The Voyage of the Dawn Tread

ADVENT

what?" sa

vice on the gol

above it like a star," said Drin

u have. It is the sign of a great Narnian h

n, "have you devoured a Narnian lord?"

e Lord Octesian, turned into a drago

ns collect gold. But I think it's a safe guess

agon, and then, when it sadly shook its head, "A

ded vi

erwards whether Lucy or Edmund said it firs

everyone skipped back (some of the sailors with ejaculations I will not put down

hear his story, but he couldn't speak. More than once in the days that followed he attempted to write it for them on the sand. But, this never succeeded. In the first place Eustace (never having read the right books) had no idea how to tell a story straight. And for another thing, the muscles and nerves of the dragon-claws that he had to use ha

EE . . . RGOS AGR

SO HAR . . . WOKE UP AND COU . .

been killed. He ate a few himself, of course, but always alone, for now that he was a dragon he liked his food raw but he could never bear to let others see him at his messy meals. And one day, flying slowly and wearily but in great triumph, he bore back to camp a great tall pine tree which he had torn up by the roots in a distant valley and which could be made into a capital mast. And in the evening if it turned chilly, as it sometimes did after the heavy rains, he was

he would slink away from the camp and lie curled up like a snake between the wood and the water. On such occasions, greatly to his surprise, Reepicheep was his most constant comforter. The noble Mouse would creep away from the merry circle at the camp fire and sit down by the dragon's head, well to the windward to be out of the way of his smoky breath. There he would explain that what had happened to Eustace was a striking illustration of the turn of Fortune's wheel, and that if he had Eustace at his ow

ift all the stores to the other side down below so as to balance," or, "Would towing him be any good?" or "Would he be able to keep up by flying?" and (most often of all), "But how are we to feed him?" And poor Eustace realized more and more that since the first day he came on board he h

ht he heard something moving, so he raised himself on one elbow and looked about him: and presently he thought he saw a dark figure moving on the seaward side of the wood. The idea that at once occurred to his mind was, "Are we so sure there are no natives

it was too small for Caspian and too big for Lucy. It did not run away. Edmund drew his sword and

are you?

?" said the other.

Edmund, "so it i

and lurched as if h

, steadying him. "Wh

ast he said, "It's been ghastly. You don't know . . . but it's all right now

it on the rocks over there. I say, I am glad to see you - er -

y while the sky got paler and paler and the stars disappeared

said Eustace. "By the way, I didn't even know it was a dragon till I heard you all using th

ead," sa

able than ever. And that beastly a

all rig

arm. "There it is," he said, "and anyone who likes can have it as far as I'm concerned. Well, as I say, I was lying awak

mund, with consi

as. So it came nearer and nearer. I was terribly afraid of it. You may think that, being a dragon, I could have knocked any lion out easily enough. But it wasn't that kind of fear. I wasn't afraid of it e

ean it

it. And it led me a long way into the mountains. And there was always this moonlight over and round the lion wherever we went. So at last we came to the top

ery big, round bath with marble steps going down into it. The water was as clear as anything and I thought if I could get in there and bath

o I started scratching myself and my scales began coming off all over the place. And then I scratched a little deeper and, instead of just scales coming off here and there, my whole skin started peeling off beautifully, like it doe

before. Oh, that's all right, said I, it only means I had another smaller suit on underneath the first one, and I'll have to get out of it too. So 1 scratch

ake off? For I was longing to bathe my leg. So I scratched away for the third time and got off a third skin, just l

me undress you." I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was prett

hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff pe

y what you mea

a peeled switch and smaller than I had been. Then he caught hold of me - I didn't like that much for I was very tender underneath now that I'd no skin on - and threw me into the water. It smarted like anything but only for a moment. After that it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I start

lion took me out

you. With

ew clothes - the same I've got on now, as a matter of fact. And then sudden

't a dream,"

y n

r one thing. And you have been -

nk it was, then?

ve seen Aslan

he Dawn Treader. And I felt - I don't know what - I hated it. But I was hating everyth

you haven't been as bad as I was on my first trip t

, then," said Eustace. "But w

mperor-beyond-the-Sea, who saved me and saved Narnia. We've all seen him.

heir right, they knew it was going on because the sky above them and the bay before them turned the colour of roses. Then some bird of the p

e wondered whether the other dragon had killed the Lord Octesian several years ago or whether Octesian himself had been the old dragon. The jewels with which Eustace had crammed his po

well stored, was ready to sail. Before they embarked Caspian

rrow e

ARNIA, ETC. IN THE FOURTH YEAR OF HIS REIGN. HER

". To be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy. He had relapses. There were still ma

id Caspian and flung it up in the air. This was when they were all standing looking at the inscription. Up went the ring, flashing in the sunlight, and caught, and hung, as neatly as a well-thrown quoit, on