ELUCYLOOKSINTOAWARDROBE
&herewerefourwhoseer,Susan,EdmundandLucy。ThisstoryisaboutsomethingthathappeheyweresentawayfromLthewarbecauseoftheair-raids。TheyweresenttothehouseofanoldProfessorwholivedihetry,teherailwaystationandtwomilesfromtheoffice。HehadnowifeandhelivedinaverylargehousewithahousekeepercalledMrs。Madthreeservants。(TheirnameswereIvy,Margaretatheydohestorymuch。)Hehimselfwasaveryoldmanwithshaggywhitehairwhiostofhisfaceaswellasoheylikedhimalmostatooevenitomeetthematthefrontdoorhewassoodd-lookingthatLucy(whowastheyou)wasalittleafraidofhim,andEdmund(whowastheyouedtolaughandhadtokeephewasblowinghisohideit。
AssoonastheyhadsaidgoodnighttotheProairsht,theboystothegirls'roomaalkeditover。
“We'vefallenoandnomistake,”saidPeter。“Thisisgoilysplendid。Thatoldchapwillletusdoanythingwelike。”
“Ithinkhe'sanolddear,”saidSusan。
“Oh,eoffit!”saidEdmund,whowastiredatobetired,whichalwaysmadehimbad-tempered。“Don'tgoontalki。”
&?”saidSusan;“andanyway,it'stimeyouwereinbed。”
“TryingtotalklikeMother,”saidEdmund。“AosaywhenI'mtogotobed?Gotobedyourself。”
“Hadn'tweallbettergotobed?”saidLucy。“There'ssuretobearowifwe'reheardtalkinghere。”
“Notherewon't,”saidPeter。“Itellyouthisisthesortofhousewherenoone'sgoingtomindwhatwedo。Anyway,theywon'thearus。It'sabouttenminutes'walkfromheredowntothatdining-room,andanyamountofstairsaween。”
“What'sthatnoise?”saidLuly。Itwasafarlargerhousethanshehadeverbeenihethoughtofallthoselongpassagesandrowsiyroomswasbeginningtomakeherfeelalittlecreepy。
“It'sonlyabird,silly,”saidEdmund。
“It'sanoeter。“Thisisgoingtobeawonderfulplaceforbirds。Ishallgotobednow。Isay,let'sgoaomorrow。Youmightfindanythingihis。Didyouseethosemountainsasweg?Aheremightbeeagles。Theremightbestags。There'llbehawks。”
“Badgers!”saidLucy。
“Foxes!”saidEdmund。
“Rabbits!”saidSusan。
Butwhemcametherewasasteadyrainfalling,sothickthatwhenyoulookedoutofthewindowyoucouldseehemountainsnorthewoodsreaminthegarden。
“Ofcourseitw!”saidEdmund。TheyhadjustfiheirbreakfastwiththeProfessoraairsintheroomhehadsetapartforthem—along,loindowslookingoutiionandtwoinanother。
“D,Ed,”saidSusaoo'llclearupinanhourorso。Aimewe'reprettywelloff。There'sawirelessandlotsofbooks。”
“Notforme,”saidPeter;“I'mgoingtoexploreinthehouse。”
Everyohisandthatwashowtheadvewasthesortofhousethatyouoetotheendof,anditwasfullofuedplaces。Thefirstfewdoorstheytriedledonlyintosparebedrooms,aseveryohattheywould;butsooroomfullofpidtheretheyfoundasuitofarmor;awasaroomallhungwithgreen,inoheepsdowepsup,andthenakindoflittleupstairshallandadoorthatledoutontoabaldthenawholeseriesofroomsthatlediherandwerelihbooks—mostofthemveryoldbooksahanaBibleinadshortlyafterthattheylookedintoaroomthatwasquiteemptyexceptfwardrobe;thesortthathasalooking-glassiherewasheroomatallexceptadeadblue-bottleonthewindow-sill。
“Nothingthere!”saidPeter,aroopedoutagaiLucy。Shestayedbehihoughtithiletryingthedoorofthewardrobe,eventhoughshefeltalmostsurethatitwouldbelocked。Tohersurpriseitopeeeasily,andtedout。
Lookingintotheinside,shesawseveralgingup—mostlylongfurcoats。TherewasnothingLucylikedsomuchasthesmellandfeeloffur。Sheimmediatelysteppedintothewardrobeandgotinamosandrubbedherfastthem,leavingthedooropen,ofcourse,becauseshekisveryfoolishtoshutooanywardrobe。Sooherinandfoundthattherewasasedrowofgihefirstowasalmostquitedarkinthereaherarmsstretchedoutinfrontofhersoasnottobumpherfatothebackofthewardrobe。Shetookastepfurtheriwoorthreesteps—alegtofeelwaiipsers。Butsheotfeelit。
“Thismustbeasimplyenormouswardrobe!”thoughtLugstillfurtherinandpushifoldsofthecoatsasidetomakeroomforher。Theicedthattherewassomethinggu。“Iwomoremoth-balls?”shethought,stoopingdowhherhand。Butinsteadoffeelingthehard,smoothwoodofthefloorofthewardrobe,shefeltsomethingsoftandpowderyaremelycold。“Thisisveryqueer,”shesaid,aowofurther。
&shefoundthatwhatwasrubbingagainstherfadswasfurbutsomethinghardandroughandevenprickly。“Why,itisjustlikebrarees!”exclaimedLudthetherewasalightaheadofher;notafewinchesawaywherethebackhttohavebeen,butalongwayoff。Somethingdsoftwasfallingonher。Amomentlatershefoundthatshewasstandinginthemiddleofawoodathsnowuandsnowflakesfallingthroughtheair。
Lucyfeltalittlefrighteshefeltveryinquisitiveaedaswell。Shelookedbackoverhershoulderaweeree-truillseetheopendoorwayofthewardrobeachaglimpseoftheemptyroomfromwhichshehadsetout。(Shehad,ofcourse,leftthedooropehatitisaverysillythingtoshutooawardrobe。)Itseemedtobestilldaylightthere。“Ialwaysgetbaythingg,”thoughtLucy。Shebegantowalkforward,choverthesnhthewoodtowardtheht。Iesshereadfounditost。Asshestoodlookingatit,wwhythereostinthemiddleofawoodatodo,sheheardapitterpatteroffeetingtowardher。Andsooaverystraeppedthetreesiofthelamp-post。
HewasonlyalittletallerthanLucyherselfandhecarriedoverhisheadaewithsnow。Fromtheaslikeaman,buthislegsedlikeagoat's(thehaironthemwasglossyblasteadoffeethehadgoat'shoofs。Healsohadatail,butLuotfirstbecauseitwaslycaughtupoverthearmthatheldtheumbrellasoastokeepitfrinthesnow。Hehadaredwoollenmufflerroundhisnedhisskinwasratherreddishtoo。Hehadastrapleasantlittleface,ointedbeardandcurlyhair,andoutofthehairtherestucktwohorns,oneoneachsideofhisforehead。Oneofhishands,asIhavesaid,heldtheumbrella:iherarmhecarriedseveralbroarcels。WhatwiththepardthesnowitlookedjustasifhehadbeendoinghisChristmasshopping。HewasaFaun。AndwhenhesawLucyhegavesuchastartofsurprisethathedroppedallhisparcels。
“Goodnessgrae!”exclaimedtheFaun。