The Voyage of the Dawn Tread

THE DAW

ian. "We were just waiting for you.

ee and kissed her hand. The only othe

Eustace?"

we can do anything for him. It only make

id Caspian, "we

It's a year ago by our time since we left you just be

ee years," s

well?" as

all now between Telmarines, Dwarfs, Talking Beasts, Fauns and the rest. And we gave those troublesome giants on the frontier such a good beating

"of course I do. You couldn'

use," said Drinian. He had been going to say "as a

we heading for?

hild my usurping uncle Miraz got rid of seven friends of my father's (who might have taken

"and none of the

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 Revil

oop, Sire,"

my main intention. But Reepicheep here has an even

me to the very eastern end of the world? And what might we find there? I expect to find Aslan

idea," said Edmun

country would be that sort of country -

t there is this. When I was in my cradle, a

s grow sweet, Doubt not, Reepicheep, To f

ns. But the spell of it ha

Lucy asked, "And where

I," said Caspian, so Drinian got out

Cair Paravel and stood a little north for Galma, which we made on the next day. We were in port for a

f, Drinian. Some of the bruises

We thought the Duke would have been pleased if the King's Maje

has freckles,"

girl," s

eir 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

e and boarded her and hanged every m

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,

e Lone Island

wered Drinian. "Unless the Lone I

t in our days

is after the Lone Islands tha

ut Lucy's conscience smote her and she said, "I think I really must go and see Eustac

behind I thought it might be regarded as one of the royal treasures and so I

take a drop,

tiful little diamond flask which Lucy remembered so well. "Take back your ow

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

d Caspian. "We'll leave your kinsman the

ur Majesty-"

sailing the ship and will have cares and labours many a night when we are singing catches or telling stories, so y

er there was any sign of the storm getting less. But Cas

oared. "This is as fair wea

rritably. "Send him away. Hi

g that will make you feel

ad, 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 succ

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 h

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 mark

irs. 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 roo

Before dinner next day, when the others were sitting round the table , waiting (being at sea g

eing kept under control. I could bring an action agains

is sword was drawn and his whiskers looke

esty's. If I had known that he would take refuge here I wo

rth's up?"

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

ay. Put that thing away. It's not saf

ou muzzled

on!" cheeped the Mouse. "Draw and fight or

ustace. "I'm a pacifist. I

is sword for a moment and speaking very sternly,

ursing his hand. "If you don't know how to ta

teel 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

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 Ree