THE DWARF
THE worst of sleeping out of doors is that you wake up so dreadfully early. And when you wake you have to get up because the ground is so hard that you are unfortable.
And it makes matters worse if there is nothing but apples for breakfast and you have had nothing but apples for supper the night before. When Lucy had said - truly enough that it was a glorious m, there did not seem to be anything else o be said. Edmund said what everyone was feeling, "Weve simply got to get off this island.」
When they had drunk from the well and splashed their faces they all went dowream again to the shore and stared at the el which divided them from the mainland.
"Well have to swim," said Edmund.
"It would be all right for Su," said Peter (Susan had won prizes for swimming at school).
"But I dont know about the rest of us." By "the rest of us" he really meant Edmund who could do two lengths at the school baths, and Lucy, who could hardly swim at all.
"Anyway," said Susan, "there may be currents. Father says its never wise to bathe in a place you dont know.」
"But, Peter," said Lucy, "look here. I know I t swim for nuts at home - in England, I mean. But couldnt we all swim long ago - if it was long ago - when we were Kings and Queens in Narnia? We could ride then too, and do all sorts of things. Dont you think -?」
"Ah, but we were sort of grown-up then," said Peter.
"We reigned for years and years and learo do things. Arent we just back at our pres again now?」
"Oh!" said Edmund in a voice which made everyoop talking and listen to him.
"Ive just seen it all," he said.
"Seen what?" asked Peter.
"Why, the whole thing," said Edmund. "You know what we were puzzling about last night, that it was only a year ago since we left Narnia but everything looks as if no one had lived in Cair Paravel for hundreds of years? Well, dont you see? You know that, however long we seemed to have lived in Narnia, whe back through the wardrobe it seemed to have taken no time at all?」
"Go on," said Susan. "I think Im beginning to uand.」
"And that means," tinued Edmund, "that, once youre out of Narnia, you have no idea how Narnian time is going. Why shouldnt hundreds of years have gone past in Narnia while only one year has passed for us in England?」
"By Jove, Ed," said Peter. "I believe youve got it. In that se really was hundreds of years ago that we lived in Cair Paravel. And now were ing back to Narnia just as if we were Crusaders lo-Saxons or A Britons or someone ing back to modern England?」
"How excited theyll be to see us -" began Lucy, but at the same moment everyone else said, "Hush!" or "Look!" For now something was happening.
There was a wooded point on the mainland a little to their right, and they all felt sure that just beyond that point must be the mouth of the river. And now, round that point there came into sight a boat. When it had cleared the point, it turned and began ing along the el towards them. There were two people on board, one rowing, the other sitting iern and holding a buhat twitched and moved as if it were alive. Both these people seemed to be soldiers. They had steel caps on their heads and light shirts of -mail. Their faces were bearded and hard. The children drew back from the beato the wood and watched without moving a finger.
"Thisll do," said the soldier ierhe boat had e about oppos