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〃im … im sorry； doctor；〃 said caspian。 〃it wasnt my fault； you know。鈥�
〃i am not saying these things in blame of you； dear prince；〃 answered the doctor。 〃you may well ask why i say them at all。 but i have two reasons。 firstly； because my old heart has carried these secret memories so long that it aches with them and would burst if i did not whisper them to you。 but secondly； for this： that when you bee king you may help us； for i know that you also； telmarine though you are； love the old things。鈥�
〃i do； i do；〃 said caspian。 〃but how can i help？鈥�
〃you can be kind to the poor remnants of the dwarf people； like myself。 you can gather learned magicians and try to find a way of awaking the trees once more。 you can search through all the nooks and wild places of the land to see if any fauns or talking beasts or dwarfs are perhaps still alive in hiding。鈥�
〃do you think there are any？〃 asked caspian eagerly。
〃i dont know … i dont know；〃 said the doctor with a deep sigh。 〃sometimes i am afraid there cant be。 i have been looking for traces of them all my life。 sometimes i have thought i heard a dwarf…drum in the mountains。 sometimes at night； in the woods； i thought i had caught a glimpse of fauns and satyrs dancing a long way off； but when i came to the place； there was never anything there。 i have often despaired； but something always happens to start me hoping again。 i dont know。 but at least you can try to be a king like the high king peter of old； and not like your uncle。鈥�
〃then its true about the kings and queens too； and about the white witch？〃 said caspian。
〃certainly it is true；〃 said cornelius。 〃their reign was the golden age in narnia and the land has never forgotten them。鈥�
〃did they live in this castle； doctor？鈥�
〃nay； my dear；〃 said the old man。 〃this castle is a thing of yesterday。 your great…great…grandfather built it。 but when the two sons of adam and the two daughters of eve were made kings and queens of narnia by aslan himself； they lived in the castle of cair paravel。 no man alive has seen that blessed place and perhaps even the ruins of it have now vanished。 but we believe it was far from here； down at the mouth of the great river； on the very shore of the sea。鈥�
〃ugh！〃 said caspian with a shudder。 〃do you mean in the black woods？ where all the … the … you know； the ghosts live？鈥�
〃your highness speaks as you have been taught；〃 said the doctor。 〃but it is all lies。
there are no ghosts there。 that is a story invented by the telmarines。 your kings are in deadly fear of the sea because they can never quite forget that in all stories aslan es from over the sea。 they dont want to go near it and they dont want anyone else to go near it。 so they have let great woods grow up to cut their people off from the coast。 but because they have quarrelled with the trees they are afraid of the woods。 and because they are afraid of the woods they imagine that they are full of ghosts。 and the kings and great men； hating both the sea and the wood； partly believe these stories； and partly encourage them。 they feel safer if no one in narnia dares to go down to the coast and look out to sea towards aslans land and the morning and the eastern end of the world。鈥�
there was a deep silence between them for a few minutes。 then doctor cornelius said； 〃e。 we have been here long enough。 it is time to go down and to bed。鈥�
〃must we？〃 said caspian。 〃id like to go on talking about these things for hours and hours and hours。鈥�
〃someone might begin looking for us； if we did that；〃 said doctor cornelius。
CHAPTER SIX
锛堝皬锛忥紡璇达紡锛弔锛忥紡xt锝�//澶�//鍫傦級
the people that lived in hiding now began the happiest times that caspian had ever known。 on a fine summer morning when the dew lay on the grass he set off with the badger and the two dwarfs； up through the forest to a high saddle in the mountains and down on to their sunny southern slopes where one looked across the green wolds of archenland。
〃we will go first to the three bulgy bears；〃 said trumpkin。
they came in a glade to an old hollow oak tree covered with moss； and trufflehunter tapped with his paw three times on the trunk and there was no answer。 then he tapped again and a woolly sort of voice from inside said； 〃go away。 its not time to get up yet。鈥�
but when he tapped the third time there was a noise like a small earthquake from inside and a sort of door opened and out came three brown bears； very bulgy indeed and blinking their little eyes。 and when everything had been explained to them （which took a long time because they were so sleepy） they said； just as trufflehunter had said； that a son of adam ought to be king of narnia and all kissed caspian … very wet； snuffly kisses they were … and offered him some honey。 caspian did not really want honey； without bread； at that time in the morning； but he thought it polite to accept。 it took him a long time afterwards to get unsticky。
after that they went on till they came among tall beech trees and trufflehunter called out； 〃pattertwig！ pattertwig！ pattertwig！〃 and almost at once； bounding down from branch to branch till he was just above their heads； came the most magnificent red squirrel that caspian had ever seen。 he was far bigger than the ordinary dumb squirrels which he had sometimes seen in the castle gardens； indeed he was nearly the size of a terrier and the moment you looked in his face you saw that he could talk。 indeed the difficulty was to get him to stop talking； for； like all squirrels； he was a chatterer。 he weled caspian at once and asked if he would like a nut and caspian said thanks； he would。 but as pattertwig went bounding away to fetch it； trufflehunter whispered in caspians ear； 〃dont look。 look the other way。 its very bad manners among squirrels to watch anyone going to his store or to look as if you wanted to know where it was。〃 then pattertwig came back with the nut and caspian ate it and after that pattertwig asked if he could take any messages to other friends。 〃for i can go nearly everywhere without setting foot to ground；〃 he said。 trufflehunter and the dwarfs tho