CHAPTER FOURTEEN HOW ALL WERE VERY BUSY（第3/5页）

“Come back，Reepicheep，you little ass！”shouted Peter．“You’ll only be killed．This is no place for mice．”But the ridiculous little creatures were dancing in and out among the feet of both armies，jabbing with their swords．Many a Telmarine warrior that day felt his foot suddenly pierced as if by a dozen skewers，hopped on one leg cursing the pain，and fell as often as not．If he fell，the mice finished him off; if he did not，someone else did．

But almost before the Old Narnians were really warmed to their work they found the enemy giving way．Tough-looking warriors turned white，gazed in terror not on the Old Narnians but on something behind them，and then flung down their weapons，shrieking，“The Wood ！ The Wood ！ The end of the world ！”

But soon neither their cries nor the sound of weapons could be heard any more，for both were drowned in the ocean-like roar of the Awakened Trees as they plunged through the ranks of Peter’s army，and then on，in pursuit of the Telmarines．Have you ever stood at the edge of a great wood on a high ridge when a wild south-wester broke over it in full fury on an autumn evening？ Imagine that sound．And then imagine that the wood，instead of being fixed to one place，was rushing at you; and was no longer trees but huge people; yet still like trees because their long arms waved like branches and their heads tossed and leaves fell round them in showers．It was like that for the Telmarines．It was a little alarming even for the Narnians．In a few minutes all Miraz’s followers were running down to the Great River in the hope of crossing the bridge to the town of Beruna and there defending themselves behind ramparts and closed gates．

They reached the river，but there was no bridge．It had disappeared since yesterday．Then utter panic and horror fell upon them and they all surrendered．

But what had happened to the bridge？

Early that morning，after a few hours’ sleep，the girls had waked，to see Aslan standing over them and to hear his voice saying，“We will make holiday．”They rubbed their eyes and looked round them．The trees had all gone but could still be seen moving away toward Aslan’s How in a dark mass．Bacchus and the Maenads—his fierce，madcap girls—and Silenus were still with them．Lucy，fully rested，jumped up．Everyone was awake，everyone was laughing，flutes were playing，cymbals clashing．Animals，not Talking Animals，were crowding in upon them from every direction．

“What is it，Aslan？”said Lucy，her eyes dancing and her feet wanting to dance．

“Come，children，”said he．“Ride on my back again today．”

“Oh，lovely！”cried Lucy，and both girls climbed on to the warm golden back as they had done no one knew how many years before．Then the whole party moved off—Aslan leading，Bacchus and his Maenads leaping，rushing，and turning somersaults，the beasts frisking round them，and Silenus and his donkey bringing up the rear．

They turned a little to the right，raced down a steep hill，and found the long Bridge of Beruna in front of them．Before they had begun to cross it，however，up out of the water came a great wet，bearded head，larger than a man’s，crowned with rushes．It looked at Aslan and out of its mouth a deep voice came．

“Hail，Lord，”it said．“Loose my chains．”

“Who on earth is that？”whispered Susan．

“I think it’s the river-god，but hush，”said Lucy．

“Bacchus，”said Aslan．“Deliver him from his chains．”

“That means the bridge，I expect，”thought Lucy．And so it did．Bacchus and his people splashed forward into the shallow water，and a minute later the most curious things began happening．Great，strong trunks of ivy came curling up all the piers of the bridge，growing as quickly as a fire grows，wrapping the stones round，splitting，breaking，separating them．The walls of the bridge turned into hedges gay with hawthorn for a moment and then disappeared as the whole thing with a rush and a rumble collapsed into the swirling water．With much splashing，screaming，and laughter the revellers waded or swam or danced across the ford (“Hurrah ！ It’s the Ford of Beruna again now ！”cried the girls) and up the bank on the far side and into the town．