#the lion went to the small mouse and roared who is the king of the jungle

[tothesolarium]

Did ya know I illustrated a book? The way of Loving Kindness: an imperfect process of spiritual engagement by David Orendorff. I keep forgetting to make a nice post about it with teasers and stuff but- this is my grandpa, one of the kindest people I’ve met next to my Nana and some friends.

They’re the reason I’ve been able to work on my art and story so much recently, and have been keeping me from drowning in these… Emotions, to say the least.

The book is about the universal love and the work of being kind to the whole. He is a Methodist and a retired pastor, but he considers my magic and demons to be just as loving and good as what he does. Well, he’s certainly helped more people directly than I have, but he’s an old man! Give me time to catch up fhfhdhs

So to my witches and whoever else follows me, I really recommend this book. It’s got ten illustrations of mine, and a lot of good words.

He’s a wizard but wouldn’t call himself one, but has a better altar than I do.

Y’all better know what a big deal it is for me to recommend something like this

[animalgirl225]

Queen Susan the Gentle Comes Home

Because C.S. Lewis did our queen of the radiant Southern Sun dirty

No copyright infringement intended. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

           Many years had passed since Susan had received the news on that tragic day. She had grieved for a time, but life had necessitated she move on. She had a comfortable home, a stable career, a loving partner whom she hoped to join lives with someday soon, and an overall good life, all things considered. One weekend afternoon, she moved about her small but cozy home, tidying and doing other such busy work. She lifted a small, intricate carving of a lion from a stand in the front hall, dusting underneath. She and Lucy had always shared an appreciation for lions. Such strong, graceful creatures. Why, Lucy’s favorite character from her silly imaginary land had been a lion. As she placed the lion back down, one of her cats, Truffle, walked into the room to join her brother, Hunter, in their favorite sunny window seat. She smiled as they cuddled, thinking of their slightly peculiar names. She had never been very fond of mushrooms, and while most cats enjoyed a good hunt, these two were rather lazy. Still, their names seemed right. She remembered the two words being used together a long time ago, but in what way she couldn’t recall.

Susan placed her feather duster down and looked around for her broom before remembering it had broken last week when Hunter had knocked it off the first landing. She’d have to go search her cramped attic for another. She climbed the stairs, the door creaking above her head as she pushed it open. Good gracious it was warm up here! Good thing she didn’t have long to find the broom; there it was; in a back corner by some large boxes. As she retrieved the broom and went to turn back to the stairs, however, she realized what the boxes were. The largest was labeled “Peter” the second labeled “Edmund,” and the third, and smallest box, labeled “Lucy.” Susan sighed sadly. She really must bring herself to organize her siblings’ old belongings and donate what she didn’t need, or want to remember. Slowly, she pulled Lucy’s box towards her, took a deep breath, and opened it, sneezing at the cloud of dust it raised. A small notebook sat on top of the rest of the box’s inhabitants. Two words were scratched upon the cover in a child’s handwriting- “Lucy’s Diary.”

Tears pricked at her eyes as Susan gently opened the battered notebook and began to read. The first entries were everyday thoughts, her anticipation for boarding school and her excitement to join Susan in her studies. Sniffling, Susan turned the page and froze. The date was the day they had left for boarding school, the day Peter had gotten in a scrum while waiting for the train. The entry, however, talked of none of that. The entry looked to be extensive, and detailed the siblings’ most recent ‘trip’ to that childish land, the one they had all called Narnia. She also noticed faded old sketches along the margins of odd creatures, half human and half animal. What had they called them? Fauns and centaurs? Such foolish words. Susan glanced at other notations and names. Trumpkin. Tumnus. Reepicheep. Oreius. Corin. Jadis. Maugrim. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. Susan laughed to herself. Lucy had been so imaginative with the other names, but Mr. and Mrs. Beaver? She must have run out of ideas. Having already put all that silliness behind her, Susan began to close the book, but something stopped her. What, she couldn’t say. Perhaps it was the sudden memory of standing in front of a crowd in a gorgeous marble building, a delicate, golden-flowered crown being laid upon her head, and a name, Queen Susan the Gentle. And there was that young man she thought she once knew. What was his name? Caspian? What an odd name. Certainly not from around her part of England.

Susan put the book aside and looked at the rest of the contents in the box. More drawings of flowered people coming out of trees, of small bearded men, a mouse with a sword. Susan made a strange noise, one of half impatience and half amusement. They’d all had such intricate imaginations, but Lucy was the dreamiest. She had tried to insist that this world was real, long beyond Susan’s patience for the childish game. While she had loved her little sister very much, it had eventually formed somewhat of a rift between the two, as well as her brothers, who continued to entertain Lucy’s imaginations. Continuing to browse through the drawings, she flipped over the last picture and stared at the sketch. A magnificent lion looked back at her, his eyes large and gentle. There was that lion Lucy had dreamt so much about. The picture was labeled simply. What a strange name for a lion, Aslan. As the thought crossed her mind, the softest sigh of a fresh breeze wafted a single dark hair out of her face. Susan looked around in concern; she’d have to find and board that draft before it became a leak. As she turned back to the picture and stared into those eyes, a small seed of doubt came upon her. It was just an ordinary lion, right? But where had Lucy ever seen such a lion? Certainly not at the London Zoo. Those lions had all been young the last time Lucy had visited with Susan, whereas this lion was grown and regal. And why did it look so oddly familiar? Susan shook her head and placed the drawings aside, reaching back into the box.

The bottom of the small box held some pictures. Most were of the siblings, and Susan gazed at them with a heavy heart. She wished she had been able to mend their relations before the accident, that she hadn’t let such a silly game split the family. She flipped through the pictures, and came to a stop at the last one. Within its borders sat the image of a beautiful, intricately carved wardrobe. What on odd picture to be in this box. Even stranger, Susan thought the wardrobe looked familiar. A strange sense of longing filled her heart as she stared at the image. She felt as though this wardrobe were oddly connected to some long-forgotten, wonderful memory.

She gazed at the image a while longer before shaking her head, repacking the box, gently placing the small diary on top, and closing the box back up. As she closed the box’s flaps to push it back into the corner, she thought she heard a gentle whisper, a deep, rich voice that simply said “Susan…” It must be the heat of the attic, she thought. It really was a warm day. She began to climb down the ladder of the attic, but gazed one more time towards that back corner. Did something just growl? How odd. Hopefully there weren’t any unwelcome guests in the walls. She’d have to keep a close watch on the area.

That night, Susan had the most vivid dreams she’d had in years. She dreamt of magnificent creatures, griffins and minotaurs, and talking mice and horses. She dreamt of epic battles, an evil white witch, and a duel between Peter and another man dressed as a king. She dreamt of a magnificent water god rising from a river, a bearded man presenting her with a horn and bow and arrows, and of the glorious image of a powerful, gentle lion. And her siblings. Peter, Edmund, and Lucy, all of them together at a castle, celebrating a victorious battle. The last thing she remembered before she awoke was the strongest, loudest roar she had ever heard.  

           Susan awoke with tears streaming down her face. Everything had returned. Their rule over Narnia for 15 years, their return to England and the professor, their journey back to Narnia that one fateful day, and their battle to win Narnia back from the Telmarines. How could she have forgotten? She had lived a whole other life, a wonderful life, in a beautiful country hidden in a wardrobe. Susan cried harder than she had since the accident. How could she have left that world behind? Narnia had been everything to her. Why hadn’t she been there with her family on that fateful day? She arose from her bed early to begin her day; she was not going to get any more sleep this morning. Suddenly she was struck by the urge to visit the cemetery where her family was buried, a place she had not visited for some time now. She had to tell her family what she had remembered, and she owed them all an apology. Lucy especially. After dressing hastily, she was about to leave when she remembered Lucy’s diary upstairs. She must bring it with her. After retrieving the book, she ran towards the front hall, startling Truffle and Hunter as she passed. Clutching the book to her chest, she flung open the door and ran down the steps. “Lucy! Ed! Peter! I remember! I remember it all!” she cried, not caring in the slightest what the neighbors thought of her state. She felt she could run all the way to the cemetery, and in her rush, she forgot to heed her surroundings. As she entered the roadway, a car horn rang out, louder and louder until it became a roar. And then, quite suddenly, everything was quiet.

           The bustle of the London morning was gone. Susan opened her eyes. She couldn’t describe what she saw; the light was strangely hazy, and were those trees? She couldn’t tell. She looked down and saw herself standing on a carpet of soft grass, small wildflowers growing among the green blades. How on earth had she gotten to the cemetery so fast? She had barely left her house, last she remembered. But as she looked around, she didn’t see any headstones. In fact, she couldn’t see much of anything in this dim light. Something rustled behind her. She turned quickly and saw a massive shape in the haze. “Hello?” she asked tentatively.

           “Susan.” a voice said. She remembered that voice. The very voice that had given her that name, Queen Susan the Gentle, and had told her all those years ago that her time in Narnia had come to an end. “Aslan?” She whispered in stunned disbelief. “My child, why have you forsaken me?” the great lion asked, still shrouded in mist. “Aslan, I, I just…” She started, but she couldn’t finish. She had no excuse. “I’m so sorry,” she said softly, and fell to the ground in tears. “I lost myself. I lost Narnia. I lost my family. I lost…you.” She sobbed into her hands. “I’ve lost everything. Please, forgive me!”

           Something soft touched her knee, and she looked up to find the magnificent lion before her, his long tail resting on her leg. She sprang forward like she did all those years ago with Lucy at the Stone Table, burying her face into his glorious mane. “Oh Aslan, I’m so sorry.” she whispered. “Dear One, I never forgot you. You did as I asked, growing and living in your world. I was saddened to watch as you forgot me, however. That, I did not ask of you.” He said with his rich, gentle voice. “I know. I’m sorry, Aslan. I was wrong; I forgot who I was. Can you ever forgive me?” Susan replied, pulling away and looking the lion in the eyes. “Child, I could never not. It is as I said before: once a queen of Narnia, always a queen of Narnia. Welcome to my country, Queen Susan. Welcome home.”

           At his words, the haze cleared, and Susan found herself in what looked like Narnia, but everything was so much more beautiful and…perfect. She gazed around in wonder at the magnificent waterfalls, the towering snow-capped mountains, and the wildflowers growing in beautiful clusters. And then, there they were. She saw figures walking toward her and ran to meet them with tears in her eyes, the great lion following at a distance. Lucy, Edmund, Peter, her parents, Caspian, Mr. Tumnus, Trumpkin, and the Beavers all gathered around her with joy, welcoming her as a Friend of Narnia once more.

[elliemarchetti]

The Queen of Fangs and Steel (Part 3)

Part 1

Part 2

Words: 1779

In the center of the room there were at least fifteen soldiers who had smeared the large coat of arms of the crown with mud-stained boots. They all wore armor made of black metal slats, with the exception of one: Cal’s was shining with a reddish glow, just as his eyes. Beside him was Evangeline, her hair gathered in a braid that suited her much more than the hairstyles she used to show at Summerton, before her brother’s death. She was slightly out of breath but she looked proud while holding a screaming person by the hair. At the exact moment she met her eyes, before she was thrown at the king’s feet, she recognized Walsh, and Mare searched for the prince’s support, but where she expected to see remorse she found only determination in not wanting to save the one who, in what seemed like a previous lifetime, he had sent to welcome her when she arrived at the Hall of the Sun. The cheerful and carefree servant was no longer there, or perhaps she had never existed and what she had seen was just another mask. How many more times would she have to find out at her own expense that she hadn't known the true colors of who surrounded her?

"These worms sneak into the old tunnels," growled Evangeline, who, without a shadow of a doubt, had recognized Walsh as one of her brother’s killers. "We found her stalking us near the river exits."

If only the princess had known ... Walsh wasn't stalking them, she was patrolling the railway tunnels to make sure the passage was clear for hers and Maven’s return from Naercey. They had made it, but her fate would’ve been very different and she couldn’t have done anything to prevent it, Maven's arm, holding her firmly, wasn’t needed to remind her of the horrible fact.

"We went as far as radiation detectors allowed us to go," added Cal, doing his best to ignore Walsh, who coughed and spit blood, continuing his mission report. Why did he suppress his gentle nature in that way? Why did he do his best to impress a father who barely seemed to love himself, let alone his children? That man was cruel, the perfect match for Elara, who approached the girl like a cat does with a mouse. They wouldn’t have made the same mistake twice, they would’ve made her speak, compromise everyone, ruin the Guard, and then they would’ve killed them one by one, slowly. But probably to be one of Farley's collaborators you had to be ready to die for her, and this did Walsh, when she swallowed something that in a few seconds began to make her secrete white foam from her mouth. A lethal pill, as Cal would’ve said later in a sweet voice, the same one he would’ve used if he had spoken to a child. If it usually bothered her, it wasn't like that when it came to war and death.

"It's a better death than the one we would’ve inflicted her."

"Would you have frozen her? Or maybe burned her alive, just to do something different?" Mare snapped.

Careful, she warned herself. Although his presence made her shiver, she had to resist. After all, she decided to be found on that balcony to give him hope, to make him believe he had a chance with her. It was Maven’s idea, to be honest, but he certainly couldn’t know how easy it was for her to cross the fine line that separated the lie from the truth, especially with Cal, towards whom, even when he was talking about the Bowl of Bones, she didn’t find that easy to define her feelings.

"I thought you stopped with those things. I haven't seen an execution for more than ten years," she said, trying to remember the shows she had seen when she was a child. She shouldn't forget anything, she shouldn't lose sight of her goal.

"Exceptions can be made," he replied. "Since fighting in the arenas hasn't stopped the Scarlet Guard from gaining ground, maybe something else will work."

"I still don't understand why you cared so much. You didn't even know I was different," she whispered. Even though they felt they were alone, she had learned by now that walls too had eyes and ears when the Silvers were involved. Obviously she knew it wasn't her mutation that tied Cal to her but the fact that he crossed his arms uncomfortably, as if to protect himself from something that perhaps he didn’t want to say, or perhaps he had to deny even to himself, was only a welcome confirmation. If all this hadn't happened, if she had been just a Red like the others, they could’ve had a future made of stolen moments and bittersweet caresses, but that girl died in the arena, and even if she wasn’t Mareena, she was a new Mare, more aware of the fact she could make a difference, stronger, even wrapped in silk and lies. It was that thought that gave her the strength to turn her back on him to leave him to reason on her words, that thought that prevented her from collapsing like a house of cards blown away by the wind.

 Evangeline advanced along with the other executioners, never taking her eyes off her prey. She knew that Mareena wouldn’t bring any good, but she could never have imagined that she would take away what was dearest to her in the whole world. If he were still alive, Ptolemus would’ve been there with her, roaring like a lion, letting his notorious temperament take over. It would’ve been a good show, and they would’ve had fun, but now she no longer found any joy in turning the blades in her hands; her only desire was to end it quickly, savor the revenge she deserved and return into Elane's arms , where she could’ve been able to cry, if she wanted to. Next to her, taking her place, there was her beloved’s brother, who suddenly disappeared into the blinding light only to reappear once his shirt’s sleeves caught fire in contact with Cal’s weak fire wall. With a bored gesture, Lord Osanos extinguished them thanks to a small wave, and then returned to place his impressive blue eyes on the barrier, against which his liquid sizzled and boiled, turning into dense clouds of steam that immersed everyone under the glass dome in a white, ghostly fog.

"Be ready!" Cal yelled at the Red girl, and Evangeline felt the betrayal squeeze her chest like a vice. The prince, the former prince, owed nothing to her, after all, theirs was a simple agreement,  but Ptolemus was his friend, perhaps the only true one he had, why had he done this to him? Perhaps it wasn’t the right question, not when he didn’t hesitated in beheading his own father and killing his uncle and his little cousins with a bomb, all for a cause without any chance of success. No Silver would have ever bowed to laws where the Reds were their equals, and those beasts, if they weren’t given orders and weren’t directed towards obedience, wouldn’t know how to behave, as the Scarlet Guard had shown. She just couldn't understand how she hadn't been suspected Mareena right away: she had come in a too strange way, at a perfect time to give her a position of power that would give her access to far more than all the other Reds combined, yet, although she understood that she was hiding something, she would never suspect anything so big. Obviously she had the doubt that she had been helped by Silvers and she wasn’t surprised by the fact that Julian Jacos, with his aversion to Elara, was one of them, but from making a commoner princess to supporting terrorists… the step was long, maybe too much, but it wasn’t the right time to ask questions, to think, to hesitate, not when Ptolemus would’ve did it for her without any remorse. No, she would’ve killed those assassin and then she would’ve continued to search, devoting her life to hunt down those Red devils one by one if necessary, until she exterminated the Scarlet Guard with her own hands, and if Maven wanted to help, he was welcome. After all, remembering how he was close with Mare, he too had a few reasons to hate them, even if that sudden outburst of cruelty surprised her: when he was giving his speech his eyes were wicked, full of anger and fury, and now he was applauding and inciting his champions so loudly that his voice exceeded the noise made by the crowd. A fast look and she decided to devote her attention on her former fiancée; Stralian could keep Red, after all it was a task that he could accomplish and he needed a little glory poured on his name, but Cal was hers and hers only, and decided to brand him as it by throwing him a shower of knives and metal splinters that she knew he wouldn’t be able to melt completely before at least a couple of blades could reach him since she had often fought against him, in the past. Just as she had imagined, Cal screamed in pain and for a moment he lost concentration, the perfect time to make the knives she was holding merge into a single monstrous sword, the exact copy of Ptolemus’ favourite weapon, who excelled in that type of physical combat, and try to cut the prince in half with it. Watching his guts pouring out on the sand, knowing this blade did it, was a great way to honor Tolly, and if the queen had been magnanimous, she would’ve allowed her mother’s beasts to feed on them, her twisted personal revenge.

“I didn’t killed him!” he yelled, as Evangeline poked out of the fog, her eyes bloodshot. He couldn’t even say his name and he was trying to save his life that way? He was pathetic, but she needed to know why he did it anyway, and so she asked, popping a razor-sharp whip, even if she knew she would never receive an answer. At the thought, tears stung her eyes and she threw herself on him again, but both fell to the ground, rolling in the sand. She was about to sever his carotid when someone snatched her from her prey, making her head hit hard on the ground. Cal was quick to get up, but the last thing she saw was Mare, a cut on her face bleeding red and purple lightning dancing deadly on her hands.

