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Edition:	HarperCollins (Hardcover)
Author:	C. S. Lewis
Published:	September 2006
Pages:	256
ISBN 10:	0061125288
New:	$59.95 (5)
Used:	$6.99 (8)
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CHAPTER I Behind the Gym

Jill Pole is crying behind the gymnasium of Experiment House, a dreadful co-educational school whose headmaster, in his quest for ‘interesting psychological cases’, inadvertently fosters a caste system of bullies and everybody else. Jill is hiding from the bullies.

Eustace Scrubb, a former bully reformed due to his visit to the magical land of Narnia the previous summer (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader), happens upon Jill, and in his newly found sympathy, attempts to console her by telling her of his adventures there. Wishing to be anywhere but at the school, Jill expresses her desire to go to Narnia. Eustace explains that one can only enter Narnia by magic but that the Great Lion Aslan seems to be the magic between the two worlds. Together, as they hold out their arms and recite Aslan’s name three times, they hear the gang of bullies searching for them. Eustace and Jill run up the hill behind them only to be confronted by a gate that is always locked. Eustace, slightly desperate but determined, tries the gate and finds it unlocked. The children hesitate before going through, however, as instead of the gray autumn sky they see behind them, before them is a bright blue summer sky overlooking a land that is definitely not England. The persistent sounds of the pursuers quickly forces their decision and they leap through the doorway and slam the gate shut.

CHAPTER II Jill is Given a Task

Jill and Eustace find themselves in a sparse wood humming with the sound of singing birds. As they proceed forward, Eustace suddenly jerks Jill backwards from what is obviously the edge of a sheer cliff. Defiantly Jill steps closer to the edge, unable to stop her desire to show up Eustace. At the very edge, she realizes that she is frightened and finds herself unable to move. Eustace, braving his own fear of heights approaches and tries to pull her back. In her fear, Jill fights his attempts and inadvertently causes him to tumble over the edge. Out of nowhere, a very large lion races to the edge and begins to blow. Jill watches as Eustace is carried on this breath across the expanse of sky until he is gone. The lion then turns to Jill who in her fright hides her face in the grass.

Finally looking up, Jill cannot see the lion and rises. Possessed by an incredible thirst, she walks away from the cliff and heads toward the sound of rushing water in the distance. Her thirst increasing, she approaches the stream only to find the lion positioned between her and her desire. The lion beckons her to drink and she asks it to leave before she will proceed. Jill looks upon the lion’s face and realizes he will not. She asks him to promise not to harm her but the lion makes no answer. She asks him if he eats little girls. The lion replies, “I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms.” Feeling she will die without a draught of water, Jill goes to the stream to slake her thirst.

Refreshed, she turns to the lion, who is Aslan. Aslan reproaches her for her part in Eustace’s fall from the cliff, telling her that she must refrain from attitudes of superiority, as they are hurtful. He then tells her he has called her and Eustace to Narnia to engage in a quest to rescue a prince lost ten years ago. He gives her four signs to search for to aid them on their journey:

1. “As soon as the Boy Eustace sets foot in Narnia, he will soon meet an old and dear friend. He must greet that friend at once; if he does, you will both have good help.”
2. “You must journey out of Narnia to the north till you come to the ruined city of the ancient giants.”
3. “You shall find writing on a stone in that ruined city, and you must do what the writing tells you.”
4. “You will know the lost Prince (if you find him) by this, that he will be the first person you have met in your travels who will ask you to do something in my name, in the name of Aslan.”

Aslan escorts Jill back to the edge of the cliff, continually requesting that she repeat the signs until he is assured that she had remembered them. He then, although Jill is unaware of it and does not realize until she is already a distance from the edge, blows her gently into the sky as he had done for Eustace.

