Chapter 15 Chapter 14 The Witch's Victory

As soon as the Witch had gone, Aslan said, "We must get out of this place at once. There is a service to be had here. We must go to Belluna Bank to camp to-night." Of course, everyone wanted to ask it how it negotiated this matter with the witch, but Aslan's face was as hard as iron, and his roar was still echoing in everyone's ears, so no one dared to speak. After a meal in the open air at the top of the mountain (because the sun was already strong and dried the grass), they were busy for a while, tearing down the tent and packing up.Before two o'clock, they started their journey and set off in the northwest direction. Everyone walked calmly, because the place they were going to was not very far away.

At the beginning of the journey Aslan explained to Peter his plan of battle. "Once the Witch has finished her activities in this area," it said, "she and the party will almost certainly retreat to her lair for a siege. You may cut her off. You may not let her return to her lair, or you may cut her off." On and on." Then it went on to propose two plans of battle--one to fight the Witch and her gang in the woods, and the other to attack her castle.All this time it's been telling Peter how to conduct the battle, saying, "You've got to put your centaur somewhere" or "You've got to send scouts to look after her, don't let her do what" , Peter finally asked:

"But weren't you there yourself, Aslan?" "Then I can't guarantee that," replied the Lion, while he continued to give Peter instructions.In the last part of the journey, Susan and Lucy saw Aslan most of the time.It doesn't talk much, and they seem to find it a little sad. It was still dark, and they came to a place where the valley suddenly opened up, and the river was wide and shallow.This is Beruna Shoal, and Aslan ordered everyone to stay on this side of the water.But Peter said: "Wouldn't it be better to camp over there—because I'm afraid she'll make a night raid or something."

Aslan seemed to be thinking of something else, when he came to his senses with a flick of his beautiful mane, and said, "Oh, what?" Peter repeated. "No." Aslan said in a low voice, as if it didn't matter. "No, she won't attack tonight." Then it sighed deeply.But after a while it added, "It's good to be thoughtful, as soldiers should be. But it doesn't really matter." So they set about pitching the tent. Aslan's mood affected everyone that evening.Peter felt uneasy at the idea of ​​him fighting the battle, and the news of Aslan's possible absence was a great blow to him.Everyone ate dinner in silence that night.Everyone felt that this evening was very different from last night or even this morning.It seems that the good times have just begun, but they are almost over.

This feeling also had a great effect on Susan, who couldn't sleep when she went to bed.She lay there counting, and kept tossing and turning, and finally only heard Lucy sigh and roll to her side in the dark. "Can't you sleep, too?" Susan asked. "Yes," said Lucy, "I thought you were asleep. I say, Susan!" "What's up?" "I have one of the most dire premonitions—something big is about to happen." "Really? Because, actually, I feel the same way." "It's about Aslan," said Lucy, "either something dreadful is going to happen to him, or something dreadful is going to happen to him."

"He hasn't been quite right all afternoon," said Susan. "Lucy! What does he mean when he says he won't be with us in the war? You don't think he'll leave us to-night and sneak off?" "Where is it now?" said Lucy. "Is it in the tent here?" "not necessarily." "Susan, let's go out and look around. Maybe we can see it." "Okay, let's go," said Susie, "it's better to go out and have a look lying here awake." Silently, the two girls groped their way among the other sleeping people and sneaked out of the tent.The moon was shining brightly, and everything was silent except for the sound of the river gurgling over the stones.Then suddenly Susan took Lucy by the arm and said, "Look!" They saw beyond the camp, just beyond the edge of the wood, and the Lion was slowly leaving them all, and going into the wood.Neither of them said a word, but followed it.

It led them up the steep slope of the valley, and then turned a little to the left—apparently the route they had taken that afternoon when they descended from Table Mountain.And it led them on and on, into the dark shadows and into the pale moonlight, until their feet were wet with the thick dew.Somehow it looked different from the Aslan they knew.His tail and head were down, and he was walking slowly, like he was very, very tired.Then, when they were crossing an open space where there was no shade for them to hide, it stopped and looked around.It would be bad to run away now, so they walked towards it.As they approached it said:

"Oh, boys, boys, why are you following me?" "We can't sleep," said Lucy.She was convinced that she didn't need to say much, and Aslan knew all about what they had been thinking. "Shall we go with you--wherever you go?" said Susan. "Well—" said Aslan, who seemed to be considering it; and then he said, "I'm glad to have company tonight. Well, if you promise me to tell you to stop then stop and let me go alone , then you can come with me." "Oh, thank you, thank you, we promise," said the two girls. They went on again, and the two girls walked on either side of the Lion King.But how slowly it goes!Its stately, dignified head was bowed down, its nose nearly touching the grass.Soon it staggered and let out a low moan.