[radioactivepeasant]

Fic Prompts: Folklore Friday

Here it is! The conclusion of the Puss in Boots adaptation! It went longer than expected, I originally thought it was going to be a one-shot.

In the castle on the hill there lived the Filthy Great Ogre. (He did not, as the name might suggest, have any particular aversion to bathing, although his table habits were indeed atrocious. “Filthy Great” was merely a polite -- as ogres go -- combination of a title and an honorific to indicate that the ogre was of some noticeable status. The problem was that the Filthy Great Ogre had not come by his title through any sort of proper channels, and had rather bestowed it upon himself on a whim and then ceased paying taxes.)

“But wait,” one might interject, “Don’t ogres live in swamps?”

Some do, of course, but it would be silly to assume that all ogres live in swamps merely because of a few well-documented individuals. And in fact, an ogre might just as well ask “But wait, don’t humans live in villages?” if faced with a castle or a city or a cottage in the woods. Disregarding even that, it is a very foolish thing anyhow to tell an ogre where he may or may not live.

And yet the cat was intending to do exactly that.

Getting into the castle was no more difficult than infiltrating the king’s palace had been, and soon enough the cat was prowling the halls. He found the Filthy Great Ogre in his bedchamber, picking his teeth with an unpleasantly unidentifiable bone. Now, the cat was never one for going into a situation without the advantage, and he had gathered as much information on the ogre as he could from the peasants on his way up. As it happened, this particular ogre possessed some natural skill with magic. Instead of using it to prosper his lands or fix up his castle or give himself something to wear other than ill-fitting satin and taffeta, he used it to transform himself into animals. Which is a perfectly valid use of magic, and often very practical, especially if one wishes to do some spying. But the Filthy Great Ogre really only used it as a party trick, usually right before eating the party.

Upon noticing the cat, who had not been taking any great pains to hide himself, the ogre worked up a very unpleasant belch and sat up.

“You,” he said, “Are quite lucky you’re a cat, or I might eat you.”

“Don’t you eat cats, then?” asked the cat.

“Oh I never eat an animal I can turn into,” answered the Filthy Great Ogre, “It’s a professional courtesy.”

“Have you never turned into a human, then?” the cat pressed.

The Filthy Great Ogre squinted at the cat and frowned. “Now why would I want to do that?”

That cat supposed that was a fair answer and he shrugged. Then, with a sweeping bow and an elegant twirl of his hat, the cat began to spin some wild tale about having traveled from far away to see if the rumors of the Filthy Great Ogre’s immense powers were true. The ogre was flattered, and quickly revealed to the cat by his reactions that he was not the sort of castle-dwelling ogre that comes with any particular modicum of common sense. After all, if a traveler comes to one’s door and says they have come from far away to see whether rumors of one’s talents or looks are true, the proper thing to do is wonder just what sorts of stories are circulating and to be wary of the stranger. Particularly if their accents suggests that they have only come from one county over.

But evidently none of this occurred to the Filthy Great Ogre. He demurely agreed to demonstrate -- which, in its truest sense, would have meant that he was being meek and humble, but this is the Filthy Great Ogre, and he was nothing of the sort, thereby rendering “demurely” a somewhat facetious adverb in this case -- and left his chair with some difficulty. But that was his own fault for wearing starched taffeta pantaloons, wasn’t it?  

“For my first trick,” the ogre announced, and then he transformed himself into a lion and roared.

This would have been frightening enough on his own, but the lion was also wearing starched taffeta pantaloons. The cat, who -- despite not wearing pantaloons of any sort himself -- thought he was quite the expert on fashion, found this just as terrifying as the deafening roar.

“Truly,” he said, “The legends did not exaggerate your magnificence!”

And any time someone makes a remark of this nature, that is usually an indication that one is about to be tricked, or robbed, or set upon by vengeful dwarves. But as previously mentioned, the Filthy Great Ogre was not possessed of enough common sense to understand that there was more to the well-dressed feline than base flattery.

“I wonder,” said the cat, who now had an excellent idea that did not involve the tedious use of claws, “What is the largest thing that you can transform into? Can you become a dragon?”

“Someday, I’m certain,” answered the lion, “But I have not seen one in person yet, which does sort of make getting the proportions right a little tricky.”

“Oh!” The cat was now very interested, plots aside. “How fascinating! So then, what is the largest animal you’ve seen?”

“Observe,” said the Filthy Great Ogre, and he twisted and turned until he had become a bear in a silk vest and starched taffeta pantaloons. This time, the clothing sort of detracted from what ought to have been a very intimidating spectacle.

Cajoling and questioning by turns, the cat convinced the ogre to change several more times. When he asked for something stubborn, the ogre became a bull. When he asked for something beautiful, the ogre became a warthog. Which is perfectly fair, because beauty is fairly subjective. However, when the cat asked whether the ogre might change into a bird, he was presented with a large and somewhat aggressive goose. Though he lacked common sense, the ogre was not stupid: he wasn’t going to change into the kind of thing that he knew cats hunted.

“Oh I am in awe, simply in awe!” The cat applauded, which made hardly any noise at all with his soft little paws, but the gesture was nonetheless appreciated. “I wonder if- no, nevermind, that’s foolish.”

“What is?” asked the ogre, who was beginning to forget himself in his desire to show off.

“No, no, pay no attention to me,” the cat demurred, “I shouldn’t like to inconvenience you with something that may be too difficult.”

Feeling a little insulted, the ogre demanded to know just what, precisely, the cat was talking about. There was no animal that he could not turn into, provided he’d seen it at least once! When he said as much, rather sullenly, the cat bowed again and spoke in a soothing voice.

“I meant no offense, of course,” he lied through his whiskers, “I just thought perhaps changing into something very small might not be part of your powers.”

Of course, now his honor had to be upheld. At first, the Filthy Great Ogre considered changing into a mouse, Then he decided that this would not do at all. What if his fancy little flatterer should become hungry and forget himself in favor of his instincts? Better to avoid rodents entirely, he decided, and so he scoffed proudly and transformed into a little ant in badly-fitting clothes.

The ant promptly met a swift and brutal moral about the dangers of listening to flatterers in the shape of a boot heel.

The cat then made his way through the castle, warning every servant he could find that they would meet their master’s fate if they did not do precisely as he commanded. Which meant that the place underwent a very rapid cleaning in a very short amount of time while the cat coached the servants on the story they were to tell any guests.

No more than two hours later, the carriage of the king, Princess Elsie, and poor, confused Tobias arrived. Having heard from everyone they passed that these were the lands of the Marquis of Carabas, the king was very curious to see where his young guest lived. Tobias, meanwhile, found himself in the position of presenting a bland and pleasant face to the king and eldest princess while screaming very loudly on the inside of his head.

“It may be a bit out of sorts,” Tobias said hastily, trying to think of what the cat might say in this situation, “I’ve only just come into the area to stay. We haven’t even set up payment of taxes yet!”

“Oh!” said the king, “You know, I’d wondered. Well well, moving is always a hassle. I’d be happy to help you get things started.”

Tobias was only too quick to agree, if for no other reason than he hadn’t the slightest idea how a nobleman paid his taxes. Neither had he any idea what was going to be waiting in that castle, or where the cat was. This led to the formation of a backup plan in which he would wait until the king and princess were distracted should the castle be a trap, then leap out of the carriage and run for his life. He could probably join a traveling circus after that, if he needed to earn money.

As it turned out, there was no need to join the circus after all. The cat greeted them at the gates, now wearing a silk vest so large that he had belted it and was wearing it like a tunic.

“Ah, welcome, welcome!” he purred, “Do excuse my running ahead, I had to make sure the servants had unpacked enough tableware for guests.”

Princess Elsie stepped gracefully out of the carriage and turned to offer Tobias a hand down. “Careful,” she warned with a smile, “Papa’s shoes are a bit large for you. It wouldn’t do to trip.”

“No, I don’t suppose it would,” Tobias agreed.

Dinner was a slightly awkward, but fairly informal affair, and though the king did make an offhand remark about the castle smelling of troll, he seemed to think that the “Marquis” had made a good real estate decision. When he and Elsie were saying their farewells, he made a statement about the Marquis joining them at court some time to get to know the royal family better. Elsie seemed very approving of this idea, but Tobias looked mildly panicked.

“That would be delightful, your majesty,” the cat interjected, “I’m sure the Marquis will gladly join you all as soon as his affairs are in order.”

“Of course, of course,” said the king indulgently, “Must finish the moving-in, mustn’t we?”

Once the royalty had left, everyone save the cat let out a sigh of relief, grateful that they no longer had to pretend to have known this new tenant for years. The relief was short-lived, as they quickly realized that the cat intended the charade to continue.

“We live here now,” the cat announced grandly, “So do us a favor and help poor Toby here learn some royal manners? Anyway, you needn’t worry about being eaten, at least.”

And it did take some several months, but Tobias did eventually learn enough to fake his way through court manners. “Do as I do,” the cat had told him, “Pretend you know what you’re doing and be prepared to make a swift exit through the nearest window if you’re caught.”

“Humans don’t always land on their feet, cat,” said Tobias.

“That sounds like a “you” problem,” said the cat.

And, with taxes finally being paid to repair the roads, and tenants no longer having to worry about premature and gruesome ends courtesy of the landlord, life soon settled into something more routine. And even if it could not be realistically said that they were always happy, for there is always trouble somewhere in life, they all lived contentedly enough ever after.

The End

[the-jade-cross]

The Lion, the Witch, and the Elph - Chapter 9

“They’re so still,” Lucy said, staring up at the trees s they rowed down the river.

“They’re trees,” Trumpkin grumbled. “What do you expect?”

“They used to dance,” Lucy replied simply.

Trumpkin shrugged, “Not since you lot left.” The children stilled at this before Lucy spoke again. “I don’t understand. How could Aslan let this happen?” “Aslan?” the dwarf asked. “Thought he abandoned you after you lot left.” “We didn’t mean to leave you know,” Edmund muttered.

Peter felt his heart sink into the soles of his shoes, his rowing slowing for a while. If he could go back, he wouldn’t have gone into the wardrobe. He wouldn’t have left Rhea and let her die alone….

“Doesn’t matter now,” the dwarf muttered.

“Take us to the Narnians,” Peter replied seriously. “And it will.” Silence enveloped the five before Susan noticed that Trumpkin kept looking curiously at Edmund as if something intrigued him.

“What are you staring at?” she insisted.

“That blade,” Trumpkin said, pointing to Rhea’s axe upon Edmund’s back, “Where did you find that?” Edmund took the axe off his back, placing it on his lap.

“This belonged to our dear friend….” “Rheanna the Seraphim,” Trumpkin interrupted.

Peter’s head snapped up at this, “You know her?”

Trumpkin was about to say that Rhea and her friends had stayed with them in their burrow for almost five years but he saw Lucy shake her head meaningfully and something about the look in her eyes told the dwarf to not tell them.

“She is a legend,” Trumpkin said. “Other than yourselves, she was the only one from the old tales that I believed actually existed. When the Telmarines took over, the seraphim warned the common Narnians to go into hiding to escape persecution. They say you can still hear her call in the night like a siren singing the trees and water to sleep. They say if you hear her, the winds will gently blow, and your hearths will roar…. And some say they have seen a girl with porcelain skin as white as snow, hair even whiter, sprinkled with water droplets and a long flowing dress of fire billowing in the wind. Eyes as green as grass and big as a doe’s. They say that her spirit still lives on, keeping the Narnian’s hopeful and alive until her friends from old returned.”

Lucy felt her heart leap at those words. The way Trumpkin said the words, she could tell that he was saying it from experience…. Rhea was alive! Now she knew for sure! “Rhea left this,” Edmund explained, gripping the axe. “with a spell to protect the treasure chamber in Cair Paravel. She left us messages from the day of the invasion….” Trumpkin nodded, “It is an ancient artifact of the Elph. They say that the metal the elph people used to create their weapons would glow if another Elph weapon is near.”

“But I thought Rhea was the last elph,” Susan pointed out.

Trumpkin shrugged, “It is like trying to kill of every fly, you will always miss a few.” Lucy’s eyes lit up, “Do you think there are still elph people around?”

“Well….” The dwarf started but never finished for a quiet whizzing sound passed them and a small throwing disk was now embedded on the handle of the oar Peter held.

“Wha….” Susan started, grabbing her bow but Lucy interrupted.

“Look!”

The others looked to see that the reddish blade of Rhea’s axe was now glowing so brightly that if it had been dark out, the blade would have lighted their way. They all looked at the half moon disk still embedded in the oar to find that it’s bluish blade was also glowing!

The children all looked around to see the owner of the disk until they finally caught sight of the person, standing on the bank of the river about fifty meters ahead.

For a moment, the children thought they were looking at a past version of Rhea for the silver armor and white clothing beneath were just like that which Rhea wore the first time they met. The person was definitely a girl for her legs were long and slender, her waist slim and from her height, build and size of certain places of her body indicated that she was at least fifteen.

She wore a lacy white light skirt which flowed about her legs like white petals. Her legs were garbed in tight black pants and slender silver armor. A matching shirt of similar material to her skirt with long white sleeves was held in place by a simple corset of silver armor. Shoulder plates and wrist guards of similar armor held her sleeves close to her arms. Around her waist hung a simple black belt, lined with small throwing daggers.

The kids also noticed the small throwing disks that lined the edges of her boots and pant legs.

Peter steered the boat to come ashore near the girl and the group climbed out of the boat. Trumpkin approached the girl first and the stranger pushed back the white hood of her outfit to reveal a headful of dirty blond hair which was pulled back in cornrow plaits to the back of her head where it was all held together in a ribbon, the wavy locks falling to the middle of her back. The girl was incredibly pretty and as much as the kids had hoped she either looked like Rhea or was Rhea herself, the is girl held no resemblance to the elph. Not even the slightly pointy ears. Her features were rounded with a cute upturned nose, faint dimples and button nose. Her eyes were shaded by thick lashes which almost hid the sky-blue color of her doe shaped eyes. There was one thing though that this girl and Rhea had in common other than their petite size: the way that they looked almost too perfect for the world.

“There you are Pheira,” Trumpkin grumbled, “Couldn’t bother to come and rescue me from Telmarines?” “I think you had it under control,” the girl said in a teasing voice. “Besides, I had to help Glenstorm round up the others for the meetin’.” “How did it go?” the dwarf asked. “They didn’t kill the kid did they?” The girl shook her head, “I left before Rehtir and the others brought him. Though, I doubt Reep would let them touch a hair on his head. He is a little overprotective for a creature of his size.” The girl then spied the four children watching them in awe before walking over and holding out her hand to them with a smile.

“I am Pheira Lionheart.” Lucy was the first to shake the girl’s hand, beaming, “Are you an elph?”

Pheira chuckled, “Not entirely. Since the White Witch wiped out most of my elph forefathers, Elph people had to live disguised alongside humans and over time the pure blood of full elph died out. My brother and I are the only living people with Elph in our blood.” “Where is your brother?” Edmund asked, curious about the whole thing.

“With the Narnians and Prince Caspian,” Pheira explained, smiling brightly at the boy. “I came to help you get there.” “A little help with direction would hurt,” Susan admitted, smirking at Peter.

The new girl looked at the eldest Pevensie before her face turned from curious to bright. This went unnoticed by all except Lucy. She would have to ask the girl about it later.

*************

Rhea sighed as she sat up in a tree overlooking the meeting of the Narnians and Caspian. She knew there would be some dejection toward the prince and she knew Nikabrik would be one of them but now it just sounded ridiculous to her.

“You would hold me accountable for other crimes of my people,” Caspian remarked angrily.

“Accountable,” Nikabrik echoed, “And punishable.” “Ha!” Reepacheep hooted, hopping down in front of the dwarf, “That is rich coming from you dwarf, or have you forgotten it was your people who fought alongside the White Witch!” Nikabrik pushed aside the mouse’s sword laughing, “I would do it again if it ridded us of these barbarians.”

“You cannot kill a hundred birds with one stone Nikabrik,” a voice said from above.

The others watched as Rehtir hopped down from a tree to stand beside Caspian, “If you had ha herd of dogs and one of them bit you, would you hold all the dogs accountable for the wrong the one dog committed? If one man from Archenland stole from you or murdered a person you loved, would that make every man and woman in Archenland responsible?” “You’re one to talk kid,” the dwarf hissed, “Your people went into hiding and abandoned us to the strife of the world!”

“ENOUGH!” a voice howled, a gust of wind knocking several darves over, the torches in the clearing blazing as Rhea jumped down from to stand between Rehtir and Caspian and the dwarf.

“Our people abandoned you!?” she hissed. “I was the last of my kind for centuries Nikabrik! The white witch wiped us out! As the only Elph not persecuted, did I abandon you? I slaved 15000 years away to keep Jadis in check and spent 15 years protecting the kings and queens of old. When they were gone I spent another 1052 years keeping the remaining Narnians alive! So, don’t even say that my people abandoned you! The Telmarine throne is rightfully Caspian’s. As I vowed 16052 years ago to protect the hope of Narnia, I bet my life on Caspian being the answer we need.”

“She speaks the truth,” Glenstorm said, walking over, “The time is right for a son of Adam to come forth and give us back our freedom.” “For Aslan,” Reep said, earning a smile from Rhea.

“Now, we need to find soldiers and weapons,” Caspian said. “I am sure they will be here soon.” As the group slowly dispersed, Rehtir approached Rhea, “Did he mean Miraz’s army or Pheira with the kings and queens?”

Rhea shrugged, “Both I guess. That horn was not made to only work when it watned. If it does what I think it does, they will all be here soon. Both good and bad.” “is that why you asked Pheira to tell no one but the youngest queen of your existence?””

Rhea nodded, “It has been 1052 years  since I saw them and so far they think I have been dead for most of that. Only Lucy knows of the elph life span…. And I don’t know if am ready to face them.” “But you have nothing to fear,” Rehtir objected, “You have never done anything wrong!” Rhea smiled before leaning over to plant a kiss on Rehtir’s cheek, “It may look like that but I have done the one thing that would make them hate me forever.” “What is that?” the boy inquired.

“I shut away my feelings for Peter and have sworn to never love again…. Even if he comes back. I cannot have my heart broken again. It’ll crumble if it does.”

*************

Lucy picked up her pace so she was walking beside Pheira, Edmund behind and the others ahead all of which out of hearing shot.

“Do you…. Know another elph by any chance?” she asked. “An old friend of ours!?” Pheira looked around to be sure none of the others could hear until she spoke in a whisper.

