Chapter 11 Chapter Ten The Magic Begins to Break

Now that we have split the conversation, we must return to the Beavers and their three other children.No sooner had Mr. Beaver said, "Never miss a moment," and all began to hurry into their coats, except Mrs. Beaver, who began to pick up some pockets and put them on the table, saying, "Now, Mr. Beaver, take that piece of ham." Come down. Here's a bag of tea, and sugar, and some matches. Somebody get two or three loaves from the crock in the corner." "What are you doing, Mrs. Beaver?" cried Susan. "Pack us up with something each, sweetie," said Mrs. Beaver very calmly. "You don't want to be left without something to eat, do you?"

"But we're out of time!" said Susan, buttoning her coat collar. "She could be here any minute." "That's what I said," put in Mr. Beaver. "Don't talk nonsense," said his wife, "think about it, Mr. Beaver. She won't be here until a quarter of an hour at least... "If we're going to get to the Table before she does," said Peter, "we're going to be as early as possible?" "You've got to remember, Mrs. Beaver," said Susan, "that when she comes here and sees we're gone, she'll fly away."

"She will," said Mrs. Beaver, "but we can't get ahead of her anyway, for she's in the sledge, and we're going on foot." "So—we're hopeless?" said Susan. "Well, you guys, don't make a fuss," said Mrs. Beaver, "and get six clean handkerchiefs out of that drawer, of course. We have a glimmer of hope, of course. We can't get ahead of her, but we can cover up and walk one way." Her unexpected path may succeed." "Exactly, Mrs. Beaver," said her husband, "but it's time we started." "Don't make a fuss about you, Mr. Beaver," said his wife. "Look, it's better this way. Here's four things, and the smallest one is for the youngest of us: that's you, darling." She Looking at Lucy, she added a sentence.

"Oh, hurry up, please," said Lucy. "Well, I'm almost ready now," replied Mrs. Beaver at last, asking her husband to help her into the snow boots. "I suppose the sewing machine is too heavy to carry?" "Yes, it's heavy," said Mr. Beaver, "very heavy. I don't think you can use a sewing machine as we're going?" "I can't bear the thought of the witch messing with my sewing machine," said Mrs. Beaver. "She will probably break or steal the sewing machine." "Oh, hurry up please! hurry up please!" said the three children.And so they went out at last, and Mr. Beaver locked the door. ("This will take her a little longer," it said.) So they set off, each with his share of luggage on his shoulders.

The snow had stopped and the moon was out when they started on the road.They walked single file--Mr Beaver at the head, then Lucy, then Peter, Susan, and Mrs Beaver at the end.Mr. Beaver led them across the dike to the right bank of the river, and then to a rough path in the woods below the bank.Under the moonlight, the steep slopes on both sides of the valley towered into the sky. "Better go down if you can," said Mr. Beaver, "she can only go up, because the sledge can't be driven down." If one looked out of the window from the comfort of one's arm-chair, it might have been a pretty view; and in spite of the state of things, Lucy admired it at first.But as they walked and walked, the bag on her back became heavier and heavier, and she began to wonder how she could hold on.The surface of the river and the water curtain were frozen, and she no longer looked at the dazzlingly bright glacier, nor at the big balls of snow on the top of the trees, nor at the big radiant moon and countless stars , just looking at the short legs of Mr. Beaver in front of him pattering in the snow, as if he would never stop.Then the moon disappeared, and the snow began to fall again.At last Lucy was so tired that she almost fell asleep walking.Suddenly, she noticed that Mr. Beaver was walking away from the river bank to the right, leading them struggling up the steep hillside and into the dense bushes.When she was fully awake, she found Mr. Beaver burrowed into a small hole in the hillside, which was almost completely hidden by bushes, and could not be seen until she came to the mouth of the hole.In fact, by the time she understood what was going on, all she could see was its short flat tail.

Lucy quickly bent down and climbed in after it.Then she heard scrambling and panting behind her, and in a moment all five of them were in the hole. "Where the hell is this?" Peter said, his voice sounding tired and weak in the dark. (I hope you guys know what I mean by a weak voice.) "It's an old hiding place when Beaver was killed," said Mr. Beaver. "It's a great secret. It's not a very nice place, but we must sleep for a few hours." "I could have brought some pillows, if you hadn't been in such a hurry to start," said Mrs. Beaver.

It was a far cry from Mr Tumnus' Grotto, Lucy thought—just a hole, but it was dry and muddy.The holes are very small, so when they all lie down, it's a big pile of fur and clothes.Lying in this way, and being warmed by their long journey, they did feel quite comfortable.It would be better if the ground in this hole was a little more level.Then Mrs. Beaver passed a little flask in the dark, and everyone took a sip out of it--the stuff made you choke.It was hot in the throat, but it was pleasantly warming after swallowing it—everyone fell asleep immediately. It seemed to Lucy only a moment later (though it was actually hours later) when she awoke feeling a little cold and terribly stiff, and wondered how nice it would be to have a hot bath.Then she felt a long beard tickle on her face, and saw the cold sunlight coming in from the hole.Of course she was wide awake at once, and everyone was awake too.In fact they were all sitting up, eyes and mouths gaping open, listening to (and sometimes imagining hearing) the sounds they had been thinking about as they walked last night.That's the sound of bells.

