CHAPTERSIXTHEBEGINNINGOFUROUBLES
&go!”screamedPolly。
“I'mnottougyou!”saidDigory。
&heirheadscameoutofthepoolahesuheorldswasallaboutthem,anditseemedrideaeverafterthestalenessandruiheyhadjustleft。Ithinkthat,iftheyhadbeehece,theywouldagaienheretheyandwouldhavelaindowhemselves,halfasleep,listeningtofthetrees。Butthistimetherewassomethihemasossible:forassoooutoheyfoundthattheywereheQueech(whicheveryouliketocallher)hadeupwiththem,holdingonfastbyPolly'shair。Thatollyhadbeenshoutigo!”
Thisproved,bytheway,ahingabswhidrewhadn'ttoldDigorybecausehedidn'tknowithimself。Iojumpfromworldtoworldbyohsyoudon'tityourself;itisenoughifyouaretoueoougit。Inthatwaytheyworklikeamag;andeveryohatifyoupickupapinwithamagherpinwhichistougthefirstpinwilletoo。
Nowthatyousawherinthewood,QueenJadislookeddifferent。Shealerthanshehadbeehardlyaywasleft。Aoopedaobefindingithardtobreathe,asiftheairofthatplacestifledher。hefeltiafraidofhernow。
&goofmyhair,”saidPolly。“Whatdoyoumeanbyit?”
&goofherhair。Atonce,”saidDigory。
&urruggledwithher。Theywerestrohansheandiheyhadfo。Shereeledbag,andtherewasalookofterrorinhereyes。
“Quick,Digory!”saidPolly。“gsandinto'thehomepool。”
“Help!Help!Mercy!”criedtheWitafaiaggerihem。“Takemewithyou。Youeahishorribleplace。Itiskillingme。”
“It'sareasonofState,”saidPollyspitefully。“Likewhenyoukilledallthosepeopleinyourownworld。Dobequick,Digory。”Theyhadputreenrings,butDigorysaid:“Ohbother!Whatarewetodo?”He'thelpfeelingalittlesorryfortheQueen。
“Ohdon'tbesuass,”saidPolly。“Tentooneshe'sonlyshamming。Doeon。”Ahpluhehomepool。“It'sagoodthimark,”thoughtPolly。ButastheyjumpedDigoryfeltthatalargegerandthumbhadcaughthimbytheear。Andastheysankdownandthefusedshapesofourahegripofthatfihumbgrewstrocharentlyregherstrength。Digledawasuse。IheyfoundthemselvesinUndrew'sstudy;andtherewasUndrewhimself,staringatthewonderfulcreaturethatDightbabeyondtheworld。
Aare。DigoryandPollystaredtoo。TherewasnodoubtthattheWitchhadgotoverherfaintness;andnowthatonesawherinouroithsaroundher,shefairlytookone'sbreathaway。Inshehadbeenalarmingenough:inLoerrifying。Foroheyhadillnshewas。“Hardlyhuman”waswhatDightwheher;andhemayhavebeenright,forsomesaythereisgiantishbloodintheroyalfamilyof。Butevewasnothihherbeauty,herfierdherwildentimesmorealivethanmostofthepeopleosinLondon。Undreingandrubbinghishandsandlookiruth,extremelyfrightened。HeseemedalittleshrimpofacreaturebesidetheWitdyet,asPollysaidafterwards,therewasasortoflikeweenherfadhis,somethingintheexpression。ItwasthelookthatallwickedMagishave,the“Mark”whichJadishadsaidsheotfindinDigory'sfaegoodthingaboutseeiogetherwasthatyouwainbeafraidofUndrew,ahanyou'dbeafraidofawormafteryouhadmetarattlesnakeorafraidofacowafteryouhadmetamadbull。
“Pooh!”thoughtDigorytohimself。“HimaMagiuowshe'stherealthing。”
Uhishandsandbowiryingtosaysomethie,buthismouthhadgonealldrysothatheotspeak。His“experiment”withtherings,ashecalledit,wasturningoutmoresuccessfulthahoughhehaddabbledinMagicforyearshehadalwaysleftallthedangers(asfarasoootherpeople。Nothingatalllikethishadeverhappeohimbefore。
ThenJadisspoke;notveryloud,buttherewassomethihatmadethewholeroomquiver。
&heMagiwhohascalledmeintothisworld?”
“Ah—ah—Madam,”gaspedUndrew,“Iammhlygratified—amostued,pleasure—ifonlyIhadhadtheopportunityofmakiions—I—I—”
&heMagi,Fool?”saidJadis。
“I—Iam,'Madam。Ihopeyouwillexy—er—。libertythesenaughtymayhavetaken。Iassureyou,therewasion—”
“You?”saidtheQueeninastillmoreterriblevoi,iride,shecrossedtheroom,seizedagreathandfulofUndrew'sgrayhairandpulledhisheadbacksothathisfacelookedupiheudiedhisfaceasshehadstudiedDigory'sfathepalaceof。Heblinkedandlickedhislipsnervouslyallthetime。Atlastshelethimgo:sosuddenlythathereeledbastthe>
“Isee,”shesaidsfully,“yi—ofasort。Standup,dog,anddon'tsprawlthereasifyouwerespeakingtoyourequals。Howdoyouagic?Youarenotofroyalblood,I'lls
&perhapsiseammeredUexaa'am。TheKetterleysare,however,averyoldfamily。AnoldDorsetshirefamily,Ma'am。”
“Peace,”saidtheWitch。“Iseewhatyouare。Youarealittle,peddlingMagiwhoworksbyrulesandbooks。Thereisniyourblooda。Yourkindwasmadeanendofinmyworldathousandyearsago。ButhereIshallallowyoutobemyservant。”
“Ishouldbemosthappy—delightedtobeofanyservice—ap-pleasure,Iassureyou。”
“Peace!Youtalkfartoomutoyourfirsttask。Iseeweareiy。Proeatonceacharicarpetorawell-traineddragon,orwhateverisusualforroyalandnoblepersonsinyourland。TheoplaceswhereIgetdjewelsaformyrank。TomorrowIwillbegioftheworld。”
“I—I—I'llgoandorderace,”gaspedUndrew。
“Stop,”saidtheWitch,justashereachedthedoor。“Doreachery。Myeyesseethroughwallsandintothemiheywillbeonyouwhereveryougo。AtthefirstsignofdisobedienceIellsonyouthatanythingyousitdownonwillfeellikeredhotironandwheneveryoulieiherewillbeinvisibleblocksoficeatyourfeet。Nowgo。”
Theoldma,lookinglikeadogwithitstailbetweenitslegs。