CHAPTER SIX
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THE PEOPLE THAT LIVED IN HIDING Now began the happiest times that Caspian had ever known. On a fine summer m when the dew lay on the grass he set off with the Badger and the two Dwarfs, up through the forest to a high saddle in the mountains and down on to their sunny southern <mark>９9ｌｉｂ?</mark>slopes where one looked across the green wolds of Arland."We will go first to the Three Bulgy Bears," said Trumpkin.
They came in a glade to an old hollow oak tree covered with moss, and Trufflehuapped with his paw three times orunk and there was no aheapped again and a woolly sort of voice from inside said, "Go away. Its not time to get up yet.”
But wheapped the third time there was a noise like a small earthquake from inside and a sort of door opened and out came three brown bears, very bulgy indeed and blinking their little eyes. And whehing had been explaio them (which took a long time because they were so sleepy) they said, just as Trufflehunter had said, that a son of Adam ought to be King of Narnia and all kissed Caspian - very wet, snuffly kisses they were - and offered him some honey. Caspian did not really want honey, without bread, at that time in the m, but he thought it polite to accept. It took him a long time afterwards to get unsticky.
After that they went on till they came among tall beech trees and Trufflehunter called out, "Pattertwig! Pattertwig! Pattertwig!" and almost at once, bounding down from branch to branch till he was just above their heads, came the most magnifit red squirrel that Caspian had ever seen. He was far bigger than the ordinary dumb squirrels which he had sometimes seen in the castle gardens; indeed he was nearly the size of a terrier and the moment you looked in his face you saw that he could talk. Ihe difficulty was to get him to stop talking, for, like all squirrels, he was a chatterer. He weled Caspian at ond asked if he would like a nut and Caspian said thanks, he would. But as Pattertwig went bounding away to fetch it, Trufflehunter whispered in Caspians ear, "Dont look. Look the other way. Its very bad manners among squirrels to watyone going to his store or to look as if you wao know where it was." Then Pattertwig came back with the nut and Caspia and after that Pattertwig asked if he could take any messages to other friends. "For I go nearly everywhere without setting foot to ground," he said. Trufflehunter and the Dwarfs thought this a very good idea and gave Pattertwig messages to all sorts of people with queer elling them all to e to a
feast and cil on Dang Lawn at midnight three nights ahead. "And youd better tell the three Bulgies too," added Trumpkin. "We fot to mention it to them.”
Their visit was to the Seven Brothers of Shuddering Wood. Trumpkihe way back to the saddle and then dowward on the northern slope of the mountains till they came to a very solemn place among rocks and fir trees. They went very quietly and presently Caspian could feel the ground shake under his feet as if someone were hammering down below. Trumpkio a flat stone about the size of the top of a water-butt, and stamped on it with his foot. After a long pause it was moved away by someone or something underh, and there was a dark, round hole with a good deal of heat and steam ing out of it and in the middle of the hole the head of a Dwarf very like Trumpkin himself. There was a long talk here and the dwarf seemed more suspicious than the Squirrel or the Bulgy Bears had been, but in the end the whole party were io e down. Caspian found himself desding a dark stairway into the earth, but when he came to the bottom he saw firelight. It was the light of a furhe whole place was a smithy. A subterranean stream ran past on one side of it. Two Dwarfs were at the bellows, another was holding a piece of red-hot metal on the anvil with a pair of tongs, a fourth was hammering it, and two, wiping their horny little hands on a greasy cloth, were ing forward to meet the visitors. It took some time to satisfy them that Caspian was a friend and not an enemy, but when they did, they all cried, "Long live the King," and their gifts were noble - mail shirts as and swords for Caspian and Trumpkin and Nikabrik. The Badger could have had the same if he had liked, but he said he was a beast, he was, and if his claws ah could not keep his skin whole, it wasnt worth keeping. The workmanship of the arms was far fihan any Caspian had ever seen, and he gladly accepted the Dwarf-made sword instead of his own, which looked, in parison, as feeble as a toy and as clumsy as a stick. The seven brothers (who were all Red Dwarfs) promised to e to the feast at Dang Lawn.
A little farther on, in a dry, rocky ravihey reached the cave of five Black Dwarfs.
They looked suspiciously at Caspian, but in the end the eldest of them said, "If he is against Miraz, well have him for King." And the oldest said, "Shall we go farther up for you, up to the crags? Theres an Ogre or two and a Hag that we could introduce you to, up there.”
"Certainly not," said Caspian.
"I should think not, indeed," said Trufflehunter. "We want none of that sort on our side.”
Nikabrik disagreed with this, but Trumpkin and the Badger overruled him. It gave Caspian a shock to realize that the horrible creatures out of the old stories, as well as the nies, had some desdants in Narnia still.
"We should not have Aslan for friend if we brought in that rabble," said Trufflehunter as they came away from the cave of the Black Dwarfs.
"Oh, Aslan!" said Trumpkin, cheerily but ptuously. "What matters much more is that you wouldnt have me.”
"Do you believe in Aslan?" said Caspian to Nikabrik.
"Ill believe in anyone or anything," said Nikabrik, "thatll batter these cursed Telmarine barbarians to pieces or drive them out of Narnia. Anyone or anything, Aslan or the White Witch, do you uand?”
"Silence, silence," said Trufflehunter. "You do not know what you are saying. She was a worse ehan Miraz and all his race.”
"Not to Dwarfs, she wasnt," said Nikabrik.