CHAPTER III The Sailing of the King

After what seem several hours Jill finally lands at the edge of a river where a brightly colored ship is preparing to sail. Glad music fills the air and many gaily clad people as well as unknown creatures, (Jill attended Experiment House, after all) such as fauns and dwarves, centaurs and satyrs, and many, many different animals surround the ship. Jill spies Eustace some distance away. He is also watching the festivities. Together they watch as an old man, with a circlet of gold about his head, board the ship.

Remembering the signs, Jill asks Eustace to look for anyone he knows. Eustace, however, is more interested in the panoply of the ship’s departure and rather than answering her questions, repeatedly tells her to be quiet. Finally, as he turns to Jill to give her his full attention, they are interrupted by the arrival of a large owl, Glimfeather, who asks them who they are and why they have come. Jill explains that they have been sent by Aslan to rescue the lost Prince. Dismayed, Glimfeather tells them that the King, who should have been consulted in this, has just departed on an extended voyage on the very ship that had just left the harbor. Upon hearing that the King’s is in fact King Caspian the Tenth, the same King Eustace knew from his adventures on the Dawn Treader, Eustace began to feel sick. He had not recognized the old man as the youthful Caspian. Jill realizes they have botched the first sign.

Glimfeather takes Jill and Eustace to the Lord Regent Trumpkin. Trumpkin, however, is elderly and extremely hard of hearing. After finally understanding whom the children are and why they have come, he tells them he will meet with them the following day to discuss a course of action.

CHAPTER IV A Parliament of Owls

While in the room provided by Trumpkin, Jill is unsure that Trumpkin will assist them in their quest. A knocking at her window alerts her to the presence of Glimfeather, who she invites into the room. Glimfeather questions her on her determination to find the lost Prince Rilian, and upon hearing, her affirmation beckons her to wake Eustace and dress for travel. Glimfeather then takes them each by turn to a tall tower where the Parliament of Owls has assembled.

Before the parliament begins, Eustace, fearing treachery, proclaims his loyalty to Caspian. The owls, also loyal, calm him by explaining that the meeting must be secret because Trumpkin is bound to the law that forbids any further searches for the young Prince. The owls then tell Rilian’s story. Ten years previous, the Queen, and many of the Court went Maying some distance from Cair Paravel. While resting, the Queen was bitten by a large green snake and died. Rilian immediately rode to avenge his mother. After several vain attempts, his friend and mentor, Drinian pleaded with him to surrender his search. Rilian, to Drinian’s surprise, told him that he rode not to find the snake but to meet with a most beautiful woman whom he has fallen in love with. Curious, Drinian follows Rilian and sees the woman, dressed in green raiment, meet with Rilian. The following day, Rilian again rode out to meet with her and was never seen again. Many brave men had searched and never returned to Narnia. Despairing for his son, but conscious of his duty to the people, Caspian proclaimed all further searches illegal.

CHAPTER V Puddleglum

Following much discussion, the owls decide they must take the children to the marsh-wiggles to find a guide of the Northern Reaches. Each mounting an owl, the children are flown through the night to the wig-wam of the marsh-wiggle, Puddleglum. Upon awakening, they get their first view of their marsh-wiggle host:

…the figure turned its head and showed them a long thin face with rather sunken cheeks, a tightly shut mouth, a sharp nose, and no beard. It was wearing a high, pointed hat, like a steeple, with an enormously wide, flat brim. The hair, if it could be called hair, which hung over its large ears, was greeny-grey, and each lock was flat rather than round, so that they were like tiny reeds. Its expression was solemn, its complexion muddy, and you could see at once that it took a serious view of life.

The children soon learn that Puddleglum is extremely pessimistic although his dire predictions rarely transpire. Taking the eels he has caught, Puddleglum prepares a stew and the three discuss what needs to be done. Jill tells the marsh-wiggle that they must travel north to the ruined city of the giants. Puddleglum dismally tells them that they will have to travel through Ettinsmoor in order to reach the ruined city. Collecting some provisions and equipment, the group sets forth the following morning.