“Rhea is alive and well. She told me to only speak of her to you queen Lucy.”

Lucy nodded, “The others don’t know of her immortality. She told me when we were last here that she didn’t want them to pity her.” The part elph smiled, “I know why. I have known Rhea since for as long as I can remember…. some 1022 years or so.” “So, about 30 years after we left?” Lucy asked. “How old were you?” “Barely three humans years old,” Pheira replied. “She is the bravest person I know. She cared for my brother and I our whole lives and on top of that, she kept Narnia alive and hopeful for 1000 years all alone. She lived through watching her friends’ great-grandchildren die and have their own kids. My brother and I are the only ones who have been with her through most of it and she never falter.” “But, how come you almost Edmund’s age but you have not been alive as long as Rhea?”

“My brother and I are only part elph which means that our aging is a little faster than a full blooded elph like Rhea. We still age slow but not as slow. I am 1022 years old but in elph years I am almost fifteen since for part elph’s, we age roughly about a year in appearance every 65 human years.”

“Cool,” the little girl whispered. “but does that mean you are not immortal like Rhea?”

“Elph people are not immortal really, we just age slow. There comes a day when an elph can leave for Aslan’s county freely. Rhea even said that if Narnia finds peace with help of Prince Caspian then in the next decade or so she will journey to Aslan’s country. It is where she was born after all and I don’t know if she wants to live through the whole of Narnia’s existence…. Alone.” “And Peter?” Lucy whispered. “Does she speak of him?”

“Only if asked,” Pheira admitted. “When my brother Rehtir and I were little, Rehtir had a crush on a nymph and he asked Rhea if she ever loved someone. That was the first time she spoke of your brother. She was so accurate and detailed in her description of him that I recognized your brother almost immediately. I am afraid though that when they meet again, it might be difficult.”

“Why?” Lucy asked, worry evident on her face.

“Rhea has dedicated her life to the Narnians since you left. She has worked herself to the ground and has allowed no one but my brother and I to get close. She has closed herself off from emotion and she once told me that she cannot have her heart broken a second time.” Lucy sighed, nodding in understanding. “I am afraid Peter will never give her the chance to explain. He doesn’t always think things through and if he sees her, he may be so happy that he will fail to realize that she has lived without him for 1000 years…. And more…. It will hurt them both.”

**************

When Peter approached the edge of the ravine, he was shocked to see how far down it really was.

“See, over time water reduces the earth’s soil, making….” Susan started but Peter cut her off.

“Oh shut up.” “Is there another way down?” Edmund asked of Trumpkin.

“Yeah, falling,” the dwarf replied, earning a snort and roll of the eyes from Pheira.

This didn’t go unnoticed by peter who frowned at the girl. Why was she so sarcastic and annoying sometimes?

“But we weren’t lost,” he defended, rather embarrassed.

“There’s a ford near Beruna. How do you feel about swimming?” the dwarf replied.

The older kids began to follow but Lucy lingered a moment before crying out.

“It’s Aslan! It’s Aslan over there!” She cried, causing everyone to look at her, “Don’t you see he’s right….. there…..” “Do you see him now?” Trumpkin asked.

Pheira shot him a scowl while Lucy looked at her siblings rather hurt, “I’m not crazy. I saw him, he wants us to follow him across.” “Look, I’m not going to jump off a cliff for a guy who doesn’t exist,” Trumplkin started when Pheira smacked him over the head angrily.

“Doesn’t exist huh? How do you suppose the White Witch died? Or better yet, how do you suppose Narnia was created in the first place!?”

“Lucy was the only one who saw him,” Peter warned, getting angry with the girl for some reason.

Pheira spun on her heel to face Peter and for a moment he had a sense of Déjà vu…. For a split second the girl reminded him of the times his siblings got angry with him over something stupid or unfair he did.

“Maybe it is because you were all blind to the fact that you wouldn’t be here in the first place if it wasn’t for Aslan! Seeing is not believing Son of Adam! You know better than anyone that you cannot see love but it is there! Aslan and Lucy were the ones who brought you and Rheanna the Seraphim together and you didn’t doubt them then! You couldn’t see your love but you knew it was there! So, why now do you not believe either of them!?”

Peter took a step back in shock from the violent tone in the girl’s voice. He didn’t know why but this girl reminded him of Rhea…. Her spirit and determination but Rhea never lost her temper like that. She had the patience of an angel (or from what Peter remembered). This girl reminded him of Edmund before they entered Narnia the first time.

“Come on Pheira,” Lucy said, taking the girl’s hand, “Just let it go. We should try to cross Beruna.” Pheira huffed before watching Lucy and Edmund walk off. Giving Trumpkin and Peter a cold scowl, she followed the two children. When she had left, Trumpkin sighed. “I forgot that Pheira doesn’t have the same gentle demeanor as her brother. Should have brought him along and left Pheira with Trufflehunter. He can handle her tempers.” Peter huffed in annoyance until Susan spoke.

“She was right you know,” she sighed. “if it wasn’t for Lucy….” “We wouldn’t have tumbled back through the wardrobe and left Narnia and Rhea behind!” Peter snapped. “And Pheira knows nothing of this matter or of Rhea so right now, neither of them have the right to say anything on the subject!” As the boy stormed off, Susan close behind, Trumpkin sighed to himself. “You sure about that?”

********

Peter woke up with a start only to find everyone asleep except for Pheira. The girl hadn’t spoken two words to him since their argument at the top of the ravine. The girl was now sitting with her back against a tree, sharpening one of her knives on a rock. Peter scanned the camp, only to realize that Lucy was nowhere to be found.

“Where is Lucy?” He asked urgently, sitting up.

“Oh, she left a moment ago,” Pheira replied. “That way.” “And you didn’t think to stop her?” Peter hissed. “You cannot let her wander off into the woods alone!”

Pheira glared daggers at the boy, “I am not the one who vowed to spend my life protecting the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. I wonder how Rheanna put up with you four. Edmnd and Lucy are easier to deal with than you and they are two! Besides, I trust my judgement.” Peter huffed and grabbing his sword, rushed off in the direction Pheira had indicated that Lucy had taken. He didn’t have to look far till he saw his sister ahead, whispering Aslan’s name. He quickly pinned her back, covering her mouth. The girl tensed but relaxed when she saw who it was. The two peered around the corner to see a large grey minotaur walking about not more than ten meters away. Peter put a finger to his lips, telling Lucy to keep down and quiet.

Drawing his sword, he slowly approached the beast only to be shocked out of his wits when a young man about his age with dark long hair burst forth, crashing swords with him.

Peter began to think he had the upper hand but the young man kept inching back toward a specific tree until he suddenly pulled back all the way, putting distance between the two of them. Peter was about to close the distance when a figure jumped down between them from the tree and lifting one hand, blocked Peter’s sword.

The Pevensie saw that there were three metal blades on the stranger’s wrist like talons and were blocking his blow. Peter scanned this new boy up and down. Leaner than Peter’s athletic build, pale white hair but strong stance…. Could be a problem. Peter drew his sword back and swung again but the boy brought up both his hands, the other hand also having the same strapped on talons and blocked the second blow with ease.

“Are you alright?” the white haired boy asked the brunette he was protecting.

“Yes, thank you,” the other boy replied.

“Who are you?” Peter hissed, trying to break the boy’s stance but failing.

“Oh,” the pale boy chirped brightly. “He is Caspian…. What about you mate?”

Before Peter could contemplate how friendly this boy was in such asituation, Susan hollered Peter’s name as she and the others came upon the scene.

Pheira smirked at the scene before her but Peter noticed that the white-haired boy was suddenly distracted so he took another blow, only for one of his knees to buckle, a pain in his leg telling him that someone had kicked the underside of his knee. Before he could recover, two hands grabbed his shoulders from behind and kicked the back of his legs, bringing him down onto his back.

Peter groaned as he looked up at a small figure standing over him garbed all in black with a long black hood.

“No chivalry your majesty?” the person asked.

Peter slowly sat up to find Caspian staring at him in wonder.

“Pheira!” the white-haired boy cried, rushing over to hug the girl. “I was wondering what hekpt you!” The four Pevensies watched the exchange with wide eyes. There was no mistakeing that the boy was Rehtir, Pheira’s part-elph brother the girl had spoken of.

Now that Peter saw the boy in a different light than an opponent, he could see more elph in Rehtir than Pheira. While Pheira was blond with freckles and slight tan, slender but athletic build and round features, Rehtir was pale, white-haired with sharper features, fair complexion and was built slim and lean.

They were as different as night and day, mostly in personality. As the brother and sister talked, the kids saw that compared to Pheira’s rough, sarcastic and aggressive personality, Rehtir was light, joyful and a gentle soul.

“You’re high king Peter,” Caspian muttered, earning Peter’s attention.

Peter rolled his eyes, “I guess your assassin guessed that already.” “Well I thought you would be older,” Caspian admitted, noticing the cloaked figure behind Peter give him a meaningful look to not answer the king’s remark.

“Well if you like, we can come back in a few years,” Peter remarked seriously.

“NO!” the boy cried, “It’s alright… you’re just not exactly what I expected.” Peter saw Caspian’s dark eyes drift over the newcomers before landing on Pheira and remaining there. Peter didn’t know why but he felt a pang of annoyance and anger at this but didn’t know why.

“I trust you didn’t do anything stupid while I was gone?” Pheira asked her brother.

Rehtir smirked, “Not other than pinching Reep’s tail.” Lucy had been watching the exchange between the two for a while before she walked over to greet Rehtir. However, her foot caught on a root and she tumbled forward. Just before she struck the ground, a hand reached out and caught her.

“Easy there little queen,” a gentle voice said.

Lucy looked up to find the black cloaked person standing over her, the long black cloak concealing all of the person.

“Hey!” Pheira cried when Lucy had regained her footing. “Don’t I get a hug!?”

The black figure turned to the girl and held out their arms to Pheira who barreled into them. The impact of Pheira’s onslaught was so great that the person’s hood fell back to reaveal long snow-white hair. The four Pevensies stared as the stranger pulled back from Pheira to reveal sharp features, button nose, plush pink lips, large lime green eyes shaded by lashes and an all too familiar smile.

“Welcome back your Majesties.” One word passed the lips of the four kids:

“Rhea….”

[spannycattheogony]

A Reconstruction of The Orphic Eudemian Theogony

A Reconstruction of The Orphic Eudemian Theogony (c. 4th Century BC):

At the very beginning was Nyx and she begat Ouranos and Gaia who together had Okeanos and Tethys. Okeanos and Tethys gave birth to seven lovely daughters and six kingly sons, indeed, the great Titanes who are the powers of the natural world, they who drag or stretch. The six Titanic daughters are law-giving Themis, Mnemosyne the mother of the fair-haired Mousai, and happy Theia the mother of light. And Yaia bore beautiful Dione the mother of procreation, radiant Phoibi who held the seat at Delphi, and glorious Rheia the mother of the aigis-bearing Olympian king of all.

The six Titanic sons are querying Koios the father of Leto and Astæria, Kreios the lord of the vast constellations, mighty Phorkys who rules the great depths of the Sea, light-giving Hyperion the father of the Sun and the Moon, genial Iapetos the father of the race of men, and greatest of all, kingly Kronos, he who strikes (awakens) the mind, father of glorious children.  

Kronos assumed the kingship. He married his sister Rheia, and produced children: Hestia and Hera, as well as Hades and Poseidon. But Kronos also had been given an oracle that his rule would be usurped by one of his children, so he swallowed them, one by one, as they came into the world, but Rheia despised this and contrived a plan. The next child came forth, glorious Zeus, and at the birth of Zeus, Rheia became the Earth-Mother. She deceived Kronos by presenting him with a rock around which she wrapped swaddling clothes. Kronos promptly swallowed the rock, thinking it was his newborn son.

Zeus was rushed to the cave of starry-eyed Nyx in great secrecy and placed under the care of Adrasteia and her sister Ida, the daughters of Melissos and Amaltheia. To prevent Kronos from hearing the cries of the child, Adrasteia stood in front of the cave and loudly clashed brazen cymbals and beat a goat-skin drum while the bronze-rattling Kouretes, the three handsome sons of Rheia, shared in this clamorous labor and protected them all.

Meanwhile, Zeus grew in strength and when the time was ripe, blessed Nyx instructed him, “When your father is in the oaken wood and drunk with the fruit of bees, then bind him!” Zeus told his mother all that which the Goddess decreed and, acting upon her advice, Rheia threw a magnificent banquet and, along with course after course of delicious ambrosia, she gave Kronos great drafts of golden honey. Soon the powerful Titan became inebriated; the room of the great hall began to spin all around him and he longed for the open air. Kronos left the banquet and wandered about; at last he laid down and fell asleep, snoring loudly. Zeus and his confidants went in search of him, and, just as Nyx had foretold, they found him in the oaken wood, oblivious to their actions. Metis, daughter of Okeanos, gave Cronos an emetic to swallow, which forced him to disgorge first the stone and then the children whom he had swallowed. They bound the God and Zeus castrated him, just as Kronos had previously castrated his own father.

Zeus pursued Dione, but she escaped his caresses, and his divine semen fell into the sea. In spring, the season of new flowers, the seed spawned a wondrous foam from which the popular Aphrodite came forth, she who awakens laughter and who blesses the physical union of mortals.

Zeus then unites with his daughter Persephone by Demeter, to produce Zagreos on Crete. When the boy-God was yet young, his father set him on a throne and placed the scepter in his hands. All the Gods were gathered in awe and much-honored Zeus declared, “Listen you Gods! Behold, here is your king!

Later, the seven pairs of Titanes, with faces smeared with gypsum, approached Zagreos, and presented him with a basket containing seven toys: a Mirror, Knuckle-Bones, a Sphere, a Top, an Apple, a Cone, and a Tuft of Hair. Little Zagreos peeked inside the basket and glimpsed his own reflection radiating back at him. He picked up the beautiful Mirror and was mesmerized by his image. The Titanes took advantage of his state of wonderment and seized him. But Zagreos resisted and tried many sundry ways to escape them. He transformed himself into the tiniest little things, thinking he would surely slip through their fingers, but the Titans would not relax their grip. Next he became all manner of creatures from the sea, first the spineless jellyfish and the spinning crustaceans, he became the swimming fish, both small and large, and he turned into a wondrous dolphin, and a shark, and many creatures long forgot, but the Titanes would not relax their grip. Now Zagreos became four-footed creatures, a mouse, a dog, a lion, and great panther. He became a goat, a wild horse, and all the other numerous cloven-footed animals, and finally a great bull, but the Titanes would not relax their grip.  And after so many divers transformations, whirling from one to another, from female to male and back again, over and over into all the vast plenitude of life, Zagreos grew dizzy and woke from his futile attempt to circumvent their plan. He found himself simply staring into the Mirror, unable to escape.

The Titanes took Zagreos and prepared him for a great meal. They cut him into seven pieces, but the heart, the seat of the Mind, was carefully set aside and the limbs were left alone. The Titans then boiled the pieces and placed them on spits, roasting them, and they ate some of his flesh in a great holy rite.

When the smoke of the sacrifice reached the palace of the all-seeing king, Zeus immediately recognized the savor of his burning scion and understood what had occurred. He sent Blue-eyed Athene to retrieve the heart; she placed it in a silver casket and delivered it to her father, and it is for this reason that she is known as Pallas, for the heart was still beating. Zeus now summoned Apollo the giver of riches and said, “Collect the limbs of Wine, for he is the essence of my Aither which intoxicates the souls of all those who taste it!” Apollo sped swiftly to the great sacrifice, gathered the limbs with tenderness, and entombed them at his sanctuary on Mount Parnassos.

And now with no delay the mighty son of Kronos stood before the Titanes, in no mood for conversation. He lifted his great left arm straight into the clouds. A terrible clap of thunder bellowed from the vast sky like the roar of a powerful bull. The surrounding clouds exploded into light and from within emerged an enormous glowing bolt of lightning which took perfect aim upon the Titans. All the heavens lit up and exposed colossal mountains of ominous dark clouds, crackling with lightning, the powerful weapon of Olympian Zeus. And now the God bent his fury upon the earth with a torrent of massive thunderbolts, setting all ablaze and the Titanes with it. The anger of the God continued for a great period of time, but at last the smoke dispersed and soot fell from the sky. From this ash, the remains of the blasted Titanes who had eaten of Zagreos’ flesh, Father Zeus revealed a new generation of mortals.

Persephone, in a robe with a scorpion image, is weaving the catalogue of life and is being guarded by the Kouretes. Nonetheless, she is abducted by Hades, to whom she bears the Eumenides. Demeter later joins with Zeus to bare the goddess Hecate. {Reconstruction from https://www.hellenicgods.org/orphic-rhapsodies------24 and various other fragments}.

[dontshootmespence]

Becoming Real: A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

In this installment of Becoming Real, Diana, Luke and Spencer will be going to Disney World. @coveofmemories @the-slytherin-ice-queen @cosmicjennifer

                                                               -----

Their trip had been scheduled for the second-to-last week of her summer vacation before the start of what turned out to be third grade. The week prior, Diana had spoken of nothing but Disney World. Seeing the princesses. Seeing if Moana would be there, even though she was a new character. Taking a picture in front of the castle. She’d literally talked of nothing else for a week, and now they were off the plane and in the hotel. The Art of Animation hotel. In the Lion King room. Which made Luke supremely happy. 

“Can we go to the Magic Kingdom now?” she asked excitedly, jumping up and down on her bed and snuggling under the warm covers. They’d barely walked in the room.

Both of them desperately needed to use the bathroom, but she was already raring to go. Typical almost-6-year-old behavior. “Can Daddy and I pee first?” Luke laughed, causing the young girl to blush and plop down onto the bed. 

“Yes, Dad.” She smiled.

“Then we can go.”

Within the hour, the three were walking into the gates of the Magic Kingdom, unable to take their eyes off Diana’s joy. Even a picture couldn’t adequately capture this moment. Only first-hand knowledge would do - and the look is one they’d remember for the rest of their lives. Luke hadn’t been in here in years and much had changed since, and Spencer had never been before, but they couldn’t bother taking in everything around them when Diana looked so happy she wanted to cry. That look was completely worth everything that they’d ever done or would do. “You wanna take a picture in front of the Mickey flowers?” Luke asked, lifting her up off the ground and placing her in front of the topiaries. 

