CHAPTER ELEVEN THE LION ROARS（第2页）

“Yes?”saidLucy。

“Iseehimnow。I'msorry。”

“That'sallright。”

“ButI'vebeenfarworsethanyouknow。Ireallybelieveditwashim—he，Imeaerday。Whetogodowntothefirwood。AndIreallybelieveditwashimtonight，whenyouwokeusup。Imean，deepdowninside。OrIcouldhave，ifI'dletmyself。ButIjustwaofthewoodsand—and—oh，Idon'tknow。AndwhateveramItosaytohim?”

“Perhapsyouwon'tosaymuch，”suggestedLucy。

SoohetreesandthroughthemthecouldseetheGreatMound，Aslan'sHow，whichhadbeeheTablesiheirdays。

“Oursidedon'tkeepverygoodwatch，”mutteredTrumpkiohavebeengedbeforenow—”

“Hush!”saidtheotherfour，fornoedaoodfagthem，lookitheyfeltasgladasanyonewhofeelsafraid，andasafraidasanyonewhofeelsglad。Theboysstrodeforward:Lucymadewayforthem:SusanandtheDwarfshrankback。

“Oh，Aslan，”saidKier，droppingononekneeandraisingtheLion'sheavypawtohisfasoglad。AndI'msosorry。I'vebeehemwrongeversiedandespeciallyyesterdaym。”

“Mydearson，”saidAslan。

&urnedandwelund。“Welldone，”werehiswords。

&eranawfulpause，thedeepvoicesaid，“Susan。”Susanmadehehtshewasg。“Youhavelisteofears，child，”saidAslamebreatheonyetthem。Areyain?”

“Alittle，Aslan，”saidSusan。

“Andnow!”saidAslaninamuchloudervoicewithjustahintofroarinit，whilehistaillashedhisflanks。“AndhislittleDwarf，thisfamousswordsmanandarcher，whodoesn'tbelieveinlions?ehere，soh，eHERE!”—awordwashehintofaroarbutalm。

“WraithsandedTrumpkiofavoice。The，ellenoughtoseethathelikedtheDwarfverymuotdisturbed;butitwasquiteahingforTrumpkin，whohadneverseenalioalohisLioheohinghecouldhavedois，insteadofboltieredto>

Aslanpounced。Haveyoueverseenaveryyoungkittenbeihemotherouth?Itwaslikethat。TheDwarf，hunalittle，miserableball，hungfromAslan'smouth。TheLiongavehimoneshakeandallhisarmorrattledlikeatinker'spadtheheDwarfflewupintheair。Hewasassafeasifhehadbeehoughhedidnotfeelso。Ashethehugevelvetypawscaughthimasgentlyasamother'sarmsahim（right，too）ontheground。

“Soh，shallwebefriends?”askedAslan。

“Ye—he—he—hes，”paheDwarf，forithadsbreathback。

“Now，”saidAslan。“TheMooing。Lookbehindyou:thereisthedawnbeginning。Wehaveolose。Youthree，yousonsofAdamandsoh，hastenintotheMouhwhatyouwillfindthere。”

TheDwarfwasstillspeedheboysdaredtoaskifAslanwouldfollowthem。Allthreedrewtheirswordsaurnedandjingledawayintothedusk。Luoticedthattherewasnosignofweariheirfaces:boththeHighKingandKingEdmundlookedmorelikementhanboys。

Thegirlswatchedthemoutofsight，standingclosebesideAslawasg。Lowdow，Aravir，themstarleamedlikealittlemoon。Aslan，whoseemedlargerthaedhishead，shookhismane，androared。

Thesouhrobbingatfirstlikeaninningonalownote，roseandbecamelouder，andthenfarlain，tilltheearthandairwereshakingwithit。ItroseupfromthathillandfloatedacrossallNarnia。DowninMiraz'salelyiher'sfadgraspedtheirons。DowiRiver，nowatitscoldesthour，theheadsahenymphs，aweedy-beardedheadod，rosefromthewater。Beyondit，ineveryfieldandwood，thealertearsofrabbitsrosefromtheirholes，thesleepyheadsofbirdsunderwings，owlshooted，vixensbarked，hedgehogsgruirred。Intownsaherspressedbabiesclosetotheirbreasts，staringwithwildeyes，dogswhimpered，andmenleapedupgrhts。Farawayoherhemountaingiahedarkgatewaysoftheircastles。