CHAPTER VI The Wild Waste Lands of the North

As they approach Ettinsmoor, they watch as about 50 giants toss boulders at a distant cairn. The children realize that although it is only a game, the thrown boulders come very close to hitting them. It is obvious, however, that the giants are totally ignoring the travelers so they quickly make their way deeper into Ettinsmoor and out of range. They continue their journey across the moor for several days. On the tenth day, they come to a huge stone bridge on which they see two figures on horseback approaching them. As riders near, the children and Puddleglum can see that it is a green-gowned woman accompanied by a knight fully clad in black mail, his closed visor shielding his face.

The woman, who is quite beautiful, gaily inquires of their journey. Puddleglum refuses to give detail and questions the knight’s silence. Laughing, the woman directs them to Harfang, the city of the gentle giants, where they will find food and warmth, and bids them to say “That She of the Green Kirtle salutes them by you, and has sent them two fair Southern children for the Autumn Feast.” With that, she and the silent knight continue across the bridge.

The children are excited about the prospect of sleeping in a bed and taking a hot bath. Puddleglum is less than sure; pointing out that Aslan had said nothing of celebrating the Autumn Feast with the giants. Still, the children eagerly forge forward, thinking only of what a wonderful place the giant castle will be. Jill neglects to repeat the signs and on the few occasions when she does, she does not notice that parts have been forgotten. Several days later, they arrive at Harfang.

CHAPTER VII & VIII The Hill of the Strange Trenches & The House of Harfang

As the travelers approach Harfang, the snow and wind increases. Blinded, Jill slips into a trench. Finding that the trench blocks most of the cold wind, Eustace and Puddleglum slip in beside her. Unfortunately, it dead-ends and Puddleglum pulls them back into the gale. Fortunately, they are closer to the gate, which is opened for them by the porter. Upon hearing that they have been sent by the Lady of the Green Kirtle, all hustle is made to warm and feed them. The giants provide Puddleglum with a small flask that renders him drunk and insensible. The children are taken to meet the King and Queen who express delight at having the children for the Autumn Feast before ordering them to be coddled and cosseted with such thick sweetness that even Jill is slightly sickened by it.

CHAPTER IX How They Discovered Something Worth Knowing

Asleep in the bed she so coveted, Jill dreams of Aslan who asks her to repeat the signs and she is unable to remember them. He takes her to the window where upon looking down, she can see the outline of the words “UNDER ME” in the snow. When she awakens in the morning, however, she cannot remember the dream until Eustace, seated at the window later that morning, notices the words below. Together, in the daylight, they are able to make out the remains of what had obviously once been a city. Deciding they must get out of the castle and Eustace suggests they pretend to be thoroughly enjoying themselves and very excited about the upcoming feast in order to put the giants off guard.

Jill's nurse opens the door to her room and invites them to see the royal hunting party as it leaves. The children bolt out of the room and find the hunting party about to set off. Jill runs up to the queen and asks if they may run over the castle, telling her how they long for the feast to come. The queen gives her permission to the children to look around the castle and laughs at Jill's excitement about the feast. Jill spends the better part of the day loving up to the housemaids and other giants who shed tears at the innocence of the children.

During lunch, the children become even more determined to leave the giants’ castle. As they are enjoying a meal of venison, a greener-than-normal Puddleglum orders them to stop. Telling them he has just overheard the huntsmen telling of their hunt and how the stag, in begging for its life, had told them “Don’t kill me, I’m tough. You won’t like me.,” he lets the children know that they are eating a talking stag. Leaving the table, sickened and horrified, they continue to explore the castle, soon finding themselves in the kitchen where they chat up the cook. The cook presently settles herself for ‘a bit of a nap’, and Jill, waiting for her to fall asleep, begins to peruse the open cookbook. After reviewing how to prepare Mallard, her eyes drop downward to the next entry, which outlines how to prepare Man—a specialty of the Autumn Feast. Beneath that is the recipe for Marsh-Wiggle. Hearing the cook’s snore and more desperate than ever to leave the castle, Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum escape through the scullery door.

