CHAPTERFOURTEENTHEBEGINNIHEWORLD
Slowlythedooropenedagainandouttherecameafigureastallandstraightasthegirl'sbutolightbutlightseemedtoit。Asitearer,Lucysawthatitwaslikeanoldman。Hissilverbeardtohisbarefeetinfrontandhissaverhairhungdowntohisheelsbehindandhisrobeappearedtobemadefromthefleeceofsilversheep。Helookedsomildaohetravellersrosetotheirfeetandstoodinsilence。
Buttheoldmahoutspeakiravellersandstoodohersideofthetableoppositetohisdaughter。Thenbothofthemhelduptheirarmsbeforethemaofacetheeast。Inthatpositioosing。IwishIcouldwritedownthesong,butoneresentberit。Lucysaidafterwardthatitwashigh,almostshrill,butverybeautiful,dofsong,anearlymkindofsong。Ahegraycloudsliftedfromtheeasternskyathewhitepatcheserawaswhite,aoshinelikesilver。Andlongafterward(butthosetwosaheeastbegantoturlast,uhesuheseaanditslonglevelrayshotdowhetableonthegoldandsilversaoneKnife。
&wicebefore,theNarnianshadwohesunatitsrisingdidnotlookbiggerihanithadlookedathome。Thistimetheywe。Therewasnomistakingit。Asrayonthedewaablewasfarbeyondan。mhtheyhadeverseen。AndasEdmusaidafterward,“Thoughlotsofthihattripwhioreexg,thatmomehemostexg。”ForhattheyhadtrulyetothebeginniheWorld。
&hiobeflyioftheverytersun:butofe'tlooksteadilyinthatdireakesure。Butpresentlytheairbecamefullofvoices—voiceswhiesongthattheLadyaherweresinging,butinfarwildertonesandinalanguagewhieknewAndsooheowhesevoicescouldbeseen。Theywerebirds,largeaheydredsandthousandsandalighted;thegrass,a,oable,onyourshoulders,yourhands,aillitlookedasheavysnowhadfallen。For,likesohiblurredandbluntedallshapes。ButLugoutfrombetweenthewihatcoveredher,sawonebirdflytotheOldManwithsomethingilookedlikealittlefruit,uwasalittlelivecoal,whichitmighthavebeen,foritwasthttolookat。AndthebirdlaiditintheOldMan'smouth。
&hebirdsstoppedtheirsingingaobeverybusyaboutthetable。Whentheyraihihatcouldbeeatenordrunkhaddisappeared。Thesebirdsrosefromtheirmealihousandsandhundredsandcarriedawayallthethingsthatotbeeatenordrunk,sues,rinds,andshells,andthtbacktsun。Butheywerenotsinging,thewhirsseemedtosetthewholeaira-tremble。Ahetablepeay,ahreeoldLordsofNarniastillfastasleep。
NowatlasttheOldMahetravellersahemwele。
“Sir,”said,“willyoutellushowtoumentwhichholdsthesethreeNarnianLordsasleep。”
“Iwillgladlytellyouthat,myson,”saidtheOldMahiseyoumustsailtotheWorld'sEnd,orasnearasyouetoit,andyoumustebagleftatleastoneofyourpanybehind。”
“Andwhatmusthappentothatone?”askedReepicheep。
&gooereastaurnintotheworld。”
“Thatismyheart'sdesire,”saidReepicheep。
“AheWorld'sEndnow,Sir?”asked。“Haveyouaheseasandlahanthis?”
“Isawthemlongago,”saidtheOldMan,“butitwasfrht。Iottellyousugsassailoroknow。”
“Doyoumeanyintheair?”Eustaceblurtedout。
“Iwasalongwayabovetheair,mysoheOldMan。“IamRamandu。ButIseethatyoustareatonanotheraheardthisname。AndhedayswhenIwasastarhadgbeforeanyofyoukhisworld,aellationshaveged。”
“Golly,”saidEdmundunderhisbreath。“He'saretiredstar。”
&yer?”askedLucy。
“Iamastaratrest,mydaughter,”ans>
&forthelasttime,dedoldbeyondallthatyou,Iwascarriedtothisisland。IamnotsooldnowasIwasthen。Everymabirdbringsmeafire-berryfromthevalleysintheSun,andeachfire-berrytakesawayalittleofmyage。AndwhenIhavebeeasyouhatwasborhenIshalltakemyrisingagaiearth'seasternrim)areadthegreatdance。”
“Inourworld,”saidEustace,“astarisahugeballofflaminggas。”
“Eveninyourworld,myson,thatisnotwhatastarisbutonlywhatitismadeof。Andinthisworldyouavealreadymetastar,forIthinkyouhavebeen>
“Ishearetiredstar,too?”saidLucy。
&quitethesame,”saidRamandu。“ItwasnotquiteasarestthatogoverntheDuffers。Youmightcallitapu。Hemighthaveshohousandsofyearsmoreihernwinterskyifallhadgonewell。”
“Whatdidhedo,Sir?”asked。
“Myson,”saidRamandu,“itisnotforyou,asonofAdam,toknowwhatfaultsastarit。Bute,wewastetimeinsuchtalk。Areyouyetresolved?Willyousailfurthereastandeagain,leaviurnnomore,ahee?Orwillyousail>
“Surely,Sire,”saidReepicheep,“thereisionaboutthat?Itisveryplainlypartofourquesttorescuethesethreelordsfrome。”
“Ithinkthesame,Reepicheep,”replied。“Awerenotso,itwouldbreakmyheartnottogoasheWorld'sEreaderwilltakeus。ButIamthinkiheysigoseekthesevenlords,herimoftheEarth。Ifwesaileastfromherewesailtofiheuttereast。Andnotoneknowshowfaritis。They'rebravefellows,butIsetsignsthatsomeofthemarewearyofthevoyageandlongtohaveourprowpointingtain。Idon'tthinkshouldtakethemfurtherwitheahehepoorLordRhoop。He'sbrokenman。”