CHAPTERFOURENIGHT
THEKingwasskhathehardlykeninguntiltheeiedhisuthisarmsstraightdownbyhissidesahhisbastaheyboundropesroundhisanklesandhiskneesandhiswaistaahere。Whatworriedhimworstatthemoment—foritisoftehatarehardesttostand—wasbleediheyhadhithimandhe'twipethelittletrickleofbloodawayalthoughittickledhim。
Fromwherehewashecouldstillseethelittlestableohehillainginfrontofit。HecouldjustheartheApe'svoicestillgoingonand,everynowandthen,someahecrowd,butheakeoutthewords。
“Iwohey'vedohoughttheKing。
&hecrowdofbeastsbrokeupandbegangoingawayiions。SomepassedclosetoTirian。Theylookedathimasiftheywerebhtenedandsorrytoseehimtiedupbuthemspoke。SoontheyhadallgoherewassilehenhoursandhourswentpastandTiriaverythirstyandthenveryhungry;aernedonaoevening,hebecamecoldtoo。Hisbackwasverysore。Thesudownaobetwilight。
&wasalmostdarkTirianheardalightpitter-patteroffeetandsawsomesmallcreatures。ThethreeowereMidtherewasaRabbitinthemiddle:htweretwoMoles。Boththesewereglittlebagsontheirbackswhichgavethemacuriouslookinthedarksothatatfirsthewokiheywere。Then,iheywereallstandingups,layingtheircoolpawsonhiskneesandgivinghiskneessnufflyanimalkisses。(TheycouldreaeesbeianTalkihatserthanthedumbbeastsofthesamekindinEngland。)
“L!dearL,”saidtheirshrillvoices,“wearesosorryforyou。Wedaren'tuntieyoubecauseAslanmightbeangrywithus。Butwehtyouyoursupper。”
AtoMouseimblyuptillheertheropethatboundTirian'sdwaswrinklinghisbluofTirian'sfathesebedupandhungohefirstMouse。Theotherbeastsstoodonthegroundandbeganhandingthingsup。
“Drihenyou'llfioeat,”saidthetopmostMouse,andTirianfoundthatalittlewoodencupwasbeiohislips。Itwasonlythesizeofaneggcupsothathehadhardlytastedthewibeforeitty。ButthentheMousepasseditdowhersrefilleditanditagainandTiriaasee。Inthiswaytheywentoeagooddrink,whichwasallthebetterfinlittledoses,forthatismorethirst-quenonelht。
“Hereischeese,Sire,”saidthefirstMouse,“butnotverymuch,forfearitwouldmakeyoutoothirsty。”Ahecheesetheyfedhimwithoat-dfreshbutter,ahsomemorewine。
“Nothewater,”saidthefirstMouse,“andI'llwashtheKing'sface。Thereisbloodonit。”
&iriahiinyspongedabbinghisfaditwasm。
“Littlefriends,”saidTirian,“howkyouforallthis?”
“You,you,”saidthelittlevoices。“Whatelsecouldwedo?Wedon'twantany。We'reyourpeople。IfitwasonlytheApeandtheeneswhainstyouwewouldhavefoughttillweweretopiecesbeforewe'dletthemtieyouup。ewouldiwe'tgoagainstAslan。”
“DoyouthinkitreallyisAslaheKing。
“Ohyes,yes,”saidtheRabbit。“Hecameoutofthestablelastnight。Weallsawhim。”
“Whatwashelike?”saidtheKing。
&errible,greatLion,tobesure,”saidoheMice。
“AndyouthinkitisreallyAslanwhoiskillingtheWood-NymphsandmakingyouallslavestotheKingofen?”
“Ah,that'sbad,isn'tit?”saidtheseouse。“Itwouldhavebeeerifwe'ddiedbeforeallthisbegan。Butthere'snodoubtaboutit。EveryoisAslan'sorders。Andwe'veseenhim。Wedidn'tthinkAslahat。aoebaia。”
&ohaveebagrythistime,”saidthefirstMouse。“Wemustallhavedohingdreadfullywrongwithoutknowibepunishingusforsomething。ButIdothibetold>
“Isupposewhatwenowmaybewrong,”saidtheRabbit。