"WASitalladream?"wonderedShasta。Butitcouldn'thavebeenadreamforthereinthegrassbeforehimhesawthedeep,largeprintoftheLion'sfrontrightpaw。Ittookone'sbreathawaytothinkoftheweightthatcouldmakeafootprintlikethat。Buttherewassomethingmoreremarkablethanthesizeaboutit。Ashelookedatit,waterhadalreadyfilledthebottomofit。Soonitwasfulltothebrim,andthenoverflowing,andalittlestreamwasrunningdownhill,pasthim,overthegrass。
Shastastoopedanddrank-averylongdrink-andthendippedhisfaceinandsplashedhishead。Itwasextremelycold,andclearasglass,andrefreshedhimverymuch。Afterthathestoodup,shakingthewateroutofhisearsandflingingthewethairbackfromhisforehead,andbegantotakestockofhissurroundings。
Apparentlyitwasstillveryearlymorning。Thesunhadonlyjustrisen,andithadrisenoutoftheforestswhichhesawlowdownandfarawayonhisright。Thecountrywhichhewaslookingatwasabsolutelynewtohim。Itwasagreenvalley-landdottedwithtreesthroughwhichhecaughtthegleamofariverthatwoundawayroughlytotheNorth-West。Onthefarsideofthevalleytherewerehighandevenrockyhills,buttheywerelowerthanthemountainshehadseenyesterday。Thenhebegantoguesswherehewas。Heturnedandlookedbehindhimandsawthattheslopeonwhichhewasstandingbelongedtoarangeoffarhighermountains。
"Isee,"saidShastatohimself。"ThosearethebigmountainsbetweenArchenlandandNarnia。Iwasontheothersideofthemyesterday。Imusthavecomethroughthepassinthenight。WhatluckthatIhitit!Atleastitwasn'tluckatallreally,itwasHim。AndnowI'minNarnia。"
Heturnedandunsaddledhishorseandtookoffitsbridle-"Thoughyouareaperfectlyhorridhorse,"hesaid。Ittooknonoticeofthisremarkandimmediatelybeganeatinggrass。ThathorsehadaverylowopinionofShasta。
"IwishIcouldeatgrass!"thoughtShasta。"It'snogoodgoingbacktoAnvard,it'llallbebesieged。I'dbettergetlowerdownintothevalleyandseeifIcangetanythingtoeat。"
Sohewentondownhill(thethickdewwascruellycoldtohisbarefeet)tillhecameintoawood。Therewasakindoftrackrunningthroughitandhehadnotfollowedthisformanyminuteswhenheheardathickandratherwheezyvoicesayingtohim。"Goodmorning,neighbour。"Shastalookedroundeagerlytofindthespeakerandpresentlysawasmall,pricklypersonwithadarkfacewhohadjustcomeoutfromamongthetrees。Atleast,itwassmallforapersonbutverybigindeedforahedgehog,whichwaswhatitwas。
"Goodmorning,"saidShasta。"ButI'mnotaneighbour。InfactI'mastrangerintheseparts。"
"Ah?"saidtheHedgehoginquiringly。
"I'vecomeoverthemountains-fromArchenland,youknow。"
"Ah,Archenland,"saidtheHedgehog。"That'saterriblelongway。Neverbeentheremyself。"
"AndIthink,perhaps,"saidShasta,"someoneoughttobetoldthattheresanarmyofsavageCalormenesattackingAnvardatthisverymoment。"
"Youdon'tsayso!"answeredtheHedgehog。"Well,thinkofthat。AndtheydosaythatCalormenishundredsandthousandsofmilesaway,rightattheworldsend,acrossagreatseaofsand。"
"It'snotnearlyasfarasyouthink,"saidShasta。"AndoughtntsomethingtobedoneaboutthisattackonAnvard?OughtntyourHighKingtobetold?"
"Certainsure,somethingoughttobedoneaboutit,"saidtheHedgehog。"ButyouseeI'mjustonmywaytobedforagooddayssleep。Hullo,neighbour!"
Thelastwordswereaddressedtoanimmensebiscuit-colouredrabbitwhoseheadhadjustpoppedupfromsomewherebesidethepath。TheHedgehogimmediatelytoldtheRabbitwhatithadjustlearnedfromShasta。TheRabbitagreedthatthiswasveryremarkablenewsandthatsomebodyoughttotellsomeoneaboutitwithaviewtodoingsomething。
Andsoitwenton。Everyfewminutestheywerejoinedbyothercreatures,somefromthebranchesoverheadandsomefromlittleundergroundhousesattheirfeet,tillthepartyconsistedoffiverabbits,asquirrel,twomagpies,agoat-footfaun,andamouse,whoalltalkedatthesametimeandallagreedwiththeHedgehog。ForthetruthwasthatinthatgoldenagewhentheWitchandtheWinterhadgoneandPetertheHighKingruledatCairParavel,thesmallerwoodlandpeopleofNarniaweresosafeandhappythattheyweregettingalittlecareless。
Presently,however,twomorepracticalpeoplearrivedinthelittlewood。OnewasaRedDwarfwhosenameappearedtobeDuffle。Theotherwasastag,abeautifullordlycreaturewithwideliquideyes,dappledflanksandlegssothinandgracefulthattheylookedasifyoucouldbreakthemwithtwofingers。
"Lionalive!"roaredtheDwarfassoonashehadheardthenews。"Andifthat'sso,whyareweallstandingstill,chattering?EnemiesatAnvard!NewsmustbesenttoCairParavelatonce。Thearmymustbecalledout。NarniamustgototheaidofKingLune。"
"Ah!"saidtheHedgehog。"Butyouwon'tfindtheHighKingattheCair。HesawaytotheNorthtrouncingthosegiants。Andtalkingofgiants,neighbours,thatputsmeinmind—"
"Who'lltakeourmessage?"interruptedtheDwarf。
"Anyoneheregotmorespeedthanme?"
