Chapter 6

Into the Forest

As the four children hide in the wardrobe from the housekeeper Mrs. Macready,
Peter and Susan begin to notice that it's cold and wet. Daylight shines in, and
they find themselves with fur coats on one side of them and a winter landscape
on the other side. They're in Narnia!
Peter immediately turns to Lucy and apologizes for not believing her story. Lucy
accepts his apology.
Peter wants to explore the wood. Susan convinces him that first they should put
on the fur coats after all, the whole land of Narnia seems to be inside the
wardrobe, so they won't even be taking the coats out of the cupboard!
Wearing the fur coats, which are so long that they look like robes, the four
children set out to explore.
Edmund suggests that they need to head to the left more to find the lamp-post.
This causes Peter and Susan to realize that Edmund was actually in Narnia
before and lied about it to make Lucy look bad. Peter, especially, is disgusted.
Edmund is disgruntled by Peter's response.
Peter and Susan let Lucy decide where to go, and she opts to take them to see
Mr. Tumnus the Faun.
When the children arrive at Mr. Tumnus's cave, they find it trashed and
deserted.
Peter finds a piece of paper nailed to the floor. They take it outside to read it
and discover that it is a notice from Fenris Ulf, the Captain of the Secret Police.
The notice states that Mr. Tumnus has been arrested for not reporting Lucy's
presence to the Queen.
Peter, Susan, and Lucy are disturbed by Mr. Tumnus's arrest. Lucy explains to
Peter and Susan that the so-called Queen is really the evil White Witch, who
makes it always winter in Narnia, but never Christmas.
Susan wants to go home, because it seems like things are getting dangerous.
Lucy thinks they're obligated to help Mr. Tumnus because he got into trouble for
protecting her. Edmund is still thinking about food!
After a brief discussion, Peter, Susan, and Lucy agree that they must stay in
Narnia and attempt to rescue Mr. Tumnus. They can't go back to their own
world to get food and provisions, because they might not be able to get back.
Although the children want to help, they have no idea what to do. While they
are standing around trying to think of something, they see a red-breasted robin
nearby. The robin seems to be signaling to them to follow it.
For about half an hour, the children follow the robin, which leads them slowly
through the woods.
 Edmund and Peter drop back to have a private conversation. Edmund points out
that they don't know which side the robin is on, and it may be leading them into
a trap. Peter says that robins are good in all the stories he's read.
Edmund points out to Peter that they've stumbled into the middle of a world
they don't understand how do they know the Queen really is evil and Mr.
Tumnus is really good? Plus, they don't know their way home from the place
the robin has led them, and they don't have any food. Peter is alarmed to
realize these things.
Chapter 7
A Day with the Beavers
While Edmund and Peter are talking, Lucy and Susan suddenly cry out the
robin has flown away, leaving them alone in the middle of the woods!
The children notice an animal moving among the trees, getting closer and closer
to them. They're scared and they all realize they are lost in the woods.
The animal peeps out from behind a tree and gestures silently to the children,
implying that they should approach it quietly and secretly. Peter recognizes it as
a beaver.
Lucy immediately trusts the beaver. Peter and Susan aren't sure, but feel they
have no choice. Edmund is still suspicious.
The children approach the beaver together. The beaver, which can talk and is
as large as they are, tells them that they're not safe in the open and leads them
to a hidden spot among the trees.
The beaver asks the children if they are sons of Adam and daughters of Eve.
Peter admits that they are some of them.
The beaver cautions them to speak quietly. Peter wonders who could overhear
them in the deserted wood, and the beaver says that the trees are always
listening, which we at Shmoop think is super creepy. Just saying.
Edmund asks, somewhat rudely, how they can know that the beaver is their
friend. The beaver shows them Lucy's handkerchief the one she gave to Mr.
Tumnus!
The beaver tells them that he is going to take them somewhere and that Aslan
is on the move. None of the children know who Aslan is or exactly what this
means, but they all suddenly have strong feelings about it. Edmund feels
horrified, Peter feels brave, Susan feels as though she has heard or smelled
something beautiful, and Lucy feels excited the way you do at the beginning of
summer vacation.
The beaver says that he will take them to dinner. Everyone but Edmund trusts
him now and is excited to have a meal, so they hurry to follow him.
After about an hour's hike through the woods, they come to the edge of the
wood, where they see a valley with a frozen river running down it. On the river
is a large dam, which the children realize must be the beaver's home.
 Mr. Beaver the beaver is male seems to expect some comment, so Susan
says that the dam is lovely. He's very pleased.
As the children approach the dam, they notice that the ice of the river is in
waves and splashes, as though it was frozen instantly while the river was
rushing along. They also notice the beaver's house on the top part of the dam.
Looking downstream, Edmund sees another, smaller river joining the larger
one, and beyond it he recognizes the two hills between which the Witch lives.
He remembers his craving for Turkish Delight and the Witch's promise to make
him a prince.
The children follow Mr. Beaver into the dam, where he introduces them to Mrs.
Beaver, who is sitting at her sewing machine working.
Mrs. Beaver is very excited to meet the human children, but the first thing she's
concerned about is feeding them. She is cooking some potatoes and boiling
water for tea. At her suggestion, Mr. Beaver goes out to catch some fish, taking
Peter to help him.
Lucy and Susan help Mrs. Beaver prepare the rest of the meal. Lucy notices and
admires the construction of the house in the dam, which is snug and resembles
living quarters on board ship.
Soon everyone is eating a delicious, satisfying meal. After they finish
everything, including dessert, Mr. Beaver says they should get down to
business.