“Do you want me to take a picture of all three of you?” one of the female employees asked, an enormous smile on her face. It was a genuine smile, not one of those smiles that employees put on because they were supposed to. Gratefully, Spencer handed the woman his camera, as he and Luke hopped up onto the ledge to sit on either side of Diana. “Say Mickey Mouse!” 

“MICKEY MOUSE!” Diana screamed, causing bother men to laugh out loud. After taking a few more pictures together, they grabbed the camera, thanked the woman profusely and started walking down Main Street, where Diana got distracted by every doll, every piece of clothing and every delicious cupcake imaginable. “Can I get a cupcake?” she asked, walking into the Confectionary. The cupcakes inside were as big as her head, covered in sweet buttercream icing, sprinkles, and even whole cookies. After much deliberation, they’d decided on sharing a cookies and cream cupcake, complete with Oreo cookie topper between the three of them. 

“Where are we going first?” she said, bit of cupcake still speckling her cheeks. 

Before they left, the had planned a couple of fastpasses for some of the most popular rides, so Peter Pan’s Flight, Big Thunder Mountain, and Ariel’s ride all had specified times. Otherwise, they’d be waiting in line. “We have a fastpass for Ariel at 10 AM, so why don’t we go wait on line for Buzz Lightyear?”

“To infinity and beyond!” she cried, running ahead of them toward Tomorrowland. Good thing they’d introduced her to the Pixar and Disney/Pixar movies too. Thankfully, it wasn’t too crowded, so by the time they made it over to the ride, it only had a 20-minute wait. “So what do I have to do on this ride?” 

Spencer had done his research. “On this ride, you have to help Buzz save the galaxy from the evil Emperor Zurg. You’ll sit in either mine or Dad’s lap, and you’ll shoot a laser at those Z-targets,” he said, pointing to an example of one on the wall. It wasn’t even 10 minutes later that they made it onto the ride. 

“Oh, the colors are pretty,” she said as the ride slithered its way into the first room, painted head to toe with targets that would help Buzz save the galaxy. She decided to sit on Spencer’s lap for the first ride, so he showed her how to press the buttons and then pulled out his phone, holding it the side to document how happy she was. “Daddy, I got a hundred-thousand points! Look!” she screamed, aiming her laser gun upward at the ceiling again. “The hand target is worth 100,000 points!” Before they even left the first room, she had a little over 300,000 points and Luke had about 50,000.

“How is she doing this?” he screamed, getting way into this and acting like a sniper, getting behind his laser gun and closing one eye. 

Spencer laughed at Luke’s intensity, watching as Diana somehow picked out the highest point target in each room and racked up the points. “You know you’re not actually supposed to close your eyes when you shoot, right?”

“Shut up, Spencer!” he cried.

After earning an impressive, especially for a girl who was barely six years old, 734,500 points, Luke picked out a badge with her rank on it and placed it around her neck. “You can help me save the galaxy anytime, baby.”

“Yay! Ariel now, right?” 

“Yup!” Spencer said, picking her up and setting her down to sit on his shoulders. This time, Diana decided to sit on Luke’s lap in the clam shell that would take them through the story of The Little Mermaid. 

As the ride started, Diana’s face lit up and she leaned forward in the cart, singing along to the music and reaching out to touch the scenery, even though it was far from her grasp. “Under the sea! Under the sea!” she sang, bouncing up and down in Luke’s lap. 

“That was amazing!” she said. “We can’t go again, right?”

“Not unless we want to wait on a really long line,” he said, wishing there was a way to get her on again. “But there’s still so much to see.” The carousel was nearby and as soon as she sat on the horse, her sadness at not being able to go on the Ariel ride again washed away. 

Minutes later, after Diana descended the carousel every inch the perfect princess, they took her to Philharmagic, which was a 3D sing-a-long with the classic Disney movies. That one didn’t have a big waiting time, so they went on three times in a row before Diana said she would be okay going on something else. “I could go on that all day.”

“How about we do our Peter Pan ride now?” Luke said. For some reason, despite how old the movie was, this ride always had a long line. She liked the ride, but if they were ever able to take her back, they probably wouldn’t waste a fastpass on it.

Once they left the It’s a Small World ride, which stalled right toward the end, causing Luke, Spencer, and basically every adult in the room to nearly lose their minds from the repetitive music, they made their way through Liberty Square, where they stopped for food, water and in Diana’s case, a quick 15-minute power nap. “Do we have the roller coaster now?” she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to wake up. “Am I big enough for it?”

“Yes,” Spencer replied, noticing the caution in her voice, “But if you’re scared and don’t want to go on it, that’s okay. Dad and I won’t be mad.”

“Can I sit in between the two of you?”

“No problem,” Luke replied.

“Then I think I’ll be okay, especially with Thumper in my lap.” He hadn’t left her side all day. When she looked back on these pictures, she’d be surprised at the amount of pictures that contained she, her fathers and her trusty bunny friend. 

On the fastpass line, which was still a ridiculous 30-minute long wait, Diana was shaking, grabbing on to one of their hands tightly enough to leave marks. “We don’t have to do this, Diana,” Spencer said again. He didn’t want to make her do anything she didn’t want to do, but she insisted she wanted to go on. 

As soon as they were in their seat and Thumper was belted in with her, the train car shot over the hill and Diana started screaming. Both Luke and Spencer immediately panicked, thinking that their daughter was too hysterical to enjoy anything, but when they looked down, she had her hands in the air, smiling as wide as was humanly possible. “This is fun!” 

Thank god she ended up enjoying it, because something malfunctioned with the ride, causing anyone on that particular train to get two rides for the price of one. “That was amazing! I’m so glad I went on!” she said, hugging Thumper close to her chest as they left the ride.

“Good job facing your fears baby,” Spencer said, giving his baby girl a high five. When her hand hit his, he was astonished by how big her hand was. It seemed like only yesterday she’d wrapped her tiny hand around his finger. But right now, there was no time to get nostalgic. They had places to be and fun to have.

They’d been planning this trip for a year. Before they even booked plane tickets to Florida, they had reserved a dinner at the park’s newest restaurant, the Be Our Guest restaurant. The music played while you ate, the Beast came out and roared during dinner, and Belle even roamed the dining room. It was nearly impossible to get a reservation if you didn’t book months upon months in advance, and they new she would love it. “We have dinner reservations now, peanut,” Spencer said, taking Thumper and holding him while he grabbed one of her hands. 

Luke grabbed the other, swinging Diana between them as they walked toward Fantasyland where the restaurant was located. “I think you’re gonna like it,” he smirked. She kept asking, but they refused to tell her where they were going to eat until they walked in. As soon as she saw the enchanted roses on the centers of each table, she realized where she was. “Do I get to meet Belle?” she asked happily, her lip quivering at the possibility of meeting one of her favorite princesses. After watching the major Disney movies, she’d decided that her favorite character was Moana, but Moana wasn’t a princess, she was a voyager, so her favorite princesses were, in order, Belle, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Tiana and Ariel. Belle’s love of books immediately made Diana love her the most.

“Yes, you do, Diana,” Luke said, as she climbed into the seat at their table. “And look.” He pointed behind her, smacking Spencer in the arm. She was his favorite princess too.

“Hello, young princess,” Belle said, much to Diana’s overwhelming joy. “Thank you so much for accepting our invitation to dinner tonight.”

“Thank you for inviting me,” she said, slowly standing up from her chair. For the first time in her young life, she was starstruck. Luke and Spencer had told her before that not everyone liked to be hugged so she had to check. “Can I have a hug?”

“Of course you can, sweetheart,” Belle replied, crouching down near the table and giving Diana a hug as Luke snapped picture upon picture. The look she’d had this morning when they’d walked in was one of awe, but tonight, Diana looked as though she’d never seen anything as amazing as this real-life princess. “Maybe one day you can come to my library?”

Now that made her entire day. “Yesssssss, I love the library,” she said. “I would have fallen for the Beast too.” 

After taking a picture, she said goodbye again, giving Diana one more hug before leaving for the next table. She didn’t sit down though. Instead, she ran to the opposite side of the table, enveloping her arms around Luke’s neck and then Spencer’s. “Thank you,” she said to them both, small tears forming in her eyes. “This is amazing. I love you.”

[openmydiary]

