Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven Aslan is Coming

During this period Edmund was greatly disappointed.When the Dwarf went to prepare the sledge, he had hoped that the Witch would treat him as well as she had when they had last seen each other.But she didn't say anything.When at last Edmund had the courage to say, "Please don't be offended, Sire, can I have some Turkish Delight? You—you—say—" she replied, "Be quiet, fool!" And then she was like Changing her mind, she said as if to herself, "It's never okay to let this little brat pass out on the road." And she clapped her hands again, and there came another dwarf.

"Bring this man something to eat and drink," she said. The Dwarf went away, and presently brought an iron bowl with some water in it, and an iron plate with a great loaf of dry bread on it.He put the things on the floor beside Edmund, and grinning so repulsively, said: "The little prince's Turkish Delight is here. Ha! Ha! Ha!" "Take it away," said Edmund angrily, "I don't want dry bread." But the Witch sprang at him suddenly, with such a terrible look on her face, that he had to apologize, and nibbled at the piece of bread. Come, but the bread is too dry for him to swallow

"Be happy with this until you have bread again," said the Witch.He was still chewing and chewing, and the first Dwarf had returned to report that the sledge was ready.The White Witch got up and went away, ordering Edmund to go with her.When they came out into the yard it began to snow again, but she paid no attention to it, and made Edmund sit beside her in the sleigh.She called to Fenris Ulf again before setting off, and he jumped beside the sled like a big dog. "Take the fastest wolf, and go to the Beaver's house at once," said the Witch. "And kill whatever you find there. If they are gone, run as fast as you can to the Stone Table, but Don't be seen. You hide there and wait for me. I'll have to go many miles to the west before I can find a place where I can sled across the river. You can catch up with them before they reach the Stone Table. If you find You always know what to do if you get rid of them!"

"Yes, Queen," growled the wolf, and galloped off into the dark snow as swiftly as a galloping horse.In a short time it called another wolf, and they ran to the dike together, sniffing around the beaver couple's house.But of course the house was empty.Had the weather stayed fine that night, it would have been a disaster to the Beavers and the children, for the wolves would have followed their tracks-nine times out of ten they would have caught up with them before they entered the burrow.But now it started snowing again, and the smell faded, and even the footprints were drowned out.

Meanwhile the Dwarf drove the reindeer out of the arch with the Witch and Edmund, and drove away into the darkness of the ice and snow.It was a dreadful journey for Edmund, for he had no coat.They hadn't been gone for a quarter of an hour before he was covered with snow—and he stopped shaking off the flakes after a while, because no sooner had he done it than another pile piled up, and he was tired.After a while he was drenched.Oh, how miserable he is.It seems that the witch doesn't intend to make him king anymore!All the things he had said to himself to convince himself that she was a good person, a kind person, that her side was the real justice, sounded stupid now.He was willing to give up everything and go find everyone—even Peter!The only way to comfort himself now was to try to believe that the whole incident was a dream and that he would wake up any moment.They walked and walked, hour after hour, and it seemed like a dream.

It took a long time along the way, and I couldn't finish it even if I wrote many more pages.But I'll skip that, and say that the snow had stopped and it was daylight, and they were flying in the sun.They continued on their way, with no sound but the constant whoosh of the snow and the creak of the reindeer harness.At last the Witch said, "Let's see what's here? Stop!" They stopped. How Edmund wished she would talk about breakfast!But her reasons for stopping were entirely different.Under a tree not far from the sleigh sat a happy company: a squirrel couple and a child, two satyrs, and a dwarf.An old male fox, all sitting on low stools around the table.Edmund couldn't see what they were eating, but it smelled so good, and it seemed to be garnished with holly, and he couldn't believe he saw something like raisin pudding.When the sleigh came to a halt, the fox, apparently the oldest present, had just stood up, holding up a cup in his right paw, as if about to say something.But when the party saw the sledge stop and who was on it, all the joy faded from their faces.Papa Squirrel raised his fork to his mouth and stopped halfway to eat.Another satyr stopped with a fork in his mouth, and the doll squirrel squeaked in fright.

"What does that mean?" asked the Hag Queen.No one answered. "Tell me, rascals," she went on, "do you want my dwarf to whip you to talk? What do you mean by your extravagance, your extravagance, and your merrymaking? Where do you get all this stuff?" Did you get it?" "Don't take offense, Your Majesty," said Fox, "these are for us. Please forgive me, let me drink to your Majesty's health—" "Who gave you these things?" asked the witch. "Santa-old-old man," stammered the fox. "What?" roared the hag, leaping from the sleigh and taking a few strides towards the frightened animals. "He hasn't been here, he never will be here! How dare you—but no. Say you're lying, and you'll be forgiven."

At this time, a little squirrel was completely dizzy. "He's been here—he's been here—he's been here!" squeaking, beating the table with a spoon. Edmund saw the witch bit her lip, and a drop of blood appeared on her white face.Then she raised her wand. "Oh, don't, don't, please don't," shouted Edmund, but she had already waved her wand when he shouted loudly, and stone statues of animals (one of them) immediately appeared in the place where a group of animals feasted. Just holding a stone fork forever halfway from the mouth), sitting around a stone table, on the table are stone plates and stone raisin pudding.

