CHAPTER ELEVEN ASLAN IS NEARER（第3/4页）

“Don’t sit staring，fool ！ Get out and help．”

And of course Edmund had to obey．He stepped out into the snow-but it was really only slush by now-and began helping the dwarf to get the sledge out of the muddy hole it had got into． They got it out in the end，and by being very cruel to the reindeer the dwarf managed to get it on the move again，and they drove a little further．And now the snow was really melting in earnest and patches of green grass were beginning to appear in every direction. Unless you have looked at a world of snow as long as Edmund had been looking at it，you will hardly be able to imagine what a relief those green patches were after the endless white．Then the sledge stopped again．

“It’s no good，your Majesty，”said the dwarf．“We can’t sledge in this thaw．”

“Then we must walk，”said the Witch．

“We shall never overtake them walking，”growled the dwarf. “Not with the start they’ve got．”

“Are you my councillor or my slave ？”said the Witch．“Do as you’re told．Tie the hands of the human creature behind it and keep hold of the end of the rope．And take your whip．And cut the harness of the reindeer；they’ll find their own way home．”

The dwarf obeyed，and in a few minutes Edmund found himself being forced to walk as fast as he could with his hands tied behind him．He kept on slipping in the slush and mud and wet grass，and every time he slipped the dwarf gave him a curse and sometimes a flick with the whip．The Witch walked behind the dwarf and kept on saying，“Faster ！ Faster ！”

Every moment the patches of green grew bigger and the patches of spow grew smaller．Every moment more and more of the trees shook off their robes of snow．Soon，wherever you looked， instead of white shapes you saw the dark green of firs or the black prickly branches of bare oaks and beeches and elms．Then the mist turned from white to gold and presently cleared away altogether． Shafts of delicious sunlight struck down on to the forest floor and overhead you could see a blue sky between the tree tops．

Soon there were more wonderful things happening．Coming suddenly round a corner into a glade of silver birch trees Edmund saw the ground covered in all directions with little yellow flowers-celandines．The noise of water grew louder．Presently they actually crossed a stream．Beyond it they found snowdrops growing．

“Mind your own business ！”said the dwarf when he saw that Edmund had turned his head to look at them；and he gave the rope a vicious jerk．

But of course this didn’t prevent Edmund from seeing．Only five minutes later he noticed a dozen crocuses growing round the foot of an old tree-gold and purple and white．Then came a sound even more delicious than the sound of the water．Close beside the path they were following a bird suddenly chirped from the branch of a tree．It was answered by the chuckle of another bird a little further off．And then，as if that had been a signal，there was chattering and chirruping in every direction，and then a moment of full song，and within five minutes the whole wood was ringing with birds’ music，and wherever Edmund’s eyes turned he saw birds alighting on branches，or sailing overhead or chasing one another or having their little quarrels or tidying up their feathers with their beaks．

“Faster ！ Faster ！”said the Witch．

There was no trace of the fog now．The sky became bluer and bluer，and now there were white clouds hurrying across it from time to time．In the wide glades there were primroses．A light breeze sprang up which scattered drops of moisture from the swaying branches and carried cool，delicious scents against the faces of the travellers．The trees began to come fully alive．The larches and birches were covered with green，the laburnums with gold．Soon the beech trees had put forth their delicate，transparent leaves．As the travellers walked under them the light also became green．A bee buzzed across their path．