Read Online A Year with Aslan: Daily Reflections from The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: C. S. Lewis
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like huge English farm horses, and the man part was like stern but beautiful giants. There was also a unicorn, and a bull with the head of a man, and a pelican, and an eagle, and a great Dog. And next to Aslan stood two leopards of whom one carried his crown and the other his standard.
But as for Aslan himself, the Beavers and the children didn’t know what to do or say when they saw him. People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it now. For when they tried to look at Aslan’s face they just caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they found they couldn’t look at him and went all trembly.
“Go on,” whispered Mr. Beaver.
“No,” whispered Peter, “you first.”
“No, Sons of Adam before animals,” whispered Mr. Beaver back again.
“Susan,” whispered Peter, “what about you? Ladies first.”
“No, you’re the eldest,” whispered Susan. And of course the longer they went on doing this the more awkward they felt. Then at last Peter realized that it was up to him. He drew his sword and raised it to the salute and hastily saying to the others “Come on. Pull yourselves together,” he advanced to the Lion and said:
“We have come—Aslan.”
—The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Why is it so hard for them to approach Aslan? Who or what in your life has required a great deal of courage for you to face?
F EBRUARY 18
Not Your Horse
A LL RIGHT THEN ,” said Aravis. “You’ve guessed it. Hwin and I are running away. We are trying to get to Narnia. And now, what about it?”
“Why, in that case, what is to prevent us all going together?” said Bree. “I trust, Madam Hwin, you will accept such assistance and protection as I may be able to give you on the journey?”
“Why do you keep talking to my horse instead of to me?” asked the girl.
“Excuse me, Tarkheena,” said Bree (with just the slightest backward tilt of his ears), “but that’s Calormene talk. We’re free Narnians, Hwin and I, and I suppose, if you’re running away to Narnia, you want to be one too. In that case Hwin isn’t your horse any longer. One might just as well say you’re her human.”
The girl opened her mouth to speak and then stopped. Obviously she had not quite seen it in that light before.
—The Horse and His Boy
How do you think Aravis feels to hear the radical Narnian view of horse ownership? Have you ever felt possessive of another person as she felt about her horse, Hwin? If so, what can you do to view him or her more as a free person and less as yours?
F EBRUARY 19
We Simply Must Try
[M R. TUMNUS ’ S ] door had been wrenched off its hinges and broken to bits. Inside, the cave was dark and cold and had the damp feel and smell of a place that had not been lived in for several days. Snow had drifted in from the doorway and was heaped on the floor, mixed with something black, which turned out to be the charred sticks and ashes from the fire. Someone had apparently flung it about the room and then stamped it out. The crockery lay smashed on the floor and the picture of the Faun’s father had been slashed into shreds with a knife.
“This is a pretty good washout,” said Edmund; “not much good coming here.”
“What is this?” said Peter, stooping down. He had just noticed a piece of paper which had been nailed through the carpet to the floor.
“Is there anything written on it?” asked Susan.
“Yes, I think there is,” answered Peter, “but I can’t read it in this light. Let’s get out into the open air.”
They all went out in the daylight and crowded round Peter as he read out the following words:
The former occupant of these premises, the Faun Tumnus, is under arrest and awaiting his trial on a charge of High Treason against her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, Chatelaine of Cair Paravel,
But as for Aslan himself, the Beavers and the children didn’t know what to do or say when they saw him. People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it now. For when they tried to look at Aslan’s face they just caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they found they couldn’t look at him and went all trembly.
“Go on,” whispered Mr. Beaver.
“No,” whispered Peter, “you first.”
“No, Sons of Adam before animals,” whispered Mr. Beaver back again.
“Susan,” whispered Peter, “what about you? Ladies first.”
“No, you’re the eldest,” whispered Susan. And of course the longer they went on doing this the more awkward they felt. Then at last Peter realized that it was up to him. He drew his sword and raised it to the salute and hastily saying to the others “Come on. Pull yourselves together,” he advanced to the Lion and said:
“We have come—Aslan.”
—The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Why is it so hard for them to approach Aslan? Who or what in your life has required a great deal of courage for you to face?
F EBRUARY 18
Not Your Horse
A LL RIGHT THEN ,” said Aravis. “You’ve guessed it. Hwin and I are running away. We are trying to get to Narnia. And now, what about it?”
“Why, in that case, what is to prevent us all going together?” said Bree. “I trust, Madam Hwin, you will accept such assistance and protection as I may be able to give you on the journey?”
“Why do you keep talking to my horse instead of to me?” asked the girl.
“Excuse me, Tarkheena,” said Bree (with just the slightest backward tilt of his ears), “but that’s Calormene talk. We’re free Narnians, Hwin and I, and I suppose, if you’re running away to Narnia, you want to be one too. In that case Hwin isn’t your horse any longer. One might just as well say you’re her human.”
The girl opened her mouth to speak and then stopped. Obviously she had not quite seen it in that light before.
—The Horse and His Boy
How do you think Aravis feels to hear the radical Narnian view of horse ownership? Have you ever felt possessive of another person as she felt about her horse, Hwin? If so, what can you do to view him or her more as a free person and less as yours?
F EBRUARY 19
We Simply Must Try
[M R. TUMNUS ’ S ] door had been wrenched off its hinges and broken to bits. Inside, the cave was dark and cold and had the damp feel and smell of a place that had not been lived in for several days. Snow had drifted in from the doorway and was heaped on the floor, mixed with something black, which turned out to be the charred sticks and ashes from the fire. Someone had apparently flung it about the room and then stamped it out. The crockery lay smashed on the floor and the picture of the Faun’s father had been slashed into shreds with a knife.
“This is a pretty good washout,” said Edmund; “not much good coming here.”
“What is this?” said Peter, stooping down. He had just noticed a piece of paper which had been nailed through the carpet to the floor.
“Is there anything written on it?” asked Susan.
“Yes, I think there is,” answered Peter, “but I can’t read it in this light. Let’s get out into the open air.”
They all went out in the daylight and crowded round Peter as he read out the following words:
The former occupant of these premises, the Faun Tumnus, is under arrest and awaiting his trial on a charge of High Treason against her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, Chatelaine of Cair Paravel,
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