"Племянник чародея" with W_cat - Клайв Льюис

[631] “Tree! Tree!” said a dozen voices.

[632] “Very well,” said the Elephant. “Then, if it’s a tree it wants to be planted. We must dig a hole.”

[633] The two Moles settled that part of the business pretty quickly. There was some dispute as to which way up Uncle Andrew ought to be put into the hole, and he had a very narrow escape from being put in head foremost. Several animals said his legs must be his branches and therefore the grey, fluffy thing (they meant his head) must be his root. But then others said that the forked end of him was the muddier and that it spread out more, as roots ought to do. So finally he was planted right way up. When they had patted down the earth it came up above his knees.

[634] “It looks dreadfully withered,” said the Donkey.

[635] “Of course it wants some watering,” said the Elephant.

“I think I might say (meaning no offence to anyone present) that, perhaps, for that sort of work, my kind of nose—”

[636] “I object to that remark very strongly,” said the Bulldog. But the Elephant walked quietly to the river, filled her trunk with water, and came back to attend to Uncle Andrew. The sagacious animal went on doing this till gallons of water had been squirted over him, and water was running out of the skirts of his frock-coat as if he had been for a bath with all his clothes on. In the end it revived him. He awoke from his faint. What a wake it was! But we must leave him to think over his wicked deed (if he was likely to do anything so sensible) and turn to more important things.

[637] Strawberry trotted on with Digory on his back till the noise of the other animals died away, and now the little group of Aslan and his chosen councillors was quite close. Digory knew that he couldn’t possibly break in on so solemn a meeting, but there was no need to do so. At a word from Aslan, the He-Elephant, the Ravens, and all the rest of them drew aside. Digory slipped off the horse and found himself face to face with Aslan. And Aslan was bigger and more beautiful and more brightly golden and more terrible than he had thought. He dared not look into the great eyes.

[638] “Please—Mr Lion—Aslan—Sir,” said Digory, “could you—may I—please, will you give me some magic fruit of this country to make Mother well?”

[639] He had been desperately hoping that the Lion would say “Yes”; he had been horribly afraid it might say “No”. But he was taken aback when it did neither.

[640] “This is the Boy,” said Aslan, looking, not at Digory, but at his councillors. “This is the Boy who did it.”

[641] “Oh dear,” thought Digory, “what have I done now?”

[642] “Son of Adam,” said the Lion. “There is an evil Witch abroad in my new land of Narnia. Tell these good Beasts how she came here.”

[643] A dozen different things that he might say flashed through Digory’s mind, but he had the sense to say nothing except the exact truth.

[644] “I brought her, Aslan,” he answered in a low voice.

[645] “For what purpose?”

[646] “I wanted to get her out of my own world back into her own. I thought I was taking her back to her own place.”

[647] “How came she to be in your world, Son of Adam?”

[648] “By—by Magic.”

[649] The Lion said nothing and Digory knew that he had not told enough.

[650] “It was my Uncle, Aslan,” he said. “He sent us out of our own world by magic rings, at least I had to go because he sent Polly first, and then we met the Witch in a place called Charn and she just held on to us when—”

[651] “You met the Witch?” said Asian in a low voice which had the threat of a growl in it.

[652] “She woke up,” said Digory wretchedly. And then, turning very white, “I mean, I woke her. Because I wanted to know what would happen if I struck a bell. Polly didn’t want to. It wasn’t her fault. I—I fought her. I know I shouldn’t have. I think I was a bit enchanted by the writing under the bell.”

[653] “Do you?” asked Asian; still speaking very low and deep. .

[654] “No,” said Digory. “I see now I wasn’t. I was only pretending.”

[655] There was a long pause. And Digory was thinking all the time, “I’ve spoiled everything. There’s no chance of getting anything for Mother now.”

[656] When the Lion spoke again, it was not to Digory.

[657] “You see, friends,” he said, “that before the new, clean world I gave you is seven hours old, a force of evil has already entered it; waked and brought hither by this son of Adam.” The Beasts, even Strawberry, all turned their eyes on Digory till he felt that he wished the ground would swallow him up. “But do not be cast down,” said Aslan, still speaking to the Beasts. “Evil will come of that evil, but it is still a long way off, and I will see to it that the worst falls upon myself. In the meantime, let us take such order that for many hundred years yet this shall be a merry land in a merry world. And as Adam’s race has done the harm, Adam’s race shall help to heal it. Draw near, you other two.”

[658] The last words were spoken to Polly and the Cabby who had now arrived. Polly, all eyes and mouth, was staring at Aslan and holding the Cabby’s hand rather tightly. The Cabby gave one glance at the Lion, and took off his bowler hat: no one had yet seen him without it. When it was off, he looked younger and nicer, and more like a countryman and less like a London cabman.

[659] “Son,” said Aslan to the Cabby. “I have known you long. Do you know me?”

[660] “Well, no, sir,” said the Cabby. “Leastways, not in an ordinary manner of speaking. Yet I feel somehow, if I may make so free, as ’ow we’ve met before.”

[661] “It is well,” said the Lion. “You know better than you think you know, and you shall live to know me better yet. How does this land please you?”

[662] “It’s a fair treat, sir,” said the Cabby.

[663] “Would you like to live here always?”

[664] “Well you see sir, I’m a married man,” said the Cabby. “If my wife was here neither of us would ever want to go back to London, I reckon. We’re both country folks really.”