Just Pinned to Admission Test: Best 32 Moral stories for your kids It is Moral Story Time! Are you looking for moral Stories for your kids? If the answer is YES then you are in the right post. Here we have added almost 32 Moral stories for your kids. You can use this anywhere to teach your children. Two Friends and Bear 1 1 1. Two Friends and A Bear Once two friends were traveling (walking) lonely through a forest. All on a sudden the two friends saw a bear at a distance. Seeing the bear before them they were very much frightened (terrified). One of the friends climbed up a tree nearby and saved himself. Unfortunately the other friend did not know how to climb up a tree. So he was helpless. Finding no other alternative way he lay down on the ground and pretended to be dead. But he knew that a bear does not touch a dead body. In the meantime the bear came to him and smelt his nose ears etc. Thinking the man to be dead he went away. Then his friend got down from the tree came to him and said to him Friend what did the bear whisper into your ears? The friend replied that the bear told him not to trust a friend who left him helpless and ran away in times of danger. Moral: A friend in need is a friend indeed. the hidden treasure 2.The Hidden Treasure Once there lived an old man. He had three idle sons. They did not work in his fields. This worried the farmer. He was in his deathbed. He feared that his sons would suffer much after his death. Thinking that he called his sons and said My sons there lies a great treasure hidden in my fields. Saying this he left the world for good. All the three sons cried out at the same time. However after his death the sons began to dig the fields in search of the hidden treasures. But they would not find out any treasure. Afterward they sowed seeds in the fields. In time the fields which were barren before yielded plenty of crops. Now the sons realized the truth of the words of their father. They exactly understood that the crops were the hidden treasures. They could realize the value of labour. Henceforth they shook off their idleness. They became stout and active. They cultivated their lands properly and reaped plentiful harvest every year and lived happily. Moral: Industry is the mother of good luck. the cow boy and wolf 3. The Cow Boy And The Wolf Once a cowboy used to tend his cows by the side of a deep forest. There lived wolves in the forest. The cow-boy would often raise a shout Wolf-Wolf in fun. The adjacent villagers heard his cries. They thought that a wolf had attacked his cows. So then and there they ran to the spot to help the boy without delay. Seeing the villagers the cow-boy giggled at that time. The villagers realized that the cow-boy had raised a falsehood. In this way they were befooled many times and went back angrily. But one day a wolf really came to the spot. Then the boy raised a shout. The villagers heard his cries. This time they thought that the cow-boy had raised a false shout as before he did. So nobody came to help him. The wolf fell upon the herd. At first he killed the cows and then it killed the cowboy. At the time of his death he had repentance. He realized the truth If anybody lies once nobody trusts him later on even he speaks the truth. By telling lies he bought about his own death in the long run. Moral: A liar is punished in the long run. fox and goat The Fox and the Goat Once a fox became very thirsty. He went here and there in search of water. At last he found a well in the distance. Going near he leaped in and drank his fill. Now after his thirst was quenched he tried to get out of the well. He was in despair. At this time a goat appeared there. The goat was thirsty. He asked the fox how the water of the well tasted. The fox said My friend the water of the well is very sweet to taste. It is so sweet that though I have satisfied my thirst I wish to drink more. Come down my dear friend and drink to your hearts content. The foolish goat believed it. So he jumped down into the well. As soon as the goat was there the sly fox jumped upon his head and then without much difficulty he got out of the well and went away. The foolish goat remained in the well. He now understood why the fox invited him to jump down into the well. Moral: Look before you leap. failure is the pilllar of Success 5. Failure is the pillar of success. Robert Bruce was the king of Scotland. He reigned over the country well and his subjects were happy under his rule. But the greedy king of England tried to grab his territory and rob the independence of his countrymen. The English soldiers attacked Scotland and Robert Bruce withstood the enemy with all his forces. He tried his best to uphold the independence of his country and safeguard its liberty and glory. Unfortunately the situation was not favorable for him. After repeated defeats he had to retreat in despair and take shelter in a lonely cave. He passed some days there and in utter despair was thinking of giving up the struggle. Just at that time he saw that a spider was trying to climb up to the roof of the cave. The spider failed again and again but it did not give up its attempts. Thus it tried six times. Still it tried again. In the next attempt the spider succeeded in climbing up to the roof. Observing this Bruce was inspired. He thought of fighting with the enemies again with a renewed vigor. He collected his faithful followers once more and attacked his enemies. This time the king and his men fought so bravely for the freedom of their country that the enemies were defeated. The king recovered his lost kingdom. Moral: Patience and perseverance lead to success. Grapes are Sour 6. The Fox and the Grapes Once a fox was very hungry. He was roaming in search of food. He came to a vineyard. It was full of ripe grapes. These were hanging from the vine. Seeing the grapes the fox said to himself How lucky I am! There are so many sweet grapes. I must have some of them to satisfy my hunger. Saying this he jumped up again and again. But unfortunately the grapes were hanging very high up. So he would not reach them by any means. He tried again and again but all his efforts (trying or attempts) ended in smoke. That is he was much disappointed at his failure to get the grapes. At last he consoled himself by saying Grapes are sour I dont like them. So saying he left the place. Moral: Grapes are sour. the lion and mouse 7. The Lion and the Mouse Once a lion was sleeping in his den. At that time a mouse was running about there in a playful mood. By chance it ran over the lions face and roused him up. The lion became very angry. He caught the mouse with his paw and was about to kill him. The little mouse was very much frightened. For fear of life he piteously said to the lion O Lord I have offended you without any intention. Please pardon me and spare my life. One day perhaps I may help you. The lion smiled to hear this. However out of pity he let the mouse go. A few days after the lion was caught in a hunters net. He roared loudly and tried hard to come out. But all was in vain. Hearing the roar he came to the spot. He recognized his savior. Advising the lion not to roar the mouse cut the net with his sharp teeth and sat the lion free. The lion said Dear little friend you have saved my life. Even a little mouse can do a great good to a mighty lion. In fine The lion thanked his little friend and went away. Moral: Even small things have their worth. Or If you do a good deed you will get a good return. 8. The Old man and his quarreling son An old man had three sons. They always quarreled with one another. He always asked them not to quarrel but they did not listen to him. This worried him much and made him very unhappy. At last he hit upon a plan. He called all the three sons. When they came to him he asked one of these to bring a bundle of sticks. When that son brought it he asked him to break it. He tried heart and soul but failed. Next the old man asked another to break it. He too failed. Then he asked the third son to break it. The third son also tried but failed to break it. When all these three sons failed the old man asked each of them to break a single stick. They could break it easily. The old man said to them My dear sons now you see the value of unity. You cannot break the whole bundle but you can easily break each of them separately. In the same way if you live together without quarreling nobody can do harm to you easily. But if you live separate your enemies can easily do your harm. The sons felt the truth of his words. They understood the value of unity. Henceforth they stopped quarreling and lived together in peace and happiness. Moral: Unity is strength Or United we stand and divided we fall. the crow and the pitcher 9. The Crow and the Pitcher It was a summer day and a crow became very thirsty. He searched for water here and there but found no water anywhere. Getting tired the crow sat on the branch of a tree in a garden. He came near it and found that there was a little water at the bottom of the pitcher. But it was so low that he could not reach it. So he tried to overturn the pitcher but the pitcher was very heavy. Consequently he failed to turn it upside down. The crow was very intelligent. He thought of a clever way of getting water. Fortunately he saw some stones lying near the pitcher. Then he hit upon a plan. He picked up (or collected) the stones and threw them into the pitcher one by one. Gradually the water rose and it came up to the mouth of the pitcher. At last the crow was able to drink it to its hearts content. Then he flew away. Moral: Necessity is the mother of invention. Or Where there is a will there is away. The Hare and the Tortoise 10. The Hare And The Tortoise A hare and a tortoise were good friends. The hare laughed at the tortoise for his slow speed. The tortoise became very angry at this. He challenged the hare to run a race. He liked to see who would win the race. The hare readily agreed to the proposal because he knew that the tortoise could never defeat him in the race. The starting place was fixed. A post at a distance was the goal. At that time a fox was present there. He was the starter. He gave the signal. The race began. The hare began to run and the tortoise began to walk slowly. After running a few yards the hare looked behind and saw that the tortoise was far behind. Then he thought of taking a nap. He would wake up soon and run again and reach the goal first. Thinking so he fell into a sleep. In the meantime the tortoise went on slowly but steadily towards the goal. He did not stop even for a moment. When he came near the goal the hare woke up. Then the hare ran very fast. It is a matter of sorrow that he could not overtake the tortoise. In the meantime the tortoise reached the goal or destination and defeated the hare. Moral: Slow and steady wins the race. 11. The Golden Goose A greedy farmer had a wonderful goose. It had a peculiar habit. It laid a golden egg every day. The farmer was highly glad when he got a golden egg. He hid the eggs in a box. Afterward he sold one by one. In a few days he became a rich man. He lived a very luxurious life. But the man was very greedy. He was not extremely satisfied with getting one golden egg every morning. He wanted to become richer still. He thought of getting at once all the golden eggs from the goose. The foolish man did not know that the goose could lay only one egg daily. So one morning when he got one egg only he cut open the belly of the goose to get all the eggs at a time. Unfortunately he found that there were no eggs inside the body of the goose. The foolish farmer felt repentant for his action. He got no eggs. On the contrary he lost the invaluable goose that gave him a golden egg every day. Moral: Grasp all lose all. 12. Honesty is the best policy Once there lived a poor wood-cutter. But he was very honest. He used to cut wood in the forest. One day he was cutting wood by the side of a river. While at work suddenly his axe fell off his hand into the river. He found no way to recover his axe. Finding himself completely helpless he sat down on the riverside weeping and bewailing. The water goddess saw his helplessness and asked him about the cause of his sorrow. The poor wood-cutter told him about his mishap. Hearing this the goddess dived into the river and appeared before the wood-cutter with an axe of gold in hand. The goddess enquired Is this your axe?. No replied the woodcutter. Then the goddess dived into the river second time and brought a silver axe. This time also the honest wood-cutter said that the axe was not his. The water goddess dived into the water for the third time and appeared before the woodcutter with his real axe. The woodcutter became very glad to see his own axe. Being pleased with his honesty the water goddess gave away the wood-cutter the two other axes. Afterward the woodcutter passed his days happily. Thus the honest wood-cutter was rewarded for his honesty. Moral: Honesty is rewarded dishonesty is punished. 13. Bayezids Obedience Bayezid Bostami was a small boy. In his childhood he was a very obedient and dutiful boy to his mother. Once Bayezid was studying by the bed of his ailing mother. It was dead of night. His mother was in a deep sleep. All on a sudden his ailing mother got up from sleep and asked Bayezid to give her a glass of water. Instantly Bayezid went to the kitchen to fetch water from the jar. But unfortunately there was not a drop of water in it. So Bayezid went to a distant fountain with the jar and brought water for his mother. He found that his mother was asleep again. Bayezid thought that he should not break her mothers sleep. So he remained standing still beside his mothers bed with a glass of water in his hand. Thus the rest of the night passed by. In the morning his mother woke up. She was highly surprised at seeing Bayezid standing with a glass of water beside her bed. Oh my son! Why are you standing by my bed? Mother asked me to give you a glass of water. Is it true? Yes Mother. Oh Allah! Bless my child. Her heart was filled with a unique love for Bayezid. She embraced her son with profound love and prayed for him to God from of heart. Afterward Bavezid became a great saint and he is still respectable to all of us. So Bayezid will be remembered from generation to generation for his extraordinary devotion to his mother. Moral: A glaring example of a devoted boy to his mother. 14. A king and an astrologer Once upon a time there was a king in Banaras of India. He was interested to know his future from the astrologer. By the by he heard that a famous astrologer arrived at the capital city. He sent an invitation to that astrologer for paying a kind visit to his court. Accordingly the astrologer appeared before him. When he was present in front of the king the king asked him to tell him about his future. After astrological calculation the astrologer said that his subjects would revolt against him and he would be killed at the time of his losing the kingdom. At this the king became furious because his subjects loved him very much. The king said to the astrologer You rogue! you have no right of living anymore in the world. You are in the habit of destroying peace and happiness. He condemned him to death. But another question had peeped into his mind before the astrologer was sent for execution. The king asked the astrologer When will you die? With a ready wit the astrologer said The stars declare that I shall die only a week before your majesty. Hearing this the king turned pale like a dead man and thought If the astrologer dies today I will die after seven days. But I dont want to die. I want to live in this nice world. Thinking so the king shouted Drive this wretch away. Let him not come here again. In this way the clever astrologer saved his life. Moral: A ready wit can save one from danger. 15. The Cats & Monkey There lived two cats in a house. One day they together stole a piece of cake from the house of their master. Instantly they had a quarrel over their share. They could not decide to divide the cake between themselves. They exchanged a lot of hot words. They were about to fight each other. At last they decided to go to a monkey for a proper division of bread. They asked the monkey to make two equal divisions of the cake. The monkey was very clever. He assured them that he would divide the cake equally between them. The monkey broke the cake into two pieces. Then he began to weigh the pieces in a balance. One piece would grow a bit larger than the other. He bit off a portion from the larger piece and it now became smaller than the other piece. Thus each time he put the unequal portions on the balance and bit a portion of it to make them equal. Thus he tactfully ate up the entire cake. The cats could realize their foolishness and felt sorry for losing their cake. The cats indeed left the place becoming sadder and wiser. Moral: The fools fall prey to the cunning one. 16. The Ant and the dove Once upon a time there lived a dove in a bush of a wood. So to speak it was passing its days very happily. One day while he was sitting on a tree beside a river he suddenly saw an ant. The ant became very thirsty. It went to that river to quench its thirst. When the ant began to drink water a wave swept it away. The ant was about to drown. The dove felt pity for the ant. It wanted to save the ant. So it dropped a leaf into the water in front of the Ant. The ant swam to the leaf. After a while the leaf was drifted to the bank. Then the ant reached the shore safely. The ant became very much grateful to the dove. A few days later the ant was seeking food under that tree. Then it noticed that a hunter had aimed at the dove. Unfortunately the dove did not know it. The ant thought I must save the life of the dove Then and there the ant went up to the hunter and bit on the right leg of the hunter. At this the hunter cried out painfully and the bullet missed its aim. At that moment the dove got the chance to fly. In this way the ant saved the doves life. Moral: Live and let live. 17. The naughty boys and the frogs In a village there was a pond. The water in the pond was very dirty. There lived many frogs in the water. They used to play together in the water all day long. One day some boys were passing by the pond. They saw the frogs playing in the pond. Seeing this they began to throw stones at the frogs and made a funny. Some frogs were seriously hurt and some were even dying. It delighted the boys. They were throwing some more stones at them. The frogs became very much puzzled and did not know what to do. They became anxious too for their lives. The oldest frog called the boys and said Dear little boys why are you throwing stones at us? we dont do any harm to you. Why do you become so cruel to us? Some of us have already died. Many of us have been hurt. The boys said We are just playing. We dont hurt you. We are only throwing stones. The old frog said to the boys Please stop your cruel play. Because whats play to you is death to us. The boys now felt very sorry for their misdeed. So they stopped their cruel task and went home with a heavy heart. Moral: What is the play to one is death to another. 18. The Farmer and the Nobleman Oneday a farmer was taking some sacks of wheat to a mill. The mile was a few kilometers away. On the way the horse stumbled and one of the sacks fell to the ground. It was too heavy for the farmer to lift and there was nobody around to help him. He became upset. Meanwhile he saw a horseman coming towards him. His heart jumped. As the rider was coming nearer the farmer recognized him. He was the nobleman who lived in a grand house at the top of the hill. The farmer thought that it was not proper for him to seek help from the person of a high rank. So he dared not approach the rider. The Poorman was at a complete loss. The nobleman was very generous. He was a gentleman. He stopped in front of the farmer and got down from the horse. He came forward to help the farmer willingly. Then he helped the farmer to lift the heavy sack up and set it on the horseback. The farmer became grateful to the horseman. But the horseman replied that he just had done as a humanitarian duty and responsibility. He suggested that every man should come forward with a helping hand in others distress. This is nothing but the reflection of a nobleman. Moral: Everyone should do something in the danger of others. 19. The Fox without a tail Once a fox was roaming about in search of food. Unfortunately he was caught in a trap. He struggled hard to get out of the trap but could not escape. The owner of the land came and observed the situation. He threw a knife to the fox and it (knife) hurt the tail of the fox. The fox got free loosing its tail. Then the fox was very sorry at the loss of his tail. He felt very ashamed to mix with the other foxes without the tail. However he hit upon a plan. He called a meeting of the foxes. He told them that the man has no tail. It was a useless thing and an unnecessary burden. So he cut-off his tail and felt great relief. He advised the other foxes to cut-off their tails like him. They would then feel very happy like him. But an old fox understood the ill motive of the fox. He said that they were not fools. He could understand how he lost his tail. Having lost his own tail he wanted others to cut- off their tails. But they could not do so. The other foxes now realized the intention of the tailless fox. They supported the old fox and drove away from the tailless fox. Moral: Intelligent people can see through the evil motive of a man who wants others to suffer like him. 20. The Sun and the Wind Once the sun and the wind quarreled over their strength. Each of them claimed to be stronger than the other. They decided to test their strength. They saw a man who was wearing a coat. It was decided that he who would be able to make the man put off his coat would be the winner. The wind was boastful. He began to blow an icy blast as hard as he could. The man clasped his coat tighter around himself and sat down behind a hill(rock) to escape himself from the gale. The wind failed to make him put off his coat. So the wind had to give up his hope. Then it was the turn of the sun. He (sun) began to shine brightly. The heat was quite unbearable. The man felt very hot. He found it too hot to walk with the coat on. That is he could not bear the heat. He took off his coat. In the long run the sun claimed its victory over the wind having proved his strength. Moral: With whom lies the strength? 21. The Lion and the Man One day a man was walking along the forest roadway. He saw a cage under a big tree. Inside the cage a lion was trapped. Seeing the man the lion called him Hello dear Sir I found this cage here and walked into it accidentally. The door closed behind me. Wont you open the door please? He took pity on the lion and opened the door of the cage. The lion came out of the cage and immediately wanted to kill him. Just then a jackal came along and enquired about the matter. The man said to the jackal The lion was in this cage and asked me to open the door. I opened the cage. Now the lion wants to kill me. The jackal pretended surprise and said to the lion Dear lion you are huge and the cage is small. I cant believe that you were in the cage. The man is not speaking the truth. The lion said The man is of course speaking the truth. I was in that cage. On hearing this the jackal once more showed his astonishment and asked the lion Would you mind providing it to me sir so that I may be well convinced?. In reply the lion walked into the cage angrily. At once the jackal closed the door. Good-bye dear lion. You look nice in that cage only. said the jackal. The man thanked the jackal very much and walked away without fear. Thus the clever jackal saved the mans life. Moral: Never show mercy to those who do not deserve it. 22. Belling the Cat or Who will bell the cat? Once upon a time many mice lived together in a house. They were doing a lot of harm to the house. The master was much annoyed and made a plan to get rid of them. He bought a cat to kill the rats. The mice were in great trouble and difficulty. They could not move freely as before. They held a meeting to discuss the matter. In this regard many plans were discussed but failed to come true. At last a young mouse stood up to speak. I have a good plan for your consideration said the little mouse Let us tie a bell around the cats neck. Whenever he comes the bell will ring and we will be warned. The plan appeared to be acceptable. All the mice thanked the young mouse for his good plan. At this time an old mouse stood up. The plan is good indeed said the old mouse But I have one question to put to the young mouse: Who will bell the cat? No one came forward to perform the proposed job. Soon the cat came there and they all ran away into their holes. Moral: It is easy to advise but difficult to practice. 23. An intelligent boy who saved a train from accident An intelligent boy of 12 years was tending cows near a railway bridge. Suddenly he found a crack on the railway bridge. He began to think how he would inform the nearest railway station about the damaged condition of the bridge. The station was at a great distance. In the meantime the cowboy saw that a passenger train was coming towards the bridge. He became upset about what to do. He feared that an accident would certainly occur. He had some important business but he could not give importance to his personal business. The probability of an imminent dreadful accident filled his mind with horror. Then and there putting off his redshirt he held it high in his right hand. He thought that the train would halt if the red flag was waved. He began to wave it desperately. The driver could understand of any dangerous outcome. He stopped the train and came down. He found a big crack on the railway bridge. All the passengers praised the cowboy as their lives were saved by the boy. The railway authorities gave the boy a handsome reward for his presence of mind. Moral: Nobility is a great virtue. 24. King Midas & his daughter Once there was a king named Midas in ancient Greece. He had a pretty little daughter. The king loved her dearly from the core of heart. When he returned home from outside the daughter .came to him and he took her in his arms. It was the reflection of reciprocal love Midas extremely loved gold. He was very greedy. Though he had a lot of gold he wanted more and more. One day he was thinking about gold. He imagined if he had the golden touch he would be the richest and happiest man in the world. According to his wish God as it were granted his appeal instantly. After a moment the king went to his garden and sat under an apple tree. It is needless to say that the tree was full of apples. Then and there a ripe apple fell beside the king. He took the apple without hesitation. As soon as he touched it the apple turned into gold. He became surprised at this. He found that he got the power of golden touch. He said to himself that it was absolutely impossible. However then whatever he touched everything turned into gold. Afterward he entered his house. Then his little daughter came to him and he took her on his lap. Unfortunately the king found that her beloved daughter had turned into gold and became a lifeless statue. The king became upset at this. Midas cried out pathetically to the God to forgive him. He said I am sorry I can not understand it. Please forgive me. I want my daughter human being again. Then the kind God took the golden touch away and his daughter was brought back to life. Midas now promised that he would no more hanker after riches. Moral: Greed is sure to bring on grief 25. Ferdousi and Sultan Mahmud Once upon a time there was a poet named Ferdousi during the reign of Sultan Mahmud. One day he was thinking to publish an epic about him. So he asked the poet Ferdousi and told him to write an epic. Ferdousi agreed at this proposal without any hesitation. Sultan again told him that he would give him a piece of gold for each verse. According to the condition the poet started writing the epic Shahanama in honor of Sultan Mahmud. When the epic was completed it was found to contain sixty thousand verses. Then the poet went to the Sultan. He offered him the epic containing sixty thousand verses and demanded to have the promised money. Sultan became surprised at hearing this. He offered the poet sixty thousand silvers. The poet instantly refused to take them. Being angry and frustrated the poet left the court and went to his house. Returning home he became puzzled and felt very sick. Unfortunately he embraced death after a few years. Afterward the Sultan could understand his foolishness. He repented and felt very sorry. Then he asked his messengers and sent them to the poets house with sixty thousand gold pieces which he promised before. But it was too late. When they reached the poets house they saw a heart-rending (heart-touching) scene. They saw that his dead body was being carried out for burial. Moral: It is a great virtue to keep a promise. 26. The Justice of Quazi Or A Just ruler and a brave Qazi Giasuddin Azam Shah was the ruler of Bengal. He was a kind and just ruler. He was very expert in archery. Once he was hunting in a forest. Unfortunately one of his arrows hurt a young man. The young man was seriously wounded and afterward he died. The aged mother of the young man became upset because he was the only son of that old woman. She went to the Qazi and prayed for justice before him. The Qazi was a fearless upright judge of the times. He never feared anybody to perform his duties properly and faithfully. The king was summoned to appear before the. Qazi. The king went there instantly and admitted his guilt spontaneously. The Qazi ordered the king to pay full compensation to the family of the old woman. The king readily supported the Qazis order and paid the fine without delay. When leaving the court the king drew his sword and said to the Qazi If today you failed to discharge your duties as a judge fearing me I would have beheaded you with this sword. Then the Qazi got down of his seat and said to the king If you disobeyed my decision I would have punished you seriously with my cane. Moral: Justice should be impartial. 27. A thief in Arabia Once upon a time there was a thief in Arabia. He used to steal at almost every night. The neighborhood could not live in peace for fear of him. The common people discussed regarding the matter among them and then complained about him to the prophet (sm). One day the Prophet asked him and told him not to steal. The thief politely replied that he could not do this bad work further. He begged pardon to the prophet. Then the Prophet (sm) advised him not to tell a lie and mentioned that you must promise that you would never tell a lie. The thief then and there agreed at this proposal. He became happy and went away. At the time of sleeping he felt uneasy. So he went out of his room to steal at the dead of night. On the way he met a man unexpectedly. The man asked him where he was going and why he was out of his home at the dead of night. The thief could rot steal that night. Thus he came back home. This happened days together. The thief went out to steal from any surrounding family but could not do so as he could not tell a lie. Gradually he lost the habit of stealing However he could also realize the importance of the words of the holy prophet(sm). He was also changed spiritually. In this way the thief became a man of good character. It is really appreciable and beneficial to the society. Moral: Example is better than precept. 28. Sheikh Saadi and his teaching Sheikh Saadi was a very eminent poet of Iran. He used to put on the simple dress. One day he was going to the court of the king of Iran. On the way it became night. So he took shelter in the house of a rich man. He had a very plain and simple dress on. The servants of the rich man took him to be an ordinary man. They did not show him due respect. The next day the poet left the house of the rich man. After certain days he went to the court of the king as invited. Then he put on a gorgeous dress. While leaving the court it was night and Saadi again took shelter in the house of that Richman. At this time the servants of the Richman welcomed him cordially. They showed him respect like a rich man. They supplied him with rich dishes. The poet thought himself why he was respected. He realized that the dress which he put on was very expensive. Thats why he was entertained with a special care. Thinking so the poet began to put dishes into his pocket. Seeing this the servants became surprised. They asked him What are you doing sir? He replied that the dishes were for his dress. The servants understood their fault. They begged forgiveness of the poet Moral: Dress does not make one great. 29. A crocodile & the cunning fox Once there lived a crocodile in a river. A cunning fox also lived on the bank of that river. The crocodile and the fox had a great friendship. They discussed their sorrows and feelings at the end of the day. The crocodile had four children who wished to be educated. She went to the fox and requested him to educate her children. The fox agreed gladly. Being satisfied the crocodile left all her children to the fox. Then she went back to the river. However he ate one of them and kept the other three. After some days the crocodile came to the fox to see her beloved children. The fox showed her the three children and showed one of them twice. The fox told her that the children were learning attentively. Hearing this the crocodile became highly pleased and left the place. In the meantime the fox again ate one of them. A few days later she again came to see her children. This time he showed one child thrice. The crocodile was very simple-minded. She would not understand the ill motive of the fox. She became satisfied and went away. The next week the crocodile again came to see her children. In the meantime he also ate the last one. That is he ate up all the four children and left the place forever. After a week the crocodile again came with the joyous mind to take away her children. It is a matter of sorrow that she found nobody in the jungle. She looked for her beloved children but found none of them. In fine she realized the matter and left the place for good. As the fox was very cunning the crocodile should not trust him absolutely and leave her children in the care of such a bad element. Moral: A naughty one should not be trusted. 30. The Town of Hamelin and the rats Once upon a time the town of Hamelin in Germany was faced with a serious problem. It was full of rats. The rats were very big and fierce. The town was badly disturbed and damaged by rats. In this situation the Mayor of the town was at a loss and called a meeting of the Counsellors and Elite persons to discuss their problems for hours together. But they could not find any solution. At that moment a pied piper with a colorful flute in his hand appeared before the meeting. I will free the city from the rats claimed a piper if you pay me a handsome reward. Agreed! said the Mayor. The piper began to play pipe in a wonderful tune. Hearing the sound of his flute the rats jumped out to the roads in thousands and followed the piper. He led them to a nearby river where they were all drowned. The piper then claimed the promised amount of money. But the Mayor refused to pay such a heavy amount rather offered fifty coins. At this the piper became angry. The piper wanted to teach them a lesson. This time the piper started piping in another magic tune. All the children of the town were attracted to the tune and came out of their houses and then followed him. He led them to a mountain cave from where they could never return. The entire town was plunged into a great grief for the foolishness of the Mayor. Moral:Promise must be kept. 31. A fox and a crane A fox and a crane were good friends. One day the fox invited the crane to a luncheon at his den. The crane came in time for luncheon. The fox had prepared a delicious dish for his friend. It was a tasty soup. When the crane sat down the fox served the soup on a flat oval dish. The luncheon started. The fox could easily drink of the soup from the oval dish but the crane with his pointed beak could hardly enjoy the soup. The fox hurriedly finished the meal and asked the crane how he liked it. The crane understood the prank of his wicked friend and assured him that he quite enjoyed the luncheon. Now before he left the crane invited the fox to dinner the following day. He also prepared a tasty soup but he served it in a jug with a long narrow neck. The dinner had started the crane could easily drink of the soup from the jug whereas the fox made a poor show. When the crane asked how he liked the soup the fox agreed that it was very nice indeed. The fox however understood that he had been paid back in his own coins. Moral : Tit for tat. 32. The dog and his shadow Once a dog stole a piece of meat from the market. He was very happy. He was going along the side of a stream and came to the bridge. He wanted to cross the bridge. While going over the bridge he saw that another dog was crossing the bridge with a piece of meat in its mouth. All on a sudden a thought came across his mind. He said to himself If I snatch away that piece of meat I shall have then two pieces of meat. But he did not think for once about his shadow. His shadow reflected on the water. He saw the reflection of his own shadow is the translucent (clear) water of the stream. Anyway he thought another dog would leave without delay he ran to another dog quickly. Thus let by temptation he forgot about the piece of meat of his mouth. When he gapped his mouth to snatch away that false piece of meat the piece of meat in his mouth dropped into the water. It was carried away by the current stream of water. He saw that the piece of meat of another dog also dropped into the water as like as him. Then he realized that it was his own shadow. He said to himself Alas! | have lost my piece of meat. If I did not run after the dog it would not happen. Now nothing can be done Having lost his own piece of meat the dog went away disappointed. Moral: Greed is a curse. https://ift.tt/2N60MIP

