhreethingsinside。Onewasayouseemedtobemadeofgold;thesedwasayouseemedtobemadeofsilver;butthethirdwasamiserableobjemuddyclothes,sittiweenthem。
“Gosh!”whisperedDigory。“Undrew!”
Toexplainallthiswemustgobackabit。TheBeasts,youremember,hadtriedplantingandwateringhim。Wheeringbroughthimtohissenses,hefoundhimselfsoaki,burieduptohisthighsih(whichwasquiingintomud)andsurroundedbymorewildanimalsthanhehadeverdreamedofinhislifebefore。Itisperhapsnthathebegantosdhoayagoodthing,foritatlastpersuadedeveryoheWarthog)thathewasalive。Sotheydughimupagain(histrouserswereinareallyshogstatebynow)。Assoonashislegswerefreehetriedtobolt,butocurloftheElephant'strunkroundhiswaistsoohat。EveryohoughthemustbesafelykeptsomewheretillAslaoeandseehimandsaywhatshouldbedohim。Sotheymadeaseorcoopallroundhim。Theythenofferedhimeverythingtheycould;thi。
TheDoedgreatpilesofthistlesahemin,butUndrewdidn'tseemto。TheSquirrelsbombardedhimwithvolleysofnutsbutheonlycoveredhisheadwithhishandsaokeepoutoftheway。Severalbirdsflewtentlydroppingwormsonhim。TheBeared。Duriernoonhefoundawildbees'aingithimself(whichhewouldverymuchliketohavedohisworthycreaturebroughtitbadrew。Butthiswasifailureofall。TheBearlobbedthewholestickymassoverthetopoftheenduUndreiallthebeesweredead)。TheBear,whowouldnotatallhavemiinthefabhimself,otuandwhyUaggeredback,slipped,andsatdown。Anditwassheerbadluckthathesatdownoles。“Andanyway,”astheWarthogsaid,“quitealotofhoiure'smouthandthat'sbousomegood。”TheywerereallygettingquiteforaaAslanwouldallowthemtokeepit。TheclevereroesurebynowthatatleastsomeofthenoiseswhichouthhadameaenedhimBrandybecausehemadethaten。
Intheeheyhadtoleavehimtherefht。AslanwasbusyallthatdayinstrugthenewKingandQueenanddoiantthings,andotattendto“pooroldBrandy“。Whatwiththenuts,pears,apples,andbananasthathadbeenthrownintohim,hedidfairlywellforsupper;butitwouldn'tbetruetosaythathepassedanagreeablenight。
“Bringoutthatcreature,”saidAslaheElephantsliftedUstrunkandlaidhimattheLion'sfeet。Hewasthteomove。
“Please,Aslan,”saidPolly,“ethingthtenhim?Andthenethihimfrbackhereagain?”
“Doyouthio?”saidAslan。
“Well,Aslan,”saidPolly,“hemightsendsomeoneelse。He'ssoexcitedaboutthebaroffthelamp-pintoalamp-posttreeahinks—”
&hifolly,child,”saidAslan。“ThisworldisburstingwithlifeforthesefewdaysbecausethesongwithwhichIcalleditiillhangsintheairaheground。Itwillnotbes。ButIottellthattothisoldsinner,andIeither;hehasmadehimselfuohearmyvoice。IfIspoketohim,hewrowlingsandrs。OhAdam'ssons,howcleverlyyoudefendyainstallthatmightdoyougood!ButIwillgivehimtheonlygiftheisstillabletoreceive。”
Hebowedhisgreatheadrathersadly,aheMagi'sterrifiedface。“Sleep,”hesaid。“Sleepaedforsomefewhoursfromallthetormentsyouhavedevisedforyourself。”Undrewimmediatelyrolledoverwithclosedeyesahingpeacefully。
“Carryhimasideandlayhimdown,”saidAslan。“Now,dwarfs!Showyoursmith-craft。LetmeseeyoumaketwosfandQueen。”