"I'vegotspeed,"saidtheStag。"What'smymessage?HowmanyCalormenes?"
"Twohundred:underPrinceRabadash。And-"ButtheStagwasalreadyaway-allfourlegsoffthegroundatonce,andinamomentitswhitesternhaddisappearedamongtheremotertrees。
"Wonderwherehe'sgoing,"saidaRabbit。"Hewon'tfindtheHighKingatCairParavel,youknow。"
"He'llfindQueenLucy,"saidDuffle。"Andthenhullo!WhatswrongwiththeHuman?Itlooksprettygreen。Why,Idobelieveitsquitefaint。Perhapsitsmortalhungry。Whendidyoulasthaveameal,youngster?"
"Yesterdaymorning,"saidShastaweakly。
"Comeon,then,comeon,"saidtheDwarf,atoncethrowinghisthicklittlearmsroundShastaswaisttosupporthim。
"Why,neighbours,weoughtalltobeashamedofourselves!Youcomewithme,lad。Breakfast!Betterthantalking。"
Withagreatdealofbustle,mutteringreproachestoitself,theDwarfhalfledandhalfsupportedShastaatagreatspeedfurtherintothewoodandalittledownhill。ItwasalongerwalkthanShastawantedatthatmomentandhislegshadbeguntofeelveryshakybeforetheycameoutfromthetreesontobarehillside。Theretheyfoundalittlehousewithasmokingchimneyandanopendoor,andastheycametothedoorwayDufflecalledout,
"Hey,brothers!Avisitorforbreakfast。"Andimmediately,mixedwithasizzlingsound,therecametoShastaasimplydelightfulsmell。Itwasonehehadneversmelledinhislifebefore,butIhopeyouhave。Itwas,infact,thesmellofbaconandeggsandmushroomsallfryinginapan。
"Mindyourhead,lad,"saidDuffleamomenttoolate,forShastahadalreadybashedhisforeheadagainstthelowlintelofthedoor。"Now,"continuedtheDwarf,"sityoudown。Thetablesabitlowforyou,butthenthestoolslowtoo。Thatsright。Andheresporridge-andheresajugofcream—andheresaspoon。"
BythetimeShastahadfinishedhisporridge,theDwarfstwobrothers(whosenameswereRoginandBricklethumb)wereputtingthedishofbaconandeggsandmushrooms,andthecoffeepotandthehotmilk,andthetoast,onthetable。
ItwasallnewandwonderfultoShastaforCalormenefoodisquitedifferent。Hedidntevenknowwhattheslicesofbrownstuffwere,forhehadneverseentoastbefore。Hedidntknowwhattheyellowsoftthingtheysmearedonthetoastwas,becauseinCalormenyounearlyalwaysgetoilinsteadofbutter。Andthehouseitselfwasquitedifferentfromthedark,frowsty,fish-smellingbutofArsheeshandfromthepillaredandcarpetedhallsinthepalacesofTashbaan。Theroofwasverylow,andeverythingwasmadeofwood,andtherewasacuckoo-clockandared-and-whitecheckedtable-clothandabowlofwildflowersandlittlecurtainsonthethick-panedwindows。Itwasalsorathertroublesomehavingtousedwarfcupsandplatesandknivesandforks。Thismeantthathelpingswereverysmall,butthentherewereagreatmanyhelpings,sothatShastasplateorcupwasbeingfilledeverymoment,andeverymomenttheDwarfsthemselvesweresaying,"Butterplease",or"Anothercupofcoffee",or"I'dlikeafewmoremushrooms",or"Whataboutfryinganothereggorso?"AndwhenatlasttheyhadalleatenasmuchastheypossiblycouldthethreeDwarfsdrewlotsforwhowoulddothewashing-up,andRoginwastheunluckyone。ThenDuffleandBricklethumbtookShastaoutsidetoabenchwhichranagainstthecottagewall,andtheyallstretchedouttheirlegsandgaveagreatsighofcontentmentandthetwoDwarfslittheirpipes。Thedewwasoffthegrassnowandthesunwaswarm;indeed,iftherehadntbeenalightbreeze,itwouldhavebeentoohot。
"Now,Stranger,"saidDuffle,"I'llshowyouthelieoftheland。YoucanseenearlyallSouthNarniafromhere,andwereratherproudoftheview。Rightawayonyourleft,beyondthosenearhills,youcanjustseetheWesternMountains。AndthatroundhillawayonyourrightiscalledtheHilloftheStoneTable。Justbeyond—"
ButatthatmomenthewasinterruptedbyasnorefromShastawho,whatwithhisnightsjourneyandhisexcellentbreakfast,hadgonefastasleep。ThekindlyDwarfs,assoonastheynoticedthis,beganmakingsignstoeachothernottowakehim,andindeeddidsomuchwhisperingandnoddingandgettingupand-tiptoeingawaythattheycertainlywouldhavewakedhimifhehadbeenlesstired。
Hesleptprettywell-nearlyalldaybutwokeupintimeforsupper。Thebedsinthathousewerealltoosmallforhimbuttheymadehimafinebedofheatheronthefloor,andheneverstirrednordreamedallnight。Nextmorningtheyhadjustfinishedbreakfastwhentheyheardashrill,excitingsoundfromoutside。