[kartiavelino]

Why theatergoers are giving ‘Frozen’ the cold shoulder

Need room to unfold out? Head to the St. James Theatre on Broadway, the place empty seats abound at the musical “Frozen.” However isn’t Disney’s story of ice queen Elsa and sister Anna imagined to be a megahit? Isn’t the theater at capability each single evening? The numbers, theater sources say, are misleading. “It’s a trick of the eye,” says one. “Name it Disney Magic!” Though box-office studies present the theater usually at 98 p.c offered, a fast scan of StubHub, a ticket resale Website, reveals that a whole lot of seats are nonetheless accessible in the 1,710-seat home for a lot of upcoming performances of the household musical, which shuffled house empty-handed from Sunday’s Tony Awards. As of 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, there have been nonetheless 270 tickets on the market on StubHub for the Saturday-night present. The bulk have been priced nicely beneath face worth, together with one in the mezzanine for $32. (Brokers will typically try and promote tickets they don’t have in hand, which inflates the variety of accessible seats on StubHub. However they sometimes do that for tickets promoting above face worth; these priced beneath recommend they’re trying to offload tickets they already possess.) “We went to a Friday-night efficiency the place the theater solely appeared about three-quarters full,” a latest viewers member says. “Swaths of the orchestra and pockets of the entrance mezzanine have been empty.” (Disney maintains that 93 p.c of its seats are crammed, with the tickets scanned at the door.) [embedded content] The empty chairs are stunning. A yr in the past, no one thought that “Frozen,” the highest-grossing animated movie of all time with worldwide box-office income of greater than $1.2 billion, would have a lot as a dent in its armor. What the Elsa is happening? When tickets went on sale in August 2017, a slew have been snapped up by brokers, who make their dwelling reselling seats at sizzling reveals for way over face worth. Sources say the Home of Mouse made their job too straightforward. “Why didn’t Disney use Ticketmaster Verified Fan?” asks one business vet of the service that in style reveals, akin to “Hamilton” and “Springsteen on Broadway,” use to aim to make sure that actual viewers members, not resellers, are shopping for their precious tickets. “I assume [Disney] didn’t know what that they had, they usually have been keen to promote tickets to anyone who wished them.” Disney says that gross sales are strong — setting two home data and opening with the largest advance of any Disney present ever. “Future gross sales are simply as sturdy,” says Andrew Flatt, senior vp of technique, advertising and marketing and income for Disney Theatrical Productions. “Our major concern is getting tickets into the arms of theatergoers by cheap costs and verified technique of buy, and if brokers discover themselves decreasing their costs from outrageous ranges, it’s nice information for the ticket purchaser.” “Frozen” opened in March to middling critiques and phrase of mouth as mini as a mouse, though some youthful theatergoers have been thrilled. ‘We’ve died with quite a lot of [tickets] — which means we don’t promote them by the time the present begins. And even after we convey the worth down, individuals are simply not shopping for them.’ The manufacturing had been affected by issues, together with the late firing of unique director Alex Timbers and hasty hiring of Michael Grandage with no delay to the present’s Denver tryout or Broadway opening. (Timbers has since rebounded, directing “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” in Boston this month.) Upon discovering the public’s small urge for food, these determined brokers are now attempting to unload heaps of tickets on StubHub and different Internet sites for lower than face worth. (Disney Theatrical says the resale market represents a small share of ticket stock.) Brick-and-mortar brokers are hurting, too. “We’ve died with quite a lot of [tickets] — which means we don’t promote them by the time the present begins,” a ticket dealer in Occasions Sq. says. “And even after we convey the worth down, individuals are simply not shopping for them,” she says, including that the Tonys broadcast, which featured a “Frozen” efficiency, made little distinction. The business vet says the present’s seemingly swell box-office numbers will begin to dip in September. Brokers usually don’t go wild for weekday tickets throughout that sluggish month as a result of tourism slips and, for household reveals, youngsters are again in class. They usually’ll drop precipitously in March 2019, after the present’s first yr on Broadway is completed. Brokers often purchase solely 12 months’ value of seats, in line with the business vet. “I feel it can solely run two years,” the vet says, including that its reported $63 million advance can’t make up for doubtless sky-high weekly working prices and more and more low demand. “The movie has much less juice the additional away you get from it.” Anna (Patti Murin, left) and Elsa (Caissie Levy) in “Frozen.”Deen van Meer Simply because the movie was a fantastic success doesn’t imply the present has legs — particularly if it doesn’t have crossover enchantment past households with aspiring princesses. In the case of “Frozen,” “if it’s a household with girls and boys, the boys have little interest in it,” the Occasions Sq. dealer says. There have been different Disney flops. “The Little Mermaid” nose-dived, working for lower than two years because of atrocious critiques that attacked the route and design. “Tarzan” clung to the vines for simply over a yr as a result of the supply materials had restricted enchantment. “The Lion King,” on the different hand, has roared into its 20th yr on Broadway, and encompasses a beloved rating by Elton John and clever staging by acclaimed director Julie Taymor. One other dangerous signal for Elsa & Co.: They’re handing out, nicely, indicators. This week staff outdoors the Disney Retailer in Occasions Sq. started tossing paper followers emblazoned with the “Frozen” brand at passers-by. A Tony Award-winning producer says: “That’s an previous thought. It’s for 90-degree climate, and it gained’t promote a ticket!” Disney is advertising and marketing its reveals — together with “Frozen” — on followers. The forged album for “Frozen” was coolly acquired, too. It debuted on the Billboard 200 albums chart at No. 158. “Hamilton,” which has been open on Broadway since 2015, positioned 27th the identical week. Disney’s album hasn’t charted since. West Finish sources say “Frozen” may not make the journey throughout the pond, both. The present is slated to open at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 2020. However these plans have been made earlier than the ice hit the fan. A West Finish producer says the well-known theater, which is owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, might use an upcoming intensive renovation as an excuse to get out of the deal. The development will start in Might 2019 after its present tenant, “42nd Avenue,” closes in March. And crews are not simply ripping up the carpet and portray the pillars. The plan is so as to add six rows to the entrance of the mezzanine and a brand new restaurant. “Conservatively, let’s say the theater will open in summer season 2021,” one other West Finish supply says. “In three years, you’re telling me Andrew goes to let a Broadway flop reopen the jewel of the West Finish, when his rival Cameron Waterproof coat bought ‘Hamilton’ to reopen the Victoria Palace? “Andrew’s not going to desire a dud.” Appears prefer it’s “Iceberg, ahoy!” for “Frozen.” Share this: https://nypost.com/2018/06/14/why-theatergoers-are-giving-frozen-the-cold-shoulder/ The post Why theatergoers are giving ‘Frozen’ the cold shoulder appeared first on My style by Kartia. https://www.kartiavelino.com/2018/06/why-theatergoers-are-giving-frozen-the-cold-shoulder.html

[readbookywooks]

SHASTA IN NARNIA

"WAS it all a dream?" wondered Shasta. But it couldn't have been a dream for there in the grass before him he saw the deep, large print of the Lion's front right paw. It took one's breath away to think of the weight that could make a footprint like that. But there was something more remarkable than the size about it. As he looked at it, water had already filled the bottom of it. Soon it was full to the brim, and then overflowing, and a little stream was running downhill, past him, over the grass. Shasta stooped and drank - a very long drink - and then dipped his face in and splashed his head. It was extremely cold, and clear as glass, and refreshed him very much. After that he stood up, shaking the water out of his ears and flinging the wet hair back from his forehead, and began to take stock of his surroundings. Apparently it was still very early morning. The sun had only just risen, and it had risen out of the forests which he saw low down and far away on his right. The country j which he was looking at was absolutely new to him. It was t a green valley-land dotted with trees through which he caught the gleam of a river that wound away roughly to the North-West. On the far side of the valley there were high and even rocky hills, but they were lower than the mountains he had seen yesterday. Then he began to guess where he was. He turned and looked behind him and saw that the slope on which he was standing belonged to a range of far higher mountains. "I see," said Shasta to himself. "Those are the big mountains between Archenland and Narnia. I was on the¡ᬠother side of them yesterday. I must have come through the pass in the night. What luck that I hit it! - at least it wasn't luck at all really, it was Him. And now I'm in Narnia." He turned and unsaddled his horse and took off its bridle - "Though you are a perfectly horrid horse," he said. It took no notice of this remark and immediately began eating grass. That horse had a very low opinion of Shasta. "I wish I could eat grass!" thought Shasta. "It's no good going back to Anvard, it'll all be besieged. I'd better get lower down into the valley and see if I can get anything to eat." So he went on downhill (the thick dew was cruelly cold to his bare feet) till he came into a wood. There was a kind of track running through it and he had not followed this for many minutes when he heard a thick and rather wheezy voice saying to him. "Good morning, neighbour." Shasta looked round eagerly to find the speaker and presently saw a small, prickly person with a dark face who had just come out from among the trees. At least, it was small for a person but very big indeed for a hedgehog, which was what it was. "Good morning," said Shasta. "But I'm not a neighbour. In fact I'm a stranger in these parts." "Ah?" said the Hedgehog inquiringly. "I've come over the mountains - from Archenland, you know." "Ha, Archenland," said the Hedgehog. "That's a terrible long way. Never been there myself." "And I think, perhaps," said Shasta, "someone ought to be told that there's an army of savage Calormenes attacking Anvard at this very moment." "You don't say so!" answered the Hedgehog. "Well, think of that. And they do say that Calormen is hundreds and thousands of miles away, right at the world's end, across a great sea of sand." "It's not nearly as far as you think," said Shasta. "And oughtn't something to be done about this attack on Anvard? Oughtn't your High King to be told?" "Certain sure, something ought to be done about it," said the Hedgehog. "But you see I'm just on my way to bed for a good day's sleep. Hullo, neighbour!" The last words were addressed to an immense biscuitcoloured rabbit whose head had just popped up from somewhere beside the path. The Hedgehog immediately told the Rabbit what it had just learned from Shasta. The Rabbit agreed that this was very remarkable news and that somebody ought to tell someone about it with a view to doing something. And so it went on. Every few minutes they were joined by other creatures, some from the branches overhead and some from little underground houses at their feet, till the party consisted of five rabbits, a squirrel, two magpies, a goat-foot faun, and a mouse, who all talked at the same time and all agreed with the Hedgehog. For the truth was that in that golden age when the Witch and the Winter had gone and Peter the High King ruled at Cair Paravel, the smaller woodland people of Narnia were so safe and happy that they were getting a little careless. Presently, however, two more practical people arrived in the little wood. One was a Red Dwarf whose name appeared to be Duffle. The other was a stag, a beautiful lordly creature with wide liquid eyes, dappled flanks and legs so thin and graceful that they looked as if you could break them with two fingers. "Lion alive!" roared the Dwarf as soon as he had heard the news. "And if that's so, why are we all standing still, chattering? Enemies at Anvard! News must be sent to Cair Paravel at once. The army must be called out. Narnia must go to the aid of King Lune." "Ah!" said the Hedgehog. "But you won't find the High King at the Cair. He's away to the North trouncing those giants. And talking of giants, neighbours, that puts me in mind  - " "Who'll take our message?" interrupted the Dwarf. "Anyone here got more speed than me?" "I've got speed," said the Stag. "What's my message? How many Calormenes?" "Two hundred: under Prince Rabadash. And  - " But the Stag was already away - all four legs off the ground at once, and in a moment its white stern had disappeared among the remoter trees. "Wonder where he's going," said a Rabbit. "He won't find the High King at Cair Paravel, you know." "He'll find Queen Lucy," said Duffle. "And then hullo! What's wrong with the Human? It looks pretty green. Why, I do believe it's quite faint. Perhaps it's mortal hungry. When did you last have a meal, youngster?" "Yesterday morning," said Shasta weakly. "Come on, then, come on," said the Dwarf, at once throwing his thick little arms round Shasta's waist to support him. "Why, neighbours, we ought all to be ashamed of ourselves! You come with me, lad. Breakfast! Better than talking." With a great deal' of bustle, muttering reproaches to itself, the Dwarf half led and half supported Shasta at a great speed further into the wood and a little downhill. It was a longer walk than Shasta wanted at that moment and his legs had begun to feel very shaky before they came out from the trees on to bare hillside. There they found a little house with a smoking chimney and an open door, and as they came to the doorway Duffle called out, "Hey, brothers! A visitor for breakfast." And immediately, mixed with a sizzling sound, there came to Shasta a simply delightful smell. It was one he had never smelled in his life before, but I hope you have. It was, in fact, the smell of bacon and eggs and mushrooms all frying in a pan. "Mind your head, lad," said Duffle a moment too late, for Shasta had already bashed his forehead against the low lintel of the door. "Now," continued the Dwarf, "sit you down. The table's a bit low for you, but then the stool's low too. That's right. And here's porridge - and here's a jug of cream - and here's a spoon." By the time Shasta had finished his porridge, the Dwarf's two brothers (whose names were Rogin and Bricklethumb) were putting the dish of bacon and eggs and mushrooms, and the coffee pot and the hot milk, and the toast, on the table. It was all new and wonderful to Shasta for Calormene food is quite different. He didn't even know what the slices of brown stuff were, for he had never seen toast before. He didn't know what the yellow soft thing they smeared on the toast was, because in Calormen you nearly always get oil instead of butter. And the house itself was quite different from the dark, frowsty, fish-smelling but of Arsheesh and from the pillared and carpeted halls in the palaces of Tashbaan. The roof was very low, and everything was made of wood, and there was a cuckoo-clock and a red-and-white checked table-cloth and a bowl of wild flowers and little curtains on the thick-paned windows. It was also rather troublesome having to use dwarf cups and plates and knives and forks. This meant that helpings were very small, but then there were a great many helpings, so that Shasta's plate or cup was being filled every moment, and every moment the Dwarfs themselves were saying, "Butter please", or "Another cup of coffee," or "I'd like a few more mushrooms," or "What about frying another egg or so?" And when at last they had all eaten as much as they possibly could the three Dwarfs drew lots for who would do the washing-up, and Rogin was the unlucky one. Then Duffle and Bricklethumb took Shasta outside to a bench which ran against the cottage wall, and they all stretched out their legs and gave a great sigh of contentment and the two Dwarfs lit their pipes. The dew was off the grass now and the sun was warm; indeed, if there hadn't been a light breeze, it would have been too hot. "Now, Stranger," said Duffle, "I'll show you the lie of the land. You can see nearly all South Narnia from here, and we're rather proud of the view. Right away on your left, beyond those near hills, you can just see the Western Mountains. And that round hill away on your right is called the Hill of the Stone Table. Just beyond  - " But at that moment he was interrupted by a snore from Shasta who, what with his night's journey and his excellent breakfast, had gone fast asleep. The kindly Dwarfs, as soon as they noticed this, began making signs to each other not to wake him, and indeed did so much whispering and nodding and getting up and - tiptoeing away that they certainly would have waked him if he had been less tired. He slept pretty well - nearly all day but woke up in time for supper. The beds in that house were all too small for him but they made him a fine bed of heather on the floor, and he never stirred nor dreamed all night. Next morning they had just finished breakfast when they heard a shrill, exciting sound from outside. "Trumpets!" said all the Dwarfs, as they and Shasta all came running out. The trumpets sounded again: a new noise to Shasta, not huge and solemn like the horns of Tashbaan nor gay and merry like King Lune's hunting horn, but clear and sharp and valiant. The noise was coming from the woods to the East, and soon there was a noise of horse-hoofs mixed with it. A moment later the head of the column came into sight. First came the Lord Peridan on a bay horse carrying the great banner of Narnia - a red lion on a green ground. Shasta knew him at once. Then came three people riding abreast, two on great chargers and one on a pony. The two on the chargers were King Edmund and a fair-haired lady with a very merry face who wore a helmet and a mail shirt and carried a bow across her shoulder and a quiver full of arrows at her side. ("The Queen Lucy," whispered Duffle.) But the one on the pony was Corin. After that came the main body of the army: men on ordinary horses, men on Talking Horses (who didn't mind being ridden on proper occasions, as when Narnia went to war), centaurs, stern, hard-bitten bears, great Talking Dogs, and last of all six giants. For there are good giants in Narnia. But though he knew they were on the right side Shasta at first could hardly bear to look at them; there are some things that take a lot of getting used to. Just as the King and Queen reached the cottage and the Dwarfs began making low bows to them, King Edmund called out, "Now, friends! Time for a halt and a morsel!" and at once there was a great bustle of people dismounting and haversacks being opened and conversation beginning when Corm came running up to Shasta and seized both his hands and cried, "What! You here! So you got through all right? I am glad. Now we shall have some sport. And isn't it luck! We only got into harbour at Cair Paravel yesterday morning and the very first person who met us was Chervy the Stag with all this news of an attack on Anvard. Don't you think  - " "Who is your Highness's friend?" said King Edmund who had just got off his horse. "Don't you see, Sire?" said Corin. "It's my double: the boy you mistook me for at Tashbaan." "Why, so he is your double," exclaimed Queen Lucy. "As like as two twins. This is a marvellous thing." "Please, your Majesty," said Shasta to King Edmund, "I was no traitor, really I wasn't. And I couldn't help hearing your plans. But I'd never have dreamed of telling them to your enemies." "I know now that you were no traitor, boy," said King Edmund, laying his hand on Shasta's head. "But if you would not be taken for one, another time try not to hear what's meant for other ears. But all's well." After that there was so much bustle and talk and coming and going that Shasta for a few minutes lost sight of Corin and Edmund and Lucy. But Corin was the sort of boy whom one is sure to hear of pretty soon and it wasn't very long before Shasta heard King Edmund saying in a loud voice: "By the Lion's Mane, prince, this is too much! Will your Highness never be better? You are more of a heart's-scald than our whole army together! I'd as lief have a regiment of hornets in my command as you." Shasta wormed his way through the crowd and there saw Edmund, looking very angry indeed, Corin looking a little ashamed of himself, and a strange Dwarf sitting on the ground making faces. A couple of fauns had apparently just been helping it out of its armour. "If I had but my cordial with me," Queen Lucy was saying, "I could soon mend this. But the High King has so strictly charged me not to carry it commonly to the wars and to keep it only for great extremities!" What had happened was this. As soon as Corin had spoken to Shasta, Corin's elbow had been plucked by a Dwarf in the army called Thornbut. "What is it, Thornbut?" Corin had said. "Your Royal Highness," said Thornbut, drawing him aside, "our march today will bring us through the pass and right to your royal father's castle. We may be in battle before night." "I know," said Corin. "Isn't it splendid!" "Splendid or not," said Thornbut, "I have the strictest orders from King Edmund to see to it that your Highness is not in the fight. You will be allowed to see it, and that's treat enough for your Highness's little years." "Oh what nonsense!" Corin burst out. "Of course I'm going to fight. Why, the Queen Lucy's going to be with the archers." "The Queen's grace will do as she pleases," said Thornbut. "But you are in my charge. Either I must have your solemn and princely word that you'll keep your pony beside mine - not half a neck ahead - till I give your Highness leave to depart: or else - it is his Majesty's word - we must go with our wrists tied together like two prisoners." "I'll knock you down if you try to bind me," said Corm. "I'd like to see your Highness do it," said the Dwarf. That was quite enough for a boy like Corin and in a second he and the Dwarf were at it hammer and tongs. It would have been an even match for, though Corin had longer arms and more height, the Dwarf was older and tougher. But it was never fought out (that's the worst of fights on a rough hillside) for by very bad luck Thornbut trod on a loose stone, came flat down on his nose, and found when he tried to get up that he had sprained his ankle: a real excruciating sprain which would keep him from walking or riding for at least a fortnight. "See what your Highness has done," said King Edmund. "Deprived us of a proved warrior on the very edge of battle." "I'll take his place, Sire," said Corin. "Pshaw," said Edmund. "No one doubts your courage. But a boy in battle is a danger only to his own side." At that moment the King was called away to attend to something else, and Corin, after apologizing handsomely to the Dwarf, rushed up to Shasta and whispered, "Quick. There's a spare pony now, and the Dwarf's armour. Put it on before anyone notices." "What for?" said Shasta. "Why, so that you and I can fight in the battle of course! Don't you want to?" "Oh - ah, yes, of course," said Shasta. But he hadn't been thinking of doing so at all, and began to get a most uncomfortable prickly feeling in his spine. "That's right," said Corin. "Over your head. Now the sword-belt. But we must ride near the tail of the column and keep as quiet as mice. Once the battle begins everyone will be far too busy to notice us."

