Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve Shasta in Narnia

"Is it all a dream?" Shasta wondered.But it couldn't be a dream, because he saw a deep and large imprint of a lion's right front hoof on the grass in front of him. It was breathless to think about the weight of such a hoof print.But there is something more surprising than the size and depth of hoofprints.When he looked at the hoofprint, the water had covered its bottom.After a while, the water came to the side and overflowed. A small stream flowed through the grass, passed by him, and rushed down the mountain. Shasta stooped to drink--drank for a long time--then dipped his face in the water and splashed it over his head.The water was extremely cold and as clear as glass, and he felt refreshed after drinking it.After this, he stood up, shook the water out of his ears, brushed his damp hair back from his forehead, and began to survey his surroundings.

Apparently it was still early morning.The sun had only just risen, and he saw many forests in the distance at the foot of the mountain on the right, and the sun came out of the forests.The country he was looking at was absolutely new to him.It was a land of verdant valleys dotted with trees, and among the trees he caught a glimpse of a river gleaming, turning a bend and rushing roughly northwest.On the other side of the valley were high stone hills, but they were lower than the mountains he had seen yesterday.So he began to wonder where he was now.He turned and looked back, and saw that the hillside on which he was standing was among more and higher mountains.

"I see," said Shasta to himself, "these are the great mountains between Archenland and Narnia. I was on the other side of the mountains yesterday. I must have crossed them at night I happened to be on the right track, good luck!—in fact, it wasn't luck at all, and it helped me a lot. Now I'm in Narnia." He turned again, unsaddled the horse, took off the bridle—"Though you're an utterly repulsive horse," he said.The horse ignored his criticism and immediately began to eat the grass.The horse did not think highly of Shasta. "I wish I could eat grass!" thought Shasta, "it's no use going back to Anwad, the city is under siege. I might as well go down in the valley and see if I can." Can you get something to eat?"

So he walked down the hill (the dew was so heavy that it made his bare feet very cold), and walked into a wood.A trodden path ran through the woods, and he had not been walking a few minutes along it when he heard a hoarse and wheezing voice speaking to him. "Good morning, neighbor." Shasta looked round eagerly for the speaker, and at once he caught sight of a short, dark, prickly man just emerging from the woods.At least, for a man it was too small, but for a hedgehog it was huge: it was a hedgehog. "Good morning," said Shasta, "but I am not your neighbor. In fact, I am a stranger in this place."

"Huh?" asked the hedgehog. "I came over the mountains—from Archenland, you know." "Why, Archenland," said the Hedgehog, "it's a terrible distance from here. I've never been there myself." "And I think," said Shasta, "perhaps it should be told that a barbaric Calormene army is attacking the city of Anwad at this very moment." "No way!" replied the hedgehog. "Oh, think about it. Isn't it said that Calormen is hundreds or thousands of miles away, at the end of the world, and there is a great desert between here and here?"

"It's not as far away as you think," said Shasta. "Something must be done about this attack on Anwad. Shouldn't your High King be informed?" "Indeed, there must be something to be done about it," said the hedgehog, "but, you see, I'm going to bed and sleep on him all day. Hello, neighbor!" The last words were addressed to a huge hazel rabbit whose head had just popped out of the ground by the path.The Hedgehog at once told the Rabbit what he had heard from Shasta.Rabbit agreed that this was amazing news and that someone should tell someone else so that something could be done about it.

So that's how it spread.Every few minutes, other creatures join in, some from the branches overhead, some from the underground hut below: the gang finally included five rabbits, a squirrel, two magpies, and a sheep. The foot monster and a mouse, they all talked at the same time, and they all agreed with the hedgehog.For, the truth of the matter is: in that golden age, when the Witch and Winter had been driven out, and Peter the High King ruled Cair Paravel, and the inhabitants of the lesser woods of Narnia were so peaceful and happy that they A little careless. However, there were more practical inhabitants of two groves.One is a red dwarf named Devel.The other was a stag, a beautiful, stately creature, with big, watery eyes, and spotted flanks, and legs so slender and graceful that they looked as though they could be broken with two fingers.

"The Lion is alive!" cried the Dwarf when he heard the news. "If that's the case, why are we still standing and talking? The enemy is attacking Anwad! The news must be sent to Cair Paravel at once." .Army must be mobilized. Narnia must go to King Lunn's aid." "Ah!" said the Hedgehog, "but you won't find the High King in Cair Paravel. He's going north to slay the Giants. Speaking of Giants, neighbors, reminds me—" "Which of us will deliver the letter?" said the little man. "Is there anyone who can run faster than me?"

