"Племянник чародея" with W_cat

[633] The two Moles settled that part of the business pretty quickly. There was some dispute as to which way up Uncle Andrew ought to be put into the hole, and he had a very narrow escape from being put in head foremost. Several animals said his legs must be his branches and therefore the grey, fluffy thing (they meant his head) must be his root. But then others said that the forked end of him was the muddier and that it spread out more, as roots ought to do. So finally he was planted right way up. When they had patted down the earth it came up above his knees.

[634] “It looks dreadfully withered,” said the Donkey.

[635] “Of course it wants some watering,” said the Elephant.

“I think I might say (meaning no offence to anyone present) that, perhaps, for that sort of work, my kind of nose—”

[636] “I object to that remark very strongly,” said the Bulldog. But the Elephant walked quietly to the river, filled her trunk with water, and came back to attend to Uncle Andrew. The sagacious animal went on doing this till gallons of water had been squirted over him, and water was running out of the skirts of his frock-coat as if he had been for a bath with all his clothes on. In the end it revived him. He awoke from his faint. What a wake it was! But we must leave him to think over his wicked deed (if he was likely to do anything so sensible) and turn to more important things.

[637] Strawberry trotted on with Digory on his back till the noise of the other animals died away, and now the little group of Aslan and his chosen councillors was quite close. Digory knew that he couldn’t possibly break in on so solemn a meeting, but there was no need to do so. At a word from Aslan, the He-Elephant, the Ravens, and all the rest of them drew aside. Digory slipped off the horse and found himself face to face with Aslan. And Aslan was bigger and more beautiful and more brightly golden and more terrible than he had thought. He dared not look into the great eyes.

[638] “Please—Mr Lion—Aslan—Sir,” said Digory, “could you—may I—please, will you give me some magic fruit of this country to make Mother well?”

[639] He had been desperately hoping that the Lion would say “Yes”; he had been horribly afraid it might say “No”. But he was taken aback when it did neither.

[640] “This is the Boy,” said Aslan, looking, not at Digory, but at his councillors. “This is the Boy who did it.”

[641] “Oh dear,” thought Digory, “what have I done now?”

[642] “Son of Adam,” said the Lion. “There is an evil Witch abroad in my new land of Narnia. Tell these good Beasts how she came here.”

[643] A dozen different things that he might say flashed through Digory’s mind, but he had the sense to say nothing except the exact truth.

[644] “I brought her, Aslan,” he answered in a low voice.

[645] “For what purpose?”

[646] “I wanted to get her out of my own world back into her own. I thought I was taking her back to her own place.”

[647] “How came she to be in your world, Son of Adam?”

[648] “By—by Magic.”

[649] The Lion said nothing and Digory knew that he had not told enough.

[650] “It was my Uncle, Aslan,” he said. “He sent us out of our own world by magic rings, at least I had to go because he sent Polly first, and then we met the Witch in a place called Charn and she just held on to us when—”

[651] “You met the Witch?” said Asian in a low voice which had the threat of a growl in it.

[652] “She woke up,” said Digory wretchedly. And then, turning very white, “I mean, I woke her. Because I wanted to know what would happen if I struck a bell. Polly didn’t want to. It wasn’t her fault. I—I fought her. I know I shouldn’t have. I think I was a bit enchanted by the writing under the bell.”

[653] “Do you?” asked Asian; still speaking very low and deep. .

[654] “No,” said Digory. “I see now I wasn’t. I was only pretending.”

[655] There was a long pause. And Digory was thinking all the time, “I’ve spoiled everything. There’s no chance of getting anything for Mother now.”

[656] When the Lion spoke again, it was not to Digory.

[657] “You see, friends,” he said, “that before the new, clean world I gave you is seven hours old, a force of evil has already entered it; waked and brought hither by this son of Adam.” The Beasts, even Strawberry, all turned their eyes on Digory till he felt that he wished the ground would swallow him up. “But do not be cast down,” said Aslan, still speaking to the Beasts. “Evil will come of that evil, but it is still a long way off, and I will see to it that the worst falls upon myself. In the meantime, let us take such order that for many hundred years yet this shall be a merry land in a merry world. And as Adam’s race has done the harm, Adam’s race shall help to heal it. Draw near, you other two.”