CHAPTER X Travels Without the Sun

As they hurry across the plain towards the ruined city, they hear the horns of the returning hunting party, which immediately gives chase. Finding a small opening beneath the base of the giant steps that lead to the city, Puddleglum pulls the children into it and fills the opening with loose stone to thwart the dogs. In complete darkness, the group feels its way away from the blocked opening and deeper under the stairs. Suddenly the ground began to slope and all three find themselves quickly sliding downward. They fall for an interminable amount of time until, still in complete darkness, they tumble onto rocky flatness. Calling to each other, assuring that each is unhurt, they simply sit—unable to think of anything to do in the darkness. Out of the darkness, a voice breaks the silence, asking what their business is in the Deep Realm.

The voice, introduced as the Warden of the Marches of the Underland, informs them that he, along with a hundred armed earthmen, will take them to the Queen of the Underland for her to deal with them. As a cold blue light illuminates the area, the children and the marsh-wiggle become aware of a large group of very solemn gnomes, each armed with a spear. They are escorted through several caverns, each of which contains curious things. One cave holds the sleeping bodies of large and unrecognizable beasts—dragonish and bat-like, but not quite either. Another cave holds the body of an enormous man—far bigger than the giants—that the Warden informs them is Father Time. With every question, the Warden replies that the beings shall “…wake at the end of the world.”

After trekking many miles through cavern after deeper cavern, the group boards a small ship harbored on a dark and seemingly endless sea. As they sail, Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum begin to see a brighter glow ahead of them. It is a city, teeming with gnomes, all as solemn and miserable looking as the next. Putting the ship to harbor, the Warden escorts them to the castle and is informed that the Queen is away in the ‘sunlit lands’. Turning to take the travelers to the dungeons, a voice from the top of the staircase commands the Warden to allow them to stay. Obviously reluctant, the Warden, nevertheless, obeys.

CHAPTER XI In the Dark Castle

Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum ascend the staircase and enter a room bright with light and rich with tapestries and a warm fire. A tall, fair-haired, and handsome young man dressed all in black rises to greet them. He seems kind and bold, but in his face is a countenance that is distant and somewhat vacant. Speaking a courteous greeting, he suddenly stops and admits his recognition of them as the travelers he and his Lady had meet on the bridge. Puddleglum, acknowledging their identities, comments that, “I think it was jolly mean to send us off to a castle of giants who intended to eat us.” The young man defends his Lady, telling the three that she is the epitome of virtue and he will have no person gainsay her. He then asks them of their business in the Underworld. Jill bursts out that they are seeking to find Prince Rilian to return him to his rightful place at Cair Parevel in Narnia. The man laughs, telling them he does not recognize the name of the Prince or of Narnia. Eustace tells him that they followed the words “UNDER ME” as a sign that they would find the Prince in this place. Again laughing, the man informs the travelers that the words were all that had been left of an ancient script:

Though under Earth and throneless now I be,

Yet, while I lived, all Earth was under me.

Puddleglum speaks that their guide was Aslan, who would have known long ago that these words would be needed and further questions the man regarding his Lady, who must be “long lived, indeed” to remember the original as written. Telling Puddleglum that his Lady is of a divine race that knows neither age nor death, the man calls for a meal over which he tells the travelers his story.

The young man begins by telling them that he knows nothing of his past and remembers time only from the moment he met his Lady. He is convinced that she has saved him from an evil enchantment that still afflicts him for an hour each night. If he were not tightly bound to the silver chair in the adjacent room, he, in uncontrollable rage would attack and kill all—even those he held dear. He goes on to tell them that his Lady is preparing a kingdom for him in the overland; the kingdom has been chosen and her earthmen have almost completed the digging that will breach the surface. He will, with an army of earthmen, overthrow the kingdom, assume the crown, and marry his Lady.