"Aslan! dear Aslan!" said Lucy, "what's the matter? Can you tell us?" "Are you ill, dear Aslan?" asked Susan. "No," said Aslan, "I feel sad and lonely. You put your hands on my mane, that I may feel your presence, and let us go like this." So the two girls did as it said.This is something they have wanted to do without his permission since the first time they saw it—they really put their cold hands into its large beautiful mane, stroked it, While walking with it.It was not long before they saw that they had followed him up the slope of Table Mountain.They climbed to the edge of the wood, and when they came to the last tree (the one with a few bushes around it), Aslan stopped and said:

"Oh, boys, boys, you must stop here. Whatever happens, don't let anyone see you. Farewell." Then the two girls wept aloud (though they did not know why they wept), and they put their arms around the Lion, and kissed his mane, his nose, his paws, and his solemn, mournful eyes.Only then did it turn around and walk towards the top of the mountain.Lucy and Susan crouched in the bushes watching it, and this is what they saw. There were a lot of people standing around the stone table, and even though it was under the moonlight, there were still many people holding torches in their hands. When the torches were burning, they spit out a cloud of evil red flames and black smoke.But who are those people!Man-eating demons with strange teeth, jackals, minotaurs, evil dryads and poisonous dryads; I will not describe the other animals one by one, because if I describe them any further, adults may not let you read this book -Grimmies, Hags, Nightmare Devils, Wraiths, Scary Devils, Leprechauns, Big-headed Ghosts, Little-headed Ghosts and more.In fact, everyone who was on the witch's side and heard the witch's order from the wolf came.Standing in the middle, leaning on the stone table is the witch herself.

When the beasts first saw the great Lion approaching them, they howled and howled in terror, so that even the Witch herself was frightened for a moment.Then she collected herself and let out a wild, wild laugh. "The idiot!" she cried. "Here comes the idiot. Bind him tight!" Lucy and Susan did not even dare to breathe, waiting for Aslan's roar to leap upon his foe.But it didn't growl.The four hags, grinning and squinting at Aslan, also hesitated at first as they approached him, a little frightened of what they were about to do. "I say, tie it up!" the White Witch repeated.Four hags charged at it, screaming triumphantly when they saw it offered no resistance.Then the fierce Dwarfs and Apes rushed to their aid, and they threw the great Lion to the ground, bound his four paws together, and shouted and cheered, as if they had done something brave, though One paw could have killed them all if the Lion-king wanted to; but he did not say a word, even when the enemy pulled and dragged, and the rope was pulled so tightly that it was strangled in the flesh, he did not say a word.Then they began to drag it towards the stone table. "Stop," said the hag, "shave it first!" A man-eating demon came forward with a pair of scissors and crouched beside Aslan's head, and the witch's minions let out a vicious laugh.The big scissors clicked, and piles of curly golden manes fell to the ground.The cannibal stood back when the clipping was done, and the two girls could see from their hiding place that Aslan's face looked so small and strange without the mane.The enemy also saw the difference. "Hey, it's just a big cat in the end!" cried one of the minions. "Is that what we used to be afraid of?" said another minion.They all swarmed towards Aslan and laughed at him.Saying "Mimi, Mimi, poor kitty" and "How many mice did you catch today, kitty?" and "Would you like a plate of milk, kitty?" "Oh, how can they?" said Lucy.Tears rolled down his face. "Beast! Beast!" For the moment the initial shock was over, and it seemed to her that Aslan's shorn face looked braver, more beautiful, and more stoic than ever. "Put its mouth on!" said the Witch.Even now, when they muzzled him, he would bite off two or three hands if he opened his mouth.But it didn't move at all.This group of rabble seems to be red-eyed, and now everyone is here to bully it.Those who were still afraid to get close to it even after it was tied up also took courage.After a while, the two girls couldn't even see it - it was surrounded by the whole herd of animals, kicking, hitting, spitting on and laughing at it. At last the mob had had enough.Everyone began to drag the heavily tied and muzzled Lion King towards the stone table, pushing and pulling.Aslan was so big that even if they dragged it to the stone table, it would take all their strength to pick it up on the stone table.Later it was tied tightly with many ropes. "Coward! Coward!" whimpered Susan. "Are they still afraid of him now?" The mob fell silent when Aslan was bound to the flat rock (and tied up in a heap of rope).Four dominatrixes hold four torches and stand at the four corners of the stone table.The hag rolled up her sleeves, as she had done with Edmund the night before.Then she sharpened her knife.In the eyes of the two girls, the knife was illuminated by the torch, and it seemed that it was not a steel knife but a stone knife, and its shape was weird and hateful. Finally she came closer.She stood by Aslan's head.She was so excited that her face also twitched and twisted, but it looked up at the sky, still very calm, neither angry.Not afraid, just a little sad.Then, just as she was about to strike down, she bent down and said in a trembling voice: "Now, who wins? Idiot! Do you think that you saved the human traitor? According to our agreement, I will kill you now to replace it, so that the advanced magic will come true. But When you're dead, who's going to stop me from killing him too? And then, who's going to get him out of my hand? You see, you've given me Narnia forever, You took your own life and haven't rescued him. It's too late to know this, there is no hope, die!" The sisters did not see the moment of decapitation.They couldn't bear to look, and covered their eyes.