The_Complete_Chronicles_of_Narnia_(volumes_1-7,_in_order_of_publication)

had never even imagined were crowding round her. Then she saw the Lion, screamed and
fled, and with her fled her class, who were mostly dumpy, prim little girls with fat legs.
Gwendolen hesitated.
"You'll stay with us, sweetheart?" said Aslan.
"Oh, may I? Thank you, thank you," said Gwendolen. Instantly she joined hands with two
of the Maenads, who whirled her round in a merry dance and helped her take off some of
the unnecessary and uncomfortable clothes that she was wearing.
Wherever they went in the little town of Beruna it was the same. Most of the people fled,
a few joined them. When they left the town they were a larger and a merrier company.
They swept on across the level fields on the north bank, or left bank, of the river. At
every farm animals came out to join them. Sad old donkeys who had never known joy
grew suddenly young again; chained dogs broke their chains; horses kicked their carts to
pieces and came trotting along with them - clop-clop - kicking up the mud and
whinnying.
At a well in a yard they met a man who was beating a boy. The stick burst into flower in
the man's hand. He tried to drop it, but it stuck to his hand. His arm became a branch, his
body the trunk of a tree, his feet took root. The boy, who had been crying a moment
before, burst out laughing and joined them.
At a little town half-way to Beaversdam, where two rivers met, they came to another
school, where a tiredlooking girl was teaching arithmetic to a number of boys who looked
very like pigs. She looked out of the window and saw the divine revellers singing up the
street and a stab of joy went through her heart. Aslan stopped right under the window and
looked up at her.
"Oh, don't, don't," she said. "I'd love to. But I mustn't. I must stick to my work. And the
children would be frightened if they saw you."
"Frightened?" said the most pig-like of the boys. "Who's she talking to out of the
window? Let's tell the inspector she talks to people out of the window when she ought to
be teaching us."
"Let's go and see who it is," said another boy, and they all came crowding to the window.
But as soon as their mean little faces looked out, Bacchus gave a great cry of Euan, euoioi-oi-of
and the boys all began howling with fright and trampling one another down to
get out of the door and jumping out of the windows. And it was said afterwards (whether
truly or not) that those particular little boys were never seen again, but that there were a
lot of very fine little pigs in that part of the country which had never been there before.
"Now, Dear Heart," said Aslan to the Mistress, and she jumped down and joined them.