ITwasnearlynoononthefollowingdaywhenShastawaswakenedbysomethingwarmandsoftmovingoverhisface。Heopenedhiseyesandfoundhimselfstaringintothelongfaceofahorse;itsnoseandlipswerealmosttouchinghis。Herememberedtheexcitingeventsofthepreviousnightandsatup。Butashedidsohegroaned。
"Ow,Bree,"hegasped。"I'msosore。Allover。Icanhardlymove。"
"Goodmorning,smallone,"saidBree。"Iwasafraidyoumightfeelabitstiff。Itcan'tbethefalls。Youdidn'thavemorethanadozenorso,anditwasalllovely,softspringyturfthatmusthavebeenalmostapleasuretofallon。Andtheonlyonethatmighthavebeennastywasbrokenbythatgorsebush。No,it'stheridingitselfthatcomeshardatfirst。Whataboutbreakfast?I'vehadmine。"
"Ohbotherbreakfast。Bothereverything,"saidShasta。"ItellyouIcan'tmove。"Butthehorsenuzzledathimwithitsnoseandpawedhimgentlywithahooftillhehadtogetup。Andthenhelookedabouthimandsawwheretheywere。Behindthemlayalittlecopse。Beforethemtheturf,dottedwithwhiteflowers,slopeddowntothebrowofacliff。Farbelowthem,sothatthesoundofthebreakingwaveswasveryfaint,laythesea。Shastahadneverseenitfromsuchaheightandneverseensomuchofitbefore,nordreamedhowmanycoloursithad。Oneitherhandthecoaststretchedaway,headlandafterheadland,andatthepointsyoucouldseethewhitefoamrunninguptherocksbutmakingnonoisebecauseitwassofaroff。Thereweregullsflyingoverheadandtheheatshiveredontheground;itwasablazingday。ButwhatShastachieflynoticedwastheair。Hecouldn'tthinkwhatwasmissing,untilatlastherealizedthattherewasnosmelloffishinit。Forofcourse,neitherinthecottagenoramongthenets,hadheeverbeenawayfromthatsmellinhislife。Andthisnewairwassodelicious,andallhisoldlifeseemedsofaraway,thatheforgotforamomentabouthisbruisesandhisachingmusclesandsaid:
"Isay,Bree,didn'tyousaysomethingaboutbreakfast?"
"Yes,Idid,"answeredBree。"Ithinkyou'llfindsomethinginthesaddle-bags。They'reoverthereonthattreewhereyouhungthemuplastnight—orearlythismorning,rather。"
Theyinvestigatedthesaddle-bagsandtheresultswerecheering—ameatpasty,onlyslightlystale,alumpofdriedfigsandanotherlumpofgreencheese,alittleflaskofwine,and
somemoney;aboutfortycrescentsinall,whichwasmorethanShastahadeverseen。
WhileShastasatdown-painfullyandcautiously-withhisbackagainstatreeandstartedonthepasty,Breehadafewmoremouthfulsofgrasstokeephimcompany。
"Won'titbestealingtousethemoney?"askedShasta。
"Oh,"saidtheHorse,lookingupwithitsmouthfullofgrass,"Ineverthoughtofthat。Afreehorseandatalkinghorsemustn'tsteal,ofcourse。ButIthinkit'sallright。We'reprisonersandcaptivesinenemycountry。Thatmoneyisbooty,spoil。Besides,howarewetogetanyfoodforyouwithoutit?Isuppose,likeallhumans,youwon'teatnaturalfoodlikegrassandoats。"
Icant。
"Evertried?"
"Yes,Ihave。Ican'tgetitdownatall。Youcouldn'teitherifyouwereme。"
"You'rerumlittlecreatures,youhumans,"remarkedBree。WhenShastahadfinishedhisbreakfast(whichwasbyfarthenicesthehadevereaten),Breesaid,"IthinkI'llhaveanicerollbeforeweputonthatsaddleagain。"Andheproceededtodoso。
"That'sgood。That'sverygood,"hesaid,rubbinghisbackontheturfandwavingallfourlegsintheair。"Yououghttohaveonetoo,Shasta,"hesnorted。"It'smostrefreshing。"
ButShastaburstoutlaughingandsaid,"Youdolookfunnywhenyou'reonyourback!"
"Ilooknothingofthesort,"saidBree。Butthensuddenlyherolledroundonhisside,raisedhisheadandlookedhardatShasta,blowingalittle。
"Doesitreallylookfunny?"heaskedinananxiousvoice。
"Yes,itdoes,"repliedShasta。"Butwhatdoesitmatter?"
"Youdon'tthink,doyou,"saidBree,"thatitmightbeathingtalkinghorsesneverdo—asilly,clownishtrickIvelearnedfromthedumbones?Itwouldbedreadfultofind,whenIgetbacktoNarnia,thatI'vepickedupalotoflow,badhabits。Whatdoyouthink,Shasta?Honestly,now。Don'tsparemyfeelings。Shouldyouthinkthereal,freehorses—thetalkingkind—doroll?"
"HowshouldIknow?AnywayIdon'tthinkIshouldbotheraboutitifIwereyou。Wevegottogettherefirst。Doyouknowtheway?"
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