"I run fast," said the stag. "What shall I say? How many Calormenes are there?" "Two hundred horses, led by Prince Rabadash, and..." But the stag was gone - galloping on all fours at once, and in a moment its white rump disappeared among the distant trees up. "I don't know where it went," said a Rabbit, "for it cannot find the High King in Cair Paravel, after all." "It can find Queen Lucy," said Duffer, "and ... hello! hello! What's the matter with this man? He's blue in the face. Well, I believe he's going to faint. Maybe it's man Hunger. When was your last meal, little one?"

"Yesterday morning," said Shasta weakly. "Come on, then, come on," said the little man, and immediately put his fat little arms around Shasta's waist, and supported him. "Hey! Neighbor, we should all be ashamed of ourselves. Come with me, boy. Breakfast! Better breakfast than talk." In a great fuss, and muttering reproaches to himself, the little man hurriedly led Shasta into the woods, and walked a little down the hill, half-supported.It was a much longer walk than Shasta was willing to take at the moment, and before they were out of the woods or on the bare hillside he was beginning to feel his legs trembling.They found a small house on the hillside, with a smoking chimney and an open door, and when they came to the door, Deffer called out:

"Hey, guys! There's a guest for breakfast." Along with the sizzling sound of frying, the mouth-watering aroma immediately wafted towards Shasta.It was a scent he had never smelled in his life, but I hope you have.In fact, it's the aroma of salt pork, eggs and mushrooms being fried in a pan. "Watch your head, boy," said Devore a little late, for Shasta's forehead had struck the low lintel. "Now," continued the little man, "sit down. The table is a little lower for you, and the stool is a little lower. That will do. Here is the porridge—here is the pot of cream—here is a spoon." .” While Shasta finished his porridge, two of the little man's brothers (they called Rockin and Brickelson) were putting bacon, eggs, and mushrooms on the table, with the coffee-pot, hot milk, and toast. To Shasta the breakfast was entirely novel and remarkable, for Calormene food is quite different.He didn't even know what the brown patches were because he'd never seen toast before.He didn't know what the yellow squishy thing was on the toast, for oil was almost always substituted for butter at Calormenes.And the house itself was very different from the dark, musty, fish-smelling huts of Ashish, from the columned and carpeted halls of the king's palace in Tashbaan.The roof was low, everything was made of wood, there was a clock that chirped the cuckoo, a red and white checked tablecloth, a bowl of wildflowers, and little white curtains hung over the thick glass windows.Having to use the dwarf's cups, plates, knives and forks is also a hassle.That meant few servings and many servings, so that Shasta's plate or cup was being refilled every moment, and every moment the dwarves themselves were saying, "Come on, please." Some butter", "Another cup of coffee", or "I'd like some more mushrooms", or "Can I have another fried egg?" Finally, when everyone was as full as possible, the three dwarves cast lots to decide Whoever washes the dishes turned out to be unlucky for Luo Jin.So Duffer and Brikelthom took Shasta to sit on a bench outside the house, which leaned against the wall of the cottage; With a sigh of relief, the two dwarves also lit their pipes.There was no dew on the grass now, and the sun was warm, indeed it would have seemed too hot without a fresh breeze. " "Stranger," said Duffer, "I'll show you the topography. You can see almost all of southern Narnia from here, and we're so proud of it. Look to your left." , and over those nearby hills, you can just see the mountains to the west. That round hill to your right is called Table Mountain. Just out of it..." But at this moment he was interrupted by the snoring of Shasta, who was fast asleep after a night's travel and a good breakfast.As soon as the good little dwarves found him asleep, they made signs to each other: don't wake him: in fact, they whispered to each other, nodded in agreement, got up, walked on tiptoe, and it was very lively, if it hadn't been for Shas Ta was very sleepy, but he was bound to be awakened. Shasta slept almost the whole day and woke up just in time for supper.The bed in the house was too small for him to sleep in, but they made him a wonderful bed of heather on the floor, and he slept in it all night without moving or dreaming.The next morning they had just finished breakfast when they heard a sharp and excited voice from outside the house. "Horn!," said the Dwarfs in unison, as they and Shasta ran out the door. The horn sounded again: a new sound indeed for Shasta, not so sonorous and stately as Tashbaan's horn, nor as light and cheerful as King Lunn's hunting horn, but clear and shrill. , heroic.The sound of the trumpet came from the woods to the east, and soon the sound of the horse's hooves mingled with the sound of the trumpet.After a while, the vanguard of the column became visible. First came Lord Peridan, on a sorrel horse, bearing the great banner of Narnia--a red lion on a turquoise field.Shasta recognized him at once.Then there were three people riding abreast, two on horseback and one on a colt.On his steed is King Edmund and the other is a blond girl with a happy face, wearing a helmet and chain mail, with a bow on her shoulder and a full load of arrows hanging by her side bag. ("Queen Lucy," whispered Duffer.) Riding on the pony was