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〃aslan a man！〃 said mr beaver sternly。 〃certainly not。 i tell you he is the king of the wood and the son of the great emperor…beyond…the…sea。 dont you know who is the king of beasts？ aslan is a lion … the lion； the great lion。”
〃ooh！〃 said susan； 〃id thought he was a man。 is he … quite safe？ i shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion。”
〃that you will； dearie； and no mistake；〃 said mrs beaver； 〃if theres anyone who can appear before aslan without their knees knocking； theyre either braver than most or else just silly。”
〃then he isnt safe？〃 said lucy。
〃safe？〃 said mr beaver； 〃dont you hear what mrs beaver tells you？ who said anything about safe？ course he isnt safe。 but hes good。 hes the king； i tell you。”
〃im longing to see him；〃 said peter； 〃even if i do feel frightened when it es to the point。”
〃thats right； son of adam；〃 said mr beaver； bringing his paw down on the table with a crash that made all the cups and saucers rattle。 〃and so you shall。 word has been sent that you are to meet him； tomorrow if you can； at the stone table。
〃wheres that？〃 said lucy。
〃ill show you；〃 said mr beaver。 〃its down the river； a good step from here。 ill take you to it！”
〃but meanwhile what about poor mr tumnus？〃 said lucy。
〃the quickest way you can help him is by going to meet aslan；〃 said mr beaver； 〃once hes with us； then we can begin doing things。 not that we dont need you too。 for thats another of the old rhymes： when adams flesh and adams bone sits at cair paravel in throne； the evil time will be over and done。
so things must be drawing near their end now hes e and youve e。 weve heard of aslan ing into these parts before … long ago； nobody can say when。 but theres never been any of your race here before。”
〃thats what i dont understand； mr beaver；〃 said peter； 〃i mean isnt the witch herself human？”
〃shed like us to believe it；〃 said mr beaver； 〃and its on that that she bases her claim to be queen。 but shes no daughter of eve。 she es of your father adams〃 … （here mr beaver bowed） 〃your father adams first wife； her they called lilith。 and she was one of the jinn。 thats what she es from on one side。 and on the other she es of the giants。 no； no； there isnt a drop of real human blood in the witch。”
〃thats why shes bad all through； mr beaver；〃 said mrs beaver。
〃true enough； mrs beaver；〃 replied he； 〃there may be two views about humans （meaning no offence to the present pany）。 but theres no two views about things that look like humans and arent。”
〃ive known good dwarfs；〃 said mrs beaver。
〃sove i； now you e to speak of it；〃 said her husband； 〃but precious few； and they were the ones least like men。 but in general； take my advice； when you meet anything thats going to be human and isnt yet； or used to be human once and isnt now； or ought to be human and isnt； you keep your eyes on it and feel for your hatchet。 and thats why the witch is always on the lookout for any humans in narnia。 shes been watching for you this many a year； and if she knew there were four of you shed be more dangerous still。”
〃whats that to do with it？〃 asked peter。
〃because of another prophecy；〃 said mr beaver。 〃down at cair paravel … thats the castle on the sea coast down at the mouth of this river which ought to be the capital of the whole country if all was as it should be … down at cair paravel there are four thrones and its a saying in narnia time out of mind that when two sons of adam and two daughters of eve sit in those four thrones； then it will be the end not only of the white witchs reign but of her life； and that is why we had to be so cautious as we came along； for if she knew about you four； your lives wouldnt be worth a shake of my whiskers！”
all the children had been attending so hard to what mr beaver was telling them that they had noticed nothing else for a long time。 then during the moment of silence that followed his last remark； lucy suddenly said： 〃i say…wheres edmund？”
there was a dreadful pause； and then everyone began asking 〃who saw him last？ how long has he been missing？ is he outside？ and then all rushed to the door and looked out。
the snow was falling thickly and steadily； the green ice of the pool had vanished under a thick white blanket； and from where the little house stood in the centre of the dam you could hardly see either bank。 out they went； plunging well over their ankles into the soft new snow； and went round the house in every direction。 〃edmund！ edmund！〃 they called till they were hoarse。 but the silently falling snow seemed to muffle their voices and there was not even an echo in answer。
〃how perfectly dreadful！〃 said susan as they at last came back in despair。 〃oh； how i wish wed never e。”
〃what on earth are we to do； mr beaver？〃 said peter。
〃do？〃 said mr beaver； who was already putting on his snow…boots； 〃do？ we must be off at once。 we havent a moment to spare！”
〃wed better divide into four search parties；〃 said peter； 〃and all go in different directions。 whoever finds him must e back here at once and…”
〃search parties； son of adam？〃 said mr beaver； 〃what for？”
〃why； to look for edmund； of course！”
〃theres no point in looking for him；〃 said mr beaver。
〃what do you mean？〃 said susan。 〃he cant be far away yet。 and weve got to find him。
what do you mean when you say theres no use looking for him？”
〃the reason theres no use looking；〃 said mr beaver； 〃is that we know already where hes gone！〃 everyone stared in amazement。 〃dont you understand？〃 said mr beaver。 〃hes gone to her； to the white witch。 he has betrayed us all。”
〃oh； surely…oh； really！〃 said susan； 〃he cant have done that。”
〃cant he？〃 said mr beaver； looking very hard at the three children； and everything they wanted to say died on their lips； for each felt suddenly quite certain inside that this was exactly what edmund had done。
〃but will he know the way？〃 said peter。
〃has he been in this country before？〃 asked mr beaver。 〃has he ever been here alone？”
〃yes；〃 said lucy； almost in a whisper。 〃im afraid he has。”
〃and did he tell you what hed done or who hed met？”
〃well； no； he di