"Haveacare,Rabadash,"saidAslanquietly。"Thedoomisnearernow:itisatthedoor:ithasliftedthelatch。"
"Lettheskiesfall,"shriekedRabadash。"Lettheearthgape!Letbloodandfireobliteratetheworld!ButbesureIwillneverdesisttillIhavedraggedtomypalacebyherhairthebarbarianqueen,thedaughterofdogs,the—"
"Thehourhasstruck,"saidAslan:andRabadashsaw,tohissupremehorror,thateveryonehadbeguntolaugh。
Theycouldn'thelpit。RabadashhadbeenwagginghisearsallthetimeandassoonasAslansaid,"Thehourhasstruck!"theearsbegantochange。Theygrewlongerandmorepointedandsoonwerecoveredwithgreyhair。Andwhileeveryonewaswonderingwheretheyhadseenearslikethatbefore,Rabadash'sfacebegantochangetoo。Itgrewlonger,andthickeratthetopandlargereyed,andthenosesankbackintotheface(orelsethefaceswelledoutandbecameallnose)andtherewashairalloverit。Andhisarmsgrewlongerandcamedowninfrontofhimtillhishandswererestingontheground:onlytheyweren'thands,now,theywerehoofs。Andhewasstandingonallfours,andhisclothesdisappeared,andeveryonelaughedlouderandlouder(becausetheycouldn'thelpit)fornowwhathadbeenRabadashwas,simplyandunmistakably,adonkey。Theterriblethingwasthathishumanspeechlastedjustamomentlongerthanhishumanshape,sothatwhenherealizedthechangethatwascomingoverhim,hescreamedout:
"Oh,notaDonkey!Mercy!Ifitwereevenahorse—e'en—ahor—eeh—auh,eeh—auh。"Andsothewordsdiedawayintoadonkey'sbray。
"Nowhearme,Rabadash,"saidAslan。"Justiceshallbemixedwithmercy。YoushallnotalwaysbeanAss。"
AtthisofcoursetheDonkeytwitcheditsearsforwardandthatalsowassofunnythateverybodylaughedallthemore。Theytriednotto,buttheytriedinvain。
"YouhaveappealedtoTash,"saidAslan。"AndinthetempleofTashyoushallbehealed。YoumuststandbeforethealtarofTashinTashbaanatthegreatAutumnFeastthisyearandthere,inthesightofallTashbaan,yourasssshapewillfallfromyouandallmenwillknowyouforPrinceRabadash。Butaslongasyoulive,ifeveryougomorethantenmilesawayfromthegreattempleinTashbaanyoushallinstantlybecomeagainasyounoware。Andfromthatsecondchangetherewillbenoreturn。"
Therewasashortsilenceandthentheyallstirredandlookedatoneanotherasiftheywerewakingfromsleep。Aslanwasgone。Buttherewasabrightnessintheairandonthegrass,andajoyintheirhearts,whichassuredthemthathehadbeennodream:andanyway,therewasthedonkeyinfrontofthem。
KingLunewasthekindest-heartedofmenandonseeinghisenemyinthisregrettableconditionheforgotallhisanger。
"YourroyalHighness,"hesaid。"Iammosttrulysorrythatthingshavecometothisextremity。YourHighnesswillbearwitnessthatitwasnoneofourdoing。AndofcourseweshallbedelightedtoprovideyourHighnesswithshippingbacktoTashbaanforthe—er—treatmentwhichAslanhasprescribed。YoushallhaveeverycomfortwhichyourHighnessssituationallows:thebestofthecattle-boats—thefreshestcarrotsandthistles—"
ButadeafeningbrayfromtheDonkeyandawell-aimedkickatoneoftheguardsmadeitclearthatthesekindlyofferswereungratefullyreceived。
Andhere,togethimoutoftheway,IdbetterfinishoffthestoryofRabadash。He(orit)wasdulysentbackbyboattoTashbaanandbroughtintothetempleofTashatthegreatAutumnFestival,andthenhebecameamanagain。Butofcoursefourorfivethousandpeoplehadseenthetransformationandtheaffaircouldnotpossiblybehushedup。AndaftertheoldTisrocsdeathwhenRabadashbecameTisrocinhisplaceheturnedoutthemostpeaceableTisrocCalormenhadeverknown。Thiswasbecause,notdaringtogomorethantenmilesfromTashbaan,hecouldnevergoonawarhimself:andhedidntwanthisTarkaanstowinfameinthewarsathisexpense,forthatisthewayTisrocsgetoverthrown。Butthoughhisreasonswereselfish,itmadethingsmuchmorecomfortableforallthesmallercountriesroundCalormen。Hisownpeopleneverforgotthathehadbeenadonkey。Duringhisreign,andtohisface,hewascalledRabadashthePeacemaker,butafterhisdeathandbehindhisbackhewascalledRabadashtheRidiculous,andifyoulookhimupinagoodHistoryofCalormen(trythelocallibrary)youwillfindhimunderthatname。AndtothisdayinCalormeneschools,ifyoudoanythingunusuallystupid,youareverylikelytobecalled"asecondRabadash"。
