LUCY LOOKS INTO A WARDROBE
Ohere were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happeo them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids. They were sent to the house of an old Professor who lived in the heart of the try, ten miles from the railway station and two miles from the post office. He had no wife and he lived in a very large house with a housekeeper called Mrs Macready and three servants. (Their names were Ivy, Margaret ay, but they do not e into the story much.) He himself was a very old man with shaggy white hair which grew over most of his face as well as on his head, and they liked him almost at once; but on the first evening when he came out to meet them at the front door he was so odd-looking that Lucy (who was the you) was a little afraid of him, and Edmund (who was the you) wao laugh and had to keep oending he was blowing his o hide it.
As soon as they had said good night to the Professor and gone upstairs on the first night, the boys came into the girls room and they all talked it over.
"Weve fallen on our feet and no mistake," said Peter. "This is going to be perfectly splendid. That old chap will let us do anything we like.」
"I think hes an old dear," said Susan.
"Oh, e off it!" said Edmund, who was tired and pretending not to be tired, which always made him bad-tempered. "Dont go on talking like that.」
"Like what?" said Susan; "and anyway, its time you were in bed.」
"Trying to talk like Mother," said Edmund. "And who are you to say when Im to go to bed? Go to bed yourself.」
"Hadnt we all better go to bed?" said Lucy. "Theres sure to be a row if were heard talking here.」
"No there wont," said Peter. "I tell you this is the sort of house where no ones going to mind what we do. Anyway, they wont hear us. Its about ten minutes walk from here down to that dining-room, and any amount of stairs and passages iween.」
"Whats that noise?" said Lucy suddenly. It was a far larger house than she had ever been in before and the thought of all those long passages and rows of doors leading iy rooms was beginning to make her feel a little creepy.
"Its only a bird, silly," said Edmund.
"Its an owl," said Peter. "This is going to be a wonderful place for birds. I shall go to bed now. I say, lets go and explore tomorrow. You might find anything in a place like this.
Did you see those mountains as we came along? And the woods? There might be eagles.
There might be stags. Therell be hawks.」
"Badgers!" said Lucy. "Foxes!" said Edmund. "Rabbits!" said Susan. But whe m came there was a steady rain falling, so thick that when you looked out of the window you could see her the mountains nor the woods nor eveream in the garden.
"Of course it would be raining!" said Edmund. They had just fiheir breakfast with the Professor and were upstairs in the room he had set apart for them - a long, low room with two windows looking out in one dire and two in another.
"Do stop grumbling, Ed," said Susan. "Ten to oll clear up in an hour or so. And in the meantime were pretty well off. Theres a wireless and lots of books.」
"Not for me"said Peter; "Im going to explore in the house.」
Everyone agreed to this and that was how the adventures began. It was the sort of house that you never seem to e to the end of, and it was f