At this point, the young man tells the three that his hour of enchantment is imminent and, unwilling to be alone (his Lady usually sits with him), bids them to stay hidden behind a door until he can be bound and then enter again and sit with him. Some time later, Puddleglum, Eustace, and Jill re-enter the room where the young man sits bound tightly to a silver chair. He tells them that they must not free him no matter what he may beg them to do or he shall surely kill them. He begins to groan and soon begins to rave, imploring the children to free him. Begging and screaming for them to cut his bonds, he yells that in this hour he is himself, that for all other hours he is enchanted. He continues to plead but Puddleglum holds the children back until the man says, "By all fears and all loves, by the bright skies of the Overland, by the great Lion, by Aslan himself, I charge you—".

Realizing it is one of the signs, and knowing that she has botched every other sign given to her by Aslan, Jill convinces the others to free the man. Taking up their swords, Puddleglum and Eustace break the bonds of the silver chair. Finally free, the young man leaps from the chair, crosses the room to grab his own sword, and proceeds to hack the chair to pieces. He then turns to the children and the marsh-wiggle and reveals himself as Rilian, son of Caspian, Prince of Narnia. The door to the apartment opens and the Lady of the Green Kirtle, now known as the witch she is, enters.

CHAPTER XII The Queen of the Underland

Assessing the room with a quick glance, she inquires of the prince why he is not bound, who the others were and if it was they who had destroyed the chair for it is the chair alone that protects him from his enchantment. Rilian faces the Queen and proclaims himself Rilian, Son of Caspian, Prince of Narnia and finally in his right mind. He further states that he refuses to do her bidding in invading the Overworld. Gazing softly and nodding occasionally during Rilian’s speech, the Witch moves unobtrusively across the room until she stands before the fire—into which she drops a green powder that instantly began to emit a sweet and drowsy odor. Taking up an instrument reminiscent of a mandolin, the Witch began to play in a soft, monotonous tone. As the sweet odor of the powder, combined with the gentle thrumming of the instrument, pervaded the room, she began to speak quietly, convincing Rilian, as well as Eustace, Lucy, and Puddleglum, that Narnia, and England, whose existence Jill tried to defend, was only figment of their imaginations.

Rilian, Eustace, and Jill, bemused by the lull of the music and the drowsy scent are soon nodding in agreement to all the Witch tells them. Puddleglum, perhaps because of his innate pessimism summons a breath of true Narnia, staggers to his feet, and begins to stomp out the fire with his bare webbed foot. Suddenly the room smells more of burnt marsh-wiggle than it does of sweet drowsiness. Outraged, the Witch drops her instrument and begins to transform in a large green snake. Rilian, Puddleglum, and Eustace, now fully alert, take up their swords and cut off its head.

CHAPTER XIII Underland Without the Queen

Jill bandages Puddleglum’s burnt foot as they all discuss a plan to escape the Witch’s gnomes. As they talk, they begin to notice a hum that slowly but steadily is growing louder. Looking from the window, they see hundreds of gnomes creeping furtively through the city, hiding in the shadows cast from a mysterious red glow coming from the far side of the city. Rilian is stunned that the noise is emanating from the gnomes themselves and tells the others that in all his years of captivity he has never heard one speak above a soft whisper—if they spoke at all. Suddenly, they realize that the sea is rising and flooding the city. Puddleglum, in his taciturn manner, correctly explained the phenomenon:

“I’ll tell you what it is. That Witch has laid a train of magic spells so that whenever she was killed, at that same moment her whole kingdom would fall to pieces. She’s the sort that wouldn’t so much mind dying herself if she knew that the chap who killed her was going to be burned, or buried, or drowned five minutes later.”