Their visit leasanter one. As they came lower down, the mountains opened out into a great glen or wooded ge with a swift river running at the bottom. The open plaear the rivers edge were a mass of foxgloves and wild roses and the air was buzzing with bees. Here Trufflehunter called again, "Glenstlenstorm!" and after a pause Caspian heard the sound of hoofs. It grew louder till the valley trembled and at last, breaking and trampling the thickets, there came in sight the creatures that Caspian had yet seen, the great taur Glenstorm and his three sons. His flanks were glossy chestnut and the beard that covered his broad chest was goldenred. He rophet and a star-gazer and knew what they had e about.
"Long live the King," he cried. "I and my sons are ready for war. When is the battle to be joined?”
Up till now her Caspian nor the others had really been thinking of a war. They had some vague idea, perhaps, of an occasional raid on some Human farmstead or of attag a party of hunters, if it veoo far into these southern wilds. But, in the main, they had thought only of living to themselves in woods and caves and building up an attempt at Old Narnia in hiding. As soon as Glenstorm had spoken everyo much more serious.
"Do you mean a real war to drive Miraz out of Narnia?" asked Caspian.
"What else?" said the taur. "Why else does your Majesty go clad in mail and girt with sword?”
"Is it possible, Glenstorm?" said the Badger.
"The time is ripe," said Glenstorm. "I watch the skies, Badger, for it is mio watch, as it is yours to remember. Tarva and Alambil have met in the halls of high heaven, and oh a son of Adam has once more arisen to rule and he creatures. The hour has struck. Our cil at the Dang Lawn must be a cil of war." He spoke in such a voice that her Caspian nor the others hesitated for a moment: it now seemed to them quite possible that they might win a war and quite certain that they must wage one.
As it was now past the middle of the day, they rested with the taurs and ate such food as the taurs provided cakes of oaten meal, and apples, and herbs, and wine, and cheese.
The place they were to vbbr></abbr>isit was quite near at hand, but they had to go a long way round in order to avoid a region in which Men lived. It was well into the afternoon before they found themselves in level fields, warm between hedgerows. There Trufflehunter called at the mouth of a little hole in a green bank and out popped the last thing Caspian expected - a Talking Mouse. He was of course bigger than a ouse, well over a foot high wheood on his hind legs, and with ears nearly as long as (though broader than) a rabbits. His name was Reepicheep and he was a gay and martial mouse. He wore a tiny little rapier at his side and twirled his long whiskers as if they were a moustache.
"There are twelve of us, Sire," he said with a dashing and graceful bow, "and I place all the resoury people unreservedly at your Majestys disposal." Caspian tried hard (and successfully) not to laugh, but he couldhinking that Reepicheep and all his people could very easily be put in a washing basket and carried home on ones back.
It would take too long to mention all the creatures whom Caspiahat day - Clodsley Shovel the Mole, the three Hardbiters (who were badgers like Trufflehunter), Camillo the Hare, and Hogglestock the Hedgehog. They rested at last beside a well at the edge of a wide and level circle of grass, bordered with tall elms whiow threw long shadows across it, for the sun was setting, the daisies closing, and the rooks flying home to bed.
Here they supped on food they had brought with them and Trumpkin lit his pipe (Nikabrik was not a smoker).
"Now," said the Badger, "if only we could wake the spirits of these trees and this well, we should have done a good days work.”
"t we?" said Caspian.
"No," said Trufflehunter. "We have no power over them. Sihe Humans came into the land, felling forests and defiling streams, the Dryads and Naiads have sunk into a deep sleep. Who knows if ever they will stir again? And that is a great loss to our side. The Telmarines are horribly afraid of the woods, and ohe Trees moved in anger, our enemies would go mad with fright and be chased out of Narnia as quick as their legs could carry them.”
"What imaginations you Animals have!" said Trumpkin, who didnt believe in such things. "But why stop at Trees and Waters? Wouldnt it be even nicer if the stoarted throwing themselves at old Miraz?”
The Badger only gru this, and after that there was such a silehat Caspian had nearly dropped off to sleep whehought he heard a faint musical sound from the depth of the woods at his back. Thehought it was only a dream and turned ain; but as soon as his ear touched the ground he felt or heard (it was hard to tell which) a faiing or drumming. He raised his head. The beating once
became fainter, but the music returned, clearer this time. It was like flutes. He saw that Trufflehunter was sitting up staring into the wood. The moon was bright; Caspian had been asleep lohahought. Nearer and nearer came the music, a tune wild a dreamy, and the noise of many light feet, till at last, out from the wood into the moonlight, came dang shapes such as Caspian had been thinking of all his life. They were not much taller than dwarfs, but far slighter and mraceful. The<bdi>..</bdi>ir curly heads had little horns, the upper part of their bodies gleamed naked in the pale light, but their legs a were those of goats.
"Fauns!" cried Caspian, jumping up, and in a moment they were all round him. It took o no time to explain the whole situation to them and they accepted Caspian at once.
Before he knew what he was doing he found himself joining in the darumpkin, with heavier and jerkier movements, did likewise and even Trufflehunter hopped and lumbered about as best he could. Only Nikabrik stayed where he was, looking on in silehe Fauns footed it all round Caspian to their reedy pipes. Their strange faces, which seemed mournful and merry al<cite>藏书网</cite>l at once, looked into his; dozens of Fauns, Mentius and Obentinus and Dumnus, Voluns, Voltinus, Girbius, Nimienus, Nausus, and Oss.
Pattertwig had sent them all.
When Caspian awoke m he could hardly believe that it had not all been a dream; but the grass was covered with little cloven hoof-marks.
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