WhatLudSusansawwasadarksomethingfromalmosteverydireacrossthehills。Itlookedfirstlikeablackmistgonthegrouhestormywavesofablacksearisinghighera，alast，likeoodsohetreesoftheearedttowardAslan。Butastheydrewheylookedlessliketrees;aheingandgandwavingthinlongarmstoAslan，wereallaroundLucy，shesawthatitwasaanshapes。Palebirch-girlsweretossingtheirheads，omeheirhairfrfacestogazeonAslan，thequeeoodstillandadoredhim，shaggyoak-men，leanandmelans，shockheadedhollies（darkthemselves，buttheirwivesallbrightwithberries）andgayrowans，allbain，shouting，“Aslan，Aslan!”intheirvarioushuskyorwave-likevoices。

ThedthedandAslan（forithadbeeadanrewsothidrapidthatLufused。Sheneversawwhereotherpeoplewhoweresaboutamorees。Onewasayouth，dressedonlyinafawn-skin，withvihedinhiscurlyhair。Hisfacewouldhavebeenalmosttooprettyforaboy's，ifithadremelywild。Youfelt，asEdmundsaidwhenhesawhimafewdayslater，“There'saightdoanythingabsolutelyanythiohaveagreatmanynames—Bromios，Bassareus，andtheRamwerethreeofthem。Therewerealotofgirlswithhim，aswildashe。Therewaseveedly，someoneonadonkey。Andeverybodywaslaughing:andeverybodywasshoutingout，“Euan，euan，eu-oi-oi-oi。”

“IsitaRomp，Aslaheyouth。Awas。Butnearlyeveryoohaveadiffereowhattheywereplaying。ItmayhavebeenTig，butLueverdiscoveredwhowasIt。ItwasratherlikeBlindMan'sBuff，onlyeveryoheywerebliwasheSlipper，buttheslipperwasneverfound。Whatmadeitmoreplicatedwasthatthemanonthedonkey，whowasoldandenormouslyfat，begangoutatos!Timeforrefreshments，”andfallingoffhisdonkeyandbeioitagaihers，whilethedonkeywasuheimpressiohingwasadtriedtogiveadisplayofwalkingonitshindlegs。Ahereweremoreandmorevineleaveseverywhere。Andsoonnotoviheyweregupeverything。Theywererunningupthelegsofthetreepeopleandgroundtheirnecks。Lucyputupherhandstopushbackherhairandfoundsheushingbaebrahedonkeywasamassofthem。Histailletelyentangledahingdarkwasweenhisears。Lucylookedagainandsawitwasabunchofgrapes。Afterthatitwasmostlygrapesoverheadaandallaround。

&s!Refreshments，”roaredtheoldman。

Everyoing，ahousesyourpeoplemayhave，youhaveedsuchgrapes。Reallygoodgrapes，firmandtightoside，butburstingintocoolsweetthemintoyourmouth，wereohegirlshadneverhadquiteenoughofbefore。Here，thereweremorethananyonecouldpossiblywant，andribtable-maall。Oidstainedfingerseverywhere，and，thoughmouthswerefull，thelaughterneverortheyodellingcriesofEuan，euan，eu-oi-oi-oi-oi，tillallofasuddethesamemomentthatthegame（whateveritwas），a，oughttobeover，andeveryonefloppeddowhegroundaheirfacestoAslahewouldsay。

AtthatmomentthesunwasjustrisingandLucyrememberedsomethingaoSusan，“Isay，Su，Iknow>

“Who?”

&hthewildfaceisBadtheoldohedonkeyisSilenus。Don'tyourememberMr。Tumnustellingusaboutthemlongago?”

“Yes，ofcourse。ButIsay，Lu—”

“>

“Iwouldn'thavefeltsafewithBadallhiswildgirlsifwe'dmetthem>

“Ishouldthinknot，”saidLucy。