tO Eartered, but instead of advancing into tely by t person le, tood dead still in took in tuation - trangers, troyed, and th his sword in his hand.

    Surned very  Jill t it  of   comes over some peoples faces not  co change her mind.

    quot;Leave us,quot; so t;And let none disturb us till I  call, on pain of deat; tly, and tc and  locked the door.

    quot;; s;ly fit not yet come  upon you, or is it over so soon? and you  troyed ty?”

    Prince Rilian so  is not easy  to tment  effort, ;Madam, t cold me  a imes ied me for tless  t seems, some  small error in your Ladysreating true friends,  mind, and to you. First -  as for your Ladysting me at t  I may break out into tion t never did me ural lords and yrant - no I knoterly ab as plain villainy. And second: I am tent name,  is also my duty, to depart suddenly from your  into my ory. Please it you to grant me and my friends safe conduct and a guide  through your dark realm.”

    Noc all, but moved gently across teadily too a  little ark set in t far from t, and took out first a   did not blaze muc a very s  and dro. And all tion ronger, and filled t o took out a musical instrument rato play it eady, monotonous t you didnt notice after a fees.  But ticed it, t got into your brain and your blood. t o ter sime (and t smell rong) s, quiet voice.

    quot;Narnia?quot; s;Narnia? I en ter t  name in your ravings. Dear Prince, you are very sick. there is no land called Narnia.”

    quot;Yes t; said Puddleglum. quot;You see, I o here all my life.”

    quot;Indeed,quot; said tc;tell me, I pray you, ry is?”

    quot;Up t; said Puddleglum, stoutly, pointing over;I - I dont knoly where.”

    quot;; said t, musical laug;Is try up among tones and mortar of the roof?”

    quot;No,quot; said Puddleglum, struggling a little to get ;Its in  Overworld.”

    quot;And w, or w. . . Overworld?”

    quot;O be so silly,quot; said Scrubb, ment of t smell and t;As if you didnt knos up above, up  here.”

    quot;I cry you mercy, little brot; laugc ;I  meeting. But en meet our friends in  strange places  ask to remember it.”

    quot;Madam,quot; said ternly, quot;I old your Grace t I am  the Kings son of Narnia.”

    quot;And s be, dear friend,quot; said tc;s be king of many imagined lands in thy fancies.”

    quot;eve been too,quot; snapped Jill. Sment getting . But of course t  t sill feel it, s it  yet fully worked.

    quot;And t Queen of Narnia too, I doubt not, pretty one,quot; said tcone.

    quot;Im not,quot; said Jill, stamping . quot;e come from  another world.”

    quot;tier game t; said tc;tell us,  little maid,  and ours?”

    Of course a lot of ted into Jills  once: Experiment  s, cinemas, cars, aeroplanes, ration- books, queues.

    But t trings  of tcrument.) Jill couldnt remember time it didnt come into  sed, for nos full strengted you get, tain you feel t you are not enced at all. S t  it o say):  quot;No. I suppose t ot be all a dream.”

    quot;Yes. It is all a dream,quot; said tchrumming.

    quot;Yes, all a dream,quot; said Jill.

    quot;t; said tch.

    quot;No,quot; said Jill and Scrubb, quot;never was such a world.”

    quot;t mine,quot; said tch.

    quot;t yours,quot; said they.

    Puddleglum ill fig;I dont know rig you all mean  by a world,”

    alking like a man  you can play t  fiddle till your fingers drop off, and still you  make me forget Narnia; and too. ell never see it again, I s ed it  out and turned it dark like t I knoars. Ive seen t of tains at nig look at ness.”

    Puddleglums  one another like people newly awaked.

    quot; is!quot; cried t;Of course! t Mars fees. ten it? Of course he sun.”

    quot;By Jove, so ;Good for you, Puddleglum! Youre th any sense, I do believe.”

    tcly like t ternoon; and it said:  quot; is t you all speak of? Do you mean anythe word?”

    quot;Yes, ; said Scrubb.

    quot;Can you tell me s like?quot; asked tc trings).

    quot;Please it your Grace,quot; said tely. quot;You see  t lamp. It is round and yellohe roof.

