CHAPTERFOURTEENHOWBREEBECAMEAWISERHORSE
&oAravisandtheHorses。TheHermit,watghispool,wasabletotellthemthatShastawasnotkilledorevenseriouslywounded,forhesawhimgetupandsawhowaffeatelyhewasgreetedbyKiashelysee,nothear,hedidnotknowwhatanyonewassayingahefightinghadstoppedaalkihilelookinginthepoolanylonger。
&m,whiletheHermitwasindoors,thethreeofthemdiscussedwhattheyshoulddo。
“I'vehadenoughofthis,”saidHwihasbeeousandI'mverymuchobligedtohimI'msure。ButI'mgettingasfatasapetpoingalldayaingnoexercise。Let'sgoontoNarnia。”
“Ohnottoday,Ma'am,”saidBree。“Iwouldns。Someotherday,don'tyouthink?”
&seeShastafirstandsaygood-byetohim—and—andapologize,”saidAravis。
&ly!”saidBreewithgreatenthusiasm。“JustwhatIwasgoingtosay。”
“Oh,ofcourse,”saidHwiheisinAnvard。Naturallywe'dlookinonhimandsaygood-bye。Butthat'sonourway。Andwhyshouldn'twestartatoerall,Ithoughtitwasedtogetto?”
“Isupposeso,”saidAravis。Shewasbeginningtowoexactlyshewoulddowhehereandwasfeelingalittlelonely。
“Ofcourse,ofcourse,”saidBreehastily。“Butthere'ss,ifyouknow>
“No,Idon'tknowwhatyoumean,”saidHwin。“Whydon'tyouwanttogo?”
“M-m-m,broo-hoo,”mutteredBree。“Well,don'tyousee,Ma'am—it'sanimportanttoone'sterihebestsociety—itissoessentialtomakeagoodimpression—notperhapslookingquiteourselves,yet,eh?”
Hwih。“It'syourtail,Bree!Iseeitallnoaittillyourtailain!Andwedon'tevenknowiftailsarewinNarnia。Really,Bree,you'reasvainasthatTarkheenainTashbaan!”
“Youaresilly,Bree,”saidAravis。
“BytheLion'sMaarkheena,I'mnothi,”saidBreeindignantly。“Ihaveaproperrespeyselfandformyfellowhorses,that'sall。”
“Bree,”saidAravis,whowaserestediofhistail,“I'vebeenwantingtoaskyousomethingftime。WhydoyoukeepBytheLionandBytheLion'sMahoughtyouhatedlions。”
“SoIdo,”answeredBree。“ButwheheLionofeanAsladelivererofNarniawhodroveawaytheWitdtheWinter。AllNarniansswearbyhim。”
“Butishealion?”
“No,no,ofot,”saidBreeinarathershockedvoice。
“AllthestoriesabouthiminTashbaansayheis,”repliedAravis。“Andifheisn'talionwhydoyoucallhimalion?”
“Well,you'dhardlyuhatatye,”saidBree。“AndIwasonlyalittlefoalwhesoIdon'tquitefullyumyself。”
&andingwithhisbacktothegreenwallwhilehesaidthis,awhim。Hewastalkinginratherasuperiortohhiseyeshalfshut;thatwaswhyhedidn'tseethegedexpressioninthefacesofHwinandAravis。Theyhadgoodreasontohaveopenmouthsandstaringeyes;becausewhileBreespoketheysawanenormouslionleapupfromoutsideaselfohegreenwall;onlyitwasabrighteryellowanditwasbiggeraifulandmthananyliontheyhadeverseen。AjumpeddowhewallandbeganapproagBreefrombehind。Itmadeall。AndHwinandAravisakeahemselves,haniftheywerefrozen。)
“Nodoubt,”uedBree,“whentheyspeakofhimasaLiontheyonlymeanhe'sasstrongasalionor(toourenemies,ofcourse)asfierceasaliohingofthatkilegirllikeyou,Aravis,mustseethatitwouldbequiteabsurdtosupposeheisarealliowouldbedisrespectful。Ifhewasalionhe'dhavetobeaBeastjustliketherestofus。Why!”(andhereBreebegantolaugh)“Ifhewasalionhe'dhavefourpaws,andatail,andWhiskers!。。。Aie,ooh,hoo-hoo!Help!”
ForjustashesaidthewordWhiskersoneofAslan'shadactuallytickledhisear。Breeshotawaylikeanarrowtotheothersideoftheehereturhewallwastoohighforhimtojumpandhecouldflynofarther。AravisandHwinbothstartedback。Therewasaboutasetensesilence。
&houghshakingallaveastraleneigh,andtrottedacrosstotheLion。
“Please,”shesaid,“you'resobeautiful。Youmayeatmeifyoulike。I'dsooenbyyouthanfedbyanyoneelse。”
&daughter,”saidAslan,plantingalion'skissog,velvetnose,“Iknewyouwouldnotbelongine。Joyshallbeyours。”
&edhisheadandspokeinaloudervoice。
“Now,Bree,”hesaid,“youphtenedHorse,drawill,myson。Doodare。Touchme。Smellme。Herearemypaws,hereismytail,thesearemywhiskers。IamatrueBeast。”