chater ixteen farewell t hadwnd (第3/6页)

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So they ran faster and faster till it was more like flying than running，and even the Eagle overhead was going no faster than they. And they went through winding valley after winding valley and up the steep sides of hills and，faster than ever，down the other side，following the river and sometimes crossing it and skimming across mountainlakes as if they were living speed-boats，till at last at the far end of one long lake which looked as blue as a turquoise， they saw a smooth green hill. Its sides were as steep as the sides of a pyramid and round the very top of it ran a green wall：but above the wall rose the branches of trees whose leaves looked like silver and their fruit like gold．

“Further up and further in!”roared the Unicorn，and no one held back. They charged straight at the foot of the hill and then found themselves running up it almost as water from a broken wave runs up a rock out at the point of some bay. Though the slope was nearly as steep as the roof of a house and the grass was smooth as a bowling green，no one slipped. Only when they had reached the very top did they slow up; that was because they found themselves facing great golden gates. And for a moment none of them was bold enough to try if the gates would open. They all felt just as they had felt about the fruit-“Dare we ？ Is it right ？ Can it be meant for us ？”

But while they were standing thus a great horn，wonderfully loud and sweet，blew from somewhere inside that walled garden and the gates swung open．

Tirian stood holding his breath and wondering who would come out. And what came was the last thing he had expected：a little，sleek，bright-eyed Talking Mouse with a red feather stuck in a circlet on its head and its left paw resting on a long sword. It bowed，a most beautiful bow，and said in its shrill voice：

“Welcome，in the Lion’s name. Come further up and further in.”

Then Tirian saw King Peter and King Edmund and Queen Lucy rush forward to kneel down and greet the Mouse and they all cried out“Reepicheep!”And Tirian breathed fast with the sheer wonder of it，for now he knew that he was looking at one of the great heroes of Narnia，Reepicheep the Mouse who had fought at the great Battle of Beruna and afterwards sailed to the World’s end with King Caspian the Seafarer. But before he had had much time to think of this he felt two strong arms thrown about him and felt a bearded kiss on his cheeks and heard a well remembered voice saying：

“What，lad ？Art thicker and taller since I last touched thee!”

It was his own father，the good King Erlian：but not as Tirian had seen him last when they brought him home pale and wounded from his fight with the giant，nor even as Tirian remembered him in his later years when he was a grey-headed warrior. This was his father，young and merry，as he could just remember him from very early days when he himself had been a little boy playing games with his father in the castle garden at Cair Paravel，just before bedtime on summer evenings. The very smell of the bread-and-milk he used to have for supper came back to him．

Jewel thought to himself，“I will leave them to talk for a little and then I will go and greet the good King Erlian. Many a bright apple has he given me when I was but a colt.”But next moment he had something else to think of，for out of the gateway there came a horse so mighty and noble that even a Unicorn might feel shy in its presence：a great winged horse. It looked a moment at the Lord Digory and the Lady Polly and neighed out“What，cousins!”and they both shouted“Fledge! Good old Fledge!”and rushed to kiss it．

But by now the Mouse was again urging them to come in. So all of them passed in through the golden gates，into the delicious smell that blew towards them out of that garden and into the cool mixture of sunlight and shadow under the trees，walking on springy turf that was all dotted with white flowers. The very first thing which struck everyone was that the place was far larger than it had seemed from outside. But no one had time to think about that for people were coming up to meet the newcomers from every direction．