Colin.After these three came the main body of the army: soldiers on ordinary horses, soldiers on human-speaking horses (such horses were not used in legitimate situations, such as when Narnia was at war), don't mind being ridden), a centaur, a grim bear with a fierce bite, a marvelous human-talking dog, and finally six giants.Yet, though he knew they were on the side of justice, Shasta was at first afraid to look at them: some things take a long time to get used to. When the King and Queen had reached the door of the cottage, and the dwarfs were beginning to bow to them, King Edmund cried out: "Friends! It's time for a rest and a bite." There was an immediate commotion, and people jumped off their horses, opened ration bags, and started talking, when Colin ran up to Shasta and grabbed him. hands, and cried: "Ah! There you are! So you've made it all the way? I'm glad. Now we'll be in the game, isn't it good luck! We're just coming into port at Cair Paravel, the first to meet us It's the stag that bears all the news of the enemy's attack on Anwald. Do you think..." "Who is your Highness's friend?" asked King Edmund, who had just dismounted. "Did you see that, Your Majesty?" said Colin. "He is a man very much like me: you mistook him for me in Tashbaan." "Why, he is one who is very like you," cried Queen Lucy, "like a twin brother. It is a marvelous thing." "My lord," said Shasta to King Edmund, "I am not a spy, and I am not. I could not help hearing your plans. But I never dreamed of telling your enemies about them." "Son, I know now that you are not a spy," said King Edmund, laying his hand on Shasta's head, "but if you don't want to be thought a spy, next time try not to hear that it is." Words to be told to other ears. But all went well." After this there was a lot of commotion, a lot of talking, a lot of coming and going, and within a few minutes Shasta lost sight of Colin, Edmund, and Lucy.But Colin was such a boy that news of him was not long to be heard; and it was not long before Shasta did hear King Edmund say aloud: "With the lion's mane, Prince, this is too much. Will His Highness never grow? Our whole army put together is not as incendiary as you! Command you, I'd rather command a regiment of hornets "" Shasta made his way through the crowd, and at last he saw King Edmund, who looked really angry, and Colin, who looked a little embarrassed, and a strange little man sitting on the ground and making faces.Apparently, the two Fauns had just helped the dwarf remove his armor. "If I had brought the potion," said Queen Lucy, "I would have cured him in no time. But the High King strictly ordered me not to bring it into battle in a common way, but to use it in times of great danger. !" It turned out to be like this.Colin had hardly spoken to Shasta when a dwarf grabbed him by the elbow.The army called this dwarf "Brickhead". "What are you doing, Thornyhead?" said Colin. "Your Highness," Thornyhead said, pulling him aside, "our march today will take us across the pass and directly to your father's castle. We may be in battle before nightfall." "I know," said Colin, "isn't war a grand thing?" "It doesn't matter if it's spectacular or not," said Thornyhead, "I have received the strictest orders from King Edmund, asking me to be careful not to let your highness take part in the battle. You are allowed to watch the battle; your highness At my age, this kind of treatment is already interesting." "What nonsense!" exploded Colin. "Of course I'm going to war. Why does Queen Lucy take her archers with her?" "The queen is reasonable enough to do as she pleases," said Thornyhead, "but you are in my charge. Or I must have a solemn promise from your prince that you will make your colts ride alongside mine and half ahead of mine." Not even a neck, until I consent to your departure; or—this is what His Majesty said himself—we must bind our wrists together, like prisoners." "If you try to bind me, I'll knock you down," Colin said. "I would really like to see His Highness beat someone," said the dwarf. That was enough to annoy a boy like Colin, and he and the dwarf immediately had a violent fight.It would have been an even fight, for although Colin was tall and handy, the dwarf was older and stronger.But the fight was not decisive (it was the worst fight ever seen on a rough hillside), for Thorn had the bad luck of stepping on a moving stone, fell nose-on-the-ground, and tried to get up. A sprained ankle is discovered: a sprain that causes severe pain and prevents walking or riding for at least two weeks. "Look at what your Highness has done," said King Edmund, "and you have deprived us of a tried and tested warrior when the battle is at hand." "I will fight in his place, Your Majesty," said Colin. "Pooh!" said Edmund, "no one doubts your courage. But the boy in battle is but a danger to his own side." Just then the King was called to arrange other matters, and Colin, after admiringly apologizing to the Dwarf, ran up to Shasta, and whispered: "Hurry up. There's a spare pony now, and the dwarf's armor. Put it on before anyone notices." "What for?" said Shasta. "Oh, of course it's for you and me to go to war! Would you like to go to war?" "Ah—ah, yes, of course I will," said Shasta.But he hadn't thought of going to war at all, and he was starting to feel a very uncomfortable tingling in his spine. "That's right," said Colin, "over your head. And the sword belt around your waist. But we must ride near the tail of the column, and be as silent as mice. Once the battle When it starts, everyone will be very busy and won't pay attention to us."