Rilian tells the others that they must rescue the horses from the stables and ride them to the diggings where the earthmen have been excavating an exit to the surface. With a sense of urgency, and not knowing the intentions of the gnomes, (as their movements, while furtive, also looked like preparations for battle), all four begin a cautious exit from the castle.

As they ride through the city towards the glow in the distance, they begin to notice that the Earthmen, rather than trying to stop them, seem more intent on hiding themselves from the riders. Rilian and Puddleglum, concerned about the Earthmen’s motives, capture and question an Earthman, who after a useless struggle with the Marsh wiggle, and learning that the Witch was dead, laughs with joy.

CHAPTER XIV The Bottom of the World

Introducing himself as Golg, the Earthman tells them that an hour previous, while silently toiling away, he and his compatriots were suddenly overcome with the desire to stop their tedious work and shout or sing or dance or any number of things that were loud and joyous. As they began to understand that they had been under an enchantment, there was a crash and bang and a great red chasm opened in the earth. It was toward this chasm that the Earthmen had been heading (while trying to hide from the Queen, as they did not know she was already dead) for it led to the warmth of the Really Deep Land, a thousand fathoms beneath them. Golg told the four that that was the Land of Bism, the gnomes’ homeland and begged his leave of them so he could return to the land he loved before the chasm closed forever.

Per Rilian’s request, Golg takes them to the path to the excavation to the surface. As they travel, Golg informs the other Earthmen that the Witch is dead and this news quickly travels throughout the area. Approaching the chasm, they see hundreds of gnomes steadily climbing down into its fiery red depths.

Golg entreats Rilian to visit the Land of Bism. Puddlglum, Eustace, and Jill are hard put to dissuade the Prince from his almost enchanted desire to accept Golg’s offer; reminding him of his father’s heartbreak, his duty to Narnia, and their own reluctance to either enter the chasm or be drowned by the rising flood. Rilian accedes to their wishes just as, with a low rumble, the chasm begins to narrow and close. As they mount their horses and hasten up the path towards the surface, they watch the last of gnomes fling themselves from the rim of the chasm and float gently down into its depths.

CHAPTER XV The Disappearance of Jill

As they ride, the tunnel becomes steadily more narrow and shallow and they are forced to dismount and lead the horses. Much to Jill’s dismay, the lights, placed at intervals along the route, begin to fade and finally go out altogether, leaving them in utter darkness. They continue forward (there is no sense in going back) until Eustace spies a small blue light. As they approach it they find that the tunnel has ended and the light is several feet above their reach.

Jill, with much difficulty, climbs onto Puddleglum’s shoulders so they may ascertain the light’s properties. Standing on the Marsh-Wiggle’s shoulders, Jill informs them that it is a hole, and she is going to try to crawl out of it. Putting her face to the hole, she began to say something but her words suddenly stopped. Two things happened. First the light disappeared and second, Jill rose up off Puddleglum’s shoulders and disappeared through the hole.

Jill, in poking her head through the hole, had found herself looking down a hill, at the bottom of which emanated the noise of drums and dancing. When she had attempted to tell her companions that they had found the surface, a large snowball had hit her directly in the mouth. After sputtering out the snow and too excited to do anything but yell for help, she was then pulled from Puddleglum’s shoulders and through the hole.

Jill explained to the dwarves, fauns, dryads, and the other folk who had been celebrating the Great Snow Dance, that others, including Prince Rilian, were still buried within the hill. The dwarves with picks and shovels and the moles with natural ability soon widened the hole to allow the others to pass through. Puddleglum is welcomed and told that his fame has spread across Narnia. At the sight of Rilian, hats are removed and knees are bent. They go to a nearby cave where a fire is lit, a table set, and all listen as Rilian tells of his adventures. Jill and Eustace, however, fall fast asleep.

CHAPTER XVI The Healing of Harms

When Jill awakes next morning, she tries to wake Eustace and Puddleglum. In doing so, she disturbs someone overhead - Glimfeather the owl. He has come to tell her that Rilian has left and that she and Eustace are to go after him. After breakfast and tearful (on Jill’s part) farewells to Puddleglum, they are privileged with the rare honor of being allowed to ride a centaur on their journey.