Chapter 8
What Happened After Dinner
Lucy asks Mr. Beaver what happened to Mr. Tumnus. Mr. Beaver explains that
Mr. Tumnus was arrested and taken to the Witch's house. The rumor is that he
was turned into stone and became a statue in her yard, like many unfortunate
Narnians before him.
Lucy and Peter want to come up with a plan to rescue Mr. Tumnus, but the
Beavers tell them there is no chance they could fight the Witch alone.
Mr. Beaver mentions Aslan again and the children ask who he is. Mr. Beaver is
surprised they don't know, but explains that Aslan is the Lord of the wood. He's
been away for many generations, but now he's back, and Mr. Beaver thinks he
will triumph over the Queen and save Mr. Tumnus.
Edmund suggests that the Witch will just turn Aslan to stone. Mr. Beaver laughs
and explains that Aslan is more powerful than that. He recites an ancient rhyme
that prophesies Aslan's power to right every wrong and turn winter into spring.
Susan asks when they will see Aslan, and Mr. Beaver says that he is going to
lead them to him. Lucy asks if Aslan is a man, but Mr. Beaver explains that he
is the king of beasts a lion.
 Susan says that she is scared of lions, and Mrs. Beaver admits that Aslan isn't
exactly safe, but he is on the side of good.
Peter longs to meet Aslan. Mr. Beaver says they will see him tomorrow at the
Stone Table.
Lucy is still impatient to help Mr. Tumnus, but Mr. Beaver says going to Aslan is
the fastest way to make that happen.
Mrs. Beaver recites another old rhyme which prophesies that, when sons of
Adam sit in the thrones at the castle of Cair Paravel, on the eastern coast of
Narnia, then the evil times will be over.
Peter is confused and asks if the Witch is human. Mr. Beaver says she is not
according to him, the Witch is descended from giants on one side and from
Adam's first wife Lilith, one of the Jinn (what we'd call genies), on the other. Mr.
Beaver tells the children that creatures that look human, but aren't, are often
dangerous.
Mr. Beaver explains the prophesy more clearly: when two sons of Adam (like
Edmund and Peter) and two daughters of Eve (like Susan and Lucy) sit in the
four thrones at the castle of Cair Paravel, then the White Witch will be
destroyed. That's why she is so scared of the children and is trying to destroy
them.
Suddenly Lucy realizes that Edmund is gone. They search for him, but he has
vanished, and the falling snow has covered his tracks.
Mr. Beaver says that they must leave at once. Peter thinks he means in search
parties to look for Edmund, but Mr. Beaver says there is no point Edmund has
obviously gone to the White Witch to betray them.
Susan and Peter can hardly believe that their brother would betray them, but
they admit that he has been to Narnia before alone and didn't tell anyone what
he experienced. Mr. Beaver says that Edmund has the look of someone who is
under the Witch's spell.
Mr. Beaver suggests that Edmund is safe for the time being the Witch will try
to use him as bait to catch all of them. In the meantime, they must try to get to
Aslan.
Everyone tries to remember how much of their conversation Edmund heard.
They know that he heard about Aslan, but they're not sure if he heard about the
Stone Table. They decide to leave immediately in case Edmund is able to tell
the Witch their destination.

