CHAPTER FIFTEEN ASLAN MAKES A DOOR IN THE AIR（第2/6页）

“Highest of all High Kings，”said Reepicheep，“permit me to remind you that a very small size has been bestowed on us Mice，and if we did not guard our dignity，some (who weigh worth by inches) would allow themselves very unsuitable pleasantries at our expense．That is why I have been at some pains to make it known that no one who does not wish to feel this sword as near his heart as I can reach shall talk in my presence about Traps or Toasted Cheese or Candles: no，Sir—not the tallest fool in Narnia！”Here he glared very fiercely up at Wimbleweather，but the Giant，who was always a stage behind everyone else，had not yet discovered what was being talked about down at his feet，and so missed the point．

“Why have your followers all drawn their swords，may I ask？”said Aslan．

“May it please your High Majesty，”said the second Mouse，whose name was Peepiceek，“we are all waiting to cut off our own tails if our Chief must go without his．We will not bear the shame of wearing an honour which is denied to the High Mouse．”

“Ah！”roared Aslan．“You have conquered me．You have great hearts．Not for the sake of your dignity，Reepicheep，but for the love that is between you and your people，and still more for the kindness your people showed me long ago when you ate away the cords that bound me on the Stone Table (and it was then，though you have long forgotten it，that you began to be Talking Mice)，you shall have your tail again．”

Before Aslan had finished speaking the new tail was in its place．Then，at Aslan’s command，Peter bestowed the Knighthood of the Order of the Lion on Caspian，and Caspian，as soon as he was knighted，himself bestowed it on Trufflehunter and Trumpkin and Reepicheep，and made Doctor Cornelius his Lord Chancellor，of the Lists．And there was great applause．

After this the Telmarine soldiers，firmly but without taunts or blows，were taken across the ford and all put under lock and key in the town of Beruna and given beef and beer．They made a great fuss about wading in the river，for they all hated and feared running water just as much as they hated and feared woods and animals．But in the end the nuisance was over: and then the nicest parts of that long day began．

Lucy，sitting close to Aslan and divinely comfortable，wondered what the trees were doing．At first she thought they were merely dancing; they were certainly going round slowly in two circles，one from left to right and the other from right to left．Then she noticed that they kept throwing something down in the centre of both circles．Sometimes she thought they were cutting off long strands of their hair; at other times it looked as if they were breaking off bits of their fingers—but，if so，they had plenty of fingers to spare and it did not hurt them．But whatever they were throwing down，when it reached the ground，it became brushwood or dry sticks．Then three or four of the Red Dwarfs came forward with their tinder boxes and set light to the pile，which first crackled，and then blazed，and finally roared as a woodland bonfire on midsummer night ought to do．And everyone sat down in a wide circle round it．

Then Bacchus and Silenus and the Maenads began a dance，far wilder than the dance of the trees; not merely a dance for fun and beauty (though it was that too) but a magic dance of plenty，and where their hands touched，and where their feet fell，the feast came into existence—sides of roasted meat that filled the grove with delicious smell，and wheaten cakes and oaten cakes，honey and many-coloured sugars and cream as thick as porridge and as smooth as still water，peaches，nectarines，pomegranates，pears，grapes，strawberries，raspberries—pyramids and cataracts of fruit．Then，in great wooden cups and bowls and mazers，wreathed with ivy，came the wines; dark，thick ones like syrups of mulberry juice，and clear red ones like red jellies liquefied，and yellow wines and green wines and yellow-green and greenish-yellow．