WEmustnowreturntoAravisandtheHorses。TheHermit,watchinghispool,wasabletotellthemthatShastawasnotkilledorevenseriouslywounded,forhesawhimgetupandsawhowaffectionatelyhewasgreetedbyKingLune。Butashecouldonlysee,nothear,hedidnotknowwhatanyonewassayingand,oncethefightinghadstoppedandthetalkinghadbegun,itwasnotworthwhilelookinginthepoolanylonger。
Nextmorning,whiletheHermitwasindoors,thethreeofthemdiscussedwhattheyshoulddonext。
"I'vehadenoughofthis,"saidHwin。"TheHermithasbeenverygoodtousandImverymuchobligedtohimImsure。ButImgettingasfatasapetpony,eatingalldayandgettingnoexercise。LetsgoontoNarnia。"
"Ohnottoday,Ma'am,"saidBree。"Iwouldn'thurrythings。Someotherday,dontyouthink?"
"WemustseeShastafirstandsaygood-byetohim-and-andapologize,"saidAravis。
"Exactly!"saidBreewithgreatenthusiasm。"JustwhatIwasgoingtosay。"
"Oh,ofcourse,"saidHwin。"IexpectheisinAnvard。Naturallywedlookinonhimandsaygood-bye。Butthatsonourway。Andwhyshouldntwestartatonce?Afterall,IthoughtitwasNarniaweallwantedtogetto?"
"Isupposeso,"saidAravis。Shewasbeginningtowonderwhatexactlyshewoulddowhenshegotthereandwasfeelingalittlelonely。
"Ofcourse,ofcourse,"saidBreehastily。"Butthere'snoneedtorushthings,ifyouknowwhatImean。"
"No,Idon'tknowwhatyoumean,"saidHwin。"Whydontyouwanttogo?"
"M-m-m,broo-hoo,"mutteredBree。"Well,don'tyousee,Maam-itsanimportantoccasion-returningtoonescountry-enteringsociety-thebestsociety-itissoessentialtomakeagoodimpression-notperhapslookingquiteourselves,yet,eh?"
Hwinbrokeoutintoahorse-laugh。"It'syourtail,Bree!Iseeitallnow。Youwanttowaittillyourtailsgrownagain!AndwedontevenknowiftailsarewornlonginNarnia。Really,Bree,youreasvainasthatTarkheenainTashbaan!"
"Youaresilly,Bree,"saidAravis。
"BytheLion'sMane,Tarkheena,I'mnothingofthesort,"saidBreeindignantly。"Ihaveaproperrespectformyselfandformyfellowhorses,thatsall。"
"Bree,"saidAravis,whowasnotveryinterestedinthecutofhistail,"I'vebeenwantingtoaskyousomethingforalongtime。WhydoyoukeeponswearingBytheLionandBytheLionsMane?Ithoughtyouhatedlions。"
"SoIdo,"answeredBree。"ButwhenIspeakoftheLionofcourseImeanAslan,thegreatdelivererofNarniawhodroveawaytheWitchandtheWinter。AllNarniansswearbyhim。"
"Butishealion?"
"No,no,ofcoursenot,"saidBreeinarathershocked
voice。
"AllthestoriesabouthiminTashbaansayheis,"repliedAravis。"Andifheisn'talionwhydoyoucallhimalion?"
"Well,you'dhardlyunderstandthatatyourage,"saidBree。"AndIwasonlyalittlefoalwhenIleftsoIdon'tquitefullyunderstanditmyself。"
(Breewasstandingwithhisbacktothegreenwallwhilehesaidthis,andtheothertwowerefacinghim。Hewastalkinginratherasuperiortonewithhiseyeshalfshut;thatwaswhyhedidntseethechangedexpressioninthefacesofHwinandAravis。Theyhadgoodreasontohaveopenmouthsandstaringeyes;becausewhileBreespoketheysawanenormouslionleapupfromoutsideandbalanceitselfonthetopofthegreenwall;onlyitwasabrighteryellowanditwasbiggerandmorebeautifulandmorealarmingthananyliontheyhadeverseen。AndatonceitjumpeddowninsidethewallandbeganapproachingBreefrombehind。Itmadenonoiseatall。AndHwinandAraviscouldntmakeanynoisethemselves,nomorethaniftheywerefrozen。)
"Nodoubt,"continuedBree,"whentheyspeakofhimasaLiontheyonlymeanhesasstrongasalionor(toourenemies,ofcourse)asfierceasalion。Orsomethingofthatkind。Evenalittlegirllikeyou,Aravis,mustseethatitwouldbequiteabsurdtosupposeheisareallion。Indeeditwouldbedisrespectful。IfhewasalionhedhavetobeaBeastjustliketherestofus。Why!"(andhereBreebegantolaugh)"Ifhewasalionhe'dhavefourpaws,andatail,andWhiskers!-Aie,ooh,hoo-hoo!Help!"
ForjustashesaidthewordWhiskersoneofAslanshadactuallytickledhisear。Breeshotawaylikeanarrowtotheothersideoftheenclosureandthereturned;thewallwastoohighforhimtojumpandhecouldflynofarther。AravisandHwinbothstartedback。Therewasaboutasecondofintensesilence。
ThenHwin,thoughshakingallover,gaveastrangelittleneigh,andtrottedacrosstotheLion。
"Please,"shesaid,"you'resobeautiful。Youmayeatmeifyoulike。Idsoonerbeeatenbyyouthanfedbyanyoneelse。"
"Dearestdaughter,"saidAslan,plantingalion'skissonhertwitching,velvetnose,"Iknewyouwouldnotbelongincomingtome。Joyshallbeyours。"
Thenheliftedhisheadandspokeinaloudervoice。
"Now,Bree,"hesaid,"youpoor,proudfrightenedHorse,drawnear。Nearerstill,myson。Donotdarenottodare。Touchme。Smellme。Herearemypaws,hereismytail,thesearemywhiskers。IamatrueBeast。"
"Aslan,"saidBreeinashakenvoice,"I'mafraidImustberatherafool。"
"HappytheHorsewhoknowsthatwhileheisstillyoung。OrtheHumaneither。Drawnear,Aravismydaughter。See!Mypawsarevelveted。Youwillnotbetornthistime。"
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