Mr. Beaver jumped out of the hole as soon as he heard the sound.Maybe you'll think, as Lucy thought at the time, that it's being silly for doing so.In fact, it is very smart to do so.He knew he could hide in the bushes at the top of the hill without being seen; above all he wanted to see which way the Witch's sleigh was going.The others sat in the cave and waited, full of doubts.They waited about five minutes.Then something was heard that frightened them to death.They heard voices; "Oh," thought Lucy, "it's been found. She's got it!" Unexpectedly, after a while, they heard Mr. Beaver's voice calling them at the entrance of the cave.

"It's all right," he cried, "come out, Mrs. Beaver. Come out, children of Adam and Eve. It's all right, it's not her!" Of course there was something wrong with that, but that's what Beaver said when he got excited. Yes; I mean in Narnia - in our world beavers usually don't talk at all. So Mrs. Beaver and the children hurried out of the hole, all blinking in the sun, all covered with dirt, looking dirty and unwashed, and all sleepy. "Come on!" cried Mr. Beaver, who was almost dancing with joy, "come here, this is a blow to the Witch! It looks like her power is over."

"What do you mean, Mr. Beaver?" gasped Peter as they all climbed the steep hill together. "Didn't I tell you?" replied Mr. Beaver, "she makes it winter here all the year round, and Christmas is never celebrated. Didn't I tell you? Well, come and see!" So they all stood on the top of the hill and looked around. There was a sleigh with some reindeer and bells on the harness.But these reindeer were bigger than the witch's reindeer, and they were not white deer, but brown deer.A man was sitting on the sled, and everyone knew him immediately.He was tall, and wore a bright red robe (as red as a holly berry), a hood with fur inside, and a great white beard that fell over his chest like a curtain of foamy water.Everyone knew him, though he was only seen in Narnia.But even in our world—that side of the wardrobe door—we have seen pictures of them, and heard them spoken of.But once you actually see them in Narnia, it's a different story.In our world, there are some pictures of Santa Claus that only show him as funny and funny.But now that the children were actually standing in front of him and looking at him, they felt that it wasn't quite like that.He was so big, so happy, so real, they all fell silent.They were very happy, but also very serious.

"Here I come at last," he said. "She has driven me away for years, but I am at last. Aslan is on the move, and the Witch's magic is fading." Lucy just felt a quiver of joy all over her body, which you can only feel when your mind is solemn and peaceful. "Now," said Santa Claus, "here's your presents. Mrs. Beaver, here's a new and better sewing machine for you. I'll drop by your house when I pass by." "Please don't be offended, sir," said Mrs Beaver curtseying, "the house is locked." "Locks and bolts don't matter to me," said Santa Claus. "As for you, Mr. Beaver, when you get home, you'll see your dike is finished and repaired, and all the cracks are closed, with A new floodgate." Mr. Beaver's mouth was so happy that he couldn't say anything. "Peter, son of Adam," said Santa Claus. "Yes, sir," said Peter. "These are your presents," said Santa Claus, "tools, not toys. Perhaps the time to use them is near, so take them with you." He handed Peter a sword and a shield.The shield was silver, and in the middle was a thumping red lion, as red as a ripe strawberry just picked.The hilt was of gold, and it had a scabbard, and a belt for the sword, and everything necessary for a sword, and it was just the right size and weight for Peter.Peter received these presents in silence and with seriousness, for he felt that they were a very solemn present. "Susan, daughter of Eve," said Santa, "these are for you." He handed her a bow, a quiver full of arrows, and a small ivory horn. "You must use this bow in case of emergency," he said, "because I have no intention of sending you to war. This bow will hit a thousand shots. Once you take this horn and blow it, I think you will get it wherever you are. help." At last he said, "Lucy, Eve's daughter." Lucy stepped forward.He gave her a small bottle, which looked like glass (though it was later said to be made of diamonds), and a small dagger. "In this bottle," said he, "is an elixir distilled from the sap of a spark that grows on the Mount of the Sun. If you or any of your friends are wounded, a few drops will heal you .This dagger is for you to defend yourself in case of emergency. Because you don't need to fight." "Why, sir," said Lucy, "I think—I don't know—but I think I'll be brave enough." "That's not what it means," he said. "It's ugly to have a woman go to war. And now,"—here he suddenly looked less serious—"there's something for you all right now!" Get out (from the big bag on his back, I suppose, but no one saw how) a large tray with five sets of cups and saucers, a bowl of sugar cubes, a pot of cream, a There was only a big hissing hot teapot.Then he cried, "Merry Christmas! Long live the King!" and with a crack of his whip, he was gone in the sleigh drawn by the reindeer before they could see that he was moving. As soon as Peter drew his sword from its scabbard to show Mr Beaver, Mrs Beaver said, "Well, well, don't stand there talking till the tea's cold. Be a man. Come and help me get the tray down." Well, we're going to have breakfast. Luckily I thought of bringing the bread knife." So they went down the steep hill to the cave, and Mr Beaver cut some bread and ham for sandwiches, and Mrs Beaver poured tea, and they all ate with gusto.But before they had long enjoyed themselves, Mr. Beaver said, "Now is the time to act."