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THE LAST BATTLE
C.S. LEWIS
Illustrated by Pauline Baynes
Contents
Chapter Two – The Rashness of the King
Chapter Three – The Ape in its Glory
Chapter Four – What Happened That Night
Chapter Five – How Help Came to the King
Chapter Six – A Good Night’s Work
Chapter Seven – Mainly About Dwarfs
Chapter Eight – The News the Eagle Brought
Chapter Nine – The Great Meeting on Stable Hill
Chapter Ten – Who Will Go into the Stable?
Chapter Eleven – The Pace Quickens
Chapter Twelve – Through the Stable Door
Chapter Thirteen – How the Dwarfs Refused to be Taken in
Chapter Fourteen – Night Falls on Narnia
Chapter Fifteen – Farther Up and Farther In
Chapter Sixteen – Farewell to Shadowlands
Also by Author
THE LAST BATTLE
One last battle against evil, one final journey to the magical land of Narnia.
NARNIA . . . where the last king makes a stand and sad farewells turn to joy . . . where the adventure begins again.
The Unicorn says that humans are brought to Narnia only in time of great need – and that time is now. The Great Lion, Aslan, the heart of Narnia, is missing. An impostor roams the land in his place, enslaving Aslan’s loyal creatures and spreading treachery and lies. Only King Tirian and his small band of loyal followers are left to fight the last battle in this magnificent ending to The Chronicles of Narnia.
Chapter One
By Caldron Pool
In the last days of Narnia, far up to the west beyond Lantern Waste and close beside the great waterfall, there lived an ape. He was so old that no one could remember when he had first come to live in those parts, and he was the cleverest, ugliest, most wrinkled ape you can imagine. He had a little house, built of wood and thatched with leaves, up in the fork of a great tree, and his name was Shift. There were very few Talking Beasts or Men or Dwarfs, or people of any sort, in that part of the wood, but Shift had one friend and neighbour who was a donkey called Puzzle. At least they both said they were friends, but from the way things went on you might have thought Puzzle was more like Shift’s servant than his friend. He did all the work. When they went together to the river, Shift filled the big skin bottles with water but it was Puzzle who carried them back. When they wanted anything from the towns farther down the river it was Puzzle who went down with empty panniers on his back and came back with the panniers full and heavy. And all the nicest things that Puzzle brought back were eaten by Shift; for as Shift said, “You see, Puzzle, I can’t eat grass and thistles like you, so it’s only fair I should make it up in other ways.” And Puzzle always said, “Of course, Shift, of course. I see that.”
Puzzle never complained, because he knew that Shift was far cleverer than himself and he thought it was very kind of Shift to be friends with him at all. And if ever Puzzle did try to argue about anything, Shift would always say, “Now, Puzzle, I understand what needs to be done better than you. You know you’re not clever, Puzzle.” And Puzzle always said, “No, Shift. It’s quite true. I’m not clever.” Then he would sigh and do whatever Shift had said.
One morning early in the year the pair of them were out walking along the shore of Caldron Pool. Caldron Pool is the big pool right under the cliffs at the western end of Narnia. The great waterfall pours down into it with a noise like everlasting thunder, and the River of Narnia flows out on the other side. The waterfall keeps the Pool always dancing and bubbling and churning round and round as if it were on the boil, and that of course is how it got its name of Caldron Pool. It is liveliest in the early spring when the waterfall is swollen with all the snow that has melted off the mountains from up beyond Narnia in the Western Wild from which the river comes. And as they looked at Caldron Pool, Shift suddenly pointed with his dark, skinny finger and said,
“Look! What’s that?”
“What’s what?” said Puzzle.
“That yellow thing that’s just come down the waterfall. Look! There it is again, it’s floating. We must find out what it is.”
“Must we?” said Puzzle.
“Of course we must,” said Shift. “It may be something useful. Just hop into the Pool like a good fellow and fish it out. Then we can have a proper look at it.”
“Hop into the Pool?” said Puzzle, twitching his long ears.
“Well, how are we to get it if you don’t?” said the Ape.
“But – but,” said Puzzle, “wouldn’t it be better if you went in? Because, you see, it’s you who wants to know what it is, and I don’t much. And you’ve got hands, you see. You’re as good as a Man or a Dwarf when it comes to catching hold of things. I’ve only got hoofs.”
“Really, Puzzle,” said Shift, “I didn’t think you’d ever say a thing like that. I didn’t think it of you,