[665] Aslan threw up his shaggy head, opened his mouth, and uttered a long, single note; not very loud, but full of power. Polly’s heart jumped in her body when she heard it. She felt sure that it was a call, and that anyone who heard that call would want to obey it and (what’s more) would be able to obey it, however many worlds and ages lay between. And so, though she was filled with wonder, she was not really astonished or shocked when all of a sudden a young woman, with a kind, honest face stepped out of nowhere and stood beside her. Polly knew at once that it was the Cabby’s wife, fetched out of our world not by any tiresome magic rings, but quickly, simply and sweetly as a bird flies to its nest. The young woman had apparently been in the middle of a washing day, for she wore an apron, her sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, and there were soapsuds on her hands. If she had had time to put on her good clothes (her best hat had imitation cherries on it) she would have looked dreadful; as it was, she looked rather nice.

[666] Of course she thought she was dreaming. That was why she didn’t rush across to her husband and ask him what on earth had happened to them both. But when she looked at the Lion she didn’t feel quite so sure it was a dream, yet for some reason she did not appear to be very frightened. Then she dropped a little half curtsey, as some country girls still knew how to do in those days. After that, she went and put her hand in the Cabby’s and stood there looking round her a little shyly.

[667] “My children,” said Aslan, fixing his eyes on both of them, “you are to be the first King and Queen of Narnia.”

[668] The Cabby opened his mouth in astonishment, and his wife turned very red.

[669] “You shall rule and name all these creatures, and do justice among them, and protect them from their enemies when enemies arise. And enemies will arise, for there is an evil Witch in this world.”

[670] The Cabby swallowed hard two or three times and cleared his throat.

[671] “Begging your pardon, sir,” he said, “and thanking you very much I’m sure (which my Missus does the same) but I ain’t no sort of a chap for a job like that. I never ’ad much eddycation, you see.”

[672] “Well,” said Aslan,"can you use a spade and a plough and raise food out of the earth?”

[673] “Yes, sir, I could do a bit of that sort of work: being brought up to it, like.”

[674] “Can you rule these creatures kindly and fairly, remembering that they are not slaves like the dumb beasts of the world you were born in, but Talking Beasts and free subjects?”

[675] “I see that, sir,” replied the Cabby. “I’d try to do the square thing by them all.”

[676] “And would you bring up your children and grandchildren to do the same?”

[677] “It’d be up to me to try, sir. I’d do my best: wouldn’t we, Nellie?”

[678] “And you wouldn’t have favourites either among your own children or among the other creatures or let any hold another under or use it hardly?”

[679] “I never could abide such goings on, sir, and that’s the truth. I’d give ’em what for if I caught ’em at it,” said the Cabby. (All through this conversation his voice was growing slower and richer. More like the country voice he must have had as a boy and less like the sharp, quick voice of a cockney.)

[680] “And if enemies came against the land (for enemies will arise) and there was war, would you be the first in the charge and the last in the retreat?”

[681] “Well, sir,” said the Cabby very slowly, “a chap don’t exactly know till he’s been tried. I dare say I might turn out ever such a soft ’un. Never did no fighting except with my fists. I’d try—that is, I ’ope I’d try—to do my bit.”

[682] “Then,” said Aslan,, “You will have done all that a King should do. Your coronation will be held presently. And you and your children and grandchildren shall be blessed, and some will be Kings of Narnia, and others will be Kings of Archenland which lies yonder over the Southern Mountains. And you, little Daughter (here he turned to Polly) are welcome. Have you forgiven the Boy for the violence he did you in the Hall of Images in the desolate palace of accursed Charn?”

[683] “Yes, Aslan, we’ve made it up,” said Polly.

[684] “That is well,” said Aslan. “And now for the Boy himself.”

[685] CHAPTER TWELVE.

STRAWBERRY’S ADVENTURE

[686] DIGORY kept his mouth very tight shut. He had been growing more and more uncomfortable. He hoped that, whatever happened, he wouldn’t blub or do anything ridiculous.

[687] “Son of Adam,” said Aslan. “Are you ready to undo the wrong that you have done to my sweet country of Narnia on the very day of its birth?”

[688] “Well, I don’t see what I can do,” said Digory. “You see, the Queen ran away and—”

[689] “I asked, are you ready?” said the Lion.

[690] “Yes,” said Digory. He had had for a second some wild idea of saying “I’ll try to help you if you’ll promise to help my Mother,” but he realized in time that the Lion was not at all the sort of person one could try to make bargains with. But when he had said “Yes,” he thought of his Mother, and he thought of the great hopes he had had, and how they were all dying away, and a lump came in his throat and tears in his eyes, and he blurted out:

[691] “But please, please—won’t you—can’t you give me something that will cure Mother?” Up till then he had been looking at the Lion’s great feet and the huge claws on them; now, in his despair, he looked up at its face. What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion’s eyes. They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory’s own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself.

[692] “My son, my son,” said Aslan. “I know. Grief is great. Only you and I in this land know that yet. Let us be good to one another. But I have to think of hundreds of years in the life of Narnia. The Witch whom you have brought into this world will come back to Narnia again. But it need not be yet. It is my wish to plant in Narnia a tree that she will not dare to approach, and that tree will protect Narnia from her for many years. So this land shall have a long, bright morning before any clouds come over the sun. You must get me the seed from which that tree is to grow.”

[693] “Yes, sir,” said Digory. He didn’t know how it was to be done but he felt quite sure now that he would be able to do it. The Lion drew a deep breath, stooped its head even lower and gave him a Lion’s kiss. And at once Digory felt that new strength and courage had gone into him.

[694] “Dear son,” said Aslan, “I will tell you what you must do. Turn and look to the West and tell me what do you see?”

[695] “I see terribly big mountains, Aslan,” said Digory, “I see this river coming down cliffs in a waterfall. And beyond the cliff there are high green hills with forests. And beyond those there are higher ranges that look almost black. And then, far away, there are big snowy mountains all heaped up together—like pictures of the Alps. And behind those there’s nothing but the sky.”