The_Complete_Chronicles_of_Narnia_(volumes_1-7,_in_order_of_publication)

"It's my fault," she said in despairing tones. "I - I'd given up repeating the signs every
night. If I'd been thinking about them I could have seen it was the city, even in all that
snow."
"I'm worse," said Puddleglum. "I did see, or nearly. I thought it looked uncommonly like
a ruined city."
"You're the only one who isn't to blame," said Scrubb. "You did try to make us stop."
"Didn't try hard enough, though," said the Marshwiggle. "And I'd no call to be trying. I
ought to have done it. As if I couldn't have stopped you two with one hand each!"
"The truth is," said Scrubb, "we were so jolly keen on getting to this place that we weren't
bothering about anything else. At least I know I was. Ever since we met that woman with
the knight who didn't talk, we've been thinking of nothing else. We'd nearly forgotten
about Prince Rilian."
"I shouldn't wonder," said Puddleglum, "if that wasn't exactly what she intended."
"What I don't quite understand," said Jill, "is how we didn't see the lettering? Or could it
have come there since last night. Could he - Aslan - have put it there in the night? I had
such a queer dream." And she told them all about it.
"Why, you chump!" said Scrubb. "We did see it. We got into the lettering. Don't you see?
We got into the letter E in ME. That was your sunk lane. We walked along the bottom
stroke of the E, due north - turned to our right along the upright - came to another turn to
the right - that's the middle stroke - and then went on to the top left-hand corner, or (if
you like) the north-eastern corner of the letter, and came back. Like the bally idiots we
are." He kicked the window seat savagely, and went on, "So it's no good, Pole. I know
what you were thinking because I was thinking the same. You were thinking how nice it
would have been if Aslan hadn't put the instructions on the stones of the ruined city till
after we'd passed it. And then it would have been his fault, not ours. So likely, isn't it?
No. We must just own up. We've only four signs to go by, and we've muffed the first
three."
"You mean I have," said Jill. "It's quite true. I've spoiled everything ever since you
brought me here. All the same - I'm frightfully sorry and all that - all the same, what are
the instructions? UNDER ME doesn't seem to make much sense."
"Yes it does, though," said Puddleglum. "It means we've got to look for the Prince under
that city."
"But how can we?" asked Jill.
"That's the question," said Puddleglum, rubbing his big, frog-like hands together. "How
can we now? No doubt, if we'd had our minds on our job when we were at the Ruinous