    No ter and  brig givet to the sky.”

    quot;, my lord?quot; asked tcill to answer , silver  laug;You see?

    ry to t clearly  be, you cannot tell  me. You can only tell me it is like t dream t  copied from t a tale, a cory.”

    quot;Yes, I see no; said Jill in a one. quot;It must be so.quot; And  o o be very good sense.

    Sloced, quot;t; And ted, in a softer and deeper voice. quot;t; After a pause,  and after a struggle in toget;You are rig; It .

    quot;t; said tch.

    quot;No. t; said the  children.

    For t fees Jill  t remember at all costs. And no . S as if

    s ,  t seemed to  take all t of ;theres Aslan.”

    quot;Aslan?quot; said tcly t; a pretty name!  does it mean?”

    quot; Lion ; said Scrubb,  quot;and sent us into to find Prince Rilian.”

    quot; is a lion?quot; asked tch.

    quot;O all!quot; said Scrubb. quot;Dont you knoo  ?”

    quot;Surely,quot; said t;I love cats.”

    quot;ell, a lion is a little bit - only a little bit, mind you like a   -  least, its not like a s more like a judges  s yellow.

    And terrifically strong.”

    tc;I see,quot; s;t er  , tter lamp and called it ts, and no a bigger and better cat, and its to be called a lion. ell, tis a pretty  makebelieve, to say trut  you all better if you o your make-believe  copying it from t even you coo old for suc art a man full gro asoys?

    Come, all of you. Put aricks. I he real world.

    to bed  all. And let us begin a omorro, first, to bed; to sleep; deep sleep,  soft pillo foolish dreams.”

    trengtment almost complete. But Puddleglum, desperately gatrengto the fire.

    t   e as muc  amped on t of it into as   once.

    First, t  been put out, a good bit of it  remained smelled very largely of  burnt Marsh-

    all an encing smell. tantly made  everyones brain far clearer. their eyes.

    Secondly, tcerrible voice, utterly different from all  t tones sill no, quot; are you doing? Dare to  toucurn to fire inside your veins.”

    tself made Puddleglums  perfectly  clear and ly ain kinds of magic.

    quot;One ; he pain.

    quot;One e rig  and t t face I can on it. So I   deny any of  to be said, even so. Suppose  ars and Aslan , in t case,  tant t of a kingdom of yours is t strikes me as a pretty poor  one. And ts a funny to t. ere just babies making up a  game, if youre rig four babies playing a game can make a playand by t any Aslan to lead it. Im going to live as like a Narnian as I can  even if t any Narnia. So, tlemen and  t at once and setting out in to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not t our lives s a small loss if the worlds as dull a place as you say.”

    quot;O; cried Scrubb and Jill. But ted suddenly, quot;are! Look to tch.”

    ood on end.

    trument dropped from o be fastened to  her sides.

    ert rain of  to be all one piece  erlocked legs. And t  s, or else s.  of o disappear, except  brows  or lashes.

    All takes time to e do  t time to see it. Long before time to do anyte,  and t serpent s loatning anot loop darted round, intending to pinion o   the Prince was

    just in time.  t closed  only round  - ready to crack  dreight.

    t tures neck in  rying to squeeze  it till it choked.

    ts face (if you could call it a face) about five incongue flickered , but could not reac rongest blo ts  neck. Even t did not quite kill it, t began to loosen its . ited blos  on coiling  and moving like a bit of er it y mess.

    t;Gentlemen, I t; tood staring at one anoting,  anotime. Jill  do; so ;I do  faint or blub - or do anytic.”

    quot;My royal mot; said Rilian presently. quot;tedly  t I pursued in vain by tain in t of Narnia, so  many years ago.

    All t I am glad,  gentlemen, t tcook to  form at t. It  ed  or o  look to  t;  Jill.

    quot;Im all rig; said she.

    quot;Damsel,quot; said to ;You are of a  not, you come of a noble blood in your o come, friends.  . Let us refreser  t, to our plans.”

    quot;A jolly good idea, Sir,quot; said Scrubb.