MeanwhileatAnvardeveryonewasverygladthathehadbeendisposedofbeforetherealfunbegan,whichwasagrandfeastheldthateveningonthelawnbeforethecastle,withdozensoflanternstohelpthemoonlight。Andthewineflowedandtalesweretoldandjokeswerecracked,andthensilencewasmadeandtheKingspoetwithtwofiddlerssteppedoutintothemiddleofthecircle。AravisandCorpreparedthemselvestobebored,fortheonlypoetrytheyknewwastheCalormenekind,andyouknownowwhatthatwaslike。Butattheveryfirstscrapeofthefiddlesarocketseemedtogoupinsidetheirheads,andthepoetsangthegreatoldlayofFairOlvinandhowhefoughttheGiantPireandturnedhimintostone(andthatistheoriginofMountPire—itwasatwo-headedGiant)andwontheLadyLilnforhisbride;andwhenitwasovertheywisheditwasgoingtobeginagain。AndthoughBreecouldn'tsinghetoldthestoryofthefightatZalindreh。AndLucytoldagain(theyhadall,exceptAravisandCor,hearditmanytimesbuttheyallwanteditagain)thetaleoftheWardrobeandhowsheandKingEdmundandQueenSusanandPetertheHighKinghadfirstcomeintoNarnia。
Andpresently,aswascertaintohappensoonerorlater,KingLunesaidifwastimeforyoungpeopletobeinbed。"Andtomorrow,Cor,"headded,"shaltcomeoverallthecastlewithmeandseetheestresandmarkallitsstrengthandweakness:foritwillbethinetoguardwhenI'mgone。"
"ButCorinwillbetheKingthen,Father,"saidCor。
"Nay,lad,"saidKingLune,"thouartmyheir。Thecrowncomestothee。"
"ButIdon'twantit,"saidCor。"I'dfarrather—"
"Tisnoquestionwhatthouwantest,Cor,norIeither。'Tisinthecourseoflaw。"
"Butifwe'retwinswemustbethesameage。"
"Nay,"saidtheKingwithalaugh。"Onemustcomefirst。
ArtCorin'selderbyfulltwentyminutes。Andhisbettertoo,let'shope,thoughthat'snogreatmastery。"AndhelookedatCorinwithatwinkleinhiseyes。
"But,Father,couldn'tyoumakewhicheveryouliketobethenextKing?"
"No。Theking'sunderthelaw,forit'sthelawmakeshimaking。Hastnomorepowertostartawayfromthycrownthananysentryfromhispost。"
"Ohdear,"saidCor。"Idon'twanttoatall。AndCorin—Iammostdreadfullysorry。Ineverdreamedmyturningupwasgoingtochiselyououtofyourkingdom。"
"Hurrah!Hurrah!"saidCorin。"Ishan'thavetobeKing。Ishan'thavetobeKing。I'llalwaysbeaprince。It'sprinceshaveallthefun。"
"Andthat'struerthanthybrotherknows,Cor,"saidKingLune。"Forthisiswhatitmeanstobeaking:tobefirstineverydesperateattackandlastineverydesperateretreat,andwhenthere'shungerintheland(asmustbenowandtheninbadyears)towearfinerclothesandlaughlouderoverascantiermealthananymaninyourland。"
WhenthetwoboysweregoingupstairstobedCoragainaskedCorinifnothingcouldbedoneaboutit。AndCorinsaid:
"Ifyousayanotherwordaboutit,I'll-I'llknockyoudown。"Itwouldbenicetoendthestorybysayingthatafterthatthetwobrothersneverdisagreedaboutanythingagain,butIamafraiditwouldnotbetrue。Inrealitytheyquarrelledandfoughtjustaboutasoftenasanyothertwoboyswould,andalltheirfightsended(iftheydidntbegin)withCorgettingknockeddown。Forthough,whentheyhadbothgrownupandbecomeswordsmen,Corwasthemoredangerousmaninbattle,neitherhenoranyoneelseintheNorthCountriescouldeverequalCorinasaboxer。ThatwashowhegothisnameofCorinThunder—Fist;andhowheperformedhisgreatexploitagainsttheLapsedBearofStormness,whichwasreallyaTalkingBearbuthadgonebacktoWildBearhabits。CormclimbeduptoitslairontheNarniansideofStormnessonewinterdaywhenthesnowwasonthehillsandboxeditwithoutatime-keeperforthirty-threerounds。Andattheenditcouldntseeoutofitseyesandbecameareformedcharacter。
Aravisalsohadmanyquarrels(and,Imafraid,evenfights)withCor,buttheyalwaysmadeitupagain:sothatyearslater,whentheyweregrownup,theyweresousedtoquarrellingandmakingitupagainthattheygotmarriedsoastogoondoingitmoreconveniently。AndafterKingLunesdeaththeymadeagoodKingandQueenofArchenlandandRamtheGreat,themostfamousofallthekingsofArchenland,wastheirson。BreeandHwinlivedhappilytoagreatageinNarniaandbothgotmarriedbutnottooneanother。AndtherewerentmanymonthsinwhichoneorbothofthemdidntcometrottingoverthepasstovisittheirfriendsatAnvard。
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