[readbookywooks]

ON BOARD THE DAWN TREADER

"AH, there you are, Lucy," said Caspian. "We were just waiting for you. This is my captain, the Lord Drinian." A dark-haired man went down on one knee and kissed her hand. The only others present were Reepicheep and Edmund. "Where is Eustace?" asked Lucy. "In bed," said Edmund, "and I don't think we can do anything for him. It only makes him worse if you try to be nice to him." "Meanwhile," said Caspian, "we want to talk." "By Jove, we do," said Edmund. "And first, about time. It's a year ago by our time since we left you just before your coronation. How long has it been in Narnia?" "Exactly three years," said Caspian. "All going well?" asked Edmund. "You don't suppose I'd have left my kingdom and put to sea unless all was well," answered the King. "It couldn't be better. There's no trouble at all now between Telmarines, Dwarfs, Talking Beasts, Fauns and the rest. And we gave those troublesome giants on the frontier such a good beating last summer that they pay us tribute now. And I had an excellent person to leave as Regent while I'm away Trumpkin, the Dwarf. You remember him?" "Dear Trumpkin," said Lucy, "of course I do. You couldn't have made a better choice." "Loyal as a badger, Ma'am, and valiant as - as a Mouse," said Drinian. He had been going to say "as a lion" but had noticed Reepicheep's eyes fixed on him. "And where are we heading for?" asked Edmund. "Well," said Caspian, "that's rather a long story. Perhaps you remember that when I was a child my usurping uncle Miraz got rid of seven friends of my father's (who might have taken my part) by sending them off to explore the unknown , Eastern Seas beyond the Lone Islands." "Yes," said Lucy, "and none of them ever came back." "Right. Well, on, my coronation day, with Aslan's approval, I swore an oath that, if once I established peace in Narnia, I would sail east myself for a year and a day to find my father's friends or to learn of their deaths and avenge them if I could. These were their names - the Lord Revilian, the Lord Bern, the Lord Argoz, the Lord Mavramorn, the Lord Octesian, the Lord Restimar, and - oh, that other one who's so hard to remember." "The Lord Rhoop, Sire," said Drinian. "Rhoop, Rhoop, of course," said Caspian. "That is my main intention. But Reepicheep here has an even higher hope." Everyone's eyes turned to the Mouse. "As high as my spirit," it said. "Though perhaps as small as my stature. Why should we not come to the very eastern end of the world? And what might we find there? I expect to find Aslan's own country. It is always from the east, across the sea, that the great Lion comes to us." "I say, that is an idea," said Edmund in an awed voice. "But do you think," said Lucy, "Aslan's country would be that sort of country - I mean, the sort you could ever sail to?" "I do not know, Madam," said Reepicheep. "But there is this. When I was in my cradle, a wood woman, a Dryad, spoke this verse over me: "Where sky and water meet, Where the waves grow sweet, Doubt not, Reepicheep, To find all you seek, There is the utter East. "I do not know what it means. But the spell of it has been on me all my life." After a short silence Lucy asked, "And where are we now, Caspian?" "The Captain can tell you better than I," said Caspian, so Drinian got out his chart and spread it on the table. "That's our position," he said, laying his finger on it. "Or was at noon today. We had a fair wind from Cair Paravel and stood a little north for Galma, which we made on the next day. We were in port for a week, for the Duke of Galma made a great tournament for His Majesty and there he unhorsed many knights - " "And got a few nasty falls myself, Drinian. Some of the bruises are there still," put in Caspian. " - And unhorsed many knights," repeated Drinian with a grin. "We thought the Duke would have been pleased if the King's Majesty would have married his daughter, but nothing came of that - " "Squints, and has freckles," said Caspian. "Oh, poor girl," said Lucy. "And we sailed from Galma," continued Drinian, "and ran into a calm for the best part of two days and had to row, and then had wind again and did not make Terebinthia till the fourth day from Galma. And there their King sent out a warning not to land for there was sickness in Terebinthia, but we doubled the cape and put in at a little creek far from the city and watered. Then we had to lie off for three days before we got a south-east wind and stood out for Seven Isles. The third day out a pirate (Terebinthian by her rig) overhauled us, but when she saw us well armed she stood off after some shooting of arrows on either part - " "And we ought to have given her chase and boarded her and hanged every mother's son of them," said Reepicheep. " - And in five days more we were insight of Muil, which, as you know, is the westernmost of the Seven Isles. Then we rowed through the straits and came about sundown into Redhaven on the isle of Brenn, where we were very lovingly feasted and had victuals and water at will. We left Redhaven six days ago and have made marvellously good speed, so that I hope to see the Lone Islands the day after tomorrow. The sum is, we are now nearly thirty days at sea and have sailed more than four hundred leagues from Narnia." "And after the Lone Islands?" said Lucy. "No one knows, your Majesty," answered Drinian. "Unless the Lone Islanders themselves can tell us." "They couldn't in our days," said Edmund. "Then," said Reepicheep, "it is after the Lone Islands that the adventure really begins." Caspian now suggested that they might like to be shown over the ship before supper, but Lucy's conscience smote her and she said, "I think I really must go and see Eustace. Seasickness is horrid, you know. If I had my old cordial with me I could cure him." "But you have," said Caspian. "I'd quite forgotten about it. As you left it behind I thought it might be regarded as one of the royal treasures and so I brought it - if you think it ought to be wasted on a thing like seasickness." "It'll only take a drop," said Lucy. Caspian opened one of the lockers beneath the bench and brought out the beautiful little diamond flask which Lucy remembered so well. "Take back your own, Queen," he said. They then left the cabin and went out into the sunshine. In the deck there were two large, long hatches, fore and aft of the mast, and both open, as they always were in fair weather, to let light and air into the belly of the ship. Caspian led them down a ladder into the after hatch. Here they found themselves in a place where benches for rowing ran from side to side and the light came in through the oarholes and danced on the roof. Of course Caspian's ship was not that horrible thing, a galley rowed by slaves. Oars were used only when wind failed or for getting in and out of harbour and everyone (except Reepicheep whose legs were too short) had often taken a turn. At each side of the ship the space under the benches was left clear for the rowers' feet, but all down the centre there was a kind of pit which went down to the very keel and this was filled with all kinds of things - sacks of flour, casks of water and beer, barrels of pork, jars of honey, skin bottles of wine, apples, nuts, cheeses, biscuits, turnips, sides of bacon. From the roof - that is, from the under side of the deck - hung hams and strings of onions, and also the men of the watch offduty in their hammocks. Caspian led them aft, stepping from bench to bench; at least, it was stepping for him, and something between a step and a jump for Lucy, and a real long jump for Reepicheep. In this way they came to a partition with a door in it. Caspian opened the door and led them into a cabin which filled the stern underneath the deck cabins in the poop. It was of course not so nice. It was very low and the sides sloped together as they went down so that there was hardly any floor; and though it had windows of thick glass, they were not made to open because they were under water. In fact at this very moment, as the ship pitched they were alternately golden with sunlight and dim green with the sea. "You and I must lodge here, Edmund," said Caspian. "We'll leave your kinsman the bunk and sling hammocks for ourselves." "I beseech your Majesty - " said Drinian. "No, no shipmate," said Caspian, "we have argued all that out already. You and Rhince" (Rhince was the mate) "are sailing the ship and will have cares and labours many a night when we are singing catches or telling stories, so you and he must have the port cabin above. King Edmund and I can lie very snug here below. But how is the stranger?" Eustace, very green in the face, scowled and asked whether there was any sign of the storm getting less. But Caspian said, "What storm?" and Drinian burst out laughing. "Storm, young master!" he roared. "This is as fair weather as a man could ask for." "Who's that?" said Eustace irritably. "Send him away. His voice goes through my head." "I've brought you something that will make you feel better, Eustace," said Lucy. "Oh, go away and leave me alone," growled Eustace. But he took a drop from her flask, and though he said it was beastly stuff (the smell in the cabin when she opened it was delicious) it is certain that his face came the right colour a few moments after he had swallowed it, and he must have felt better because, instead of wailing about the storm and his head, he began demanding to be put ashore and said that at the first port he would "lodge a disposition" against them all with the British Consul. But when Reepicheep asked what a disposition was and how you lodged it (Reepicheep thought it was some new way of arranging a single combat) Eustace could only reply, "Fancy not knowing that." In the end they succeeded in convincing Eustace that they were already sailing as fast as they could towards the nearest land they knew, and that they had no more power of sending him back to Cambridge - which was where Uncle Harold lived - than of sending him to the moon. After that he sulkily agreed to put on the fresh clothes which had been put out for him and come on deck. Caspian now showed them over the ship, though indeed they had seen most it already. They went up on the forecastle and saw the look-out man standing on a little shelf inside the gilded dragon's neck and peering through its open mouth. Inside the forecastle was the galley (or ship's kitchen) and quarters for such people as the boatswain, the carpenter, the cook and the master-archer. If you think it odd to have the galley in the bows and imagine the smoke from its chimney streaming back over the ship, that is because you are thinking of steamships where there is always a headwind. On a sailing ship the wind is coming from behind, and anything smelly is put as far forward as possible. They were taken up to the fighting top, and at first it was rather alarming to rock to and fro there and see the deck looking small and far away beneath. You realized that if you fell there was no particular reason why you should fall on board rather than in the sea. Then they were taken to the poop, where Rhince was on duty with another man at the great tiller, and behind that the dragon's tail rose up, covered with gilding, and round inside it ran a little bench. The name of the ship was Dawn Treader. She was only a little bit of a thing compared with one of our I ships, or even with the cogs, dromonds, carracks and galleons which Narnia had owned when Lucy and Edmund had reigned there under Peter as the High King, for nearly all navigation had died out in the reigns of Caspian's ancestors. When his uncle, Miraz the usurper, had sent the seven lords to sea, they had had to buy a Galmian ship and man it with hired Galmian sailors. But now Caspian had begun to teach the Narnians to be sea-faring folk once more, and the Dawn Treader was the finest ship he had built yet. She was so small that, forward of the mast, there was hardly any deck room between the central hatch and the ship's boat on one side and the hen-coop (Lucy fed the hens) on the other. But she was a beauty of her kind, a "lady" as sailors say, her lines perfect, her colours pure, and every spar and rope and pin lovingly made. Eustace of course would be pleased with nothing, and kept on boasting about liners and motor-boats and aeroplanes and submarines ("As if he knew anything about them," muttered Edmund), but the other two were delighted with the Dawn Treader, and when they returned aft to the cabin and supper, and saw the whole western sky lit up with an immense crimson sunset, and felt the quiver of the ship, and tasted the salt on their lips, and thought of unknown lands on the Eastern rim of the world, Lucy felt that she was almost too happy to speak. What Eustace thought had best be told in his own words, for when they all got their clothes back, dried, next morning, he at once got out a little black notebook and a pencil and started to keep a diary. He always had this notebook with him and kept a record of his marks in it, for though he didn't care much about any subject for its own sake, he cared a great deal about marks and would even go to people and say, "I got so much. What did you get?" But as he didn't seem likely to get many marks on the Dawn Treader he now started a diary. This was the first entry. "7 August. Have now been twenty-four hours on this ghastly boat if it isn't a dream. All the time a frightful storm has been raging (it's a good thing I'm not seasick). Huge waves keep coming in over the front and I have seen the boat nearly go under any number of times. All the others pretend to take no notice of this, either from swank or because Harold says one of the most cowardly things ordinary people do is to shut their eyes to Facts. It's madness to come out into the sea in a rotten little thing like this. Not much bigger than a lifeboat. And, of course, absolutely primitive indoors. No proper saloon, no radio, no bathrooms, no deck-chairs. I was dragged all over it yesterday evening and it would make anyone sick to hear Caspian showing off his funny little toy boat as if it was the Queen Mary. I tried to tell him what real ships are like, but he's too dense. E. and L., o f course, didn't back me up. I suppose a kid like L. doesn't realize the danger and E. is buttering up C. as everyone does here. They call him a King. I said I was a Republican but he had to ask me what that meant! He doesn't seem to know anything at all. Needless to say I've been put in the worst cabin of the boat, a perfect dungeon, and Lucy has been given a whole room on deck to herself, almost a nice room compared with the rest of this place. C. says that's because she's a girl. I tried to make him see what Alberta says, that all that sort of thing is really lowering girls but he was too dense. Still, he might see that I shall be ill if I'm kept in that hole any longer. E. says we mustn't grumble because C. is sharing it with us himself to make room for L. As if that didn't make it more crowded and far worse. Nearly forgot to say that there is also a kind of Mouse thing that gives everyone the most frightful cheek. The others can put up with it if they like but I shall twist his tail pretty soon if he tries it on me. The food is frightful too." The trouble between Eustace and Reepicheep arrived even sooner than might have been expected. Before dinner next day, when the others were sitting round the table , waiting (being at sea gives one a magnificent appetite), Eustace came rushing in, wringing his hand and shouting out: "That little brute has half killed me. I insist on it being kept under control. I could bring an action against you, Caspian. i could order you to have it destroyed." At the same moment Reepicheep appeared. His sword was drawn and his whiskers looked very fierce but he was as polite as ever. "I ask your pardons all," he said, "and especially her Majesty's. If I had known that he would take refuge here I would have awaited a more reasonable time for his correction." "What on earth's up?" asked Edmund. What had really happened was this. Reepicheep, who never felt that the ship was getting on fast enough, loved to sit on the bulwarks far forward just beside the dragon's head, gazing out at the eastern horizon and singing softly in his little chirruping voice the song the Dryad had made for him. He never held on to anything, however the ship pitched, and kept his balance with perfect ease; perhaps his long tail, hanging down to the deck inside the bulwarks, made this easier. Everyone on board was familiar with this habit, and the sailors liked it because when one was on look-out duty it gave one somebody to talk to. Why exactly Eustace had slipped and reeled and stumbled all the way forward to the forecastle (he had not yet got his sea-legs) I never heard. Perhaps he hoped he would see land, or perhaps he wanted to hang about the galley and scrounge something. Anyway, as soon as he saw that long tail hanging down - and perhaps it was rather tempting - he thought it would be delightful to catch hold of it, swing Reepicheep round by it once or twice upside-down, then run away and laugh, At first the plan seemed to work beautifully. The Mouse was not much heavier than a very large cat. Eustace had him off the rail in a trice and very silly he looked (thought Eustace) with his little limbs all splayed out and his mouth open. But unfortunately Reepicheep, who had fought for his life many a time, never lost his head even for a moment. Nor his skill. It is not very easy to draw one's sword when one is swinging round in the air by one's tail, but he did. And the next thing Eustace knew was two agonizing jabs in his hand which made him let go of the tail; and the next thing after that was that the Mouse had picked itself up again as if it were a ball bouncing off the deck, and there it was facing him, and a horrid long, bright, sharp thing like a skewer was waving to and fro within an inch of his stomach. (This doesn't count as below the belt for mice in Narnia because they can hardly be expected to reach higher.) "Stop it," spluttered Eustace, "go away. Put that thing away. It's not safe. Stop it, I say. I'll tell Caspian. I'll have you muzzled and tied up." "Why do you not draw your own sword, poltroon!" cheeped the Mouse. "Draw and fight or I'll beat you black and blue with the flat." "I haven't got one," said Eustace. "I'm a pacifist. I don't believe in fighting." "Do I understand," said Reepicheep, withdrawing his sword for a moment and speaking very sternly, "that you do not intend to give me satisfaction?" "I don't know what you mean," said Eustace, nursing his hand. "If you don't know how to take a joke I shan't bother my head about you." "Then take that," said Reepicheep, "and that - to teach you manners - and the respect due to a knight - and a Mouse - and a Mouse's tail - " and at each word he gave Eustace a blow with the side of his rapier, which was thin, fine dwarf-tempered steel and as supple and effective as a birch rod. Eustace (of course) was at a school where they didn't have corporal punishment, so the sensation was quite new to him. That was why, in spite of having no sealegs, it took him less than a minute to get off that forecastle and cover the whole length of the deck and burst in at the cabin door - still hotly pursued by Reepicheep. Indeed it seemed to Eustace that the rapier as well as the pursuit was hot. It might have been red-hot by the feel. There was not much difficulty in settling the matter once Eustace realized that everyone took the idea of a duel seriously and heard Caspian offering to lend him a sword, and Drinian and Edmund discussing whether he ought to be handicapped in some way to make up for his being so much bigger than Reepicheep. He apologized sulkily and went off with Lucy to have his hand bathed and bandaged and then went to his bunk. He was careful to lie on his side.

