Luethinglyihwiseoableedherattewasakone,sharpassteel,acruel-lookilookingthing。
spokenaword。The,andext—theyallrosetotheirfeet,becausetheyfeltthatshewasagreatlady。
“TravellerswhohavefartoAslan'stable,”saidthegirl。“Whydoyouanddrink?”
“Madam,”said,“wefearedthefoodbecausewethoughtithadcastourfriendsiedsleep。
“Theyhaveedit,”shesaid。
“Please,”saidLucy,“ehem?”
“Sevenyearsago,”saidthegirl,“theycamehereinashipwhosesailswereragsandtimbersreadytofallapart。Thereiththem,sailors,aheycametothistableonesaid,‘Hereisthegoodplace。Letussetsailandreefsailandrowdownandendourdaysinpeace!'Andthesedsaid,‘usre-embarkandsailforNarniaamaybethatMirazisdead。'Butthethird,whowasaverymasterfulman,leapedupandsaid,‘No,byheaven。WearemenandTelmaribrutes。Whatshouldwedobutseekadveure?Wehavenotlongtoliveiusspendwhatisleftiheunpeopledworldbehindthesunrise。'AndastheyquarrelledhecaughtuptheKonewhichliesthereoableandwouldhavefoughtwithhisrades。Butitisathingnhtforhimtotoudashisfingersclosedupo,deepsleepfellupohree。Andtilltheeisuheywillnever>
“WhatisthisKoace。
“Dononeofyouknowit?”saidthegirl。
“I—Ithink,”saidLucy,“I'veseehibefore。ItwasaktheWhiteWitchusedwhenshekilledAslaablelongago。”
“Itwasthesame,”saidthegirl,“anditwasbroughtheretobekeptinhohe>
Edmund,whohadbeenlookingmoreandmoreunfortableforthelastfewminutes,nowspoke。
“Lookhere,”hesaid,“IhopeI'mnotacoward—abouteatingthisfood,Imean—andI'msureIdon'tmeantoberude。Butwehavehadalotofqueeradvehisvoyageofoursandthialwayswhattheyseem。WhenIlookinyourfa'thelpbelievingallyousay:butthenthat'sjustwhatmighthappenwithawitchtoo。Hoyou'reafriend?”
“You'tknow,”saidthegirl。“Youlybelieveornot。”
Afteramoment'spauseReepiallvoice>
“Sire,”hesaidto,“ofyourcourtesyfillmycupwithwihatflagon:itistoobigformetolift。Iwilldrinktothelady。”
obeyedandtheMouse,standiable,heldupagoldestinypawsandsaid,“Lady,Ipledgeyou。”Theooncoldpeadinashortwhileeveryoneelsefolloweditsexample。Allwereveryhungryandthemeal,ifyouwantedforaveryearlybreakfast,wasextasaverylatesupper。
“WhyisitcalledAslan'stable?”askedLutly。
“Itissetherebyhisbidding,”saidthegirl,“forthosewhoecallthisislandtheWorld'sEnd,fhyousailfurther,thisisthebeginningoftheend。”
“Buthowdoesthefoodkeep?”askedthepracticalEustace。
“Itiseaten,andrenewedeveryday,”saidthegirl。“Thisyouwillsee。”
“AndwhatarewetodoabouttheSleepers?”asked。“Intheworldfromwhichmyfriendse”(here,headthePeveheyhaveastoryofaprinceingtoacastleeoplelayiedsleep。InthatstoryheotdissolvetheeilhehadkissedthePrincess。”
“Buthere,”saidthegirl,“itisdifferent。HereheotkissthePriillhehasdissolvedthee。”
“Then,”said,“inthenameofAslaosetaboutthatworkatonce。”
“Myfatherwillteachyouthat,”saidthegirl。
“Yourfather!”saideveryone。“Whoishe?Andwhere?”
“Look,”saidthegirl,turningroundandpointingatthedoorinthehillside。Theycouldseeitmoreeasilynow,forwhiletheyhadbeentalkiarshadgrownfainteragapsofwhitelightearinginthegrayheeasternsky。