"As for you," said the Witch, slapping him dazedly as she remounted into the sleigh, "this is your lesson in pleading for spies and traitors. On the road!" For the first time in this story Edmund Feeling sorry for others.It seemed so pitiful to think of those little stone statues sitting there through silent days, dark nights, day after day, year after year, until they were covered with moss and eventually even their faces disintegrated. Now they were flying steadily forward again.It was not long before Edmund noticed that the splash of snow as they rushed was wetter than it had been the night before.At the same time, he also noticed that he was not feeling cold anymore.It was getting foggy.In fact, the fog is getting thicker and the day is getting warmer.The sledge was far from moving as fast as before.At first he thought it was because the reindeer were getting tired, but he soon saw that this was not the real reason.The sled jerked and slid sideways, bouncing as if hitting a rock.Although the dwarf whipped the poor reindeer, the sled continued to slow down.There seemed to be strange noises about them, too, but the running and jolting of the sledge, and the dwarf's shouting to the reindeer, were too loud for Edmund to hear, until suddenly the sledge stuck and couldn't move.After this incident, there was a moment of silence.Edmund was at last able to listen to the voice well.It turned out to be a strange and lovely rustling, gurgling sound--but not too strange after all, for he knew he'd heard it before--if only he could remember where he heard it!Then suddenly he remembered.It was the sound of running water.Unseen, but all around them, there were brooks singing, gurgling, bubbling, splashing, and even (distantly) roaring torrents.When he realized that the severe winter was over, his heart skipped a beat (though he didn't know why).The branches of the trees nearer to them were dripping with water.Then, as he looked at a tree, he saw a great mass of snow fall from it, and for the first time since he had been in Narnia he had seen the dark green of a fir tree.But he didn't have time to listen or watch, because the witch had spoken.

"Don't sit there staring, fool! Do me a favor." Edmund, of course, had to obey.He stepped out into the snow--but it was all snow now--and began to help the little man pull the sledge out of the mire it had sunk into.At last they got the sledge out, and the dwarf was very cruel to the reindeer, and at last the sledge moved again, and they went a little further.Now the snow had really melted completely, and small patches of green grass appeared in every direction.Unless you have been looking at a world of ice and snow for a long time like Edmond, it is hard to imagine how relieved it is to see the green land after seeing the endless white snow.At this point the sled stopped again.

"No, Sire," said the Dwarf, "we cannot drive a sledge in the thaw." "Then we must go," said the Witch. "We'll never catch up with them," grumbled the Dwarf. "They go first." "Are you my advisor or my slave!" said the Witch. "Do as I say. Bind the man's hands behind his back, and take the end of the rope. Take your whip. Cut the reindeer's harness." , they will find their way home by themselves." The dwarf obeyed, and in a moment Edmund, with his hands bound behind his back, was forced to travel as fast as he could.He kept slipping and falling in the snow, in the mud, and on the wet grass, and every time he slipped, the dwarf scolded him, and sometimes gave him a whip.The witch walked behind the dwarf, and kept saying, "Hurry up! Hurry up!" The patches of green space are getting bigger all the time, and the patches of snow are shrinking.More trees are shedding their snow-gowns all the time.Soon the white was gone wherever you looked, and there were only dark green fir trees, and the black, prickly branches of bare oaks, and beeches and elms.Then the mist turned from white to gold and disappeared completely after a while.There were wonderful streaks of sunlight hitting the forest floor, and a blue sky could be seen between the treetops ahead. Before long something even more wonderful happened.They suddenly turned a corner and came to a clearing among silvery birch trees, and Edmund saw that the clearing was covered with small yellow flowers--cassages--in every direction.The sound of the water got louder.After a while they did cross a small river.They also found snow lotus growing by the river. "Mind your own business!" said the little dwarf, who, seeing Edmund turning his head to look at the flowers, tugged viciously at the string. But of course that did not prevent Edmond from watching.It was only five minutes before he noticed a dozen crocus flowers—gold, purple, and white—growing at the foot of an old tree.Then came another sound more beautiful than the sound of water.Near the path they were on, a bird suddenly chirped on a branch.Not far away another bird chirped and answered.After that, as if hearing a signal, there was a constant chirping in all directions.For a while, the ears were filled with the sound of birdsong.In less than five minutes, the music of the birds resounded throughout the woods, and wherever Edmund looked, he could see birds perched on the branches, flying in the air, or making a lot of noise. "Quick! Quick!" said the Witch. By now the fog had disappeared without a trace, and the sky was getting bluer and bluer, with a few white clouds rushing past now and then.Primroses bloomed in the wide glades.A gust of wind blew by, dewdrops fell on the swaying branches, and a cool and wonderful fragrance came.The trees are starting to come to life.The larch and birch trees were green, and the nasturtiums were golden.Before long the beeches are producing delicate, transparent leaves.Pedestrians walked under the tree, and the light turned green.A bee buzzed across the path they had taken. "It's not thaw," said the Dwarf, stopping suddenly. "It's Spring. What shall we do? Really, your winter has been driven away. It's Aslan's doing." "If any of you mention that name again," said the Witch, "let him die at once."