Chapter 9
In the Witch's House
While his brothers and sisters enjoyed the meal with the Beavers, Edmund had
a terrible time, because his memory of the magically addictive Turkish Delight
spoiled the wholesome food for him.
 During the after-dinner conversation, Edmund felt like everyone was ignoring
him. When he heard about the plan to meet Aslan at the Stone Table, he snuck
out of the Beaver's house.
The narrator explains that Edmund isn't really evil, like the witch. He is greedy
he wants more Turkish Delight, and he wants to be a prince, and he wants to
get back at Peter.
Edmund tells himself that his brother and sisters aren't really in danger. He
reasons that the Queen probably is the rightful ruler of Narnia and that Mr.
Tumnus and the Beavers are evil because they are plotting against her. Deep
down, he knows this isn't true, but it's what he tells himself.
When he gets outside, Edmund realizes he left his coat behind, but he doesn't
dare to go back for it. As night falls, it is dark and cold, and Edmund's trek
through the uneven countryside to the Witch's house is extremely unpleasant.
To cheer himself up, Edmund thinks about all the things he will do when he is
King of Narnia one day, such as making good roads and having a palace and
lots of cars and his own movie theater.
As the night wears on, the snow stops and it becomes windy. This makes
Edmund even colder. The moon comes out, which helps him to see his way
along the river.
While Edmund stumbles over rocks and gets cold and wet in the snow, he
blames all his suffering on Peter.
Finally Edmund arrives on a level plain and sees the Witch's house, which is like
a small castle. Edmund is afraid of it on sight, but feels like he can't turn back.
When Edmund arrives in the archway that leads to the house's courtyard, he
sees an enormous lion ready to spring. For a long time, he stands frozen with
fear.
After a while, Edmund realizes the lion hasn't moved. He comes closer to it and
discovers that it is a statue. It's one of the animals that the Witch turned to
stone!
Edmund is relieved to discover that the lion can't harm him. He assumes that
the lion is Aslan and that the Witch has already caught him.
Using a pencil that he finds in his pocket, Edmund scribbles a mustache on the
statue of the lion and mocks it for being captured by the witch. Still, in spite of
all this, Edmund doesn't feel any better about his own situation.
Edmund crosses the courtyard, noticing dozens of similar statues. The yard is
full of different people and animals that the Witch has petrified. There's even a
giant!
On the threshold of the house is a wolf. Edmund assumes that it is also stone
and tries to step over it, but it leaps up and demands to know who he is.
 Edmund explains that he is the Son of Adam who met the Queen before and
that he is bringing news of his brothers and sisters, who are in the Beavers'
house.
The wolf goes inside to deliver the message, instructing Edmund to remain
standing on the doorstep. Edmund waits in fear.
The wolf, Fenris Ulf, who is Chief of the Secret Police, returns and allows
Edmund to enter the house.
Inside, it is dark and gloomy. Edmund sees the White Witch sitting near the
only lamp.
The Witch is angry that Edmund came alone, but Edmund explains that his
siblings are close by, in the Beavers' dam. He also tells her the rumors about
Aslan at the Stone Table.
The Witch orders a dwarf to prepare her sledge, using a harness without bells,
so that she can creep up silently on the children and beavers and catch them!

Chapter 10
The Spell Begins to Break
Back at the Beavers' house, the beavers and children have been hurriedly
preparing for their journey to the Stone Table. The children and Mr. Beaver
want to leave immediately, but Mrs. Beaver insists on taking a few moments to
pack some food and supplies.
Mrs. Beaver is sad to leave her sewing machine behind, but everyone convinces
her that they have to leave. Mr. Beaver locks the door and they set off into the
night.
The beavers and children walk single file in the moonlight along a path by the
riverbank. The walk is beautiful, but tiring, and everyone is worried about
what's going to happen.
Just as everyone is almost asleep on their feet, Mr. Beaver leads the children
into a small cave hidden in the bank. Mr. Beaver explains that it is a secret
hiding-place for beavers and he's led them to it so they can sleep for a few
hours.
After a drink of something warming from a flask, they all go to sleep.
Lucy wakes up hours later feeling cold and stiff. Everyone else wakes around
the same time and they hear bells outside.
Mr. Beaver darts outside to find out what is making the noise. Everyone else
waits, fearing that the Witch has found them.
After a few minutes, they hear voices. Mr. Beaver comes back and tells them to
come out it's not the Witch that has found them.
Mrs. Beaver and the children come out of the cave into daylight. Outside, they
see Father Christmas (Santa Claus) on a sledge driven by reindeer. Everyone
 feels excited, but also solemn, because Father Christmas is more impressive
than they expected.
Father Christmas tells the children that, although the Witch has kept him out for
a long time, he has finally gotten in to Narnia due to Aslan's power.
Father Christmas gives everyone presents:
Mrs. Beaver gets a new sewing machine, which Father Christmas leaves in her
house.
Mr. Beaver gets his dam finished and repaired.
Peter gets a sword and a shield with a picture of a red lion on it.
Susan gets a bow and arrows and a horn. They are magic, so that the arrows
almost never miss and the horn will summon help to any place.
Lucy gets a dagger and a little diamond bottle with magic medicine in it that
can cure any injury or illness.
Father Christmas tells Susan and Lucy that their weapons are only for defense
they are not supposed to fight in the upcoming battle. Lucy says she feels brave
enough to fight, but Father Christmas says that "battles are ugly when women
fight." (We have more to say about that in the "Quotes and Thoughts" section!)
As a final gift, Father Christmas gives them a tray with tea, milk, sugar, and
cups for everyone. Then he drives off, wishing them a Merry Christmas.
Everyone drinks the tea and eats some of the food they brought, and then they
set off on their journey again.