ButwhenthedrippingMousehadreachedthedeedoutalliheSeaPeople。
&!”hecheeped。“Sweet,sweet!”
“Whatareyoutalkingabout?”askedDriniancrossly。“Ashakeyourselfalloverme,either。”
&hewater'ssweet,”saidtheMouse。“Sweet,fresh。Itisn'tsalt。”
Foramomeookiahis。ButthenReepiorerepeatedtheoldprophecy:
&heeet,
Doubtnot,Reepicheep,
&heutterEast。”
&everyoood。
&mehaveabuelf,”saidDrinian。
Itwashandedhimaandupit。Thewatersholikeglass。
“PerhapsyourMajestywouldliketotasteitfirst,”saidDrinianto。
&ookthebubothhaohislips,sipped,thendrankdeeplyandraisedhishead。Hisfacewasotoeverythingabouthimseemedthter。
“Yes,”hesaid,“itissweet。That'srealwater,that。I'misn'tgoingtokillme。ButitisthedeathIwouldhave—ifI'dknownaboutittillnow。”
“Whatdoyoumean?”askedEdmund。
“It—it'slikelightmorethananythingelse,”said。
“Thatiswhatitis,”saidReepicheep。“Dri。Wemustbeveryheworldnow。”
Therewasamoment'ssilehedownonthededdrankfromthebucket。
“It'stheloveliestthiasted,”shesaidwithakindofgasp。“Butoh—it。Weshan'thingnow。”
Andonebyoneeverybodyonboarddrank。Andftimetheywereallsilealmosttoowellandstro;aheybegantoherresult。AsIhavesaidbefore,therehadbeentoomuchlighteversiheislandofRamahnottoohot),theseatht,theairtooshining。grewnoless—ifanything,itiheycouldbearit。Theycouldlhtupatthesunwithoutblinking。Theyhtthantheyhadeverseehededthesailandtheirownfadbodiesbecamebrighterandbrighterandeveryropeshom,whenthesunrose,imesitsoldsize,theystaredhardintoitandcouldseetheveryfeathersofthebirdsthatgfromit。
Hardlyaokenonboardallthatday,tillaboutdiime(edahewaterwasenoughforthem)Driniansaid:“I'tuhis。Thereishofwind。Thesailhaheseaisasflatasapowedriveonasfastasiftherewereagalebehindus。”
“I'vebeenthinkingthat,too,”said。“Wemustbest。”
“H'm,”saidEdmund。“That'snotsoheWorldreallyhasanedgeandwe。”
“Youmean,”said,“thatwemightbejustwell,pouredoverit?”
“Yes,yes,”criedReepicheep,ghispawstogether。“That'showI'vealwaysimagiheWorldlikeagreatrouhewatersofalltheodlesslype。Theshipwilltipupstandonherhead—foroweshallseee—andthen,down,dowhespeed—”
“Andwhatdoyouthiingforusatthebottom,eh?”saidDrinian。
“Aslan'stryperhaps,”saidtheMouse,itseyesshinihereisn'tanyboesdownforeverawhateveritis,won'titbeworthanythingjusttohavelookedforobeyoheworld。”
“Butlook—here,”saidEustace,“thisisallrot。Theworld'sround—Imean,roundlikeaball,able。”
“Ourworldis,”saidEdmund。“Butisthis?”
“Doyoumeantosay,”asked,“thatyouthreearoundworld(roundlikeaball)andyou'veoldme!It'sreallytoobadofyou。Becausewehavefairy-talesinwhichthereareroundworldsandIalwayslovedthem。IherewereanyrealoI'vealwayswishedtherewereandI'vealwayslooliveinone。Oh,I'dgiveanything—Iwonderwhyyoutoourworldaoyours?IfonlyIhadthece!Itmustbeexgtoliveonathinglikeaball。Haveyoueverbeeswherepeopleside-down?”
Edmundshookhishead。“Anditisn'tlikethat,”headded。“There'snothingparticularlyexgaboutaroundworldwhenyou'rethere。