ButamidalltheserejoigsAslalyslippedaway。AheKingsaicedthathewasn'ttheretheysaidnothingaboutit。ForMr。Beaverhadwarhem,“He'llbeingandgoing,”hehadsaid。“Onedayyou'llseehimandanotheryouwon't。Hedoesn'tlikebeingtieddown—andofcoursehehasothertriestoattendto。It'squiteallright。He'lloftendropin。Onlyyoumustn'tpresshim。He'swild,youknow。amelion。”
Andnow,asyousee,thisstoryisawoKingsandtwoQueensgovernedNarniawell,andlongandhappywastheirreign。AtfirstmuchoftheirtimeetheremnaeWityaroyingthem,andindeedftimetherewouldbehingslurkinginthewilderpartsoftheforest—ahauntinghereandakillingthere,aglimpseofawerewolfohandarumtheihatfoulbroodedout。Andtheymadegoodlatthepeadsavedgoodtreesfrombeingunnecessarily,aedyoungdwarfsandyoungsatyrsfrombeiosdgeoppedbusybodiesandinterferersandencedordinarypeoplewhowaolivealive。Andtheydrovebackthefierts(quiteadifferentsiantRumblebuffihofheseventuredacrossthefroheyeofriendshipandalliahtriesbeyondtheseaandpaidthemvisitsofstateasofstatefromthem。Ahemselvesgrewaheyearspassedoverthem。Aerbecameatallaedmanawarrior,andhewasgPetertheMag。AndSusaoatallandgraanwithblackhairthatfellalmosttoherfeetandthekiriesbeyoosendambassadforherhandinmarriage。AndshewascalledSusale。Edmundwasagraverahaer,aindjudgement。HewasgEdmu。ButasforLucy,shewasalwaysgayandgolden-haired,andallprihosepartsdesiredhertobetheirQueen,andherownpeoplecalledherQuee。
Sotheylivedijoyaheyrememberedtheirlifeinthisworlditwasonlyasoneremembersadream。AfelloutthatTumnus(whowasamiddle-agedFaunbyobestout)riverandbroughtthemheWhiteStaghadoncemoreappearedinhisparts—theWhiteStagwhowouldgiveyouwishesifyoucaughthim。SothesetwoKingsahtheprincipalmembersoftheircourt,rodea-huntingwithhornsandhouernWoodstofollowtheWhiteStag。Ahuntedloheyhadasightofhim。Ahemagreatpacehandsmoothandthroughthidthin,tillthehorsesofallthecourtiersweretiredoutandonlythesefourwerestillfollowing。Ahestageoathicketwheretheirhorsesotfolloeter(fortheytalkedinquiteadifferentstylenow,havingbeenKingsandQueensf),“Fairsorts,letusnowalightfromourhorsesandfollowthisbeasti;forinallmydaysIedanoblerquarry。”
“Sir,”saidtheothers,“eveusdo。”
Sotheyalightedaheirhorsestotreesaothethifoot。AndassooereditQueenSusansaid,“Fairfriends,hereisagreatmarvelforIseemtoseeatreeofiron。”
“Madam,”saidKingEdmund,“ifyoulookwelluponityoushallseeitisapillarofironwithalahetopthereof。”
“BytheLion'sMarangedevice,”saidKiosetalahetreesclustersothickaboutitandsohighaboveitthatifitwerelititshouldgivelighttonoman!”
“Sir,”saidQueenLucy。“Bylikelihoodwhenthispostandthislampweresetherethereweresmallertreesintheplace,orfewer,orhisisayoungwoodandtheironpostisold。”Aoodlookinguponit。ThensaidKingEdmund,“Iknownothowitis,butthislampoworkethupely。ItrunsinmymindthatIhaveseenthelikebefore;asitwereinadream,orinthedreamofadream。”
“Sir,”aheyall,“itisevenso>
“Andmore,”saidQueenLucy,“foritwillnotgooutofmymindthatifostaherweshallfiuresorelseseofourfortunes。”
“Madam,”saidKihelikefstirrethialso。”
“Andinmine,fairbrother,”saidKier。
“Aoo,”saidQueenSusan。“WhereforebymyselweshalllightlyreturntoourhorsesandfollowthisWhiteStagnofurther。”
“Madam,”saidKihereinIpraytheetohavemeexcused。ForneversincewefsandQueensinNarourhandstoanyhighmatter,asbattles,quests,featsofarms,actsofjustidthelike,andthengivealehavetakeninhand,thesamewehaveachieved。”
“Sister,”saidQueenLucy,“myroyalbrotherspeaksrightly。Aomeweshouldbeshamedifforanyfearingweturnedbafollowingsoasnowwehaveinchase。”
“AndsosayI,”saidKingEdmund。“AndIhavesuchdesiretofindthesignifiofthisthingthatIwouldnotbymygoodwillturnbackfortherichestjewelinallNarniaandalltheislands。”
&henameofAslan,”saidQueenSusan,“ifyewillallhaveitso,letusgooheadveshallfalltous。”
SotheseKingsaeredthethidbeforetheyhadgoneascoreofpacestheyallrememberedthatthethingtheyhadseenwascalledalamp-post,aheyhadgoymoretheyheyweremakingtheirwaynhbrahroughdheyallcametumblingoutofawardrobedooriyroom,andTheywerensaheirhuntingarraybutjustPeter,Susan,EdmundandLutheiroldclothes。Itwasthesamedayandthesamehourofthedayonwhichtheyhadallgohewardrobetohide。Mrs。Madthevisitorswerestilltalkinginthepassage;butluckilytheyheemptyroomandsotheweren'tcaught。
Andthatwouldhavebeentheveryeoryifithadn'tbeeheyreallymustexplaintotheProfessorwhyfourofthecoatsoutofhiswardr。AndtheProfessor,whowasaveryremarkableman,didn'ttellthemnottobesillyornottotelllies,butbelievedthewholestory。“No,”hesaid,“Idon'tthinkitwillbeanyghthewardretthecoats。Youwon'tgetintainbythatroute。Norwouldtheuchusebynowifyoudid!Eh?What'sthat?Yes,ofcourseyou'llgetbaiaagainsomeday。OnginNarnia,alwaysaKinginNarnia。Butdon'tgtousethesameroutetwideed,donetthereatall。It'llhappenwhenyou'renotlookingforit。Anddon'ttalktoomuchaboutitevenamongyourselves。Anddon'tmentionittoanyoneelseunlessyoufindthatthey'vehadadvehesamesortthemselves。What'sthat?Howwillyouknow?Oh,you'llknht。Oddthingstheysay—eventheirlooks—willletthesecretout。Keepyoureyesopen。Blessme,whatdotheyteachthemattheseschools?
Andthatistheveryeureofthewardrobe。ButifthePrhtitwasonlythebeginniuresofNarnia。