CHAPTERTHIRTEEEDMEETING
“,Digory,,Fledge,”camethevoiceofPolly。“Ithasturoatoffeetree。Andit'stheloveliestm。”
Thelowearlysureamingthroughthewoodandthegrassandthecobwebswerelikesilver。Justbesidethemwasalittle,verydarkwoodedtree,aboutthesizeofaheleaveswerewhitishandratherpapery,liketheherbesty,anditwasloadedwithlittlebrownfruitsthatlookedratherlikedates。
“Hurrah!”saidDigory。“ButI'mgoingtohaveadipfirst。”Herushedthroughaflthicketortwodowntotheriver'sedge。Haveyoueverbathedinamouisrunninginshallowcataractsoverredandblueaohesunonit?Itisasgoodasthesea:insomewaysalmostbetter。Ofcourse,hehadtainwithbutitorthit。Whenhecameback,Pollywentdownahe;atleastshesaidthatwaswhatshe'dbeendoing,butasnotmueraisbestnottoasktoomaioedtherivertoobutheonlystoodioopingddrihenshakinghismaneandneighiimes。
PollyandDigottoworkoree。Thefruitwasdeliotexactlyliketoffee—softerforohing,andjuicy—butlikefruitwhidedooffee。Fledgealsomadeabreakfast;hetriedooffeefruitsasaidhefeltmrassatthathourinthem。Thenwithsomedifficultythegotonhisbadtheseeybegan。
Itwasevehaerday,partlybecauseeveryonewasfeelingsofresh,andpartlybecausethenewlyrisensunwasattheirbad,ofcourse,everythinglookshelightisbehindyou。Itwasawonderfulride。Thebigsnowymountaihemiion。Thevalleys,farbehem,weresogreen,areamswhichtumbleddlaainriverweresoblue,thatitwaslikeflyiicpiecesofjewellery。Theywouldhavelikedthispartoftheadveogoodid。Butquitesoontheywereallsniffingtheairandsaying“Whatisit?”and“Didyousmellsomething?”and“Where'sit?”Foraheavenlysmell,warmandgolden,asiffromallthemostdeliciousfruitsaheworld,wasinguptothemfromsome>
“It'sthatvalleywiththelakeinit,”saidFledge。
“Soitis,”saidDigory。“Andlook!There'sagreenhillatthefarendofthelake。Andlookhowbluethewateris。”
“ItmustbethePlace,”saidallthree。
Fledgecamelowerandlowerinwidecircles。Theicypeaksroseuphigherandhigherabove。Theaircameupwarmeraereverymomeitalmhtthetearstoyoureyes。Fledgewasnowglidingwithhiswimotionlessoneachside,andhishoofspawingfroueepgreenhillwasrushingtowardthem。Amomentlaterhealightedonitsslope,alittleawkwardly。Therolledoff,fellwiththemselvesrass,andstooduppantingalittle。
&hree-quartersofthethehill,aooclimbtothetop。(Idon'tthinkFledgecouldhavemahiswithouthiswingstobalandtogivehimthehelpofaflutternowandthen。)Allrouopofthehillranahighwallofgreenturf。Ireesweregrowing。Theirbrangoutoverthewall;theirleavesshowednotoalsoblueahewihem。Wheravellersreachedthetoptheywalkednearlyallthewayrounditoutsidethegreeheyfoues:highgatesofgold,fastshut,fagdueeast。
UptillnowIthinkFledgeandPollyhadhadtheideathattheywouldgoinwithDigory。Buttheythoughtsonolonger。Youneversalacewhichwassoobviouslyprivate。Youcouldseeataglabeloosomeoneelse。Onlyafoolwoinginunlesshehadbeehereonveryspeess。Digoryhimselfuoheotherswouldn'tandeinwithhim。Hewentforwardtothegatesalone。
Whenhehadecloseuptothemhesarittehsilverletters;somethihis:
&hegoldgatesornotatall,Takeofmyfruitforothersorforbear,ForthosewhostealorthosewhoclimbmywallShallfi'sdesireandfinddespair。
“Takeofmyfruitforothers,”saidDigorytohimself。“Well,that'swhatI'mgoingtodo。ItmeansImustanymyself,Isuppose。Idon'tknowwhatallthatjawili。eies。Wellwho'dwanttoclimbawallifhecouldgetinbyagates。'Buthowdothegatesopen?”Helaidhishandonthem:andinstantlytheyseninginwards,turningeswithouttheleastnoise。
Nowthathecouldseeilookedmoreprivatethainverysolemnly,lookingabouthim。Everythiihefountainwhiearthemiddleofthegardehefaisound。Thelovelysmellwasallroundhim:itlacebutveryserious。
Hekneastherighttreeatolybecauseitstoodierandpartlybecausethegreatsilverapplesasloadedshonesoandcastalightoftheirowndownontheshadowyplaceswherethesunlightdidnotreach。Hewalkedstraightacrosstoit,piapple,andputitipocketofhisNorfolkjacket。Buthe'thelplookingatitabeforeheputita>
Itwouldhavebeeerifhehadhirstandhungerandalongingtotastethatfruit。Heputithastilyintohispocket;buttherewereplentyofothers。Coulditbewrongtotasteoerall,hethought,thehegatemightnothavebeelyamighthavebeenonlyapieceofadvidwhocaresaboutadvice?Orevenifitwereanorder,wouldhebedisobeyiinganapple?Hehadalreadyobeyedthepartabouttakihers“。
&hinkingofallthishehappeolhthebraowardthetopofthetree。There,onabranchabovehishead,awonderfulbirdwasroosting。Isay“roostiseemedalmostasleep;perhapsiofoneeyeen。Itwaslargerthasbreastsaffroedwithsditstailpurple。
“Anditjustshows,”saidDigoryafterastelliotheothers,“thatyou'tbetoothesemagicalplaeverknowwhatmaybewatgyou。”ButIthinkDigorywouldakenanappleforhimselfihiStealwere,Ithioboys'headsagooddealharderihaill,weeverbe。
Digorywasjustturningtogobacktothegateswheoppedtohaveolookarouerribleshock。Hewashere,onlyafewyardsawayfromhim,stoodtheWitch。Shewasjustthrowingawaytheapplewhichshehadeaten。Thejuicewasdarkerthanyouwouldexpedhadmadeahorridstaih。Diguessedatoshemusthaveoverthewall。Aoseethattheremightbesomeselastligetti'sdesireaingdespairalongwithit。FortheWitchlerahanever,andeven,inahant;butherfacewasdeadlywhite,whiteassalt。
AllthisflashedthroughDigory'smiheohisheelsandraesashardashecouldpelt;theWitchafterhim。Assoo,thegatesclosedbehindhimoftheiravehimtheleadbutn。Bythetimehehadreachedtheothersandwasshoutingout“Qui,Polly!Getup,Fledge“,theWitchhadclimbedthewall,orvaultedoverit,andwasclosebehindhimagain。