The children and centaurs reached the bank of the river as Caspian’s ship came into the harbor. (Aslan had appeared on the ship and spoken with Caspian, telling him to return to Narnia) From their vantage point they were able to view Caspian being lowered to the wharf on a stretcher and Rilian, (no longer in black, but dressed in bright silver mail and a crimson cloak), kneel at his father’s side and embrace him. Jill watched as the crowd of people doffed hats, helmets, and hoods. Looking farther, she saw the great banner with the golden Lion emblazoned upon it, slowly fall to half-mast over the castle.

As the sounds of a stately dirge reach them, Eustace and Jill slip off the centaurs’ backs. The hear voice calling to them, and in turning, see Aslan walking towards them. Jill, overcome with shame for her failure to remember the signs and for being quarrelsome, desperately wants to apologize but finds she cannot speak. Aslan speaks gently to her, telling her she accomplished the task she set out to do.

Telling the children that he his taking them home, Aslan, as he had done in the beginning of their adventure, opened his mouth and blew. This time, however, the children did not fly but stood as all of Narnia blew away and they found themselves standing in green summer grass next to a clear stream. Incredibly, the funeral music for Caspian lingered and as the children looked into the stream, they saw on the golden gravel beneath the water, the body of Caspian. Jill and Eustace wept, and Jill saw that Eustace did not weep as boy, but as a man. Aslan, too, shed great, lion tears and told Eustace to go into a thicket, pluck the thorn he would find there, and bring it to him. Spreading his paw, he nodded for Eustace to drive the thorn into it. Hesitant, but resolved, Eustace pierced the lion’s pad until a great drop of blood formed and dropped into the stream over the body of the dead king. As the waters flowed over Caspian, the children watched and it was as if the water washed away the years of age and infirmity from the king’s countenance until he was a man just blossomed.

Leaping from the stream, the renewed Caspian flung his arms about Aslan and kissed him joyfully in his laughter. He then turned and enthusiastically greeted Eustace as an old friend. His joy is slightly dampened when he finds that Eustace and Jill must soon leave, but is granted a boon by Aslan who allows that he may spend five minutes in their world. Asking Jill to cut a switch, which magically became a fine riding crop, he admonishes the three:

“Now, Sons of Adam, draw your swords, but use only the flat, for it is cowards and children, not warriors, against whom I send you.”

Leading them through a wood to a gated wall, Aslan opens the gate through which they see Experiment House under the same dull autumn sky they had seen before they started their adventure. Aslan then turned his back to the gate to face the summer sun of Aslan’s Land.

Hearing the bullies struggling up the hill, Eustace, Jill, and Caspian stepped through the gate. The bullies, emerging from the brush, are terrified to find the wall broken down, a huge lion lying down in the breach, and three glittering people with weapons rushing down on them. Plying crop and blade, Eustace, Jill, and Caspian chase and chastise the now crying bullies. The Headmistress, hearing the noise, rushes out to witness punishment, becomes perfectly hysterical when she spies the placid Aslan at the top of the hill, and frantically calls the police. The police arrive to find the wall intact and the headmistress behaving like a lunatic. Caspian had returned to Aslan’s Land and Eustace and Jill had slipped away in the confusion.

Eustace secretly buried his fancy clothes but Jill smuggled hers home and wore them to a fancy ball the next holidays. The Headmistress, deemed unsuitable for the responsibility of running a school, was dismissed and sent to sit in Parliament. The school was investigated, many bad rules were abolished, and many good rules enforced.

In Narnia, Rilian was crowned King and ruled wisely and long. The entrance to the Underworld was left open and stories of great cities that lay beneath were often told on hot summer days when the Narnians would take ships and lanterns to sail on the cool underground sea.

References

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