[readbookywooks]

ASLAN MAKES A DOOR IN THE AIR

AT the sight of Aslan the cheeks of the Telmarine soldiers became the colour of cold gravy, their knees knocked together, and many fell on their faces. They had not believed in lions and this made their fear greater. Even the Red Dwarfs, who knew that he came as a friend, stood with open mouths and could not speak. Some of the Black Dwarfs, who had been of Nikabrik's party, began to edge away. But all the Talking Beasts surged round the Lion, with purrs and grunts and squeaks and whinneys of delight, fawning on him with their tails, rubbing against him, touching him reverently with their noses and going to and fro under his body and between his legs. If you have ever seen a little cat loving a big dog whom it knows and trusts, you will have a pretty good picture of their behaviour. Then Peter, leading Caspian, forced his way through the crowd of animals. "This is Caspian, Sir," he said. And Caspian knelt and kissed the Lion's paw. "Welcome, Prince," said Aslan. "Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?" "I - I don't think I do, Sir," said Caspian. "I'm only a kid." "Good," said Aslan. "If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been a proof that you were not. Therefore, under us and under the High King, you shall be King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Emperor of the Lone Islands. You and your heirs while your race lasts. And your coronation - but what have we here?" For at that moment a curious little procession was approaching - eleven Mice, six of whom carried between them something on a litter made of branches, but the litter was no bigger than a large atlas. No one has ever seen mice more woebegone than these. They were plastered with mud some with blood too - and their ears were down and their whiskers drooped and their tails dragged in the grass, and their leader piped on his slender pipe a melancholy tune. On the litter lay what seemed little better than a damp heap of fur; all that was left of Reepicheep. He was still breathing, but more dead than alive, gashed with innumerable wounds, one paw crushed, and, where his tail had been, a bandaged stump. "Now, Lucy," said Aslan. Lucy had her diamond bottle out in a moment. Though only a drop was needed on each of Reepicheep's wounds, the wounds were so many that there was a long and anxious silence before she had finished and the Master Mouse sprang from the litter. His hand went at once to his sword hilt, with the other he twirled his whiskers. He bowed. "Hail, Aslan!" came his shrill voice. "I have the honour - " But then he suddenly stopped. The fact was that he still had no tail - whether that Lucy had forgotten it or that her cordial, though it could heal wounds, could not make things grow again. Reepicheep became aware of his loss as he made his bow; perhaps it altered something in his balance. He looked over his right shoulder. Failing to see his tail, he strained his neck further till he had to turn his shoulders and his whole body followed. But by that time his hind-quarters had turned too and were out of sight. Then he strained his neck looking over his shoulder again, with the same result. Only after he had turned completely round three times did he realize the dreadful truth. "I am confounded," said Reepicheep to Aslan. "I am completely out of countenance. I must crave your indulgence for appearing in this unseemly fashion." "It becomes you very well, Small One," said Aslan. "All the same," replied Reepicheep, "if anything could be done... Perhaps her Majesty?" and here he bowed to Lucy. "But what do you want with a tail?" asked Aslan. "Sir," said the Mouse, "I can eat and sleep and die for my King without one. But a tail is the honour and glory of a Mouse." "I have sometimes wondered, friend," said Aslan, "whether you do not think too much about your honour." "Highest of all High Kings," said Reepicheep, "permit me to remind you that a very small size has been bestowed on us Mice, and if we did not guard our dignity, some (who weigh worth by inches) would allow themselves very unsuitable pleasantries at our expense. That is why I have been at some pains to make it known that no one who does not wish to feel this sword as near his heart as I can reach shall talk in my presence about Traps or Toasted Cheese or Candles: no, Sir - not the tallest fool in Narnia!" Here he glared very fiercely up at Wimbleweather, but the Giant, who was always a stage behind everyone else, had not yet discovered what was being talked about down at his feet, and so missed the point. "Why have your followers all drawn their swords, may I ask?" said Aslan. "May it please your High Majesty," said the second Mouse, whose name was Peepiceek, "we are all waiting to cut off our own tails if our Chief must go without his. We will not bear the shame of wearing an honour which is denied to the High Mouse." "Ah!" roared Aslan. "You have conquered me. You have great hearts. Not for the sake of your dignity, Reepicheep, but for the love that is between you and your people, and still more for the kindness your people showed me long ago when you ate away the cords that bound me on the Stone Table (and it was then, though you have long forgotten it, that you began to be Talking Mice), you shall have your tail again." Before Aslan had finished speaking the new tail was in its place. Then, at Aslan's command, Peter bestowed the Knighthood of the Order of the Lion on Caspian, and Caspian, as soon as he was knighted, himself bestowed it on Trufflehunter and Trumpkin and Reepicheep, and made Doctor Cornelius his Lord Chancellor, and confirmed the Bulgy Bear in his hereditary office of Marshal of the Lists. And there was great applause. After this the Telmarine soldiers, firmly but without taunts or blows, were taken across the ford and all put under lock and key in the town of Beruna and given beef and beer. They made a great fuss about wading in the river, for they all hated and feared running water just as much as they hated and feared woods and animals. But in the end the nuisance was over: and then the nicest parts of that long day began. Lucy, sitting close to Aslan and divinely comfortable, wondered what the trees were doing. At first she thought they were merely dancing; they were certainly going round slowly in two circles, one from left to right and the other from right to left. Then she noticed that they kept throwing something down in the centre of both circles. Sometimes she thought they were cutting off long strands of their hair; at other times it looked as if they were breaking off bits of their fingers - but, if so, they had plenty of fingers to spare and it did not hurt them. But whatever they were throwing down, when it reached the ground, it became brushwood or dry sticks. Then three or four of the Red Dwarfs came forward with their tinder boxes and set light to the pile, which first crackled, and then blazed, and finally roared as a woodland bonfire on midsummer night ought to do. And everyone sat down in a wide circle round it. Then Bacchus and Silenus and the Maenads began a dance, far wilder than the dance of the trees; not merely a dance for fun and beauty (though it was that too) but a magic dance of plenty, and where their hands touched, and where their feet fell, the feast came into existence sides of roasted meat that filled the grove with delicious smell, and wheaten cakes and oaten cakes, honey and many-coloured sugars and cream as thick as porridge and as smooth as still water, peaches, nectarines, pomegranates, pears, grapes, strawberries, raspberries pyramids and cataracts of fruit. Then, in great wooden cups and bowls and mazers, wreathed with ivy, came the wines; dark, thick ones like syrups of mulberry juice, and clear red ones like red jellies liquefied, and yellow wines and green wines and yellow-green and greenish-yellow. But for the tree people different fare was provided. When Lucy saw Clodsley Shovel and his moles scuffling up the turf in various places (which Bacchus had pointed out to them) and realized that the trees were going to eat earth it gave her rather a shudder. But when she saw the earths that were actually brought to them she felt quite different. They began with a rich brown loam that looked almost exactly like chocolate; so like chocolate, in fact, that Edmund tried a piece of it, but he did not find it at all nice. When the rich loam had taken the edge off their hunger, the trees turned to an earth of the kind you see in Somerset, which is almost pink. They said it was lighter and sweeter. At the cheese stage they had a chalky soil, and then went on to delicate confections of the finest gravels powdered with choice silver sand. They drank very little wine, and it made the Hollies very talkative: for the most part they quenched their thirst with deep draughts of mingled dew and rain, flavoured with forest flowers and the airy taste of the thinnest clouds. Thus Aslan feasted the Narnians till long after the sunset had died away, and the stars had come out; and the great fire, now hotter but less noisy, shone like a beacon in the dark woods, and the frightened Telmarines saw it from far away and wondered what it might mean. The best thing of all about this feast was that there was no breaking up or going away, but as the talk grew quieter and slower, one after another would begin to nod and finally drop off to sleep with feet towards the fire and good friends on either side, till at last there was silence all round the circle, and the chattering of water over stone at the Ford of Beruna could be heard once more. But all night Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes. Next day messengers (who were chiefly squirrels and birds) were sent all over the country with a proclamation to the scattered Telmarines - including, of course, the prisoners in Beruna. They were told that Caspian was now King and that Narnia would henceforth belong to the Talking Beasts and the Dwarfs and Dryads and Fauns and other creatures quite as much as to the men. Any who chose to stay under the new conditions might do so; but for those who did not like the idea, Aslan would provide another home. Anyone who wished to go there must come to Aslan and the Kings at the Ford of Beruna by noon on the fifth day. You may imagine that this caused plenty of head-scratching among the Telmarines. Some of them, chiefly the young ones, had, like Caspian, heard stories of the Old Days and were delighted that they had come back. They were already making friends with the creatures. These all decided to stay in Narnia. But most of the older men, especially those who had been important under Miraz, were sulky and had no wish to live in a country where they could not rule the roost. "Live here with a lot of blooming performing animals! No fear," they said. "And ghosts too," some added with a shudder. "That's what those there Dryads really are. It's not canny." They were also suspicious. "I don't trust 'em," they said. "Not with that awful Lion and all. He won't keep his claws off us long, you'll see." But then they were equally suspicious of his offer to give them a new home. "Take us off to his den and eat us one by one most likely," they muttered. And the more they talked to one another the sulkier and more suspicious they became. But on the appointed day more than half of them turned up. At one end of the glade Aslan had caused to be set up two stakes of wood, higher than a man's head and about three feet apart. A third, and lighter, piece of wood was bound across them at the top, uniting them, so that the whole thing looked like a doorway from nowhere into nowhere. In front of this stood Aslan himself with Peter on his right and Caspian on his left. Grouped round them were Susan and Lucy, Trumpkin and Trufflehunter, the Lord Cornelius, Glenstorm, Reepicheep, and others. The children and the Dwarfs had made good use of the royal wardrobes in what had been the castle of Miraz and was now the castle of Caspian, and what with silk and cloth of gold, with snowy linen glancing through slashed sleeves, with silver mail shirts and jewelled sword-hilts, with gilt helmets and feathered bonnets, they were almost too bright to look at. Even the beasts wore rich chains about their necks. Yet nobody's eyes were on them or the children. The living and strokable gold of Aslan's mane outshone them all. The rest of the Old Narnians stood down each side of the glade. At the far end stood the Telmarines. The sun shone brightly and pennants fluttered in the light wind. "Men of Telmar," said Aslan, "you who seek a new land, hear my words. I will send you all to your own country, which I know and you do not." "We don't remember Telmar. We don't know where it is. We don't know what it is like," grumbled the Telmarines. "You came into Narnia out of Telmar," said Aslan. "But you came into Telmar from another place. You do not belong to this world at all. You came hither, certain generations ago, out of that same world to which the High King Peter belongs." At this, half the Telmarines began whimpering, "There you are. Told you so. He's going to kill us all, send us right out of the world," and the other half began throwing out their chests and slapping one another on the back and whispering, "There you are. Might have guessed we didn't belong to this place with all its queer, nasty, unnatural creatures. We're of royal blood, you'll see." And even Caspian and Cornelius and the children turned to Aslan with looks of amazement on their faces. "Peace," said Aslan in the low voice which was nearest to his growl. The earth seemed to shake a little and every living thing in the grove became still as stone. "You, Sir Caspian," said Aslan, "might have known that you could be no true King of Narnia unless, like the Kings of old, you were a son of Adam and came from the world of Adam's sons. And so you are. Many years ago in that world, in a deep sea of that world which is called the South Sea, a shipload of pirates were driven by storm on an island. And there they did as pirates would: killed the natives and took the native women for wives, and made palm wine, and drank and were drunk, and lay in the shade of the palm trees, and woke up and quarrelled, and sometimes killed one another. And in one of these frays six were put to flight by the rest and fled with their women into the centre of the island and up a mountain, and went, as they thought, into a cave to hide. But it was one of the magical places of that world, one of the chinks or chasms between chat world and this. There were many chinks or chasms between worlds in old times, but they have grown rarer. This was one of the last: I do not say the last. And so they fell, or rose, or blundered, or dropped right through, and found themselves in this world, in the Land of Telmar which was then unpeopled. But why it was unpeopled is a long story: I will not tell it now. And in Telmar their descendants lived and became a fierce and proud people; and after many generations there was a famine in Telmar and they invaded Narnia, which was then in some disorder (but that also would be a long story), and conquered it and ruled it. Do you mark all this well, King Caspian?" "I do indeed, Sir," said Caspian. "I was wishing that I came of a more honourable lineage." "You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve," said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content." Caspian bowed. "And now," said Aslan, "you men and women of Telmar, will you go back to that island in the world of men from which your fathers first came? It is no bad place. The race of those pirates who first found it has died out, and it is without inhabitants. There are good wells of fresh water, and fruitful soil, and timber for building, and fish in the lagoons; and the other men of that world have not yet discovered it. The chasm is open for your return; but this I must warn you, that once you have gone through, it will close behind you for ever. There will be no more commerce between the worlds by that door." There was silence for a moment. Then a burly, decent looking fellow among the Telmarine soldiers pushed forward and said: "Well, I'll take the offer." "It is well chosen," said Aslan. "And because you have spoken first, strong magic is upon you. Your future in that world shall be good. Come forth." The man, now a little pale, came forward. Aslan and his court drew aside, leaving him free access to the empty doorway of the stakes. "Go through it, my son," said Aslan, bending towards him and touching the man's nose with his own. As soon as the Lion's breath came about him, a new look came into the man's eyes - startled, but not unhappy - as if he were trying to remember something. Then he squared his shoulders and walked into the Door. Everyone's eyes were fixed on him. They saw the three pieces of wood, and through them the trees and grass and sky of Narnia. They saw the man between the doorposts: then, in one second, he had vanished utterly. From the other end of the glade the remaining Telmarines set up a wailing. "Ugh! What's happened to him? Do you mean to murder us? We won't go that way." And then one of the clever Telmarines said: "We don't see any other world through those sticks. If you want us to believe in it, why doesn't one of you go? All your own friends are keeping well away from the sticks." Instantly Reepicheep stood forward and bowed. "If my example can be of any service, Aslan," he said, "I will take eleven mice through that arch at your bidding without a moment's delay." "Nay, little one," said Aslan, laying his velvety paw ever so lightly on Reepicheep's head. "They would do dreadful things to you in that world. They would show you at fairs. It is others who must lead." "Come on," said Peter suddenly to Edmund and Lucy. "Our time's up." "What do you mean?" said Edmund. "This way," said Susan, who seemed to know all about it. "Back into the trees. We've got to change." "Change what?" asked Lucy. "Our clothes, of course," said Susan. "Nice fools we'd look on the platform of an English station in these." "But our other things are at Caspian's castle," said Edmund. "No, they're not," said Peter, still leading the way into the thickest wood. "They're all here. They were brought down in bundles this morning. It's all arranged." "Was that what Aslan was talking to you and Susan about this morning?" asked Lucy. "Yes - that and other things," said Peter, his face very solemn. "I can't tell it to you all. There were things he wanted to say to Su and me because we're not coming back to Narnia." "Never?" cried Edmund and Lucy in dismay. "Oh, you two are," answered Peter. "At least, from what he said, I'm pretty sure he means you to get back some day. But not Su and me. He says we're getting too old." "Oh, Peter," said Lucy. "What awful bad luck. Can you bear it?" "Well, I think I can," said Peter. "It's all rather different from what I thought. You'll understand when it comes to your last time. But, quick, here are our things." It was odd, and not very nice, to take off their royal clothes and to come back in their school things (not very fresh now) into that great assembly. One or two of the nastier Telmarines jeered. But the other creatures all cheered and rose up in honour of Peter the High King, and Queen Susan of the Horn, and King Edmund, and Queen Lucy. There were affectionate and (on Lucy's part) tearful farewells with all their old friends - animal kisses, and hugs from Bulgy Bears, and hands wrung by Trumpkin, and a last tickly, whiskerish embrace with Trufflehunter. And of course Caspian offered the Horn back to Susan and of course Susan told him to keep it. And then, wonderfully and terribly, it was farewell to Aslan himself, and Peter took his place with Susan's hands on his shoulders and Edmund's on hers and Lucy's on his and the first of the Telmarine's on Lucy's, and so in a long line they moved forward to the Door. After that came a moment which is hard to describe, for the children seemed to be seeing three things at once. One was the mouth of a cave opening into the glaring green and blue of an island in the Pacific, where all the Telmarines would find themselves the moment they were through the Door. The second was a glade in Narnia, the faces of Dwarfs and Beasts, the deep eyes of Aslan, and the white patches on the Badger's cheeks. But the third (which rapidly swallowed up the other two) was the grey, gravelly surface of a platform in a country station, and a seat with luggage round it, where they were all sitting as if they had never moved from it - a little flat and dreary for a moment after all they; had been through, but also, unexpectedly, nice in its own way, what with the familiar railway smell and the English sky and the summer term before them. "Well!" said Peter. "We have had a time." "Bother!" said Edmund. "I've left my new torch in Narnia."